Mr_Ectoplasma Indubitably one of the most hated slasher films of the eighties, "Scream" (not to be confused with the Wes Craven classic that would come fifteen years later) follows an arbitrary group of rafters who are traveling on the Rio Grande through Texas. They decide to get off the waterway and camp out, but find an abandoned ghost town to make use of. Bad idea.I had heard nothing but bad things about this film for years, which is part of why I took so much time getting around to finally watching it. A lot of horror movies from this period get the "worst movie ever made" declaration from some people (mostly those who don't understand the aesthetic appeal of these films that genre nerds love), but most of the time, there is still a fanbase who defends these films. "Scream" is one of the rare exceptions where you will find more or less nothing but awful things said about it.Let's be clear: "Scream" is not a good film. It's artless, bloodless, poorly-acted—its script meanders without purpose, while its characters and their relationships to one another are indistinguishable, and coherence never comes into the equation. Basically, it is a by-the-numbers slasher flick with the singular distinction that it has one single on-screen death. Despite what the DVD cover may lead you to believe, this is not a splatter flick by any stretch of the imagination.So, what then? Well, under the pile of slasher sins this film commits, I can say it has one thing going for it, and that's its atmosphere. The dusty ghost town setting is simply fantastic—it's obviously a studio lot, but the fact that it's obvious makes the film even weirder. The camera pans around the town in darkness, and ominous music really establishes a legitimately creepy atmosphere. It's a strange setting for a horror film that is explicitly non-Western, but again, it just adds to the film's weirdness. The finale is weak and the killer's "revelation" (if you want to call it that) really just further complicates matters, especially as the film is bookended by panning shots of an old living room, a painting, and a trio of "the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker" figurines. This is probably symbolic, given that they have zero bearing on anything else that occurs in the film, but who knows? Yet another instance of the mysteries that are "Scream."Overall, I'd only recommend this film for die-hard slasher fans, who even then will be divided. As a slasher film, "Scream" is definitely one of the downright strangest offerings of the eighties. Many have condemned it, and I don't blame them—it is a classically bad movie. But in spite of its shortcomings, there is something to be said for its spooky atmosphere and the idiosyncrasies and peculiarities that it is peppered with. It feels like the writer/director literally had no clue what he was doing making the film, and while that certainly makes it nearly unwatchable in some respects, it also renders the film a marginally eerie anomaly. 5/10.

Woodyanders A bunch of folks on a rafting expedition set up camp in an old abandoned ghost town. However, said town isn't as deserted as they initially expected and pretty soon people are getting picked off by a phantom killer. Sound good? Well, alas it just ain't. Flatly directed by Bryon Quisenberry (who also wrote the talky and uneventful script), with mild gore, no nudity, tame offscreen kills, a sluggish pace, drab and dumb characters who stupidly venture off on their own so they can be easily dispatched by the killer (serves 'em right for being so idiotic!), a meandering story, a frustratingly muddled conclusion, and a severe paucity of both tension and spooky atmosphere (things perk up a bit and get fairly creepy in the last third, but by then it's far too little much too late), this extremely stiff and static stinker proves to be quite a painfully languid and laborious chore to endure. Worse yet, veteran thespians Hank Worden, Gregg Palmer, and Alvy Moore are all wasted in lousy nothing roles. In addition, extra points need to be detracted due to the insufferable antics of irritating comic relief bozo Lou (played with an appalling lack of charm by Joe Allaine). Even the always welcome presence of the ever-awesome Woody Strode as a mysterious sailor fails to alleviate the numbing tedium. Joseph Conlan's monotonous and grossly inappropriate score sounds like it belongs in a generic 70's cop show. Richard Pepin's decent cinematography manages to wring a modicum of gloom-doom mood from the cool rundown location. A total snorefest.

bfan83 *POSSIBLE SPOILERS!* Don't get me wrong, I love bad movies. But this was just inexcusable. The entire film consists of long, continuous and pointless padding, a very undeveloped plot and horrendous acting by some of the most annoying characters to ever grace a slasher flick.The plot concerns a group of friends on a rafting trip down the Rio Grande River in West Texas. Inexplicably, they come across a deserted, old ghost town. During the night, a few of the friends are murdered by an unseen killer that we never get to see, even at the film's conclusion. The rest of the film consists of the remaining survivors yelling and bickering at each other, and trying to stay alive. Yet, they still wander off by themselves and are murdered by the unseen killer. The ending offers no resolution to who is doing the killing and why and half the cast survives which really irritated me.If you are a die-hard slasher fan, than yes seek this rare and (thankfully) forgotten slasher flick. For curiosity seekers, however, please avoid like the plague!

callanvass horrendous slasher is awful in every department it is EXTREMELY boring and has some laughable dialog and nothing much happens and you never get to see the actual killer it also has some bad lighting and sloppy direction and badly written as for the gore NOTHING this is just one awful headache inducing slasher and on top of that you have an awful ending to boot this is one of the worst horror movies ever made OKAY i am gonna tell ya right now all the actors suck! and none of them are convincing or likable overall PLEASE!!!!! i am begging you DO NOT RENT THIS MOVIE it's hazardous for your health in fact if you see this at a video store smash it to bits BOMB out of 5