An evil entity wreaks merciless havoc on a group of young people partying in an isolated house. The one survivor is Marc (Red Mitchell), who soon hooks up with Reggie (Tracey Huffman), who similarly survived a massacre. They also partner with a weary old police detective named Leo (Charles L. Trotter), and work the clues behind this mysterious antagonist and its ties to a real estate agent named Nash (Howard Jacobsen).
This viewer wanted to seek this one out after seeing some clips that looked entertaining. Alas, the clips are the all too brief highlights in a protracted experience that goes on much longer than any cheese-horror movie should. It runs an hour and 50 minutes, and the director's cut actually runs even longer than that at approximately two hours! It would seem that the filmmakers, including screenwriter Freeman Williams and director Roger Evans, were somewhat ambitious and wanted to make this a little bit more than the average regional B horror movie. But it's just too long and boring.
It's not without its charms. It's got a very loopy plot involving a god character named Yog Kathog and pulsing quasars. (Then again, the movie does tend to get bogged down in plot.) The effects are quite delicious, with some priceless visuals and some nice bargain basement gore. The acting may not be slick or terribly competent, but it IS entertaining. Jacobsen is a particular hoot as the bad guy. His final confrontation with Huffman is fun. But the balance of the movie never measures up to its opening.
It does have a sad postscript: star Mitchell seemed to be on the cusp of stardom, having gone on to act with Luke Perry in the rodeo drama "Eight Seconds", when he died in a car / train accident at the age of 33.
Four out of 10.
This viewer wanted to seek this one out after seeing some clips that looked entertaining. Alas, the clips are the all too brief highlights in a protracted experience that goes on much longer than any cheese-horror movie should. It runs an hour and 50 minutes, and the director's cut actually runs even longer than that at approximately two hours! It would seem that the filmmakers, including screenwriter Freeman Williams and director Roger Evans, were somewhat ambitious and wanted to make this a little bit more than the average regional B horror movie. But it's just too long and boring.
It's not without its charms. It's got a very loopy plot involving a god character named Yog Kathog and pulsing quasars. (Then again, the movie does tend to get bogged down in plot.) The effects are quite delicious, with some priceless visuals and some nice bargain basement gore. The acting may not be slick or terribly competent, but it IS entertaining. Jacobsen is a particular hoot as the bad guy. His final confrontation with Huffman is fun. But the balance of the movie never measures up to its opening.
It does have a sad postscript: star Mitchell seemed to be on the cusp of stardom, having gone on to act with Luke Perry in the rodeo drama "Eight Seconds", when he died in a car / train accident at the age of 33.
Four out of 10.