The Nail Gun Massacre (1985 Video) User Reviews (53)

Atmospheric schlock

[drownsoda90 · 5/10 · 30 September 2016]

"The Nail Gun Massacre" is everything it sounds like—a psychopath is roaming the backwoods of Texas with a souped-up nail gun, turning men and women into human pincushions. Could it be related to a brutal rape that occurred some six months prior? An obvious riff in title on "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and boasting an opening rape scene unabashedly culled from "I Spit on Your Grave," "The Nail Gun Massacre" is an unabashedly derivative mid-80s riff on slasher conventions, pulled together on a shoestring budget.

As bad as it sounds, I feel that this film has gotten a lot of heat from web critics who aren't really taking it on its own terms—this is not Bergman, Tarkovsky, or Kubrick—it isn't high art. It's a film whose singular distinguishing element is that its killer's weapon of choice is a nail gun. My point being, "The Nail Gun Massacre" doesn't claim to be anything other than what it is, and most horror audiences (especially those who have a taste for these older exploitation films) should know this.

That aside, the film is not a technical masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. The murder scenes are surprisingly better than one would expect given the shoestring budget, and never cease to be elaborate or grotesque. A pulsing synth score accompanies most of the scenes, and is admittedly a bit overbearing, while the killer hurls goofy one-liners at the victims in an inexplicable robot voice. The acting overall is bad, but passable by eighties slasher standards. Most of the men are buffoons, and the women prancing around naked. In spite of those caveats though, the film does capture the quiet backwoods of Texas rather effectively, and it is an extremely atmospheric film given all of its shortcomings. The photography of the woods captures a strange foreboding that, whether intentional or just a happy accident, is far more nuanced than anything else about the film.

All in all, "The Nail Gun Massacre" is, at least as far as eighties slashers go, not nearly as bad of a film as some may lead you to believe. It's schlocky, gratuitous, and at times badly acted, but isn't that what we love these films for? It at least has the distinguishing feature of a nail gun- obsessed killer, and it also excels at capturing the dreariness of sleepy backwoods Texas, which is more than one would necessarily expect. 5/10.

Hurrah for boobies!

[Tikkin · 4/10 · 25 April 2006]

Every horror collector worth their salt will at least have heard of The Nail Gun Massacre. It's such a tempting title isn't it? I finally gave in and bought the special edition DVD. This film is one big mess from start to finish, but you already knew that. The most interesting thing in it was breasts, big huge breasts at that! One woman has breasts so big that they're all you (and the cameraman) can focus on. The biggest problem with Nail Gun Massacre is that you can't really hear what anyone is saying, making it hard to follow. Every time someone speaks there's a horrible noise that sounds like a passing train. Perhaps this was to cover the bad acting? If anything they should have removed it and let the actors do their thing, no matter how untalented they are. At least we can laugh at them then! The sound is atrocious, half the time the background noise is louder than what people are saying. You also can't hear the supposedly "funny" lines from the killer, as the voice is too distorted.

It does have it's good moments though. You can't help but laugh at such an inept film, with scenes such as a couple 'doing it' against a tree, where all you can see is the mans white ass jiggling around. The best part for me was when the killer says to the big breasted woman: "Get inside, big tits!" And there's another hilarious scene where a woman gets hysterical and says "I'm gonna die, I know I'm gonna die!" I would say the film was worth watching just for those two scenes!

For a low budget "so bad it's good" film, The Nail Gun Massacre is nothing special. There's other low budget films that are much funnier such as The Suckling and They Don't Cut The Grass Anymore (the acting is worse than Nail Gun Massacre, yet more hilarious).

See nails, then die

[daniel-mannouch · 4/10 · 15 September 2018]

Nothing fills me with life quite like a blu-ray release of a notorious trash movie. Now, coming out the other end of the experience, it's good to sum it up as better remembered as a fever dream (platitude) than experienced as Lebron James (meme).

The experience played like an Andy Milligan film, only that it was directed by a normal person. Meaning it is clear that restrictions regarding time and resources, and not severe neuroses, led to such impoverished production values. The late writer/director/producer/stuntman/SFX artist/used car salesman Terry Lofton (A parallel universe's Tobe Hooper) was evidently what every small town white male fears of becoming after leaving film school, if his solo effort is anything to go by.

