Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987) User Reviews

Only in the 80's...

[Red-Barracuda · 3/10 · 29 April 2011]

To say the very least, they don't make them like this anymore.

The Edge of Hell is really like nothing you will ever have seen before. It a horror film that epitomizes the term 'eighties cheese'. You would think after witnessing this that it must surely have been written by a 14 year old boy, and possibly a slightly stupid one. But no, this is the work of Jon Mikl Thor the lead actor and pioneer of the completely forgotten heavy metal sub-genre known as muscle-rock. He sports a haircut so obscene it is easily the most disturbing element in the entire movie. His music is mind-bogglingly awful and he gets to play a couple of tracks in full for our benefit. Lyrically you will be hard pushed to find anything more banal. But of course the sheer stupidity of this film is the chief reason to see it. Thor is nothing if not a one-off, and as events unfold in this film you will agree that this cheese-fest is certainly unique.

The story is borderline incomprehensible. It's sort of about a possessed house where a heavy metal band have decided to record music in but by the end you will be left entirely baffled and unsure just what exactly has unfolded before your eyes. Characters disappear and reappear with really no rhyme nor reason. For instance, about half-way in a bunch of groupies appear in the middle of the night for a scene that has truly no purpose whatsoever. The monsters in the film compromise for the most part of finger puppets and cheap masks. They are completely ridiculous. As is the accent of the drummer – was he meant to be Australian? English? Who knows quite honestly.

However, nothing, I repeat NOTHING, can prepare you for the final confrontation. Up to this scene the film has been a pretty strange experience. A combination of lame horror, vaguely hideous soft-core sex and mind-bogglingly awful hair metal music performances. But the finale takes everything that has gone before and disregards it with an extended scene where Thor turns into a character called The Intercessor and battles Beelzebub. Words are simply not adequate at describing the contents of this scene. But suffice to say Thor strips down to his leather underpants, sports eye-liner and has his previously ridiculous haircut made even more ridiculous via the application of a bottle of hairspray. The homo-erotic nature of this metal warrior is simply impossible to ignore. He then proceeds to battle the giant puppet that constitutes Beelzebub. For some reason the demon begins this confrontation by throwing starfish at our hero. They then engage in a wrestling match. This whole scene is quite honestly legendary, and worth enduring the other rubbish for.

Yeah, as I say, they don't make them like this anymore.

This ain't your daddy's Thor

[udar55 · 4/10 · 24 April 2013]

John Triton (Jon Mikl Thor, who also scripted) and his band Triton rent a secluded farm house that has a 24 track recording studio built in the barn so the group can prepare for a tour and get down ten minutes of new material. What they don't know is that this place just happens to be a portal to hell and soon folks are getting offed faster that Eddie Van Halen's fingers on the guitar. BLACK ROSES director John Fasano proved himself heavy metal horror ready with this debut feature. Well, he proved he could make a film in focus and throw a few monsters around. This starts out as a standard horror yarn but takes a decidedly odd twist at the end. The film is pretty rough around the edges (I had to listen to the audio commentary to figure out what the final two scenes were about), but if you have an itch for big hair and Beelzebub, it will fit the bill. The film appears to have some sort of cult following, most likely due to hipsters digging the totally 80s look and the toned Thor, who really is the poster boy for 80s muscle bound metal.

Oh my God

[vamp88 · 3/10 · 4 March 2005]

All the comments here and from others are true: What can you expect : bad acting, rubber puppets, effects that consist of Halloween masks, Halloween rubber monster gloves, an OK soundtrack (most disagree but I didn't mind the cheesy rock),a horrible score, and for the big finale a paper-mache marionette and a independence day firework fountain. Oh and much more, rubber starfish thrown at our hero as Satans main weapon, (seriously it looks like something you and your friends would've done in the 5th grade with your dads camcorder). Its great. There is one blatant product placement and from the looks of it, the money they got from coke was the entire budget of the film. I didn't give it a high score because I don't know if I could ever sit through it again. But it is recommended big time to anyone who wants to watch a really. really poor movie. I wonder if Jon-Mikl Thor really thought this would be a great career move? My guess is if he did at the start he couldn't have when he saw the final product. I hear a sequel is in the works. Can't wait to see if it happens.

I'm so glad they make these!

[Year2889 · 24 March 2003]

I can't believe stuff like this gets made, but I am so glad they did it.

Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare is a delicious piece of mid-80s drive-in fodder. The thing that makes these kinds of films so unique and fun to watch is the seriousness with which the major players seem to take their part in them. It is their obliviousness to the low-quality of the product that is this grade-Z film's most fascinating aspect.

It is appallingly poorly acted. It is written by total amateurs. It is directed enthusiastically and even artistically in places, and is thankfully short in duration, for although it has moments of professionalism, they are more than outnumbered and greedily overshadowed by some of the silliest scenes ever to make it to the VCR.

It's the Muppet Show meets Spinal Tap meets Friday the 13th meets total crap, and total crap wins the day! Hooray!

