By Geno McGahee
The 1980s was a very special time for both movies and music. The parental hysteria concerning heavy metal music was in full swing with moms and dads convinced that Ozzy Osbourne was trying to force their children into suicide. As absurd as it was, parents believed it and desperately wanted to rid the world of metal. Thankfully they did not win. Then again, it’s hard to find heavy metal anymore. Maybe they won after all. Fuckers.
BLACK ROSES, written by Cindy Cirile and directed by John Fasano, is an answer to the uprising of crazy parents. It concerns the small town of Mill Basin and the metal group “Black Roses” coming to town to play for the first time out of the studio. This sends the teenagers (all looking like they’re in their forties) into frenzy but the parent groups are trying to stop them from playing, but an eventual compromise is made. The parents agree to watch the first performance and it is relatively tame, clearing the way for the group to continue to perform in town.
Initially for the band playing, high school teacher, Matthew Moorehouse (John Martin) becomes suspicious and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t. Black Roses’ lead singer, Damian (Sal Viviano), keeps giving him strange looks. He stares, he smiles…he even notes that he has known the teachers soul a long time. You don’t say that to another dude unless you know them well.
The band is actually a group of demons that are planning on making what they call “blood city,” which involves dead parents and corrupt children…some of which are turned into zombies/monsters. Only one heroic teacher can stop them and it leads to a great showdown at the end between good and evil, Moorehouse and Damian…a battle for the town of Mill Basin…or Blood City…depending on who wins.
If you were a teen in the 1980s and liked heavy metal, you will really enjoy this film and you will also like the music too. Both Martin and Viviano give great performances and the acting is pretty solid throughout. There are many films about the dangers of heavy metal like TRICK OR TREAT, ROCKTOBER BLOOD, TERROR ON TOUR and HARD ROCK ZOMBIES, but BLACK ROSES may just be the best out of the group. If not, it’s tied for first with TERROR ON TOUR.
Metal heads, seek this one out. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 7.5/10
