GHOST RIDERS (1987)
Label: MVD Visual
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 85 Minutes
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Alan Stewart
Cast: Jim Peters, Bill Shaw, Ricky Long, Cari Powell, Roland Bishop, Mike ‘Dusty’ Ammons, Gerald Stewart, James J. Desmarais
Regional western horror entry Ghost Riders (1987) opens with a prologue set in Santa Rio, Texas in the year 1886, where an angry vigilante lynch mob spearheaded by the fiery Reverend Thadeous Sutton (Bill Shaw, The Dirt Bike Kid) have had quite enough of outlaw Frank Clements (Mike ‘Dusty’ Ammons, Action U.S.A.) and his outlaw gang who have plundered the area. Clements is sitting in jail waiting to be hanged come sunrise, but the vigilantes fearing Clements' gang will show up and free him before his proper comeuppance bust him out themselves, aiming to hang him toot sweet, figuring vigilante justice is better than no justice at all. The town sleepy-eyed sheriff attempts to quell the unruly lynch mob with reason but as the Reverend predicted the Clements Gang show guns blazing, shooting up the mob and killing the sheriff and his deputy, but not before the reverend can hang the outlaw, with Clements managing to curse the preacher and those who done him in on the way out.
Regional western horror entry Ghost Riders (1987) opens with a prologue set in Santa Rio, Texas in the year 1886, where an angry vigilante lynch mob spearheaded by the fiery Reverend Thadeous Sutton (Bill Shaw, The Dirt Bike Kid) have had quite enough of outlaw Frank Clements (Mike ‘Dusty’ Ammons, Action U.S.A.) and his outlaw gang who have plundered the area. Clements is sitting in jail waiting to be hanged come sunrise, but the vigilantes fearing Clements' gang will show up and free him before his proper comeuppance bust him out themselves, aiming to hang him toot sweet, figuring vigilante justice is better than no justice at all. The town sleepy-eyed sheriff attempts to quell the unruly lynch mob with reason but as the Reverend predicted the Clements Gang show guns blazing, shooting up the mob and killing the sheriff and his deputy, but not before the reverend can hang the outlaw, with Clements managing to curse the preacher and those who done him in on the way out.
The story then moves ahead exactly 100 years to 1986, with the reverend's grandson Jim Sutton (Bill Shaw, again), a professor that is a renowned Texas history authority. When he's introduced he's looking at a vintage wanted poster of Frank Clement's and indicating that something not-good might be afoot on the 100th anniversary of his hanging. We also have Jim’s son Hampton (Jim Peters, Challenger), a Viet Nam vet turned stunt-pilot who travels out to his father’s ranch along with his aircraft mechanics Cory (Ricky Long) and Tommy (Arland Bishop, Black Snow) for a visit. Cory brings along a young woman named Pam (Cari Powell) who he is crushing on hard, she's history student at Baylor University who seems quite excited to meet the famed Texas historian, and her interest in the older Hampton rubs jealous Cory all the wrong ways, causing a bit of friction.
For reasons not ever explained, but let's just assume that for no other reason besides the fact that its the centennial anniversary of his death, the desperado Frank Clements and his gang return from beyond the grave to have revenge upon the descendants of their executioners. Made on the cheap with limited resources and a cast of mostly local ametuers Ghost Riders promises phantom outlaw action in the 80s but delivers a threadbare and anemic western/horror mash-up made during the days of VHS when pretty much every regional horror flick was promoted by default to VHS-rental staple - thanks to the home video market. This is not a film I ever rented on tape when I was young, at that time I wasn't huge on westerns, and if I had I would have been disappointed then as I am now, its a bit of a dud.
While the production is anemic I can certainly appreciate what director Al Steward and his associates made here, utilizing a ghost town set and cowboy actors on loan from a local amusement park and poolng limited resources to make a cheapie flick, the stitching shows throughout, but you gotta love the DIY spirit to a degree. There are some bloody squib effects but that action is pretty rote and the characters are slight, it just didn't fully engage me. I also didn't much care for how the phantom cowboys were quite corporeal and knocked-off with traditional bullets, the idea of ghostly desperado is not without potential but the limited resources of the cast strapped production fail to deliver on the premise.
Audio/Video: Ghost Riders (1987) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from MVD Visual in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. Largely clead free of blemish the image is reasonably sharp and well-defined. Theres a bit of source limitation and softness to the image but generally I found it quite strong. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English LPCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. There is a fair amount of hiss baked into the elements, its annoying but not too distracting.
Extras kick-off with a new Audio Commentary with director of photography / producer Thomas L. Calloway, writer/producer James Desmarais and moderator Steve Latshaw. Then onto the 23-min Bringing Out the Ghosts: The Making of Ghost Riders with the film's producers who remember the talent of director Alan Steward who passed in 2016, having to use the resources available to them to maximize production value, including using a ghost town set and cowboy actors on loan from an amusement park. They also get into an unfortunate head squib incident, casting local actors, and how certain scenes where achieved, in addition to using a make-shift dolly to keep the camera moving.
Up next is the 12-min archival making-of Low Budget Films which was produced by Baylor University, featuring a lot of clips of the film and director Alan Stewart discussing the hardships and difficulties making a low-budget non-Hollywood film, and how the film was successful, and repeating some advice he received from regional filmmaking legend S.F. Brownrigg.
The disc is finished up with a 2-min Original Trailer, a New Trailer, and a 10-min Stills Gallery and a 1-min Behind-The-Scenes gallery. The single-disc release arrives in an Elite keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated VHS artwork, which is also mirrored on the disc itself and the slipcover.
Special Features:
- NEW! Audio Commentary with director of photography / producer Thomas L. Calloway, writer/producer James Desmarais and moderator Steve Latshaw
- NEW! Bringing Out the Ghosts: The Making of Ghost Riders (new original documentary)(23 min)
- Low Budget Films: On the Set of Ghost Riders (vintage documentary) (12 min)
- Movie Stills (1 min)
- Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (1 min)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- New Reissue Trailer (2 min)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- New Reissue Trailer (2 min)
I honestlt didn't love Ghost Riders, it felt cheap, the action was weak and the supernatural elements are wasted. More interesting are the extras that get into the low-budget struggles and limitations that tell of the true DIY spirit behind the making of it, and while its more fizzle than sizzle I applaud the spirit of it, and MVD for making this VHS-era obscurity not only available in the digital-age but affording it a well-done restoration and extras that get into the story behind it.
Screenshots from the MVD Visual Blu-ray:
