DESPISER (2003)
Visual Vengeance Collector's Edition
Label: Visual Vengeance
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 104 Minutes 52 Seconds
Audio: English or French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Phillip J. Cook
Cast: Mark Redfield, Doug Brown, Gage Sheridan, Frank Smith, Mark Hyde
Action-sci-fi-fantasy hybrid Despiser (2003) comes to us from prolific micro-budget filmmaker Phillip J. Cook, a wild mix of live-action and greenscreen/digital backgrounds that tells the tale of down and out graphic artist Gordon (Mark Renfield, Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher) who is having a truly bummer of a day; first he quits his job and when he gets home his wife Maggie (Gage Sheridan, Twilight of the Dogs) is about to dump his unemployed ass. That night on his way to his buddies he crashes his car and lands in the otherworld of Purgatory, caught between heaven and hell, where he's attacked by enslaved souls called Ragmen who are minions of the realm's demonic-looking overlord the Despiser, and his body-jumping henchman Shadowman.
He is rescued by a band of freedom fighters from different historical eras, all of whom died in noble acts of self-sacrifice, which I guess is how you end up in Purgatory. Among them we have WWI soldier Carl (Doug Brown); Charlie (Tara Bilkins) is a young woman from the 80s; WWII Kamikaze pilot Fumie Tomasawa (Frank Smith) and the mysterious Jake Tulley (Michael Weitz). In reality Frank is in a coma and ends up escaping Purgatory when he wakes up, but soon after his wife ends up there after trying to save a suicidal man (the Shadowman in disguise) from jumping from an apartment building ledge, and she ends up in a coma herself and in Purgatory, forcing Gordon to drive his car off a bridge so that he can once more enter the realm.
Now both are in Purgatory, joining the forces of the freedom fighters to face-off against the Despiser, who turns out to be an alien trapped in Purgatory after the his spaceship crashed to Earth in 1905, resulting in the Tunguska explosion. It turns out that the Despiser is planning on amassing an arsenal of nuclear weapons, which comes from who knows where, it is Purgatory after all, to blow a hole in reality, so that he can escape into the Earth realm.
For a micro-budget DIY flick this is a pretty massive undertaking, the film uses lots of early 2000s digital effects, the actors up against greenscreens and digital backgrounds to create a surreal, hellish landscapes that sort of looks like PS2 gameplay. There are loads of monstrous creatures that look cool as Hell, and there are even some intense car chases over rivers of lava. As ambitious as they are, they;re a bit too overly ambitious for the budget, and the effects and digital world they created don't always hold up, especially 20 years later. With that said, there is so much heart and love poured into this thing that I fell in love with it. The story is ambitious, certainly more ambitious than any sane person would hope to achieve with little to no budget, but what they scraped together with a cast of spirited novice actors and some scrappy digital effects is mighty impressive stuff. On top of that the story itself is interesting, I was plugged right into it from the start, it's a good old fashioned good vs evil sci-fi action hybrid wrapped up in dated digital effects, and one that never bored me, the flick was just good fun, and its easy to appreciate the scrappy DIY vibes and can-do spirit of the thing.
Audio/Video: Despiser (2003) makes it's Blu-ray debut with a region-free release from Visual Vengeance, presented in 1080p HD framed in the original 1.33:1 widescreen, sourced from a Producer-supervised SD master from original tape source. The flick looks pretty terrific for an SD master, colors are bold, depth and clarity are modestly pleasing, the mix of live action and dated green screen and digital backgrounds come together quite nicely and translate well to HD. This is probably the best-looking flick I've seen from Visual Vengeance to date. Audio comes by way of English or French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. Like the video I thought the sound design was quite well-done and it sounds great here.
As usual Visual Vengeance stuff this release with extras, lots of 'em! We get an Audio Commentary with director Philip J. Cook and stars Mark Redfield and Gage Sheridan, and a second Audio Commentary with Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum. Additionally there is a 14-min New 2023 Interview with director Philip J. Cook and star Mark Hyde; and the 16-min The Making of Despiser.
There are also 10-min of Deleted Scenes; a fun 4-min Blooper Reel; a 13-min Outtakes Reel; and a 3-min Despiser: Storyboard To Animation piece. Also included are the Original DVD Menu Animated Intro; both a Behind The Scenes and Image and Art Gallery; the 2-min Despiser Producer Trailer, the 1-min Despiser Visual Vengeance Trailer. There are also a selection of Visual Vengeance
Trailers for Dinosaur Valley Girls, Kung Fu Rascals, and Fungicide, plus Trailers for Outerworld and Invader, which were also directed by Phillip J. Cook.
Visual Vengeance also do not skimp on the packaging, as usual, making this another tasty treat for collector's looking to won cool-ass physical media editions. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring cool artwork with both new artwork and the original VHS artwork, plus a Limited Edition Slipcover with its own unique artwork by Andrei Bouzikov. Be aware that the slipcover is limited to the first-pressing only. Inside there's a 2-Sided Insert with a synopsis and credits, plus a
Folded mini-poster featuring the kick-ass Andrei Bouzikov artwork, and the usual 'Stick your own' VHS Sticker Sheet.
Special Features:
- Producer-supervised SD master from original tape source
- Audio Commentary with director Philip J. Cook and stars Mark Redfield and Gage Sheridan
- New 2023 Interview with director Philip J. Cook and star Mark Hyde (14:15)
- Audio Commentary with Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum
- The Making of Despiser (15:36)
- Deleted Scenes (10:14)
- Blooper Reel (4:12)
- Outtakes Reel (12:43)
- Despiser: Storyboard To Animation (2:59)
- Original DVD Menu Animated Intro (0:17)
- Behind The Scenes Gallery (1:19)
- Image and Art Gallery (1:29)
- Despiser Producer Trailer (1:44)
- Producer-supervised SD master from original tape source
- Audio Commentary with director Philip J. Cook and stars Mark Redfield and Gage Sheridan
- New 2023 Interview with director Philip J. Cook and star Mark Hyde (14:15)
- Audio Commentary with Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum
- The Making of Despiser (15:36)
- Deleted Scenes (10:14)
- Blooper Reel (4:12)
- Outtakes Reel (12:43)
- Despiser: Storyboard To Animation (2:59)
- Original DVD Menu Animated Intro (0:17)
- Behind The Scenes Gallery (1:19)
- Image and Art Gallery (1:29)
- Despiser Producer Trailer (1:44)
- Despiser Visual Vengeance Trailer (1:20)
- Visual Vengeance Trailers: Dinosaur Valley Girls (1:08), Kung Fu Rascals (1:00), Fungicide (0:49)
- Outerworld Trailer (1:08)
- Invader Trailer (1:34)
- Optional French audio soundtrack
- Optional English Subtitles
- Folded mini-poster
- 'Stick Your Own' VHS Sticker Sheet
- 2-Sided Insert
- Reversible Sleeve With Original VHS Art
- Visual Vengeance Trailers: Dinosaur Valley Girls (1:08), Kung Fu Rascals (1:00), Fungicide (0:49)
- Outerworld Trailer (1:08)
- Invader Trailer (1:34)
- Optional French audio soundtrack
- Optional English Subtitles
- Folded mini-poster
- 'Stick Your Own' VHS Sticker Sheet
- 2-Sided Insert
- Reversible Sleeve With Original VHS Art
- Limited Edition Slipcase by Andrei Bouzikov - First Pressing Only
Buy It!
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