There's a lot of charm in House of Death (or Death Screams depending on which version you watch). The film feels like a homespun passion project where all local community theatre performers and fame struck locals came out and had a good time trying to make a movie. Charm will only go so far and, while House of Death excels in creating a believable and quaint small town atmosphere, it fails at supplying any memorable chills. Some of the death scenes are inspired such as a moment where a young woman is attacked on a deserted merry go round or when another unfortunate soul is sliced in half after falling through a rotten staircase, but the killer's big reveal happens so quickly and is lit so dark that you'll have to rewind to figure out who they were.
45 Reviews
Oddball 80s slasher.
lost-in-limbo19 February 2019
"My God, why"?!
"I don't know"?
The above exchange between two characters are the last few lines of dialogue in the film, which might explain how you could feel after watching this one.
One of the strangest and vaguest 1980's (although it looks more late 70s) low-budget slasher films I've ever witnessed. Not that there's anything surreal and to tell the truth it's a very run-of-the-mill fare. It's more got to do with how everything goes onto pan out. Nothing seems all that connected and scenes/actions are very random and plain loopy. At best very unconventional in its story threads.
After the obligatory opening death scene, the thirst three quarters slowly plays focal point to small town atmospherics, carnival traditions and teen dramas/fooling around. As if it was trying for character development and mystery building with its numerous characters. However the latter doesn't work with an incoherent script. Like it was trying for a "Halloween" vibe, especially in how it was shot and early on it has the killer slowly stalking his victims in the background. Their attempts in building suspense from those moments were lacking. While the music score sounding like a grandstand band was just overkill. There's one or two more death scenes sprinkled throughout to remind that you are watching a horror film. One of those needs to be seen, to be believed, because of how bizarre and stupidly it plays out.
But it really doesn't come into its own until the confined hysteria-laced backend, as the teens (although they do look much older) start partying; boozing, skinny-dipping, making out by a lake late at night then moving onto a cemetery to tell spooky stories. This is when the FX and dismemberment of the cast begins to occur. Sadly some of it happens off-screen, but there are unpleasant moments or two with mild, but charming low-rent make-up effects involving machete hacking and a head explosion. I just wished the carnival setting could have been put to better use.
We only get to see the killer's arm and machete throughout, until the final reveal. I don't think it's hard to guess the killer, but the motive behind it is told through a bogus flashback before meeting their demise. The sheriff character on the scene is a lot more switched on then you would expect... although he sure does take his time on this particular investigation and stumble across many things. Although he does show he's a shoot first, ask questions later guy. You know playing it safe, as if he's watched too many horror films. I thought the cast was acceptable for such an outing. Susan Kiger made an agreeable heroine of sorts and Susan Kiger added some life with her floozy character.
"Death Screams" aka "The House of Death" is an oddball, if at the same time unimaginative rough-around-the-edges slasher.
The above exchange between two characters are the last few lines of dialogue in the film, which might explain how you could feel after watching this one.
One of the strangest and vaguest 1980's (although it looks more late 70s) low-budget slasher films I've ever witnessed. Not that there's anything surreal and to tell the truth it's a very run-of-the-mill fare. It's more got to do with how everything goes onto pan out. Nothing seems all that connected and scenes/actions are very random and plain loopy. At best very unconventional in its story threads.
After the obligatory opening death scene, the thirst three quarters slowly plays focal point to small town atmospherics, carnival traditions and teen dramas/fooling around. As if it was trying for character development and mystery building with its numerous characters. However the latter doesn't work with an incoherent script. Like it was trying for a "Halloween" vibe, especially in how it was shot and early on it has the killer slowly stalking his victims in the background. Their attempts in building suspense from those moments were lacking. While the music score sounding like a grandstand band was just overkill. There's one or two more death scenes sprinkled throughout to remind that you are watching a horror film. One of those needs to be seen, to be believed, because of how bizarre and stupidly it plays out.
But it really doesn't come into its own until the confined hysteria-laced backend, as the teens (although they do look much older) start partying; boozing, skinny-dipping, making out by a lake late at night then moving onto a cemetery to tell spooky stories. This is when the FX and dismemberment of the cast begins to occur. Sadly some of it happens off-screen, but there are unpleasant moments or two with mild, but charming low-rent make-up effects involving machete hacking and a head explosion. I just wished the carnival setting could have been put to better use.
We only get to see the killer's arm and machete throughout, until the final reveal. I don't think it's hard to guess the killer, but the motive behind it is told through a bogus flashback before meeting their demise. The sheriff character on the scene is a lot more switched on then you would expect... although he sure does take his time on this particular investigation and stumble across many things. Although he does show he's a shoot first, ask questions later guy. You know playing it safe, as if he's watched too many horror films. I thought the cast was acceptable for such an outing. Susan Kiger made an agreeable heroine of sorts and Susan Kiger added some life with her floozy character.
"Death Screams" aka "The House of Death" is an oddball, if at the same time unimaginative rough-around-the-edges slasher.
Death Screams (For a Decent Explanation of the Outcome!)
abandonsorder9 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I'll just echo and augment previous reviews warning that the juicy bits (here, there, everywhere) only occur in the last ten minutes of the movie, the identity of the killer is unclear (with his motivation irritatingly muddy), and quite frankly these 'teens' should've worn name tags, because I couldn't ID one from any of the others. The only standout is the portly lawman who fires a bullet that explodes the villain's face. In this movie, the badge is given to the winner of the hot dog eating contest. The sole positive aspect of the movie is the melodramatic score which is maddeningly incongruent to the events unfolding.
Not good but definitely weird
lazarillo5 January 2008
This early 80's slasher effort should receive some kudos for being somewhat original. Unfortunately, it's not original in any way that makes it especially effective or good. The movie does a good job of establishing a bucolic small-town setting (perhaps, it's not a coincidence that the director is the grown-up David Nelson of "Ozzie and Harriet" fame). There is also a lot more character development than usual, but regrettably the characters are still the usual annoying teen stereotypes. The murders are few and far between until the very end when the bodies start to stack up in a hurry. They're pretty low-tech (they obviously couldn't afford Tom Savini), but they try to make up for by being bizarre. The first victims are strangled simultaneously somehow while having sex on a motorcycle. Their bodies are thrown in a river where, as a running joke, they are seen floating down at various points throughout the movie. Another victim wanders away from the town carnival and is struck by an arrow, but instead of screaming for help or anything, she staggers over to an abandoned carousel and sits down so the killer can (somehow) finish her off with a plastic bag.
