Blu-ray Review: George A. Romero's KNIGHTRIDERS (1981)

KNIGHTRIDERS (1981) 

Label: Shout! Factory 
Region: A
Duration: 145 Minutes 
MPAA Rating: R
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Cast: Ed Harris, Patricia Tallman, Tom Savinni, Ken Foree, John Amplas
Director: George A Romero
Tagline: Ride to Love. Live to Die.

The members of a traveling Renaissance Faire, who saddle up on motorcycles instead of horses, ride from town to town to stage medieval jousting tournaments with combatants in suits of armor and wielding lances, battle-axes, maces and broadswords. The spectacle of this violent pageant soon garners national attention, much to the dismay of the current king of this Camelot. A challenger to his throne arises as they try to maintain their fairytale existence in a world wrought with corruption.

I remember watching this follow-up to George A. Romero's undead-epic Dawn of the Dead (1978) for the first-time and the immediate disappointment that set in afterward. The weird fantasy-action film just left me cold, I wasn't sure what I had just watched or why Romero would stray from zombie film-making to create such an offbeat movie. I was about 15 at the time and just could not appreciate what George had put onscreen, I was very unhappy with the movie, I guess I needed more zombies and guts, I was fifteen after all.

Having revisited Knightriders years later with a fresh set of eyes it was quite a different experience for me, I could more appreciate the film's "chasing the dragon" themes more clearly and how King Billy (Ed Harris) and his troupe of jousting motorcycle carnies paralleled Romero's own long fought battles as an independent film director against commercialism in an industry built on hype and commercial success at all costs, it was a more satisfying experience.

At the heart of this fantasy actioner we have King Billy, played by a youthful Ed Harris, the self-styled King Arthurian idealist whom leads a troupe of anachronistic medieval-styled jousters whom dress in armor and sit atop motorcycles in place of armored horses. The troupe travel the country performing their Renaissance-esque show to the delight of redneck locals. Billy is a charismatic and lives according to a  strict code of honor and integrity but problems arise when the cash-strapped troupe come to a divide when a sleazy promoter Bontempi (Martin Ferrero) lures the troupe's star performer, Morgan the Black Night (80's splatter master Tom Savini) with the promise of fortune and fame. That's pretty much the story of the film, the corruption that plagues the troupe when the lure of commercial success infiltrates it's ranks in the face of King Billy's idealistic and unbending ways.

It's quite a sight when the film opens with a scene of Billy sitting nude in the picturesque forest knelt in front of his sword in a silent moment of prayer, it's a gorgeous scenario that might have you believe it's a Medieval period piece until he straddles his motorcycle with his Queen (Amy Ingersoll). Harris is striking as King Billy, an ardent and stoic idealist in a reality that crushes idealism, it's not easy and you can feel him bend while swearing never to break. It's easy to admire his strict code in the face of financial woes and adversity but we also see the hardships his idealism forces upon the rest of the troupe. Example, when he refuses to give corrupt cops a payoff they beat the snot outta the character of Bagman (Don Berry) until a financial arrangement's can be agreed upon, the incident is one of several factors that drive a wedge between Billy and Morgan, whom felt Billy should have just paid the cops off, but his code of ethics forbid him from doing so and others must pay the price.

There's a great cast of Romero familiars, notably John Amplas from the underrated Martin (1976) as the mime Whiteface, Romero's future wife (Christine Forrester) appears in a small role as do Dawn of the Dead (1978) alumni Scott Reiniger, Tom Savini and Ken Foree. Some not so familiar faces include the wonderful Brother Blue as a tattooed medicine-man Merlin and Patricia Tallman (Army of Darkness), whom would go on to feature in Savini's Night of the Living Dead (1990) remake, as the local-girl love interest of Sir Alan (Gary Lahti). We also have a sweet Stephen King cameo is author Stephen King as a rather slovenly drunken spectator at one of the jousting events, Joe Pilato from Day of the Dead (1985) even makes a cameo here.

