Devil Times Five/Review

From The Grindhouse Cinema Database

< Devil Times Five

A group of psychologically deranged children are being transported to a mental hospital, but they never make it because the van they are riding in flies off a snowy mountain road and crashes. Fortunately...actually unfortunately, our little friends survive and they begin walking through the deep snow to find a place to stay. You've got one kid named Brian (Tierre Turner) who thinks he's an Army soldier, Sister Hannah (Gail Smale), a wannabe nun, David (Leif Garrett), a precocious crossdressing snob and two other girls, Moe (Dawn Lyn) and Susan (Tia Thompson) who are just plain messed up all around.

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They finally come across a ski resort. The kids don't know it, but one of the adult passengers in the crash has also survived and he follows their path to the resort. But it's not long before the kids get rid of him. The first kill sequence was interesting, I wasn't expecting it. The screen changes to a sepia colored tone, goes into slow motion and the sound slows down as the kids take turns beating their victim with different implements including a chain and a pitchfork. This does a good job of creating an even more disturbing impact and it goes on for at least 5 minutes.

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Once the kids are done playing with their human pinata, they creepily introduce themselves to the other residents, who are busy having sex, drinking and arguing with each other. The way the film plays at first, you don't exactly know if one or two of the kids will turn to the good side, but...nope, thats not going to happen...and I was glad! The killings start up with their next victim, the resort's retarded groundskeeper Ralph (John Durren). Poor Ralph, all this guy wants to do is pet his rabbits. The kids turn the generator off and rig up a pretty complex trap so when Ralph tries to get the generator running again, a rope hangs him. When the others find him, they think he killed himself on purpose. Things get more and more out of control as the kids find even more devious, brutal ways to get rid of the rest of the older folks. Be it by bear trap, piranha bath or by human torching. These kids are real brats!

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The film is nicely paced, there are never really any dull moments throughout. The cast is really great, including Gene Evans as Papa Doc, the angry leader of the adults. The women are sexy (especially "Lovely," played by Leif Garrett's real life mom, Carolyn Stellar). There's even a catfight in the movie between Lovely and Julie! (Joan McCall). I love a good catfight! Fans of The Dukes of Hazzard TV series will certainly know Sorrell Booke aka Boss Hogg, who is playing Harvey Beckman, a California businessman here. I don't think he even eats anything during the movie! In fact they show him working out! His kill scene is funny and, to top it off, he gets it from Leif "I Was Made For Dancin'" Garrett! The score by William Loose is another nice aspect of the movie, it's a mix of playful and ominous music that works well against the film's already disturbing proceedings.

I gotta recommend this film to exploitation-horror fans. I think you will enjoy this little 70s "killer kiddie" gem!


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Peter Roberts is the co-founder/editor-in-chief of the Grindhouse Cinema Database (GCDb) and contributor to the GCDb's sister site Furious Cinema. A Massachusetts native, he is an avid film fan that has been immersed in the world of entertainment and pop culture his entire life. He is a professional digital media designer and educator.

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