The actors are all ridiculously over-aged considering they're supposedly high school students, but this is actually a good thing considering the male protagonist is a "coach" who apparently both parties with and dates his students (which they tend to frown on in real high schools). The goody-good female protagonist is played Susan Lynn Kiger, who had an interesting career going from hardcore porn to "Playboy" to more legitimate acting. While it is nice to see a young woman in Hollywood have the opposite of the usual career trajectory, Kiger's talents unfortunately were probably better suited to her earlier career choices. Kiger stays dressed, but there is some gratuitous nudity, of course, including the girl on the motorcycle, a girl who showers with her bra on (which quickly becomes so transparent you wonder why she bothered), and a pretty blonde girl who goes for a full-frontal skinny-dip (which ALMOST keeps you from contemplating the absurdity of why anyone would go skinny-dipping in a RIVER).
I don't want to imply this movie is in anyway good, but it sure is weird.
The actors are all ridiculously over-aged considering they're supposedly high school students, but this is actually a good thing considering the male protagonist is a "coach" who apparently both parties with and dates his students (which they tend to frown on in real high schools). The goody-good female protagonist is played Susan Lynn Kiger, who had an interesting career going from hardcore porn to "Playboy" to more legitimate acting. While it is nice to see a young woman in Hollywood have the opposite of the usual career trajectory, Kiger's talents unfortunately were probably better suited to her earlier career choices. Kiger stays dressed, but there is some gratuitous nudity, of course, including the girl on the motorcycle, a girl who showers with her bra on (which quickly becomes so transparent you wonder why she bothered), and a pretty blonde girl who goes for a full-frontal skinny-dip (which ALMOST keeps you from contemplating the absurdity of why anyone would go skinny-dipping in a RIVER).
I don't want to imply this movie is in anyway good, but it sure is weird.
"Fat Cop Syndrome" Slasher Twaddle.
Steve_Nyland24 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I think I'll email Mr. Ebert with an entry for his Movie Glossary Guide:
FAT COP SYNDROME -- A Dead Teenager/Slasher Horror film formula element that establishes a sense of hopelessness by casting an obscenely obese 'comic relief' character in the role of the small town sheriff. I.E. The only thing that can save us is a fat blubbery cop who would rather eat, masturbate, and/or consume hard liquor while drooling over girlie magazines than fight evil.
A friend and I recently bought out the VHS libraries of two rental stores that were converting to all DVD (one of the dumbest ideas I could ever think of). I glommed onto most of the interesting looking/sounding horror videos and have been enjoying some vacation time just chilling and watching tapes. Some have been eye opening or viscerally entertaining enough to bother with more than once (SAVAGE WEEKEND, DEATH SPA) and many will soon be for sale for mere pennies. Shelf space is a commodity around here, life is short, and some sucker out there will want NIGHTMARE HONEYMOON, I wager.
We'll probably keep HOUSE OF DEATH though; Decent looking college aged women get utterly stark naked, there's some acceptable Hackage & Dismemberment, and I like the low budget settings of the carnival and spooky old rain shrouded house. The production values are fairly high for this kind of stuff, though some of the "teenagers" look like they are in their mid-30's and should be ashamed of themselves for robbing the cradles like that OR really proud for getting to score with the coed supporting cast. Depends on your point of view.
But this is about the sixth slasher flick I have seen this week with a really FAT small town cop who is supposed to be "funny", and it got me thinking about how the role of the bumbling, inept small town lawman -- usually knocking back a half pint or slobbering down large sandwiches -- is so vital to making the audience feel as though the people in the story have absolutely zero hope of seeing daylight. Having the cop be a big, fat, shambling, disheveled, sleazy, porn-loving slob in EVERY movie, though, cannot be mere coincidence. And, interestingly, a very American trait: In European made equivalents, the cops are played by Franco Nero, Ray Lovelock and Henry Silva. In the US, guys who make Louie Anderson look svelte by comparison ... We are definitely onto something here.
They all must go to the same Big & Tall Shops For Fat Movie Cops Outlet Store too, specializing in making you look utterly useless in an emergency. Heck, the supporting cast might as well just line up a bunch of tree stumps and kneel down with their necks craned out, because there is no doubt that when push comes to shove we will get a lazy inept fat guy with a sloppy sandwich gag, and probably a glimpse of a vintage Hustler magazine cover to boot. HOUSE OF DEATH is no different, better or worse in that regards, it just sort of is what it is. I can live with that, and fans of 80's horror will be amused by this nasty little relic.
But again and again, the bottom line with these movies seems to be that breasts will hopefully be bared and lives may be lost, but at least the fat sheriff will get to enjoy the rest of that sandwich.
FAT COP SYNDROME -- A Dead Teenager/Slasher Horror film formula element that establishes a sense of hopelessness by casting an obscenely obese 'comic relief' character in the role of the small town sheriff. I.E. The only thing that can save us is a fat blubbery cop who would rather eat, masturbate, and/or consume hard liquor while drooling over girlie magazines than fight evil.
A friend and I recently bought out the VHS libraries of two rental stores that were converting to all DVD (one of the dumbest ideas I could ever think of). I glommed onto most of the interesting looking/sounding horror videos and have been enjoying some vacation time just chilling and watching tapes. Some have been eye opening or viscerally entertaining enough to bother with more than once (SAVAGE WEEKEND, DEATH SPA) and many will soon be for sale for mere pennies. Shelf space is a commodity around here, life is short, and some sucker out there will want NIGHTMARE HONEYMOON, I wager.
