Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare

More like a rock ‘n’ roll nightmare for the viewer

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+