Deadly Manor, A Giallo Type Slasher Film

The Spanish director, Jose Ramon Larraz, makes unusual films. The European director may have wished he was born in Italy instead of Barcelona. His films have a bit of Giallo (Italian horror) style to them. In 1990's "Deadly Manor," this slasher film set in New York state offers some unusual plot devices that set it apart from most American slasher films. Sure, we have hunks and babes beset by a knife wielding maniac, but how this film unfolds isn't typical. At first glance, "Deadly Manor" is flawed, uneven, and leaves much unresolved...unless the moviemaker is from "The Giallo School" of horror.

Three hunks and three babes take their car and motorcycle into upstate New York to find a secluded lake. Once there, they intend to have pre-marital sex, smoke pot, and drink booze. They pick up a hitchhiker, the mysterious Jack (Clark Tufts). He doesn't talk much and has a gun. A flat tire later and the seven travelers decide to spend the night at an abandoned manor, way off the main road. The weirdness begins immediately. In the front yard is a large altar with a wrecked car on top. Also, babe Helen (Claudia Franjul) sees a mysterious shape at an upstairs window. Helen, overcome with fear, decides to hike back to the road alone. Bad idea. She'll meet a slasher and be sliced up. Meanwhile, Jack, the three hunks, and two remaining babes head inside to get rid of the rain.

Jack busts down the door and the travelers enter. They enter through the basement and immediately see a set of coffins...all empty. Ominous! Instead of seeing that as a warning, the hunks and babes ignore that. They head upstairs and find the entire musty manor filled with pictures of a naked beauty (Jennifer Delora). The guys are entranced by the nude lady. Tony will even have erotic dreams about being seduced by her. Susan (Elizabeth Baldwin) decides to have pre-marital sex with her boyfriend, Rod (Mar Irish). He'll be sliced up as he looks for condoms. No matter, the slut that she is, she sucks face with Jack. One by one, the hunks and babes are slashed. Uh oh...the woman in the pictures may be lurking in the house. The chilling mystery of who actually lives, or lived, in the manor unfolds. Hunks and babes will die horribly and a twisted reveal is sprung at us.

Is the vixen in the nude pictures dead, or still lurking? Will slut Susan have pre-marital sex with everyone in this film...or be sliced up? Will the mysterious Jack do anything worthy of plot advancement? A strange slasher film with a wild ending. The ending will make this film for some, but keep in mind, "Deadly Manor" was made by a Giallo disciple. For hunks and babes dying horribly, pre-marital sex, and a mysterious nude vixen, enjoy "Deadly Manor."