DEATHDREAM (1974) (Blue Underground Blu-ray Review)

DEATHDREAM (1974)
2-Disc Limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray/DVD

Label: Blue Underground 
Duration: 88 Minutes 
Rating: R
Region Code: Region-FREE
Video: 1080P HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English SDH, French, Spanish Subtitles
Director: Bob Clark 
Cast: John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus, Anya Ormsby,  Henderson Forsythe 

Deathdream (1974) (aka Dead of Night) is directed by the late Bob Clark (Porky's, A Christmas Story), written Alan Ormsby (Deranged), and was part of a trio of horror films Clark directed, this coming right in between Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972) and the seminal-slasher Black Christmas (1974). In this chilly anti-war horror film we have the Brooks family gathered around the dinner table, we have father Charles (John Marley, The Godfather), mother Christine (Lynn Carlin, Faces), and teen daughter Cathy (Anya Ormsby, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), when there's an ominous knock at the door, which turns out to be an Army recruiter delivering the worse news imaginable, that their son Andy (Richard Backus) has died serving his country in Vietnam. 

Everyone is devastated but the mother Lynn refuses to accept this horrible truth, sitting alone in a room with a candle in the dark whispering that her son cannot be dead. Later that night a noise in the house awakens the family, and they are surprised to find Andy has come home, his mother's wishes seem to have come true. It seems that the military had been mistaken, but the Andy before them turns out not to be the same young man they remember, in what turns out to be a waking nightmare. 

The film is an obvious allegory for PTSD and the war being fought at home during the Vietnam era, Clark and Ormsby crafted a haunting examination of how war changes a person and how sometimes families struggle with the return of loved one, who are changed in sometimes dramatic ways. Andy is very subdued and spends hours alone in his room in a rocking chair, his emotions are erratic, scaring the neighborhood kids when he strangles the family dog, and the family physician Doctor Allman (Henderson Forsythe) begins to suspect Andy in the murder of a truck driver who was found dead, his throat ripped open and his body drained of blood. There's a scene of Andy visiting the doctor, allowing him to examine him before he kills him, using a syringe to drain the doc's blood, afterward he ties off his arm and injects the blood into his veins like an addict shooting heroin, which was another affliction facing returning vet's in the 70's looking to numb themselves to the horrors they had experienced. 

The returning vet experience is exaggerated here to a degree as Andy turns out to be a ghoul of sorts, requiring human blood to live and apparently stave off the rot of being dead, he seems sort of like a zombie with a blood lust, and when he doesn't get his transfusion blood terrible things happen, like when he goes on a double-date to the local drive-in, a strange brown liquid begins to leak from his head, his eyes and skin begin to change, his appetite for blood no longer deniable he kills his ex-girlfriend in the backseat of the car and then goes after his own sister, killing her boyfriend before driving off, running down another victim with the car in the process. As his father and sister fully come to realize Andy is a killer Mom clings to her son with desperation, leading up to a chilly and poignant final scene

Deathdream has a creepy vibe that permeates from the opening scene to the final, it's not the most lively horror film but it's one that gets under the skin, and was one of the first to address the issue of Vietnam, though it's doesn't ever mention the war by name, it is steeped in it nonetheless. The special effects in the film were done by script-writer by Alan Ormsby who was assisted by a young Tom Savini (The Burning), this being Savini's first job on a film. As the film wears on Andy becomes a bit more zombie-looking, his skin becoming flaky and mottled, his eyes strangely discolored, and towards the end you can see bit of his skull exposed through his thinning skin, it's low-budget but very well-done, it definitely look more like Ormsby's work on Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972) than it does any of Savini's later work.

The movie has an eerie score from Carl Zittrer (Black Christmas)that enhances the atmosphere, a piano/string score used sparsely and effectively, some of the odd strained-piano strings sounds got under my skin, deepening the dread, a ploy he uses on Black Christmas as well.   

Audio/Video: Deathdream (1974) arrives on Blu-ray/DVD Combo from Blue Underground, upgrading their previous DVD release with a brand new 2K restoration sourced from the original 35mm negative, presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, and baring the Dead of Night alternate title. I believe the film was shot on 16mm and blown-up to 35mm for theatrical, so the source-inherent grain is still an issue here, particularly during the darker/night scenes, but it is better resolved. Colors are improved, the green-hue from the DVD is gone, flesh tones look more natural, and the black levels are deeper and more consistent. Audio on the main feature comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono track which sounds good within the limitations of the modest production, but dialogue and effects are well-balanced, the atmospheric and minimal score from  Carl Zittrer (Black Christmas) comes through strong, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Onto the extras Blue Underground carry-over nearly all the extras from their 2004 DVD, this includes the two audio commentaries, one with Co-Producer/Director Bob Clark and  a second with Writer/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby, both moderated by David Gregory. We also get the vintage interviews with Tom Savini and actor Richard Backus, the alternate opening title sequence with the "Deathdream" title, a theatrical trailer. Not included is the 3-minute extended ending sequence, and with good reason, the main feature is the even longer  version with the omitted dialogue from Andy's mom saying, "Andy's home, sometimes they never come home", which was not included on the extended ending extra on the DVD. 

