CUJO (1983) (Eureka Limited Edition Blu-ray Review)

CUJO (1983)

 Limited Edition Box Set (4000 Units)

Label: Eureka Entertainment
Region Code: B
Rating: Cert. 18
Duration: 93 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM Mono, DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Lewis Teague
Cast: Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Danny Pinatauro, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter 

I do not remember loving Cujo (1983) when I first saw it on a TV-edit broadcast presentation sometime in the 80's, but the story of an adulterous but loving mother and her young son trapped in a Ford Pinto whilst under attack from a rabid St. Bernard dog is solid stuff. The problem for me then was that there was so much slow-burning melodrama leading up to the frothy finale, but watching it now many years later the film has aged very well, my opinion is a bit kinder. Now older, but certainly none the wiser, I can appreciate the domestic turmoil of ad-exec Vic (Daniel Hugh-Kelly), and his adulterous wife Donna (Dee Wallace, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), but then there's a subplot about a kids cereal account that the ad-exec husband is working on that goes nowhere and drags what could have been a slow-burn down to a sad-crawl. 

Though I will say that the idea of a kids cereal that due to a red-dye ingredient makes kids shit bright red stool is rather funny when you think about it, especially when coupled with an an equally unfortunate bit of ad campaign verbage. There's another subplot about an abused wife of a local mechanic winning the lottery and fleeing town, an arc with no payoff really, other than to reinforce the notion that there's no one to help this mother and child later on. 

The titular dog here starts off as a very family friendly sort of beast who one day while chasing a rabbit through the woods is bitten on the nose by a rabid bat, with the canine succumbing to the illness, driven mad  and killing his owner, who is the local mechanic in town, the one whose wife won the lottery and ran off earlier. 

Which brings us to the cheating mom's failing Ford Pinto with it's dashboard lit-up like a Christmas tree with red-warning lights, pulling up to the mechanics shop where the car conks out completely just as the rabid dog lays siege to the mother and child inside. This stuff is the saving grace of the film, somewhat erasing the slow threads of the first two-thirds of the film with the snarling, foaming-at-the-mouth dog attacking the car with a mighty fervor, trying to get in there and tear this mother and son up with it's gnashing teeth. Trapped in the car over the course of two days in the sweltering heat, the young boy and mother begin succumbing to heat exhaustion, with the increasingly desperate mom trying to fight back, ultimately having to face-off against the snot-eyed, rabid beast with a baseball bat in a last ditch effort to save her son who is on death's door.

The film is certainty flawed with random threads that go nowhere, slowing this things down to a crawl at times, but Dee Wallace turns in an electrifying performance as the terrorized mother who will do anything to save her young son, the same cannot be said for her affair with an ex played by her then husband Christopher Stone (The Howling), for a real-life couple they had zero chemistry together. The practical make-up effects used to give the dog it's bloodied, snot-eyed, and foamed-mouth rabid looks are still terrific looking, plus the animal trainers did great work bringing the usually lumbering St. Bernard breed into the realm of terror with a combination of trained dogs, a man in a suit, prosthetics and even a different breed of dog in a St. Bernard suit, to make this normally docile dog into a growling image terror.

Audio/Video: Cujo (1983) arrives on 2-disc region-B locked Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment in 108op HD widescreen (1.85:1) looking good, though comparing it to the 2009 Liosngate Blu-ray release it does look to be the same transfer, this is not a new 2K scan of the elements. That said, the grain is well-managed for the most part, and colors are solid, but the film's dingy brown color range that doesn't really shine, but overall I still found it to be a pleasing watch in HD, it's just not dazzling the way a new scan would have allowed. Audio comes by way of of English LPCM Mono and DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles, dialogue is crisp and clear, with the wonderful score from Charles Bernstein (A Nightmare on Elm Street) springing to life in the mix. 

While the A/V presentation doesn't look to be a fresh scan Eureka really hot a home run with the extras here, packing in over seven hours worth of goodies to paw your way through, beginning with a brand new audio commentary from  super-fan Lee Gambin, author of 'Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo', a thorough and well-rounded exploration of the film and it's source novel. Notably Eureka do not carry-over the previous audio commentary with director Lewis Teague, so maybe hang onto those Blu-rays from Olive Films and Lionsgate for that specific extra. 

