Camp Blood VII @ The Mahoning Drive-In - the below films were all presented projected from original 35mm reels. They did not all age gracefully but it hardly mattered. My friends and I were able to make it two of the 4 days and it was a hell of a time.
9/4/21
The Slumber Party Massacre - [dir. Amy Holden Jones, 1982] - My second viewing, I enjoyed it a lot more this time around. I knew insane gore wouldn't be part of it, so I was disappointed. Instead you get a level of fun and silliness that reminds me of Pieces at times, although never that bizarre and baffling. But the killer and his weapon are still pretty silly. I also appreciate that the female characters have that feel of real characters, instead of insubstantial sketches. Or at least more than many slashers. A movie better suited to watching with friends than alone. The print we saw was pretty damaged, with the image being almost entirely amber in color.
Scream for Help - [dir. Michael Winner, 1984] - Easily the most baffling film of the weekend and maybe my favorite. This falls between after-school special, Last House on the Left and erotic murder mystery. Almost like a trash version of a Twin Peaks subplot The acting is all over the top, especially the lead teen character whose obsession with uncovering the misdeeds of her step-father gets all sorts of people killed and maimed. Her suspicions are correct but the collateral damage, whooo boy. Early highlight is when her friend gets hit and killed by a speeding car. Also there's a lot of pretty hardcore sex including full muff shots. And then there's the music composed by John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin which is some of the most overblown shit I've ever heard. I was laughing my ass off throughout this thing. I'd highly recommend this little obscure gym
9/5/21
Silent Rage – [dir. Michael Miller, 1982] – A sorta-kinda slasher with Chuck Norris as the lead. Never been a big Chuck Norris fan but he was surprisingly fun and charming in this. There's a fun and very superfluous scene about halfway through where he kicks the ass of an entire biker gang in a bar that's very entertaining with really competent action stunts. The weirdo sci-fi, surgeons playing god plot that creates the main bad guy is weird and dumb but kinda fun, but their un-killable experiment does do a lot of rampaging. The biggest issue with this movie is the pacing and run time. It is a 103 minutes when it could have easily been edited into a tight 90 minutes. Also there's a major missed opportunity for a one-liner at the end. Chuck Norris throws the badguy down a well. He then slowly walks up to the well to peer down into it to confirm the badguy is there. He should have said either "Well...." Or "Well, well, well..." . It's a tragic waste.
10 to Midnight – [dir. J. Lee Thompson, 1983] – This one was a blast! The level of Dirty Harry right-wing maximum force cop bullshit, coupled with awesome performance from the serial killer and goofy dating sub-plot made for a hell of a romp. I guess this movie has a bit of reputation and I'd say it's earned. Again, a few minutes could've been shaved to keep the narrative tighter but I really have no major complaint. One I'd watch again and soon.
Jason X – [dir. James Isaac, 2001] – the only Jason film I have not seen, but I can't say I've really seen it now either. Right before the movie started a fog settled in at the drive-in which didn't lift even after the movie was over. So it was incredibly difficult to discern what was happening, made worse by the films aversion to any kind of normal lighting. I thought this was the sillies Friday the 13th film, even more so than Jason Goes to Hell, which I liked a lot more than I should have.
