With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology. Artists like Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Tom Savini, Stan Winston, and countless other artists that delivered groundbreaking, mind-blowing practical effects that ushered in the pre-CGI Golden Age of Cinema. Which meant a glorious glut of creatures in horror. More than just a technical marvel, the creatures on display in ‘80s horror meant tangible texture that still holds up decades later. Grotesque slimy skin to brutal transformation sequences, there wasn’t anything the artists couldn’t create. It Came From the ‘80s is a series that will pay homage to the monstrous, deadly, and often slimy creatures that made the ‘80s such a fantastic decade in horror.
Satanic panic, moral outrage, and censorship stirred up mass hysteria surrounding heavy metal music during its all time high in popularity in the ‘80s, which created a new niche subgenre in genre film that merged heavy metal with horror. A recurring theme among them was the corruptive nature of music, usually by way of Satan. Such is the case of Black Roses, centered around a metal band kicking off their tour in a small suburban town, much to the chagrin of conservative parents. It turns out that the parents are right to worry in this case. The band members are really demons from hell using their music as a means to hypnotize the teens and turn them into monsters.
Directed by self-proclaimed metalhead John Fasano (Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare), Black Roses does that thing where it opens with a scene that telegraphs exactly how this story will play out. A music number perfect for the MTV era that has the band performing in front of a sold-out crowd, but they’re not even bothering to hide behind their human guises. That it’s Lizzy Borden’s earworm song “Me Against the World” means that, if you’re a fan of monsters and metal, you won’t care that this opening essentially gives away way too much of the end game.
Really, you pretty much have to be a fan of monsters and metal to fall for the charm of Black Roses, both of which there are plenty. A soundtrack full of notable ‘80s metal bands like King Kobra, Lizzy Borden, and Masi meant a soundtrack of higher quality than expected for a low budget horror production, and no shortage of monster transformations. It’s a movie that could only have been made by a fan of horror and metal, like Fasano. But it’s also a movie full of cringe-worthy dialogue and moments (strip gin, ugh), plotholes, and actors without much (if any) experience. The most high-profile actor in the film is Creature from the Black Lagoon’s Julie Adams, but her character just disappears without explanation maybe halfway through the narrative. Simply put, Black Roses is campy and technically not a great film, but I enjoy it anyway.
The creature effects are mostly rubber-suited monsters and a lot of puppetry, not exactly groundbreaking stuff, but they were unafraid to get wacky and were plentiful. The Deadly Spawn special effects director John Dod handled the mechanical corpse effects, and creature effects were handled by Richard Alonzo (Deadpool 2, The Blob), Tony Bua (Zombie Nightmare), Arnold Gargiulo (Spookies, The Deadly Spawn), Michael Maddi (Glass, The Blob), and Dan Platt (Warlock, The Exorcist III). The band members all had various stages of demonic transformation, from slightly monstrous to full-blown rubber-suited creatures, and the teens victims turned killers would morph into beast-like monsters to full-blown toothy puppet creatures, depending on their level of brainwash. Then there were the death sequences when the teens full on succumbed to their demonic possessions. The creature crew had an abundance of work here.
Black Roses falls under the “so bad its good” category of horror. The hammy acting and goofy script mean you’ll likely laugh when the beginning stages of teen rebellion involve kicking over a trash can and running away. But there’s a ton of monsters crammed into this metal loving horror film that gives parents a legit reason to fear for their children’s souls. It’s pretty much an equivalent to watching a feature length music video, full of monsters, mayhem, and metal. It’s flawed but full of ‘80s charm.
