LUNATICS: A LOVE STORY (1990) (Umbrella DVD Review)

LUNATICS: A LOVE STORY (1990)

Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: NTSC Region-FREE
Duration: 83 Minutes 
Rating: M
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0
Video: Full Frame (1.33:1) 
Director: Josh Becker
Cast: Deborah Foreman, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell

In this quirky love story starring a bunch of Evil Dead alumni we have L.A. weirdo Hank Stone (Ted Raimi, Skinner), an unemployed nut who fancies himself a poet, who it seems has not left his apartment in six months. Inside he is haunted by his own delusions, imagining threatening rap trios and a mad doctor (played by Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead) out to dissect him, while also suffering hallucinations of brain-eating spiders. The walls of his apartment are covered in tin foil, so you know he's one of those foil-nuts you see out in the streets.  

Early on we see him engaged in a phone call with his obviously worried mother, and he's quickly painted as a man who might be a few tacos short of a proper combo platter. Not a bad guy, but a man lost in his own mind, he even imagines making out with the curvy woman on the lingerie billboard he stares at outside his apartment window. 

Across town we meet Nancy (Deborah Foreman, April Fool's Day) a kindhearted L.A. transplant from the Mid West, who after seeing a cute puppy get demolished by a dump truck on the street gets dumped by her scuzzbag boyfriend (also played by Bruce Campbell). On the way out the door to meet-up with his new lady friend he snatches all her cash and she ends up evicted from their shared motel room by a callous manager. On the streets she runs afoul of a group of gang members and winds up hiding out in a payphone at a bus stop. This is where she receives a accidental call from weirdo Hank, who dialed the wrong number while trying to call one of those party love lines that were so popular in the early 90's, or at least they were advertised a lot, not sure if they were actually popular, they always seemed sort of desperate, which I guess is kind of the point. 

As luck would have it Nancy's situation is so dire she takes this stranger up on his offer to come over to his apartment. Arriving she notices that Hank is a bit offbeat to say the least, a bit astonished by his choice of wall coverings, but she goes along with it, even taking him up on his offer of a Japanese bean paste cake. The poor guy really tries to act normal but his neurosis and overpowering hallucinations begin to kick, knocking her out with an unexpected punch to the face. She wakes up suffering from her own concussed delusion and tries to shoot him with a handgun, before wisely running off.

Not wanting to lose the only real human connection he's had in at least six months the headcase Hank wraps himself in tin-foil armor and heads out onto the streets to find her armed with a bat, but first he has to do battle with the imaginary threats in his mind, including a gaggle of homicidal surgeons in the hallway outside his apartment and the Earth ripping opens and swallowing cars in the street.

Lunatics: A Love Story is a quirky indie film, I imagine it would have the most real interest from fans of Sam Raimi's group of film-making friends, this being directed by Josh Becker, his follow-up to Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except (1985). It's a quirky bit of lo-fi film-making, Ted Raimi and Deborah Foreman have a fun chemistry as two people with real emotional problems trying to come together during a very strange night in L.A.. The film is low-budget but has that Raimi-centric indie spirit, with director Josh Becker offering some moody colored lighting, stop-motion animation and use of miniatures to give the indie production a bit of cinematic zest. Of course it's also great to see Bruce Campbell pop-up here is a few roles, he plays the asshole boyfriend very well, I love the slapstick comeuppance he gets right there at the end!   

Audio/Video: Lunatics: A Love Story arrives on region-free DVD from Umbrella Entertainment in full frame 1.33:1 - looking to be sourced from an older looking standard-definition master of some sort. I have no idea if this was originally shot in full frame or widescreen. It at least looks better than a few VHS clips I've seen of it on the Internet, it's never less than watchable, but blacks are anemic and the darker scenes can be pretty murky looking, but colors are fairly decent looking throughout.  Audio comes by way of a Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 track that's equally serviceable, the highlight being the wonderfully early 90's score from composer Joseph LoDuca (Army of Darkness) that matches the goofiness of the the film. There are no subtitle options for playback.  

This single-disc DVD release comes housed in a standard DVD keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster for the film, the same artwork is used on the disc itself.

