DVD Review: HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH (1992)

HELLRASIER III: HELL ON EARTH (1992)

LABEL: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
REGION: 1 NTSC
RATING: R
DURATION: 93 mins
VIDEO: Fullframe (.33:1)
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
DIRECTOR: Anthony Hickox
CAST: Terry Farrell, Paula Marshall, Kevin Bernhardt, Doug Bradley
TAGLINE: What began in Hell, will end on Earth.
 

I watched HELLRAISER (1987) a few night backs and was reminded of how much I loved Clive Barker's initial film, it brought me back to seeing it for the first time and being deeply disturbed, it got under my skin and festered for quite some time. Thinking on it again it occurred to me that I've only ever viewed the first two entries in the franchise. Obviously I have great affection for the first, it's a film I've seen projected in 35mm twice and have watched many times since on DVD and Blu-ray. The sequel HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II (1988) is a film I own and enjoy, watched it on DVD about half a dozen times over the years but after that I seemed to have lost interest in the series. Honestly, I'm not even sure how many entries there are in the series, so I was looking forward to finally taking in a viewing of the film some 19 years after the fact.

In the first two films Pinhead (Doug Bradley) was a character that lurked

in the shadows, certainly an important character, but not the focus of the film, particularly in the first entry which was populated with a quite a cast of characters including the delightfully sinister Frank and Julie, and the unfortunate Larry (Andrew Robinson, DIRTY HARRY) plus our protagonist Kirsty (Ashley Laurence, RED). The second film brought back Kirsty now imprisoned in a psychiatric clinic with the evil Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham) who becomes obsessed with the Box and madness ensues. Third time out Pinhead is front and center in a story revolving around a hungry young reporter Joanne (Terry Farrell, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE) who is trying score a news story that will jump start her fledgling career. Is  it just me or does Farrell look an awful lot like Brooke Shields?

While at the hospital Joanne encounters a victim of the Lament Configuration Box, the puzzle box that opens a gateway to the realm of the demonic Cenobites. His flesh is torn, his skin embedded with the hooks on chains that are will be quite familiar to fans of the franchise. Desperate for a story she bursts into the ER just as the chains spring to life with blue shocks of electricity tearing the young man apart in a SCANNERS style explosion right in front of her eyes. Stunned she stumbles from the room and recalls that the unfortunate man had been accompanied by a woman when he entered the ER. Joanne, or "Joey" as she's known, sleuths the whereabouts of the woman to a club called The Boiler Room, a sleazy nightspot owned by JP Munroe (Kevin Bernhardt). The woman in question Terry (Paula Marshall, TV's CALIFORNICATION) is JP's former girlfriend. Aside from being a generally sleazy guy JP is also a collector of disturbing artwork and his latest acquisition is the Pillar of Souls, a relic last seen in at the end of HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II, inside of which the Cenobite Pinhead is imprisoned. After meeting with Terry it is rexplained that Terry's late boyfriend was in possession of the puzzle box which led to his horrific death, she now possesses it.

Joey befriends Terry who gives her the mysterious puzzle Box for safe keeping. Joey discovers a videotaped interview with one of Pinhead's former victims, Kirsty, that she's recovered from the Channard Institute. She is also haunted by nightmares and visions of Pinhead's alter ego Captain Elliot Spitzer who expands on the origins of Pinhead and how it came to be that that his spirit was sent to Limbo while his evil half, Pinhead, survived in the Cenobite realm or some such nonsense. Joanne comes to understand the power of the puzzle box and through Spitzer devises a plan to trap the demon Pinhead in Hell for all eternity.

At the same time Spitzer's alter-self Pinhead has revealed his existence to JP and convinced the him to bring him victims so that he might consume them and free himself of the Pillar of Souls. JP is only too happy to toss him a bimbo following some raunchy sex but Pinhead betrays JP and is once again free to walk the Earth. He waste no time massacring every living soul in The Boiler Room and creating a new army of Cenobites from the transmuted flesh of his victims to assist him in to reclaiming the Box and free himself forever from the Cenobite Realm, which leads to a fiery and explosive finale with perhaps a bit too much slo-mo action.


Pinhead as the main focus of the film seems to me a misstep, he played much better as the dark entity operating within the darkness. Doug Bradley is really hamming it up here and his scenes of him embedded in the Pillar of Souls are pretty corny, as were the new Cenobites; Barbie, Camerahead and The DJ, need I say more? These guys are no Chatterer, that's for sure. The film is heavy with special effects but director Anthony Hockox (WAXWORK, WAXWORK II) just can't polish this turd enough, there was definitely some money thrown into this production so at least it's a shiny turd.

Overall the film strayed too far from the dark pleasures, sex and pain aesthetic of the previous two installments and ventured into more mainstream, later-era A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET territory with a constant stream of dream sequences, and Doug Bradley's eye-rolling one-liners don't help either. It seems as if the film is reaching for a wider audience but it fails on pretty much every level.


Now I will say that on a purely camp level this is pretty fun stuff, I was entertained but the film is most definitely a dud. Not to say it's without its finer points, there are some enjoyable elements. The WWII and 'Nam flashbacks were very well done with some great action shots, the gore is pretty decent, too. We get some fun chains ripping flesh, skinnings, bloody musculature, the head explosion and other on screen practical effects shots though it's obvious cuts were made to the film. Apparently there's an unrated director's cut that includes more gore and a raunchier sex scene that's been released outside the US, so we got screwed on that deal. While the practical effects are cool they are considerably tarnished by some rough (circa '92) digital effects work that's just laughably bad looking back at it now. The film has a decent heavy rock soundtrack featuring Armored Saint (who can be seen performing in the film), Motorhead and industrial rockers KMFDM among others, but the iconic Christopher Young score from the previous films is only glimpsed here, choosing instead to go the rock soundtrack route, wile the soundtrack is cool it's yet another departure that hurts the film. One last cool tidbit occurs at the end when the puzzle box is buried beneath a construction site, years later we are show the building that has sprung up around it and it has taken on the design elements of the puzzle box, very cool.

In conclusion, NOT GOOD, bit it is pretty brainless fun, not good, but entertaining on a level that will please most bad cinema enthusiasts. That said, it's definitely put me off wanting to further investigate the franchise beyond this. HELLRAISER and HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II I'll watch again, this perhaps with some inebriated friends for fun but don't hold me to it.


DVD: Echo Bridge have licensed this film along with many others titles from Miramax films and dumped it with a pretty dismal cropped fullframe transfer, it is quite disappointing to say the least. This was a feature film presented theatrically in widescreen and why in the year 2011 anyone would be releasing fullframe DVD's is just mind- numbing to me. When Miramax licensed HELLRASIER III to Paramount some years back it was released with an anamorphic widescreen transfer and surely it wasn't the greatest looking it was superior in every way to what we have here. Skin tones are tinged red, definition is lacking, it's a murky affair and there are compression and combing issues. I can only assume that Paramount struck their own transfer from the negatives and Miramax can't touch or EB don't wanna pay for it. Sadly, somewhere out t Paramount vault there's a 16x9 widescreen master of this film collecting dust while we get this. One might assume that EB would have access to the original negative elements to the film, and if they'd been so inclined could have struck a new widescreen transfer, but instead chose to dump this rather unimpressive version on us. Insult to injury, there are no special features.

VERDICT: Despite it's flaws and inherent cheese this was a fun watch, it's entertaining in a bad-cinema fromage kinda way but definitely not something I can recommend to the masses without fear of violent reprisal. Still, I would definitely like to see the 16x9 unrated director's cut of the film and I think Echo Bridge really missed an opportunity here, and with many other Miramax licensed titles, that have been dumped onto the market in affordable but otherwise unremarkable editions. That said, the film is available on the cheap for $5 at WalMart and is available as a double feature with HELLRAISER IV or as a four pack collecting III thru VI for a few bucks more.

DVD Review: TROLLHUNTER (2010)

TROLLHUNTER (2010)

LABEL: Magnet Releasing
RELEASE DATE: August 23rd 2011
REGION CODE: 1 NTSC
RATING: PG13
DURATION: 103 mins
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
AUDIO: English, Norwegian Dolby Digital 5.1
DIRECTOR: Andre Ovredal
CAST: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Glenn Erland Tosterud, , Tomas Alf Larsen, Urmila Berg_Domaas, Hans Morten Hansem, Johann Morck
TAGLINE: You'll Believe It When You See It

Here we are again with yet another found-footage film shot in the cinema verite style but fear not visitor's to the Mausoleum, this one is a keeper. TROLLHUNTER begins with a trio of Norwegian college students whom set about documenting what they believe is a series of illegal bear poachings. The crew consists of on-screen talent Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterudwhen), sound recordist Johanna (Johanna Morck) and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen). After speaking with a group of hunters whom are outraged at the illegal killing they track down the alleged "poacher", a mysterious man named Hans (Otto Jespersen). They eventually sleuth the location of the elusive character and further trail him into the woods late one night where they believe he stalks his illegal game. What they discover is that he is not a poacher but is in fact a Trollhunter who works for the Troll Security Service (TSS), a secretive government agency devised to keep the existence of trolls hidden from the public. Hans has been tasked with locating and destroying trolls who stray from their assigned remote territories. After some reluctance he allows the persistent trio to document his trollhunting exploits. Hans has a few strict rules the trio must adhere to if they wish to join him. First, his word is final and they must adhere to his every command, troll hunting is quite dangerous as you can well imagine. Second, if any among them are believers in Christ they may not join him for trolls can smell the blood of Christians, it's true. All confirm they are non-believers but one among them is not forthcoming and it proves disastrous to their well being. They must also mask their natural body odor by smearing themselves in the putrid gelatinous essence of troll stench, which seemed pretty gross. Having sworn to obey his every word, disavowing Christ and covered in smelly goo the trio keeps the film running while he tracks and kills several species of troll which range from the 20ft. tall, three-headed variety to the enormous twenty story tall mountain troll. Along the way he expands on the mythology of the trolls with some cool references to Scandinavian folklore, it's captivating stuff.

The Norwegian mountains and wilderness makes for a gorgeous setting, the lush green gorges, rocky outcroppings, waterfalls and snowy landscapes go a long way towards creating a setting in which one can truly believe in the fantastical, it brings trolls from the fairy tales into the modern age, I totally bought into it. The night scenes filmed deep in the wilderness and lit by the glow of moon are truly magical and eerie, there is some seriously fine world building and mythology transpiring on screen.

Good acting all around but the film is anchored by Hans (Jespersen), the craggy, bearded trollhunter  whom completely sold the realism of the situation for me. He trucks around the Norwegian hills in a custom SUV dragging a camper behind it with protective armament's and charms, his weapon of choice, a super-powerful ultra-violet light canon which either turns trolls to stone or causes them to explode, depending on the species. His vehicle is marred by the scars of troll battle, huge claw marks, tears and gashes cover it's exterior, and does his own storied face.

