DEADLIEST PREY (2013) (Blu-ray Review)

DEADLIEST PREY (2013) 

Label: Olive Films I Slasher // Video
Region Code: A
Duration: 80 Minutes 
Rated: Unrated
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:10
Director; David A. Prior
Cast: Ted Prior, David Campbell, Fritz Mathews

Synopsis: Sadist, psychopath, and a damn fine solider, Colonel Hogan (David Campbell, Deadly Prey, Relentless Justice) and his merry band of mercenaries are back for more in the sequel to writer/director David A. Prior’s Deadly Prey. Will Mike Danton (Ted Prior, Deadly Prey, Relentless Justice) ever learn to let someone else take out the garbage? Kidnapped from in front of his home while emptying the trash, Danton finds himself back in familiar territory as prey in Hogan’s twisted game of cat and mouse. It’s obvious that Hogan is also a slow learner. When will he understand not to mess with Danton, a U.S. Marine who learned to be “all that he could be” in ‘Nam? The action and kills are amped up in The Deadliest Prey co-starring Fritz Matthews (Deadly Prey, Born Killer) and Cat Tomeny (Flesh Wounds, Enemies Among Us). 

A decade ago I would have said that the likely hood of a sequel to Deadly Prey (1987) was about as likely as Deadly Prey ever receiving an HD Blu-ray release... and not only did both of these things come to pass, but they came to pass on the same day. The amped-up sequel Deadliest Prey takes an approach I would liken to Sam Raimi's classic Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn, not a remake exactly but more or less a re imagining of the first film with a lot of winks  and nods, this definitely has a fun, self-aware vibe about it and I think it strikes the perfect balance of action, wit and retro '80s awesomeness.

Picking up more than a quarter century after the first movie Colonel Hogan (David Campbell) has been imprisoned for his crimes, he's just released from prison is is till pretty sore about everything. He returns to his mercenary training camp outside of Los Angeles which has somehow remained in operation for the nearly three decades. He immediately sends out his goons to round-up former 'Nam vet Mike Danton (Ted Prior), who once again is taking out the trash, and no sooner has he had time to wink at the camera when he is punched in the face and taken back to Hogan's playground for more murderously war-games.

The events unfold with many of the same story beats as the first move, with Danton on the run from the mercenaries, armed with a sharpened stick and able to improvise deadly booby traps with relative ease. Much as with the first movie Hogan sends his henchmen to snatch Danton's wife as a bargaining chip, something new to the movie is a tech-savvy modern angle with an online gaming community who watch the proceedings unfold live. The gamers track the signal to the remote location, only to find themselves sucked into the sadistic war games themselves. 

It was great to see both David Campbell and Ted Prior reprise their respective roles, even Fritz Mathews returns from the dead, sort of, as the brother of the mercenary Danton killed in the first film, and of course director David A. Prior returns to helm the long in the making sequel. Everyone has aged a few decades since the first movie but they're are looking damn good. Ted Prior as you might expect is not as hard bodied as he was in his twenties and is minus the iconic cut-off shorts, but he's still an engaging presence onscreen. Campbell has some great character to his rough and aged face,it suits his character just fine and he does a great job of channeling the rogueness of the character, I loved it. Prior has some fantastically corny one-liners throughout, this is just a ton of fun, everyone who enjoys movies like Rambo and The Expendables for those corny actioner one-liners are in for a treat. 

Audio/Video: Coming twenty-seven years after the original movie we now get a comparatively sweet transfer that is both widescreen and in actual full 1080p HD! The cast have aged and those age-defining wrinkles show up quite nicely in HD. The DTS-HD MA 2.0 lossless audio is crisp and clean, nicely balanced and with a little bit of depth to it, the same cheesy music cues pop up from the first movie, but sound like they may have been re recorded for this sequel. Onto the extras we have the Deadly Prey: 27 Years Later interviews with director David A. Prior and actors Ted Prior, David Campbell and Fritz Mathews whom all returned to reprise their respective roles. 

