Death Row Diner (1988)

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

DEATH ROW DINER is a fun, little SOV (shot-on-video) romp starring the wonderful Michelle Bauer (Sorority Babes, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Nightmare Sisters, many more...)Otis Wilcox, once a powerful man in Hollywood whose studio churned out big budget Hollywood hits in the 30s and 40s, is framed for murdering his wife, and he is electrocuted... a hungry man... 40 years later, his former studio is now being run by two ruthless men, one of whom is married to his grand-daughter, Julia Wilcox-Weston (Michelle Bauer). While shooting a movie in the now abandoned prison where Otis is electrocuted, a freak electrical storm brings Otis back to life, now hideously disfigured, is hungrier than ever and ready to wreak havoc on the filmmakers and crew who have dragged his once grand studio into the depths of B-movie debauchery.DEATH ROW DINER, in my opinion, is probably one of the best SOV horror-comedies to come out of the 80s. The reason for that is that it doesn't take itself seriously. The acting, of course, is sub-par at best. Excluding the wonderful Michelle Bauer and Jay Richardson, who plays her crude husband. The gore is absolutely laughable (i.e. the ping-pong paddle scene instantly comes to mind). The production values are on par with that of an early 80s adult film. All of these things is what makes DEATH ROW DINER just an absolute blast to watch! It doesn't take itself seriously (unlike PHANTOM BROTHER) and it's intentionally meant to spoof the B-movie industry.I urge anyone who loves crappy horror-comedies, or SOV completionists, or any fans of Michelle Bauer to track this bad boy down. It's quite rare, these days, but it usually pops up on ebay every once in awhile for cheap. You MUST own it! Now!

i couldn't believe this movie! the realism was above and beyond any movie of this genre that i have ever, in my long, long life, ever seen. it's even in color...which adds so much vividness to the gore. i like that. i play ping pong and i enjoyed that scene especially. i only used the paddle on young women. now i see it has other uses. the outtakes at the end should have been the movie itself. they were funny especially the bloody parts. i don't know why directors think they have to spare the viewer the reality of life. i really don't. i can't understand why this didn't get an award at Cannes! i mean this genre is so underrated. and there's not enough straight-to-video-trash on the shelves.

Death Row Diner is not meant to be taken seriously. It's a movie meant to be enjoyed for it's schlokeyness, like Plan 9 or Reefer Madness. If you take it at that, you're bound to get an hour's worth of entertainment. Now if only I could find a copy of it.

When I first watched this movie I had to crank up the volume on my T.V. set to actually hear what was said. I also thought that this would be a comedy/horror, but towards the end, it turned out to be just a plain stupid dark comedy!There's inside jokes on her movie "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers", which also featured Jay Richardson, who's also in this dumb movie and was distributed by the same company and director. C'mon Michelle do an interesting movie for once, with a better made budget!