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Rush Week 1989 Review
Rush Week 1989
Directed by: Bob Bralver
Starring: Pamela Ludwig, Dean Hamilton, Roy Thinnes
Review by Luisito Joaquín González
I read it a lot, but have to argue that sayingHalloween was the first American slasher film is just lazy journalism. 
Simply check outBlack Christmas, Class Reunion Massacre, Drive-in Massacre, Savage Weekend or The Town that Dreaded Sundown for pieces that clearly pre-date 1978 and have many of the relevant trappings. There’s no denying however that John Carpenter’s seminal classic was the feature responsible for cementing the trademarks and turning them into an actual sub-genre that others could populate. The zillions of imitations that dominated horror cinema throughout the following ten-years are as much a part of eighties nostalgia as spandex or bad hair styles. A retro eighties party without someone dressing up as Jason or Freddy is no party at all. Even 
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – the great PS2 game, which heavily parodied that era – referenced the slasher genre in a satirical way, confirming it’s importance as a referential milestone.
There are still about 3-5 slasher movies being released every year, most of them very low budget productions, but the eighties will always be recognised as the golden period. The whole cycle started with a bang. In 1980, Night of the Demon, Friday the 13th, Terror Train and To all a Good Night were all released before Summer and a new craze had been launched, which would continue without interruption for over twelve-months and continue on a lesser scale right through until the nineties.
So what does that have to do with Rush Week, I hear you ask? Well this was the last slasher movie to be produced 
in the golden decade, even though it was released a while later. That makes this an interesting reference point as you can see how much the genre had adapted during that period. If Friday the 13th was the flagship for the launch of ten-years of teen splatter, Bob Bralver’s slasher was the swan song.
During rush week, a young journalism student picks up on a story when she notices that young women seem to be disappearing after a seedy meeting with a photographer after hours in the science lab. A killer, dressed in a cape and 
old-man mask is stalking the dormitory and offing lonesome females. Who could be the masked menace and what are his motives?
Ok so we’re definitely not breaking new ground here. Set on a college campus, the movie follows the traditional route without ever attempting to add something even slightly adventurous to the norm. I guess the first thing to notice about the difference between this and its brothers from nine-years earlier is the lack of gore. Whilst Friday the 13th set a new tone with its gruesome death scenes and investment in special effects, stringent censors and bad media had left many movies with their ‘money shots’ on cutting room floors before they had reached audiences, so film-maker’s were much more prudent with their budgets in latter years. The killer 
has an authentic double-bladed axe, but the majority of the murders are off-screen and therefore lack any punch.
Bralver seems a director far more interested in Frat jokes and teen fart humour than he does horror and the majority of the runtime is filled with Porky’s style character development and a blossoming romance between the leads. The slashings take a back seat quite early in the picture and it made me wonder if they had chucked in a hooded killer to make the flick look more attractive to 
prospective financiers? There’s the chance to guess the cast member that’s hiding beneath the mask and cape, but the mystery is poorly handled and you’ll see through the apparent red herrings with relevant ease. There’s a smidgen of suspense during the final stalking sequence through the school corridors and some looming tracking shots help to build a nice atmosphere. To be fair, I have to mention that the movie does reference its brethren by casting Dominick Brascia (Friday the 13th 5/Evil Laugh) and Kathleen Kinmont (Halloween 4) in small cameos.
It seems like they had a good budget to play with and the cinematography is crisp and adventurous. The leads 
carried the film really well and built some nice chemistry during the romance and I really liked Pamela Ludwig as the final girl. It’s amazing to think that her film journey quickly stagnated soon after, because she had enough talent to build a career in pictures. Her co-star Dean Hamilton would find his fortune as a producer, working both in Television and Cinema. His biggest investment so far, the awful chick flick Blonde and Blonder (which he also directed), was absolutely ripped to shreds by critics but proved popular enough for a sequel and at the time of writing, he is working on a project with ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ director Joel Zwick.
