The Redeemer: Son of Satan! (1978)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

An Exercise In Nonsense

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I'll be honest - I don't know what the hell was going on during most of The Redeemer (or Class Reunion Massacre as the version I watched called itself), but I know I sure did love it. Although the plot sounds like a rather straightforward slasher (in fact, "the killer staging a fake reunion to lure classmates back" thing has been done a few times since), but it's anything but.It begins with a little boy rising from a lake and hoping aboard a bus to church (as one does) and joins the choir as a priest with two thumbs(?) gives a rousing fire and brimstone speech about damnation. In between these bits, we see a man (never see his face) walk into a school with a briefcase, kill the caretaker, and make a mold of his face. Confused yet? The man begins slicing into an old yearbook and, as he does, we get to meet several former classmates and see what they're up to now. One is a lawyer, one is a glutton, a slutty barfly, a lesbian, a bitchy gay actor, and we have one who's so rich that she likes to shoot birds for entertainment.According to this priest, they're all sinners and deserve to die. Did I mention that it turns out this priest is the same man who killed the caretaker and made a mask of his face? Why did he do this? Well, to put it on and fool all these people that there really is a high school reunion going on.Once he gets everyone inside, he locks and bars the doors and windows, so there's no chance of escape. People start putting two and two together and figure out they were called her under sketchy circumstances. Pretty soon, ol' priesty is dressing up like a clown, a hunter, and even the grim reaper himself to kill these people off one by one.This is probably the most straightforward part of the film (and the must substantial), but even this feels askew and dreamlike (in the best way). I don't know if it's because of the quirky prologue and epilogue it's sandwiched in between or what, but this film really does feel like someone's horrible nightmare.The Redeemer has interesting cinematography, a good cast, phenomenally creepy music score, atmosphere out the ass, and a genuinely creepy villain. Give this one a watch!

This offbeat little curiosity happens to be one of my absolute favorite slasher films. In fact, only 1974's "Black Christmas" (which is also my pick for best of the horror genre in general) beats it. Released mere months before Carpenter's "Halloween" would kick start the core slasher movement, it's an extremely eerie picture. There's a sense of the foreboding here that is more prevalent than you'd expect. It focuses on a mysterious morality killer who tricks a group of "undesirables" into attending a fake high school reunion, only to begin picking them off once they arrive. If you think this sounds a bit like "Slaughter High", you'd be right. This came first and is the infinitely better of the two. It's religious subtext alone makes it far more intriguing than that popular, but ultimately quite bland effort.The six so-called degenerates include a lawyer, a gay actor, a lesbian, a cute girl who takes pride in her appearance, a rich snob and a cocky former football jock with gluttonous tendencies. Despite negative comments about the acting on this site and in a horror reference guide of mine, the six main characters are perfectly believable people. In fact, all but the glutton wind up being rather likable, particularly Cindy, played with a free-spirited innocence by the lovely Jeannetta Arnette. The Redeemer himself comes off as over the top at times, which actually works in the character's favor, really making him seem like an absolute lunatic. His Shakespearean rant in the auditorium is a highlight. Props to T.G. Finkbinder for going all in with the role and, in turn, bringing to life one of the most memorable psychos on film.Indeed, the Redeemer is a very creepy individual. Throughout, he dons many different costumes (as "Terror Train"'s killer did a few years later), each one representing an aspect specific to his victims' lives. It's an unsettling touch that really adds to the overall tone. Perhaps the creepiest scene in the entire movie is when one of the girls is yelling for someone in the distance to let her out of the locked down school. Said individual turns out to be the Redeemer, dressed as the Grim Reaper, who proceeds to pound on the barred window with his scythe.This film is an exercise in the surreal, the above mentioned sequence being positively nightmarish in execution. The film's ambiguous opening and closing segments revolving around a sinister child reinforce this feeling tenfold. The school itself is an atmospheric setting, imprisoning our characters like a tomb. The rural area surrounding it certainly lends to the feeling of hopeless isolation.Having originally seen this via the big box "Class Reunion Massacre" VHS at my local video store, I was instantly taken with it. Not easy to forget, it's a bleak, dread-inducing slasher with a unique utilization of religious themes and well worth rediscovering. It should be regarded much more highly. It truly is one of a kind.

What is it with all these folks in horror movies? Most of them look like the type of people who would watch gore films all the time, but except for the characters in the SCREAM series, it's as if all these dumb dodos have never seen even ONE slasher flick in their soon-to-be-curtailed lives. They always persist in running off alone on pointless errands, instead of sticking together and overwhelming an often vulnerable looking killer (such as the "Redeemer" here) through the sheer force of a mass attack while they still have the advantage of superior numbers. And Jeanetta Arnette, who plays former high school glee club singer Cindy (destined to be drowned in the sink of the girls' john), did you realize you spoiled the whole movie by flopping around about two minutes after you were supposed to be "dead"? Sheeesh!

A Few years ago, I found this at a Flea Market, after catching the trailer on the VHS of The Wizard Of Gore years earlier. All I remembered was that it seemed like something worth the three dollars the guy was asking, but after years of being burned in my search for decent-bad cinema, I wasn't all that shocked to discover that Class Reunion Massacre is, in fact, not worth the three dollars I paid. I like old B-horror because it's different, because it's outlandish and rebellious, because it can be refreshing compared to all the big-budget, super-hero garbage of today. But none of that means anything if it puts you to sleep.Typical Horror plot. Some kid walks out of a lake, gets on a bus, and goes to Church, where we find a rather loud Priest doing his thing...and I'm sure all of this has something to do with the six "sinners" the story now revolves around. Four People I barely noticed, Mr. metro- fem, and a lesbian are headed to their 10 year high school reunion where they can sit around and eat, and "act", and wonder where the hell everyone's at. With the doors now locked, one by one, everyone is taken out by the redeemer, some guy who probably fancys himself some kind of righteous/sadistic chameleon, hence the killing in the name of God, and constant wardrobe changes. Feeling tired yet? Class Reunion Massacre is mostly made up of endless conversations and ironic killings meant to punish sins such as gluttony, and drinking too much. This film manages to be blasphemous against Christianity, as well as B-cinema. I expected very little, yet was somehow still disappointed. What I find most irritating about Class Reunion Massacre is I can almost detect a hint of potential somewhere in there. The atmosphere is all it has going for it. Ultimately, this is not a good horror movie, not a good B-movie, Class Reunion Massacre, for the lack of a better word, is a failure. Actually, I wouldn't mind a DVD release, with some audio commentary, which might shed a little light, because I just know I missed something. I don't get it. There's way too many positive reviews for this... come to think of it, I'm wasting my time here. I could be reviewing something worthwhile, like Nightmare In A Damaged Brain...