In their review of “Saturday the 14th,” Variety described the film as “a pathetic farce which will seem frail even on TV, for which it should probably have been made in the first place.” Noted critic Gene Siskel called it “a feeble comedy.” Rotten Tomatoes has the film at a measly 9%. When I mentioned “Saturday the 14th” to my co-worker, he responded with a deafening “Oh, God.” I’m not sure if this flick even has a proper cult following. At best, people remember seeing the title listed in an issue of TV Guide.
Generally, when I write an article about a maligned movie, I highlight elements that I find genuinely good. Sometimes, the film as a whole is worthy of reevaluation. Perhaps it’s a picture that was misunderstood by critics and fans alike. There’s no misunderstanding here. “Saturday the 14th” is dirt-dumb. I will not argue that it is secretly brilliant; I will not endeavor to convince you of its hidden depth. Its title suggests a slasher spoof; the script lampoons Universal Monster movies instead. Star Richard Benjamin was also in ” Love at First Bite,” so it ain’t even the best vampire comedy featuring Richard Benjamin.
There are two reasons I’ve decided to give the spotlight to “Saturday the 14th”: the first being that it’s one of two movies about Saturday the 14th, which it just so happens to be. (That second film is the sequel.) Reason #2 is that I actually do love this movie. No argument will sell you on “Saturday the 14th” if you aren’t already on board for this kind of thing. What exactly is “Saturday the 14th”? Well, it’s a haunted house comedy chockablock with every type of old-fashioned bugaboo you can think of.
Horror parodies are not inherently bad. Broad humor can be done masterfully. Anyone who doesn’t think “Young Frankenstein” is an immaculate work of art is no friend of mine. Of course, I appreciate the truly classic horror spoofs like “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” or “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” But I tend to love the less-than-perfect examples of the genre. Corny jokes, Scooby-Doo-style antics, and rubber monster suits? Sign me up!
It’s not that I like bad horror spoofs ironically. To me, there’s just something cozy about them. Their handmade quality and spooky-silly style remind me of the Halloween season, a time characterized by both autumnal beauty and cheesy costume store props. Movies like “Spooks Run Wild,” “Transylvania 6-5000,” and indeed “Saturday the 14th” are weirdly magical to me, though I cannot call them “good” by traditional standards. Would I recommend “Saturday the 14th” to the average person? Probably not. That 9% on Rotten Tomatoes would likely feel right to them.
I won’t say too much about the plot. There’s an evil book (The Book of Evil!), a haunted house, and a menagerie of mad monsters. Real-life couple Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin play the leads, but the real stars are the haunted house and the ghouls. Many of the monster suits here are actually pretty darn cool, including a bathtub-dwelling fish-thing with a neato shark fin. Mummies, aliens, vampires, werewolves, and fiends of every kind dominate this picture, which is enough for me to sing its praises. In the words of Vincent Price, “I never met a monster I didn’t like!”
If there’s one thing I love as much as a good monster, it’s a stellar haunted house gag. “Saturday the 14th” has one per second. Eyeballs in coffee! Literal bats in the belfry! Ghostly explosions! Skulls in the cupboard! Nothing but “The Twilight Zone” on TV! It’s my party! There’s even a decapitated head, which is actually quite gruesome for a movie that feels like a Disney Channel Halloween special.
A couple of years ago, I rode a really goofy dark ride at a county fair. There were a bunch of disparate animatronic creatures that had no real connection to each other, scored by one of those spooky sound records they play at Halloween parties. To enter, you had to go through a gaudily painted facade populated with a bunch of horror movie icons that were just as random as the animatronics. I loved every second of it.
“Saturday the 14th” is exactly like that dark ride. No, it’s not “good.” But I personally love what it offers. If you’re like me and love cheesy monsters on parade, you’ll probably dig this one. It’s also worth watching because it predicts two major horror projects from the 1980s. At one point, the film references the original “Little Shop of Horrors” movie, which was released one year before the popular musical was first performed. And the house in which all the action takes place is on Elm Street, about three years before Freddy made it famous. Maybe “Saturday the 14th” is actually haunted…
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