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Memorial Valley Massacre (1989)

DVD Cover (Synergy Entertainment)
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Overall Rating 41%
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Ranked #8,188
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Genres / Traits: Horror Slasher Film Memorial Day

Despite some horrific warning signs, a greedy land developer opens a campground to the public... and sets the stage for a bloodbath. Whatever it is that stalks the camp kills with the strength of some powerful beast, and with the cunning and vengeful hatred of a human. The most experienced campers don't know the law of the land and their ignorance is no excuse - because the killer will not forgive, forget, or bury the hatchet - except in someone's chest! --Amazon
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Review by Nirrad
Added: August 19, 2008
I'm usually a big sucker for Slashers. Very rarely do come across a Slasher that I didn't end up liking. With "Memorial Valley Massacre", this is no exception. A few days ago I picked up a cult horror DVD collection from my local Future Shop for $6.99. I was actually surprised with what was contained in this 3-disc collection. Since this movie had a great title, I decided to check it out first.

"Memorial Valley Massacre" takes place - you guessed it - during Memorial Day weekend. Local rich man Allen Sangster (Cameron Mitchell) who owns the campground has had big plans for the location for many years. He eventually wants to expand the camp to movie theaters, stores and homes for the public so he can make lots of money for himself. His son David (Mark Mears) decides to help out with and work during the summer on his time off from college. Before opening the park to guests for the weekend, a few problems occur. A construction worker is killed on the job, and a dead dog is found in a well, thus contaminating the local water supply. Allen ignores these problems, and eventually opens the park. George Webster (John Kerry) is given orders to look after the park for the weekend by Allen, and to train David with what is necessary. But during the first day, they have an unwelcome visitor. The visitor appears to be a young adult that has been living in the woods all of his life, and plans to dispatch all of the campers if they pose a threat. George informs all of the guests about the rules and regulations of the site, and if they break them, they break the law and possibly ruin the ecosystem of the location. Of course there is always one person who doesn't follow the rules. The wild activity from the guests eventually upsets the "Woodman" and he plans to take his revenge out on the people.

This movie was actually a lot better than what I thought it was going to be. During the opening credits I couldn't help but laughed at the title scene. It looked ridiculous, like something I would have made in a high school media arts class. But it wasn't a big deal, only something that gave me a small laugh. The music chosen for this movie didn't seem appropriate at all to me. It sounded like something you would hear in a family adventure movie, or on a TV sitcom. Overall, it was cheesy and it started to take the horror aspect away from the movie. But I quickly ignored it, and just began to enjoy the rest of the movie.

The acting is exactly what you would expect from a low budget horror movie. You have some that are just downright terrible, and then you have others that are decent enough. But I sometimes enjoy these types of movies more when the acting is terrible. It gives it more character, and that warm feeling that I'm watching a good old fashion Slasher. Besides, people don't watch these types of movies for Oscar winning performances. The overall gore is nice in "Memorial Valley Massacre." Nothing groundbreaking or brutal per se, but there is enough to keep you satisfied. A death involving a pit of spikes in particular is my favourite. At times it looked phony, but enjoyable none the less.

If you have a short attention span, and expect murder after murder, then you will be greatly disappointed with "Memorial Valley Massacre." Besides an early death, basically nothing happens until the last 15 - 20 minutes of the movie. It's very much like a "Friday The 13th" movie. There is an early death, then we have some character development, then the counselors are dispatched quickly in the final minutes only to have 1 person left to run and survive. I quickly forgot I was watching a horror movie, and thought I was watching a survival/comedy. But for some reason I didn't find one minute boring, they really did pull it off well.

"Memorial Valley Massacre" is absolutely nothing new. It is a cookie cutter Slasher with a small twist with the killer. You have your basic dumb, tough, brave, smart and of course horny teen characters that you would expect from a movie like this. While there's virtually nothing here that separates this movie from others, it's still an enjoyable movie worth an hour and thirty minutes of your time.

6.5/10.
Ginose #1: Ginose - added August 19, 2008 at 2:29am
Not great, but a suprise favorite of mine from that Hill Creek 50 Chilling pack. Decent humor in between that actually strange plot-twist, but it was worth one watch.

6/10
Tristan #2: Tristan - added October 28, 2009 at 2:27pm
It was nothing to write home about, but I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it. I figured it would be one of those movies I would regret sitting through, but it managed to hold my interest the entire time. A rare feat for a movie of this calibre.

6/10 sounds about right.
Chad #3: Chad - added February 9, 2010 at 7:37am
Such an awful movie on paper, but yeah, I'm going to throw down a "me too" - this was strangely enjoyable. 6/10.
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