Blood Theatre: Difference between revisions

Blood Theatre
Blood Theatre
	Promotional poster
Directed by	Rick Sloane
Written by	Rick Sloane
Produced by	Rick Sloane
Starring	Mary Woronov; Jonathan Blakely; Jenny Cunningham; Joanna Foxx;
Cinematography	Bill Fishman
Edited by	Rick Sloane
Music by	Rick Sloane
Distributed by	Moore Video; Retromedia Entertainment; Active Home Video;
Release date	September 5, 1984;
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

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Blood Theatre (also known as Movie House Massacre) is a 1984 American independent slasher-horror comedy film directed by Rick Sloane and starring Mary Woronov, Jonathan Blakely, Jenny Cunningham, and Joanna Foxx.

The film includes many bizarre movie theater-related deaths, such as being fried inside a popcorn machine, stabbed in the ticket booth, electrocuted by a film projector, decapitated by a projection booth partition, stabbed while a movie is playing on screen, smoke inhalation from burning film, and a telephone receiver which breaks apart while a dying girl screams hysterically into it.

The majority of the film was shot at the historic Beverly Warner Theater in Beverly Hills, which was also a location in the film Xanadu.^{[citation needed]} It was later demolished and the site became a bank building.^{[citation needed]}

All the films which play at the Spotlite Theater Multiplex in this film, were short films made by Rick Sloane while he attended Los Angeles City College.^{[citation needed]} They include Clown Whores of Hollywood, Chainsaw Chicks, Amputee Hookers and Nightmare Of The Lost Whores.

Plot

Dean Murdock, the owner of the Spotlite Theater chain, purchases an abandoned theater that was once the site of a horrific massacre perpetrated by the disgruntled owner on the theater's closing night. He notifies his employees of the chain's acquisition of the property, and promotes several to renovate and subsequently operate the theater. To motivate his employees, he offers a $1,000 bonus that will go to one of them after a test run, much to the chagrin of his incredulous assistant, Miss Blackwell.

Two cheerleader friends of Jennifer, one of the theater's employees, arrive at the abandoned theater to meet her. They find the theater empty, and both are stabbed to death by an unknown man in a tuxedo. During a screening at the main theater, Selena, a disgruntled concession stand employee left out of Murdock's promotion, causes a scene, and is escorted out by Miss Blackwell.

Meanwhile, Jennifer, Adrian, and Malcolm arrive at the abandoned theater property and begin cleaning. The three find some old reels of film upstairs, decide to project them. On the reels, they see a filmed stage play, during which the audience flees in terror as the auditorium fills with smoke. The projector catches fire midway through. Jennifer flees, and witnesses a smiling elderly man in a tuxedo who attempts to choke her before disappearing. Jennifer is so frightened by the incident that she refuses to return until the opening night.

Selena and Darcy request to be transferred to the theater, which Murdock agrees to. Adrian, while at the theater alone, witnesses a typewriter begin typing by itself; the message reads: "Don't be hasty. This theater could be yours." Meanwhile, Lisa and Dee-Dee, two other Spotlite employees dropping off the contents of Jennifer's old locker, are attacked in the auditorium and stabbed to death.

The next day, while Jennifer, Adrian, and Malcolm are in the office, Darcy becomes locked inside the auditorium and is attacked and dragged underneath the stage. The others hear her screams, but upon entering the theater, there is no sight of her. On the theater's opening night, the three await Murdock's arrival, but he is nowhere to be seen. Selena arrives panicked, looking for Darcy, but Adrian sequesters her in a locked room to avoid a scene in front of a local news outfit doing a story on the theater's reopening.

In the projection room, Adrian is attacked by the killer, but fights him off. Malcolm is subsequently electrocuted on the projector, and Adrian is decapitated by a falling window. Locked in the upstairs room, Selena calls Miss Blackwell from a telephone. During the conversation, an invisible force bursts into the room. On the other end, Miss Blackwell hears Selena's screams before the phone receiver inexplicably crumbles in her hands. Jennifer, who had been waiting outside, enters the theater, and finds herself alone in the auditorium, confronted by the killer—he is the original theater owner who perpetrated the massacre years prior, and he envisions Jennifer as his former lover, an usherette from decades ago. He embraces Jennifer, but she stabs him to death. Jennifer phones police from a pay phone outside. Back at the other theater, Murdock belatedly returns from a trip, and Miss Blackwell quits her job.