Special Features: 
- Interview with Ted Prior (7 Mins) HD
- Interview with David A. Prior (3 Mins) HD
- Interview with David Campbell (3 Mins) HD
- Interview with Fritz Matthews (4 Mins) HD 

If you loved Deadly Prey I think you are gonna love this one a bunch, it has the same spirit as the original with some fun nods and scenes lifted straight out of the first movie. I think all the returning actors come across even better than the first movie, they're more seasoned and are more in control of their craft, such as it is. Technically this is a far superior movie and it looks great in HD, just as much fun as any of the late-era Bruno Mattei movies we've seen lately from Intervision Picture Corp, highly recommended for fans of Deadly Prey. 3/5 

 

CINCO DE MAYO (2013) (Blu-ray Review)

CINCO DE MAYO (2013) 

Label: Olive Films I Slasher // Video

Region Code: A

Duration: 71 Minutes

Rating: Unrated

Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 

Director: Paul Ragsdale

Actors: Anthony Iava To’omata, Lindsay Amaral, Juan Botello, Kyle Duval

Synopsis: Humberto Valdez AKA “El Maestro” (Anthony Iava To’omata) is teaching at a small town junior college and he takes his Chicano studies course seriously … perhaps a bit too seriously. With the exception of a lone student, El Maestro is considered by the pupils and faculty alike to be a joke and out of touch with the real world. “El Maestro” comes down with a bad case of “Aztec Blood Lust” after being fired. It’s a malady that has tragic side effects … for others. Possessed by a spirit to wreak havoc upon those who have taunted him, “El Maestro” becomes a one-man killing machine. Has an evil spirit truly possessed “El Maestro?” Or, has the pressure of entertaining on the holiday caused him to snap? Can he be stopped? To find out you’ll have to watch Cinco de Mayo … if you dare.

It seems that every other holiday already has a slasher movie to go with it, we have all the major Holidays covered from Christmas, New Years, Easter, Thanksgiving, we even have the Mexican Day of the Dead covered, but like pumpkin pie on Turkey Day we always have room more. We slasher fans are an accommodating bunch and we might never tire of holiday-themed slasher movies, we love this stuff. Now we can add one more to the list, the Chicano-flavored Cinco de Mayo from director Paul Ragsdale, a low-budget bloodbath with some serious heart behind it. 

Humberto Valdez AKA “El Maestro” (Anthony Iava To’omata) is a buttoned down professor at a junior college where he teaches Chicano studies to a small group of students, most of whom could care less about their Mexican heritage. When the befuddled professor is unceremoniously fired from his teaching position for being too "radical" he seeks the help of a therapist,  who plants within him the idea of "Aztec blood lust". Soon after the formerly mild-mannered professor dons a Day of the Dead mask and begins a one-man killing spree, violently dispatching not only the white racists in the small community but also the Mexicans who bring shame to the proud culture he loves so very much. 

This is micro-budget stuff, shot on low-end digital cameras with a cast of amateur actors and it shows along the edges, but I loved the Chicano slant of this  holiday-themed slasher, with some strong writing behind it. I loved the ideas, the Mexican racism slant, the disinterested students who deny their own culture - obviously there's a lot going on here beneath the surface but I don't think it is particularly well shot or executed, but the foundation is strong. 

The kills are very average for low budget slasher, there's nothing here that will set the world on fire or even raise your pulse, which is unfortunate, there's a great foundation but some very amateur execution, with very little atmosphere, what little atmosphere there is is purely a product of the synth score. If they had been able to come up with a more stylish visual presentation with some dread and atmosphere this could be something special, as it is I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. 

I give actor Anthony Iava To’omata a lot of love for his performance as the professor with a social conscious, a guy with the true heart of a teacher, you can feel his frustration, even through the somewhat deadpan performance. At times while watching this I was reminded of the movie Bloody Homecoming (2012) from a few years back, another masked-killer slasher with a decent story, some interesting ideas, but not the greatest execution. I do like a little anonymity with my masked-slashers and since we know who the killer is from the start there's very little suspense to be squeezed from it, and that was a serious problem for me. 

What I did like about this Chicano-themed masked slasher was the idea, the foundation of the story, how racism drove the mild-mannered professor to kill, the cool synth score, and the sweet revenge against the racists in the community, it's always fun to see racist get their bloody comeuppance. Also adding to the fun is how the movie is sort of framed as a USA Up All Night with Rhonda Shear presentation, with the program All Nite Long with Stacy Monroe, a fun idea, but one that seemed almost forgotten, it pops-up again almost an hour into it but there's no wrap-up at the end, which was a misstep, if you're gonna go with that framing idea I think it needed to be a through line. 

