When a new psychiatrist starts work at a mental asylum, a group of lunatics decides that he must have killed the old doctor. They escape from the asylum and lay siege to the doctor's home with his family trapped inside. Essentially a slasher flick with a bunch of killers instead of one, the best thing about this movie is the cast, including the deliriously loony Martin Landau as a pyromaniac priest. Not really original but well made, with a musical performance by The Sick Fucks.

Home siege slasher with four villians? I'm sold! On top of that promise, this is a surprisingly clever horror and one of the most tense I've seen from its decade. Unfortunately the villains are far more interesting than the family under siege.

Kind of fun in a campy way, I guess. I like Landau's over the top preacher character, and Pleasence and Palance were enjoyably bizarre. When the film shifts its focus to the family itself, it becomes a lot less interesting.

This is an extremely silly movie (in Leonard Maltin's view, "If your IQ is 15, you might enjoy this") which nevertheless amused me (draw your own conclusions regarding my intelligence). A great beginning and a great ending, very enjoyable performances by Martin Landau, Jack Palance, Donald Pleasence, and Erland van Lidth, and a very amusing critique of 1970s psychiatry.

*Palance tries to run down a biking mailman in a van* Mailman: "What are you, an asshole?" *Palance backs into said mailman, sending his flying 20 yards through the air* Also. Big ending!

Sholder's sharp satiric splatter pic -- which sometimes approximates the feel of a live-action "Simpsons" Halloween special gone *way* over the edge -- pokes fun at 'burb life, Laingian shrinks, punk rock, American media addiction, and voyeurism in general and features one of the best nightmare sequences ever lensed. This is an almost seamless genre movie that's funny, scary, and equipped with a bright central metaphor. Who could ask for anything more?

Theres something missing

Amusingly self-effacing slasher. Unexpectedly lighthearted with some hilariously over-the-top performances (Pleasence, sending up his _Halloween_ role, and Landau are at their most unrestrained) and a smattering of gory Tom Savini FX.