Blu-ray Review: THE FOG (1980)

THE FOG (1980)

Collector's Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Scream Factory / Shout! Factory 

Region Code: A 

Rating: R

Duration: 90 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curttis, Tom Atkins, John Houseman, Janel Leigh, George "Buck" Flowers 

Tagline: What You Can't See Won't urt You... It'll Kill You!

John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) opens with a great campfire tale on the eve of Antonio Bay's 100th anniversary. Actor John Houseman begins with the phrase "11:55, almost midnight, enough time for one more story..." before he relays a tale of  vengeful sailors returning from their watery graves to a group of children, it's pitch perfect and sets the tone for entire film, it's a traditional and inspired piece of cinema. 

 After the tale at the stroke of midnight strange things begins to happen in Antonio Bay as an unearthly and unseen presence sweeps through the sleepy village causing a rash of supernatural phenomena, horns blare and sirens wail. A local fisherman named Nick Castle (Tom Atkins, Night of the Creeps) drives down a windy scenic nighttime road as we hear the seductive sounds of DJ Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau, Swamp Thing) broadcasting from her  lighthouse studio. Castle picks up a perky hitcher named Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis, Terror Train) when suddenly the windows of the truck shatters violently, the incident apparently so damn frightening that it seems to have scared the clothes right of Elizabeth as the next scene features the pair in a post-coital glow nestled in Castle's bed, ha ha. That Tom Atkins is a chic magnet, thrill me baby. 

At the local Church the drunken Father Malone (Hal Holbrook, Creepshow) sips wine when a sudden rumbling of the Earth loosens a stone in the wall of his rectory revealing a small relief. Inside is the century old diary of one of Antonio Bay's celebrated founding father, Malone's grandfather. The writings in the book implicate Malone and five other conspirators  whom deliberately shipwrecked the clipper ship Elizabeth Dane and it's crew of lepers just off the coast to plunder their riches. 

This same night at sea the fishing trawler the Seagrass and it's crew are overcome by a eerie supernatural fog bank that's arrives from out of nowhere. A century old clipper ship pulls up alongside them and they are boarded by sword wielding, crusty sailors sheathed in fog. It's quite an eerie sight and the men are slaughtered, gutted by hooks and run-through by swords. The next day the bodies are discovered and Antonio Bay might never be the same again, at the stroke of midnight the seaside village is inundated by glowing fog and the arrival of vengeful specters, there's definitely something in the mist! 

The Fog (1980) is an effective little chiller, and while it may not regarded as well as John Carpenter's slasher classic Halloween (1978) but I think it's pretty a fantastic watch, it remains one of my most cherished ghost stories of all time. Antonio Bay is the perfect setting for Carpenter's ghostly revenge thriller, too. It's views are both scenically gorgeous and eerie, particularly when the fog rolls in with the salty lepers in it's midst ready to gut those unfortunate enough to be overcome by the incandescent mist.

And what a cast! We have Jamie Lee Curtis (Terror Train) at her scream queen prime and Tom Atkins who a this point was not just yet a genre staple in great supporting roles. Plus Hal Holbrook, (Ritual) who effortlessly classes up every joint, is pretty great as the drunken priest. The star of the show is the sultry Adrienne Barbeau (Swamp Thing) as the velvet-tongued late night DJ who's sexing up the airwaves on the bay from her remote lighthouse studio. She's truly the star of the film, sort of at the center of everything and the first two put the pieces together, when she's left alone to face off against vengeful spirits in the lighthouse it's great stuff, a real nail biter. Also spicing up the cast are George "Buck" Flowers (They Live) and Janet Leigh (Psycho) in smaller roles, there's just not a bad apple in the bunch. John Carpenter even shows up in a brief cameo at the top of the film. 

It's  super-creepy, from the very start with the pitch prefect campfire tale The Fog (1980) is a spooky haunted attraction, in an age of pre-digital effects we get are some creative old school ingenuity, the fog effects are fantastic and put to shame the soulless 2005 remake. To this day  I cannot see a fog bank and not imagine salty sword-wielding sailor with glowing red eyes emerging to reap their awful revenge. The crusty sailors effects created by Rob Bottin are great and we see quite a bit more of them here with this hi-def presentation that we've ever gleaned before, while it's certainly not a bloodbath film it's grisly in it's own gritty little way, the deaths stick with you. Check out the gruesome death of the poor horny weatherman, a hook right through the throat!

The film is more or less a traditional tale of spectral vengeance but it can get a bit schlocky from time to time and if you know anything about me you can appreciate  that I do love a fair amount of schlock. A few weird jump scares are peppered  throughout that seem slightly incongruous to the scenes wrapped round 'em and here's why... Carpenter administered numerous re-shoots and re-edits following his displeasure with the first cut of the film feeling it lacked shock and awe so he ramped up the violence and gore, and I think it's a better film for it. Another observation is that the sea-faring ghosts seems more like soggy zombies than unearthly specters, which is actually more menacing. Maybe not a perfect film but a spectral classic just the same, this is essential chiller cinema.  

Blu-ray: The Fog (1980) gets a brand new 1080p widescreen (2.35:1) transfer supervised by cinematographer Dean Cundey and it's a marked improvement over the standard-def DVD.Colors appear natural and vibrant while the black levels are deep, this is a very dark film and we're seeing things here in 1080p that we've never seen before,with some very nice fine detail and a nice intact grain structure.

