By Melissa Antoinette Garza
This is one of the horror movies that made me such a fan of the genre as a child. It’s odd, unique, funny, and genuinely creepy at times. It tells a simple story but with amazing actors, great dialogue and the best delivery.
A bunch of college-aged friends are on vacation flying on a small airplane. The plane begins to have trouble so they land on a small, nearly deserted island. In part this weekend getaway was to help Cynthia (Sara Torgov) get over a tragic accident that happened only awhile back. She was babysitting an infant when the phone rang. She left the baby alone and sadly when she came back it was too late. He drowned.
This event is still fresh in her mind and she constantly has flashbacks. This doesn’t help when one of her friends and the toughest of the group Terri (Caroline Barclay) falls into a nearby lake while investigating the property. I absolutely love Terri. She’s tough but not over-the-top For the late 80s, this was a very progressive character and Barclay portrayed it terrifically. When she nearly drowns, Cynthia’s boyfriend and the King of Genuine Denim, Jeff (Mark Erickson) tries to soothe her. He’s the “nice” guy within the group, but honestly the focus is on the family they encounter and the women which makes for a much better film.
A great example of this is Lynn (Fiona Hutchison). She’s a horrid person and the character that the viewers will really want to see die. Hutchison turns up the bitch meter to 11 and it comes across completley believable. Soap opera fans will recognize her as Gabrielle Medina from One Life to Live. Those who watched her on OLTL know Hutchison’s range as Gabrielle’s character was great both as an antagonist and protagonist.
Lynn’s boyfriend Rob (Mark Lindsay Chapman) is also kill-worthy, but for an entirely different reason. He’s just 80s overload. Every 80s horror movie stereotype you can imagine is jammed into this character from his mullet, to his ridiculous dancing sequence, to his oversexed attitude. It’s as bad as any Friday the 13th character you can imagine.
The entire group except Paul (Stephen Shellen) leaves the plane behind. Horror fans will recognize the actor as the avenging brother in The Stepfather (1987). While Paul stays behind, the rest of the family find an old farmhouse that is decorated as if it’s the 1920s.
They begin poking fun at it until, Ma (YvonneDe Carlo) and Pa (Rod Steiger) arrive home. Ma and Pa are a Bible-Thumping backwards clan that invite them to stay. They soon meet Ma and Pa’s children. Fanny (Janet Wright) is their daughter who claims she’s turning 12 and having a birthday party but is really somewhere around 40. Their sons Woody (Michael J. Pollard) and Teddy (William Hootkins) both act as if they’re in their pre-teens but are around the same age as Fanny.
I have always loved Michael J Pollard. I think his homeless character from Scrooged (1988) is always in the back of my head, so regardless of his offenses and villainous ways in other movies, I always root for him. On an unrelated note, I have problems.
Lynn can’t hid her disgust for the whole family, but Cynthia tries to play it cool. Fanny invites her to see the her doll only to discover it’s a mummified skeleton of an infant. No one believes Cynthia as they think it’s her past creeping up once again.
Soon, the family begins to find faults with the bunch who are trapped on the island and slowly one by one they’re taken out.
There’s a really cool twist that I won’t give away and the ending is spectacular.
Rod Steiger is a legend. He is someone that while in his 60s could intimidate a man half his age and twice his size. He has that presence and uses it so well here.
Yvonne De Carlo, best known as Lily Munster portrays a much different kind of monster here. She’s a complacent, agreeable and even an accomplice in the actions her husband and family take part in.
I can’t recommend this film enough. I was lucky enough to find a copy on eBay for $10.00 as Amazon has it for around $40.00. If you can find this somewhere grab it. It’s a must own for any horror fan.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10 Why has God forsaken Pa?
