Sunday, October 14, 2012

Evil Laugh (1986)

A group of med students arrive at an old building that one of their friends wants to purchase.  When their friend doesn't show up - because he was murdered before the opening credits - they start picking up which leads to a wacky cleaning montage.  No one shall ask why they are cleaning a house that their friend has not yet signed a deal on, or why the realtor is letting them stay there for the weekend.

The house has a bloody past.  It was previously an orphanage  where Martin, the teenage caretaker, was accused of molesting the kids.  Martin's father was so distraught he committed suicide.  Later the case is dismissed when the kids admit they lied.  Martin was so happy to be acquitted of the false accusation that he heads  back to the orphanage, kills all the kids, and burns the house down.  Oddly enough the home shows no signs of a fire, let alone being burnt to the ground.  It just needs a good cleaning.

The characters hit all the typical stereotypes, jock, nerd, good girl, loose girl, and preppies. What is not stereotypical is the homosexual overtones with the guys.  I'm not sure if this is intentional or the humor is at the level of junior high boys.  But it is definitely awkward when Barney spends way too much screen time fondling Mark's bare ass which he supposedly thinks it's Tina's. As if that isn't weird enough, Barney is hiding under the bed and sticking his hand out of a hole in the middle of the mattress that Tina and Mark are  on.  How could they not notice this hole?  Please note that Tina remains clothed, while Mark is completely naked.
Barney grabbing Mark's butt through a hole in the
mattress. Nothing gay about that prank.
Barney is the horror nerd who reads Fangoria and knows horror movie cliches.  He warns the others that it's a bad idea to stay in a murder house and that if they have sex they will die.

Scott Baio's brother Steven stars and was a co-writer.  There is an interview at the end with Baio and Dominick Brascia which is interesting. However they seem to think the movie is far better than it is.  They seriously talk of using tension for effect but this movie has no tension whatsoever.
Death by microwave - oddly enough it works
even with the door open.

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