At over two and a half hours in length the film is overlong but certainly entertaining, the tone is off-kilter but the subverted Arthurian lore really comes through, there's a great cast of characters and some fun action-packed jousting sequences,and dazzling motorcycle stunts. Not a perfect film but it's the very definition of a cult-classic, a weird anachronistic fantasy action film from a true master of horror, George A. Romero.

Blu-ray: Shout! Factory give George A. Romero's Knightriders (1981) a AVC encode on 1080p in it's original widescreen aspect ratio (1.85:1). Colors appear accurate and nicely saturated, a few scenes appear softer than others probably owing to the source material. The 1080p hi-def upgrade affords the film some minor depth, it's a definite upgrade over the previous DVD that I would call impressive but not quite stunning. The Blu-ray is equipped with an English language DTS-HD Master Audio Mono 2.0 with Optional English SDH Subtitles, a basic stereo track with some moderate channel separation, dialogue and effects are balanced and free of distortion  clicks and pops, very nice.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include the audio commentary with George Romero, Tom Savini, John Amplas, and Christine Romero ported over from the region 1 Anchor Bay DVD edition, it's also featured on the 2-disc Blu-ray from UK distributor Arrow Video (review HERE). It's an entertaining and informative track, it's very chatty as the crew point out the myriad of actors onscreen and recall various production notes and anecdotes, a typically fun Romero commentary.

There are also three brand-new Red Shirt Pictures produced interviews with star Ed Harris, Tom Savini and director George A. Romero. Harris recalls his time on the film coming off of only two previous films, learning to ride on an episode of TV's CHiPS, the stunt work and thoughts on his character Billy, he seems to enjoy looking back at the project.

Romero speaks of a meeting with American International Picture's Sam Arkoff and pitching a medieval King Arthur film, it was Arkoff's negative response that planted the idea for what the the film would become. He also speaks about casting Savini as the Black Knight, the crazy stunt work  which resulted in a few injuries, passing up more commercial projects in favor of films be believed in and the difficulty making this particular film which wasn't easy to market.

The interview with actor/director and infamous 80's make-up effects master Tom Savini recalling how he came to meet Romero while he was in high school  auditioning for the lead in Martin (1977), the camaraderie onset and pranks with the cast. Finishing-up the features we have some raw behind-the-scene VHS footage contributed by Savini of the motorcycle stunts,a theatrical trailer and TV Spots for the film. 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with George Romero, Tom Savini, John Amplas, Christine Romero and film historian Chris Stavrakis 
- Conscience of the Kin with Ed Harris (8:11) 
- Code of Honor with George Romero (17:20) 
- Memories of Morgan with Tom Savini (10:15) 
- Behind the Scenes - The stunts of "Knightriders" (8:16)
- Theatrical Trailer + TV Spots (3:08)

Verdict: While not top tier on my list of favorite George A. Romero movies I do enjoy Knightriders (1981) a bit more with each subsequent watch. It's a fun watch with a strong performance from Ed Harris as a man out of time, chasing the dragon as it were. It's great to see the film receive a quality Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory, a definite recommend for fans of Romero and carnies, it gets a cautious endorsement for the more causal viewer, as a weird, anachronistic fantasy actioner it might be a bit hard to swallow for the less adventurous out there. 3 Outta 5

SYNAPSE FILMS, INC. LICENSES “SUSPIRIA”, ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED HORROR FILMS OF ALL TIME, FOR DVD, BLU-RAY AND FUTURE OPTICAL MEDIA

Synapse Films announced today via their Facebook page they have obtained the rights to Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA (1977) and are creating a new 2K scan of the negative for a 2014-15 release!

ROMULUS, MI – Synapse Films, Inc. has acquired the North American home-video rights to the 1977 classic horror film SUSPIRIA, directed by Italian horror master Dario Argento. Described as “one of the scariest films of all time” by Entertainment Weekly, SUSPIRIA stars the beautiful Jessica Harper as a young girl caught up in a coven of witches controlling a German dance academy.