We also get a wealth of interviews, beginning with star Dee Wallace who shows up for a 40-min interview beginning with getting Cujo following the blockbuster success E.T., loving the role of a strong woman. Stating she did not read the novel and was not a fan of the original end for the young boy.  There's some conversation about the original director Peter Medak (The Changeling), and what it was like working with his replacement Lewis Teague (Cat's Eye), and also with her husband on the film. The star also speaks of how much of a toll the role was for her physically and emotionally. Wallace also speaks on the wardrobe and make-up FX, plus working with the trained dogs.

Composer Charles Bernstein gives a 35-min interview discussing his process creating the score, speaking of individual themes, describing the film as a "delicious film to score", and ending the interview by playing some of the Cujo theme at on piano at his home studio. 
   

Stuntman Gary Morgan speaks for 25-min about being a stuntman in the dog suit, he having appeared in quite a few films as an animal. Speaking about what it was like to be working in a suit, how it got old and smelly real fast, so much so that it had it's own room as no one wanted to store it in theirs. He speaks about how laid back the trained dogs were and what a challenge it was to get them appear to be viscous, using a "critter cage" to excite them, and how the rabid dog foam was actually egg whites, which the dogs would eat, and sharing some of his favorite memories from the shoot. 

Stunt woman Jean Coulter (Jaws 2) speaks about getting the role, working with director Lewis Teague and star Dee Wallace. Going into working with the dogs, saying they mostly worked with one main dog, and how one was particularly mean. The most horrific story is of how playing with the dog nearly resulted in her losing her nose, which was left hanging by a thread of skin, and how doctor's were able to reattach it! She gives a lot of credit to stuntman Gary Morgan who was working in the dog suit, and talking about some other film gigs where director's had crazy demands for her.   

Casting director Marcia Ross speaks about her early career working on a pair of Walter Hill (Hard Times) films, going into the auditions for Cujo, including how Billy Jacoby (Bloody Birthday) auditioned for the role of the main kid, but being a bit too old for the part. 

Special effects designer Robert Clark talks for 13-min about working with Karl Lewis Miller to fit the dogs costume, including a Labrador that wore a St. Bernard costume! He also discusses creating prosthetic special effects, including the jaws of the dog and casting the head, and making a reference to his work on the dachshunds in rat costumes, killer rat film Deadly Eyes (1982)! 

Dog trainer Teresa Miller shows up for a 28-min interview recalling Cujo, which her father worked on when she was 17. Describing her father training the four dogs for months before filming, and how strange having been around them felt afterward when she saw the film and how viscous they were made to act. She also discusses her father suggesting the producers use Doberman's instead of low-energy St. Bernards in the film, finally resorting to putting a Labrador in a St. Bernard suit to achieve some of the on-screen action.     

Extras on disc one are buttoned-up with Laurent Bouzereau's 43-min making-of doc 'Dog Days: The Making of Cujo' (2007), which is still a terrific watch, featuring interviews with some people not interviewed on the new extras, including director Lewis Teague, cinematographer Jan de Bont (Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker) actor Danny Pintauro, late Producer Robert Singer and Editor Neil Travis. We also get a trailer and TV spots for the film. 

Exclusive to the limited edition release is a bonus Blu-ray disc containing a Q&A with star Dee Wallace moderated by Lee Gambin, this was filmed at Cinemaniacs & Monster Fest 2015. Wallace fields questions about her career. Also on the bonus disc is a 28-min interview with critic and author Kim Newman seated on that familiar looking couch in his mother's basement discussing the numerous Stephen King film adaptations. I'm a fan of Newman's writings and film musings, so hearing him ramble on here about King adaptations and the career of director Lewis Teague was a pleasure. 

