Savage Weekend
Directed By David Paulsen
Released: 1979
Starring: Marilyn Hamilton, David Gale, Jeff Pomerantz, and William Sanderson
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Studio: Mill Creek

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Five city folk head out to the country so that Robert (played by Jim Doerr) can check on the status of his boat being built for him by some local yokels. With him is freshly divorced Marie (Marilyn Hamilton) who is bringing along two kinds of baggage: emotional and her friends slutty Shirley (Caitlin O’Heaney) and gay Nicky (Christopher Allport). Their fun in hickville is spoiled by a deranged masked killer who starts taking them out with sharp objects.

Take a little bit of Deliverance and a little bit of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a little bit of “Days Of Our Lives” and what do you have? Well? This fine piece of trash is an absolute must-see for fans of sleazy crap. Impending doom is painfully obvious to everyone except the character it’s about to befall and everyone has some crybaby hang-ups of one kind or another. Gritty camerawork, funky locations, and boom mikes in the shot just add to the charm. Did I mention that legendary character actor William Sanderson plays local weirdo and suspect number one, Otis? Well, he does.

All of the actors in Savage Weekend do their job which is to try and make the screen explode with their hammy performances. Easily the cheesiest emoting comes from Marilyn Hamlin. Her character, Marie, delivers some of the funniest and most melodramatic gobbledygook I’ve ever heard. She, like the other unlikable protagonists, is blissfully unaware of the practically telegraphed foreboding and the plain-as-day animosity all around her. She might as well have “Me Generation” tattooed on her forehead.

My favorite character in the film is Nicky played by Christopher Allport (Dead & Buried). This very angry and confused gay man is anything but a stereotype. He has some strange issues with his friend Shirley who he is frighteningly overprotective of and/or totally in love with. And he will kick your ass! Watch with delight as Nicky gets into a bar fight and mops up the place with some inbred good ole boys. The scene is priceless.

This is exactly what a grindhouse film should be. It’s bloody, pointlessly cruel, and features sleazy sex and gratuitous nudity. Geez, you’d think this was Italian! The title of the film makes me think of a hair metal festival. And I especially like how the VHS cover art claims that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is “kid stuff” compared to Savage Weekend. Whether or not you choose to believe that (trust me, you don’t!), this flick is still an excellent piece of trash for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

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DVD Stuff:

Mill Creek everyone! You know the drill. Savage Weekend looks like it was sourced from an old VHS print but video and sound are both surprisingly clear. The only odd thing is that there are some moments where the film switches from full frame to widescreen (though only briefly). I just wish they had a widescreen print for the entire show; that would be awesome. Oh and another thing, I also wish that the dang Mill Creek logo would stop appearing the corner of the screen. But these are just wishes and this is a budget collection of 50 Drive-In Classics so I’ll shut up now.

Quotes:

“Jesus, you think my life is easy? I can’t even escape from my lovers in the men’s room.”