RUSH WEEK

The killer stalks 

RUSH WEEK (1989). Director: Bob Bralver.

When Toni Daniels (Pamela Ludwig), a new transfer student at Tambers College who's majoring in journalism, asks for an assignment for the paper, she's disappointed to be told she'll be covering rush week for the fraternities. Jeff (Dean Hamilton), the president of the BDB fraternity -- "booze, drugs and bimbos" -- at first proves a turn-off for Toni, but she eventually begins to fall for him. A more interesting development is that Toni discovers that not only was Dean Grail's (Roy Thinnes of The Invaders) daughter murdered, but now other co-eds have gone missing. The dean's daughter was also Jeff's girlfriend. Before too long, Toni realizes that her investigation into the disappearances has ignited the attention of the wrong person.

Dean Hamilton and Pamela Ludwig 

Rush Week generally gets low marks from slasher film fans because it has a comparatively low body count and there isn't that much bloodletting in the film, but the movie actually has some suspense, professional lensing, effective scoring, decent acting and direction, and moves at a fast pace. Of course one has to suffer through dumb frat boy scenes, as well as some alleged humor that has to do with one of the fraternities being named "GAE." The leads, Ludwig and Hamilton, do a nice job, while Roy Thinnes is given a thankless role as the dean. An unexpected cast member is Cher's husband (of a few days), Gregg Allman, playing Professor Cosmo Kincaid. Beefy John Donovan is a school cook who moonlights as a nudie photographer and is one of the chief suspects. There may not be much blood, but there are plenty of breasts on display.

Verdict: Last gasp of the 80's slasher film could have been much worse. **1/2.