Cast

Mary Woronov as Miss Blackwell
Jenny Cunningham as Jennifer / Ellen
Jonathan Blakely as Original Owner
- David Millbern as Original Owner (Younger)
Andrew Cofrin as Adrian
Joanna Foxx as Selena
Stephanie Dillard as Darcy
Rob-Roy Fletcher as Dean Murdock
Daniel Schafer as Malcolm
Cynthia Hartline as Jamie Hart
Lisa Lindsley as Lisa
Joni Barnes as Dee-Dee
Carl Bressler as Pimp
Troy Martin as Pie Victim
Tony Goldman as Police Officer
Paul Schubin as Police Officer
Bruce Nangle as Ellen's Lover
Barrie Metz as Multiplex Employee

Reception

Film critic Scott Weinberg wrote: "Rare is the film that fails so resoundingly in two separate genres at the exact same time."^[1] TV Guide also criticized the film, calling it "incredibly inept".^[2] In 2014 Chiller wrote that the film is considered by some to be one of the worst horror films ever made, but stated that "if you appreciate incredibly ‘80s hair and clothes, and the uniquely bizarre, very intentional humor of director Rick Sloane (Hobgoblins and the Vice Academy series), there is much here that will warm your heart."^[3]

References

^ "The Movie House Massacre (Blood Theatre)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
^ "Movie House Massacre (review)". TV Guide. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
^ "13 Haunted Things That Are Not Houses". Chiller. 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2016-05-02.

External links

[1] "The Movie House Massacre (Blood Theatre)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-05-02.

[2] "Movie House Massacre (review)". TV Guide. Retrieved 2016-05-02.

