GEORGE A. ROMERO'S BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAWN (1971-1973)

GEORGE A. ROMERO'S BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAWN (1971-1973) 

George Romero's name may be synonymous with the living dead subgenre, but his filmography is far richer and more varied than his reputation as "the zombie guy" would suggest. Following the breakout success of his debut feature Night of the Living Dead, the director would embark upon a series of projects which demonstrate a master filmmaker with more than mere gut-munching on his mind.

In There's Always Vanilla, young drifter Chris and beautiful model Lynn embark upon a tumultuous relationship which seems doomed from the outset. Season of the Witch (released theatrically as Hungry Wives) follows the exploits of Joan Mitchell - a housewife who seeks to escape the confines of her humdrum suburban existence through a flirtation with witchcraft. Lastly, The Crazies sees Romero returning to firmer horror territory as a small rural town finds itself in the grip of an infection which send its hosts into a violent, homicidal frenzy.

Taken together, these three films, made in the period between Romero's celebrated living dead outings Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, serve to shine a light on the broader thematic concerns and auteurist leanings of a skilled craftsman too often pigeonholed within the genre.

THERE'S ALWAYS VANILLA (1971) 

Rating: R
Duration: 92 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.33:1)
Director: George A. Romero 
Cast: Raymond Laine, Judith Ridley, Roger McGovern, Johanna Lawrence

In Romero's decidedly non-horror follow-up to the seminal Night of the Living Dead (1968) we have Vietnam-vet Chris Bradley (Raymond Laine, Season of the Witch), a wandering spirit of the 70's, who returns home to Pittsburgh following a string of aimless part-time jobs. His father owns a baby food factory and wants him to stay on as part of the management team, but Chris is not too keen to be spoon fed a corporate gig. At the train station he meets a pretty TV commercial model named Lynn (Judith Ridley, Night of the Living Dead) and the two strike-up a relationship, leading to some baby/abortion drama, this weird relic from the 70's is certainly an oddball Romero entry, a counter culture comedy of sorts, which I must say I have never been a huge fan of, initially viewing it during my first deep-dive into Romero's early career. There are some scenes I found interesting, such as Lynn's experience with a pervy commercial director, and a drunken night of fun with his father, including a frisky bar maid, with the father inquiring from his son how much he should pay the bar maid her for the kindness in the morning. There's also a cool scene with Chris applying for an ad exec position, touting his former career as a pimp as one of the skills that make him the perfect candidate for the job, and it works! 

The film is pacey and talky for long spots, and scenes of the fourth wall being broken as Chris speaks directly to the audience didn't work for me, it felt like this was a device to try and eliminate some storytelling shortcomings. It a rough watch for the un-inclined who maybe aren't prepared to dive deep into Romero's early 70's output of the non-horror variety, but it's certainly a notable detour into he realm of 70s romantic comedies. I do like the  poetic ending that involves a box of helium filled balloons drifting into the air and a note to a lover, it was very 70's arthouse.  

Audio/Video: There's Always Vanilla (1971) debuts on Blu-ray from Arrow Video with a brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, framed in the original full frame aspect ratio. Originally shot on 16mm film the movie is very grainy and the image seems weirdly colored, as if it's been artificially saturated with color during the color grading process. It's not hideous but at times it draws attention to itself like a colorized black and white photo. The English PCM Mono 1.0 audio sounds good if not exactly hi-fidelity, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Onto the extras we get a new audio commentary from Travis Crawford - who does commentaries for all three films on this set, he can sound dully professorial at times but I found all three commentaries info-packed and very entertaining. We also get a new half-hour making of doc featuring  producers John Russo and Russell Streiner, stars Judith Streiner and Richard J. Ricci, and sound recordist Gary Streiner, who look back at the film, noting Romero's unhappiness with the film, and framing the financial backers lack enthusiasm of enthusiasm for the film, with Streiner going into how the project came about. Arrow carry-over the 15-min Digging Up the Dead interview from the Anchor Bay disc, with Romero more or less saying he loathes the film. Extras are finished up with a trailer for the film, a memorabilia gallery, and a gallery of locations with commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz. 

Special Features: 
- Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements 
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- Affair of the Heart: The Making of There's Always Vanilla - brand new documentary featuring interviews with producers John Russo and Russell Streiner, stars Judith Streiner and Richard - Ricci, and sound recordist Gary Streiner (30 min) HD 
- Digging Up the Dead - The Lost Films of George A. Romero - archive interview with Romero discussing his early films There's Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch (16 min) 
- Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz (12 min) 
- Memorabilia Gallery (1 min) HD 
- Trailer (2 min) 
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

SEASON OF THE WITCH (1972)

Rating: R
Duration: 89 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.33:1)
Director: George Romero 
Cast: Jan White, Raymond Laine, Ann Muffly, Joedda McClain, Bill Thunurst 

Like There's Always Vanilla (1971) I remember first watching this during my initial deep dive into Romero's early career and not walking away with any great love for it, however the feminist parable of a deeply unsatisfied 70's suburban housewife dabbling in the occult has gained more traction as I've aged. The film opens with an arty nightmare sequence, we see affluent housewife Joan Mitchell (Janina White) walking subserviently behind her husband through a wooded area, the branches of the trees her husband pushes aside snap back and strike her in the face, and she's left in a kennel like a dog while her husband leaves for a business trip. This puts you in the mindset of where she's at in life, her husband Jack (Bill Thunhurst) is often away on business trips, while he's home he's uncaring, and abusive both verbally and physically. When her teenage daughter Nikki (Joella McClain)runs off to places unknown Joan is left alone. One night while out with her lushy-friend Shirley (Ann Muffly) they visit the home of a tarot card reader and Joan's mind is opened up to the idea of witchcraft, which she begins practicing, beginning by casting a spell to ensnare the libido of her daughter's college professor (Raymond Laine, There's Always Vanilla)and a brief and also unsatisfying physical relationship ensues. 

Joan becomes more and more involved in witchcraft, joining a local coven, leading to some dramatic changes in her lifestyle. Romero packs in some social commentary and lefty politics, but the movie is hampered by some poor performances, though I thought White was quite good in the role, she's understated, but she taps into that deeply unsatisfied 70's housewife theme. Though there's glimmers of promise I do not think the film is particularly well executed, but it has some tasty social commentary that I found enjoyable. 

Audio/Video: Season of the Which (1972) debuts on Blu-ray from Arrow Video with a brand new 4K restoration of the theatrical version from the original camera negative, presented in the original full frame presentation with the alternate Hungry wives title card. Originally shot on 16mm the image is grainy but natural looking, a significant improvement cropped(1.85:1) DVD from Anchor Bay. There's some nice detail and clarity to the image. this so far superior to what we've seen before on DVD - there's really no comparison between the two, this blows everything else away. The source has very few imperfections, we mostly see some white specking, but nothing else significant mars the image. Audio comes by way of The English PCM Mono 1.0 audio sounds good if not exactly hi-fidelity, optional English subtitles are provided.  The electronic score from Steve Gorn sounds good, as does Donovan's titular "Season of the Witch" song selection. 

Onto the extras we have another audio commentary from Travis Crawford for the theatrical cut, which is excellent,  he goes deep into the feminist character study of the film, if you're a fan of the film this commentary will only enhance your enjoyment. My favorite of all the extras on the set is a Romero interview conducted by director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinthine)from 2016, it covers a lot of ground and I could have watched another hour or two if, opening with Romero acknowledging the influence of I Am Legend on NOTLD. This is just two wonderful filmmakers discussing their craft and mutual appreciation, it's great stuff. We also get a 104-min extended cut of the film, sourced from the same new restoration with standard definition inserts from a tape source assembled by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures. 

Arrow also carry-over The Secret Life of Jack's Wife interview with actress Jan White from the 2005 Anchor Bay DVD, with the star discussing her enigmatic place in Romero's canon, how she got the role and her experiences making the film, and Romero's fascination with the lamps featured prominently in the film. She also goes into the nightmare dream sequence, explaining some of the imagery that is not explained by the movie itself, and speaking about her body double's huge legs. 

We also get three alternate opening titles, another Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz, a memorabilia gallery with poster art, press books, lobby cards and various home video releases. 

Special Features: 
- Brand new 4K restoration of the original theatrical version from the camera negative (90 min) HD
- Alternate extended version (104 min) HD 
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- When Romero Met Del Toro - filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro in conversation with George Romero (56 min) HD 
- The Secret Life of Jack's Wife - archive interview with actress Jan White (17 min) 
- Alternate Opening Titles: Jack's Wife (4 min), Hungry Wives (4 min), Season of the Witch (4 min) 
- Location Gallery with audio commentary by Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz (2 min) HD 
- Memorabilia Gallery (3 min) HD 
- Hungry Wives Trailer (2 min) 
- Season of the Witch Trailer (2 min) 
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx 

THE CRAZIES (1973)

Rating: R
Duration: 103 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: George Romero 
Cast: Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn Lowry, Richard Liberty 

The Crazies (1973) was a return to full-on horror for Romero, and is also the first film he had the budget and creative control over, and it shows. Set in rural Evans City, Pennsylvania we have the populace subjected to a leaked form of germ warfare called Trixie, unleashed when a military plane carrying the chemical weapon crashes nearby and infects the water. The film opens with a father having been infected and destroying his house, murdering his wife and going after his young children, before setting it ablaze.

As the government and military show up in hazard suits,  lead by Colonel Peckem (Lloyd Hollar), Marshall law is declared, threatening to shoot anyone who leaves the quarantined area, for threat the Trixie biological weapon will spread from coast to coast. There are two story lines at play here, we have local and national government, plus the military attempting to thwart the spread of the weapon, there's loads of in-fighting among the official bodies. Then you have the story of the townsfolk, and for the main focus of the feature we follow Vietnam vet and firefighter David (Will McMillan), his preggers girlfriend, nurse Judy (Lane Carroll), and his buddy firefighter/vet friend Clank (Harold Wayne Jones), who act as a sort of defiant civilian populace fighting off the infected around ton and attempting to evade the military patrols who are rounding up civilians.

This movie is tense and claustrophobic, pre-dating the anti-government, distrust of the military themes of Romero's later Dead films. The cast includes a young Lynn Lowry (Shivers) playing a young woman who is seemingly willing raped by her own father, both having been infected by Trixie, she having appeared in several key infection films through the years,, including drive-in gem I Drink Your Blood. Also be on the lookout for actor Richard France (Dawn of the Dead) as government scientist Dr. Watts who attempts to find a cure for biochemical weapon before the government decides to drop a nuclear warhead on the city. 

This is easily my favorite of the film on the set, a seminal infection film that still plays great today, the visuals are still effective, the soldiers in white protective suits are alarming, the idea that you cannot trust the government is nothing new, even at this point, but Romero's handling of it is fantastic. There's some great scenes that standout, a priest setting himself on fire, a woman non nonchalantly sweeping a field with a broom amidst a battle scene, an old woman stabbing a soldier with a knitting needle always stands apart for me, plus a man gunned down on a bridge attempting to leave the quarantine, it's brutal. A nice touch is how disoriented the people are once infected, they appear to be suffering dementia, they have a lost look about them, and then they show their homicidal tendencies - it has an overall eerie and unsettling effect.  

Audio/Video: The Crazies (1973) arrives on Blu-ray from Arrow Video with a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative, framed in 1080p HD widescreen (1.66:1) and as expected surpasses the older Blue Underground Blu-ray. Colors are impressive, skin tones look natural and there's some nice depth, fine detail and clarity to the image. As this was the only film on the set shot in 35mm it is far and away the best looking for the features. Arrow stay true to the original presentation with a LPCM Mono 1.0 audio track that sounds good within the mono presentation limitations.

Onto the extras, first I will note that we lose the audio commentary from the Blue Underground release, so you might want to hang onto that one for the Lowry interview and the director commentary. What we gain is a new commentary from Travis Crawford, which is excellent. There's also a new interview with  Lynn Lowry who discusses her early career in sugar Cookies and I Drink Your Blood, how she ended upon in this movie and her experiences making it. Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz shows up for a tour of the Evans City, PA locations used in movie, and there's a brief audio-only interview producer Lee Hessel

Special Features: 
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative 
- Brand new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
- Romero Was Here: Locating The Crazies - Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz takes us on a guided tour of Evans City, PA and the locations used in The Crazies (12 min) HD 
- Crazy for Lynn Lowry - cult star Lynn Lowry discusses her early career including her role in The Crazies (14 min) HD 
- Q/A with Lynn Lowry filmed at the 2016 Abertoir Film Festival (36 min) HD 
- Audio interview with producer Lee Hessel (5 min) HD 
- Behind-the-scenes footage with optional commentary by Lawrence DeVincentz (6 min) 
- Alternate Opening Titles (1 min) HD 
- Image Galleries: Filming Locations (26 min) HD, Collectible Scans (6 min) HD 
- Trailer 1 (3 min) 
- Trailer 2 (3 min)
- TV Spot 1 (1 min) 
- TV Spot 2 (1 min)
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx 

For this review I was only sent "check discs" without artwork or packaging extras, but the retail version of this limited edition release feature reversible artwork plus a limited edition 60-page booklet with new essays on the films by Kat Ellinger, Kier-La Janisse and Heather Drain.

Arrow's Between Night and Dawn limited edition release is an essential release for fans of Romero's early films, two of which I think probably have only limited appeal to the casual fan, but the A/V presentation is top notch and the extras are wonderful. If you're looking to deep-dive into Romero's early career, including some non-horror stuff, this is a must-have. It's a shame that producer Richard P. Rubinstein has such a greedy death-grip on the rights for Romero's Martin (1978), it's noticeably missing and deserving of some serious restoration and re-evaluation, here's hoping Arrow, who produced a great 2-disc DVD set of the film, manage to get the Blu-ray rights.   

I DRINK YOUR BLOOD (1971) 2-Disc Deluxe Edition (Grindhouse Releasing Blu-ray Review)

I DRINK YOUR BLOOD (1971) 

2-Disc Deluxe Edition 

Label: Grindhouse Releasing
Region Code: Region-FREE
Duration: 83 Minutes I 88 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: David Durston
Cast: Bhaskar, Jadin Wong, Rhonda Fultz, George Patterson, Riley Mills, John Damon, Lynn Lowry, Tyde Kierney, Richard Bowler, Riley Mills, Richard Bowler, Iris Brooks

A cult of satanic hippie weirdos known as "Sons and Daughters of Satan" roll into a small town and squat in a dilapidated old hotel that is infested with rats. In between invoking Satan and dropping acid the evil-hippies rape a local girl named sylvia (Iris Brooks), and soon after grandfather Doc Banner (Richard Bowler)comes gunning for revenge with his shotgun in hand but is instead roughed up and dosed with acid, which sends him on a nightmare trip. All this angers his young grandson Pete (Riley Mills)who has had about enough with the hippies raping and drugging his family members, to that end the little shit comes up with the deliriously awful idea of tainting the hippie's morning meat pies with the tainted blood of a rabid dog he killed the night before. Of course all this backfires on the whole town when the Satanic hippies become rabid lunatics foaming at the mouth who descend upon the town with murderous and lunatic intent. 

I Drink Your Blood is a nice slice of 70s drive-in awesomeness loaded with goofy satanism, murderous hippies, bloody gore, an acid-tripping grandpa and a scene-stealing performance by the young actor Riley Mills as the revenge-driven Pete, I love this kid! Viewers will no doubt recognize a young and fresh-faced Lynn Lowry (Radley Metzger's Score, George A. Romero's The Crazies) as a deaf mute who appears in a memorable hand-severing scene, in her first ever movie role. Bhaskar is mesmerizing as the long-haired cult-leader Horace in the movie, and actor George Patterson as the cultist Rollo has the face of nightmares, something about his bone structure and piercing eyes, strange stuff. 

There's also a horny rabies-carrying nymph who gang bangs a construction crew, infecting each of the hard hats with the virulent strain of rabies - this movie has a little bit of everything that was naughty about 70s cinema and it makes for one heck of a fun watch. Everything about this low-budget cult classic is just fun and over-the-top with a nice array of severed heads, severed hands, self-immolation and rabid satanic hippies causing trouble for small town folks - what's not to love? 

Audio/Video: This riotous drive-in classic arrives on deluxe edition Blu-ray from the good folks over at Grindhouse Releasing who continue to astound and amaze with their HD releases. The HD transfer has been re-framed it in 1.66 widescreen and it looks absolutely gorgeous with nicely managed grain, an abundance of fine detail and nicely saturated colors, this is a very nice HD upgrade in all respects. Audio on the disc comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 1.0 track that sounds great with crisp and clean reproduction of dialogue and cool psycho-tronic score, for a low-budget slice of 70s drive-in cinema this looks and sounds top-notch in HD! 

Grindhouse carry-over all the extras from their 2006 DVD including the commentary from Director David Durston and star Bhaskar, the four deleted scenes which includes an extended scene of gramps freaking out on acid, and the The I Drink Your Blood Show (29 Mins) featurette with interviews from actors Lynn Lowry, Tyde Kierney, Jack Damon and ad-man Barney Cohen, all hosted by the charming Durston himself. They've even included the film of Bhaskar performing "The Evil King Cobra Dance" which is tucked away within the filmographies on the second disc along with some other fun video gems. Grindhouse also include two options for viewing the movie, the shorter X-rated 83-minute cut or the expanded 88-minute director's version which adds in some deleted scenes and outtakes with a different ending, which I love. 

Of course Grindhouse wouldn't think of upgrading an older release without adding some new stuff for fans and they again go beyond expectations for I Drink Your Blood, beginning with a brand new audio commentary from stars Jack Damon and Tyde Kierney who provide loads of information about the making of the movie in Upstate New York and working with the cast and crew. On disc one we also have about 3-mins of outtakes and a 6-min piece wherein the Mahoning Drive-In screens the original double-bill for the movie along with I Eat Your Skin.

There's also a new sit down interview with the now-late David Durston lasting a full hour, he speaks about his early life and career on Broadway, knowing horror legend Bela Lugosi and making his movies, including I Drink Your Blood, going into the origin and retitling of the movie, originally titled "Phobia", which angered him, and the various re-edits and cuts the movie has endured through the years at the hands of local movie houses who feared angering community standards of the time. It's a great interview and he covers a lot of ground with his usual wit and youthful charm. There are also video clips of Durston and Lynn Lowry at Cinema Wasteland in 2004 and a cast and crew reunion of the movie after a screening at the New Beverly from 2003 also featuring stars Arlene Farber and Tyde Kierney.

Grindhouse also pack in two full-length movies on the disc in HD, the first being I Eat Your Skin (1964) which the movie shared an infamous double bill with in cinemas back in the day, plus David Durston's long-lost X-rated psychedelic shocker Blue Sextet (1969) also in nicely rendered HD. 

Extras are finished up with the usual selection of trailers, radio spots, two German language super 8 versions of the movie, and tucked away in the filmographies you can find trailers for the doc They Came from the Swamp (4 mins), the Jerry Gross produced movies Africa Blood and Guts(2 mins, Zombi (2 mins), a 9-min video clip from the 2002 Cult Movie Awards, a radio spot for the movie Stigma (1 min) and the aforementioned video of Bhaskar performing the serpentine King Cobra dance. There are also at least two Easter Eggs tucked away on the first disc I've been able to find, there might be more.

Special Features:
Disc One
- Spectacular new HD restoration of the original uncensored director's cut of the film!
- 4 controversial deleted scenes including the original blood-drenched ending deemed too disturbing for '70s audiences with optional audio commentary! (6 Mins)
- Out-Takes (3 Mins)
- Mahoning Drive-In show (6 Mins)
- Provocative Audio Commentary by Director David Durston and star Bhaskar
- New Audio commentary by stars Jack Damon and Tyde Kierney
- 2 Hidden Easter Egg (18 Mins)
Disc Two
- The I Drink Your Blood Show (29 Mins)
- Going For The Jugular - New Interview with David Durston (60 Mins)
- I Drink Your Blood Reunion at The New Beverly Cinema (2003) (25 Mins)
- Cinema Wasteland Oct. 1st 2004 (17 Mins)
- Cinema Wasteland Oct. 4th 2004 (4 Mins)
- Trailer (3 Mins)
- Radio Spot (1 Mins)
- Still Galleries: Production Stills (37 Images), Cast and Crew (43 Images), Theatrical - US (45 Images), Theatrical-Foreign (33 Images), Video releases (34 Images), Blood-Horrors (51 Images)
- Bios and Filmographies: David E. Durston, Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury
- German Super 8 Versions: Hauser Des Blutigens Schreckens (16 Mins), Die Satansbande (24 Mins)
- I Eat Your Skin (1964) - Presented for the very first time in HD (81 Mins)
- Swamp Man - Exclusive interview with 2nd unit director William Grefe (18 Mins)
- Blue sextet (1969) - David Durston's long-lost X-rated psychedelic shocker - presented for the very first time on home video! (89 Mins) HD
- Liner notes by David Szulkin (Wes Craven's Last House on the Left: The Making of a Cult Classic)
- Grindhouse Prevues: An American Hippie In Israel, Pieces, Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox, The Tough Ones, Scum of the Earth, The Beyond, Cat in the Brain, Corruption, The swimmer, The Big Gundown, Ice House, Massacre Mafia style, Gone with the Pope (34 Mins)
- Beautiful embossed slipcover
-I Drink Your Blood Horror Hypo! Inject your friends with rabies! Limited to the first 3000 copies!

