THE LARRY FESSENDEN COLLECTION (1991-2006)

THE LARRY FESSENDEN COLLECTION (1991-2006) 

Label: Scream Factory I IFC Midnight
Release Date: October 20th 2015
Region Code:  A
Rating: Unrated, R
Duration: 395 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen(1.78:1, 2.35:1) Fullscreen (1.33:1) 
Director: Larry Fessendden
Cast: Ashley Arcement, David Van Tieghem, Miriam Healy-Louie, Richard Topol, Stephen Ramsey, Larry Fessenden, Meredith Snaider, Patricia Coleman, Jesse Hartman, Aaron Beall, Heather Woodbury, Erik Per Sullivan, Jake Weber, John Speredakos, Patricia Clarkson, James Le Gros, Kevin Corrigan, Connie Britton, Ron Perlman, Zach Gilford 

Filmmaker Larry Fessenden is a writer, a producer, a director and an actor, a man of many trades and a filmaker with voice and a passion for horror cinema. His first four features are brought together in a new four-disc Blu-ray box set from Scream Factory and IFC Midnight that will see release on October 20th. All four films have been remastered in HD for the first time, along with both loads of brand-new and vintage extras including seven short films and two music videos in one Hell of an attractive package.

NO TELLING (1991) 
Rating: R
Duration: 93 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Larry Fessendden
Cast: Ashley Arcement, David Van Tieghem, Miriam Healy-Louie, Richard Topol, Stephen Ramsey

Synopsis: When Lillian Gaines (Miriam Healy-Louie) moves to the county with her husband Geoffrey (Stephen Ramsey) for a quiet summer retreat, she never suspects that meeting activist Alex Vine ( David Van Tieghem) will force her to confront her deepest fears about the man she married, and the bizarre experiment underway in his lab. 

Part of the reason I love this four-disc set is it brought to my attention Fessenden's first feature length movie, the mad scientist movie No Telling, a film I don't think I'd ever even heard of before the announcement of this set. The movie is a rural mad scientist take of sorts about a young and driven doctor whose research into human limb replacement threatens to destroy his marriage to his much neglected wife. His secretive experiments with animals out in the barn cross all sorts of ethical boundaries, even though we don't see a lot of what's transpiring, a lot of it's left to the imagination, and as we will soon discover that is probably for the best. Like many of Fessenden's best works the movie brings to life the humanity of the characters, and in this instance, the inhumanity of science. It also digs into his wife's struggle to maintain the marriage in the face of her husband's science-obsession and her own strength to stay true to him when a romantic opportunity presents itself by way of eco-activist who arrives in the area. 

Unfortunately the movie is a sort of ungainly mash-up of of mad scientist and ecological horror, the latter being a subject Fessenden would explore later with more success with a few movies on this very set. Part of the problem is that this science gone wrong story is a very slow to get a head of steam going, the emotional core of the movie didn't pull me and the wait for the stitched together animal creation made me wait for far too long, when it is finally revealed I can understand why they waited, it just doesn't work very well. 

Every filmmaker starts somewhere, and No Telling is a here Larry Fessenden began, I didn't like it much, but I can certainly appreciate what is was aiming for. While it falls pretty far from the mark I can see the early core Fessenden qualities that would bleed into his later films, the emotional core of the characters is there, and the eco-horror warnings, you can see it there on screen in pieces, but the movie is weak and the acting is spotty. 

NO TELLING Special Features: 
- NEW Director-Approved HD Transfer
- NEW Audio Commentary With Writer/Director/Executive Producer Larry Fessenden
- The Making Of No Telling (1991) (14 Mins) 
- Archival Footage with NEW Intro by Fessenden (1990) (25 Mins) 
- Short Film White Trash (1979) with NEW Intro by Fessenden and New Music By Composer Will Bates (9 Mins) HD
 - Glass Eye Pix Sizzle Reel with NEW Intro by Fessenden (1985-1990) (8 Mins) HD 

HABIT (1997) 
Rating: Unrated
Duration:113 Minutes   
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1) 
Director: Larry Fessendden
Cast: Larry Fessenden, Meredith Snaider, Patricia Coleman, Jesse Hartman, Aaron Beall, Heather Woodbury

In his second feature film Habit director Fessenden turns the camera on himself as Sam, a New York City Bohemiam of sorts who is down on his luck and at the bottom of a bottle. At a Halloween party he meets a young woman named Anna (Meredith Snaider) and the two almost immediately embark on an aggressive sexual relationship with Anna regularly draining Sam of his blood on a nightly basis. The new relationship separates Sam from his old friends, with his health failing he descends further into madness, as he soon begins to suspect that Anna might be a an actual blood-sucking vampire, but can he stop her before she drains him completely, and does he even want to? 