We'll probably keep HOUSE OF DEATH though; Decent looking college aged women get utterly stark naked, there's some acceptable Hackage & Dismemberment, and I like the low budget settings of the carnival and spooky old rain shrouded house. The production values are fairly high for this kind of stuff, though some of the "teenagers" look like they are in their mid-30's and should be ashamed of themselves for robbing the cradles like that OR really proud for getting to score with the coed supporting cast. Depends on your point of view.
But this is about the sixth slasher flick I have seen this week with a really FAT small town cop who is supposed to be "funny", and it got me thinking about how the role of the bumbling, inept small town lawman -- usually knocking back a half pint or slobbering down large sandwiches -- is so vital to making the audience feel as though the people in the story have absolutely zero hope of seeing daylight. Having the cop be a big, fat, shambling, disheveled, sleazy, porn-loving slob in EVERY movie, though, cannot be mere coincidence. And, interestingly, a very American trait: In European made equivalents, the cops are played by Franco Nero, Ray Lovelock and Henry Silva. In the US, guys who make Louie Anderson look svelte by comparison ... We are definitely onto something here.
They all must go to the same Big & Tall Shops For Fat Movie Cops Outlet Store too, specializing in making you look utterly useless in an emergency. Heck, the supporting cast might as well just line up a bunch of tree stumps and kneel down with their necks craned out, because there is no doubt that when push comes to shove we will get a lazy inept fat guy with a sloppy sandwich gag, and probably a glimpse of a vintage Hustler magazine cover to boot. HOUSE OF DEATH is no different, better or worse in that regards, it just sort of is what it is. I can live with that, and fans of 80's horror will be amused by this nasty little relic.
But again and again, the bottom line with these movies seems to be that breasts will hopefully be bared and lives may be lost, but at least the fat sheriff will get to enjoy the rest of that sandwich.
Regional slasher
BandSAboutMovies17 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
David Nelson broke out of his family's show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in the movie The Big Circus, in which he was a disturbed man who may be a murderer. He also directed a few episodes of the aforementioned TV show, as well as its spinoff Ozzie's Girl, the Linda Evans movie Childish Things (co-directed with her husband at the time John Derek), and kept acting, showing up in movies like High School U. S. A. And Cry-Baby.
It might surprise some people therefore, when one of the Nelson kids ended up making a slasher.
During the last night of the carnival, the local kids decide to sleep down at the river, despite a bunch of murders just a few nights before. That killer - carrying a machete and a need to work out his past pain by killing everyone that he or she can - has followed everyone back to their campground and wants to make sure that no one leaves alive.
Waitress Lily Carpenter is played by Susan Kiger, a three-time Playboy cover girl (March 1977, November 1977 and April 1978) and January 1977 Playmate of the Year. She was also in plenty of great exploitation and horror movies throughout the 70s and 80s like H. O. T. S., Angels Revenge, Seven, The Happy Hooked Goes to Hollywood, Galaxina and The Return. Several of the actors in this also appeared in Tales from the Third Dimension, like Helene Tryon (Edna Sharpe in this, the evil grandma in that 3D anthology) and William Hicks (who was a cop in this and is in "The Guardians" chapter of Tales) and a few were in other North Carolina movies like A Day of Judgement and Rottweiler 3-D (AKA Dogs of Hell).
This may seem slow, but stick with it. Nearly every kill is in the last fifteen minutes, as all manner of insanity goes does, like two decapitations, hands chopped off at the wrists, a throat-slashing and even someone chopped in half in a moment that had to have inspired Michele Soavi when he made one of the best slashers with the dumbest cops ever, Stagefright. Do not gather in an abandoned house by the cemetery and tell urban legends with twenty-something teens or you will die.
If you're wondering, how good is this movie? It has the same cinematographer as Carnival Magic, Darrell Cathcart, who also worked on Trucker's Woman and Final Exam. Speaking of that other slasher, it also shares several crew members with this movie, including editor John A. O'Connor, makeup artist Barbara Galloway, production manager Mike Allen, assistant director Dawn Easterling, second unit director Charles Reynolds and stuntman Jere Beery. There's also plenty of crossover with Savage Streets, as most of this film's producers made that movie.
From that, you should see the pedigree of this. It's junk, but great junk, the kind we checked off our slasher rental list in the 80s. Here's to regional slashers! And for those looking for both full frontal female - and male - nudity you get some of that as well. Sure, the killer can teleport and do a lot of things in not so much time while not being terribly interesting when you discover who he or she is, but you know, it's better than any slasher that will come out after you read this.
The music in this is bombastic and feels like it belongs to a way bigger and more expensive movie, too. It's by Dee Barton, who also did the music for Play Misty for Me, Every Which Way But Loose, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, High Plains Drifter and, there it is again, Tales of the Third Dimension.
It might surprise some people therefore, when one of the Nelson kids ended up making a slasher.
During the last night of the carnival, the local kids decide to sleep down at the river, despite a bunch of murders just a few nights before. That killer - carrying a machete and a need to work out his past pain by killing everyone that he or she can - has followed everyone back to their campground and wants to make sure that no one leaves alive.
Waitress Lily Carpenter is played by Susan Kiger, a three-time Playboy cover girl (March 1977, November 1977 and April 1978) and January 1977 Playmate of the Year. She was also in plenty of great exploitation and horror movies throughout the 70s and 80s like H. O. T. S., Angels Revenge, Seven, The Happy Hooked Goes to Hollywood, Galaxina and The Return. Several of the actors in this also appeared in Tales from the Third Dimension, like Helene Tryon (Edna Sharpe in this, the evil grandma in that 3D anthology) and William Hicks (who was a cop in this and is in "The Guardians" chapter of Tales) and a few were in other North Carolina movies like A Day of Judgement and Rottweiler 3-D (AKA Dogs of Hell).
This may seem slow, but stick with it. Nearly every kill is in the last fifteen minutes, as all manner of insanity goes does, like two decapitations, hands chopped off at the wrists, a throat-slashing and even someone chopped in half in a moment that had to have inspired Michele Soavi when he made one of the best slashers with the dumbest cops ever, Stagefright. Do not gather in an abandoned house by the cemetery and tell urban legends with twenty-something teens or you will die.