Just the sort of bad film I like to watch!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 22 August 2013]

Ignore my numerical vote--this is a bad movie but only in the best possible way!! I am a bad movie fan, but not all bad films. Some bad films are dreadfully boring and I hate them (such as "The Conqueror" or "Cracking Up"). However, a small group of film are bad but hilariously bad--so bad, so silly, so unbelievably stupid that you can't help but like them. I love films like "The Apple" and "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare" because they don't take themselves seriously--and they revel in their badness! Now this isn't to say the film is all bad--the music, for 80s hair band tunes, is great stuff and made a wonderful soundtrack to an apocalyptically bad film.

This film is basically like taking "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th" and injecting them with great tunes--along with taking about about 98% of their budget! It's hard to imagine, but the film was made in only seven days and cost a paltry $53,000 to produce. This budget, adjusted to inflation, makes it even cheaper to make than Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space"! The film begins with the slaughter of some family. Then, many years later, a rock band goes on a retreat in the middle of no where (Canada) to work on their music and cut their next album. However, the place is infested with demonic hand puppets who wipe out the cast one by one until their is a final climactic battle between a large-breasted guy and a giant Satan puppet that throws evil starfish at him! You really have to see it to believe how bad it is--but also how incredibly funny it is.

By all means watch the film--it's horrible and funny. But be prepared--like so many slasher films of the day, there is LOTS of nudity. But, considering that the movie is all about Satan and his hand puppets butchering rock stars, you wouldn't think to show this to kids or your mother! So amazingly bad AND cool at the same time, you just have to see it. And, if you can't stand the film (because it is dumb), just listen to the songs--they really are awfully good.

I don't want to say anything bad...

[nowyat · 1/10 · 16 November 2001]

I don't want to say anything bad about Canada, but this movie WAS made there. And it is, clearly, THE worst movie ever to see daylight. I once saw "The Seventh Seal", you know. The plot is not dissimilar, eh? Yes, it's the Canadian version of Bergman.

What else can I say, about this, this. This... this... this this. In the end, even they didn't like their own movie, and went on to finish up with a totally different plot.

I rented it, watched it, and was in benumbed shock. In order to restore some sort of sanity to my universe, I looked it up on IMDB. Somehow, after reading all your clear and rational reviews, I got over the trauma. (Now, I have to say a few words in it's favor.)

The puppets and rubber Satan were cute. I liked the gremlin drooling sputum in the manager's coffee cup. (This movie almost has some redeeming qualities. But not quite.) A few other points: first, clearly, it's meant to be a sort of primitive Canadian satire; second, many drummers have fake accents, or perhaps it disappears because he has been possessed; third, you can't really blame anyone for their hairstyle, (back in the eighties everyone looked like that). However, do not take these comments as in any way condoning this movie. I could be coming down with the flu, but I think it was this revolting piece of celluloid abuse that's making me ill.

Do not ever, recommend that anyone watch this movie. It could destroy a fragile mind. Even your worst enemy doesn't deserve such horror... (I still can't get Thor's tight-buttoned-silver-bare-chested-tuxedo jacket out of my mind... Ahhggg....) And I think the U.N. should pass an international law against anyone, ever again, wearing tiny metal studded leather underpants, particularly while wrestling rubber Satan dolls. Please.

My final points? Why did I watch this movie? What was I thinking? What were they thinking?

Oh, and Thor makes Twisted Sister seem like Mozart. Thanks for listening. I feel better now.

Bad is the new good

[jonathan-577 · 1/10 · 5 January 2009]

I had my movie geek friends over for beer and they were like, Jon-Mikl Thor? Whodat? I said "huh"? They emailed our friend who writes a bad movie zine and she hasn't seen it either. This freaks me out. The Intercessor's light is dimming. We must all join hands and shout it to the world. So I made them watch it, and it rocked the house! Seeing it again I realized this is bad in a bad, bad way: these people are not conscious of the crime they are committing, and that is what makes it rock so hard. Thor says that in the end he was supposed to be up on a big hydraulic platform with lightning and sh*t fighting the Alien but they couldn't afford it, so that phenomenal Platonic dialogue at the end is actually a golden Stonehenge moment. Nothing beats the fake Australian for me, although when the idiot hoser landlord turns and goes "heh heh you'll see" it does momentarily steal the movie. What exactly is Thor talking to his friends about in the van that inspires him to those strange gestures? And really, did we really need the camera to pan down to Thor's ass in the shower scene? It was totally uncalled for, especially since he was already winning the Battle of the Boobs. Did he throw in the "Scarborough chapter of the Tritonz Fan Club" as a sop to Gerald Pratley?! Finally, be advised that my girlfriend got me the soundtrack for Christmas...and THERE IS ACTUALLY A TRACK CALLED "I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN, OLD SCRATCH."

Cheese to the fifth power!!!

