Mausoleum (1983)

I tend to like 1980's horror films. They were a part of my youth. Alas, Mausoleum is not a good one, although there are a couple points of interest. The film boasts a cool looking monster, which was later reused with a couple of minor altercations in the Unnameable movies (make up artist Christopher Biggs worked on both films). The lighting effects in the crypt sequences do generate some nice atmosphere (dig the green light). Oh, and Bobbi Bresee (a pretty but wooden actress) is topless three times in the movie. However, these pluses cannot compensate for awkward pacing issues and a really dumb script that appears to be a first draft. This demon, who slumbers in the mausoleum, possess the first born female of one family. That is providing the first born comes into the mausoleum. Here is a suggestion, if the demon cannot possess anyone unless she comes into the mausoleum, then DON'T GO INTO THE MAUSOLEUM. One could move their family to another state or, at the very least, one could find another cemetery to burying her loved ones other than the one housing the cursed mausoleum. In addition to being slow and silly, there are also some questionable stereotypes. The film throws in a "funny" black maid with all the sensitivity of a 1940's B programmer giving the kids in the South some comic relief.There are worse horror films out there, but is that much of a recommendation? Buy the movie poster, skip the movie.

Susan Nomed (Playboy Bunny Bobbie Bresee, Ghoulies) was only ten-years-old when her mother died. During the funeral, she ran from her family to the mausoleum, where the fog rolls in and a demon calls out to her.Now, twenty years later, she's the heiress to her family's fortune. She's also married to Oliver Farrell (Marjoe Gortner, Starcrash), who is never home, but everything seems fine. However, Susan is starting to go stir crazy, flirting with the gardener, who exudes pure filth. That's when we learn about the second part of Susan's inheritance: an ancient curse.Soon, Susan is turning into a green-eyed demon and having sex with plenty of men, then murdering them in all manner of interesting ways. Want an example? How about her breasts eat a man's chest and leave him a bloody mess in the bathtub?LaWanda Page of TV's Sanford and Son shows up as Elsie the maid and you'll be shocked to see how racist her role is. Actually, you won't. We just watched the remake of Thirteen Ghosts (with the early 2000s title that seemed trite even back then, Thir13en Ghosts) and the black maid in that film acts just as stereotypically in that film.Also, if you're wondering how good the script is, Susan's last name is demon backward.This movie reminds me of late-period Fulci, as its look is very Italian. It's filled with gore, nudity and a nonsensical plot, but there are times in your life when that's what you're looking for.

Almost impossible to find, even back in 97, save for one video shop, I sat down to this cheesy horror (no potential 'Exorcist') and found it quite a lot of fun. The make up is surprisingly very good, as is Bresee's performance, as the beautiful tormented Susan, who as a young girl made the mistake of wandering into the rat infested mausoleum. Now a full grown woman, and you should see this broad naked, bedding two victims, a young sex crazed electrician and horny gardener who provides a nice twist at the end, our Susan, the possessed, starts adopting violent tendencies. Her eyes light up with emerald green, and she puts her telekinetic powers to work, when angrily provoked. One instance comes when a jealous drunkard, gets burned up horribly in his car. Her successful (just check out where they live) husband, Oliver, played with great calm by legendary acting great, Marjoe Gortner, senses changes in her, and enlists the help of a old family doctor (Norman Burton) who knew Susan's aunt, and the secret she took with her to the grave. There's some scenes, that are so serious, it's hard to keep a straight face, and this is what this b grader does, takes itself too seriously. But this was one of the things I loved about it, as well as Ms Bresee's, you know. This drive in horror that played alongside Basket case is a lot of fun and a horror fan's delight, with 80's unrealistic violence, and impressive ending score. Speaking of scores, one weird moment, I couldn't get my head around, has an unfitting playful (not scary) music score, that has the black maid (Le Wanda 'Sandford and Son' Page) who takes to drinking when it all becomes too much, or if seeing some out of the ordinary s..t, hotfoot out of a room. Please Explain.

One of the truly awful horror films ever made. I saw this in the movie have been scarred ever since. The plot has a young girl going into the haunted crypt of her family activating a family curse that causes her years later to become possessed and turn into a monster. This film is dull boring and incredibly stupid. Sure the monster looks okay, but everything else is just bad the visual effects especially. I remembered only three things about this film the first time I saw it, star Bobbie Bressee's shower scene, Lawanda Paige's wise cracking (which is the one real shining moment) and how bad this film is. The only reason I tried it again last night was that it was on a double feature DVD and I wanted to see if it was as bad as I remembered. It was. This is one to avoid.(I can not imagine that anyone in their right mind would want to listen to a commentary track, but there is one on the disc.)