ROCKTOBER BLOOD 1984, Vestron Video

DIRECTOR: Beverly Sebastian   PRODUCER: Ferd & Beverly Sebastain  

STARRING:  Tray Loren, Donna Scoggins, Cana Cockrell, Rene Hubbard, Ben Sebastian, Nigel Benjamin.		   

A long time ago, I made the acquaintance of a guy who had a peculiar hobby:   He made "burden tapes". Now, these were audio tapes of random stuff:   Black Sabbath studio outtakes, for example, or even something as silly as the guy reading from the phone book, say, or rubbing his eye.   Basically, whatever took his fancy to record.   And the "deal" with these tapes (and the reason they were dubbed "burden tapes") was, according to their maker, they were "a burden to listen to -- but you have to."   Why one had to I'm not sure, but those were the rules, and bound by that rule, the (thankfully only) tape I listened to was bloody amusing.

What's the purpose of that story, you ask?   Well, in my opinion, ROCKOBER BLOOD is the visual equivalent of the burden tape.   So bad -- so silly, so badly acted, so poorly written -- that it is a wonderful experience.   I actually went to the theater to see ROCKTOBER BLOOD.   What the hey, I was young and impressionable, and the commercials looked so cool -- dark, scary atmosphere, rad music, and a killer in a wicked deamon mask -- how could I resist?   And although it was obvious even to my impressionable mind that the movie was garbage, I also knew it was great.   So great that, as I left the theater, I was impatient for the movie's release to video, so I could own a copy of this glorious trash heap!

ROCKTOBER BLOOD begins in the studio, where Billy "Eye" Harper and his band (including Lynn Starling, back-up singer and Billy's sometime girlfriend) are laying down tracks for a new album.   After Billy records his vocals, he coldly informs the long-suffering Lynn that he is going to meet a girl who "wants his bod".   Lynn retorts that she hopes he catches every disease known to man, at which Billy smiles, kisses her, and tells her she'll catch them, too.   Ah, young love!

Lynn tries to record her vocal tracks, but it ain't happening.    So, she goes upstairs to take a jacuzzi, after refusing Kevin the engineer's offer to join her.   And here is where the fun starts, boys and girls!   While Lynn is upstairs jacuzzing, Billy returns to find only Kevin and Mary, Kevin's assistant, in the studio.   Billy then proceeds to slit Kevin's throat and impale Mary on a wall- mounted coat peg.   Guess Billy wasn't happy with the quality of their work.

Lynn returns to find Billy seated at the control panel, smoking some "kick ass" weed.   She asks Kevin's whereabouts, and is informed Kevin was "terminated".   Billy then takes a big drag off his bowl of weed, and Lynn sniffs:   "Are you still smoking that stuff?", to which Billy leans over, releases a lungful of smoke into Lynn's face, and replies (in my favorite line of the movie):   "No, I'm not."   Disconcerted, Lynn asks where Mary is, and Billy replies (in my second favorite line of the movie):   "Mary's hanging around in the other room."   Yuk-yuk!

Lynn then discovers Kevin and Mary's bodies, and takes an inordinately long time to figure out that Billy killed them, during which time she is nearly killed.   Fortunately (?) help arrives in the form of a security guard.

The next scene is two years later, at the "Rocktober Blood Tour Press Party", where we learn that Billy "Eye" has been captured, tried, convicted and executed for the murder of twenty-five rock and rollers.   We also learn that the person who identified Billy was none other than Lynn Starling, who is now fronting Billy's band under the name of "Head Mistress".   A VJ interviews Lynn, who says the band is embarking on a "rock and roll spectacular of death", and the show will have a lot of "smoke and blood and guts."   The interview turns to the subject of Billy, and the VJ says that up to the end, Billy maintained his innocence, to which Lynn replies that identifying Billy was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

Next we see a shape sneaking into the party, indispersed with scenes of party attendees in early '80's metal garb, doing some of the goofiest dancing I've ever seen.   Some guy in a Halloween "death" mask tells Lynn she needs to meet Chris, the band's manager, in the office.   Lynn heads upstairs into the darkest, dustiest, most cob-web festooned "office" known to man.   She is cornered by the guy in the death mask, who reveals himself to be none other than Billy "Eye"! Apparently however, he only wanted to say "Howdy!", since he leaves her curled up and crying on the floor, but otherwise unhurt.

