Saturday the 14th

"Saturday the 14th" (1981, Howard R. Cohen, New World Pictures) is a horror spoof film.

John (Richard Benjamin) inherits a house from his uncle and moves in with his wife, Mary (Paula Prentiss), and their kids, Debbie (Kari Michaelsen) and Billy (Kevin Brando). The house isn't exactly what they'd envisaged and, when Billy finds a strange book, things begin to get weirder. To add to their problems, vampire couple, Waldemar (Jeffrey Tambor) and Yolanda (Nancy Lee Andrews), are desperate to get their hands on the house and, more importantly, that book.

John and Mary remain oblivious to all the weird happenings, and begin to plan a housewarming party which will result in some more antics. They also hire an owl exterminator (Severn Darden) to rid them of the strange noises heard throughout the house.... An exterminator who may have more of an idea of what's going on than the family do themselves.

Despite a fair few recognisable talents in the cast, the film can't shake off a distractingly stilted quality. A lot of gags fall a little flat also. However, it's oddly charming, if a little too silly to consider 'so bad it's good'. Not the best horror spoof out there.

[Image: New World Pictures]

Hani 

The Toxic Avenger

"The Toxic Avenger" (1984, Lloyd Kaufman Michael Herz, Troma Entertainment) is a midnight movie staple and horror comedy exploiting the trope of the heroic monster.


Melvin (Mark Torgl) is a weedy guy working as a janitor at a local gym in the fictional town of Tromaville. His life is made miserable due to the torment and relentless bullying of a group of gym customers (who also run over kids for fun); Bozo (Gary Schneider), Slug (Robert Prichard), Wanda (Jennifer Babtist) and Julie (Cindy Manion). But Melvin can't help but fall into their trap every time due to the goading of the scantily clad Julie and Wanda.


The group coax Melvin into a trap where he falls into toxic waste and become gruesomely transformed into the larger, bulkier, super-strong and super-ugly Toxic Avenger (Mitch Cohen). He also develops a huskier, more manly tone of voice (Kenneth Kessler).


Toxie takes to the streets to fight crime and work out some serious anger issues, where he attracts the attention of the local press and the local gangs.... During his adventures he also meets the beautiful Sarah (Andree Maranda) who, being blind, falls in love with him for his sparkling personality.


But, is there any place in the world for a hero like Toxie?


A fun and ridiculous piece of 80s Troma cinema that still delivers its cheesy message of 'it's what's on the inside that counts' with exceptional physical splatter-humour to this day. The bad one-liners, cartoonish gore and the comeuppance of the bad guys make for a delightfully gruesome and humorous 79 minutes.

[Image: Troma Entertainment]

Hani