[Duke Nukem]

The "Halloween/Friday The 13th" Rip-offs:

The Final Terror (1981-83) - Filmed in 1981, but not released until 1983. That is not a reason to stay away from it, just trivia. It is set on a field trip in the woods, and what separates it from most of the other rip-offs is that it is purely derivitive of "Friday The 13th." Not that there's anything wrong with that. It definitely has its moments, but has a lower bodycount and attempts to be more suspenseful. Nothing wrong with that, either. It was directed by Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive") and features Daryl Hannah ("Splash"), Rachel Ward ("Night School," another rip-off) and Joe Pantoliano ("Bound," The Matrix," and "The Fugitive" again) in early roles. A solid rip-off and slasher film.

**1/2

Terror Train (1980) - Poor Jamie Lee Curtis. She can't babysit on Halloween. She can't go to her prom. She can't have a wonderful time with Tom Atkins in a seaside town. And after graduating from college, she can't even celebrate New Year's Eve on a train and party like it's 1980. Another solid rip-off and slasher film.

**1/2

The Mutilator (1985) - A group of young people stay at a cabin by a lake and a killer targets them. Yawn. This is an extremely uninspired rip-off and it sucks. Really cheap production. Thought "Blood Lake" (** from me) was bad? I found this to be worse.

*1/2