Black Roses (1988 film)

Black Roses is a 1988 horror film directed by John Fasano and starring John Martin, Ken Swafford, Julie Adams, and Carla Ferrigno.[2]

For the 1935 film, see Black Roses (1935 film).
Black Roses
Directed byJohn Fasano[1]
Produced by
  • Ray Van Doorn
  • John M. Fasano[1]
Screenplay byCindy Sorrell[1]
Starring
Music byElliot Solomon[1]
CinematographyPaul Mitchnick[1]
Edited byRay Van Doorn[1]
Release date
  • December 1988 (1988-12) (Home video)
LanguageEnglish[1]

Plot

A new heavy metal band named Black Roses plays at a sleepy town called Mill Basin, causing the town's kids to turn into rockers. However, what the town does not know is that the band is also turning kids into demonic monsters. The soundtrack features many prominent bands at the time such as King Kobra, Tempest, Hallow's Eve, Lizzy Borden among others. Most of the music for the band "Black Roses" was performed by the members of King Kobra, with Mark Free on vocals, and Carmine Appice on drums.

Cast
  • Julie Adams as Mrs. Miller
  • Carmine Appice as Vinny Apache
  • Peter Bontje as Flunkie
  • Anthony C. Bua as Tony Ames
  • Dave Crichton as Mr. Miller
  • Jesse D'Angelo as Jason Miller
  • Carla Ferrigno as Priscilla Farmsworth
  • Margaret Groome as Mrs. Sullivan
  • Frank Dietz as Johnny Pratt
  • Vincent Pastore as Tony's Dad

Black Roses

Original music performed by

Production

Black Roses was higher budget than his previous works such as Zombie Nightmare which he wrote and Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare which he directed.[3] After Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare which Fasano stated was shot for about 52,000 dollars and made "like $400,000 in sales."[4] Following this, Fasano stated that Shapiro Glickenhaus came to the director offering him $400,000 to make Black Roses.[4] Fasano contradicted himself during promotion of the film, stating the films budget was slightly under one-million American dollars.[3]

The film was shot in Canada as distributors would get a better tax deal for films when shot there.[4] Fasano stated later that the film was shot in Hamilton under the recommendation of Paul Mitchnick as he thought it resembled an American industrial town.[4] According to director John Fasano, the owners of the house in Toronto that was used for Black Roses were in the middle of a divorce.[3] When arriving for the last day of shooting at the house the crew arrived to it with all the doors locked and the lights out.[3]

The special effects artists hired for the film were Richard Platt and Michael Maddi after Fasano received a recommendation of them from Dick Smith.[3] The special effects team felt they were pressured by the eight-week shooting schedule of the film.[5] The opening scene with the demon band took three weeks to complete with Platt stating that team were "putting in 16 and 20-hour days."[5]

Release

An article in Fangoria originally had the film scheduled for theatrical release in Autumn 1988.[3] Black Roses was released on home video by VPD in December 1988.[6] The film was released on DVD in the United States by Synapse Films in 2007.[7]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on compact disc in 1988 by Metal Blade Records.[8] In a review by Bradley Torreano of AllMusic, he commented on Black Rose's music stating that Drummer Carmine Appice, who put together the group and makes an appearance in the film, was weaker than his work with Rod Stewart and Ozzy Osbourne, and noting that the four songs contributed by Black Roses included "two dull party song" and that their tracks "are quite terrible" while noting that the power ballad "Paradise (We're on Our Way" was "oddly listenable".[8]

Track listing

Tracklisting is sourced from the compact disc release.[9]

  1. Black Roses - "Dance on Fire"
  2. Black Roses / Masi - "Soldiers of the Night"
  3. Bang Tango - "I'm No Stranger"
  4. Black Roses / Masi - "Rock Invasion"
  5. Black Roses - "Paradise (We're on Our Way)"
  6. Lizzy Borden - "Me Against the World"
  7. King Kobra - "Take It Off"
  8. David Michael-Phillips - "King of Kool"
  9. Tempest - "Streetlife Warrior"
  10. Hallow's Eve - "D.I.E."

References
  1. "Black Roses". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. "Black Roses". AllMovie. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  3. Berrian, Roger (July 1988). "To Burn for Black Roses". Fangoria. Vol. 8 no. 78. p. 48. ISSN 0164-2111.
  4. Gallant, Kenneth (May 2013). "Black Roses - Heavy Metal Cuts Deep". Fangoria. No. 323. p. 48.
  5. Berrian, Roger (July 1988). "To Burn for Black Roses". Fangoria. Vol. 8 no. 78. p. 50. ISSN 0164-2111.
  6. Speed, F. Maurice; Cameron-Wilson, James. Film Review 1989-90. W. H. Allen. p. 145.
  7. "Black Roses". synapse-films.com. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  8. Torreano, Bradley. "Black Roses". AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  9. Black Roses (Media notes). Various artists. Metal Blade Records. 7 73353-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.