HELLHOLE (1985) (Blu-ray Review)

HLLHOLE (1985) 

Label: Scream Factory
Release Date: July 26th 2016
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 95 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widesccreen (1.78:1)
Cast: Dyanne Thorne, Edy Williams, Judy Landers, Marjoe Gortner, Mary Woronov, Ray Sharkey, Richard Cox, Robert Z'Dar, Terry Moore
Director: Pierre De Moro

Synopsis: Having witnessed her mother's brutal death, Susan (Judy Landers, Dr. Alien) gets amnesia from a fall while being pursued by the killer, Silk (Ray Sharkey, The Idolmaker). Awakening in Ashland Sanitarium, she is once again terrorized by Silk, disguised as an orderly. To pry an incriminating secret from Susan's brain, Silk forms an uneasy alliance with Dr. Fletcher (Mary Woronov, Rock 'n' Roll High School), a psychotic scientist who has been testing a new lobotomy technique, using helpless inmates as her guinea pigs. These vicious experiments are carried out in the "Hellhole," a torture den awaiting Susan as its next victim.

Hellhole (1985) begins with a leather clad goon named Silk (Ray Sharkey) breaking into a woman's home and shaking her down for some paperwork which might incriminate his nefarious employer. When she refuses to hand over the paperwork the goon strangles her with his red scarf. Her hot blond daughter Susan (Judy Landers) witnesses the murder and the criminal goes after her next, the chase ends with Susan falling from an upper story of the home to the ground below. 

The fall doesn't kill her but she is stricken with memory loss, waking up at the Ashland Sanitarium for Women with no memory of her mother's murder or the criminal who did it. At the sanitarium Susan comes under the care of a nice guy doc named Ron played by Richard Cox (Cruising). Though not everyone at the asylum is so nice as might imagine coming into this slice of exploitation, now the movie kicks into full-on Women In Prison mode as Susan must contend with evil docs and their cronies plus an asylum full of nude inmates who mean her harm. 

The main baddie is Dr. Fletcher played by Mary Woronov (Rock N' Roll High School) who runs a diabolical clinic at the sanitarium that has been dubbed the "hellhole" by the staff and patients, where the more troublesome patients are taken to be experimented on. Apparently Fletcher and her assistant, played by '70s b-movie regular Marjoe Gortner (Food of the Gods) are conducting cruel experiments in hopes of perfecting a chemical lobotomy process, one that is never fully explained or given any proper screen time. The experimentation has not been very successful, those who have undergone the process are either raving lunatics or they're dead, the survivors are kept locked away in the basement, just waiting for someone to release them so they can fuck shit up, which they do. 

That creep Silk from the start of the movie learns that Susan is now at the sanitarium, and he still wants those papers, to which end he disguises himself as an orderly and infiltrates the asylum to hassle her, hoping to jog her memory of where her mom kept the papers through fear and intimidation. In true WIP fashion the movie is crude and sleazy with loads of nude women in showers, crooked docs and menacing orderlies in place of the usual corrupt prison officials and guards, the asylum turns out to be a great setting for a WIP picture. I enjoyed the movie but don't get me wrong, the script is awful even on the typically low WIP scale. A lot of the cast come off as bland, including starlet Judy Landers and Richard Cox, the latter of who is a very capable actor, he just doesn't have much to go with, neither dioes Marjoe Gortner who is criminally underused. Thankfully Ray Sharkey as the creepy goon and Mary Woronov as the evil doc are camping it up to the nth degree, making this cheap exploitation flick a bit more fun than it has any right to be. Sure, we are denied nudity from stars Woronov and Landers, but there are loads of naked women in the shower room, there is plenty of nude cat fighting, and more of the sweet  WIP tropes we have come to expect from the sub genre, it might be dumb movie but it is fun watch. B-movie fans should also keep an eye peeled for an appearance from Rober Z'Dar (Maniac Cop) as one of the sadistic orderlies working for Dr. Fletcher! 

Reading into the movie online I was surprised to find that director Pierre De Moro who directed this also made the kiddie-movie Savannah Smiles (1982) a few years earlier, which is a movie I give credit to as being the first to make me squirt a few tears at when I was young. Not sure that movie would hold up to a watch these days, but I found it interesting that just a few years later De Moro went from kiddie-friendly kidnap movie to making this cheap slice of WIP exploitation, which was his third and final movie. 

Audio/Video: Hellhole arrives in HD from Scream Factory as a release that almost didn't happen. Scream Factory first announced it for release back in 2014 and then promptly scuttled it when suitable film elements could not be found, apparently they had in their possession an interpositive that was a TV cut of the movie minus the scenes of nudity and violence, and did not want to proceed with an incomplete version of the movie, which is understandable, who wants a PG-rated version of a WIP movie? However, they found a theatrical print of the movie with the key missing scenes and were able to marry the two sources to create a complete version of the movie, though from two sources of varying quality. . 

Here's a production note from Scream Factory about the two sources: "As some of you recall, we had to cancel the release in 2014 due to problems we had with the film elements. However, we recently located a decent theatrical print which will now allow us to integrate the sections from the film print into the interpositive we transferred originally. (The IP we had appeared to be a TV cut as all the nudity and violence from the R-rated version was missing.) Please note that since some footage is from a print there will be a minor (but unavoidable) noticeable difference to the eye between the IP and the print."

The results are way better than I would have anticipated, the new widescreen (1.78:1) framed HD transfer looks solid, not rock solid. The marriage of the theatrical print with the interpostive is not seamless by any means but the colors, shadow detail and fine film grain look nice, the spliced scenes of nudity and violence from the theatrical cut while inferior are not ruinous or near as abrupt as I had worried they might be, which is great news. The mono DTS-HD MA audio does the job, nothing too impressive but clean and free of hiss, diologue and the synth score sound just fine, optional English subtitles are included. 

Onto the extras we have a brief trailer for the movie and a new five-minute interview with Mary Woronov who speaks about them crowbarring the lesbian stuff onto her character, and the oddities of the movie which she is surprised anyone even remembers. She recalls working with Ray Sharkie, who she seems to confuse with actor Marjoe Gortner at times, who played her assistant. She comes off as a bit of a fun nut, even speaking about a scene that was deleted, a sand-pool scene which is actually on the Blu-ray version of the movie, something she recalls as "brilliant", which may be a bit too kind, haha. 

Special Features
- NEW Interview With Actress Mary Woronov (5 Mins)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) 

I love it when Scream Factory bring an '80s classic to Blu-ray with new extras and a new HD transfer, but I get even more of a thrill when they rescue one from obscurity that have never had a proper home video release, stuff like Final Warning, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf and You'll Like My Mother, and I love 'em for it. The movie is a cheap slice of WIP trash from the '80s, but Sharkey and Woronov keep it fun. 

NOMADS (1986)

NOMADS (1986) 

Label: Scream Factory
Release Date: August 18th 2015
Region Code: A
Duration: 93 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional english Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: John McTiernan 
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Josie Cotton, Adam Ant, Anna Maria Monticelli, Lesley-Anne Down, Mary Woronov
Tagline: There are angels who patrol Los Angeles. And then there are the Nomads.

Synopsis: They creep. They kill... and no one knows who they are or where they came from. But when these rootless, demonic spirits descend on a determined doctor, all hell breaks loose. Bitten by a dying madman named Jean Pommier (Brosnan), Dr. Eileen Flax (Down) becomes the vessel for his turbulent and insane thoughts. Thrust into his last days, she is shocked to discover the existence of mysterious and murderous demons on a quest for destruction... and begins her own quest to somehow stop them before she joins Pommier in his horrifying fate!

This is director John McTiernan's first film, starring future-Bond persona Pierce Brosnan as French sociologist Jean-Charles Pommier who at the start of the film dies shortly after being  admitted to an L.A. hospital,  but not before whispering something into the ear of Dr. Eileen Flax (Lesley-Anne Down), whatever it is he whispered in her ear left her not only bleeding but sends her spiraling down a fevered path of nightmarish visions as she relives the Frenchman's last week leading up to his death. 

The structure of this one is a bit odd, we have the doc trying to live her life as she is haunted by the French sociologists tormented final days,  as he begins to research a group of nomadic street punks who prowl Los Angeles. Unfortunately Brosnan is playing a Frenchie and his accent is a bit of a laugh, but once you get beyond that this is a pretty compelling watch, though that accent is a hurdle to overcome.

Among the nomadic street punks we find new wave rocker Adam Ant and b-movie legend Mary Woronov, and Woronov is very creepy, clad in tight-fitting leather and rocking that maniacal Cheshire grin she's known for she makes for a seductive but nightmarish figure, I was both turned on and turned off at the same time. 

As the movie plays out we follow the path of the Frenchie whom has become obsessed with the street punks, he begins to follow them around and photographically document their destructive ways. It is explained to a degree that the punkers are demonic spirits whom are attracted to death, and while its not exactly laid out in black and white, we discover that the Frenchie and his wife have recently moved into a home where a violent murder had taken place, and the demonic nomads are drawn to it and once the Frenchie begins to take notice of them his fate is sealed. 

McTiernan does a pretty superb job weaving the two story lines together in a way that sort of makes sense without actually going to the trouble of explaining what's happening and it totally worked for me. 

The visuals are haunting and creepy, with the doc threatening to lose her own sanity as she is haunted by the visions of the Frenchies final days, it may not be a classic of supernatural cinema but it's an and eerie and atmospheric relic from the 80s  

Auio/Video: The Blu-ray from Scream Factory looks good, but not great, the print used shows some dirt and debris so there doesn't appear to have been an restoration or clean-up applied  to it. The image is a bit on the softer side and fine detail and clarity are not up to par with contemporary 1080p presentations. With that said this is certainly watchable with a nice layer of film grain and the skin tones look natural. The English language DTS-HD MA Mono audio is solid and nicely balanced, not a stunner but the dialogue and effects are nicely balanced, and the Bill Conti collaboration with 80s guitar rocker ted Nugent is fun, if somewhat dated. 

Special features include brand new interviews with Actress Lesley-Ann Down and Composer Bill Conti totalling about 33 minutes with Down going into what it was like to make the movie and composer Conti speaking about McTiernan as a director and collaborating on the score with the pistol-packing Ted Nugent. There's also a radio spot, trailer and a still gallery featuring stills, posters and promotional materials. Not too shabby a collection of bonus content for a somewhat obscure movie, glad to see this one come to Blu-ray. 

Special  Features: 
- New Interviews With Actress Lesley-Ann Down (16 Mins) HD 
- New Interviews With Composer Bill Conti (17 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) HD 
- Radio Spot (1 Mins) HD
- Still Gallery (3 Mins) HD

Nomads (1986) is a strange and atmospheric trip of a movie, a bit of a head-scratcher at times but expertly crafted by McTiernan who would go onto helm Predator and Die Hard directly afterward, but nothing as strange and eerie as this one right here. 3/5 

 

SUGAR COOKIES (1971)

SUGAR COOKIES (1971) 

Label: Vinegar Syndrome

Region: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated
Duration: 91 Minutes

Audio: 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Theodore Gershuny

Cast: George Shannon, Mary Woronov, Lynn Lowrey, Daniel Sadurs, Jennifer Welles

Here we have a film co-written by Troma's own Lloyd Kaufman and directed by Theodore Gershuny and starring the lovely duo of Mary Woronov (THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) and Lynn Lowry (SHIVERS). The film opens with adult film director Max (George Shannon) playing a twisted sex game with his porn star lover Alta (Lynn Lowry) that ends with him shooting her in the head. Max's other lover, porn producer Camilla (Mary Woronov), provides the director with an alibi and Alta's death is widely reported as a tragic suicide. 

Soon after Camilla begins auditioning actresses to fill the void left by the death of Alta. we soon discover that Alta was also Camilla's lover in addition to Max, which makes for a fun triangular dynamic. The producer meets with several actresses before coming across a young woman named Julie (played by Lynn Lowry) who is the spitting image of the late Alta. Promising her a future in film Camilla sets about molding the young starlet into a version of Alta through a series of kinky seduction and cruel mind games which lead-up to a finale that mirrors the opening scene with a nice serving of revenge. 

