Party des Schreckens (1981)

Party des Schreckens: Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis. With Patricia Mickey, Michael MacRae, Dennis Robertson, Morgan Most. A woman is pursued by her murderous, psychopathic twin sister in the days leading up to their birthday.

“As co-written and directed by Ovidio Assonitis (u0026quot;Beyond the Dooru0026quot;, u0026quot;Tentaclesu0026quot;), u0026quot;There Was a Little Girlu0026quot; (a.k.a. u0026quot;Madhouseu0026quot;) is a mostly tedious affair running through the standard slasher paces adequately but without any real style. For its first two thirds, it actually plays more like a drama with some horror moments than an out and out horror film. Itu0026#39;s too bad it got labelled as a Video Nasty, as itu0026#39;s never really that gory, at least not until the end. The good thing is that the performances are better than expected, and things do get marginally more interesting in the final third, with a plot development that some horror fans may see coming and some may not.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTrish Everly stars as Julia, a teacher in a school for deaf children whose birthday is nearing. In the days leading up to it, her deformed, demented twin sister Mary (Allison Biggers) escapes from the hospital. It seems that Mary had dominated and terrorized the meek Julia during their childhood, and now Julia is more than a little concerned. Mary had had a spooky canine companion when the two women were young, and now thereu0026#39;s a bloodthirsty dog adding to the weirdness.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor around an hour or so, this is just a little too dull, although Assonitis succeeds in building some atmosphere. But the story becomes more fun upon its one true big reveal. Eventually, this bears some strong resemblances to the Canadian slasher u0026quot;Happy Birthday to Meu0026quot;, although itu0026#39;s hard to say whether one movie ripped off the other or not. The beautiful Everly does an okay job in the lead, the equally lovely Morgan Most is fine as her friend, and Michael MacRae is acceptable as Juliasu0026#39; psychiatrist / lover, but the person who steals the show is Dennis Robertson as the friendly Father James. The animal work is good; trainer Joe Camp plays the ill-fated hospital guard. However, during the finale, when the crazed dog comes through a door, a special effect is employed, and itu0026#39;s laughably horrible.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, a decent shocker redeemed to a degree by its last act.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFive out of 10.”