Very well executed

This is How Movies Should Be Made

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Deathrow Gameshow is one of the later films released by b-movie producers Crown International Films. Despite being a satirical comedy, this is unfortunately one seriously stupid movie. Set in the near future, it centres on a slick and unlikable television presenter who is the host of a game-show called 'Live or Die' where death row inmates compete to try and avoid execution, failure results in them being killed live on air.At best, this one is amusing on rare occasions but is mainly very lame indeed. It relies far too much on gross 'humour' such as a close up of a man messily eating spaghetti, and the parody material is really pretty marginalised by the end. What is so unfortunate is that the basic idea underpinning the movie is relatively good, if unoriginal. They just didn't write a good script for it at all sadly and the very low budget obviously didn't help either in transferring the reasonable concept to the screen. There were also some very annoying acting performances too which, suffice to say, hardly helped matters. Pretty rubbish on the whole.

Chuck Toedan (cheerfully played to smarmy perfection by John McCafferty) hosts "Live or Die," a blithely twisted TV gameshow in which deathrow inmates are given a chance to either beat the executioner or at least win some nice prizes for their loved ones. Not surprisingly, Chuck has amassed a sizable number of enemies who include a bunch of bumbling Italian mobsters who want him dead. Will Chuck continue hosting his controversial program or will he see the error of his ways and call it quits before it's too late? Writer/director Mark Pirro milks the deliciously tasteless premise for every last shameless laugh he can get and joyfully wallows in an often uproarious sense of crude'n'stupid no-brainer black humor that's impossible to either resist or dislike. The game no-name cast attack their juicy broadly caricatured parts with infectiously lip-smacking enthusiasm: McCafferty revels in Chuck's sleazy charm, Robyn Blythe has a ball as uptight censor Gloria Sternvirgin, Beano almost steals the whole movie with his outrageously hammy portrayal of fierce, loutish, disgusting hit-man Luigi Pappalardo, Darwyn Carson makes a favorable impression as Chuck's perky secretary Trudy, and Paul Farbman nerds it up to a sidesplitting extreme as moronic wannabe contestant Dinko. Better still, Pirro offers a generous sprinkling of yummy female nudity: the luscious Esther Elise bares her beautiful body as an annoying fawning groupie and the delectable Debra Lamb as sexy hostess Shanna Shallow performs a sizzling striptease number. Craig Bassuk's fairly polished cinematography, the funky, syncopated theme song, and the bouncy score by Gregg Gross all further add to the considerable campy merriment of this absolute gut-busting dopey riot.

Mark Pirro's "Deathrow Gameshow" of 1987 is a black comedy that is extremely cheesy in many parts, but occasionally very funny nevertheless. This movie could certainly have been a lot better, the acting is terrible, and some extremely cheesy scenes make it hard to watch at times, but the concept is funny, and it has some hilarious moments.In the near future (the year 1991), game shows have changed. Chuck Todean (John Mc Cafferty) hosts a game show called "Live Or Die", in which convicted death row inmates have the chance to play for their lives, and for money. Candidates who fail, get executed on the air using many different methods, such as guillotines, electric chairs, and other, more bizarre devices of execution, followed by applause from the cheering studio audience. The show is, of course, more than controversial, and Chuck has made lots of enemies..."Deathrow Gameshow" is incredibly cheesy and crappy in many aspects, and the acting is terrible, but it is without doubt fun in many parts, especially if you're a fan of dark humor. You haven't missed anything if you haven't seen it, but it is definitely funny and a good time waster. 4/10

This movie is one of those rare offerings of pure, harmless, campy entertainment! Despite its failure to win a mainstream audience, it does have its own cult following, and it is too bad that the character of Gloria Sternvirgin (aka gloriabitch) was never given a sequel to expand her role. Some of the dialogue and actions of this film hit the bullseye, and the only other films where this combination (and type) of humor and plot structure could be found where in those directed by Paul Bartel (Deathrace 2000, Eating Rauol, Class Struggle in Beverly Hills).It's just a feeling! - see this movie, you will like it.