Death Valley (1982)

Death Valley is a classic horror film from 1982 and directed by Dick Richards and written by Richard Rothstein.  Newly divorced Paul Stanton (Edward Herrmann) and his son Billy (Stephen McHattie) decide to venture into Death Valley during a road trip.  They stumble upon a serial killer, who enjoys wearing a pink male thong and his demented twin. Both enjoy tap-dancing and belting out old cowboy songs. Billy finds the murder instrument and decides to keep it unfortunately, allowing him to become stalked by a serial killer.  Billy wanders upon an old RV stuffed with dead bodies; he suspects what might be going on.  When the local sheriff (Wilford Brimley) becomes one of the victims, Billy sets off to find out more about the crime. Death Valley is a well directed and produced horror film with an original tale not to miss. The film has been currently released by the horror release masters Scream! Factory and is on a DVD/BluRay Combo pack with bonus features of various Trailers of the film. This release is not one to pass up. Purchase Death Valley directly from Scream! Factory.

Visiting Hours “The Fright, Get Well Soon” (1982)

Visiting Hours Aka “The Fright and Get Well Soon” is a slasher horror film directed by Jean-Claude Lord. The plot is focused on a feminist TV journalist Deborah Ballin (Lee Grant) who is being followed by a malicious serial killer who previously attacked her and wants to finish his work. Deborah’s view on women’s rights anger Colt Hawker who is one of the studios’ cleaning staff and a homicidal psycho and misogynist. Hawker despises woman ever since he was a young boy and saw his mother throw boiling oil on his father. He has developed a fascination on photographing his victims he stabs as they spasm to death. After more than a few closely related assaults and murders take place, Deborah tries to convince Gary Baylor (William Shatner) her boss, that she and her friend, Sheila Munroe (Linda Purl) are not safe. Deborah discovers the identity of the attacker and how he thinks, suspecting that she is his main target. Originally not cleared for video released and censored under UK’s “Video Nasty” list it is now available for purchase by Scream! Factory as a re-release and as a double feature on BluRay from its previous DVD that has been placed “Out of Print”.

The Dorm That Dripped Blood "Pranks, Death Dorm" (1982)

The Dorm That Dripped Blood (Pranks, Death Dorm) is an American horror slasher film directed by Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow and written by Carpenter and Stacey Giachino. The film involves four college students who stay behind at their college campus during the Christmas holiday to clean a dormitory that is about to be demolished. As they begin to clean out the dormitory, they begin to be stalked by an unknown killer who uses a multitude of industrial tools, such as a spiked baseball bat, wire and industrial tools to kill his victims. The students begin to notice the tools missing and they suspect it’s a guy they know who hangs around the school. The killer slays one student after another. As the movie progresses, the killer turns out to be a vicious murdering stalker who is madly in love with one of the girls. There is a lot of twists and turns with lots of gore and originality, The Dorm That Drips Blood is a classic slasher and ultimately earns it’s keep in anyone’s horror collection. Featuring Daphne Zuniga as (Debby) in her film debut, “Pranks, Death Dorm” was deemed video nasty in the United Kingdom upon its initial release due to its drill killing scene and its original art work that showed a spiked baseball bat. Unfortunately in 1992 it was re-released with the drill murder removed. Released once more by Synapse Films as of 2011 as an Uncensored Directors Cut as a BluRay/DVD combo pack including audio commentary with Jeffrey Obrow and Carpenter, Interviews and many more Bonus Features, the film is absolutely a must own and can be purchased from Synapse Films or Amazon.

X-Ray (Hospital Massacre) (1982)

X-Ray aka Hospital Massacre is a Valentine’s Day (V-Day) Slasher directed by Boaz Davidson, in vein of many other classics like My Bloody Valentine. It’s V-Day, 1961 two childhood friends Susan Jeremy (Barbi Benton) and Young David (Michael Romano) plays with a train set before receiving a valentine’s card delivered at the front door. Instantly laughing off the probability that their stubborn classmate Harold could have a crush on her, Susan is seen by Harold peeking in the window, brushing off the valentine card. Harold is angered and sets off on an insane rampage killing Susan’s friend David by hanging him through his neck on a coat hanger. Fast forward, 19 years, Susan is grown up and a divorcee with a daughter named Eva (Tammy Simpson) and her ex-husband Tom (Jimmy Stathis). It is V-Day once again and Susan arrives for a routine medical check-up at the local hospital.  Susan is trapped in an elevator while one of her doctors reports to a request to report to the ninth floor as she is ambushed by a maniac wearing a surgical mask and clothing and killed off, along with the other staff associated with Susan in the hospital leaving Susan stranded inside the hospital without a clue that a maniac is about to perform a full autopsy on her, the story leaves you to believe if it is Harold who killed her friend 19 years prior who is back for revenge on rejection. In this check-up that became a nightmare, this non-stop heart pounding thriller / horror will leave you feeling like you need a routine checkup yourself. X-Ray also known as Hospital Massacre is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime and on a DVD/BluRay Combo pack released by Scream! Factory and is packed with bonus commentary.