I once worked in a video store in the 90’s. Let’s be clear, it was a bad job; low pay, awful hours, unscrupulous owners… but if you were a movie fan, nothing could be better. The video store gave me the opportunity to watch great movies, and it also gave me to chance to watch some of the worst. And I love watching schlocky bad movies. At the bottom shelf in the “Horror” section, I came to discover the slasher music extravaganza that is Rocktober Blood.
(I’m just going to call SPOILERS right now. Not that any of us care, just outta respect)
Lucky for all of us, I was able to find the movie on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIvojCCVvSY) The print might not be the best, but to be honest, the movie is awful, so the bad quality might help add to the kitsch.
The movie was released in 1984, and lordy, do we get a documentation of the Los Angles metal scene of that time. It was awesome seeing the hi-top sneakers, sleeveless shirts, teased out hair, and the style I liked most was all the rising sun Japanese stuff, which I had forgotten about.
So… Plot… We actually start in 1982 as Billy is in the recording studio cutting his latest track “I’m Back” We get to meet Lynn, Billy’s backup singer, and I guess girlfriend, or was… It’s not real clear. Billy and the rest of the band head out of the studio, leaving Lynn, Kevin the engineer, and Mary who is Kevin’s assistant to finish work on the record. Lynn and Kevin try to record some backing vocals for the song “Rainbow Eyes.” It doesn’t go well, and Lynn decides to go to the jacuzzi upstairs because the target demographic for this movie was teenage boys.
But wait, Billy returns and slits Kevin’s throat, and then kills Mary by impaling her on a mounted wall peg. Then Lynn comes downstairs, having not heard a thing because jacuzzi’s used to be really loud, and she finds Billy smoking “drugs” at the console while listening to “I’m Back” backwards. Now, like I said, this was 1984, and we were all not supposed to do drugs, thanks Nancy Regan, and not listen to our music backwards, because that’s where all of Satan’s messages were. Billy attacks Lynn, and while holding her at knife point, a security guard walks in. How does the guard save Lynn? Well, like all good heroes, he RUNS. THE FUCK. AWAY. To which Billy chases after him, thus saving Lynn. And… that’s it…
We immediately jump cut to two years later, at a party where it’s announced that Billy’s old band is getting back together, with Lynn as the lead singer, and they are about to go on tour playing Billy’s songs, and by the way, Billy was found guilty of murder, executed, though he claimed he was innocent. Who knew the justice system worked so fast in 1984?
There is some amazing stuff happening in this party scene. For me, the most impressive is that at the party there is a dude in a monster mask who is dancing, then starts doing some mime work, and ends with breakdancing. I had forgotten, as I am sure you had too, that breakdancing mimes were all the rage in the 80’s. It was Morning in America for spinning on your back.
All is not well at the party, because when Lynn goes looking for her manager, Chris, she ends up in a very dimly lit attic where she is surprised by no other than Billy! Lynn gets away, and Chris, being the responsible type, sends her and her friends to a mountain cabin to relax before the big show.
As I am sure you guessed, Billy follows them to the cabin, kills one friend in the jacuzzi, and then terrorizes Lynn as she gets out of the bath. Again, this was made of teenage boys.
Enough of that, Chris sends everyone back to LA to get ready for the concert. Lynn can’t let go about Billy for some strange reason, and proceeds to dig up Billy’s grave to only find a very last minute cartoonish prop of a skeleton in the coffin. I’m sorry, I mean Billy’s body. Problem solved, right? Billy is dead and Lynn’s crazy! Let go play that concert of Billy’s songs!
Not so fast! Billy is ready for Lynn, because what else does he have to do that week. Billy kidnaps Lynn before the show, and he launches into a monologue where we find out that Billy is actually Johnny; Billy’s homicidal twin brother!
This sets up one very bizarre climax. Billy/Johnny goes on stage in a mask and sings his old songs, which the band all seems fine with. Especially when Billy/Johnny starts killing the Go-Go dancers on stage. Billy/Johnny pulls out Lynn to sing “Rainbow Eyes,” and at the conclusion of the song, Billy/Johnny is unmasked to everyone’s shock and horror. Except for the drummer, who is like, “Fuck it, play the next song.” And everyone complies.
I don’t want to ruin the true ending of the movie, but it does leave you with the question of; Does Billy/Johnny die, or does he survive? (May the debate begin…)
As horror movies go, this one is pretty poor. Acting isn’t great, plot has a bunch of holes, and there are lots of lens flares. More than Star Trek. Now, I do recommend this movie because the songs in it are actually fun. I didn’t say good, I said fun. You’ll be asking yourself, “Do I have rainbow eyes?” and “Is there a killer on the loose?” The songs were written by the band Sorcery, whose members play the band in the movie. So, there actually a slight bit of LA music scene connection to this flick.
Over all, Rocktober Blood touches on all the right beats of slasher movies from the early 80’s and for my money, is 100% video store gold. It would be best enjoyed with a two liter of Pepsi and some stovetop popcorn while sitting on the couch with the living room’s lights off.
Enjoy!
