Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

ersinkdotcom "Death Valley" is the film that introduced the world to little Peter "Ralphie" Billingsley of "A Christmas Story" fame. "Death Valley" centers on a young boy named Billy who accidentally stumbles upon a murder scene while taking a road trip with his mother and her new boyfriend. He unknowingly picks up the only thing that can tie the killer to the location of the crime - a necklace dropped during the struggle with the victim. Billy's mother and her boyfriend attempt to bring the psychopath to justice before the murderer tracks the child down.This is one of those forgotten films of the 1980s. It's not bad by any means. It just didn't make enough of an impact on moviegoers to grant it cult classic status. Many would consider it a slasher film and they have every right to. There are graphic scenes of blood and violence, but not enough to place it in a category with "Friday the 13th" or "Halloween."The cast of "Death Valley" is relatively impressive in hindsight. Many of them hadn't hit their successful strides yet and were still on their journey to stardom. Catherine Hicks ("7th Heaven," "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home") plays Billy's mother. Veteran actor Edward Herrmann ("Gilmore Girls," "The Lost Boys") has a bit role as Billy's father. Wilfred Brimley ("The Firm," "Cocoon") plays the town sheriff."Death Valley" will provide genre fans and ordinary movie viewers some thrills and entertainment. It's interesting to see Peter Billingsley perform in this type of atmosphere after spending so many years seeing him as baby-faced Ralphie in the safety of "A Christmas Story." I might have to have a "Three Degrees of 'A Christmas Story'" party this year and screen "Death Valley," "A Christmas Story" and "Black Christmas," which were both directed by Bob Clark.

Coventry I've been on the lookout for this obscure early 80's slasher since many moons, for the same old reason why I often track down films I don't know anything about … Because the poster/cover image here on the IMDb, showing a killer with a knife in the reflection of a little kid's glasses, looks tremendously cool. That's all. So, of course, in too many of these cases the films turn out to be big disappointments, but luckily "Death Valley" is a worthwhile little hidden gem. It's a modest and reasonably stylish slasher/thriller with a marvelous setting (why there aren't any more horror flicks taking place in Death Valley, California is beyond me), an admirably creepy atmosphere, likable characters (no hormone driven teenagers out camping this time), a handful of unexpected brutal killings and a surprisingly well-written screenplay (sometimes). The film begins with a father in New York explaining to his intelligent and eloquent young son Billy – that Ralphie kid from "A Christmas Story" with the big glasses – that he has to spend his vacation with his mother and her new lover down in a touristy cowboy village near Death Valley, California. Once there, and in between the difficult acceptance of new parent process of little Billy, he spots a vicious looking old car following them around. There's a serial killer on the loose in Death Valley and he/she just butchered three people in a motor home. Billy wanders around the area and finds the killer's necklace. From then onwards he's the killer's prime target. "Death Valley" distinguishes itself from the other contemporary slasher flicks because of its dramatic and identifiable sub plot of parental divorce and the children's slow process of accepting mummy/daddy's new life partner. Many (too many even?) sequences revolve on conversations between Billy and his mother, begging him to give the new boyfriend a proper chance. The identity of the killer isn't exactly kept secret and the "twist" near the end is very predictable as well, still director Dick Richards attempts to bring more depth and tension-building than we are used to see in early 80's horror movies. The handful of murders are, as said, fairly gruesome with some slit throats and a lovely axe in the chest moment. There's also a hilarious comical interlude when Billy has to remain at home with the babysitter. She's a corpulent eating machine who munches all of the kid's chocolate, crisps and ice cream.

iiyuurikoii I remember someone saying that the killer was two people but clearly only listed one in the credits; thats because if you pay attention to the movie which that person clearly did not, or didn't even bother to watch the end; you'd realize in the beginning the sheriff and tow trucker were talking about 'twins'. which are played by the same actor!The movie is good for it's era'. It could have used a bit more work in where setting and plot was involved like going into more depth that the twins existed at all; but other than that if the movie was ever on big screen I wouldn't have paid to see it, renting it is a good choice, but I wouldn't buy it.

gein This film is not as bad as many people would have you believe. Peter "The Dirt Bike Kid" Billingsley, in his first starring role, plays Billy, a boy who is forced to vacation with his mother and her boyfriend in the middle of the hot California desert. During a desert outing, a bored Billy decides to do a little exploration and comes across a seemingly abandoned RV. Unbeknownst to Billy the RV contains the freshly butchered bodies of three teenagers who are stuffed into the forward compartment. Billy nearly opens the forward compartment's door when he's pulled out and reprimanded by his mother's boyfriend. Billy doesn't leave empty handed though; he has stolen a necklace that he found on the RV's floor.Later the necklace becomes a clue that is handed over with much guilt and tears to the town's sheriff played by Wilford Brimley. Soon after, the sheriff has a mining pick stuck in his chest after stupidly going over to the killer's house with clue in hand and basically asking, "Hey, look what I found at a murder scene," and knowing full well that the necklace belongs to the killer. Oops!The killer believes Billy knows too much and needs to be eliminated. From this point on the film becomes a tense cat-and-mouse game that ends with more than a few dead.Death Valley was released in 1982 without much fanfare or promotion and was quickly lost among the glut of slasher films being churned out by Hollywood at that time. That is unfortunate because the film features everything horror fans love: breasts, gore and excitement. This film also features a tense Henry Manfredini-like musical score by Dana Kaproff and excellent cinematography by Stephen Burum. Billy's mother is played by the beautiful Katherine Hicks (spelled Catherine on the video box) who played Marilyn Monroe in the television movie, Marilyn: The Untold Story.Another reason to watch this film is for the brief appearance of Gina Christian, in her only film role, as R.V. Girl. Gina Christian is the reason tube tops were invented. Wow!