Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1986)

Director:

Jim McCullough Sr.

Writer:

Jim McCullough Jr. (writer)

Release Date:

April 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Please do not disturb Evelyn. She already is.

Plot:

After several years in an insane asylum, Evelyn, the keeper of the Mountaintop Motel, is released and resumes doing business...

Plot Keywords:

Nipples Visible Through Clothing | Supernatural | Bra Less | Ghost | Accident

Cast

Bill Thurman	...	Reverend Bill McWiley
Anna Chappell	...	Evelyn
Will Mitchel	...	Al
Virginia Loridans	...	Tanya
Major Brock	...	Crewshaw
James Bradford	...	Sheriff
Amy Hill	...	Prissy
Marian Jones	...	Mary
Gregg Brazzel	...	Vernon
Jill King	...	Lori
Rhonda Atwood	...	Bar owner
Foster Litton	...	Sheriff Dispatcher
Linda Blankenship	...	Al's Secretary
Angela Christine	...	Singing Voice (voice)

Also Known As:

Mountain Top Motel (Europe: English title) (video title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Company:

New World Pictures

Trivia:

Was originally simply titled "Mountaintop Motel" when the film was made in 1983. New World Pictures added the "Massacre" to the title when they picked the film up for distribution in 1986.

Quotes:

Evelyn: And tell your little wife I'll have a surprise for her.

I realize I'm in the minority here, but...

I found it was possible to take this seriously and have some fun with it.

Although most reviews here only consider "Mountaintop Motel Massacre" entertaining on a so-bad-it's-good level, this cheap rural horror movie actually delivers some okay atmosphere.

Evelyn (Anna Chappell) has gotten out of an insane asylum, but she's not exactly cured. After accidentally butchering her daughter in a fit of rage, she convinces the local authorities that it was an accident, but is now pushed right back into insanity. She decides to take it out on her unsuspecting customers, at first only releasing snakes, rats, and roaches into their rooms, then escalating to murder with the aid of her trusty sickle.

Passable entertainment for its low budget and filmed on location in Louisiana, I don't actually see how this could be considered that bad. It's certainly derivative and uninspired, but the film-makers take themselves seriously. I was expecting more of an exploitative, over-the-top hack and slash camp fest, but the film actually favors more of the straight thriller approach. It's true that the cast largely is made up of amateurs, but I didn't think that any of the acting was egregiously inept enough to take me out of the film. Character lead Bill Thurman, who was Coach Popper in "The Last Picture Show" is stuck in an unimaginative part - a boozing preacher - but as the top-billed actor in the piece, he has an amusing presence. I also thought that the makeup effects really weren't that bad for low-budget fare. Even the characters (most of them) were more likable than annoying, and the film wasn't entirely predictable, both aspects I found refreshing. The music was appropriate, although I found that it got rather redundant.

All in all, it's better than I thought it would be - die hard fans of slasher films and drive-in fare might find it worth their while. I more or less enjoyed it.

6/10