If the producers had decided to veto the lashings of blood for fear of extreme censorship, they certainly didn’t scrimp on the nudity. There are more breasts on display here than feeding time in a maternity ward and I personally would 
have loved to have studied here at Tambers college as it seems every female student has the body of a Playboy model. In another slightly bizarre twist, hardly any of the developed characters that we meet become victims of the axe clenching madman. It seems women are simply introduced to take of their kit and then scream as the hatchet swings, which means that 
we feel absolutely zero sympathy for them. That adds ammunition to my suspicions that the slasher elements were a mere sub-plot to allow the story to focus on the romance/dorm ingredients that seemed to certainly be the priority.
So not much of a final farewell from Rush Week for the decade of decadence where the box office was stalked and slashed by masked killers like there would be no tomorrow. This is not necessarily a bad film, but will only act more as a small snack if your hungry for a full slasher buffet.
Slasher Trappings:
Killer Guise:√√√√
Gore √
Final Girl √√√√
RATING: 
Hauntedween 1991 Review
Hauntedween 1991
Directed by: Doug Robertson
Starring: Brien Blakely, Blake Pickett, Michael Schwitzgebel
Review by Luisito Joaquín González
The nineties certainly didn’t begin with a bang for the slasher genre, which was to be expected after its prolific population of horror cinema throughout the previous decade. Censorship restrictions and an extreme lack of originality meant that the category had become a dumping ground for low-budget and low-quality independent movies, which had lost the allure that made them so popular in the first place. It is widely considered that the 
last glory year was 1988, which saw the dying breath of the cycle unleash fairly intriguing titles like: Maniac Cop, Intruder, Evil Dead Trap and 
Edge of the Axe. From then on it was a downward spiral into mediocrity as throwaways like Zipperface and Live Girls put the final nails in the coffin. Hauntedween was another feature from the ‘lost years’ – a term that describes the gap between 1988 and the Scream rebirth in 1996.
If you check on the web, you will find a lot of sites related to Hauntedween and most of them praise the flick as if it were the slasher equivalent of Citizen Kane. Closer inspection however shows that the majority of these positive comments are from the local vicinity of where the feature was made because it has a somewhat legendary status there. Almost all of the actors were picked up from West Kentucky University and the producers held casting days in the town centre. Many residents were given parts as extras and local businesses got involved with the marketing. Rumour has it that still to this day, Kentucky families sit around a table on Halloween eve and watch the film back whilst celebrating their involvement in the ‘Kentucky Godfather’. – Ok so I made up the last bit, but you get 
the idea…
It also seems however that the featured inhabitants of this particular district seem to be incredibly vocal all over the world wide web. So much so that I once called the film ‘mediocre but strangely alluring’ on another website and was
inundated with messages of how I was unfair and that the disapproving things that I had said were inaccurate. The movie was, apparently, everything but ‘mediocre’. I once again noticed that these people were either in the movie or were related to someone that was.
Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone from Kentucky and have only ever visited the fried chicken namesake, so I will call the movie as I see it. I obviously respect that this is a huge achievement for those involved, but I am here to share my views of slasher flicks with people that enjoy them and my views will always be my own. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s fantastic that this feature has become a cult favourite and that it has such a loyal fan base. Even more so because it’s a slasher movie and I love that the genre is getting that kind of appreciation. I don’t have the bias however of being a local lad, so forgive me if I don’t give it a five star review…
In the prologue the camera heads along a country road that leads to a haunted house. There’s a young child at the gate collecting the entrance fee from revellers that all comment on his Halloween mask. 
Eddie Burber looks like a great prospect to become a junior serial slasher, mainly because he doesn’t speak too much and as we all know REAL bogeymen are inexplicably muted. The point is proved when he enters the house of horror and chases a young girl until she ends up impaled on a bizarrely misplaced spike. Accidents do happen, but that can’t be the excuse for young Eddie. He confirms his 
murderous intent by finishing the job with a huge machete that he conjured from thin air. He escapes the scene of the crime and heads back home to his mother who informs him that they’re going to have to go away for a while.