Fessenden looks pretty run down here as Sam, by design, here we have vampirism as a fitting metaphor for addiction, as his unnatural lust and dependence on Anna grows his friends are driven away, while he attempts to rekindle a friendship with his ex. I loved the urban setting, the Bohemian-loser lifestyle portrayed, it's a contemporary movie but it manages to pay homage to the classic bloodsuckers of yesterday in a '90s NYC setting. Anna arrives and lives on a boat anchored in the harbor, straight out of Nosferatu. She must be invited into a home before entering through the door, she only arrives on scene during the dark hours, and there even a Van Helsing type older character who attempts to warn poor Sam about his new lustful lover. Habit is a very NYC-centric movie, a dirty and grimy production with an authentic New York vibe, at times you might think this was an Abel Ferrara movie, and that's a very nice compliment.

The acting is quite good, Fessenden seems like a man genuinely losing his mind and his grip on reality, aggrivated by alcoholic tendencies. Things have spiraled beyond his control and his dependence on his blood-sucking lady friend might just prove to be his undoing, and we're rooting for him, despite the fact that he's a mess of a man hes a good guy. There's a thick layer of psychological horror at play throughout, lending the possibility that perhaps Anna is not a vampire at all, but maybe just a horny blood-junky and Sam might just be imagining it through a haze of alcoholism and depression. Habit is a movie that will stick with you for awhile after watching it, a very interesting art-horror take on Dracula.  

HABIT Special Features: 
- NEW Director-Approved HD Transfer
- NEW Audio Commentary With Actor/Director/Writer/Editor Larry Fessenden
- The Making Of Habit (1995) (24 Mins) 
- Short Film Habit (1981) (18 Mins) HD
- The Making Of Short Film Habit (1981) (6 Mins) HD 
- Save You From Yourself Music Video (4 Mins) 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) 
- Short Film N Is For Nexus From Magnet Releasing's The ABCs Of Death 2 (4 Mins) HD 
- The Making Of N Is For Nexus (4 Mins) HD 
 - Frankenstein Cannot Be Stopped Music Video with NEW Intro by Fessenden (7 Mins) HD 

WENDIGO (2002) 
Rating: R
Duration: 92 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Larry Fessendden
Cast: Erik Per Sullivan, Jake Weber, John Speredakos, Patricia Clarkson

Larry Fessenden's Wendigo is the movie that made me aware of him as a filmmaker, I've longed loved the Native American lore of the Wendigo, and when I saw it on the movie shelf at Block Buster some years back I could not snap it up fast enough. The touching story of a young family and their tragic trip to the Catskills of Upstate New York won me over, for the most part. On their way to their winter getaway the couple have an accident and are besieged by a group of armed deer hunters, one of the hunter named Otis (John Speredakos) has some major beef with the father (Weber) over a chipped deer antler. It's a typical rural folk don't care for city folk encounter, but it sets a threatening tone that carries through the entire movie. 


One day while in town a mysterious Native American shopkeeper tells the son (Malcolm In Middle's Erik per Sullivan) tells him of the Wendigo, the half-man, half-animal spirit of legend, which chills the young boy to the bone. The shopkeeper gives the young boy a wood carving of the creature, and the idea of the mythical beast fills his head and dreams with terrifying thoughts. 

Meanwhile the boys parents struggle with grown-up stresses involving family and rednecks who may or may not be taunting the family, the boy himself attributes the darkness surrounding the family to the spirit of the Wendigo, culminating in a final third of the movie which beings the Wendigo to life, and in a manner that sort of harkens back to the dismal No Telling creature, it might leave you underwhelmed. 