The trolls look fantastic, obviously they're digital renderings but are quite well done and manage not to draw too much attention to themselves, very natural for the most part. These creatures come right off the pages of a dark  fairytales, only way more menacing, these are great creature designs. The film's is also not wanting for action, as the group flee from trolls through the Scandinavian forest it's pretty harrowing stuff, a ground shaking fun time.

It's actually quite rare I get a screener that I can enjoy with my kids, ages eleven and twelve, so it was a real treat to throw this on and watch it with 'em with a nice big bowl of buttered popcorn, much like myself they were completely enthralled from start to finish... should I tell them trolls don't really exist? Nah. 
  

DVD: The films looks pretty good, it's grainy, the night scenes particularly, but the colors pop and the cinematography stays within it's cinema verite concept but it's not too shaky. The 5.1 sound design is pretty great and definitely pulls you into the fantastical reality as the trolls call out into the night, it gave the surrounds quite a work. There's a decent amount of features on the disc but they're not outstanding, interesting, but not what I would call essential viewing. We get nearly 40 minutes of deleted scenes, bloopers, extended scenes, a nifty visual effects featurette (with no audio) plus a behind-the-scenes mini doc, good breezy stuff. These are presented 16x9 enhanced widescreen with Norwegian audio and optional English subtitles. The last of the features include a HDNet featurette and a collection of Magnolia trailers.
 

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Deleted Scenes (3:34)
- Improv and Bloopers (2:06)
- Extended Scenes (7:54)
- Visual Effects (6:06)
- Behind the Scenes (23:23)
- Photo Galleries
- HDNet: A  Look at Trollhunter (4:20)
- Magnolia Trailers (9:15) - HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, 13 ASSASSINS, GOOD NEIGHBORS, THE PERFECT HOST

VERDICT: Last year's MONSTERS (2010) was a like-minded cinema verite style film that I quite enjoyed but those neon-alien-squids just don't stand a chance against these Norwegian trolls, this is right up there with REC. (2007), CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) in my opinion. A definite recommend from me, worth a purchase sight unseen.

DVD Review: MY PURE JOY (2011)

MY PURE JOY (2011)

LABEL: Psykik Junky Pictures

VIDEO: 16x9 Widescreen

AUDIO: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0

DIRECTOR: James Cullen Bressack
CAST: Alexie Ryan, Cory Jacob, Lisa Frantz, JD Fairman, Christopher Chandler

MY PURE JOY opens with a dysfunctional family dinner scenario as mother, father, adolescent son and a young man sit down for an delicious angst ridden dinner. The young man causes quite a ruckus at supper and dismisses himself from the table after an outburst that nearly ends in a physical confrontation with his father. A short time later the adolescent son lies in bed as a killer wearing a hoodie and an eerie porcelain mask enters the room and  dispatches the youngling in a most bloody manner, as a father I found the death of the child deeply disturbing, gets me every time. The masked killer stuffs the boy's blood-soaked body into a sack and moves onto the next room to continue the slaughter. At this point I'm thinking these are the actions of the angry young man from the dinner scene, he's obviously gone nutso, but in the next room we find that the angry teen is angrily beating-off to internet porn on his laptop, wow, angry and pathetic, this makes sense. He's dispatched in quick order, followed by the father who comes to check on the teen, perhaps to reconcile, who knows? Entering the room he's overcome by the grisly discovery of the teen and his young son's corpse stuffed in a sack. Our masked killer strikes from behind strangling him with rope, there's a brief scuffle on the floor, his legs spasm as his dying breath is exhaled. Up next is the mother, a woman whom I though bore a similarity to 70's genre familiar Karen Black. She's dispatched in a shower scene that fades to black and white, a sweet homage to Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO, it's here that we get our first taste of the coveted slasher cinema nudity. Our killer, having extinguished an entire family, sets off for home where he plops down in bed and scribbles into a journal his thoughts on the killings.

That's the introduction to MY PURE JOY, the first feature length film from 19 year old director James Cullen Bressack. The film stars Alexei Ryan as our psychotic masked killer Adam, a young man living in the suburbs with his widowed mother. On the outside he looks the part of your typical slackerish suburban stoner but on the inside he's a seething tangle of repressed anger and dark murderous impulses. Through flashback we see Adam watching horror films with his bed-ridden father in the months leading up to his death, his dad's a real fright flick enthusiast and he instills a love of the genre into the boy who doesn't take to it right away. It's after his father's death that this exposure to violent cinema seems to awaken latent murderous tendencies within him as he sets about venting his anger by replicating kills from his favorite horror shows on unsuspecting victims. His mother does her best to raise the young man right but Adam doesn't make it easy for her, he's a total douche to the kind but frustrated woman. When he floods the bathroom he threatens to slash her throat after she suggest he clean it up, so yeah he has some serious anger issues. This tense and uneasy situation is made even worse when his estranged older brothers shows up and confronts Adam straight-on about his violent tendencies 

His two best (and only) friends are Chris and Steve, suburban stoners with whom he talks about horror films A LOT. These cats are the only people Adam seems to be able to carry-on a normal conversation with, and even then it's nearly entirely about smokin' weed and foreign horror films like Takashi Miike's ICHI THE KILLER and AUDITION as well as MARTYRS and INSIDE, can't bash their tastes, that's good stuff. Adam's also obsessed with his ex-girlfriend Cindy which leads to a confrontation with her douche-nozzle white-rapper gorilla of a new boyfriend at a party, but it's never a good idea to anger someone as psychotic as Adam, now is it?

