BA_Harrison Devil Times Five opens with a spectacular bus crash, the driver losing control of the vehicle in heavy snow, the bus careering off the road and rolling numerous times down a hill until it smacks into a tree. Amazingly, there are survivors: five kids, patients from the children's acute ward at the State Mental Hospital, and one adult, who the psychotic brats soon take care of. The demented youngsters trek through the snow until they reach the home of businessman Papa Doc, who has arranged a weekend get together for family and employees; concerned for their wellbeing, the adults welcome the pint-sized visitors into the house, unaware that their new guests are homicidal maniacs.Generally speaking, the success of a horror film that revolves around killer kids relies heavily on the acting chops of the youngsters chosen to play the murderous mites. Since all five of the children in Devil Times Five are absolutely bloody awful actors, the film fails spectacularly as a horror, with genuine shocks being extremely thin on the ground, despite the thoroughly twisted subject matter. However, as a camp piece of inept, trashy nonsense, it actually proves quite entertaining…Directors Sean MacGregor and David Sheldon employ some very poorly considered creative techniques, including particularly lousy use of slow motion and unnecessary freeze frame, all of which proves fairly amusing. A completely inappropriate, whimsical score provides further unintentional laughs, as do the highly preposterous death scenes, which include hanging via electric generator, piranha bath, and scythe swing.The film's array of outlandish characters are also a lot of fun: the crazy kids consist of army obsessed Brian (Tierre Turner) whose antics are accompanied by military drumming on the soundtrack, pyromaniac Susan (Tia Thompson), Sister Hannah (Gail Smale), who pretends to be a novice nun, evil moppet Moe (Dawn Lyn), and weirdo David (played by 70s teen heart-throb Leif Garrett) who enjoys a spot of cross-dressing. Of the adults, Papa Doc (Gene Evans) is a bully, his wife Lovely (Carolyn Stellar) is a big-breasted slut, Ralph (John Durren) the handyman is retarded, Harvey Beckman (Sorrell Booke) is a wimp, and his wife Ruth (Shelley Morrison) is a lush. Only Papa Doc's daughter Julie (Joan McCall) and her husband Rick (Taylor Lacher) are remotely normal, but this being a '70s 'shocker', even they don't make it out alive!5/10, plus an extra point for Carolyn Stellar as Lovely, who takes part in an awesome cat-fight with McCall that sees her top popping open to reveal her ample breasts, and who also gets them out during her hilarious death scene. Oh, and for having a couple of people listed in the credits with a very amusing surname.

bob_meg When you see an artifact like this film (call it by any one of its three titles, most of which are splashed on the static title card that is the hallmark of all true grindhouse fare) it reminds you of a sad truth. Namely, the only way a bunch of people with no money could make a film back in the day was to make some schlocky pseudo-horror nonsense filled with blood the color of orange juice and liberal splattering of freeze frames.I mean, technically, this film sucks. There really isn't any redeeming merit in the story, the acting, the photography...even the sound and editing are hackneyed. it is truly, as others have confirmed, a disaster. But is it scary? Lots of sub-par movies have had a genuine creepiness factor. Unfortunately, today...unless the sight of kids with weapons on screen, assaulting adults, is new to you...the answer is sadly no. The assault on a doctor earlier in the film is so badly set-up, edited, lit, and shot, that its hard to tell what is even happening on the screen (even in supposed "cleaned-up prints"). This makes the extended four minute attack just mind-numbingly tedious. Not sure why this got to some people.In 1974 that was probably very different. Aside from "Village of the Damned," "Who Would Kill a Child?" et al, kiddie carnage wasn't common place. And given the era...when many parents were in fact becoming afraid of their kids...this movie would have been far more disturbing. The archaic quality of the script really renders it as nothing more than a freak show curiosity, and it does deliver on that count. The cat fight in the beginning of the film is hilarious in its staginess and the ineptness with which its shot --- and this is how these zero budget flicks got financed, remember? You can almost see the plaid leisure suited executive taking the stogie out of his mouth and saying "Ya got two broads in a room together, dontcha? CATFIGHT!" I will give screenwriter John Durren, who plays Ralph one nod, though. In addition to having the energy to inject topicality into the script (it does have a moral indignation that is a tad refreshing compared to anything being written today --- at least it attempts to TAKE a position) he does give us a couple of very unsettling tableaux, mostly in scenes he embodies: Ralph semi-flirts with the young psycho "nun", Leif Garrett (in "BAD SEED to the MAX" mode) cross dresses and flirts with Sorrell Booke, and the femme fatale of the bunch sexually degrades and mocks Ralph, who is obviously disabled.Pretty daring stuff. A pity that daring couldn't have been laced with a tad more competence. Still, true checking out for a truly BAD (as in Dan Ackroyd's Leonard Pimpf Garnell character on SNL) CINEMA.

