Death Spa

"You’ll sweat blood!"

1988 1h 27m EN

😐

5.2

MID

★5.2TMDB · 108

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Michael's health club is beseiged 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.

“You’ll sweat blood!”

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Cast

William Bumiller
Michael Evans
Brenda Bakke
Laura Danvers
Shari Shattuck
Catherine
Ken Foree
Marvin
Merritt Butrick
David Avery
Robert Lipton
Tom
Alexa Hamilton
Priscilla Wayne
Rosalind Cash
Sgt. Stone

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Fischa
Writers: James Bartruff, Mitch Paradise
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Fischa, shot by Arledge Armenaki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Peter D. Kaye. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Kewley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

William Bumiller and Brenda Bakke and Shari Shattuck carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You’ll sweat blood!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0099384 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Fischa directs. Arledge Armenaki behind the camera. Peter D. Kaye scores. Michael Kewley cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Michael Fischa, shot by Arledge Armenaki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Peter D. Kaye. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Michael Kewley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6William Bumiller and Brenda Bakke and Shari Shattuck carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "You’ll sweat blood!".
8IMDB entry: tt0099384 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Arledge Armenaki
Original score: Peter D. Kaye
Editing: Michael Kewley
Production design: Robert Schulenberg
Makeup / hair: Devora Fischa
Sound: Ron Hitchcock
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Death Spa (1988)

Also by

Michael Fischa

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-12-15
★ 6/10
Killer workout in Los Angeles A string of strange accidents suddenly occurs at a state-of-the-art health spa in sunny SoCal, which dismays the owner (William Bumiller) and provokes a police investigation. Is the instigator his antagonistic ex-brother-in-law (Merritt Butrick), disloyal employees or… the mad ghost of his dead wife? "Death Spa” (1988) is superior to “Killer Workout” from the previous year and should be appreciated by fans of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) and “Trick or Treat” (1986), although not as good as either. Still, it’s not far off. It could be categorized as a slasher, but not in the stereotypical sense of a masked killer walking around with a butcher knife or machete. Being made in 1987, it naturally reflects the colorful 80s—the music, the hairstyles, the outfits, the aerobics and the fun spirit (as opposed to the grungy 90s). The female cast is quite good and Bumiller effectively carries the movie with his masculine mojo. There’s a little bit o’ nudity. Butrick is of course best known for playing Captain Kirk’s son in “Star Trek II” and “Star Trek III.” This would be his final film before his premature death from AIDs at the age of 29. He plays the half-crazy in-law quite well. The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in the Los Angeles area: Sunset Boulevard, Newhall and Simi Valley. GRADE: B-

Production companies