LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III (1990) (WAC Blu-ray Review)

LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III (1990) 

Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 85 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.781) 
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, William Butler, Ken Foree, Joe Unger, Tom Everett, Toni Hudson, Miriam Byrd-Nethery, Kate Hodge, R.A. Mihailoff

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series started with two great films, Tobe Hooper's nerve-shredding original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and the gruesome black-comedy of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), but after those the drop in quality is very significant. This third film was directed by Jeff Burr, a director known for some a few low-budget gems, from the indie-anthology From a Whisper to a Scream (1987) to the cheesy mayhem of Puppet Master IV (1993), he seemed a strange choice to helm the third entry, which actually tries to rewrite the franchise with an opening text blurb that completely ignores the second film all together, stating something along the lines of that sole Sally Hardesty was confined to an asylum after surviving the events from the first film, that Dreyton Sawyer was apprehended and convicted for the crimes, and that the chainsaw wielding "leatherface" was merely his alter ego, but then it goes straight into a scene of Leatherface (R. A. Mihailoff, Trancers III) cutting the face off a young woman and stitching himself a new dead-skin mask to wear, in a nice touch her sister who has seemingly escaped Leatherface watches the whole sick scene, horrified as she peers through a window from the outside, but she doesn't get away for long, in fact she gets a pretty vicious death later on! 

We then go where both the previous films began, as a road movie, with a young couple Michelle (Kate Hodge, The Hidden II)
and Ryan (William Butler, Night of the Living Dead '90) (i.e. fresh meat for the saw) who have been hired to deliver a car to the West coast, currently driving through the ill-fated state of Texas, where nothing ever good happens. They stop at a shit-hole gas station for a refill and to freshen-up, but the gas station attendant is a real sweaty creeper named Alfredo (Tom Everett, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown), who spies on the Michelle in the restroom while she is tinkling. While peeping he is caught by a seemingly well-meaning hitchhiker named Tex (Vigo Mortenson, A History of Violence), but if you know anything about this series at all you know that gas station attendants and  hitchhikers are always bad news! 

This time out we get a new family, not the Sawyers of familiarity, but some new faces from the same fucked-up family tree - apparently the whole clan of Sayers are cannibal weirdos - the main three (aside from he titular Leatherface) are Tex (Mortsenon), the creeper gas station attendant Alfredo (Everett), and my favorite of the four Tinker (Joe Unger, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings) who is amusingly obsessed with newfangled technology, always saying that technology is our friend, he even hooks up a gadget that eases the swing of the death-delivering sledgehammer in the kitchen, which is used to nice effect but even in the unrated form is annoyingly abbreviated. Also of the clan matriarch Anne (Miriam Byrd Nethery, From a Whisper to a Scream), and a young girl (Jennifer Banko) who seems to be the daughter of Leatherface - she's a sicko too, it's perversely fun how she gets real excited about being the one who gets to use the spine-loaded sledge hammer on one of the victims, it's a fun scene, and apparently one the ratings board wasn't to pleased with either! Even the dried-up old corpse of the blood-drinking grandpa shows up again - this guy gets around a lot for a dead guy! 

Enter into the story a weekend survivalist/trucker named Benny played by Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, From Beyond)who winds up mixed into the on goings when he's involved in an accident with the travelling couple, he skills as a survivalist are put to good use, the damn guy proves to be damn near Terminator like in his tenacity, thanks in large part to a re-shoot that pulls his mangled corpse from the swamp where he should have rightfully died from a chainsaw to the skull from Leatherface, and puts him in the survivor-dude throne, but that's the sort of shit that happens when a troubled production gets screen-tested I guess, and I love the guy so I am happy to see him live, though it's always a surprise when he pops back up at the end with a band-aid on his head, seemingly none the worse for wear. 

Make no mistake, the movie is far from perfect, but I have always enjoyed Leatherface, but there's still a few issues I niggle at, such as the fact that Leatherface is in the damn title and he's not in this thing all that much, the other Sawyers take up a lot of screen time, and they're a fun gruesome bunch, so I don't wanna complain too much, I mean we just had another Leatherface (2017) movie and he was the focus, it's not bad mind you, but it's not any better than this one in my opinion, in fact I'll go out on my own limb and say this is the better entry of the pair. ANother small niggle is that final girl Michelle (Kate Hodge) is no Sally (Marilyn Burns, then again who is?) from TCM, heck, she's not even Stretch (Caroline Williams) from TCM2, but she's serviceable, I just didn't find her all that compelling, so it's nice to have Ken Fuckin' Foree to root for! 

Audio/Video: Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990) debuts on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive with a brand new 2018 HD re-master of the unrated cut, which is something fans have been clamoring for since the original special edition DVD arrived. Having just watched that old DVD not that long ago all I can say is throw it away folks, you don't need it anymore! Colors look natural, the black levels are very nice, and while shadow detail can be a bit lackluster and the grain can be a bit pronounced in the darker scene, I think this is far and away the best I have seen this look on home video, everything looks faithfully reproduced without any undue digital tinkering. I was a bit worried about the image before my copy arrived, Don May from Synapse Films notably made comment about the transfer on his Instagram account, pointing out a lightened oval that appeared onscreen for a large portion of the film during the darker scenes, but even with that fresh on my mind while I watched the film I could not detect it in anyway whatsoever, so not sure what's going on there, but to my knowledge WAC has not acknowledged any issues thus far, all I can say is I didn't see it on my Blu-ray. 

Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The surround mix is not the liveliest but it does have some discreet use of the surrounds that add some atmosphere to the proceedings, the buzz of the saw in the distance and the screams of victims come through clean and string, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Warner Archive carry-over all the extras from the old New Line special edition, we get an audio commentary with Jeff Burr, Gregory Nicotero (Special Makeup Effects), R.A. Mihailoff (Leatherface), writer David J. Schow, William Butler (Ryan), and New Line executive Mark Odesky, as well as a making of doc, both are a warts and all presentations, going into how New Line acquired the rights and what their re-launch of the series was intended to do, plus talk of how difficult the shoot was, how Burr struggled to make the film, was fired and eventually brought back in to finish it, and how it suffered at the hands of the MPAA and how it bombed at the box office. We also get some deleted scenes, many of which are featured in the unrated cut, a theatrical trailer, and TV spots. It's a great set of extras, unfortunately no new stuff but I'm pleased they ported it all over for the Blu-ray.     

Special Features: 
- Filmmaker Commentary with director Jeff Burr, Gregory Nicotero (Special Makeup Effects), R.A. Mihailoff (Leatherface), writer David J. Schow, William Butler (Ryan), and New Line executive Mark Odesky 
- The Saw is Family (28 min) 
- We Know What To Do With Them Parts (Deleted Scenes)(10 min)
- Alternate Ending (5 min) 
- Theatrical Trailer (1 min)bHD
- TV Spots (1 min)

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1990) pales in comparison to the pair of films that preceded it but there's some serious fun to be had for fans of the gruesome series. After this one there wouldn't be another decent TCM film till the 2003 Platinum Dunes remake, and there hasn't been another really decent one since then in my opinion. What Jeff Burr and the crew did with the third entry holds up, it might not be a straight-up nerve-shredding classic but it's a lot of gruesome and perverse fun, plus we get Dawn of the Dead's Ken Foree in a truly badass role, eagle-eyed watchers might even spot Caroline Williams (Stretch from TCM2) in a very brief cameo, too. The Blu-ray from WAC looks great, by far the best the film has ever looked on home video, it should please fans of the series who've been waiting for it to debut in HD for a long time. 

PUPPET MASTER 4 (1993)

PUPPET MASTER 4 (1993)

Label: Full Moon Features
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 79 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Diolby Digital 5.1 Surround 
Video: 1080p HD Widecsreen 
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Chandra West, Jason Adams, Teresa Hill, Gordon Currie, Guy Rolfe

The fourth installment of the Puppet Master series is directed by Jeff Burr whom a few years earlier directed the maligned Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 (1990) which I actually quite enjoy quite a lot, but the man also directed Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings  (1994) which has grown on me in recent years, still not great, but not straight-up awful wither. The film opens in an other dimensional netherworld where we are introduced to a rubbery Egyptian demon Lord named Sutekh and his trio of jawas looking minions adorned in robes with glowing red eyes. The demon Lord has declared war on those whom have stolen his secret of animation, namely Andrew Toulon who died in the first movie, but in the years since others have carried on his work, namely Rick Meyers (Gordon Currie, The Woods), a genius level researcher working for the Phoenix Division of the Omega Project which aims to develop military applications A.I.. Coincidentally he just so happens to work as the off season curator of the very familiar Bodega Bay Inn, Toulon's old stomping grounds, and is on the verge discovering Toulon's puppets and life giving elixir.  

Sutekh sends his trio of Gremlin-like creatures called Totems to the Earthly plane, the pint-sized terrors  are controlled by his jawa-esque minions, each delivered in a wooden case to the three researchers involved with the project, Dr. Piper (Stacie Randall, Ghoulies IV), Dr. Baker (Felton Perry, Robocop) and Rick at the Bodega Bay Inn. Dr. Piper is the first unlucky recipient of the deadly package and is terrorized by the Totem in a manner that specifically pays homage to the Zulu fetish doll segment of Trilogy of Terror (1975) and then of Cat's Eye (1985) when the creature sucks the life from her mouth and eyes with wispy Army of Darkness opening credit style animations, not the most original stuff but pretty entertaining.
Similarly Dr. Baker received a Totem dies soon after.

Back at Bodega Bay young prodigy Rick spends his time playing laser tag with experimental robots in an attempt to gauge and encourage them to react autonomously, to transcend their programming an exhibit true A.I. His war-games are interrupted when his girlfriend Susan (Chandra West, The Salton Sea) shows up with her red-haired psychic friend Lauren (Teresa Hill, Bio-Dome) in tow alongside her moussed-up 80's asshole boyfriend Cameron (Ash Adams, A Nightmare on Elm Street). Turns out that Cameron is a former schoolmate of Rick's as well as a current member of the Phoenix Division, he's previously unaware that Rick is the lead researcher on the very project he works for. 

