

A quartet of murderous psychopaths break out of a mental hospital during a power blackout and lay siege to their doctor's house.
Acting
Landau's bible-thumping menace vs. Pleasence's fey chaos—chewing scenery for sport
Direction
Sholder's debut squeezes genuine tension from threadbare premise
Practical Effects
Pre-CGI meat cleaver mayhem hits different

Director
Jack Sholder
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
New Line Cinema's first theatrical release; they later made Nightmare on Elm Street. This is their scrappy prototype.
The 'punk' villains represent Reagan-era anxieties about urban decay and institutional collapse—Bain's touchy-feely therapy reads as liberal failure narrative.
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Reactions from the web
Good old fashioned 80's horror. Keep them coming. I'll keep building my library.
@johnmarshall2439 99
Dr. Loomis: You don't know what death is
@canselway3755 10
I remember watching this when it was released on video. Great fun, and any chance to watch Jack Palance at his most menacing is so worth it!!!
@stanleyban 24
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