ATROZ (2015) (Blu-ray Review)

ATROZ (2015)

Limited Collector's Edition 3-Disc BD/DVD/CD 

Label: Unearthed Films 
Region Code: A/1
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 79 Minutes
Video: 1080 p HD Widescreen 
Audio: Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1, 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Director: Lex Ortega
Cast:  Lex Ortega, Patricia Leih, Carlos Padilla, Julio Rivera, Carlos Valencia

Lex Ortega's Mexican import Atroz (2015) opens with a dour montage of how he sees life on the streets in Mexico City, a place of filth, crime and where thousands of murders go unsolved every year, it sets a specific tone for this in-your-face slice of extreme Mexican cinema. A detective named Juarez (Carlos Valencia) arrives on the scene of a crime where a young girl has been run over by a car, her body is covered with a tarp, but what appears to her ruptured brains are splattered from beneath the tarp and across the road. The drunk occupants of the car have been detained in the back of a police car while the detective searches the vehicle, inside he finds a handgun which he immediately slips into his jacket, right away you get the feeling that even the cops are a bit crooked down there in Mexico, no one comes out of this clean. The detective also also finds a video recorder which he opens and watches, what he finds on the video is shocking and repugnant, what started as a brutal traffic crime turns into the investigation of a a pair of serial killers who have documented their murder-spree on video cassette.

As we watch the footage the movie takes on a found footage aesthetic and the video shows the pair of men stalking and abducting a transgender prostitute whom they torture and eventually murder, but not before they mutilate her in graphic and gory detail. From here the movie alternates between the graphic interrogation by the Det. Juarez and his men and more video footage of what the pair of serial killers have documented on their video recorder, and what we view is some very rough stuff. 

One of the videos recovered documents a short lived relationship one of the men named Goyo (played by director Ortega) had with a stripper, which begins with some period sex and ends with them wrapping their faces plastic wrap, even the consensual sex is extreme in this movie. However, Goyo snaps when he discovers she is no longer on her period, disappointed she is bloodless he beats the woman to death before having sex with her bloodied corpse.. 

A later video shows Goyo years earlier at home in his teens, his parents have discovered some hardcore gay porn in his bedroom and question their son's sexuality. What could just be an embarrassing coming out moment with mom and dad turns into a horrific episode as his abnormally vicious father goes beyond the pale to humiliate his son by raping him with a dildo, while his mom and sister watch. It would be hard to say that this is the most graphic scene in the movie, the whole damn movie is a brutal exercise in gore tolerance and discomfort, but there are certain levels of discomfort and this is where my threshold seemed to be as a viewer. The scene goes a ways towards informing how the serial killer was created in part through the humiliation and degradation at the hands his psychotic parents, whom he turns against in a brutal scene that is filled with rage and copious amounts of disturbing genital mutilation. 

The movie is dark and brimming with awful images you won't soon forget, Director Lex Ortega's vision of Mexico City is very dark and more brutal than anything I've seen in recent memory. I definitely won't be planning a trip to Mexico City anytime soon, particularly if those crime stats are accurate. 

Atroz arrives on a Limited Collector's Edition three-disc Blu-ray, DVD and CD from Unearthed Films  in a n attractive gatefold digipack package. The movie and special features are presented on both Blu-ray and DVD, plus a third disc containing the soundtrack tot he movie. Extras on the disc include the original Atroz short films, a series of making of featurettes, and commentaries from director Lex Ortega in both English and Spanish.  

Special Features:

- Atroz: Original Short Films(14 Mins) 

- Crowdfunding Video (4 Mins) HD 

- Behind The scenes: Music and Sound Design (4 Mins) HD 

- Behind The Scenes: Practical FX (4 Mins) HD 

- Behind The Scenes: Production (4 Mins) HD 

- Unearthed Trailers: Atroz (2 Mins) HD, American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock (3 Mins) HD, American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore (2 Mins), Sheepskin (1 Min), Francesca (2 Mins) HD, Flowers (2 Mins) 

- Behind-The-Scenes Image Gallery (47 Images) HD 

- CD Soundtrack 

Unearthed Films' brand of extreme underground cinema is always a hard watch for me, but I always appreciate how visceral and brutal their output is, even if I don't see myself revisiting it anytime soon. There's an abundance of stomach-churning gore with moments of shocking necrophilia, incest, and some scatological stuff, the movie is a marathon of human depravity. If you are a hardcore gore whore who loves extreme cinema this one should be on your radar. More casual horror fans might want to have that vomit bag ready, this is brutal stuff. 

THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS (1958) (Blu-ray Review)

THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS (1958) 

Label: Olive Films
Rating: Unrated
Region Code: A
Duration: 71 Minutes
Video: BW 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Irvin Berwick
Cast: Jeanne Carmen, Les Tremayne, John Harmon, Don Sullivan, Forrest Lewis

In the rural California coastal town of Piedras Blancas the local folks are losing their heads in a very literal way. The locals think that the ornery lighthouse keeper Sturges (John Harmon) might know more than he's letting on about the blood-sucking murderer on the loose in their seaside village and they're probably right. Home visiting from for the summer is the light keeper's hot-blond daughter Lucy (Jeanne Carmen) who takes up with local science nerd Fred (Don Sullivan), she even goes skinny-dipping which somewhat upsetting poor old dad who is already stressed out that his pet monster seems to be running amuck and ripping off heads. That's right, seems that dad has been feeding the amphibious bipedal creature fish heads and meat scraps, but when he comes up short with meat scrap the creature starts tearing off heads and sucking the corpses dry, leaving behind a nice pile of carcasses in its wake.

The creature is a pretty obvious play on Gill-Man from The Creature from the Black Lagoon, a design which was actually co-designed by producer Jack Kevan who helped design the iconic Gil-Man for Universal, in fact Universal whom allowed him to pilfer molds from the productions of The Mole People and This Island Earth to make this beast, which is certainly more low-rent than Gil-Man, but a lot of fun even if he doesn't appear properly for nearly forty-five minutes. Lovers of man-in-rubber-suits movies are pretty much guaranteed to love the cheese of this one, including a few shocking moments of actual gore which caught me off guard. When the creature first appears in full he does so with some glorious movie-monster presence, with a decapitated head in one hand, plowing through a store full of gawkers before making his escape. The head appears again a few scenes later in a cave with a crab crawling over the torn off head, a very nice touch of gore for a cheesy 50's creature feature of the era I would think. 

The movie is loaded with all sorts of fun small town folk, we have the local doc played by Les Tremayne who offers poor medical advice and even worse first aid, the cigar-chompin' constable played by Forrest Lewis, and a gossipy store keeper named Kochek played by Frank Arvidson. Kochek's store fridge doubles as a make shift morgue for the growing number of headless bodies, and you just gotta love the idea of the local deli fridge being stuffed dead bodies, fun stuff.

The movie is somewhat amateur, the design of the creatures is fun but very low-rent, once I saw the thing's face I sort of understood why the kept it under wraps for so long, ha ha. The cast alternates between chewing the scenery and aimlessly wandering through their line deliveries, probably because of some poor direction by way of the director, who was at the time a first time director who would only helm six more movies during is b-movie career, one highlighted by and ending with drive-in drivel Malibu High in 1979. Aside from the monster not showing up for way too long the pacing is unbearably slow at times for a movie that is under seventy-five minutes long, though once the creature arrives with a severed head in hand things pick-up and a nice head of steam and comes to close just as fast. 

The movie arrives on Blu-ray from Olive Films framed at 1.78 widescreen looking decent in HD, the image source shows some softness and other limitations but the image is pleasing overall with a decent level of clarity and sharpness with decent contrast. The mono DTS-HD MA audio does the job without being overly impressive, optional English subtitles are provided. This is not one of those black and white movies that are transformative on Blu-ray but I think Olive probably did the best with what they had available to them, there are no extras on the disc of any sort, 

The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1958) is low-rent creature feature fun and sure to be a crowd pleaser for aficionados of 50s schlock and man-in-rubber-suit movies. Glad to see it rise from the waves on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films, the movie brought back childhood memories of watching black and white monster movie matinees in front of the TV, which is sort of priceless. 