Onto the new extras we get an a half hour interview with star Anya Liffey and Writer/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby, who speak about Ormsby's early student films, meeting Bob Clark and teaming-up with him on Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, including shooting it in sweltering Miami, and recruiting drunk/stoner-hippies from the park to be zombies. Ormsby also goes into writing Deathdream, wanting to make a anti-war horror film, his various inspirations, and casting the film - with the nugget that Christopher Walken auditioned for the role of Andy - but he was too weird! They also discuss working with the cast of the film, remembering John Marley as a consummate professional, a few quirks actress about Lynn Carlin, and working with Tom Savini. There's also discussion of how the movie was received, and next going on to co-direct Deranged (1974). It ends with Ormsby going into creating the Hugo - The Man with the Thousand Faces doll which he pitched to Kenner toys and was produced for a short time, and his Movie Monsters book published by Scholastic.   

There's also a new interview with composer Carl Zittrer who interestingly discusses how the film failed to find an audience because of the various title changes, he of course also discusses his score, the placement of music in the film and even playing some selections from the score on piano during the interview. Production Manager John ‘Bud’ Cardos, a director in his own right, having directed Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) and The Dark (1979), also shows up for a brief interview discussing his time on the film, interacting with Bob Clark and John Marley, and creating some of the special effects work during the early 'Nam scene and the car chase at the end. We also get 12-minutes of screen test footage showing actor Gary Swanson (Vice Squad) in the role of Andy, which would have been a very different film, and a ten-min black and white student film of Ormsby, the tale of a black man accused of rape, which was very affecting. We also get an expanded image gallery with posters from various territories under numerous titles and the US press book. There's also a trio of ester eggs to be found, we get Alan Ormsby showing some prosthetic appliances used in the films, an Orgy of the Living Dead TV Spot, and a TV spot for the Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces doll. 

This 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD release comes housed in a clear Criterion-style Scanavo case, with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring the Deathdream poster on the a-side and the alternate Dead of Night poster on the b-side. The disc themselves feature the same two artwork options, but both have the Deathdream logo. Of note the Deathream poster art make the film look like a 70's Italian cop-thriller mashed-up with a black-glove giallo, which speaks to the strange marketing campaign for the film under various titles, none of which seemed to land with theater goers at the time. We also get a 20-page booklet with an insightful new essay by critic Travis Crawford, also containing cast ad crew information, and chapter selection. 

Special Features:  
- Audio Commentary with Co-Producer/Director Bob Clark
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Make-Up Artist (Uncredited) Alan Ormsby
- NEW! A Recollection With Star Anya Liffey and Writer/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby (29 min) HD 
- NEW! Notes For A Homecoming – Interview with Composer Carl Zittrer (19 min) HD 
- NEW! Flying Down To Brooksville – Interview with Production Manager John ‘Bud’ Cardos (5 min) 
- Tom Savini: The Early Years (10 min) 
- Deathdreaming – Interview with Star Richard Backus (12 min) 
- Alternate Opening Titles (3 min) 
- Theatrical Trailer (4 min) 
- NEW! Screen Test with original Andy, Gary Swanson (13 min) 
- NEW! Expanded Still Galleries
- NEW! Alan Ormsby Student Film (10 min) 
- EASTER EGG: Orgy of the Living Dead TV Spot (1 min) HD
- EASTER EGG: Alan Ormsby Make-Up Outtake (1 min) 
- EASTER EGG: Hugo TV Spot (2 min) HD  
- Collectible Booklet with new essay by critic Travis Crawford (First Pressing Only!)
- WORLD PREMIERE of brand new 2K restoration from the 35mm negative in its most complete version ever!

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint, the movie gets better with each watch, a haunting anti-war film that leaves quite an impression, and one that could have been very exploitative, but it's handled with a deft touch, all things considered. This 2-disc collector's edition from Blue Underground offers the most complete/longest version on home video, and the the new 2K restoration looks fantastic, plus we get some great extras, highly recommended, this surpassed by expectations!

Blue Underground detail their 2K restoration of Bob Clark's DEATHDREAM (1974)

Blue Underground have announced the final details for their 2K restoration of Bob Clark's DEATHDREAM (aka DEAD OF NIGHT). The Deluxe Limited Edition of Bob Clark's critically-acclaimed zombie shocker will be unleashed on Blu-ray November 28th! This version is the longest version available, including a longer ending not included on the original Blue Underground DVD release, plus loads of new extras!  