Lunatics: A Love Story (1990) is a quirky love story that has largely gone under the radar for years, with only a VHS release from Sony. I don't think it's ever had a legit DVD release until this one right here. It's not the special edition some fans might have wanted, but just having it available on disc for the first time is pretty cool. If you're a die hard fan of cutey Deborah Foreman or the circle of film-making friends who made Evil Dead this will probably be quite a fun discovery for you. 

EVIL DEAD 2 (1987) (4K UltraHD Review)

EVIL DEAD 2 (1987)
4K UltraHD/Blu-ray   

Label: Lionsgate
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 84 Minutes
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD, Spanish 2.0 DTS-HD, French 5.1 DTS-HD, German 2.0 Mono DTS-HD with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision, 2160p UltraHD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley Depaiva, Ted Raimi 

Synopsis: Ash, the sole survivor of The Evil Dead, returns to the same cabin in the woods and again unleashes the dead. With his girlfriend possessed and his body parts running amok, Ash must again single-handedly battle the damned in this unhinged horror classic!

In Sam Raimi's sequel to Evil Dead we have the reluctant hero Ash (Bruce Campell, Ash VS The Evil Dead) returning to the very same cabin in the woods where his last girlfriend (and whole group of friends and his sister) were slaughtered by demonic forces called "deadites". Why he would return to this cabin makes no sense whatsoever, and even less so when they get to the cabin and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of what happened there previously, you know, like dead bodies, pools of blood and demonic supernatural forces. Apparently Ash is real hard up to find a place to neck with his new girlfriend, who is also named Linda (Denise Bixler) - just like his last girlfriend. 

Things begin playing out much in the same way they unfolded in the first film with Ash finding and playing a tape recorded by  archaeologist who lived in the cabin, reciting passages from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, and then all Hell breaks loose when the demonic presence possesses Linda, turning her into a "deadite", forcing Ash to decapitate his lady friend and burying her in the backyard, with he himself becoming temporarily possessed, with Linda's disembodies head returning from the grave, and a demonic grannie that's been buried in the basement running wild. More carnage ensues and Ash is forced to cut off his demonic infected hand with a chainsaw, which then has an evil-life of it's own, causing all sort of lunatic mayhem and Three Stooges inspired mayhem happening throughout. 

Not long after the archaeologist's adult daughter shows up unexpectedly along with a few redneck locals, all becoming fodder for the demonic Deadites, culminating in a the reading from the Book of the Dead that opens up a portal that transports Ash to medieval times, thereby setting up the sequel, Army of Darkness. 

Evil Dead 2 is a lot fun, a bloody, violent film that is also goofy and humorous, Raimi let loose with is love of The Three Stooges with Campbell being a perfect pratfalling hero to anchor the film, a reluctant and dip-shitted every man armed with a shotgun and a wrist-mounted chainsaw, unlucky enough to be fated as savior of humanity. 

Audio/Video: Sam Raimi's Phantasmagoric horror-comedy Evil Dead 2 arrives on 4K UltraHD from Lionsgate in 2160 Ultra HD framed in the original 1.85:1 widescreen. I've seen this film from the VHS on through to DVD and the two previous Blu-ray releases, each evolution to the next format bringing with it a better A/V presentation, and oh boy, does this deliver the blood splattered goods in UltraHD! Grain is nicely resolved, black are shadowy and deep, the HDR enhanced colors are vibrant, the detail of the forest and wood floors and paneling really shine, the crevices of Ash's bloodstained face, the colored lighting, it's a very fine presentation. Now, 4K doesn't really help certain scenes that show the low-budget limitations, but it maintains a very filmic look, as natural as the heightened reality of the film will allow. 

Sadly we do not get a Dolby Atmos bump, the film 4L presentation offering the same English DTS-HD MA 5.1 that accompanied the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray, but the good news is that it's a strong, well-balanced track with some fantastic use of the surrounds, a scene of eerie, otherworldly sounds filling the cabin and bouncing from corner to corner is always fun, and the Joseph LoDuca (Army of Darkness) score sounds terrific, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Looking into the extras most of them are on the accompanying Blu-ray, which is the exact same disc as the 25th Anniversary release from Lionsgate, the Blu-ray is the older transfer, not the Studio Canal restoration that the 4K Ultra HD presentation is based on, so if you are not 4K enabled yet you do not need to upgrade. The Blu-ray disc contains over three hours of excellent extras, plus the fantastic audio commentary with writer-director Sam Raimi, actor Bruce Campbell, co-writer Scott Spiegel, and special make-up effects artist Greg Nicotero. The 4K disc contains the same commentary but only one new-ish extras, but it's a goodie, a 53-min appreciation of the film made in 2018 for the Studio Canal special edition release, containing appreciations by Edgar Wright, Guillermo del Toro, and Roger Corman among others, it's a nice addition to the wealth of extras here. 

The 2-disc 4K/Blu-ray release comes in a cool looking black slipcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork, the same key art as the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray. The 4K disc features the same artwork, the Blu-ray disc has the skull from the original, one-sheet movie poster, plus we get a slipcover with the same key art, one of those slips with the rounded edges that accompany most of the 4K releases. Inside there's a digital code for the HD version of the film, not the 4K. 

Special Features: 
4K Ultra HD
- NEW “Bloody and Groovy, Baby!” – A Tribute to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2 Featurette (53 min) 
- Audio Commentary with writer-director Sam Raimi, actor Bruce Campbell, co-writer Scott Spiegel, and special make-up effects artist Greg Nicotero
Blu-ray
- Audio Commentary with writer-director Sam Raimi, actor Bruce Campbell, co-writer Scott Spiegel, and special make-up effects artist Greg Nicotero
- “Swallowed Souls: The Making of Evil Dead 2” Featurette (98 min) 
- “Cabin Fever – A ‘Fly on the Wall’ Look Behind-the-Scenes of Evil Dead 2” Featurette (30 min) 
- “Road to Wadesboro: Revisiting the Shooting -Location with Filmmaker Tony Elwood” - Featurette (8 min) 
- “Evil Dead 2: Behind-the-Screams” Featurette (17 min) 
- “The Gore The Merrier” Featurette (32 min) 
- Theatrical Trailer (1 min) 
- Still Galleries  

Evil Dead 2 (1987) is still one of my favorite horror comedies, it's right up there with The Return of the Living Dead (1986), Fright Night (1985) and Dead Alive (1992). I wish Sam Raimi would direct another horror film, I love his kinetic style, the way his camera moves and his slapstick sense of humor, it's been too long since Drag Me To Hell! The new 4K Ultra HD is top-notch, highly recommended for fans of the film, it's never looked better and the nearly hour long new extra is pretty cool. 

Blu-ray Review: BODY BAGS (1993)

BODY BAGS (1993)  

Collector's Edition Blu-ray+DVD

Label: Shout! Factory / Scream factory 

Region Code: A

MPAA Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 95 Minutes 

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1)
Directors: John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper

Cast: Stacey Keach, Mark Hamill, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, Deborah Harry, John Agar, David Naughton, Sheena Easton, Roger Corman, Tobe Hooper

Directors John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper direct the TV horror anthology Body Bags (1993) which started out as sort of Showtime's answer to HBO's anthology Tales from the Crypt with director John Carpenter acting as the macabre host, a creepy character known as the Coroner who intros/outros each segment a very cornball sense of the macabre 

First up we have "The Gas Station", a nice young woman named Anne (Alex Datcher) arrives to work at a 24-7 gas station in a rural area just outside Haddonfield, Illinois, horror fans will no doubt recognize this as the home of Michael Myers from John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). The departing gas station attendant (Robert Carradine, Revenge of the Nerds) warns her to be aware that a murderous escaped mental patient is on the lose in the area, poor Anne is already a bundle of nerves and only  gets more paranoid as the night wears on.  Throughout the night she encounters various late-night patrons ranging from a weirdo vagrant, a total creeper and celebratory boozers, but locked away inside the booth she feels relatively safe, until she accidentally locks herself outta the booth. This segments has a bunch of fun cameos including Buck Flowers (They Live) who seems to never have passed up the chance to play a bum ever, directors Wes Craven (Last House on the Left) and Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) plus David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London) and Peter Jason (The Driver), it's stacked pretty heavy and Wes Craven is scary good as a creeper, what a weirdo! Once the killer is revealed the tension which has been somewhat steadily mounting explodes onscreen as he tries to ax his way inside the booth through the bay window, it's a very striking scene. The performances from Datcher and the antagonist are quite excellent, one a frantic victim the other a cold-blooded murder, fun stuff. 

Then we're onto "Hair" starring Stacey Keach (The Ninth Configuration) as aging businessman Richard Colberts who is super self conscious about his thinning hair, he's totally consumed with finding a cure for it. It's a very light-hearted and goofy entry. He tries all those late night TV hair-loss miracle cures, even the ridiculous spray on hair stuff. When a new TV ad promises a miracle cure for his thinning hair he ends up at the office of Dr. Lock (David Warner, Tron) who offers an experimental treatment which much to his excitement produces a flowing head of hair overnight, a ridiculously amount in fact. Like pretty much everything in life, something that seems to good to be true usually is an there are weird side effects to the treatment, hair is now growing where it should not and his skin begins to blister and boil. When he returns to Dr. Locks office the extraterrestrial truth about his treatment is reveled. Stacey Keach's insecure and neurotic performance is pitch-perfect for the segment but it's a pretty damn goofy segment.

The third and final segment "Eye" is directed by Tobe Hooper (Lifeforce) and feature Luke Sywalker himself Mark Hamill as Brent Mathews, a Major League Baseball player who loses an eye in a car accident which sends jagged glass shards right into his eye socket  His career threatened he submits to  revolutionary new eye transplant which comes with a hitch, he begins to have vicious nightmares and visions of raping and murdering young women, even his own wife. When he confronts the doc (John Agar, Tarantula) who performed the surgery it is revealed that the donor of the miracle eye came from a recently executed necrophiliac murder of women, ouch. As the urges to rape and murder intensify can he resist the urge to kill his loving wife? It's a nail-biter of a segment and it's pretty gruesome, the Skywalker rough sex-scene is pretty disturbing stuff, might not wanna watch that one with the kids or they'll never look at Star Wars the same way again! A very effective entry and pretty gruesome, I would say it's the last best thing Hooper's directed outside of the remake of Toolbox Murders (2004) in the past. Watch for the Roger Corman cameo! 

Now the wrap around pieces with Carpenter as The Coroner are a guilty pleasure, they are ghastly awful and a total rip on the Crypt Keeper but that's sort of what I love about it. Maybe not the most quality anthology ever put to film but it's plenty macabre, a bit goofy and there's a lot of fun cameos, a very entertaining watch

Blu-ray: Body Bags (1993) for the first time ever is presented in the widescreen (1.78.1) aspect ratio from Shout! Factory horror imprint Scream Factory with an AVC encode on 1080p Blu-ray. It looks surprisingly good for an early 90's cable TV movie with a fine layer of film grain, strong saturated colors and the darker scenes nice and deep. We have the option of an English language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 with optional English subtitles, occasionally some effects and the John Carpenter score do bleed into the surround but it's just decent, not outstanding. 

Extras include a the Unzipping Body Bags (20:07) featurette featuring John Carpenter and his wife Producer Sandy King alongside actors Robert Carradine and Stacy Keach. we get some information about the project coming together, the fact that Clive Barker turned down an offer to appear in a segment and the truth behind the production. For years I have read that Showtime anted an anthology series similar to HBO's Tales from the Crypt and that they got cold feet at the last minute and pulled the plug, but to hear John Carpenter tell it the project was always intended as a stand alone cable film, and while there was a proposal for a TV series it was he who turned it down noting it was underfunded, it's a very cool featurette. 

There are also audio commentaries recorded for each segment including the wrap-around. Director John Carpenter is joined by actor Robert Carradine for "Gas Station" and Stacy Keach on "Hair", both are more interviews being performed by the director than a scene specific anecdotal track, but we do get some of that as well. Carpenter inquires about Carradine's early career working with John Wayne on The Cowboys (1972) and Walter Hill's The Long Riders (1980). He probes Keach to talk about his favorite Shakespearean roles and the two, who are also musicians, talk about music. Unfortunately we do not get a Tobe Hooper commentary on "Eye" but Producer Sandy King steps in to talk about the segment and is joined by special features producer Justin Beahm. all in all some decent commentaries but not on par with the director's essential commentaries for Escape from New York (1981) or The Thing (1982), it's pretty breezy but a decent listen. 

Finishing up the extras on Scream Factory's 2-disc Collector's Edition is a trailer for the film. This release also comes with a standard-def DVD of the feature film mirroring the same features as the Blu-ray plus slipcover featuring the artwork of Justin Osbourne who also created  the new artwork for Scream Factory's  editions of John Carpenter's The Fog (1980) and Prince of Darkness (1987). This is the first time I recall one of the Collector's Edition's not having the option of  reversible artwork. If my memory serves me correctly I believe this has something to do with the rights holder of the film so detesting the original artwork that it was stipulated that it not be included on the new edition, not sure about that one though so make of it what you will. 

Special Features: 

- Unzipping Body Bags (20:07)
- Segment Specific Audio Commentaries from John Carpenter, producer Sandy King, actors Stacey Keach and Robert Carradine

- Trailer (1:20)

Verdict: I have a real warm and fuzzy soft spot for horror anthologies having grown-up on a steady diet of Amicus omnibus chillers, and while Body Bags (1993) may not be on par with Creepshow (1982) or Trick 'r Treat (2007) it's definitely a ton of macabre fun, recommended.  

3 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: THOU SHALT NOT KILL... EXCEPT (1985)

THOU SHALT NOT KILL... EXCEPT (1985)

Blu-ray/DVD Combo

Label: Synapse Films
Region: All Regions
Duration: 83 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD 2.0 Mono, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Director: Josh Becker
Cast: Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Scott Spiegel, Brian Schulz
Tagline: When Violence Demands Revenge

Synopsis: Vietnam, 1969. War is Hell. For Marine Sergeant Jack Stryker (Brian Schulz), however, Hell is just the beginning. Trapped outside a Viet Cong village, Stryker takes two bullets to the leg. Sent home from the war, he discovers his ex-girlfriend (Cheryl Hausen) has been kidnapped by a religious cult with a vicious Manson-like leader (played by The Evil Dead and Spider-Man trilogy director, Sam Raimi). Stryker teams up with some marine friends to form an assassination squad and annihilate the gang of crazed killers.

Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except (1985) is a pretty obscure mid-80' low-budget grinder that kicks off in right in the thick of 'Nam '69 where we meet the cigar chompin' Sgt. Jack Stryker (Brian Schulz) and his small band of Marines. With the assistance of some well-placed stock-footage 'Nam inserts the backwoods of Michigan are transformed into a 'Nam jungle, sorta. The visual trickery is not 100% successful but the effort on the part of the filmmakers is appreciated and quite a bit more successful than the plastic rat we catch a glimpse of. The small band of soldiers find themselves miserably outnumbered and are mowed down in a hail of bullets and explosions. It's full-on high energy excitement with lots of fiery explosions and gruesome violence which includes splattery gunshot wounds and a brutal punji trap through the chest. During the assault Sgt. Stryker takes two crippling gunshots to the leg ending his military career. In the ensuing weeks Stryker partially recovers from his injuries and is discharged from the military returning to his small town life in the States and to his rustic cabin in the woods where he eeks out a living with his dog "Whiskey". Picking up the pieces of his civilian life he starts to rekindle a romance with his high school sweetheart Sally (Cheryl Hansen), things are starting to look up for the Vet until Cheryl's kidnapped by a religious cult of bloodthirsty hippies lead by a maniacal nut played with delicious fervor by none other than director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man).

For me the highlight and star of this exploitation nugget would have to be Raimi as the truly bug-nuts insane cult leader who believes himself to be the rebirth of Jesus Christ. A delirious and obvious riff on Charles Manson - it's just amazing to watch and a ton of fun. He's chewing on the scenery in a way that just suits this lo-fi grinder to perfection, worth the price of admission on it's own.

Stryker is joined in his war on the blood cult by his military buddies; "Love Machine" (Timothy Patrick Quill, the blacksmith from Army of Darkness), Sgt. Jackson (Robert Rickman, a former Mr. T impersonator), Lt. Miller (John Manfredi, Real Steel) who just happen to arrive on scene to visit their  former Lt. and they're a fun bunch of guys. Before they arrive at the cabin they find themselves in the company of a trio of jail bait they pick-up outside a liquor store followed by some sleazy backseat shenanigans and then right into a biker bar where a full-on brawl  spills out to the back alleyway, it's fun stuff and is the perfect b-movie filler to pad out the film until they face off against the bloodthirsty hippies, surely it superfluous but it's entertaining.

The final showdown with the cult in the woods is pretty fantastic, an orgy of bloodletting and shotguns blasts with fun kills that are well-staged and executed with much spilled blood. Highlights include Stryker's beloved dog Whiskey skinned on a spit, some brutal shotgun blasts, impalement's and my personal favorite - death by lawn darts which is amazing!

Blu-ray: Synapse Films offers up Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except with an all-new 2K high-definition transfer from the original negative, painstaking restored and cleaned-up in the best possible way. This 16mm cult classic has never looked better and the restoration leaves the film's grain structure wonderfully intact, this is a grain-lovers paradise and a very fine example of how you restore a film without running it through the Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) wringer. Synapse are transfer pros and cinema devotees who fully appreciate the grain inherent in celluloid. The DTS-HD MA English and Dolby Digital English 2.0 Mono audio options are limited in their fidelity but sound pretty great with special mention to Joe LoDuca's great war-themed score, it's above and beyond what one might expect from a budget-strapped grinder.

Special features for this obscure cult classic are abundant beginning with my personal favorite feature, the original Super 8mm film Stryker's War, an early version of the film featuring none other than Mr. Big Chin himself Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness) in the role of Jack Stryker, a role created for him but when the opportunity arose for director Josh Becker to film Thou Shalt Not Kill...Except he was unavailable to partake in the project. Definitely a loss for Campbell fans but fear not for we have this fine 8mm document. It's interesting to note that the filmmaker didn't stray to far from the 8mm original when scripting Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except.

Up next is Made In Michigan: The Making of Though Shalt Not Kill... Except (35:16) a mini-doc featuring interviews with director Josh Becker, producer (and director in his own right) Scott Spiegel, actors John Menfredi (Lt. Miller), Tim Quill (LCpl. Ttyler) , Robert Rickman (Sgt. Jackson), production assistant Brian Rae and Production manager David Goodman. Tons of tasty nuggets are discussed including the early super 8mm films, why Bruce Campbell did not return to reprise his role as Sgt. Stryker, the budget and the Joe LoDuca's fantastic score, which is pretty great. Whether your a newcomer to the film or a fan there's a ton to enjoy here.

We also have not one but two Audio Commentaries from director Josh Becker, actor Bruce Campbell and star Brian Schulz, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Title Sequence (1:19), a Theatrical Trailer and an on-camera Interview with Bruce Campbell (8:47) in his backyard discussing the filmmakers early 8mm films and the making of Stryker's War. As special features go this is perhaps above and beyond what this obscure title would demand but that's why I love Synapse; they love cult and exploitation cinema and if it's worth doing it's worth doing right and they do it right every time.

[Reversible Cover Art]

Special Features
•All-New High-Definition 2K Digital Restoration from the Original Negative
•The Original Super 8mm Short film, STRYKER’S WAR Short Film, starring Bruce Campbell! (48:16) 4:3
•Made in Michigan: The Making of THOU SHALT NOT KILL… EXCEPT - Featurette (31:56) 16:9
•Two Audio Commentaries Featuring Director Josh Becker, Bruce Campbell and Star Brian Schulz
•All-New Video Interview with Bruce Campbell (8:47) 16:9
•Deleted Scene with Optional Director’s Commentary (0:45) 16:9
•Alternate Title Sequence (1:19) 16:9
•Original Theatrical Trailer 16:9
•Reversible Cover Artwork

Verdict: Thou Shalt Not Kill...Except is a tasty nugget of amped-up mid-80's exploitation cinema that's a suitably gruesome and gritty affair well-stocked with moments of off-kilter humor pitting 'Nam vets against a bloodthirsty religious cult in the woods, it's just entertaining stuff. Obviously shot on a shoe-string budget but made with the same heart and lo-fi ingenuity we've seen from director Josh Becker's cohorts Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) and Scott Spiegel (Intruder), if you're a fan of either of those cult classics there's gonna be a ton to love with Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except. Great job from Synapse on the great special features and fantastic transfer which shouldn't be a surprise at all. 2.5 outta 5

Blu-ray Review: INTRUDER (1988)

INTRUDER - DIRECTOR'S CUT (1988)

 Blu-ray/DVD Combo

LABEL: Synapse Films
REGION: Region FREE
DURATION: 88 minutes
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
AUDIO: DTS-HD MA English 2.0 Mono, Dolby Digital English 2.0 Mono
DIRECTOR: Scott Spiegel
CAST: Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Cox, Danny Hicks, Renée Estevez
TAGLINE: Tonight, This Supermarket is Having a Sale... ALL HEADS HALF-OFF!

SYNOPSIS: "It’s 10 pm and the employees of Michigan’s Walnut Lake Supermarket are in for a really bad night. The place is shutting its doors for good, and the night crew has a long shift ahead of them… longer than they think! The lovely check-out girl has a deranged ex-boyfriend, the store’s phone lines are cut, and the employees start dying in the most stomach-churning ways imaginable (courtesy of Academy Award®-winning KNB EFX Group). A deranged killer is on the loose in the grocery store! Can anyone stop this murderous intruder?"

Scott Spiegel's probably best know as the co-writer of Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD 2 (1987) and the producer of the HOSTEL film series but some of you fiends out there may recall him as the director of the late 80's splatter classic INTRUDER (1988), a film that's probably best remembered for it's extreme gore courtesy of the pre-KNB EFX team of Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman and Greg Nicotero who were willing to do the effects on the film for a song to help launch their new effects group and what a calling card it was, the gore effects are outstanding even two decades later and under the scrutiny of 1080p high-definition, they're ingenious, blood soaked and fucking awesome.

It's been a few years since I last watched the film and what struck me aside from the effects and how great the transfer is were the crazy amount of POV camerawork from director Spiegel, these are some of the nuttiest POV shots ever committed to film with odd views from a rotary phone, a milk crate, a wine bottle and a shopping cart, not once but twice. The inventive visual gags not just look great but create a quirky sense of atmosphere that's hard to peg down. The script is pretty witty and the film is nearly a comedy in some respects, perhaps even a send-up of the genre which by the late 80's had really run it's due course.

Looking at the characters I wouldn't say we get a lot of development but I've never been one to require much of it when I throw on a slasher either. What we do get is quite serviceable with appearances from EVIL DEAD alumni Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi and Danny Hicks with a cameo from Bruce Campbell. Without spoiling the killer's identity I'll just say that I really enjoyed how unwound and bat-shit crazy the culprit becomes, really unhinged stuff. At one point he's puppeteering a decapitated head and then beating down a victim with it in the next scene, that's just entertainment pure and simple. The film is definitely offbeat which I think might throw a few folks off but the humor is dark and demented just the way I crave it and really delivers the goods, so it worked for me.

I have to once again give it up to the KNB EFX Group who really shower the film with scene after scene of bloody death. There's just so much to choose from here, we get a head crushed in a cardboard compactor, machetes flying everywhere, a nice eye-skewering, a meat hook through the neck and what must surely be the centerpiece of the film; a head grotesquely sawn in half with a band saw sending brains, teeth and meat everywhere, it's a showstopper and sickening brutal.

Great slashers were slicing through the cinemas in the early to mid 80's but to find a really brutal, well done slasher in 1988 seems a rare feat indeed. Scott Spiegel deserves some major love for this late entry in the game particularly when you consider what was to come to the cinema post-SCREAM just a few years later. Unfortunately Spiegel didn't go onto direct a ton of films but I'm pretty amped to see him back in the director's chair with HOSTEL III after taking this in.

BLU-RAY: Synapse's brand-new 2K HD transfer of INTRUDER is presented in 16:9 widescreen (1.78:1) - this is the uncut director's version of the film with all the tasty extreme gore presented in all it's splatteriffic glory - the KNB FX shots are nasty effective, gore hounds are gonna be delighted. The transfer looks pretty sharp, colors are vibrant and the film's fine grain is nicely intact, no unnecessary DNR scrubbing here folks, par for Synapse the transfer is pretty phenomenal considering that this shoestring budget splatter classic was filmed using 35mm short ends. Audiowise we get a DTS-HD MA English 2.0 mono track on the Blu-ray that sounds very nice, dialogue, score and effects sound very good, the mono soundtrack doesn't offer much depth of separation but seems accurate and decently robust.

