Film Review | Saturday The 14th Strikes Back

Released: 1988
Starring: Ray Walston, Avery Schreiber, Jason Presson, Joseph Ruskin, Pamela Stonebrook
Directed by: Howard R. Cohen
Distributed by: Concorde Pictures

“WARNING: This movie starts where the others chicken out!”

Since I did a review of the horror-comedy Saturday The 14th, I figured that I should also review its sequel, Saturday The 14th Strikes Back and if I thought the first movie was bad, this one is even worse.

The Baxters have recently moved into the house of their deceased uncle. This house has a crack in the basement which is leaking evil (in the form of smoke) from deep within the Earth. As the crack grows and more evil is released, monsters and other evil beings begin appearing in the house. The only one who sees that something is wrong is the 16-year-old Eddie Baxter (Jason Presson; Explorers, Gremlins 2: The New Batch). He finds out that in six days (Saturday the 14th) all the evil will be released and the world will come to an end. Eddie has a choice, become the new evil master of the world, or try and stop the apocalypse.

While I wasn’t expecting much when I put the DVD into my player and started watching the film, Saturday The 14th Strikes Back still couldn’t reach the low bar I had set for it. This film is filled with gags that are more unusual and confusing than funny. It was as if the person who wrote this thought “How unfunny can I be?” when coming up with the script.

A major problem I have with the film is Eddie’s family. They are not your normal family. The first time you see them they are eating dinner. What’s for dinner? Strawberry pie, chocolate cakes, Slurpees, and fudge. Food is a reoccurring thing throughout the film. Almost every time the family is together, they are having some kind of meal and it is always junk food. The patriarch of the family constantly gives advice to his son and the other family members. Things like “a strong table is the foundation of a family,” and “Did you wash the soap before you washed your hands?” All this weirdness occurs before the focus of the movie is revealed (the crack in the basement). So it becomes a bit of a blurred line when the family is acting weird because of the evil in the house affecting them or just acting as they normally would. The only member of the family that is seeming normal is Gramps (Ray Walston; Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Popeye) even though he appears to be slipping into senility.

And the main character, Eddie Baxter, is one of the whiniest characters ever. Throughout the entire film, his voice screeches as he attempts to yell his way through all the obstacles he faces. Monsters show up in his basement? Scream at them to go away. Doesn’t want to become evil? Scream it at the top of his lungs. Nobody believes him about the dangers in the house? Scream at them hoping they will. I can understand the frustration that the teen is in, but it was such a significant amount of screaming that there is no way any audience member could ignore it.

All these problems with the characters make it hard to for me to judge the actors themselves. Was the portrayal the choice of the director, the actors, or the script? Was it all of the above? I don’t know. The acting does seem ok in the sense that with the exception of the mother and unfortunately Eddie, no one seems flat or just hitting their mark and saying their line. Standouts for acting include Ray Walston and Avery Schreiber (playing Frank Baxter, the Dad) who have some of the few good lines in the film.

The costuming for the monsters of Saturday The 14th Strikes Back bring to mind the same quality of the monsters in the power ranger films. Basically men with masks and rubber body suits on. The only other monsters that are not in rubber outfits are a wolfman and a mummy and their makeup is ok, but hardly frightening. I think in regards to these costumes, the well-lit set is actually a detriment. In dark shadows, bad costumes could actually look from decent to outright terrifying, but when everything can be seen easily then you also can see how cheap it is.

Speaking of lighting, that is about the only thing that is good quality when it comes to the production of the film. You get to see everything on screen pretty well. However, all the other aspects of production are poor. Sound effects are off at times (one scene has Eddie tossing aside a glass object and we hear it shatter before it actually hits the ground) and during the “climactic” battle, a lot of stock footage of varying quality is used. Props seem to be of poor choice and quality either for comedic purposes or cost, but it is unsure from viewing which reason it is.

Saturday The 14th Strikes Back also has a musical number. Sung by the vampire Charlene (Pamela Stonebrook; Best Defense, Cinderella) about hating the fact that she can’t eat anything except blood. Pamela Stonebrook is a Jazz singer so her singing does make some sense and she doesn’t do a bad job, but the song feels out of place in the film. Other songs seem to have entire scenes set up for them like “Listen to Your Teacher” as Eddie is chased through a mini golf course by his teacher and a bunch of monsters.

If you decide to grab yourself a copy of this movie, the only formats for you to own (at the time of this review) are on VHS, DVD, and maybe Digital Video. The DVD of the movie is quite barebones. It only contains the movie and short, textual biographies of some of the actors. The quality of the film itself is decent, but unfortunately only available in full screen. Even the cover art looks like something thrown together on a napkin right before presenting it for development (it is the image at the top of this review).

I will say that I am watching this film through mid-thirties eyes. It may be a better movie through the eyes of a young child where some of the jokes may be funny and production quality and errors can easily be overlooked. In my opinion, there is nothing inappropriate for a child to see (no nudity and only slapstick comedy). I don’t know if that was the intended audience as the main character is 16 years old, but it does have a touch of a Disney Channel level film so maybe kids will get a kick out of it. But if you are over the age of 10, the appeal of this movie quickly drops.

Rating:

Jack Savage:

While the original had a low budget, dry humor charm, Saturday The 14th Strikes Back has very little to make it worth watching. With the exception of possibly appealing toward young children, this movie gets dangerously close to a zero popcorn rating. If you need to watch it, have some liquor handy and a group of friends to help you ridicule the movie. It is the only way you will get some comedy out of it.