Billy then proceeds to stalk Lynn, following her everywhere and tormenting her, but managing to avoid being seen by anyone else (except those folks he kills.)   But Billy cleverly hides the bodies of his victims, so no one (except Lynn) is "with it" enough to become suspicious about the disappearances.   In fact, everyone thinks Lynn is nutty for claiming Billy is after her, and they want to send her back to her psychiatrist.

However, Lynn insists it is Billy menacing her, and determines to dig up his grave to prove he isn't really dead.   In an extremely convincing (heavy sarcasm there) scene, Lynn, her blond bimbo friend, Honey, and Lynn's manager boyfriend, Chris, sneak into a graveyard at night and dig up the coffin.   Billy's decaying corpse is, indeed, within, and Lynn is finally convinced she's been halucinating.

So now it's time for Head Mistress's big show.   But -- wouldn't you know it -- evil Billy reappears and chases Lynn (who is strangely entourage-less pre show) around the building.   When he finally corners her, she begs her tormenter to tell her why he'd "doing this" to her.   He replies that she identified the wrong man for the murders; in the cleverest, most original twist in horror movie history (more sarcasm there), he says she identified his dearly departed twin brother!   Lynn gasps in horror and sobs:   "He tried to tell me, but I didn't believe him!"   DOH! Mr. Psycho Killer goes on to explain that he killed all those people because they didn't love him, that they wanted Billy, even though he (John) was the musical genius!   HE wrote all the music!!   Then he proceeds to chloriform Lynn.

The show begins, and Lynn comes to onstage, in the prop coffin.   John, once again in the death mask, handcuffs Lynn to him and his evil plan is revealed:   He is going to KILL Lynn before a live audience!   John begins singing the song that will be the show's grand finale (and Lynn's demise)!   However, security finally gets wise when John removes his mask, and they clobber him with an electric guitar right after Lynn mysteriously gets free of him!!   John is electrocuted, frying to death as he wails the last notes of the song!!

RATING:       

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!   It's almost everything a bad heavy metal horror movie should be!    The music is heavy, the plot is kitchy, and the movie takes itself so terribly seriously.   HARD ROCK ZOMBIES and ROCK AND ROLL NIGHTMARE are great movies, but they poke fun at themselves;    they know they're going for a laugh.   Not so ROCKTOBER BLOOD!   And any movie that can take itself so incredibly seriously while featuring Tray Loren's insane mugging deserves top honors!

One scene where Lynn Starling strips to take a jacuzzi, and another where she takes a bath.   One of the on-stage "victims" exposes one of her breasts.

SCENES THAT MAKE ME GO "HMMM...,":

Oh, there are TOO MANY in this movie!   So, I've chosen the top five --

1. About midway through the film, there is a hilariously awful scene where Lynn is trying to convince her head of security to help her dig up Billy's coffin.   The actor playing the security guy is, without a doubt, the worst actor I've ever seen (and I've seen A LOT of "B" movies).   The credits bill this guy as "Ben Sebastian", which just happens to be the last name of the movies' writers, producers and director.   Coincidence?    I think not!   More like rampant nepotism!    This guy is the worst!

2. So, John is Billy's twin brother;   Yep, and it's not like the police would investigate something like a twin brother in relation to the identification of a murder suspect, right?

3. During Head Mistress's concert, John is prowling the stage, disembowling/
beheading/otherwise mutilating the "victims" chained up onstage, and throwing the bits out into the audience.   This give me a chuckle, imagining some stoned headbanger catching a souvenir from their idol, only to find he (or she) is holding a real head!   Hilarious!

4. When Lynn comes to in her coffin onstage, she is face-to-face with a guy in the same mask as "Billy" had been wearing earlier.   She says:   "Billy Eye!   He's here!"   The "masked man" replies:   "I killed him.   I've taken care of everything.   Come on -- we've got a show to put on!"    So what does Lynn do?    Naturally, she breaks into a song!   What would YOU have done?

5. In the final scene where John is electrocuted to death:   If you look closely when the camera pans back, you;ll notice the guitar is clearly not plugged in!   Hmmm...,

DID YOU KNOW...,:

 -   The music in ROCKTOBER BLOOD was performed by real-life band, SORCERY.  SORCERY put out several albums, and performs theatrical rock featuring magical effects.   For more information, go to Sorcery Music.

 -  Nigel Benjamin ("Chris") once sang for legendary rockers MOTT THE HOOPLE.   He also fronted LA bad boys LONDON, whose bass player was none other than MOTLEY CRUE's Nikki Sixx!

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