Slaughterhouse Rock

SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK is a horror film that is not trying too hard to take itself seriously, which is good. For if it had, it would've been worse. This is the kind of film that you go into expecting run-of-the-mill slasher stuff, but instead you get a film that includes some great horror elements that include bringing in Alcatraz. Alcatraz is a great place for a horror film to take place, and although if they didn't have that stupid Sammy Mitchell bullsh*t this film would've been better, they played the film strictly for camp values. The whole Sammy Mitchell stuff is a big joke. In the beginning, that NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET dream stuff isn't played for laughs, but as soon as the teens hit the island, it's strictly camp. For a serious horror film, SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK scrapes the barrel, but for a campy, funny little horror film (which I presume and HOPE it was intended to be) SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK succeeds. There are worse out there people. **out of****For a stupid camp horror film.

I recently watched Slaughterhouse Rock (1987) on Shudder. The storyline follows a man who experiences strange dreams about people who died at Alcatraz. He decides to visit the prison with his friend and becomes possessed by a demon. The spirit of a deceased female rock singer invades the man's dreams and tries to help him fight the demon in his head.

Directed by Dimitri Logothetis (Pretty Smart), the film stars Toni Basil (Five Easy Pieces), Nicholas Celozzi (Marked for Death), Donna Denton (Nashville), and Al Fleming (The Getaway).

This movie is a classic '80s horror flick with characters, circumstances, and a storyline typical of the era. The settings are well-chosen and help capture the imagination. The jail scenes are actually pretty good; unfortunately, the horror elements themselves are lacking, and the kills are very mediocre. The acting is adequate, and there's definitely some '80s horror hotties and nudity. The soundtrack is fantastic and maybe my favorite part of the movie.

In conclusion, Slaughterhouse Rock is a below-average addition to the horror genre that I would only recommend to '80s horror enthusiasts. I would score this film a 4/10 and recommend it with the appropriate expectations.

The storyline is absurd and lame,also sucking are performances and the dialogue, is hard to keep your Eyes open. I advise you to have a caffeine-propelled friend handy to wake you in time for a couple Gore-effects.Why they bring Alcatraz in?In this case,becomes increasingly difficult to swallow. All the while ,i wondered who this film aimed for?Chock full of lame subplots (such as the Cannibalism US Army-captain)This is low-grade in every aspect.BTW this Movie is banned in Germany!!

College student Alex Gardner (Nicholas Celozzi) is plagued by nightmares of a cellar-dwelling ghoul at Alcatraz. He dreams of cutting off his own hand, spitting up a worm, a ghoul ripping open his chest and being roasted over an open fire. After his friends see him levitating "6 feet" over his bed, a helpful, occult-obsessed teacher (Donna Denton) suggests that they sneak into Alcatraz to face his fears. Of course they go in the middle of the night when no one is around to help when things get out of hand!

The group become stranded, Alex's brother Richard (Tom Reilly) becomes possessed and starts killing everyone. Toni Basil of "Mickey" fame shows up as the helpful ghost of Sammy Mitchell, lead singer of the group "Bodybag". She teaches Alex how to levitate out of his body and does a rock music dance intercut with repeat nightmare footage to pad out the running time. All of the victims show up as wisecracking ghosts a la the Griffin Dunne character in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. The script is full of plot holes, cheesy dialogue and lame attempts at comedy. Good FX work and cool opening credits (both by Ernest D. Farino) are the only things gaining any merit. Basil and Devo ("Whip It") do some songs on the soundtrack.

Score: 2 out of 10

Slaughterhouse Rock is pretty bad. Not bad in a good way, just bad. A college student has nightmares about Alcatraz, a spirit is trying to communicate with him, a rock band (led by Toni Basil) is slaughtered, and a "dream analyst" somehow knows what's going on...with a killer soundtrack by Devo. Sounds like a plot I came up with in 4th grade. None of this stuff fits together. The writer can try all he wants to, it's just not happening. It's a lame and incoherent set-up for a lame and incoherent horror movie. But then again what more do you expect from a title like Slaughterhouse Rock?