Slaughterhouse Rock

Slaughterhouse Rock (1988)

** (out of 4)

Alex Gardner (Nicholas Celozzi) is suffering from non-stop nightmares where he sees himself being ripped apart by demons. He and five friends end up visiting Alcatraz and sure enough he begins to see things that make him think his dreams were warning him of something.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE ROCK is a rather strange film to say the least. If you take it too literal then you're head will probably pop off. If you don't take it too serious then you're going to be basically watching something that seems to have been influenced by Lamberto Bava's DEMONS but without any sort of logic. I'm really not sure what the producers were trying to do with this picture but it's certainly one of the craziest out there and did I mention the soundtrack was done by DEVO?

As far as the film goes, it really doesn't make any sense. I've read countless reviews where people talk about the plot but who knows what's really going on. I say that because the first thirty-minutes are full of scenes that turn out to be dream sequences and even when the kids get to the island there's really not much of a clue as to what's going on. Before you know it the dreams turn into a reality and we get some blood and gore.

This here was released after the genre was pretty much on life support but I give the filmmakers credit for delivering not only the nudity but also the gore. There are some pretty gory scenes to be had here including several where people are either ripped open or have their throats torn open. The practical effects actually look very good as does the make-up design on the demons. Is all of these stuff and the rock music as good as DEMONS? No way.

Again, if you're wanting logic and brains in your horror movies then it's best that you stay far away from this one. There's no question that this here is a highly flawed movie but at the same time it has an approach that at least shows the filmmakers were wanting to deliver something horror fans would like.

I can't think of many horror movies that can get worse than this one,because this movie sucked big time.It's boring,bad acting,and does'nt really have a plot.And half of the movie does'nt make any sense.I like movies about prison,which is one reason I chose to see this film.I was very disappointed.This is one of the worst horror movies ever made.It was stupid!Do NOT see it,take it from me you'll hate it.

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?

Just watched "Slaughterhouse Rock" and it´s really one hell of a strange horror film! A bit of "Nightmare on Elm Street" here, a bit of "Evil Dead" there and lots of other obscurities that leave you behind with the question what you have seen now during the last 90 minutes: construct the puzzle from particles such as a totally twisted plot, grotesque humor, a pesky hard rock soundtrack by 1980s synthie-poppers Devo, campy acting by a bunch of stereotype US-teeny actors and some guys who look like a horde of new wave zombies. Unfortunately, I saw a heavily cut version, so I can only guess about the gore. However, the violence must have been explicit enough, otherwise "Slaughterhouse Rock" wouldn´t have reached the status of a video nasty in Germany. A film that´s neither suspense-packed nor boring, neither good nor bad. A really strange work indeed! I´d give 5 out of 10...

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