After dinner that night Lauren notices the puppet Blade which Rick has previously discovered at the Inn, she stares at the puppet intensely, definitely getting a psychic vibe from the still secretly animated puppet. Later that night the group discover Toulon's trunk and open it despite Lauren's protests. Inside they find Toulon's journals, the remaining puppets Six-Shooter, Jester, Tunneler and Pinhead plus the animating serum. Reading through the journals they decide to attempt to reanimate the puppets, and do so successfully. Both researchers quickly realize that the serum could prove to be the key to A.I. and Cameron immediately begins to devise a plan steal the serum and take credit for the discover. He and Lauren use a mystical wiiji board of sorts found in Toulon's drunk to reach out to the spirit of former puppet master but instead open a gate to the netherworld summoning two Totems. Not long after the third Totem is mysteriously delivered at the Inn's doorstep and it's game on as the four battle for their lives against the creatures with the help of the puppets who in the grand Frankenstein tradition bring to life one of Toulon's unfinished creations, the new puppet Decapitator!

I rather enjoyed this installment of the franchise which kind of reads like a reboot of the series with the addition of the demonic Sutekh and his minions, it's all fun stuff and the more occult elements reminded me a bit of Beastmaster. The spirit of Toulon (Guy Rolfe, Dolls) appears to both the Puppets and Rick throughout the film, often morphing with the head of Decapitator, that I didn't enjoy quite so much. The puppet animations this time around weren't on par with a few of the earlier films but there are some very cool action sequences involving the puppets working together to destroy the Totems including a lassoing and electrocution of a creature, the tag team of Six-Shooter and Pinhead holding down one of the creatures while Tunneler burrows into it's chest cavity, and the awakening of the Decapitator who exchanges his silver featureless head for a electron discharging sci-fi ensemble which he uses to destroy the final minion.

The fourth installment of the franchise is good cheesy fun with some decent low-budget effects work and decent acting and while it's not a great film I found it fun and steeped in the now familiar Full Moon atmosphere that I seem to have an affinity for. The new widescreen presentation looks damn good, quite a step up from previous standard def versions I own. Extras on the disc include a vintage Videozone and an audio commentary with director Jeff Burr, if you are a fan of the marionette-horror series this is a no-brainer, get at it. 3/5

FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM (1987)

FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM (1987)

Label: Scream Factory

Region Code: A 

Duration: 99 Minutes

Rating: R

Audio: English LPCM 2.0 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Jeff Burr

Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Clu Gulager, Susan Tyrrell, Terry Kiser. Lawrence Tierney, Martine Beswick, Vincent Price

Horror anthologies are the comfort food of horror cinema, tiny vignettes of the mad and the macabre you can watch in one sitting or enjoy in bite-size chunks at your convenience, something you can watch a bit of and walk away from and then pick-up again a day or two later, maybe after work, which is how I usually digest them. 

Jeff Burr's anthology From a Whisper to a Scream, alternately known as The Offspring, begins with a pretty decent wrap-around device, and how could it not be, starring horror legend Vincent Price (The Last Man on Earth) as Julian White, the town librarian of Oldfield, Tennessee. He is sought after by a young reporter  (Susan Tyrrell, Cry-Baby) who is curious as to why the old codger did not attend the execution of his murderous niece (Martine Beswicke, From Russia With Love). As the conversation begins he spins a series of tales about the inhabitants of Oldefield throughout history, beginning with a tale of resident sicko Stanley Burnside. 

Stanley Burnside (Clu Gulager, The Initiation) was an awkward grocery clerk who lived with his sickly sister Eileen (Miriam Byrd-Nethery, Leatherface). The two share a strangely intimate relationship with Stanley regularly bathing his nude sibling. Aside from his weird relationship with his sister it turns out that Stanley is creepily obsessed with boss, an attractive woman named Grace (Meghan McFarland), with whom he tries to make conversation with but just comes across as a weirdo. Eventually he manages to invite her to dinner, which she accepts. Unable to control himself on the date Stanley makes a pass at her, however, when she refuses his advances his intimacy turns to murder. Of course, old Stanley is not gonna let something a simple as death stop him from fornicating with her lifeless body. Needless to say the film goes where you might expect, and then it goes a few places you might not! Clu Gulager is fantastic as the creepy weirdo who suffers from the worst kind of nightmares, waking up in a fright, unleashing a nerve rattling scream that you won't soon forget, this one is a perverse shocker. Apparently the segment so angered Forry Ackerman of Famous Monsters magazine that he wrote a letter to Vincent Price decrying the damn thing, poor Uncle Forry couldn't handle the combination of possible incest, murder, necrophilia and demon babies, it's potent stuff, and not for everyone. 

The second story is set in the 1950s and concerns a criminal by the name of Jesse (Terry Kiser, Weekend At Bernie's) who is betrayed by his conniving girlfriend who drops a dime on the guy to a pair of gangsters who want him dead. After shooting him they leave him for dead in the swamp, where he is found and nursed back to health by an old swamp rat named Felder (Harry Caesar). As the two get to know each other it becomes evident that Felder is keeping a secret from Jesse, in fact he might be holding onto the secret to immortality and Jesse wants in on the secret. Of course, messing with someone who may or may not dabble in the occult is risky business and Jesse might just live long enough to regret his decision to betray Felder.

