Death Screams (also titled House of Death and – possibly - Night Screams) is a 1981 (released 1982) American horror film directed by actor David Nelson from a screenplay by Paul C. Elliott. It stars triple Playboy cover star Susan Kiger, Larry Sprinkle, Andria Savio, David Lenthall, Martin Tucker, William T. Hicks (Tales of the Third Dimension), John Kohler, Jennifer Chase, Jody Kay, Kurt Rector, Josh Gamble, Hanns Manship.
Director Worth Keeter III (Wolfman, Rottweiler: Dogs of Hell) provided the special effects.
Plot:
Two teenagers are murdered by a mysterious killer. They are reported missing but their bodies are not found. Two weeks later, locals are celebrating the last night of carnival but the machete-wielding maniac is lurking nearby and when a group of youngsters decide to camp overnight by the river, they soon become victims…
Reviews:
” … solid slasher movie fun. It’s true that it spends far too much time on the incidentals (we really don’t need to spend quite so much time at the fair for a start), but this is forgivable as the central cast is pretty likeable and are certainly having a grand old time. The film itself is pretty well shot; it’s obviously aping Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) and has some nicely evocative shots. It’s a shame, though, that apart from the exciting finale the director doesn’t seem capable of (or even particularly bothered about) conjuring up and sustaining suspense…” Hysteria Lives
Poor lighting, poor quality sound, low levels of logic from key characters, a weak script, a nonsensical reason for the killing spree, underused locations (such as the fair and graveyard) and more House of Death holds multiple examples of how not to do a Horror film. The graveyard scene is, however worth a mention. One victim falls into a grave, then, whilst attempting to climb out, one swing of the machete removes both hands from the target, leaving him to collapse, stumps gushing blood, back into the pit.” The Robotic Patriot
“Standard slasher flick … Cinematographer Darrell Cathcart also worked on Final Exam (1981) and a bunch of Earl Owensby films. Susan Kiger was a Playboy ‘Playmate’ who had also worked in porn. Monica Boston, who plays one of the teenagers in this film, represented North Carolina in the Miss World-America pageant in 1980. Hicks was in A Day of Judgement (1981). Brian Albright, Regional Horror Films, 1958 – 1990
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Wikipedia | IMDb | We are grateful to the Grindhouse Cinema Database for the main image, plus Critical Condition.
