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Ratings217
HorrorFan1984's rating
Reviews217
HorrorFan1984's rating
A psychopath plays his blood song to his prey before killing them in 'Dreamslayer', an average run of the mill slasher from 1982.
The film intros us to our killer Paul early on. We see that 25 years prior, he witnessed his father murder his mother and her lover before killing himself. The trauma of that night led to Paul being institutionalized at a mental health facility. He decides that it's time to escape, so he kills an orderly and gets out of the hospital with his wooden flute given to him by his father before he died. We then meet our main character Marion who is physically disabled thanks to an accident caused by her alcoholic father. She required a blood transfusion, and unlucky for her, it was Paul's blood that was given to her! As the film goes on, and Paul murders many people, Marion starts to have weird visions and dreams of the murder. It appears that having his blood inside of her has given her the ability to see his actions. It all comes to a head when Marion ends up encountering Paul in person, making her his next target.
I purchased this movie on VHS years back under the title 'Dreamslayer', but it is also known as 'Blood Song' - a far more appropriate name given the music themed plot with Paul playing his flute to an annoyingly familiar tune each time he commits a murder. Some of the gore was well done given it's very low budget of a little over a million dollars, and despite not being able to see much thanks to the low quality of tape/film. The dark scenes are almost unwatchable, and sadly no release of this one of DVD has been able to restore it in any way. It affected the rating of the film for me, that and the silly concept that getting blood from a psychopath can give you visions and dreams of the person.
The acting wasn't all that bad. Donna Wilkes lead the way as our heroine Marion who battles her recovery, her alcoholic father, and a serial killer with a sense of fear but also silent strength. Frankie Avalon in a role unlike anything he may have ever done, was effective as the creepy and deranged murderer Paul. It was also great to see Antoinette Bower as Marion's mother, she of course played Jamie Lee Curtis' mother in 'Prom Night'.
Overall, 'Dreamslayer' isn't a terrible entry to that early 80's horror grouping. But outside of one really well done axe murder scene, it doesn't add anything special that we haven't seen before.
4/10.
The film intros us to our killer Paul early on. We see that 25 years prior, he witnessed his father murder his mother and her lover before killing himself. The trauma of that night led to Paul being institutionalized at a mental health facility. He decides that it's time to escape, so he kills an orderly and gets out of the hospital with his wooden flute given to him by his father before he died. We then meet our main character Marion who is physically disabled thanks to an accident caused by her alcoholic father. She required a blood transfusion, and unlucky for her, it was Paul's blood that was given to her! As the film goes on, and Paul murders many people, Marion starts to have weird visions and dreams of the murder. It appears that having his blood inside of her has given her the ability to see his actions. It all comes to a head when Marion ends up encountering Paul in person, making her his next target.
I purchased this movie on VHS years back under the title 'Dreamslayer', but it is also known as 'Blood Song' - a far more appropriate name given the music themed plot with Paul playing his flute to an annoyingly familiar tune each time he commits a murder. Some of the gore was well done given it's very low budget of a little over a million dollars, and despite not being able to see much thanks to the low quality of tape/film. The dark scenes are almost unwatchable, and sadly no release of this one of DVD has been able to restore it in any way. It affected the rating of the film for me, that and the silly concept that getting blood from a psychopath can give you visions and dreams of the person.
The acting wasn't all that bad. Donna Wilkes lead the way as our heroine Marion who battles her recovery, her alcoholic father, and a serial killer with a sense of fear but also silent strength. Frankie Avalon in a role unlike anything he may have ever done, was effective as the creepy and deranged murderer Paul. It was also great to see Antoinette Bower as Marion's mother, she of course played Jamie Lee Curtis' mother in 'Prom Night'.
Overall, 'Dreamslayer' isn't a terrible entry to that early 80's horror grouping. But outside of one really well done axe murder scene, it doesn't add anything special that we haven't seen before.
4/10.
The town of Moorehigh has a new doctor in town as 'Dr. Giggles' begins killing anyone in his path while he searches for the perfect heart.
The film begins with psychopath Evan Rendell Jr, also known as Dr. Giggles, escaping capture from a mental institution, giggling to himself as he murders hospital staff on his way out of the facility and back to his hometown (Moorehigh). We find out that he is the son of serial killer Dr. Rendell who would rip the hearts out of his patients in a desperate attempt to keep his dying wife alive. We also learn that as a child, he watched and even helped his father with the murders.
In Moorehigh, we meet the local teen group led by a young girl named Jennifer who is battling a heart condition, forcing her to wear a heart monitor everywhere she goes. The group includes her boyfriend Max, a bunch of horny teens, and a vixen named Coreen who is determined to break up the couple. Dr. Giggles discovers Jennifer's heart condition and is determined to help "fix her" all the while killing multiple townsfolk along the way.
'Dr. Giggles' was a fun watch overall. His witty one liners after each murder makes it more of a comedy than an actual terrifying horror. The kills were imaginative with Dr. Giggles using medicine in interesting ways to claim his victims, for example switching a woman's prescription pills with poison and giving a needle with some sort of lethal liquid killing another. The most effective murder is when Dr Giggles drains a woman stomach after she eats a pint of ice cream in an attempt to save her from bad fats and sugars.
