Hide and Go Shriek

Close your eyes.  Count to ten.  And run to your local video store to seek out this movie!  "Hide and Go Shriek" is one of the last entries in the eighties slasher wave.  Directed by Skip Schoolnik, this film came slinking into theaters for a brief run in the fall of 1987.  Jealousy abounds as I sit here and think of the lucky few (& I do mean few) who actually got to see this one on the big screen.  Like, I am literally the shade of Linda Blair's bile right now.  Let me just say, they certainly don't make 'em like this anymore!  Without question my favorite of the eighties slasher craze, this movie serves as an endearing (sort of) little time capsule for a decade that could never be again.  Scrunched knee socks, bone head dialogue, and thanks to one Ms. Rebunkah Jones, some of the biggest hair to ever receive screen time all amalgamate to bring us a truly <insert adjective here> film experience.  I recently had the pleasure of exchanging words with Annette Sinclair, who plays Kim Downs in the movie, and she was kind enough to give me a little insight.  The movie was filmed in an abandoned warehouse in downtown L.A. in early summer of '87.  Filming took about 3 weeks, and post production was finished about a month later.  Towards the end of the movie, there is a wino outside the store whom the remaining survivors desperately try to call attention to (although this proves impossible, thanks to some shatter and sound proof windows that were recently installed, GASP!), and the actor portraying him is actually the screen writer, Michael Kelly.  Annette also did all the face makeup on the plaster cast of her head herself (*SPOILERS*) for the infamous elevator decapitation scene, this way it would best match her own makeup.  Yea, nothing groundbreaking here, but still!  Film buffs for me LIVE for these small tidbits of information on movies like these, where so little info is readily available.  Anyway, generic plot ensues as 8 teens decide to throw a graduation party in a furniture store that belongs to the father of one of the kids, although it seems like graduating and partying are the farthest things from their mind as they spend most of the flick hopping in and out of bed with each other.  What makes this one a cut above the rest though is the atmosphere.  The seemingly endless furniture store, complete with multiple floors & creepy mannequins, makes for a very eerie backdrop.  The acting is also above average for this type of film, though some will definitely argue this point.  Bunky Jones, it must be noted, is in a league all her own.  Her performance (as well as her hair) needs to be seen to be believed, as words could never do it justice.  The twist ending, though completely out of left field, also stands out as being...umm...original?  Again, you just have to see it for yourself.  The pacing could use a little work and the body count is lacking a little, but thanks to some totally stellar FX work by Screaming Mad George, the deaths that we do have are pretty sweet, especially the aforementioned elevator decapitation that looks startlingly realistic even by today's standards.  So, while I'm completely in on the joke of this movie (& the 80's in general), I gotta say, this movie really holds a special place in my heart.  Say what you will, but I think it's one of the coolest little horror movies ever, and I suggest you find out for yourself.

Final Rating :  * * * * * / * * * * *