In my years of trawling through cheap movies, I've discovered that there are two varieties of bad films. The first is the 'enjoyably bad' movie, which is poorly made and doesn't work, yet is still fun to watch mainly for all the wrong reasons. You can have a good time watching these kind of movies. The second variety is the 'just plain bad' type of film, the kind that rests at the bottom of the pile. I know I always pick on it, but the first film I bought for review was the Filipino atrocity THE THIRSTY DEAD. That's just a plain, boring, totally worthless bad movie.ONE BY ONE is a film which falls into the former camp of bad movies. Sure, it's very poorly directed (by Bill Hinzman, the guy who played the famous cemetery zombie in the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD), the special effects are cheap and tacky and the acting is an atrocity in its own. Yet, I found myself glued to the screen, frequently laughing and incredulous at the antics playing out during the movie. You can't really get any more '80s than the beginning of this movie which shows a group of cheerleaders dancing to rubbishy music while a geeky photographer zooms in for a closer look. Creepy janitor Harry is also lurking around, pretending to mop the floor but instead getting an eyeful of the girls. He's the type of character who enjoys watching the girls undress in their locker room - and, coincidentally, the viewer also gets to partake in this activity. There's a lot of nudity which gives the movie a sleazy, slimy kind of edge.It doesn't take long before the murders begin, with the beautiful young girls getting their throats messily slashed by a killer in an army costume. The splattery special effects in this film reminded me of the ones in Friday the 13th, so at least they have something going for them, although the majority of the good stuff has been hacked out by the censor's knives here in the UK. Now, scriptwriter John Russo wasn't content to have his film that straightforward. Thus begins a complex subplot involving a wicked nurse (who also happens to be the mother of Harry, the janitor), who cares for an elderly woman. The woman's granddaughter is one of the cheerleaders and is due to inherit millions on her 18th birthday, which is only a week away. When Harry snaps a photo of the killer, his mother blackmails the villain with the evidence and asks him to commit one last crime; namely, murder the granddaughter on her 18th birthday so that her inheritance will pass on to her grandmother, who can then also be bumped off to make way for the nurse to claim the money for herself.Confused? Well, it explains itself pretty well on screen, although you have to admit that this premise is pretty unrealistic. These activities take up the first hour of the film, and while what's happening up on screen is pretty bad, at least it moves quickly and doesn't become boring. The acting, as I mentioned above, is dreadful from the cast of unknowns (overage actors pretending to be teens again), with the only familiar face being that of Russell Steiner, a.k.a. the unfortunate Johnny from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. It goes without saying that cronies Bill Hinzman and John Russo also find cameo roles for themselves to appear in.Now, "what of the last half an hour?" you may ask, and "why is this labelled an action film?". This is where the film gets really crazy. It's like at the hour mark, Russo suddenly got tired of his slasher plot and switched track into making an urban thriller. Two young innocents, Jeff and Vicky, are captured by a biker gang headed by a drug-dealer who has been turned in by Jeff earlier on in the film. They are taken to a warehouse, where they are beaten until Harry the janitor intervenes. You see, Vicky is THE granddaughter, and if she dies before her 18th, there won't be any money for his mother. Meanwhile one of the gang members rebels against his leader and violence suddenly erupts, with the rebel, Harry, Jeff and Vicky all getting shot dead. The biker gang flee back to their trailer to hide.Except that Jeff isn't dead. He goes to his house, grabs his dad's assault rifle and goes back to the trailer home of the gang...Yep, incredibly this film has now turned into a REVENGE thriller with the wounded Jeff turned vigilante! I really couldn't believe my eyes as I was watching this film, and the twists and turns the plot was taking. What follows is a highly cheesy shoot-out in the woods, with loads of stuff exploding and people getting shot. Things culminate in a one-on-one with the gang leader in which Jeff shows no mercy. Yes, ONE BY ONE is a bad movie. Yes, it's also an enjoyable bad movie, worth watching alone for the bizarre plot and unpredictable storyline. It's amazing the kind of films they make these days...

This film begins as your average run-of-the-mill slasher flick, with titular cheerleaders getting killed by a man in full camouflage dress. Is it the perverted/peeping tom janitor, the jealous football star, the European nurse or the zealot preacher? Well, the filmmakers lead us astray from the majorettes and seem to center on a group of thugs and their violent escapades - as the viewers knows that this group isn't responsible for the cheerleader slayings.The initial plot is abandoned as we are fed this side story about the thugs and the star quarterback seeking revenge on them for killing his friend. So we have a slasher film in the Cheerleader Camp mold initially and then have some Ramboesque revenge flick near the end.VIOLENCE: $$$$ (Plenty of it, seeing as how this combines the slasher with the revenge saga. However, if you're a fan of variety, then this will not appeal to you. All the majorettes get their throats slashed and the thugs blow people away. I found it quite strange that the high school quarterback had an M-16 in his gun cabinet. I supposed all future Peyton Mannings need semi-automatic rifles).NUDITY: $$$$ (Plenty of it as well - although that big '80's hair gets in the way at times. The peeping tom takes photos of the majorettes in the locker room and Sueanne Seamans has a shower scene that doesn't end well for the buxom beauty).STORY: $$ (There are plot twists, and then there are plot journeys. The screenplay wasn't quite terrible as it should have stuck with one genre rather then trying to mesh two. Also, writing in an Army arsenal for the high school quarterback was foolish).ACTING: $ (There is a reason we have never seen these faces before or since. Kevin Kindlin does the best job as the revenge seeking football star while Jacqueline Bowman - as the only majorette that doesn't employ an entire can of hairspray in one sitting - give the best efforts here. Sueanne Seamans and Terrie Godfrey looked a little too old to be portraying high school students, but without Sueanne, the filmmakers wouldn't have reached the slasher film breast-baring quota).

*No spoilers that I know of. Well, maybe just one.* I did so, partly out of curiosity/partly out of prurient desire. In most low-budget slasher films, back then (mid-to late 1980's), half the female victims were always cheerleaders. This one featured baton twirlers as the targets! "Something different, for once," I thought to myself, at the time.Well, I quickly found out the only difference was the clothing. Skintight, semi-sequined leotards. Not bad! But, not good enough to compensate for the acting (or, lack thereof). Definitely, a B-MINUS movie!The only reason I can think of for the sheriff being the slasher? He probably got lured into some humiliating trap by a majorette, on behalf of some overindulged jocks, back when he was in high school. Russo and Hinzman, however, obviously couldn't afford to film such an explanatory flashback. And, the only reason I give this 1.9 stars? IT'S STILL WAY BETTER THAN "CABIN FEVER!"

Weak adaption of a not so great horror book both done by John Russo. A hooded killer is out on the loose killing off high school girls. A local gang is a prime suspect. Full of red herrings, dumb plot twists, an an unexplicable change of tone halfway through the film and then again towards the end of the film. This film is a real stinker in all respects. Rated R; Sexual Situations, Violence, and Profanity.