The acting was good, with Larry Drake leading the charge as the deranged Dr. Giggles. Holly Marie Combs plays final girl Jennifer, this sad character still battling with her mom's recent death, and the fear of dying like she did (on the operating table during minor surgery). Combs plays it well, but the writing makes it hard to like such a depressing and moody chatacyer who takesout all her anger on her seemingly loving boyfriend Max. Shoutout to the little kid actor Nicholas Mastrandrea who played a young Dr. Giggles in flashback scenes, he was creepy as hell.
All in all, 'Dr. Giggles' was an enjoyable gory ride. Some neat kill scenes, and a showdown in a house of mirrors at the local carnival helped make this very watchable.
6/10.
The film begins with psychopath Evan Rendell Jr, also known as Dr. Giggles, escaping capture from a mental institution, giggling to himself as he murders hospital staff on his way out of the facility and back to his hometown (Moorehigh). We find out that he is the son of serial killer Dr. Rendell who would rip the hearts out of his patients in a desperate attempt to keep his dying wife alive. We also learn that as a child, he watched and even helped his father with the murders.
In Moorehigh, we meet the local teen group led by a young girl named Jennifer who is battling a heart condition, forcing her to wear a heart monitor everywhere she goes. The group includes her boyfriend Max, a bunch of horny teens, and a vixen named Coreen who is determined to break up the couple. Dr. Giggles discovers Jennifer's heart condition and is determined to help "fix her" all the while killing multiple townsfolk along the way.
'Dr. Giggles' was a fun watch overall. His witty one liners after each murder makes it more of a comedy than an actual terrifying horror. The kills were imaginative with Dr. Giggles using medicine in interesting ways to claim his victims, for example switching a woman's prescription pills with poison and giving a needle with some sort of lethal liquid killing another. The most effective murder is when Dr Giggles drains a woman stomach after she eats a pint of ice cream in an attempt to save her from bad fats and sugars.
The acting was good, with Larry Drake leading the charge as the deranged Dr. Giggles. Holly Marie Combs plays final girl Jennifer, this sad character still battling with her mom's recent death, and the fear of dying like she did (on the operating table during minor surgery). Combs plays it well, but the writing makes it hard to like such a depressing and moody chatacyer who takesout all her anger on her seemingly loving boyfriend Max. Shoutout to the little kid actor Nicholas Mastrandrea who played a young Dr. Giggles in flashback scenes, he was creepy as hell.
All in all, 'Dr. Giggles' was an enjoyable gory ride. Some neat kill scenes, and a showdown in a house of mirrors at the local carnival helped make this very watchable.
6/10.
A deranged killer stalks a group of university students who decide to stay on campus over the holidays in 'The Dorm that Dripped Blood', an early 80's gem of a slasher.
The film begins right away with the murder of a young student by an unseen assailant, setting the tone for what's to come. We then meet our main character Joanne and her group of friends who decide to spend Christmas clearing out one of the dorms that has been condemned for demolition. Over the next few days we see that a vagrant named John likes to spy on the group and is always creeping around the campus. When their dinner table and food platters are destroyed one night just before getting ready to eat, they all assume it's John and decide to split up in search of him. That's when the killer decides to strike and the body count quickly rises. Is the killer the obvious creepy vagrant, or someone in the group?
'The Dorm That Dripped Blood' wasn't going to win any awards, but it checked all the boxes for me when it comes to a successful slasher from the early 80's. High quality gore, a desolate and creepy filming location, and some great chase scenes. There was also this really unsettling, depressing music score that came on anytime the killer was stalking his victims. It fit well with the whole vibe of the film. Unknown actress (with only this movie on her filmography list) Laurie Lapinski led the way as our final girl Joanne. I thought she did a very good job given this was her first role ever. Everyone else did a pretty decent job as well, including a young budding star Daphne Zuniga in her debut.
Being a fan of 80's slashers, I really enjoyed this one. It's such an obscure film from that era, the only reason I knew of it was when Randy in 'Scream 2' made mention of it before he met his demise. A must watch for any horror fan, if you can find it!
7/10.
The film begins right away with the murder of a young student by an unseen assailant, setting the tone for what's to come. We then meet our main character Joanne and her group of friends who decide to spend Christmas clearing out one of the dorms that has been condemned for demolition. Over the next few days we see that a vagrant named John likes to spy on the group and is always creeping around the campus. When their dinner table and food platters are destroyed one night just before getting ready to eat, they all assume it's John and decide to split up in search of him. That's when the killer decides to strike and the body count quickly rises. Is the killer the obvious creepy vagrant, or someone in the group?
'The Dorm That Dripped Blood' wasn't going to win any awards, but it checked all the boxes for me when it comes to a successful slasher from the early 80's. High quality gore, a desolate and creepy filming location, and some great chase scenes. There was also this really unsettling, depressing music score that came on anytime the killer was stalking his victims. It fit well with the whole vibe of the film. Unknown actress (with only this movie on her filmography list) Laurie Lapinski led the way as our final girl Joanne. I thought she did a very good job given this was her first role ever. Everyone else did a pretty decent job as well, including a young budding star Daphne Zuniga in her debut.
Being a fan of 80's slashers, I really enjoyed this one. It's such an obscure film from that era, the only reason I knew of it was when Randy in 'Scream 2' made mention of it before he met his demise. A must watch for any horror fan, if you can find it!
7/10.