1986’s The Groundhog’s Day Massacre takes place in Ohio. Someone who is apparently known as Baggyface is obsessed with saws and killing people. He does indeed wear a bag over his face and he goes around with an electrical saw, though I’m not really sure how he keeps it running. Maybe he has a really long extension cord. Despite the danger of Baggyface, a couple still decide to have a nice romantic picnic outside. They eat, they frolic, and they toss around a frisbee. Eventually, Baggyface shows up.
The Groundhog’s Day Massacre is only 26 minutes long. About twenty minutes into the action, the screen is suddenly filled with static and we hear someone off-camera saying, “Technical difficulties.” The static goes on for about three minutes and then we get back to what passes as the action. I have to admit that I actually did smile when the static started and that “technical difficulties” line made me laugh. It’s film nerd humor and, more specifically, it’s horror nerd humor. Any true horror fan has seen countless low-budget films that suffered from at least one technical difficulty. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I can only assume you’re one of those “I love American Horror Story” snobs.) Tossing it into the middle of this film is a reminder that we’re not meant to take any of this seriously.
Shot on video, The Groundhog’s Day Massacre is semi-legendary amongst SOV fans, both because of its “so bad it’s good” reputation and the fact that, for years, it wasn’t easy to find. (It’s on YouTube now.) The title was obviously meant to poke fun at the slasher habit of trying to co-opt popular holidays. The footage is grainy, there’s next to zero dialogue, and three cast members were clearly amateurs. Heavy metal music drones in the background. Watching two people play frisbee is not made any more exciting by playing an 80s hair band.
(One thing that people forget about the early days of the Internet is that people would beg you to check out their “extreme sports” videos and then it would inevitably turn out to be just like twelve minutes of some douchebag with a manbun trying to steer a unicycle while Pantera played in the background. That’s what the frisbee scenes reminded me of.)
The Groundhog’s Day Massacre is not very good, but I imagine the people who made the film would probably agree with me on that. It does have a certain charm that comes from watching it and knowing that, one weekend, four or five people got together and filmed it and now, 40 years later, it can still be viewed on YouTube. The man and the woman who get chased by Baggyface are probably in their 60s now! I wonder if they know people are watching them on YouTube? That said, The Groundhog’s Day Massacre is only 26 minutes long and it really makes you feel every one of those 26 minutes. There were plenty of technical difficulties with The Groundhog’s Day Massacre and I certainly don’t plan on watching it again.
And yet, I’m still glad it was made. I’m glad that it’s still being watched. I’m glad people are still laughing at the moments that they were meant to laugh at. I’m happy for the people who made this movie, wherever they may now be.
This poster, which I got off of Letterboxd, has nothing to do with the movie and I imagine it was probably made years after the film’s initial release. You’ll notice that they corrected the name of the movie. As someone who still cringes at the typos in her 2010n reviews, I understand.
