By Geno McGahee
I like taking chances. That is why I bought the 1989 obscure horror film “KILLER!” for 20 bucks. It was one of those VHS to DVD transfer deals, but I’m a sucker for VHS quality films. There was something special about that format and something incredibly special about the low budget films of the eighties.
KILLER!, a film by Tony Elwood, is about a serial killer known as “The Killer”, played by Duke Ernsberger. He saw his mother having sex with some douche bag as a kid and killed them both and has forever been tainted. His stint at a nut house didn’t help either, as he recollected the doctors removing part of his brain and taking his soul and without a soul, you can’t go to heaven. You can’t go to hell either. It was a cool line. I’ll give them credit there.
The killer goes around shooting and stabbing victims at random. In the meantime, Ash (Andy Boswell) is working at his uncle’s garage, pumping gas. He and his two friends come across the killer and suspect that something is wrong because he is driving their friend Verne’s car. Poor Verne was a victim…well, he was referred to as a “sleaze” by Ash’s girlfriend in it at one point. So, maybe this was a case of good riddance to bad rubbish. Verne was white trash. I’ll give her that, but he didn’t seem like a bad guy.
Ash and his friends now must face off against the crazy killer in a showdown that follows the horror movie formula when it comes to a killing force. They don’t die easily and right when you think they’re gone, they pop back up. The very ending hints that there may be a sequel, but thankfully, they left well enough alone and considered one disaster enough for the horror fans. KILLER! was not the worst movie that I have ever seen, but it was rather empty.
KILLER! is 81 minutes long and they obviously struggled to get it to that length. There was little to no character development and the backstory of the killer isn’t explored that well. You don’t know any of these characters or their reasoning behind their decisions. The killer has mental problems. That’s all we need to know apparently and Ash has a shitty job. If I didn’t pay 20 bucks for this fucking thing, I would have shut it off well before the end, but I paid the 20 bucks and I’m watching it no matter what!
As much as I love the 1980’s brand of horror, I do not recommend KILLER!. It is poorly written and unoriginal. There’s no wonder why this film did not stand out and why it has been out of print so long and why idiots like me put down 20 bucks of their hard earned money to buy it from somebody that knows it sucks but has no reservations charging that money and not warning the buyer. Shame on them.
Rating: 2.5/10
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