DVD REVIEW: 3 Slices of Life (2009)

3 Slices of Life (2010)

LABEL: Brain Damage Films
REGION CODE: Region 1 NTSC
RATING: Unrated 
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen
AUDIO: 2.0 Stereo
DURATION: 108 mins
DIRECTOR: Anthony G. Sumner
CAST: Deneen Melody, Alan Rowe Kelly, Toya Turner, Kaylee Williams
TAGLINE: At Home, At Work, At Play…Terror is Never Far Away.


SYNOPSIS: '3 Slices of Life' captures the struggle of a young amnesiac as she looks for clues to her identity within the drawings of three sketchbooks. Her world soon devolves into a harrowing nightmare as bloodsucking parasites, zombies, serial killers, demon children, rabid office workers and angry embryos spring to gory life from the pages of her sketchbooks.

FILM: There are few cinematic experiences more satisfying than the anthology film. There's a little something for everyone, if you're lucky each vignette will be a treat unto itself and even the not-so-grand titles may offer up some bit of novelty or peculiarity that will endear itself. From the magnificent Amicus anthologies like 'The House That Dripped Blood' (1971), 'Creepshow' (1982) and 'Trick 'r Treat' (2007) the format continues to satisfy fans of the horror genre. There's no shame  admitting I enjoyed the bat-nuts insane 'Night Train to Terror' (1985) with it's kitschy claymation or Joel M. Reed's slightly inept but wonderfully deranged 'Blood Bath' (1976).  '3 Slices of Life' (2011) is an indie anthology of horror shorts from writer/director Anthony G. Sumner and co-writer Eric Richter and will come to DVD courtesy of Midnight Releasing on June 7th 2011.


Sticking with anthology tradition there's a wrap around story serving as the connective tissue between the vignettes, it's called 'Sketches'. A young woman named Mira (Kaylee Williams) awakens near a no-tell motel with no memory of who she is or how she ended-up there. She's found my Irma (Helen Alter-Dyche) and Tiny (Marv Blauvelt), employees of the motel who seem quite familiar with her if not so much the other way around. The woman is definitely of the so nice it's creepy variety. Anyway, they tell her she's had another one her spells and bring her into the motel. There she begins to leaf through a trio of sketchbooks that that were in her possession when she came to hoping to find clues to what's going on. The sketchbooks are titled 'Work Life', 'Home Life' and 'Sex Life' and as Mira begins to scan through the pages a nightmare world corporate-zombies, sexual parasites and creepy ghosts are revealed as the anthology unfolds. 

The first segment is 'W.O.R.M.' begins with the painfully awkward computer programmer (is there another kind?) named William (Jack Guasta) an employee at N.I.M.R.O.D. - a research and marketing firm for nanotechnology applications. When he's not absorbing insults he's at his cubicle on the  'Sexy Webcam Connection' dating site where he desperately searches for a connection with anyone and striking out nearly every time 'cept for a creature that looks like an even trannier version of Mimi from 'The Drew Carry Show' and even she's not interested after she gets a peak at his junk. The guy just can't win but after overhearing of a new nano-code that can be used to subliminally  influence people he repurposes the code and sends a nano-infused email out over the 'Sexy Webcam Connections' site hoping it will make people to see "the good inside" and does it ever. The results could be described as The Signal (2007) if directed by 'Naked Lunch' era David Cronenberg. It's a well acted bit and features some great practical zombie make-up appliances, funny office humor and  some good low-budget gore.

'Amber Alert' is a creepy kids-gone-missing tale involving a pregnant woman named Vonda (Toya Turner) and her husband Lamont (Thurston Hill) who's a police officer. The city they live in is besieged by a string of missing children and if that isn't stressful enough for an expectant mother she is also plagued by demonic apparitions of the children who've gone missing. Slowly Vonda begins to piece together what's happening as her husband strangely begins to lose his loving disposition, and just what's in that shed out back he keeps under lock and key anyway? This once seemed a bit pacey at times but the ghost design was decent aside from some lacklustre digital rendering. Making up for this is a gruesome sledgehammer to the face done practically, very well done. Of the three this was my least favorite segment due to some editing/pacing issues and some spotty acting.

