Recent Reviews
DVD Review: The Rockville Slayer
By Dave Dreher
Nov 27, 2005, 20:34

Several things surprised me about this film. First off, the caliber of acting was much more superior than I figured I would get.  Sure, a couple of the supporting roles were a little weak but I was very impressed with the work of Joe Estevez.  Joe is brother of Martin Sheen who we all know from TV’s West Wing and tons of other film projects.  Joe looks a lot like his brother and fortunate for us he seems to share in some of his brother’s talent.

Joe plays the role of sheriff in this warped little tale of murder and madness in a small town.  The town of course is Rockville and there seems to be a growing trend of the town’s teens getting killed.  This film had me thinking I knew where it was going on several different occasions but does not reveal its true nature until about 2/3 of the way through.  Not a lot of blood and guts in this one but it is well written and as I mentioned above, for the most part well acted.  There are several genre notables that show up in the feature.  We have Robert Z’Dar who most of you should remember from Maniac Cop.  Personally I think his best performance was in Tango and Cash but a lot of folks seem to forget he was in that one.  Also along for the ride is Scream Queen Linnea Quigley who we all remember from her naked tombstone dancing in Return of the Living Dead. 

The film centers around several different story lines all created to keep us guessing who the real killer really is.  When we find out it is not so much of a surprise as it is declaration of which way they decided to go with the story.  They give us several options.  We have the escaped mental patient who is running wild in the woods, we have the Norman Bates type deputy sheriff whose dad sits around the house with dressed mannequins, and we have the wandering genre stars that seem to pop up from time to time in odd places.  On the good guys side we have Joe Estevez as the sheriff who is trying diligently to solve the crimes that are rocking his usually peaceful little town.  We also get an FBI agent and her partner thrown into the mix for good measure.

The Rockville Slayer looks great.  Director Marc Selz has done a wonderful job of shooting the film.  The material in the movie lends itself to some slow parts but Selz’s sense of timing and use of lighting and atmosphere keeps these less active sessions interesting and appealing.  What little blood and effects we are treated to is well done and fits the story well.  All in all I found The Rockville Slayer to be a more than adequate little horror film that is certainly worth your time and money to check out

The folks behind the film have been good enough to send along a couple of copies of the film to give away and that is just what we are going to do.  Check out our contests section for your chance to get yourself a copy of The Rockville Slayer. 

Buy The Rockville Slayer on DVD at Amazon.com 

For more info on the film check out it’s official site by clicking here.