Steve Railsback gave two iconic performances early in his career. The first was playing Charles Manson in Helter Skelter. For a generation of kids that stayed up late to sneak watch the two parts, Railsback’s version of Manson eclipsed the actual cult leader who ordered his followers to kill. He followed this up a few years later with The Stunt Man. He’s a drifter with a dark secret that gets sucked into an out-of-control movie production with Peter O’Toole as the over-the-top director. Railsback always brings the goods when he plays an edgy character. In Deadly Games, you kind of suspect that his character is up to more than running movies and projecting 35mm movies.
Keegan (The Parallax View‘s Jo Ann Harris) returns home when her sister dies under mysterious circumstances. She gets tight with the investigating homicide detective Roger Lane (The Baby Maker‘s Sam Groom), but he doesn’t have any real leads. While he flirts with her, he’s a bit of a nerd. The cop enjoys playing a monster board game with his buddy Billy (Turkey Shoot‘s Steven Railsback). Keegan suspects the killer might have known her sister and been part of her circle of friends. This group includes Colleen Camp (Valley Girl) and Dick Butkus (Hamburger: The Motion Picture and Chicago Bears legend). Are they secret swingers and one of them got angry at the sister hooking up with the wrong person? Keegan’s sister it turns out isn’t the only woman to perish under mysterious circumstances. Before she can investigate on her own, she gets drawn into playing the board game with Roger and Billy at the vintage movie theater that Billy runs. Is she really going to find her sister’s killer or be the next victim?
Deadly Games feels like an American attempt at an Italian Giallo film. The mysterious killer wears a black ski mask and gloves. We get plenty of close ups of the gloved hand holding a knife like in a Dario Argento film. So many of the American slasher films from this time dealt with teenage casts being hacked away. This movie focuses on a group of adults which is why it feels more influenced by the Italian imports and not going straight for the Friday The 13th box office. The killing scenes do create a sense of high tension. Even though Deadly Games uses a board game as a major theme, the plot meanders outside the lines. Roger doesn’t seem to be a cop who sticks that hard to the case. He seems more up for playing touch football with Dick Butkus than exposing the killer. In the middle of the film, we’re taken out of the tension with a montage of Keegan, Roger and Billy having fun around town while a soft rock song plays. It sounds like one of those great “the producer made an arrangement for this great song” moments since the singing stomps over the touching dialogue. This clumsy mix adds to the texture of the film.
What makes the film extremely engrossing is the casting of Steve Railsback. When he’s on the screen, his character of Billy seems like the obvious killer. He’s the outsider of the group of party people. He doesn’t get into the pool with everyone. He’s the one who has the job that keeps them isolated in the decaying projection booth. He’s so awkward around Keegan. How could Charles Manson not be the killer? Can the film really be that obvious? You’ll have to roll the dice and watch Deadly Games.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer is probably the best Deadly Games has ever looked after a life on VHS. You get to see plenty of details on the game board. The audio is DTS-HD MA mono. The movie is subtitled.
Audio Commentary with The Hysteria Continues gives more details about the film, cast and crew from the guys behind the podcast.
Sooty’s a Sh*t (24:15) catches up with actor Jere Rae-Mansfield. She claims to have died in every Aaron Spelling series ever made. She mentions why the film was originally called “Who Fell Asleep.” She also discloses the original game being played by the gloved hand. She has a great story of how she got the role.
Practical Magic (21:39) gives special effects and stunt coordinator John Eggett a chance to give away a few screen tricks. He was a truck driver in California. He got his big break when a movie company’s helicopter crashed on a farm where he was supposed to do a pickup. He volunteered to blow up the helicopter and it led to him working on Gas Pump Girls. He goes into the scene of the girl being drowned in a swimming pool using a coat hanger. He enjoys making horror movies, but hates watching them because he’s so critical of everything in the frame.
Image Galleries include promotional pictures, advertising to sell the VHS to rental stores, newspaper advertisement clip art and the VHS wraps. There are also over 60 photos taken behind the scenes. The cast plays football with Hall of Famer Dick Butkus. He’s wearing his Chicago Bears 51 jersey.
Trailer (1:58) sets up this is a deadly game involving the cast. It almost plays like an Italian Giallo flick with all the scares and the gloved hand playing the board game between attacks.
Arrow Video presents Deadly Games. Directed by Scott Mansfield. Screenplay by Scott Mansfield. Starring Alexandra Morgan, Jo Ann Harris, Sam Groom, Saul Sindell, Steve Railsback, Denise Galik, Dick Butkus, Christine L. Tudor, Robin Hoff, Jere Rae Mansfield, Colleen Camp & June Lockhart. Rating: Rated R. Running Time: 95 minutes. Release Date: February 22, 2022.