BaronBl00d This film is at times disturbing and well-shot and at others abysmally absurd and full of continuity issues. For its low budget - though it does have a cast with Sorrell Booke and Gene Evans and some other actors and actresses that have gone on to lucrative Hollywood careers(Leif Garrett comes to mind)- Devil Times Five has that creepy seventies horror film vibe going for it that makes it a treat to watch despite its many shortcomings. A group of mentally "acute" deadly child patients (5 of them) are freed when their van going to the mental institute crashes. They walk through the frozen, snow-covered wilderness with no food and little clothing yet fear not the winter chill. Soon they reach a very nice winter residence of one Papa Doc, his wife, his daughter and her boyfriend who works for Papa Doc,, the mentally slow caretaker, and Harvey Beckman who also works for Papa Doc with his drunken wife Ruth. Harvey Beckman apparently is a doctor at a sanatorium - one of the best - but he cannot see anything wrong when these children show up. He is so trustworthy that he turns his back on one with an ax. How did that work out for you Doc? Anyway, Beckman is played nicely by pre-Boss Hogg Sorrell Booke. The children soon invade the home and kill all of its inhabitants in a myriad of ways: death by drowning and piranha bites(yes, piranhas in this winter wonderland), death by being doused with flames and lit up like a Christmas tree, death bu a sharp branch impaling one from a kid on a swing, death by bear traps, death by hanging some guy looking at a generator but never showing us how that was even remotely possible, and finally death by a lance to the throat from a window closed mind you - a perfect throw through glass and all by a thirteen year old(or so). The first murder scene is done in a grainy, slow motion, black and white way which looks ludicrous and I had no idea what was going on. The rest of the murders are done at least in color though some suffer from the slow motion used again. Apparently there were two directors for this film and that leads to all kinds of continuity problems. That being said, the acting and atmosphere of this film are quite chilling. Unfortunately, some of these flaws seriously take away from the film for I found myself laughing at certain scenes for their idiocy. The kids are pretty decent performers and the older actors do nicely. The gals are attractive and Carolyn Stellar playing Lovely who likes anything with pants disrobes a couple times. She is the real life mother of two of the child actors - Leif Garrett and Dawn Lynn(who you may remember as Jodie Harper Douglas on My Three Sons - I knew I had seen her somewhere before!). I am sure it must be quite a treat when the three sit down and watch this movie together. All in all this is better than you might expect.

catfish-er DEVIL TIMES FIVE has so much that is wrong with it. It is very, deeply disturbing. It hits you viscerally.I think that DEVIL TIMES FIVE is worse than Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. And, I thought that movie left me feeling hollow and empty. WOW! DEVIL TIMES FIVE has so much that is right. First, it has a good premise. Yes, it's been done in other forms; but, this is a unique twist on the malevolent kids theme. Second, and, most surprising, the acting was quite competent. Not great; but, good enough to hold onto. Also, the plot moved forward very well... well, it did after the first hour.Yet so much could be so much better. The editing is horrendous. The sets are abysmal. The sound and soundtrack were annoying.Still...