Proving yet again that no low-budget movie is too weird or too wild for the deluxe treatment from Grindhouse Releasing, Bob Murawski and company have put together the definitive version of the movie in a loving and dynamic 2-disc package. If you're one of the first three thousand to snag this you might have received the limited edition Horror Hypo, which is your very own hypodermic needle to draw blood and infect your friends with rabies! I think this might mark the last of the original Grindhouse releasing DVD releases to be upgraded to Blu-ray, I'm curious to see what comes next, if anything. I seem to recall hearing somewhere that with the sad passing of co-founder Sage Stallone a few years back that the mission was to finish upgrading the original releases to HD and to wrap it up, I hope I am wrong about that. We've seen Grindhouse reach out and beyond with their Blu-rays of the Spaghetti Western The Big Gundown with Lee Van Cleef, the psycho-thriller Corruption with Peter Cushing and the poignant melancholia of The Swimmer with Burt Lancaster, they can pretty much do anything, and as a cinema fan who loves their commitment to the restoration and preservation of the weird and wild side of cult cinema I think it would be a serious loss, for all of us as film fans. 

DAVID CRONENBERG COLLECTION (RABID/SHIVERS/DEAD ZONE) (Via Vision Blu-ray Review)

DAVID CRONENBERG COLLECTION 
 SHIVERS (1975) - RABID (1977) - DEAD ZONE (1983)

Label: Via Vision Entertainment
Region Code: A/B
Rating: R
Duration: 88 Minutes I 91 Minutes I 104 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 I English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: David Cronenberg 
Cast: Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry,  Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Tom Skerritt, Brooke Adams 

SHIVERS (1975)

Region Code: A/B

Rating: R
Duration: 88 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Cast: Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry

In director David Cronenberg's debut film we are brought into the Starliner Towers high-rise on Starline Island. An idyllic community set apart from the stress of city living. However, the wealthy residents affluent lives are about to be turned upside down by the experimentation of mad professor Emil Hobbes (Fred Doederlein) who feels that humanity has lost touch with their sensual selves. To that end he has developed a parasite that spreads like a venereal disease from host to host. He incubates his parasites inside a young woman named Annabelle Brown (Cathy Graham) whom he murders just before he slices open his own throat when he discovers that his teen petri dish has been sleeping her way through the high-rise. The teen-slut has infected numerous men who are now exhibiting an abnormal growth in their abdomen. The building's doctor Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton) diagnoses a few of these guys and comes to realize what is happening, attempting to thwart the parasitic plague before it can spread to the other inhabitants of the building and beyond.

Among the tenant we have Janine (Susan Petrie) and her husband Nicholas (Allan Kolman, SE7EN), the older but gorgeous Barbara Steel (Nightmare Castle) as a sultry lesbian and Roger's sexy nurse played by Lynn Lowry (George A. Romero's The Crazies). As the parasite spreads the infected are overcome with the urge to fornicate which further spreads the parasite. We have a great scene of Barbara Steele in a bathtub as a parasite crawls into her body in a very naughty way, and another gruesome sight of a parasite leaping into a doctor's face, burning him with an acidic secretion as he pulls them off with a pair of pliers, and a host who stuffs the parasites back into his mouth, there's some truly grotesque stuff happening, loads of uncomfortable body-horror on-screen for the gore-hounds. 

The design of the parasites is pretty simple, just a few inches long and super-gross. They were created by effects wizard Joe Blasco and were achieved with old school in-camera special effects and they look awesome, with loads of blood mixed in with a perverse sexuality throughout - this is total David Cronenberg. Love the scene of someone vomiting a parasite from a balcony which falls right onto an elderly couple below, and another of the parasites crawling up the walker of another older couple as the man flicks it off the walking aid and smashes it. Then there is a lesbian kiss wherein we see the throats bulge as the parasite is transferred from one to the other. On top of that we have some strange moments of sexual incest, which is always a subversive sight, the twisted movie has not completely mellowed with age, it holds up. 

Paul Hampton and Joe Silver as the docs trying to curtail the spread of the parasites are strong for the most part, though Hampton comes across cold which might be attributed to his character who at one point rejects Lynn Lowry's advances which is just not human. Barbara Steele and Lynn Lowry provide some gorgeous eye candy throughout, Steele was still a total  fox and a feast for the eyes. 


For a film debut I was a bit surprised to see that it contained all the body-horror elements we would come to associate with Cronenberg in the years to come. Shivers remains a seminal work of body-horror and it's vision of parasite driven sex crimes is disturbing stuff. If I would have been a resident at the Starliner I don't think I could have resisted the sexual charms of either Barbara Steel or Lynn Lowry. Speaking of Lowry, she had previously appeared in I Drink Your Blood (1970) and George Romero's The Crazies (1973) as well as softcore flicks like Sugar Cookies (1971) and Radley Metzger's erotic opus Score (1974), such a gorgeous woman, that final scene with her emerging from the pool is just so super seductive, I'd have given up without a fight right there and then. 