Audio options include English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and a 2.0.  Both are nicely balanced and quite strong with a definite edge going to the 5.1 for the atmospheric use of the surrounds, adding more depth to the proceedings. John Carpenters score still sends shivers down my spine, it's definitely one of those Carpenter films where the visuals and audio elements come together perfectly, it completely ramps up the tension. Optional English subtitles are included on the disc. 

Reversible Artwork

Onto the special features we get all of the extras from MGM's 2005 DVD including the fantastic commentary with writer/director john Carpenter and writer/producer Debra Hill. Always have been a fan of the Carpenter commentaries and this is a great one with an unvarnished recounting of shooting the film and the re shoots and edits done after a disastrous first screening. We also get the two retrospective featurette with input from John Carpenter, Deborah Hill, Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Dean Cundey and Tommy Lee Wallace, a reel of outtakes, storyboards, TV spots and trailers, plus some neat special effects test footage.These were great extras and it's great to see them carried over for Scream Factory's Blu-ray. 

Scream Factory offer a few brand new features beginning with an audio commentary with  Actress Adrienne Barbeau, Actor Tom Atkins and Production Designer Tommy Lee Wallace and it's  warm and friendly one filled with great anecdotes, it's a fun listen and you can tell the trio quite enjoy each others company.  

My Time with Terror with Jamie Lee Curtis (27:54) features the former scream queen in a really talkative mood, this is great stuff. As she sits down for the interview she comments on the fog rolling in just outside the window, noting that it bodes well for the interview and it surely does. Curtis talks about her time on the film and is very honest about how she felt about the film, apparently it's just not her thing, go figure. Lucky for we slasher fans the scream queen speaks about her work on 80's slasher classics Terror Train (1980), Prom Night (1980) and the ozploitation thriller Road Games (1981) with Stacey Keach, probably my favorite of the new extras.

Dean of Darkness (18:40) features cinematographer Dean Cundey speaking of his collaborations with John Carpenter including Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and the first two sequels to Halloween. It's a great listen as he talks about the style and lighting of each film, noting in particular the great atmosphere of this particular chiller. 

Of course Sean Clark returns with another edition of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations (20:22), always a fun romp and you gotta love Clark's corny sense of humor. Finishing off the new features is an Easter egg hidden away on one of the menus, spoiler alert, it's am ABC Sunday Night Movie promo for The Fog (1980). The set also includes a slip case featuring a great illustration by Justin Osbourne, plus a sleeve of reversible artwork, thinking this is the best artwork so far! 

New Scream Factory™ Special Features:
- New HD transfer of the film supervised by Director of Photography Dean Cundey
- My Time with Terror with Jamie Lee Curtis - Exclusive interview with Actress Jamie Lee Curtis discussing The Fog and covering her legendary early 80s “Scream Queen” career.
- Audio commentary featuring Actress Adrienne Barbeau, Actor Tom Atkins and Production Designer Tommy Lee Wallace
- Dean of Darkness - Retrospective interview with Director of Photography Dean Cundey about his many legendary collaborations with John Carpenter (18:40)
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations with host Sean Clark (20:22)
- Easter Egg (1:02)

Extras from the MGM™ DVD Edition:
- Tales From The Mist: Inside The Fog Featurette (27:58)
- Fear On Film: Inside The Fog Featurette (7:42)
- The Fog: Storyboard To Film Comparison (1:25)
- Outtakes (4:10)
- Theatrical Trailers (4:34)
- TV Spots (3:05)
- Special Effects Tests (2:39)
- Photo Gallery (8:02)
- Storyboards (2:18)
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director John Carpenter And Writer/Producer Debra Hill

Verdict: Thirty plus years later John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) is still an effective chiller with some great atmosphere and an fantastic cast. When I think of a well-crafted tales of terror with a healthy dose of grue this classic immediately comes to mind, an essential purchase. Scream Factory keep doing it right, another outstanding Blu-ray edition  4 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: THE DEADLY SPAWN [The Millennium Edition]

THE DEADLY SPAWN (1983)

Millennium Edition

Label: Elite Entertainment

Region Code: A

Duration: 81 mins

Video: Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Audio: English LPCM 2.0

Director: Douglas McKeown

Cast: Charles George Hildebrandt, Tom DeFranco, Richard Lee Porter, Jean Tafler

Deadly Spawn (1983) is an early 80's slice of sci-fi schlock cinema that's stuffed with gore, camp and unintentional hilarity. The story is quite simplistic:  a meteorite falls to Earth where it is found by two campers in a remote wooded area whom are torn to pieces by the toothsome alien parasite that arrived with it . The creature makes it's way into town where it finds shelter in the basement of a home and it's not long before the homeowners fall prey to it's toothy maw. The four remaining members of the household slumber completely unaware that an alien menace lays in waiting the basement.

The four remaining members of the home are a young teen named Charles, his older science-nerd brother Pete, their Aunt Mille and Uncle Herb. The character of Charles is a true horror nerd's horror nerd with a deep love of special effects and horror cinema. He's not far removed from Joey from Tobe Hooper's criminally underrated carnival-set slasher The Funhouse (1981) or Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) which we would see just a year later in Joseph Zito's Friday the 13: The Final Chapter (1984).

As the film plays along the creature in the basement continues to grow with each new victim it consumes. While it grows it also unleashes hundreds of offspring that bare more than a passing resemblance to the chest-burster from Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). The slimy spermal offspring begin to wreak their own toothy menace within the house leading to a final showdown in the attic pitting the special effects wizardry of Charles against the main toothsome alien parasite.

The Deadly Spawn is a film assembled by people whom clearly did not possess a great deal of skill in front of or behind the camera. It's a rickety production from the top down with workman like cinematography, lacklustre editing, poor dialogue and sub-par acting but despite these technical deficits there's just something so damn charming about this film. 

