‘Meet a killer of a different sort…’
MurderLust – aka Mass Murder – is a 1985 American horror thriller directed by Donald Jones (Project Nightmare; Housewife from Hell) from a screenplay by producer and soundtrack composer James Lane [possibly a pseudonym for Jones?].
The 1987 British VHS release was cut by a painfully censorial 2m 33s.
Cast:
Eli Rich (Dangerous Love; The Jigsaw Murders), Rochelle Taylor, Dennis Gannon, Bonnie Sikowitz, Lisa Nichols, M. Burton Leary, Bill Walsh, George Engelson, Dayna Quinn, Martha Lane, Ashley St. Jon [aka Lisa Lake], Linda Tucker-Smith
Plot teaser:
Steve is an arrogant misogynist serial killer with erectile dysfunction, who is also a seemingly respectable Christian Sunday school teacher. However, in reality he abducts or cons young women, kills them, and disposes of their bodies in the Mojave Desert…
Reviews:
This is no Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer but it has certainly been overlooked and deserves to be seen in the context of there having been some truly awful mid-1980s that have received much more attention than they deserve. Despite being cheap, Donald Jones’ MurderLust can at least afford aerial shots of the Mojave desert, agreeable actors and it sports an agreeable synth score. Psycho character Steve’s confident attempts to ingratiate himself with both men and women, despite his inadequacies, are sickly pre-Stepfather-like (the sub-theme regarding his lack of a real career and financial proclivities are part of the overall character breakdown) and all the more effective for it. The film also pokes fun at religious hypocrites, a welcome reoccurring theme in the horror genre.
Adrian J Smith
“MurderLust is fascinating as a study of a woman-hating serial killer. It’s unpleasant without being graphic – just about all of the murders occur offscreen – and the bad synthesizer score gives it a creepy vibe.” Ryan Clark, Thrill Me!
“In theory, the “outwardly respectable bible thumper by day/ depraved prostitute killer by night” premise sounds like it might be offensive enough to entertain, but actually sitting through this bland, very slow moving and aimless movie is a whole other story. The acting and dialogue are bad throughout, but neither is bad enough to elicit any laughs.” The Bloody Pit of Horror
Choice dialogue:
Debbie: “It’s just a picture of a big prick, like you.”
Steve: “Leave it to a woman to fuck things up!”
