“Plasterhead,” which is an awkward title at the very least, is your standard slasher film with a plausible origin tale for its villain and characters who have to do stupid things in order to progress the plot. It is, however, better than your average low budget horror film. The actors, with a few exceptions, are comfortable in their roles (even when utilizing horrible fake accents), and the cinematography hits all the right marks.
The story is nothing new. A masked killer (Brian Dixon) kills anyone who gets near his “hideout.” His motives are the obvious ones of self-preservation and revenge, but he didn’t start out bad. What made this monster (named Plasterhead because his head is wrapped in plaster) is nothing more than racism. Before he became Plasterhead, Ray Williams was a black truck driver who made the mistake of stopping off in a West Virginia bar on pay day. The local good ol’ boys did a number on him and left him for dead in a field. The local sheriff covered it up, and people started disappearing. Enter a group of friends who are on their way to Miami when they find a discarded purse containing a good amount of money. Stupid decision follows stupid decision, and soon this group of friends is on everyone’s hit list.
As mentioned earlier, this film breaks no real new ground in the slasher genre. It is an enjoyable romp for horror fans, though. (Those who don’t like horror movies will have no reason to see this one.) There’s just enough originality to keep things interesting, but not enough to elevate it to the heights of a classic.
That’s “good enough,” however, when it comes to a genre that apes almost every film that has come before it. So enjoy this one before a sequel comes out and ruins a good thing.
