Class reunion Massacre -aka- The Redeemer: Son of Satan (1978)

"This third thumb is great for party gags."


''Teee-Heee. Uhh.... I was just....uh...fooling around with your make up kit."
"Examine your soul. It's to blame for the body's evil ways! It's the soul that pays!" Evidently, The Redeemer was conditioned by an elite group of murdering priests - hellbent on taking matters into their own hands.

A vigilante priest. A religious man fed up with immorality. A man calling himself 'The Redeemer' - Spouting out moralistic rhetoric with clinched fist and sweaty forehead. A killer. A murderer. A man who murders coincidently with their 'evil' deeds MANY years before Kevin Spacey did it in Se7EN.

What am I talking about amidst all the mumbo jumbo? I'm talking about a 1976 proto-slasher that did a lot of this first.

'The Redeemer: Son of Satan!" - which was later released on video as 'Class Reunion Massacre'....

Even before 'Prom Night', this movie depicts some unknown specter cutting up year book pictures of his future victims. He later puts together a faux class reunion in which our soon-to-be's are invited to attend this class reunion at their old high school.

Before all murders start to happen, and before we even go near the school gates, the victims are given some screen time - sort of a teaser of why these people (in The Redeemer's eyes) deserve their impending dooms by his grizzly hands.

A lawyer, a lesbian (gasp!), a vain movie actor, a supposed 'harlot', a woman who likes to shoot pigeons for sport, a glutton - These people comprise the faux class reunion with no clue of their impending doom.

To give a film a review in the state of mind I'm in right now would not constitute fairness, so therefore, I'll shy away from piecing everything together in order. I'll stray from one side of the field to the other and cover a multitude of random scenes that will pretty much tie any loose strings that would otherwise be evident in a full review.

A boy rises from a quarry - fist raised in air as in some triumphant stance. Ok. The same kid (whose clothes dry really fast) soon catches a church bus that takes him to what looks to be a small baptist church.

It just so happens that the kid is a member of the choir, and that a lot of his peers seem to dislike him for some reason. The kid never speaks a word, but endures a bully who confronts him with the dull blade of a knife.

Cut to: Rabid preacher. He's doing his daily fire and brimstoning - while wonderful edits gives us glimpses of the Redeemers sinning six. Most seem like normal people, with one thing in common - They all seem to have problems like everyone else, and are all invited to their tenth year high school reunion.

Upon arriving, there's no cars. No one except our ill fated six.

They quickly catch up on old times and make their way into the school.

What follows is quiet original in regards to the slasher film. It's kind of like a 'Ten Little Indians' rendention, but with a lot of added gloom and doom. They make their way into the cafeteria where an elaborate set up of food, music, and disco balls awaits them. Everyone is wondering where all their ex classmates are, but the glutton is mezmerized by all the food - "Who cares! Let's eat!"

He grubs his greasy little hands into the banquet, testing out everything from whipped cream to oysters. Wondering why no one has arrived, John the lawyer tries to call the owner of the seemingly abandoned school. There just so happens to be a pay phone that actually works. He reaches the operator, but then the lines go dead.

They make their way back to the cafeteria where everyone is having a seemingly good time. 'The Harlot' wants to go outside for some reason. She tries to find the janitor who let them in before. (which was actually the redeemer in disguise. He just so happened to kill the real janitor and place is body face first on a desk.)

They finally catch on that the real janitor is dead when they find him with maggots coming from his gunshot wound.Everything comes together when they realize they're locked inside the old school with no way out. One can guess what happens next.

Or crazed preacher roams the school, killing each of the remaining victims in disguises that fit their supposed immorality. A clowns mask for the supposed make-up wearing harlot. A suit and tie for the lawyer - sporting a gun. A made up thespian on the schools stage for our conceited actor that involves a large sword through the head. A hunters uniform and a shotgun for our woman who likes to kill live birds. The glutton gets fried (or baked) like all the junk he stuffs down his throat. We don't get to see what happens to the lesbian. I guess he brutalized that carpet munching lezzi so much that the censors wouldn't allow it. Who knows.


One things for sure, you'll never see another movie quiet like 'Class Reunion Massacre'. An errie feel throughout the whole movie keeps one on the edge, not knowing what's going to happen next - Gloom and doom by the truck load - A sinnister haze seems to infiltrate the viewing space.

This particular film did a lot of things first. It deserves more credit than it got, and I'm happy to see that there's an upcoming dvd release of this with loads of features. (Maybe)

I've actually spoken with TG Finkbinder (The Redeemer) many times, conducting two interviews along the way.  I'll post the latter in the near future.

In a nutshell, this is one of the better slashers ever made. I think the whole immorality tale turns people away. Many, after finally watching it a few times more, find it to be an absolutely wonderful little slasher. You will too.