Slaughter Studios (2002)

This is far more entertaining than any of the A-list tripe you'll view at the Megaplex. Although not quite a horror film and not quite a comedy, it melds the two genres and makes a rather decent film. Think of Slaughter Studios as kind of a combination of Cover Me Babe starring Robert Forster and Susanne Benton with the off-the-wall zaniness of Re-Animator.This film centers on a group of aspiring filmmakers/actors who sneak into the abandoned Slaughter Studios to film their version of some hokey 1950s monster movie. Steve (Peter Stanovich) is the dictatorial director who bosses around his girlfriend Madigan (Amy Shelton-White), belittles his clueless actresses and like so many film-school losers, is convinced of his own brilliance. But everything that can go wrong does for the arrogant twerp, including a deranged murderer picking off his crew one by one.STORY: $$$ (Nothing splendid here but genre fans will like the references to B-Grade filmmaking throughout the picture. We get lines like "I bet Eric Roberts didn't have to go through this," to a scene from one of the Sorority/Slumber Party Massacre flicks. The screenplay adds plenty of laughs and guffaws while also giving us that favorite Agatha Christie motif: people trapped at a location with a killer in their midst).ACTING: $$$$ (A heckuva lot better than you'll see in most B-Grade movies. You won't find any of those "actors" that Troma Studios or Fullmoon pictures employs, but a young, able cast that gives it their all. Peter Stanovich is effectively arrogant as Steve and Amy Shelton-White is easy to root for as his ever put-upon girlfriend. Darren Reiher does a terrific job in his brief role as the male lead, giving over-the-top line readings when something far more subdued would be in order. Nicolas Read shows range as Kevin but perhaps the best performance comes from Tara Killian as Portia. She is splendid in the role of the demanding blond actress, calling "cut!" when things don't go her way).NUDITY: $$$$$ (There is plenty of it here. The filmmakers clearly hearken back to the Sorority House Massacre days--think films with Robyn Harris and Melissa Moore--where breast exposure were the film's main draw. Almost every female cast member doffs her top in this film with the exception of Shelton-White. Poking fun at the Sorority House Massacre genre, all the nudity is gratuitous which makes the skin come off more lampoonish in nature rather than sleazy).

You only care as to who gets naked, so here's the long and short of it: o Goth / Raver Chick: Yes! Mostly at the end, on video.o Old Blonde With Huge Cans: Yes! Throughout, in fact. Including a shower scene with another chick.o Bitchy Blonde Girl: Yes, however, the least number of times and the least quality of times when it does happen. Also passed out throughout most of the thing, if you're into that.o Brunette With Obvious Recent Boob Job: Yes! Spends most of the movie naked. It doesn't seem like it at first, but trust ole Zeke on this one.o Flat Blonde With Nice Legs: Yeah, you'll get plenty of her in this.o Director's Girlfriend: No, sadly! You warm up to her by the end of it, plus she ends up making some quality decisions as to who to really hang around which only increase her worth in this thing.I give this movie a 7 as the girls are nice and spend a lot of time naked, especially for a flick made in 2002. It's otherwise complete garbage and should not be viewed by anyone for any purpose.

Overall well-made film. Could have been better as a pure horror film without the comedy. I can't wait for LalaLand to finally give up on stupid political correctness and make horror movies that don't have to "justify" nudity and gore by appealing to comedy. The story of this film is good overall. There are, however, too many annoying characters: the film's director, the Indian guy, the snobby actress. That's just too many annoying people you don't want to see/hear leaving you with only secondary characters about whom to care. The actresses who do nude scenes could be more attractive. The erotic scenes are a strange balance of eroticism and lack of it. I was quite surprised, though, to find out who the killer was in the end.

If "Slaughter Studios" has anything going for it, it is that it is much more bloody than the contemporary teen slasher flicks that we have seen lately. Equally as significant is the revelation of the killer, which I have to admit was quite clever; I never, ever would have guessed and that is rare for one of these. Overall, I did enjoy the film. It looked good and the special effects were impressive. Where the movie lost points is in the incredibly dull and dragging middle. Nothing of any importance happens for at least 45 minutes, except bad acting. Yes, the movie also looses points because nobody in can act worth a crap. Yes, we know you are in a no-name, low budget, direct-to-video horror flick, but at least TRY to act excited. The plot centers around a group of young filmmakers who go to the legendary but now abandoned Slaughter Studios, where years before a popular actor was killed in a freak accident (or was it?) to finish the film that never was finished. Of course, a killer shows up and starts mutilating the cast in very bloody ways. As I mentioned, the killings in this are pretty bloody; we get pick axing, head smashing, head-spearing, and head hooking. Most of this comes at the end-the middle of the film is basically nothing but these actors trying to make the movie. The end comes from left field too and I really, really enjoyed the simpleness and cleverness of it, though nobody will ever figure out who the killer is until he is revealed. A good effort, especially for a direct-to-video feature. A little cheesey in parts, but enjoyable nonetheless.