This isn't a Slasher Spoof: Saturday the 14th (1981)

 This was one of several 80s films part of a Saturday afternoon/evening lineup. 

There are genuine moments where I actually giggled at certain jokes in the film, but even I can admit that for the most part, Saturday the 14th (1981) is just plain silly. For whatever reason, I just enjoy watching this film. It goes down easy, I embrace the product placements so splashed in the kitchen you have no choice but to notice them. Richard Benjamin as the straight-faced and oblivious father never cracks to all the zany theatrics of what is happening around the house he inherited or to his family. I mean most might react in shock and awe to not being able to leave out the front door or that their son happened to open and read a Book of Evil that brought about a lot of their current problems with monsters. That Van Helsing is actually the bad guy and vampire Waldemar ends up the good guy was a rather amusing reversal to me...I just liked the decision to change up the formula. When you see others call this hit and miss -- which often describes plenty of well-intentioned spoofs in general -- it's hard to argue. Jokes often either land with a belly laugh or a thud-like ugh. I think Saturday the 14th falls within that criticism as well.

The standout to me in this viewing: the homage to The Birds (1963) where Paula Prentiss goes into the attic and is attacked by bats! But the gillman-like monster in the bathtub chasing after Kari Michaelsen might creep many the fuck out. I noticed Saturday the 14th got mentioned in In Search of Darkness II and this scene was specifically brought up for how it seems to not fit the tone; perhaps, a teenage character in a tub naked, relaxing, chilling, when she discovers a gillman in her water, chasing her throughout the house as she tries to keep a towel around her might bring about a different reaction than chuckles. But there are plenty of monsters, so that I applaud, and Prentiss gradually becoming a vampire has its moments. But this is not a slasher spoof, as it might seem. Much like Student Bodies, this spoof came as the slasher genre was just getting started.

This was one of my most well received IMDb user comments from September of 2016 on my Scarecrow-88 account I've since discontinued:

A certain generation will probably find this spoof of monster and haunted house movies more appealing than today's Scary Movie bunch. Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss (husband and wife real life) inherit creepy house in will, not realizing a book of evil (cue the lightning) is on the shelf in the study, later opened by son Kevin Brando, unleashing monsters from each page! Vampires Jeffrey Tambor and Nancy Lee Andrews are looking to get ahold of that book, while arch nemesis Severn Darden's Van Helsing tries to as well. Even in 1981 the jokes were considered hokey and hit and miss. The title could be misleading as this isn't a slasher spoof like Student Bodies. It has monster rubber suit extras spending most of their time in the kitchen or peeping through windows. You have the television set in the living room only playing Twilight Zone and the front door no longer allowing the family to leave, greeted by stormy wind, fog, and bright light. In fact, the house is infested with fog. No doubt, for me the showstopper has foxy, leggy Kari Michaelsen having her bath intruded upon by the Gillman, chasing her around the house, with her only in a bathrobe. Prentiss is bitten on the throat by Tambor (not seen but the bite and her pallor, along with her change in behavior tell us this for sure), and suffers an attic attack from bats obviously mimicking Tippi Hedren's from The Birds. Benjamin plays the oblivious all-smiles dad, never breaking a sweat or ill at ease at all; it's pure tongue-in-cheek. Derden sends up the Euro monster hunter archetype, with thick accent and heavy take-control bravado...I enjoyed the twist about his ulterior motives when it comes to the book but the duel with Tambor was just a bit too over the top for my tastes. Loved the use of fog with the monsters, although they're ridiculously 50s Z-grade costumes. The family are all in on the joke, complicit in its cheeky handling, just going with it. Maybe this spoof would work ideally as a charming double header with the superior Full Moon High. The severed cop neighbor head gag has to be seen to be believed. Brando is a wide-eyed, spirited kid who has as many moments to shine as his veteran movie parents. To me Michaelsen has some of the best scenes: she does have as much trouble with the pizza delivery guy as the Gillman! Tambor as a vampire alone should be enough to recommend this, and he has good chemistry with Andrews. Many of the jokes are cringe-worthy and come dead on arrival, but the spirit of it all won me over. Good cast helps the material even when it doesn't always work. Monsters include a fishman, antenna-eyed alien monster, and furry ape-like monster... although not the least bit convincing, there's a reach back to times past that work in their favor.