On title alone 'Pink Snapper' would be my favorite of this trio of terrifying vignettes. Susan (Deneen Melody) and brother Eric (Galen Schloming) are on the run after an incident with their incestuous father goes awry. While on the road the teens come across an injured man in a wooded area which leads them to a Victorian-manor where they discover an imprisoned woman. Freeing her they discover she is more than she seems and they realize perhaps the troubles at home weren't so bad after all. If you're familiar with 'Penetration Angst' (2006) or Teeth (2007) you'll have an inkling what to expect here but this goes a few pint of blood further and throws in some Peter Jackson-esque splatter, a dash of Cronenberg's 'The Fly' (1986) and enough blood and guts to satisfy any viewer's blood lust. This one is definitely not for the squeamish and comes with a high recommended. '3 Slices of Life' goes out in a blaze of glory with 'Pink Snapper'  it's most stylish and gruesome offering.

DVD: My advance screener is not an accurate representation of the final disc so I won't comment on it other than to say my initial impression is that the film looks and sounds mighty fine. My DVD had no special features but the final disc will include...

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Feature Commentary with Cast
- The Ladies of Slices
- VFX Behind The Scenes
- Scapbook Slideshow
- Short Film, "Jitters

VERDICT: The anthology films has fallen out of favor the past twenty-years and it's pleasing to see there are indie filmmakers carrying the torch for the next generation and keeping the format interesting and vital. '3 Slices of Life' is an impressive micro-budgeted anthology from a group of exceptional young filmmakers with a true eye for horror.  Anthony G. Sumner next project is a remake of of S.F. Brownings cult exploitation classic 'Don't Look in the Basement' (1973) starring scream queen Debbie Rochon. Till then '3 Slices of Life' is available through Video-On-Demand retailer nationwide and will be released by Midnight Releasing on June 7th 3.5 outta 5

http://midnightreleasing.com/

http://www.slicesoflifemovie.com/

Trinity X launches with Simon Rumley’s controversial art house horror title RED WHITE & BLUE

For our UK readers there's news that Simon Rumley's psycho-sexual chiller Red White & Blue  (2010) will be distributed by Trinity Films through the newly created Trinity X imprint. Here in the States the film is available through IFC Films.

Press Release:  (UK) May 9th 2011


UK DISTRIBUTOR TRINITY FILMS LAUNCHES NEW X-RATED LABEL

Trinity Films announced today the creation of their new label Trinity X, which launches with the UK release of Simon Rumley’s acclaimed psycho-sexual chiller RED WHITE & BLUE, starring Noah Taylor (pictured), Amanda Fuller and Marc Senter.


Noah Taylor as misfit Gulf War veteran Nate

 Mark Sandell, co-director of Trinity Films, said today from Cannes: “Trinity X will take on much more risk-taking projects that may not sit very easily with exhibitors. These films won’t be exploitive, they will still carry the Trinity brand of originality and vision but due to their controversial nature we can challenge the distribution norms and traditional windows. Red White & Blue is a perfect fit. It’s a challenging, character driven piece with a strong director’s vision and stunning performances. I haven’t seen that many horror films that are this kind of hybrid and handled with such maturity”.

Rumley adds: ““Trinity has constantly shown itself to be a company which isn't afraid to pick up challenging material and prove to the industry that there is a market for well made and provocative cinema. I'm very pleased they’ve chosen my film to launch Trinity X and I’m much looking forward to working with them on the release of ‘Red White & Blue.”

Although dates has yet to be finalised, it is likely that the public will finally get to see what has been voted as one of the best films of 2010 in many of the leading horror and genre publications, in cinemas from September.

Source: Clout Communications

DVD REVIEW: Cropsey (2009)

CROPSEY (2009)

Release Date: May 10th 2011

LABEL: Vicious Circle Films
REGION CODE: Region 1 NTSC
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 84mins
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
DIRECTORS: Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman
TAGLINE: What If Your Urban Legends Were Real?


SYNOPSIS: Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman had often heard the legend of Cropsey. For the kids in their neighborhood, Cropsey was the escaped mental patient who lived in the old, abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution and would come out at night to snatch children off the streets. Later as teenagers, the filmmakers assumed Cropsey was just an urban legend: a cautionary tale used to keep them out of those abandoned buildings. That all changed in the summer of 1987 when 12-year-old Jennifer Schweiger disappeared from their community.

FILM: I grew up in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, it's a wonderfully wooded region with numerous lakes nestled within it's rolling valleys, it's a picturesque place. My love for the outdoors is what lead me to join the Boy Scouts of America and it was through scouts that I came to know of the Cropsey legend at a weekend jamboree. We gathered round the campfire in the dark of night and were told the story of an escaped mental patient named Cropsey who had escaped from the nearby Willard Psychiatric Center located just 2 miles away. He was said to stalk the area for victims and wouldn't you just know it we were camping his prime killing grounds. Let me just say that having seen 'Friday the 13th' it didn't take much for me to imagine a deranged killer was stalking the campgrounds just outside the light of the campfire. That night while I attempted sleep every snapped twig in the dark of night was surely death creeping up on me. It's this memory and living next to a psychiatric center that most certainly captured my imagination and enhanced my viewing of  'Cropsey'.

I set about watching 'Cropsey' assuming  it to be a faux-documentary of sorts or a film exploiting the Cropsey legend like Madman (1982) or The Burning (1981) but instead was treated to one of the most hypnotic and eerie documentaries I've seen in quite sometime.

Young filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Branacaccio grew up in Staten Island, New York and they too had heard the legend of Cropsey in the early 1980's. For them he was an escaped mental patient from the Willowbrook Mental Institution that would snatch kids from the streets. Turns out their Cropsey had a real-life physical manifestation named Andre Rand, a true to life Freddy Kreuger of sorts whom was suspected and convicted in  death of a young 12-year-old girl named Jennifer Schweiger after her disappearance in 1987.

Andre Rand was a vagrant and indeed a strange man known to the locals as an outsider and a weirdo. A perp walk in the film features Rand looking quite unsane and drooling upon himself. He definitely fits the mold of the Cropsey, and had in fact worked at the Willowbrook Mental Institute prior to it's closure after Geraldo Rivera's scathing video document exposed the cruel and unsanitary living conditions in 1974. Furthermore Jennifer's body was discovered on the grounds of Willowbrook in a shallow grave near one of Andre Rands numerous makeshift campsites.

The film is an assembly of vintage news footage, press clippings, photographs and interviews with the victim's families as well as locals and retired law enforcement officers. There's also some found-footage type shots as the filmmakers explore the spooky Willowbrook grounds. During the interviews locals sensationally expound on the murder of the 12-year-old and several other children whom subsequently disappeared. There are thoughts on his innocence and of him being a scapegoat for the crime and this was the 1980's so there's the token mention of unsubstantiated satanic rituals. Was Rand was perhaps convicted in the public-eye rather than through a convincing criminal investigation? The guy was a local spectre for years and it's easy to see how a small community's hysteria over the disappearance of these young children might have railroaded a creepy though perhaps innocent man.