Onto the third story we move even further back in time, to a carnival side show during the 1930s where a local girl named Amaryllis (Didi Lanier) carries a torch for the carnival's resident glass-eater, a strapping young man named Steve (Ron Brooks, Leatherface), The relationship that must be kept a secret from the carnival Snakewoman (Rosalind Cash, The Omega Man), a controlling woman who does not approve of the romance with a local girl. The young lovers defy her at their own peril which ends with the young glass chomper being torn apart from within, this one is a very grotesque entry and the gore-fiends should enjoy it. This one benefits from some great carnival atmosphere and some gruesome flesh-tearing gore, not the best of the bunch but my second favorite so far. 

Keeping with the rhythm of the anthology the fourth and final segment reaches even further back into the history of Oldfield, set during the final days of the American Civil War as Union Sgt. Gallen (Cameron Mitchell, Raw Force) and his small band of men happen upon a farmhouse inhabited by what appear to be war-orphans, but these killer kiddies have a deadly secret. Sgt. Gallen is quite a despicable character from the onset,established as war profiteer and a cold-blooded murderer, what he and his men have coming to them is very well undeserved. Unfortunately the story makes for a lacklustre finale to an otherwise damn decent anthology, this is the one that should have been relegated to the middle of the film so it could have finished-up with something a bit more memorable or punchy in my opinion. 

The wrap-around device with Vincent Price ends quite appropriately, further feeding into the story of Oldfield being an epicenter of evil. From a Whisper to a Scream stands tall and is one of only a handful of anthologies from the '80s that manages to maintain a decent following. While maybe not quite on par with a classic such as Creepshow this one certainly has enough creepy charm to keep me coming back, that it is one of the more gruesome anthologies entities certainly doesn't hurt either,. 

Audio/Video: Jeff Burr's From A Whisper To A Scream (1987) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory with a 1080p HD transfer framed in the original widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio. The source material looks good with some minimal white speckling and minor dirt throughout but overall an impressive presentation. Colors are strong and despite heavy grain does show some minor depth and clarity, not an overwhelming abundance of fine detail but quite an improvement over the 2006 MGM DVD. Despite being advertised on the jacket as sporting a DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio track what we actually have is a LPCM 2.0. It does the job, the mix is decent and well-balanced but lat and unremarkable.

The A/V merits could be better but Scream Factory and Ballyhoo Motion Pictures have done as exquisite job with the extras for this release beginning with a brand-new audio commentary with Writer/Director Jeff Burr
and a second track with Writer/Producer Darin Scott And Writer C. Courtney Joyner. I only fast-forwarded through the Burr commentary and must say it was pretty damn entertaining with loads of behind-the-scenes anecdotes. I will definitely be revisiting the commentaries for this one again in their entirety next time I find myself doing some chores around the front of the house.

Motion Ballyhoo Motion Pictures have also produced two feature-length documentaries for this release.  A Decade Under The Innocence (77 Mins) is a doc about the Super 8 film culture that developed in Dalton, Georgia in the '70s, among them director Jeff Burr and many like minded folks who found each other through their love of film making, the film tracks their amateur film adventures from middle school on through to their days in college and beyond. There are loads of clips from the Super 8mm films they made, this was a fantastic watch and a nice companion piece to the film in a weird way. 

The Return To Oldfield (116 Mins) documentary covers the making of the film from the very beginning on through to the finish with new interviews from Director Jeff Burr, Producer Darin Scott, Co-Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner, Actor Clu Gulager and many more. My favorite interviews are if Burr's recalling how he found out where Vincent Price lived and walking-up to his front door, the director was a bundle of nerves, and surprised when Price himself answered the door, apparently in his kitchen baking bread at the time. Equally amusing are the anecdotes of Price's unhappiness on set, particularly after ruining one of Price's own vintage jackets during the making of the film. Additionally there's a trailer, TV spots and an image gallery with commentary from writer/director Jeff Burr, plus a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring the alternate title of the film, The Offspring. 

Special Features:
- Return To Oldfield - A Comprehensive Feature-Length Documentary About The Making Of From A Whisper To A Scream, Featuring Director Jeff Burr, Producer Darin Scott, Co-Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner, Actor Clu Gulagar And More! (116 Mins) HD
- A Decade Under The Innocence - A Feature-Length Documentary About Teenage Adventures In 'Super 8' Filmmaking During The 1970's In Georgia, Featuring Director Jeff Burr And More! (77 Mins) HD
- New Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Jeff Burr
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Producer Darin Scott And Writer C. Courtney Joyner
- Still Gallery With Commentary By Writer/Director Jeff Burr (10 Mins) HD
- Theatrical Trailer
- "The Offspring" TV Spots (2 Mins) HD

From A Whisper To A Scream is a bonafide '80s horror anthology made my young first-time filmmakers who clearly loved horror and the anthology format in particular, and they did a great job their first-time out! Scream Factory have put a lot of love into this one, the PQ is decent but the special features are something special. The perverse vignette with Clu Gulager is worth the price of admission alone, but everything else after is just gravy, highly recommended.  

NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW (1995)

NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW (1995)  

Label: Olive Films

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 85 Minutes 

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 

Video: HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Stephen Root, Bruce Glover, Gary Lockwood,John Hawkes, Dirk Blocker, Martine Beswick, Dirk Blocker, Elizabeth Barondes


When the local troublemaker of a small agricultural community accidentally disturbs the crypt of a long buried warlock the spirit magic man is released. Taking the corporeal form of a scarecrow who immediately sets about wreaking his vengeance on the village whose forefathers betrayed him decades earlier. 

At the top of the film Claire Goodman (Elizabeth Barondes, Not of this Earth), the estranged daughter of the Mayor (Gary Lockwood, 2001: A Space Odyssey), one of four brothers who seem to own the town, we have the priest Uncle Thaddeus (Bruce Glover, Chinatown), the farmer Uncle George (Dirk Blocker, Poltergeist) and the sheriff Uncle Frank (Stephen Root, Office Space). Of course we have to have a love interest for the Mayor's daughter, enter Dillon (prolific TV actor John Mese) as the construction foreman for the Mayor who winds up in her bed pretty damn fast, all you had to do was talk some trash about her blowhard father, because it's just that easy gentlemen. 

A killer scarecrow movie is still pretty fertile ground to mine these days, there are not too awful many but here were definitely a few prior to this one, including the seminal TV terror Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981) and the thriller (1988), so even at the time it was not an original idea but it is quite a bit of fun. Shot in the mid '90s the film feels very '90s with director Jeff Burr at the helm, one dimensional characters played by a cast of somewhat limited ability, s a cool scarecrow design for our iller and a bunch of fantastic practical in-camera special effects that should please the gore fans, there are a few pretty awful CGI morphing shots but for the most part they keep it old school cheap thrills, some of which are executed quite nicely.

One of the first kills is a character being thrashed to death by a threshing machine in a barn, which brought to mind Wes Craven's Deadly Blessing (1981), a few others cannot help but conjure the TV terror Dark Night of the Scarecrow, most of these scarecrow films owe that one quite a debt. A lot of the effects have to do with something getting under the skin of the victims, usually straw, sometime tendril type roots the burst out and drag the victim screaming beneath the ground, just on a fun effects driven level this one is a lot of fun. 

The scarecrow does bust out a few groan inducing one-liners in the vein of later era Freddy Krueger but it's kept to a minimum, aside from some wooden performances from a few of the younger cast members this one doesn't stray too far into the realms of camp, thankfully. I loved the design of the scarecrow, a one-eyed (button) menace wrapped in stitched burlap and tattered clothing, with a slightly too affected vocal effect that makes it hard to decipher just what he says from time to time, but it's a small complaint in an otherwise entertaining b-movie. 

Back to the cast I was surprised to see bona fide Bond Girl Martine Beswick (From Russia with Love) in the role of the preacher's wife, I was less surprised to see that the priest's daughter had been singled out for onscreen nudity, the very cute Cristi Harris (Demons 2) with her perky breasts definitely spices up the screen and her ensuing death is one of the best! Stephen Root is always brings something more to the screen, this is a serious turn as a straight-faced sheriff who wants to put an end to the string of murders plaguing his formerly quiet town, he's not threatening to burn down the office over a stapler but he does the job.. 

The story itself is nothing special, a typical small town setting with some shady business dealing, a weak love story and at the kernel of the film, the story of a vengeful warlock having his vengeance, what saves the film is a brisk pace and some quality deaths. There are a few flashback sequences that tell the back story of the warlock, shot is sepia tone they depict one of the most unattractive orgy scenes ever committed to film, these shots are pretty grainy but not near grainy enough to obscure what's transpiring, you've done something wrong when I d not want to see the orgy!

Audio/Video: Night of the Scarecrow arrives on Blu-ray from Olive Films with an AVC encode presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and the source material is in pretty good shape, with some heavy grain in the darker scenes and occasional dirt and debris. Colors are sold and nicely saturated but the image quality varies from scene to scene, which I would attribute to the source material and the low-budget nature of the film, none of which ruined my experience. The DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 does a decent job exporting score and dialogue creating a nicely balanced stereo presentation, the unremarkable synth score adding only a modicum of atmosphere to the proceedings. 

Special Features: Bonus content on the disc begins with a very informative commentary from director Jeff Burr moderated by Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. Burr is loaded with technical and behind-the-scenes commentary and it makes for a fascinating listen as he speaks about producers forcing the awful '90s digital special effects on the film, there's never a lull in the conversation and if you are a Jeff Burr fan there's a lot there to enjoy. 

Additionally there's a vintage featurette with participation from special effects man David Miller, Elizabeth Barondes, John Mese, Gary Lockwood, John Hawkes, Christi Harris plus an 8-minute still gallery with some of Jim Manzie's score and commentary from director Jeff Burr. 

Verdict: Night of the Scarecrow (1995) is a fun bit of murderous scarecrow business with some decent kills and plenty of cheap horror thrills, a b-movie that makes for a decent Friday night viewing with a bowl of buttery popcorn and some tasty brews. 

PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS (1994)

PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS (1994) 

Label: Scream Factory

Region Code: A

Duration: 88 Minutes

Rating: R

Audio: DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85":1)

Director: Jeff Burr

Cast: Amy Dolenz, Andrew Robinson, Soleil Moon Frye, Hill Harper, J. Trevor Edmond, Linnea Quigley, Kane Hodder

SYNOPSIS 

When five teenagers unwittingly resurrect a demon, nobody is safe from the creature’s bloody rampage. But this monster is different – inside its demonic form dwells the soul of a boy murdered years ago. Can the evil creature be killed without destroying the innocent boy trapped within?

REVIEW:
PUMPKINHEAD II is a direct-to-video sequel of the original which I hold in pretty high regard. The first film created a great myth of a vengeful demonic spirit and had loads of atmosphere and a fun backwoods horror entry. Jeff Burr's sequel is a bit less than that but is not without it's charm as a gory creature feature though minus a lot of the atmosphere of the original. 

Again we have a group of snot-nosed teens running for their lives from Pumpkinhead, though this time the foolish teens have resurrected the demons themselves after murdering a local witch. The creature is not only out for them but also a group of town father's who murdered a young boy forty years earlier. 

The cast is loaded with b-movie faces, we have Andrew Robinson from HELLRAISER as the Sheriff, I consider him the poor man's Terry O'Quinn for some reason. There's also Hill Harper of C.S.I.: NY in an early role and Punky Brewster herself Soleil Moon Frye! A the sheriff's daughter we have the super cute Ami Dolenz from WITCHBOARD 2 and J. Trevor Edmond as her bad boy boyfriend. My favorite cameo is Roger Clinton - none other than former president Bill Clinton's wacky brother - as the guitar-strumming mayor of the podunk town.

None of the cast are why you're watching this straight-to-video sequel, you're here for the creature effects and gore, right? Of course, so let me just say on that level the film does not disappoint as we have the venerable KNB FX Group on hand to keep the blood flowing. The Pumpkinhead creature design is very true to the original in design and with a body count of 10 there's no shortage of bloodshed for the gorehounds.  

Things that irked me just a little are a script that needed more polishing, the excessive use of an annoying Pumpkinhead POV and overused strobe light effects - between the two I thought I might have a seizure watching this one. Making up for these shortcoming are some great gore, damn decent creature effects and a brief naked cameo from Linnea Quigley of THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD loving up a hillbilly!

BLU-RAY:
PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory looking quite solid. A fine layer of fine film grain with good color saturation and black levels. The film lacks the style and storytelling of the original but does look damn decent in HD and the DTS-HD MA Stereo audio handles the dialogue, effects and score nicely. 

Extras are few but dense, we have a commentary from director Jeff Burr from the previous DVD plus an hour long video interview with Burr as he discusses his early love of horror and making the film which was a director-for-hire gig with the script already finished and the production underway. It's an interesting listen as he speaks about the issues on set and trying to make a fun monster-on-the-loose romp, he's very candid about it. 

Then onto RE-CREATING THE BEAST – featuring new interviews with special effects artists Greg Nicotero, Gino Crognale and actor Mark McCraken and this is a fun one as they recall trying to stay true to Stan Winston's original design and the tons of fun they had on set making the film. So much fun that they were kicked off set at least once for being a bit too slap-happy. 

Last up we have 17-minutes of behind-the-scene footage of setting up and shooting numerous creature shots with the infamous image of actor Mark McCraken in the Pumpkinhead suit wearing sneakers in a few of the shots. 

SPECIAL FEATURES: 
- Audio Commentary with director Jeff Burr
- RE-CREATING THE BEAST – featuring new interviews with special effects artists Greg Nicotero, Gino Crognale and actor Mark McCraken (33 Minutes)
- MAKING MOVIES – an interview with director Jeff Burr (62 Minutes)
- Behind-the-scenes footage

VERDICT: 
A fun backwoods creature feature  that offers up some trashy b-movie mayhem that passes the time just fine with a few brews and a couple of friends. It pales in comparison to the original but nonetheless proved to be a fun sequel.  

DVD Review: THE MIDNIGHT HORROR COLLECTION: PUPPET MASTER V.2

THE MIDNIGHT HORROR COLLECTION: PUPPET MASTER V.2
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment

PUPPET MASTER IV (1993)

Rating: R
Duration: 79 mins
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Chandra West, Ash Adams, Gordon Currie, Guy Rolfe
Tagline: When Bad Puppets Turn Good


PUPPET MASTER IV is directed by director Jeff Burr whom a few years earlier directed the much maligned LEATHERFACE: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3 (1990) which I actually quite enjoy but he also directed PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS (1994) which I have no love for so I wasn't sure what to expect when Burr took on the franchise, so let's see what we have here. The film opens in an other dimensional netherworld where we are introduced to a rubbery looking Egyptian demon named Sutekh and his trio of jawas looking minions adorned in robes with glowing red eyes. Sutekh declaring war on those who have stolen his secret of animation, namely Andrew Toulon who we all know died in the first film, but others are carrying on his work. Rick Meyers (Gordon Currie, THE WOODS) is a genius level researcher working for the Phoenix Division of the Omega Project which aims to develop artificial intelligence for presumably military applications. Coincidentally he just so happens to work as the off season curator of the Bodega Bay Inn, Toulon's old stomping grounds and is on the verge discovering Toulon's puppets and life giving elixir. 

