Reviewed by Melissa Garza
This hard to find, out-of-print, slasher opens when Ed Jr. (Matt Mitler) picks up a shotgun and accidently shoots his mother dead on what was supposed to be his father’s birthday party. The tragedy sends Big Ed over the edge and he becomes both a drunk and a bit off his rocker.
Years later, Ed Jr. tells his friends that his father wants him to watch his beach condo on fall break (fall break…isn’t that when school starts?). Nonetheless, his friends convince him that they should all go and care for it in his father’s absence.
Immediately, they notice that things are awry. There’s a framed picture of a bloody dead woman, that Ed Jr. says a bit too causally, his father accidently killed her. More than that, the place looks lived in – as if someone was there. They nearly call the police, but Ed convinces them that it was most likely Big Ed and his drinking buddies. When the group notices a battle-axe is missing, Ed Jr. agrees to call the police in the morning if his father doesn’t know what happened to it.
Outside lurks Big Ed, who is now completely off the deep end. He has altered flashbacks where he holds the shotgun and shoots Ed Jr. dead. He clutches on the battle axe as he goes after the teens one after another.
Soon, the kids begin acting like all teenagers in horror films. They have sex in places they shouldn’t, drink, and look around in rooms that are better left alone. Big Ed watches them and stalks their every move. He finds unique and gruesome ways to slaughter the children. There are some remarkably bloody scenes – far more than usual in a typical slasher – which definitely stand out. The best aspect of the film is the gore factor.
Unfortunately, the negative outweighs the good. It takes more than a half hour for the first teenager to get killed, which wouldn’t be bad if the time was used for character building scenes. Instead, lame scene after lame scene – and boring scenes that go absolutely nowhere are what is added for filler. In the end the kids are no more distinct than those in a late entry of Friday the 13th.
The acting is poor and the conclusion though amusing isn’t enough to mend all the broken pieces within. The end credits were enjoyable where some fun scenes were shown with the actors just goofing around.
Scared Stiff Rating 3.5/10 Not worth finding the bootleg
.
