Cheap Pranks (DVD) (Jeffrey Obrow, Stephen Carpenter) Price

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Customer Reviews of Pranks

1982 U.S. slasher movie, that says it all
Another 80's college film in which all the "students" look older than expected. College girl Joanne Murray takes on the unenviable job of readying the student housing building to become apartments, which includes selling the unneeded furniture, etc. This takes place during a break, so a mysterious psycho is stalking the nearly-empty premises on campus. Need more?

Who's the killer? Is it weirdo John Hemmit from Room 25, an older resident of the dorm with a fuzzy Bozo-the clown balding head? He's played by "Woody Roll," by the way. Or is it jeans-jacket wearing redneck Bobby Lee, who hits on our heroine? Watch it and see.

As you can imagine, this is typical slasher stuff, with overly dramatic music that sounds ripped off from "Psycho." Don't expect anything earth-shattering; you do get a cheapie, yet solid release for fans of 80's slasher/horror. No real extras on the DVD, however, save a biography of supporting actress Daphne Zuniga in her film debut, amazingly she went on to 80's moneymakers like The Sure Thing, VisionQuest and Spaceballs. After that...Toxic Avenger 3, anyone???

It's not like the grainy print is retouched or anything...who's gonna bother? 80's horror fanatics will still love this cheesefest that was like a poor man's "Pieces??" I don't know, it's not as gory and weird as Pieces, but it's in that same mindless yet fun stalk n' slash vein....

Expect a low budget, some bad acting, and if those are things you are able to tolerate then Pranks ain't half bad. Best served with lots of beer and a roomful of friends.

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Carpenter & Obrow's The Dorm That Dripped Blood
In this dorky slasher hooey, half a dozen students must clean out an old college dormitory before it is demolished. One reviewer must clean out his eyes and ears before they are demolished by this film.

All the stock characters are here: heroine Joanne (Laurie Lipinski), smartass Craig (Stephen Sachs), hunk Brian (David Snow), insecure Patti (Pamela Holland), and red herring suspects Bobby Lee (Dennis Ely) and John Hemmit (Woody Roll).

Debbie (Daphne Zuniga, they all had to start somewhere) and her parents are the first victims of the unseen killer. The killer then plays hide and seek, cat and mouse, etc, with the cast. One by one, they end up missing until the killer's identity is revealed in a stunning moment that will ring through the ages as a pinnacle point in the art of film...or you know whodunnit if you pay mild disinterested attention to the movie.

Obrow and Carpenter even go through the old device of having the killer explain their motives for the spree, as if anyone but the surviving cast member cared.

The one plus I could find was the pretty good gore effects. The killings have a mean quality to them, from Debbie's death by being run over a few times, to the bloody climactic fight. Sex is kept to a minimum, we get to see a topless girlfriend of Bobby Lee's, but that's it. The film cannot even get exploitation elements down correctly. Another plus is that the killing does start almost immediately, as if the film makers were in a rush to grab the audience's attention. Holding the audience's attention should have been a concern.

"The Dorm That Dripped Blood" is so typical, and so bad, it is no wonder the makers of the "Scream" and "Scary Movie" series had such an easy time skewering the genre.