If you're wondering, how good is this movie? It has the same cinematographer as Carnival Magic, Darrell Cathcart, who also worked on Trucker's Woman and Final Exam. Speaking of that other slasher, it also shares several crew members with this movie, including editor John A. O'Connor, makeup artist Barbara Galloway, production manager Mike Allen, assistant director Dawn Easterling, second unit director Charles Reynolds and stuntman Jere Beery. There's also plenty of crossover with Savage Streets, as most of this film's producers made that movie.
From that, you should see the pedigree of this. It's junk, but great junk, the kind we checked off our slasher rental list in the 80s. Here's to regional slashers! And for those looking for both full frontal female - and male - nudity you get some of that as well. Sure, the killer can teleport and do a lot of things in not so much time while not being terribly interesting when you discover who he or she is, but you know, it's better than any slasher that will come out after you read this.
The music in this is bombastic and feels like it belongs to a way bigger and more expensive movie, too. It's by Dee Barton, who also did the music for Play Misty for Me, Every Which Way But Loose, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, High Plains Drifter and, there it is again, Tales of the Third Dimension.
Even a mediocre golden age slasher has it's moments
daniel-mannouch12 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Southern fried to a crisp, Death Screams has near the complete line up of early 80's slasher victims, such as the nymph, the comedic relief, the plain one, you get what i'm talking about. Only here, they all have a twang in their speech and I might be wrong, but I don't think there is one black face within a single frame of this film.
Disregarding that jaw dropping revelation, Death Screams has a good thing going on at first with it's combination of soap opera, animal house era teen sex comedy and the Halloween period slasher, with a dash of improvisation to make things that little more interesting. The cast is confident and share a good chemistry as well. Death Screams definitely has that regional flavour, which at least for me makes up for its lack of suspense.
When the kills do eventually happen, they are well executed in their build up, but there is no real follow through, no police procedural. Either this is a real hick town or the killer does an exceptional job at hiding bodies in broad daylight, because no one really catches on to what's happening until the last ten minutes. Yep, it's one of those.
Death Screams has little to no subversion of the genre in mind and does not feature any real exception in either it's music, it's cinematography, or even it's performances. Comfortability amongst actors doesn't always equal engagement. Soon after you realise the film's formula which is to move from mildly improved scenes of white trash teens dicking about to mildly tense murder set piece back to the hicky dicking, then things really start to become a drag.
In conclusion, apart from the climactic last ten minutes where things go completely gonzo, Death Screams is an atypical, mediocre slasher film that luckily for itself came out during the short lived golden age of the genre. Therefore it does retain some nostalgia value due to its contemporaries. I would recommend this to die hard slasher fans and those who constantly on the hunt little known genre obscurities.
Disregarding that jaw dropping revelation, Death Screams has a good thing going on at first with it's combination of soap opera, animal house era teen sex comedy and the Halloween period slasher, with a dash of improvisation to make things that little more interesting. The cast is confident and share a good chemistry as well. Death Screams definitely has that regional flavour, which at least for me makes up for its lack of suspense.
When the kills do eventually happen, they are well executed in their build up, but there is no real follow through, no police procedural. Either this is a real hick town or the killer does an exceptional job at hiding bodies in broad daylight, because no one really catches on to what's happening until the last ten minutes. Yep, it's one of those.
Death Screams has little to no subversion of the genre in mind and does not feature any real exception in either it's music, it's cinematography, or even it's performances. Comfortability amongst actors doesn't always equal engagement. Soon after you realise the film's formula which is to move from mildly improved scenes of white trash teens dicking about to mildly tense murder set piece back to the hicky dicking, then things really start to become a drag.
In conclusion, apart from the climactic last ten minutes where things go completely gonzo, Death Screams is an atypical, mediocre slasher film that luckily for itself came out during the short lived golden age of the genre. Therefore it does retain some nostalgia value due to its contemporaries. I would recommend this to die hard slasher fans and those who constantly on the hunt little known genre obscurities.
Formulaic and forgettable.
BA_Harrison28 August 2019
Did every film studio limit their output to just slashers in the early '80s? There are so many of them. Just when I think I've seen them all, I find another one I've never heard of. Still, it's not hard to see why Death Screams flew under my radar for so long: it's formulaic stuff that never tries to do anything out of the ordinary, from it's clichéd group of characters (obnoxious joker, nympho, goody-two-shoes final girl, town simpleton, fat bumbling sheriff) to its rain-lashed finalé in a rundown house by a cemetery.
The film opens with a pre-credits double murder of a young couple, but it's too dark to see what happens to them, director David Nelson seemingly more preoccupied with getting in the first shot of a topless girl than delivering an effective fright. Certainly, for much of the time, Nelson appears to be more intent on delivering gratuitous T&A than he does horror, focusing on the twenty-something victims-to-be as they go about their daily business--smoking weed, showering, chatting up the local baseball coach, making out etc...
All of the girls are attractive and several wear skimpy outfits, with buxom town tramp Ramona (Jennifer Chase) looking great in a bikini top and hot blonde Kathy (Andrea Savio) sporting short shorts. In a rare spot of gender-reversal, it is Coach Marshall (Martin Tucker) who takes the customary slasher shower, baring his butt, but he does manage to give randy Ramona a soaking in the process. The only other killing amidst all of this titillation is a girl shot with an arrow and suffocated with a plastic bag, a scene more notable for its silliness than scariness (instead of seeking help, the injured girl takes time-out on a merry-go-round).
As the film approaches its final act, sexy blonde Sandy (Jody Kay) goes skinny dipping (cue full frontal nudity) and winds up dead, and from this point Nelson ramps up the violence, eventually bumping off most of the characters in the space of a few minutes (including double decapitation and a girl torn in half). But while the sheer number of kills in a short space of time is admirable, the gore is extremely basic for the most part, and not very satisfying (the severed hands scene is hilarious). The best effect is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it bullet to the head (resulting in the face exploding) as the useless sheriff empties his handgun into the already dead killer (who had fallen out of a window while attacking good girl Lily, played by Playboy playmate Susan Kiger). Exactly what the psycho's motive was remains unclear: possibly something to do with being mentally scarred by his mother, who may have been a stripper. I really don't know. Or care.
The film opens with a pre-credits double murder of a young couple, but it's too dark to see what happens to them, director David Nelson seemingly more preoccupied with getting in the first shot of a topless girl than delivering an effective fright. Certainly, for much of the time, Nelson appears to be more intent on delivering gratuitous T&A than he does horror, focusing on the twenty-something victims-to-be as they go about their daily business--smoking weed, showering, chatting up the local baseball coach, making out etc...
All of the girls are attractive and several wear skimpy outfits, with buxom town tramp Ramona (Jennifer Chase) looking great in a bikini top and hot blonde Kathy (Andrea Savio) sporting short shorts. In a rare spot of gender-reversal, it is Coach Marshall (Martin Tucker) who takes the customary slasher shower, baring his butt, but he does manage to give randy Ramona a soaking in the process. The only other killing amidst all of this titillation is a girl shot with an arrow and suffocated with a plastic bag, a scene more notable for its silliness than scariness (instead of seeking help, the injured girl takes time-out on a merry-go-round).
As the film approaches its final act, sexy blonde Sandy (Jody Kay) goes skinny dipping (cue full frontal nudity) and winds up dead, and from this point Nelson ramps up the violence, eventually bumping off most of the characters in the space of a few minutes (including double decapitation and a girl torn in half). But while the sheer number of kills in a short space of time is admirable, the gore is extremely basic for the most part, and not very satisfying (the severed hands scene is hilarious). The best effect is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it bullet to the head (resulting in the face exploding) as the useless sheriff empties his handgun into the already dead killer (who had fallen out of a window while attacking good girl Lily, played by Playboy playmate Susan Kiger). Exactly what the psycho's motive was remains unclear: possibly something to do with being mentally scarred by his mother, who may have been a stripper. I really don't know. Or care.
Thank God for Grandma!
Coventry21 October 2007
Just when you think you struggled yourself through all the lousiest and most pointless slasher the 80's decade had to offer, you allow yourself to be fooled by yet another one. One that may even be lousier than all the others. "House of Death" is a totally sordid and fatigue effort, and the worst thing of all involves having to acknowledge that the whole premise actually had potential and a handful of sequences were even marvelously staged. The opening sequence, for example, is close to genius as it seems to be a clichéd situation but turns out surprising and original. It's almost depressing to watch a movie that never at one point succeeds in surpassing the quality level of its very own prologue. We're in a random little American town, inhabited with stereotypical teenager and dumb overweight redneck coppers, and there's a vicious killer at large. The only problem is that nobody seems to care about the menace of any killer. Teen boys and girls vanish without a trace, but the whole town is too busy attending the annual carnival or trying to score with the hot new coach of the junior baseball team. But why should they care about a killer, honestly? The script never once reveals any clues regarding his/her identity, let alone hint at his/her motivations for prowling around town with a machete. There's zero tension throughout the entire movie, the lamentable attempts to insert comedy elements fail miserably and all the characters are uninteresting and empty-headed losers. One notable exception, though, is one of the teenagers' grandmother. Granny hates everything in town and makes cynic remarks about everyone who approaches her or her granddaughter. Too bad even granny can't save "House of Death" from complete boredom and irredeemable stupidity. The last 15 minutes are good, stuffed with gory massacres and explicit make-up effects, but it's too late by then. Besides, why the hell is it called "House of Death"? Did you see a house? I sure didn't.
Average Regional Slasher
garyrogers-6748417 July 2019
House of Death gets by with a lot of regional charm and a few decent death scenes. There's not much of a plot to speak of besides a bunch of people are terrorized by a serial killer in the south who's killing without much rhyme or reason.
Since this has never made it to DVD or Blu-Ray, it's fairly dark and hard to tell what's going on most of the time, but there are a few daytime death scenes, which is a rarity among horror films. None of the characters have a lot of meat on their bones, but the special effects work is solid.
It's just a shame that most of the death scenes take place within a 5 minute span towards the end of the movie. It deprives the film of a lot of potential suspense and makes sure that the film is a bit too front loaded with not much going on until the end.
Since this has never made it to DVD or Blu-Ray, it's fairly dark and hard to tell what's going on most of the time, but there are a few daytime death scenes, which is a rarity among horror films. None of the characters have a lot of meat on their bones, but the special effects work is solid.
It's just a shame that most of the death scenes take place within a 5 minute span towards the end of the movie. It deprives the film of a lot of potential suspense and makes sure that the film is a bit too front loaded with not much going on until the end.
The post-Friday-the-13th-Part2
hae134004 March 2003
Despite the mysterious disappearance of a teen couple, Ted and Angie at the riverside in north California a group of the nearby-town teenagers goes having ghost story in the local cemetery. However the unnaturally sudden rain forces them to movie into an old wooden house in the cemetery. Then the not-well-motivated murderer begins to kill them one by one, and the cemetery becomes their own... I think the only one uniqueness this post-Friday-the-13th-Part2 film has is its expressive way of the first and silliest two victims, Ted and Angie who originally tried to have a woodland-****-on-a-motorcycle in the middle of the cold night. They are not simply cadavers; they are strangely cinematic bodies who have their own ongoing flowing expressiveness, and intermittently show something about their cadaveric existences. Although I find this coupled-bodies-with-their-coupled-expressiveness interesting I have to say the most of the elements of this film are nothing but those of a bad B-movie; Dee Barton's old-TV-movie-like easygoing music is entirely unsuited to the 1980's horror film especially to its horror scenes, and Worth Keeter's special effects are not only cheap but also unnatural, and so forth.
Classic Bad 80's Horror...
AutographLover28 January 2003
And I LOVED it! The other comments on this movie are ridiculous. Just by looking at the box you can tell what you are getting. A bad 80's horror flick with even worse acting and plot. One of my personal favorite types of film. Former Playboy Playmate Susan Kiger was the star...you can't expect a big budget thrill knowing that :-P I gave it 8 stars for high 80's horror camp at it's best.
Fair 80's slasher effort.
FrightMeter11 March 2002
This is by no means a good horror flick, and one too many times teeters on being an incoherent, stupid mess. But it does have a few things that redeem it from being a total loss. The story focuses on a small town festival and a group of "teens" who want to hang out in the local cemetery and tell ghost stories to celebrate the last day of the town carnival??? You're guess is as good as mine. Anyhow, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess that a mysterious killer lurks in the shadow who is p****d about one thing or another and decides to take his frustrations out with a machete. Slow moving at first with some ridiculous death scenes--example: a girl at the local carnival gets viciously attacked and shot with a bow and arrow by the killer, but instead of running back to carnival or to anywhere where people are at, the dumb broad seeks refuge on an old merry-go-round where she is prime meat for the killer!! The redeeming qualities come at the end of the film when the group finally gathers at the old cemetery. From that point on, the murders happen very rapidly and are quite graphic. However, the every ending then becomes even more confusing as the killers identity is revealed with really no explanation of his motive. I also love how the sheriff shows up, sees the killer but has no idea that the guy really IS the killer, and just blows his head off for the hell of it?! But like I said, not a total waste..if you like machete murders, the last 20 minutes of the films should satisfy you. 4 out of 10.
Contains the most ridiculous death scene in slasher history
Titans91 October 2001
--Death Screams, or House of Death as it is known here, is one of the most absurd horror films I've seen next to Drive-In Massacre. I had friends over while watching this movie, but afterwards I think they considered me their worst enemy after putting them through this trash.
--The first 40 mins. are so boring, I felt like ejecting the tape. Nothing happens, just some stupid dialogue at a carnival scene. The agony of sitting through this is too great. The most annoying character in this film is the grandma, she should have been the first victim. The true "suspense" starts in the last 10 mins. literally. Before that, just some cheesy killings.
--House of Death has the most funniest death scene that is the only "plus" side to this movie
** IF you get pierced in the shoulder with an arrow, go and scream for help. Surprisingly this girl with an IQ of 1 just moans and groans, falls down (you know the rest). She ventures onto an abandoned carousal and surprisingly, it starts moving. If a plastic bag is then put over your head, and your hands are free, poke a hole so you can breathe (or take it off). This one just groans until she is suffocated, yet never attempts to save herself. Someone that stupid just made me laugh so hard. I know most characters in horror flicks don't think... but c'mon!
--I do not even know who the killer was, it was revealed, but House of Death has more holes than a fish net I was confused. Do me a favor...avoid this one. Do something more productive than wasting your time.
--The first 40 mins. are so boring, I felt like ejecting the tape. Nothing happens, just some stupid dialogue at a carnival scene. The agony of sitting through this is too great. The most annoying character in this film is the grandma, she should have been the first victim. The true "suspense" starts in the last 10 mins. literally. Before that, just some cheesy killings.
--House of Death has the most funniest death scene that is the only "plus" side to this movie
** IF you get pierced in the shoulder with an arrow, go and scream for help. Surprisingly this girl with an IQ of 1 just moans and groans, falls down (you know the rest). She ventures onto an abandoned carousal and surprisingly, it starts moving. If a plastic bag is then put over your head, and your hands are free, poke a hole so you can breathe (or take it off). This one just groans until she is suffocated, yet never attempts to save herself. Someone that stupid just made me laugh so hard. I know most characters in horror flicks don't think... but c'mon!
--I do not even know who the killer was, it was revealed, but House of Death has more holes than a fish net I was confused. Do me a favor...avoid this one. Do something more productive than wasting your time.
Drinking helps....
BillyBC15 March 2003
(** out of *****) The titular `house' only appears in the last ten minutes or so of this overly familiar, early-'80s horror flick. That detail aside, this movie isn't the worst of its kind (that would be "Hell High"), but it's also far from the best. If you can make it past the interminably long carnival scene -- with a group of young, vacuous girls and hunky, meat-head guys walking around making jokes and playing games -- you'll get a few so-so chills and thrills (and mostly off-screen machete murders) once the gang winds up in the cemetary to tell ghost stories (the lead heroine tells a lousy version of the classic urban legend about the girl who's home alone and thinks that's her dog under the bed licking her hand.) Other than a decapitated head or two, there's more nudity than gore, including an interesting, role-reversal shower scene in which a man is stalked in his apartment while taking a shower. There's some minor backplot and attempts at character development, but there are also gaping plot holes and a weak attempt to make the killer's identity a mystery (you should have no trouble figuring it out.) The film quality's pretty crummy, and the out-of-place, Sesame Street-sounding soundtrack is one of the worst I've ever heard.
HIGHLIGHT: Speaking of the soundtrack, if you do happen to run across this movie at the video store, go ahead and rent it solely for the opening credits sequence -- the music that plays over this sequence is so hysterically over the top that you will not believe it. Listening to this ludicrously epic music play over slow-motion scenes of dead bodies floating underwater was a surreal experience. I had to rewind it and watch it over three or four times. Seriously, some underground techno or indie-rock band needs to find this movie and sample the soundtrack. It blew me away. Of course, drinking helps.
HIGHLIGHT: Speaking of the soundtrack, if you do happen to run across this movie at the video store, go ahead and rent it solely for the opening credits sequence -- the music that plays over this sequence is so hysterically over the top that you will not believe it. Listening to this ludicrously epic music play over slow-motion scenes of dead bodies floating underwater was a surreal experience. I had to rewind it and watch it over three or four times. Seriously, some underground techno or indie-rock band needs to find this movie and sample the soundtrack. It blew me away. Of course, drinking helps.
Somewhere in the middle
acidburn-1028 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
When I first watched this movie, to be honest I didn't like it, but then I decided to give this movie another chance after watching a different version and not the UK DVD version that I owned which was actually a poor copy and badly edited. When I saw a better version, well I actually kind of liked this movie, It's nothing spectacular and not as great and as a lot of the other 80's gems but In my opinion this movie falls somewhere in between.
The spooky atmosphere is nicely done, and the forest scenes are nicely done and beautifully captured, although the night scenes are still really dark on my second viewing of this movie and the last ten minutes of this movie are really frantic and delivers thrills and excitement and the gore is nicely present and interesting.