Audio/Video: Cinco de Mayo arrives on Blu-ray from a fruitful partnership with slasher // Video and Olive Films. The 1090p HD image is framed in 1.78 widescreen and looks solid for a no-budget horror entry. The director has chosen to go with a filtered and augmented look, adding white speckling and print damage to add a certain '80s patina to it, which more and more I am not a fan of, it's overused but not awful. The low-budget digital cinematography has its shortcomings, the lighting is not the best at all times, it feels cheap, but seems true to the source material. The English DTS-HD Stereo 2.0 audio is solid, dialogue, music and score all sound good and above average for a low budget movie, no subtitles are provided. 

The disc is loaded with extras beginning with an audio commentary with Director Paul Ragsdale, Producer Angelica De Alba, Actor Anthony To’omata, and the cast. A 25-minute Q and A, deleted scenes, outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage, and an image gallery. There's also the Mexican Connection short film, a Tarantino-esque crime movie that was a lot of fun. There's also trailers for the movie, the movie-within-a-movie featured in the film, and for Mexican Connection, which uses the White Stripes cover of "Conquest" to great affect.

Special Features: 

- Audio Commentary with Director Paul Ragsdale, Producer Angelica De Alba, Actor Anthony To’omata, and Cast

- Q and A with Cast and Crüe (25 Mins) 

- Deleted Scenes (1 Min) HD 

- Film Outtakes (18 Mins) HD 

- Behind The Scenes Footage (9 Mins) HD 

- Photo Gallery (13 Mins) HD 

- Jesus vs. Vestron Vulture Music Track (12 Mins) HD 

- Mexican Connexion (Short Film) (15 Mins) HD 

- Mexican Connexion (Original Trailer) (2 Mins) SD 

-,Dance Til You Die Trailer (4 Mins) HD 

- Cinco De Mayo Trailer (3 Mins) HD 

I liked Cinco de Mayo a lot, I wanted to love it, but I just didn't, it had some great ideas, a cool masked-killer and an inspired Chicano slant but mediocre execution. I enjoyed it though and I think if you're a fan of low-budget slasher cinema and the sort of straight-to-video stuff Slasher // Video is known for you're gonna enjoy it, too. 2.5/5

DEADLY PREY (1987) (Blu-ray Review)

DEADLY PREY (1987)

Label: Olive Films I Slasher // Video
Region: A
Duration: 88 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0
Video: 1080p HD Full Frame (1.33:1) 
Director: David A. Prior
Actors: Ted Prior, Cameron Mitchell, Troy Donahue, David Campbell, Fritz Matthews

Synopsis: The sadistic and psychopathic Colonel Hogan (David Campbell, The Deadliest Prey, Relentless Justice) is a mercenary for hire who finds a benefactor in Don Michaelson (Troy Donahue, Shock ‘Em Dead, Cry-Baby), a ruthless businessman in need of skilled killers for a special assignment. It’s a win-win for both sides. Michaelson will finance Hogan’s training camp and Hogan will use his trained mercenaries to help out Michaelson. Hogan has the manpower. What he doesn’t have is the prey to hunt in preparation for the big day. His solution: troll the streets of Los Angeles and randomly abduct people. What Hogan didn’t count on was that one of those people would be Mike Danton (Ted Prior, The Deadliest Prey, Relentless Justice). Danton, a Marine with killer skills, doesn’t take too kindly to being kidnapped. Hogan, Michaelson and the mercenaries are in for a world of pain in the action-packed thrill ride Deadly Prey. Deadly Prey co-stars Cameron Mitchell (Hombre, Klansman), Dawn Abraham (Mike’s Murder) and Suzzane Tara (TV’s General Hospital).

In this cheap knock-off of First Blood we have the hard body actor Ted Prior (Killer Workout) as a former 'Nam vet named Danton who is kidnapped from right in front of his home while taking out the trash. The kidnappers are a group of mercenaries lead by Colonel Hogan (David Campbell) who are abducting people and using themas human prey to fine-tune their killer instincts. Unfortunately for the mercenaries they don't realize that Danton is one of Hogan's former soldiers, a deadly killing machine, and he's not finished taking out the trash just yet. 

