Slash Dance

Director - James Shyman (Hollywood's New Blood)
Starring - Cindy Ferda (Kenan & Kel, GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling), James Carroll Jordan (Tales of the Unexpected, Are You Afraid of the Dark?), and J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner (Robot Holocaust, Necropolis)
Release Date - 1989
Genre - Comedy/Thriller/Mystery
Tagline - "Save the last dance...for hell"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     A few months ago I was browsing through social media when I spotted a post from Verboden Video about their release of the 1989 film Slash Dance.  Some of you may recall Verboden several years back when I reviewed their release of the S.O.V. horror flick Holy Moly.  I was curious about the film and went ahead and ordered a copy for my collection.  I wasn't going to watch it right away but I was too curious about the film to wait.  As soon as I had a second to check it out I had to toss it in to see if it was as fun as the cover lead me to believe.  

     The film follows an undercover cop who joins a theatrical production in order to catch a murderer who is killing dancers at the theater.  She falls in love with the director and starts to suspect that the odd stage hand is the culprit.  However, the stage hand dies from the accident and she soon uncovers the real killer is closer to her than she thought.  

   

     I went into this one very fucking excited.  I love coming across slashers that I had never heard of and the fact that it was one from the late 80s made me even more excited to see it.  Sadly, the movie was nothing like I thought it was.  In fact, if vaguely even a slasher.  I was very disappointed in this one.  The acting in this one was surprisingly well done.  Cindy Ferda is absolutely fantastic in her role.  She acts circles around MOST of the cast in the film.  I'm absolutely shocked that that her imdb career is so small.  I was also blown away by James Carroll Jordan who is the only cast member to stand toe to toe with Ferda.  The supporting cast deliver some fun and oddball characters but their performances are definitely lacking when compared to these two.  The story for this one is not what I was expecting.  The title is perfect for an 80s slasher but the film itself plays out like a made for television murder mystery with humor scattered throughout.  Sadly, the painfully dull scenes and the tedious dialogue makes it a tough one to sit through.  Finally, the film does have a few deaths with a little blood and light practical effects.  Sadly, the kills we do get are easily forgettable and can be compared to the stuff you could see on shows like Murder, She Wrote.  Overall, Slash Dance was a bit of a disappointment.  It could have been fun with some friends and beer but it was a rough watch sober.