The Redeemer: Son of Satan (1978)

"This is insane." - Roger

aka: The Redeemer
aka: Class Reunion Massacre
A highschool reunion is terrorized by a mysterious killer.
Starring: Damien Knight, Jeannetta Arnette, Nick Carter, Nikki Barthen

Link to IMDB

Priest and Lake Boy

The movie opens with chilling music as a spooky boy rises from a lake, he then walks into town to give a third thumb to a man that may or may not also be the local priest. Either way, the three-thumbed man murders the caretaker of an old nearby school. The beginning is really surreal, feeling like a David Lynch film that's been lost in time. Lake Boy listens as the priest sermonizes about sin and redemption, which segues into the main story...

We're given a glimpse into the sinful lives of six people that are receiving invitations to their highschool reunion. Their sins are pretty tame stuff, like drinking too much, ignoring their family, and one guy is guilty for just liking hamburgers a lot. When they arrive at the school for the reunion, they soon realize that no one else was invited and that they've been locked inside the building without any way to communicate to the outside world!


The fear really sets in when they find the corpse of the caretaker and realize a masked man is hiding in the school with them, planning to kill them off one by one! The killer wears many disguises; a clown, a grim reaper, and even a good Burton Cummings impersonation. He's actually pretty creepy as he rants and stalks after his victims. But who is this madman, and what does he want with these six average people? The ending gets just as unusual as the beginning, but maybe Lake Boy will have some answers... Maybe.

The reunion's last supper

Strangeness prevails in this atmospheric movie. It holds together as an effectively eerie thriller that feels unique, and although the characters are clichés the actors do a pretty good job. There's not a lot of blood, but still violent enough for some memorable deaths. The killer's insanity and over-acting add some humour, as does the usual cheesiness provided by a low budget movie, but it doesn't detract from the palpable feeling of doom.
The main plot is paired with the bizarre opening and closing scenes, which adds to the enjoyable confusion of wondering what is going on. If you pay attention to some clues (and make a few leaps of logic,) the "what" of everything is explained, but the "why" is left ambiguous enough to have me admire the attempt at mystery.
This was an enjoyable trip into the outskirts of genre cinema from the 70s. Unconventional and unpredictable, it really is a hidden gem that somehow exceeds the sum of its parts.

Be sure not to miss:
- Thumbs.
- The plan to escape the school by burning it down. How would that ever work?

Internet review:
"Falls short on logic, but still manages to be entertaining." - ED

Should I watch it?
It's worth a watch for the curious.

Where can I find it?
The one link here. There's also a rougher version on YouTube.

The Redeemer gets...