Evil Laugh (1986)

A group of Med students fix up an old house over a weekend. Where a mass murder occurred 10 years earlier. Mayhem ensues.

Director:

Dominick Brascia

Writers:

Steven Baio, Dominick Brascia

Stars:

Ashlyn Gere, Steven Baio, Tony Griffin

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ashlyn Gere	...	Connie (as Kim McKamy)
Steven Baio	...	Johnny
Tony Griffin	...	Sammy
Jody Gibson	...	Tina
Jerold Pearson	...	Barney
Myles O'Brien	...	Mark
Howard Weiss	...	Mr. Burns
Karyn O'Bryan	...	Betty
Susan Grant	...	Sadie
Gary Hays	...	Jerry
Hal Shafer	...	Chief Cash
Johnny Venocur	...	Freddy
Tom Shell	...	Delivery Boy
Dominick Brascia	...	Evil Laugher

Storyline

An old orphanage has just been rebuilt after it was mysteriously burned to the ground over a decade ago following accusations of child molestation and abuse by Martin, whose own father committed suicide out of shame. Needless to say he couldn't prove his innocence, suffered a psychotic breakdown which subsequently led to him systematically slaughter the other occupants, including the kids, particularly the accusers, before perishing in the blaze that followed. Now a group of med-students are brought in by a seemingly benevolent doctor turned pediatrician, Jerry who seeks to fix the place up as less an institution more of a foster home. One of the students is set on dwelling there at this current position, while the others are set on helping them settling in. But soon they'll discover that our current owner has been secretly disposed of by an intruder, who is still lurking close by. Jerry's (now ex) fiancée Connie, Barney (who said his farewell to Jerry moments before meeting his end) ...

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Plot Keywords:

murder | death | blood splatter | evil laughter | slasher | 

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Taglines:

Ten years ago something terrible happened in this house... This weekend it's about to happen AGAIN.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

El regreso de Martin

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baio-Brascia-Venokur Productions, Wildfire Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vestron Pictures offered a 3-picture deal to director Brascia and Producer Steven Baio for the distribution rights to "Evil Laugh". Brascia and Baio declined. A decision they openly regret.

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Quotes

Barney: Why does that guy in Halloween try and kill Jamie Lee Curtis?... Why do those dumb kids keep going back to Camp Crystal Lake- letting Jason hack and chop them?

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Connections

Referenced in Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)

User Reviews

"Don't start with this horror movie sh!t".

An on-the-cheap, shot-on-video and quickly made 80s slasher that's enthusiastically pitched and made the more interesting for being made by Dominick Brasica (which Friday the 13th fans would pick up as being the memorable first death in "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning") in what feels like a labour of love. It might not be ranking up their with the best the 80s had to offer and could be seen as just another slasher, but the quirky "Evil Laugh" had its moments. Even some creativity, as some elements actually reminded of Wes Craven's 90s slasher "Scream". Plenty of self-knowing quips feed the shonky script (mainly from a horror-buff character) and there's a plethora of references to other horror mediums (horror magazine Fangoira to "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th"). The story is simple, as it builds up the standard conventions and its over-the-top macabre (which includes some dancing while cleaning and jittery music score) where a group of young medical students decide help out a friend re-open an abandoned orphanage, although they don't know of its terrible past which saw ten years ago the custodian murder the residents. But this weekend is not going to be any ordinary weekend, as people start disappearing and find themselves at the mercy of a jump suit wearing killer with a mask and beanie. Yeah, sadly the murderer doesn't live up the illustration on the artwork and naturally the heroine points out the horror fan for being the murderer. The execution does match the budget, as it's a slapdash of blood, nudity and humour. Sometimes things would happen off-screen, but other times we get flashes of tatty gore. The random performances are acceptable with Kim McKamy making a solid heroine and a decent Steven Baio (who also produced and co-wrote). Nothing new, but it's full of spontaneous energy.

"No legend is going to scare me".