The Director of ‘Shadow’, Federico Zampaglione shooting new film from screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti

Received word from Clout Communications that director Federico Zampaglione's new film project TULPA is written by the legendary screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti. If you're not familiar with the Sacchetti's work here's but a few titles he's authored screenplays or written for: THE CAT O' NINE TAILS (1971), A BAY OF BLOOD (1971), THE PSYCHIC (1977), ZOMBI 2 (1979), CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980), THE BEYOND (1981), THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981). I could go on but do I really need to? I'm not familiar with director Zampaglione's film work but Sacchetti's involvement has definitely stirred my interest.

News Alert (UK): 12th  April 2011

The Director of ‘Shadow’, Federico Zampaglione, has announced that shooting on his new film will begin shortly. Entitled TULPA, it will be, according to Zampaglione, “a very bloody and tense Italian thriller with some supernatural elements”.

Tulpa is written by the legendary screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti  (pictured right with Zampaglione), who has worked with all the great Italian horror masters including Fulci, Bava and Argento.


Federico explains the title: “Tulpa is a term which comes from Tibetan Buddhism. It’s a kind of projection of your metaphysical part, which, through meditation, can become real. But sometimes tulpa goes the wrong way and turns unto an evil presence... which then wants to kill its creator. It's mysterious and creepy stuff”.


The film will be shot on locations in Rome and North Africa.

Federico’s debut feature SHADOW is set for UK release through newly-created FrightFest Features. The director will be in London for the opening and will attend a Q & A at the Empire, Leicester Sq. following the film's first public screening on Friday April 29th. 

New horror titles from Midnight Releasing

Midnight Releasing is a Scottsdale, Arizona based independent horror entertainment  distrbutor that I literally stumbled across on these here internets. I was excited to find a DVD label right here in my own back yard. I haven't checked out their films as of yet but here's what's on their slate April thru June. Theres a martial art/wendigo extravaganza, creepy dolls, backwoods zombie horror, a deadly house filled with college co-eds featuring scream Tiffany Shepis and a horror anthology. Check 'em and out and support independent horror cinema.

HORRID (2009)

Release Date: April 5th 2011

LABEL: Midnight Releasing
DURATION: 92 mins
DIRECTOR: James Pronath

CAST: Kevin Kiser Liz Ribarchek Kyle Berg Amber Rae Halama, Chase Stoeger Lindsey Gagliano Josh Mijal and Rex Sikes
TAGLINE: Take a trip to the north woods, but don’t plan on going home.

SYNOPSIS: Come visit the beautiful north woods. Enjoy the changing of the leaves, the vast chain of lakes, bountiful hunting and fishing, and great snowmobile trails. Relax at one of our many resorts or find yourself part of a genetic experiment testing deadly viruses. Three friends travel north for a bachelor party weekend full of babes, booze and unexpected encounters. Oblivious to what is happening around them the three find themselves trapped as a cannibalistic diseases, developed by the military, transforms the townspeople into ravenous zombies.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Deleted Scenes

- Interview with Director
- Outtakes
- Makeup FX of Horrid
- Unreleased Trailers
- Audio Commentary
- Interview with Cast

DEAD ON SITE (2008)

Release Date: April 15th 2011

LABEL: Midnight ReleasingSYNOPSIS: The Sackett family never had a chance. Attacked in their home by an intruder, the couple and their three children were slashed to ribbons, decapitated, eviscerated. One year later, a group of college students moves into the so-called “Whack-it House” on a mission not only to complete a senior project, but discover the identity of the killer and get justice at last.

DURATION: 86 mins
DIRECTOR: Scott Keyon Barker
CAST: Robbie Daymond, Jaime Perkins, Chris Burnham, Tiffany Shepis, Andre Mazire
TAGLINE: Evil Needs An Audience.



Luis, whose father was a police detective, has all the files on the case. Marc is a computer wiz, responsible for setting up and maintaining the surveillance equipment, computer and website that the group will be using. Deke, with his alpha dog personality, is the group’s de facto leader. The guys are joined by Lynne, a sexy B movie actress now completing her media arts degree; Kim-Ly, a petite but scrappy Vietnamese martial artist; and Cody, a Native American student who senses early on that something is not right.


Each night they re-enact one of the Sackett family murders. And each time, something goes wrong. Tempers flare … blood flows … and then the threatening phone calls begin. Soon, the group has more questions than they have answers: Who really killed the Sacketts? And has he come back for more …?

