Rocktober Blood (1984)
"Billy's back from the dead... with a message from Hell!"
Rated R / Color / 88 Minutes

One of the most important things to a film (if not, the most important thing) is its music. Without music, films would be boring as all hell. Could you imagine trying to watch Rocky's training montage without the "Gonna Fly Now" theme? And good God, what if Michael Myers carried on his murder spree in Haddonfield, Illinois without the accompaniment of John Carpenter's famous "Halloween Theme?" And... gasp(!), what if Rocktober Blood lacked the rock music that is clearly promised in the film's title? I shudder to think about it. In all seriousness though, music can make or break a film, and in this case, the music (particularly the trio of 80's hair metal songs at the climax) saves the day! Without it, Rocktober Blood would just be another throwaway slasher film.

When the film begins, young rockstar Billy "Eye" Harper is recording his latest hit song, "I'm Back." After Billy lays down his track for his upcoming album, he and the rest of his band call it a night. After most of the gang leaves, Billy returns and goes friggin' insane! He smokes a little dope, listens to "I'm Back" in reverse, and engages in a little slashing and impaling. The movie jumps ahead ten years after Billy's rampage and we discover that he killed twenty-five people and got the electric chair. His girlfriend Lynn Starling has since taken over his band and is in the process of putting together a gore-filled rockfest called "Rocktober Blood." Seemingly over the fact that her ex went insane and tried to kill her, Lynn goes about setting up the show as planned... and then Billy shows up.

And Billy is as crazy as ever and ready to make Lynn's life a living hell. He stalks her day and night, makes obscene phone calls from within the house she is staying at (in true When a Stranger Calls fashion), and brushes up on his murdering skills a bit by drowning Lynn's friend Donna in a hot tub. Lynn, desperate for help and desperate to prove that she is not going crazy, drags a friend to Billy's grave and digs up his coffin. Lynn's manager Chris shows up, just in time to say "See, his body is still in there. I told you so." but Lynn is still not fully convinced. Still, the show must go on, so Lynn prepares herself for "Rocktober Blood!"

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
The movie swiftly heads toward its bloody climax at this point and clears up a few things for the audience. First off, Billy Harper is in fact dead. The psycho that is stalking Lynn is actually John Harper, Billy's identical twin brother! Apparently psycho Johnny was not content with writing his brother's rock songs, so he decided to go on a killing spree to frame his brother and take over as leader of the band. (Strange how the cops, the band, and Billy's girlfriend never knew he had a twin brother isn't it?) After stumbling over another plothole, the film goes into rock concert mode. Thinking that Johnny has been neutralized, Lynn takes the stage at the "Rocktober Blood" concert and sings "Rainbow Eyes".

After Lynn finishes belting out her 80's rock tune, Johnny hops on the microphone and sings "Killer on the Loose" while brutally slaying all of the female dancers onstage. (Ironic, no?) Everyone thinks its all part of the show (can't say that I blame them since these gore effects are a bit on the cheesy side), and the crowd cheers Johnny on as he disembowls the hapless dancers and tosses their innards to his fans. After he finishes the song, John rips off the mask he was wearing and shocks everyone. (Billy Harper is back?!)

The band decides that the best way to make things less awkward is to start playing "I'm Back," and soon John is rocking out with a terrified Lynn handcuffed to his arm. As John reaches the end of his song, Lynn somehow breaks away from him (Wait huh? Is she a magician? Did she suddenly acquire super strength? How the hell did she get away?!), allowing her manager to crack an electric guitar over Johnny's shoulder. The resulting blow electrocutes the mad rocker as he finishes singing the final lyrics... and the film ends.

Rocktober Blood turned out to be more enjoyable than I had originally recalled. It’s a film that is completely unashamed of what it is, and delivers the boobs, blood, and rock n' roll that you'd expect. The music in the film was written and performed by a rock group called Sorcery who also star in the film as Billy's/Lynn's band. Since I'm a fan of 80's rock, the three songs from the film were a real treat and they really helped take this low-budget slasher flick up a notch. And this movie really needed a boost, because there were some awful actors in this movie, most notably Ben Sebastian ("Head of Security") who likely got the role because he shares the same last name as the writers/producers.

All in all, this is a fun piece of slasher cinema that has sadly not made it to DVD yet. Though it drags a bit here and there, and has plotholes galore, I enjoyed watching Rocktober Blood and have no second thoughts about giving it:


- THREE 'RADS' -

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