Moonstalker (1989)

Directed by Michael S. O’Rourke [Other horror films: Deadly Love (1987)]

Moonstalker may not be a great movie; it’s pretty cheap, and it’s not overly memorable, but I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for it. For a late 80’s slasher, Moonstalker may not be the type of film you go back to often, but it can be a bit fun.

The story isn’t anything all that unique – a maniac runs around a campsite and kills people. At first, the maniac wears a mask (which is featured on the VHS cover, which, on a side-note, always struck me as a good cover), but that doesn’t last long, as the killer soon dons a Maniac Cop look, being a bulky man wearing sunglasses and a hat. The mask is cooler, but whateves, I can accept change.

Few of the scenes here are great, but there are a few okay kills, such as a quality impalement toward the finale, along with a decent amount of chopped off arms and limbs. Someone gets a throwing knife in their face, which was fun. There’s not much in the way of gore, but for a lower-budget slasher from this time period, I can take it.

I didn’t mind Joe Balogh (Demons 3/Black Demons, Hollywood’s New Blood, Hitcher in the Dark, and Monstrosity) as the lead, and in fact, I thought his story went to an almost interesting place. Jill Foors was okay, Alex Wexler had some moments, and John Marzilli was funny as a hardcore camp counselor, but aside from Balogh, it’s hard to say anyone stands out. Oh, and though I don’t remember her character, I wanted to mention Sioux-z Jessup because it’s a cool name.

Really, there’s not a whole lot to Moonstalker. It starts off with a family on vacation falling prey to the killer, and then the killer attacks a nearby camp, and that’s pretty much the extent to the movie. It rarely gets more complicated than that – there’s no mystery, and only marginal suspense. Even so, I know when I first saw the movie, I thought it was sort of fun, and I still feel much the same way. Plus, it was filmed entirely in snowy Nevada, so that was sort of cool.

It’s not a movie that I suspect many would find great (though the 80’s synth soundtrack is pretty damn phat), and it’s not among the best of late 80’s slashers (Intruder has to be up there), but it’s reasonably fun, and I personally have a good time with it.

7.5/10