[3] "13 Haunted Things That Are Not Houses". Chiller. 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2016-05-02.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{unreferenced|date=June 2012}}
+{{more citations needed|date=June 2016}}
-{{Infobox Film
+{{Infobox film
-| name           = Blood Theater/Movie House Massacre/Blood-O-Rama/The Movie House Massacre
+| name           = Blood Theatre
-| image          =
+| image          = Blood_Theatre_VHS.jpg
-| caption        =
+| caption        = Promotional poster
 | director       = [[Rick Sloane]]
 | producer       = Rick Sloane
 | writer         = Rick Sloane
-| starring       = [[Mary Woronov]], Johnathon Blakely, Jenny Cunningham, Joanna Foxx
+| starring       = {{plainlist|
+* [[Mary Woronov]]
+* Jonathan Blakely
+* Jenny Cunningham
+* Joanna Foxx
+}}
 | music          = Rick Sloane
-| cinematography = [[Bill Fishman]]
+| cinematography = [[Bill Fishman (director)|Bill Fishman]]
 | editing        = Rick Sloane
-| distributor    = Moore Video/Retromedia Entertainment/Active Home Video
+| distributor    = {{plainlist|
+* Moore Video
+* Retromedia Entertainment
+* Active Home Video
+}}
-| released       = 1984
-| runtime        = 75 Min
+| released       = {{Film date|September 5, 1984}}
-| country        = USA
+| runtime        = 75 minutes
-| awards         =
+| country        = United States
 | language       = English
 | budget         =
-| preceded_by    =
-| followed_by    =
 }}
-'''''Blood Theater''''' (a.k.a. '''''Movie House Massacre''''') is an [[Independent Film]] [[slasher film|Slasher]]/[[Horror Comedy]]. It was the first feature film by director [[Rick Sloane]].
+'''''Blood Theatre''''' (also known as '''''Movie House Massacre''''') is a 1984 American [[independent Film|independent]] [[slasher film|slasher]]-[[horror comedy]] film directed by [[Rick Sloane]] and starring [[Mary Woronov]], Jonathan Blakely, Jenny Cunningham, and Joanna Foxx.
-The film includes many bizarre movie theater related deaths, such as being fried inside a popcorn machine, stabbed in the ticket booth, electrocuted by a film projector, face removed by an escalator, decapitated by a projection booth partition, stabbed while a movie is playing on screen, electrocuted in a fountain, smoke inhalation from burning film and a telephone receiver which breaks apart while a dying girl screams hysterically into it.
+The film includes many bizarre movie theater-related deaths, such as being fried inside a popcorn machine, stabbed in the ticket booth, electrocuted by a film projector, decapitated by a projection booth partition, stabbed while a movie is playing on screen, smoke inhalation from burning film, and a telephone receiver which breaks apart while a dying girl screams hysterically into it.
-The majority of the movie was shot at the historic Beverly Warner Theater in Beverly Hills, which was also a location in the film [[Xanadu (film)|Xanadu]].  It was later demolished and the site became a bank building.
+The majority of the film was shot at the historic Beverly Warner Theater in [[Beverly Hills]], which was also a location in the film ''[[Xanadu (film)|Xanadu]]''.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}  It was later demolished and the site became a bank building.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
-All the movies which play at the Spotlite Theater Multiplex in this film, were short films made by Rick Sloane while he attended Los Angeles City College.  They include ''Clown Whores of Hollywood'', ''Chainsaw Chicks'', ''Amputee Hookers'' and ''Nightmare Of The Lost Whores''.
+All the films which play at the Spotlite Theater Multiplex in this film, were short films made by Rick Sloane while he attended Los Angeles City College.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}  They include ''Clown Whores of Hollywood'', ''Chainsaw Chicks'', ''Amputee Hookers'' and ''Nightmare Of The Lost Whores''.
 ==Plot==
+Dean Murdock, the owner of the Spotlite Theater chain, purchases an abandoned theater that was once the site of a horrific massacre perpetrated by the disgruntled owner on the theater's closing night. He notifies his employees of the chain's acquisition of the property, and promotes several to renovate and subsequently operate the theater. To motivate his employees, he offers a $1,000 bonus that will go to one of them after a test run, much to the chagrin of his incredulous assistant, Miss Blackwell.
-A group of teenagers, including Ellen and Danny, sneak into a [[movie theater]] after hours. A masked killer stalks them and then begins killing them. When Jane, Larry and Kyle have a [[threesome]] in the bathroom, he beats Kyle to death with a [[tap (valve) | faucet]], beheads Larry by slamming his neck into the rim of a metal toilet, and drowns Jane in the sink. Sue goes to look for Larry, her boyfriend, and is violently stabbed by the killer. She escapes and reaches a phone, but the phone's receiver falls apart for seemingly no reason and she dies. Ellen and Danny discover the bodies of their friends before they too are attacked. Danny manages to incapacitate the killer with a movie theater seat before they flee the theater. Ellen and Danny identify their killer as Dean, a local teenager who was dating June, Ellen's twin sister.
+Two cheerleader friends of Jennifer, one of the theater's employees, arrive at the abandoned theater to meet her. They find the theater empty, and both are stabbed to death by an unknown man in a tuxedo. During a screening at the main theater, Selena, a disgruntled concession stand employee left out of Murdock's promotion, causes a scene, and is escorted out by Miss Blackwell.