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Behind the Scenes
- Gag Reel
- Trailer
- Audio Commentary

WENDIGO: BOUND BY BLOOD (2010)

Release Date: May 3rd 2011

LABEL: Midnight Releasing

DURATION: 90 mins
DIRECTOR: Leonard Kabasinski Jr.

CAST: Brian Anthony, Cheyenne King, Leon South, Amara Offhaus, KK Ryder

TAGLINE: These woods hold an evil secret…..a myth never to be awakened….linked by human flesh!

SYNOPSIS: For Hundreds of years, Native American culture has believed in the evil cannibalistic spirit know as “the Wendigo”. For those who had taken part in cannibalism, no matter the reason, it was said “the Wendigo” would then take possession of the person’s body and soul. Once the Wendigo would take possession of the human host, the host would develop and insatiable desire to eat human flesh.

In the deep woods of Northern Pennsylvania, A small town sheriff is investigating a bloody crime scene. On the scene, he meets beautiful Angeni Stonechild , a traveling physician doing work in the area. During the investigation, the two stumble upon FBI Agents, two individuals under their witness protection program, dead bodies, and a whole slew of hired hitmen out to ensure the witnesses never make it to trial. With a trail of mutilated bodies piling up, the sheriff and Angeni must not only confront the dangerous assassins but also find away to destroy….the Wendigo!

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Audio Commentary with Director Len Kabasinski, producer DeAnna Visalle, and Actress KK Ryder

SINISTER (2010)

Release Date: May 3rd 2011

LABEL: Midnight Releasing

DURATION:  90 mins
DIRECTOR: Steve Sessions
CAST: Donna Hamblin,  Lucien Eisenach, Donny Versiga
TAGLINE: The House isn’t haunted. It’s you. It’s as if you’ve been cursed . .


SYNOPSIS:  From “highly-underrated writer/director Steve Sessions” (filmthreat.com), comes a new tale of hoodoo and horror.

Starring Donna Hamblin (Mark of the Astro Zombies), SINISTER explores a world where submerged burlap dolls filled with hair and graveyard dirt spells bathtub drownings for unsuspecting enemies . . . . and the murdering dead come back to life at the whim of a madman!

A voodoo conjure man (Lucien Eisenach) has moved into town with a bag of tricks and a short temper. Unwittingly, Emily (Donna Hamblin) crosses his path and provokes his wrath. As the nightmare of his curse progresses, Emily enlists the aid of her brother (Donny Versiga) to find out what’s happening and try to reverse his hex before it’s too late!

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Unreleased Trailers

- Audio Commentary

3 SLICES OF LIFE (2010)

Release Date: June 7th 2011

LABEL: Midnight Releasing
DURATION: 108 mins
DIRECTOR: Anthony G. Sumner

CAST: Deneen Melody, Alan Rowe Kelly, Toya Turner, Kaylee Williams

TAGLINE: At Home, At Work, At Play…Terror is Never Far Away.


SYNOPSIS: 3 SLICES OF LIFE captures the struggle of a young amnesiac as she looks for clues to her identity within the drawings of three sketchbooks. Her world soon devolves into a harrowing nightmare as bloodsucking parasites, zombies, serial killers, demon children, rabid office workers and angry embryos spring to gory life from the pages of her sketchbooks.


WORK LIFE
A lowly clerk at a nano technology firm unleashes a deadly virus at the office headquarters, giving new meaning to the term corporate zombie.

HOME LIFE
As local girls begin to disappear, a young pregnant woman is haunted by visions of evil demonic children hell bent on stealing her unborn fetus.


SEX LIFE
A young brother and sister on the run from a sexually abusive home life, take refuge in a countryside Victorian manor- only to discover the monsters hidden in this house have been looking for a new home.

Convinced that the characters from these books are roaming around the motel, Mira's reality begins to crumble. Are these visions real or is she going insane? Desperate, Mira turns to the motel caretakers (Marv Blauvelt and Helene Alter-Dyche), only to discover the true evil bound in the flesh covered books and the destiny they hold for her.

A throwback to old school anthology horror movies, filmmakers Anthony G. Sumner and Eric Richter have created a chiller with something scary for everyone.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Audio Commentary
- Behind the Scenes
- Early Short JITTERS

Official website – http://www.slicesoflifemovie.com/

Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh46euNxaLM

BBFC waives some cuts for Shameless' HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK DVD (UK)

THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK (1980)

Shameless Screen Entertainment October 31st DVD release of Ruggero Deodato's brutal video nasty HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK (1980) starring David Hess and Giovanni Lombardo Radice will be cut though with 37 seconds previously given the axe by the BBFC reinstated.