“I’ve been involved in the restoration and release of many films in my career, but SUSPIRIA has always eluded me, until now,” says Donald May, Jr., President of Synapse Films. “It’s one of my favorite horror films and I’m ecstatic that my business partner, Jerry Chandler, was able to negotiate with the rights holders to release this film. This is going to be an amazing project for us.”

Synapse Films, Inc. will work closely with Technicolor Rome and Technicolor Los Angeles to create an all-new high-definition 2K scan from the original negative for a possible 2014-15 video release. “It’s important to spend as much time as possible to create the definitive high-definition home video version for the fans,” May explains. “We’re going to take our time with this one.”

Synapse Films, Inc. is currently planning the extensive work on SUSPIRIA in conjunction with Technicolor, utilizing both their Rome and Hollywood facilities. The film scanning will be coordinated and supervised by Technicolor Hollywood’s Director of Restoration Services, Tom Burton, whose film restoration credits include Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER, Georges Méliès’ A TRIP TO THE MOON and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S.

Final specifications, retail pricing, and extras for the Synapse Films release of SUSPIRIA will be announced closer to the as yet to be determined release date.

DVD Review: ADAM CHAPLIN: VIOLENT AVENGER (2011)

ADAM CHAPLIN: VIOLENT AVENGER (2011) 

Label: Autonomy Pictures

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 90 Minutes

Audio: Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)

Director: Emanuele De Santi

Cast: Emanuele De Santi, Valeria Sannino, Paolo Luciani, Alessandro Gramanti, Wilmar Zimosa

Set in the fictional country of Heaven Valley, Adam is investigating his wife s suspicious death and discovers the involvement of the local mafia boss, Denny Richards. Unable to trust the police, who are controlled by Denny, a vengeful Adam summons up a demon, who offers him superhuman strength and dark powers. The demon will guide Adam to his wife s murderer only if he follows all the demon s wishes. The war has been unleashed against the police and it will be the bloodiest, goriest battle for anyone who tries to stop ADAM CHAPLIN: VIOLENT AVENGER!

Italian Writer-Director-Actor Emanuele De Santi has created a hyper-violent slab of splatter with his entry Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger. Italian horror has seemed pretty non-existence since the late '80s, the last notable Italian export on my radar was Michele Soavi's macabre black comedy Cemetery Man (1994),  now it seems we have a modern splatter classic putting Italy back on the map. The plot as in the preceding paragraph is quite simplistic, Adam Chaplin's wife dies mysteriously and he summons a demon to get revenge on a weirdo mafia boss, followed by an endless parade of meat-grinder carnage.

With a super low budget director Emanuele De Santi manages to pack in wall-to-wall practical gore effects enhanced by computer animation, we get a dizzying array of splatter and onscreen nastiness, with a minimum of character development and world building. There seems to be several techniques at work here, the gory practical effects, plenty of bloody CGI and even some miniatures, most of it works withing the parameters of the super stylized design of the film but there are a few fall a bit short, but fear not, overall this is a pretty amazing gore film.

At times it reminded me of Jason Eisener's Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) with an infusion of anime styled violence, we have non-stop splatter and a wild array of super-villainous baddies that our violent avenger must plows through. There are hordes of crooked cops, cronies and losers. each are mangled and shredded in quick succession, which is not to say that there aren't moments when the story threatens to slow things down, it happens. Along the way we get a back story for our anti-hero, the arch villain has an appropriately fucked-up origin and there's a villainous counterpart to the protagonist. Now the acting, it's not great, but it's not awful either, that it's in Italian and dialogue is kept to a minimum works in it's favor, director Santi himself plays the titular pumped-up anti-hero and he does the job just fine, everyone else is pretty much meat for the grinder. The film has such a fun sense of kinetic energy, a lot of energy in it's execution, great stuff. It's low budget, it's super violent and the heart and passion the creative team put into it pours of the screen in torrents of blood. I would dare say that Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger (2011) is a new splatter-classic and a ton of fun. 