The creature-design by John Dods (Black Roses, Monsters TV Series) is quite inspired,  a three-headed phallic hydra with row upon row of gruesome razor sharp teeth that ooze slime, it's terrific looking in every shot. Also super fun are the creature's spawn which slither across the floor, very cool lo-fi effects, great stuff. The gore is alsolow-budget but top notch with a some fantastic face shredding featuring the skin peeling right off the face and some gruesome decapitations, definitely low-budget gore done right.

There are some nice touches throughout including a chat between the Uncle (who's a pyschologist) and Charles as the uncle tries to understand the young boy's fascination with the macabe. I also enjoyed the use of miniatures during the films beginning and partricularly the ending, fun stuff that seemed to channel 1950's science fiction features like The Blob (1958) and Invaders from Mars (1952), fun stuff. The real hero of the film though is the creature design and bloody gore effects, outstanding.

While it's great to see this obscure 80's gore-classic get the high-definition treatment it's not really up to snuff in the audio and video department. Let's start with the transfer; it's been given an atomic-sized dose of Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) to the point that the 16mm grain of the film stock has all but disappeared leaving it pretty anemic looking in the fine detail department, visually it's a lacklustre affair and if you own the previous Synapse Films DVD edition which boasts a superior picture and includes an audio commentary with writer Tim Sullivan, director Douglas McKeown, actor Charles Hildebrandt, special effects artist John Dods, and executive producer Tim Hildebrandt which is not found here. Likewise the audio is unremarkable on every level, it's tinny and boxy with the audio dropping out completrely at one point for a split second.

Special Features: 

- Introduction with Ted A. Bohus (1:19)

- Audio Commentary  with Producer Ted A. Bohus and Editor Marc Harwood

- Effects Enhanced Opening Scene (4:43)

- Casting Tapes and Gag Reel (35:57) 

- Bloopers and Outtakes (4:56) 

- Local Television Coverage Footage (40:32) 

- "Take One" (24:58)  

- "Visit with the Deadly Spawn" (8:39)  

- Production and Promotional Still Photo Gallery (15:30)  

- Color Pages from the Upcoming Comic Book

- A Theatrical Trailer and a T.V. Spot (2:24) 

- Full Color Insert featuring Liner Notes by Producer Ted A. Bohus

Verdict: As a fan of 80's horror and schlock cinema I think you need The Deadly Spawn on your shelf, it's a gruesome low-budget alien-chomper that's surely inept but also pretty kick-ass. The poor transfer makes it hard for me to say this is worth an upgrade if you own the Synapse DVD but if you are currently without this in your collection and can pick it up on the cheap I say it's a no-brainer - get it because they just don't make 'em like this anymore.
 3 outta 5

DVD Review: TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL (2010)

TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL (2010) DVD

LABEL: Magnet Releasing
REGION: 1 NTSC
RATING: R
DURATION: 88 mins
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
AUDIO: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
DIRECTOR: Eli Craig
CAST: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden
TAGLINE: Evil just messed with the wrong hillbillies!

SYNOPSIS: Tucker and Dale are two best friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house, who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students gets separated from her friends, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count.

TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL flips the switch on the backwoods horror cliches we've seen in films such as WRONG TURN, DISMAL and Adam Green's HATCHET films wherein scary hillbillies take a cleaver to the city folk who happen upon their swampland killing grounds, it's a cliche we've seen many times over since the Tobe Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and its going strong with a few new entries every year since. First-time Director Eli Craig's TUCKER AND DALE turns the idea on it's head and it's the scary city folk who terrorize our friendly West Virginian duo of Tucker (Alan Tudyk, SERENITY) and Dale (Tyler Labine, TV's REAPER), two landscapers on their way to their newly acquired fixer-upper cabin in the woods for some rest, relaxation and unbeknownst to them - crazed preppy killers.

It's while stopping off at the local store for supplies that they first encounter a group of college preps on spring break, frat guys and frat-boy fuck dolls; the two most central to the story are the attractive but nice blonde Allison (Katrina Bowden) and Chad (Jesse Moss) who's right up there with cinema's geatest 80's assholes plus seven others. The uppity city kids assume the worst when they meet the "scary" looking hillbillies which leads to an awkward encounter when the usually shy Dale musters up enough courage to introduce himself to Aliison while unfortunately holding a scythe in hand and laughing manically, the preps speed off believing they've just barely escaped certain death at the hands of a rural psychopath.

As it turns out the college kids are heading to the very same part of the woods as Tucker and Dale. The group set-up camp near the lake, and while gathered around the campfire Chad tells the story of the Memorial Day Massacre which took place twenty years prior, a horrific event in which hillbillies slaughtered a group of city kids much like themselves. Their fear of rural people comes into play later that evening when Allison slips on a rock and falls unconscious into the lake just out of sight of her friends. Luckily, Tucker and Dale just happen to be fishing nearby and pull her from the water but when the preps see what's happening it appears to them that the hillbillies have kidnapped Allison and that the events that happened two decades earlier are happening all over again.

This misunderstanding sets off a string of comically, unfortunate events with the preps being egged on by the progressively nuttier and homicidal Chad to launch a violent assault on the cabin in an ill conceived rescue mission. During the attack the irrational preps die off through their own misguided and violent actions; my favorite involves one ending up launching himself head first in a wood chipper while another brutally impales himself on a tree branch thinking he's being chased by a chainsaw wielding Tucker who himself is only running from an angry hive of bees. They continue to mount additional attacks on the cabin all the while the befuddled Tucker and Dale believing Allison's friends have flipped their lids, not understanding why they're under attack.