While the title invokes images of a lighthearted softcore sex film but it rarely strays into the realm true softcore perversion or offering much comedy. There is an off-kilter sub plot involving Max's chubby nephew Gus and his quest to lose his virginity. It's such a weird detour and feels shoe-horned into the film.  A scene of Gus popping his cherry in drag while screaming the name of his uyncle left me scratching my head, as did a pair of panty-sniffing detectives - none of which plays into anything whatsoever.  

Not played for laughs but definitely weird I found the strange sex rituals and mind games  intriguing but desperately disjointed. It's the onscreen pairing of the seductive Lynn Lowry and Mary Woronov that carried the film for me. While I have never found Woronov to be a woman who stirred me there's something about her I found so damn appealing in this film. 

Lowry is decent in the dual-role of seductive adult film star and the more naive Julie who finds herself manipulated by the twisted duo Max and Camilla, she has a presence you cannot deny. Lowry and Woronov engage in some sapphic love scenes throughout but the film is not an x-rated sleaze fest, this is more a trashy erotic thriller with some off-kilter detours and arthouse leanings. .

BLU-RAY:
The brand new 4K scan of the film from the original 35mm negative looks truly fantastic, the film grain is managed quite nicely throughout with some excellent fine detail and clarity. It's an impressive image front to back with solid color reproduction and skin tones, minor instances of speckling and print damage from time to time but I cannot imagine this film looking any better than this. 

The DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono audio track is decent, it can be a bit flat and boxy at times and is marred by some audio hiss, which is probably due to poor sound recording during filming or poor sound elements. 

The extras are spread across the two disc set beginning with a new interview with star Lynn Lowry entitled "Making Sugar Cookies with Lynn Lowry" with the star discussing her first meeting with Lloyd Kaufman and landing the role going onto discuss her hesitation to do nudity onscreen at first. Her contract stipulated know full frontal but during the interview admits that there is a "hint of bush" in a few scenes. Going on to discuss director Ted Gershuny, the duality of her role in the film and working with Woronov who she thought was a bit intimidating. Having just re watched the film Lowry offers up some fun anecdotes and seems genuinely fond of the film which she rightfully recalls as more of an art film that an x-rated sexploitation entry, this is a pretty dandy interview. The Blu-ray disc is rounded out with a scratchy widescreen theatrical trailer for the film. 

Onto the standard definition second disc we have the same feature presentation of the film plus the Lynn Lowry interview plus two additional interviews with producer Lloyd Kaufman and star Mary Woronov, "Remembering Sugar Cookies with Lloyd Kaufman" features the animated impresario remembering his time on the film and discovering star Lynn Lowry which he cast in several films. The man is an encyclopedia of knowledge and the half hour featurette is pretty dense with info and humor. 

Also carried over from the original Troma release is the interview with Mary Woronov conducted by Lloyd Kaufman. She recalls being shocked that director Theodore Gershunuy, whom she was married to at the time, not only cast her in a lesbian role but also inserted himself into the film in a softcore sex scene. 

A decent set of extras, both Kaufman and Lowry are very forthcoming about their experiences on the film while Woronov  seems a bit more reserved or maybe just slightly annoyed by Lloyd Kaufman whom insists that Woronov was a lesbian in real life at one point during the interview. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- BD/DVD Combo Pack
- New 4K Restoration from the 35mm Camera Negative 
- New video interview with Writer/Producer, Lloyd Kaufman (34 Minutes) SD
- New video interview with Star Lynn Lowry (14 Minutes) HD
- Interview with Star Mary Woronov (5 Minutes) SD
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 Minutes) HD/SD
- Alt Theatrical Trailer (3 Minutes) SD

VERDICT:
SUGAR COOKIES (1971) definitely has some strange appeal, namely the erotic duo of Woronov and Lowry who carry the film through performance and spectacle. At it's core it's a slow tale of manipulative revenge tempered with eroticism but it suffers from odd detours that go nowhere. It's great to see this get such a fine release from Vinegar Syndrome who continue to go above and beyond in their efforts to preserve and  champion obscure cult cinema, a recommend to fans of arty softcore cinema by way of the New York underground.