[ShyGirl926 · 2/10 · 24 October 2003]

Oh my goodness! I love this movie! It is so incredibly cheesy and fun! A friend and I blindly rented this back when we were in high school (lo those many years ago) during one of our horrorfests. We laughed so hard we cried. This is low-budget film-making at its best. The monster seriously looks like it is made of papier mache, tin foil, and light bulbs. Thor's costume, that horrible band, everything is so amazing. Fans of bad horror must see this flick.

The ultimate in cheesball entertainment!

[greaser-3 · 1/10 · 30 April 1999]

This is a horribly stupid film in that awesome so-bad-it's good category. I love the part when the 80s hair band rocker is wrestling with Satan, who is obviously made of rubber! Words can't describe how bad this movie is!

This movie rocks and sucks at the same time

[bubba_hotep-2 · 5/10 · 3 September 2006]

I don't know if a movie can be made any worse than this one, yet keep its viewers satisfied and laughing the entire film. Jon Mikl Thor plays Jon Triton, a metal band frontman, who takes his band out to the country to cut a new album. Not only does the band take some roadies with them, but also dress out completely in their metal garb and makeup while only cutting an album in a barn studio. I guess that they want to live out the part at all times. As we progress through the film, various demons (aka people in shitty halloween masks) torment/kill/possess various band members, while trying to make their way to the front axe, who, by the way, happens to be an angel avenger sent to find and battle Beezlebub. Who woulda thunk it? This movie may fall under the horror genre, but don't let that fool you. This is one of the funniest films ever made.

Worst Horror or Best Comedy?

[rengl392 · 5/10 · 28 February 2005]

Let me see if I've got this straight: a muscle bound real life Nigel Tufnel (of Spinal Tap legendary) turns out to be an arch-angel come to fight a demonic paper mache marionette and its legion of sock-puppet horrors, all to a sound track of the tackiest 80's hair metal I've ever heard? Add terrible dialogue, wretched scripting, horrendous production, and you have what may well be the very worst movie ever made. I first saw it when I was sixteen, and laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I recommended it to another group of buds in grade 12, who were looking for a cheesy horror movie. Well, they got it. As far as real bona-fide movie making quality goes, this movie gets a solid zero. The worst thing ever made. Yet in terms of sheer entertainment value, this was quite probably the most hilarious 83 minutes ever recorded, worthy of a 10. Average rating: 5

rock n roll nightmare remarks from filmmaker Cindy Cirile aka Sorrell

[artemislives-38371 · 10/10 · 14 June 2015]

Naturally I have to give my meager offering of a film 10 stars! It means so much to me to read about how much people love this insane little family flick⭐️ When I say "family flick," I mean an almost zero budget film made BY a family with a lot of help from their friends! I should say: our friends. Great people like Jon-Mikl Thor, who I've known for over 30 years now.

This little feature was the brainchild of my 22 year old husband, John Fasano, who passed away in July, 2014. The two "Johns," John Fasano and Jon Thor, became bosom buddies--and Fasano, whose life goal was to make monster movies--got a company to give us $40 grand to make a horror flick with Jon Thor, featuring his music. And--a lot of home made monsters. Obligatory tits were enforced on us by the money men--as they were in "Black Roses."

A few things for fans of the film--as well as its detractors. First off--both John Fasano and Jon Thor never touched drugs or alcohol--on or off the set. No one was "high." I can't use that as any excuse for why the film is so bad!

Family: without the Cirile-Fasano-D'Angelo clan--there would've been no RRNM. My basement (Cirile-Fasano) was the "cookery" for the, um--not-so-special FX! My brother, Jim Cirile--who played Stig, the drummer, had his own cookery and whipped up the "chicken monster," the "Lu-Ann" prosthetic--and the paper-mâché stove monster. Someone on this thread mentioned the scene at the beginning--where my character, Carole ( for Carole Lombard!) is burned instantly in the stove--while my real and reel-life son, Jesse D'Angelo--screams at the top of the stairs. Did anyone get that this little boy at the beginning comes back later as the wolf boy who makes a few appearances later on??

My bro, who plays the Aussie drummer Stig--is a huge fan of Monty Python. He was going for an absurd over the top accent. His sudden change to a deep American accent was scripted!! Somehow--it was meant to indicate that he was now possessed! What can I tell you??

John Fasano loved horror movies--but he hated blood and gore. As do I! This is why RRNM, Black Roses, The Jitters, and Zombie nightmare are all mostly "monster movies," not horror or slasher flicks. John went on to work on some great films--and his writing improved a LOT! He was nominated for an award for best screenplay for "The Hunchback" with Richard Harris and Mandy Patinkin. He wrote the shooting script for "Tombstone." He also wrote "Darkness Falls," among other things. He became a brilliant writer.

I'm feeling kind of "moony," because John hasn't even been gone a year yet. He loved this movie--and was very excited that people thought it was fun.⭐️

Yeah--this was a family project. No food budget. No costume budget. Thor brought his own jockstrap and hairspray. It was 20 degrees F in that frigid barn where Thor fights the Evil One. I was videotaping the scene where Thor battles the horrific starfish. I could say nothing about it then--and all I can say now is: "oh, boy!those things did NOT work like they were supposed to!

