Death Spa
- Directed by
- Michael Fischa
- Written by
- Mitch Paradise, James Bartruff
- Produced by
- Jamie Beardsley, Waleed B. Ali
Why it’s HorroRated
Death Spa earns its recommendation by fully committing to a premise so specifically absurd that the commitment itself becomes the appeal. The film pulls off an inspired trick by burying its haunted-computer plot underneath red herrings and a functional murder mystery structure, which gives the schlock a shape most 80s novelty horror never bothers building. Ken Foree brings a scene-stealing physical comedy energy to a supporting role that has nothing to do with the plot and everything to do with why the film works. The kill sequences lean into gleeful practical effects excess, a possessed Pec Deck, reanimated sushi eels, exploding heads, treating the health club setting as an endless source of novelty death machines rather than repeating the same trick twice. It's messy, overplotted, and considerably weirder than its reputation suggests, which is exactly the combination that makes it worth seeking out.
Synopsis
The Starbody Health Spa is Los Angeles's hottest new fitness club, run by owner Michael Evans and controlled almost entirely by an advanced computer system his late wife's brother David maintains. When patrons start dying in increasingly bizarre accidents involving the club's automated equipment, Detective Fletcher suspects foul play while Michael becomes convinced the spa is haunted by his ex-wife Catherine, who died in a mysterious fire years earlier. Michael Fischa directs a supernatural slasher that treats every piece of gym equipment as a potential murder weapon, escalating from a sauna rigged with chlorine gas to a full-scale massacre at the club's Mardi Gras party. Ken Foree co-stars as Michael's friend Marvin in a production that leans as heavily into camp as it does into gore.
Filed under
Quick facts
- Release date
- July 29, 1988
- Runtime
- 1 hour 27 mins
- Country
- United States of America
- Language
- English
- Content rating
- R
- Entry type
- Movie
Tags
If you liked this…
Chopping Mall
1986 · Movie
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
1988 · Movie
Tourist Trap
1979 · Movie