Twenty years down the line, we bump into the fully-grown Eddie and his mum living at a secluded ranch. Whilst chopping some firewood with a huge axe that I presume will play a part later in the feature, his mother drops to the floor, seemingly suffering from a coronary arrest. The still-unseen bogeyman picks up the corpse of his parent and tells her “It’s time to go home”.
Reguaws, Kentucky hasn’t changed much over two decades, except now there’s a new gang of thirty-year-old students in the Topshill State College. They’re struggling with the threat of having their Sigma Pi fraternity closed if they can’t come up with 37, 000 dollars in the next couple of weeks. Despite some bemusing moneymaking plans that include car washing (I estimate that they’d have to scrub about 20,000 cars!?), they settle with the idea of a haunted house at the home of the murderous child from the prologue. We all know how much Eddie enjoys attending these occasions, and he doesn’t disappoint when he turns up with a creepy mask and a few tricks up his sleeves…
The second time that I watched Hauntedween for this review; I noted that my opinion had changed ever so slightly as the years have passed by. When rating a small production like this you have to take into account the meagre 
budget and inexperienced crew, which probably amounted to little more than a few men, a dog and not much else. Hauntedween is as subtly tongue in cheek as the imaginative title would lead you to believe 
and has the obvious vibe of a good time movie. Now horror/comedies never really click and aside from the decent Blood Hook I can’t really think of any that have gelled well enough to steer away from mediocrity. Then again, Hauntedween manages not to annoy too much, because the humour is not forced and comes across more as a production team that realise that their movie is never going to be anything more than a cheesy slasher and they just want the viewer to join in with the fun that they’re having.There’s plenty of unconvincing accents on display to harmonise with the unmistakable twang of the resident Kentuckians and I think it became something of an in-joke between the cast members and crew.
When the killer starts his rampage, he proves to be a real showman by murdering victims in front of a baying crowd that believe they’re watching a ‘theatrical performance’. Luckily for him he can keep up the act without any fringe of suspicion, because the special effects are as hokey as a Rolex at a boot sale. There’s an ambitious decapitation and half a dozen or so victims that all get their chance to thesp-up 
their final breath whilst covered with a gallon of corn syrup.
The movie stays true to its slasher heritage and writer/producer/director Doug Robertson was definitely a fan of the genre. Despite the title, it doesn’t mimic Carpenter’s classic as much as you’d think it would and instead tries to spice things up a bit with some slightly different branches to the plot, which I won’t ruin for you.
You can almost feel the enthusiasm of the whole crew streaming out from the cheap plastic video cassette becuase it is that contagious. This blatant and clearly visual evidence that a good time was had by all behind the scenes and on set somewhat lifts Hauntedween above its flaws. I mean, let’s make no mistake about it, this is a shoe-string movie. But it’s one that knows its limitations and makes the most of them. That doesn’t make it worthy of the inflated purchase price that it sells for on VHS, but if you come across it cheap, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t give it a whirl. The final twenty minutes of mayhem are worth seeing for some cheapskate slasher shenanigans. I’m not sure if I am breaking any copyright laws by telling you this, but hey, whilst looking for more info I noticed that it is on YouTube. Sssshhhhh!!
A few buckets of blood, some topless chicks and a masked killer – what can be so bad about that? Take it with a pinch of salt and it might be worth a look…
Slasher Trappings:
Killer Guise: √√√
Gore √
Final Girl √
RATING: 
Blood Lake 1987 Review
Blood Lake 1987
Directed by: Tim Boggs
Starring: Doug Barry, Angela Barter, Mike Kaufman
Review by Luisito Joaquín González
When reviewing these wonderful stalk and slash flicks, no matter how bad they may be (and some of them are bad 
bad bad), I always try to put at least a thousand words down and give as thoughtful an insight as possible. I know very well that there are many people globally like me who love these old hack and slashers and some of them are really hard to find. However, no matter how much I enjoy staying 
up and writing in depth reports, sometimes it’s just impossible to conjure such a large amount of words.
