‘A horror film with guts’
Slime City is a 1988 American comedy-horror splatter film written and directed by Greg Lamberson (Widow’s Point; Johnny Gruesome; Killer Rack; Dry Bones). Also known as The Slime
The movie stars Robert Sabin (Naked Fear; Undying Love; I Was a Teenage Zombie), Mary Hunter (Undying Love; Ghoul School), TJ Merrick, Dick Biel, Jane Reibel, Bunny Levine and Allen Rickman.
In 2008, Lamberson wrote a book about his filmmaking experiences on this movie and his oeuvre, Cheap Scares! Low Budget Horror Filmmakers Share Their Secrets, published by McFarland.
In 2009, Lamberson directed a belated sequel, Slime City Massacre, starring Robert Sabin and Scream Queen Debbie Rochon.
Plot:
Artist Alex and his girlfriend are looking for a cheap New York City apartment to move into and eventually find one. However, their gothic new neighbour seduces Alex while his girlfriend is away.
Following the incident, Alex begins to turn into an angry, melting monster. He finds that the only way he can return to normal is to commit murder. His girlfriend must learn the cult secret of the apartment and the brutal massacre that took place centuries ago…
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“Frequently gory, imaginative and full of wonderful slimy horror, Slime City more than lives up to its name. Fun, cheesy and surprisingly resilient considering the age it now boasts, whilst it is not a film without faults.” Blood Soaked Horror Reviews
” …gets progressively weirder and sicker, with geysers of multi-colored slime spewing from orifices, innards made of sausage links and scrambled eggs, killer body parts, and nasty Freddy Kreuger-style wisecracks […] one of the best unseen exploitation films of the 80s, a last gasp for grungy NYC filmmaking and a hell of a lot of fun to watch with a cold beer and a bunch of friends.” DVD Drive-In
“Despite the fact that the whole narrative is rather scattered it still works for the most part. All in all, it nicely falls into the late-night movie scene in New York City in 42nd Street theatres from the late 1980s. Director Gregory Lamberson did a good job with the inadequate resources he more than likely had access to.” Horror Slots
” … the strange thing is that this movie is incredibly entertaining, whether intentionally or otherwise. The makeup effects on Alex as he undergoes his transformations are well-beyond the standard set forth by the rest of the movie (not shocking given the SFX team also worked on Toxic Avenger and Street Trash).” Horrorfreak News
“This gam anxiety is best observed during the film’s wonderfully disgusting finale, where Lori’s legs, and, not to mention, her winsome feet, come lower extremity-to-lower extremity with torrents of yellow arterial spray and clumps of sausagey entrails.” House of Self Indulgence
“Though touted as a gore film, Slime City is really more squishy and grotesque in a cheaper Brian Yuzna sort of fashion, while the filmmakers really manage to pull out all the stops for the head-spinning finale. Neither of the leads did much beyond a handful of additional no-budget horror titles, but they’re surprisingly good with the latter particularly excelling in a role that continues to surprise as it evolves.” Mondo Digital
“You could draw comparisons to films like Street Trash, The Toxic Avenger and maybe some of Frank Henenlotter’s early stuff but Slime City is definitely its own beast. It might share a similar atmosphere and twisted sense of gory humor, but there’s enough going on in the film to make it unique and to make it stand out. This one is an absolute blast!” Rock! Shock! Pop!
” …it instantly draws comparisons to Frank Henenlotter’s Brain Damage (1988) and Jim Muro’s Street Trash (1987), though Gregory Lamberson separates himself with a surprisingly kinder tone, doing it all with far fewer resources […] While the direction can be cold, it packs some violent, messy fun and plays with some interesting ideas.” Video Religion
“As far as would-be low budget cult items from the ‘80s go, Slime City is better than say, your typical Troma movie. While the slimy transformation scenes and sloppy murder sequences are fun, the stuff in between the highlights can be rough-going at times. Still, there enough show-stopping gore in the last ten minutes to make up for many of its shortcomings.” The Video Vacuum
“It may be because it’s 30 years later or perhaps because of the low budget but the gore is enjoyable on both a comical level as well as not believing they actually went there. Gregory Lamberson author and filmmaker created an excellent 80’s B-Horror comedy in his first feature film.” Without Your Head
Previous releases:
Slime City was released on VHS in the United States by Camp Video in 1989.
The film was released in the United Kingdom under the title The Slime in 1993 by VIPCO.
The film was released on a special edition DVD by Shock-O-Rama Horror Cinema in 2005. The uncut DVD was re-released in July 2009, with Lamberson’s other features, Undying Love and Naked Fear, under the title Greg Lamberson’s Slime City Grindhouse Collection.
Cast and characters:
Craig Sabin … Alex (as Robert C. Sabin)
Mary Huner … Lori / Nicole
T.J. Merrick … Jerry
Dennis Embry … Roman
Dick Biel … Detective Irish
Jane Doniger Reibel … Lizzy
Bunny Levine … Ruby
Marilyn Oran … Selina
T. Clay Dickinson … Derelict
Terry Spivey … Seaman
Eva Lee … Prostitute
Jamie Johnson … Tracy (as Jamie Zozzaro)
Allen Lewis Rickman … Horace (as Alan Rickman)
Ivy Rosovsky … Rene (as Ivy J. Rosovsky)
Gary Stein … Mr Swan
Filming locations:
New York City, New York
Technical credits:
81 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Audio: Mono
Watch the trailer on YouTube
Watch the full film free online on Horror Central’s YouTube channel
