SLAUGHTER DAY (1991)
Label: Visual Vengeance
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 58 Minutes
Region: Region-Free
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Brent Cousins, Blake Cousins
Cast: Dave Anderson, Sam Bluestone, Kuiaka Branco, Jeremy Couchiardi, Blake Cousins, Brent Cousins, John Lambert, Joe Ross, Lincoln Ross
Made by horror-loving twin bothers Brent and Blake Cousins on Hawaii's Big Island in the early 90's this ultra micro-budgeted shot-on-video rarity has been properly unearthed and dusted off for it's Blu-ray debut courtesy of the super-dedicated SOV archivists at Visual Vengeance. In it a pair of construction worker buddies stuck working on a Saturday arrive at the work site, a dilapidated house, and find their co-worker running around with his hand cut-off, blood gushing from the wound. It soon becomes apparent they're dealing with a demonic evil force that's inhabited their other construction buddy John Jones, who has turned evil after reading from the Necronomicon... not THE Necronomicon mind you, but from H.R. Geiger's coffee table book by the same name! Not sure how that works, but anyway... Jones has read from the book in hopes of having his revenge against the construction worker duo, and through flash back it is revealed that they bullied him somewhat. Also, somehow a cursed construction respirator mask works it's way into the demonic happenings and imbues it's evil-wearer with the ability to transform victims into evil minions, incredible healing factor and resurrection capabilities, and the ability to teleport when it's convenient.
The dingy looking film was shot on consumer great Super VHS and looks pretty cruddy, but the Cousins Brothers eye for kinetic lo-fi action and Sam Raimi-esque inventive camerawork shines through just the same. At just 58-minutes this lean, mean, buckets of gore machine is dripping with blood and action-packed - offering a non-stop lo-fi thrill ride from start to finish with maximum carnage, multiple dismemberments and relentless physical action. It might be low-budget to the nth degree but the passion of the Cousins, and they're love of Evil Dead, is undeniable, and that passion shows through in the energetic acting, kinetic camerawork, and impressive practical gore-gags.
Audio/Video: Slaughter Day (1990) makes it worldwide Blu-ray debut from the shot-on-video archivist at Visual Vengeance, the Collector's Edition arm of Wild Eye Releasing. Sourced from the archival 1991 SD master from original tapes we get a VHS quality presentation with all the video anomalies you'd associate with a film shot on Super VHS tape; we get an assortment of scan lines, solarization, lack of depth, murkiness, the whole cruddy VHS shebang, it's rough. Audio comes by way of both Dolby Digital and uncompressed DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles. It sounds pretty shit with poorly recorded source audio, hiss aplenty, and what have you, exactly what you should expect from a SOV flick from the early 90s. The mix of score, dialogue, action and mayhem are at time caucauphounous, and while dialogue is mostly easy to discern I was thankful to have the subtitles included just the same.
Extras kick-off with a brand new Audio Commentary with Brent and Blake Cousins that is chock full of filmmaker excitement as they talk about the making of this labor of love. We also geta new Audio Commentary with Matt Desiderio and Rob Hauschild of Visual Vengeance, who get to lay of some serious love for this film, how they discovered it, and what makes it so special to them. They also drop that they'll be releasing The Abomination (1986) in the near future, which is a title I've only heard about, never seen, which is something I could say about every Visual
Vengeance release thus far!
We also get a half-minute of Alternate Takes, plus an 8-min
The Cousins Brothers Today: New Interview with the Cousins Bros. talking about the making of the film, including the potential to remake it. Another nice addition are four short films from the directors, we get the 4-min Full Metal Platoon, three prequel-sequels to Slaughter Day, with Slaughter Day 2 (14 min), Slaughter Day 3 (13 min), and Slaughter Day 4 (10 min). Even these earlier films show an eye for composition even though they are rougher and not as well made. I particularly loved the "borrowed" music cues from John Carpenter, Motley Crue and what sounded like The Cure and Depeche Mode on these shorts, n addition to what sounds like stolen audio from Evil Dead.
Additional on-disc extras come by way of the 4-min Original Trailer, plus trailers for other the Cousins films The Rising Dead (1 min) and Loose Cannon (1 min), plus a half-minute of Alternate Takes and the 4-min Slaughter Day Theme Song. There's an Easter Egg on the main menu that allows you to use an alternate VHS inspired menu.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Sleeve of Reversible Artwork featuring the original VHS sleeve, plus a cool new illustration, with a Limited Edition, Slipcover with unique artwork by The Dude Designs! Inside you will find a Mini Fold-Out Poster with the new artwork from the sleeve, plus the standard ‘Stick your own’ Video Store Sticker Sheet that have accompanied all the previous releases, and a terrific Four-Page Booklet with Liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine, that gets into the string Sam Raimi influence, the Cousin Brothers inventive camera work, their failed sojourn from Hawaii to California to become filmmakers, and how hard this film has been to come by, as well as getting into the Cousins later films. Another nice touch is the booklet has it's own unique movie artwork as well.
Special Features:
- Archival 1991 SD master from original tapes
- New Audio Commentary with Brent and Blake Cousins
- The Cousins Brothers Today: New Interview (8 min)
- Alternate takes (29 sec)
- Early Short Film: Full Metal Platoon (4 min)
- Slaughter Day Theme Song (4 min)
- Slaughter Day 2: Original Short Film (1989) (14 min)
- Slaughter Day 3: Original Short Film (1989) (13 min)
- Slaughter Day 4: Original Shirt Films (1989) (10 min)
- Original Trailer (4 min)
- Trailers for other Cousins Films: The Rising Dead (1 min), Loose Cannon ( min)
- Folded Mini-Poster
- Four-Page Booklet with Liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
- ‘Stick Your Own’ Video Store Sticker Sheet
- Visual Vengeance Trailers: Bloody Muscle Bodybuilder in Hell (1 min), Moonchild (1 min), The Necro Files (1 min),
- Reversible Sleeve featuring original VHS art
- Limited Edition Slipcase by The Dude Designs — First Pressing Only!
Slaughter Day (1991) delivers the gory Evil Dead indebted goods in a low-budget fashion that might look like spit-shined crud, but their passion and inventiveness shines through. A terrific and gore-soaked DIY/SOV classic that has clawed it's way to the top of my favorite SOV flicks, this is highly entertaining stuff for lovers of bottom-of-the-barrel awesomeness.
Screenshots from the Visual Vengeance Blu-ray:
