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The Redeemer: Son of Satan (1978)- aka “Class Reunion Massacre“

Dir: Constantine S. Gochis

Six friends are invited to a class reunion at their old high school.
Their host is a mad pastor (T. G. Finkbinder) with two thumbs on his left hand.

But it seems they have been invited because of their supposed sins;
There’s cocky lawyer John (Damien Knight), sexed-up Cindy (Jeannetta Arnette), gluttonous Terry (Nick Carter), greedy Jane (Nikki Barthen), vane actor Roger (Michael Hollingsworth), and lesbian Kristen (Gyr Patterson).

They soon discover the doors have been locked, bars have been added to the windows and that they are at the mercy of ‘The Redeemer’…

A mostly forgotten pre-”Halloween” pseudo-Slasher that once again shows how much was already established in such movies before Carpenter’s icon broke the dam.
Obviously very low budget, this does still owe more to (just starting to fade) Exploitation/Grindhouse movies than what would become Slasher movies and this is what may throw some unwary viewers.
The eccentric plotting, sometimes post-synched dialogue, deliberate pacing, rough cinematography and general ‘off-off Broadway theatre’ feel to the casting are all well established aspects of Grindhouse cinema and a far cry from the polish of even the worst 80’s Slasher films.

Some suitably off-kilter but effective music easies us into the weird, dreamlike, marvellously macabre opening.
We are instantly thrown off balance and it’s a portent of the strangeness to come.

The film would seen to have a puritan attitude and has been criticised for this. But the film never says the killer’s motivations are right, let alone justified. They just are the motivations.
Thankfully most of the characters are assholes or shallow egotists, thus they are your normal Slasher-style victims you look forward to being bumped off, despite their supposed 'sinful' lifestyles.
But not all of them fit this mould and some are petty likeable, thus their 'judgement' can perhaps come off as uncomfortable and a couple of the deaths come across as suitably nasty.

The acting is mostly bad (in that ‘good‘ way) but always suitable and the film revels in that camped up, OTT, theatricality that was the mainstay of so much 70's Grindhouse cinema.
The highlight of which is the ‘Redeemer’ himself.
Not only is the character varied in look (sporting many different, campy, disguises)and entertaining in his method of stalking and tricking his victims, but he’s genuinely scary at times thanks to his screeching, insane, rants.
The highlight is a bizarre puppet/stage show stage show where ‘The Redeemer’, in a creepy mask, gives a fire and brimstone rant about how sinful they all are. It’s florid stuff that is pure 70’s Grindhouse joy.

So, so far so good…if strange.
Sadly though the movie loses its footing a bit during a flat and forced 'explaining my motivation' sequence later on that deflates the growing tension and demystifies the warped killer.
Add to this some pedestrian walking around moments and clunky editing too.

But we do have some fun deaths and at least some minimal bloodshed scattered throughout the movie to keep us interested.
Early on we are treated to a marvellously nasty neck wound, a fun trap set-up that leads to a laughably unlikely but nicely nasty(and well done) full body burn, a wonderfully (bright red) bloody sword in the head demise and a couple of other little gore/blood moments to liven up proceedings when things start to slack a bit.
The final kill is disappointingly of screen though.

Talking of the finale, we have a surprisingly complex (it turns out, as we have not been seeing what we initially assumed) bit of plotting and a revelation that is pretty effective once you let it settle into your brain. It’s certainly unexpected to how the film (despite that 70’s weirdness) has been playing out.

‘Code Red’ has again come to the rescue of another obscurity and although it’s a battered print it's perfectly fine overall and the occasional green emulsion scratches all add to the Grindhouse atmosphere.
Although note that one moment of jump cut damage, to a death scene (not missing actual footage), is very distracting. Especially since it has a slow motion lead up.
We also have no extras other than a trailer and trailer reel. But the DVD can be picked up for a good price and the film itself is so off-the-wall and unusual (and full of stuff Grindhouse/underground film fans love) that it’s still an essential purchase.
Just be prepared to expect the unexpected.