Blood Lake is an example when writer’s block has struck. Maybe because it’s an effort so empty that I feel I have already lost so much time watching it that I refuse to lose the same amount of time thinking of things to say? I am not sure, but my apologies for the short(er) review.
Now, I am all for a group of guys getting together with a camcorder and making a movie with their buddies. Let’s face it, if I had the chance to do the same, then I would lap it up quicker than an alcoholic locked in an off license. But I mean come on; the least you could do is make the most of it if fate allowed such an opportunity to arise.
A group of teenagers head off to wood-side cabin for a weekend of partying and debauchery. The location is based alongside a large lake, so they make the most of their time by water-skiing, fishing and taking romantic moonlight 
trips on a boat. They’re not aware however that they are sharing the location with a plump hick in cowboy boots who has different ideas
for his choice of entertainment.
You know what? In my garage I have a skateboard that I used to ride on when I was thirteen-years old. Back in the day, I took it everywhere like a comfort rug and I reckon that if I dug it out, I could still bust a few ollies. However what I wouldn’t do, if I got that chance to make a feature film, was expect people to enjoy watching me use it for fifteen minutes. Well director Tim Boggs obviously has a very different idea of what pleases an audience, because here we are treated to an almost never-ending scene of his cast-members water-skiing. Now there’s nothing wrong with water-skiing. It’s a sport that I am sure I would thoroughly enjoy if I knew anyone with the necessary appliances. However what I am not too interested in is sitting and watching a quarter of an hour of unappealing actors getting dragged around behind a boat during a horror film.
In fact, long, tedious and ultimately pointless scenes are the director’s trademark and he seems to like nothing better than filling the screen with plot points that take the story absolutely nowhere. 
Character development I understand, but watching a Trans Am full of teens drive down the road for what feels like an eternity can start to grate quite quickly. Oh and please don’t get me started with the card game, 
which had me pulling out my chest hair before it had come to an end. By this point the film had begun to feel more like this was an over-long Youtube video on how cool the Blood Lake posse are at weekends instead of a slasher flick.
As I mentioned earlier, the chance to make a horror movie is an opportunity that not many of us get. I could never understand why if you are going to rip off Halloween and Friday the 13then you don’t go all out and dress your bogeyman appropriately. How much can it cost to get hold of a decent mask and a boiler suit? The killer here looks laughable in his cowboy boots and hat and a scruffy shirt that just about covers his beer belly. Scary? You’ll get more chills from Sesame Street. There’s no real gore on offer either and the obvious lack of cinematic experience from everyone involved is a big poo poo to the chance of any suspense. There was one decent shadow scene that I rather enjoyed and the soundtrack is not as bad as to be expected, but hardly enough to offer redemption.
After the self-mutilation inducingly poorly-acted climax, there is a shot that had me flabbergasted. I won’t spoil it for you, because it’s the best thing that Blood Lake had to offer. To be fair
it had me scratching my head. I mean, I was like, how the hell did they do that? All due respect to the honesty of the film crew, because as the credits rolled it’s the first thing that they explained. Perhaps that was a
bad move, because I may have looked on the feature SLIGHTLY differently if they had not revealed the trick. Good sense of humour from the film-makers though and shows that they probably knew how bad this movie was.
I am not usually that harsh on a poor movie, because to be fair at least these guys had the cojones to put together the funds to make a feature, which is something that I would love to do. The only thing that annoys me is that it’s such a splendid opportunity, why wouldn’t anyone make the most of it? Little old me, a Spanish genre fan living in London has watched and taken the effort to review a back-garden project that was made nearly twenty-five years ago. Doesn’t that make them wish that they’d tried harder?
Well I managed 1000 words, but I didn’t enjoy this flick. I doubt that anyone else will either.
On a side note, I just noticed that I watched this, Blood Hook and Blood Harvestin the space of a week and all were released within a year of each other. Coincidence? Must be…
Slasher Trappings:
Killer Guise:√
Gore √
Final Girl √
RATING:
