This film is currently available as a Blu-ray Special Edition from Arrow Video.
As anyone who reads these Blasts from the Past! articles already knows, the late 1970s and early 1980s marked an incredibly busy period for horror movies… and in particular, slasher features. You would seemingly find one of these titles opening every week at cinemas and even more appearing on video store shelves. There were so many, in fact, that even genre fans had a hard time keeping up with them all. Even with the genre being incredibly popular, flicks would still manage to fall through the cracks. One of those flicks was Deadly Games, which received a spotty release at theaters before appearing on VHS and Betamax. While the feature has gone out-of-print and been hard to locate over the years, it has slowly built a following. Many have written that its growing popularity might be because of the story’s focus on its female characters.
While this is certainly true to an extent, what is unusual about this tale is that the leads are all considerably older than in other genre flicks. This isn’t a film about college students being sliced and diced after sneaking off for a romantic encounter with another student. These characters are much older and, in between the killings, viewers see these adults deal with failing marriages and unfaithful spouses. It’s an eccentric movie that changes tone from comedy to melodrama and finally horror, but one that is completely unique.
Arrow Video have decided to help preserve Deadly Games and are presenting it on Blu-ray with a 2K restoration from the original camera negative. As with all of their other releases, the disc itself is excellent. The flick looks better than it ever has before and arrives with plenty of informative extras that detail the movie’s production history and present some analysis of the story’s quirkier aspects.
The plot involves music journalist Keegan Lawrence (Jo Ann Haris), who returns home after learning that her sister has died under strange circumstances. While Keegan states that she was never particularly close with her sibling, she still feels compelled to find out what happened. The protagonist talks with Detective Roger Lane (Sam Groom) about the case and reconnects with old acquaintances. They are naturally sympathetic and disturbed by what happened, but also seem preoccupied with their own personal problems. Most of them suspect the town’s creepy projectionist and Vietnam war veteran Billy Owens (Steve Railsback) as the man behind the crime. But as it turns out, Roger is very close with the oddball and immediately dismisses him as a suspect. Soon the entire female population finds their lives at risk from a masked figure and the bodies pile up. Even Keegan’s investigation stalls as she finds herself drawn closer and closer to married detective Roger and his pal, Billy.
The film’s lead is an interesting character, a reporter who is chatty to a fault and curious to get whatever information she can out of people. Some of the dialogue is oddly written and, at times, her behavior does come across as difficult to believe (whether it’s her absence of grief over her sister’s brutal death or indifference to the lack of progress Billy is making in the investigation). Still, the movie does have a unique voice and the eccentric protagonist is more distinctive than the heroes of similarly-themed genre efforts.
As mentioned, a lot of the movie is preoccupied with the lives of the townspeople and the secrets they are hiding from one another. This aspect also isn’t as well developed as it could be, but does at least add a bit of dramatic spice to the proceedings. A board game is also a significant plot element, suggesting that each roll and turn is influencing who the next victim will be. It is underutilized and the filmmakers definitely don’t really take the time to explain the game and how it specifically connects with who or why people are being slain.
But on the plus side, there are some elaborate and impressively staged murder sequences. These killings aren’t particularly graphic, but they are distinctive (and include a victim being pursued through a house, another drowned in a pool and one who is attacked in a cemetery). There is some impressive photography in the movie too. This includes a setup of Billy watching a football game with the characters reflected in the lenses of his sunglasses, a nicely lit fireside chat at the beach, as well as creepier background elements inside the town movie theater.
In all, this movie contains a lot of plot holes and the characters make some bizarre choices, but the movie is well-paced, unusual and it doesn’t feel like a typical slasher. It’s a decent horror picture and the film’s uniqueness is certainly addressed in the bonus features on the disc. The first extra is a commentary track with The Hysteria Continues (a group of horror movie experts from various parts of the world). The trio of critics discuss all of the strange, sometimes disparate elements that make up the picture and also note some subtle thematic undercurrents. They detail the plot similarities to the 1996 feature Scream and also address an underlying gay subtext with a couple of the characters that might pass some viewers by. You’ll also get tidbits about the various cast members and their other credits.
In addition, this Blu-ray includes an interview with co-star Jere Rae-Mansfield (who married the director of this film). She explains her experience and delivers some behind-the-scenes tidbits about the production. Apparently, the film was shot in 1979 and did have some trouble finding a proper distributor. When it was picked up and released in 1982, the movie had been recut and shortened, frustrating the director and the interviewee – this fact may also explain some of the unclear and underdeveloped story elements. And for those interested to know what the original intent was, the full and complete screenplay is included as BD-ROM content.
There is also an interview with special effects and stunt coordinator John Eggett. He explains how he got involved in the film business and how, during this era, special effects and stunts were often supervised by the same person and not separate departments. He discusses some of the tricks and dangerous stunts used in the film to shock viewers. There is also a detailed, extensive promotional image gallery with just about every still and poster ever created for the title. It also comes with the original trailer for the film.
Deadly Games is another fascinating little genre title that will appeal to fans looking for a movie that takes a different spin on the slasher movie formula. And Arrow Video have once again done an excellent job in transferring the picture to Blu-ray, providing not only great image quality but as much background details about the film’s production as could be located. Slasher movie enthusiasts are advised to check it out.