DEATHDREAM (1974) 
2-Disc Limited Collector's Edition Blu-ray/DVD

Label: Blue Underground 
Duration: 88 Minutes 
Rating: R
Region Code: Region-FREE
Video: 1080P HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English SDH, French, Spanish Subtitles
Director: Bob Clark 
Cast: John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus 

SOMETHING UNSPEAKABLE HAS COME HOME

In this shattering variation on “The Monkey’s Paw,” grief-stricken suburban parents (Academy Award® nominees John Marley of THE GODFATHER and Lynn Carlin of FACES) refuse to accept the news that their son Andy (Richard Backus) has been killed in Vietnam. But when Andy returns home soon after, something may be horribly wrong: Andy is alive and well… or is he? Produced and directed by Bob Clark (BLACK CHRISTMAS) and written by Alan Ormsby (DERANGED), DEATHDREAM was one of the very first films to confront the domestic ravages of the Vietnam War. More than forty years later, it remains one of the most chilling horror films of all time.

DEATHDREAM was released under several different titles, including DEAD OF NIGHT, THE NIGHT WALK and THE NIGHT ANDY CAME HOME, and marked the grisly debut of gore effects legend Tom Savini (DAWN OF THE DEAD). Blue Underground is proud to present this acclaimed zombie shocker in a new 2K restoration from the 35mm negative in its most complete version ever, along with original and brand-new Extras exclusive to this release!

Special Features:  
- Audio Commentary #1 with Co-Producer/Director Bob Clark
- Audio Commentary #2 with Writer/Make-Up Artist (Uncredited) Alan Ormsby
- NEW! A Recollection With Star Anya Liffey and Writer/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby
- NEW! Notes For A Homecoming – Interview with Composer Carl Zittrer
- NEW! Flying Down To Brooksville – Interview with Production Manager John ‘Bud’ Cardos
- Tom Savini: The Early Years
- Deathdreaming – Interview with Star Richard Backus
- Alternate Opening Titles
- Theatrical Trailer
- NEW! Expanded Still Galleries
- NEW! Alan Ormsby Student Film
- BONUS Collectable Booklet with new essay by critic Travis Crawford (First Pressing Only!)
- WORLD PREMIERE of brand new 2K restoration from the 35mm negative in its most complete version ever!
- EXCLUSIVE LIMITED COLLECTOR'S EDITION includes Blu-ray, DVD, bonus collectable booklet, reversible "Dead of Night" artwork, and special packaging

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) (Scream Factory Blu-ray Review)

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) 

Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Duration: 98 Minutes
Rating: R
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: (Disc 1) 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1), (Disc 2) 1080P HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Bob Clark
Cast: Andrea Martin, Art Hindle, Doug McGrath, James Edmond, John Saxon, Keir Dullea, Lynne Griffin, Margot Kidder, Marian Waldman, Olivia Hussey

I remember watching the seminal holiday slasher Black Christmas alone on late night cable TV back in the late 80s or early 90s and it gave me the creeps, even though at the time I was way into gore and nudity in horror movies, something this classic doesn't deliver, but it does deliver loads of dread and holiday chills, not too mention it is one of the greatest slasher movies of all time. For years this movie was sort of a hidden gem for slasher fans, not much spoken of, but in recent years it has become a beloved Christmas-horror classic, one now rightfully remembered as coming years before John Carpenter's Halloween and it is still one of the most effective and chilling slashers of them all. Directed by the late Bob Clark who has two undisputed Christmas classics under his belt, this dread-filled slice of terror and the beloved family-film A Christmas Story, you know, the one with the kid Ralphie on his quest for a mythical Red Rider BB gun, not to mention the seminal teen-comedy Porky's!

The movie begins with an eerie POV shot of someone creepily stalking around outside the Phi Kappa Sigma sorority house, crawling up the side of the place on a trellis and making his way inside the house through an attic window. Inside the house a group of sorority sisters are drinking and enjoying a Christmas Party before Winter Break begins. During the celebration Jessica Bradford (Olivia Hussey, Stephen King's It) answers the phone to the sounds of a heavy-breathing obscene phone caller who has apparently called before, they refer to him as "the moaner" and listen in to his lunatic ramblings, the witty lush of the group Barb (Margot Kidder, Sisters) grabs the phone and eggs the caller on with her own brand of sailor-mouthed wit before hanging up on him in spectacular fashion. Meanwhile nice girl Clare (Lynne Griffin) heads upstairs to her bedroom to pack for Christmas break when she is distracted by the mewing sounds of what would seem to be the beloved house cat named Claude coming from within her closet. Entering the closet to find the feline she is attacked and suffocated with a sheet of plastic in a truly shocking and frightful scene, the killer carries her corpse to the attic and places it in a rocking chair in front of the attic window with the plastic still wrapped around face, its a frightening image and one we see throughout the film, it's chilling stuff. 