Despite the obvious, the hilarious and the original, an evident love of movies, especially the genre he's operating in, flourishes in Nail Gun Massacre, like sunflowers blooming in a drought. Because amidst the awful, awful, awful, awful pacing, the slapdash sound mix, the befuddled locals playing actor and the nothingness that is the death scenes (In a slasher!), it is still coherent, which is a feat considering Lofton's burdens of naturally lit 16mm film and linear editing devices.

Such consideration gave me the go ahead to even try and defend what is very much a deserved contender for worst horror movie ever to receive an international release. I say it this way because comparisons with non entities such as Black Devil Doll From Hell, Las Vegas Bloodbath and Axe Em would be just plain childish. I willingly await to be challenged on this declaration as i'm a connoisseur if you haven't already sussed that out.

There is enjoyment to be had from Nail Gun Massacre. What the 80's overlords painted slasher movies as, this is it, kinda. Whole scenes exist only to show good ol apple pie sex and nudity (shot with X rated artlessness) whilst the narrative remains threadbare. Just a lot of killing and a lot of head scratching from authorities about why the killing is happening. Exposition and Piercings, in just two words i have explained this film. There is not a more unpretentious entry in the entire slasher genre, which already at the time of release of Lofton's opus was one the most unpretentious cycles in the history of cinema.

Thank Christ! If only all torture films were such magnificent (unaided) technical failures such as this. Who knows, i might actually give a crap about horror post 1995. The complete absence of resources found in Nail Gun Massacre leaves only on screen the distilled determination of all involved (and regarding some, derangement) to get through whilst the production crumbles around them.

It's a film about Humanity as much as it is about grinded down (and not rubber) nail stubs glued onto a face. And if a humane horror film is not for you, then so be it. Now don't forget to Pokemon go to the polls!

has to be seen to be believed...

[mcfly-31 · 12 November 2000]

A nice little independent film from Texas? Not even close. Some guy named Terry Lofton wrote the story, screenplay, also directed and even had a bit part in his little movie, about an embittered construction worker who goes around with the title weapon, blasting people who raped a woman in opening moments of the film. The killings should provide you with the best laughs of your life. The gun makes some sort of machine gun noise, and we always see the nails AFTER they have entered the victim's body, never flying thru the air and then hitting them. One dude takes one in the privates, a couple girls get them in the boobs and at one point, two girls, who appear to be walking on a country road in an abondoned area somewhere in another city, show up for the purpose of being pierced. If this was a major motion picture, it might be called a revenge melodrama, but it is in fact a super low budget slasher pic. It contains everything a bottom of the barrell film should: shoddy effects, bad (oops, horrible) acting, awful lighting and an ultra annoying music score that sounds like a keyboard chuckling. But the one saving grace, the killer is hilarious! He's a Freddy Krueger type, cackling wisecracks before doing in his victims. He also doesn't wear the usual psycho garb, as he's decked out in camoflauge and dark helmet, with an oxygen tank in back. Check it out for that sole reason. Be warned though, that the film moves incredibly, agonizingly slow when he's not on screen. When there aren't people getting nailed, we get talky, yawn-a-minute exchanges between cast members. So long, that you'll be glad when they get gunned down. Another problem would be obtaining the film itself, it's a pretty rare find. I bumped into it at a Blockbuster in a little San Diego suburb called Rancho Penasquitos and have yet to come across it again. With all the films' flaws the worst one is that awful acting. It's as if this Lofton guy went around asking his friends "hey, wanna be in my movie??" Even the nude babes are annoying, the first girl with the whitest breasts ever seen, the last girl being VERY impressive. I'd expect a number of sequels if this were a big budget pic, but 15 years later, there has been no follow up to the self proclaimed "penetrating love story".

A shockingly bad mega-low budget slasher.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 28 July 2007]

Power-tools and tits: a classic combination of horror movie ingredients that, as far as I'm concerned, almost always guarantees a good time (I know, I know... I'm easily pleased). However, there are always exceptions to prove the rule, and, despite plenty of bare breasts and much DIY-appliance based violence, The Nail Gun Massacre bored the hell out of me.