A note about the Shivers transfer, this appears to be the same restoration supervised and approved by David Cronenberg which was produced by Tiff Cinematheque Quebec at Technicolor in 2013. The same cut was previously issued by Arrow video, and missing about twenty-five seconds of footage trimmed from several scenes, which doesn't amount to much in the way of gore or content to be honest, but it is missing just the same and for some cinephiles who need the complete uncut version of the movie this will be a huge issue, but I am here to tell you that it doesn't amount to much and I can live without it. 

Shivers Special Features: 
- Introduction by David Cronenberg (2 Mins) 
- On Screen: The Making of Shivers - Vintage television program interviewing David Cronenberg, co-producer Don Carmody, as well as the cast and crew (48 Mins) 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1 Mins) HD 

Our review of the Arrow Video release of Shivers can be found HERE. 

RABID (1977) 

Region Code: A/B
Rating: R
Duration: 91 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Cast: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver

In Cronenberg's follow-up to Shivers he treads familiar waters, we have the attractive young woman Rose (adult film star Marilyn Chambers, Behind the Green Door) who is horribly injured in a motorcycle crash along with her boyfriend Hart (Frank Moore) With no proper hospital nearby she is brought to a plastic surgery clinic where she is operated on by Dr. Keloid (Howard Ryshpan) who has just developed an experimental new type of skin-graft, and given the opportunity he seizes the chance to test his unproven methods. The surgery appears to work and Rose recovers while in a coma at the clinic. When she awakens from the coma it becomes clear that something is not right about the young woman, she has been transformed into a contagious blood-sucker. Not of the Gothic fanged variety, what we have is something more along the lines of the body-horror we would come to know Cronenberg for. In place of a pair of fangs Rose has a needle-like tentacle protrusion which comes out of her armpit, draining blood from her victims. The new blood-sucking appendage seems to act on its own without her control, in fact she seems unaware of the new appendage and the harm that it inflicts
on others. 

Her first victim is a patient at the clinic, a place she runs away from, continuing to drain victims as she travels across the countryside on her way back to Montreal, each time she drains someone they're transformed into a crazed cannibal, leaving behind a trail of rabid infected who continue to spread the plague. Eventually the city of Montreal is overrun with the violent infected and the city is declared to be under Martial Law. 

Cronenberg is working with a familiar premise for those who have watched Rabid, the spread of venereal type disease which transforms its victims - only this time on a larger scale, affecting the entire city of Montreal. Our patient-zero is played by sex-film star Marilyn Chambers, who does very good work here in her first and only venture into the world of legit movies. Given her solid performance here I am a tiny but surprised she never had a legit movie career afterward, or at least did not appear in a few more non-adult movies. Chambers has a vulnerability about her, a girl-next-door sweetness that makes it easy to sympathize with her even though she is the one spreading the plague around. She has a scene right at the end where she chooses to make a sacrifice, while it is not academy award worthy stuff she does what needs to be done for this low-budget action-horror movie, her performance is decently affecting. 

The movie feels like a next step movie fro Cronenberg, the gore is minimal but there are plenty of gruesome sights to take in for fans of troubling imagery, including the police gunning down a Santa at the local mall, plus Dr. Keloid becomes infected and goes rabid during a delicate surgical procedure, slicing off the finger of his nurse before gnawing on his surgical patient. The film manages to be gruesome and thought provoking is several ways, and the ideas and themes introduced throughout sort of haunted me for a while after watching it. An early Cronenberg entry that had a lot going on beyond the usual zombie-epidemic of the premise, but there's also plenty of that too. 

Rabid Special Features: 
- Introduction By Director David Cronenberg (11 Mins) 
- Audio Commentary with Director David Cronenberg 
- Interviews with David Cronenberg (21 Mins) 
- Documentary: The Directors with David Cronenberg (59 Mins) 

THE DEAD ZONE (1983) 
Region Code: A/B

Rating: R
Duration: 104 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Cast: Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Tom Skerritt, Brooke Adams

David Cronenberg's adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Dead Zone takes place in (where else?) Castle Rock, Maine, where a middle school teacher Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) is dating fellow teacher Sarah (Brooke Adams). After a night at the carnival he drops Sarah off at home, sweetly rebuffing her invitation to spend the night, saying "some things are worth waiting for". Driving home through a heavy downpour he is involved in an accident and lays in coma for five years, awaking to the news that Sarah has moved on and married since the accident. 

He recovers at the hospital under the care of  Dr. Sam Weizak (Herbert Lom), discovering that he now has the "gift" of second sight, foreseeing that a nurse's house is on fire and her daughter is in danger. The panicked nurse runs home and it turns out that Johnny's vision was accurate. Afterward, he becomes a sort of local celebrity weirdo, becoming a recluse to avoid the stares and inquiries of the curious in the small town who begin to fear him. 