-Three months later, another eleven teenagers, consisting of Angi, Bethanie, Bobby, Craig, Darryl, Hank, Lisa, Melanie, Zach, and Zariah, as well as June, sneak into the theater to memorialize Kyle, Larry, Jane and Sue. They enter a theater and start watching a film, but Zariah sits away from the others because she is bitter after her breakup with Craig. Meanwhile, Danny drops Ellen off at her house after a date. Late at night, Ellen looks out her bedroom window and sees that Danny's car is still in her driveway. She goes outside and finds the dead body of Danny in his car. Before she can react, she too is killed.
+Meanwhile, Jennifer, Adrian, and Malcolm arrive at the abandoned theater property and begin cleaning. The three find some old reels of film upstairs, decide to project them. On the reels, they see a filmed stage play, during which the audience flees in terror as the auditorium fills with smoke. The projector catches fire midway through. Jennifer flees, and witnesses a smiling elderly man in a tuxedo who attempts to choke her before disappearing. Jennifer is so frightened by the incident that she refuses to return until the opening night.
-During the movie, Bobby and Angi sneak off to have sex. A man wearing a mask, seemingly the same one from the previous murders, stalks them and eventually attacks them. He [[electrocution | electrocutes]] Bobby with a [[movie projector | film projector]] and locks Angi in a closet with the projector and Bobby's corpse. Angi dies from [[smoke inhalation]] caused by the burning film in the broken projector. The killer then stabs Zariah to death inside the theater, unbeknownst to the others. When the film suddenly stops halfway through, Hank and Melanie go to investigate. While they are in the [[projection booth]], the killer attacks them and decapitates Hank with the booth's [[folding screen | partition]]. Melanie screams and desperately bangs on the window of the booth. She manages to get her friends' attention, but all they are able to do is watch in horror as the killer strangles her with [[filmstrip | filmstrips]].
+Selena and Darcy request to be transferred to the theater, which Murdock agrees to. Adrian, while at the theater alone, witnesses a typewriter begin typing by itself; the message reads: "Don't be hasty. This theater could be yours." Meanwhile, Lisa and Dee-Dee, two other Spotlite employees dropping off the contents of Jennifer's old locker, are attacked in the auditorium and stabbed to death.
-Zach and Lisa panic and lock June, Craig, Darryl and Bethanie in the theater as bait for the killer, but he knocks them both unconscious. He then boils Zach alive in the snack bar's [[popcorn maker | popcorn machine]] and burns off Lisa's flesh with [[liquid nitrogen]]. Meanwhile, the other four escape the theater and run to the front, finding Zach and Lisa's bodies. They try to leave, but find that all the doors and windows have been blocked. Bethanie crawls through the [[ventilation (architecture) | air vents]] to get into the [[box office | ticket booth]] to use the computer to call for help, but the killer is waiting there and stabs Bethanie to death while the other three watch. June, Craig and Darryl run to the [[escalator | escalators]], finding that they have been supercharged by the killer. The killer then appears and shoves Craig's head into the escalator, scraping his face off.
+The next day, while Jennifer, Adrian, and Malcolm are in the office, Darcy becomes locked inside the auditorium and is attacked and dragged underneath the stage. The others hear her screams, but upon entering the theater, there is no sight of her. On the theater's opening night, the three await Murdock's arrival, but he is nowhere to be seen. Selena arrives panicked, looking for Darcy, but Adrian sequesters her in a locked room to avoid a scene in front of a local news outfit doing a story on the theater's reopening.
-June and Darryl flee up the stairs and run to the office of Fred, the owner of the theater. When they arrive, they find blood and weapons inside. The killer then shows up and is revealed as Fred. June asks him why he is committing the murders, and he replies that he was tired of teenagers sneaking in after hours and wrecking the theater. June and Darryl flee the office and jump off a balcony, landing in a fountain. Fred, however, cuts loose a [[light fixture]], which falls into the fountain. June escapes in time, but Darryl is electrocuted.
+In the projection room, Adrian is attacked by the killer, but fights him off. Malcolm is subsequently electrocuted on the projector, and Adrian is decapitated by a falling window. Locked in the upstairs room, Selena calls Miss Blackwell from a telephone. During the conversation, an invisible force bursts into the room. On the other end, Miss Blackwell hears Selena's screams before the phone receiver inexplicably crumbles in her hands. Jennifer, who had been waiting outside, enters the theater, and finds herself alone in the auditorium, confronted by the killer{{em dash}}he is the original theater owner who perpetrated the massacre years prior, and he envisions Jennifer as his former lover, an [[usher (occupation)|usher]]ette from decades ago. He embraces Jennifer, but she stabs him to death. Jennifer phones police from a pay phone outside. Back at the other theater, Murdock belatedly returns from a trip, and Miss Blackwell quits her job.
-June lures Fred to the projection booth, but locks him out. While Fred slowly breaks down the partition, June attaches a film reel to the projector and turns it on. When Fred breaks through the partition, June and Fred battle. June eventually forces Fred's head onto the spinning reel, splitting his forehead. June begins leaving, but Fred rises and attacks her. However, June dives out of the way, and Fred falls through the window and is impaled on a theater seat. June uses Fred's keys to leave the theater and calls the police.