Thanks for watching our most humble family excursion into low-budget 80s hair rock horror. Soooo sorry for the van scene! For the last scene... For so much! Have fun with it! Cindy Cirile

Rock & Roll!!!

[HaemovoreRex · 7/10 · 1 October 2006]

Something of a cult classic this although it's only in the last 15 or so minutes that it becomes clear as to exactly why.

Up until this point, the film is a typically by the numbers, unimaginative 80's slasher flick set in an old farm house wherein the protagonists are bumped off one by one by various supernatural beasties (including some hilariously rendered sock puppet like critters!!!)

The protagonists in this case are members of a heavy metal band and their girlfriends/wives. Leader of the group is the lead singer John Triton (the incomparable Jon Mikl Thor!) who has arranged for his band mates to stay at the farmhouse for some creative inspiration. Trouble is that by the end of the film everyone except John has been murdered..... or so it seemed at least for in a twist at the end it is revealed that in fact no one was murdered at all(!) and that John's band mates were all externalised figments of his imagination which he has created in order to lure his ultimate nemesis out into the open.

And who is John's ultimate nemesis? Why it's none other than Satan himself!!! (Or at least a rubbery, gangling armed puppet who's method of killing is surely to make his victims die of laughter!) But surely even Jon Mikl Thor, as awesome as he is, is no match for the Devil? (even such a poorly rendered representation of him!)

....Well in a final shock twist John undergoes a sudden miraculous transformation and reveals himself to be the studded leather codpiece wearing Archangel Triton!!! WHOAH!!!

Now the stage is set for what must surely rank as one of the most hilarious cinematic battles ever filmed as our hero gallantly grapples with his virtually immobile adversary (and with his deadly, demonic starfish!!!)

After much exaggerated straining and grimacing Triton proves to be the eventual winner (hurray!!!) and Satan is forced to admit defeat (for now at least) wherein he promptly disappears behind a decidedly shoddy looking pyrotechnic display.

WOW! I've got to say it, this final battle is absolutely side splitting stuff! For all fellow fans of bad movies, if you haven't yet seen this veritable classic (ahem) then I recommend you high tail it and grab yourself a copy as soon as possible - trust me, you won't regret it!

The worst bad movie ever.

[DamRho · 1/10 · 3 August 2004]

Since I've read a few reviews from other users I've realized that this movie was a must-see. Although I don't regret having watched it, I do feel sorry for the poor souls who had any connection with making this movie, since this has to be the worst movie ever. But it's so bad, it becomes extremely entertaining. I don't really see the point in telling you why this movie is so bad, because there really isn't a particular reason as to why it is! Everything in it is utter trash. The direction is bad, the cinematography is bad, the acting is clearly missing, the plot is worse than Pearl Harbor's and the soundtrack is cheesy. But, since you're probably curious about the movie, I'll list a few things to open your appetite.

• Puppets aren't wired or puppeteered. No, they aren't CGI either. They seem to be tossed around and eventually end up crashing with something (the floor, or the actors most of the times).

• As the opening sequence will tell you, regular house ovens can burn people in a matter of seconds. Being a housewife in Canada is not for the faint of heart. - I don't like to spoil plot details but there's someone in the movie who actually has sex with sunglasses on. I guess he thinks it's cool.

• Satan has a boyfriend. And *it* has sex with *its* boyfriend.

• At the beginning of the movie the cast arrives at the super-oven house and you are treated to 5 minutes of absolute nothingness as you watch a car moving around doing nothing.

• The plot twist at the end of the movie is a marvel. This one you'll have to see for yourself.

Although this movie certainly isn't worth spending 50 cents, I would strongly recommend it, specially if you're a filmmaker (or with to become one) as you will learn what you are NOT supposed to do. Avoid this movie, or watch it obsessively. The choice is yours.

a perfect 10...because it doesn't even come close

[ManBehindTheMask63 · 7 February 2011]

This is the greatest movie EVER!!! Actually, it's so bad it's good. "Rock N' Roll Nightmare" gives you puppet monsters, really boring and long sex scenes, some surprisingly good 80's metal ("Energy" is a favorite of mine), and Jon-Mikl Thor in a metal speedo! The plot revolves around a group of musicians who go to a farmhouse to record their new album (because the city has made them soft!). Little do they know, that a decade ago a demon killed an entire family who lived there. Now the demon is back and starts killing off the band members one by one. Jon-Mikl Thor is a likable actor and you can tell he really tried and put a lot of effort into this film. But the film is extremely cheesy and low-budget. Many consider this to be the "worst film of all time". I would totally disagree with that. The film has charm and a certain campiness to it. The twist ending is probably one of the greatest i've seen in such a bad movie. I actually was surprised at how well the plot twist worked. The director also did the metal horror classic "Black Roses". Overall, this is a cult classic that is pretty tame and cheesy, but it's fun and has heart. WE LIVE TO ROCK!!!

if he's so Metal why does he act like a lovestruck pussy?