TENEBRAE (1982) (Synapse Blu-ray Review)

TENEBRAE (1982)

Label: Synapse Films
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 101 Minutes
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English and Italian Language DTS-HD MA Original Mono 2.0 Release Mixes with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Anthony Franciosa, Christian Borromeo, Mirella D’Angelo, Veronica Lario, Ania Pieroni, Eva Robins, Carola Stagnaro, John Steiner, Lara Wendel, John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi, Giuliano Gemma, Mirella Banti, Ippolita Santarelli

After the one-two punch of the supernatural tinged fantasy horror of Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980) Dario Argento once again returned to the stylish black-gloved whodunit thriller genre which had brought him to prominence with a stylish video nasty that amped up the violence and brought a new vivid style to the sub genre with Tenebrae (1982). American murder mystery writer Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa, Curse of the Black Widow) is a best-selling novelist throngs of devoted readers. At the story begins Neal arrives at an New York City on his way to Italy to promote his new novel 'Tenebre'. Shortly before his arrival in Italy a gorgeous young woman Elsa (Ania Pieroni, the Mother of Tears from Inferno) is caught shoplifting 'Tenebre' from a department store, she avoids a charge of petty theft by arranging to meet with the store loss prevention officer at her home for something most assuredly promiscuous. While walking home she is accosted by a horny bum who chases her down the street, she just barely escapes his grasp when she slams his hand in the apartment security gate. Inside her flat she is attacked by a razor-wielding maniac who crams pages from 'Tenebre' down her throat causing her to choke on the pulpy pages before her throat is slashed by the blade of a razor, the scene ends with a nice geyser of arterial spray. We're only a few minutes into the movie and the first kill is already something very special, and with that the murder mystery is underway

Arriving in Italy the author is joined in by his upbeat publicist Bullmer (John Saxon, Black Christmas), his personal assistant Anne (Daria Nicolodi, Shock) and a young Italian assistant named Gianni. While settling into his hotel room Neal receives a letter from the killer which was slipped under his door. The note indicates that 'Tenebre' has inspired his blood lust, the alarmed author phones the authorities and Detective Giermana (Guiliao Gemma, The Opponent) and his partner Inspector Altieri (Carola Stagnaro, Opera) arrive soon after, questioning the author about the note and how it may relate to the earlier murder of the shoplifter. Argento's borrows a page from his earlier works  wherein a visiting artist-type is immersed in a murder mystery, though Argento does throw a wrench into this one which switches up the dynamic a bit. Neal becomes entrenched in the investigation which puts those around him in danger, with a black gloved razor-slasher murdering what he calls "filthy, slimy perverts" from the face of existence.

Tenebrae (1982) is rightfully remembered for the acrobatic lensing of cinematographer Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria), particularly an elegant crane shot that ascends one side of a villa peering through the windows, continuing over the rooftop and down the opposite side revealing the black-gloved killer breaking into a first floor window. Once inside the killer dispatches of two young women, journalist Tilde (Mirella D'Angelo, Caligula) whom earlier had an angry confrontation with the author, and then her prostitute lover Maria (Lara Wendel, Zombie 5: Killing Birds). Both kills are iconic and have been used on numerous releases as cover art, this is classic stuff.

No one close to the author is safe, including the hotel manager's daughter Maria (Lara Wendell) whom after a disagreement with her boyfriend (director Michele Soavi, The Church) unwittingly wanders into the murderer's lair while escaping a vicious doberman pinscher. Improbably the murderer has conveniently left the key in the backdoor, allowing her entrance. Once inside she discovers photographs and mementos from the killings, when the murderer returns home, having forgotten the key 'natch, he is displeased by her presence and hacks her into pieces with an ax.

