COLONY MUTATION (1995)
Visual Vengeance Collector's Edition Blu-ray
Label: Visual Vengeance
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 76 Minutes 50 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Digital with English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Tom Berna
Cast: David Rommel, Joan Dinco, Anna Zizzo, Susan L.
Colony Mutation (1997) is the sole feature film from Milwaukee based director Tom Berna, an ambitious shot-on-super 8mm slice of low-budget body-horror in the Cronenberg-ian vein, with some fun, if cheap-looking, stop-motion animation and gory set pieces that make this a gem of an imperfect microbudget horror. In it genetic scientist Dr. Meredith Weaver (Anna Zizzo) finds out that her husband Jim (David Rommel) has been having an affair with his secretary Jenny Dole (Joan Dinco), after he lies to her face about she loses her cool and throws a vial of an experimental mutagenic serum into his face. The serum has a wild effect, it starts to affect his mind at first, but that's just the beginning, it starts to cause his body parts (limbs, cock, head, fingers) to separate from his torso taking on a monstrous life of their own, and all of them now crave human flesh. Monstrously transformed Jim now stalks the streets in search of women to quench his hunger for human flesh! It's a pretty wild conceit for a cash-strapped microbudget flick, and boy-howdy does it overstretch its budget with ideas it's budget limitations could never hope to achieve in any satisfactory way, but that did not stop director Tom Berna from making it.
What stands out is the passion behind this one, the twisted sci-fi/body-horror premise is truly interesting, there's psychosexual elements to it, but it is not executed with much of any style and the end result feels rough-hewn, a sketch of a something that with proper resources could have been terrific, but resulting in something far less that what i am sure was envisioned. The 8mm shot film is often wonkily or straight-up underlit and the stop-motion animated killer-limbs are pretty silly looking, but eve still, I sort of loved the can-do chutzpa on display, this is the sort of low-budget passion that makes me giddy, even when it doesn't exactly come together in the final mix of things, I just love that there are ambitious young filmmakers out there doing it with the limited resources they had available to them, and I think Berna is someone who probably could have had a bigger career, he was ambitious and his ideas were fucking cool, but the film failed to gain a following or get much notice, and he never got the chance to do it again, and that's a shame, because this imperfect little slice of body-horror shows a lot of potential.
Audio/Video: Colony Mutation (1997) debuts on Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance in 1080p HD, advertised as being "New, director-supervised 2K transfer and restoration from original Super 8 film elements", presented in the original 1.33:1 fullscreen aspect ratio. This looks terrific, all things considered, when compared to the usual shot-on-video stuff we are used to seeing from VV, so getting a flick shot on super 8mm with a transfer from the actual film elements is a sweet treat! Colors generally look good, contrast can be a bit wonky at times, but it has a filmic look, grain is evident. It certainly cannot surpass low budget its source limitations, but I thought this looked terrific. Audio comes by way of English Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English subtitles, it's a bit on the thin side, which is not surprising, but effects, dialogue and the Patrick Nettesheim sound just fine. Some slight hiss and noise are audible in spots, but this is generally a solid, straight forward audio track.
Special Features:
- Region free Blu-ray
- New, director supervised 2K transfer and restoration from original Super 8 film elements
- Commentary from producer/ director Tom Berna
- Audio Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine
- Interview with director Tom Berna (22:21)
- Interview with star David Rommel (30:15)
- Interview with music composer Patrick Nettesheim (12:38)
- In the Director’s Chair: archival public access interview with Tom Berna (11:44)
- Alternate original 1998 VHS version of Colony Mutation (82:42)
- Alternate original 2013 DVD version of Colony Mutation (82:41)
- Complete original script 3:27)
- Image Gallery (0:46)
- Producer teaser trailer (1:05)
- Visual Vengeance trailers: Cyclops (0:58), A Polish Vampire in Burbank (1:21), Vampire's Embrace (1:19)
- 'Stick Your Own' VHS stickers
- Reversible sleeve featuring original VHS art
- Folded poster with original illustrated art
- Booklet with liner notes by Tony Strauss - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
- Limited edition O-Card with art by Justin Coons - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
Special features for this one include an Audio Commentary from producer/ director Tom Berna who talks about the film that made him want to be a filmmaker, Breakout with Charles Bronson, his film school experience, and shooting on Super 8mm because he could not afford 16mm. He also discusses how modern formats, Blu-ray versus VHS/DVD, is able to better reproduce the super 8mm image, and noting how the original VHS looked terrible. He started shooting the film in 1992, taking 2 years to complete, mostly shooting on weekends, his body-horror influences like Cronenberg, the Milwaukee film scene at the time, and the long hours they put into making this independent horror. He talks about how the practical effects were made in Pittsburg then shipped to Milwaukee, differences in the original script versus what was shot, the score, casting the head and how that lackluster latex head ended up appearing in two other films, and he closes with the film's initial reception, and sequel ideas, and how good it looks on Blu-ray with new color-grade and in widescreen. We also get an Audio Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine, which because of time constraints I was not able to take in just yet.
Next is a 22-min Interview with director Tom Berna and then into a 30-min Interview with star David Rommel, who talks about how he ended-up in the film, his initial thoughts on reading the script, getting in the headspace of the character, and noting how Berna gave great feedback and direction, as well as discussing his early career and interest in acting, his favorite scenes in the film, the head and body casting process, and what he's been up to since making Colony Mutation.
We also get a 13-min Interview with music composer Patrick Nettesheim, he speaks of ending up working with the director through director Mark Buchard of the infamous Coven, recording the score on n Ensoniq SQ-1+ keyboard, recording the rock songs on a Tascam, his method of scoring and composing, reading the script, notes from the director, and having not actually watched the film until it was released, He describes music is the telekinesis of emotion, wacky, creepy-cool, his favorite scenes to write for, working on a multitude of indie films at the time, his thoughts on digital vs. analog and B&W vs color moviemaking, colorizing black and white films, his own musical pursuits, and his non-profit www.guitars4vets.org work that provides free guitar lessons and instruments to U.S. veterans dealing with PTSD, physical injuries and/or emotional distress.
In the Director’s Chair is a 12-min archival public access interview with director Tom Berna promoting the film, during which he speaks of his early love of making films at home, wanting a career in film, and setting out to learn as much as he could. He also synopsizes the film, noting the cast, showing clips of different takes of a scene while adding commentary, showing a clip of killing a real rat on film and expressing remorse that he did that at the time. He also discusses the state of cinema at the time, approaching pulpy sci-fi from a serious perspective, and expressing his hope that he will be able to sell the film and move to L.A.
I nice add are two alternate versions of the film, we have the
Alternate Original 1998 VHS version of Colony Mutation, and the Alternate Original 2013 DVD version of Colony Mutation, both running 82-min and change. The on-disc extras are finished-up with a 3-min Complete Original Script, 46-sec Image Gallery, the 1-min Producer Teaser Trailer, and a selection of Visual Vengeance Trailers for upcoming Visual Venegeance releases, including Cyclops, A Polish Vampire in Burbank, Vampire's Embrace.
The single-disc Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring the original VHS artwork and a new artwork as well as a killer new artwork, inside you get the 'Stick Your Own' VHS Stickers Set featuring 12 mini-stickers, plus a Folded Poster with unique original illustrated art that sort of looks like one of those wild vintage Polish movie poster artwork. The limited edition first pressing also includes a six-panel, fold-out Booklet with liner notes by Tony Strauss, and a O-Card Slipcover with art by Justin Coons.
Screenshots from the Visual Vengeance Blu-ray:
Extras:
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