DEADLY MANOR (1990) 6 out of 10 stars ⭐ Time to Read: 2:20 min Better than expected...

 Better than expected...

DEADLY MANOR (1990) 6 out of 10 stars ⭐ Time to Read: 2:20 min

BASIC PLOT: 

Jack

A group of teenagers go to a lake to enjoy a weekend of camping. On the way, they get lost, and pick up a hitchhiker, Jack (Clark Tufts). He's about their age, and says he knows the way. Jack informs them they are still too far away to make it before dark, and they'd better find someplace to bed down for the night. Rod (Mark Irish) picks an isolated road, drives down it, and instead of finding someplace to camp, finds a giant, creepy, apparently abandoned house.

Helen

Tony

Tony (Greg Rhodes), Rod and Peter (Jerry Kernion) think they have hit the jackpot. It's starting to rain, it's supposed to be cold outside tonight, and now they'll have a warm, dry place to sleep. But Helen (Claudia Franjul) refuses to stay, saying the house feels evil, and besides, she swears she saw someone close an upstairs window. The other girls, Susan (Elizabeth Baldwin) and Anne (Kathleen Patane) also don't want to stay. It feels wrong, and it has a strange shrine to a car accident outside of it, full of blood and pictures of an alluring, redheaded woman (Jennifer Delora).

Weird Shrine

Who is this strange, redheaded woman, and why are there pictures of her all over this seemingly abandoned house? Did Helen really see someone in the window, and will the others come to regret not to listening to her more closely?

Mysterious redhead

WHAT WORKS:

 *EXCELLENT ATMOSPHERIC The house chosen as the setting was very creepy, and in need of TLC. It was the perfect backdrop to the story.

*FANTASTIC MISDIRECTION There were lots of twists and turns, and I couldn't figure out what the actual plot was. Is it a vampire movie, is that why there are coffins in the basement? Does Tony know the mysterious redheaded woman? Is Jack involved? They did pick him up right before they found the house. I didn't know the answers to any of these questions until the very end, and that's a miracle for this type of movie.

Anne & Peter

*GOOD CAST OF CHARACTERS decent variation of characters made for a more interesting story.

Rod & Susan

*TWO OF THE MALE CHARACTERS NAMES ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH GENITALIA Rod & Peter, which is hilarious!

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: 

*ACTING COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER It wasn't terrible for the type of movie it was, but it could have been better.

*THE KIDS ARE IN THE "TOO STUPID TO LIVE" CATEGORY If you break into a place, and

Susan & Rod

there's a nutter wall, that should be your cue to leave. But not for these kids! They found shrines to car accidents, coffins in the basement, and psycho scrapbooks, and still, these kids don't know when to leave!

*THE KILLS AREN'T VERY INVENTIVE OR DISGUSTING I know that's not the point, it's about finding out who the killer is, and why he's killing, but still, the kills could have been different from one another, more bloody, and more inventive.

*GOOFS - SUSAN'S HEARTBEAT SHOWS IN BLOOD By pooling blood in the crook of Susan's neck, it moves every time her heartbeats. It shouldn't have been placed there, because it's an obvious goof.

*WHY DIDN'T THE COUPLE CLIP THE MOTORCYCLISTS WITH THEIR CAR? 

William Russell as Alfred

If your being chased by a motorcycle gang, and all they're using is their helmets to hit your car, try flicking your wheel to the left or right, and watch them kill each other, as they spill down the road. Just saying.

*THE MAKE-UP WAS LACKING but what do you expect for a low budget horror film?

Make-up wasn't the 
greatest

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: 

*I would recommend this film. It's a great atmospheric, it keeps you guessing, and it's silly, mindless fun. Turn off your brain, and enjoy!

CLOSING NOTES: 

*THIS IS A LOW BUDGET HORROR MOVIE, please keep that in mind before you watch/rate it. These types of movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I HAVE NO CONNECTION TO THE FILM, or production in ANY way. This review was NOT written in full, or in part, by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews (less trolls and fanboys), and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.