HELL NIGHT (1981) (Scream Factory Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review)

HELL NIGHT (1981)
2-Disc Collector's Edition  

Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 101 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MAMono 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Tom DeSimone
Cast: Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten, Peter Barton, Suki Goodwin, Kevin Brophy, Jimmy Sturtevant, Jenny Neumann 

The Tom DeSimone (Reform School Girls) directed Gothic-slasher Hell Night (1981) was one of those horror titles on VHS that beckoned you in with that amazing illustrated artwork of Linda Blair's busty character clutching those iron bars, a look of terror on her face, her mouth agape with a silent scream, it was the sort of Gothic image that gave you goosebumps by day and nightmares by night, at least it did for me. The flick received a a DVD release from Anchor Bay back in 2002, it went out of print fairly quickly, and was fetching steep prices on eBay which kept it out of grasp until 2013 when I found a minty used copy at a DVD Exchange in San Antonio, Texas while on a business trip, it was only $7 and I was getting the sweats with anticipation as I walked to the counter for a fast purchase, feeling that I had really got one over on them, yes, the joys of movie collecting. That was the last U.S. home video release of the film on digital, right up until Scream Factory announced this 2-disc Collector's Edition sporting a 4K restoration and loads of extras.

The movie has a very simple storyline, we have Peter, the president of the Alpha Sigma Rho fraternity who every year initiates new pledges by having them stay the night at the eerie Garth Manor, where they have to stay locked away behind the iron gates until daybreak. The pace has been vacant for the past twelve year, ever since the former owner Raymond Garth murdered his wife and three deformed kids before hanging himself. The four pledges this year are slightly uptight Marti (Linda Blair, Chained Heat), nice guy Jeff (Peter Barton, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), fun girl Denise (Suki Goodwin), and surfer dude Seth (Vincent Van Patten, Rock 'N' Roll High School). The foursome are escorted to the mansion with some collegiate fanfare before being locked in for the night. They couples pair off quickly with Seth and Denise almost immediately heading to the first bedroom they can find for a quick and fun hook-up while Marti and Seth get friendly in a decidedly more chaste sort of way in front of the living room fireplace, which couldn't have been easy for Seth, that revealing bodice worn by Marti is the perfect showcase for two of prime-era Linda Blair's top-shelf assets, but he plays nice, but the two definitely have chemistry. 

Under the cover of darkness Alpha Sigma Rho president Peter (Kevin Brophy, Time Walker) and his girlfriend May (Jenny Neumann, Stage Fright), plus frat-brother Scott (Jimmy Sturtevan) show up to put some fright into the pledges night, having rigged the home with pranks and pre-recorded screams, with Marti seeing the spooky projected image of what she believes to be the ghost of the murderous patriarch Raymond Garth, and Seth is started by some canned-screams. 

The three roof-top pranksters are killed off in fairly short order by an unseen killer who doesn't seem too pleased to have visitors on the sprawling estate, soon enough we have someones head  twisted all the way around by the neck-snapping brute, while poor May is decapitated with an ax after being dragged into a tunnel. When Peter discovers his dead friend he makes a good run for it but is cut-down with a scythe in the mansions hedge maze - all good stuff, maybe not particularly gore-heavy but certainly heavy on the Gothic atmosphere and well-staged kills.

Pretty soon our four formerly oblivious  pledges get in on the murder-fun when one of them is discovered decapitated and a panic ensues as they fret over what to do next, with one of them attempting to climb over the high iron gates that surround the mansion, which is tipped with razor sharp points. The rest of the group come under attack and discover a series of tunnels beneath the mansion, which they unwisely descend into (bad idea)while contending with a deformed, hulking killer.

Hell Night came out at the height of the slasher cycle, 1981 was a heck of year for the genre giving us The Burning, Friday the 13th Pt. 2, My Bloody Valentine, Happy Birthday To Me and The Prowler just to name a few choice cuts. However, this one doesn't go for the grisly over-the-top bloodletting, instead we get some fun characters who are actually cool people, even the frat guys aren't evil douche bags, everyone tries to do the sensible thing for the most part - though there are exceptions, going down that tunnel was just a bad idea, and while I commend one of them who managed to escape to find help, he chose to do the right thing and returns by himself when the local police fail to believe his story is anything but a fraternity prank, but I would not have returned myself, sorry friends you're shit-out-of-luck tonight! The film has some great Gothic atmosphere throughout, on the mansion grounds, down in the tunnels and main house are a great set-pieces, the fact that all the characters have just come from a frat costume party means they're in period costumes, highlighted by Blair's choice bosom-blossoming bodice, further pushing the Gothic tones. The premise is very simple, and it works great, while some would say this is slow I say it's a slow-boiler, leading to a frenzied final terror-spree that has always worked for me. Something else that works for me is the playful sexuality of Suki Goodwin as party-girl Denise, who was just gone too soon for my taste! Another winner of an idea is the killer, a hulking simpleton, a remnant of the doomed Garth family, a bit along the lines of the island-shocker Humongous (1982) with just a twist of the backwoods-slasher Just Before Dawn (1981). Hell Night is a top-tier Gothic-tinged slasher, oozing atmosphere and spilling over with ample charms of Linda Blair, essential stuff, this is a top 20 slasher for me.     