Where the story excels is the 70s period setting and tone of the movie, it has atmosphere to spare and the cinematography is pretty great, Fessenden's movie definitely lean towards art-horror and this is no exception. Patricia Clarkson and Jake Weber are fantastic as the caring but emotionally duressed parents, both are phenomenal actors. For his part the young Sullivan handles the role of introverted kid with a wild imagination very nicely. Likewise, Speredakos as the redneck menace is a simmering menace, his distaste for the family is palpable from the beginning, what starts as maybe just a simple lets pick on the city folk turns into a dangerous game with tragic consequences. 

Wendigo has a lot going for it, an sweet retro art-horror aesthetic, the period setting, the winter environment, an underlying redneck menace, psychological terror and a great cast of actors who bring it together very nicely. What is does not do so well is bring on the wendigo in a form that won't make you laugh, a strange antlered tree-creature, which at times won't elicit a giggle,but there are a few shots. I loved the mythology, the settings and characters of Wendigo, the end might not live up to build-up but I dig this film a ton, recommended. 

WENDIGO Special Features: 
- NEW Director-Approved HD Transfer
- NEW Audio Commentary With Writer/Director/Editor Larry Fessenden
- NEW Audio Commentary With Actors Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber And John Speredakos
- Searching For The Wendigo – Behind The Scenes Featurette (2001) (32 Mins) 
- Interview With Larry Fessenden (2001) (8 Mins) 
- Wendigo: Animated Series Trailer with NEW Intro by Fessenden (3 Mins) HD 
- Short Film Santa Claws (2008) (5 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) 
- Glass Eye Pix Sizzle Reel with NEW Intro by Fessenden (2010) (3 Mins) HD 

THE LAST WINTER (2006)
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 101 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Larry Fessendden
Cast: James Le Gros, Kevin Corrigan, Larry Fessenden, Connie Britton, Ron Perlman, Zach Gilford 

The Last Winter was far and away Fessenden's most accomplished film at the time, it takes his eco-horror passion to the next level with a story about a doomed team of oil scouts on the Alaskan tundra as they prepare to drill on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the team is headed by the stubborn Ed Pollack (Ron Pearlman), a can-do company man who is at odds with environmentalist James Hoffman (James LeGross) who is on-site to advise the company. The winter has been unseasonably warm and the permafrost is soft, Hoffman objects to bringing in heavy drilling equipment, fearing it will irrevocably damage the protected lands, this is the source of the initial frustration at the drill-site.

Separate from that, but related, are concerns about the mental healthy of several of the staff at the site, everyones a little on edge and Hoffman's sexual relationship with Pollack's second in command, Abby Sellers (Frasier's Connie Britton), seems to rub the crew boss the wrong way. As tempers  begin to flare strange things start to happen, the crew are acting funny, and things begin to turn deadly, beginning with a crew members who seems to have wandered off it the frozen tundra naked in the dark of night, found frozen to death the next day, crows having pecked his eyes out, truly a disturbing sight. 

With the crew members death things escalate pretty quickly leaving Pollack grasping to control his team, while Hoffman postulates that the thawing permafrost is releasing a deadly "sour gas" which might be affecting the minds of everyone. Other theories begin to emerge, such as the spirits of the fossil fuels below ground are restless and seeking vengeance, or that the Earth is somehow turning against mankind. 

The spirit of the wendigo returns in a way for this film, the movie is loaded with spectral "ghosts" of animal who are not glimpsed directly very much, but left me with a vision of demonic caribou who at various times are present and attack a few characters. I do not think that special effects are Fessenden' bag, but of the four film here I think the practical and digital stuff here is by far his best work to date.

What he does well is nail a very specific apocalyptic vibe that creeps in early and sinks in deep by the end, it's is creepy stuff but the environmental message might be hammered to death a bit too much for some, but I dug it, at times it brought to mind John Carpenter's The Thing, with the isolation and apocalyptic hopelessness. 

LAST WINTER Special Features: 
- Director-Approved HD Transfer
- Audio Commentary With Co-writer/Director/Producer/Editor Larry Fessenden
- The Making of "The Last Winter" – Full-length Documentary Featuring Deleted Scenes (107 Mins) 
- Archival Footage (2005) with NEW Intro by Fessenden (19 Mins) HD 
- Short Film Jebediah (3 Mins) HD 
- Short Film Origins with NEW Intro by Fessenden (8 Mins) HD 
- Short Film Mister (6 Mins) HD 
- Tired Of Killing Myself Music Video (6 Mins) HD 
- NEW 2015 Interview With Larry Fessenden (22 Mins) HD 
- Glass Eye Pix Sizzle Reel (2014) with NEW Intro by Fessenden (4 Mins) HD 
- Includes 24-Page Booklet With Liner Notes By Fangoria's Michael Gingold And Never-Before-Seen Photos, Storyboards, And Sketches.

The four-disc set arrives with brand-new HD transfers approved by Larry Fessenden. Each movie has a commentary, some are newly recorded and benefit from hindsight, wendigo specifically has two new audio commentaries from the cast and director that was great.  All four films have the option of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround or DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH Subtitles and a host of bonus content, including Fessenden's short films, music videos, Glass Eye Pix sizzle reels and behind-the-scenes video footage, a lot of it with new intros from Fessenden. 

All four movies are housed on separate Blu-ray discs inside a single Criterion-sized Blu-ray case with a slipcover, both the Blu-ray sleeve and slipcover feature a painting from The Dude Designs which captures the essence of the release with the characters erupting from the top of Larry Fessenden's head, which is very cool. The collection also features a 24-page booklet with Liner Notes By Fangoria's Michael Gingold And Never-Before-Seen Photos, Posters, Storyboards, Sketches and quotes from Fessenden describing each of the movies. This is a fantastic set, and despite not loving all the movies within I loved the package, the bous content, the attention to detail, this is quite a tribute to the wild-haired Larry Fessenden and Glass Eye Pix and what they've accomplished through the years. Here's hoping we have another volume in a few years, Fessenden has only directed one feature post The Last Winter, the fun killer fish movie Beneath (2013) for the Chiller channel, but he's been busy producing (Late Phases) and acting (We Are Still Here), but the world needs more Fessenden! 3.5/5

WE ARE STILL HERE (2015)

WE ARE STILL HERE (2015)

Label: Dark Sky Films
Region Code: A
Duration: 83 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Audio: Englisg DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Ted Geoghegan
Cast: Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie, Larry Fessenden, Monte Markham 

Synopsis: After their teenage son is killed in a car crash, Paul (Andrew Sensenig) and Anne (Barbara Crampton) move to the quiet New England countryside to try to start a new life for themselves. But the grieving couple unknowingly becomes the prey of a family of vengeful spirits that reside in their new home, and before long they discover that the seemingly peaceful town they’ve moved into is hiding a terrifyingly dark secret. Now they must find a way to overcome their sorrow and fight back against both the living and dead as the malicious ghosts threaten to pull their souls – and the soul of their lost son – into hell with them. Co-starring Larry Fessenden and Lisa Marie, writer-director Ted Geoghegan’s WE ARE STILL HERE is a tense, frightening, and thoroughly haunting modern ghost story.

WE ARE STILL HERE sets a tone right from the start, a rural home located in the icy cold desolation of Upstate New York during the dead of winter in the year 1979. A grieving couple share a silent car ride on the way to their new home, the one hundred year old Dagmore house, a former mortuary with a storied history of macabre activity. Paul (Andrew Sensenig) and Anne (Barbara Crampton) have a distance between them, each grieving the loss of their beloved teenage son in their own way, with Paul putting up a strong front for his teary-eyed wife. Anne comes to suspect that the spirit of her dead son has somehow followed them to their new home and is trying to communicate with her. 

A creepy older neighbor named Dave McCabe (Markham) stops by for an unannounced visit with his wife, he informs the couple about the storied history of their new home, how the mortician Dagmore had sold cadavers for various uses, for science and for consumption apparently, before being run out of town by the villagers back in the day. It's an odd conversation to break the ice with but there is something very off about Mr. McCabe, and his wife, who secretly leaves a not on her way out, warning the couple that the house needs a family... but what does it mean?

Afterward Anne becomes increasingly becomes obsessed with the idea that something other worldly is lurking in the basement of home, something which causes picture frames to fall and for the floor boards to creak without reason, the usual sort of haunted house stuff, there's also the lingering odor of smoke, as if something is burning. The home is captured on camera in long ominous slow pans that caress the cold exteriors and wooden paneling, inside the home there's a creepy basement where bad things seem to happen, just as Joe the Electrician, who encounters the supernatural forces for himself when he goes below to find the source of the smokey smell that plagues the basement. 