It's not really a gore-fest but the kills are pretty great nonetheless, they're intense with some nice low-budget gore effects that should satisfy most horror enthusiasts, particularly the wood chipper torso. The film delivers with a winning sense of humor that feels natural and not too forced, it's well-written and delivered pitch perfectly by the duo of Labine and Tudyk who have such great chemistry together onscreen. I would definitely like to see these two paired up again, perhaps in a sequel. 

The disc features a nice selection of bonus features including a fun commentary with the director and stars, outtakes, storyboards, a making of mini doc, a fun featurette with clips from the film from the POV of the college students which puts a more traditional spin on the film, an HDNET featurette, a theatrical trailer plus a collection of Magnolia trailers.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Making of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (12:34) 16:9
- Tucker and Dale ARE EVIL: The College Kids Point of View (16:48) 16:9
- Outtakes (7:53) 16:9
- Storyboards
- Commentary with Director Eli Craig, Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk
- HDNET: A  Look at Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (4:34) 16:9
- Theatrical Trailer (2:23) 16:9
- Magnolia Trailers (9:29) 16:9

VERDICT: Definitely a fun send-up of backwoods horror that puts the genre up on it's ear, seriously funny stuff. I'm here to tell you that you need not even be a fan of horror to enjoy the comedy elements, the wife was in stitches from start to finish, at least when she wasn't horrified by the carnage onscreen, she's definitely not a fan of horror by any stretch of the imagination but she really enjoyed this one. An inspired debut film and one of the best horror-comedies of 2011, do not miss this one. 4 outta 5

DVD Review: BIO SLIME (2010)

 

BIO SLIME (2010)

Production Company: Forward Motion Entertainment
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 87 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen
Director: John Lechago
Cast: Victoria DeMare, Vincent Bilancio, Ronnie Lewis, Micl Bartluci, Gia Paloma, Magic J. Ellingson

BIO SLIME comes from the mind of KILLJOY 3 director John Lechago who also directed BLOOD GNOME and MAGUS. His latest entry is a sci-fi horror b-movie that begins with a drug deal gone bad on the seedy streets of LA when a double-crossing drug dealer ends up a stiff and his girlfriend Donna flees the scene with a mysterious briefcase. Running scared she ends up at her friend Jack's (Magic J. Ellinson, RED SANDS) meth-lab located in a converted apartment building that now houses a low-rent porn operation as well as the paint studio of Troy (Vincent Bilancio, RAT SCRATCH FEVER), a once rising star in the LA art scene who's now just a sad drunk with waning options. Also in the building are porn director Chuck, porn actresses Mary (Victoria DeMare, KILLJOY 3), Annie, Troy's abused niece Shannon, art dealer Hal, the landlord Jimmy (Al Burke, KILLJOY 3) and his young mail-order bride Costanza.

While certain drama's unfold within the building, including Jimmy evicting Troy, Donna's curiosity about the contents of the briefcase results in her accidentally releasing what's inside and what's inside is a slimy, flesh-eating blob which make her it's first victim. The creature takes up residence in the building's plumbing and crawlspaces and the next to fall prey to the blob is a porn actress showering away the day's slimy activities. At first it's victims disappear unnoticed but when Shannon's abusive boyfriend Brandon (Mark Stefanovski) is driven outta the complex by force he returns with vengeance on his mind trapping everyone inside with not just him but the tentacled alien blob as well. With no way out and no cellphone reception (of course) it's an all out siege as they try to avoid being absorbed in the alien slime.

The acting pretty typical of a low-budget b-movie, there's some decent performers and some not so decent and in the former category we get a strong performance from Vincent Bilancio as the likable alcoholic painter Troy who just so happens to go cold turkey this particular day, as you can imagine it's difficult to fight of an alien infestation with the DT's which leads to some desperate measures on his part. Also turning in a solid performance is Victoria DeMare as porn-actress Maria whom Troy totally has the hots for. You may recall DeMare from her memorable performance as Batty Boop in Lechago's KILLJOY 3 and this is a fun part, particularly after she is absorbed into the creature and interacts with Troy playing on his desires for her. There's a fun group dynamic throughout the film, and while at times there are perhaps too many characters onscreen for my tastes Lechago does his best to make it work despite some awkward dialogue and stilted acting.

Tom Devlin's (SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR) special effects make-up on the film are of the 80's old school horror variety with some cheap CGI thrown in which tends not to be the greatest but overall the practical effects are top-notch for what surely must have been a limited budget. The creature effects are slimy, gloopy and really call back to Chuck Russells's THE BLOB and with a bit of SPIDER-MAN 3's Venom thrown in. The way that it absorbs it's prey and incorporates them into  itself is pretty creepy stuff.