Ineptly directed, poorly scripted and badly acted, this dreadful slasher-style effort sees a mysterious killer seeking revenge for a gang rape by using the titular tool to commit a series of murders. Looking laughable, rather than menacing, in a fetching camouflage jumpsuit and black motor-cycle helmet, our maniac somehow manages to stalk their prey unseen, before blasting them with a volley of nails. And for some inexplicable reason, the psycho also opts to talk in a strange, electronically modified Darth Vader style voice, making them seem even more absurd.

The cast recite their awful dialogue displaying zero acting ability, whilst co-directors Terry Lofton and Bill Leslie display a complete lack of skill behind the camera. Throw in some unconvincing and rather weak gore (let's face it, nails don't make a lot of mess: small puncture wounds with a trickle of blood), and what you have is an amateurish production that completely fails to capitalise on its sensational title.

A classic

[plantostickthat · 1/10 · 15 October 2001]

This movie was great. Even just looking at the box, you know you have a winner, with two (thats right TWO) awful jokes on the front.

This movie has it all - thats right, the director even put in some porn scenes, so everybody is happy!! The soundtrack consists of, 1 song and the killer doing the evil laugh. This one song is reused over and over - everytime somebody turns the radio on, there it is!! The song itself is just Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child, but cleverly disguised (it sounds the same but with keyboards instead of guitars). The story is ridiculous (a killer on the loose with a nail gun, and thats it), but the director does try to add a mystery into the movie. If you don't solve it, you are stupid (sorry, but its true), but there was a clever way they covered it up - use different stunt doubles!! This way, the director has achieved nothing except to confuse the audience - well done!

The acting is horrible, and the movie is jam packed with flaws. My favourites were the dead man balancing himself out, and particularly the final death scene. I suppose this would count as a ******SPOILER****** (or am I just paranoid about getting banned?) but it wouldn't really spoil the movie. When the bad guy falls to his doom, it is obvious he landed on a mattress, because his foot flies back into the picture. Next cut of the camera, he is stuck feet first into the ground. A classic moment.

To sum up - great for a laugh, unless you get offended by pointless porn scenes or horrible movies.

"It's time for the organ transplant. You're the donor and I'm the recipient."

[latherzap · 1/10 · 13 March 2005]

A must-see for bad movie buffs. Fun stuff. A killer drives around in a gold hearse, wearing camouflage and a motorcycle helmet, killing people with a powerful nail gun. Bad acting and bad script (the most important elements of a crummy flick) are here in abundance.

After the massacre has begun, there's a scene in a small shop where the old lady clerk says "Remember when you could go outside without having to worry about the mosquitoes or the killers?". Classic. There's a scene of a couple making out in a car, while the radio plays a song (sung by the director?) called Foosball. The dj talks a moment, and then plays Foosball AGAIN. Watch for the scene near the beginning, of the couple in bed. It looks like a less explicit outtake from a porno. "But you said we could play doctor all day, today!" the girl complains. Then, topless, she walks to a large mirror to comb her hair. The camera then shamelessly zooms in on her breasts in the mirror reflection! Hilarious!

The director, Terry Lofton, recently released a DVD of this movie. At least one scene (a couple in a forest)is slightly extended. Oddly enough, my DVD does not contain any end credits, but they are on my old VHS.

I'd say the movie sucks, but that's what makes it so entertaining. I would much rather watch this than Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movies. If you're into this kinda stuff, and you can't find NGM at your video store, I highly recommend you search for it online.

Inept, horribly acted, but weirdly watchable

[jellopuke · 2/10 · 4 November 2017]

Don't get me wrong, this movie is terrible in all ways. It's poorly shot, poorly edited, poorly sound mixed, and poorly written, but it's one of those so bad it's watchable kind of things where you can laugh at all the horrible stuff on screen. The kills in some cases are done in such a way that they wouldn't actually kill the person, and the voice over of the killer is super lame. Despite being clearly a woman, they try to insert a twist at the end that makes no sense.

Lots of sex/nudity in a completely forgettable bargain basement slasher

[Groverdox · 4/10 · 9 May 2019]

I read on the "trivia" page at IMDB that the producers demanded more nudity for the first cut of "Nail Gun Massacre". They had the right idea. It was only the nudity that kept me watching.

"But it's a slasher," I hear you say. "What about the violence? What about the KILLS?"

