Writer / director David Paulsen ("Schizoid") got something of a head start on the slasher craze with this offering. It predates Carpenters' "Halloween" by two years; it was filmed in 1976, but not released until 1980. It's just weird enough - and kinky enough - to be watchable, although it may not appeal to some hardcore devotees of the genre as it takes a long time to begin its murder spree, and even at that point there's really no gore to speak of. Instead, what we get is a lot of odd touches and interesting character details, not to mention a fair bit of humour.

Marie (Marilyn Hamlin) goes on a weekend excursion to the country with her new husband Robert (Jim Doerr),her younger sister Shirley (Caitlin O'Heaney, "He Knows You're Alone"),and their openly gay friend Nicky (Christopher Allport, "Dead & Buried"). Soon, their good time is ruined by a psychopath wearing a goofy Halloween mask.

While there are no real A-list stars here, there are certainly some very recognizable faces. O'Heaney has some seriously sexy moments (viewers will definitely appreciate the doses of nudity in this film). Allport is amusing, even if his character is somewhat stereotypical. It's great fun to see David Gale of future "Re-Animator" fame as a lumber man providing wood for a boat that Robert is building with some associates. Top notch character actor William Sanderson is a vivid, unkempt redneck / red herring. A very young Yancy Butler makes her film debut. It's not surprising that Hamlin never got much acting work, because she's simply atrocious here.

There might not be enough here to completely satisfy some slasher fans, but it remains rather offbeat for its 88 minute time and it is worth a look.

Six out of 10.

It's hard to call Savage Weekend a true slasher, because it was made before the big slasher glut of the early 80's, so it plays by its own bizarre rules and takes a left when you expect it to take a right. This can work at times, but its pacing is too snail-like and its characterizations are too one dimensional to stand out from the pack and make a name for itself.

There's a decently well developed and likable gay male character which is still rare these days, so Savage Weekend gets props for that, but things don't really heat up until the last 20 minutes and, by that point, the audience has been mostly bored to tears by almost inaudible dialogue about marriage, love, and sex. There's a germ of a great idea here. A mature, adult filled slasher film dealing with real adult problems sounds great on paper, but the writing never rises to the occasion.

There's an entertaining (and random) scene with a female character dressing up and doing a striptease for the gay male character that comes out of nowhere and is at least good for a few laughs and jolts us back to life in time for the finale.

Greg Pettis (Jeff Pomerantz) former spokesman for a governor that committed suicide has his son (Adam Hirsch) for the weekend. His ex-wife is off for the weekend or so with her boyfriend Robert Fathwood (Jim Doerr). He is having a boat being built. The group includes broker friend Jay Alsop (Devin Goldenberg),Shirley Sales (Caitlin O'Heaney) and the flamboyant Nicky (Christopher Allport) who has all the best lines. There is a story about a girl being branded with an "H" for "whore" by Otis (William Sanderson). Toward the end of the film a slasher appears.

The film opens with a teaser that happens at the end of the film. Greg wears a black suit with a black tie when we first meet him. There are three scenes where the microphone appear and a fourth where there is a microphone shadow. Nicky was great in his bits and they needed to fit him more into the script. Much of the film was "so bad it is good." I watched this on a 50 DVD pack which showed the branding scene and plenty of nudity.

Guide: Sex and nudity (Marilyn Hamlin, Caitlin O'Heaney)