While it is acceptable to call this a Halloween ripoff and director Armand Mastroianni's less is more approach might alienate the gore hounds, This relies on great suspense and characters. This includes a memorable brief appearance from Tom Hanks in his film debut. The movie also does things many people had never seen before. Any horror movie that has a meta moment inside a movie theater has this to think. Both Caitlin O'Heaney and Don Scardino do a terrific job in their roles and the relationship between Amy and Marvin is one of my favorites in all of slasher movies. The biggest problems are the lack of an interesting authority figure which you need if that character is inspired by Dr. Loomis and the lack of any trademark kills, save for the one in the theater.
The film starts with two friends, Marie and Ruthie in a theater watching what would be the intro in a slasher movie. A couple, the man played by slasher royalty Russell Todd is out making out in a car and when Todd's character goes to investigate he is killed. The film cuts to the audience watching it in the theater when the woman sees his dead body. Marie goes to use the bathroom and she suspects someone is following her. While a kill scene happens on screen she is stabbed with a knife through the seat behind her while the woman on screen is killed by a scythe. The Marie lays in Ruth's arms and at first Ruth just thinks she is scared but soon realizes she is dead.
Detective Len Gamble (Lewis Arlt) is a man whose wife to be was killed on their wedding day by a spurned man named Ray Charlton (Tom Rolfing). Detective Gamble believes he is back killing brides to be. Meanwhile Ray gets off the bus near a soon to be couple Amy (Caitlin O'Heaney) and Phil (James Carroll). Phil leaves with his friends for what seems like a bachelor party of some kind. Meanwhile Amy is stalked by Ray but also approached multiple times her friend Marvin (Don Scardino). Apparently they used to have a relationship but Marvin left one summer and that is when Amy eloped with Phil. Marvin has wanted her back ever since. Ray continues to stalk Amy when she goes to get ice cream, gets her wedding dress fit, goes to church, and goes to an amusement fair with friends. As the body count piles up when will Ray finally make his move on killing Amy...
One of the things I enjoy about this is how much Mastroianni shoots through reflective objects. In the bathroom stall scene you see Marie peep through the crack in the stall and you see the killer reflected in her eye which is a great shot. From there, almost anytime we see the killer he is seen through windows or in the shadows. Just like in Halloween though there is a great shot of Amy seeing him through the window of her house during the daytime.
The similarities between this movie and Halloween are not lost on me. The same story with an authority figure pursuing the killer and finding himself there toward the end and the killer stalking a random girl during the day. The girl who happens to have two other friends. The theme music is even similar, but different. This movie though may have had some influence on the openings of Scream 2, Demons, Popcorn, and pretty much any other horror movie with meta moments inside a movie theater. That scene in the stall even features a part where some puts their eyes and ears up against the wall similar to Scream 2.
I really enjoy the characters in this movie. The friend group of Amy, Joyce (Patsy Pease), and Nancy (Elizabeth Kemp) is quite fun to follow. They are ahead of their time in a way. Amy doesn't seem like a virgin final girl. All three of them openly talk about their sexuality. Amy specifically though is seen in a different way than most slasher final girls. While she goes to ballet class you can actually see her nipples through a leotard which is unusual for a final girl type of character. Their is a fun scene where the three friends encounter Joyce's philosophy professor (played by character actor James Rebhorn) and she flirts with him in front of his wife. It is revealed later she is having an affair with him. Don Scardino is quite funny and enjoyable as Marvin. His pursuit of Amy could be seen as overbearing by almost anyone else but not with his charm. He has a great moment where he shows up at Amy's house at 7 AM and he says 'You said 7." "I didn't mean 7 in the morning." When Amy sees Ray outside of her window it is Marvin who comforts her and that is the first moment when you see there might still be a spark there. Meanwhile Tom Hanks plays a psych major who funnily spends time talking about what fear does to the mind and it even gets meta when he says people watch horror movies and go on scary rides to conquer death.
Caitlin O' Heaney is adorable in this movie
Tom Hanks in his first film appearance as Elliot
Spoiler Section
While off on a tryst with her professor, Joyce and him are killed. This features great suspenseful scene where the professor traps Joyce inside a window and he pulls her back in just as Ray is about to kill her. When Elliot (Tom Hanks) never shows up Nancy is killed by Ray. This is a good fake out at first as you see her taking a shower, giving us the only nudity in the film, and she has nice boobs. Anyway, the door opens and because Elliot had talked earlier about people being afraid to take showers because of Psycho you think that is where it is going but it doesn't. Ray then pursues Amy in the house and Amy manages to get to her car. As she drives away Ray is revealed to be on the roof. Amy crashes and goes to the morgue where Marvin works. In a setup for a character who pursues the killer and gets offed real quick similar to the Stepfather Detective Gamble shows up and shoots Ray in the back but gets knifed right after that. Ray pursues Amy and while trapped behind a door which he punches the glass window Marvin shows up and stabs him in the hand. They escape while the police come in and get Ray. The final part of the movie shows that Amy has left Phil and is getting ready to marry Marvin. While in her dressing room Amy is approached by Phil and screams as the credits roll. An awesome circular ending.
If I had any negatives besides the lack of blood and memorable kills it would be Detective Gamble and how this movie handles Phil. We only see Phil twice in the movie and I think it would have been better to at least give him a fair shake. The only time we see him is the film cutting to him calling Amy and not being able to get ahold of her. It shows that he wants to check in on her which is a good thing. This movie could have had more conflict if it showed Phil more and made you choose between Phil and Marvin. That is a disappointment. Heck the movie could have even made you sympathize for him but by the end it is a one dimensional decision for Amy to go with Marvin. I think using Paul Gleason, who you might recognize as the Captain in Die Hard, the villain in Trading Places, and the Principal in the Breakfast Club who plays a cop who works with Detective Gamble would have been better for that role.
SLASHER MOVIE ANATOMY:
- Prior Evil: A man was spurned by his bride to be now he kills brides.
- Body Count: 9, if you include the film within in the film and the ending
- Whodunit: No
- Mask or outfit: No, the highlights of the killer's eyes look great though
- Locale or organizer: Wedding type of locations and brides
- Best Kill: The simultaneous kills in theater between the screen and the audience member
- Spot the famous person or actor: Tom Hanks
INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH
Knife: 6
Scissors: 1
Hanging: 1
SLASHER MOVIE TAXONOMY
· Kingdom: Post Halloween slasher
· Phylum: Serious, with some levity provided by Marvin
· Class: Slasher
· Order: 1980
· Family: boob from Nancy, transparent through the clothes nipples from Amy
· Genus: Not a whodunit, you don't find out much about the killer so who more of a who cares rather than a character study.
· Species: Really tame. Not much blood at all. Relies on suspense and shadows.
Rating: 7/10
Trivia: I remember listening to the director for this film Armand Mastroianni on the Hysteria Continues podcast for an interview. Apparently Martin Scorsese really enjoyed this movie. While wandering on the streets of New York Armand saw Scorsese and accidentally interrupted him while filming King of Comedy with Robert De Niro. He introduced himself and said he directed this movie and Martin Scorsese said, “Oh the knife on the seat! I fuckin’ loved that movie! Bobby there’s somebody here you gotta meet!”
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