A few of the action set pieces felt a bit awkwardly staged but Lechago makes up for it with some very effective creature effects and some sleazy nudity courtesy of the porn operation. BIO SLIME is a flesh-eating blob flick that's not too original and not nearly a stunner but its definitely a fun b-movie with some elements of THE BLOB, THE THING, SPECIES and SPLINTER. The film as of yet has no distribution but hopefully will see a DVD release sometime in the near future, this would be a great rental. 3/5

http://www.bioslimethemovie.com/

DVD Review: THE BASEMENT: RETRO ‘80s HORROR COLLECTION

THE BASEMENT
THE 5-FILM RETRO ‘80s HORROR COLLECTION
(3 DVD + VHS SET)

LABEL: Camp Motion Pictures
REGION CODE: 0 NTSC
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 548 mins
VIDEO: 4x3 Fullframe
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, no subtitles
DIRECTORS: Tim O’Rawe, Gary Cohen, Jon McBride

CAST: Dennis Driscoll, Kathleen Heidinger, David Webber, Scott Corizzi, Traci Mann, Pamela Kramer, John Paul Fedele, Scott Hart, Lisa Cohen, Linda Herman, Jackie Neill, John McBride, Amy Chludzinski, Christopher A. Granger, Richard Marcus, Gene Robbibns, Carrie Lindell, Joseph Salheb, Gary Schwartz, Chick Kaplan, Robin leeds, , Uke, Bart Sumner, William Toddle

When I first unboxed the package from Camp Motion Pictures containing THE BASEMENT VHS/DVD 5-Film Collection I howled with glee at it's contents. C'mon it's not everyday that I get an oversized 3-disc "Big Box" VHS styled boxset of 1980's DIY horror films shot on video, especially one that includes a never-before-released super 8mm horror anthology on not only on DVD but also a VHS - that's right - a red VHS tape of THE BASEMENT is included! Available for the first time on VHS and DVD, THE BASEMENT is the lost 1989 Super 8 anthology feature film directed by Timothy O’Rawe (GHOUL SCHOOL) that smacks of many hours spent watching Amicus horror anthologies and TV's TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE. Here's the disc by disc breakdown of the set beginning with the main feature...

DISC 1:

THE BASEMENT (1989)

In Tim O'Rawe's shot-on-super 8 horror anthology THE BASEMENT four strangers are summoned to a dank basement of an abandoned house by a creepy entity known as The Sentinel. One after another the unwilling participants are forced to witness the heinous deeds they have yet to commit but will damn them for all eternity. This is a very AMICUS-esque anthology with elements of EC Comics morality and TALES FROM THE DARSKIDE styled shenanigans with a crypt-keeper like host that I think any horror fan would be hard-pressed not to appreciate. 

The anthology begins with SWIMMING POOL in which a truly annoying Jersey bitch named Victoria discovers her pool is inhabited by a creature who eats anyone foolish enough to dip a toe in. After shaking off the initial shock that her pool is eating people she does what most of us might - makes a list of people she could do without in this life, invites them over and shoves 'em in where green tentacles emerge from the frothy surface and dispose of the evidence. It's not overly gory segment but this was fantastic fun with a great EC comics twist ending. Great start to the film, fun watery deaths with no gore but great stuff nonetheless.

The next segment is TRICK OR TREAT, a Halloween themed tale featuring a school teacher named Charles who really hates anything having to do with Halloween, especially kids, which is strange 'cuz like I said he's a high school teacher. When he's in the classroom he fantasizes about killing his entire classroom, it's a gloriously gory daydream, too - fun stuff. Halloween night he is visited upon by the ghost of his deceased wife who warns him to change his curmudgeonly ways lest he suffer the same fate as her. He awakens assuming it only to have been a dream and spends the night watching horror films on TV which is strange what with his hate of Halloween isn't it? Regardless he waits for trick or treaters to arrive at his doorstep only to shit on their fun with mean spirited pranks. Not having heeded his wife's warning from beyond the grave he is visited upon by more spirits like a Halloween themed production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL which includes visitation from a demon, witch, mummy and finally Death. This was my favorite segment of the anthology and very much recalled a Tom Savini directed episode of the TV series Tales from the Darkside called "Trick or Treat" as well. I'd be surprised if that were not a direct inspiration for this one. This was definitely the goriest of the vignettes with great make-up effects, fun stuff.

Then onto ZOMBIE MOVIE featuring reanimated corpses taking revenge against a hot-shit director who would dare disparage the name of George A. Romero and crap upon a Fangoria reading horror geeks. A fun tale with a lot of horror references, some great zombie unearthing scenes and a zombie horde on the prowl in the fog. Perhaps my least favorite of the four but still entertaining.

The last segment is HOME SWEET HOME wherein a young man having just inherited money after his father's death purchases a creepy old house formerly owned by a notorious serial killer where torture and  sadistic murder transpired 6 years prior. Strange things start to happen when he spends the night in the house with his friends, which he at first attributes to having drank way too much whisky but it soon becomes clear that there's something decidedly evil going on leading to some sweet EVIL DEAD-style limb severing.

The film was a definite fun time, low-budget shot-on-super 8mm and cheesy. Bad acting and poor post-sync dubbing but Scott Hart's special effects were pretty bad ass and there's some great bloody carnage to be had here. The bits were definitely in the Amicus VAULT OF HORROR style campy-horror with the SOV aesthetic of the classic 80's TV show TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, great stuff.

Special features for this obscure lost gem include a audio commentary with cinematographer Michael Raso and John Fidele of the Alternative Cinema podcast. it's a fun and informative look back at the making of the film in which we learn that it was shot on the same 8mm camera as THE DEAD NEXT DOOR and that the film was abandoned six months after filming completed due to the film looking too dark to be release commercially on VHS, that is until technology proved otherwise many years later and they were able to "squeeze" an image out of the 8mm film. Its a great listen. There's also a collection of outtakes and deleted scenes that include some a glimpse of the unused creature in the pool (a wise choice) which we never see in the final film and some neat behind-the scenes special effects shots, a local TV news segment about the film featuring director Tim O'Rawe, Michael Rasso and special effects creator Scott Hart who shows off one of the zombie heads from the film. Rounding out the disc are three half hour episodes of the Meadowlands Showcase public access TV show the aired around the same time, a very cool comedy production, plus two Tim O'Rawe short films; one called VENGEANCE which did little for me and cool horror short called SAY NO TO DRUGS featuring Death bloodily ending the lives of drug addicts, which was awesome.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Audio Commentary with cinematographer Michael Raso and Assistant Director John Paul Fedele
- Outtakes and Deleted Scenes (6:30)
- News Segment "The Basement" (3:51)
- Meadowland Showcase TV - 3 Episodes: Halloween Takeover, Long is the Night, Long Road to Karaoke (85:24)
- Tim O'Rawe Short Films: SAY NO TO DRUGS (9:50), VENGEANCE (4:03)

