PopHorror Let's Get Scared
When I was in high school I really wanted to be a heavy metal bass player (despite the fact that I had no musical talent whatsoever), so horror movies that involved heavy metal bands-such as Black Roses, Trick or Treat, and even the incredibly atrocious Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare really spoke to me. I stumbled across Hard Rock Nightmare one night and at the time I thought that it totally and completely ruled. I hadn’t seen it in years, so out of boredom the other night I found it and my wife, and I checked it out.
After finally watching it again was it as good as Motley Crue from the 80’s or was it more like Winger on an average Wednesday? Keep reading to find out…
Synopsis
Years after killing his grandfather (because he thought he was a vampire), an aspiring rock star and his band head to his grandparents’ house out in the middle of nowhere to practice and record their new album. Unfortunately, a vicious werewolf is lurking around in the area, and it isn’t long before it starts tearing everyone to piece
Check out the trailer below!
Believe it or not, I think that Hard Rock Nightmare is still awesome after all this time. Yes, it’s cheesy as Hell at times and the acting is mighty bad, but it’s still a fun little horror flick that is just weird enough to work. I love werewolves, so I thought that the premise ruled. We have a bunch of 80’s hairband types hanging out with a few chicks in the middle of the woods and there’s a werewolf running around that enjoys ripping people to shreds. I mean come on, it’s a simple plot and it works, so what’s not to love?
Brought to you by the same folks behind 1986’s Evil Laugh (which I also watched again recently and discovered that was nowhere near as good as I remembered it), this movie is a cool little film that combines elements of your basic slasher flick with those of your average werewolf movie. In other words, it’s a good time for all if you are into slasher flicks and werewolf movies.
Written and directed by alleged creep (if you believe what Corey Feldman has said about him anyway) Dominick Brascia (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Evil Laugh) and starring Martin Hansen (who never did another movie), Lisa Elaina (Blood Diner, Tequila & Bonetti) as well as a bunch of other people who never acted again after this film, Hard Rock Nightmare is not for everyone, but if you have a certain taste (and love your movies loaded with cheese) you will dig it as much as I do.
The acting is quite bad from everyone, but that’s OK because sometimes that is a good thing and makes a movie even more enjoyable. That is definitely the case here as once you see the performances you won’t be surprised that a lot of the people in this movie never did anything else. With that said though, I still liked most of the characters because they are just so bad they are good, and you can’t help but dig them. Yes, they are walking stereotypes and are interchangeable for the most part, but few do manage to stand out.
My favorite has to be Connie, the slutty girl who is trying to bang everyone in the band (and who makes fun of one of the guys because sex with him only lasts a few seconds). Played by Nikki McQueen (Bubblegum Crash, Battle Royal High School), she’s just a fun character in general and while most viewers will hate her, I liked her a lot for some unknown reason that I can’t quite explain.
For a low-budget movie the death scenes are quite impressive. The werewolf isn’t messing around when it comes to taking out his victims and we get your usual werewolf-related deaths such as slit throats and people just being torn apart in general. I thought that the werewolf looked decent as well, and in a way, it is actually a little creepy. The movie has an impressive body count as well so try not to get too attached to any of the characters because most of them die before everything is said and done.
Is Hard Rock Nightmare a masterpiece? No, not by any stretch of imagination. Is it a cheesy little flick loaded with bad acting, goofy dialogue, and just some good old fashioned werewolf fun? Hell yes. I had a blast watching it and even though it sort of turns into an episode of Scooby-Doo toward the end I still enjoyed it and thought that the big twist/reveal that takes place at the end was a great idea. I recommend checking it out if you don’t have anything else to do, you may just end up digging it as much as I do if you don’t take it too seriously.