Throughout the film the killer is prone to bizarre flashbacks from his youth, images of being emasculated by a woman on a beach who mouth-rapes him with her red high heels, very odd stuff. Perhaps odder still is that the the woman is portrayed by transgender-actress Eva Robins (Masacra), who was born a male but due to a rare syndrome developed feminine characteristics during puberty, yet more weirdness on-top of weirdness, this is the kind of stuff you will only find in these Italian whodunits, love it.

During a TV interview with reporter Christiano Berti (John Steiner, Cut and Run) it becomes apparent that the reporter has an strange obsession with the writer after a series of oddball questions and statements. Later Neal recognizes a turn of phrase used by the reporter in the murderer's letter. Of course he does not call the authorities, instead Neal and his young assistant Gianni head to the reporter's home, the become separated and the assistant witnesses the reporter take an ax to the face, scared witless Gianni runs away and discovers Neal unconscious on the ground, apparently knocked unconscious by the unseen killer with neither man having seen who the killer was. Next publicist Bullmer is stabbed to death in broad daylight at a public square... and that is all I can say for fear of ruining the film for those whom are watching  this for the first time. 

That final disorienting moments of the movie are dazzling, beginning with the dismembering of an woman's arm that ignites a geyser of blood spray which paints a white wall a deep red, truly a vision of blood-red awesomeness that sets off a chain reaction of events that never fails to satisfy upon repeat viewings, the finale is a delirious tour de force of misdirection and bloodshed.

Tenebrae ends on a crazed, bloodcurdling scream that is the perfect punctuation to such a stylish, violent and classic slice of Italian whodunit horror. Argento's famous eye for horror also extends to his taste in gorgeous European women, the movie is heavy with sex appeal, including Ania Pieroni, Mirella D'Angelo and Lara Wendell, it is worth noting is that Tenebrae is one of Argento's more erotic-fueled outings. Unfortunately, longtime Argento collaborator and scream queen Daria Nicolodi is relegated to a smaller part here, she does what she can with the part, and her shrieking does provide the nerve-shattering crescendo to the whole affair. 

The stunning cinematography of Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria) is among the best of any Dario Argento film, gorgeous stuff. Noteworthy is that setting this movie apart from Argento's previous films Tenebrae is bathed in swaths of bright light instead of dark shadow, even the night shots are lit brightly, which look fantastic, such a stylish and sharp looking movie. Italian prog-rock band Goblin sadly do not appear on the score having disbanded in 1980 but three fourths of the band (minus the drummer) appear as Simonetti-Pignatti-Morante to score the movie, the electronic-synth-rock fusion is fantastic and is an integral part of the movies tone and atmosphere, as with all of Argento's movies it just wouldn't be the same without the score, fitting it like a black glove.

Audio/Video: This is not the first time Argento's Tenebrae has appeared on Blu-ray, having come to HD twice before from UK distributor Arrow Video. However, this Synapse restoration the best the movie has ever looked on home video in glorious HD. Synapse used the same HD Master as the Arrow Video Steelbook which was sourced from the original camera negative, then they went above and beyond with a brand new color correction and scene by scene restoration. Framed in the original 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio the movie looks simply wonderful, with the Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria) camerawork nicely preserved in wonderful HD with vibrant colors, deep blacks, a ore pure grain structure and an abundance of fine detail, very crisp and clean. 

The disc includes dual English and Italian language DTS-HD MA Mono audio tracks with newly-translated English subtitle tracks for both options. Dialogue and the awesome synth-rock score from Simonetti, Pignatelli and Morante sounds like an earful of audio nirvana, well-balanced and crisp.

Onto the exclusive Synapse extras we begin with an audio commentary from Maitland McDonagh, author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento. I love that we are getting an Argento commentary from a woman's perspective considering the accusations of cinematic misogyny on the part of Argento, particularly from someones as knowledgeable of the director as McDonagh. The conversation is a smart dissection of the movie which addresses the claims of misogyny, the score and the unusual setting/tone and style of the film. She also speaks about her personal experience obtaining bootlegs of Argento's movies back in the early '80s before they were widely available in the US, going so far as to hire a I translator who watched movies with her, translating the Italian dialogue into English. This is a loose and informed, a bit like a fun college lecture that I thought was right up there with other Argento expert commentaries from Kim Newman, Alan Jones and Thomas Rostock. I do hope Synapse brings her back for their upcoming Blu-ray releases of Suspiria and Phenomena.