Okay like I said before this movie isn't quite up there with some of the other classics during this period, it starts off well with the double murder but then It takes way too long for another murder to happen, and there is also no attempt at characterization with the young cast, personally I couldn't tell some of them apart and the stupidity of the cast is unbelievable like when a girl gets shot with an arrow at a carnival, instead of running to the crowds, she runs to an abandoned carnival down the road and gets killed and the unmasking of the killer at the end was a bit of a letdown and way too rushed.
All in all not a bad movie, just not a great movie, bad lighting and sub plots that never go anywhere, but the kills are decent and fast paced.
The spooky atmosphere is nicely done, and the forest scenes are nicely done and beautifully captured, although the night scenes are still really dark on my second viewing of this movie and the last ten minutes of this movie are really frantic and delivers thrills and excitement and the gore is nicely present and interesting.
Okay like I said before this movie isn't quite up there with some of the other classics during this period, it starts off well with the double murder but then It takes way too long for another murder to happen, and there is also no attempt at characterization with the young cast, personally I couldn't tell some of them apart and the stupidity of the cast is unbelievable like when a girl gets shot with an arrow at a carnival, instead of running to the crowds, she runs to an abandoned carnival down the road and gets killed and the unmasking of the killer at the end was a bit of a letdown and way too rushed.
All in all not a bad movie, just not a great movie, bad lighting and sub plots that never go anywhere, but the kills are decent and fast paced.
one to watch for several reasons
trashgang15 March 2011
This flick came out in the glory days of the slashers, David Nelson, the director, is not known for me and with this rare flick he surely won't become famous. It is already hard to find, it never had a proper release and went straight to video rental shops. So if you want a copy you will have to hunt down some video rentals in the US. Because it never came out in Europe. And then for some it's still a problem due the NTSC issue. Nevertheless, I go hunting sometimes in the US via the internet and bring them home into my collection. I'm happy that I have seen this flick. Indeed, there are some strange things going on. Just when the flick starts a couple is being killed while making love on a motorbike. Try to do that one! Once you have taken this they are thrown into a river, were they are floating and shown into the flick at several times without a reason. Of course David Nelson knew what to add to have a real slasher, nudity. And there's a bit of it in it, the first minute it's already bare naked breasts, there is even some full frontal nudity when one of the girls goes swimming in the noticed river...at night...without somebody watching...naked, guess what's coming next. Going back to the beginning, after the first killing the opening credits come on and man, you really have to hear the over the top score used while the dead bodies are shown in slow motion going under water. Further on, one of the girls is being put with her bra in the showers, but why does she has to wear them? They become wet after a few seconds showing everything...The first killings are so strange, one with an arrow but watch the girl go running to a merry-go-round. Unbelievable. It takes really an hour before the house of death is shown. Before that you will have to take a lot of talking especially at the fair. But watch the girls' clothes...so sexy and typical seventies even as it was made in the eighties. But it is the last 10 minutes that things really go wrong and decapitations happen, slashing, hanging and even a head is blown to pieces. A strange flick to watch for different reasons. for example, one of the actresses is Susan Kiger, Playmate to do a hardcore porno feature prior to posing for "Playboy": she appeared in the 1976 X-rated outing "Deadly Love" and subsequently became the Playmate of the Month in the January, 1977 issue of "Playboy." So some do hunt it down for that reason. Even as it has some boring moments you still keep watching.
Seriously bad Golden Age slasher, mildly amusing
Stevieboy66617 May 2019
Death Screams starts with a young couple making out, only to get killed by an unknown maniac, so quite a normal opening for a slasher movie. But then the opening credits start, along with the most odd, inappropriate music and straight away I was thinking, what the hell?? This pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Next scene has an overweight sheriff scolding a young boy for looking at a pornographic magazine, only for him to then look at it, quite funny and this film does have some good humour. It also has plenty of nudity and some pretty gory kills. Sadly I watched the British release on DVD which is heavily censored. It was obviously taken from a pretty poor VHS source AND one scene is completely out of sync, it has characters that have already been killed! However, an uncut version is pretty easy to view.
Sadly the bad far outweighs the good. The film is basically about a bunch of small town kids who visit the fairground in the day, then drink beer and tell ghost stories around a bonfire at night,getting killed off one by one. Pretty standard slasher fair, nothing wrong with that. However, the daytime scene at the fairground seems to drag on forever, the "kids" are played by actors who look well into their 20's and 30's and the acting is pretty bad. Thankfully when night falls the killing picks up a gear and some of these deaths combine effective tension with gore. The ending sadly is very rushed and poorly lit, I was not sure who the killer actually was, despite re-watching it several times. Thankfully there was a synopsis here to explain.
With its completely oddball musical score throughout and it's many faults Death Screams at least left an impression on me, probably for the wrong reasons, but an impression none the less, which is more than can be said for so many films. As a lover of 80's slasher movies I'll certainly consider giving this one another viewing.
Not that bad
JustJay4423 September 2021
This movie is best watched if you just want to sit down and watch an 80s movie And just chill. If you don't expect much from it And just watch it for what it is you can't really complain. It's just a horror movie from its time.
Not A Big Winner, but Not the Worst Either
kayrannells16 February 2021
The local color is on full display in House of Death and seems as if the whole town has come to to play and help bring this silly slasher film to life. There's a lot to like about this movie - some of the death scenes are interesting, there's an attempt at some character development here and there, and there's an enjoyable low budget energy to everything. However, the version I saw was so poorly lit and/or color timed that most of the death scenes look like colorless blobs. It also renders the big finale and killer reveal totally useless, because it's too dark to see the killer's face. Don't ask me whodunit, because I still can't figure it out.
An interesting lost slasher that could benefit from a updated print.
b_kite23 November 2018
Ricky Nelson's brother David directed this rare low budget slasher from the early 1980's which features the usual issues and tropes, shot on independent filmmaker Earl Ownsby's complex. It spends a lot of its 90 minute run time with character development saving the action for the final 15 minutes. As usual theirs some nice gore and plenty of nudity from a gorgeous looking female cast including playboy playmate and ex-pornstar Susan Kiger who surprisingly doesn't get nude. The main problem however is the print witch is very dark and murky which leaves the final very hard to see since its all in the dark. This thing really could benefit from a blu-ray release. It also has one of the best movie posters ever!!.
