Class Reunion Massacre (also known as The Redeemer: Son of Satan! or The Redeemer for short) is a 1978 horror film directed by Constantine S. Gochis.
Its plot follows six people who return to their old religious school for their ten-year class reunion. Strangely, they are the only ones present, and none of them know why. Although, the answer starts to make itself clear when they start dying, apparently being hunted down by a Serial Killer who has a plethora of disguises.
This film provides examples of:
- Amoral Attorney: John is a criminal lawyer who got several guilty criminals acquitted just for the money.
- Antagonist Title: One of the film’s titles is The Redeemer.
- Big Bad: The Redeemer.
- Bookends: The film begins with a young boy named Christopher walking fully clothed out of a pond (strangely dry) and ends with him walking fully clothed back into the pond.
- Boom, Headshot!: The killer kills John with one.
- The Church: There is one at the beginning and the end of the film. The priest holding the sermon at the beginning is the killer.
- Creepy Child: Christopher. Not only did he walk out of a pond fully clothed and dry, but the end of the film reveals that he killed a bully earlier. He also walks fully clothed into the pond at the end off the film.
- Creepy Doll: The killer is able to take control of a clown dummy to kill Kirsten.
- Evil Poacher: The killer is dressed up as a hunter when he kills Jane outside the school.
- The Faceless: The janitor, the killer’s first victim.
- Final Girl: Kirsten appears to be this for the film. However, it is subverted when the Redeemer magically takes control of a clown dummy to kill her.
- Gainax Ending: The film ends with Christopher walking into a pond fully clothed.
- Hollywood Drowning: Cindy’s drowning death looks scary, but it sounds scarier too.
- Kill It with Fire: Terry is set on fire after tripping a tripwire connected to a blowtorch.
- Monster Clown: The killer is dressed up like a clown when he attacks and kills Cindy in the bathroom.
- Religious Horror: Apparently, the Redeemer is killing the six to punish them for their sins. This can be foreshadowed in the speech that the priest from the opening gives at the beginning of the film.
- Stage Magician: At one point, the killer dresses up as one to scare his victims before using a trap to kill Roger.
- Trap Master: The killer is able to set up traps to kill some of the six people.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: The killer has costumes to make himself look like a hunter, a magician, a clown, and even his first victim: the school’s janitor.