[movieman_kev · 1/10 · 9 March 2007]

There are movies that exist out there that are so awful, so bad, that they're good "Filthy McNasty", "Class of Nuke em High" the first Troll film, and on and on. This putrid little horror cheapie that is Rock N Roll Nightmare is definitely NOT on of those. This Jon Mikl Thor starring piece of crap is so bad that I revs past bad, soars past 'so bad, it's good' and takes a firm nosedive into 'so bad that it's freaking terrible' territory. No redeeming value whatsoever. My 2 year old niece can do better than this celluloid waste. I kept hearing about how the last 10 minutes made sitting through the rest of the film worthwhile. Well no and no. Thor tells a foam latex devil puppet that he had tricked him, gets pelted with clay starfish, and that's pretty much it. Yeah that was so worth sitting through boring minutes of nothing but a car driving down the road, so worth watching people wash dishes, and endless scenes of filler and padding. I love heavy metal, i love low-budget horror flicks, so one would think i'd love a combination of the two...right?? WRONG. Do yourself a favor, bub, go rent "Trick or Treat", "Rocktober Blood" or pretty much any metal/horror hybrid and leave this one in the dust bin where it belongs. Followed by a sequel!!!! That I hear is even worse (is that even possible)

DVD Extras: Commentary by Director John Fasano and actor Jon-Mike Thor (the latter also provides a video intro & afterwards); 15 minute interview with Thor; 13 minute behind the scenes make-up featurette; 21 minutes of rare footage from the set; and two music videos Eye Candy: Both Jillian Peri and Teresa Simpson get topless

My Grade: F

Very likely the most impossible film I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing

[Vomitron_G · 1/10 · 4 April 2010]

Screw those possible spoilers. You need to read this, if only for the fact that this film is still out there, unrestrained and does not come with a warning.

It is virtually unfathomable that this film was conceived by regular folks out to make a normal low budget (horror) movie. Nobody in their right minds would come up with an idea like this - or a "concept" if you will - and then attempt to actually turn it into a movie. And only an insane aspiring "producer" (or one that has lost his wits a long time ago) would decide to invest money in something like this. Coca Cola Company, at the time, did see some benefit in it, though. Understandably, since the script contained a scene where a little demon-critter gets his hand flattened by a can of Coca Cola. That's pretty much the same like saying that Coca Cola is good for you. It's a force, or a tool, of pure goodness which you can use to fight off evil. This ridiculous theory even makes perfect sense in the light of this film, as basically - if you can actually say this film is about something - it is simply about Good versus Evil and nothing more. This should also tell you exactly how ridiculously senile this miserable piece of celluloid turd is. Because you tell me now, does that sound like a concept you or I could have come up with? Like I said, this epic failure was not made by normal people. "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare" (aka "The Edge Of Hell") really is a shock to any young/struggling filmmaker's system to see how a steaming pile of cesspool-droppings like this ever received enough money to have cranes & dollies come with the "crew" that made this film. Actually, this is not a film; it's an un-film. A thing that never should have been.

It was conceived, writing & probably influenced on many levels by one person. A guy named John Mikl Thor. He also (tries to) act(s) in it. Why? Why would he want to do that? Make some sort of un-film like this and then be the "star" in it? He can't act, he can't write, he can't sing, he can't... wait, it'll probably be much easier and quicker to list the things he actually can do... Nothing.

So, okay, clearly Mr. Thor is a musician. Not a very good one, I suspect. Nor does he understand anything about 'the art of making music' and show this on film. When a guitar solo comes on in a song, you can see him playing this on a bass. Playing the air guitar would have been cooler, Mr. Thor. A shame nobody bothered to tell you that. Or perhaps they did, and you just wouldn't listen, right? Also, he's clearly the 'very wrong' type of musician. As becomes evident by the way he just plays his plain self in this flick. If it's so obvious that you've never written down a single musical note on a piece of paper, Mr. Thor, then don't sit your ass down in this movie and pretend that you can while trying to get your 'perfect love song' right.

Mr. Thor might eat the cake, but his band members don't munch on sloppy seconds either. Extremely bad third-rate hair-band/poser hard rock music is what we are presented here. There's quite a bunch of sequences where the whole band can be seen rehearsing songs in their barn. But it's not a rehearsal of course. It's just the band performing (i.e. play-backing) like they would 'live', acting all stupid as if they are performing on some imaginary stage. In this case, it looks like they are trying to make it resemble a 7th-rate music video (shot in a barn, for about 3 complete & truly horrible songs). Even a blind guy can see that Mr. Thor just wanted to shamelessly promote his atrocious music and that a very bad horror themed un-film with no plot would be the best way to reach the kids. I suspect the music-vids-shot-in-a-barn segments where intended & created to have them easily removed from the film & turn them into an "official" music video that would hopefully get them some airplay on national TV. That's a pretty lousy scheme there, Mr. Thor.