Convinced that the spirit of her departed son is present in the home Anne invites family friend May (Lisa Marie), a self-professed psychic, and her offbeat hippie husband Jacob (Larry Fessenden) to the home to perform a seance and establish contact. Right away May detects a sinister presence in the home and warns Anne not to pursue it, but Jacob performs an impromptu seance against her wishes, which invites a possession scenario with the always great Fessenden drooling and chewing up the scenery in a fun scene that really kicks the film into high gear with plenty of ghostly ghouls and gruesome gore, the gore gags are fantastic. During the finale the couples are besieged by not only demonic apparitions but a horde of angry towns people who would prefer that a certain town secret be kept and they are willing to murder for it one scene of a head being squeezed until it bursts stands out to me. 

The movie is an homage to Lucio Fulci's gruesome haunter The House by the Cemetery in many ways, the isolated setting, something lurking in the basement, even the name of the couple, the Sachetti's, named after frequent Fulci screenwriter Dardano Sachetti who write for Mario and Lamberto Bava among many others, a true icon of Italian cinema. There are other nods to haunted house cinema too, including Peter Medak's classic haunter The Changeling (1980),  paying homage to the scene of the rubber ball bouncing down the stairs, you can see the love for classic horror these guys have, loved the reference to Joe the Plumber from Lucio Fulci's The Beyond (1981). 

Aside from the cool homages that horror nerds will love we have some very cool special effects, the demonic presence that inhabits the house have a cool smoldering aesthetic, they can burn their victims, but are also comfortable just digging their burned-black thumbs into their eye-sockets or crushing their head into a bloody pulp. The gore is pretty dam wonderful, a hand thrust through the back of car seat through the chest, the aforementioned skull crusher, a fire poker through the eye-socket, just some goo violent supernatural fun, these spirits are out for vengeance, and the visceral nature of it reminded me of the spirits from John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), brutal stuff.

The writing is top notch, a good blend of subtle humor and tasteful homages, a moment of comic relief then straight into a terror-fueled nightmare the next, I enjoyed everything about it from start to finish. The cast is awesome, horror-icon Barbara Crampton look appropriately drained as the grief stricken mother, and Andrew Sensenig is strong as the husband who is trying to hold it together despite his own grief, plagued by horrific nightmares of his own. Lisa Marie and Fessenden are a welcome addition as the psychic hippies, too.

I loved the setting, having been born and raised in Upstate New York the settings around Palmyra looks familiar to me, as did the biting cold of winter, I love winter-set horror and watching this with the AC cranked up last night in the dark put me in the right frame of mind. 

Audio/Video: The Blu-ray from Dark Sky Films looks solid through and through, plenty of fine detail, some good depth and clarity, colors are a bit muted by design, and the seventies vibe looks and felt authentic in 1080p. As you might expect from a haunter we get some good use of the surrounds which adds a lot of suspense to the proceedings. 

Extras include an informative Audio Commentary with Director Ted Geoghehan and Producer Travis Stevens who speak about the evolution of the project, the nods to other movies, and making the movie in Upstate New York, and how certain effects were achieved. There's also a seven-minute behind-the-scene featurette, and a couple of trailers for the movie. 

Special Features: 
- Audio Commentary with Director TedGeoghehan and Producer Travis Stevens
- Behind-the-Scenes (7 Mins) HD 
- Trailer (2 Mins) HD 
- Teaser (2 Mins) HD 

Geoghegan hasn't set out to reinvent the haunted house movie so much as he is paying homage to seventies haunter cinema with a shot in the arm of adrenaline fueled gore at the end, and it completely worked for me, loaded with slow-build atmosphere and supernatural tension at every turn, one of the best of the year so far, this will be hard to top. 4/5

DVD Review: JUG FACE (2013)

JUG FACE (2013) 

Label: MVD Visual

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Rating: R

Duration: 81 Minutes 

Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: Chad Crawford Kninkle

Cast: Sean Young, Larry Fessenden, Sean Rogers, Daniel Manche, Lauren Ashley Carter

Tagline: The pit wants what it wants.

Jug Face (2013) is a indie Southern Gothic horror from director Chad Crawford Kinkle and while his name may not familiar the talent surrounding the film will be starting with executive producer Lucky McKee (MAY), make-up effects by Robert Kurtzman (ARMY OF DARKNESS) and a cast that includes indie stalwart Larry Fessenden (I SELL THE EAD), Sean Young (BLADERUNNER), and Lauren Ashley Carter and Sean Bridges from McKee's THE WOMAN (2011), right away I knew this might be something to check out. 