The other exclusive extra on the disc is the High Rising Production movie length Giallo documentary Yellow Fever: The Rise and Fall of the Giallo featuring interviews with Maitland McDonagh, Directors Umberto Lenzi, Ruggero Deodato (House on the Edge of the Park), Richard,Stanley (Hardware) author and critics Michael Koven, Alan Jones, Kim Newman, screenwriters Dardano Sacchetti (The Beyond) and Jace Anderson (Mother of Tears), and of course Dario Argento himself. It begins with a nice definition of the black gloved killer sub genre, explaining the roots of the genre, going beyond influential directors like Hitchcock (Vertigo) and Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace), but back to the mystery novels of Agatha Christie and Cornell Woolrich, American noir movies from the 1940s, the German movies of Edgar Wallace from the 1960s and  the influence of Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni (The Passenger) on Argento The doc is Argento-centric but does also touch on the movies of Lucio Fulci (Lizard in a Woman's Skin), Sergio Martino (Torso), Umberto Lenzi (Eyeball), Massimo Dallamano (What Have You Done to Solange?) and Also Lada among others.  During the bit on Fulco actress Barbara Boucher remembers the Maestro as being very difficult but well-planned, her interview is great, I love when she explains why she enjoyed playing bitches on film. This is great stuff, easily worth owning this disc just for the doc by itself, though this is not a definitive Giallo doc, as stated it tends to be very Argento-centric. .

Other extras on the disc include alternate opening credits sequence, the original "Unsane"(U.S. version of Tenebrae) end credits sequence with alternate music cue, the original international trailer and the Japanese theatrical trailer under with the alternate "Shadow" title card, plus the option to watch the movie with the rare English insert shots in HD which are playable via seamless branching. 

This single-disc version of Tenebrae is a is a only slightly pared-down version of their deluxe three-disc Steelbook version. What you're missing out on is the collector's booklet, the DVD version and a remastered soundtrack CD. There are still a few copies of that release available directly from Synapse Films, but if you're looking to save a few bucks or just don't need the deluxe package this single-disc release is fantastic, the synapse restoration is the definitive version of the movie.

Special Features:
- All-new Synapse Films supervised color correction and restoration of a 1080p scan from the original camera negative, presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1
- Dual English and Italian language options with newly-translated English subtitle tracks for both language options.
- Audio Commentary from Argento scholar, Maitland McDonagh, author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento
- Rare high-definition 1080p English sequence insert shots, playable within the film via Seamless Branching (101 Mins) HD
- Feature-length documentary, YELLOW FEVER: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GIALLO by High Rising Productions, chronicling the Giallo film genre from its beginnings as early 20th century crime fiction, to its later influences on the modern slasher film genre (80 Mins) HD
- Original UNSANE (U.S. version of TENEBRAE) End Credits Sequence (2 Mins) HD
- Alternate Opening Credits Sequence (2 Mins) HD
- International Theatrical Trailer (3 Mins) HD
- Japanese SHADOW Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) HD

Tenebrae (1982) has aged like a fine blood-stained wine, chock full of the usual Argento voyeuristic cinematography, iconic set-pieces, and gorgeous women being murdered in a depraved manner by a nefarious black gloved razor-slasher, rarely does horror-cinema get better than this, this is pure black-gloved perfection and this is the definitive version of the movie, this is the one to own!

HOBGOBLINS (1988) Coming to Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome!

