Horror
1 hour and 23 minutes
Rated: R
Written by: Alessandro Capone, Luca D'Alisera, Sheila Goldberg, and Dardano Sacchetti
Directed by: Ruggero Deodato
Produced by: Alessandro Fracassi
Cast:
Charles Napier
David Hess
Bruce Penhall
Mimsy Farmer
The woods are alive with the sound of screaming.
The 1980s saw a slew of backwoods slasher films being thrown at the horror-loving audiences of America. Indeed, the genre had been around prior to this specific decade - Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Mario Bava's A Bay of Blood both come to mind - but it wasn't until Friday the 13th became a cultural and cinematic phenomenon in 1980 that the subgenre of backwoods slasher flicks became extremely popular, with many being released directly to the brand new VHS market. Such was the case with Ruggero Deodato's entry into the subgenre: Body Count.
After the major financial success of Cannibal Holocaust and the cult following of House on the Edge of the Park it's no surprise that Deodato was given the reins to the mega-budget, ultra-violent, jungle adventure/thriller Cut and Run. Unfortunately, Cut and Run didn't fare as popular as its predecessors and Deodato's name never reached the iconic status it should have. Following Cut and Run, Deodato was given Body Count - a decent enough entry into a subgenre that by 1986 was already beginning to fade from the hearts and minds of most American horror fans. Hence, its only being released in America on VHS.
Body Count is by no means the greatest slasher film ever made, but it is certainly not the weakest one either. The film follows a genuinely interesting premise, combining both the ideas of the supernatural and the typical giallo idea that the killer, in the end, is merely one of the main characters who at some point in the past witnessed a psychologically damaging event that caused them to snap.
Even with a solid story Body Count's script is problematic. Of course with any made-for-American-market-Italian-made films there's going to be a few dialogue issues - these are both understandable and forgivable. Where this script suffers though is that it consists almost entirely of slasher movie clichés. Women are running and falling in the woods every single time they're being chased by a killer. The police characters are more of a nuisance than believable authority figures, and when they do finally save the day it feels more of a "cop out" than anything else and one can't help but wonder would the conclusion have been more satisfying if the killer were unmasked and killed by one of the main protagonists. These script issues are undoubtedly the direct result of having too many writers attached to the project. Shockingly, Dardano Sacchetti - the man behind many successful films for both Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento - had a hand in this film. Again, Body Count is not a bad film, but it is certainly below the status quo of both Sacchetti and Deodato.
The film's soundtrack is truly outstanding. Goblin's Claudio Simonetti, who had previously worked with Deodato on Cut and Run and is most famous for his scoring of Argento's Suspiria and George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, provides a terrifically frightening synthesizer-based soundtrack that is reminiscent of John Carpenter's score in Halloween. After the techno-80s-synth disaster of Cut and Run, it's most likely that Deodato told Simonetti to dial it back some for Body Count. Whatever the reason, less is more here and Simonetti did a fantastic job with it.
The performances in Body Count are a mixed bag at best. The veteran performers are a wonder to watch, while the unknown teenage cast give reason for the audience to ultimately cheer at their numbers being dwindled. Bruce Penhall is a good exception to this, however, he clearly isn't a strong actor. He simply plays a macho, dirt-bike-riding, teenager that seems to be second nature for him. Charles Napier is fantastic as the sheriff, but he isn't given enough screen time and his heroic contributions to the film's climax feel rather dull. John Steiner and Ivan Rassimov, two Deodato regulars, are fun to watch - but their scenes feel unnecessary and second nature. Almost as if Deodato called them up on a favor to play their parts and give the film a longer running time. Valentina Forte is given a cameo, but this is most likely due to her being romantically involved with Deodato at the time. She is murdered quickly in the story, and again the scene is rather unnecessary. David Hess is excellent, as always, as a psychotic campground owner. As Hess' wife, Mimsy Farmer is truly the standout performer. No stranger to the land of Italian horror, Farmer delivers all the goods and (other than Hess) gives the most believable performance. She's clearly more talented than this content could suggest, and it's rather a tragedy that she retired from acting after having completed Body Count.
With a relatively strong story, a moody atmospheric soundtrack by Claudio Simonetti, and a handful of cult actors delivering decent enough performances, Ruggero Deodato's Body Count remains a middle of the road film that perhaps doesn't deserve to be called the director's strongest piece of cinema, but still doesn't deserve to have faded so quickly into obscurity.
6.5/10
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