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MAY 7 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : EVIL LAUGH (1986)
Another annoying teen horror film that has nothing to offer the viewer except bad acting, lame effects and illogical situations. To give you an idea what to expect: In the beginning of the film, a guy complains that he doesn't have any liver to serve for dinner. The cackling unseen killer stabs the guy with a butcher knife and cuts out his liver, placing the still-steaming organ on a dinner plate. Get it? Ha! A group of kids converge on a long-abandoned building to help a friend (the guy who had his liver removed) clean it up so he can turn it into a pediatric clinic. What most of them don't know is that years ago the building was an orphanage where a series of brutal murders took place. Someone doesn't want the kids messing with the building, as an unseen maniacally-laughing psycho begins dispatching them in various unimaginative ways. Between scenes of bad dancing (and terrible original rock songs), horny sex and in-fighting between the young cast, the chuckling weirdo begins the killing spree. A delivery boy is offed with a power drill (off-screen), a couple having sex are butchered with a knife, another guy is stabbed in the crotch and so on. The cast learns about Martin, the murderer who committed the murders in this building years before and we are left to wonder if it is indeed Martin who is killing the kids (or is it someone closer?). Barney (Jerold Pearson), a horror movie fan, is the only voice of reason, wanting everyone to leave the house before they all get killed (He even warns his friends not to have sex because, in horror films, anyone who has sex dies, predating a similar scene in SCREAM by over ten years). No one believes him and most of them are killed before the remaining members finally believe. Barney discovers an audio cassette containing the killer's voice saying no one in the house deserves to live. When the killer is finally unmasked, you'll be punching your TV in retaliation for having been cheated out of 85 minutes of your life. You may just kick your dog after having to view the preposterous "surprise" ending. Guaranteed to bore you after ten minutes, EVIL LAUGH seems to pull away when it should be charging ahead. Director Dominick Brascia (who also co-wrote and co-produced this with star Steven Baio, who looks like [and is] Scott Baio's emaciated brother) doesn't let us see most of the killings and tosses in numerous references to FRIDAY THE 13TH and HALLOWEEN, cheap sex jokes and shows issues of Fangoria every now and then to give the film some street cred. The acting is pretty erratic, ranging from OK (Baio) to unbelievably bad (the guy who played the cop). That's a shame, because most of the film is filled with endless dialogue scenes with people spouting inane lines like, "10:30? By God, it's the middle of the night!" By the time the killing spree kicks in, you'll either be sound asleep or scratching your balls in anticipation. One way, you'll be rested and relaxed. The other way will only get you looks of disgust by those around you and you'll be bitterly disappointed to boot (as well as having sore balls). What you will see is a lame axe to the head, a knife to the groin (the tip protrudes out of the guy's ass) and Steven Baio having his head shoved in a microwave oven. None of the effects are well done or filmed in any way to give them impact. EVIL LAUGH ia a minor slasher film that doesn't have one original idea in it's tiny little head. It was supposedly shot in one week and it shows. Also starring Kim McKamy, Tony Griffin, Jody Gibson, Johnny Venocur, Myles O'Brien, Howard Weiss and Susan Grant. Krishna Shah, the director of HARD ROCK ZOMBIES (1985), was one of the Executive Producers. A Celebrity Home Entertainment Release. Rated R. { text from critcononline.com }
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