Class Reunion Massacre -aka- The Redeemer 1976

"Make up, dear. You serve others with it. Now, we're gonna watch it all go down the drain."

I've been a huge fan of this (until recently) forgotten proto-slasher from 1976. Titled The Redeemer upon its initial theatrical run, it was later released in the early 80's on the old Continental label as Class Reunion Massacre.

A short dumpy kid rises from a lake, fist in air, as in some triumphant mode. He makes his way through the water, [lips a quivering] to the banks of the quarry where he later ends up at the home of a sleeping preacher. During this little scene, we see something of a transformation. The kid simply transfers his third thumb to the hand of our preacher [Yeah, the kid has a third thumb] which stated by T.G. Finkbinder (The actor who portrayed The Redeemer) was an ''epiphany'' by director Constantine S Gochis in has backyard one evening. It was supposed to represent the Biblical mark of Cain or something. He also stated that Gochis consumed a case of beer everyday while on the set, which may account for the surrealistic feel of the movie as a whole.

We're soon taken back to the kid. His clothes are automatically dry and he finds himself waiting on a blue and white church bus to pick him up. He ends up at the church, where soon, we find out he's a choir boy - but - not before being harassed by the local bully, simply because he didn't laugh at his whore/sailor joke. The kid gets a knife blade pressed against his neck, just as the church bell cues the choir boys to their positions in the church.

It's not long before the preacher pounds his fists and spouts out dogmatic religious jargon, all the while, being taken to the lives of six ordinary individuals, albeit evil in the eyes of our preacher. By some truly good editing, we step back and forth between the lives of these people, showing us what kind of supposed evil people they are. There's an actor who is vanity laden. A lawyer who cares about nothing but the dollar. A lesbian. A rich bitch who shoots live doves for sport. A fat glutton who likes to call the son of his new fling a 'little bastard'. And a seemingly innocent lady who has coincidently been married and divorced a few times. Even tho a few of the characters were assholes, they certainly weren't worthy of the barbaric deaths they endured.

Anyway, these people represent a portion of the seven deadly sins. The preacher marvelously sets up a fake class reunion, only inviting the six aforementioned individuals. The seventh deadly sin [to my knowledge] comes right before the caretaker of the old school is killed by The Redeemer. He was a semi-crippled man who denied the redeemer's help on his request to help him pick up his keys. Evidently, The Redeemer' saw this as pride, and shot the bastard cold dead.

Soon, the six former high school students (who must have been good friends) make it to the old high school which looks deserted from the get-go. They are soon let in by The Redeemer who is disguised as the caretaker. He seems immune to the fact that a class reunion is going to take place even tho there's a huge banner over top the threshold that states "Class of 67'.

They're inside, but everything is missing. All the trophies which helped the fat glutton remember the days when he was a popular jock, not an overweight prick. The whole place is deserted, but the sound of music and the smell of food lures the crew to the cafeteria where a meal fit for a king sits, waiting on the crew to dig in. There's a really cool shot that has everyone sitting horizontally behind the table, reminiscent of the 'The Last Supper'.

To make a long story short, The Redeemer offs the crew, using their daily life ritual as a crutch to murder them. For instance, the glutton is baked by fire just like the food he eats. The make-up wearing divorcee is drowned in a sink bowl. A statement on her Jezabell ways. A lawyer is forced to shoot himself in the head, making it look like suicide. The actor is offed by way of huge scimitar directly though the top of his skull as he seemingly becomes furious at the fact that the redeemer is doing this weird Shakespearian gig, taking the spotlight away from himself.

Anyway, the crew are dispatched one by one as mentioned earlier. The redeemer looses his third thumb after redeeming himself from the murders. The kid returns back to the lake to sink beneath the watery depths once again. But not before killing the bully who harasses him during the beginning of the film.

This is one of the best pre-Halloween era slashers ever made. I was shocked at how good this film was when I first got around to seeing it back in 2002. It does have its flaws, but not many by comparison to the other trash that polluted the silver screens in the 70's and 80's. It has gained some popularity as of late, as Code Red DVD plans on putting out a special edition dvd of Class Reunion Massacre. (Although, they've been in the works in regards to a release for three years, or so it seems)

Incidentally, I did an interview with the star of this film which can be found over at: http://www.hysteria-lives.co.uk Have a gander!