Kind Of Charming
glenmatisse12 September 2021
Folksy charm is the order of the day in Death Screams, so if you don't enjoy long stretches of quirky southern townspeople going on about their daily lives in between a few random bursts of violence, you won't enjoy this one much. If you're a little more patient, you'll be rewarded with a pretty gnarly and violent last act.
Well made early 80's slasher.
tvcarsd7 October 2022
Clearly a lot of people don't get 80's slashers going by the score this movie has received because this movie has it all in spade complete with an opening seen where a couple making out on a motorbike get strangled and thrown into a river.
The movie follows a group of friends that ritually get knocked off one by one in these sorts of movies. The drama feels very made for TV but the horror ambience is much more movieque landing itself right were a good 80's slasher should be, just slightly off the norm enough to keep you guessing.
The characters were interesting with highly strung working kids portrayed by adults half of whom are smoking dope or partying for most of the movie when they are not getting killed. There's a lot of 70's influence in the non-horror music but little in the way of budget spending not even night time lighting. It's just blackness and lots of crickets and the occasional wondering-around synth music scores which are just awesome.
If you are not into 70's and 80's slashers then there will be little in this movie for you otherwise its a definite must see. An 80's American country slasher horror without an over-bearing redneck theme. Nice.
The movie follows a group of friends that ritually get knocked off one by one in these sorts of movies. The drama feels very made for TV but the horror ambience is much more movieque landing itself right were a good 80's slasher should be, just slightly off the norm enough to keep you guessing.
The characters were interesting with highly strung working kids portrayed by adults half of whom are smoking dope or partying for most of the movie when they are not getting killed. There's a lot of 70's influence in the non-horror music but little in the way of budget spending not even night time lighting. It's just blackness and lots of crickets and the occasional wondering-around synth music scores which are just awesome.
If you are not into 70's and 80's slashers then there will be little in this movie for you otherwise its a definite must see. An 80's American country slasher horror without an over-bearing redneck theme. Nice.
Charming if not incoherent slasher
drownsoda905 October 2021
"Death Screams" follows the young college-aged youth of a small southern town who attend the local carnival on its closing night, celebrating the end of summer. Several of them plan to have a bonfire on the river after, unaware that a young couple was murdered there the night before and thrown in the water. Soon enough (or rather, later), bad things start to happen.
This is one of the more offbeat slashers of the early '80s, chock full of glaring plot inconsistencies and charming moments, both in equal measure. While the film is rotund with cliches, there is a strange incoherence to it that seems to be a result of budgetary restrictions, suggesting that things were slapped together with little forethought. Characters appear and disappear (and die!), and while there is a fair amount of character development, it is not always entirely clear how these people are supposed to know each other.
That being said, in the case of "Death Screams," that incoherence somehow becomes part of the film's charm. The film proceeds in a borderline-dreamlike manner, punctuated with transition shots of the first couple's dead bodies bumbling down the river, the locals completely unaware. The acting overall is solid, especially for a regional production, and there are some down-to-earth moments (such as the scenes featuring lead character and her fussy grandmother) that lend the film some gravity. The cinematography is also quite elevated for a production of this ilk, and the nighttime sequences are wonderfully shot (there is a particularly atmospheric sequence early on where the female lead feels that she is being followed through the streets).
The film doesn't really heat up until the last 10 minutes as the bodies pile up in a slapdash manner, and the abrupt conclusion (including the revelation of the killer's identity) frankly left me scratching my head. Ultimately, though, I think this is the kind of film one has to simply accept on its own terms. There are great moments and ideas present, but the glue that should hold the entire thing together is lacking--however, as I mentioned before, the lack of connective tissue here (and the weirdness it brings) is truly baked into the final product. If you like your slashers a dash eccentric, look no further. 7/10.
This is one of the more offbeat slashers of the early '80s, chock full of glaring plot inconsistencies and charming moments, both in equal measure. While the film is rotund with cliches, there is a strange incoherence to it that seems to be a result of budgetary restrictions, suggesting that things were slapped together with little forethought. Characters appear and disappear (and die!), and while there is a fair amount of character development, it is not always entirely clear how these people are supposed to know each other.
That being said, in the case of "Death Screams," that incoherence somehow becomes part of the film's charm. The film proceeds in a borderline-dreamlike manner, punctuated with transition shots of the first couple's dead bodies bumbling down the river, the locals completely unaware. The acting overall is solid, especially for a regional production, and there are some down-to-earth moments (such as the scenes featuring lead character and her fussy grandmother) that lend the film some gravity. The cinematography is also quite elevated for a production of this ilk, and the nighttime sequences are wonderfully shot (there is a particularly atmospheric sequence early on where the female lead feels that she is being followed through the streets).
The film doesn't really heat up until the last 10 minutes as the bodies pile up in a slapdash manner, and the abrupt conclusion (including the revelation of the killer's identity) frankly left me scratching my head. Ultimately, though, I think this is the kind of film one has to simply accept on its own terms. There are great moments and ideas present, but the glue that should hold the entire thing together is lacking--however, as I mentioned before, the lack of connective tissue here (and the weirdness it brings) is truly baked into the final product. If you like your slashers a dash eccentric, look no further. 7/10.
in the top 3 worst horror films
dx4lifexpac22 February 2000
Death Screams or as i rented it under House Of Death has to be one of the worst horror movies ever made. the first 2 min are ok then the opening credits come on and are about 5 min with the worst music i ever heard in my life. the movie is so boring like the 35 min carnival scene. then there are like 7 kills in like 10 min too much too fast. they don't even show the kills. the back of the box makes the movie sound cool but don't be fooled like i was. Death Screams aka House Of Death is so bad and boring i give it 0/10. skip this one if you don't you will regret it big time 85min of my life was wasted on this trash
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