acidburn-10
"Deadly Games" a.k.a Who Fell Asleep, which to be honest I did as it just dragged mostly for me. It started off well with a young woman getting disturbing phone calls and then getting attacked by a man in a ski mask, which was quite tense and exciting, but the outcome was rather tame.The aspect that I did like about it was the characters, especially the core female cast which I did find rather interesting and blossoming romance between the female lead and the cop, which was actually kind of sweet and they had decent chemistry together. But after a while it did get rather tedious, like for a start none of the other murders had any real spark or tension to them. But the lead actress Jo Ann Harris was rather likable as the female lead, and quite refreshing to have someone real and plucky in the role.It's just everything else in this movie just lacks, for a start the killer was just too easy to figure out and when it came down to the final scenes, it was just well dull and total lack of proper motive, just made everything that came before it rather disappointing.All in all there are glimmers here and there of a decent slasher movie, but sadly not enough of anything special with a mystery element that just doesn't work, despite good performances, this movie was just way too boring to keep me that interested.
BloodTheTelepathicDog
Not as bad as some reviewers will have you believe, but this isn't Don't Look in the Basement or Re-Animator either. This film centers on a plucky gal named Keegan (Jo Ann Harris) whose sister is murdered in the opening scene. She returns home to solve the case with help from Vietnam vet sheriff Sam Groom who is one of two suspects. One of the main flaws is that throughout the film, we, the viewers, know that the killer can either be one of two Vietnam vets: the surly, ladiesman sheriff who screws everything in site or his battle buddy Steve Railsback who operates the local theater. Needless to say, the suspense was lacking. The viewer has two suspects. Which Vietnam vet is killing off all the pretty things in town? VIOLENCE: $$$ (This won't disappoint gore hounds but what will disappoint them is the time between death scenes. There is far too much filler in the script--displayed as characterization--that will assuredly lead the less entranced viewer reaching for the fastforward button. The opening scene has Alexandra Morgan strangled. Later Colleen Camp gets hers in a pool, but it is a poorly filmed scene. Denise Galik gets throttled after a romp in bed. Other dames get attacked also).STORY: $$$ (The story starts off very promising: a sexy woman gets pushed out a window to her death. Shortly thereafter we are introduced to a unique character, Keegan, that isn't your ordinary screaming head but a wise acre. Keegan is fun for about half an hour, but once the story starts to sputter, Keegan's antics become less eccentric and more annoying. Also, the story deals with a board game but the screenwriter failed to mix that subplot into the story effectively).ACTING: $$ (Jo Ann Harris, although interestingly plucky at the beginning, will indeed get on your nerves. A character like that needs to be a co-star at best and they had that in the acid tongued waitress that Denise Galik masterfully played. The lead needn't be that off-putting. Sam Groom was alright as the sheriff but fans of Steve Railsback and Colleen Camp need not apply. Colleen has about ten minutes screen time and when she gets killed in the pool, you can hardly tell--given the poor lighting--that it was Colleen who even entered the water).SEXUALITY: $$$$$ (Here you won't be let down, unless this isn't your thing. The lovely Alexandra Morgan (I believe that's her name) has a lengthy topless scene in the opening scene of the film. She is well put together if you know what I mean. Jo Ann Harris has a brief topless scene before entering the shower and the heavenly Denise Galik goes threads free in bed with Sam Groom).
TonyDood
This is a pretty messy movie. I saw it on cable when I was young and new slashers appeared every week on cable. It appealed to me at the time because the character who played "Keegan" was spunky and interesting, and the premise was, if I understand it correctly (somehow hinging on a gay subtext...?) unique for its time. There was also little else to watch back then.The story, such that it is, involves the murders of young women in a town, and the solving of those murders by the spirited Keegan, who has just moved there, and at least starts OUT as a character that isn't an empty-headed cliché.But who can tell what's going on? This movie just flaps along, presenting one disjointed scene after another, and characters you're never encouraged to care about in scenes that fall flat and look drab and ugly. The presence of the dynamic and almost always insanely fun Steve Railsback (soon to appear in "The Devil's Rejects") is barely noticed. It all becomes dull as a white color crayon very quickly with no gore, no tension, no logic and no story to speak of. This is why God invented the fast forward button. Or better yet, the "Stop" button. Put in another movie--any other movie--and enjoy a good evening's entertainment.I have a feeling this was cobbled together from the remains of several other movies somehow, like how Roger Corman's "Hollywood Blvd," which this resembles in a weird way, was assembled. I hadn't seen this for years, saw it for a buck on VHS and promptly recorded Scooby-Doo cartoons over it so it would have SOME value anyway...
gridoon
I somehow thought this movie would turn out to be an undiscovered treasure, but no such luck! Visually murky and poorly plotted, this is basically an oh-so-familiar retread of "Halloween", though the director shows some talent and tries to surpass the limitations of the script. The lousy ending does not help. (*1/2)