This limited edition set also includes a 60-page booklet with new writing on the film by Lee Gambin, author Scott Harrison, and Craig Ian Mann; illustrated with archival imagery from the film’s production. Plus you will get a cool-looking hardbound slipcover with artwork by Graham Humphreys and a reversible art option from illustrator Justin Osbourn. 

The extras assembled for this are terrific, the only thing missing here would be a definitive new 4K scan of the film which would have made this already definitive release even more definitive. 
  

Special Features: 
- New and exclusive feature length audio commentary by Lee Gambin, author of Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo
- New interview with Dee Wallace (40 mins)HD
- New interview with composer Charles Bernstein (35 mins)HD
- New interview with stuntman Gary Morgan (25 mins)HD
- New interview with stuntwoman Jean Coulter (21 mins)
- New interview with casting director Marcia Ross (20 mins) HD
- New interview with visual effects artist Kathie Lawrence (13 mins) HD
- New interview with special effects designer Robert Clark (12 mins)HD
- New interview with dog trainer Teresa Miller (28 mins) HD
- Dog Days: The Making of Cujo – archival documentary on the film’s production (43 mins) 
- Original Trailer(2 min) HD 
- TV Spot #1 (1 min) HD 
- TV Spot #2 (1 min) HD 

Disc Two - Limited Edition Only
- Q&A with Dee Wallace from “Cinemaniacs & Monster Fest 2015”, moderated by Lee Gambin (101 mins)HD 
- New interview with critic and author Kim Newman (28 mins) HD

Cujo is a film that has gotten better with age for me, the melodrama and loose story elements still sap it of it's thunder to a degree, but the final leg of the film with the formerly docile dog succumbing to it's rabid ways and the harrowing survival story of the mothers and son is still powerful stuff. The new 2-disc limited edition Blu-ray is stacked with hours of extras that are sure to please fans of the film. 

POPCORN (1991) (88 Films Blu-ray Review)

POPCORN (1991) 

Label: 88 Films
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 91 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1 Surround, Original DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Mark Herrier
Cast: Jill Schoelen, Dee Wallace, Ray Walston, Malcolm Danare, Tom Villard

Synopsis: Canada took the slasher movie to the next level when the country produced the trendsetting BLACK CHRISTMAS in 1974, at the height of what has become known as 'Canuxploitation'. Later shockers from the nation of moose, Mounties and maple syrup included the equally effective MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (1981) but by the turn of the eighties the terror-trend was drying up... at least until the plasma-spilling shocks of POPCORN in 1991! This is Canadian slice and dice action par excellence - and returns to the good old days of splashed blood, high body counts and a mysterious killer as a young female screenwriter (played by the great Scream Queen Jill Schoelen from THE STEPFATHER and CUTTING CLASS) suffers nightmares of a strange figure who may well be breaking into the 'reel' world... Postmodern and provocative, and featuring a genre ensemble cast that includes Dee Wallace Stone (THE HOWLING) and Kelly Jo Minter (THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS), POPCORN has maintained a following of macabre movie fans for decades since its release! 

In the 90's humor infused slasher Popcorn (1991) we have a group of college students who belong to a film club, it is decided that they need to have an event to raise awareness about the club on campus, while brainstorming ideas student Toby D'Amato (Tom Villard, One Crazy Summer) pitches an all-nite horror-thon at the abandoned Dreamland movie theater. The pitch goes over well and the students and their teacher, Professor Davis (Tony Roberts, Amityville 3-D), give the dilapidated cinema a quick makeover with the help of Dr. M (Ray Walston, Fast Times at Ridgemont High), the eccentric owner of a local film memorabilia shop. It turns out that the cinema has a tragic past, years earlier it screened the film 'The Possessor' by avant-garde director Lanyard Gates, who was the leader of an acid-freak film cult. During the screening Lanyard performed the last act of the film live on stage, murdering his family in front of a live audience before sending the theater up in flames, apparently dying himself in the inferno.