-It is determined that Fred killed Kyle, Larry, Jane, Sue, Danny and Ellen in addition to June's friends. Dean is released fro the mental institution, and he and June get back together.
-In a [[post-credits scene]], June and Dean are watching a movie in their [[home cinema | home theater]]. June hallucinates that it is an actual theater while Dean is making dinner, and someone wearing Fred's mask chops his head off with a [[cleaver | meat cleaver]]. June walks into the kitchen and finds Dean's severed head in the oven. The killer then appears and boils June's face off. However, it is then revealed that it was just a dream, and June is comforted by Dean.
 ==Cast==
+{{cast listing|
-{| class="wikitable"
+* [[Mary Woronov]] as Miss Blackwell
-|-
+*Jenny Cunningham as Jennifer / Ellen
-! Actor / Actress
+* Jonathan Blakely as Original Owner
-! Character
+** David Millbern as Original Owner (Younger)
-|-
+* Andrew Cofrin as Adrian
-| Jenny Cunningham
+* Joanna Foxx as Selena
-| June / Ellen
+* Stephanie Dillard as Darcy
-|-
+* Rob-Roy Fletcher as Dean Murdock
-| Jonathan Blakely
+* Daniel Schafer as Malcolm
-| Frank Blackwell
+* Cynthia Hartline as Jamie Hart
-|-
+* Lisa Lindsley as Lisa
-| [[Mary Woronov]]
+* Joni Barnes as Dee-Dee
-| Caroline Blackwell
+* Carl Bressler as Pimp
-|-
+* Troy Martin as Pie Victim
-| Andrew Cofrin
+* Tony Goldman as Police Officer
-| Darryl
+* Paul Schubin as Police Officer
-|-
+* Bruce Nangle as Ellen's Lover
-| Rob-Roy Fletcher
+* Barrie Metz as Multiplex Employee
-| Craig
+}}
-|-
-| Joanna Foxx
-| Bethanie
-|-
-| Stephanie Dillard
-| Lisa
-|-
-| Daniel Schafer
-| Zach
-|-
-| Cynthia Hartline
-| Melanie
-|-
-| David Millbern
-| Hank
-|-
-| Lisa Lindsley
-| Angi
-|-
-| Carl Bressler
-| Bobby
-|-
-| Brett Sagle
-| Dean
-|-
-| Bruce Nangle
-| Danny
-|-
-| Joni Barnes
-| Sue
-|-
-| Holly Baker
-| Jane
-|-
-| Barrie Metz
-| Larry
-|-
-| Jeffrey Shaker
-| Kyle
-|-
-| Tony Goldman
-| Police Officer
-|-
-| Paul Schubin
-| Police Officer
-|}
 ==Reception==
-Film critic Scott Weinberg panned ''Blood Theatre'', writing "Rare is the film that fails so resoundingly in two separate genres at the exact same time."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blood_theater/|title=The Movie House Massacre (Blood Theater)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref> ''TV Guide'' also criticized the movie, calling it "incredibly inept".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/movie-house-massacre/review/106788/|title=Movie House Massacre (review)|website=TV Guide|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref> In 2014 [[Chiller (TV channel)|Chiller]] wrote that the film is considered by some to be one of the worst horror films ever made but stated that "if you appreciate incredibly ‘80s hair and clothes, and the uniquely bizarre, very intentional humor of director Rick Sloane (''[[Hobgoblins (film)|Hobgoblins]]''; the ''[[Vice Academy]]'' series), there is much here that will warm your heart."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chillertv.com/friday13/13-haunted-things-that-are-not-houses|title=13 Haunted Things That Are Not Houses|date=2014-02-20|website=Chiller|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>
+Film critic Scott Weinberg wrote: "Rare is the film that fails so resoundingly in two separate genres at the exact same time."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/blood_theater/|title=The Movie House Massacre (Blood Theatre)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref> ''[[TV Guide]]'' also criticized the film, calling it "incredibly inept".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/movie-house-massacre/review/106788/|title=Movie House Massacre (review)|website=TV Guide|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref> In 2014 [[Chiller (TV channel)|Chiller]] wrote that the film is considered by some to be one of the worst horror films ever made, but stated that "if you appreciate incredibly ‘80s hair and clothes, and the uniquely bizarre, very intentional humor of director Rick Sloane (''[[Hobgoblins (film)|Hobgoblins]]'' and the ''[[Vice Academy]]'' series), there is much here that will warm your heart."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chillertv.com/friday13/13-haunted-things-that-are-not-houses|title=13 Haunted Things That Are Not Houses|date=2014-02-20|website=Chiller|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 129: / Line 86: @@
 ==External links==
 *{{IMDb title|id=0091561}}
-*{{Amg movie|120942|Blood Theater/Movie House Massacre/Blood-O-Rama/The Movie House Massacre}}
+*{{AllMovie title|120942|Blood Theater/Movie House Massacre/Blood-O-Rama/The Movie House Massacre}}
-*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCiZJWRgTQ8&feature=channel/ Blood Theatre Theatrical Trailer]
+*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCiZJWRgTQ8&feature=channel/ Blood Theatre Theatrical Trailer]
-[[Category:1984 horror films]]
+[[Category:1984 comedy horror films]]
+[[Category:1984 independent films]]
+[[Category:1984 films]]
+[[Category:1980s slasher films]]
 [[Category:Films directed by Rick Sloane]]
 [[Category:Films set in a movie theatre]]
-[[Category:Slasher films]]
+[[Category:American slasher films]]
-[[Category:1980s comedy horror films]]
+[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
-[[Category:1984 films]]
+[[Category:1980s American films]]
+[[Category:Films shot in Beverly Hills, California]]
+[[Category:English-language comedy horror films]]
+[[Category:English-language independent films]]
-{{comedy-horror-film-stub}}