Cult Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci here departs from some of the trappings of his other horror films of the period, as he spins this quirky tale that could be described as "Fame" meets "Friday the 13th". At the prestigious Arts for Living Center in NYC, various dancers compete for a major production. However, some psychotic character is carefully working their way through the student bodies - immobilizing them with chloroform, then piercing their hearts with a hatpin. The lady in charge of the place, Candice Norman (Olga Karlatos, "Zombi 2") hooks up with male model George Webb (Ray Lovelock, "The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue"), after having a macabre dream about the guy.
"Murder Rock", a.k.a. "Dancing Death", a.k.a. "Slashdance", is not going to satisfy hardcore horror lovers: there's barely any gore, and while there is some partial female nudity, there might not be enough of *that* for them, either. "Murder Rock" will be most entertaining to people looking for an 80s artifact. And the movie delivers in that regard, with a few set pieces of dancers grooving to the fun & funky electronic soundtrack composed by Keith Emerson. As one comes to expect from movies like this, the dialogue and the dubbed-in vocal performances DO tend to be really cheesy.
The supporting cast includes such people as Cosimo Cinieri ("The New York Ripper"), as a wary, sunflower seed-munching police detective who always looks like he'd rather be ANYWHERE else, Giuseppe Mannajuolo ("Nosferatu in Venice") as a helpful Professor, Geretta Geretta ("Demons") as an instructor, Giovanni De Nava and Silvia Collatina from "The House by the Cemetery", and Al Cliver, also from "Zombi 2".
"Murder Rock" offers some fun, but is never as crazy or as odd or as atmospheric as the best Fulci genre films of the 70s and 80s.
Six out of 10.
"Murder Rock", a.k.a. "Dancing Death", a.k.a. "Slashdance", is not going to satisfy hardcore horror lovers: there's barely any gore, and while there is some partial female nudity, there might not be enough of *that* for them, either. "Murder Rock" will be most entertaining to people looking for an 80s artifact. And the movie delivers in that regard, with a few set pieces of dancers grooving to the fun & funky electronic soundtrack composed by Keith Emerson. As one comes to expect from movies like this, the dialogue and the dubbed-in vocal performances DO tend to be really cheesy.
The supporting cast includes such people as Cosimo Cinieri ("The New York Ripper"), as a wary, sunflower seed-munching police detective who always looks like he'd rather be ANYWHERE else, Giuseppe Mannajuolo ("Nosferatu in Venice") as a helpful Professor, Geretta Geretta ("Demons") as an instructor, Giovanni De Nava and Silvia Collatina from "The House by the Cemetery", and Al Cliver, also from "Zombi 2".
"Murder Rock" offers some fun, but is never as crazy or as odd or as atmospheric as the best Fulci genre films of the 70s and 80s.
Six out of 10.