A low budget slasher film that is well-done despite its low budget and some uneven acting. The gore is handled well and the direction is pretty good. A disturbed young man hears voices (or does her?) telling him to kill women who are not pure and deserving of punishment. One unlucky jogger resists his advances and she and her boyfriend get a visit from the psycho. Another woman ignores his hello and pays the price. A prostitute, of course, is going to have to pay for her lifestyle. Meanwhile, a New York cop investigates as the killer leaves parts of his unfortunate victims scattered throughout the turnpike. The killer meets a "nice girl" and he believes she might be "The One", chosen for a purpose I will not disclose here. Pays homage to 70s slasher films lime Maniac, and definitely has its share of nudity and violence.
5 Reviews
Brutal serial killer horror, 80s style.
BA_Harrison22 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
In the tradition of wonderfully grubby 80s serial killer movies such as Maniac, Don't Go In The House and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, low budget shocker The Turnpike Killer is a relentlessly grim exercise in nihilistic horror in which numerous innocent women fall foul of a brutal, musclebound maniac who views the majority of the opposite sex as sluts and whores.
Bill McLaughlin stars as the aptly named Jon Beest, who stalks and kills his prey in New York, driven by the voices in his head. While Jon goes about his grisly business, a pair of streetwise detectives try to track down the killer using information from those fortunate enough to escape the maniac's clutches.
Made for fans of extreme cinema by fans of extreme cinema, The Turnpike Killer goes all out to disturb with scene after scene of realistic, no-holds barred violence inflicted on the weak and defenceless—and succeeds with flying colours. It's ugly, unpleasant viewing that packs a wallop like a lump-hammer to the head, and surely won't disappoint any fans who prefer their horror to be as harsh as possible.
Writer/directors Evan Makrogiannis and Brian Weaver handle their material deftly, coaxing decent performances from the majority of their inexperienced cast, offering up plenty of scenes of impressive gore (including one standout throat slashing), and employing a wonderfully grimy aesthetic and a cool lo-fi synthesizer score that really adds to the authenticity of the whole movie, making it feel like a genuine product of the 80s.
In addition to all of the ferocious violence, The Turnpike Killer also delivers in the 'female nudity and sleaze' department, with most of Beest's victim's being stripped naked by the nutter before being killed. Alia Lorae, as sexy victim Michelle, provides viewers with the obligatory horror movie shower scene, happily soaping herself up oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend is being savagely beaten in the next room, and Brenda Gonzalez turns in a wonderfully trashy performance as hooker Lollipop, so called because of her remarkable ability to suck.
The film does suffer slightly from a rather unnecessary prologue in which final girl Jennifer (lovely Lyndsey Brown), having narrowly escaped death at the hands of Jon, falls foul of his equally deranged father, but on the whole this is a very satisfying addition to the serial killer sub-genre. Well done to all involved.
Bill McLaughlin stars as the aptly named Jon Beest, who stalks and kills his prey in New York, driven by the voices in his head. While Jon goes about his grisly business, a pair of streetwise detectives try to track down the killer using information from those fortunate enough to escape the maniac's clutches.
Made for fans of extreme cinema by fans of extreme cinema, The Turnpike Killer goes all out to disturb with scene after scene of realistic, no-holds barred violence inflicted on the weak and defenceless—and succeeds with flying colours. It's ugly, unpleasant viewing that packs a wallop like a lump-hammer to the head, and surely won't disappoint any fans who prefer their horror to be as harsh as possible.
Writer/directors Evan Makrogiannis and Brian Weaver handle their material deftly, coaxing decent performances from the majority of their inexperienced cast, offering up plenty of scenes of impressive gore (including one standout throat slashing), and employing a wonderfully grimy aesthetic and a cool lo-fi synthesizer score that really adds to the authenticity of the whole movie, making it feel like a genuine product of the 80s.
In addition to all of the ferocious violence, The Turnpike Killer also delivers in the 'female nudity and sleaze' department, with most of Beest's victim's being stripped naked by the nutter before being killed. Alia Lorae, as sexy victim Michelle, provides viewers with the obligatory horror movie shower scene, happily soaping herself up oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend is being savagely beaten in the next room, and Brenda Gonzalez turns in a wonderfully trashy performance as hooker Lollipop, so called because of her remarkable ability to suck.
