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In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Sassy teenager Melissa (a nicely brash portrayal by fetching brunette Aleisa Shirley) stirs things up in a sleepy small Texas town. After two boys with the hots for Melissa are murdered, both folksy sheriff Dan Burke (the always excellent Bo Hopkins) and his inquisitive wannabe Nancy Drew daughter Marci (an appealing portrayal by Dana Kimmell) decide to investigate.Director Jim Sotos adroitly crafts a strong rural backwoods hamlet atmosphere, relates the engrossing story at a steady pace, and delivers a satisfying smidgen of mild splatter. While the strictly so-so script by Erwin Goldman provides a novel spin on slasher conventions by making horny dudes the key targets of the killer's wrath, the final explanation for the killer's bloodthirsty spree alas proves to be really far-fetched and thus dissatisfying. Fortunately, the fine cast of reliable pros keep this movie watchable: Susan Strasberg as Melissa's friendly mom Joanne, Patrick MacNee as Melissa's uptight archaeologist dad Dr. John Morgan, Don Stroud as rowdy hell-raiser Billy Franklin, Don Shanks as tough Indian Jason Longshadow, Steve Antin as the jocular Hank Burke, Sharon Farrell as perky forensics expert Kathy Hopkins, Logan Clarke as racist jerk Jimmy, Michael Pataki as smarmy politician George Martin, Henry Wilcoxon as aged Native American Greyfeather, and Larry Storch as a bartender. As a yummy bonus, the comely and slender Mrs. Shirley takes an utterly gratuitous, yet still much-appreciated shower and also goes skinny-dipping (don't worry folks, Shirley is clearly a good deal older than her underage character). Both James L. Carter's competent cinematography and Tommy Vig's shivery score are up to par. The less said about Melissa's hideously sappy theme song, the better. A rather flawed, but overall worthwhile picture.

Beautiful teenager Melissa Morgan is a bit of a wild child, quickly attracting the attention of most of the local boys; however, those lucky enough to get close to her have a nasty habit of turning up dead.This rather obscure 80s horror opens in classic stalk 'n' slash mode with a gratuitous shower scene, the 'sweet 16' of the title, schoolgirl Melissa (played by Aleisa Shirley, actually a good few years older than 16), giving herself a thorough wash for the benefit of the viewer. Normally, such a scene would be followed by the young woman, clad in a towel, leaving the shower to be stalked by a masked maniac, or would at least end with a false scare, but here there's no such payoff; it simply exists to get some gratuitous T&A on the screen, as does a later moment when the lovely girl goes skinny dipping.Not that I'm complaining, because without the occasional spot of nudity from Shirley, this would be a lot less enjoyable, the actual horror content being fairly lame...There are a number of killings throughout the film, but these are unexceptional stabbings shot in a frenzied manner at night, making them very disappointing for gore fans. The rest of the film consists primarily of dull police procedure, as Sheriff Dan Burke (Bo Hopkins) slowly pieces together clues to discover the identity of the killer, plus some clichéd racial tension between the town's rednecks and local Indians, none of which is particularly thrilling. In short, be grateful for the nekkidness when it happens.4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.

Melissa, the 15-year-old new girl, is the main attraction for all of the small town boys. But why is it that each person that shares a connection with her ends up dead by the work of a blade? Sheriff Dan Burke investigates with the unwanted but appreciative aid of his son and daughter – Hank and Marci.Easily the most recognizable player in this low-budget cheapie is Patrick Macnee which some of you may recognize from Waxwork 1 & 2(1988 & 1992), The Howling from 1981, '77's Dead of Night, and most notably The Avengers (1961-1969). He's held a long career in both film and television with a small focus on horror. Macnee didn't receive an important role in Sweet Sixteen so his appearance is limited. The rest of the cast do a fine job of transitioning each scene to the next so Macnee's presence isn't a total waste. Another well-known actress for the time was Dana Kimmell who scored decently as the Sheriff's daughter. She's still famous for starring in 1982's Friday the 13th: Part III.Sweet Sixteen doesn't focus on the murders too much but opts to hone in on the characters instead. This decision was a poor one because at no point do we feel overly attached to any of them, rendering this exercise pointless. In maintaining the proper mindset, we have to be aware of what to expect from an entry like this – so despite a very low production, this isn't too bad of a film for what it is. The twist ending is somewhat confusing and to spin things once more, an event that plays out just moments before the curtain call isn't terribly original but classic for the era. The run-time falls somewhere in the realm of an hour and 28 minutes and although certain segments are lengthy and dull it's definitely not the worst Slasher you'll ever see.

This movie opens with a totally gratuitous scene of a young girl showering, and if director Jim Sotos really wants us to believe that she's 16 years old, than that's pretty darn disturbing! In fact, people continuously mention her young age, yet the camera takes every opportunity to zoom in on her perky breasts and well-sculptured bottom. Apart from this rather uncomfortable obsession with nonage nudity, "Sweet Sixteen" is a fairly imaginative and sadly overlooked 80's gem, that is at least a lot more creative than its contemporary slasher colleagues. The ravishing Melissa is the new kid in a little Texan town and straight away all the boys school have the hots for her. One tiny problem though, her dates always turn up brutally stabbed shortly after. Melissa looks kind and innocent enough, yet she has this aura of mysteriousness surrounding her. Sheriff Burke investigates the murders, although it looks more like his annoying teenage daughter is in charge, and the search leads him to the town's old history. Obviously low-budgeted, "Sweet Sixteen" still provides a fair amount of scares, grisly murders and surprisingly adequate acting performances. The atmosphere is uncanny throughout and there's a convincing plot-twist near the end. To sum it all up, this is a modest 80's horror treasure, ripe for re-discovery.