During the height of the slasher era, various comedy filmmakers took a shot at spoofing their conventions. Other famous examples include Greydon Clarks' "Wacko" and Mickey Roses' "Student Bodies" (the latter being the best of the bunch, in this viewers' humble opinion). This one has some good ideas; one of the most obvious is making the hero (played by legendary funnyman Tom Smothers) a Royal Canadian Mountie, in reference to the Canadian origin of slashers such as "Prom Night" and "My Bloody Valentine".
The set-up is that a bunch of cheerleaders are massacred after a big football game at It Had to Be U (ha, ha) in the 1960s. After various attempts over the years to create a cheerleaders' school in the area, a character named Bambi (ever-perky Candice Azzara) is making a last ditch-effort to get one going, recruiting youngsters whose names mostly tend to rhyme: Mandy, Sandy, Andy, Candy, Randy.....and Glenn (Glenn Dandy). They're played by Teri Landrum, Debralee Scott, Miles Chapin, Carol Kane, Marc McClure, and Judge Reinhold. But wouldn't you know it: there is once again a psycho on the loose who likes to butcher cheerleaders.
"Pandemonium" was the last theatrical feature film (as a director) for Alfred Sole, who'd made a pretty interesting 70s shocker called "Alice, Sweet Alice", and thereafter functioned as a production designer. He doesn't seem to have a real flair for comedy, although the script (by Richard Whitley and Jaime Klein) predictably throws out all kinds of silly gags in the hopes that at least some of them will hit. But unfortunately, "Pandemonium" just doesn't have that many laughs to offer. Two cast members who do manage to be hilarious to watch are David L. "Squiggy" Lander as a guy named Pepe, and Paul Reubens, cast as Smothers' assistant who resents his boss giving his horse Bob preferential treatment. Reubens, giving a very Pee-wee Herman-esque performance, is a riot at times, especially in the memorable "going through the drawers" gag.
One impressive thing that "Pandemonium" can boast is an amazing roster of comedy talent in many of the roles, with lots of familiar faces turning up in either cameo roles or bits. I'll let the prospective viewers discover most of these for themselves. The main players keep things watchable through the sheer force of their comic energy; Kane is endearing as always, and Smothers is just a hoot. Overall, the ridiculousness of the material is just not as inspired as it is in "Student Bodies".
Perhaps the funniest thing about "Pandemonium" is that it was filmed under the title of "Thursday the 12th", and was changed in order to avoid confusion with another horror spoof called "Saturday the 14th".
Six out of 10.
The set-up is that a bunch of cheerleaders are massacred after a big football game at It Had to Be U (ha, ha) in the 1960s. After various attempts over the years to create a cheerleaders' school in the area, a character named Bambi (ever-perky Candice Azzara) is making a last ditch-effort to get one going, recruiting youngsters whose names mostly tend to rhyme: Mandy, Sandy, Andy, Candy, Randy.....and Glenn (Glenn Dandy). They're played by Teri Landrum, Debralee Scott, Miles Chapin, Carol Kane, Marc McClure, and Judge Reinhold. But wouldn't you know it: there is once again a psycho on the loose who likes to butcher cheerleaders.
"Pandemonium" was the last theatrical feature film (as a director) for Alfred Sole, who'd made a pretty interesting 70s shocker called "Alice, Sweet Alice", and thereafter functioned as a production designer. He doesn't seem to have a real flair for comedy, although the script (by Richard Whitley and Jaime Klein) predictably throws out all kinds of silly gags in the hopes that at least some of them will hit. But unfortunately, "Pandemonium" just doesn't have that many laughs to offer. Two cast members who do manage to be hilarious to watch are David L. "Squiggy" Lander as a guy named Pepe, and Paul Reubens, cast as Smothers' assistant who resents his boss giving his horse Bob preferential treatment. Reubens, giving a very Pee-wee Herman-esque performance, is a riot at times, especially in the memorable "going through the drawers" gag.
One impressive thing that "Pandemonium" can boast is an amazing roster of comedy talent in many of the roles, with lots of familiar faces turning up in either cameo roles or bits. I'll let the prospective viewers discover most of these for themselves. The main players keep things watchable through the sheer force of their comic energy; Kane is endearing as always, and Smothers is just a hoot. Overall, the ridiculousness of the material is just not as inspired as it is in "Student Bodies".
Perhaps the funniest thing about "Pandemonium" is that it was filmed under the title of "Thursday the 12th", and was changed in order to avoid confusion with another horror spoof called "Saturday the 14th".
Six out of 10.