Shameless submitted the film to the BBFC advisory board and perhaps unrealistically many fans had hoped the film would emerge unscathed and uncut in light of recent classification decisions resulting in Shameless's Blu-ray of Deodato's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) surprisingly receiving only minimal cuts and Arrow Video's DVD of the video nasty ISLAND OF DEATH (1977) passed without cuts as did Wes Craven's seminal THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972). It seemed that perhaps the times they were a changing in the UK in regard to film censorship and I thought it would be interesting to see what happened with the classification of HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK and now we know.

Shameless's appeal to the BBFC’s decision to cut HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK by 80 seconds resulted in what some might call a minor victory, the BBFC have agreed to waive 37 seconds of cuts to the sex scene between the characters Alex and Lisa. Sitting here at my computer in the US where violence on TV is expected and encouraged - just don't show us any nudity -  it's easy to flinch at the thought that in the UK there's an actual governing body that dictates what is acceptable for an adult to view in this day and age. Praise to be to Shameless for fighting the good fight against censorship.

Not many concrete announcements have been made about the special features on the disc but here's what we've been able to piece together...

- Brand new special introduction to the film by David Hess.
- Brand new (and very lively!) interview with David Hess.
- Unannounced feature dedicated to the film's censorship.

This post was made possible from our exclusive feed with

Cult Labs [cult-labs.com]

DVD REVIEW: The Walking Dead Girls (2010)

THE WALKING DEAD GIRLS (2010)

LABEL: Cheezy Flicks
RELEASE DATE: March 22nd 2011
REGION: Region 1 NTSC
ASPECT RATIO: 16x9
AUDIO:  Dolby Digital
DURATION: 70 mins
DIRECTOR: Tyler Benjamin
CAST: George Romero, Bruce Campbell, Linnea Quigley, Boyd Banks, Lloyd Kaufman

PLOT: The Walking Dead Girls is a behind-the-scenes look into zombie culture in the United States and the obsession into ""Sexy Female Zombies"". What is it about Zombie Bimbos or ""Zimbies"" that are starting to gain the worlds interest? Why are zombies now in mainstream culture and seen in advertising from JCPenny and Sears? With interviews with zombie master maker George Romero and cult movie star Bruce Campbell from ZomBcon 2010 and so much more. Also with a rare look into the making of a Zombie Pinup Calendar, behind the scenes of ""Stripperland"" and ""Clublife"" Daniel Baldwin's hip hop Zombie music video debut. ""The Walking Dead Girls"" is a sexy look into the zombie phenomenon created by George Romero that is 40 years in the making.

FILM: What we have here is a breezy made-by-fans documentary that sets out to give watchers a glimpse into zombie culture through behind-the-scenes footage of the Zombie Pin-Up Calendar photo shoot and interviews with actors and directors of zombie genre film. It's a pretty casual affair hosted by the lovely and pink-haired Luna Moon.  The films starts off with a George A. Romero interview and rightly so, despite what some may think of his latest films the man undeniably redefined the zombie genre. It's a decent interview and while it covers stuff we've heard many times before on commentaries, interview, etc.  we do find out that George's favorite food is Middle Eastern cuisine. Sure, it's a fluff piece but it's always nice to hear Romero discuss his films, his legacy, and the social commentary found in all his films.  This interview pretty much sets the pace for the remainder of the film as most of the interviews are pretty shallow, not too in-depth and often off topic. Off topic like John Amplas the star of George A. Romero's MARTIN (1977) who seems an odd choice as that films is a vampire flick and has nothing to do with zombie culture other than Romero directed it. Don't get me wrong I think it's a fantastic film but it seems out of place here in this context. One of the more interesting interviews is scream scream Linnea Quigley who I recall so fondly from her iconic roles in RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) and NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988) as she discusses her career as a scream queen and her role in the forthcoming film STRIPPERLAND (2010) and she even demonstrated several different scream techniques, fun stuff.  The Ladies of The Evil Dead make a brief appearance and let me just say that these gals seem like a ton o' fun and even provided a group scream for the fans, and if I may say so Ellen Sandweiss is still an attractive lady. Speaking of the EVIL DEAD (1981) Luna Moon interviews Bruce Campbell who really comes across as an arrogant bastard who cared little to talk about zombies and instead plugs his TV series BURN NOTICE, maybe it was an off night but he seemed dismissive and disinterested. After the Linnea Quigley segment the interview with Troma impresario Lloyd Kaufman is a definite highlight. This is a guy whom is 10x more interesting than the best Troma film in my opinion. He's charismatic and well-spoken while discussing his introduction to film while attending Yale where he counted future Commander in Chief George W. Bush and director Oliver Stone as classmates. Kaufman who recently has been outspoken in regards to net neutrality recounts allegedly being asked to join the nefarious Skull and Bones society and the downfall of independent cinema distribution and television programming under various presidential administrations. A very interesting personality and it may be a bit surprising if all you know him by are the goofy Troma DVD introductions. And let's not forget the real draw of the film, the behind-the-scenes photo shoots with busty pin-up girls from the Zombie Pin-Up Calender. These were fun if redundant buts as the models are asked a series of similar question like would you rather be a zombie or a vampire and why. While I prefer a bit more substance in my docs this was a lot of fun and at only 70 minutes it flew by.

