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Houseboat Horror

  • Video
  • 1989
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
4.0/10
458
YOUR RATING
Houseboat Horror (1989)
Slasher HorrorHorror

A rowdy rock group are accompanied by a film crew to desolate Lake Infinity to produce a music video. One night the musicians visit the local pub while the various members of the film crew s... Read allA rowdy rock group are accompanied by a film crew to desolate Lake Infinity to produce a music video. One night the musicians visit the local pub while the various members of the film crew satisfy their carnal desires with one another aboard the luxurious houseboat they are all s... Read allA rowdy rock group are accompanied by a film crew to desolate Lake Infinity to produce a music video. One night the musicians visit the local pub while the various members of the film crew satisfy their carnal desires with one another aboard the luxurious houseboat they are all staying in. They are so busy they fail to notice that a rampaging lunatic has snuck aboard ... Read all

  • Directors
    • Kendal Flanagan
    • Ollie Martin
  • Writer
    • Ollie Martin
  • Stars
    • Alan Dale
    • Christine Jeston
    • Craig Alexander
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.0/10
    458
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Kendal Flanagan
      • Ollie Martin
    • Writer
      • Ollie Martin
    • Stars
      • Alan Dale
      • Christine Jeston
      • Craig Alexander
    • 23User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos10

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    Top cast29

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    Alan Dale
    Alan Dale
    • Evans
    Christine Jeston
    • Tracy
    Craig Alexander
    • Sam
    Des McKenna
    • Ziggie
    • (as Des 'Animal' McKenna)
    Gavin Wood
    • Costello
    John-Michael Howson
    • 'J'
    • (as John Michael Howson)
    Louise Siversen
    • Zelia
    Peppie D'Or
    • Teresa
    Stephen Whittaker
    • Bernie
    • (as Steve Whittacker)
    Julie Thompson
    • Jennie
    Mark Muggeridge
    • Dagger
    Wilkie Collins
    • Harold
    David Blackman
    • Bill
    Greg Latts
    • Con
    Ian Campbell
    • Clap
    Steve Hutchison
    • Gary
    • (as Steve Hutchinson)
    Christopher Young
    • Norm
    Don Bridges
    Don Bridges
    • Garage Man
    • Directors
      • Kendal Flanagan
      • Ollie Martin
    • Writer
      • Ollie Martin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    4.0458
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    10

    Featured reviews

    totalfunk

    They Weren't Film People...

    Before I begin, allow me to refer to the theory of Mr. Charles Montgomery Burns to describe my opinion about this movie.

    "I don't really understand art, but I know what I hate. And I don't hate this..."

    I don't really understand the appeal behind this movie. I can think of no more daggy an era than the late 80s in Victoria to locate a film. Secondly, I can't understand why a creditable actor such as Alan (you're off my detail) Dale would lend his talent to this film, having also built the image of a decent family man on "Neighbours". What I enjoy about this movie is the fact that I know no worse. Only recently, I have started becoming interested in cinema, and I have found that there is a demand for perfectionism in all films. If Kevin Smith had released "Clerks" today, he wouldn't have won a solitary award for it. That's modern cinema at work.

    Only Australia could write, direct, produce and release a film like this. Only Australia could gather some very notable stars and draw from them drawl about "walkabouts" and "bar up". Only Australia would bother. So think of film as an expression of the true Australian psyche, that things don't need to be perfect. That people can and will enjoy even the most pointless and lazy film. That Australia has the most creative and surreal cinema in the world. That John Michael Houson appeared in a movie he would have canned the following day with Bert...
    3acidburn-10

    Delightfully horrendous

    Often cited as one of the worst movies in Australian cinema and given its abysmal production quality and all-round general badness its not hard to see why. This is definitely unintentionally hilarious as well as being downright awful with horrendous acting, awkward camera shots, terrible writing and cheap gore effects.

    The plot is about as standard as you can get with a rock group accompanied by a film crew to produce a music video at the desolate Lake Infinity, unaware that a maniac has snuck aboard their boat and one by one start getting brutally slaughtered.

    Considering that it's shot on video (or SOV if you will), it isn't surprising that the movie looks grainy and dull with grey and barren locations that gives this a rather washed-out look. However despite all the flaws, there's a lot of fun to be had here with entertainingly bad death scenes, thick layered Aussie accents, horrible yet 80's crazy fashion, camp dialogue and a killer while extremely goofy yet totally lacking in any sort of screen presence.

    Overall everything about 'Houseboat Horror' is bad, down to the questionable editing choices with the same scenes used more than once, the sluggish pace and the failed attempt at ripping off other slasher movies such as 'Friday The 13th', but there's enough cheesy entertainment to keep you, but there's no denying that this movie is awful and can only recommend it if you're a fan of bad movies or slasher movies in general.
    denise17

    no doubt about it, definitely the worst australian film ever made

    Yep, this film is bad. Really bad. But it's worth watching just so the next time you watch Gavin Wood on the Lotto draw on Saturday nights, you can laugh at the memory of his acting performance. Incidentally, this film is so bad it was featured by D-Generation members on The Late Show back in the 90s, in a "Is this the worst film ever made?" type review. Although a possible runner-up in the Worst Australian Film category could be the Day/Strike of the Panther, two appalling martial arts films shot in Perth. I have no idea how they got the funding for the second effort!
    Michael_Grech

    There has never been a more disgraceful film in my VCR

    This film is utter crap. Yes if you are really drunk then you will have a laugh at how bad it is, but seriously it is definately the worst Australian movie ever made. The only mildly amusing moment was hearing Alan Dale (Jim Robinson from Neighbours) say the F word.
    insert_name_here

    A sad day for Australian Horror....

    Australian horror movies aren't very popular, but that doesn't mean that they're inferior. There have been some good ones, the very tongue in cheek "Cut", the bizarre "13th Floor" and the interesting "Out of the Body." Of course, there have been some really terrible ones, the worst of which is "Houseboat Horror." This movie was made in 1989, a time when horror films were running out of steam. Making a movie like "Houseboat Horror" was a mistake at this time. It recycled all the cliches used in 80's horror and recycled them badly. The movie looks to be extremely low budget, and seems to be shot on videotape. That doesn't matter though, a movie can still be low budget and be brilliant. But "Houseboat Horror" uses it's low budget for gore effects that look disastrous. You can't help but wonder if the money could have been used for something better, like a decent script. The story revolves around a film crew that travels to Lake Infinity to film a music video. But in the woods lurks a mad killer, who slaughters the film crew when they are stupid enough to split from the rest of the group. The killer's motive? Kill film crews because he was nearly burnt to death by a film crew some thirty years ago. Sound ridiculous? It is. Oh, and they're on houseboats, hence the title. The characters are not well written, I could hardly distinguish one from the other and I didn't even know their names. When they're murdered, am I supposed to care? Probably, but there's no emotional impact.

    On the technical side of things, the photography was decent enough. But annoyingly, there are so many POV shots that it made my head spin. There is, on average, about one every five minutes. It gets tiring, and boring. The acting varies, some people are okay, I suppose. There are some funny one liners hidden in there. Some of the actors are really horrible, looking like they want to get out of there as fast as they can. But probably the most important part of a horror movie are the death scenes. For a movie that wants to be a gorefest, "Houseboat Horror" doesn't cut it (pardon the pun). Most of them have no suspense, and just cut away to a wall being splashed with blood. In my opinion, that is the weakest of murders in films.

    So, if you can find a copy of this, watch it if you must, but don't expect to have fun. It's not even good in a 'so bad it's good' way. It's just bad.

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    Related interests

    Roger Jackson in Scream (1996)
    Slasher Horror
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film is considered an "Ozploitation" (Australian exploitation) picture.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Country of origin
      • Australia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ужас дома на воде
    • Filming locations
      • Lake Eildon, Victoria, Australia
    • Production company
      • PM Terror Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 25m(85 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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