Current day the film students plan to screen three movies, all of which are in the William Castle gimmick-driven vein of schlock cinema. We have 50's era atom-age monster movie 'The Mosquito' in Project-O-Vision, Tohoe-esque Asian import 'The Stench' in odor-riffic Aroma-Rama, and the sci-fi thriller 'The Amazing Electrified Man' in Shock-O-Scope! The gags for each film include a giant mosquito that will buzz the audience from above, pumping green stinky fog into the cinema and attaching electric-buzzers to he bottom of the theater seats - these are all plays on real-life William Castle gimmicks, the shock-seats are straight out of The Tingler (1959)!

While prepping the theater they find a short film reel containing Gate's film 'The Posessor', while watching it student Maggie Butler (Jill Schoelen, The Phantom of the Opera) realizes that the scenes from the film are straight out of her nightmares, becoming obsessed with finding out why she's dreaming about this murderer's movie. The night of the horror-thon the audience shows up in force in the best sort of midnight movie way, the moviegoers are rowdy and in full costume, but during the screening the film students are being killed off one by one by a mysterious face-changing stranger.

We have a fun cast of college teens, who for the most part are very likable and fun; we have horny stud Mark (Derek Rydall, Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge), wheelchair bound Bud (Malcolm Danare, "Moochie" from John Carpenter's Christine), Cheryl (Kelly Jo Minter, The Lost Boys), the very cute Tina (Freddie Marie Simpson, A League of Their Own), goofball Leon (Elliott Hurst) and the sassy Joannie (Ivette Soler).

We are lead to believe that Lanyard Gates has returned, possibly from beyond the grave, and somehow Maggie and her mother Suzanne (Dee Wallace, The Howling) figure into proceedings. This is such a weird role for Wallace, a rather tiny and innocuous character, the poor woman has one of the worst short-cropped haircuts I've seen her in, it's made in the late 80s so their plenty of bad fashions on display, but her hair is the worst offender of the bunch. The killer is a chameleon of sorts with an arsenal of rubber faces he uses to impersonate the teens he has killed, his identity is a nice twist that I did not see coming, but when I watch a movie I rarely try to guess who it is, I just go along for the ride, and in this case it caught me off guard, and I liked it.

  
The movie channels a pair of earlier slasher films, we have touches of the The Initiation (1984), with some remembered dream-sequences and a fire, and the face-switching culprit reminded me a bit of Happy Birthday To Me (1981), it doesn't steal anything but there are some similarities there if you're looking. Something the movie lacks though is bloodshed, as with most late-80's/early-90's slashers the gore is far too often absent, but there are some nice set-ups and death sequences, but with no real gore-payoff, which is certainly a detraction. Making up for that is some good atmosphere and a cast of character you can actually like, plus the whole 50's schlock and 80's slasher mash-up is just good fun. 

The best take away for me were the three movies-within-a-movie segments directed by original director Alan Ormsby (Deranged), these are spot-on homages to the schlock of yesteryear, a scene of a giant mosquito sucking the brain out of a man's head is a particular highlight with his face caving in as the insect empties the brains from his skull with its over sized proboscis. If you loved "Mant" from Joe Dante's Matinee (1993) you should have a retro-blast with these. 

Aside from the lack of slasher gore there are a few other slightly  problematic areas, the movie has a bit of an identity crisis happening, while this is a straight-up slasher horror-comedy, but there are scenes with Dee Wallace that imply a Clarey supernatural overtone, which then go absolutely nowhere. Then there's a confusing body on an altar during the final scene that confounded me, and a death in the bathroom stall where apparently the kid is killed by one of the "stench" bombs, seemingly killed by the gas emitted, but also blown up by it!?! I'm assuming these are relics of having two directors on the film, as the film was begun by Bob Clark collaborator Alan Ormsby (Deranged), who directed all of the movie-within-a-movie stuff, but he was replaced a few weeks into it by Porky's actor Mark Herrier, so maybe in piecing it together something was lost in that edit, regardless I find the finished film to be a fun watch. 