DVD: The film is presented in 16x9 enhanced widescreen and looks pretty good. It appears to have been shot on consumer grade digital video equipment, it's a real made by fans for fans production and there ain't nothin' wrong with that. There are no subtitles included or supplemental materials.

VERDICT: THE WALKING DEAD GIRLS (2010) is a fun spirited zombie culture documentary made by fans for fans and it definitely wears it's zombie heart on its sleeve. While I don't think it's particularly illuminating and it may have a ton of rewatch value it is certainly entertaining and includes zombie cheesecake photo-shoots with busty ladies made-up as zombies, so how bad could it be, right? Definitely not essential viewing but probably a fun rental for you zombie nuts out there. 2.5 outta 5

Exclusive SOMETHING WICKED DWELLS Behind-the-Scenes Pics

Friend of the blog/actor  Bill Oberst, Jr.was nice enough to send some sweet behind-the-scenes pictures from the set of writer/director Waide Aaron Riddle's SOMETHING WICKED DWELLS. The film tells the story of prisoners in an Old New England dungeon confronting the specter of their dead Master. The prisoners beg for mercy only to be dragged to Hell's gallows. Damn, that just sounds awesome and I love Bill's description of the film below.


"Me in the last shot; over the edge and speaking Waide Riddle's gothic poetry in a daze. What could be better?"

If you're not aware of Oberst's work he is and up and coming actor with memorable stints on HBO's southern Gothic vamp series TRUE BLOOD as well as several episodes of the super-addictive 1000 WAYS TO DIE. I first came across his work in the swampland cannibal film DISMAL (2009) and he will next be appearing in the forthcoming film from  RUN! BITCH RUN! (2009) director Joseph Guzman. It's a nasty bit of exploitation called  NUDE NUNS WITH BIG GUNS (2010) which should be getting a release later this year. I think Oberst is definitely one to watch, a horror icon in the making working his way to the top with one memorably disturbing performance after another. Don't take my word for it watch his films and see for yourself. I would also encourage you to check out his recent interview on the Altered Reality Radio podcast, good stuff. http://alteredrealitiesradio.com/arr-blog/192-32511-on-arr-bill-oberst-jr.

 

 *"Me having make-up applied for final sequence by Art Department head Aaron Glazer (that muck was ice-cold!)"


"SOMETHING WICKED DWELLS was a labor of love for cast and crew. The idea was to recapture the Gothic black and white feel of classic Universal Studios horror combined with the literary feel of Poe. The writer and director, Waide Aaron Riddle, calls it "a Renaissance painting in hell" and that pretty well sums it up. It's based on a dark Gothic poem by Riddle and is set in an ancient dungeon where doomed prisoners wait to be dragged one by one into a demon's lair. The whole thing reminded me of Michelangelo's "The Last Judgement" on the Sistine Chapel ceiling; really frightening. It's a short that I would not be surprised to see win awards domestically and especially in Europe. We just wrapped on an amazingly realistic dungeon set in Hollywood and the film is now in post with several festivals already interested in seeing it for their 2011 events. Cast was me, Chris Brady, Troy Mettleider and Fabian Alomar. SOMETHING WICKED DWELLS is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Something-Wicked-Dwells/100757609993368




"Me in character in an early sequence listening to the demon's roar and knowing that I may be next"

 Shoot was a hell of a lot of fun and some of the hardest work I have done as an actor. Not your usual by-the-numbers horror piece. My hat's off to Waide Riddle and his production company Green Ghost Films for doing something different. Oh by the way, I'd like to invite your readers to follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/billoberstjr and friend me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/billoberstjr  I follow back and I friend back. It's a pleasure to support McBastard's Masoleum - easily the most intelligent horror blog on the web today!"


your fan, Bill


*"How that make-up looked in final scenes; me losing my marbles; a dearly-departed friend is on dungeon wall."