HOBGOBLINS (1988) 

Vinegar Syndrome have announced that they will be releasing director Rick Sloane's Gremlin rip-off HOBGOBLINS (1988) on Blu-ray this October! The movie concerns a young security guard who must recover a group of pint-sized creatures who kill people even as they make their fantasies come true. Check out these sweet stills that were posted on the Vinegar Syndrome Facebook page:

THE DEAD ROOM (2015) (Blu-ray Review)

THE DEAD ROOM (2015)

Label: IFC Midnight I Scream Factory
Release Date: September 6th 2016
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 79 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1) 
Director: Jason Stutter
Cast: Jed Brophy, Jeffrey Thomas, Laura Petersen

A trio of New Zealand based ghost hunters are hired by an insurance company to investigate reports of a otherworldly presence at a remote farmhouse after it has been recently abandoned by its owners whom were scared off  by a reportedly violent supernatural presence. The trio of supernatural thrill seekers is made up of spirit-sensitive psychic Holly (Laura Petersen), tech-nerd Liam (Jed Brophy), and skeptic Scott (Jeffrey Thomas), the latter of whom plays devil's advocate during the investigation, casually dispelling the paranormal happenings that are happening all around. 

Unfortunately The Dead Room (2015) is a pretty standard haunter with the usual array of bumps in the night, eerie supernatural winds, doors opening and closing and it even a throws in a bit of possession to spice things up a bit, but while the movie has some nice atmospheric cinematography and is nicely lit with some fun surround sound design it relies way too much on the viewer's imagination to be truly effective. Our resident psychic spends most of the movie describing a menacing apparition who is causing the fuss, but we never once see the damn thing! At a certain point I just felt cheated by it all. I love a slice slow-burn cinema and there's a definite place for the less-is-more  approach, but it didn't work for this movie, not for me anyway. 

The story is hackneyed and uses so many of the generic haunter conventions associated with ghost hunter movies, including the annoying skeptic scientist who refuses to face fact despite the fact that paranormal activity is happening all around him, and then when he accepts that something paranormal is happening he stays despite the inherent dangers, while everyone else is scrambling to get away. The movie took a detour in the final act when a hidden room reveals a new dark truth, but even the shocker of an ending is sadly predictable. The Dead Room will give you deja vu in the worst possible way, you've watched this same sort of story unfold many times before, but rarely has it been so bland and generic. A mediocre ghost entry with some nice cinematography, but the scares are scarce and the story is tired. 

Mid 90's Canadian cable access movie PHOBE: THE XENOPHOBIC EXPERIMENTS (1995) gets first-ever home video release!

PHOBE: THE XENOPHOBIC EXPERIMENTS (1995) 

On September 27th, Intervision Picture Corp. enthusiastically returns to the wild world of shot-on-video mayhem with the first ever home video release of PHOBE: THE XENOPHOBIC EXPERIMENTS. Overflowing with the kind of creative spirit and indefatigable commitment to vision that is only possible within the arena of outsider microbudget filmmaking, the Intervision team is thrilled to be introducing this inspiring and ambitious work to a new audience.

Synopsis: In 1994, aspiring Niagara, Ontario filmmaker Erica Benedikty was working part-time at a community cable channel. Over the course of a year – and aided by a dedicated team of friends, volunteers and fellow film rebels – she wrote, produced, directed and edited a wildly ambitious, feature-length sci-fi action thriller for only $250. But when she convinced her employers to broadcast the finished film, PHOBE became a local sensation, was invited to screen at festivals, and remains one of Canada’s most infamous cult hits. Intervision is proud to present Benedikty’s ultra low-budget epic – complete with impressive visual FX, Roman candle pyrotechnics, alien predators, light saber battles and space cops with mullets – now fully remastered with all-new Special Features that reveal the strange, inspired and sometimes tragic story behind this near-impossible DIY triumph.

