Little Miss Horror Nerd’s Little Horror Blog 98

VACATION HORROR

What’s lurking under the beach or in the water? Who’s hiding in your hotel? We go on vacation to escape our daily lives, have fun, and make memories. No one wants to be eaten or murdered while traveling. This week, I review Blood Beach a favorite 80s horror movie of mine and make recommendations for some other vacation horror you may enjoy.

Blood Beach was released in 1981 and stars two notable actors, John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Burt Young (Rocky). These gentlemen are both stars in the own right and talented actors.

Catherine comes back to her hometown to visit her mother. She is informed by her old flame Harry that her mother has gone missing. The cops are stumped but when the missing woman’s dog turns up on the beach with his head bitten off and a 16 year old sunbather is attacked while buried in the sand they realize they are not dealing with a human.

I was ten when Blood Beach was released. I recall being very creeped out by the TV ads and posters. I was dying to see it but my mother would not have taken me to this movie and although VCRs came out in 1977, not many people owned them. I eventually rented this on VHS in the late 80s. I was not disappointed. This is a pretty solid movie for being a creature feature of the 80s. One of my favorite things about this movie is the score, which plays whenever the creature is lurking. I also loved the scenes shot at night on the beach. The dimly lit beach combined with that scary music terrified me. You never really see the creature so that fear of the unknown is there.

Blood Beach is at least to some degree a Jaws rip off but it is entertaining in it’s own right. If you are over 35, you have probably seen this. In any case if you have not seen this it is worth a watch. You can find it on YouTube.

If you are a fan of vacation horror you will want to check out this list of movies about terror filled travel experiences I have put together.

1. Vacancy 2007 – You and your boyfriend are on the way home from a party in a remote area. Your car breaks down and uh oh of course no cell phone signal. You both start walking hoping to find help. All you find is a run down motel. Against your better judgment you check in hoping to resolve your car trouble while there. Instead while staying in the room you discover evidence that the former occupants never checked out. Although this movie scared me shit less in part because it could actually happen it would never happen to me. I’m not going anywhere remote.

2. Frozen 2010 – You and your friends are on an afternoon ski trip. At some point you all decide to take a ride on the chairlift. Then not only are you the last to ride but the attendant forgets you are there and goes home. For some reason the ski resort will be closed for the upcoming week. It is now up to you and your friends to save yourselves. Hopefully that brainless attendant is fired!

3. Joyride 2001 – You are going home for spring break from college. The plan is to fly quick and easy. Before you can book your flight, you talk to your long time crush and she needs a ride back home. You tell her you now have a car (lie) and are happy to help! You have now set in a motion a terrifying chain of events as a direct result of thinking with your dick! Well men are stupid, so it’s no surprise Lewis (played by the late Paul Walker who is very easy on the eyes) would make such a terrible decision just so he could get some play with a pretty girl. I just watched this movie again recently and I’m not sure it gets the love it deserves. It is smart, fast paced, and creepy as hell. If you want to scare your audience less is more. What this film lacks in gore and death it makes up for in thrills and chills. You never see Rusty Nail, (the antagonist) you only hear him. And oh that voice makes my skin crawl. The man behind that voice is Ted Levine who played Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.

4. Deliverance 1972 – You and three friends decide to travel from Atlanta to rural Georgia for a camping trip in which you will go canoeing. You have already taken a wrong turn, literally and figuratively. You encounter some very scary backwoods types who do not seem to have any moral compass. The result is rape and murder. Deliverance was released the year I was born. I did not see it until I was in my 30s because what I heard about it was frightening to say the least. I’ve seen thousands of horror movies and there is a scene in this movie that bothers me more than anything else I’ve ever seen in any horror film. Let’s just say I can’t handle man rape. My advice to anyone man or woman planning a trip to the rural South is just dont!

That’s a few of the vacation horror movies I find the scariest. If it can happen which all but one of these is possible it is always scarier. Let us know in the comments or via email what your favorite vacation horror movies are.