We have a small clan of rural folk who worship a Lovecraftian creature that lives in a small water-filled wound in the ground referred to as The Pit. Apparently these people have worshiped the Pit from the time of the very first settlers, we have a great animated credit sequence that nicely sums it up for us rather nicely. Occasionally The Pit demands a human sacrifice in exchange for the health of the community. Ada (Lauren Ashley Carter) is the daughter of Susten (Larry Fesseden) the moonshine-producing leader of the rural community, Ada's been chosen to be joined with the son of another family, but Ada's mother Lorris (Sean Young) fears that her daughter will shame them by having pre-joined sex and performs a bizarre daily virginity inspection on her daughter, it's pure weirdness. Sure enough Ada's up to no good but it's even worse than what mama could possibly imagine, oh those backwoods folk!

It's pretty neat the way the sacrifice is chosen, a potter named Dawai (Sean Bridgers) will become possessed by the spirit of the pit and casts a jug face, a moonshine ceramic jug with the face of a member of the community on it who must then be sacrificed as a blood offering, but when Ada discovers a jug with her likeness she buries it in the woods. Ada's action angers the creature of the pit which forth to wreak vengeance on the community, Ada's tormented by guilt, her secrets results in several more deaths and the creature assesses her inflicting upon her the vision of each death. 

A very decent folksy horror watch, this Southern  Gothic tale is quite gripping, no one character is pure, it's hard to agree with a lot of what's happening here, the beliefs and on-goings are just wrong on so many levels, our anti-heroine is sympathetic but she's a bit unsavory, every character is very flawed but it's a testament to the cast that we can get inside these characters to a degree, the only innocent is the dim-witted potter Dawai, he's really the heart of the film, and Bridgers is fantastic. Larry Fessenden as the leader of the community brings some nice soft touches to a grizzled character, and Sean Young as the cruel mother was almost unrecognizable to me, it's obviously been a longtime since BLADERUNNER, but she's terrifically nasty in the role, good stuff.

We see a lot of backwoods horror on the low-budget scene but rarely do we see an entry with such a superb cast that executed so deftly, there's some real atmosphere and creepiness to this one, it's a bit of a slow-burn and the gore is a bit subdued but it won me over, this gets a recommend, even if the finale didn't live up to the build-up. 

DVD: Jug Face (2013) gets a nice 16:9 widescreen (2.35:1) DVD presentation from MVD Visual with English Dolby Digital 2.0 audio and optional English subtitles. There's also a decent selection of bonus content including the director's short film ORGAN GRINDER, plus a making-of featurette with cast and crew interviews and footage of the mostly unused creature suit, plus a trailer. 
Special Features:
- Trailer (2:06)
- The Story of Jug Face (28:27) 

- ORGAN GRINDER - Short Film (6:12) 

Is that a fetus? Yup. 

Verdict: With a title like JUG FACE I was not expecting much from this one but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.  An attractive, well-crafted indie horror from a first time director with a fantastic cast and a compelling story. It just sorta sneaks up on you with it's eerie folk horror elements, throw in a little some incest and a vengeful Lovecraftian pit creature that's out for blood and what's not to love? Definitely looking forward to more films from Chad Crawford Kinkle, this is weird and wonderful stuff, 3.5 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: FRANKENHOOKER (1990)

FRANKENHOOKER (1990)

Release Date: November 8th 2011
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 85 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1) 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
Director: Frank Henenlotter
Cast: James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Louise Lasser, Joseph Gonzalez, Joanne Ritchie, J.J. Clark
Tagline: Some Assembly Required

Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz, THE SWEET LIFE) is a medical school drop-out and aspiring mad scientist who at the start of the film gives life to an aquatic brain with a cyclopian eyeball that he keeps in a fish tank. When his fiance Elizabeth (Penthouse Pet Patty Mullen) is massacred by a remote-controlled lawnmower of his own design he sets out resurrect her using only the best body parts from NYC's finest prostitutes. He comes to decide that the cities crack epidemic is already killing the prostitutes so he creates an even deadlier form of super-crack to get the job done just a little quicker.

