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(More customer reviews)Before the infamous "Video Nasties" ruling of 1984, in which some of the most graphic and explicit low budget video titles of the preceding years were subjected to censorship and cuts from their pure original form by the powers that be, it almost seemed like anything went in the world of underground movies. 1980 was one of the scene's peak years; you had the notorious "Maniac," "Don't Go in the House," "Eyes of a Stranger," along with such Italian walking dead splatterfests as "Zombie."
One extremely obscure (and in some ways maybe deservedly so) entry of the slasher wave from that year and one that has been largely lost to time is Don Edmonds' "Terror on Tour." Edmonds had already established himself in the world of underground deviant cinema with such low budget schlock fests as the all but banned "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S." (1974). So he was more than well acquainted with the form.
"Terror on Tour" concerns a fictional Kiss-like rock band known as the Clowns, who don costumes and face paint, making them all but indistinguishable from one another, and whose wild stage shows feature such delightful things as mannequins (all female) being chopped up and torn apart in mutilation-style. Unbeknownst to the band, someone is dressing up like one of the the Clowns' members and sadistically murdering their groupies back stage both during and after their concerts.
This film bears the dreaded "Unrated" classification and at times you can see why. There is rampant partying and drug use, such as smoking grass, doing lines, and popping ludes, so much so that one of the victims is identified in the closing credits simply as "freebase chick." And, then there's the stabbings and throat slittings of mostly bare-breasted backstage groupies. Suspicion points to one of the band's roadies, a socially inept loser unable to mingle with women who therefore is obsessed with applying the Clowns' make-up to get a taste of the action. At one point he peeks through a window in envy at one of the drugged-up band members getting it on with one of the groupies.
This film gets three stars from me for the explicitness and general spirit of rock 'n' roll abandon it possesses. That said, all of the groupies are portrayed as brainless and slutty and are indistinguishable from one another, so some more sensitive viewers will not like this platform or all the violence against women depicted here. In addition, all the actors are amateur or one step above it and there are no name players to be found.
Still, I'd love to see a long overdue DVD release of this. If such equally low budget entries as "Pieces" and "Nail Gun Massacre" can get lavish DVD treatment, then why can't this one? I have a 1985 Media Home Entertainment ex-rental VHS copy that I transferred onto DVD-r. I'd love to see this though without such crummy and grainy picture quality.
While not a great movie by any means, if you cherish the bygone days of the early video revolution and like your slasher movies sleazy, low budget and without morals, then "Terror on Tour" should satiate your fixation for a good 90 minutes or so.
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