Too much of everything

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Excellent adaptation.

It's hard to take Hospital Massacre seriously. It just is. Yet, there's something so bizarre about it that it almost feels like one of those strange Italian horror films from the 70's or 80's where it seems like aliens from another planet have made the film and are trying to recreate the human experience as best they can.The story involves Barbi Benton who goes in to pick up some routine test results, but someone from her past switches her results so that she'll have to stay for more test and they can get close to her...and kill off half the hospital.Much like Halloween II, this hospital feels dimly lit - with hallways filled with dust and smoke - and a bit underpopulated (not as much as in Halloween II, though). All the doctors and nurses are shifty individuals who seem up to no good and look at Benton's switched test results with a mix of wonder and revulsion. Makes you wonder what the killer switched them with.The kill scenes are nasty and plentiful, which will thrill the gorehounds among us, and there are enough surreal set pieces to tickle fans of absurd cinema. Just wait until the killer corners a nurse by running down a long hallway from behind a bed sheet or the scene where a terrified Benton runs into a room only to find the three patients in full body casts suspended from the air and shrieking. It's very strange.Hospital Massacre is perfect for rainy day or late night movie watching, especially with friends.

Susan (Barbi Benton, highly memorable from "Deathstalker" released the following year), at a hospital for a check-up, must deal with a lunatic that she has spurned the advances of decades before as children.This film is quite ridiculous. and a lot of it could be seen as a comedy, although I'm not sure if this was intentional or not. However it is entertaining enough, despite a bit of a lull in the middle, to keep me interested with its absurdities. The Prime stream seems to have been taken from an old VHS, so the picture quality isn't sterling to say the least, but in my humble opinion that only lent itself more to the overall experience.Eye Candy: Barbi gets topless

As we've explored various times now in this review series, Slasher films jump at the chance to rehash similar environments in the attempt of besting their predecessors – or just simply the first to be in line for such an idea (let's think back in the late 70's and early 80's when the idea was still relatively fresh). It's a promising attribute to learn of a title that doesn't revisit the same old campground/college campus during spring or fall break/some unknown high school with a cast of rejects that get on your last nerve. Hospital Massacre, directed by "one-entry-in-the-vault-of-horror" Boaz Davidson, displays to the audience a different environment to catch our attention. The conclusion is predictable from start to finish and the ending wouldn't even a surprise a grade-schooler but with the original working title of "Be My Valentine, or Else…" let's see what this 1982 entry has to offer.The story takes place in 1961 - young Susan and her brother are playing with a toy train set. A neighborhood boy by the name of Harold leaves a Valentine's Day card on the doorstep for Susan and scurries off into the bushes. Peering into the window, he notices Susan laughing mockingly at the card, tossing it to the floor. Volatile from rejection, Harold breaks into the home and murders Susan's brother while she remains occupied in the kitchen. Her discovery upon returning is a ghastly one – her sibling is strung up viciously by the jaw, impaled on a hat hanger. Flash forward 19 years - Susan, now a divorced parent, schedules a routine examination at a Los Angeles county hospital. Susan arrives at her appointment only to discover that Dr. Jacobs, her physician, isn't there. A certified M.D. is appointed to carry out the examination on Susan and finds discrepancies concerning her anatomy – but what are they? Meanwhile, in the bowels of the complex, a murderous fiend disposes of Dr. Jacob's body. Donning a surgical mask and wielding lethal operating room instruments, the mad man has a particular victim in his sights - Susan. Will she survive this dreadful nightmare?As my review header indicates, this is your typical "heartbreak leads to murder" recipe; a film of standard fare with a hint of mystery. Luckily Hospital Massacre rushes right into the thick of it, wasting absolutely no time on yawn-inducing sub-plots and After School Special dopiness. If the massacring of dim-witted college frat boys and their incessant buffoonery is what you're after, look elsewhere! The majority of the story takes place within the hospital but that's another matter altogether.Most of the staff working at the establishment are made to look sketchy; throwing several diversions into the mix for confusion's sake. This methodical system of side-tracking the audience is far too strained in this film because it's obvious who the culprit will be. The ending is spelled out right from the beginning…a minimal amount of intelligence is required in order to pick up on this. Viewers, and even myself, may be fooled into believing that there's more to the story than what's touted, relenting themselves to the red herrings in a desperate plea for a plot twist. There are no twists in Hospital Massacre. You may be left thinking, "Surely things can't play out this predictably." Oh, but they do.The actress who portrayed the female lead, Barbi Benton, had a widely publicized relationship with Hugh Hefner from 1969 to 1976. This would be, and still remains, her most prominent career move in terms of celebrity status. Benton never plateaued beyond occasional TV appearances and Hospital Massacre was one of the few movies that she starred in. Others may not care too much for Barbi as an actress; her filmography and current occupation (it was reported in 2002 that she's now an Interior Decorator) could easily support their claim. On the contrary, I found her acting ability well beyond average for the role given to her. Her delivery was believable in a Slasher film - what more could you ask for?Other titles exist in the Slasher vault's repertoire that utilize a hospital setting. Certainly Hospital Massacre is not the first to dive into this region. A smattering of gore and an overly enthusiastic soundtrack play well with the environment – but throwing red herrings for the sake of doing so is like gift wrapping an item for someone else and upon them opening it, reacting in awe and amazement when the prize is retrieved. Shall the audience ignore all of these devices and the silly contraptions therein? The point I was trying to make earlier suggests that we should, indeed, go along for the ride. Hospital Massacre is a well done Slasher movie but not a film worthy to exist among my collection. For a routine flick of this caliber I'd say it's worth a look due to how rare it is. I had the pleasure of watching a VHS transfer of the film; complete with bad tracking and all!

"Hospital Massacre" opens in the year 1961.It's Valentines Day.A boy named David and girl named Susan Jeremy are playing with a train.Another boy Harold is watching them through a window.He fell love with Susan and leaves her a valentine.She finds it and the two kids start giggling when they see who signed it.Harold is angry and he kills he kills David by breaking his neck on a coat hanger.Nineteen years later in 1981 grown up Susan is sent to her local hospital for a "routine checkup".She quickly discovers someone doesn't want her to leave.There is a slasher on the loose disguised as surgeon,who kills various nurses,patients and doctors.Very enjoyable 80's slasher with few silly moments and some bloody death scenes.Barbi Benton provides a bit of nudity with her topless examination scene.The script is formulaic and the soundtrack consists of people chanting 'He sees her' repeatedly.If you enjoyed "Halloween II" or "Visiting Hours" give this one a look.7 out of 10.