Destroyer

This film has a crew making a movie in a abandoned prison. The problem is one of the prisoners is still there and he is angry.

This had Lyle Alzado playing the psycho. This guy was awesome but his career got cut short when just four years after making this he died of brain cancer. The whole concept of the film is cheesy but you still watch all the mayhem. One scene has Lyle chasing someone with a jackhammer which is the scene depicted on the cover. They don't show how much air hose he has or explain even why a working jackhammer would be left at the prison but it doesn't matter. He also likes to eat hair (maybe the person still had that Body On Tap shampoo that was enriched with beer). Overall he played a good nut job. Playing the director was Anthony Perkins who was always whining and grabbing his head. His best scene was when he sizzled and popped on the electric chair.

A fun little film. Put your mind in neutral and enjoy.

"Destroyer" is a low-budget 1988 horror film, with slight touches of comedy here and there. It stars ex-football player Lyle Alzado (R.I.P -- never been a huge football fan), 80s actress icon Deborah Foreman, and Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins.

It sort of plays off of the ideas of late 80s supernatural thrillers, which involved supernatural revenge. (Much like "Shocker", "Prison", and "The Horror Show.") In this case, our killer is not necessarily supernatural, he is more pumped up.

It's a fun movie. Yes, it has its issues, it is not perfect, but it still makes for a fun watch when you need to take your mind off of things.

Lyle Alzado does a GREAT job for his original profession at being an NFL lineman. He is incredibly scary and ruthless in scenes, and....we'll just say you wouldn't want him chasing you. Deborah Foreman & Clayton Rohner do a solid job as our main hero & heroine, acting-wise.

Problems with the movie: I think Lyle Alzado could have been incorporated more into the movie, and when he was there, in a more violent, destructive way. In the movie, he kills people with mundane tools. A jackhammer, blow torch, hanging, and off screen decapitation. Nothing that would involve super-human strength as the poster and plot suggest. I also think certain characters should have had more screen time, AND more actions and events they performed. (Including Anthony Perkins, who is fun as the sarcastic director, but his scenes are limited. Rewire, the comic relief, is also someone who should have had more screen time.)

Overall, without spoiling anything; "Destroyer" is a fun watch if you like low-budget movies and movies that are fun. It has issues, and it is not to be dissected. Just watch it for fun, take it for what it was made on, it's a fun time.

7/10

'Destroyer' is a late 1980's prison slasher that features a solid cast, some cool kills and a fantastic setting, but suffers from poor pacing and a weak climax. The movie is well-shot with decent production values and some impressive camera work. The combinations of both action and horror elements was a fun idea, but neither of these elements were explored enough to make this more enjoyable.

The plot begins with prisoner Ivan Moser (Lyle Alzado) whose about to be executed for the murder and rape of 23 victims, he avoids death due to a freak accident when a prison riot breaks out and he seemingly disappears presumed dead. 18 months later a film crew uses the prison location to shoot an exploitation flick, until one by one they meet a grisly end.

The movie has first glance has all the makings for a great slasher flick and while there some fun moments to be had such as the awesome effects, cheesy yet entertaining set pieces and interesting characters, but the movie squanders a lot of its potential by lacking any real atmosphere and could have done with a tighter script and the sluggish pace. Plus there was way too many off-screen kills and no attempt at any real suspense despite having an awesome killer, but even he wasn't developed in the slightest.

The cast is what saves this from being a total misfire, Anthony Perkins lends some credibility to this flick as the sleazy director, he's fantastic in the role and steals every scene he's in. Deborah Foreman makes for a reliable final girl and a strong leading lady. Clayton Rohner is also decent as the boyfriend and very charismatic, then Lyle Alzado is fun as hell as the killer, he's got the hulking physical presence and chews every scene he's in with such delight.

Overall 'Destroyer' is not terrible by any means, it has some fun moments, but it is a little lacklustre in its execution (pardon the pun).

My review was written in October 1988 after watching the movie on Virgin Vision video cassette.

"Destroyer", previously titled "Shadow of Death", combines two recent horror genres to tiresome effect and very little in the way of novelty.

Former football star Lyle Alzado is well-cast as a man-mountain convict on death row for murdering 24 people. Odd touch in the electric chair opening scene has a prison filled with tv monitors showing a gameshow while Alzado fries.

Not surprisingly, alzado is not so easily dispensed with, coming back to kill folks one by one when a locationing ifl crew lenses at the prison for a women-in-stir epic some 18 months after a riot closed down the facility.

This combo of suc recent fright pic's premises as "Prison" and "Return to Horror High" provides few thrills as Alzado digs peeping at the filming of the requisite shower scene for "Death House Dolls", but is busier offing the cast in gory fashion. Anthony Perkins, Clayton Rohner and Deborah Foreman as the film-within-a-film's director, screenwriter and stuntwoman respectively, have perfunctory assignments.

Just prior to a disappointing, inconclusive ending, pic reaches its nadir of silliness when a burned-up and blown-up Alzado confronts Foreman one more time and calmly pulls off what's left of his ear and eats it. This may have been intended as a horror movie gross-out effect, but it comes off as macho posturing carried to the extreme.

Lyle Alzado is...The Destroyer. The box to this movie claims it to be an action/thriller. Nope, it's a slasher flick. It's also an April Fool's Day reunion for Clayton Rohner and Debra Foreman. The late, great NFL monster Alzado is a psychotic rapist and murderer who is executed minutes before a prison riot breaks out. After the riots are over, the prison is forced to close and Alzado's body is never found. Years later, Foreman, Rohner (sporting one of his famous haircuts), and Anthony "Psycho" Perkins are filmmakers shooting a movie in the famed prison. It all makes for an odd little slasher entry. I wouldn't say Destroyer's great, but it does have its moments of hilarity. It's just fun to watch Alzado go to work on people with an over-sized jackhammer...or to hear Perkins say the words "shower scene."