Special Features: 
- H.A.B.S (Hyper-realistic Anime Blood Simulation) (2:31)
- Mechanisms of Gore (1:34) 

- Building Up Adam (2:58)
- Scene Autopsy (1:41) 

- Trailer (1:38)

Verdict: Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger (2011) is an ultra-violent, hyper-stylized gore-classic drenched in splatter, this would make a great party movie with a roomful of drunken friends, immensely entertaining, this Italian lo-fi gore import gets a recommend. 3 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: THE OTHER (1972)

THE OTHER (1972)

The Limited Edition Series Blu-ray 

Label: Twilight Time DVD
Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: PG

Duraton: 100 Minutes Video: 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1
Audio: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional English SDH Subtitles

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Cast: Uta Hagen, John Ritter, Diana Muldaur, Martin Udvarnoky, Victor French, Chris Udvarnoky
Director: Robert Mulligan

What a trip seeing this classic folk-thriller on Blu-ray after so many years, I saw it on TV when I was young, too young, and it left a mark on my psyche. The year is 1935 on a family farm in rural Connecticut, it's a gorgeous area marked by scenic beauty, we meet a set of 11 year old identical twins, the mischief maker Holland Perry (Martin Udarnoky) and his more sympathetic brother Niles (Chris Udvarnoky) who gets roped into Holland's naughty adventures. Their father has passed away and they are left in the care of their anguished and reclusive mother Alexandra (Diana Muldaur) and Russian emigre grandmother Ada (Uta Hagen). Alexandra stays in her room most of the time but Ada has a particular fondness for Niles, even showing him a trick she calls "the great game", projecting his consciousness into a raven soaring through the sky. It's a weird supernatural twist to the story and one that spins wildly out of control by it's tragically fractured end. 

Through the eyes of the twins we are treated to a series of practical jokes perpetrated by Holland upon family and neighbors, pranks that are almost always result in untimely death. One such "joke" results in the a family member being skewered on a pitchfork, a magic trick for a neighbor spinster results in a terror-induced heart attack, wherever the twins go death seems to follow. The most tragic turn of events begins when a newborn baby is kidnapped from the Perry home, mirroring the recent Lindbergh baby kidnapping in the newspapers, the chain of events this kidnapping unleashes is unnerving. Sure, the film starts out a bit slow and deliberately paced but the finale left me breathless, it's tense and dizzying stuff.

The Other (1972) is beautiful film, it's sort of sinister the way the pastoral scenery and warm rural settings shot by cinematographer Robery Surtees (Ben-Hur) get under your skin, Jerry Goldsmith's lyrical score perfectly accentuates the scenery and the underlying eeriness of what's happening onscreen. It seems so idyllic with rustic barns, flowing fields and winding streams, but there's some seriously sinister stuff afoot, deadly happenings indeed. 

As a kid I was caught my surprise by the twist ending, I just did not see it coming and it completely floored me. Watching it again 30 plus years later I could see the mechanics of the film at play and it softened the impact a bit, it's hard to say for sure since I cannot erase what I already knew, regardless it's a chilling conclusion ripe with tragedy and it resonates strongly. Something I love about the movie is that I think it's open to interpretation, while the twist might fairly obvious to me given the mechanics of the film, it does not take away from the power of the storytelling or the ghastly impact of the events. 

Blu-ray: Twilight Time present The Other (1972) with an AVC encode, the 1080p widescreen (1.85:1) presentation is very pleasing, there's a nice natural layer of film grain, colors are accurate, and the soft focus cinematography looks fantastic. The English 1.0  DTS-HD Master Audio Mono audio sounds great, while subdued by modern standards this has a nice dynamic range, dialogue is consistently clear and Jerry Goldsmith's sublime score comes through beautifully. 

The only extras are a trailer for the film plus an isolated music track featuring Jerry Goldsmith's lyrical score which perfectly captures the strange menace and the pastoral beauty depicted in the film, it's a very nice bonus feature, well worth a listen on it's own. Let's not forget Julie Kirgo's liner notes contained in an 8-page booklet with gorgeous stills from the feature, aways informative and adding another layer of appreciation for the film. As with all of the Limited Edition Blu-rays from Twilight Time this release is strictly limited to only 3,000 and available exclusively from www.screenarchives.com

Verdict: A classic slice of slow-burn psychological horror in the tradition of the Bad Seed, bereft of blood it still packs quite a wallop through it's intense storytelling, tense, eerie and beautifully shot, they just do not make cinema of this caliber anymore, a very high recommend. 4 Outta 5 

DVD Review: PSYCHOMANIA (1972)

PSYCHOMANIA (1972) 

Label: Severin Films
Region Code: 0 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 90 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Don Sharp
Cast: George Sanders, Beryl Reed, Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Roy Holder, Robert Hardy

Synopsis: The cult classic known as ‘the greatest British zombie biker movie ever made’ returns with the ultimate full-throttle restoration: Nicky Henson (Witchfinder General), Beryl Reid (The Beast In The Cellar) and Oscar® winner George Sanders (All About Eve, Village Of The Damned) star in this beloved ‘70s mind-blower about a motorcycle gang who burst from their graves to crush a world of psychedelic hippie pleasures under the wheels of black leather occult mayhem. You’ve got to believe it’s come back: Psychomania – from veteran horror director Don Sharp (Kiss Of The Vampire), the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriters of Horror Express, and featuring some of the wildest cycle stunts of the decade – has now been restored from the only uncut 35mm print in existence and packed with new Bonus Features produced exclusively for this edition.

Psychomania's a wild ride of culty 70's exploitation, a weird mash-up of the the zombie and biker movies of the day with a nice smattering of the occult thrown in, because why not, right? Tom (Nicky Henson, Witchfinder General) is the leader of a UK biker gang known as The living Dead, they have cool names like Hatchet, Gash, Chopped Meat and Hinky plus they're adorned in awesome skull and bones helmets and pretty much ride around and terrorize the populace of the surrounding area, the ginger-haired cutie Abby (Mary Larkin) is his lover, but she has some competition within the gang, the sexy biker chic Jane (Anne Michele, House of Whipchord) who always seems to be at Tom's side.

Tom's mother Mrs. Latham (Beryl Reid, Dr. Phibes Rises Again) dabbles in the occult and seances alongside her mysterious butler Shadwell (George Sanders, Mr. Freeze of the 60's Batman TV series). It's through his mum that he discovers that if he commits suicide believing 100% that he will return, not only be resurrected but he will also become invulnerable to injury, it's a suicide pact with the devil. Of course, it's only a short time before Tom rides straight off a bridge and into the river, his corpse washes up onshore a short distance away. 

At his funeral Tom is buried a bit strangely, no coffin for this guy, nope. He's buried upright straddling his motorcycle dressed in his leathers and helmet, which makes for a great resurrection scenario. You hear the motorcycle rev it's engine and then he bursts forth from the ground like a bat out of Hell. Reuniting with his gang most of the others are only too eager to make the suicide pact with Satan in order to earn immortality. Some are successful, but some lack the faith and just end up dead, not the desired undead status. Soon we have a squad of undead bikers raising Holy Hell on the street, impervious to harm they seem unstoppable but when you make a deal with the Devil surely things are never quite as they appear at the start.

Psychomania (1972) might come up a bit short in terms of nudity and blood and guts but this Eurocult classic does have some great atmosphere which is accentuated by John Cameron's acid-tinged guitar score. For a low budget cheapo it boasts some decent cinematography from Ted Moore (Goldfinger, Clash of the Titans), particularly the haunting opening shots of the bikers in a foggy graveyard, it's very effective at setting a macabre tone. We also have some decent direction from Don Sharp (Curse of the Fly, Witchcraft)and some action-packed motorcycle stunt work,  it really does makes for an entertaining watch with the hi-speed chase scenarios and pursuits, even if I wished it were ramped up with gore and sleaze. . 

Fans of 70's Eurocult and schlock cinema take note, this one's a winner. Sadly, veteran actor George Sanders committed suicide shortly after filming ended, leaving behind a succinct suicide note which read "Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.". It's rumored he saw a rough cut of the film in Spain shortly before killing himself, no word on if that contributed to his decision to kill himself. 