They're pretty lame, it has to be said. Yeah, a bunch of people get killed, unrealistically, with a nail gun. It left me wondering why the killer didn't just use a regular gun instead. I think a nailgun would be a pretty inefficient murder weapon. Though perhaps not the nailgun in this movie, which kills perhaps as efficiently as a real gun, and makes sounds like one when it fires - though never actually looks to be firing anything. There's a sound effect and then the movie cuts to the nail protuding out of someone's flesh.

The plot, eh... I dunno. A woman is apparently raped at the beginning of the movie, and then someone in army fatigues and a motorbike helmet that seems to contain some kind of voice distortion device goes around killing people with a nail gun. He should have lent his device to the other actors. Their dialogue is often inaudible, so badly was it recorded.

Often the killer's victims are surprised while having sex, which in at least one scene is surprisingly graphic. Slashers are pretty much expected to have flashes of nudity, but actually only rarely do they show simulated sex. This one also has full-frontal male nudity, as well as female.

And then it's over, totally forgettably. It was probably supposed to be a surprise when the mask came off, but I didn't even recognize the actor underneath. Had he been in the movie before? Who knows? Who cares?

"Must be two for one day, mwa ha ha ha ha!"

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 1 June 2014]

"The Nail Gun Massacre" is damn entertaining, a deliberately cheesy and comical backwoods slasher flick that writer / co-director Terry Lofton was wise not to take seriously. It's got plenty of gore, sex, nudity, one-liners, filler, and silliness, enough to make it a real hoot, although it does drag at times. It does hit the ground running, in any event. As Joe Bob Briggs would say, it's just about the greatest movie to come out of Seagoville, Texas.

A burly, bearded Sheriff (Ron Queen) and a town doctor (Rocky Patterson) who favours muscle shirts and jean jackets have a problem on their hands: some person, possibly male, possibly female, who wears camouflage gear and a bikers' helmet, is going around murdering people with their handy-dandy nail gun. And this person *always* has a witticism for every occasion, uttering their lines in a synthesized Darth Vader type voice and laughing maniacally in the time honoured tradition of film villains. Could this murder spree have something to do with the gang rape that goes down in the opening minutes of the movie?

This is good - well, maybe not "good" - and goofy fun with some deliciously sadistic kills. One poor guy gets a nail right through his crotch; an unlucky hitchhiker gets nailed to the highway. Our killer even takes the time to target people who are having sex, just like any good horror movie madman ought to do. There is much to laugh at here, and certainly it's not all intentional. The highlight has to be when a victim is nailed and falls on top of his barbecue grill - but even in his death throes, is able to carefully prevent the grill from toppling over. There are some attractive ladies in the cast, and the performances are amusing overall, especially from the deadpan Queen as the Sheriff.

The pacing isn't always great; some scenes go on too long, but in the end "The Nail Gun Massacre" emerges as a funny piece of work that aficionados of 1980s horror are advised to seek out.

Seven out of 10.

As awful as it sounds

[ericstevenson · 2/10 · 10 April 2018]

I heard that this was the last movie reviewed by the Cinema Snob on YouTube before he created his own website. That's the only reason I watched this stupid movie. You know, anyone can criticize a film for being overly violent. It's better to criticize something that's overly violent and also very stupid. The movie opens by showing a woman being gang raped. Wow, what a great way to start (sarcasm).

The entire movie is then practically nothing but random scenes that show a bunch of obnoxious people hanging out before getting killed by a nail run. Its wielder sounds like a Power Rangers villain. I know it's meant to disguise his real voice, but it's just stupid. The movie ends with the villain jumping off and dying. He just commits suicide for no reason at all. It's just a movie where nothing happens.

People are horribly killed with nails. At least it lives up to its title. There's really nothing else you need to know about the film. Apparently, this movie is somewhat well known seeing as how according to this website, it's been referenced in numerous other films. Just by hearing the title you can give this your own score. I don't recognize anyone in it and I'm glad I don't. *

The nail gun massacre

[theorphankiller187 · 10/10 · 18 October 2012]

I actually enjoyed this film. I thought the movie had a good idea to it Terry lofton explains why the film seemed so bad to critics cause of the script was 80 pages then dropped to 35 pages and the actors of the film were really nobody's ,but you get that with low budget horror films. The movie was good on 80's gore and had your classic goofy jokes total 80's film. So if you are a fan of slasher films this movie is perfect to watch plus the women in it are VA VA boom sexy. I do admit I wish they would re make this film hey they might everything else is being remade. Being a fan of this film I give it 10 bloody fingers up. I suggest that anyone who wants to check this film out needs to buy the special editon of this film and really watch it with a group of friends . It will leave you in stitches.