The film does suffer slightly from a rather unnecessary prologue in which final girl Jennifer (lovely Lyndsey Brown), having narrowly escaped death at the hands of Jon, falls foul of his equally deranged father, but on the whole this is a very satisfying addition to the serial killer sub-genre. Well done to all involved.
Excellent down'n'dirty slasher opus
Woodyanders1 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Hulking and vicious homicidal maniac Jon Beest (well played with fierce conviction and frightening intensity by Bill McLaughlin) hears voices that compel him to brutally butcher women. He leaves their bodies on the side of the road on the New Jersey Turnpike. It's up to troubled NYPD Homicide Detective Lloyd (a lively and engaging performance by Edgar Moye) to find Beest and put an end to his reign of terror. Writers/directors Brian Weaver and Evan Makrogiannis do a bang-up job of evoking the mean'n'seamy take-no-spit aesthetic of such early 80's grindhouse psycho pics as "Maniac" and "Don't Go in the House": The startling outbursts of no-holds-barred savage violence, the unflinching graphic gore, and the grim nihilistic tone all give this movie a truly raw, nasty, and ugly edge. Moreover, Weaver and Makrogiannis not only deliver a satisfying smattering of tasty female nudity, but also firmly ground both the story and characters in a totally believable workaday reality. However, the film's key triumph is the way it successfully depicts Beest as a seemingly nice and likable regular joe shmoe kind of guy who transforms into a dangerous raging lunatic at a moment's notice. The sturdy acting by the capable cast rates as another substantial asset: Demetri Kallas is chillingly effective in a mostly voice only turn as Beest's evil domineering father, Lyndsey Brown makes a favorable impression as the perky Jennifer, Vinny Wards registers strongly as Beest's amiable best bud Donny, Brenda Gonzalez adds some spice as saucy hooker Lollipop, Alia Lorae excels as sweet brunette Michelle, Manoush has a stand-out cameo as the deadly Branca Niculescu, and ravishing redhead soft-core starlet Ruby Larocca briefly pops up as one of Beest's victims. The dissonant score by Michael Makrogiannis does the skin-crawling trick. The rough-around-the-edges cinematography provides an appropriately grainy and unpolished look. The surprise downbeat ending packs a devastatingly bleak wallop. Recommended viewing to slice'n'dice fans who like it foul and grungy.
Old school horror/slasher/gore
deadbull-951715 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Straight up, no chaser sort of thing. You know the genre, this is as good a representation of it as any i guess. Surprisingly brutal, focusing on a psychopath
who can be temporarily charming enough to lure effectively, despite looking like the Hulk.......Sure ...why not, unapologetic for an unapologetic audience, people like me , it does its job and I say ...watch it!
Big John and his dollar store Halloween mask
bodyguardjst-8169419 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
No one quite understood Big John. Imagine things from HIS perspective. He has a voice in his head constantly telling him to kill people, with a very bad accent. Half the time you are like "what did the voice in my head tell me to do again?". Also the man lives in New York, so he has to deal with New Yorkers all the time. That and having a Confederate flag in his kill basement, I get it. Poor John just needs to move back to the South and get away from all the noise.
John doesn't, and instead goes on to Kidnap, Strip, yell at, then murder his victims in that order. In one scene, John ties up Dr. Garden Gnome to a chair and murders the Gnomes wife in front of him. He then playfully slaps the gnome with her liver before killing off (judging from the apartment) the worlds poorest Doctor.
Great slasher, fun to make fun of, I really enjoyed it. I love that New York only has 2 Homicide detectives. Budget cuts I guess, It IS New York after all.
John doesn't, and instead goes on to Kidnap, Strip, yell at, then murder his victims in that order. In one scene, John ties up Dr. Garden Gnome to a chair and murders the Gnomes wife in front of him. He then playfully slaps the gnome with her liver before killing off (judging from the apartment) the worlds poorest Doctor.
Great slasher, fun to make fun of, I really enjoyed it. I love that New York only has 2 Homicide detectives. Budget cuts I guess, It IS New York after all.
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