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Fall Break aka The Mutilator (1984) / Cult (2013)







The first flick in my double feature was this mid 80's slasher about a group of college friends being stalked by a killer at a beachfront condo.














When Ed was a kid, he decided to clean his father's guns as a gift for Dad's birthday. While messing with one, he accidentally pulls the trigger, and the stray bullet hits and kills his mother. When Dad gets home, he's furious at his son for killing his wife. Years later, Ed is now in college and he and his friends are upset because they didn't make any plans for fall break. He receives a call from his estranged Dad, asking him to go to their beachside condo for the weekend, to close it up for the down season. His friends decide to tag along and make it their weekend getaway. They don't realize that Ed's Dad is hiding out in the garage, still enraged at his son for killing his wife. He decides to take it upon himself to get vengeance by killing Ed and his friends.









The movie has all the typical trademarks you'd find in a cheesy 80's slasher. An embarrassingly bad theme song (titled Fall Break), awful music (including the serious synth notes to signify suspense), bad acting, naked,  booze-filled shenanigans, and fun, entertaining murders. Some of the killings have a decent amount of bloodshed, with the killer utilizing a variety of weapons, including a battle axe, hook and electric buzzsaw. I didn't recognize a single person in the cast (I guess their generic thespian skills are the reason they never went on to anything bigger), but the simple, by the numbers plot and the enjoyable murders are what will keep you watching. If you're a fan of 80's slashers, you'll find enough to enjoy here. I streamed it on Tubi, but the movie will only last another few days on there, so you may have to seek it elsewhere if you want to catch it. 






The 2nd flick I watched was a 2013 found footage-style supernatural horror about 3 actresses who appear on a paranormal television show to investigate mysterious forces that are haunting a family.








Tomoe Kaneda and her 15 year old daughter Miho seek the aid of a paranormal investigative series to try and solve the supernatural events that are haunting their home. The 3 actresses, along with a camera man and a priest named Unsui arrive at the Kaneda home. Unsui claims there are evil forces attacking the mother and daughter, and decides to perform an exorcism to relieve the family of the activity that haunts them. Things begin to go wrong, causing Unsui to call in the help of his superior Ryugen. However, the supernatural forces that are plaguing the home may prove to be too powerful for even him to handle.















I found this movie absolutely NOT scary in the slightest. If you're looking for a serious, creepy J-horror, such as Ringu, Ju-On or Pulse (Kairo), then this ain't it. That being said, the film still manages to be fun and entertaining, almost playing like a parody. All the actors play it seriously, which helps to keep things amusing, especially when the outrageous supernatural things begin to appear. There's several CGI worm-like entities that range from obvious and cheap to just passable. A few shadowy figures are slightly creepy, but nothing managed to be particularly frightening. I still had a good time, often laughing at the ludicrous things that took place. Or maybe that's just me and someone else will find this film terrifying? Either way, it manages to stay well paced and never boring. You can stream it on Tubi.














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