As if this unearthed super 8mm anthology gem weren't enough this boxset comes with four late-80's SOV classics including John McBride's CANNIBAL CAMPOUT, Gary Cohen's VIDEO VIOLENCE 1 and 2 plus CAPTIVES - three goofy, blood soaked celebrations of DIY violence and 80's bad taste.

DISC 2:

CAPTIVES (1988) 
This is director Gary Cohen’s follow-up to his popular SOV horror film VIDEO VIOLENCE and was shot prior to VIDEO VIOLENCE 2. The film has a decidedly THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT / HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK flavor to it as a family is taken hostage by three deranged criminals forcing a woman to fight back and save the lives of her baby and mother-in-law. The film is plays it mostly straight with a few comedic moments, it's a grim home invasion/revenge thriller leading to a shocking revelation about the motivations of the violent invaders. Poorly acted and not very well shot (even my SOV standards) but Cohen was definitely aiming for a down n' dirty exploitation film and he's somewhat successful.

SPECIAL FEATURE: Audio Commentary with moderator Michael Raso, director Gary P. Cohen and Joel Cobeck.

CANNIBAL CAMPOUT (1988)

In John McBride's CANNIBAL CAMPOUT four college kids on a camping trip to the backwoods of New Jersey run afoul of a deranged trio of weirdos who stalk, torture, mutilate and eat the unhappy campers one by one. Taking obvious inspiration from FRIDAY THE 13th and THE HILLS HAVE YES the film is a gore-tastic SOV splatter-classic that's loaded with bad acting and gratuitous amounts of blood, guts and breasts. The highlight for me even more so that the array of cheap gore is the intensely wacky performance from actor Richard Marcus (TREMORS) portraying the leader of the backwoods cannibal clan, it's completely over-the-top, bonkers and pretty sweet in a so bad it's good sorta way. One of the brothers is a reptilian mutant who wears a pilot's visored helmet with a length of oxygen hose attached, it's a great looking get-up and is quite memorable. The kicker of the film is the revelation that the cannibalism is the result of a death bed promise the trio made to their mother on her deathbed to avoid junk food, 'natch. The films is derivative to the nth degree but makes for an entertaining stalk n' slasher as the depraved trio hunt, kill and eat their prey.

SPECIAL FEATURE: Audio Commentary with co-director John McBride.

DISC 3:

VIDEO VIOLENCE...WHEN RENTING IS NOT ENOUGH (1987) 
In Gary Cohen's gore-soaked tribute to mom and pop video stores a young yuppie couple named Steve (Art Neill) and Rachel (Jackie Neill) move from New York City to the 'burbs of New Jersey to get away from the weirdos and open a neighborhood video store. Business is great but Steve is perplexed that the entire community seems addicted to grisly horror films, no one seems to enjoy a good comedy or drama in this town and things get really weird when someone accidentally returns not one of the shop's overdue titles but a video containing a real life snuff film. Despite bringing it to the attention of the sheriff (William Toddle) the investigation doesn't seem to be getting any traction and the reason why will soon become apparent when they start to investigate the strange goings on themselves meeting Eli and Howard, two nutty guys who oversee an underground snuff film empire. This was a darkly comedic flick, fun stuff that was quite bloody with many dismemberments for the gore-hounds. I love the concept and think that if they're gonna be remaking all these 80's classics why not pump some cash into a remake of VIDEO VIOLENCE?

On the commentary track Gary Cohen discusses the genesis of the film going back to a time he worked as a video store clerk and a mother with a young child came in looking for something her daughter to watch. When she brought a VHS of I DISMEMBER MAMA to the counter she asked if there was nudity in the film to which he replied no but that it was rather violent film to which she replied that as long as there's no nudity the violent content was alright. Cohen explains his distaste for violence but his love of all things horror, something I think most horror fans can relate to.The commentary is a fun listen, somewhat informative but mostly a rambunctious group recollection of making the film.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Audio Commentary with Gary Cohen, Mark Kwuatek, Art Neil, Paul K., David Christopher and Uke.
- Interview with Video Violence Director Gary Cohen (14:12)

VIDEO VIOLENCE 2: THE EXPLOITATION (1988)  
After helming the grim home invasion thriller CAPTIVES director Gary Cohen returned to the teet of VIDEO VIOLENCE for a campy gore-soaked sequel which finds our snuff film impresarios Howard and Eli now pirating the WGOR cable TV channel to not only showcase their brand of depraved homemade snuff films but to actually host a live variety show wherein victims are dispatched on live television complete with a Paul Shaffer styled band leader. The first film had some humor to it but this one purposefully ramps up the camp (and gore) to entertaining effects with busty naked ladies and fun Herschell Gordon-Lewis styled gore-tastic vingettes.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Audio Commentary with Gary Cohen, Mark Kwuatek, Art Neil, Paul K., David Christopher and Uke.

