Halloween Edition: Sweet 16 (1981) Movie Review

Sweet 16 (1981) Movie Review

**SPOILER ALERT! This review contains the movie ending**

A girl who is turning sixteen moves to a new town where everyone she meets starts turning up dead. The movie had also had a subplot which involved several racist drunks in the town claimed that the First Nations people living in the town (Jason and his grandfather) had something to do with the murders and the crimes. This subplot only seemed to be added to confuse the audience with a wider ranger of suspected killers but had very little to do with the outcome.

This is one of the first horror movies in awhile where I felt that the character had substance. The movie takes place in a small town where the town Sheriff, Dan Burke (Bo Hopkins) is a good ol guy who reminded me a bit of Andy Griffith`s character in The Andy Griffith Show. His family would eat their dinners together at the kitchen table and he said things that are seldom heard these days like `Behave yourself, have fun and watch your manners`. I also enjoyed his daughter Marci, a Nancy Drew like character, who is not afraid to investigate and wants to be just like her dad. The main girl Melissa Morgan (Aleisa Shirley) is a lesser quality character who seems to have little going on upstairs and more around for the eye candy.

Like most horror movies, they point to a few characters who could be the killers but then throw a twist at you before the ending. Turns out the mother was the killer because her father had killed her sister who was in a mental institution and now every time she kills someone she is protecting her daughter and reliving killing her father. Confused yet. You aren`t the only one. After the twist was revealed in the movie, there is a scene where Sheriff Dan is talking with Melissas dad George Morgan who tries to explain what just happened to the Sheriff. If you are writing a movie and even the characters in the movie can`t figure out what what just happened, there is a good chance that the audience can`t either. 

Overall, I got what I had expected out of this movie (despite the slight confusion at the end). I was happy to see that it was one of the few movies with a title and a poster that accurately described the plot. If you`re in the mood for an 80s who-done-it style slasher film, than this one is for you!

Grade: B-

Check back tomorrow for a horror movie review from a 1934 title!