555 is one of many films made in the 80's solely created for the home video market. Meaning that it was released straight to VHS to many Mom and Pop shops around America. Some of these movies showcased early and young talent. Some of which would go onto bigger and better things. The majority of these sorts of films, however, were terribly made movies that showcased more of a passion to make slasher and gore films, than to create something cohesive and polished. 555 clearly is trying to be better than its brethren with it merging the detective/cop genre with the slasher and gore genres. Something that HG Lewis basically established with Blood Feast. But that turns out to be 555's biggest weakness. It tries to be better than it really is, and as a result, it falls flat just about in every area where it should entertain.
The plot has to do with a Hippie serial killer murdering young couples making love. The police are stumped and the only witness is an old war veteran. With the killer seemingly smarter than the cops, will the killings ever stop?
555 does a lot wrong when it could have easily done so much right, given its small budget. The acting is quite frankly all over the place. It ranges from non existent to completely over the top. A lot of times in the same scene, when there is no reason for it. The dialog doesn't help the actors any. Again, you have seen it all before if you saw Blood Feast. The difference is that the writer seems to be happy having every character swear like a sailor. Sometimes for no reason. I also feel bad for all the actresses in the film. It must have been in their contracts that if you appear in this movie, you must take your shirt off because every actress does just that at some point in the movie. Minus one lady who keeps a white blanket over her as a set up for a cheap gore effect.
The camera placements and cinematography in general are about as basic as it gets. If you have seen Blood Feast, you already know what I am talking about. Basically the idea is to set up the camera on the tripod, move it as little as possible, and capture every actor in the same frame as many times as possible.
All of those other issues can be totally excused if the film delivers in the one area that is most important, in these sorts of films. The gore. 555's gore is... well... pretty mild compared to what that VHS cover art might have one believe. Yes, the film features that decapitation. But that is about the best you can expect from the films SFX department. Most of the killings end up off camera, or blood is just thrown on a nude lady. There just isn't much going on here. And with a movie that features that hilarious cover art, one would think they were renting a true gonzo gore extravaganza. Sadly, one would be disappointed.
About the best I can say about 555 is that the title makes no sense, aside from some graffiti art in the background in one scene. And that the film is easy to laugh at since the acting and dialog is just hilariously atrocious. But I wish there was more for me to recommend here. I usually love these sorts of crap films, but 555 just never really did it for me. Check out any HG Lewis film instead. Or, if you are looking for films from the 80's in this genre, look for Blood Cult, Video Violence, Truth or Dare, Campfire Tales, or The Abomination. All those are way better films than 555, and way more entertaining.
If anything, when things are this rough, all one can do is get a good laugh out of it. And that is all I got.
0 out of 0 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink