CHILDREN OF THE CORN (1984) (Arrow Video Blu-ray Review)

CHILDREN OF THE CORN (1984) 

Label: Arrow Video
Region Code: A
Duration: 82 Minutes 
Rating: R
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Stereo, English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Fritz Kiersch
Cast: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong, Julie Maddalena, John Philbin, John Franklin, Courtney Gains 

Eighties killer-kiddie classic Children of the Corn (1984) scared the living Hell out of  me when I caught in my pre-teens on VHS. I grew up in a very rural area in Upstate New York with plenty of corn fields around me, so the idea of a dark Lovecraftian force known as "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" who spurred children to kill the adults really burrowed down into my psyche and imagination in a big, bad way. Even as a kid I found the idea of kids killing all the adults rather frightening, and while the movie affects me differently now three decades later as a father and, somewhat arguably, an adult, I think this one holds up mighty finely. 

The film opens on a Sunday morning in the small town Gatlin, the

adults are gathered at the local diner for their usual post-sermon breakfast when the kids rise up and massacre every last one them while creepy kid cult-leader Isaac (John Franklin, The Addam's Family) peers through the window. We get some decent carnage as the kids poison the coffee pot, hacking and slashing the adults and slicing off the proprietor of the diner's hand in a meat slicer! Now, the carnage is mostly relegated to splashes of blood but I love it when the kid with the milkshake mustache catches a face full of the red stuff! 

Three years later young couple Vicky (Linda Hamilton, Terminator) and her boyfriend Burt (Peter Horton, TV's Thirtysomething) are travelling through rural Nebraska when a young boy emerges from the corn field right into the path of their car. They put him in the car and drive into the nearby town of Gatlin, which at first seems deserted, but soon enough they discover the kiddie-only inhabitants are nothing to be trifled with, as creepy cult-leader Isaac and his evil-ginger sidekick Malachi (Courtney Joiner, The 'Burbs) capture Vicky and put her on a crucifix made of corn, to be sacrificed to their Lovecraftian lord, He who Walks Behind the Rows. 

Based on the Stephen King short story "Disciples of the Crow," this is probably the first King adaptation I saw as a kid, it was chilling to me as a kid, though now I can see it for the somewhat problematic thing that it is, padded for time to stretch the short-subject source material, adding a young girl with clairvoyant visions, but that the creepy kid cult-leader as played by John Franklin (who was 24 when he made this) still manages to make my skin crawl with his eerie sermons and odd demeanor, he has an evil precociousness that I find chilling. Then we have Malachi, whom develops a feud with Isaac over the proper way to worship their dark Lord, culminating in some treachery. 

The finale is fun piece of work, both frantic, frightful and field-burning, but the visual effects might be a bit problematic for those who weren't raised on this vintage slice of horror - they do not really stand-up to the test of time, but the scenes of He Who Walks Behind The Rows burrowing beneath the surface of the ground and the way it displaces the dirt looks very cool, and the fireball is wonderful.  To this day I cannot pass a corn field and think of this film, it's left it's mark on me for sure, a testament to the iconic nature of this one. 

Audio/Video: The Children of the Corn (1984) arrives on Blu-ray from Arrow Video befitting from a new 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative. Right away you see the improvement, this is a step up from my 2009 25th Anniversary Blu-ray from Anchor Bay by a large margin, he film grain seems better resolved and more textured, looking more natural. Colors have more life and you can see a new color timing has been done, not sure if this is more accurate to the theatrical run but to my eyes it looks superior to the previous Blu-ray. Audio on the disc comes by way of an English LPCM 2.0 or DTS-HD MA 5.1, I prefer the stereo track, which has more presence and power to my ears, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Arrow Video carry over all the extras from the 2009 Anchor Bay Blu-ray (minus the trivial trivia track) which were produced by Red Shirt Pictures, and kindly offer-up a handful more new ones to make this the definitive edition of the movie. There's a brand new commentary from with John Sullivan of www.childrenofthecornmovie.com and horror journalist Justin Beahm, and Sullivan shows up again for a 16-min location revisit showcasing the filming locations current day.

Screenwriter George Goldsmith shows up for an interview talking about his early career as a small town investigative reporter before dropping that for screenwriting, working on Master of Kung Fu TV series and Force Five, and adapting the work of Stephen King. another cool extra is the short film "Disciples of the Crow" (1983), which is one of the infamous "dollar baby" King adaptations, this one coming out a year before the feature length movie. There are  also over fifty minutes of new interviews with Actors Julie Maddalena and John Philbin (Return of the Living Dead), all in you're looking at over three hours of extras and that's before you get two the two feature length audio commentaries! 

For the sake of this review Arrow Video sent "check disc" without any of the cool packaging or artwork, so I'll share these pack shots from Arrow Facebook page - this is a cool looking release with a sleeve of reversible artwork, reversible poster, and booklet:

Special Features: 
- Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- NEW: Brand new audio commentary with John Sullivan of www.childrenofthecornmovie.com and horror journalist Justin Beahm
- NEW: Return to Gatlin - A brand new featurette revisiting the film's original Iowa shooting locations with John Sullivan of www.childrenofthecornmovie.com  (16 min) 
- NEW: A Field of Nightmare - A brand New interview with Screenwriter George Goldsmith (17 min) HD 

- NEW: ...And The Corn Shall Lead Them - A Brand new interview with Actors Julie Maddalena and John Philbin (52 min) HD 
- Stephen King on a Shoestring - an interview with producer Donald Borchers (11 min) HD 
- Audio commentary with director Fritz Kiersch, producer Terrence Kirby and actors John Franklin and Courtney Gains
- Harvesting Horror - The Making of Children of the Corn - retrospective piece featuring interviews with director Fritz Kiersch and actors John Franklin and Courtney Gains (61 min) 
- It Was the Eighties! - an interview with actress Linda Hamilton (14 min) 
- Welcome to Gatlin - The Sights and Sounds of Children of the Corn, an interview with production designer Craig Stearns and composer Jonathan Elias (15 min) 
- Cut From the Corn - an interview with the actor who played "The Blue Man" in the fabled excised sequence (6 min) 
- Theatrical Trailer (1 min) HD 
- Storyboard Gallery (6 min) HD 
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
- Short Film:  Disciples of the Crow (1983): Originally shot as Children of the Corn, this short film adaptation of the eponymous Stephen King Story was made one year before the 1984 feature version of the version  (19 Minutes) HD 
- First Pressing: Collectors booklet featuring new writing in the film.


Children of the Corn (1984) still works it's 80s killer-kids magic all these years later, a testament to both Stephen King's original story and  to the direction of Fritz Kiersch, this is a film that will be scaring audiences for years to come. Arrow Video have gone deep behind the rows of corn to unearth some awesome extras this release, on top of that the A/V presentation is gorgeous, making this easily the definitive version of the film on home video - for fans and newcomers this is the one to own. 

THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE (2015) (Blu-ray Review)

THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE (2015) 

Label: Scream Factory 
Release Date: June 7th 2015 
Duration: 90 Minutes 
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Andy Palmer
Cast: Andy Palmer, Ben Begley, Chasty Ballesteros, Clint Howard, Courtney Gains, Jere Burns, Mars Crain, Matt Angel, Robert Englund, Scottie Thompson, Sebastian Siegel

Synopsis: On Halloween night, a group of the United States’ most notorious serial killers escape from Statesville Asylum and descend upon a giant funhouse whose theme is based on their different reigns of terror. The unsuspecting carnival patrons think that the carnage created at the park is just part of the show… until they become part of the main attraction. The only people left to stop the killers are a rag-tag group of college kids, a clueless deputy (Ben Begley, The Hungover Games) and the local sheriff (Scottie Thompson, Skyline, Before I Wake), who seems to have a strange attachment to the leader of the maniacs, the silver-tongued devil “Mental Manny” (Jere Burns, Justified, Angie Tribeca).

Now this was a pleasant surprise, an indie horror-comedy that didn't suck balls, trust me this is not as common as you might want to believe. In my experience a decent horror-comedy is about as rare as a good low-budget zombie movie, and that my friend is some rare stuff. Thankfully The Funhouse Massacre delivers on both laughs and blood-drenched gore and kept me entertained right up till the end. 

The carnage begins as a group of psychotic murderers escape their psychiatric imprisonment on Halloween night and make their way to a local amusement park that is hosting attractions based on their own murderous exploits. Once thet arrive at the amusemtn park they relieve the amusement park employees of their lives with extreme prejudice a nd begin to cut, kill and eat the patrons of the carnival, whom at first suspect that the gore is all part of the fun, but once it is revelaed that psychotic killers are for real and on a bloody murder spree all Hell breaks loose. 

Robert Englund appears for a hot minute as the director of the asylum, as always he gives a nice performance that is a notch under over-the-top and perfectly suited to the material at hand. The killers in this one are a fun lot, we have the doomsday cult leader Mental Manny who is the defacto leader of the homcidal group, a very bad dentistt named Dr. Suave, cannibalistic chef Animal the Cannibal, a clown-faced dead-skin masked wrestler named Rocco and The Taxidermist played by Clint Howard of Evilspeak. There's also a sexy doll-faced clown killer who stitches her victim’s mouth and eyes shut before murdering them, she's probably the sexiest evil-clown since Batty Boop from the Killjoy movies. The cameos don't end with Englund and Clint Howard, Courtney Gains from Children of the Corn and The 'Burbs shows up at the proprietor of the amusement park who doesn't realize how played he has been by his lady friend who is in cahoots with the psychotic killers. 

Of course we have to have someone to root for here to pretend we aren't cheering on the murderers, cause that would be weird, right? To that end we have a group of employees from a local diner who head to the park for a night of fun terror, among them an awkward nice guy who pines away for the virginal final girl, the local jock and his horny girlfriend and the dishwasher, a Mexican dressed-up as Machete, and the local sheriff and her dip shit deputy. 

The Funhouse Massacre looks great on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, it definitely takes advantage of the bright amusement park colors delivers on some bloody gore and fun horror-comedy that goes down easy with a few beers, and at just ninety-minutes it doesn't wear out it's welcome. 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with director Andy Palmer, producer Warner Davis and actors Clint Howard and Courtney Gains
- Popcorn Talk’s Video Commentary with director Andy Palmer and co-writers/co-stars Ben Begley and Renee Dorian (Blu-Ray only)
- A Day on the Set (3 Mins) 
- Production Diaries (5 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) HD 

The Funhouse Massacre is one of those indie gems that could easily slip right on by you without notice if it weren't for me telling you that this deserves a watch. I was initially put off by the artwork as I am juts not a fan of most clown-themed horror movies, there are a few out there that bring me joy, but they are few and far between, and I am happy to say that this one exceeded my expectations and them some, so definitely give this one a watch, I think you're gonna be pleased with its blend of gore and comedy. 

 

DVD Review: MIMESIS: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (2010)

MIMESIS - NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (2010) 

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Rating: R

Duration: 95 Minutes

Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 

Director: Douglas Schulze

Cast: Allen Maldonado, Lauren Mae Shafer, Taylor John Piedmonte, David G.B. Brown, Courtney Gains

Tagline: Why watch a horror movie when you can live one? 

Synopsis: What begins as a horror convention after-party for a group of fans will quickly become a genuine flesh-and-blood nightmare: Trapped inside an isolated farmhouse, they must now survive attacks by hordes of hungry zombies while desperately attempting to escape. But is this gore-soaked siege a twisted prank, an elaborate trap, or has Night of the Living Dead actually come to undead life? Sid Haig (The Devil's rejects) and Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn) star in this award-winning indie shocker from co-writer/director Douglas Schulze that walks the razor-sharp line between edgy homage and depraved reality...then proceeds to rip its guts out. 

When George A. Romero's seminal chiller Night of the Living Dead (1968) fell into the public domain following it's initial release due to an unfortunate copyright snafu little did anyone realize just what a classic had been unleashed upon the world, it changed the face of modern horror.  Pretty sure at that time no one realized either just how often it would be re-used and re-purposed by aspiring filmmakers in the decades to follow. How many times have you watched a film and the characters are either at the theater or at home watching TV and the film on the screen is NOTLD? Hundreds of times,  - it's rampant. Why? It's pretty simple, they don't have to pay Romero and any royalties, it's in the public domain. It's this status as a horror freebie that has allowed film distributors to proliferate the market with unapproved versions of the film on DVD and for aspiring filmmakers to remake, re-use and re-purpose the film for better or worse.

Some of the not-so-great in my estimation were  NOTLD: Re-Animation (2012), Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006) and NOTLD co-writer John A. Russo's NOTLD: 30th Anniversary Edition featuring newly filmed scenes and a new score - what a pile of shit, too

Versions of the film that were quite a bit more successful were 80's effects master turned director Tom Savini's NOTD (1990), a remake of the film penned by George A. Romero himself, it's a grim film with some nice touches, a few key pieces are askew but the film is fantastic. Another nice entry is the  neat animated feature NOTD: Reanimated (2010) featuring a wild array of different animation styles laid over the film's original score/dialogue - it's an uneven affair but it's arguably doing something different the film other than cashing i on it's cult classic status. 

This brings us to Douglas Schulze's Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead (2010) a film that definitely falls into the latter category of something unique and potentially quite wonderful. Two young men attend a horror convention where they watch a q+a with horror icon Alphonze Betz played by veteran horror actor Sid Haig who makes at least his second appearance in a NOTLD remake/re-purpose following the aforementioned and dreadful NOTLD 3D. The two men in the audience are horror nerd Russell (Taylor Piedmonte) and his best friend Duane (Allen Maldonado) who is more there to hit on sexy goth girls than anything else, not really a horror fan at all. If it's sexy Goth girls Duane craves he's it pay-dirt when super-cute Goth vixen Judith (Lauren Mae Shafer) invites them to a party out in the middle of nowhere. Arriving at the farmhouse the two enjoy a night of horror-themed debauchery, it's a great night for the guys - until they black out and awaken the next day dressed in different clothes and trapped in a weird re-creation of George A. Romero's cult classic film where the kills are only too real for those who's strings are being manipulated by forces not yet understood.

It's a pretty sweet premise for a film and there's a lot of promise to the story, too. I love how the characters are cast as certain characters from NOTLD but are just slightly askew, it's a clever homage to be certain  The acting is quite good, not excellent but I bought into the film, so no complaints there. The script is quite self-aware, this is a film made by horror fans for horror fans and it's fun stuff. The gore-hounds will be pleased, too - there's plenty of blood n' guts on display and there's a nice smattering of comedy peppered throughout. 

It's shot on the cheap but the cinematography is excellent and the shoe-string budget doesn't show much visually. The hiccups along the way for me were some annoying editing in the way of artificial ramping up and slowing down of the film, it's way overused and only drew attention to itself. Another debit on the film is that the twist is broadcast early on but it doesn't detract from what a neat concept we have on our hands here. It's not perfect but aside from a few minor quibbles this was a fun watch with some fun appearances by Sig Haig and Courtney Gains of Children of the Corn. While it's not even close to attaining the gory glory of the '90 remake it's thankfully not plumbing the depths of NOTLD 3D either. 3 Outta 5