Sheriff George Bannerman (Tom Skerritt) approaches Johnny hoping to use his gift to solve a series of grisly killings which have plagued the area for years. Initially he refuses but when the Castle Rock Killer strikes again he comes around, using his gift for good, though it feels more like a curse to Johnny. When he is taken to one of the crime scenes he senses that the killer is actually Deputy Frank Dodd (Nicholas Campbell, The Shape of Things to Come), while attempting to apprehend the murderous deputy Johnny is shot by the suspects mother and the deputy kills himself in a memorable death-by-scissors scene. After the incident Johnny moves to a neighboring city where he is hired by the wealthy Roger Stuart (Anthony Zerbe) to tutor his young son Chris (Simon Craig), who is abnormally shy but takes a liking to Johnny right away. While working for Stuart Johnny meets a charismatic but crooked political candidate named Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen). After shaking hands with the Stillson his second-sight kicks in and Johnny is overcome with an apocalyptic vision of the future, of the politician's rise in power, an ascent that will culminate in a nuclear apocalypse. Now Johnny must decide is he should take matters into his own hands and change the course of the future through whatever means necessary. This is a story that holds up very well, both as a Stephen King story and as an entrancing Cronenberg entry. 

The movie can be seen as making the argument that political assassination is a necessary course of action, which I found very intriguing. I've always found Cronenberg's movies to be a bit on the cold side in regard to warmth and emotion but this one is full of warmth, the chemistry between Walken and Brooke Adams is quite nice, as the former couple rekindle their relationship, fulfilling the promise of things worth waiting for. Christopher Walken is wonderful as usual, a quirky recluse with awkward hair who lives with his dad, wants to be left alone, but whose visions of the future force him to take action, it's great stuff. Martin Sheen (The Believers) is charismatic but ultimately evil senatorial candidate, and Herbert Lom (Mark of the Devil) is quite good as Dr. Sam Weizak. There is a wonderful scene of he and Johnny speaking about the morality of going back in time and killing Adolf Hitler, a conversation which sends Johnny on his assassination quest, that is so well handled by both actors. Lom is a powerhouse who many will remember as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus from the Pink Panther Movies, others will recognize him from a string of low-budget horror and exploitation movies from the 70s, he's a welcome addition to the cast here. Brooke Adams (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) always exudes a small town charm with a sweet smile and a soft spot for Walken, whose path seems destined to cross with that of Johnny, she makes for a wonderful love interest. 

The movie is an odd one in the Cronenberg canon, a movie I do not feel is truly recognized as either a top-notch Cronenberg entry nor for being one of the best of the Stephen King adaptations. The Dead Zone is an enthralling watch, accentuated by a wonderful Michael Kamen score and a bittersweet final note. I do hope this Blu-ray earns the underrated flick some much deserved love from those who might have overlooked this David Cronenberg/Stephen King gem. 

The Dead Zone Special Features:
- Audio Commentary from screenplay writer Stephen Jones and Film Critic Kim Newman
- Memories from The Dead Zone (12 Mins) with 
- The Look of The Dead Zone (9 Mins) 
- Visions and Horror from The Dead Zone (10 Mins) 
- The Politics of The Dead Zone (12 Mins) 
- Original Trailer (2 Mins) HD 

Audio/Video: The three-disc set arrives from Via Vision housed in a three-disc Blu-ray case, each movie appearing on its own separate disc. The films are presented in 1080p widescreen looking solid though a bit uneven, particularly Rabid which was made on the cheap and has certain limitations that show through, though of no fault to the transfer. It should be noted that the Shivers cut appears to be the same restoration supervised and approved by Director David Cronenberg which was produced by Tiff Cinematheque Quebec at Technicolor in 2013 and also appeared on the initial Arrow Video pressing in the UK, which was cut and met with the expected outcry. Arrow initiated a disc replacement program to replace that version with a fully uncut version of the movie, but the version here is that same cut which is missing about twenty-five seconds of footage. For the sake of comparison check out the video below from Arrow Video showing the differences between the  R-rated cut, which is what Via Vision are offering, and the uncut version.  

The audio on these disc might prove problematic for the HD purists, The Dead Zone offers an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track with optional English subtitles, sounding crisp and clean with some good depth, the Michael Kamen score sounds outstanding. However, both Rabid and Shivers both receive lossy Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono audio tracks, both tracks sound good within the confines of the lossy format, optional English subtitles are also provided. 

The disc which is labeled as Region B is also playable on Region A Blu-ray players, which is great. Extras on Shivers include an introduction by David Cronenberg, a 48-minute vintage television interviewing David Cronenberg, co-producer Don Carmody, as well as the cast and crew, plus the original theatrical trailer for the movie. Onto the Rabid disc we get hour-long doc The Directors: David Cronenberg, a 1999 documentary on the filmmaker with interviews from Cronenberg, Marilyn Chambers, Deborah Harry, Michael Ironside, Peter Weller and others, a Croneberg commentary, and 21-minutes of archival interviews with the director. The Dead Zone disc carries over all the extras from the region 1 Paramount Special Collector's Edition DVD which includes four making of featurettes adding up to about 43-minutes, plus the original theatrical trailer. Via Vision's disc also includes an audio commentary from writer Stephen Jones and Film Critic Kim Newman which is quite a good listen and is carried over from the UK release from Sanctuary Video Entertainment. 

The Via Vision Cronenberg Collection is a quality set, perhaps a bit on the anemic side when compared to Arrow Video's region B locked releases of Rabid and Shives, but as a budget-minded collection this is a decent package for North American buyers with a healthy dose of extras. It does lose some points for not having the complete version of Shivers and for the lossy audio on both Rabid and Shivers, but overall this is a nice Cronenberg package from Via Vision, which can be found for a great price online. 

