SCREAM DREAM (1989)
Visual Vengeance Collector's Edition Blu-ray
Label: Visual Vengeance
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 68 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080i HD (1.33:1)
Director: Donald Farmer
Cast: Melissa Moore, Carol Carr, Nikki Riggins, Jesse Raye, Michelle Uber
In the shot-on-video heavy metal horror Scream Dream (1989), directed by no-budget cult film legend Donald Farmer (Demon Queen), female front-woman Michelle Shocked (Carol Carr) is unceremoniously sacked by her metal band Rikk-O-Shay by the band's manager Lou Sharkey (Robert Harper). The reason, there are rampant rumors that she is mixed-up in the occult, and after each of their shows someone who attended the concert has gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Sure enough, these are not just rumors, she is absolutely possessed by evil, and occasionally transforms into a bloodthirsty demon with a taste for human flesh! The band quickly replaces her with blonde-bombshell Jamie Summers (Melissa Moore, Samurai Cop), a sexy blonde with a nice set of pipes. However, when Jamie heads on over to Shocked's apartment to pick up some of her old stage clothes for a performance she becomes possessed by the same demon as Michelle, leading to more murderous demonic mayhem.
The 1980's were full of fun, schlocky heavy metal horror, some of my VHS favorites were Trick or Treat (1986) and of course Black Roses (1988), both films featured rock 'n' rollers who'd sold their souls to the devil, as was seemingly the popular thing to during the 'satanic panic' of the 80's. Farmer's entry might just be the cheapest looking of them all, made for no more that five-thousand dollars, it's a slice of shot-on-video heavy metal horror cheese so cheaply made that you have to admire it, not just simply for existing, but because it has since gone onto become quite a cult-classic in it's own right with a rabid following. Nowadays anyone can grab an inexpensive 4K digital video camera and some free editing software and whip up something pretty dang watchable, but back in '89 when Donald Farmer produced and directed this they basically has consumer grade VHS camcorders to make their indie horror dreams come true. While the technology was a marvel during the VHS-era, by today's viewing standards it's a pretty poor viewing experience, at least visually. The premise of the film about a demon possessed rock n' roll singer is pretty good stuff, to be fair.
When I first reviewed this film back in 2010, just a few months after starting this very blog, I savaged this one pretty good, I sort of hated it to be honest. Donald Farmer being the nice guy that he is even sent me an email after coming across my review, which is just how cool of a dude he is. However, it's funny how re-watching something after sixteen years can alter your opinion of it. Sure, it's a crummy SOV flick, it looks like and sounds like a turd, but the heavy metal horror premise and the low-budget demon effects are pretty decent, it's just that didn't have two nickels to rub together to make it, and with little money or resources, they made do with what they had access to, so it has plenty of shortcomings. Re-watching it now, having watched dozens more SOV flicks since, well, it's not the unwatchable travesty I initially judged it to all those years ago. It's certainly rough looking, but I have a much deeper appreciation of it these days as a slice of outsider cinema. The full-body demon make-up applications are cheap looking but also quite impressive, all things considered, having been created by Rick Gonzales who worked for Tom Savini on Romero's Day of the Dead, and he seems to have been pretty resourceful. When singer Michelle Shocked, and later Jamie Summers, transforms into demonic mode with horns, claws and gnarly teeth it brought to mind the demonic Bobbie Bresse from Mausoleum (1983), but sadly we do not get any demon-titties with gnashing teeth, and we get a pretty cool Evil Dead-ish crawling severed hand. Not all the effects are as successful though, there's a ratty looking pint-sized demon thingy that is basically a hastily sculpted purple rubber hand-puppet, which looks hideous and appears onscreen far to often for how shitty it looks. Keep in mind that most of the gore and visceral bit happens offscreen, so don't expect a ton of gruesome shit to go down, or you will be very sad indeed.
I think it's great to see this cult flick still kickin' around on home video, having finally made the leap to Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance, who have long established themselves as the premiere curators of outsider/shot-on-video (SOV) cinema. Does the Blu-ray look better than the DVD? Nope, but as usual they've really gone above and beyond for this new release of Scream Dream with the extras and packaging that celebrate the film and the independent DIY spirit of Donald Farmer and his scrappy little heavy metal horror flick.
Audio/Video: Scream Dream (1989) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance, presented in an upscaled 1080i, sourced from SD Master Version from Original Tape Elements. This is a 1.33:1 full frame presentation taken that looks like a well-worn VHS tape, the flick was shot-on- a lot of low-light conditions, so expect it to look pretty so expect it looks abysmal, and you won't be disappointed. It's murky and fuzzy looking, the low-light conditions worsen things considerably, and there's a lot of SD aliasing and video anomalies to contend with. Audio comes by way of lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English subtitles. Dialogue and music sound muted and muffled but it's watchable, it just doesn't sound or look terrific. .