* = Exclusive to McBastard's Mausoleum and not seen elsewhere yet



Tetsuya Nakashima's CONFESSIONS gets a UK DVD/ Blu-ray release April 25th

For our UK and Region 2 enabled readers here's an announcement for  Tetsuya Nakashima's Japanese language psychological thriller CONFESSIONS (2010) coming to DVD/Blu-ray late this month from Third Window Films.

TETSUYA NAKASHIMA'S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, AWARD WINNING

CONFESSIONS RELEASED ON BLU-RAY AND DOUBLE-DISC DVD

 on 25th April

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ‘KAMIKAZE GIRLS’ AND ‘MEMORIES OF MATSUKO’.

Following the critical acclaim of his previous features, ‘Kamikaze Girls’ and ‘Memories Of Matsuko’, genre-busting auteur Tetsuya Nakashima returns with Confessions, a notably darker but equally absorbing and typically idiosyncratic work, this time adapted from the award winning debut novel byKanae Minato.


Written and directed by Nakashima, Confessions was selected as Japan’s official entry in the Best Foreign Film category of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards and was the winner of the awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Director (Tetsuya Nakashima) at the 34th Japanese Academy Awards earlier this year.

Reigning in his impulse to create surreal candy-coloured worlds full of chaos and confusion, withConfessions Nakashima opts instead for an intense drama throbbing with dark emotions and powered by a savage central performance.


Takako Matsu (K-20: Legend Of The Mask) stars as Yuko Moriguchi, a middle-school teacher whose four-year-old daughter is found dead. Shattered, she finally returns to her classroom only to become convinced that two of her students were responsible for her daughter's murder. No one believes her, and she may very well be wrong, but she decides, nevertheless, that it's time to take her revenge. What happens next is all-out psychological warfare waged against her students in an attempt to force them into confessing what she knows in her heart to be true: they are guilty and must be punished.

Brilliantly building the psychological tension from the film’s very start before pulling out all the stops for a devastating and explosive finale, Nakashima has produced what is arguably his most mature and impressive work to date. A superb script, excellent performances from a fine cast and a perfectly pitched soundtrack (that includes tracks by Radiohead, acclaimed Japanese experimental rock band, Boris, and this year’s Mercury Prize winners, The XX) make Confessions one of the most original and impressive films of the year.

Special Features include: 70-minute featurette “Final Confessions” by Tetsuya Nakashima; “Real Confessions” by students; theatrical trailer; Third Window Films trailers.

Confessions (15) is released on two-disc DVD (£14.99) and single-disc Blu-ray (£19.99) by Third Window Films on 25th April 2011.

BLU-RAY REVIEW: Ernest Comedy Double Feature Blu-ray

ERNEST GOES TO CAMP (1987) / ERNEST GOES TO JAIL (1990)

Ernest Comedy Double Feature Blu-ray
Mill Creek Entertainment

ERNEST GOES TO CAMP (1987)

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Anamorphic

Audio: DTS-HD 2.0, PCM Uncompressed 2.0

Duration: 91 mins

Director: John R. Cherry III

Cast: Jim Varney, Iron Eyes Cody, John Vernon, Victoria Racimo

Plot: Everyone’s favorite pitchman Ernest P. Worrell stars in his first feature film as the bumbling handyman at Kamp Kikakee who is given a chance to finally be a counselor to a group of juvenile delinquents. Ernest has his hands full with his young charges that delight in tormenting him with their practical jokes. When an unscrupulous mine owner sets his sights upon the camp property, Ernest and his campers must band together to save the day!

Film: I was 14 the year that Ernest Goes to Camp (1987) came to theatres, a time when I was too busy obsessing over the opposite sex to give the film much thought. Had I known then the years of torment, rejection and heartache I would endure at the mercy of my hormones I might have put off the opposite sex for a few more years and let the rubber-faced funnyman bring a smile to my face.