Special features are plentiful beginning with a feature length commentary from director Scott Spiegel and producer Lawrence Bender, it's a fun commentary with tons of great behind-the-scenes anecdotes from financing the film on through to the MPAA butchering of the films upon it's initial VHS release. There's also a great half hour featurette featuring interviews with most of the principal cast, director, producer and executive producer Charles Band with clips from the 8mm short film NIGHT CREW and actress Elizabeth Cox is kind enough to demonstrate her various screams as heard in the film providing commentary about the subtle variations, good stuff. On top of that we get over 10 minutes of extended murder scenes from the workprint, nearly seven minutes of outtakes from the NIGHT CREW short, a picture gallery, two trailers and a featurette wherein the director of A BETTER PLACE tells of his experience renting the VHS only to find the gory bits as seen in Fangoria were missing. It's a jam-packed Blu-ray and there's a DVD edition of the film included with all the same special features which is a always nice value add when considering a purchase, don't think too hard though, just buy it. Clearly Synapse have done right by this film and an upgrade is easily recommended if you own the previous DVD edition because this 1080p presentation is gonna blow you away when compared to that murky mess.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- All-New 2K Digital Restoration of the Original Uncensored Director's Cut
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Scott Spiegel and Producer Lawrence Bender
- Slashing of Intruder (3:26)
- Slashed Prices - The Making of Intruder (38:22)
- Never-Before-Seen Extended "Murder" Sequences from the Original Workprint (10:25)
- Outtakes from the Now-Lost Short Film, NIGHT CREW (6:47)
- Original Cast Audition Footage (11:04)
-Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery (4:20)
-Original Theatrical Trailer (1:19)
- NIGHT CREW Trailer (1:19)

VERDICT: INTRUDER is an entertaining, visually imaginative splatter-flick filled with nutty gore that's in need of some serious attention, a classic deserving of some shelf space for any serious gore fan. Sure, it's a bit silly and quirky but above all else it's a super-gory slasher that's finally been given a gorgeous release courtesy of Synapse Films, a must own. 3.5 outta 5

Exploitation Classic THOU SHALT NOT KILL... EXCEPT coming to Synapse Films DVD/Blu-ray Combo!

SYNAPSE FILMS PRESENTS 

JOSH BECKER'S EXPLOITATION CLASSIC

THOU SHALT NOT KILL... EXCEPT

STARRING ★SAM RAIMI★ AS A MANSON-LIKE HIPPIE CULT LEADER!

THOU SHALT NOT KILL... EXCEPT

[Blu-ray/DVD Combo]

RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2012

REGION CODE: All Regions

DURATION: 83 mins
DIRECTOR: Josh Becker
CAST: Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Scott Spiegel, Brian Schul
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (1.66:1)
TAGLINE:When Violence Demands Revenge...

THE EXPLOITATION ACTION CLASSIC FROM THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT YOU THE EVIL DEAD AND EVIL DEAD 2!

Vietnam, 1969. War is Hell. For Marine Sergeant Jack Stryker (Brian Schulz), however, Hell is just the beginning. Trapped outside a Viet Cong village, Stryker takes two bullets to the leg. Sent home from the war, he discovers his ex-girlfriend (Cheryl Hausen) has been kidnapped by a religious cult with a vicious Manson-like leader (played by THE EVIL DEAD and SPIDER-MAN trilogy director, Sam Raimi). Stryker teams up with some marine friends to form an assassination squad and annihilate the gang of crazed killers.

Synapse Films is proud to present THOU SHALT NOT KILL… EXCEPT in an all-new 2K high-definition transfer from the original negative. Directed by Josh Becker, this “must-see” (Detroit Free Press) cult classic features many of the people responsible for THE EVIL DEAD, including co-writer Bruce Campbell, writer/producer Scott Spiegel, composer Joseph LoDuca, and actor Ted Raimi.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• All-New High-Definition 2K Digital Restoration from the Original Negative
• The Original Super 8mm Short film, STRYKER’S WAR, starring Bruce Campbell!
• Made in Michigan: The Making of THOU SHALT NOT KILL… EXCEPT – Featurette
• Two Audio Commentaries featuring Director Josh Becker, Bruce Campbell, and Star Brian Schulz
• All-New Video Interview with Actor/Writer Bruce Campbell
• Deleted Scene with Optional Director's Commentary
• Alternate Title Sequence
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible Alternate Cover Artwork

Reversible Artwork