What's this movie about, actually? Well,... nothing. Absolutely nothing. A house. A barn. A bad hard rock band. Horribly dated fashion trends. Abominable music. Ugly people. Sex, nudity, sex. Talking about doing drugs but never actually taking some. Demonic possession. Demon critters. People disappearing, maybe one guy died but I can't recall seeing it. Tits & ass, both male & female. Groupies. Groupies having sex. Groupies vanishing. Groupies re-appearing. An empty house, eventually. A family with a kid from the past. A family with a kid from the past for which we get no explanation. Amazing latex & prosthetics SFX. Superb halloween masks. And an utterly baffling climactic end-battle/boss-fight... here it comes: The devil (a life-sized demon puppet on strings & sticks) appears. Mr. Thor tears off his shirt. Now he looks like a total barbaric moron and then he proclaims he's an arc angel. He proceeds to battle the devil-demon. Another song comes on and they just hold hands & dance in circles until the song ends. Devil-dude goes up in smoke after that.

Then there's a final shot of some empty street with houses in some suburban area which I absolutely didn't get, and this un-film ends.

This "movie" is impossible to grasp. A product extracted from a deluded mind. But who cares? It's not like anybody died or animals were harmed while making this movie. The film, in whichever format you might find it, does need a warning sticker to come with it, in my opinion. Something like... Caution: This movie can be hazardous to your health. Viewing this without alcohol may cause brain damage.

I'm sorry, but this just might be the best movie ever made.

[slapstick330 · 1/10 · 21 September 2002]

I laughed the whole time I watched this piece. If your favorite movies include Hobgoblins, Troll II, and the Fast and the Furious, then you HAVE to see this business. Alright, check it out... The acting is ridiculously horrible, but I'm sure you would have guessed such things. The main characters of the movie, butt metal band THE TRITONS, don't even play their own instruments, but apparently score the movie (which I might add is masterful in every way possible). The lead singer of the band, Jon-Mikl Thor (who surprised me by actually being in other movies) is hilarious. The character dialogue is absurd. And the puppets? Aw, man, it's just trash. One of them even smokes a cigarette! I can't really say much about the plot, because there really isn't one. Besides, the movie has a few surprises that I wouldn't want to spoil...a heh. The dude wrote the screenplay AND produced the movie! Not a big deal from the looks of it. I think it was 50 cents well spent.

More like a rock 'n' roll nightmare for the viewer

[Wuchakk · 4/10 · 15 December 2021]

The band The Tritons take their girlfriends for a getaway to a farmhouse outside Toronto to bond and practice/compose music in the barn that has been made into a studio. Jon Mikl Thor heads the no-name cast as the David Lee Roth-like singer.

"Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare" (1987), also known as "The Edge of Hell," mixes cabin-in-the-woods horror with 80's rock/metal. It was a personal project of Jon Mikl Thor from the cheesy band Thor and only cost $53,000 so don't expect the proficiency of "Trick or Treat" (1986). It's not even in the same ballpark.

There's just way too much dull filler wherein certain scenes are extended for no reason, like the tedious shots of the van driving on a lonesome Canadian road near the beginning. The script, by Jon Mikl Thor, needed improved to flesh out the characters and details of the story. It's just too thin and slapdash to be compelling.

Thankfully, there is some entertainment value if you're in the mood for cartoonish horror in the mold of the first two "Evil Dead" flicks crossed with 80's rock/metal. For instance, the songs are actually catchy in a Motley Crue meets Dokken, Ozzy and Alice Cooper vein, such as "We Live to Rock" and "Energy." Meanwhile Denise Dicandia as Dee Dee, the keyboard player, stands out on the female front, but it's clear the filmmakers didn't know how to shoot women (not tawkin' about nudity or sleaze, as there's a little bit o' that).

When I found out it only cost $53,000 I had more compassion. If they had double that amount this would've been a decent micro-budget flick. Jon Mikl Thor is a go-getter and you have to respect his determination to make things happen regardless of the limited resources. This is excellently chronicled in the documentary "I Am Thor" (2015), which I highly recommend as it's all-around entertaining, amusing and even inspiring.

The movie runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot in Markham, Ontario, Canada, which is just northeast of Toronto.

GRADE: C-/D+

This movie is SO bad, you just have to get it.

[LordLucansGhost · 2/10 · 1 November 2010]

The only reason I'm voting this movie at 10 is because it's so delightfully terrible. If you have an IQ of 5 you will find this movie quite insulting to your intelligence - its THAT bad. The film crew probably grabbed random people off the street to act in this lousy excuse for a horror flick. But what do you expect when the entire movie was made on a budget of $5.56p.

The acting almost seems deliberately bad as if the actors aren't taking it seriously, and some of the dialog is so stomach-churningly cheesy it will make you cringe.

Lets talk about the actual characters

John Triton: is a smug mullet bearing drag-queen on steroids and is the lead singer of the rock band and 'undercover' archangel.

Randy: is Tritons horny wife, who is like a child when she doesn't get what she wants.

Stig: is the drummer for the band and Jim Cirile who plays him is trying to put on either a Cockney, Aussie, or South African accent which suddenly fades away in his last scene. What ever accent it is, he's clearly boll*cks at it.

Max and Dee Dee: are two complete space cadets who have been in the band for an unknown length of time but suddenly fall madly in love, spend the whole time fantasizingly gawping at each other until they finally get down to business.

Roger and Mary: are newly weds who insist on drilling the fact they are actually married into everybody's heads and have a past-time for washing up.

Phil: the bands nerdy manager who is FULL of annoying puns.

So that's them, and none of them can act to save their lives, but equally amusing is the awful use of special effects, some of which are literally sock puppets and play dough starfish (brilliant)!

The storyline is non existent, the music is corny and Tritons outfits are horrendous. If you're rehearsing why would you need to dress up? Triton thinks necessary and changes his outfit for each song (polka dot dress to name one).

This is an incredibly tedious movie, but something makes you hungry to keep watching. What gets me is that absolutely nobody decides to run when they spot one of the monsters, instead they just stare and scream.

There's a van sequence which lasts about 8 Min's, there's a skeleton which comes out of an extremely powerful household oven burnt to a crisp and the camera remains focused on it for about 2 Min's, Randy pulling back the curtains to see Triton outside takes about 4 Min's, and the sock monster dribbling in Phils coffee takes a good half hour. The rest of the movie is of mild porn, cheesy music and washing dishes until the final confrontation.!!!

Triton in his spiked rubber Speedos vs Satan at his 'inflatable' dribbling best. Triton the Archangel kills Satan with a 'sparkler'!

The movie ends with Triton saying 'see you again old scratch'.

Most Annoying Character Award goes to; Randy, who you'll just want to punch, believe me. Worst Australian Accent goes to; Stig, who's attempt is unbelievably fake. Cheesiest Line goes to; Triton - 'Let's tune our weapons'. Ugliest Character Award goes to; Dee Dee (could have played a monster).

Seeing is believing, and you probably still won't believe it once you've seen it.

Verdict; just get it, even if you don't like bad movies. Everyone should see this movie if only once. It's complete and utter dog sh*t, but it's incredibly funny if you don't take it seriously.

why do I become sleepy when I touch myself?

[jessegehrig · 2/10 · 18 July 2013]

Its an amazingly bad movie-that goes without question. I mean look at the insane cover-art. It begs the question "Why was this movie made?". Here's a curve-ball, The protagonist is named John Triton, but is played by actor John Mikal Thor, the fake name sounds more real than the actor's real name. I would describe this as a exhausted movie, in that it sort of stumbles along preoccupied with getting to that place where it can just lie down and sleep it off. I hope there is a documentary film about how this movie got made and why this movie got made because I imagine it would be like the doc Heart Of Darkness is for Apocalypse Now. Watching this movie initiates you into the sacred order of Rock'n'roll, yeah!

Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987)

[fntstcplnt · 1/10 · 20 October 2019]

Directed by John Fasano. Starring John Mikl Thor, Frank Dietz, Jillian Peri, Teresa Simpson, Adam Fried, David Lane, Jim Cirile, Liane Abel Dietz. (R)

A heavy metal band travels to a secluded farmhouse to get their rock on, end up confronting forces from hell. Cheapjack junk wears its trashy intentions on its studded leather sleeves, but it's hard to enjoy bad movies for being bad when they're made so cluelessly that they rarely even provide payoffs to the setups/expectations (e.g., a "spiked" drink that never gets guzzled). If you want to see Cirile trot out an outrageously bad Australian accent, a plot twist that may cause the average viewer to smash their television, an exorbitant amount of gratuitous and unarousing T&A, more van driving than an entire season of "The A-Team," puppet monsters that resemble male genitalia, extended performances of fist-pumping rawk anthems like "Energy" and "We Live to Rock," and bare-chested Thor rocking a black codpiece for his final demonic battle, then...well, you're still being warned away. Best enjoyed under the influence, with a group of friends you never want to see again.

13/100

The best bad movie ever made!!!

[jesseravenwolf · 10/10 · 11 November 2009]

You all may say what you will about this movie, but I was there making it, and I'll always love it... I'm Jesse D'Angelo, the actor who played the young boy in this magnum opus. I acted in several low budget horror films in the 80's, and this is my favorite. But it's not for everyone. So many people on here just trash it, writing really nasty reviews, saying everyone involved was an amateur, nobody ever went on to do anything again... Well let me correct this misinterpretation.

First of all, this movie was shot in seven days with a budget of only 50 thousand dollars. Okay? You make a better movie with that much time and money. Second, everybody was an amateur back then. For the money we had, we couldn't afford anyone who knew what they were doing, decent props, monsters, etc. This was basically a glorified student film or home movie. And that is part of its appeal. The fact that it was made for no money by a bunch of amateurs, all working their asses off.