Jim Varney was coming off a string of awesome 80's TV commercials when his character Ernest P. Worrell made his feature film debut with Ernest Goes to Camp (1987). He's a kind-hearted but woefully inept handyman at Camp Kikakee whom dreams of one day becoming a camp counselor. Sure enough the kind-hearted goof he gets his wish when a group of delinquent youths injure one of the counselors with their pranky shenanigans. The kids themselves are very typical 80's youth stereotypes, nothing new under the sun here but it workd within the context of a PG kids film. Ernest takes the kids under his wing and despite some pranks and abuse at the hands of the group they develop a liking for the accident prone handyman turned counselor.

Turns out that Camp Kikakee is situated on top of a large deposit of the element Petrocite which puts the camp in the sights of the Krader Mining Co. and the unscrupulous Sherman Krader played by one of the best villainous actors of the 70's/80's John Vernon, whom most will recall as Dean Wormer from Animal House (1978). Krader will stop at nothing to have at the profitable petrocite and he exploits Ernest's naivety to steal the camp out from under it's elderly Native American owner. As the mining corporation prepares to strip mine the camp it becomes an all out war as the the camp staff and kids lead by Ernest defend the camp against the evil corporation. It's fun stuff with a great cast of characters including two bumbling kitchen staff who are constantly concocting heinous camp grub which is used during the films explosive finale. This is just 80's goofy goodness with a ton of stupid gags. It's hard to believe that I've managed to avoid this film for 24 years, this was a fun watch with my kids who laughed from start to finish. It's not a comedy classic but it's a fun time.

ERNEST GOES TO JAIL (1990)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85: Anamorphic

Audio: DTS-HD 2.0, PCM Uncompressed 2.0
Duration: 80 mins
Director: John R. Cherry III
Cast: Jim Varney, Gailard Smith, Bill Byrge, Barbara Tyson

Plot: Bank janitor Ernest P. Worrell is called to jury duty and soon finds himself in trouble when the lookalike defendant’s attorney arranges a switch and has Ernest sent to prison in his client’s place. While Ernest struggles to deal with prison life, his criminal double decides to use Ernest’s job at the bank as an opportunity to rob it. Will Ernest be able to break out of prison in time to stop the robbery and expose the mix-up?

Film: This is the third film in which Jim Varney reprised his role as Ernest P. Worrell and this time out Ernest is the accident prone janitor of a bank who dreams of one day being a bank teller ...and hijinx ensue. Sounds familiar, huh? It's pretty uninspired stuff and in an unlikely turn of events Ernest is chosen for jury duty and through what can only be described as a improbable comedy of errors is mistaken for master-criminal Felix Nash (also played by Varney). Nash just can't believe his good luck at doubling for a janitor at a bank, so while he's planning to rob the bank Ernest must find a way outta jail before he is put to death as Nash. This film lacks any real laughs but seeing Varney volley back and forth between slackjawed Ernest and the cutthroat Nash is fun stuff.  So while I thought it was a fairly substandard comedy retread whattya the kids think? They loved it of course. 

Blu-ray: Ernest Goes to Camp is presented in 1080p anamorphic 2.35:1 scope aspect ratio. The print looks quite good and the transfer is surprisingly sharp with vibrant colors.  There's a good amount of depth to the image and decent black levels. Ernest Goes to Jail does not fare so well with a 1080i anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer. The print is dirty, the image is soft and the black levels are murky at best. Both film's feature English DTS-HD 2.0 and PCM Uncompressed 2.0 audio which sounds good if not overly impressive. No subtitle options or supplemental materials are offered. It's a bare bones affair but it's still nice to see Ernest make the jump to blu.

Verdict: As a child of the 80's in his late-30's can I say that these particular Ernest films hold up some 25 years later? The answer is yes and no. Ernest Goes to Camp (1987) is a truly entertaining watch. It helps that I have a soft spot for summer camp flicks spurred by my love of Friday the 13th (1980) and the numerous camp films of the late 70's and 80's - my favorite being Meatballs (1979) - but it's Varney's rubber faced antics that just make me laugh, it's as simple as that really. The comedy is kid-friendly (read: pretty stupid) and it makes for some good family entertainment. I watched it with my kids and they laughed non-stop so the film has some staying power. On the other hand Ernest Goes to Jail (1990) is pretty weak sauce. The story is a retread of Camp but without the benefit of the kids interaction with Ernest. Sure, it's not up to snuff  but it has it's moments and is worth a watch if only to see Varney stretch his acting muscle as the tough as nails Nash. If you have kids ages 6-12 this is a great buy that can be had on the cheap for less than $8 on Amazon.  Ernest Goes to Camp (1987) 3.5 outta 5 / Ernest Goes to Jail (1990) get a 2.5 outta 5