Northville Cemetery Massacre (1976)

Directors: William Dear, Thomas Van Dyke

Writers: William Dear, Thomas Van Dyke, Jim Pappas

Composer: Michael Nesmith

Starring: David Hyry, J. Craig Collicut, Carson Jackson, Jan Sisk, Herb Sharples, Len Speck, Beatrice Endahl, Harry Endahl, Brook Evens, Jill Biggers

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The day that law and order went beserk...

Plot: Mayhem starts when a gang of bikers is accused of a sadistic rape in a small town.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Probably not.

When you go into movies like this you don't expect much, at least I don't.  So when one turns out to actually be pretty good, it takes me by surprise and I like pleasant surprises.  The acting is all over the place but that's to be expected since a lot of these folks aren't actors and most belong to an actual motorcycle gang/club and that only adds to the authenticity of the picture.  Hell, some of those cats do a better job acting that some working actors I've seen.  The laid back attitude the film takes with letting us get to know these kids helps establish them as largely sympathetic.  They might be breaking the law sometime but it's almost always for something relatively innocent.  Once the picture turns to the dark side and people start dying (and a lot of people die...it's one of those rare times where an exploitation movie's title rings true) it gets even better and the film gets very focused.  The only thing I didn't like at all was the over-the-top, flamboyancy of the gun dealer.  This flick didn't need that kind of cartoon humor and it would've been best served with something a lot more subtle.  It sucked the momentum dry.  Once we're done with that guy then it's all in for the final showdown.  It's a bloody film which is unusual for a biker picture.  You expect a little gunshot blood but not as much as this picture delivers.  In that regard, it's great. There's a little skin but only in one scene.  Biker films are an odd bunch in that it's the independent low/no budget ones that tend to be better than their Hollywood counterparts.  It makes sense why that is given the nature of the subject matter.