Protraph Lack of good storyline.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

punishmentpark A pleasant surprise! It felt like Dario Argento was asked to direct an episode of Columbo... without Columbo (although there is a sort-of investigator coming along at some point, as there are a couple of cops, but you can't compare any of them to the great Columbo). Okay, sure, Argento has done quite a few films which are a lot better than this, but with all the gore, that twist, the recurring nightmare, the bad acting and some terrific shots, this was pretty damn enjoyable. The setting of a spa was a new one for me, I think, and to keep the audience guessing about it (the computer system of the spa, that is) having a mind of its own or not, worked pretty good, though in its core this is just a rather silly horror flick. Then add some fun dialogue (intended or not) and there you are: almost 90 minutes of good trashy fun is served...(a not too big) 8 out of 10.

gavin6942 Michael's health club is besieged with a series of terrible murders involving killer saunas and other grisly devices. Michael's wife killed herself a while before and her brother holds Michael responsible. Michael needs to stop the bloodshed before he loses all of his clients.The film started in 1984 or 1985, and was filmed in 1986 (despite not seeing release until 1989). In the beginning, it was meant to just be a haunted health spa and the script went through multiple revisions. After completion, the editing and post-production dragged on for years.The film was something of a "family affair", as many of those involved not only made this film but had a part in producer Jamie Beardsley's wedding. Executive producer Waleed B. Ali (the man who launched John McNaughton's career) walked Beardsley down the aisle. Incidentally, Beardsley was later first assistant director on Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs".Director Michael Fischa burst on to the scene all at once, releasing his first three films almost simultaneously. Besides this one, he also unleashed "Crack House" and "My Mom's a Werewolf" (starring John Saxon) on to the world. Co-writers James Bartruff and Mitch Paradise have less than a handful of credits between them."Death Spa" went under the radar for most of us, just now getting some home video love almost thirty years after it was made. Gorgon Video has a new Blu-Ray transfer that looks beautiful and is loaded with extras -- so a film you never heard of a year ago can be one you know everything about next year. There is a solid cast. Karyn Parsons went on to play Hilary Banks on "Fresh Prince of Bel Air". Joseph Whipp (Dr. Lido Moray) had previously appeared in two Wes Craven films: "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Chiller". Mysteriously, Ken Foree's name is absent on the box credits despite being the biggest horror star in the film ("Dawn of the Dead", "From Beyond").The film itself is a bit slow, and not the best edited at times. One is left with the impression that one goal was simply to see how many women they could get naked on camera (and the count is at least a half dozen if you are wondering). If this was a non-horror film, it would be a complete waste of time.Luckily, it happens to be a horror film, and its shortcomings are made up for by some of the nastiest, goriest effects to come out of the screen. For what was likely a very low budget, no expense was spared to have people melt, burn, spray blood... the death count is quite high, and every death is gloriously fun to watch. Some things are questionable and the basic plot never quite adds up, but maybe that was never the point.For the average viewer, this will not be something to see. For a fan of the blood and guts, it may just be that lost 80s classic you have been waiting for. Worth picking up. The Gorgon Blu-ray features audio commentary with director Michael Fischa (who happens to be Austrian), producer Jamie Beardsley and editor Michael Kewley (who is now best known as the producer of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"). There is also a full-length making-of feature.

ObscureCinema101 It's no secret that one of my favorite movies of all time is David A. Prior's 1986 classic KILLER WORKOUT. Given that, imagine my joy when I discovered there was another workout slasher made in the eighties. I somehow knew it wouldn't top KILLER WORKOUT, but it's near impossible to not enjoy DEATH SPA.Michael is the owner of a prestigious spa that's run completely by a large computer system built by his ex-brother-in-law David. You see, Michael's wife, Catherine, had a miscarriage, which severely damaged her spine and committed her to a wheelchair. Depressed, she doused herself in gasoline and set herself on fire. Well, now someone, or something, is killing off members of the spa. Is it Catherine, back from the dead? Or is it David, out to avenge his sister? Or is it someone else trying to get Michael to lose the spa? DEATH SPA is great, but for all the wrong reasons. I imagine this movie had a budget twice that of KILLER WORKOUT, yet the quality is still the same, and maybe even worse. This is definitely a movie made solely to show off some fancy gore FX, so the writing is very sloppy and very funny. Sometimes the hilarity is the result of just bad acting, but sometimes, you can't help but wonder if they actually could have done better, given the material. This is sad, considering some of the actors have done bigger things. There's Ken Foree (DAWN OF THE DEAD), Merrit Butrick (STAR TREK 2&3), Brenda Bakke (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL), and Frank McCarthy (THE RELIC).DEATH SPA definitely doesn't skimp on the gore, with inventive deaths, a huge body count, and lots and lots of grue. One guy's face falls off, another gets boiled alive by hot water, another explodes, etc. The effects aren't the greatest, but did you really expect them to be? I will say that DEATH SPA beats out KILLER WORKOUT in the death and gore department, but then again, there aren't any deaths by giant safety pin in DEATH SPA, are there? That's really all there is to talk about with DEATH SPA. It's not scary in the slightest, the gore is great, some of the kills are so absurd they're hilarious (death by fish, anyone?), the writing is beyond awful, and it is sort of sad to see these stars appearing in, well, THIS.Needless to say, it's required viewing for every organism on Earth.

Tikkin After reading the glowing reviews for this film I had to seek it out, especially as it's been compared to Aerobicide (Killer Workout). However I found that Death Spa was not as good, despite the fact that there's more gore.The plot to Death Spa is a bit muddled and I found it hard to follow to start with. It seemed to be about a mans dead wife who was coming back to haunt him, causing deaths at the spa. There are some nice scenes such as when the naked girls are showering and bits of glass fly at them. And there's the scene where the guys ribs split open. The thing is, the deaths are not quite as 'gory' as some reviewers here would have you believe (at least on the Witch Bitch VHS I saw). The best scenes are at the end when all the mayhem occurs. The highlight is the frozen fish death scene that many have mentioned, which is hilariously cheesy. There's plenty of naked breasts too if that's your sort of thing.Overall, Death Spa is fairly good but not amazing. The frozen fish scene is priceless. If you liked Death Spa you may also like Killer Workout, which I personally think is much better.