morrison-dylan-fan Whilst director Ruggero Deodato's two most famous films (Cannibal Holocaust and The House On The Edge Of The Park) have had a huge amount written about the censorship that both films have faced,I was surprised to find out that this very entertaining,overlooked backwoods Slasher from Deodato had also faced some small censorship troubles.With the BBFC cutting out around 40 seconds of footage from the film.Searching around online for a while,I was thrilled when I at last discovered a completely uncut version of the film,which led to me deciding that I would take an (uncut) look at Deodato's backwoods terror.The plot:Attempting to patch things up after a very nasty row,a teenage couple decide to spend some time at a near by woods,in the hopes of spending some quality time together.Unbeknowst to the couple,the woods that they have chosen to visit is rumoured to have an old Indian graveyard underneath it that has caused the spirit of an Indian shaman to haunt the woods and kill anyone that it does not welcome into the woods.Despite a family occupying a cabin near by,the teenagers become the unlucky victims of the Indian shaman's latest killing spree.15 years later:A group of college teens are driving around in a van during their summer break.On the way to their latest destination,the gang pick up a hitch hiker called Ben,who when asked if he knows any good location where they could all hang out at,tells them that he would be more than happy for all of them to spend a few days in a woodland area,which he and his family live near by.Despite Ben's dad loudly voicing his fears of a shaman "boogyman" coming back to kill them all,the gang decide to pay little attention to the "crazy man" and to instead get all set for a fun couple of days in the woods,where they will discover that not all "boogymen" are fake…View on the film:For the screenplay of the film,the four writes really seem to struggle in making the films two main plot threads both equally interesting and connected to each other.Whilst the main "teen Slasher" part of the film does allow director Ruggero Deodato to show some really good moments of the teens being killed off,the story sadly does not match up to his gory directing,due to the whole of the teens plot feeling very aimless and empty.Luckally,despite the teens Slasher side of the film being disappointing,the "adult" plot thread of the film helps to really keep the film going,thanks to the great performances of David Hess and Mimsy Farmer,who along with Deodato having an eye for the woodlands setting and a terrific,industrial edge score by Claudio Simonetti are able to do really well in showing an old married couple who are worn down and nervous about their only son experiencing the outside world for the very first time on his own.

startide77 you didn't miss much.By the numbers slash and stalk affair. You neither care that these people die or how, to be quite honest. No, I tell a lie, these people get offed in whichever way Deodato thought best, and then their "friends" get on with their long weekend, as if nothing ever happened. That in itself is quite amusing.Aside from Claudio Simonetti's soundtrack, which is quite intriguing, and the location, which is very pretty, but not used to its fullest extent (proving Deodato really is just a hack who should've been collecting his pension cheque), this film simply adds to the the mid to late 80s horror industry decline.You've seen it all before and probably better too. Go watch Friday the 13th Part II again, if you feel the need for backwoods horror, or pick up Madman if you haven't seen it, or even Tony Maylam's The Burning. All are far superior backwoods horror films, with similarly effective soundtracks and much spookier atmosphere.

slayrrr666 "Body Count" is a remarkably fun and enjoyable slasher.**SPOILERS**Years after a horrible tragedy, teens Tony, (Stefano Media) Sidney, (Andrew J. Lederer) Cissy, (Cynthia Thompson) Tracy, (Nancy Brilli) and Carol, (Luisa Maneri) decide to head for an abandoned campground where Sharon, (Elena Pompei) Scott, (Sven Kruegar) Dave Kelloway, (Bruce Penhall) have already arrived. Trying to have some fun together, they begin to hike through the woods and generally have a great time being together. When they start to disappear mysteriously, they initially take it as going off on their own accord. As more and more of the group wander off, they realize that something is wrong and blame a local legend about an ancient Indian Shaman that has cursed the land. Finally learning the truth about the killings around the camp, they band together to survive the night against the demented killer.The Good News: This was a surprisingly good slasher film. While not in any way original, this one manages to do several things right. One of the main ones is that it gets the slashing down quite expertly. The stalking scenes in here are just this side of brilliant and are very well-done. The stalking through the woods from the outhouse through the trees is a classic suspense angle, as the frantic search to get away from the killer, who is only glimpsed in such brief flashes that it's almost impossible to tell, and that leads to a great tension-filled scene that is quite fun. Anytime in the outhouse is quite brilliant, as the main double-murder is loads of fun. The absolutely chilling atmosphere through the entire scene, the pacing is completely tense, and the jump comes brilliantly to the end, all culminating in a great scene. There's also plenty of scenes spread throughout the film, all of them at the very least containing a few suspenseful ideas. The final confrontation with the killer is a really standout sequence as well, using the established rules for how they're supposed to play out well in hand and offering up only a nice surprise in the revelation of the killer. This is perhaps given all the better treatment when it's revealed who the killer is after they're dealt with rather than before everything happens, and it's such a nice change of pace. There's also a really high body count in here to provide plenty of deaths, including a knife through the neck, one through the back of the head to come out through the mouth, a meat hook through the face, some scratching with a razor, a spear through the stomach, an ax in the head and some body mutilation with an ax along with a lot more in here as well. This here gets in some pretty high totals with the kills, and they're all quite brutal. As is usual with these kinds of films, the usual attitude of sleaze in here is handled with the usual amount of comfort that most of these films usually have. The last real big positive is the film's incredible pacing, which is just about perfect. The murders start happening very early on, the majority of the time is spent on the stalking and slashing and subplots are at the minimum, leaving this to thankfully never become boring at all. Overall, it's a really enjoyable affair.The Bad News: There wasn't all that much wrong with this one. One of it's problems is that it's simply way too familiar for it's own good. There's a sense of this just playing by the rule-book simply without change for the duration, hitting all the notes along the way there. While this is nice, it doesn't really offer much for those looking at films for a different feel that others. This one isn't all that different from practically any others out there, and can get lost in the shuffle if not in the particular mood to enjoy it. There's also a problem where the deaths in here aren't as graphic as they could've been. With all the brutal sounding ones described above, this one should've been a bloodbath and a gore-hounds' dream yet this one doesn't really let loose as well as it should've. These, though, are the only real problems and can easily become non-factors.The Final Verdict: With only minor, minor flaws that can be overlooked quite easily, this is a really nice addition to the slasher genre. It's not a revelation in the genre that will alter it, but for those that enjoy these kinds or even die-hard European horror fans should give this one a healthy look.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Full Male and Female Nudity and Language

LoneWolfAndCub Ruggero Deodato's (the man that made the exploitation classic "Cannibal Holocaust") rather late entry into the 80's slasher genre is a rather enjoyable and atmospheric one. To sum up an extremely thin plot: a nasty Indian shaman is hacking and slashing his way through a group of horny, fun-loving teens on a campsite in the middle of the woods that happens to be built on an Indian burial ground. That is the complexity of the plot but for late 80's slasher does it need an in-depth plot?To make up for the lack of story there is plenty of gory, vicious deaths (stabbings, axe to the face, throat impalements), a nice amount of nude women (and a naked fat guy), a creepy soundtrack and characters that I actually wanted to live. The cinematography is quite nice (the shots through the woods are especially excellent) and there are a bunch of famous horror veteran actors to fill the supporting cast. We have David Hess ("Last House on the Left", "The House on the Edge of the Park"), Ivan Rassimov ("Jungle Holocaust"), Charles Napier ("Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") and John Steiner ("Cut and Run", Deported Women of the SS Special Section"). This movie may not be his best venture into horror, it ain't got a very high rating here and it is definitely not the most memorable horror but as a slasher it is damn entertaining.3/5