Black Roses (1988)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Absolutely Fantastic

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Famous glam rock band The Black Roses is booked to play their first (?) live shows at its hometown local high school. While all the teens are stoked that their favorite band chose their sleepy small town for their first ever live concert, the parents are less than enthused with The Black Roses and their seemingly demonic lead singer Damien. The teachers and mayor stick by "Free speech" while the parents protest. When the band shows up for the show, the PTA and other authoritative adults attend only to find a Michael Bolton type in a Don Johnson suit singing power ballads. They shrug their shoulders at this harmless lite-rocker and bolt for the exit. That's when Damien strips down to a kinkier outfit (think Cher in "If I Could Turn Back Time) and The Black Roses crank out the hard rock. The kids in the crowd go wild. When the band stays in town to do more three more shows, the kids' become increasingly zombie-like and violent. Their English teacher starts to think that maybe the PTA was right and the kids are becoming possessed by Leotarded Damien and his rocknroll.John Fasano's follow up to his bizarrely awful "Rock & Roll Nightmare" doesn't fare that much better story-wise, but it's still sort of charming. It lacks the interesting visuals and characters of its predecessor, but makes up for that by adding more puppet-monster action. Nothing happens in the first half hour of the film, which has a really strange feeling, like it's a musical from the 50s instead of an 80s rocker movie. There's even a sequence where the bored lead teenager is trying to woo a girl by dancing around the street, from lamppost to lamppost, saying things like "Let's paint the town red!" The score is equally out-of-place for a movie about a demonic glam rock band. It sounds like something out of an 80s children's adventure movie. The special effects and puppetry are charming and one of the only things that kept my attention. Especially worth noting is a scene where future Soprano's star Vincent Pastore gets gobbled up by his stereo speakers. So while "Black Roses" isn't completely unwatchable, it isn't really a good movie and recommended for only those who really dig this type of thing.

"Black Roses", although it is labeled as a horror film, is actually not horrific. It's pure 80's cheese from beginning to end. I personally found it quite fun. I loved the metal band, loved their goofy hair and costumes, loved their music. I think it's a shame that the "Black Roses" soundtrack is so expensive on EBay; this is one film, like the classic "Fright Night", that deserves a DVD release and their soundtracks being re-released on CD. I also find it interesting to examine the film's plot in light of the whole "Satanic Panic" Satanism and Ritual Abuse scares that were going around in the 80's. I researched the history and lore of this phenomenon last summer, and "Black Roses" utilizes many of the clichés inherent in Satanic Panic/anti-rock 'n' roll literature: rock music being inspired by demons, rock music being addictive and controlling people's minds, teens driven to destruction by rock. I think that "Black Roses" is a parody of the clichés, but I could be wrong. Whether it's a deliberate parody or not, "Black Roses" will be a fun treat for anyone with a love for the 80's, cheesy horror, and hair-metal. I've been listening to an unholy amount of DOKKEN since I watched this film. ;)

It's hardly surprising that Black Roses is an obscure eighties horror film, as despite a relatively good story and some cheesy special effects; the film doesn't have a great deal going for it. However, Black Roses is fun enough and overall, I'd say it's just about worth seeing. The plot takes its influence from the idea of heavy metal bands with satanic lyrics corrupting their young fans, and by keeping the focus on this idea, the film actually has a bit more substance than the majority of similar movies released around the same time. The style is very much eighties, as the schlock horror blends well with the cheap special effects; and the effects team seems to have taken influence from Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II where the demons are concerned. The plot focuses on a heavy metal band named Black Roses. They decide to put on a concert in a small town, much to the delight of the local kids. Naturally, their parents are left rather unimpressed by the band and their music, and so decide to try and stop the concert from taking place...and they'd be right to, as the band are actually demons in disguise! The film attempts to be both a tongue-in-cheek horror movie and a film about heavy metal, as both the band and the horror are given decent proportions of the screenplay. It has to be said the film succeeds at being neither of the things it attempts to be, as the horror is too silly to be scary and the fact that the band are demons often overtakes the fact that they're a heavy metal band; but most people that see this film won't be too bothered about that. The horror is fairly inventive, and parts of the film that see things such as a monster emerging from a record player are most definitely highlights. The main problem with the movie is the amount of talking, as a lot of the time the parents' attempt to stop the concert becomes the centre focus and it's not all that interesting. The way that the film presents ideas such as the fact that a lot of the Black Roses' fans consider the song writer to be a modern poet are well done, and the band themselves are pretty good too, if you're into eighties metal. Overall, Black Roses isn't worth tracking down and spending a lot of money on; but if you get the chance to see it and you like eighties music and horror, it should suffice.

I remember seeing this one as a kid on Joe Bob Briggs "Up all Night" movie marathon, and I finally picked this B movie gem up for 5 bucks at a local video store! Great movie if you enjoy these type of films.What could be better than sitting back, relaxing, and watching a flick about a group of goody two shoes teens get possessed by demons from Hell who are disguising themselves as a Heavy Metal band! Classic!I especially won't forget the scenes when Big Pussy from the Sopranos Vincent Pastore makes his acting debut, and gets mauled by a demon that attacks him from his sons speaker, or when a brainwashed teeny bopper turns into a long necked lizard creature and attacks her teacherGREAT STUFF!! I recommend this movie to all 80's metalheads whoprobably once tried playing their Twisted Sister backwards, hoping to get a message from the Great Beezelbub himself. Or if your like me and actually enjoy watching this garbage.