Director: John Fasano
Year: 1988
Country: US/Canada
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Appearing in a small-town for a concert, a rock group is initially prohibited from playing only to be granted the opportunity to perform once nobody realizes their a threat, but when the truth is revealed and their Satanic purpose is explained a teacher tries to stop their deadly plans.
Review:
This was an enjoyable and intriguing genre effort. One of the more interesting elements present in this one is the rather strong sociological storyline featured here. The ability to make a connection between the desire for freedom and the oppressive nature of the townspeople through their constrictive laws and rules creates a nice contrast here and sets this up on a far more noteworthy setup than expected. That plays into how the students begin to change and react to the appearance of the band which slowly begin to worm it's way into the small town as it begins with them being lethargic and uninterested in their studies before turning into far more violent and vicious behaviors that go all the way up to intentionally killing other people and their parents.
As well, this also has the rather exciting and enjoyable action scenes being featured throughout, from the concerts they play that features the band turning the audience into the demonic creatures through their music to the different inserts of the townspeople being beaten up or brutalized. The different scenes of the creatures having an influence on the townspeople is nicely broken up by the scenes of their other influences including the creature appearing from the speaker system to attack others or the series of kids going wild killing others in town by running them over, bashing them with ceremonial artifacts or other such antics. When it raises the stakes with their rampage across town using their possessed forms, this one offers a lot of cheesy fun with the creatures running wild in several rather fun brawls leading into the wild and frantic finale that has plenty of likable elements.
The cast is nothing special but works for the kind of story being done here. John Martin does quite well here as Mr. Moorehouse, the kindly teacher that investigates matters. He gives this a solid performance as someone out to save the kids and his honorable intentions towards them is a nice way to connect to the small-town mentality full of everybody being relatable to everyone else. The lead rocker Damien, played by Sal Viviano, is quite underutilized here with his swaggering demeanor onstage who fits the role of charismatic frontman rocking out onstage yet can also appear calm and collected in the right circumstance so it's a workable role and would've benefited from a bit more screentime. Frank Dietz gives a chaotic performance as Johnny the rebellious student who gets more vicious and violent the more the band is around. Initially appearing as a somewhat rebellious but still respectful individual who's starting to think outside the box of his small-town thinking, that he turns into a raving lunatic through the later half. The other big star here is Karen Planden as Julie, the kindly student who gets caught up in their antics as she goes from sweet home-town girl to leather-clad rocker looking to seduce anyone anywhere she can. Coupled with the cheesy tunes, there's a lot to like to hold it up over the few minor flaws.
The main flaw with the film is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of motivation given here for what the point of the group is supposed to actually be doing. Initially it seems to be a simple case of youthful corruption but then it turns out that the students are turning into murderers followed by them becoming monstrous killers with no real sense of coherence available for telling this story. There's nothing even given in the lyrics of their songs since there's so many different songs passed off as original works of this band so it doesn't really offer a message at all. Had this one been able to really settle on what the point of the bands' appearance in the town would've been, it had a chance to really approve since the lack of any reasoning with them being here holds this one back considerably. Likewise, there's also the film really having some cheesy good times here that makes for a somewhat challenging times to get through with the puppets and latex prosthetics coming off goofy more than terrifying. However, it's not nearly as problematic as the other problems.
Overview: ***/5
Despite some minor flaws here and there that are quite problematic, this one has some solid elements present that makes for quite an enjoyable time if you can go along with the cheese. This is apparent viewing for any fans of cheese-filled late-80s heavy metal horror or just plain cheesy films in general, while those that can't get over the flaws should definitely heed caution with this one.
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