Watch Scalps For Free

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

I wanted to but couldn't!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A group of college students find themselves being terrorized by the lethal spirit of the evil Black Crow (Richard Hench in grotesque make-up) while digging for artifacts in an ancient Native American burial ground.While this film suffers from sluggish pacing, a drawn-out opening act, and the unfortunate fact that the distributors recut the movie with flash forwards that give away the fates of most of the characters well in advance (thereby undermining any real tension this picture might have otherwise had), writer/director Fred Olen Ray nonetheless still deserves credit for making nice use of the desolate desert locations, maintaining a grimly serious tone throughout, doing a solid job of crafting a brooding gloom-doom atmosphere, and delivering plenty of nasty gore that includes a brutal scalping and a juicy decapitation. The acceptable acting from the competent cast holds the movie together, with Jo-Ann Robinson in particular a definite stand-out with her sweet and appealing portrayal of the perky D.J. Moreover, there are nice bits by Kirk Alyn as amiable old duffer Professor Machen, Carroll Borland as Machen's huffy superior Dr. Sharon Reynolds, and Forrest J. Ackerman as the bumbling Professor Trentwood. The cinematography by Larry Van Loon and Cynthia Webster makes occasional effective use of a dynamic hand-held camera. The shuddery synthesizer by Drew Neumann and Eric Rasmussen hits the skin-crawling spot. No classic, but worth a watch for dedicated fans of 80's low-budget indie fright fare.

Director Fred Olen Ray has admitted that his movie, Scalps, concerning an evil Indian warrior spirit, Black Claw, who takes over the body of hunky Richard Hench who, in turn, begins murdering his fellow college classmates/friends in gruesome ways after excavating the ancient artifacts from a burial ground near a sacred area called the Black trees, was badly tampered with by rude investors("The guys from New York")making the entire experience an incomprehensible, incoherent mess. Ray, through great trouble, has tried to assemble a film in it's entirety using what materials were present, but Scalps(..sent to numerous foreign distributors who themselves edited footage out and into Scalps), he admits, is still an improper version of what he set out to accomplish. I thought the film itself was rather dismal, but his audio commentary was both fascinating and enlightening as he thoroughly explained the painstaking process he went through attempting to bring this film back to it's complete form. The photography(..Ray proclaims that he at least worked with 7 or 8 DP's)is often really ugly and the cast doesn't help the director out. From start to finish, the film is a trial to sit through. The pacing drags at a snail's pace, and the dialogue can make your ears bleed, but perhaps the writing is hampered by those who say the words. The Black Claw spirit carries the facial features of a grotesque witch you might find in a Grimm Fairy Tale storybook. The gore often delivers the goods, specifically the scalping scene and slit throat which gushes blood. There's also an impressive oozing bullet wound to the forehead as well. There's an unpleasant rape scene where Richard Hench's possessed Randy throws his girlfriend down, ripping her shirt and bra, while forcing penetration as she cries out in horror. Ray mentions in the audio commentary that he didn't want to create such a scene but wanted to distribute this film into theaters and that "the guys in New York" demanded nudity during the rape. I thought Forrest J Ackerman's cameo, plugging his MOnsters mag, was shameless and inappropriate(..and it was clear that Olen Ray doesn't exactly condone it in retrospect). Carroll Borland(..the *vampire* protégé of Lugosi's Count in Browning's MARK OF THE VAMPIRE)has a minor scene as a college dean furious with anthropology professor(..played by former Superman Kirk Alyn)for breaking certain rules regarding artifacts he possibly confiscated illegally. My favorite scenes in the film feature skeletal remains left burning in the sun as either a rat or desert tarantula crawl about over it. The history behind this film is far better than the product presented, but Scalps is a definite example of what can happen when a directors work is butchered by others. The beheading is rather limply presented. The music alternately works and/or is tiresome.

this was a rather spooky and chilling movie that had several effective jump at you moments.I know what other people say about the films lack of credible elements but let me tell you one thing.When I was watching this real late at night on my portable DVD player with headphones on this movie had such an otherworldly feel to it it actually made my heart jump and beat quick at times.With the headphones on volume cranked up to blasting level,the superbly atmospheric music and super atmospheric locations went straight through my ears and I could'nt always pay attention to what was going on since there was some scenes that dragged on with nothing happening but i'll never forget how that music actually gave my heart a cold feeling.Something I don't get from a lot of well known horror movies I've seen over the years.As people will gripe ab out the inconsistent editing job I think it gives a movie an unpredictability that you can' t always tell whats gonna happen in the next scene or cut.Tfis is far from academy award-winning material but serves it's purpose well for a low-budget atmospheric horror premise.And it was'nt all about another cardboard masked serial killer going around and axing up the prom party teens as this one offered creepy otherworldly feeling locations and the killer is not human and comes from a stone that possesses them them turns them into actual mystical creatures and it actually shows one of the teens transforming into it as it passes around each person.Even if it is all undoubtedly fake I will give it a high rating in part due to the type of slasher premise and gruesome,effective shots but most of all what hooked me in the film was the music and locations mixing together.

Gritty, low-budget horror film from Fred Olen Ray. A group of teens on an archaeological dig disrupt the angry ghost of an Indian. One member is possessed, and by the end of the film, the cast is pretty much dead. The first half takes a while going nowhere, but a certain feeling of dread hangs over each shot of the film, and helps things move along a little bit smoother, especially when nothing is really happening. The murders come quick and are quite bloody, something this movie is known for. The special effects rank as pretty good, to just plain cheesy. The acting is passable and the characters are not a pain to watch. The film was shot on a pretty creepy piece of land, and it keeps the story moving. The movie is pretty flawed though. Scenes are shown out of order, creating confusion to a basically simple story. Some of the action takes place in complete darkness, which is just annoying. The video print I saw many many years ago was basically unwatchable at times. The DVD release is cleaned up but still pretty bad in spots. For the basic horror fan, this is fine for a view. Two And A Half Stars.