The films starts off strong with the massacre of an entire family, it's potent stuff with some good gore effects. There's some decent dialogue, a tense pulsing filmscore, plus the coveted slasher cinema nudity, and the violence is fairly shocking and includes a rather painful stab to the groin which actually made me flinch. A particular strength of the films is Alexie Ryan's portrayal of Adam, you could feel his repressed anger, bursting at the seams with hostility and it really carried the film for me, his expressive face going from disconnected psychosis to over-the-top insanity at the drop of a pin good stuff.

For a first-time feature film from a director on a very limited budget I have to give it up to Bressack, this is a good watch. While the film looks good for a low-budget production there's some technical aspects that could've been handled better; editing and sound recording in particular come to mind and the effects aren't consistently good throughout, there's a few iffy moments that draw attention to themselves but not ruinous, just not great. Something else I didn't care for was the scapegoating of violent cinema as a cause for his murderous rage but as the film roles on there are revelations that might also explain his actions, so again, didn't care for it but I didn't hate it.    

VERDICT: A decent slasher with some interesting psychological horror elements, a definite recommend for those inclined to enjoy low-budget indie slashers and don't mind a few rough edges. I'll look forward to Bressack's next film, there's certainly bigger and better things on the way from this promising young director.

http://mypurejoyfilm.com/

http://psykikjunkypictures.com/

DVD Review: PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE (2011)

PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE! (2011)

2-Disc DVD Box-Set

LABEL: Troma Entertainment
REGION CODE: All NTSC
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 300 mins
VIDEO: 1.33:1 Fullframe
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
DIRECTOR: Lloyd Kaufman
CAST: David Cronenberg, Roger Corman, Avi Lerner, Monte Hellman, Joe Dante, Ernest Dickerson, Steven Paul, Mick Garris, The Duplass Brothers, Caroline Baron, Herschell Gordon Lewis, James Gunn, Darren Lynn Bousman

SYNOPSIS: When it comes to producing, no one speaks with more authority than Lloyd Kaufman creator of The Toxic Avenger and founder of the longest –running independent film studio, Troma Entertainment. Over the years he has discovered talents such as Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park, The Book of Mormon,) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) to name a few. Candid interviews, tips, tricks and tidbits scattered throughout the DVD give filmmakers practical tools for getting a movie shoot off the ground, keeping it afloat and seeing it through to the end – Lloyd Kaufman shows you how it’s really done. (from the DVD box)

Say what you will about Lloyd Kaufman and the quality of the films released by Troma Entertainment throughout the years, I know that there's a ton of what some might generously call stinkers among them, but they've been doing it for over 35 years. The simple fact is they've made a successful business of producing and distributing no-budget trash cinema and cult b-movie mayhem, that's no small feat. While it may not be for all tastes but I'll tell yeah that more than just a few folks out there are tried and true Tromaholics, they are legion. Troma is the longest-running indie film studio still in business today. Proverbial stinkers aside there are in fact many gems amidst the dreck; THE TOXIC AVENGER, CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH, POULTREYGIEST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE and a handful of classic genre cinema titles they've only distributed under The Tromapiece Collection banner; COMBAT SHOCK, MAD DOG MORGAN, THE LAST HORROR FILM and a more recent entry, the very cool retro-80's slasher that I just can't say enough great things about, BLOOD JUNKIE.

What we have here is a companion piece to Lloyd Kaufman's best-selling book Produce Your Own Damn Movie! which is a sequel of the "how-to" book Make Your Own Damn Movie! and Direct Your Own Damn Movie!, each of those were followed with a DVD companion, too, but this is my first viewing of the series. This time out Lloyd sets out to answer the question of what exactly is a movie producer, how to raise money for a production, capitalizing resources, casting, securing locations and pre-selling your move among others.

PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE is parsed into two separate discs. Disc one is a series of behind-the-scene vignettes filmed on a hand held DV camcorder by Lloyd himself in true cine verite style as he appears in various cameo roles and speaks to the directors, filmmakers and producers on the set of backyard horror films, indie fright flicks and multi-million dollar productions.

Not in any order and possibly missing a few folks along the way we meet n' greet director Greg Lamberson (SLIME CITY) on the set of SLIME CITY MASSACRE while he shows us how to make our own damn inexpensive green screen. Lloyd visits The Godfather of Gore - Herschell Gordon Lewis (BLOOD FEAST) -  on the set of his film THE UH-OH SHOW in which our fearless moderator Lloyd cameos as a dapper pimp. Watching Herschell and his staff contemplate another term for dildo is priceless. Then onto visit to the set of SLITHER director and Troma alum Jame's Gunn's vigilante justice feature SUPER. Next up is Darren Lynn Bousman (SAW II) who's filming a remake of Troma's MOTHER'S DAY featuring cameos from both Lloyd and brother Charles, who directed the original film.

There are also behind-the-scenes set visits and cameos on Richard Griffin's NUN OF THAT, a low budget nunploitation flick from the director of Lovecraftian film BEYOND THE DUNWICH HORROR. in the film Lloyd cameo's as none other than his holiness the Pope whom delivers a Papal Pardon. Lloyd's cameos are classic Kaufman, fun, silly and terribly acted not unlike a lot of the Troma films really. Others sets visited include KILLED ON THE 4th OF JULY directed by a 16 year old named J.D. Lifshitz who was inspired by Lloyd's Direct Your Own Damn Movie!, Ted Moehring's indie Giallo BLOODBATH IN THE HOUSE OF KNIVES, a period horror film called UNDER THESE HILLS by young filmmaker Sam Bahre, Mike Huecks MIDNIGHT ORCHIDS in Berlin, Germany, behind-the-scenes on Jeff Burr's (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III) SURVIVAL (working title), on the set of BAD GIRLS BURN IN HELL with actress Devanny Pinn, a film in which Lloyd's head is blown up. The SF/X guy on the film didn't realize that Lloyd had a beard before hand so he has to improvise using some fur from a teddy bear, that's the wonderful improvisational nature and necessity of indie filmmaking right there. It's an interesting filmset located in a town that had been condemned by the state government for lead poisoning, not sure I would wanna be on that set. Lloyd is willing to risk life and lung for our entertainment, that's dedication.  There's also a nice segment of director William Instone  on the set of JON who instills upon us the value of treating your crew right and exploiting strip clubs, that's good advice for young filmmakers and young men in general.

The second is stuffed with on-camera interviews with a variety of known and lesser known directors, producers and filmmakers. Of the two formats I prefer this one, I've always preferred interviews to behind-the-scenes special features and this entire film is one gigantic bonus features. Joe Dante (PIRANHA) speaks on GREMLINS and how the studio practically begged him to make the sequel, about the opportunities he was lucky enough to have had in the industry and the dismal future of filmmaking, it's not very uplifting in my opinion. Dante is someone so informed, so enthusiastic about filmmaking that I wish the entire disc had been filled with his recollections and insight, great stuff.

The Duplass Brothers, directors of BAGHEAD and THE PUFFY CHAIR, speak about making short films and the opportunities afforded to them after being accepted into the Sundance film festival. Producer Steven Paul (DOOMSDAY) gives a from the ground-up perspective on obtaining the rights to Marvel's GHOST RIDER on through finishing the film while Avi Lerner (THE BLACK DAHLIA) similarly recollects ramping up production on Stallone's RAMBO. The DP on Spike Lee's DO THE RIGHT THING, Ernest Dickerson, speaks about the nebulous nature of the producer's role, the do's the don'ts, the benefits of being a producer versus a director and the availability of funding from outsider sources; shipping magnates, realtors and such.

Monte Hellman director of TWO LANE BLACKTOP and some notable acid westrens speaks of producing Quentin Tarentino's RESERVOIR DOGS, what makes a good producer and pointing out that by his standards Lloyd's iron-fisted producer model would be unacceptable, feeling producers should be hands off, a facilitator not a creator. He also speaks about the importance of pre-selling films to foreign markets, all of this is spoken of while he toils away in his kitchen preparing a morning ritual of coffee, pancakes and eggs, it's all very Zen. CAPOTE producer Caroline Baron, who started her career as a production manager on Troma's TOXIC AVENGER, drives home the point that Troma's legacy truly is anyone can make a film. Her own career a prime example of someone who came into the industry with no experience and worked their way up through the ranks through trial and error. There's a nice nostalgic segment as she finds the original Toxic Avenger production diary in her office, it's a pretty fascinating look back, even Lloyd seemed mesmerized by it.

Creator and producer of Showtime's MASTERS OF HORROR Mick Garris reminisces about breaking into the business as a writer and catching the notice of Spielberg circa AMAZING STORIES, and working his way up to a point where he doesn't have to chew on turds anymore (obviously he doesn't watch his own films). There's a fun bit with yet another Troma alum Trent Haaga (CITIZEN TOXIE) that opens with a staged masturbatory intro that is very Tromatic. Haaga goes onto discuss a script he penned called POOR THINGS that got picked up by some novice producers. The script gained some notice and was cast with Shirley McClaine, Channing Tatum and Lindsay Lohan in the leads until it fell victim to the producer's avarice and Lohan's drug bust, completely derailing the project. He also speaks to the value of a good location contract following a bad experience with DEAD GIRL which he wrote and expounds on what he considers the good and bad of Troma's business model.

Of course what good would PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE! be if it did not feature the American king of schlock films, Roger Corman. The Cormster looks back at producing independent cinema for so many years (and still going strong), the differences between then and now, producing CYCLOPS for the Syfy channel and what his current business model is, it's a bit dry as Corman sometimes is but still a good watch.

VERDICT: Coming to this is a non-filmmaker I still found it quite fascinating from the perspective of a special features enthusiast and film nut. If you're a young filmmaker I can't say this is THE answer to all your questions about producing a film but it does pose many useful tidbits worth pondering, and it's quite inspiring seeing these filmmakers toil under sometimes adverse conditions to put forth their vision on film for the masses. Lloyd is a great host of course, he's smart and funny, he hits on the young ladies and pokes fun at himself at every turn, fun stuff.

DVD Review: SAVAGE STREETS (1984)

SAVAGE STREETS (1984)

LABEL: Arrow Video
REGION CODE: Region 0 PAL
RATING: 18 Certificate
DURATION: 93 mins
VIDEO: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital Mono
DIRECTOR: Danny Steinmann
CAST: Linda Blair, Linnea Quigley, Robert Dryer, John Vernon

TAGLINE:What they did to her little sister was worse than a crime... Now witness the ultimate execution!

