Black Roses (1988)

Demons hypnotize the general public by posing as a rock and roll band.

Director:

John Fasano

Writer:

Cindy Cirile (screenplay)

Stars:

John Martin, Ken Swofford, Sal Viviano

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Martin	...	Matthew Moorhouse
Ken Swofford	...	Mayor Farnsworth
Sal Viviano	...	Damian
Julie Adams	...	Mrs. Miller
Frank Dietz	...	Johnny Pratt / Demon Guitarist
Carla Ferrigno	...	Priscilla Farnsworth
Carmine Appice	...	Vinny Apache
Tony Bua	...	Tony Ames (as Athony C. Bua)
Karen Planden	...	Julie Windham
David Crichton	...	Mr. Miller (as Dave Crichton)
Jesse D'Angelo	...	Jason Miller
Keith Miller	...	Dr. Marshall (as Kieth Miller)
Paul Kelman	...	Julie's Step-dad
Robin Stewart	...	Tina
Patricia Strelioff	...	Janey Miller (as Pat Strelioff)

Storyline

Demons hypnotize the general public by posing as a rock and roll band.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | rock band | teacher | plant in title | good versus evil | 

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Genres:

Horror | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1988 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Freakshow

Filming Locations:

Dundas, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Matt Moorhouse: I'm here to see your father, is he in?
Miss Priscilla Farnsworth: No. No, he's not here. Did you and daddy have a date?
Matt Moorhouse: Come off it Pricilla, I am not in the mood. I need to talk to someone.
Miss Priscilla Farnsworth: What about me?

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Connections

References Dawn of the Dead (1978)

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Soundtracks

"D.I.E."
Written by Stacy Anderson
Performed by Hallow's Eve

User Reviews

The corruption of youth, via heavy metal!

It's hardly surprising that Black Roses is an obscure eighties horror film, as despite a relatively good story and some cheesy special effects; the film doesn't have a great deal going for it. However, Black Roses is fun enough and overall, I'd say it's just about worth seeing. The plot takes its influence from the idea of heavy metal bands with satanic lyrics corrupting their young fans, and by keeping the focus on this idea, the film actually has a bit more substance than the majority of similar movies released around the same time. The style is very much eighties, as the schlock horror blends well with the cheap special effects; and the effects team seems to have taken influence from Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II where the demons are concerned. The plot focuses on a heavy metal band named Black Roses. They decide to put on a concert in a small town, much to the delight of the local kids. Naturally, their parents are left rather unimpressed by the band and their music, and so decide to try and stop the concert from taking place...and they'd be right to, as the band are actually demons in disguise!

The film attempts to be both a tongue-in-cheek horror movie and a film about heavy metal, as both the band and the horror are given decent proportions of the screenplay. It has to be said the film succeeds at being neither of the things it attempts to be, as the horror is too silly to be scary and the fact that the band are demons often overtakes the fact that they're a heavy metal band; but most people that see this film won't be too bothered about that. The horror is fairly inventive, and parts of the film that see things such as a monster emerging from a record player are most definitely highlights. The main problem with the movie is the amount of talking, as a lot of the time the parents' attempt to stop the concert becomes the centre focus and it's not all that interesting. The way that the film presents ideas such as the fact that a lot of the Black Roses' fans consider the song writer to be a modern poet are well done, and the band themselves are pretty good too, if you're into eighties metal. Overall, Black Roses isn't worth tracking down and spending a lot of money on; but if you get the chance to see it and you like eighties music and horror, it should suffice.