Slaughterhouse Rock
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| Slaughterhouse Rock | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dimitri Logothetis |
| Written by | Dimitri Logothetis (story) |
| Produced by | Louis George |
| Starring | Toni Basil |
| Music by | Devo (Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale) |
| Distributed by | Arista Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Slaughterhouse Rock, released in the UK as Hell Island, is a 1988 American B movie/horror film directed and written by Dimitri Logothetis and released by Arista Films. It stars pop singer Toni Basil, and features songs by new wave band Devo. The plot concerns a group of teens, attempting to release a curse over their friend, who has been having dreams of the victims of a murderer who lived on the island of Alcatraz. They are aided by the ghost of a dead rock singer, (Basil).
Plot
Alex Gardner (Nicholas Celozzi), a college student suffers from reoccurring nightmares in which he experiences the deaths of the victims of a vicious killer who lived on Alcatraz, before it became a prison. When the nightmares begin manifesting in reality, and his friends see him hovering over his bed, his teacher (Donna Denton), an occultist, tells him to go to the island to face down the ghost of the killer. The friends become stranded on the island, and Alex's brother Richard (Tom Reilly) becomes possessed, killing some friends and raping one of the girls. Alex is aided in his quest by the ghost of Sammy Mitchell (Toni Basil), a singer for the band Bodybag. Sammy teaches Alex how to levitate and escape his body, and is also the subject of a dance routine, intercut into the film. The friends lure the ghost of the killer, and Alex's brother into the prison chapel, and blow it up, releasing the curse.
Cast
- Toni Basil as Sammy Mitchell
- Nicholas Celozzi as Alex Gardner
- Tom Reilly as Richard Gardner
- Donna Denton as Carolyn Harding
- Hope Marie Carlton as Krista Halpern
- Tammy Hyler as Jan Squire
- Steven Brian Smith as Jack
- Ty Miller as Marty
- Al Fleming as The Commandant and Monster
- Michael J. Scherlis as Tour Guide
Release
The film was given a limited theatrical release in the United States by Taurus Entertainment Company in May 1988.
The film was released on VHS by Sony Video, but has since gone out of print. Code Red has acquired this one for a DVD/Blu-Ray release in the near future.
Music
The soundtrack included five tracks by the band Devo, who had recently reformed with former Sparks drummer David Kendrick. While there was no official soundtrack release, three of the songs saw official release by Devo. One song, "The Only One" features Toni Basil on lead vocals, and was released on the Devo rarities compilation Recombo DNA. Another song, "Man Turned Inside Out," appears on the 1988 Devo album Total Devo. "Part of You," an outtake from the sessions for 1982's Oh, No! It's Devo appears as a bonus track on the 1996 CD edition of that album. The songs "Set Me Free" and "Slaughterhouse Rock Theme" have not been officially released, though "Slaughterhouse Rock Theme" can be found on bootlegs.