Savage Weekend

Savage Weekend
Original 1978 poster
Directed by	David Paulsen
Produced by	Alvin L. Fast
Written by	David Paulsen
Starring	Christopher Allport David Gale William Sanderson Yancy Butler
Music by	Dov Seltzer
Cinematography	Zoltan Vidor (as Zoli Vidor)
Edited by	Zion Avrahamian Jonathan Day
Production company	The Cannon Group Upstate Murder Co.
Distributed by	20th Century Fox; Kino Lorber (2015 Blu-ray)
Release date	1979
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	Unknown

Savage Weekend is a 1979 American slasher film directed by David Paulsen and starring Christopher Allport, David Gale, William Sanderson, and Caitlin O'Heaney. The film follows a woman who retreats to upstate New York with her wealthy boyfriend, her sister, and friend, only to be stalked by a killer in a disfigured mask. Filmed in 1976 as The Killer Behind the Mask, the film was also titled The Upstate Murders before being released in 1979 by Cannon Films. It has been cited as an early prototype for the slasher film, predating Halloween and Friday the 13th.

Falling into public domain, Savage Weekend was released on VHS and DVD by various independent companies, often in low quality prints sourced from video transfers. The film was released for the first time on Blu-ray in 2015 through joint licensing by Kino Lorber and 20th Century Fox, featuring an HD transfer from the original source material.

Marie Pettis (Marilyn Hamlin) has recently divorced her politician husband named Greg, who had been involved in a scandal in New York City. To decompress, she leaves for a weekend trip in upstate New York with her new boyfriend Robert (Jim Doerr), her sister Shirley (Caitlin O'Heaney), and their openly gay friend Nicky (Christopher Allport). They arrive to the country late in the evening, and stop in a small town. Robert, Marie, and Shirley pick up groceries at a market, where Shirley finds a sinister face mask that she decides to buy as a joke. Meanwhile, Nicky goes to the bar across the street for a drink, and is harassed by two homophobic men whom he beats up.