''Scalps'' is a 1983 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Fred Olen Ray Fred Olen Ray (born September 10, 1954) is an American film producer, director and screenwriter of more than 200 low- to medium-quality feature films in many genres, including Horror film, horror, science fiction, action film, action/adventure f ...

that concerns a vengeful Native American spirit.

Plot

Six college

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

students work on a dig in the California desert, despite the warnings of a professor and an elderly Native American. When the group digs around in an Indian burial ground for artifacts, they unleash the evil spirit of Black Claw. The entity possesses one of the group and begins slaughtering them one by one.

Cast

* Jo-Ann Robinson as D.J. * Richard Hench as Randy / Black Claw * Roger Maycock as Kershaw Ellerbe * Frank McDonald as Ben Murphy * Carol Sue Flockhart as Louise Landon * Barbara Magnusson as Ellen Corman *

Kirk Alyn Kirk Alyn (born John Feggo Jr.; October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial ''Superman'' and its 1950 sequel '' ...

as Professor Machen * Carroll Borland as Dr. Sharon Reynolds * Cynthia Hartline as Ann *

Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer, and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a ...

as Professor Trentwood

Production

Ray says the idea for the film was suggested to him by a friend, Donald G. Jackson. "It was meant to be the cheapest film possible," said Ray. "I used to describe it as ''6 Kids, a Station Wagon and a Tent'' and it pretty much was."

Release

The film was re-edited by the distributor. Ray later recalled:

The cut we turned in was the one we wanted. Unfortunately being pretty green about that end of the business we also gave them, the distributor, the trims and outs and the result was their "improved" version. The Lion head was only meant to be seen for one or two seconds, but we shot a lot of it in order to have footage to choose from. It was a big mistake giving 21st Century the leftovers, but I don't think anyone would have guessed what was going to happen with it. They also cut in some shots of the killer Indian before he actually appeared in the story. It was maddening.

The film was given a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

theatrically in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by 21st Century Film Corporation beginning in December 1983. The film was released in the U.S. on a

double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

video format by Continental Video alongside another feature - '' The Slayer''. It was cut by five minutes or so, in order to make room for the second feature, but all the gruesome scenes and violence are intact. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

by Olen Ray's Retromedia Entertainment in 2004. This release is currently out of print. Ray says the film mentioned at the end, ''Scalps 2: The Return of D.J.'' was a joke, one he used on ''Phantom Empire'' and '' Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers''. "I used to promise sequels where I never intended to do them." He says, though, that a fan once sent him a fan-made sequel. The film was loosely remade in 2004 as ''Blood Desert'' by Stegath Dorr. 88 Films released the film on Blu-ray in 2016.

References

External links

*
Review of film
at Hysteria Lives {{Fred Olen Ray 1983 films 1983 horror films 1983 independent films 1980s American films 1980s horror thriller films 1980s English-language films 1980s ghost films 1980s mystery horror films 1980s teen horror films 1980s slasher films 21st Century Film Corporation films American exploitation films American films about revenge American ghost films American slasher films American supernatural horror films American teen horror films Films about archaeology Films about Native American cemeteries Films directed by Fred Olen Ray Redsploitation Supernatural slasher films Films about spirit possession English-language horror thriller films English-language independent films English-language mystery horror films