The Death Sentence: At the time of its release, prison-themed horror was about to get overcrowded. The Horror Show (aka House III), Prison, Shocker, Slaughterhouse Rock, The Chair, Death Row Diner… There was this whole little subgenre brewing where capital punishment would meet supernatural retribution.
Wes Craven’s Shocker would be the most high-profile of the lot the following year – complete with a big marketing swing at making Horace Pinker the next big icon, but Destroyer still managed to pull together a stellar cast including THE Clayton Rohner, Deborah Foreman, Anthony Perkins and of course, retired NFL superstar Lyle Alzado.
It’s far from a perfect film, but it’s got a great energy and it always gives me a buzz. Like Popcorn, this is a stylish horror movie made for the already-seasoned horror movie fan – but ultimately it’s a title that just showed up a bit late to the Slasher party, and the governor wasn’t calling.
-Pop
Destroyer was released on home video today in 1988, after a limited theatrical run in April.