Ahh we are in B-movie heaven here. An all-star cast of genre film favorites, headed by the always redoubtable Danny Trejo. A reincarnated killer with supernatural powers and a supposedly righteous vendetta. A pretty blonde who isn't as innocent as she seems. A drug deal gone bad. A crazy hotel clerk. And last but not least... one kill after another. Oh yes, these are the ingredients of that we see such films like "Reaper" for, and fortunately, it delivers! The film is what it promises to be, and maybe a bit better thanks to a higher-grade cast than one usually finds in such hotel horror films. One must add that it also has something of an '80's feel to it. A shame that this film didn't come out in that era... it's perfect for a late night Saturday trip to the local drive in theatre. Fun stuff

Danny Trejo is an actor I have long admired. From his smaller roles in masterpieces like "Heat" to his long-deserved go as a leading man in the campy but fun "Machete" films, he is a screen presence who is simultaneously intimidating but also somewhat relatable. Usually, he is relegated to playing a thug, criminal, ex-con, or just general bad guy, and rarely is he given the chance to pull in the audience emotionally. Rather, he's just the comic relief or the action set- piece. That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I came across "Reaper" the other day and found that while he is still playing someone on the bad side of the law (a drug dealer, in this case), he is actually given the opportunity to be a compassionate, sympathetic, and ultimately heroic leading man. Hooray! Here, he is the only one in a band of criminals who are being terrorized by a supernatural force at a creepy motel is who not just self-motivated but also trying to help out the other two young baddies as well. He's the only one who doesn't try to take advantage of the main hitchhiker, and he gets a beautiful scene where he relays to her his regrets about his lost marriage, the child who doesn't see him anymore, and the life he wishes he had a chance to relive. He offers the most substance in a film which is otherwise lacking in it, and he delivers easily one of the best performances of his career. That makes "Reaper" a MUST SEE for any true Trejo fan. The film itself starts off rocky and takes too long to introduce Trejo himself, but once it does, it gets rolling pretty nicely. The other two veteran actors, Jones and Busey, are in barely there roles but give some credit to the two young actors (hitchhiker and drug mule) for holding their own and helping Trejo carry the film. While the film is far from perfect, it finally affords Trejo a role he deserves. As for the titular "reaper" monster, forget about him! The real force here is Trejo, and "Reaper" is his show.

Following a score of strange incidents, a group of criminals hiding out at a reclusive hotel find their troubled hitchhiker target is the least of their problems when a supernatural being begins taking out everybody one-by-one.This here was quite the bland and overall uninteresting effort. The biggest issue here holding this one back is the fact that so much of what happens here is just not that interesting or enjoyable, which is mainly due to how this one starts off. The majority of the first half here is dedicated to thoroughly uninteresting by being more of a lame crime/drama rather than straight-forward horror film. By focusing on her troubled life-style and willingness to utilize her femininity to get the drop on both guys which allows her to continue being such a tease to everyone makes for such an overly bland offering. Hardly anything about this section works well in determining this one as being much of a horror film with the three different plot lines coming into play here that makes this one drag out the horror elements which come so late into the film that there's little opportunities for horror elements even before taking those elements on throughout the rather extended series of stalking scenes in here. These are just so overlong that it ends up really ruining the few attacks at slasher rhythms with the fact that the killer is so underdeveloped and completely clueless about his origins that he's quite unimposing long before having his first appearance pop up in the second half of this one. Still, once it does get into some of the more involved sequences here this one becomes quite a bit of fun with the fact that there's some genuinely fun sequences in here, from the rather tense stalking done in the middle of the hotel where the crackling bolts of electricity that signify its presence burst into the middle of the scene and make for a creepy time as it begins stalking the unwary groups still in the midst of their petty arguing and allowing for some tense moments, as well as the final confrontation in the church which has some creepy moments. Along with some fine action in the different races to get to safety throughout here, there's some fun to be had but it's mostly pretty flawed.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and drug use.

Unreal! This is absolutely one of the worst movies I have seen! I can't believe that IMDb allows so many FAKE positive reviews! So hopefully this will serve as a warning....This is why Reaper is so bad: Very Bad Writing Very Bad Story Very Bad Dialogue Very Bad Acting Bad DirectingSPoILERS Coming --- But trust me there is no way this movie could spoil any more-- it smells like it's been spoiled for years! Like it seriously STINKS!The first half of the movie looks like it is about a serial killer and focuses on a hotel clerk, who has "delusional vision" and sparks blue lightning, while killing patrons supposedly in the name of God. In the meantime we see a trashy young girl tricking a guy (Jake B) into going to the killer clerk's hotel, she steals his money, runs off and the clerk kills the guy. She meets up with another guy (the crappy writer of the movie), steals his huge bag of money and runs off with his car, only to break down and get into another guy's car (Danny T), who ends up at the same psycho clerk's hotel-- again. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, about halfway through the movie, a ghostly reaper, that seems to be spouting the same blue electricity the hotel clerk does, appears and disappears in a puff of smoke, until he finally kills the hotel clerk and seems to go after the last three people(Crappy writer, Danny T, and Trashy Girl). But in a weird twist, the reaper walks into a puddle, when he's going after Danny T, and seems to electrocute himself, making you now believe the reaper is a real guy dressed like a reaper but then making you wonder why he was able to disappear and reappear in smoke form. okeeee. Crappy Writer shoots Danny T, is killed by the reaper and a ridiculous and stupid ending happens --- Finally for some weird reason, the trashy girl is mysteriously chained to a bunch of crap, reaper puts a wire necklace around her neck and Danny T comes up behind the reaper and shoves his head in a --- a what? A barrel of water that just happens to be sitting nearby in what now looks like a church, with pews and everything... huh? WTH?! Okay, so a combo of the reapers own electricity shocking himself and Danny T drowning him in the barrel of water has caused the magical and now possibly human reaper to die. And finally the trashy girl drives off and picks up a hitchhiker when she leaves....the end.... until after the credits when the magical human reaper wakes up from his shocking face bath.This movie made no sense! It was sooooo stupid! First its about a serial killer, then about a supernatural reaper, who really seems human when he electrocutes himself and then is drowned and electrocuted but comes back to life like he really was magical in the first place. The bad actors in between all that nonsense really don't do too much for the movie and just listening to their horrible dialogue was torture enough.AVOID THIS MOVIE UNLESS YOU ARE A MASOCHIST! This movie is torture to watch.