Stick "massacre" in the title of a horror / slasher film and your in for a winner! Or not, as the case maybe. In 1974 Tobe Hooper brought us the most well known slasher film that used "massacre" in the title to attract audiences. But throughout the 70s, there were a good number of bottom rung b-movies that also used massacre as marketing. Here's three of the best, worst or simply weirdest of the bad b-movie bunch.
Demented Death Farm Massacre (1971): AKA... Shantytown Honeymoon
Demented Death Farm Massacre (1971): AKA... Shantytown Honeymoon
 | What started out as the obscure b-movie Shantytown Honeymoon was taken by producer/director Fred Olen Ray, and spliced with new footage of famed b-movie actor John Carradine as the Judge of Hell, who narrates the story. A group of jewel thieves on the run, wander into a backwoods farm, hoping to hide out for the time being. However, when the farmer returns home only to find the thieves taking over the house, he hatches a deadly plan.The film was re-released with the 5 minutes of Carradine footage, destined still to be an obscure b-movie. Released under the various titles of Honey Britches, Moonshiner's Woman, Hillbilly Hooker, Little Whorehouse on the Prairie, and finally Demented Death Farm Massarce. It still made no impact, until 1986 when Olen Ray sold the film to Troma Entertainment, and they released it on VHS as part of their back catalog of schlock horror movies. |
Naked Massacre (1976): Original title, Die Hinrichtung (AKA Born For Hell)
| A German / Canadian / French / Italian co-production, directed by Denis Héroux. Loosely based on the notorious Richard Speck murders, which is transferred inexplicable from America to Northern Ireland, during the Troubles. This is the grim tale of a disturbed Vietnam vet returning home via Belfast, who invades a house shared by eight nurses and proceeds to terrorize and murder them. This is the closest telling of the Speck story. Others that were likely inspired by it I have mentioned before are the controversial Japanese flick Violated Angels, and possibly to some extent the infamous Canadian cult slasher Black Christmas. The film, which has the potential to be a cult classic, is somewhat ruined by the bad dubbing. For some reason all the actors have been dubbed over with painful foreign accented voice actors. Rather than having Irish, British or American accents. Or it did on the version I watched. |  |
Drive-In Massacre (1977): ... Your Nightmares Are About To Come True!!
 | In essence a cheap hack-and-slash reworking of Peter Bogdanovich's 1968 cult classic Targets. Two police detectives try to catch a serial killer who is stalking a rural California drive-in theater, randomly killing people with a sword. Co-written by George "Buck" Flower, who has appeared in films as diverse as Back To the Future II, Ilsa: She Wolf Of The SS and many of John Carpenter's productions. The movie has all the right elements for a cult slasher b-movie, and even harks back to schlock horror marketing tactics of the like of William Castle. With it's viewer discretion WARNING!!!, and claim to have been "filmed entirely in bloodcurdling Gore-Color." It's a movie that was designed to be seen in a drive-in cinema, and loses something on the small screen. With it's tired old "he's coming for you" twist ending, designed to put the willies up drive-in audiences. |