Cheap doesn't even begin to describe how poor this production is, made for the home video market this one looks like it cost about ten dollars to make in the woods behind the director's house, honestly it make Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except (1985) look like Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now in comparison. Which is not to say I didn't have fun with this pumped-up action movie, loaded with a high body count and enough macho corniness to keep you plugged in through to the end credits. 

The star of this straight-to-video action cult-classic is Ted Prior, the muscle bound brother of director David A. Prior, who here looks a bit like the poor man's version of Mark Singer from Beastmaster. Prior has a golden mullet, a ripped body and a tiny pair of cut-off jean shorts... and he doesn't need much else to lay waste to dozen of Hogan's well-armed men, just a sharpened stick and this wanna-be Rambo is good to go

The kills comes fast and furious, throwing logic out the window, this guy is a one-man killing machine, the only soldier to give him a run for his money is the mercenary Lt. Simmons (Fritz Mathews) who was the beefy lunkhead that Prior fought in the parking lot in Killer Workout, good to these two facing off against each other again. The damn story is paper thin, basically we have the former 'Nam vet squaring off against a squadron of blood-thirsty mercenaries, but writer/director David A. Prior pads it out with some corny filler. We have a wealthy businessman named Michaelson (Tony Danahue) who funds the mercenaries for nefarious reasons that go nowhere, add Danton's poor wife Jaimy (Suzanne Tara) who is also abused and raped, and her father played by veteran actor Cameron Mitchell, who by this point in the '80s would occasionally appear in tasty trash like Without Warning (1980), Raw Force (1982) and From a Whisper to a Scream (1987), but seemed to take about any trashy role thrown at him. He's wasted in more ways than one here but he at least gets one very strange scene and monologue before dying. David Campbell who plays Colonel Hogan gets the best dialogue in the movie. Lovers of bad b-movies might remember him as the angry Detective Morgan from Prior's Killer Workout.  This was a fun slice of action-trash cinema, the '80s were a special time and this is certainly a special sort of movie from a director known for some seriously entertaining low-budget straight-to-video cinema, sure, it's not a "good" movie in the traditional sense but it is highly entertaining and if you have a fondness for trashy cult-cinema this is gonna be a good time in front of the TV. 

Before his passing earlier this year director David A. Prior reunited with bother Ted, David Campbell and Fritz Mathews for a sequel to Deadly Prey, aptly titled Deadliest Prey (2013), also available on Blu-ray from Olive Films and Slasher // Video, which I am keenly looking forward to watching tonight.  

Audio/Video: Disclaimer: Deadly Prey is presented using the best available elements provided by Slasher // Video. Not sourced from an HD Master; remastered from PAL Beta SP and upconverted to Blu-ray and DVD specifications.

So again we have the disclaimer that as with Killer Workout this is sourced from a PAL formatted SD tape source, so what you have is a flat and thick VHS quality image with the added hindrance of a PAL to NTSC conversion. The audio is a bit on the muffled side and not up to Blu-ray standards, but it is intelligible Extras on the disc include a new interview with Make-Up Effects Artists Jack Hojohn who worked on the cash-strapped production, he speaks about his early love of make-up effects and receiving the Pressman Dick Smith make-up kits as a gift for Christmas and how he came onto the project. There's also about 6-minutes of Spanish-dubbed scenes from the movie, an image gallery, a trailer and 4-minutes of outtakes from the production. 

Special Feature: 
- Interview with Make-Up Effects Artists Jack Hojohn (15 Mins) HD
- Photo Gallery (7 Mins) 
- Dubbed Prey (6 Mins) 
- Deadly Prey Trailer
- Outtakes (4 Mins) 

It's not an attractive presentation by any means, and HD fans will not be pleased with how this looks on their high-definition TVs, honestly there's not reason for this to exist on the Blu-ray format, but I do appreciate that Slasher // Video and Olive Films have gone through the trouble of making this slice of '80s action-cheese available to the b-movie loving masses at an affordable price, it speaks to their love of trash cinema, and we love 'em for it. 3/5.