Tubi Tuesday: Destroyer (1988)

 With a Holiday coming on the usual day for this, I might as well move it back for you.

If I go a week without a random Streaming Film, I'll probably die, like some sort of clumsy Shark metaphor.

Over a Decade after I featured the VHS Box, let's check out...

A Prisoner- Football Player turned Actor Lyle Alzado- is set for his execution, but the power surges and he doesn't die.

In the chaos, an (offscreen) riot breaks out and everyone thinks he's dead.

...except for this lady (Deborah Foreman) who's having bad dreams about the Film's Inciting Incident.

Why?

Well, alongside her Boyfriend here, with hair that totally doesn't date this Film, she...

...is in a Movie being shot in the same Prison about 2 years later.  Sure- that's how that works.

It's a Women in Prison Film Directed by...Anthony Perkins.  I thought I'd seen every Film he ever Directed!

A big problem, however, is that Alzado is still alive- somehow- and starts killing people off...eventually.

You actually don't see him again for like 30+ minutes and then he won't ever get off-camera after that.

Can our Final Girl and Guy survive the shoot? 
To find out, stream this now.

A decent attempt at schlock that mostly works.  The Film is really a few very different parts.  It's not exactly the most cohesive thing you'll ever see.

You get- Drama While Shooting a Film.
               People Picked off by the Heavy

               Random Weird Stuff with a Guard

               The Endless Final Confrontation

Pacing-wise, the Film is very odd.  They, as noted, kill off people one at a time once their part of the Story is over...until suddenly Alzado kills off a bunch of people...off-camera.  We see the aftermath, yes, but wasn't there a better way to pace and show this?

For their part, most of the Actors do their jobs well.  Perkins- in his small Role- plays an exasperated man who thinks he's too good for this.  Was that Acting at this point?  Foreman does a good job as our Final Girl...when the Film decides that she can defend herself.  Those moments do land big, thankfully.  Alzado is a pretty-enjoyable heavy when he finally gets to cut loose.  He tries to go for a Freddy Kreuger thing, but mostly just alternates between sarcastic laughing and being mad.

Destroyer is...fine, I guess.  If you know what to expect from one of these '80s Horror Films, you can enjoy it.  It is oddly-paced- with a 20+ minute finale- but still enjoyable.  

Now, Anthony, I need you to really sell your disinterest... 

Fans of these kinds of Film will enjoy it.  The extra gimmick of Alzado as the Killer helps, but can only elevate things so much.