Some films (and filmmakers for that matter) are just too easy to make fun of. And if you're gonna go ahead and kick someone while they're down, we'll, that's just plain mean. Which brings us to Murder Rock, a Lucio Fulci film that as far as the eye can see, can only be enjoyed as a guilty pleasure to the highest degree. So, let's just get that small point out of the way right from the start. Murder Rock is not a great film; it's complete and utter shit to be exact, OK? Now, that doesn't mean that Murder Rock doesn't have an audience, and I'm sure there are a lot of you out there (like me) who enjoy keeping a wide range of titles in our collections from filmmakers we admire, whether said titles fill a spot on the upper shelf or in the case of Murder Rock, the lower shelf. Murder Rock is for 1 of 2 types of people. Either (1) - you (for some inexplicable reason) admire and truly like the film, or are (2) - looking to complete some sort of Fulci DVD collection. That's really it, make no mistake about it. Which could easily be one of the reasons that this import disc is limited to only 1000 copies - grab 'em while they're smoking hot.

I'd like you to imagine the worst giallo/slasher film you've ever seen. No. Better yet, imagine the worst slasher film 'pretending' to be a giallo that you've ever seen. Now, imagine if you will, that this film had sexual relations with FAME and FLASHDANCE and spat out a little celluloid baby. The baby's name would be Murder Rock AKA Dancing Death AKA Slashdance (my personal favorite). I know that last bit seemed rather obvious, but so is the film, so live with it.

The story, centers on a very competitive performing arts school in which young dancers are always vying for the next gig. In the midst of all this dancing mayhem, is a killer, who has a very unique way of disposing of his/her victims. He/she takes a hatpin, and slowly inserts it into a woman's (usually sweaty) bare breast. I suppose, the pin is meant to puncture the heart, thus causing death. It's a guaranteed two-fer, how can you go wrong? Just about every time you see blood, there will be boobs along with it. It's dreamy exploitation goodness guaranteed. Sure there's more to the story but why even bother? I mean, why name names, instances or circumstance? It's really not worth it.

The onscreen action? It's mostly ridiculous. There are a lot of awfully bad dance numbers and I really think they're s'posed to be good. The Keith Emerson score is equally as bad, but this is another one I have to admit to liking, in a real cheese ball sort of way. Unlike his score to Argento's Inferno, which I truly think is one of the greats. There's not much about this film that isn't cheese ball when you get right down to it. Lots o' nudity and leg warmers. While there are quite a few deaths there's not much in the way of blood. Don't expect any of that classic Fulci eye-gouging anyway. Still, the killer crams hatpins into his/her victim's bare breast I tells ya! What's not to love? I'm going to hell for this one.

Image quality on this release is surprisingly good. The film is beautifully photographed with some great use of colors including some really cool blues and some really nice lighting techniques. Anamorphically enhanced at about 1.77:1 - this transfer does a fine job in getting the point across (whatever that may be). There is some minor print damage here and there, but nothing too monumental. Overall, a really nice transfer. The Stereo audio is fine, if a bit off balance between the music, effects and dialogue tracks. Also of note is the fact that there is a German subtitle track that you are unable to turn off. The subtitles runs over all of the audio tracks.

Extras are light and mostly (if not completely) uneventful. I tried to make out the menus as best I could (they aren't in English) but there's a trailer, still gallery (with shots taken directly from the film, big deal) and what I think is either a deleted or extended scene - either way, it doesn't matter, it's an embarrassment. There's something about a soundtrack on the extras page as well, but it amounts to a musical cue that lasts a few minutes. It would have been nice to have the whole soundtrack included as an extra though, that's for sure. I'm not going to discount how important a 'truly' special edition of this film could have been. Possible extras could have put everything in perspective and perhaps may even have garnered a new appreciation for the film itself. Maybe next time, huh?

It's certainly not Fulci's finest hour, and it's definitely not the way that we should be remembering him. However, if you place the Fulci name aside for a bit and enjoy Murder Rock for the glorious train wreck of a film that it is, then there's definite potential for much to be gained from this viewing experience.

Buy Murder Rock and many more awesome imports at www.xploitedcinema.com!