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Freaktana A Major Disappointment

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

jellopuke You're not watching this for high art, but if you want gore, corny situations, and some decently inventive kills, you could do worse. The plot is absolutely preposterous and you can see the ending coming a mile away but hey, when was the last time you saw a zombie fish chomping on a dude's neck, a blender attacking a girl's hand as she tries to mix drinks, a mirror blowing up another girl's face, killer saunas, etc. Not easy to find, buy worth tracking down.

RevRonster You don't sit down to a film called "Death Spa" and expect artfully crafted horror filled with terror, suspense, tension and deep characters and creative death sequences. No, you expect cheese and this film gives it to you! "Death Spa" is terribly made and is filled with bad acting, atrocious editing, a story that pretty much makes no logical sense and terrible practical effects and death sequences. But all the bad things this film throws at you mixes together to create something magically entertaining. Yes, this film is one of those "it's so bad its good" ordeals and it is the perfect feature to gather with friends and riff the night away. And the best part is this film is so terribly made that you don't even have to make fun of it to laugh. It's pretty much an accidental comedy and that's why it is so fun to watch.

gavin6942 Michael's health club is besieged with a series of terrible murders involving killer saunas and other grisly devices. Michael's wife killed herself a while before and her brother holds Michael responsible. Michael needs to stop the bloodshed before he loses all of his clients.The film started in 1984 or 1985, and was filmed in 1986 (despite not seeing release until 1989). In the beginning, it was meant to just be a haunted health spa and the script went through multiple revisions. After completion, the editing and post-production dragged on for years.The film was something of a "family affair", as many of those involved not only made this film but had a part in producer Jamie Beardsley's wedding. Executive producer Waleed B. Ali (the man who launched John McNaughton's career) walked Beardsley down the aisle. Incidentally, Beardsley was later first assistant director on Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs".Director Michael Fischa burst on to the scene all at once, releasing his first three films almost simultaneously. Besides this one, he also unleashed "Crack House" and "My Mom's a Werewolf" (starring John Saxon) on to the world. Co-writers James Bartruff and Mitch Paradise have less than a handful of credits between them."Death Spa" went under the radar for most of us, just now getting some home video love almost thirty years after it was made. Gorgon Video has a new Blu-Ray transfer that looks beautiful and is loaded with extras -- so a film you never heard of a year ago can be one you know everything about next year. There is a solid cast. Karyn Parsons went on to play Hilary Banks on "Fresh Prince of Bel Air". Joseph Whipp (Dr. Lido Moray) had previously appeared in two Wes Craven films: "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Chiller". Mysteriously, Ken Foree's name is absent on the box credits despite being the biggest horror star in the film ("Dawn of the Dead", "From Beyond").The film itself is a bit slow, and not the best edited at times. One is left with the impression that one goal was simply to see how many women they could get naked on camera (and the count is at least a half dozen if you are wondering). If this was a non-horror film, it would be a complete waste of time.Luckily, it happens to be a horror film, and its shortcomings are made up for by some of the nastiest, goriest effects to come out of the screen. For what was likely a very low budget, no expense was spared to have people melt, burn, spray blood... the death count is quite high, and every death is gloriously fun to watch. Some things are questionable and the basic plot never quite adds up, but maybe that was never the point.For the average viewer, this will not be something to see. For a fan of the blood and guts, it may just be that lost 80s classic you have been waiting for. Worth picking up. The Gorgon Blu-ray features audio commentary with director Michael Fischa (who happens to be Austrian), producer Jamie Beardsley and editor Michael Kewley (who is now best known as the producer of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"). There is also a full-length making-of feature.

BA_Harrison In Death Spa's title sequence, director Michael Fischa guides his camera slowly towards the entrance of the Star Body Health Spa as an electrical storm rages on the horizon; suddenly, lightning strikes the building, knocking out some of the letters on its neon sign to reveal the title of the film. The camera then continues to glide through the doorway, as the spa's staff prepare to leave for the night; lights are switched off one-by-one, and the foyer is slowly plunged into darkness...It's a promising start and one which proves that director Michael Fischa has a keen visual sense, which makes it all the more disappointing when the film quickly slips into mundane murder/mystery mode and threatens to stay there for the rest of its running time.The film's plot sees a series of suspicious 'accidents' occurring at the high-tech, computer-controlled spa owned by widower Michael Evans (William Bumiller), whose wife Catherine (Shari Shattuck) committed suicide following the death of their child. Could Catherine's embittered brother David (Merritt Butrick), creator of the spa's advanced computer system, be behind the bizarre mishaps? Does anyone else have reason to see Michael's business fail? Or are the accidents the work of a malevolent supernatural force?Thankfully, despite this rather cheesy 'whodunnit'-style narrative, which sees a pair of useless cops assisting Michael in solving the mystery, Fischa manages to keep things interesting through the inclusion of plenty of nudity (the spa is a haven for busty babes and hard-bodied hotties), a few enjoyably crap 80s Flashdance-inspired aerobics scenes, some inventive deaths, and a bit of fun hokum involving a parapsychologist.And then, as the film enters its final act, everything goes completely nuts...It is revealed that David has been possessed by the spirit of his sister Catherine, who wants Michael to die so that they can be together in the afterlife. At a Mardi Gras party, being held at the spa, the possessed David kidnaps Michael's squeeze Laura (Brenda Bakke) and tries to kill her by frying her under a sunbed. Meanwhile, lots of other people die in a variety of entertaining and bloody ways: wood panelling from a sauna room shoots through one guy's head, spilling his brains everywhere; a girl has her arm removed by a food blender; the policeman has his throat torn open by a frozen fish (I kid you not!); and an exploding mirror leaves one poor woman a mess of bloody pieces scattered all over the floor!This totally unpredictable and gory ending is loads of fun, and it's well worth suffering through Death Spa's more tedious moments in order to fully savour the complete and utter madness of the film's final moments.