THE GRIM REAPER(1976) Now this isn't that garlic muncher that Joe D'Amato did in 1980, lets get that clear right off the bat. This is another Christian scare film from my all-time favorite director-The late, GREAT Ron Ormond. As you can guess from the quality of the vid-caps these things ain't exactly available on DVD, so we're always happy to get one and visit the golden age of Christ-sploitation (a genre which has made quite a come-back what with the OMEGA CODE and that other recent low-budget Christian action movie I can't remember the name of) Webmaster Note: LEFT BEHIND, ugh!

Now if you read Tread's review of IF FOOTMAN TIRE.... you'll remember that after years of pumping out great southern drive-in trash movies like THE MONSTER AND THE STRIPPER Ormond had a couple of close brushes with his own mortality and turned to the lord A really intolerant, ultra-conservative, weird Lord, but the Lord, nonetheless. He then started pumping out great southern Christian trash movies designed to be shown in church basements and scare the holy shit out of any non-believer who happened to see them. In FOOTMEN Ron went after commies. In REAPER he goes after spiritualists, i.e. fortune tellers and mediums and the like. Our story opens at the funeral of a young boy at which the kid's dad gets p.o.'d because the preacher won't admit that the son is in heaven. The dad believes in Purgatory, but not the preacher because "Purgatory does not exist" (Zing! Cheap shot at the Catholics!). Now the father (played by the guy who played the child-beheading commie in FOOTMAN) has 2 other sons; one is a preacher himself (played by Tim Ormond), and the other is a curly headed NASCAR-racing, goombah named Frankie. While Tim and his mom stay on the path of righteousness, Dad and Frankie turn to the other opiate of the masses, Sunday football and beer. Frankie ain't havin' none of this God stuff ("This religion thing is your scene man! I want big cars and big money! No religion for this dude!") so of course, he is killed instantly in a speedway pile-up.

From here we meet Dr Koom-rhan, a fey dinner-theater reject in a blue turban straight out of Ali Baba. Dad has invited him into their home in an effort to contact Frankie, but Tim's character shuts him down in his tracks.

We get a great flashback of Dad's 1st meeting with Dr Koom-rahn at his "mysterious lair" which looks like a Pier-1. We are treated an unbelievable seance complete with things flying around with the aid of fishing wire and the DISNEY'S SOUNDS OF THE HAUNTED MANSION record as background noise. Dad becomes more interested in his son's teachings and we get to see many scenes from the Bible as performed by the morning crew of a Cracker Barrel and some hellfire and brimstone evangilizin' from big name God guys like Jerry Fallwell and Jack Van Impe. Somewhere in there is June Ormond in a dollar store witch get-up which you have to see. It all ends with Dad having a vision of himself in Hell that's so scary he craps his pants and runs up to the alter to be saved . And in Ron Ormond's theology, Hell looks like a weenie roast with the cast of the Cirque Du Soleil.

Like FOOTMEN this a jaw-dropper, and it proves that no matter what life changing decisions Ron made, the man could not make an unentertaining movie. Blessed are we Ron, blessed are we.

Tim Ormond...Jesus was a family thing

The Ministry of Jack Van Impe. He don't like you friggin' around with the undead.

Weird Seance...I have get to get that Oingo Boingo cover.

This unknown actress gets goosed for effect by Ron Ormond himself. Just checking the oil there, Missy!