SUGAR COOKIES (1971)

SUGAR COOKIES (1971) 

Label: Vinegar Syndrome

Region: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated
Duration: 91 Minutes

Audio: 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Theodore Gershuny

Cast: George Shannon, Mary Woronov, Lynn Lowrey, Daniel Sadurs, Jennifer Welles

Here we have a film co-written by Troma's own Lloyd Kaufman and directed by Theodore Gershuny and starring the lovely duo of Mary Woronov (THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) and Lynn Lowry (SHIVERS). The film opens with adult film director Max (George Shannon) playing a twisted sex game with his porn star lover Alta (Lynn Lowry) that ends with him shooting her in the head. Max's other lover, porn producer Camilla (Mary Woronov), provides the director with an alibi and Alta's death is widely reported as a tragic suicide. 

Soon after Camilla begins auditioning actresses to fill the void left by the death of Alta. we soon discover that Alta was also Camilla's lover in addition to Max, which makes for a fun triangular dynamic. The producer meets with several actresses before coming across a young woman named Julie (played by Lynn Lowry) who is the spitting image of the late Alta. Promising her a future in film Camilla sets about molding the young starlet into a version of Alta through a series of kinky seduction and cruel mind games which lead-up to a finale that mirrors the opening scene with a nice serving of revenge. 

While the title invokes images of a lighthearted softcore sex film but it rarely strays into the realm true softcore perversion or offering much comedy. There is an off-kilter sub plot involving Max's chubby nephew Gus and his quest to lose his virginity. It's such a weird detour and feels shoe-horned into the film.  A scene of Gus popping his cherry in drag while screaming the name of his uyncle left me scratching my head, as did a pair of panty-sniffing detectives - none of which plays into anything whatsoever.  

Not played for laughs but definitely weird I found the strange sex rituals and mind games  intriguing but desperately disjointed. It's the onscreen pairing of the seductive Lynn Lowry and Mary Woronov that carried the film for me. While I have never found Woronov to be a woman who stirred me there's something about her I found so damn appealing in this film. 

Lowry is decent in the dual-role of seductive adult film star and the more naive Julie who finds herself manipulated by the twisted duo Max and Camilla, she has a presence you cannot deny. Lowry and Woronov engage in some sapphic love scenes throughout but the film is not an x-rated sleaze fest, this is more a trashy erotic thriller with some off-kilter detours and arthouse leanings. .

BLU-RAY:
The brand new 4K scan of the film from the original 35mm negative looks truly fantastic, the film grain is managed quite nicely throughout with some excellent fine detail and clarity. It's an impressive image front to back with solid color reproduction and skin tones, minor instances of speckling and print damage from time to time but I cannot imagine this film looking any better than this. 

The DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono audio track is decent, it can be a bit flat and boxy at times and is marred by some audio hiss, which is probably due to poor sound recording during filming or poor sound elements. 

The extras are spread across the two disc set beginning with a new interview with star Lynn Lowry entitled "Making Sugar Cookies with Lynn Lowry" with the star discussing her first meeting with Lloyd Kaufman and landing the role going onto discuss her hesitation to do nudity onscreen at first. Her contract stipulated know full frontal but during the interview admits that there is a "hint of bush" in a few scenes. Going on to discuss director Ted Gershuny, the duality of her role in the film and working with Woronov who she thought was a bit intimidating. Having just re watched the film Lowry offers up some fun anecdotes and seems genuinely fond of the film which she rightfully recalls as more of an art film that an x-rated sexploitation entry, this is a pretty dandy interview. The Blu-ray disc is rounded out with a scratchy widescreen theatrical trailer for the film. 

Onto the standard definition second disc we have the same feature presentation of the film plus the Lynn Lowry interview plus two additional interviews with producer Lloyd Kaufman and star Mary Woronov, "Remembering Sugar Cookies with Lloyd Kaufman" features the animated impresario remembering his time on the film and discovering star Lynn Lowry which he cast in several films. The man is an encyclopedia of knowledge and the half hour featurette is pretty dense with info and humor. 

Also carried over from the original Troma release is the interview with Mary Woronov conducted by Lloyd Kaufman. She recalls being shocked that director Theodore Gershunuy, whom she was married to at the time, not only cast her in a lesbian role but also inserted himself into the film in a softcore sex scene. 

A decent set of extras, both Kaufman and Lowry are very forthcoming about their experiences on the film while Woronov  seems a bit more reserved or maybe just slightly annoyed by Lloyd Kaufman whom insists that Woronov was a lesbian in real life at one point during the interview. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- BD/DVD Combo Pack
- New 4K Restoration from the 35mm Camera Negative 
- New video interview with Writer/Producer, Lloyd Kaufman (34 Minutes) SD
- New video interview with Star Lynn Lowry (14 Minutes) HD
- Interview with Star Mary Woronov (5 Minutes) SD
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 Minutes) HD/SD
- Alt Theatrical Trailer (3 Minutes) SD

VERDICT:
SUGAR COOKIES (1971) definitely has some strange appeal, namely the erotic duo of Woronov and Lowry who carry the film through performance and spectacle. At it's core it's a slow tale of manipulative revenge tempered with eroticism but it suffers from odd detours that go nowhere. It's great to see this get such a fine release from Vinegar Syndrome who continue to go above and beyond in their efforts to preserve and  champion obscure cult cinema, a recommend to fans of arty softcore cinema by way of the New York underground.