Brenda (Linda Blair, CHAINED HEAT) is the tough as nails leader of the L.A. girl-gang The Satins, a tight knit group of bad ass high schoolers; Francine (Lisa Freeman, BACK TO THE FUTURE), Stella (Ina Romeo, ESCAPE FROM LA) and Stevie (Marcia Karr, KILLER WORKOUT). Brenda's a smart mouth queen of the streets with only one weakness, her mute younger sister Heather (Linnea Quigley, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) whom she's fiercely protective of. While strutting down Hollywood Blvd. Heather is nearly rundown by a gang of drug-peddling thugs calling themselves The Scars, led by Jake (Robert Dryer), whom is joined by Red (Scott Mayer), Fargo (Sal Landi, SWEET REVENGE) and the snivelling Vince (Johnny Venocur, LORD OF ILLUSIONS). Incensed by The Scars nearly killing Heather the ladies retaliate by taking the Scars prized 50's convertible for a joyride down the strip and giving it a trashy make-over. The Scars thirsty for revenge after the shaming vent their anger by gang raping Brenda's disadvantaged sister Heather.

The rape occurs at school while Heather awaits her sister in the gymnasium. She is approached by Red who gains her trust with flattery and feigning interest in sign language. It's an almost touching scene of bad boy meets nice girl, almost, but not quite. Actor Scott Mayer has a twisted darkness about hims a great villain, very surprised he didn't go on to do more. His character's a seething psychotic and his attentions for the naive Heather surely don't bode well. Sure 'nuff the interaction turns dark when Red begins "signing" the in-out-in-out finger in the hole routine and forces himself on her as the remaining members of the Scars enter the gymnasium and drag her into the restroom. It's there that they brutally gang-rape Heather on the dingy floor next to a row of urinals. The encounter is quite harrowing and not played for sleazy titillation by any means, this is just sadistic violence. Adding to the disgust of an already vile act is that Quigley appears quite young, physically, this is before your breast augmentation which we saw on display in RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Vince, the newest and arguably least scuzzy of the four gets first dibs after being coerced by Jake, leaving Red and Fargo to argue over who's up at bat next, so to speak The squirm inducing scenario is oddly juxtaposed with  Brenda's own skirmish in the shower, a WIP-styled bitch fight with a cheerleader nemesis to the backdrop of a dozen naked and wet women, yay exploitation. As Brenda arises victorious from the shower room brawl it's contrasted by the sight of Heather, unconscious on the floor, receiving a nasty kick to the head from Jake.

Heather is discovered by The Satins and taken to the hospital having fallen into a coma. That night, unaware of who the culprits are, Brenda and The Satins are at a club drowning her frustrations when the soon to be married (and pregnant) Francine has an violent encounter with the Scars resulting in her slashing Jake's face with a switchblade. The next day Jake and the Scars encounter Francine on her way from the bridal store, you know this won't end well for the young lady, right? They give chase and eventually catch up to her on a bridge. Ever defiant she spits in Jake's face, enraged he picks her up over his head and throws her from the bridge to her death. The snivelling Vince already remorseful over the brutalization of Heather defies the gang and escapes to the hospital where Brenda overhears him confessing the rape to a comatose Heather. Vince flees the hospital after Brenda attacks him following his confession. 

Bloodthirsty for vengeance Brenda returns home to smoke a cigarette while laying nude in the tub, it's a glorious bit of gratuitous nudity to be sure, she's looking intense while contemplating her next move. With revenge on her mind she dons a badass black leather jumpsuit during a sweet 80's montage and arms herself with a switchblade, crossbow and an assortment of bear traps because, well, why the Hell not? She arrives at Vince's house to deal out some sweet vengeance after convincing Vince's father she's there to do homework, yeah right! Surprising Vince in his bedroom she gets the better of him with a switchblade to his throat, the snivelling shit informs her that Jake has killed Francine and where she can find the rest of gang. Despite the fact that he raped her sister she spares his life, but fear not for Jake runs his ass over a short time later. The finale features Blair in full on 80's vigilante mode as she squares off against the trio, she's a complete and total bad ass with some very sweet one liners, my favorite being a quip directed towards Fargo just before she sends a crossbow bolt through the neck, "Too bad you're not double-jointed... if you were, you'd be able to bend over and kiss your ass goodbye", very sweet indeed.
 

Speaking of awesome one-liners John Vernon (CURTAIN, ANIMAL HOUSE) appears as the hard-assed principal of the high school, one of the few adult presences in the film, these teen-revenge film rarely featured adult figures and it's no different here. While Vernon's not quite as sleazy as his character in CHAINED HEAT (also with Blair) he's not exactly a saint either. His role was pared down quite a bit once director Steinmann took over for DeSimone and he's relegated to only a few choice scenes, just enough to utter the immortal line "Go fuck an iceberg!". I definitely wanted to see more John Vernon here, but we get what we get. It's amazing that the film holds up as well as it does given it's troubled production which included director Tom DeSimone (HELL NIGHT) stepping down from the film after creative differences with the producer. He was replaced by Danny Steinmann (THE UNSEEN) only 24 hours prior to the start of filming and set about streamlining the script and dropping a few extraneous subplots only to have production screech to a halt just a few days into shooting when the financing fell through. The film was resurrected once producer John Strong (SUMMER HEAT) came on board but he and Steinmann became adversarial when Strong became intertwined in nearly every aspect of the production. Check out the commentaries for more on this, it's makes for a great listen. The nutty production in part explains the film's bipolar feel which goes from delicious camp to brutal exploitation, but it works it makes for quite an entertaining watch.

