THE MAJORETTES

Kevin Kindlin

THE MAJORETTES (1986). Director: Bill Hinzman. Screenplay by John Russo, based on his novel of the same name. 

Vicki (Terrie Godfrey) belongs to a high school cheerleading squad called the Majorettes. She lives her with elderly grandmother, Elvira, a stroke victim who is being taken care of by nurse Helga (Denise Huot), who has sinister ulterior motives for helping her. Helga's son, Harry (Harold K. Keller), is a creep who secretly takes photos of the majorettes while they're showering. One day he captures a killer on his camera, a figure who is working his way through the majorettes by assaulting them and slicing their throats. One of the victims is the girlfriend of football star Jeff Halloway (Kevin Kindlin), who gets revenge on a gang of drug dealers after one of them is responsible for another girl's death.

Denise Huot as Nurse Helga

One thing you have to say about The Majorettes is that it's unpredictable. There are about three plot lines going on here, and the main plot of the killer-on-the-loose is sort of jettisoned midstream so that Jeff can play Rambo in a violent protracted sequence. Kevin Kindlin, who acquits himself nicely in this (and made a few more movies), does well in these scenes, but viewers may wonder about the sudden switch in storyline. The actual maniac is revealed about halfway through the movie. Tom E. Desrocher has some effective moments as head drug dealer and suspect, Mace Jackson, and Denise Huot makes a good impression as the hateful Helga. This was her only film. Some of the kill scenes are well-handled. The director, who only helmed one other movie, plays Sgt. Sanders and screenwriter John Russo plays the coroner. The priest is played by Russell Streiner, who was Johnny ("They're coming to get you, Barbara") in Night of the Living Dead. The cast, apparently culled from local Philly talent, is better than expected for a low-budget slasher flick. The effective musical scoring and sound FX help a lot.

Verdict: Has enough good things in it that you wish it were better. **1/2.