DVD: Severin Films present Psychomania (1972) on DVD in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), since the original negative is considered forever lost they sourced it from a surviving uncut 35mm print. All things considered it's a strong presentation with solid colors and a nice layer of film grain. The print is a bit worn with minor print damage but they are rather insignificant and shouldn't detract from your enjoyment. The English Dolby Digital Mono audio sounds fine with only minor snap, crackle and hiss. The dialogue comes through clean, audio effects and the acid-tinged guitar score from John Cameron sound fine. 

This UK cult classic gets some sweet Severin produced extras beginning with the making-of doc 
Return Of The Living Dead (20:25) with interviews with from actors  Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, Roy Holder and Rocky Taylor. All participants seem a bit surprised that anyone remembers this obscure zombie biker film, each offering a glimpse into making the film with kind recollections of director Don Sharp and veteran actor George sanders who committed suicide shortly after filming ended. There's also an interview with the composer of the score John Cameron with the Sound Of Psychomania (9:06) featurette, a nice interview with Cameron on composing the enjoyable acid-rock score. An interview with folk singer Harvey Andrews who speaks about performing the tune "Riding Free" in the film only to be replaced by an actor who lip-synced the song, noting that he finger-picked his guitar the actor is strumming, I never even noticed. There's also an appreciative Introduction by Fangoria Editor in Chief Chris Alexander (5:30) and the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:49).  

Special Features:
- Return Of The Living Dead: Interviews with stars Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, Roy Holder and Rocky Taylor (25:02)
- Sound Of Psychomania: Interview with Soundtrack composer John Cameron (9:06)
- Riding Free: Interview with Riding Free singer Harvey Andrews (6:25)
- Introduction by Fangoria Editor in Chief Chris Alexander (5:30) 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:49) 

Verdict: Psychomania (1972) is a fun 70's slice of Eurocult, a definite product of it's time and while I think the absence of nudity and gore might turn off a few of the not-so adventurous types, I would have loved more gore and sleaze but what we get is fun. I found it to be quite a howl with a terrific acid-rock score, a squad of undead bikers with neat skull and bones helmets terrorizing a small town, what's not to love? If you haven't seen Psychomania (1972) I think you're missing out! 3 Outta 5 

 

DVD Review: UNSOLVED (2008)

UNSOLVED (2008)

Label: Lost Empire
Region Code: 1
Duration: 88 Minutes 

Video:16:9 Wide Screen (1.78:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Lance McDaniel 

Cast: Lezette Boutin, Jerome Braggs, Amy Briede

Amanda (Lezette Boutin) is among a group of law students assigned to investigate cold cases by her college professor, the case she chooses is a murder which took place fifteen years earlier on her own campus, a young woman was murdered outside her dorm, the killer was never captured. Upon sleuthing the murder she uncovers a few unsavory details, some of which are hitting very close to home for the young woman with a troubled past, even putting herself and friends in harm's way to get to the bottom of the case. 

Not so much a slasher as a thriller with some slasher elements I found Unsolved (2008) to be an entertaining enough micro-budget feature with some decent twists and turns.  While no one here is walking away with the Oscar for a low-budget feature it's fairly strong cast with a dynamic range of characters. The body count is not particularly high but the kills are executed nicely even if the blood isn't pouring off screen. Visually it's well shot with some decent camera movement but the cinematography definitely shows it's micro-budget constraints, contrast is poor and there's no depth to the image, but f you can overlook a handful of cinematic shortcomings this is a decent whodunit with a decent climax which I didn't see coming, very nicely done. Honestly I don't see it having broad appeal but if you find yourself scouring the $1 bin and come across it you could do much worse.  2.5 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: MINDWARP (1992)

MINDWARP (1992)

Label: Twilight Time DVD
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: R
Duration: 96 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Steve Barnett
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Amgus Scrimm, Elizabeth Kent