Wonderful junk

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 27 October 2020]

What can one say about the movie that uses the tagline "It's cheaper than a chainsaw!"?

Written and co-directed by one-time The Dukes of Hazzard stuntman Terry Lofton (along with Bill Leslie), this movie was inspired by a story that he heard about a nail gun fight at a construction site. While the original script was eighty pages, the final shooting only used twenty-five of those pages and went from a serious film to a sillier tone, as Lofton figured no one would ever take this movie seriously.

At a construction site in east Texas - yay, the theme makes sense - six men assault Linda Jenkins. Months later, a camouflaged killer in a black motorcycle helmet hunts down the men one by one.

This is honestly the only slasher I've ever seen where a victim accidentally urinates on the killer, which you think would have had to have happened by now.

Beyond just the men who wronged Linda, the distorted voiced killer is pretty much indiscriminate about who he kills. Usually, it's people having sex, which seems to happen in every other scene. In fact, the director claims that John Rudder's wife divorced him over his scene with Shelly York as she believed they were really aardvarking.

There's an astounding scene in this where a cashier looks directly at the camera. That's Lofton's grandmother, who worked in the store they used for the shoot. She has the script near her - you can see it - and was really upset when she saw the movie and realized how much sex was in it. The violence, as always, is fine. Just don't have any horizontal mambo, please.

I guess there was construction all over East Texas at this time, which is certainly reflected by this film, which also has a nail gun fight for fun, because why not?

This movie has the longest takes, the most penises, the biggest freakouts, the most Dairy Queen product placement and the strangest synth score I've seen in a film. Normally just one of those things would be enough to make me fall in love with a slasher, but somehow, this one manages to get all of those into the same movie.

So yeah. I totally love this one.

A nail gun? Really???

[Nightman85 · 1/10 · 7 August 2006]

After a bunch of construction workers rape a woman, the men start getting 'nailed' by some vengeful killer carrying a nail gun.

Cheap and trashy all the way, Nail Gun Massacre has to be one of the worst excuses for a horror film ever. Our villain is laughably un-scary, as he makes corny, distorted jokes during every murder! The characters are completely wooden, the plot is non-existing, and the quality of this movie basically consists of one sex scene after another with the occasional unconvincing murder. Granted though, it does have one of the better murder-during-sex scenes of the slasher genre.

Only for those who love movies that look like they were shot in someone's backyard, or in the director's case his grandmother's general store. Grandma cameos as a store clerk reading a lame movie script.

BOMB out of ****

It's Cheap Alright..

[-6 · 20 November 1998]

Just on the off-chance that anyone might be actually looking for a review for this hideous, wretched little movie, here it is. This movie was made on a budget that couldn't have realistically exceeded $300.00. Seriously. Hershey's syrup gore, rubber nails, cheap, synthy music at the most inappropriate of times, and so much more. The very beginning of this film treats us to what has to be the world's least realistic rape scene ever. (and I am by no means an advocate for rape, but this was just silly) From there, the Nail Gun killer (portrayed masterfully on the box's hand-drawn cover as a guy with his crotch hiked up to comical proportions), a nasty little guy decked out in what appears to be a biker helmet held together with duck tape, some camoflage, and a nail gun with a big, yellow curly-cord which kinda defeats the purpose of camo if you've got a big yellow cord hanging off your back.. proceeds to "slaughter" some backwoods morons, nails a man in the crotch, (who just moans and groans, sort of like Al Johnson from the band U.S. Maple. I'm pretty sure I'd do more than just a little bit of whining if somebody nailed my equipment point-blank) and goes around saying witty things like, "Nailed ya," or something stupid like that. Oh yeah, he drives around an inconspicuous GOLD Herze, too. You see this same Herze parked at a shop where the soon (but not soon enough, as the film proceeds for another 90 minutes)-to-be-revealed killer works, so I guess the filmmakers wanted the viewer to use their deductive reasoning skills. I kinda wish I'd have used my deductive reasoning skills and not wasted $1.08 on this trash.

Also worth mentioning: the killer's voice (they ran it through a synthesizer to make it sound deep and scary. that, and he laughs a lot. mwa ha ha! kinda like that) the killer's running ability (not suprisingly, the killer's stunt doubles were all women. while watching it I'd figured the person actually running in the killer's costume was a 12 year old boy.) the gratuitous, skanky t&a (lots of that good old fashioned 80's skank, too. huge hair, make-up applied 3 & 4 layers at a time, tan lines.. bliss) and finally, the old man (I don't know who this old coot was or where director Terry "T.L." Lofton found him, but god love him he was the best thing in the movie.) There is so much more to this horrible movie that I can't spoil (or can't remember because I've blocked it out of my mind) for you so it's definitely recommended if you're looking for a bad time.

One of the most poorly made movies of all time but...

[CRASH MAN · 1/10 · 2 December 1999]

Nail gun Massacre is one of the most poorly made movies of all time but, it is incredible funny. If you can get a copy I recommend you see it ONLY IF YOUR IN THE MOOD FOR FUNNY A "B"...no "D" RATE FILM. I surely hope anyone who rents this movie will be looking for sheer terror, but with a name like Nail gun Massacre I'm sure your not. Some hilarious thing to look for are: Man moving after being killed on a BBQ Woman's foot thrown in the air after she plunges to her death in the end of the film Man being "nailed" to the highway Radio song being played in a car twice in a row

Don't forget to have fun!

You've Got Nailed

[Chase_Witherspoon · 1/10 · 8 January 2010]

After a young woman is brutally pack-raped by construction workers, a mysterious leather-clad vindicator (imagine the progeny of 'Darth Vader' and "The Wraith" as an audio-visual cue) stalks, then summarily gelds the attackers with galvanised nail gun precision.

I've seen some howlers and this is tough to beat for egregious shoddiness. Jagged editing and jump cuts that look like they've been made with a knife and fork, sound that only certain species of whale can detect with sonar-echolocation and paltry special effects (denim is apparently impervious to nails, whereby they hang limply like fashion accoutrements, despite the victim writhing in pain, clutching at a severely bloodied crotch) are but a few in a litany of feeble production values that will either have you terminating proceedings at the earliest juncture, or, laughing hysterically throughout.

No doubt inspired by "I Spit on Your Grave", there's really not that much substance in the storyline of which to speak, other than 80-odd minutes of, well, nailing. Too trivial to qualify as a criminal justice commentary, and not sophisticated enough to be dark humour, it's amateurish, uncomplicated and unlikely to offend any but those with delicate sensibilities. If you enjoy those 'so-bad-they're-funny' movies, then this should surely please. Others may want to avoid.

Better than some

[blackdeath_8 · 5/10 · 29 September 2000]

Ok, first off i'd like to say the acting was real bad but it was laughable, which was what i did alot of laughing. The killers voice got real annoying REAL QUICK, but there was something about this movie that made me want to watch it again...not very sure what THAT thing was.

Overall, very funny, and if your looking for a bad laughable B Movie this is the movie you should rent!

It's amateur hour at the movies, slasher flick style.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 13 February 2009]

The Nail Gun Massacre is set in a small Texan town where lowly lumber yard worker Linda (Michelle Meyer) is brutally raped by a group of overweight & hairy construction worker. Jump forward several months & one of the rapist's Leroy Johnson is brutally murdered by someone using a nail gun, the local Sheriff (Ron Queen) is stumped. Then two more bodies are found bearing the grisly hallmarks of the nail gun killer, the local doctor (Rocky Patterson) becomes involved as the bodies continue to mount up. Both the Sheriff & the doc struggle to come up with any answers as the nail gun killings continue, will they able to uncover the killer & stop the nail gun massacre?