The next day Clare's uptight father arrives looking to take his sweet daughter home but oddly none of the sorority sisters know where she's gone to. Coming up empty handed they go to the campus police station where they are assured that she has probably just run off with her boyfriend for he weekend, which is of no comfort to her stuffy dad. This turns out not be the case, which we find out when her boyfriend Chris (Art Hindle, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) shows up at the police station confirming to Lt. Kenneth Fuller (John Saxon, A Nightmare on Elm Street). Soon after a young girl from town goes missing and is found murdered in a nearby park, at which point Lt. Fuller begins to suspect that the disappearance of the sorority sister might be connected. Once he finds out that the sorority house has been receiving strange phone calls he places a tap on the phone, which in the 70s seemed like quite a chore, according to the movie, there's  scene of someone from the phone company combing through a huge room full of vintage 70s electronics. 

The creepy phone calls persist through the next night and escalate in intensity, the lunatic caller's weird and unnerving profanity laced calls are nightmare fuel and are still one of the most terrifying things about the movie. Hissing things like "juicy cock" and "pretty pig cunt" that must have been shocking to theater goers in the 70's! We as viewers know that there's a lunatic in the attic, there's an intruder in the home, but we don't know who exactly, and the movie does throw a few possible suspects our way, Clare's boyfriend Chris seems like an alright guy, but Jessica's boyfriend Peter (Keir Dullea, 2001: A Space Odyssey) is a bit of a high-strung weirdo, an aspiring pianist with a violent streak who is angered by Jessica's decision to terminate her pregnancy without his consent, and when the killer-crank caller references the abortion during a creepy call it certainly seems like he might be the guy. Like the vulgarity laced prank calls the abortion issue was still pretty taboo in the 70s, and must have been a head-turner, too. 

The tone of the movie is creepy and dread-filled, the sorority house is a great setting and feels very Christmas-y, lots of xmas light, christmas carollers, wind and snow abound, this is a xmas movie that feels very xmas-y. True to form director Bob Clark manages to sneak in some humor throughout the movie, beginning with Barb's near constant parade of inappropriate comments, such as when she points out sarcastically that "you can't rape a towney" or when she gives the dim-witted keystone cop Sgt. Nash (Douglas McGrath, the gym teacher from Porky's) a phone number with the false exchange of FE for "felatio", which never fails to make me laugh. Also golden are the interactions between the sorority housemother Mrs. Mac (Marian Waldman) with Clare's stuffy father, which is always good stuff, with her trying in vain to cover up the racy counter-culture posters on the bedroom walls. Ms. Mac is a just a hoot, a fun older woman who hides bottles of liquor in various hidden places, from the back of the toilet tank to inside of cleverly hollowed out books, she even rinses her mouth with whiskey after brushing her teeth, this broad might have a problem! 

As sometimes happens, the moments of humor serve to heighten the fear, this movie is a chiller through and through, as the killer continues to make the creepy phone calls, emerging from his hiding place within the house to claim more victim one by one until there remains only one, and only then does she realize with the help of the phone tap that the calls are actually coming from within the house! Sure, everyone seems to remember a similar scenario is When A Stranger Calls but this is the first movie to do the whole calls-are-coming-from-in-the-house thing. As frightful as this movie can be it is not a gore-classic, the terror comes through the use of shadow, dread and some chilling sound design, though a few of the kills are rather inspired. The suffocating of Clare with the plastic wrap at the beginning is frightening, the way her corpse is revisited throughout the movie is also eerily effective. The way poor Mrs. Mac goes out with an implied hood to the face is also just brutal, and another death by glass unicorn would not be out of place in an Argento classic. While the movie is not a river of blood the imagery and execution is blood curdling stuff, a few scenes of the killer's eye peering through the darkness are potent images. 

One of the strongest aspects of the movie is the ensemble cast, the sorority sisters are a fun bunch, they feel realistic, not too over-the-top, beginning with Margot Kidder as the acerbic lush Barb, I loved her. Then we have Jessica played by Olivia Hussey who turns out to be the final girl at a time before we really had the final girl formula of the 80s, she does good work throughout. Andrea Martin from the TV's SCTV  shows up as one of the more buttoned-down sisters, she doesn't do a whole lot or get a ton of screen time, but I love that you at least get a feel for these people before their numbers are up. Of course I have to mention one Mr. John Saxon (Tenebre) as the detective, this guy always classes up a picture! Black Christmas is a tense watch that does it without resorting to epic amounts of gore or nudity, but through the use of tone, shadow and crafty sound design, and it only gets better with age, and what an ending, the phone ringing over the closing credits, so chilling, so good! 

