Frightmare

Modern horror – which critics typically mark with the release of Psycho – made most classic horror stars obsolete overnight. Actors like Christopher Lee and Vincent Price, with their capes, fangs and wizard wands, were suddenly passe. And it took a good ten years before they became trendy again as part of a “retro” resurgence by monster kids. 1981’s Frightmare (aka The Horror Star) tries to pound a square peg into a round hole by making the iconic – but invented – cult actor Conrad Radzoff into a vengeful spirit who can still bring his A-game.

Staging his funeral as the final act in a storied career, Radzoff (Ferdinand Mayne) leaves a series of video messages for anyone that disturbs his resting place. That doesn’t stop the members of the local horror film society from stealing the corpse to stage one big farewell party at their creepy old house. Radzoff’s revenge involves plenty of severed body parts, spontaneous human combustion and every fog machine available in southern California.

Part of a wave of mortuary flicks that popped up around the same time (Phantasm, Hell Night and Mausoleum), writer-director Norman Thaddeus Vane crafts this one as a supernatural slasher with just enough flesh and blood to fit the modern horror definition. But you can tell that his sympathies lie with his overdressed anti-hero who stalks the hallways like a lost party guest trying to find the bathroom. The look is pure early ‘80s, a study in shades of brown and wood paneling, as if Hammer moved into the Three Company set. It’s never scary, but that’s the knock on classic horror itself.  Frightmare delivers a scrappy of homage to genre fandom with nods to contemporary excess, but the soul of the film belongs to an era when horror icons took bows…not body counts.

Released no so long ago in a pricey edition from boutique label Vinegar Syndrome (now sold out), Troma comes to the rescue with a “Tromatic Special Edition” that looks just as good, adds several new extra and costs one hell of a lot less. Special features include three commentary tracks, trailer, stills, interview with DP Joel King and gobs of self-promotional Troma nonsense.