DVD: The now out-print BCI/Eclipse 2-disc DVD of SAVAGE STREETS fetches some truly sleazy prices online so I'm quite pleased that Arrow Video have resurrected the film on DVD with a NTSC-PAL port of the BCI edition. UK 80's sleaze enthusiasts should rejoice as this marks the first time the film has been presented uncut in the UK, previous editions were heavily cut by 12 minutes. This is a port of BCI's SD master presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) with English language Dolby Digtal mono, no subtitles are offered. The image is flawed owing in part to the NTSC-PAL conversion, what we get is pretty soft, colors are muted, it's dark and there's stutter and combing issues during scenes of movement, and let's be honest, a film by definition is a series of moving images so this is no small distraction. The original mono audio is decent but not great with audible hiss and pops during the quieter scenes but while there's not much depth to the proceedings the soundtrack and dialogue fare pretty well overall.

If I was in the UK I would be quite happy with this release, even with the hiccups of the NTSC-PAL conversion, but here in the US I found the conversion issues a bit distracting. US Cult title distributor Code Red announced a few months back that they had acquired the North American rights to the title with a new 2011 HD transfer. The Code Red SAVAGE STREETS DVD has no street date at this time but screenshots for the release on the label's blog appear to be an improvement with superior colors, brightness and contrast though I would temper my excitement with caution until I see the release with my own two eyes.

Arrow Video have also ported over the special features from the BCI/Eclipse release which includes three audio commentaries, the first with director Danny Steinmann moderated by DVD producer Michael Felsher and I would say this is essential listening, a candid affair covering many facets of Steinmann's filmography, including the stylish XXX film HIGH RISE. He speaks to how the film came to him, the troubled history of the production, remembrances of the cast and crew, some not so kind remembrances of producer John Strong and the wiseguys that financed the film. Numerous anecdotes of  his time directing FRIDAY THE 13th PART V: A NEW BEGINNING, a very underrated and awesomely sleazy entry in the series. Sadly, there's no mention of THE UNSEEN, a pretty obscure little slasher gem featuring a nutty Sydney Lassick performance, that Steinmann disowned following producer or studio interference. There's also speak of the nasty bicycle accident that effectively derailed his career. This is one of the better commentaries I've heard, it's right up there with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell on THE THING, no lie.

The second commentary with cinematographer Stephen Posey (BLOODY BIRTHDAY, SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE) and actors Sal Landi and Robert Dryer is moderated by the host of Comedy Central's BEAT THE GEEK TV game show, a humorous listen with some amusing anecdotes. The third commentary with producer John Strong features eight participants. It is moderated by filmmakers Kenneth J. Hall (EVIL SPEAK), David DeCoteu (CREEPOZOIDS) and Eric Spudic (DEAD CLOWNS) who sits in alongside Stephen Posey, Sal Landi, Robert Dryer whom return from the second commentary plus the addition of Johnny Venocur. Whew, I'm tired just typing that let alone listening to it. It's another decent listen but there's way too many voices to be completely listenable. Venocur commandeers most of it, he's a bit annoying honestly and to hear Strong you would think he directed the film not Steinmann and he makes several allusions to the film's social commentary - nope - not buying Mr. Strong, this is just sleazy vigilantism straight-up.

Then we have two Red Shirt Pictures produced featurettes; beginning with Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante (7:02) featuring star and genre legend Linda Blair looking pretty good these days. She speaks about working with Linnea Quigley, John Vernon, Robert Dryer and the other members of The Satins. She also addresses the meatier roles that the 80's exploitation films offered women actresses, the film's legacy and her involvement. Fun stuff with clips and music from the film. The second featurette Heather Speaks (10:45) features bona fide scream queen Linnea Quigley on the infamous gang-rape scene, that THE RUNAWAYS lead singer Cherie Currie was originally cast in the role of Brenda but was fired during the troubled production and recalling Johnny Venocur wanting to get together to rehearse the scene wherein he confesses to her comatose character. Finishing off the supplements are three video-interviews with producer John Strong (14:03), Johnny Venocur (14:15) and actor Robert Dryer (5:54) plus a theatrical Trailer (3:21).

Now onto Arrow Video's notoriously sweet packaging extras beginning with a nifty reversible sleeve featuring the original US one-sheet plus newly commissioned artwork by Tom Hodge aka The Dude Designs, it's a gorgeous candy colored imagining of a Vestron Video VHS cover, check out Tom's blogpost about creating the cover HERE. We also get a sweet 14x17" fold-out poster of the artwork with an Arrow Video DVD cover gallery on the reverse side plus an 8 page booklet Justice For One: Getting Even in Savage Streets featuring writings from Kier-La Janisse, author of A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi. Great stuff, a pretty stuffed edition no doubt that will please fans and newcomers alike.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Savage Streets by Kier-la Janisse, author of ‘A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi’ and ‘House of Psychotic Women’

- Audio commentary with stars Sal Landi, Robert Dryer and Director of Photography Stephen Posey moderated by Marc Edward Heuck
- Audio commentary with director Danny Steinmann moderated by Michael Felsher
- Audio commentary with producer John Strong and stars Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur moderated by filmmakers David DeCoteeau, Kenneth J. Hall and Eric Spudic
- Confessions of a Teenage Vigilante (7:02) 16x9
- Heather Speaks (10:45) 16x9
- Video interviews with Johnny Venocur (14:15), Robert Dryer (5:54), and John Strong (14:03) 4x3
- Original Trailer (3:21) 4x3

VERDICT: I have to wonder how I missed out on this delicious slab of sleazy exploitation for so long, this was just an awesome watch bursting at the seams with 80's cheesiness, 70's sleaziness and enough gratuitous nudity to please any women-in-prison enthusiast. This would make a mighty fine double feature with the Linda Blair/John Vernon WIP film CHAINED HEAT. Despite some annoyance with the NTSC-PAL conversion hiccups this is still a high recommend, particularly for our UK readers.