Audio/Video: At long last Black Christmas arrives on Blu-ray with significant upgrade to the image quality, which I appreciate as I've owned about as many versions of Black Christmas as I have Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2  -- which is A LOT! Scream Factory went back to the original negative for a new 2K scan and the results are pleasing when compared to both the Critical Mass and Anchor Bay Blu-rays. The movie is a low-budget 70s movie so it is never going to be pristine and crisp, but right away you will notice that the grain is better managed and more finely resolved than previous editions, black levels are deeper, details are richer, the skin tones are cooler and not so red, the colors are more natural looking, this is just a very pleasing transfer. Noteworthy, Scream Factory's new 2K scan presents the film in Bob Clark's preferred aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but for those who prefer the original framing you can find it on he second disc, however, this is the 2006 Critical Mass HD Master with the 1.78:1 framing and is not a new transfer, so it does not look nearly as good. Scream's aspect ratio does lose some lower and upper frame image, but it looks so good, I didn't mind the new framing at all, but I will say that I find their recent spate of multi-framing options a bit weird and possibly confusing, their release of Cronenberg's Dead Ringers also has two framing options. 

Audio on disc one includes three audio options along with the new 2K scan, we get English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, DTS-HD MA Mono and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround. Notably this is the first Blu-ray release to feature a mono track, which is great, but there's an issue, notably some hiss and harsh sounding s-words, which I found very distracting. The surround mix is okay but it's a classic case of an older movie sounding forced when opened up for a surround presentation. In an ideal world the mono track would be the way to go here, but I say stick with the stereo track on this release. The version of the film on the second disc comes with only a surround option. 

Extras on disc one include all the commentaries from previous DVD and Blu-ray editions, totaling three. We have one with Bob Clark, which is essential listening, and a second with John Saxon and Keir Dullea, which is alright. The third commentary is more of a novelty, a commentary with actor Nick Mancuso in character as "Billy" from the movie, which is all sort of nuts. Additionally there is thirty-minute interview with Bob Clark which can be listed to while viewing the film, in it Clark discusses the impact of the film and his legacy. I sort of wish we would have had a new commentary on the disc, something from Kim Newman or Stephen Thrower, someone from the outside looking in on the movie as a fan of horror, that would have been awesome, but I am just nitpicking here. 

Onto the second disc Scream Factory carry-over nearly all the extras from the previous Blu-ray and DVD releases, I think there might be one interview missing. They go the extras mile and add two brand new interviews which are exclusive for this release, one with actor Art Hindle and a second with actress Lynne Griffin totalling nearly an hour. The vintage stuff is nothing to sneeze at either, we have the awesome 40-min Black Christmas Legacy doc which was on the Canadian Anchor Bay Season's Grievings Edition, plus over four more hours of vintage interviews, Q/A, trailers, radio spots, galleries, alternate title sequences and two scenes with new vocal tracks - this thing is massive. 

This release also features a sleeve of reversible artwork with the original one sheet artwork and a new illustration by artist Joel Robinson, which is good, but if I am being honest here the Season's Grievings Edition Blu-ray artwork from artist Gary Pullin blows this one away, I might have to keep that version just for the artwork, the collector's booklet and cool slipcover, otherwise the Scream Factory version is the new definitive version of this holiday slasher classic. The only real dig I have on this release is the condition of the mono audio track, but when stacked up against the superior image quality and sheer amount of cool extras I do think that I can live with it. 

Update! It turns out that Scream Factory are offering a replacement program to address the mono audio issues on disc one of this release: Here's the statement from Scream Factory and the info: 

"We will be offering a replacement (Disc 1 only) of our Blu-ray release of BLACK CHRISTMAS which will include the original mono audio track as it was presented on prior releases of the film on DVD and Blu-ray.

Instructions to receive this replacement disc are as follows:

Send an email to our customer service department @ info@shoutfactory.com 
Please include “BLACK CHRISTMAS REPLACEMENT PROGRAM” in the subject line. Please provide your first and last name and the mailing address in which you would like the disc sent to. No other copy is needed. Must provide proof of purchase (photo of receipt or online order will do) in the body of the email.

You will not receive a shipment confirmation. Also, please note that due to the high volume of inquires we will not be able to respond to each email personally.

Replacement discs are expected to ship in January 2017 and as soon as we receive them. No tracking numbers will be assigned.

We’d like to also take this time to address the fans that brought this to our attention and explain more in detail as to why our mono audio track for Black Christmas sounded so rough. Unfortunately, we were not able to find a mag track, only an optical track, which is not an ideal source for this kind of work. However, based on earlier customer feedback who hoped for lossless mono audio, we decided to include the mono audio track with minimal processing and compression. The was a decision made with the best of intentions and the hope of providing the most authentic film presentation, but the hissy sibilance of the optical track proved to be too extreme and took away from the viewing experience. We’re sorry for the frustration it may have caused. We have explored all options to correct the problem that fit within our resources and have concluded that the best solution was to use the mono audio track originally released on the Critical Mass DVD.

