I saw this movie about 15 years ago for the sole reason that it was set in a local locale, and I gotta tell ya... it sucked.
Michael Nesmith was definitely the high point of this film, especially his song about being incarcerated with someone holding some pot. I can't believe I just wrote that...
Hey Mr. 223fmj, wassa matter? You no lika da chicken in the barn scene? How about the shootout in the cemetary?
Where did you see it? Do you live in the Northville area?
Did you know these guys went on to be successful in Hollywood?
I live about an hour and a half north of Northville, and that was the reason a friend of mine picked this for our "movie night".
I vaguely remember the barn scene, but I've gotta say, the cemetery scene was the most memorable. Oh, only after the jail cell scene.
It still amazes me that this movie was the beginning of a successful career for anyone...
The Northville Cemetary Massacre is a grindhouse classic. It's an exploitation classic. It's classic for reasons films like "Raw Force" and "Pieces" and "Beast with a Gun" are classic. These are guilty pleasure films where certain flaws are meant to be embraced. I had the pleasure of seeing a really nice, un-cut print at the New Beverly Cinema as part of their monthly grindhouse dbl feature (played with Satan's Sadists) and it throughly entertained a rather packed house. Hating on The Northville Cemetary Massacre shows a lack of understanding about genre films. To avoid further dissapointments, stick the big budget action movie section of your local video store.
shareI too can appreciate exploitation films: Blackula is one of my faves, as are several of the biker movies of the same era.
The only thing I don't REALLY understand is how anyone can consider this a serious film. I'd bet that the initial conversations regarding this flick went something like this:
"Hey, man! I just scored about five pounds of weed!"
"Cool! Let's make a movie this weekend!"
A big budget does not a good movie make. Just look at Pearl Harbor. All I'd ask from any "exploitation" film is that, if it's gonna suck, at least don't let the suck factor be the only thing exploited.
I like this one in that sort of "it's so bad it's good in a funny way" thing. I'm from Detroit, but grew up in Garden City so it was cool to see the scene shot at the old Jolly Roger drive-in that was on either Van Born or Ecorse road. In Taylor or Belleville.
shareBAD??? Oh man, I bought this on dvd almost a year ago & can't stop watching it.
"It's a Dog-Eat-Dog world & from where I sit, there just ain't enough damn dogs!"
And why would fmj say a good budget dosen't make a good movie?!!! Does ANYONE think this film had a big budget???!!!!! HA!!! It was obviously made on returnable bottles and some sellin'-a-little-weed money.
shareFrom West Bloomfield livin in Hamtramck and this came up on my Netflix and I thought it must be a different Northville but I guess not. I thought I had seen or heard of all the movies shot in and around Detroit but NEVER heard of this one. Lookin forward to seein it.
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