Written, produced & co-directed by Terry Loftan who also gets the special effects, casting & stunts credits The Nail Gun Massacre is a notoriously bad film that even the likes of Herschell Gordon Lewis, Jim Wynorski & Roger Corman would be embarrassed to put their names to. Yes, The Nail Gun Massacre really is that bad although in it's unashamed awfulness there's a certain amount of sleazy fun to be had if approached in the right way. Obviously ripping it's title off from the classic power tool inspired horror flick The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) one has to say that the script for The Nail Gun Massacre is terrible with virtually no attempt at characterisation at all, the town Sheriif & local doctor who investigate the killings are two of the most bland, poorly written character's that have no personality whatsoever to grace any film you can name. The dialogue is so stiled, flat, static & dull that it seems no effort was put into giving any of the character's any sort of personality at all & the actor's look like they are reading from cue cards in a very monotone way. The plot is awful too, despite all these construction workers being killed in the same way with a nail gun & despite all these construction workers having been accused of rape & despite all these construction workers working for the same company the local Sheriff insist's he can't find any sort of connection until the last fifteen minutes when he finally works it out. I'm not being funny here but you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to work it out & you certainly don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out who the killer is, lets just say when they are finally revealed at the end it will comes as no surprise to anyone, also how did the Sheriff know to turn up at the quarry at the end?

The film is as badly made as any I have seen in a while, it's right down there with the rubbishy output from Troma. Apparently writer & director Lofton has said that he tried to make The Nail Gun Massacre as a comedy but I simply can't see anything funny or humorous about it, the tone is quite serious & there's slapstick or one-liners & my guess is Lofton is trying to cover his ass as he knows he turned in a terrible film & is saying it was meant to be anyway like that makes a difference. The film has point the camera in the right direction & hope for the best cinematography, the opening sequence features a wooded scene that is supposed to be foggy but it just looks like someone lit a bonfire just off-screen as a few puffs of smoke drift by! The sound is abysmal, there's lots of annoying ambient sounds like cars going past that drown out the dialogue & the horrible music is often played so loud that again you can't hear the dialogue. The kill scenes are poorly staged with the killer 'sneaking' up on people in broad daylight & you can't tell me that woman having sex on the bonnet of that guy's car didn't notice some freak wearing a motorcycle helmet & carrying a huge nail gun, she was looking right at them yet seemed surprised when the killer eventually spoke. The gore is OK, there's a fair amount of blood & there's a severed hand. There's quite a few sex scenes that have the production values of your average 70's porno & they seem 'inserted' which of course they were at the request of the films original distributors. The rape is short & not that graphic (one of the few scenes not to feature any nudity in fact).

The budget for this must have been minuscule to say the least, shot in Texas & was in fact released in the US on DVD under the title Texas Nailgun Massacre. The killer is given a modulated voice which is often hard to understand & quickly becomes annoying. The acting is atrocious from all involved.

The Nail Gun Massacre is one of those awful films which has a certain entertainment value & questionable charm about it, it was sleazy & exploitative enough to keep me happy for 90 odd minutes but both conceptually & technically this is the pits. If you are interested in power tool inspired slasher films then check out The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Toolbox Murders (1978) & The Driller Killer (1979).

Dull Exploit Trash

[EVOL666 · 4/10 · 14 October 2006]

Probably trying to cash-in on other power-tool related horror-films like Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE and TOOLBOX MURDERS...THE NAILGUN MASSACRE is a dull and unoriginal film that has a few laugh-worthy moments that don't make it a complete and utter waste of time - though it's close...

A chick is gang-raped by a bunch of construction workers. A camouflaged weirdo with a robotic voice that spits out stupid one-liners runs around with a nailgun killing a bunch of hicks and redneck hos as a means of revenge...

THE NAILGUN MASSACRE is a dull snooze-fest that only has a few "gory" (but ultimately) cheezy scenes that are nothing to write home about, and a few lame nude scenes to it's credit. I would suggest not wasting your time at all on this one...4/10

Cheesy horror for the Handyman!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 6 June 2006]

