Customer Reviews

Dance Macabre [VHS]

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After the death of Anthony Wagner's (Robert Englund) lover--in an accident he was partly responsible for--, he becomes obsessed with the new American ballet student, Jessica Anderson (Michelle Zeitlin), who has reluctantly come to Russia to attend a popular ballet academy under Madame's tutelage and Anthony's direction as a talented choreographer. Jessica is also the spitting image of Anthony's dead lover, thus his attraction.

Shortly after classes begin, two of Jessica's classmates are murdered--first her French roommate, then her British competition. Nobody discovers they've been murdered, though, until more students mysteriously disappear. Jessica becomes the obvious next victim unless she and her new boyfriend, a mysterious magazine reporter, can uncover the identity of the killer in a surprise ending few people will expect.

"Dance Macabre" is a typical horror film--it's cheesy, the acting's pretty bad, and the plot's virtually see-through. The murder scenes aren't graphic, though, but the nudity and sex scenes are, ideal for those who prefer the latter over the former. Some horror fans will probably still enjoy this one (mostly Robert Englund fans, I'm assuming), but most other movie viewers will not find the appeal.

A doleful fable that one must hope will be the sole example of a Ballet Slasher genre, this socio-cultural hybrid is additionally not unique in any other fashion, with a result that ennui will be the fate of those viewers who may see it, although taking into account the somewhat tarnished reputation of director Greydon Clark, their numbers should probably be few. Although featured player Robert Englund has stated that this affair is not a sequel or otherwise related to the version of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1989) in which he stars, its producers, 21st Century, have hired Clark to utilize elements from such a hypothetical undertaking, with St. Petersburg, Russia, as setting and with a familiar theme of serial homicide included in the blend. Englund is Anthony Wagner, a renowned American choreographer who, along with his former lover, Svetlana, manages a ballet academy in St. Petersburg, his partner now referred to as "Madame", and confined to a wheelchair following a long past motorcycle collision upon which she and the now deeply facially scarred Anthony were riding. When a young American dancer, Jessica (Michelle Zeitlin) is enrolled by her father (Clark) at the facility, Wagner immediately expresses his amazement at her resemblance to the young Svetlana, a likeness not apparent to a rational viewer. From among the academy attendees, one fortunate woman will be selected to perform with the "St. Petersburg Ballet Russe" and as the most skilled aspirants are being slaughtered by various means and in rapid succession, it becomes apparent that Jessica will make the cut, this not being the only predictable element within a flabbily constructed screenplay. There are problems here with continuity, substandard makeup effects for this essay in Grand Guignol are risible, dubbing, synching and other post-production processing are shabbily accomplished, the photography is hyperfiltered, red plainly being the colour of choice, and the direction, script and scoring are dullish throughout. The much maligned Clark also directs another low budget film with its setting in picturesque St. Petersburg, and in which there is much to like, RUSSIAN HOLIDAY (a.k.a. Russian Roulette), but in that movie he benefits from an abler cast, paced by Susan Blakely.