- Camp Motion Picture Vault: CANNIBAL CAMPOUT (1:05), WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE (:52), GHOUL SCHOOL (1:11), VIDEO VIOLENCE (1:26), VIDEO VIOLENCE 2 (1:08)

DVD'S: All the films on the set are presented in 4x3 fullframe and shot on videotape except for THE BASEMENT which was shot on 8mm film. Both formats offer a dingy patina of crappiness to the films as one might expected though I was pleasantly surprised how well both VIDEO VIOLENCE films looked, not great mind you, but when compared to CANNIBAL CAMPOUT, SLEDGEHAMMER and other SOV films of the era it's not too shabby either. THE BASEMENT has been restored by DP Michael Raso and looks decent but it's still grainy and pretty murky. Both VV films have been digitally edited and remasterd by Joel Cobeck and they're probably the best looking films on the set overall. The audio quality is lo-fi from start to finish, particularly THE BASEMENT which was post-dubbed to great comedic effect - 70's Italian films have nothing on 80's SOV cinema in that respect.

VERDICT: Say what you will about the quality (or lack thereof) of these ultra low-budget films but something you can never take away from them is the glorious DIY horror-infused spirit that oozes from every nook and cranny of 'em. These are micro-budgeted love letters to the horror genre made by fans for fans with little to no expectation of profit or distribution. Camp Motion Pictures THE BASEMENT Camp retro 80's Collection is so far the best boxset of 2011 in my opinion. If you love 80's horror, have an affinity for schlock cinema and are nostalgic for the retro VHS aesthetic THIS IS A MUST BUY!!! What a great year for obscure SOV treasures with the surreal slasher SLEDGEHAMMER and the canuxploitation oddity THINGS having finally been brought to DVD and now this "big box" of schlocky 80's VHS awesomeness - I say bring it on!

DVD Review: THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE (2010)

THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE (2010)

Distributor: MVD Entertainment Group
Label: Dustin Mills Product
Region Code: 0 NTSC
Rating:Unrated
Duration: 70 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Dustin Mills
Cast: Ethan Holey, Jessica Daiels, Steve Rimpso, Dustin Mills, Bart Flynn, Erica Kisseberth

In Dustin Mills' DIY horror-comedy THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE a
group of five teens receive letters challenging them to spend a night in a creepy old mansion on the edge of town, yeah sure why not, right? At stake is one-million dollars for anyone brave enough to remain in the mansion for the duration of the night. It's a classic horror premise right outta William Castle's THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959). What they don't realize is that mansion is owned by a former Nazi scientist Dr. Wolfgang Wagner (Steve Rimpici) who has bio-engineered a carnivorous creature that he plans to unleash upon 'em as soon as the door closes behind them. That's the very simple set-up to the film, now throw in some kinky Muppet-styled hand puppet fornication, copious amounts of splatter, 400 soldiers battling a Godzilla sized creature and what you get is a splatteriffic horror-comedy that's a great watch.

There's a small cast of fun  characters here which perfectly suit the film's 80's inspired cartoonish carnage and splattery mayhem. Our main character is an Jesse Eisenberg type wimpy kid by the name of Charlie Hawkins (Ethan Holey) who is joined in the scary mansion challenge by his best-friend Gwen, a Brit-punker named Iggy (Bart Flynn), his girlfriend Mona (Erica Kisseberth) and an awesomely pervy horror nerd appropriately named Raimi (Dustin Mills) named of course after EVIL DEAD 2 (1987) director Sam Raimi. It's perhaps a sad reflection upon myself  that Raimi was definitely the character I could most relate to here. Also thrown into the mix is Charlie's ultra-ornery WWII vet Gramps (also voiced by Flynn), he's the second most quotable character after Raimi. Our antagonists are the aforementioned Nazi scientist Dr. Wagner, his evil-penguin sidekick Squiggums and the flesh-crazed toothy creature.

The director keeps it fairly simple with a pretty well familiar set 'em up and knock 'em down creature feature/slasher narrative. The unwitting teens arrive at the mansion, meet the mysterious Dr. Wolfgang Wagner and the bio-engineered creature quickly begins slaughtering puppets one by one right from the get-go, it's inspired in it's simplicity. The kills are not only surprisingly bloody but very well executed as puppet massacres go anyway, it's pretty crazy fun stuff.

I love the medium Mills has chosen to work with, it seems a completely novel and gimmicky conceit to use hand puppets set against 3D digital backgrounds and some South Park style animation flashbacks to WWII but it mostly works. The potential for disaster here would seem overwhelming, there are so many shitty DIY horror films and a hand-puppet splatterfest doesn't immediately spring to mind as horror-comedy gold but the film is well-written with some snappy dialogue and well executed right down to some great atmospheric lighting and shadowplay.


Like some of the best 80's horror film's this is deeply infused with a strong comedy element but it's character driven and not too absurd, it's really spot on. Probably not the best parenting decision I've ever made but I watched some of this with my 11 year old and we were both in hysterics, like we were watching The Three Stooges, there's no small amount of fart humor here but it complements the film's sensibilities as well as my own.

The major drawback to the film for me was that I just didn't care for the films main protagonist Charlie, he was very weak character in my opinion and my man Raimi was slighted to early on in the film, I just wanted more of the pervy horror nerd.
 At only 70 minutes the film flies by in a flurry of fuzzy carnage, it's the perfect length, not too short and not long enough to wear out it's welcome. Mills obviously poured his 80's horror loving soul into this project and it oozes awesomeness at every turn.

