While the killer doesn't score particularly high marks, the "evil laugh" is way too clownish to strike terror in the heart of anyone or anything, and all of the gore comes to us second hand, I have to say that I got quite a kick out of watching this 1980s slasher. It meets all of the necessary slasher requirements: babes, blood, a pretty decent body count and at least a little bit of nudity; but wait, there's more: a couple of interesting manners of death, a pre-Scream character putting his knowledge of horror films to good use, a few bits of genre-related humor, and some very interesting actors and actresses among its cast.

Johnny (Steven Baio) and his fiancee Connie (Kim McKamy) invite their fellow medical and nursing school pals to a house they are thinking of purchasing, ostensibly to get their friends' help in fixing the place up a little bit. The house had previously served as a foster home but has stood vacant for a decade, ever since a doctor's assistant named Martin went crazy and killed all of the kids in the building. The locals won't go near the place, but Johnny and Connie don't believe the story that Martin hangs around to kill anyone who comes to the house -- they just want to reopen the place as a new foster home, and the low price makes it possible for them to do so.

By the time the gang shows up, Johnny is nowhere to be found -- this will be the first of many bad omens to come (a local delivery boy is also missing). Everyone gets to work as they await his return, taking the necessary dinner, practical joke and "horny time" breaks along the way. As night closes in, Connie reveals the dark secret of the house's history to everyone, but only one of the young people is apparently able to put 2 and 2 together. The killings begin soon thereafter. These slayings are much more effective early on, before we actually get to see the masked killer for ourselves -- the mask is rather silly-looking, and this isn't the most imposing of mad killers you're ever likely to see. Additionally, by the time the film enters the home stretch, it's pretty easy to figure out who the killer is, which robs the ending of any real shock value.

As I was watching this film, I kept trying to figure out where I had seen the actress who plays Connie before. A quick check of the credits identified her as Kim McKamy, a name I did not recognize at all. A little investigation soon revealed that Kim McKamy went on to enter the adult movie industry using the name Ashlyn Gere. Gere is one of the few adult film stars to actually land mainstream roles off and on (she was even in an episode of the X-Files), and she's really not a bad actress at all. She's not the only cast member with an interesting bio, either. Take Jody Gibson, who replaced Heidi Fleiss during the Hollywood Madam's imprisonment. Then you have Tony Griffin, who is the son of Merv Griffin. Finally, there's Steven Baio. Who knew Scott Baio even had a brother in the business? Personally, I find it a rather frightening prospect, as one Baio actor is more than enough for me.

Basically what you have here is an entertaining albeit largely uninspired slasher film that screams 1980s and stars a young woman who went on to become one of the biggest adult film stars of all time. Yes, the ending's sort of lame, and the soundtrack features some of the worst music ever made, but still I ask you, what more could you ask for, my friends?