Audio/Video: Hell Night (1981) arrives on 2-disc collector's edition Blu-ray/DVD from Scream Factory in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. Before we get onto the disc review here's a disclaimer from Scream Factory in regard to their 4K restoration, just to set the stage: 

"A Note About Our New 4K Scan:  We did an extensive search for the original film elements, but were unable to locate them. Therefore, this new transfer comes from a 4K scan of the best surviving archival 35mm film print of Hell Night. We did extensive color correction and film restoration to clean up any film damage. Because the print was missing some minor footage, so we have inserted a small amount of standard definition footage to deliver the complete film. We hope you enjoy this new restoration of this ‘80s horror classic."

Well, there you have it, Scream Factory have been very upfront about this 4K restoration is not being sourced from the original negative or an even interpsoitive source, it's a scan from a 35mm theatrical print, so go into this with some tempered expectations about the picture quality. It's my understanding that there's only so much you can do as far as color correction from an actual print, so there's gonna be a lot less fine detail than one would hope for from a modern HD presentation, but I am assuming the Scream did their due diligence and looked for a better source, but this is what they found, and what they have to offer - like it or lump it.  So what happened to the original vault elements for the movie? Legend has it that the rights owners defaulted on payment to the facility that housed the orginal negative, the facility sold the elements at auction and they have not been heard from since, if you know different please let me know, I'd be keen to know what the real story is. You should also know that the theatrical print they found was incomplete and they had to resort to adding in standard definition inserts to make this as complete as possible.

So now that we have that out of the way, how's the damn thing look? With tempered expectation I was  pleased with what I saw, it has debris, there's print damage and a prevailing softness/darkness about it, but the colors are decent, but it's not crisp at all, a deficit  perhaps bolstered by the 80's soft focus cinematography. Some scenes are fairly grainy while others looks like perhaps a bit too much DNR had been applied to specific scenes, but it's not across-the-board digitally scrubbed by any means. The worst offenses would be some green emulsion scratches that mar a few scenes, and when the standard definition inserts show up they do not blend well, not so much that the color correction is off (it is) or that the quality dips (it does), but that the frames do not align seamlessly, the transitions from HD to SD are jarring, but not so much so that it was ruinous for me, but annoying.    Overall I think this is a decent upgrade from the long OOP Anchor Bay DVD as far as extras go, Scream Factory did the best they could with the inferior elements they had to work with, and I for one am pleased with it. I will say that I am in no hurry to trade in my Hell Night Anchor Bay DVD though, honestly I like the colors more on the DVD, the theatrical print is soft and the colors are thin in spots, I am curious what source AB used for their DVD back in 1999. 
The sole audio option is an English language DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 with optional English subtitles. Dialogue, the Dan Wyman (Without Warning) score and effects are well-mixed, it's not gonna give your 7.1 surround any sort of work out, but it's free of distortion and pops.

This 2-disc release comes housed in a standard 2-tray Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring the classic illustration on the a-side and a killer new illustration from Scream Factory regular Justin Osbourn, both featuring the "Pray For Day" tagline, I loved it, amps up the Gothic feel of the film and keeps Blair's bust line front and center, the discs themselves features excerpts from both artworks. 

Special Features:
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Film Taken From The Best Surviving Archival Print
- NEW Interview with Linda Blair: The Beauty of Horror (35 min) HD  

- NEW Interview With Director Tom DeSimone: Hell Nights With Tom De Simone (27 min) HD
- NEW Interview with Peter Barton: Facing Fear (21 min) HD
- NEW Interview With Producer Bruce Cohn Curtis: Producing Hell With Bruce Cohn Curtis (14 min) HD
- NEW Interview With Writer Randolph Feldman: Writing Hell (26 min) HD

- NEW Vincent Van Patten and Suki Goodwin In Conversation (27 min) HD
- NEW Kevin Brophy and Jenny Neumann In Conversation (23 min) HD
- NEW – Anatomy Of The Death Scenes With Tom DeSimone, Randolph Feldman, Make-up Artist Pam Peitzman, Art Director Steven G. Legler, And Special Effects Artist John Eggett (22 min) HD
- NEW – On Location At The Kimberly Crest House With Tom DeSimone (7 min) HD
- NEW – Gothic Design In Hell Night With Steven G. Legler (21 min) HD 
- Original Theatrical Trailer  (3 min) HD

