I have had a deep fondness for TWICE DEAD ever since renting the tape in high school. I eventually bought it from the video store and gave it multiple viewings throughout my adult life. I always assumed TWICE DEAD was renowned in the horror community, but apparently, it’s not as praised as I believed because it’s seldom talked about. Although a large chunk of this movie centers on a rivalry between new kids in town and a group of ruffians, it has an ‘80s charm that’s always resonated with me. It’s one of my comfort movies.
Released in 1988 and directed by Bert L. Dragin (who directed just one other film, 1987’s Summer Camp Nightmare), TWICE DEAD is a haunted house horror movie featuring a ghost (in love with a doll) who appears in mirrors… The film begins in the 1930s when we’re introduced to an actor named Tyler Walker. Tyler stabs a woman as he dances with her while music plays on a gramophone. The dead woman then appears to be a decrepit mannequin. When the police show up, they find that Tyler has hanged himself. Flash forward to the ‘80s future and a family is moving into the same house where these ghastly events transpired. It seems they’ve inherited it from a great-uncle. When they arrive, a gang of miscreants who’ve taken over the abandoned home pose a threat. Yet, before they are chased away by the police, one of the hoodlums, Crip (Jonathan Chapin from Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers), advances the teenage daughter, Robin (Jill Whitlow from Night of the Creeps), and professes his creepy affection for her. This group of delinquents is essentially every gang you’ve ever seen in an ’80s movie. One always wears sunglasses and a trench coat. Another is a hefty flannel-clad motorcycle rider sporting fingerless leather gloves. And, of course, there’s a couple of hot babes. I accept that if I were living in this movie, I’d be part of this gang because I’m obsessed with their style – fringed leather jackets, pointy-toed black boots, studded belts and chains. However, the main reason I’d join is to seduce their blonde, mulleted, black Trans Am-driving leader, Silk (who I like to imagine was later recruited by the Lost Boys). Yowzers! My only reservation about being in this gang is that I do not condone cat killings. That’s where I draw the line – no matter how hot you are.
As the family moves in, teenage son, Scott (Tom Bresnahan, who starred in the Canadian horror film The Brain, released the same year), sees something in a mirror – but quickly dismisses it. Later that night, Scott finds some of Tyler Walker’s artifacts in the attic closet, including newspaper clippings, flyers and that creepy mannequin. While he sleeps, spooky shit starts happening. Over subsequent evenings, Scott alleges he feels Tyler’s presence in the house, but of course, mom and gun-totin’ dad think it’s another case of a teenager’s wild imagination. All of this prompts Scott to begin researching Tyler Walker in the local library. He soon discovers Tyler’s lover was his great-aunt.
An ‘80s horror movie trope that never gets old is parents conveniently going away on business trips, leaving their teenage kids alone in the house to fend for themselves against monsters, ghosts and hot gangs. The leather jacket squad must’ve been listening in on the family conversations because the second Scott and Robin’s parents leave, they’re ambushed from around the corner. Thus ensues a heavy-metal car chase involving a coffin! Knowing they’ll be attacked again later that night, Scott and Robin create traps to prepare for the intruders – Home Alone style. (My favourites are the spinning decapitated head on the gramophone and the monster puppet protruding out of Silk’s chest. However, what I’d like to know is was it that easy for teenagers to acquire chloroform in the ‘80s?)
When the gang returns the next night to get revenge, they break into Scott and Robin’s home with booze and metal (a party I wouldn’t mind attending). As Scott is handcuffed to a chair and Crip’s delusional romantic fantasy unfolds upstairs, unbeknownst to everyone in the house, Tyler Walker’s ghostly, murderous rampage begins. The remaining 15 minutes of TWICE DEAD is a fun blood-soaked rocker party gone wrong. There’s even a ghost motorcycle death scene! One thing that’s certain about TWICE DEAD is that I’m obsessed with all of Charlie Spradling’s chains, acid-wash denim, fringe, concho and leather outfits in this movie. She’s my new ’80s fashion icon.