Audio/Video: Popcorn (1991) arrives on UK Blu-ray from 88 Films, utilizing the 2K restoration performed by Synapse Films (there logo appears on the back of the slip and wrap), who spent years restoring it, so UK fans are in for a real treat. There's a nice layer of film grain evenly distributed throughout,  the movie is splashed with color and garish horror visuals, a variety of awful and awesome late-80's fashions, and it all looks wonderful in HD. The colors are vibrant, and the image has some modest depth and clarity, details look goo. Audio on the Blu-ray includes both English 2.0  DTS-HD MA and a 7.1 surround mix done by Synapse Films, with optional English subtitles. 

Onto the extra we begin with a new audio commentary with Director Mark Herrier, Stars Jill Schoelen, Malcolm Danare, and Special Makeup Effects Artist Mat Falls, moderated by Kristy Jett from Fangoria. A fun group commentary, everyone is having a blast recalling working with the cast and crew, their tie in Jamaica, pointing out specific scenes and how certain things were achieved onscreen. They also speak of the situation that ended with original director Alan Ormby being replaced by Mark Herrier, but apparently Clark was a very hand on producer, sort of like Stephen Spielberg and Tobe Hooper on Poltergeist, it's an interesting story, and the commentary, though a bit hectic at moments, is a good listen.

We also get nearly hour-long making of retrospective from Red Shirt Pictures with interviews from Director Mark Herrier, Stars Jill Schoelen, Derek Rydall, Dee Wallace, Malcolm Danare, Ivette Soler, and Elliott Hurst, Special Makeup Effects Artist Mat Falls, Composer Paul Zaza, and Distributor Executive Jonathan Wolf. Of special note to me was how they go into more detail about Ormsby being taken off the project, how he shot the very cool movie-within-a-movie segments, what a hands-on producer Bob Clark was, and what it was like to be an actor on a film that lost it's director and lead actress three weeks into the shoot. Also discussed is  Tom Villard's admission to director Herrier that he was HIV positive at the time, dying just four years later from AIDS related pneumonia

Additionally there's a six-minute interview with actor Bruce Glover (Chinatown) who appears in the "The Amazing Electrified Man" movie-within-a-movie segment. Apparently he was not a fan of Ormsby and his experience making it, but still enjoys his work on it. 
We also get a selection of trailers, TV spots, and a still gallery of images from the film. 

The single-disc Blu-ray release is part of 88 Films' Slasher Classics Collection (this being #39), coming in a snazzy red Blu-ray keepcase with a 2-sided sleeve of artwork, that being the original skeleton/mask artwork, the b-side featuring the same artwork minus the unsightly BBFC classification ratings logo or the numbered spine. If you ordered directly from 88 Films website the first 500 copies came with a matte finish slip with the same key art as the sleeve with a numbered spine. 

Special Features: 
- Website Exclusive Matte Finish Slipcase [Limited to the first 500 Customers]
- Synapse Films Supplied 2K Scan of a 35mm Interpositive Vault Element
- All-New Blu-ray 7.1 Surround Sound Mix Supervised by Synapse Films
(Original 2.0 Stereo Mix also Included)
- Audio Commentary with Director Mark Herrier, Stars Jill Schoelen, Malcolm Danare, and Special Makeup Effects Artist Mat Falls moderated by Kristy Jett from Horrorhound, FearNEt and Fangoria. 
- Midnight Madness: The Making of “Popcorn” featuring interviews with Director Mark Herrier, Stars Jill Schoelen, Derek Rydall, Dee Wallace, Malcolm Danare, Ivette Soler, and Elliott Hurst, Special Makeup Effects Artist Mat Falls, Composer Paul Zaza, and Distributor Executive Jonathan Wolf (57 min) HD 
- Electric Memories – An Interview with Actor Bruce Glover (7 min) HD 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1 min) HD
- Television Trailer and TV Spots (6 min) 
- Still Gallery (7 min) HD 

88 Films region-free Blu-ray of Popcorn (1990) looks and sounds wonderful, it's the same exact edition as the U.S. release from Synapse Films so U.S. fans won't need to double-dip,but that's very good new for UK fans, this is an awesome presentation. For a 90's slasher Popcorn certainly has more of an mid-80's (Slaughter High-ish) vibe with some fun homages to the schlock of yesteryear framed in a fun slasher story, there's a lot here to love, recommended.