- TV Spots (1 min) 
- Original Radio Spot (1 min) HD 
- Photo Gallery Featuring Rare, Never-before-seen Stills (9 min) HD 

What's not to love about Hell Night (1981)? It's an atmospheric Gothic-tinged slasher starring Linda Blair in her sweet-sweet prime, we get a fun frat-prank set-up, some good kills and an electrifying-frightful finale. The new Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory is an upgrade over the Anchor Bay DVD and has loads of great extras - this sucker is stacked, and despite the PQ not being up to snuff I commend Scream Factory for finally bringing this beast to Blu-ray and stacking it to the tippy-top.

ROLLER BOOGIE (1979)

ROLLER BOOGIE (1979) 

Label: Olive Films
Region Code: A

Rating: PG

Duration: 104 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Mark L. Lester
Cast: Linda Blair, James Van Patten, Mark Goddard, Beverly Garland

While I could never roller skate to save my life and I loathed disco music I must say that this is a fun slice of throwaway Seventies entertainment, a corny time capsule from a time when satin shirts, huge headphones, knee-high socks and the bubbly beat of disco ruled the landscape. 

Roller Boogie stars Linda Blair (The Exorcist) as bratty Terry Barkley, a flute-blowing musical prodigy in sunny California surrounded by snobbish friends who just don't understand her. One fine day down at the Venice Beach Boardwalk she meets a young roller skater named Bobby James (Tim Bray),  but she won't give the poor guy the time of day despite his best efforts. That all changes when Bobby later saves Terry from a skating accident at the local roller rink, a happening place for rollers called Jammers. 

Now intrigued by the young man Terry offers to pay Bobby to teach her how to roller skate, which the horny young man is only too happy to so. Bobby hopes to mold the foxy young lady into his partner in time for the upcoming roller disco contest at Jammers. Unfortunately the mafia is coercing the owner of roller rink to sell, now the contest - and Bobby's Olympic skating dreams - might just go up in smoke if the disco-loving teens cannot find a way to save the day. 

This slice of roller boogie confection has all the goofy charm of an episode of Scooby-Doo with mobbed-up bad guys and corny seventies fashions set to the non-stop sounds of that sweet disco music, not to mention plenty of fun choreographed roller-routines which are executed pretty well, it made me sort of jealous.

The acting is pretty awful across the board, even from the very capable Linda Blair, who at this point in her career was probably loaded with a nasal cavity full of rock candy. As someone who vehemently does loathes disco music I must say that I did sort of enjoy watching this, disco music reminds me of my mom, who I am quite sure loved this movie. It's a fun slice of disco corniness loaded with copious amounts of standard teen-love conventions such as lovers from the opposite side of the tracks, parents who just don't understand, friends who are snobbish, and some truly golden-brick dialogue from Blair who at one point screams at her Valium popping mother, "So what, I'm a musical genius! Whatta drag! Whatta bummer!". Not a good movie, but an pretty enjoyable bad movie if you are into such things.

The movie arrives on Blu-ray from distributor Olive Films with a solid HD transfer framed in the original widescreen aspect ratio with some very nice sharpness and clarity to it. Color reproduction is solid through and through, the garish 70s fashions pop off the screen and the skin tones look good, a very nice transfer. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono sound mix is just good enough, clean and well balanced, but the mono mix is flat and the disco soundtrack is not all that it could have been.There are no subtitle options, and no extras to speak of, a pretty standard bare bones release from Olive Films. 2/5

GHOSTHOUSE / WITCHERY DOUBLE FEATURE

GHOSTHOUSE (1988) / WITCHERY (1988) 
SCREAM FACTORY DOUBLE FEATURE 

Label: Scream Factory 
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated I R
Duration: 94 Minutes I 96 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Umberto Lenzi I Fabrizio Laurenti
Cast: Ron Houck, Martin Jay, Kate Silver, Greg Scott, Lara Wendel, Mary Sellers I Hildegard Knef, Linda Blair, David Hasselhoff, Annie Ross, Catherine Hickland

GHOSTHOUSE (1988) 

Synopsis: Your tour of terror begins with Ghosthouse, in which a group of visitors to a seemingly-deserted home find themselves tormented by demonic spirits – including one particularly freaky little girl and her creepy clown companion. Soon, our hapless heroes find themselves powerless to conquer the evil of the Ghosthouse – where death holds the mortgage and if you move in… there'll be Hell to pay!

Italian horror movies are typically strange, somewhat surreal and usually a cheap knock-off of a then current popular American horror, and Ghosthouse comfortably falls into that category for sure. Directed by the infamous director Umbert Lenzi who brought us the vicious Cannibal Ferox and the outrageous zombie actioner Nightmare City, this time we find him up to something a bit more subtle and ghostly, okay, so maybe it's not so subtle, but it's not mean-spirited cannibalism or kung-fu zombies either. 

We begin with HAM radio operator Paul (Greg Scott) picking up on a creepy transmission of a man screaming followed by some eerie carnival music, afterward he and girlfriend Martha (Lara Wendel) head off in search of the transmissions origin, which brings them to a creepy old house in near Boston. While there they encounter Jim (Martin Jay), his sister Tina (Kate Silver), and their friends Mark (Ron Houck) and Susan (Mary Sellers) who just happen to be investigating the strange HAM radio transmission. I would be hard=pressed to think of another film so focused on HAM radio, it's a silly sort of set-up for a damn goofy tale of haunting, one that  might have made for a decent episode of Scooby-Doo.

The culprit behind the mystery is the angry spirit of a young girl and her creepy clown doll, obviously the writers had watched Poltergeist and knew that clowns were something worth exploiting, but they should have tried harder, the clown is pretty silly. There's a back story about the owner of a Mortuary who took the clown doll from a coffin, which leads to some possession and murder, and the death of the young girl. The gore is pretty decent and opens with a father finding his daughter in the basement with a pair of blood-soaked scissors, next to her is the corpse of the family cat. Of course the father is alarmed by this, but he doesn't have to worry long for just a few short moments later someone buries an ax into skull just before mommy dearest is stabbed through the neck, it's good stuff. 

The move certainly has its own brand of ghostly charm, full of creaking doors and breaking glass, a cheesy synth score, and plenty of horrifying screams. It's fun as the spirit of the evil little girl and her creepy clown companion murder the gathering of HAM radio enthusiasts, each time the warped carnival music chimes in before something awful happens. No, it's not a great film but certainly entertaining, limping along to the end on an atmosphere of goofy synth score and schlocky Italian camp. 

This is the third in a series of film known as La Casa, which were "sequels" to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 movie, which in Italy were marketed as the La Casa  and La Casa 2. Yet another example of the Italian penchant for cashing in on American movies even odder is that parts five and six in the La Casa series are House and House II.

WITCHERY (1988) 

Synopsis: Then, a new address brings new frights as the immortal David Hasselhoff and The Exorcist's Linda Blair turn up the terror in Witchery. When a terrible storm leaves a motley assortment of people stranded on an island resort, they soon find they have more to worry about than not packing rain gear! A horrible witch unleashes her wrath on the unwanted visitors – and no one is safe from her unquenchable thirst for death!

The sorta of sequel to Ghosthouse is a haunter from director Fabrizio Laurenti and is centered around Gary (David Hasselhoff, Knightrider) and girlfriend Linda (Catherine Hickland) whom arrive on an island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the paranormal activity at an abandoned resort hotel. Linda is writing a book on local witchcraft and hopes to capture the fabled "Witch Light" on camera, and investigate the decades old death of a suspected witch who lived on the island at one point, and it's connection to the suicide of an aged actress whom also lived on the island years later. 

They're not alone on the island, the Brooks family have arrived and hope to buy the property for a song turn it into a resort. They've brought with them their pregnant daughter Jane, played by Linda Blair (Savage Streets, The Exorcist) and a few business partners.  The night the group are collectively stranded on the island by a storm front, and they are picked-off one by one by the mysterious Lady in Black (Hildegard Knef), whom transports each victim through a portal to a cavernous netherworld where they are tortured and killed by witchy tormentors. 

The visual effect that makes-up the portal is hilariously bad, but the torture and murders are executed nicely, compared to Ghousthouse the gore is more creative and consistent. The gruesome scenes include a mouth being sewn shut, burned alive, an upside down crucufixtion, rope strangulation, a woman raped by a gnarly mouthed demon, and a stabbing through the neck by a mounted swordfish, the gorehounds who might have been disappointed by the a-side of this double-feature will most like appreciate the increased horror quotient. 

Of the two I would have to say this one is my favorite of the two films on the double feature, benefiting from a superior story and the one-two punch of Linda Blair and David Hasslehoff! There's a pretty great scene of the Hoff catching a mouthful of blood straight straight from a wound on someones neck, that right there is worth the rpice of the double-feature alone. 

Audio/Video: Both movies are presented on a single-disc Blu-ray from Scream Factory in 1080p HD widescreen framed at 1.66:1. They look pretty good considering both favor soft-focus cinematography which never translates well to HD in my opinion. Both appear a little on the soft side but colors look good, black levels are acceptable and the skin tones appear accurate. I give Witchery the slight upper hand in respect to the better transfer, but it's really a toss-up. Both movies have English DTS-HD 2.0 Mono audio tracks sound good, the dialogue, score and effects are nicely balanced and free of any noticeable hiss or distortion, optional English subtitles are provided. Extras are nearly non-existent except for a pair of trailers for the movies. I was hoping for an interview with Blair and/or Hasslehoff but it just wasn't in the cards this time. 

I have quite a fondness for the cheesy Scream Factory Double Feature Blu-rays which in my mind are carrying-on the cult and b-movie tradition of the MGM Midnite Movies series, many of which Scream have give HD upgrades. I hope this continues for a long time to come, there are still many American International Pictures/MGM titles I would love to see sweetened with a new 1`080p presentation. These two slices of Italian schlock are not classic haunters by any definition, but they are fun double-feature and well worth the money. Love seeing Scream Factory dip their toe into Italian horror, I hope they agree with the waters and take the full-on plunge and we see more Euro cult movies on the way. 3/5

DVD Review: SAVAGE STREETS (1984)

SAVAGE STREETS (1984)

LABEL: Arrow Video
REGION CODE: Region 0 PAL
RATING: 18 Certificate
DURATION: 93 mins
VIDEO: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital Mono
DIRECTOR: Danny Steinmann
CAST: Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Robert Dryer, John Vernon

TAGLINE:What they did to her little sister was worse than a crime... Now witness the ultimate execution!

Brenda (Linda Blair, CHAINED HEAT) is the tough as nails leader of the L.A. girl-gang The Satins, a tight knit group of bad ass high schoolers; Francine (Lisa Freeman, BACK TO THE FUTURE), Stella (Ina Romeo, ESCAPE FROM LA) and Stevie (Marcia Karr, KILLER WORKOUT). Brenda's a smart mouth queen of the streets with only one weakness, her mute younger sister Heather (Linnea Quigley, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) whom she's fiercely protective of. While strutting down Hollywood Blvd. Heather is nearly rundown by a gang of drug-peddling thugs calling themselves The Scars, led by Jake (Robert Dryer), whom is joined by Red (Scott Mayer), Fargo (Sal Landi, SWEET REVENGE) and the snivelling Vince (Johnny Venocur, LORD OF ILLUSIONS). Incensed by The Scars nearly killing Heather the ladies retaliate by taking the Scars prized 50's convertible for a joyride down the strip and giving it a trashy make-over. The Scars thirsty for revenge after the shaming vent their anger by gang raping Brenda's disadvantaged sister Heather.

The rape occurs at school while Heather awaits her sister in the gymnasium. She is approached by Red who gains her trust with flattery and feigning interest in sign language. It's an almost touching scene of bad boy meets nice girl, almost, but not quite. Actor Scott Mayer has a twisted darkness about hims a great villain, very surprised he didn't go on to do more. His character's a seething psychotic and his attentions for the naive Heather surely don't bode well. Sure 'nuff the interaction turns dark when Red begins "signing" the in-out-in-out finger in the hole routine and forces himself on her as the remaining members of the Scars enter the gymnasium and drag her into the restroom. It's there that they brutally gang-rape Heather on the dingy floor next to a row of urinals. The encounter is quite harrowing and not played for sleazy titillation by any means, this is just sadistic violence. Adding to the disgust of an already vile act is that Quigley appears quite young, physically, this is before your breast augmentation which we saw on display in RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Vince, the newest and arguably least scuzzy of the four gets first dibs after being coerced by Jake, leaving Red and Fargo to argue over who's up at bat next, so to speak The squirm inducing scenario is oddly juxtaposed with  Brenda's own skirmish in the shower, a WIP-styled bitch fight with a cheerleader nemesis to the backdrop of a dozen naked and wet women, yay exploitation. As Brenda arises victorious from the shower room brawl it's contrasted by the sight of Heather, unconscious on the floor, receiving a nasty kick to the head from Jake.

Heather is discovered by The Satins and taken to the hospital having fallen into a coma. That night, unaware of who the culprits are, Brenda and The Satins are at a club drowning her frustrations when the soon to be married (and pregnant) Francine has an violent encounter with the Scars resulting in her slashing Jake's face with a switchblade. The next day Jake and the Scars encounter Francine on her way from the bridal store, you know this won't end well for the young lady, right? They give chase and eventually catch up to her on a bridge. Ever defiant she spits in Jake's face, enraged he picks her up over his head and throws her from the bridge to her death. The snivelling Vince already remorseful over the brutalization of Heather defies the gang and escapes to the hospital where Brenda overhears him confessing the rape to a comatose Heather. Vince flees the hospital after Brenda attacks him following his confession. 

Bloodthirsty for vengeance Brenda returns home to smoke a cigarette while laying nude in the tub, it's a glorious bit of gratuitous nudity to be sure, she's looking intense while contemplating her next move. With revenge on her mind she dons a badass black leather jumpsuit during a sweet 80's montage and arms herself with a switchblade, crossbow and an assortment of bear traps because, well, why the Hell not? She arrives at Vince's house to deal out some sweet vengeance after convincing Vince's father she's there to do homework, yeah right! Surprising Vince in his bedroom she gets the better of him with a switchblade to his throat, the snivelling shit informs her that Jake has killed Francine and where she can find the rest of gang. Despite the fact that he raped her sister she spares his life, but fear not for Jake runs his ass over a short time later. The finale features Blair in full on 80's vigilante mode as she squares off against the trio, she's a complete and total bad ass with some very sweet one liners, my favorite being a quip directed towards Fargo just before she sends a crossbow bolt through the neck, "Too bad you're not double-jointed... if you were, you'd be able to bend over and kiss your ass goodbye", very sweet indeed.
 

Speaking of awesome one-liners John Vernon (CURTAIN, ANIMAL HOUSE) appears as the hard-assed principal of the high school, one of the few adult presences in the film, these teen-revenge film rarely featured adult figures and it's no different here. While Vernon's not quite as sleazy as his character in CHAINED HEAT (also with Blair) he's not exactly a saint either. His role was pared down quite a bit once director Steinmann took over for DeSimone and he's relegated to only a few choice scenes, just enough to utter the immortal line "Go fuck an iceberg!". I definitely wanted to see more John Vernon here, but we get what we get. It's amazing that the film holds up as well as it does given it's troubled production which included director Tom DeSimone (HELL NIGHT) stepping down from the film after creative differences with the producer. He was replaced by Danny Steinmann (THE UNSEEN) only 24 hours prior to the start of filming and set about streamlining the script and dropping a few extraneous subplots only to have production screech to a halt just a few days into shooting when the financing fell through. The film was resurrected once producer John Strong (SUMMER HEAT) came on board but he and Steinmann became adversarial when Strong became intertwined in nearly every aspect of the production. Check out the commentaries for more on this, it's makes for a great listen. The nutty production in part explains the film's bipolar feel which goes from delicious camp to brutal exploitation, but it works it makes for quite an entertaining watch.

DVD: The now out-print BCI/Eclipse 2-disc DVD of SAVAGE STREETS fetches some truly sleazy prices online so I'm quite pleased that Arrow Video have resurrected the film on DVD with a NTSC-PAL port of the BCI edition. UK 80's sleaze enthusiasts should rejoice as this marks the first time the film has been presented uncut in the UK, previous editions were heavily cut by 12 minutes. This is a port of BCI's SD master presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) with English language Dolby Digtal mono, no subtitles are offered. The image is flawed owing in part to the NTSC-PAL conversion, what we get is pretty soft, colors are muted, it's dark and there's stutter and combing issues during scenes of movement, and let's be honest, a film by definition is a series of moving images so this is no small distraction. The original mono audio is decent but not great with audible hiss and pops during the quieter scenes but while there's not much depth to the proceedings the soundtrack and dialogue fare pretty well overall.

If I was in the UK I would be quite happy with this release, even with the hiccups of the NTSC-PAL conversion, but here in the US I found the conversion issues a bit distracting. US Cult title distributor Code Red announced a few months back that they had acquired the North American rights to the title with a new 2011 HD transfer. The Code Red SAVAGE STREETS DVD has no street date at this time but screenshots for the release on the label's blog appear to be an improvement with superior colors, brightness and contrast though I would temper my excitement with caution until I see the release with my own two eyes.

Arrow Video have also ported over the special features from the BCI/Eclipse release which includes three audio commentaries, the first with director Danny Steinmann moderated by DVD producer Michael Felsher and I would say this is essential listening, a candid affair covering many facets of Steinmann's filmography, including the stylish XXX film HIGH RISE. He speaks to how the film came to him, the troubled history of the production, remembrances of the cast and crew, some not so kind remembrances of producer John Strong and the wiseguys that financed the film. Numerous anecdotes of  his time directing FRIDAY THE 13th PART V: A NEW BEGINNING, a very underrated and awesomely sleazy entry in the series. Sadly, there's no mention of THE UNSEEN, a pretty obscure little slasher gem featuring a nutty Sydney Lassick performance, that Steinmann disowned following producer or studio interference. There's also speak of the nasty bicycle accident that effectively derailed his career. This is one of the better commentaries I've heard, it's right up there with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell on THE THING, no lie.