MANIAC COP VS. MANIAC COP! It's a Blu-ray showdown!

Note: Article was updated September 29th 2011 with a review link for Synapse's Blu-ray....

William Lustig's infamous video nasty MANIAC COP (1988) gets not just one but two Blu-ray releases this October from two great genre labels. I love a good video rumble and this is gonna be a good one. Each contains some very sweet exclusive extras.

The Arrow Video Blu-ray features an intro and interview from genre super-star Tom Atkins (HALLOWEEN III, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS), a trailer, plus interviews with actress Laurene Landon and screenwriter Larry Cohen (THE STUFF, Q THE WINGED SERPENT) plus Arrow's usual deluxe packaging; fold-out poster, a booklet with writing from author Troy Howarth and a William Lustig interview by Calum Waddell, and newly commissioned artwork from artist Rick Melton.

The Synapse Films Blu-ray features a brand new 2K HD transfers, interviews with actors Robert Z'Dar (TANGO AND CASH), Tom Atkins and Danny Hicks (EVIL DEAD II), trailers and TV spots, Spanish radio spot,  motion still gallery, and additional scenes film for Japanese. My review of Synapse's MANIAC COP Blu-ray can be found right HERE! 

Clearly both are extraordinary releases, both region FREE and playable worldwide, with some great features. While some will splurge on both editions others will be left to sweat out a decision betwixt the two. A William Lustig and/or Larry Cohen commentary could have been a deciding factor but sadly that's not to be, or perhaps even some small bit of input from Bruce Campbell, then again Campbell would probably spend most of it plugging BURN NOTICE.

So, for your benefit here's a comparison of the special features so have a gander and hopefully it will assist you in making an informed decision. Please let me know which one you favor and why, I'm quite curious...



MANIAC COP [Blu-ray]
LABEL: Synapse Films

RELEASE DATE: October 11, 2011

REGION CODE: ABC, REGION FREE

VIDEO: 16x9 Widescreen (1.85:1) 1080p

AUDIO: DTS-HD MA 6.1 Surround / DTS-HD MA 4.0 Surround / DTS HD-MA 2.0 Stereo

Innocent people are brutally killed on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. A young cop, Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell, TV’s BURN NOTICE and the EVIL DEAD trilogy), finds himself marked as the chief suspect after his wife is murdered. As Lieutenant Frank McCrae (Tom Atkins, DRIVE ANGRY and LETHAL WEAPON) investigates, the death toll rises and he suspects a mysterious police cover-up. This “maniac” cop must be stopped, but it might not be so easy. He seems inhuman, and ready to take on the entire police force, hell-bent on revenge!

Restored and remastered from original vault materials by Synapse Films, MANIAC COP looks and sounds better than ever in this brand-new 2011 2K high-definition transfer of the original unaltered theatrical release version, featuring all-new extras and newly remixed 6.1 DTS-HD MA surround sound! Long considered a classic of the genre, “Maniac Cop” was written and produced by Larry Cohen and directed by William Lustig.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- New 2011 2K HD Restoration of the Unaltered Theatrical Release Version
- DTS-HD MA 6.1 Surround, DTS-HD MA 4.0 Surround, DTS HD-MA 2.0 Stereo
- MANIAC COP MEMORIES - Interview with Robert Z'Dar (HD)
- OUT THE WINDOW - Interview with Tom Atkins (HD)
- THREE MINUTES WITH DANNY HICKS Featurette (HD)
- Motion Still Gallery (HD)
- Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots
- Additional Scenes Filmed for Japanese Television
- Spanish Radio Spot

VS.

MANIAC COP [Blu-ray]

LABEL: Arrow Video
RELEASE DATE: October 3rd 2011
REGION CODE: ABC, REGION FREE
VIDEO: Anamorphic Widescreem (1.85:1) 1080p
AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Notorious video nasty creator William Lustig and B-Movie legend Larry Cohen return to the dirty streets for a unique high speed collision of the slasher movie and police thriller in Maniac Cop, a blood splattered tale of brutal cop vengeance from beyond the grave.THIS EDITION CONTAINS:


When reports come in of a man in a police uniform committing gore drenched bloody murder on the city streets, officer Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) stands accused. Now, with few friends, powerful enemies and a psychopathic slayer still at large, it’s up to Jack to prove he’s not guilty and bring down the killer.

Now, Arrow video brings the Maniac Cop back from the 80s video vault to stalk the night time streets once more, looking for fresh victims...

THIS EDITION CONTANS
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by author Troy Howarth and The Original Maniac: An interview with William Lustig, adapted from Calum Waddell's book Taboo Breakers

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Brand new High Definition transfer of film
- Exclusive UK introduction to the film from star Tom Atkins
- Doomed Detective: Tom Atkins on Maniac Cop
- Lady of the Night: Laurene Landon remembers Maniac Cop
- Scripting a new Slasher Super-Villain: Larry Cohen on Matt Cordell
- Trailer
- Original Art by Rick Melton