Tenement (1985)

Captivating movie !

Boring

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Tenement may clearly be a very cheap production, but this is excellently masked by the thoroughly mean exploitative style. The film is along the same lines as urban exploitation such as Assault on Precinct 13 and The Warriors and is similar in style to both also; although the film actually reminded me a lot of the Lamberto Bava trash classic "Demons", also released in 1985, as the main focal point of the film is on a disorganised group of people trapped in a claustrophobic building and facing off against a group of ravenous thugs. The central setting is a run down block of flats in a poor area of The Bronx. The flats come under attack from a violent street gang and naturally the residents call the cops and get them hauled off to the station. The gang doesn't take lightly to this, however, and after being released a short while later; they decide to take revenge by returning to the flats and trapping the residents inside. The gang hold the residents to ransom with brute force, but things take a turn for the unexpected when the locals turn the tables...Despite obviously being made on a budget, director Roberta Findlay clearly put aside enough of it to ensure that the film features plenty of gory kill scenes. The violence is not constant though it is gratuitous when featured and I'm sure that will delight anyone with a mind to see this film. The style of it verges on post apocalyptic and the costumes worn by the central gang reflect this. The block of flats at the centre of the film provides an excellent location for the film to take place and the director does a good job of enforcing the central situation on the audience and ensuring that the claustrophobia comes across as well as possible. The plot doesn't contain a lot of surprises and it's always obvious where it's going, so it's a good job that getting there is a lot of fun to watch. You can be sure that there's going to be another kill scene just around the corner and the film is pulled off with a pitch black sense of humour which bodes well with the unpleasant goings-on and atmosphere. Overall, this is a cheap and cheerful eighties gore-fest and I'm sure that it will please anyone lucky enough to track it down. Recommended.

I have to say, I had never heard of this flick. It came in a 3-pack I just got called 'Grindhouse Psychos' and man the price was worth this one flick alone. Even if the other two films SUCK, I'd pay what I paid for all any day for just this movie.The acting is atrocious, though you'll see some familiar faces. I kept going: 'I've seen that dude/chick in something before...' but it was difficult to put my finger on exactly what it was. "Tenement" was totally brutal. It has some scenes that are downright nasty and this is not a film for the faint of heart. Here is the thing though; this movie is really entertaining! It might be cheesy and the blood looks like Campbells tomato soup, but there sure is plenty of it to make it worth your while.I commend the folks who made "Tenement" because you can tell they put everything they had into it and that's why it deserves this rating. Unlike so many other films that Hollywood keeps churning out these days, every penny was squeezed dry and people had a blast making this film and you can totally tell through the whole grueling experience. I watched it last night, but I slept on it before reviewing it and today I kept thinking how awesome it was...Yea, I dug this one! The plot: a group of HILARIOUSLY STEREOTYPICAL New York tenement tenants call the cops on some AWESOMELY BAD thugs living in the basement. The thugs get out of jail and come back for revenge and in a big way.If you can find this flick, buy it. It's worth every cent. The only downfall I found with this one was the ending...a little lackluster.7 out of 10, kids.

review title lyrics: Marc Almond – The Days of Pearly Spencer "Tenement" is hostile, mean-spirited exploitation in which the cheapness of production is only surpassed by the brutality in tone. Also known as "Slaughter in the South Bronx", this nasty movie perfectly lives up to his reputation of shocking urban horror class-sick! The story opens with a gang of thugs being arrested for drug-abuses and other insane felonies committed in the basement of an apartment complex. The other tenants hope that this will finally mean the end of all crime in their neighborhood, but the gang returns the exact same night already and plots annihilate everyone in the building. The first half hour seems slow and not at all eventful but, in reality, you feel that the tension is being build up towards a claustrophobic highpoint that'll stand for pure mayhem. "Tenement" is very extreme with some of the most disturbing death-scenes ever shot on film. Luckily the special effects are so weak, because the violence is already shocking enough in concept. There's a woman raped and barbarically beaten to death, other tenants are stabbed with rusty pokers and one guy dies after a seriously sick heroine-shot. Furthermore, we have slit throats, electrocution and a truly repulsive castration. Yikes!! There are no real heroes among the tenants and you feel like every character has an equal chance to die (and they most likely WILL before the movie is over). "Tenement – Game of Survival" is hugely controversial cinema and easily one of the most jaw-dropping movies I ever beheld. Enter at your own risk!!

This movie, of course, has it's fans but I just found it tedious. It is not the constant shouting, running up and down the stairwell and the bloody violence that is in itself boring but the manner in which it is depicted. The direction is all over the place, sometimes really effective but often embarrassingly poor. Even without a storyline and with over and under acting, if the vision of the director is focused then we as the viewer can indulge in the resultant movie, be it good, bad or indifferent. The inconsistency continually forces us to reappraise what it is we are watching and with 'Tenement', we are bombarded throughout with clichéd situations, dialogue and camera angles. Were this a film made by complete amateurs, strangely I think it would have been better. It is the very existence of occasional effective moments that continually makes one so aware of the trashy, carelessness of so much else.