Special Features: :
- Audio commentary by writer/director Erica Benedikty, moderated by Paul Corupe (Canuxploitation.com) and Peter Kuplowsky (Laser Blast Film Society)
- Director Erica Benedikty's first feature-length movie, BACK IN BLACK
- "The Making of PHOBE", all new featurette by Josh Johnson (Rewind This!)
- Q/A with cast and crew following home town screening of the movie in St. Catharines, Ontario
- Original FX shots from 1995 broadcast version of PHOBE
- Outtakes
- Gribble Hell Performs Phobe Theme

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB (2015) (Blu-ray Review)

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB (2015) 

Label: MPI Media 
Release Date: September 6th 2016 
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 84 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-MA 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.00:1) 
Director: Kyle Rankin
Cast: Maria Thayer, Michael Cassidy, Ray Wise, Syd Wilder, Chris Marquette

The indie zombie comedy Night of the Living Deb (2015) comes by way of director Kyle Rankin who brought us the bug-horror comedy Infestation back in 2009 and it all begins on the night of Fourth of July as quirky ginger Deb (Maria Thayer) and her ugly Christmas sweater wearing friend Ruby (Julie Brister) are having a few drinks at a local bar. The horny Deb spots pretty boy hipster Ryan (Michael Cassidy) across the bar and is prodded by her ironic gal pal to make her move, which she does, she makes an awkward introduction and manages to anger Ryan's high-maintenance finance Stacy (Syd Wilder) who dumps him on the spot. 

Flash forward to the next morning a somewhat discombobulated Deb awakes in Ryan's bedroom a bit unsure of what happened the night before but happy to be there just the same. She plays cute while poor Ryan kindly tries to find a way to give her the one-night regret brush-off in the nicest possible way, he's too kind. However, Deb is a bit on thick side and doesn't go away gracefully. eventually they go there separate ways, Ryan heads off to the local coffee spot while Deb jumps in her 70s gas-guzzler car named Otis. It doesn't take long for both to realize that something odd has happened in the neighborhood, they've woken up to a zombie apocalypse, with Ryan finding his favorite barista munching on a human foot and Deb cannot help but notice this year's 4th of July parade includes locals eating each other. 

Reluctantly united out of fear the two head for Ryan's father's house, dad is played by the venerable Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), his character Frank runs the city water treatment plant whose crooked dealings may have something to do with the outbreak of gut-munching. Arriving at his father's place Ryan must contend with his dad's disappointment in his lifestyle, while also trying to keep things civil with his dip shit dude-bro brother Chaz (Chris Marquette, Fanboys) and his ex whom has also holed up at his father's home when the human-hungry hordes arrived on scene. 

The movie is a smart and breezy, more along the lines of Warm Bodies than Romero's Dawn of the Dead, a charming comedy about two people finding an awkward sort of love during a zombie outbreak without lowering itself to the level of an annoying parody. In my mind the key the movie's success is the chemistry between actors Maria Thayer and Michael Cassidy who play off each other perfectly, great casting choices. Thayer is so awkward and awesome, her interactions with the somewhat prissy Ryan brought to mind the chemistry between The Kid and Apple in Turbo Kid (2015). Thayer is far and away my favorite part of the movie, playing her role with a mix of sweet ditziness and playful sarcasm. Meanwhile Ray Wise's character is initially painted as the face of corporate evil but Wise manages to give the guy some more depth and quirky charm than was probably in the script, the guy can do a lot with just a little, I love all of his line deliveries, weird and heartfelt all in the same breath 

At certain points it does seems the threat of being eaten by zombies takes a backseat the family turmoil and awkward  love story, coming back into play only to give some slight menace to the proceedings and to take a minute or two to poke fun at zombie conventions, including one of the more basic ones which we as horror fans just take for granted, which comes into play during the final few scenes to comedic effect. 

Special Features: 
- Commentary with Writer/Director Kyle Rankin, Actor/Producer Micheal Cassidy, Actor Maria Thayer, writer Andy Selsor, and editor Tony Copolillo
- Bloopers
- Behind-The-Scenes
- Trailer 

The Blu-ray disc from MPI Media Group looks and sounds great, the release includes a cast and crew audio commentary track, a behind-the-scenes making of featurette, a blooper reel and the trailer for the movie. Don't be fooled by the generic artwork on the Blu-ray, this is a fun and goofily heart-warming zom-com with loads of charm. If you have a soft-spot for quirky red heads Maria Thayer might just steal your heart, this is a high recommend to the zombie comedy lovers out there, fun stuff.