Sutekh sends his forth a trio of Gremlin-like creatures called Totems to the Earthly plane which are controlled by his jawa-esque minions, each delivered in a wooden case to the three researchers involved with the project, Dr. Piper (Stacie Randall, GHOULIES IV), Dr. Baker (Felton Perry, ROBOCOP) and Rick at the Bodega Bay Inn. Dr. Piper is the first unlucky recipient of the deadly package and is terrorized by the Totem in a manner that specifically recalled the Zulu fetish doll segment of TRILOGY OF TERROR and then of CAT'S EYE when the creature sucks the life from her mouth and eyes with wispy ARMY OF DARKNESS opening credit style animations, not original but pretty entertaining at least.

Similarly Dr. Baker received a Totem and meets a grisly end meanwhile back at the Inn Rick spends his time playing laser tag with two experimental pint-sized robots in an attempt to gauge and encourage them to react autonomously, to transcend their programming an exhibit true A.I. His war-games are interrupted when his girlfriend Susan (Chandra West, THE SALTON SEA) shows up with her red-haired psychic friend Lauren (Teresa Hill, BIO-DOME) in tow alongside her moussed-up 80's asshole boyfriend Cameron (Ash Adams, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) who as it turns out is a former colleague of Rick's as well as a current member of the Phoenix Division, he's previously unaware that Rick is the lead researcher on the very project he works for.
 

After dinner that night Lauren notices the puppet Blade which Rick has previously discovered at the Inn, she stares at the puppet intensely, definitely getting a psychic vibe from the still secretly animated puppet. Later that night the group discover Toulon's trunk and open it despite Lauren's protests. Inside they find Toulon's journals, the remaining puppets Six-Shooter, Jester, Tunneler and Pinhead plus the animating serum. Reading through the journals they decide to attempt to reanimate the puppets, and do so successfully. Both researchers quickly realize that the serum could prove to be the key to A.I. and Cameron immediately begins to devise a plan steal the serum and take credit for the discover. He and Lauren use a mystical wiiji board of sorts found in Toulon's drunk to reach out to the spirit of former puppet master but instead open a gate to the netherworld summoning two Totems. Not long after the third Totem is mysteriously delivered at the Inn's doorstep and it's game on as the four battle for their lives against the creatures with the help of the puppets who in the grand Frankenstein tradition bring to life one of Toulon's unfinished creations, the new puppet Decapitator!
 

I rather enjoyed this installment of the franchise which kind of reads like a reboot of the series with the addition of the demonic Sutekh and his minions, it's all fun stuff and the more occult elements reminded me a bit of BEASTMASTER. The spirit of Toulon (Guy Rolfe, DOLLS) appears to both the Puppets and Rick throughout the film, often morphing with the head of Decapitator, that I didn't enjoy quite so much. The puppet animations this time around weren't on par with a few of the earlier films but there are some very cool action sequences involving the puppets working together to destroy the Totems including a lassoing and electrocution of a creature, the tag team of Six-Shooter and Pinhead holding down one of the creatures while Tunneler burrows into it's chest cavity, and the awakening of the Decapitator who exchanges his silver featureless head for a electron discharging sci-fi ensemble which he uses to destroy the final minion.

The fourth installment of the franchise is good cheesy fun with some decent low-budget effects work and decent acting and while it's not a great film I found it passably entertaining, fun and steeped in the now familiar Full Moon atmosphere that I seem to have an affinity for.

PUPPET MASTER V: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1994)
Rating: R
Duration: 82 mins
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Chandra West, Ash Adams, Ian Oglivy, Guy Rolfe
Tagline: Puppets Vs. An All New Evil!

The fifth film in the series is also directed by Jeff Burr and was filmed back-to-back with it's predecessor taking place immediately following the events of PM4 as we find Rick charged with the murders of Cameron, Dr. Piper and Dr. Baker. The cops obviously balk when he lays the blame on pint-sized killer creatures and h prospects look grim until he is bailed of jail out by the Director of the Phoenix Project, Dr. Jennings (Ian Oglivy, WITCHFINDER GENERAL). Ricks spills the beans about the events of the previous night to Jennings who is only slightly more believing of the story and much like Cameron from the previous film he hatches a scheme to acquire the puppets with the help of three hired thugs.


When Jennings and the thugs search the Inn for the puppets  they are attacked not only by the puppets but by Sutekh in the form of another more powerful Totem. The thugs falls easy prey to the demon and puppets and when Rick and Suzy make their way back to the hotel they find themselves aligned with Jennings in a battle with the Totem Sutekh who proves to be a more formidable  adversary than his minions. The humans are again aided by Blade, Six Shooter, Tunneler Pinhead, and Jester plus a surprise appearance from Torch who was conspicuously absent the last film.

