Claustrophobia (2003)

User Rating:

2.9/10   

Director:

Mark Tapio Kines

Writer:

Mark Tapio Kines (writer)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror | Comedy

Tagline:

The hunt is on.

Plot:

A serial killer armed with a crossbow pistol is murdering people from their own rooftops. When three young coworkers at a poorly-attended slumber party start hearing footsteps on the roof, they fear the worst. |

Cast

Melanie Lynskey	...	Lauren
Sheeri Rappaport	...	Gina
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Grace
Will Collyer	...	Man in Black (as Will Heermance)
Judith O'Dea	...	Alena Gray (as Judy O'Dea)
Phillip Darlington	...	Second Newscaster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daniel DeFabio	...	Radio Show Caller (voice)
William Mehner	...	News Anchor (voice)

Also Known As:

Serial Slayer (Australia) (DVD title) (New Zealand: English title) (DVD title) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and violence.

Runtime:

USA:79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cassava Films

Trivia:

Filmed in nine days.

Amongst the worst movies ever made!

It probably wouldn't be fair of me to say that this is the singularly worst movie of all time. However, it certainly does rank at the bottom of the pile.

I've read the comments published to date very carefully and seen comparisons made with classic movies such as HALLOWEEN. It would not be fair to compare this movie to such classics, however it is fair to compare it to contemporary movies made with similar budgets and similar premises.

As someone who loves straight-to-DVD movies like CAMP BLOOD and BACHELOR PARTY MASSACRE, I was expecting another "so-bad-it's-good" movie in a similar vain when I put SERIAL SLAYER into my DVD player. What I saw on the screen was a long way departed from my expectations.

From the opening moments, this movie was obviously going to be very poor as production values go, but this did not mean it would be devoid of all merit. Indeed it could have been an unintentionally funny variation of HALLOWEEN if placed in the right hands.

Unfortunately, this movie just got worse and worse as it moved on. There is more padding than any armchair ever manufactured. In fact, the only movie I can think of with this level of padding is HG Lewis's THE GRUESOME TWOSOME. However, the director of that movie did at least make some of the padding interesting to watch in the "so-bad-it's-good" kind of way. At least 80 percent of SERIAL SLAYER consists of 3 women talking. Nothing happens at all. Hints are dropped that a stalker is creeping up on them but the producers lead this fabulous premise to absolutely nothing. As another commenter has correctly pointed out, the movie keeps stalling like a dysfunctional road vehicle. Just when it appears that something interesting is transpiring, the action comes to a halt and the seemingly never-ending boring conversations between the 3 main characters resume. Only in the last 10 minutes does anything remotely interesting happen but by this time most viewers will have given up on the endurance of watching this movie.

Judith O'Dea of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD fame must have really needed some money to supplement her retirement pension when she made this because this is the most embarrassing production any actress of her ilk could have appeared in. Her appearance is little more than a cameo so at least she did get out of the movie in time.

Many commenters have resorted to using the daytime conditions during which the movie filming took place as a means to defending its shortcomings. However, CAMP BLOOD was also filmed entirely in daylight and did not even have the benefit of a claustrophobic indoors setting, yet it surpasses SERIAL SLAYER by miles in terms of entertainment value.

Put simply, viewing this movie just once is the very definition of an endurance exercise and most viewers accepting the challenge are going to feel the pain every second.

You have every right to doubt my review of SERIAL SLAYER but if you choose to see it, I think you will find yourself wishing you heeded the warning.

If you want to see a movie with a similar premise, try SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE or SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE. Both movies are better paced, better acted and genuinely entertaining low-budget exercises in film-making.