My type of rotten 80's cheesy exactly! "Nail Gun Massacre" is commonly known as one of the absolute lousiest slashers ever, a reputation it definitely lives up to, but I can't help enjoying every insipid moment of it! All the trademarks for a horrendous slasher are there: awful acting performances, 100% pointless and gratuitous boob shots, thoroughly lousy dialogues and the extreme gore! It's simply a wonderful film, or to use the biggest cliché of horror reviewing: they just don't make 'em like this anymore! The least you can say about Bill Leslie's and Terry Lofton's "masterpiece" is that it doesn't waste any valuable time. The whole point of the movie is already illustrated during the three-minute pre-credits intro, when a bunch of hillbilly construction workers rape a defenseless girl. Only seconds later, one of them is already severely punished for his bad behavior by someone dressed in an army camouflage outfit and operating the titular tool as a weapon. After the credits, which uses cheesy and hysterical laughter for music, the handy avenger cheerfully continues to nail people down, only now he/she says something incredibly stupid every time he fires his/her weapon. After a good twenty minutes, half of the redneck population is already dead, while the local doctor and dumb sheriff are still cleaning up the blood of the first victim. The pacing slows down a little then, since new moronic characters need to be introduced first. But, no worries, the gore only gets sicker, the sleaze only sleazier, and the killer's one-liners more retarded. Too bad the victims die BEFORE they get to hear his/her witty remarks. Also, the initial revenge motive doesn't stand anymore, as he/she is just randomly wasting horny teenagers like the average 80s slasher does. Yes, it's one of the worst of the decade, but guaranteed also one of the single most entertaining slashers out there!

And I thought Californian Axe Massacre was Bad!

[symbioticpsychotic · 1/10 · 26 December 2002]

An hour and a half of complete drivel which is less than not entertaining, about a killer running around with a nail gun, killing off guys and their blonde bimbos. I think the story has something to do with the father of a young girl who is raped going out to seek revenge against the rapists. We see the rape at the start and there's five guys, but somehow the five men turn into about thirty. One of the most memorable scenes occurs in this film when a girl gets killed and the killer is gloating about it, unfortunately the girl is still very visibly breathing, blinking her eyes and looking around everywhere. Maybe she wasn't aware that she was dead. Yes, it's pretty pathetic.

Wow.

[mdholman · 8/10 · 23 July 2002]

Apparently filmed with a budget comparable to a fifth-grader's allowance, this baby pulls out all the stops. We have "nails" that are clearly rubber stuck to "dead people" who are clearly breathing and a killer that miraculously puts on forty pounds and appears to change gender when "unmasked." Throw in many horribly cheesy comments from the killer and you have one amusing film-going experience. While the film is clearly not Shakespearean, it is highly amusing and the many incongruities/not-so-special effects in the film will keep you laughing throughout. I could think of worse ways to pass ninety minutes (namely a Barbara Streisand movie or anything with Mel Gibson in it). A strong 8/10 rating from me.

great b movie

[evilution73 · 7/10 · 16 April 2005]

Beware...spoilers ahead. Low budget...great film. Blood, gore and sex, what else could you ask for. The nail gun is an unusual tool for the genre. They made good use of it. I especially love the hearse. Nice touch. considering i have two of my own. Although the taped helmet is tacky is was a simple solution to hide the killers identity without labeling him without a distinct face...like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. I even love the cliché vengeance motive. All in all it is a cheesy movie; but isn't that the reason for movies... suspension of reality. Or total disregard for taste. Fortunately both are my cup of tea.

So laughably bad

[acidburn-10 · 3/10 · 22 October 2011]

The film opens up with a young woman being raped by a group of construction workers, and then years later someone dressed in a motorbike helmet and camouflage starts killing off all the rapists and plus a few townspeople.

That's the basic storyline to this movie, and plus I really liked the idea of a killer using a Nail Gun as his weapon of choice, which is good going, something different and original, but sadly that's where the praise ends, as it is poorly executed in this pile of rubbish of a movie.

The effects are terrible for one thing, the nails are clearly rubber and the blood looks like tomato sauce, and it seems that there was absolutely no effort put into this movie whatsoever, just random shots of fake looking deaths and nudity. And don't even get me started on the acting, I mean even when they get hit with the nail-gun they could have at least screamed convincingly. It fails on every single level suspense, scares, production values, gore, menacing killer. It does have one sort of redeeming quality and that is it's unintentional comedy, (I mean there is even a scene with a store clerk clearly reading a script), like I said effortless. And the killer what was up with that, clearly a short person with a female like build and when unmasked a tall person, and with one liners that would make Freddy Kruger cringe.

So all in all a pathetic mess of a movie, that's not even worth watching a first time let alone a second, a good idea but poorly executed which is a shame.