X-Ray / Schizoid (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review)
Directed By: Boaz Davidson and David Paulsen
Starring: Barbi Benton, Klaus Kinski
Rated: R/Region A/1:85 (Both)/1080p/Number of Discs 2
Available from Scream Factory
X-Ray (1982)
Directed By: Boaz Davidson
Starring: Barbi Benton, Charles Lucia, Jon Van Ness
Divorcee Susan Jeremy goes to a local Los Angeles county hospital for a routine exam and through a series of circumstances finds herself stranded there while a maniac, dressed in a doctor’s surgical mask and clothing, goes around killing all the staff are assoicated with her. Could it be posibly the psycho Harold whom killed a friend of Susan’s on Valentine’s Day 19 years earlier? If so, who is it since Susan has not seen Harold for all that time and there’s no telling who he has grown up to look like.
I can really and appreciate a slasher movie like this. That might be because I really love slashers anyway, but this one does bring a little more to the table rather than a masked killer chasing a woman around in the woods and such. Here, a masked man chases a woman around the hospital! Sure, we’d see that again in Halloween 2, but here the hospital isn’t empty and it seems rather cleverly done. It also doesn’t hurt to have a lead like Barbi Benton running around in a hospital gown and her underwear for most of the film while this guy is trying every way possible to keep her in the hospital.
While we don’t get much in the way of well-done gore effects, we do end up with a great deal of blood that seem nice and gory in the enhanced style of HD. When the blood flies (and it flies a lot) we get it all over the place and it does look far better than you’d expect from a film like this. From wacky characters like old ladies in the room with our final girl to a neat little back-story with kid actors this movie was a whole lot of fun and very much worth the price of this release alone. If you love slasher movies you shouldn’t be at all let down with this one.
– Interview with Boaz Davidson
Schizoid (1980)
Directed By: David Paulsen
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Donna Wilkes, Marianna Hill
Julie is an advice columnist for the city newspaper who begins to receive anonymous notes threatening murder and worse. At about the same time, female members of the group therapy session she attends are being stabbed, one by one, by an unknown assailant. Is there a connection? If so, why do the notes talk about murder with a gun, while the murder victims are being stabbed? At first, the police, her ex-husband, her therapist and her friends all assure her that the notes are probably unrelated, and hoax; but with time, it becomes apparent that someone close to her is responsible. Is it her therapist, Pieter, who has sex with his patients just before they are murdered? Or Pieter’s daughter, who resents Julie for Julie’s romantic involvement with Pieter? Is it Julie’s ex-husband, who never really wanted their divorce? Or maybe Gilbert, the eccentric building maintenance man whom many people believe is a little crazy anyway? Just about everyone around her seems mentally disturbed enough.
I sadly didn’t have the same joy out of the second part of our double feature as I did the first film. And, oddly enough, this one perhaps packs the best transfer as the film looked just beautiful with detail in some areas. The thing about this movie was the kills seemed weak and the action was just too slow. It came across as more of a giallo than anything else and I had hoped for more of a slasher. There wasn’t a ton of gore, but there is some blood. Also, for what it might be worth the killer does at least look cool.
There is also a great deal of naked women. We have some of what we need for a great slasher, but we just had too slow of a pace and not enough gore. The actors, however, are very keen to their roles and if nothing else make the movie as a whole at least watchable. We end up with a very nice looking movies, but a weak movie none the less. Others might enjoy it more, but I just wanted more action and more blood. I still got to compliment the job on the transfer here.
– Interview with Donna Wilkes
– Theatrical Trailer
