Scalps (1983)

"Have you guys gone wacko?" - Ben

A group of students disrupt an Indian burial ground, pissing off some old spirits.
Starring: Richard Hench, Jo Ann Robinson, Frank McDonald

Link to IMDB

Old Iron Wing delivers a warning.

Professor Machen is preparing for an archaeological expedition, but when he receives a reminder that disturbing Indian burial grounds is illegal he changes his plans. Seems like the Prof has not been following the rules, so instead he sends six of his college students out into the desert to investigate a new site for him.
They have car trouble and stop at a country gas station, there they meet an old man that warns them the expedition will end with their deaths if they go near the area called Black Trees!
Not being afraid of old superstitions the group continues on their way, but they are being watched by an angry Indian-spirit and/or lion-man thing... I don't know. There's some random images thrown in to create foreshadowing of their doom, and it makes no sense.

The music is pretty cool though, lots of spooky drones create an unsettling ambiance. Nothing is happening, and yet the promise of danger ahead is made tangible. Would you like to see about 30 minutes of camping and hiking? I hope so! Finally, they get to the Black Tree site and start digging up graves to find artifacts. The movie very slowly builds the strangeness, but eventually everyone is getting freaked out by the native spirits that are trying to scare them off the sacred land.

"This ground is alive with....evil." - DJ

Sitting around

Standing around

One of the guys, Randy, starts acting strange after a disembodied ghost-head explodes in his face (well, who wouldn't?) and he becomes possessed by a vengeful spirit. Finally, all the death that was promised is here! The killings are bloody gross fun, as the movie becomes more of a supernatural slasher flick. The climax is as bizarre as I was hoping, it just took forever to get there!

Overall, it's not truly disappointing for low budget horror. The ominous atmosphere has lots of weird stuff mixed in for laughs, but there's long boring portions that tested my patience. Scalps is an interesting mess, and most sane people would turn it off after 20 minutes. I liked it... sort of.

The director (Fred Olen Ray!) said that the movie was edited against his wishes, and that some test footage and outtakes were added as filler. I think this explains some of the random things we see, like lion-man, because they just become unintentional comedy.

Be sure not to miss:
- The end credits promise a sequel, but it was never made.
- The professor "bought the map from an old man." So that's how universities do research?
- "Sorry, I know this is boring." That's right Randy, but your apology is too little, too late.
- Rats enough! The rat (Roger) is even mentioned in the end credits and had his own hairstylist!!

Internet review:
"I awkwardly kept watching." - Kioku

Should I watch it?
Could be fun with a group of drunk people. Otherwise, it gets too dull.

Where can I find it?
The stagevu link here.

Scalps gets...