From the mid eighties, I watched this cheesy b-movie about a murderous rock star who allegedly returns from the dead and starts terrorizing a singer.
Rockstar Billy Eye is in the studio recording a song. After he finishes doing his vocals, he leaves the studio to go on a date. A short while later, he returns and goes on a killing spree, murdering the producer and several others, before running off after getting caught by a security guard. 2 years later, Lynn Starling, a backup singer who survived the attack and testified against Billy, takes over as the new singer of the rock group after Billy was found guilty and executed. Just as she's getting ready for an upcoming performance, Billy mysteriously appears and begins to stalk and terrorize her. Everyone thinks she's crazy and won't believe her, so Lynn becomes determined to prove that he's somehow alive and is the one who has been following her.
This movie was really hokey but a lot of fun. The acting, especially from the actress who played Lynn (Donna Scoggins), was awful and wooden. The movie has several rock songs in the soundtrack, most recorded by a real L.A. band called Sorcery, including the one sung by Lynn's character called "Rainbow Eyes". The climax was hilarious, with the band rocking out at a concert, while the killer, wearing a ghoul mask, is murdering stage dancers, with no one noticing that they really died, despite the obvious bloodshed. There's also a twist regarding the killer that comes off as the predictably lame cliché that we've seen in countless other films. But that just adds to the fun of this absurd b-movie slasher. I watched this on YouTube from a channel called Hex Diablo.
The next flick I watched was this mid eighties, low budget slasher about... you guessed it. College students being stalked by a psychotic killer.
Several college friends drive up to meet at a house. Their reason for going there is because their friend Jerry is planning on buying the house and turning it into a home for young children (he's a pediatrician). Soon after arriving at the house, Jerry is murdered by a mysterious assailant. The rest of his friends soon arrive and get started on fixing up the house, assuming that he'll turn up eventually. When he doesn't, Connie, who is engaged to marry him, tells the gang about the history of the house and how it's infamous for a series of murders that took place there in the past. Barney, the horror nut of the group (he reads Fangoria magazine) freaks out when he hears this and desperately tries to get someone to give him a ride so he can leave, as he's convinced that their night will turn out like a typical horror film. The others basically ignore him, choosing to have fun and sexual shenanigans, unaware that a masked psychopath is stalking them one by one.
This movie is the typical b-movie slasher, with bad acting, cheesy music, fun murders, and youth who are more interested in getting laid than anything else. You would think that medical college students would have more intellectual things on their mind. It takes a while for the slashing to begin, but the silly script and animated performances help to keep it from being a bore fest. This movie doesn't try to be anything other than an entertaining horror flick, and at that, it succeeds. There's lots of goofy humor, some of the deaths are funny, and the ending is hilarious. If you're in the mood for a so-bad-it’s-good retro slasher, then Evil Laugh will be right up your alley. It's available on Tubi.
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