The second commentary with cinematographer Stephen Posey (BLOODY BIRTHDAY, SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE) and actors Sal Landi and Robert Dryer is moderated by the host of Comedy Central's BEAT THE GEEK TV game show, a humorous listen with some amusing anecdotes. The third commentary with producer John Strong features eight participants. It is moderated by filmmakers Kenneth J. Hall (EVIL SPEAK), David DeCoteu (CREEPOZOIDS) and Eric Spudic (DEAD CLOWNS) who sits in alongside Stephen Posey, Sal Landi, Robert Dryer whom return from the second commentary plus the addition of Johnny Venocur. Whew, I'm tired just typing that let alone listening to it. It's another decent listen but there's way too many voices to be completely listenable. Venocur commandeers most of it, he's a bit annoying honestly and to hear Strong you would think he directed the film not Steinmann and he makes several allusions to the film's social commentary - nope - not buying Mr. Strong, this is just sleazy vigilantism straight-up.

Then we have two Red Shirt Pictures produced featurettes; beginning with Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante (7:02) featuring star and genre legend Linda Blair looking pretty good these days. She speaks about working with Linnea Quigley, John Vernon, Robert Dryer and the other members of The Satins. She also addresses the meatier roles that the 80's exploitation films offered women actresses, the film's legacy and her involvement. Fun stuff with clips and music from the film. The second featurette Heather Speaks (10:45) features bona fide scream queen Linnea Quigley on the infamous gang-rape scene, that THE RUNAWAYS lead singer Cherie Currie was originally cast in the role of Brenda but was fired during the troubled production and recalling Johnny Venocur wanting to get together to rehearse the scene wherein he confesses to her comatose character. Finishing off the supplements are three video-interviews with producer John Strong (14:03), Johnny Venocur (14:15) and actor Robert Dryer (5:54) plus a theatrical Trailer (3:21).

Now onto Arrow Video's notoriously sweet packaging extras beginning with a nifty reversible sleeve featuring the original US one-sheet plus newly commissioned artwork by Tom Hodge aka The Dude Designs, it's a gorgeous candy colored imagining of a Vestron Video VHS cover, check out Tom's blogpost about creating the cover HERE. We also get a sweet 14x17" fold-out poster of the artwork with an Arrow Video DVD cover gallery on the reverse side plus an 8 page booklet Justice For One: Getting Even in Savage Streets featuring writings from Kier-La Janisse, author of A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi. Great stuff, a pretty stuffed edition no doubt that will please fans and newcomers alike.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Savage Streets by Kier-la Janisse, author of ‘A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi’ and ‘House of Psychotic Women’

- Audio commentary with stars Sal Landi, Robert Dryer and Director of Photography Stephen Posey moderated by Marc Edward Heuck
- Audio commentary with director Danny Steinmann moderated by Michael Felsher
- Audio commentary with producer John Strong and stars Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur moderated by filmmakers David DeCoteeau, Kenneth J. Hall and Eric Spudic
- Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante (7:02) 16x9
- Heather Speaks (10:45) 16x9
- Video interviews with Johnny Venocur (14:15), Robert Dryer (5:54), and John Strong (14:03) 4x3
- Original Trailer (3:21) 4x3

VERDICT: I have to wonder how I missed out on this delicious slab of sleazy exploitation for so long, this was just an awesome watch bursting at the seams with 80's cheesiness, 70's sleaziness and enough gratuitous nudity to please any women-in-prison enthusiast. This would make a mighty fine double feature with the Linda Blair/John Vernon WIP film CHAINED HEAT. Despite some annoyance with the NTSC-PAL conversion hiccups this is still a high recommend, particularly for our UK readers.

Cult classic SAVAGE STREETS gets competing releases from ARROW VIDEO and CODE RED

It was back in April that we posted the news that the Linda Blair revenge cult classic 'Savage Streets' (1984) was coming back to DVD via the UK's Arrow Video. It's no secret we're Arrow Video enthusiasts but we're also quite enamored with the releases of Code Red who've just announced a US release of the film. That's pretty fantastic news for fans of the long out-of-print cult classic. The way I see it the more options for the consumer the better.


Code Red announced via it's blog last week that it had acquired the North American rights to the cult classic 'Savage Streets' (1984). Code Red's release will feature a brand new HD transfer of the film that will be progressively scanned unlike the previous BCI release. The special features will be ported over from the previous BCI release and will include some yet unannounced extras. It will be the first release to feature the complete uncensored commentary track which was edited on the previous edition. Thus far no release date has emerged for the DVD.