Rick and the puppets toil to resurrect the Decapitator who once again is called upon to assist them against the powerful Sutekh. The film again features an appearance by the spirit of Toulon plus the psychic Lauren who lies comatose in a hospital bed after the events of PM4 but who's spirit somehow inhabits a computer this time around. Again, the Toulon elements of the film and the rather lame possessed computer bits were the film's weakest aspects. Somehow the film still manages to offer cheese-tastic entertainment to a degree but I found this entry less enjoyable than the last by some margin, and the quality of the puppeteering and animation is proportionately worse as well though the final battle is pretty cool. It was nice to see Gordon Currie back as the new puppet master and the addition of Ian Oglivy as the evil Dr. Jennings but only a recommend to Puppet Master die-hards. What was meant to be the last film in the series while offering some thrills definitely feels like a series on it's last leg.  

CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER (1998)
Rating: R
Duration: 78 mins
Director: Victoroa Sloan
Cast: George Peck Emily Harrison
Tagline: The Human Experiment


You just can't keep a good puppet down, though Charles Band retired the franchise with PM5 the series was resurrected four years later with CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER. This time out director Jeff Burr does not return to helm the film but David DeCoteau who directed my favorite entry in the series, PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE (1991), does, though it should be noted he chose to use his directorial pseudonym Victoria Sloan on the film, perhaps a reflection of how he felt about the final result. Also not returning is puppet master Rick Meyers and there's no mention of what has become of him. The defacto puppet master this time out is Dr. Magrew (George Peck, DEATHTRAP) who runs a puppet sideshow of sorts called The House of Marvels. He's also experimenting with transferring the soul of a human into puppets trying to replicate the autonomy of the puppets he purchased at an auction years earlier; Six Shooter, Jester. Tunneler, Pinhead, Blade and Leech Woman who is back despite having been killed off in PM2 and Blowtorch and Decapitator are nowhere to be found.

His daughter Jane (Emily Harrison, DANGEROUS INTENTIONS) is home from college and a trip to the local gas station with her father introduces them both to the gentle giant Robert "Tank" Winsley (Josh Green, PEARL HARBOR) who has a talent for creating ornate wood carvings. Dr. Magrew enlists Robert to work for him, carving intricate pieces of wood, for what he hopes to be a living animated puppet. Upon arrival at The House of Marvel's Robert is introduced to the puppets, he's mystified by how they are "alive" and Magrew tells him that the secret to animating the the inanimate is to put a soul into it. Not so coincidentally Magrew's previous assistant Matt has mysteriously disappeared drawing the attention of the Sherriff Garvey (Robert Donovan, MURDERCYCLE) and Deputy Wayburn (Jason-Shane Scott, DEADLAND) who pay the doc a visit after Matt's worried mother files a missing person's report. Magrew attempts to replicate Toulon's creations have thus far been unsuccessful and it seems that his previous assistant Matt may have been an unwitting victim.

His first night at the house Robert has a nightmare that his legs have been replaced by carved wooden appendages, it's a very effective visual and perhaps a bit of a nod to Pinocchio as well. Jane and Robert develop a romantic relationship which upsets her father, at first it's not clear if it's because the young man is a bit dim witted or if he has ulterior motives, but it's not a mystery for too much longer when he sends Jane of a fool's errand to keep her occupied while he attempts to place Robert's soul inside a robotic puppet. Unfortunately for him the puppets, who are inherently good, turn on him when they realize he's hurt Robert whom they've bonded with.

Unfortunately the puppets take second billing to the mad scientist storyline and the puppet animation is at an all time low, probably owing to the absence of longtime PM effects man David Allen.  The film is too much a departure from the series for my tastes and is defintely the weakest of the six up to this point, not surprising given that PM5 four years previously was already running on fumes. It occurred to me that the film has a strong resemblance to SSSSSSS (1973) a film featuring a scientist who operates a snake-themed roadside attraction and is diabolically perfecting a serpent-human hybrid and whose daughter is romantically entangled with his doomed assistant, sounds familiar, no?

DVD: All three film are presented in 4x3 fullframe with Dolby Digital stereo audio with no subtitle options. It's a single flipper disc DVD with pt.4  on side one and pts. 5,6 on side two. Not a grand presentation, in fact it's perhaps only slightly better than VHS quality with rampant video artifacting and noise coupled with the fact that there are no special features to be found for any of the films, it's a bare bones disc.

Verdict: So, these are not great films, duh, but they are definitely entertaining in a b-movie schlocky sorta way so I do give this a recommend to PUPPET MASTER and Full Moon enthusiasts, for you guys this is gonna be awesomely nostalgic trip. Some of these films haven't been easy to find in recent years outside of the out-of-print Puppet Master boxset and now you can pick-up the first six films on two discs for a little over $10 at WalMart and that's just very cool plus I would imagine at some point we'll see THE MIDNIGHT COLLECTION: PUPPET MASTER V.3 from Echo Bridge Entertainment collecting PUPPET MASTER RETRO, PUPPET MASTER: THE LEGACY and PUPPETS MASTER VS. DEMONIC TOYS, another win for fans of the series.