Much thanks for your patience and continued support. And we look forward to bringing you more great retro films in 2017. 

Customer Service
Shout! Factory
2034 Armacost Ave., 1st Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025

info@shoutfactory.com"

Special Features:

DISC 1:
- NEW 2016 2K scan of the negative (1.85:1) – DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
- Audio Commentary with director Bob Clark
- Audio Commentary with actors John Saxon and Keir Dullea
- Audio Commentary with Billy (actor Nick Mancuso)
- Audio interview with director Bob Clark

DISC 2:
- 2006 Critical Mass HD Master (1.78:1) – DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- NEW Film and Furs – Remembering Black Christmas with Art Hindle (26 Min) 
- NEW Victims and Virgins – Remembering Black Christmas with Lynne Griffin (27 min) 
- Black Christmas Legacy (40 min)  
- 40th Anniversary Panel at FanExpo 2014 featuring John Saxon, Art Hindle, Lynne Griffin and Nick Mancuso (18 min)  
- On Screen!: Black Christmas featurette (49 min) 
- 12 Days of Black Christmas featurette (20 min) 
- Black Christmas Revisited featurette (36 min) 
- Archival Interviews with Olivia Hussey (17 min), Art Hindle (23 Min), Margot Kidder (23 Min), Bob Clark (25 min), and John Saxon (13 min)
- Midnight Screening Q&A with Bob Clark, John Saxon and Carl Zittrer (21 mins) 
- Two scenes with a new vocal soundtrack (3 min) 
- Original Theatrical Trailers (English and French)(9 min) 
- Original TV and Radio Spots (3 min) 
- Alternative Title Sequences (3 min) 
- Still Gallery (5 min) (55 Images) 

Black Christmas (1974) has simply never looked better on Blu-ray, this is the definitive version of the movie, aside from the unfortunate mono track on disc one, but I am pleased to see that Scream Factory have stepped-up and are addressing the audio issues with a replacement program for disc one. So buy this with confidence, this is the version you've been waiting for, this is the version of Bob Clark "other" Christmas classic has long deserved. 5/5

MY SUMMER STORY (1994) (Blu-ray Review)

MY SUMMER STORY (1994) 

Label: Olive Films
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Region Code: A
Duration: 85 Minutes
Rating: PG
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Bob Clark
Cast: Mary Steenburgen, Charles Grodin, Kieran Culkin

Synopsis: The laughs are hardier and the adventures more adventurous as Ralphie Parker (Kieran Culkin, Father of the Bride) goes in search of the perfect spinning top in order to beat his arch rival and school bully Scut Farcus (Chris Owen, American Pie), while Mrs. Parker (Steenburgen) and Mr. Parker (Grodin) cope with the boisterous neighbors, among other summer pursuits. Bob Clark (A Christmas Story) directs My Summer Story from a screenplay by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Clark based on the novel by Shepherd.

Until My Summer Story appeared on DVD from MGM a few years ago I had no idea that there was a sequel to the beloved holiday classic A Christmas Story, which may have had something to do with the fact that the movie studio opted to change the name of the movie shortly before it was released into theater under the name It Runs In The Family back in '94. Bob Clark returned to direct the sequel along with humorist/author Jean Shepherd who wrote the source material and narrates both movies. Unfortunately our beloved Darren McGavin and Peter Billingsly who portrayed the old man Mr. Parker and Ralphie are nowhere to be found this time around, in fact the only returning cast member aside from narrator Jean Shepherd is Tedde Moore, the memorable school teacher Miss Shields, which is sort of a bummer as the first movies longevity is based largely on the presence of both McGavin and Billingsly.

However, having Bob Clark and Jean Shepherd on board does offer some sweet nostalgia for me, with Shepherd's slice of Americana narration setting the stage for the movie and Clark's direction does harken back to the first movie. In place of McGavin we have Charles Grodin who seems to be doing a very rough impersonation of of the former and it feels shallow, Grodin has always played cynics and he doesn't even come close to filling the shoes of the old man. As young Ralphie is the woefully miscast Kieran Culkin  who I love in Igby Goes Down and Dangerous Loves of Altar Boys, but he doesn't in any way capture the charm and wild-eyed wonder of the character we have loved for thirty-plus years, these are huge nostalgic shoes he has to fill, and while he is not awful,  as a continuation of a beloved character his image and portrayal are all wrong. Mary Steenburgen however does turn in a decent performance as the mom this time around. 

In A Christmas Story young Ralphie was obsessed with the Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and "this thing which tells time", this one which takes place the following summer is more episodic in nature, which can be said of the original as well, with young Ralphie looking to find the ultimate spinning top toy so he can beat his nemesis, the demented looking brace-face Lug (Whit Hertford), at a game of "killer" whein two tops battle for supremacy. Poor Scut Farkus and Flick from A Christmas Story have been downgraded to sidekicks for Lug. Meanwhile old man Parker continues his war with the hillbilly neighbors the Bumpuses, who are given a bit too much screen time in my opinion. Even Mrs. Parker gets her own storyline as she endeavors to win a Ronald Colman gravy boat at the local cinema, a storyline that did absolutely nothing for me. 

