Scalps (1983)

A group of archeological students venture on Indian land for a dig. Unfortunately, they release an evil spirit who possesses one of them and starts killing the others.

Director:

Fred Olen Ray

Writers:

Fred Olen Ray (screenplay), T.L. Lankford (story)

Stars:

Jo-Ann Robinson, Richard Hench, Roger Maycock

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jo-Ann Robinson	...	D.J. (as Jo Ann Robinson)
Richard Hench	...	Randy / Black Claw
Roger Maycock	...	Kershaw Ellerbe
Frank McDonald	...	Ben Murphy
Carol Sue Flockhart	...	Louise Landon
Barbara Magnusson	...	Ellen Corman
Kirk Alyn	...	Professor Machen
Carroll Borland	...	Dr. Sharon Reynolds
Cynthia Hartline	...	Ann
Forrest J. Ackerman	...	Professor Trentwood
George Randall	...	Billy Ironwing
Jay Walker	...	Kyle Dunne
Frank Scott	...	Prospector
Pepi	...	Little Kid
Romeo Rodriguis	...	Cashier

Storyline

A group of archeological students head out into the desert on a dig for Indian artifacts, a practice which is forbidden both by their college faculty and the locals. Ignoring the warnings of a old Native American man, the group arrive at their destination and begin digging. Unbeknownst to them, their presence has angered an evil spirit, who will not allow the artifacts to ever leave the land.

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Plot Keywords:

rape | female nudity | scalping | native american ruins | supernatural power | 

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Taglines:

They came out of the grave... to get REVENGE!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caníbal 2000

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to director Fred Olen Ray, this film was severely re-edited without his consent by the distributor at the time of its release. Scenes were added out of context which threw off continuity and gave away major spoilers, such as the fates of most of the characters, as well as the shots of chanting Indian ghost's head, which was haphazardly overlayed over such scenes as the old man cutting his own throat. Also, all but one of the scenes showing the ghost with the lion's head were shot as test footage and were never intended to be included in the released film.

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Goofs

A blood tube can be seen briefly on the back of the knife during the scalping scene.

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Crazy Credits

Next summer watch for SCALPS II: THE RETURN OF D.J.

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Alternate Versions

According to the director, the "20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" DVD is the most uncut version presently available, and is a combination of footage taken from a heavily censored German master, a Canadian master and the American VHS release which was the only source he could find for the imfamous scalping scene, this accounts for the wildly varying video quality of the DVD.

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Connections

Featured in Remembering 'Scalps' (2016)

User Reviews

Dark, disturbing and essential

Digging the pile of low budget horror, I happened to find this piece of pure gold that shines even today. I knew Fred Olen Ray for an actor but with this one, Ray totally grabbed me in. I now salute him for his directorial abilities that gave us this masterpiece. The year is 1983 and like many others who praise the glory of the golden age of untamed slashers, most precisely the early 80s, I am going to sing my praises for 'Scalps'. Despite being a B flick, 'Scalps' is heavy on atmosphere and gore. The atmosphere is creepy and the nostalgic tune that plays during the run time is fairly engaging and makes one feel desolate. It goes along seamlessly with the striking visuals of the desert. People will say that deserts offer no scope for the urban horror where we usually have a killer who wears a mean nifty hat, muffler and a drenched raincoat, murdering the hapless victims to secure their body parts as the trophies of victory. NO! This one is surely different and a twist of supernatural combined with some good locations and a fully functional storyline make 'Scalps' unique among the other entries. The director drags us to the desert locale and shows the enormous amount of horror that is trapped there. Analyze 'Scalps' in the light of Wes Craven's classic 'The Hills Have Eyes' or Alexander Aja's remake of the same film, and you'll certainly understand my point. Deserts are cruel locations and those who have been pampered in the cities will have to learn to live again from the very scratch. Well here our actors aren't just freaked out by the tortures of nature, there is 'something' very strange in the air that's manipulating some of them to murder others and that 'something' doesn't just cease to exist as it has remained there for more than a century.

'Scalps' begins with an old man with a shovel heading towards the Californian desert. Perhaps a gold digger, the old man falls prey to a possessed Indian artifact that somehow kills him. Now there is a team of 6 archaeologists. They decide to go to the Californian wasteland to dig up a few Indian artifacts. The project guide and museum curator Professor Machen (Kirk Alyn) is assigned a task to submit the inventory of historical artifacts he has in his museum and fails to join the others. As the Californian law prohibits the archaeologists to dig anything from an ancient Indian burial ground (aboriginal heritage), Machen asks the team members to dig the area secretively without letting anyone know. He also advises them to tell others that they are officially going on a field trip. Now a nostalgic and disturbing tune begins to play as we find the team members looking out at the silent dark brown hills that hold a sinister enigma within. We come across some striking visuals from the desert. The wasteland is vast and spooky, the hills seem to be looking at the unfortunate victims-to-be and the vegetation speaks a lot about its lowly and mean nature that doesn't have anything to offer to the detoured individuals. The members embark onto their journey and finally reach near the burial ground. One of the team members DJ (Jo-Ann Robinson) receives a psychic vision and tells her mates that they are in great danger. She tells them that they are in the domain of Black Claw, the infamous native Indian black magician who was buried there a century ago. She further tells that by digging the burial grounds, the team has earned the wrath and curse of Black Claw. Unable to deduce her visions, the others take her for a daydreamer. Unfortunately the mystery deepens for everyone when they hear drums playing several feet under the ground. They also hear tribal ceremonial music and vocals. A team member Randy (Richard Hench) along with his girlfriend decides to find the source of music and gets closer to the burial ground where he and his girlfriend witness a ceremonial fire that has no heat. The ceremonial fire belongs to the Black Claw, who possesses Randy. Randy goes on a killing spree and begins to murder the other team members with neolithic tools. How the others race against time to save their necks forms the rest of the story.

'Scalps' has ample gore and a few squirmy murder scenes, so it may be a fortune cookie for the gore freaks. The murder scenes are disturbing and dark. Some of the scenes are shot in dark but that's the point Ray wants to make. They couldn't have brought the dark and abysmal side of the desert (both natural and supernatural) so brilliantly If they had used artificial lighting. 'Scalps' is interesting and has some amount of hypnotic quality as well. 'Scalps' has a genuinely creepy and hypnotic score that will live with you for a very long time. Also the tribal music that plays near the burial ground is hypnotic. The visuals are such that they would throw you in the early 80s and you'll be forced to recall those olden days when things used to be so raw, natural and wild. The only drawback here is the editing. Viewers may find it difficult to understand why the day randomly switches to morning, evening and night. Overall 'Scalps' has a strong message behind it. It simply negates the concept of 'The White Man's Burden' showing that there is still something far more advanced than the White Men or the civilized world has ever witnessed. 'Scalps' has impressed me every time I have watched it, so I give it 8/10 for the horror, gore, atmosphere, dark humor and plot.