A creepy, darkened furniture store sets the stage for this better than usual slasher flick. The characters are fairly interesting and the set pieces aren't too bad. There's a crazy nasty decapitation in the unrated version of the film (the Code Red Blu-Ray includes this as an extra feature) that will truly boggle your mind. It might be one of the best effects I've ever seen. Hide and Go Shriek has a lot in common with other 80's body count films like Chopping Mall and The Initiation, so if you enjoyed those, you might get a kick out of this. It's worth a look for 80's slasher fans.

"Hide and Go Shriek" follows a group of high-schoolers who have just graduated. Naturally, to celebrate their adulthood, they decide to spend the evening throwing a small party in one of the kids' father's furniture store after hours. But a cross-dressing killer has arrived to crash their party game of hide and go seek.Drawing on pre-established slasher traditions that were honed by many films in the early–mid-eighties, "Hide and Go Shriek" doesn't really get any points for originality. The setup is predictable, and the furniture store setting is reminiscent of the shopping mall backdrop in "The Initiation" or even "Chopping Mall." Kids have sex, they are effectually murdered, and a jarring synth score punctuates the deaths. What the film does have that distinguishes it a bit is the gender-bending killer, which, save a few rare instances, does mean the film was a bit ahead of its time. Director Skip Schoolnik plays with the killer's image effectively, providing eerie fleeting shots of a masculine figure in a negligee running through the store; the prologue of the film shows the killer being raped, which sets the stage. At other times, the killer appears in men's clothing, donning a blonde wig stolen from store mannequins. Each of the images are well composed and eerily rendered.The acting is a mixed bag, and some less-than-stellar dialogue doesn't exactly help matters, but by eighties slasher standards, the performances here are far from the worst. In true slasher fashion, the gore is ramped up here, with some brutal and inventive death scenes. As is the case with the majority of the film, the last act isn't particularly fresh or interesting, but the reveal at the end is definitely unorthodox in the slasher world.Overall, "Hide and Go Shriek" is not bad as far as eighties slasher films go, especially those from the latter half of the decade, a time when the well seemed to have run dry. The film doesn't offer much in way of surprises, but it is an entertaining and mostly well made film. The scuzzy, gender-bending villain who shifts from guise to guise is what really makes the film stand out, and is where most all of its tension and intrigue is generated from. 7/10.

Arriving home late at night,I began to feel like watching a nice horror film,with a simple plot that I could just sit back and watch.Looking through my main pile of DVDs,I first through the I would not find a film that matched my mood.Suddenly,near the end of the pile,I found a fun looking slasher film,which I had to import from Australia due to it not having come out in the UK.Pleased that I had found the eact thing I was looking for,I sat back,and prepared to have a slashing good time. The plot:After one of the group has failed to get his dad to hand over the keys to their family-owned department store.The group of four boys and four girls decide to break into the store so that they are able to secretly party for the whole night.Leaving their food and drink on the side,the gang decide to play a game of Hide and Seek,which has partly been chosen,due to some of the group announcing that they are planning to give their virginity away tonight.Whilst things start to really heat up,none of the gang notices that all of the "exit" doors are being chain-locked shut,by someone who will make sure that some of the gang don't survive for the next department store Christmas sale.. View on the film: Whilst most of the cast give likable performances,Scott Fults gives the film an extra bit of liveliness with his charismatic,wacky performance of Shawn Phillips,who seems to be an 80's Jim Carrey character that has somehow wonder into a slasher film!.Reading up the small amount of information about the film on line,it has to be said,that whilst director Skip Schoolnik (who would later have a character named after him on Joss Whendon's astonishing TV series Angel) and writer Michael Kelly (who has a good,funny cameo in the film)don't hide the fact that the film is being made very cheap and quickly, (with the total time it took to make the film being about six weeks!)with the real location being filmed in almost total darkness for the whole film,and a "lift" killing looking like something that Ed Wood would have left out of his films,Still,even with those things standing against it,the film still has some interesting moments,with parts of the plot being a pre-cursor for the "Scream era" slasher film Cherry Falls,Schoolnik tinted the final part of the film,to give it a great,"industrial" rusty look,and the slightly surprising ending being very influenced by Lamberto Bava's excvellant Giallo/Slasher Hybred A Blade In The Dark. Final view on the film: A very easy to watch and enjoy ultra-low budget Slaher film,with some fun creative touches.

*SPOILERS* The film opens with a "dramatic" sequence where a tranvestie man is raped (or at least that seems) by another man. After the tragic event the opening credits roll, and you have a peculiar opening sequence for a slasher movie.In the next scene eight friends plan to celebrate their high school graduation in a furniture store at night, owned by the father of one of these kids. Before the teens arrive, the owner of the furniture hires an ex con to take care of the store at night. Apparently, the ex con tries to start a new life and follow the right path. Unknown to him, the teens sneak into the store at night and start their party. As the night passes, one by one these teens are brutally murdered by an unknown killer that has a wicked concept of fun. After killing them, this killer wears their clothes. Yes, he even uses the women's clothes. The main suspicious is Fred (the ex con) but apparently he's not behind the murders. When the other 4 teens discover the dead body of their friends, they start a hunt in order to find the killer. From out of nowhere, Fred appears and asks them "what are they doing here?" only to be physically beaten down by one of the boys. They think they found the killer when suddenly, the real killer makes a frightening and weird introduction. Who will survive? What's the identity of the killer? and what's his relation with Fred? I had the chance to watch this little known slasher for the first time two years ago on late night cable. After watching it, I thought that the premise was interesting (highly based on Chopping Mall from 1986). I thought that this was a recommended slasher, better than the average.I've had the chance to watch "Hide and Go Shriek" 3 times in the past 2 years and my opinion has changed. This is an average slasher, it has the elements that made the genre popular, but clearly it's not one of the bests out there. There's decent gore (the decapitation is the best kill), and a creepy atmosphere (the mannequins added a touch of uncertainness and fright). O the bad side, the acting is terrible, the score is boring and repetitive, and the plot turns boring and tedious after the first 30 mins. Bunky Jones is hot! she's candy for the eye. The best about the film is the ending which is truly shocking, not because it's great or innovative, but it's something you don't expect. Disgusting. This is just a film for slasher fans, those who enjoy the greatness of this genre. Not for everyone!Anyways, give this slasher a try only if you are a die hard fan of the genre. Watch it with low expectations. 5/10. I have warned you!