This release is stuffed with extras, typical for Visual Vengeance who always go all-out for these SOV gems, treating them like arthouse masterpieces with Criterion worthy extras. We start off with an Audio Commentary with Producer/Director Donald Farmer where he addresses the in 'n out of making the low-budget slice of heavy metal horror, the cast and crew, working with two different cinematographers, the locations he has access to including the nightclub, and plenty more. We also get a new 53-min Interview with Producer/Director Donald Farmer, in which he he discusses where he got the idea for the film, having access to a rock n roll club and the house and that played there, as well as a photo studio that eh used as a movie studio. He talks about the cast and crew including make-up effects of Rick Gonzales (Day of the Dead), and Gene Amanet who played the character Sharky, an dhow he was a real big time record producer for the Allman Brothers. He also offers a career retrospective, with lots of notes about the cast and their careers, what other films of his they appeared in and what they went on to do, plus information about the soundtrack, the budget, distribution, and the nods to other films and little easter eggs found in the film as well as his thoughts on publicity and the film's press coverage.
Next, we get the 32-min Heavy Metal Horror Primer with Justin Decloux and Adam 'Riot' Thorn, a fun discussion of heavy metal horror, what qualifies as heavy metal horror, and talking about specific examples like Monster Dog, Heavy Metal Horror, Rocktober Blood, Blood Tracks, Trick Or Treat, Slumber Party Massacre II, Black Roses. Rock 'n Roll Nightmare, Night Feeders, Killer Party, Deathgasm, Neon Maniacs, Heavy Metal Massacre, Blood Sick Psychosis, Graveyard Rot, Strangeland, Death To Metal, and Goreface Killer. It's a fun discussion by a couple of enthusiastic heavy metal horror fans.
There's a 5-min Actor Nick Riggins Interview, who briefly gets into how he was cast, writing songs for the film, and a story of his jealous girlfriend ended up getting kicked off set. In the 11-min Actress Jesse Raye Interview she talks about her early career, how she was cast, and describing the set as hectic and very low budget. She also gets into shooting her death scene, and a couple of fun anecdotes. She describes Donald Farmer was very serious and professional, her family's reaction to the film, and transitioning to theatre and commercials afterward, as well as being a published author of poetry and short stories, and commenting on the cult status of the film
The 16-min The Art of the Scream: Special Effects Artist Rick Gonzales Interview (15:50), who gets into his early love of horror and making special effects, working with Tom Savini and George A. Romero, then into doing Scream Dream and other films with Donald Farmer, the demon make-up design, using a body double for some of the scenes, as well as the influence of Rick Bakers work on An American Werewolf in London on his own work for this film. Additional extras include a 1-min Behind the Scenes Image Gallery, 6-min Donald Farmer Theatrical Q&A Excerpts, 1-min Scream Dream Visual Vengeance Trailer, and a selection of
Visual Vengeance Trailers.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring the original VHS artwork and new illustration. Tucked away inside is a Folded Mini-Poster which looks like one of the promotional shots for the film featuring Michelle Shock as the demon. The first-pressing also includes some exclusive goodies, such as a Limited Edition O-Card Slipcover, which sort of looks like a black metal zine sort of things, and inside there is ‘Stick Your Own’ VHS Sticker Set, and another really cool bit of ephemera, a Limited Edition Scream Dream Guitar Pick, which is branded with the Scream Dream logo printed on it, this comes in a small plastic pouch which also contains a Michelle Shock concert ticket, seat no. 666, 'natch!
Special Features:
- SD Master Version from Original Tape Elements
- Audio Commentary with Producer/ Director Donald Farmer - Interview with Writer/Director Donald Farmer (52:47)
- Heavy Metal Horror Primer - Video Essay with Justin Decloux and Adam 'Riot' Thorn (32:25)
- Actor Nick Riggins Interview (5:04)
- Actress Jesse Raye Interview (11:06)
- The Art of the Scream: Special Effects Artist Rick Gonzales Interview (15:50)
- Behind the Scenes Image Gallery (0:53)
- Donald Farmer Theatrical Q&A Excerpts (6:01)
- Scream Dream Visual Vengeance Trailer (1:05)
- Visual Vengeance Trailers
- Reversible Wrap featuring New and Original VHS Art
- Folded Mini-Poster
- ‘Stick Your Own’ VHS sticker set - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
- Limited Edition O-Card - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
- Limited Edition Scream Dream Guitar Pick - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
As usual Visual Vengeance do terrific work bringing this SOV heavy metal horror to Blu-ray, while there's not a whole lot they can do with the lo-fi SD source, it always has and always will look like a cheap turd, but they do pack it full of in-depth extras and some tasty packaging ephemera that pretty much ensure you won't regret your purchase.
Screenshots from the Visual Vengeance Blu-ray:
Buy it!
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