Something that struck with me after viewing the film was the long-lasting shadow that Willowbrook cast upon the small community, it was something that I could relate to some degree. The Willard Psychiatric Center figured largely into my young life and while truly nothing on the magnitude of what happened here occurred there was an incident that similarly haunted me. It was in August of 1985 when I was 12 years of age that a young woman named Kristin O'Connell visiting friends in our small community was found murdered. She had been stripped nude and her throat slashed. She was found in a cornfield in Ovid, NY not 1/4 mile from a small fishing pond that I regularly trekked to. It was the only murder in our town for over a century and to this day it remains unsolved. I often think back upon those days wondering if someone from our small community off 600 was a murderer and if so who?  There was rumor and speculation for years afterwards and much like the small community in 'Cropsey' our town's imagination was set afire by a brutal murder and the lingering questions still haunt the recesses of this viewer's mind.

DVD: The review copy of the films is a pre-release screener and I'll refrain from commenting as it is not an accurate representation of the final product. My screener contained some press clips for the film but only a minute of the advertised 30 minutes of deleted footage so I cannot comment on those either.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- 30 minutes of Never-Before-Seen Material
- Exclusive Press Clips

VERDICT: 'Cropsy' is a truly haunting documentary that it as chilling as any horror film, it will linger with you for sometime afterward. 'Nuff said.  

4.5 outta 5

Bill Oberst Jr. battles vengeful spirits in The Asylum's 'A Haunting in Salem' 3D

The Asylum's 'A Haunting in Salem' is filming in Pasadena, California as we speak. The film is directed by horror veteran Shane Van Dyke who also helmed The Asylum's 'Paranormal Entity' (2009) and is written by first time script-writer H. Perry Horton who just happens to be the brain behind the Asylum-themed website Committed which is described as "one inmate's appreciation for the films of The Asylum". Natch.

The set-up for 'A Haunting in Salem'; the newly-arrived Sheriff in the small community of Salem, Massachusetts discovers he is the unwitting victim of a centuries old curse and must take steps to protect his family from a vengeful spirit who means his family harm. Well, honestly that's a very vague description but it has definite potential and I do love a good ghost chiller, some my favorite of the genre are 'The Changeling' (1980), 'The Fog' (1980), 'The Shining' (1980) 'Poltergeist' (1982) 'The Devil's Backbone' (2004) and if you haven't seen any of 'em stop reading and start watching immediately.

The male lead is none other than uber-creepy dude Bill Oberst Jr. ('Nude Nuns with Big Guns') as the sheriff , Wayne. Oberst is a great talent and a striking presence with a storied face and piercing blue eyes and is sure to knock it outta the park. My hat is off to the producer's of the film for the great casting.

Cast as the sheriff's wife is Courtney Abbiati from TV's 'How I Met Your Mother' and son Kyle is portrayed by newcomer Nicholas Harsin. I'm very pleased to say Harsin is a fellow Arizonan who graduated from the University of Arizona back in 2009. Harsin describes the films as "creepy as hell and is being shot old school, very few special effects, in a 200 year old mansion in Pasadena, CA."

Jenna Stone

The principal cast is rounded out by Jenna Stone (TV's 'Miss Behave') as daughter Ali and a veteran of The Asylum's 'Battle of Los Angeles' (2010) and 'Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus' (2010) Gerald Webb appears as Mayor Collins.

'A Haunting in Salem' is slated for a DVD release on August 23rd, 2011 and will include a 3D widescreen presentation, 5.1 surround sound and a making of featurette.

DVD REVIEW: Blood Oath (2007)

BLOOD OATH (2007)

Release Date: May 10th 2011 

LABEL: Troma
REGION CODE: ALL NTSC
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 75 mins
VIDEO: 1.78:1 Letterboxed Widescreen
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.0
DIRECTOR: David Buchert

CAST: Sarah Bloodworth, Enrique Camacho, Jessica Cardinale, Natalie Hart, Patrick Holt, Roger Horn, Tina Krause, Jamie Reynolds, Angela Schmidt, Tiffany Shepis, Katie Vaughan
TAGLINE: Last Night She Fought To Stay Alive, Today She'll Wish She Were Dead

SYNOPSIS: Mr. And Mrs. Krupp wanted nothing more than a healthy child. After several failed attempts they contacted a mysterious woman who promised them a child for a price. Now the offspring roams the woods as an urban legend, twisted and evil, living off the bodies of those who enter its sanctuary. Today a group of friends on a weekend camping trip decide to investigate the story. The trip will change the lives of everyone in the group. They will have to fight to stay alive, but they will soon pray for death!

FILM: The legend goes that the Krupp couple had trouble conceiving a child naturally. Opting to go the supernatural route they  enlist the help of a witch whom tells them to place a drop of each others blood in a vial and bury beneath a centuries old tree. Sure 'nuff the couple give birth to twin girls but when the witch returns demanding the sacrifice of one of the children the Krupps refuse and tragedy ensues. A car crash takes the lives of both parents and while one of the twins escapes uninjured the other is burned and disfigured. It's said that the disfigured twin dragged the bodies of the deceased parents to a  home in the woods while the other twin was discovered and adopted. The story continues that the disfigured twin survives to this day killing anyone unlucky enough to happen upon the dilapidated cabin in the woods.

So what we have here is your tried and true cabin in the woods slasher film. The film starts with a nice prologue featuring b-movie scream queen Tiffany Shepis as Janet, a nubile young woman parked in the woods with a young man who clearly doesn't deserve to be parked in a car with Tiffany Shepis. This sexy young woman is felating him when jerky gets a call from the ex and answers the phone, WTF! He gets outta the car and is trying to convince the ex not to trash his Misfits albums when our killer chops off his head with a gnarly looking bladed weapon. The kill is truly awful, it's the worst kind of micro-budgeted CGI. Shepis' character is up next and takes the blade to the stomach, and it's 100% practical with lotsa blood and makes up slightly for the first kill. It's a typical Troma antic that Tiffany Shepis gets top billing and is dead with a handful of moments. It's quality not quantity, right folks?


Sometime later two young couples are out and about in the wilderness looking for the fabled Krupp cabin. For a low-budgeted slasher there a good bit of character development going on here as the two couples make their way through the woods. While the acting is definitely amateur hour the troupe are a spirited bunch and don't spoil the film though it's occasionally annoying. The two best performances come from scream queens Tiffany Shepis and Tina Krause who m only appear in very brief stunt-cameos.

The gore aside from the aforementioned decapitation is pretty good and for the most part old school practical which is always appreciated, it's a blood spattered production that should please splatter fiends. There's so much blood in fact that some of the blood was administered with a super-soaker, no kidding. My favorite death being a particularly gruesome punch through the a young woman's face. As the killer extracts it's hand from the crushed face bits o' brain and gore squeeze through the fingers, sweet.

The killer definitely takes some cues from Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) with a bit of a Sleepaway Camp (1983) twist and is a menacing figure aside wearing a rather silly outfit, very corny. Our final girl Lisa (played by Natalie Hart) reminded me a bit of Anna Faris here and is pretty cute and comes armed with some decent acting chops but the story is pretty standard and despite some promising visuals and gore effects the film is a pretty standard backwoods slasher with a few small twists that kick it up a notch.

DVD: Blood Oath (2007) is presented in it's original 1.78:1 aspect ratio in letterboxed widescreen. Not the prettiest low-budget feature you'll ever see, it's a bit uneven, the black levels are pretty shallow and it's not the sharpest tool in the shed either. That said the colors are fairly vibrant and it's quite watchable. The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 audio fares slightly better with clear dialogue and effects and a very good score that compliments the film. No subtitles options are offered.

We get a nice array of special features beginning with a director's commentary track which was pretty typical. The Behind-the-Scenes Featurette runs 38 mins and covers a lot of ground. Tons of behind-the-scene stuff, it's a nifty production diary. Along those same lines is the Special Effects Behind-the-Scenes Featurette that covers several of the films better make-up and special effects shots. A trailer, storyboards and the usual array of Tromatic Extras round out this well stocked disc.


SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Introduction by Debbie Rochon and Lloyd Kaufmann (2:15)
- Commentary by Director David Buchert
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (38:20)
- Special Effects Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (6:17)
- Outtakes (6:11)
- Storyboard Slideshow (12:23)
- Trailer (1:48)


TROMATIC EXTRAS:
- A Message from To Hayward (1:38)
- What's Wrong with a Mosque? (1:38)
- Lloyd Kaufman's Guide to Conventions (6:14)
- Have Your Own Damn Base of Power (11:49)


VERDICT: Micro-budget slashers are a dime a dozen, there's tons of 'em out there and it's hard to distinguish yourself from the pack. Buchert hasn't re-invented the slasher here but he's crafted a bloody stalk n' slash indie feature with a few twists that despite some nice flourishes and much appreciated gratuitous nudity is fairly standard low-budget fare. 
2 outta 5

Mr. Skin and Panik House release the unholy trinity of WOMEN IN PRISON films

Panik House Entertainment will be releasing a limited edition run of classic mid 80's women in prison exploitation films completely uncut and remastered under the title Mr. Skin Presents Women in Prison. Super-psyched for these as I know next to nothing about the women in prison exploitation films. Two of these WIP films feature the extreme hotness of Linda Blair       (The Exorcist, Savage Streets) and the always awesome John Vernon (Curtains) plays a perverted warden in Chained Heat, what's not to love?

WOMEN IN PRISON TRIPLE PACK DVD

Chained Heat (1983) - Red Heat (1985) - Jungle Warriors (1984)

 Release Date: July 12, 2011

LABEL: Panik House Entertainment

DURATION: 287 minutes

LANGUAGE: English

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9 Widescreen 1.78:1

REGION CODE: NTSC ALL
DIRECTOR: Paul Nicholas, Robert Collector, Ernst R. Von TheumerSYNOPSIS: Mr. Skin and Panik House Entertainment Present the Unholy Trinity of “Women in Prison” Films! CHAINED HEAT, widely regarded as the greatest “women-in-prison” film of all time, finally comes to DVD in a totally uncut, re-mastered version. This triple-pack of “boobs behind bars” mid-80s exploitation classics will only be in print for a limited time.

CAST: Linda Blair, Sybil Danning, Stella Stevens, Sylvia Kristel, John Vernon

CHAINED HEAT (1983), widely regarded as the greatest “women-in-prison” film of all time, finally comes to DVD in a totally uncut, re-mastered version. This triple-pack of “boobs behind bars” mid-80s exploitation classics will only be in print for a limited time. CHAINED HEAT – Linda Blair (The Exorcist) stars as Carol Henderson, a woman sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after accidentally killing a man. With the perverted warden (John Vernon, Animal House) seducing the inmates and two rival gangs fighting a race war, Carol struggles to survive her remaining days in the sleazy slammer. Also stars cult film favorites Sybil Danning, Tamara Dobson and Stella Stevens. Newly re-mastered in anamorphic widescreen and presented totally uncut for the first time in North America!

RED HEAT (1985) – Linda Blair heads back to prison as American tourist Christine Carlson, a woman wrongly sentenced to three years in a brutal East German penitentiary after being forced to admit to false charges of espionage. Tormented by the evil prisoner Sofia (Sylvia Kristel, Emmanuelle), Christine must fight for her life as her fiancée tries to rescue her from the sadistic hell behind bars. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen.

JUNGLE WARRIORS (1984) – A group of gorgeous models flies to a South American country to scout locations for a photo session. When their plane is shot down, the models are imprisoned and subjected to horrible torture and rape by an evil drug lord. In an effort to escape, the girls grab some firepower, take revenge, and try to shoot their way to freedom! Stars Sybil Danning and John Vernon. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Features Introductions for each film by the Legendary Mr. Skin!