The movie definitely falls flat when compared to the original movie, but I must admit I do have a soft spot for it beyond reason. A lot of this goodwill has do do with seeing more of humorist Jean Shepherd's vision onscreen in the hands of Bob Clark, which makes me happy, even if it doesn't rise to the high standard of the original movie. There's are a few scenes of Ralphie fishing for crappie with his father at the local lake, these scenes reminded me of my own trips to the lake with my father, and this is where the nostalgia for the original story and my own familiar nostalgia cross paths and kick this one up a notch or two. It may not be one of Bob Clark's best movies, but it is certainly not his worst, and it is not the straight-up cash grab that A Christmas Story 2 was, which might be a bit of a backhanded compliment.


My summer story arrives on Blu-ray from Olive Films with a healthy looking 1080p HD image, sporting a nice layer of fine film grain with some modest fine detail, depth and clarity. The English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 audio sounds good, some good depth and separation for a stereo channel track, and the Pauil Zaza (My Bloody Valentine) score sounds great. 

While researching the movie I discovered that PBS made a series of TV movies based on the Parker family for American Playhouse, 'Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss', 'The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters', and 'The Phantom of the Open Hearth', not sure who owns those rights but I would be down drop some cash to see them on home video. 3/5.

CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972) (Blu-ray Review)

CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972) 

Label: VCI Entertainment 

Duration: 87 Minutes

Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: PG

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Audio: English PCM Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 

Director: Bob Clark

Cast: Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches, Jeffrey Gillen, Anya Ormsby, Paul Cronin, Jane Daly, Roy Engleman, Robert Philip, Bruce Solomon, Seth Sklarey, Alecs Baird

Bob Clark's seminal horror-comedy Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things begins with a young theater troupe lead by douche-nozzle Alan (Alan Ormsby) travelling by boat to an small island off the coast of Miami where the criminally insane have been buried for years. They arrive on the fog-drenched island and make their way through the canopy of overgrowth and crumbling headstones to a dilapidated shack where Alan dons a purple wizard's gown and informs the crew as to why they are o the island this eerie night... to perform a Satanic ritual meant to bring back the dead! 

The crew dig up the grave of the recently dead Orville Dunworth and prop him up on a cross-shaped headstone, as the performers look on Alan recites an over-the-top incantation meant to bring about the undead. Bitchy Val (Valerie Mamches) has had about enough of Alan's spooky shenanigans for the night when the ceremony does absolutely nothing, she pushes him aside and performs her own sarcastic incantation ...and the damn thing works, the dead to begin to crawl up from out of their graves!  Now our group of performers make their way back to the run down shack as hordes of flesh-hungry undead lay siege upon the crew with terrifying results. 

Not certain when I first saw Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, but I am sure it was on broadcast TV back in the '80s during one of those awesome horror matinees I loved so damn much, and I do remember it scared me quite a bit. The movie has a very slow build-up, and can be a bit of a slog for some, but I enjoyed it a bunch and the payoff of the zombie uprising is pretty damn great, erasing any issues I may have had with the pace up to that point 

The character of Alan is such an arrogant and unapologetic asshole, and I sort of love it that about him, he is one of those characters you absolutely love to hate. I also love how Val throws insults right back at him, she has a lot of spunk and is the only one among the group to stand-up to the jerk. There's also a hippy dippy type character named Anya (Anya Ormsby) who is a seemingly spirit-sensitive young woman who has a meltdown, not unlike someone on a very bad acid trip. You also have to love those groovy early seventies fashions, dig this vertical striped pants on Ormsby! The movie also has an awesome Scooby-Doo style about it, the colorful clothing worn by the troupe seem straight out of a Scooby cartoon, the vibrant wardrobe stands out against the pitch black scenes in the dark.

The movies goes to some weird places, for instance they hold a wedding ceremony for Alan and the corpse of Orville, with Alan taking an unnatural liking to his new found corpse friend, but this friendship will definitely come back to bite him on his arrogant ass, just you watch. The movie is oozing with atmosphere, the fog-drenched island location is creepy stuff as are the zombie designs, with Alan Ormsby doing double duty creating many of the undead make-up for the movie. This is low-budget stuff but the applications are effective, the standout being the undead star Orville, a flaky white-skinned cadaver with a lot of presence about him.

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is a fun cult-classic, it was the first movie for director Bob Clark who would go onto director horror the 'Nam horror-nightmare Deathdream and the stalk and slash classic Black Christmas before making the seminal teen boner-comedy Porky's and the beloved holiday favorite A Christmas Story. It is great to see this one arrive on HD looking better than ever in an attractive package. 