Here's a quick comparison of the two titles special features. Typical with Code Red titles there's some controversy around the internets in regard to the transfers. Code red states there's is a new HD transfer while Arrow Video's press materials only claim a new transfer and some have speculated it's from a standard-definition master. Don't look at me, I don't have the answers but I've included some screenshots courtesy of the Code Red blog for your enjoyment. No screenshots from the Arrow Video edition were available at this time. The Arrow DVD os Region 0 PAL while I suspect that the Code Red DVD is Region 1 NTSC.

[This is the BCI artwork. No Code Red artwork available yet.] 

SAVAGE STREETS
Code Red Edition

Release Date: TBA

SPECIAL FEATURES

- New interviews with stars Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Johnny Venocur, Robert Dryer and producer John Strong

-  Commentary One with actors Sal Landi, Robert Dryer and director of photography Stephen Posey

- Commentary Two with director Danny Steinmann

- Commentary Three with producer John Strong, actors Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur

- Trailers

- More TBA

SAVAGE STREETS

Arrow Video Edition

Release Date: June 20th 2011

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Savage Streets by Kier-la Janisse, author of ‘A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi’ and ‘House of Psychotic Women’
- Brand new transfer of the film presented in original 1.85:1 anamorphic aspect ratio
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with stars Sal Landi, Robert Dryer and Director of Photography Stephen Posey
- Audio commentary with director Danny Steinmann
- Audio commentary with producer John Strong and stars Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur
- Video interviews with Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Robert Dryer and John Strong
- Original Trailer

Mr. Skin and Panik House release the unholy trinity of WOMEN IN PRISON films

Panik House Entertainment will be releasing a limited edition run of classic mid 80's women in prison exploitation films completely uncut and remastered under the title Mr. Skin Presents Women in Prison. Super-psyched for these as I know next to nothing about the women in prison exploitation films. Two of these WIP films feature the extreme hotness of Linda Blair       (The Exorcist, Savage Streets) and the always awesome John Vernon (Curtains) plays a perverted warden in Chained Heat, what's not to love?

WOMEN IN PRISON TRIPLE PACK DVD

Chained Heat (1983) - Red Heat (1985) - Jungle Warriors (1984)

 Release Date: July 12, 2011

LABEL: Panik House Entertainment

DURATION: 287 minutes

LANGUAGE: English

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9 Widescreen 1.78:1

REGION CODE: NTSC ALL
DIRECTOR: Paul Nicholas, Robert Collector, Ernst R. Von TheumerSYNOPSIS: Mr. Skin and Panik House Entertainment Present the Unholy Trinity of “Women in Prison” Films! CHAINED HEAT, widely regarded as the greatest “women-in-prison” film of all time, finally comes to DVD in a totally uncut, re-mastered version. This triple-pack of “boobs behind bars” mid-80s exploitation classics will only be in print for a limited time.

CAST: Linda Blair, Sybil Danning, Stella Stevens, Sylvia Kristel, John Vernon

CHAINED HEAT (1983), widely regarded as the greatest “women-in-prison” film of all time, finally comes to DVD in a totally uncut, re-mastered version. This triple-pack of “boobs behind bars” mid-80s exploitation classics will only be in print for a limited time. CHAINED HEAT – Linda Blair (The Exorcist) stars as Carol Henderson, a woman sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after accidentally killing a man. With the perverted warden (John Vernon, Animal House) seducing the inmates and two rival gangs fighting a race war, Carol struggles to survive her remaining days in the sleazy slammer. Also stars cult film favorites Sybil Danning, Tamara Dobson and Stella Stevens. Newly re-mastered in anamorphic widescreen and presented totally uncut for the first time in North America!

RED HEAT (1985) – Linda Blair heads back to prison as American tourist Christine Carlson, a woman wrongly sentenced to three years in a brutal East German penitentiary after being forced to admit to false charges of espionage. Tormented by the evil prisoner Sofia (Sylvia Kristel, Emmanuelle), Christine must fight for her life as her fiancée tries to rescue her from the sadistic hell behind bars. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen.

JUNGLE WARRIORS (1984) – A group of gorgeous models flies to a South American country to scout locations for a photo session. When their plane is shot down, the models are imprisoned and subjected to horrible torture and rape by an evil drug lord. In an effort to escape, the girls grab some firepower, take revenge, and try to shoot their way to freedom! Stars Sybil Danning and John Vernon. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Features Introductions for each film by the Legendary Mr. Skin!

- Video Interviews with Actresses Stella Stevens (CHAINED HEAT) and Sybil Danning (CHAINED HEAT, JUNGLE WARRIORS)

- Theatrical Trailers