BA_Harrison If you're an avid fan of George Romero's 'living dead' series then you might recognise the name Bill Hinzman: he played the graveyard zombie who attacked Barbara at the beginning of Night of the Living Dead. After several negligible roles in other Romero movies and assorted jobs behind the scenes, Hinzman decided to have a bash at directing, his first effort being this tawdry slasher/revenge flick based on a novel by John Russo (who also provided the screenplay).Opening with a gloriously tacky opening credits scene showing a group of sexy, lycra wearing babes (most of whom look a bit too old to still be in high school) busting some moves, closely followed by a shower scene during which we see the pervy school janitor taking snapshots of the girls through a ventilation grille, the film certainly starts promisingly—heavy on the 80s cheeze and sleaze, it looks set to be a blast. Sadly, even though the gratuitous nudity continues throughout, and is accompanied by plenty of violence (but not much in the way of decent gore), the sense of fun soon wears off thanks to the truly awful performances (the girls certainly weren't hired for their acting ability), Russo's woeful script, and Hinzman's uninspired direction which only goes to prove that lurching around like a drooling ghoul in front of the camera is a darn sight easier than calling the shots behind it.4.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 5 for the silly-but-bloody OTT Peckinpah-style shootout at the end.

Tender-Flesh Just when you think there's nothing new out there, you see The Majorettes. A semi-slasher film that owes a lot to The Prowler, although certainly not the gore scenes. Bill Hinzman helmed this picture and only one other, Flesh Eater. Reportedly based on a novel, this isn't totally bottom of the barrel but it certainly tries.A killer in camouflage is stalking the Majorettes at a high school. You will find out this is because he believes they are filthy and in need of killing. After seeing them dance and twirl batons, you, too, will seek to dismember them. They are truly awful. The acting is atrocious, as is the dialogue, and many scenes end awkwardly focusing on a character after they just finished their lines then the camera lingers a bit too long on their faces. There are some throat slashings, but most of the deaths by blade involve shots of the knife descending rather than hitting its mark.And, just as I was getting supremely bored with this film, a stupid subplot comes out of nowhere and actually improves things. The film actually has a few subplots: besides the killer not-so-subtley stalking the girls, there is also a German nurse who wants to kill an old lady and her granddaughter(also a Majorette) to get an inheritance and a biker gang that looks like rejected roadies for Motorhead who want to get revenge on a jock for squealing on a dope dealer. These all crash into each other about an hour into the film and the murders actually take a back seat to the jock's showdown with the bikers. All of the budget effects went into this scene, which is a shame since it could have better been used during the killer's work.The musical score is, well, interesting. Often derivative of other 80's thrillers, and this isn't a bad thing, we are also treated to a variety of guttural moans over the soundtrack. And it's not a woman moaning, so it gets very annoying.This is for slasher completists or for bad movie night.

FieCrier I actually know someone who liked this movie, but I'm with the other users who didn't care for it. To my mind, it would only be somewhat worthwhile to watch it if you'd first read John Russo's Making Movies: The Inside Guide to Independent Movie Production, where he goes into some detail about some of the aspects of making The Majorettes. Incidentally, in that book he states that the budget was about $200,000. That seems about right. It certainly didn't look like it was made for any more than that!In the movie, someone dressed in camouflage and wearing a camouflage hood is killing (primarily) high school majorettes with a knife. He leaves their bodies in whatever water is nearby: a lake, a pool. There are plenty of red herrings. There's a dope dealer and his gang, a peeping-tom retarded janitor, the janitor's sinister nursemaid mother. The killer is revealed about an hour into the movie, and it largely turns into an action film from that point on.

tedg Spoilers herein.Yeah all the usual production values are horrible. And the setup is along the lines of Jess Franco, but with adolescent body types. All is pretty dreary until two thirds of the way through when the slasher is discovered and blackmailed. The thing quickly disintegrates into a battle among evil groups. It is an incompetent film, but a pretty interesting collection of events in that latter third, of a scope worthy of Tarantino.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.