Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Srakumsatic A-maz-ing

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

David Marcos I'll be honest - I don't know what the hell was going on during most of The Redeemer (or Class Reunion Massacre as the version I watched called itself), but I know I sure did love it. Although the plot sounds like a rather straightforward slasher (in fact, "the killer staging a fake reunion to lure classmates back" thing has been done a few times since), but it's anything but.It begins with a little boy rising from a lake and hoping aboard a bus to church (as one does) and joins the choir as a priest with two thumbs(?) gives a rousing fire and brimstone speech about damnation. In between these bits, we see a man (never see his face) walk into a school with a briefcase, kill the caretaker, and make a mold of his face. Confused yet? The man begins slicing into an old yearbook and, as he does, we get to meet several former classmates and see what they're up to now. One is a lawyer, one is a glutton, a slutty barfly, a lesbian, a bitchy gay actor, and we have one who's so rich that she likes to shoot birds for entertainment.According to this priest, they're all sinners and deserve to die. Did I mention that it turns out this priest is the same man who killed the caretaker and made a mask of his face? Why did he do this? Well, to put it on and fool all these people that there really is a high school reunion going on.Once he gets everyone inside, he locks and bars the doors and windows, so there's no chance of escape. People start putting two and two together and figure out they were called her under sketchy circumstances. Pretty soon, ol' priesty is dressing up like a clown, a hunter, and even the grim reaper himself to kill these people off one by one.This is probably the most straightforward part of the film (and the must substantial), but even this feels askew and dreamlike (in the best way). I don't know if it's because of the quirky prologue and epilogue it's sandwiched in between or what, but this film really does feel like someone's horrible nightmare.The Redeemer has interesting cinematography, a good cast, phenomenally creepy music score, atmosphere out the ass, and a genuinely creepy villain. Give this one a watch!

HumanoidOfFlesh Wonderfully strange and offbeat "The Redemeer:Son of Satan!" aka "Class Reunion Massacre" tells the story of six old high school friends,who meeting up at their old school under the guise there is a reunion taking place.Of course this is a deadly trap.The Redeemer wants to punish them for their sins.Very bizarre and highly original slasher flick with dreamy atmosphere and the sense of impending doom.It's like a religious morality tale mixed with slasher elements on acid.There are some effective deaths including a really creepy scene involving the life size marionette and the killer dons a different costumes like in "Terror Train" or "Hollow Gate".He is clown,magician and grim reaper.The film is taking place within a nightmarish dream.It's time to punish sinners!Beware!From out of the darkness the hand of the Redeemer shall appear to punish those who have lived in sin...9 out of 10.

Scarecrow-88 The Redeemer rises from the watery depths(..in the form of a boy) to assemble members of a specific class for a reunion where he will inflict wrath upon them for their sins..he possesses a priest(..whose fiery, condemning sermon is used as exposition for the movie), who masquerades in various disguises as he kills each individual one at a time.The sixth chosen wonder aloud why no one else had turned out for the reunion, impressed at the decorum and feast available for them. Those who arrive include a lesbian(..who wishes to keep her sexuality a secret from the gang), lawyer(..a scoundrel with unpopular practices), former high school star(..now a slob, who gorges himself on food anytime he can, and we see that he treats his wife and kid rather inhospitably), a multiple-married bar-hopper(..who lives to party), a primpy flamboyant homosexual actor, and a cold-hearted wench(..unhappily married into wealth who likes to shoot pigeons, among other animals, for sport). When they attempt to reach outside to discover why they are the only ones at the reunion, the group find that all the doors are locked, with bars and gates trapping them inside the building with no escape available.There's this great(..or hilarious?)scene where bangs on the front gate pleading for help, when someone in a grim reaper costume interrupts, swinging a scythe, laughing hysterically, his face covered with a skull mask. Another inspired sequence has a mannequin, in a seat, containing a blow torch in it's arms, setting on fire.Damien Knight(..John Sinclair, the lawyer), Michael Hollingsworth(..Roger, the gay actor), Nick Carter(..Terry, the glutton ex-pro quarterback), Jeannetta Arnette(..Cindy, a stickler for bad relationships with men), Gyr Patterson(..Kirsten, the lesbian), and Nikki Barthen(..Jane, the privileged wife who likes to shoot those animals for sport, her fate resembling her own extracurricular activities)round out the cast of those judged to be executed for their sins. TG Finkbinder is the creepy "Redeemer" who hunts them down one by one, his distinctive voice full of contempt and vigor, pronouncing their doom for their misdeeds and indiscretions. While this is still a slasher film, draped in religious subtext regarding the "wicked" paying for their sins, credit I think goes to the filmmakers for creating this really eerie ambiance throughout, in just the way it is scored and shot, there's just this weird atmosphere it has that worked it's power over me. While we do have some jarring death sequences, such as the dagger to the skull and bullet to the the forehead, I think the most disturbing and successful kill concerns Finkbinder in a clown mask drowning Arnette in a bathroom sink full of water..I think what makes it so effective is how she struggles with everything she has to escape, unable to free herself from the inevitable. The deal with the two thumbs and the whole idea of some force from hell in the guise of a child only adds extra strangeness to the proceedings. I think this has potential to become(..if it hadn't already)a cult classic. The way victims are selected(..their sins)might be offensive to some(..particularly homosexuals).

acidburn-10 I saw this movie quite recently, I've read a lot of negative reviews about it but I never let bad reviews lower my expectations for when I actually see the movie myself.This movie does have a lot in common with "Slaughter High" both having more or less the same story line, only this one is much better. Now then this is one uniquely strange horror film, creepy and unsettling, plus I had no idea what the hell was going on. Why did that kid just rise out of the water Is this a fully-functioning Catholic boys school or a deserted old high school? Two thumbs?! Are the filmmakers really trying to say that if you're a dirty sinner, Satan will send "The Redeemer" from the depths of the California desert to even the score? Or was it just an easy set-up for a slasher.After a truly baffling prologue involving said water-kid, a sermon, and a janitor murder, Class Reunion Massacre (aka The Redeemer) sets the scene. The robot music kicks in. Six stereotypical former high-schoolers are introduced through presentback (you know, like a flashback...but now). We've got the heartless lawyer, the town drunk, the ex-quarterback, the rich bitch, the flamboyant gay actor, and the good-hearted lesbian. All total sinners, right? Anyway, the super-six arrive at their ten year high school reunion, only to find that they're the only ones invited. Ignoring the obvious clues, the old kids partake of the catering and live it up. Until they find out that all the doors are locked. From the outside. Soon enough, a disguise-changing, bible-quoting killer picks off our cast one by one. After the carnage, the film wraps up just where it started, only with an accompanying on-screen biblical blurb to help us out. Wow.All in all Class Reunion Massacre succeeds, it may be light on gore but it's effective and filled with interesting shots. The killer himself was really creepy and the idea he changes costume for each murder was a really great idea. Naturally, when you add the religious subtext to all of this, things get even stranger. I find it a little far-fetched to buy into the idea of selling anything (are these filmmakers anti or pro Christian?) through the "art" form of trashy horror, but whatever. Just the idea of someone trying to get their message out through the use of "The Redeemer" is both hilarious and scary.