Toronto85 A masked serial killer is murdering women in a small town in 'Edge of the Axe'. We meet Gerald who loves computers, his exterminator friend Richard, two sisters Lillian/Susan, and Richard's older wife Laura. Our main character Gerald meets Lillian who he immediately clicks with. They end up talking about their love for video games, and he shows her his new computer and how it works. In the midst of all this "fun", young women are getting hacked to pieces by some maniac wearing a stark white mask and carrying around a large axe. A prostitute, a farmer's wife and a woman who works at the local church choir are among the victims. They all have one thing in common which lead us to a bit of a surprising ending.I really liked this one. it had some really close and intense moments with the killer stalking his/her victims. There are some really good night time scenes which are pretty eerie. The acting was okay throughout, especially from the lead characters. I didn't have any issues with it. 'Edge of the Axe' doesn't do THAT good of a job building up the characters and giving them much story, but which late eighties slasher flick did? There's this interesting rock beat that comes on each time the killer strikes which is surprisingly effective and creepy in a way.And I have to mention that this was the first slasher film I've ever seen to include a car wash murder. Check it out! 7/10

movieman_kev A masked serial-killer spends his time offing the locals of a small tight knit Californian town. Red herrings, nerd-loving girls, severed pig heads, and a duo of sexist neadrethals about. What does not abound though, is anything resembling entertainment value. This was one of the more forgettable slasher films from the late 1980's, having nothing special to distinguish it from any myriad of similar sub-par slashers. Not worth your time or money. Oh and another things, it's a complete boob free slashing movie, whats the point in that?? Something like that is all too commonplace for films of this ilk nowadays, but this was the 80's.... Unacceptable.

Scarecrow-88 Women are being butchered by some wacko in a white mask, using an ax. Each murder victim is tied to an "acute psychopath". Richard(Page Mosely) is an exterminator married to an older woman named Laura(Patty Shepard). Richard's friend is Gerald(Barton Faulks) who is currently living in a room at an old man's place, I guess some friend of his estranged family's. Gerald takes a shine to a troubled girl named Lillian Nebbs(Christina Marie Lane), the daughter of a local fishing shop owner. Richard becomes involved with a younger, more attractive girl near his own age and Laura has lost all her riches to bad investments. All this boring melodrama aside, bodies continue to turn up, hacked to pieces. You can bet one of the principles has something to do with the killer. Computers used and this supposed cousin named Charlie factor into the revelation of the identity of the killer.EDGE OF THE AXE moves at a languid pace, and the characters, particularly Richard and Gerald, are about as appealing as a wart on the face. And, this Chief of Police, Frank(Fred Holliday), is a real piece of work..I mean, he's unbelievable, this guy, dead bodies keep turning up and he will continue to insist that they be ruled anything other than murder, just so the locals won't panic. The problem is that if you could care less about any of the characters in this movie, your mind wandering elsewhere, how will the result of the plot leave any sort of impact? The murders themselves are explained at the end, but how the women are all connected is rather weak in execution. The axe attacks are savage(the ones we actually see on screen, that is), but not necessarily effective. I think it comes ultimately down to how the story is developed and if the characters are interesting. I think it fails miserably on both accounts, but others could feel differently. There just isn't anything in the movie that was interesting enough to keep my attention..and, I'm an undemanding person who just asks for story and characters that are worth investing my time. I can't believe such a waste of time was directed by José Ramón Larraz, it's all so uninspired and formulaic.

FieCrier The pre-credits scene is the best scene in the movie. A woman takes her car through a car wash. We glimpse a figure through the translucent window looking in on the car wash, and through the suds covering the car windows. A figure wearing a mouthless white mask swings an axe at the front windshield, killing the driver. Her blood drips down the window with the soap suds.Following the credits, we meet computer geek and freelance electronics repairman Gerald. He and a friend stop by a restaurant/bar and Gerald meets Lillian, a video game nut. They start a relationship, and he gives her one of his old computers so they can instant message each other. Meanwhile, bodies are turning up: mostly women, but even a decapitated pig and a dead dog.One suspect is a workman at the church (Lillian's father, I think). Lillian tells Gerald she fears her brother Charlie might have something to do with it. She says after she accidentally caused him to fracture his skull he was hospitalized and she hasn't heard what become of him since.There are some good scenes involving the discovery of bodies or just body parts and a scene involving blood dripping from the ceiling. The killer's attack scenes are fairly good. What happens in between isn't as good, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to pick up a cheap ex- rental copy of this and to watch it.Unfortunately, the end credits do not identify the actors and their characters. Some actors are named in the opening credits, but the end credits identify only the crew.