- Video Interviews with Actresses Stella Stevens (CHAINED HEAT) and Sybil Danning (CHAINED HEAT, JUNGLE WARRIORS)

- Theatrical Trailers

DVD REVIEW: Sledgehammer (1983)

SLEDGEHAMMER (1983) DVD

Release Date: May 10, 2011

LABEL: Intervision Picture Corp
REGION: All Regions NTSC
DURATION: 85 mins
CAST: Ted Prior, Linda McGill, Stephen Wright, John Eastman, Janine Scheer
DIRECTOR: David A. Prior
TAGLINE: Flesh tears. Bones shatter. The Nightmare has begun.

SYNOPSIS: Intervision is proud to present the return of the first shot-on-tape slasher movie for the home video market as well as one of the rarest genre films of all! The plot is familiar: A group of friends comes to party at a backwoods house where a legacy of brutality awaits. But within this minimalist '80s mélange of food fights, feathered hair and abusive slow-motion lurks a relentless synth score, bizarre sexual subtexts and a disturbing shape-shifting behemoth killer. The result is 85 minutes of fever-dream depravity, now loaded with brand-new Bonus Features that put it all in skull-shattering perspective. Former Playgirl centerfold Ted Prior (RAW NERVE, DEADLY PREY) stars in this nightmare-logic shocker from writer/ director David A. Prior (KILLER WORKOUT) where the lines between twisted horror and historic gore are pounded to a pulp...by SLEDGEHAMMER.

FILM: DVD label Intervision entered the cult and exploitation niche market back in February with two titles from Euro-sleaze pioneer Jess Franco, the long thought lost psycho-shocker THE SINISTER EYES OF DR. ORLOFF (1973) and Franco's erotic art piece PAULA-PAULA (2010). These releases firmly announced Intervision's intentions to deliver cult, exploitation and outsider cinema to the fans. A few notable things have happened since then. First, Intervision's founder Larry Gold Sr. died after suffering a massive coronary in March and then it was announced that all future production and marketing of Intervision titles would be handled by Severin Films. The first title released under this arrangement is David A. Prior's shot-on-video slasher SLEDGEHAMMER (1983). Previous to this release I've only watched Prior's cheese-tastic 80's slasher AEROBICIDE  (1987) aka KILLER WORKOUT which is one of the most unintentionally hilarious slashers you'll ever see, it's a must-watch. My familiarity with that title had me all in a dither with anticipation for this rarest of early 80's gems which as legend goes is one of the first SOV [shot-on-video] slashers ever which if ya didn't know means this film was shot on video for the video market with no theatrical release whatsoever. Sledgehammer (1983) even by obscure slasher standards is pretty darned obscure. Thinking back on it the only other shot-on-video film I recall seeing is the rock n' roll nightmare that was SCREAM DREAM (1989) so be forewarned I have little knowledge of the sub-genre going into this review.

The first think you might think to yourself when the film starts is "whoa, this is definitely a shot-on-video production". Yup, it looks terrible, it's just an undeniable fact, get over it. The film begins in a countryside home with an idyllic white picket fence but it's less so once inside as we watch a truly shitty mother lock her son in a closet. What did he do to deserve this punishment? Turns out the woman just wants some alone time with her lover in the next room. What a bitch, right? But the softcore shenanigans don't even make it to the just-the-tip phase when the shadow of an ominous figure looms in the hallway carrying a sledgehammer. Our 7 ft. villain doesn't have a proper name so lets call him The Sledge. The Sledge creeps up behind the lovers and smacks the dude upside the head and we're treated to a nice bit of low-budget gore. It's pretty gruesome stuff but unfortunately it's the best bit of gore in the entire film and it's pretty much a case of diminishing returns here on in, that's a bummer. The woman screams for what feels like forever until The Sledge beats her to a bloody pulp. Now it's ten years later and a group of horny teens arrive at the house to party 80's style. We get a fairly standard lets-unload-the-van-with-tons-of-enthusiasm montage that we've seen in so many other slashers. Everyone's just having a blast drinking some beers, engaging in a food fight, partaking of some homo-erotic shenanigans, it's just a fun time but as day turns to night the beer guzzling fun turns to terror when the group retire to the living room where Chuck (Ted Prior) spins the tale of the murder that occurred 10 years previously and holds a seance meant to summon the spirits of the victims. Well, it definitely seems to awaken an evil inside the house as the 7ft. tall masked sledge-wielding killer returns after 10 years. The Sledge wears a creepy translucent mask you could buy at any drugstore but it's eerily effective here. The 1st victim is the joker of the bunch who gets a knife plunged through his neck and nobody really seems to care what the fuck happened to him. Next up are two lovers that get sledgehammered while in the sack and the film continues at a good clip from here on in. There's a weird nightmare logic at work  that reminded me at times of the TV series TWIN PEAKS or any number of Fulci films, perhaps that's high praise for this schlocky slasher but there are definitely tinges of surreality throughout as the 7ft. supernatural spectre seems to shape-shift into the child from the films prologue without explanation and back again.