When he encounters the musclebound pimp Zorro (Joseph Gonzalez) Jeffrey books his finest selection of whore and sets about choosing the perfect woman with the perfect parts in a fun montage of measuring breasts, arms and legs to decide which street walker has the finest assets. However, when the whores prematurely discover his stash of super-crack it has the unfortunate side effect of causing the ecstatic ladies to explode. Making the most of the unfortunate event Jeffery is able to pick the best parts off the floor (each marked with an "X") and takes them back to his converted car garage slash laboratory where he puts his dubious medical knowledge to the test, resurrecting his beloved Elizabeth in true Mary Shelly's Frankenstein style during an especially intense lightning storm.

Once resurrected however things don't quite go as planned and it becomes clear that Elizabeth has picked-up many of the personality traits of the whores that comprise her voluptuous body, including the stock phrases "wanna date.. got any money?".  When Jeffrey tells her he has no money she knocks him out cold and makes her way to, where else, 42nd Street to turn tricks.  Her first john is a horny pear-shaped sleaze (David Lipman, THE EXTERMINATOR) who gets a deadly dose of the Frankenhooker's high-voltage discharge.

What's so great about Henenlotter's campy retelling of Frankenstein is how wonderfully absurd it is, never taking itself seriously, it revels in the ridiculous. James Lorinz is fantastic as the amateur mad scientist who occasionally performs trephination upon himself. He looks quite a bit like Andrew McCarthy (PRETTY IN PINK) and his line deliveries are spot-on with witty dialogue and a great monologue acting opposite the always great Louise Lasser (HAPPINESS) as his clueless mother. Next to him it's Patty Mullen's (DOOM ASYLUM) adorable performance as the tit-ular character that drove this one home for me, so cute, even when decked out as the purple nippled trick turner.

The film's special effects are pretty great but may not be what you're expecting from the man behind BASKET CASE and BRAIN DEAD, they're totally campy, nearly bloodless and not played for realism. In the aforementioned exploding whores on super crack scene the bodies are obviously dressed-up mannequins as per Hennenlotter's vision and it totally works. Patty Mullens's make-up effects are fantastic, she absolutely looks like the hottest whore comprised of body parts you'll ever see. The film's finale features the remnants of Zorro's whore recombining in odd configurations and the effects would not look out of place in Henenlotter's BASKET CASE sequels fun stuff.

Blu-ray: The film is presented in 16:9 widescreen (1.78:1) in 1080p HD. The brand new 2K transfer derived from original vault elements looks pretty great, sharp detail, a fine bed of natural grain, decent black levels and vibrant colors, the neon almost pops of the screen. A few occasional small scratches and specks here and there but hardly anything noticeable. It's a pretty typical Synapse transfer in that there are very few complaints to lodge and no evidence of DNR scrubbing. Audio option include both DTS-HD MA 5.1 and a DTS-HD MA stereo mixes which both sound great. Dialogue is always crisp, clear and the score and effects are well balanced. The 5.1 is appreciated and while not overly active in the directionals really does provide some ambient depth and fleshes out Joe Renzetti's (DEAD AND BURIED, THE EXTERMINATOR) fun score.

We get an audio commentary with director Frank Henelotter and make-up effects creator Gabe Bartalos, it's a good technical track with some fun insights. Not the most riveting track but if you're a fan of the film it's a keeper. There are also three very cool interview featurettes; A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth  (8:43) with actress and former Penthouse Pet Patty Mullen who's still looking great, what a sweetheart. She reflects on her favorite and least favorite scenes, driving home in the full Frankenhooker make-up, working with Lorinz and her crush on special effects advisor Gabe Bartalos. A Stitch in Time: The Make-Up Effects Of Frankenhooker (21:00) has SF/X man Gabe Bartalos introducing some cool behind-the-scenes footage of not just FRANKENHOOKER but also BRAIN DAMAGE and heaps the praise on Patty Mullen. Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker (19:32) features red-headed wild woman Delora, the type of dame that just has crazy in her eyes and it makes for a fun interview as she speaks to going from an '87 beauty queen to working on BAD GIRLS DORMITORY and then dishing some dirt from the set of FRANKENHOOKER, disparaging James Lorinz and strong arming difficult strippers on set. Definitely a fun woman but not one you wanna piss of, know what I mean? Rounding out the disc's features are Jennifer Delora's Frankenhooker Scrapbook featuring behind-the-scenes pics and the Theatrical Trailer (1:32) plus reversible artwork. All in all a great set of features that compliment a crazy fun campfest.

