Las Vegas Bloodbath
| Las Vegas Bloodbath | |
|---|---|
|
VHS cover | |
| Directed by | David Schwartz |
| Produced by | David Schwartz |
| Written by | David Schwartz |
| Starring | Ari Levin |
| Music by | Chris Crump |
| Cinematography | Darryl Kilby |
| Edited by | Lisa D. Coatney |
Production company |
Schwartz Kilby Mayhugh Dalton Productions |
Release dates | 1989 |
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country |
 United States |
| Language | English |
Las Vegas Bloodbath is a shot-on-video horror film directed, written and produced by David Schwartz, and released in 1989.
Plot
After a successful business deal in Sacramento, Sam Butler returns to his Las Vegas home, and discovers his pregnant wife, Ruth, in bed with a sheriff's deputy. Whipped into a homicidal rage, Sam grabs the deputy's discarded gun and shoots him and Ruth to death. After cutting off Ruth's head (which he treats like it is still alive) Sam leaves the house with it and picks up a prostitute named Tina. Taking Tina to the back of a motel, Sam ties her up and stabs her in the jaw, then rips one of her legs off with some rope attached to the back of his car.
After murdering Tina, Sam enters a bar and shoots the bartender in the head, then follows a car advertising the Beautiful Lady Oil Wrestlers to an apartment, using a shovel to crush the head of a gardener who approaches him outside. Inside the apartment, the oil wrestlers are holding a baby shower for one of their members, Barbara, who is the first to be killed when Sam breaks in, having her unborn child cut out after Sam unsuccessfully attempts to rape her. Sam proceeds to murder the other five captive women (and a man who tries to come to their aid) with various weapons, such as a knife, drill, hammer, gun and his bare hands, topping the massacre off by beheading a Jehovah's Witness who stops by after all the residents have been butchered.
Eventually, a police officer arrives, and finds Sam in the gore drenched washroom, taking a bath in blood and dismembered limbs. When the officer orders him to put his hands up, Sam raises two severed arms, then shoots him. As the credits begin to roll, Sam glares at the camera, and the song "Las Vegas Blood Bath" starts to play.
Cast
- Ari Levin - Sam Butler
- Rebecca Gandera - Wendy
- Barbara Bell - Barbara
- Susanne Ciddio - Suzanne
- Tiffany Heisler - Tiffany
- Leah Luchette - Bambi
- Jennifer Quinn - Cherry Blossom
- Elizabeth Anderson - Ruth Butler
- Tina Prunty - Tina
Reception
On its Gore & Splatter page, Las Vegas Bloodbath was categorized as "worthless" by The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre, which wrote that it "looks like a cheap porn[o] and I think the only reason this was made was as an excuse to hang out with babes in bikinis since over half of the movie lingers on 6 babes playing truth or dare (what is this - a Tim Ritter movie?), trying on bathing suits, and wrestling".[1]
Mario Dominick, writer of the column "Films on the Fringe" for the website Critical Condition, stated "This ultra low budget shot on video feature from Vegas is definitely one of the most downright sadistic and repulsive movies I've ever seen. Yet it's so damn amusing and over-the-top it's almost comical giving it some sort of weird charm one can't put their finger on." [2]
Bleeding Skull's Dan Budnik wrote "Las Vegas Bloodbath is amateurish, gory, boring, funny, mystifying, entrancing and unwatchable. That's a pretty good swath for a very-cheap 80s SOV film to cover. Each one of those attributes should have a "very" in front of it. That sums up the film. It's not good but for most of the time I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It's nasty, but apart from one or two moments, the nastiness is foolishness. The unfortunate thing is that, in the end, I can deal with boring. Night of Horror is boring but I love it. It's the pacing that can make the film such a tough watch. Continents drift faster than this movie. A minute lasts five and that's not good." He have his final thoughts as, "Gory, yes. Good, no. Watchable, mostly. There are definitely great and sublime moments in here but, Mother of Pearl! That pacing!" [3]
DVD release
The film's only DVD releases have been as a part of two box sets, the Serial Psychos 6 Movies Set released in 2006, and the Decrepit Crypt of Nightmares 50 Movie Pack released in 2007.[4][5]
References
- ↑ "Gore & Splatter". The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
- ↑ "Films on the Fringe". Critical Condition. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
- ↑ "Las Vegas Blood Bath (1989) (part of Serial Psychos: 6 Movie Pack)". Bleeding Skull. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
- ↑ "Las Vegas Bloodbath". Film Aficionado. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
- ↑ "Las Vegas Blood Bath". Film Aficionado. Retrieved 2012-06-17.