DVD: THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen and looks mighty good upscaled to 1080p on my screen. Colors are vibrant, black levels are strong and overall it's a very slick looking feature that one wouldn't assume cost $3500 to make. The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track suffices, it's not fantastic or particularly dynamic but it's clean and the dialogue sounds crisp.

The disc's special features include two scrapped ideas for the creature design presented in short video clips, what Mills decided to go with in the end is definitely the right choice for the film. There are also two commentaries, one with the director and another with both director and assistant direct Brandon Salkil. I only listened to the director's commentary thus far but it was quite informative with lots of talk about his love of 80's horror, making the film, the voice actors, creating the puppets and even critiquing the film a bit.

Special Features:
- Scrapped Monster 1 (0:10) 16:9
- Scrapped Monster 2 (0:30) 16:9
- Audio Commentary with Director Dustin Mills
- Audio Commentary with Director Dustin Mills and Assistant Director Brandon Salkil

Verdict: THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE is pure 80's splatter inspired puppet carnage with some fun kaiju elements. If you dig TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, Peter Jackson's MEET THE FEEBLES or Bill Zebub's DOLLA MORTE there's definitely something here for you to enjoy, worth a rental at the very least, recommended.
 

 http://www.puppetmonstermassacre.com/

DVD Review: SALVAGE (2010)

SALVAGE (2010)

Label: Revolver Entertainment
Region Code: 1 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 76 mins
Video: 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Director: Lawrence Hough
Cast: Neve McIntosh, Shaun Dooley, Linzey Cocker
Tagline: Fear Cannot Be Contained
 
In this British horror-thriller set in a quiet cul-de-sac it's Christmas Eve and a young girl named Jodie (Linzey Cocker) is rather unwilling dropped off at her estranged mother's doorstep by her father. It's not quite a happy homecoming scenario and it's made worse when Jodie lets herself into mum's place only to catch mom Beth (Neve McIntosh) amidst a rather steamy  one-night stand with Kieran (Shaun Dooley, EDEN LAKE) a man she met just the night before. A barely dressed Beth chases after her perturbed daughter into the streets where there's a brief confrontation ending in Jodie tossing her mother's house keys at her quite hard and fleeing to a neighbors home. 

Beth is definitely a flawed mother character, a lot of their issues stem from Beth abandoning her marriage and daughter to further her career, and the tension between the two is thick with animosity and regret. Beth returns home and dresses a bit more appropriately and attempts to recover her daughter from the neighbors only to have the door shut in her face. Standing in shock outside the door her attention is drawn towards a helicopter overhead just as a neighbor emerges from his home covered in blood and carrying a large knife. Just then Beth is tackled by a military soldier who commands her at gunpoint to return to her home as the neighbor is gunned down after refusing to comply. As the military infiltrate the cul-de-sac Beth is left inside her home with a man she's only just met, near strangers who must come together to deal with an unknown threat that has descended upon the usually quiet neighborhood.

The nature of the threat is unknown at first but the film plays up fears of terrorism, particularly Kieran who's obsessed with the notion that the gunned down neighbor must have been part of a terrorist cell. Adding to the mystery are reports of a shipping container washed ashore in the nearby river Thames that seems to be the epicenter of the carnage that's overtaken the neighborhood. Trapped in the house together the two argue, panic and give in to varying degrees of paranoia and anxiety, it's not over-the-top hysterics and plays quite realistically into what I would assume one would experience during such an event.

As gunshots ring out in the neighborhood the panic worsens as does Beth's concern for her daughter's well being. She sets out to rescue her only to find the neighbor's house in shambles, blood is everywhere but there are no signs of her daughter. Discovering an injured soldier outside the house they bring him inside and are able to piece together what's the military is there to contain and it's far worse than they could have imagined. At the 53 minute mark the tense paranoiac thriller turns into a mutated creature horror fest and while the pace picks up it perhaps loses a bit of it's punch but is still quite a fine film.

SALVAGE is a great case of economical low-budget horror filmmaking, it's tense, atmospheric and nail-bitingly good. The acting is fantastic from start to finish, particularly Dooley and McIntosh, and wisely the creatures are kept mostly in shadow and not over exposed. The film's a nice combination of THE CRAZIES violent infected and terrorist paranoia thriller RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR.

DVD:The disc from Revolver Entertainment presents the film in 16x9 enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen and looks very good with nice black levels and a generally subdued color tone. The DVD boasts an impressively immersive Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track that accents the tension quite well, very good sound design and a tense score. Dialogue sounds crisp and clear, no subtitles are included.

Special features include a commentary track with Director Lawrence Gough plus writer Colin O’Donell, associate producer Alan Pattison and star Shaun Dooley who discuss the genesis of the film from a short subject film to it's development as a feature length production. It's a decent listen if a bit dry at times. There's also nearly 45 minutes of cast and crew interviews and a behind-the-scenes making of featurette. Not too shabby, but don't talk about the short film and not feature it on the DVD, c'mon guys. It had better be on YouTube or the film's website, seriously.

Special Features:
- Behind the Scenes Making Of (10:08) 16:9
- Cast and Crew Interviews (44:34) 16:9
- Commentary from Director Lawrence Gough, writer Colin O’Donell, associate producer Alan Pattison and star Shaun Dooley

Verdict: Having just watched British film TONY (2009) and then straight away watching this it's hard not to reflect upon the great many number of kick ass British horror films in recent years, it's very promising indeed. I'm a bit pist that I somehow managed to miss this one which was actually released last summer on DVD, better late to the party than never right?  Not a hugely original film but very well executed, tense and bloody, well recommended.

www.salvagethefilm.com/