Also, many people from that movie have gone on to prosperous careers, despite the claims of one reviewer. John Fasano has continued to work as a writer, producer and director. You may recognize some of his credits: "Another 48 Hours," "Alien 3," "Tombstone" and many more. Frank Dietz did more work as an actor, independent filmmaker and as an artist for Disney. Felicia Fasano is now a top casting agent in Los Angeles. Cindy Sorrell (really Cindy Cirile) is an accomplished writer and historian. And then there's me. I storyboarded "Sky Captain and the world of Tomorrow," "Darkness Falls," "Mini's First Time," and many TV shows, commercials and music videos. I'm also an aspiring writer/director... So when I hear people say that we were just a bunch of amateurs who didn't do anything afterword, I take offense.

We were amateurs, but what sets this film apart from many bad movies is that we were amateurs with talent and skill. We hadn't developed it yet, but it was there inside of us. Watching the movie, you can tell it's made by people who love this kind of movie, that it took real ingenuity, hard work, and most important that it was fun to make. This vibe of family and fun I think seeps into the final film, giving it its charm... So appreciate it for what it is. Sit back with some friends, put on "Rock n' Roll Nightmare" and enjoy a night of fun and laughter.

Pretty Much the Kind of Enoyable, Low Budget Thing You Want

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 3 September 2008]

The Tritons, your typical 1980s hair band with cheesy songs, is on retreat in Canada in order to rehearse some new songs for an upcoming album. But the farm house they rented, once visited by Alice Cooper, has some otherworldly creatures that are hell-bent on destroying the band and their very lives.

This is a "guilty pleasure" 1980s film to the extreme. Poorly acted, poorly directed... really lame music. The special effects are humorous but very clearly low budget. Yet, despite all this the film has a charm. It's what you might call Tim Ritter meets early Peter Jackson... "Killing Spree" meets "Dead Alive". But weirder.

Most of the film comes across as either a music video or a softcore porn. When the band isn't performing a song ("Energy" or "Live to Rock") in its entirety (take these out and the film is an hour), they're having sex. And while there's not excessive raw sexuality, there's plenty of gratuitous skin, particularly in a shower scene... it runs a little longer than usual, and we get a nice view of Harry Manasse's brother Slick.

While for much of this picture I found myself thinking it was fun but nothing special (and wondering why my friend loaned this to me), there is a dramatic plot shift later on. And, believe it or not, the movie gets even weirder and cheesier... leading into the sequel ("Intercessor"). I never saw the change coming and am still really confused on what the heck I was watching.

Synapse has released a lot of great cult and exploitation films ("Street Trash", for one) and this is right at home on their label. While I don't see there being a great resurgence of interest in this one, it has a quality that makes it fun and hard to hate, regardless of how silly and low budget it may be.

A very fitting title.

[Java_Joe · 1/10 · 26 January 2018]

I don't remember where I first heard of this movie but at some point as I was perusing the used DVD aisle for movies I wanted I came across this and something seemed to trigger a memory. Not of the movie itself, but of the frontman Jon-Mikl Thor. Admittedly I knew next to nothing of this Canadian strongman but there was something about the title and his name that made me buy it. To be honest I probably would have bought it simply for the cover art alone.

And after a couple days I finally watched it all the way through and sat back to wonder on what exactly it is that I had seen. You need to understand that I love bad movies. The worse the better. There's this kind of fascination when something is terrible in every sense of the word but the cast is giving it their earnest best. Often times that results in the beloved "so bad it's good" movies. But that's less a truism than an occasional accident because this movie is anything but.

The movie is boring and that's possibly the worst critique that you can give a movie. From the opening when we see the band's van driving along the highway, it just goes on forever. It doesn't break it up for anything. It just continues and this is what we get to look forward to for the rest of the movie.

Interspersed with pointless scenes are the musical numbers. I get it. Jon-Mikl Thor was a musician. Doesn't mean his music was any good and while I love 80's cheesy hair metal, this isn't a really good example of it.

I get it that this was done by amateurs. I get it that this had no budget so the monsters looked like crap. I get it that they didn't even have a catering budget. none of that matters because there have been movies that cost nothing to make that show how inventive some filmmakers can be.

And of course I need to mention the elephant in the room, the guy that plays Stig had to absolute WORST Australian accent ever. I don't know if he was trying to go for something funny or if he was supposed to be a goofball or something. Putting on an funny accent doesn't make a character. It's a character that puts on a funny accent. Do you understand the difference? Then of course after he's possessed he loses the accent and nobody seems to notice or care. Is this something he does? A thirty second throwaway line could solve that problem but they just ignore it or assume that the audience automatically gets it.

The climax of the movie is a complete joke with Thor fighting a paper mache demon that seriously looks like it's going to fall over at any point. It doesn't even look like he's fighting it but just uselessly flailing at it. The result is actually quite silly when you get down to it.

All in all, unless you're into terrible movies there's really no reason to see this one. Save your money and just watch Birdemic or The Room again. Trust me, it'll be more entertaining than this.