Audio/Video: Children shouldn't Play with Dead Things arrives on Blu-ray from VCI Entertainment looking significantly improved over the 35th Anniversary Exhumed Edition from 2010. The movie has been afforded a new digital restoration and a 2K scan and the results are very pleasing with colors looking more vibrant and saturated. There's some modest depth and clarity to the image, but don't get your hopes too high, this low-budget zombie film from the early '70s was made on the cheap, was poorly lit and was made by amateurs - it is ever only to look so good. Certain scenes seem to have been cleaned-up quite a bit with some judicious DNR applied to remove grit and grain, but does not seem to have been over-scrubbed. Black levels are greatly improved, but there is some noticeable black crush, but nothing too distracting. 

Audio comes by way of a lossless linear PCM 2.0 which does a good job with dialogue, and the Carl Zittrer (Black Christmas, Porky's, Deranged) electronic score, which at times can be very eerie, particularly during a few of the slow-motions shots, not an iconic score by any means but it does the job. Optional English subtitles are included on the disc. I have read on certain HD threads that there are audio-sync issues with this release, but I didn't catch that during my viewings of the Blu-ray. 

VCI have brought over all the notable extras from the 35th Anniversary Exhumed Edition beginning with the very good audio commentary Alan Ormsby, Jane Daly and Anya Cronin which is moderated by David Gregory of Severin Films, this is a track that should please fans of the movie. Memories of Bob Clark: A tribute to the late Director (10 Mins) also features the commentary participants Alan Ormsby, Jane Daly and Anya Cronin reflecting on the legacy of Clark, this is an audio only segment. There's the 2007 Grindhouse Q/A (11 Mins) which took place during a double-feature screening of Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things and Deathdream featuring the participation of Ormsby, composer Carl Zittrer, and set decorator Albert Fisher. Confessions of a Grave Digger: Interview with Ken Goch (9 Mins) who worked as part of the art department on the movie, and was promoted to A.D. while shooting Deranged. He speaks about working on the movie, offering insights about his close friend Bob Clark and swallowing lit joints to avoid being arrested.There's also Photo Gallery (5 Mins) HD, two music video from the trash rock band The Deadthings, a brief tribute video, and the original theatrical trailer. There are also a selection of radio spots which play over a series of images from the movie with a text trivia track, which also goes into Alan Ormsby's seminal Movie Monsters book and his Hug: Man with a 100 Faces toy. 

New to the Blu-ray is the inclusion of the abbreviated U.K. version (78 Mins) of the movie, presented in interlaced 480i looking quite a bit worse than the newly restored HD version. The shorter UK version seems to mostly trims out dialogue from the run time. The faded and worse for the wear print is PAL sped-up but does feature a second audio commentary with Alan Ormbsy, again moderated by Gregory of Severin Films. As a fan and a collector I love having both versions of the movie and the audio commentaries packaged onto one release.

Separate from the disc extras VCI offer what may be a first for them, a clear Blu-ray keep case with a cool sleeve of reversible artwork featuring the original one-sheet artwork, plus a booklet with new writing on the cult-classic from Mike Kenny of Mike’s Pop Culture Playhouse, the 4-page booklet includes images from movie and artwork. VCI have done a bang-up job with this Blu-ray and with new Blu-rays on the way for City of the Dead and Ruby from VCI I am pretty excited to see what they have in store for us. 

Special Features: 

- Liner Notes written by Mike Kenny, Mike’s Pop Culture Playhouse
- Reversible Sleeve of rtwork with Optional Fan-Inspired 3rd Cover Art
- Commentary Track with Alan Ormsby, Jane Daly and Anya Cronin: accompanies the HD feature
- Complete alternate U.K. version (78 Mins), with commentary by Alan Ormsby hosted by David Gregory, Severin Films
- Memories of Bob Clark: A tribute to the late Director (10 Mins)
- 2007 Grindhouse Q/A (11 Mins)
- Confessions of a Grave Digger: Interview with Ken Goch (9 Mins)
- Photo Gallery (5 Mins) HD
- “Dead Girls Don’t Say No” Music video by The Deadthings (4 Mins)
- “Cemetery Mary” Music video by The Deadthings (4 Mins)
- Tribute Video (2 Mins) HD 

- Radio spots (4 Mins) HD
- Original Theatrical Trailer (3 Mins) HD 

The VCI Blu-ray of Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is easily the definitive version of the movie to own, not perfect, but worth the upgrade for the new 2K scan, the wealth of extras and the cool packaging. With recent Blu-ray releases of Bob Clark's Black Christmas and My Summer Story in addition to this I hope the powers that be see fit to push his Sherlock Holmes tale Murder By Decree and Deathdream onto HD in the very near future. 4/5