This is not a lost slasher classic by any means and has a lot going against it starting with amateur acting, the painfully sparse sets, a clunky script and way too many extreme slow motion shots with soft focus for anyone's tastes. On top of that it's quite boring for lengthy periods of time but hey, that aside it's not without its effective moments and is actually pretty creepy thanks in no small part to the overpowering synth score.


DVD: Sledgehammer (1983) is presented in it's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and it looks exactly like a VHS film shot on commercial grade video equipment circa 1983 that's been transferred to DVD, not great. The audio is 2.0 Dolby Digital and much like the image it ain't winning any awards but it is adequate and brings forth the dialogue, sound effects and overpowering synth score despite its lack of fidelity. While the image and audio are not the prettiest you've ever seen what Intervision offers up in the way of special features is impressive. Two commentaries; one with director David A. Prior as moderated by Sledgehammer super-fan Clint Kelly whose enthusiasm for the film is infectious even if the director seems a bit bewildered by his affection. The second commentary is more of a fan commentary featuring http://www.bleedingskull.com/ creators Joseph A. Ziemba and Dan Budnik who are very entertaining and offer a loose overview of the shot-on-video phenomena. The interview with the director seems to have been filmed prior to his commentary track and he doesn't seem all that fond of his first film here either. "SledgehammerLand"  is a featurette with Cinefamily Programmers Hadrian Belove and Tom Fitzgerald who fondly recall a post Halloween screening of the film in 2008 on the big screen which sounds like it would have been quite an event. The  'Hammertime" featurette with Destroy All Movies!!! author Zack Carlson is also a fond appreciation of the film. Trailers for three future Intervision releases round out the extras. Great stuff all around and so much more than I would have anticipated for this film. I think these extras are a prime example of why the Intervision / Severin team-up will continue to be a delight for obscure cinema fans.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Audio commentary with Bleedinh Skull creators Dan Budnik and Joseph Ziemba
- Audio commentary with Director David A. Prior moderated by Clint Kelly
- Interview with Director David Prior (5:53)
- Sledgehammerland: Featurette with Cinefamily programmers Hadrian Belove and Tom Fitzgerald (6:08)
- Hammertime!: Featurette with Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson (8:10)
- Intervision Trailers.The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer (8:07). A Night to Dismember (5:54), things (3:11)

VERDICT: Sledgehammer (1983) is definitely a curiosity of the VHS era and will have limited appeal to even fans of obscure slasher cinema. Despite it's limitations and stylistic flaws I think it's a pretty ambitious film from a first time director with a no-budget production. Intervision have pulled this supernatural slasher outta the VHS dustbin and sweetened it up with some awesome special features that will appeal to both fans of the film and newcomers alike. Bottom line, not as enjoyable as Killer Workout (1987) but an interesting slasher curiosity with some killer special features. Up next from Intervision are the canuxploitation rarity THINGS (1989) and THE SECRET LIFE: JEFFREY DAHMER (1993).  2 outta 5