Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Bloody Wednesday

  • 19881988
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
3.9/10
489
YOUR RATING
Bloody Wednesday (1988)
  • Crime
  • Horror
  • Thriller
Harry is unable to hold a job due to his mental illness and lives in an abandoned Hollywood hotel haunted by friendly ghosts of the long dead staff. The lines of his mental illness and reali... Read allHarry is unable to hold a job due to his mental illness and lives in an abandoned Hollywood hotel haunted by friendly ghosts of the long dead staff. The lines of his mental illness and reality become extremely blurred as some of his strangest events are indeed witnessed by others... Read allHarry is unable to hold a job due to his mental illness and lives in an abandoned Hollywood hotel haunted by friendly ghosts of the long dead staff. The lines of his mental illness and reality become extremely blurred as some of his strangest events are indeed witnessed by others. As Harry becomes more frustrated by not being able to distinguish fact from delusion he ... Read all
IMDb RATING
3.9/10
489
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Mark G. Gilhuis
  • Writer
    • Philip Yordan(story)
  • Stars
    • Raymond Elmendorf
    • Pamela Baker
    • Navarre Perry
Top credits
  • Director
    • Mark G. Gilhuis
  • Writer
    • Philip Yordan(story)
  • Stars
    • Raymond Elmendorf
    • Pamela Baker
    • Navarre Perry
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 28User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos10

    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Michel Bonneau, Greg Mascarena, and Robert Ryan in Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Raymond Elmendorf
    • Harry
    Pamela Baker
    • Dr. Johnson
    Navarre Perry
    • Ben Curtis
    Teresa Mae Allen
    • Elaine Curtis
    Jeff O'Haco
    • Animal
    Linda Dona
    • Pretty Lady
    Herb Kronsberg
    • Walter Burns
    Murray Cruchley
    • Lou Cramer
    • (as Lee Murray)
    John Landtroop
    • Bellman
    Richard Curtis
    • Pastor
    Dale E. Turner
    Dale E. Turner
    • Jake
    • (as Dale Turner)
    Jim Wilkerson
    • Mr. Grady
    Larry Roberts
    • F.B.I.
    Kevin Hulbert
    • F.B.I.
    Victor Ochoa
    • Vandal
    Will Gotay
    • Vandal
    Mark Denning
    • Policeman
    Ernie Petrosino
    • Policeman
    • Director
      • Mark G. Gilhuis
    • Writer
      • Philip Yordan(story) (screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Massacre at Central High
    6.0
    Massacre at Central High
    Madhouse
    5.5
    Madhouse
    Hellbound: Hellraiser II
    6.4
    Hellbound: Hellraiser II
    Death Spa
    5.1
    Death Spa
    Slime City
    5.3
    Slime City
    Buried Alive
    4.3
    Buried Alive
    Bloody New Year
    4.6
    Bloody New Year
    77 Minutes
    5.4
    77 Minutes
    Hellhole
    5.0
    Hellhole
    Cemetery of Terror
    5.4
    Cemetery of Terror
    Blood Frenzy
    4.5
    Blood Frenzy
    Blood Feast
    5.0
    Blood Feast

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Based on the real life San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre, on July 18, 1984.
    • Alternate versions
      The 1986 UK video version was cut by 3 minutes 52 secs by the BBFC to edit scenes of violent machine gunning during the climax, all footage of metal pipes and instructional dialogue on how to avoid convictions when using them, and a shot of male urination during a Russian Roulette scene. The 2005 DVD featured the same cut print.

    User reviews28

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    This 80s Misfire Is Still Interesting
    I am nostalgic for the 80s and the days of going to neighborhood video stores, or even to neighborhood 7-11s, to rent VHS tapes for home viewing. One way of appeasing this nostalgia is to watch 80s movies now that I didn't catch back then, and "Bloody Wednesday" was one of these so I found it on You Tube.

    A California mechanic begins acting very weird and "can no longer work." After walking naked and singing into a church, he gets hospitalized, but is released to his brother's custody. His brother puts him up in an old empty hotel he's in charge of, and things get weirder and weirder until the final acts of violence.

    This movie tells you what's going to happen from its opening scene so there can be no "spoilers" here. But it really has nothing to do with the "McDonald's Massacre" in southern California in the early 80s. Repeated online descriptions say it does, but these are simply wrong. The character here bears zero resemblance to James Huberty of the real-life massacre, and this movie is more a low-budget, urban aping of "The Shining" than it is about any real-life massacre.

    The guy's hallucinations here are unrealistic and deeply involved in a way that I've never heard of hallucinations being with real patients. They are much more detailed fantasies than hallucinations, and most people know what their private fantasies are and do not believe them to be real. Our character here does, and this does not always make for a plausible viewing experience.

    Confusing matters further is the fact that there are apparent REAL threats against our character in the form of three punks with a stupid grudge against him. In a sequence more bizarre than any of his fantasies, our guy ends up in an extended conversation with one punk about everything including the meaning of life!

    All this may have worked better if done in a different style. As it is, with our guy fumbling between fantasy and reality while distracting action sequences are thrown in, it seems a muddle.

    I think the guy's talking teddy bear is a good character and should have been developed more. Instead, there are distractions with hallucinated butlers and possibly hallucinated private eyes looking for long-stashed treasures and such. Most of the stuff with the punks is another snooze, and endless sequences of our guy trying to seduce his female psychiatrist (!!) just go nowhere as well.

    Even the final massacre is done oddly, with several people conveniently jumping out on cue to get shot. The end that our shooter comes to is different from real-life Huberty's. The general racial make-up of the victims is different. Huberty's was an attack on a popular fast-food joint. Here we have an attack on a small family restaurant. Huberty called for psychiatric help before his crimes but was put on a callers' waiting list. Our man here has steady psychiatric attention that does him no good. Huberty never separated from his family and was living with them the day of the McDonald's Massacre. Our man here is long abandoned by his wife. Huberty let legitimate concerns about the government become driving obsessions. Our guy here is totally apolitical. And on and on go the complete differences.

    Our guy here is hard to sympathize with as he acts child-like and confused one moment, but arrogantly sure of his sanity and dismissive of others the next. Hey, he just forgot to put his clothes on before going to church, what's the big deal?! Such is a guy who is not exactly going to pull at your heartstrings.

    Nonetheless, this movie succeeds in some ways as an 80s oddity complete with a Casio-driven score. It is worth a look for 80s video fans in spite of its flaws, and enjoyable in some ways for fans of the strange, especially fans of the low-budget strange. All others need not apply.
    helpful•1
    0
    • jackseney
    • Jul 29, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 8, 1988 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Blood Hotel
    • Filming locations
      • San Diego, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Gilmark Pictures
      • Visto International Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Bloody Wednesday (1988)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Bloody Wednesday (1988) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    Editors' Picks: What to Watch Now on Netflix
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Hollywood Romances: Our Favorite Couples
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.