Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988)

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988)

Dir. Fred Olen Ray

From the safety warning at the beginning to the very last cut, HCH is a lot of cheap fun.

What separates it from the bucket-load of 80s B-Movie crap is the addition of a private dick, unsubtly named Jack Chandler (Jay Richardson), who provides an occasionally clumsy but primarily enjoyable hard-boiled medium-boiled noir-esque v/o. His wit and male weaknesses make him a likeable loser.

The hookers play up to the scream-queen, comedy/horror stereotypes in a fully self-aware script. Despite the title, however, there's very few actual deaths by chainsaw, but having Gunnar Hansen oversee them adds an extra in-joke for fans of horror (although his passionless acting is far from memorable).

It's released in the UK as part of 88 Films' themed Slasher Classics Collection (it's #6), but it only marginally fits that description, I feel.