Murderlust

Let's get a couple things out of the way. This is an extremely low budget movie, shot on video (I think, not sure though), from 1985. Don't go in expecting stellar acting from everyone involved. Also, don't expect a plethora of nudity or gore. There is a decent body count though. With all of that out of the way, onto my review.PLOT: Murderlust tells the story of a seemingly mild mannered guy named Steven, who operates as a serial killer while attempting to maintain a normal lifestyle. Steven works in his local church as a Sunday School teacher, where he is well-liked, and also works at a car service shop or something like it? Either way he's not really liked there. Anyway, Steven lives a troubled life as he often depends on his cousin for financial support while also, you know, living a double life as a serial killer...There's more to it all but I don't really want to spoil everything.MOVIE REVIEW: I was surprised by Murderlust. While it's lacking in the gore or horror department, it manages to hold interest because of its psychological depth. Steven's character is written very cleverly and the movie actually has kind of pattern in its escalation of events. I also adored how "real" the movie's events were portrayed. Like how Steven operates a seemingly normal life and is seemingly a kind/thoughtful individual. It helps that the actor who portrays Steven, actually does a decent job. Quite a few actors give decent performances, although the film as a whole feels amateurish. The cinematography is also decent and portions within the film that take place in the desert, really capture the beauty as well as the desolation of the area. Murderlust actually feels like a much more lower budgeted Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Which was made a year after Murderlust, actually. That film is also a perfect portrayal of a serial killer, or at least what we know about them. Granted, Henry's better made but, I love both of them all the same. They'd actually make for a pretty decent double feature. My only real gripe with Murderlust is that most of the murders in it, take place off screen. Not all of them but a portion of them do and I feel like the film would've had more impact if the murders were shown in more detail. However, Steven is played with such intensity during some of these scenes that it almost doesn't matter. My only other real issues with Murderlust is again some of the acting is amateurish and that kind of hinders the movie a bit. Also the ending isn't that great. The movie's climax is actually superbly done, there's even some decent blood effects on display too. My problem though is that the movie keeps going afterward and just kind of stops. Those who have seen it, should know what I'm referring to. Other than those small issues Murderlust is a forgotten horror oddity worthy of re-discovery. I wouldn't recommend it to mainstream audiences. However I would recommend it to horror enthusiasts and even true crime enthusiasts. It really is an interesting film. Not everybody will like it or love it, but there's people out there who will and do. In fact Murderlust actually has a decent cult following, a small one, which I'd consider myself apart of.DVD REVIEW: Severin Films is becoming one of my favorite companies when it comes to cult cinema. They have some great titles under their belt. Murderlust is given a decent transfer, considering its pedigree and its obscurity. The transfer's generally clean and looks as good as it possibly could. The audio is pretty good too. There's also a fine amount of special features, including a movie from the same director, titled Project Nightmare. Personally, I preferred Murderlust to Project Nightmare, but others may prefer that film more. However, for those who haven't seen it. Project Nightmare is a much more amateurish production, on a much smaller budget (I think). Project Nightmare also has worse acting than Murderlust and a really slow pace. However, the film has some decent effects and an odd but interesting story. All in all this is a pretty great release for a pretty decent obscure title.OVERALL THOUGHTS: Murderlust is a little cheesy at times and a bit amateurish. However, it has enough going for it to be a decent movie and a decent watch. Project Nightmare is almost more of the same but is much harder to recommend.DISC CONTENT:Murderlust Main FeatureMurderlust Audio CommentaryProject Nightmare Main FeatureProject Nightmare Audio CommentaryMurderlust TrailerMY RATINGS: DVD-5/5, Murderlust-3/5, Project Nightmare-2/5

This is between stories of Henry Portrait Of A Serial Killer & Dennis Rader A.K.A. BTK Killer. He's a sweet pious innocent killer tryin' to manipulate women to kill them. The storyline is a guy who goes to church and working a job to serve a good community. Finding women to take advantage for his sexual and murdering desires. One woman trying to get to know him intimately. It ended very well. Love the movie.

I've seen quite a few bad movies in my life but I don't think I've seen one this bad in a very long time if ever. The acting if you can call it acting was some of the worst I've seen and the story line was awful too. I didn't expect much from this movie but I didn't expect it to be probably the worst movie I've ever seen.

I have to confess up front that I’m curious as to how MURDERLUST obtained such a cult following. The film was released in the middle of the 80s, right after the peak of the slasher genre, but it is the tamest horror movie I’ve seen in years. It offers no gore, barely any blood, no nudity, and just a few F-bombs toward the end. Not that profanity or nudity are needed to make a good fright flick, but no carnage? I was very surprised.So that brings up the question: is MURDERLUST a good horror film? The answer is not so simple. The movie does have merits, and I suppose it is entertaining on some levels…but on a horror scale, it barely registers. I did enjoy the film overall as a whole, but I can guarantee many horror fans will not like it at all.I think labeling this film as a thriller might be more appropriate. Yes, it deals with a serial killer, but it lacks the air of terror that goes along with horror films. The film comes across as more of a character study rather than a slasher flick.MURDERLUST is shot fairly well, although I admit it’s pretty obvious it is a low budget movie. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as independent films should be applauded…however the poor camera quality and the lack of any real special effects does detract a bit from the movie experience.The acting is surprisingly good. Many independent, lower budget films suffer from a lack of acting talent. Not so here. Eli Rich does a fine job and gives a chilling performance as the serial killer, Steve Belmont. Rich’s ability to shift from Sunday school teacher to cold, ruthless killer is almost unnerving. The rest of the cast does a good job as well, although nobody else has a standout performance.The story is decent, and the fact that the killer is hiding in plain sight (posing as an upstanding citizen/Sunday school teacher) is a nice bit. The plot does drag some in the middle, but the last third of the film is nice and tension-filled.Unfortunately, MURDERLUST never really takes off. Granted, it does have some tense moments toward the end, but nothing major really happens, and the “grand finale” never really appears. I think this lackluster ending is part of what let me down the most. I was willing to overlook a lack of gore if the terror level spiked, but the film never gets that far.Still, MURDERLUST is somewhat entertaining, in a TV-Movie-of-the-Week sort of way. Director Donald Jones has made several films since this one, and I’m curious to see how they turned out; based on MURDERLUST, it’s obvious he has talent, so I’d like to see what he could do with a decent budget. In regard to this film, it is available now if you decide to give it a look.

looks good from cover, but not worth moneycompare to a bad 70's detective show