The Newlydeads (1988)

Redundant and unnecessary.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Another of City Light's cheapies, that throws out movies, like people do trash. You gotta give credit to it's story. Transvestite tries to get sexy with a manager who runs a hotel for newlyweds. He doesn't take to him, sorrily, and ends up murdering the trannie. Years, later, his spirit returns, killing off couples, who have just made their vows. The hotel manager is about to get married to a much younger lass. Lucky him. A 40's psychic woman, holidaying at the hotel with her man is his only chance. Laughable flick, as is almost everything Joseph Mehri and Richard Pepin bring out, this one's an entertainer with overdone violence and some not bad acting. But do watch this privately, to avoid embarrassment from others who might end up killing you off. The priest is a hoot.

I purchased this title as a part of Troma's "Toxie's Top Ten." I certainly don't want to see "Toxie's Bottom-of-the-Barrel." "The Newlydeads" starts off promising, though poorly photographed, with a news report mentioning Billie Jean King and the death of Bruce Lee. This is followed by the well-known song "Spooky." The film seemed to be striving to be more than standard 80s slasher fare. I happily settled back with my caramel apple martini.We then meet Lloyd Stone, who owns a lodge and who evidently has very poor vision and is hard of hearing. He makes a move on a blonde guest, a move which is reciprocated, but things turn out badly. Fifteen years later, Lloyd is having a lawn wedding and the blonde guest shows up. From there, things go downhill for Lloyd, plus his other newlywed lodge guests, plus the audience.I was giving "The Newlydeads" points for portraying the character of Jackie in a positive light, but while allowing Jackie to exact revenge on Lloyd is one thing, having her kill innocent others derails the film from any logic and leaves us without anyone for whom to root.Among the all-white "newlyweds" is an elderly couple, still very much in love but treated in a condescending manner by both the filmmakers and the drunken priest, to whom they go to renew their vows. Also there is Chris, who sounds like Sharon Gless' Deb from "Queer as Folk," Chris being the "psychic" character so common in creatively bankrupt films. She "sees" things that are about to happen, something which used to turn on her husband but which now just serves to annoy him. She warns Lloyd that bad things are a-brewin' but he can't be bothered with such lunacy when he's got a hot, breast-baring new wife to bed.Sure enough, the next morning a likable young couple is found dead and Chris pulls an "I told you so" on Lloyd. Instead of going to the police to report a bad-for-business double homicide, Lloyd frets over his day-long but already-troubled marriage and Chris, our supposed hero, urges him to get rid of the bodies that are starting to pile up. Jackie quickly realizes that Lloyd is incredibly stupid, even by cheesy horror movie standards, and keeps getting him to do very bad things.This is the sort of film in which no one advises the surviving guests to, you know, CHECK OUT, and in which someone loses a loved one yet behaves as if nothing has happened. There's a mystery to solve, after all -- the body will keep! For those who like breasts, there are plenty of women well-cast in those roles. Cops finally show up, but behaving as if they're two of the paintball players from "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives." The conclusion is completely absurd. This is definitely a film that, if you must watch it, you should watch with friends, while drinking, and with sex on your minds.

Joseph Merhi's "The Newlydeads" is a textbook example of late 80's slasher.The spirit of a dead drag queen kills honeymoon couples at the lakeside resort where he was murdered.This film is so horrendously bad that it truly has to be seen to be believed.The acting is awful,the suspense is non-existent and there is plenty of cheesy gore.The character of drunken preacher is hilarious.This is the sort of movie that keeps you thinking that they must have intended it to be bad-this couldn't be some sort of accidental mistake.Avoid this one like the plague.2 out of 10.

(Apologies for any spoilers)One of the most unintentionally hilarious "horror" movies I've seen. Would have to consider the direction pure genius except I'm 99% sure this was meant to be scary, frightening, disturbing, etc.The so-called plot involves a lecherous newlywed-hotel owner and his dark past. He killed a transvestite fifteen years ago and for some reason (never, ever clear) s/he is back and mad. Granted, the hotel owner's reasons for killing the transvestite were a tad on the sketchy side, ( a simple "no thank you" would have sufficed) but I don't think that warranted the killing spree that ensues. Logic would dictate the transvestite coming back from the grave and getting revenge on the owner, (who looks and acts like a retired porn star) but of course logic doesn't have a role in this turkey.Rather, the transvestite kills client after client of the owner in scenes that are as poorly acted as they are filmed. There is simply no reason to kill more than half of the victims. The camera tricks used throughout the murder scenes are strictly junior high level and the editing will leave you asking, "What just happened?" more than a few times.The highlights of this film are, while few and far between, enough of a reason to watch through to the end. Greatly laughable sequences involve a saw blade decapitation and a woman who is impaled on a tree somehow, as if she flung herself at it or something. Again, never clear. Does the transvestite control the forest too? Also, an excellent drunken priest guy who clearly understood the role he was to play. The only performance I enjoyed the way the director probably meant it to be enjoyed. Did I mention the psychic? Or the British punk rockers? Or the ending, which is on my top five list of all time worst?Having reread all that, I'd just like to point out that I personally love movies like this, the lazy, desperately unimaginative, who gives a good crap kind of horror film. Apply liberal lubrication (get at least a case if you are not alone) and enjoy. On the copy I saw there was a preview for the movie Epitaph, definitely watch that too.