Special Features:- Audio Commentary with Director Frank Henenlotter and Make-Up Effects Designer Gabe Bartalos
- A Stitch in Time: The Make-Up Effects Of Frankenhooker (21:00) 4:3
- Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:32) 16:9
- Jennifer Delora's Frankenhooker Scrapbook
- Reversible/Alternate Cover Artwork

Verdict: FRANKENHOOKER is a wonderfully absurd cult-comedy and a funny take on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein that reeks of the 80's with it's irreverent humor and neon-glow. Watching this I was transported back to late-night viewings of films like THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS, DOCTOR DETROIT and WEIRD SCIENCE. Just a fun time all around and the best cinematic cure for a shitty day I've seen in quite sometime. If you love camp, sleaze and naked ladies have I got the film for you...

 

DVD Review: I Sell the Dead (2008)

I SELL THE DEAD (2008)

“Never Trust a Corpse”
IFC Films


RATED: UR
RUNNING TIME: 85 Min.
DIRECTOR: Glenn McQuaid
CAST: Dominic Monaghan (Arthur Blake), Ron Perlman (Father Duffy), Larry Fessenden (Willie Grimes), Angus Scrimm (Dr. Vernon Quint), John Speredakos (Cornelius Murphy), Eileen Colgan (Maisey O’Connell)


SUMMARY: A 19th century grave robber confesses his exploits to a peculiar priest shortly before he is to lose his head to the guillotine. He recounts how he came to the trade, the supernatural encounters, and thrilling adventures which have led him to this fate.

FILM: The film begins as Father Duffy (Perlman, HELLBOY, CRONOS) is taking confession from the 19th century Irish corpse snatcher Arthur Blake (Monaghan, LOST, LORD OF THE RINGS). His mentor Willie Grimes (Fessenden, SESSION 9) has been executed for the crime of murder and Blake’s head is next to roll. He recants his macabre misadventures to the priest through a series a comedic vignettes detailing his drunken exploits as Grime’s grave robbing apprentice. A dark and macabre comedy unfolds as the two prowl the foggy cemeteries of the Irish countryside for fresh corpses and encounter vampires, zombies, aliens, rival grave robbers and their dealings with the demented Dr. Vernon Quint played by none other than Angus Scrimm of the PHANTASM series.

Monaghan and Fessenden as the grave robbing duo of Grimes & Blake are brilliant; you immediately buy into their oftentimes adversarial relationship as truth. The dialogue is clever and witty but never groan inducing. The film truly feels of the 19th century, dark, damp and eerie, filled with the threat of the blood-thirst supernatural. The outdoor scenes are swamped in layers of Hammer-esque mist that creates a sense of chilling dread that combined with the grainy, earth tone color palette of the film captures the look and feel of the period and offsets the skewed comedic aspects of the characters.

The illustrated opening title sequence of I Sell the Dead strongly recalls Stuart Gordon's film RE-ANIMATOR as does the fine film score from Jeff Grace who alse scored the superb HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. The way the scenes transition by freeze framing and fading to an illustrated panel ala CREEPSHOW is also effective and suits the comic styling of the film. Director Glenn McQuaid displays a thoughtful sense of humorous storytelling and visual creativity that is truly delightful. Micro-budget horror-comedies are a dime a dozen, but rarely as enjoyable as this, and Monaghan and Fessenden are an inspired pairing.

DVD: A well stocked DVD from IFC Films that includes a commentary with actors Monaghan and Fessenden plus a second commentary with director McQuaid. Other supplemental materials include The Making of I Sell the Dead and The Visual Effects of I Sell the Dead plus a trailer. The film is presented in its original widescreen anamorphic aspects ratio with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio track that’s not overly bombastic but is adequately immersive. The picture quality is great, black are deep and the images are crisp and clear.

VERDICT: I Sell the Dead is a quirky light-hearted homage to the Hammer and Amicus films of years past that delights in ghoulish gallows humor and supernatural hijinx. I highly recommend that any fan of horror-comedies or Hammer and Amicus Films  give this one a chance this Halloween season, I can't imagine you'll regret your decision.
***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)


-McBASTARD