In the year 2037 Earth is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a nuclear war has erased the ozone layer and the few surviving members of humanity are split into three distinct groups. In an area known as the Death Zone we have the cannibalistic mutants known as Crawlers, then we have the non-mutated humans survivors known as Outworlders who survive on a diet of small animals and evade the menace of the Crawlers. The third group are privileged non-mutated humans living in protected biosphere-styled cities known as the Dreamers who spend most of their life plugged into a virtual reality simulator known as Infinisynth. It's here we meet a young woman named Judy (Marta Martin) who is unsatisfied with her plugged-in life, she craves a more meaningful connection to her mother who is only too happy to live out her opera-singer fantasies inside the Infinisynth system. This virtual reality aspect the film had a strong flavor of Total Recall (1990), it's fun stuff and predicted the family disconnect of the digital age where everyone is plugged into their mobile device, gaming systems or blogging about obscure b-movies. Infinisynth is a pleasant distraction from reality, everyone seems quite content to drink their green-slime protein shakes and immerse themselves in the artificial reality of Infinisynth, everyone that is except Judy. 

When Judy's mom refuses to unplug from Infinisynth the young woman infiltrates her mother's virtual dream in an attempt to wake her up with disastrous consequences, her actions anger the mysterious System Operator who operates Infinisynth, resulting in Judy being exiled from the safety of the city into the radioactive wastelands where she wakes up in a shallow grave. Digging herself out she discovers a macabre collection of crucified skeletons and is soon set upon by the cannibalistic Crawlers only to be saved by an crossbow-wielding Outworlder named Stover (Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead) who gets the better of the puss-faced mutants. After rescuing her Stover shows Judy the way of the wastelands, how to hunt and survive, the two hook-up and are soon captured by more Crawlers and taken to an underground lair where they meet the Crawler's leader, a cult leader of sorts with a human-skin mask named The Seer (Angus Scrimm, Phantasm) who plans to breed a new race of Crawlers with Judy, yikes.

Previous to this viewing I had never watched Mindwarp, which happens to be the first of a trio of films Fangoria magazine funded film in the early 1990's. I had read about this film once in a zine, I new it featured Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm but I just never came across the VHS, so it was a nice surprise to see that Twilight Time chose to give it a 1080p release. Evil Dead fans are certainly gonna wanna check this out if just for Campbell's participation, it's definitely a more subdued performance than were used to seeing from him, no quips or one-liners, he plays it pretty straight-faced. Marta Martin as our heroine Judy is pretty decent, but it's hard for here to shine in the presence of Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm, Scrimm is super creepy as the priest-like leader of the Crawlers, she's just not very dynamic. 

Mindwarp (1999) is certainly no lost horror classic but it's an entertaining post-apocalyptic viewing with lots of gore and bloodletting with some fun action sequences, it's nice to see it on Blu-ray. The highlights for me were the great set-dressing and gore effects from KNB which are pretty great. Inside the Crawler lair there's a gnarly human meat-grinder, victims go in one end a syrupy red liquid comes out the other, the Crawler's just love to drink up this grue. There are also mind altering leeches which Stover falls victim to only to vomit them up later, some very fun moments of gore and bloodletting, not a classic but an interesting footnote of early 90's low-budget horror.

Blu-ray: Twilight Time's Blu-ray presents the feature in it's original widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio with an AVC encode. A very nice transfer with the film grain intact. nice saturated colors and a pleasing amount of fine detail. The solo audio option is an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is clean and consistently clear, effects and score are well balanced. 

Special features are limited to a home video commercial for the film and and isolated score track featuring the music of Mark Governor and an eight-page booklet featuring new writing of the film from Twilight Time scribe Julie Kirgo offering some background on the project. 

Verdict: An entertaining post-apocalyptic b-movie with plenty of gore and Mad Max-styled scenery, it's not going to blow your mind but it's great to see this low budget post-apocalyptic adventure on Blu-ray with a nice 1080p presentation. As with all of Twilight Time's Blu-rays this release is limited edition, only 3,000 were pressed, so snag it soon if this sounds like something you want in your collection, available exclusively from www.screenarchives.com 3 Outta 5