Hide And Go Shriek

Hide and Go Shriek (1988)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Skip Schoolnik

Starring: BUNKY JONES and a bunch of other people you have never heard of

From: New Star Entertainment

My plans changed from even 24 hours ago; I explain why below:

Before I start off this review I have to elaborate on why I haven't been seeing as many movies as of late. For a variety of reasons (none of which will be discussed in public... just note that nothing serious is going on) I just have not felt right for a good portion of this month, and that includes not having the time or feeling like seeing any motion pictures. Last night I was planning on viewing more than one movie but as I was just finishing up this obscure slasher from the late 80's which I found out about because of Letterboxd... the power went out.

The same thing happened on that atrocious day when I finally saw Joker and almost got into a fight with a family of A-holes (which is likely as close to actual violence happening during Joker screenings as the media fearmongered and promised would happen due to the alleged incendiary nature of the movie) but that was not as bad as I was not planning on viewing anything that night and it only lasted for four hours. Well, last night completely screwed up my plans and note that the power was out for over EIGHT HOURS. This happening twice in a week... honestly, I have given up on viewing anything else appropriate for this Halloween season and the next time I'll post anything here is Thursday evening; a black cloud is over my head so I am expecting more calamities to happen but the plan is to view an early screening of something-which I do have a ticket for already-and it is something I hope to rate highly. When things will return to normal and I can get back to viewing something most every night... who knows for certain.

All that out of the way, this is a low budget slasher set and filmed in Los Angeles where 4 teen boys and 4 teen girls spend a night in a furniture store, as the store is owned by the dad of one of the boys. Naturally in this genre, all are horny, all drink beer, three of the girls are shown topless and all at least try to have sex. Unbeknownst to them, also there is a hulking creepy guy who is an ex-con and actually lives in the basement, because of reasons. Much of this slasher is unremarkable, as too much time is spent with not a lot happening. They actually do play hide and seek at one point, because why not. The kills are not that memorable and what got me through those stretches were the unintentional humor... the hair and fashion was amazingly 80's, and one guy always wore sunglasses, even indoors and in the dark. Plus, I will presume the homoerotic relationship between two of the guys was not supposed to be a thing, because they otherwise acted straight.

I knew beforehand from looking at a few reviews-which thankfully spoiled nothing, and I'll extend the same luxury to everyone reading this-that the movie does turn around in the final act and things become quite unique. Well, I can confirm this is true and why the killings take place (along with identity of the person or persons responsible) are definitely not expected, and it is an interesting topic for such a random 80's horror flick. If done today certain aspects would be handled differently... that said, thankfully it never got too tasteless, which for certain could have happened. If you really want to know, there are some spoilered reviews on Letterboxd... and heck, if you look at some of the tags on its IMDb page, you'll form some sort of idea as to the big reveal. That final act made the experience worth it in the end and I can say this was fine overall.

The cast is full of unknowns and hilariously, one actress billed herself as BUNKY JONES. I also have to bring up Jeff Levine; he eventually became friends w/ Nicolas Cage and even produced several of his movies, such as 8MM, Bringing Out the Dead and even Face/Off. Discovering this was quite the surprise.