BLUE VENGEANCE - BLU-RAY REVIEW

In the midst of the ’80s VHS boom, enterprising filmmakers and distributors were taking full advantage of the insatiable appetite of the home video rental market, which allowed them to produce and successfully promote a sizeable quantity of low-budget, straight-to-video product. Blending elements of horror and police procedural, J. Christian Ingvordsen’s BLUE VENGEANCE (1989) was produced at the tail-end of this period, and at the time, it kind of slipped through the cracks and remained unreleased in North America. However, thanks to Vinegar Syndrome’s new Blu-ray, which houses a brand-new 4K restoration, undiscriminating cinephiles should get a real kick out of this belated-if-not-entirely-forgotten blast from the past. 

Otherwise known as the “Mirror Man” killer, Mark Trex (John Wiener) escapes from the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in upstate New York. Making his way to New York City, he hopes to track down members of his favourite rock band, Warriors of the Inferno, whose out-there lyrics fueled his passion for death and murder as a youngster. Having parted ways some years before, most of the band’s ex-members have since moved on to ‘regular’ jobs. Trex seeks sworn oaths from these ex-band members that they haven’t (quote) “betrayed” him, but they usually shrug him off (“You know the lyrics to that shit song?”) before succumbing to his brutal, schizophrenic mind. Meanwhile, disgraced cop Mickey McCardle (director Ingvordsen, acting under the alias of “John Christian”) is haunted by the controversial murder of his ex-partner (Buzzy Danenfelser) at the hands of Trex some ten years earlier, and despite resistance from his superiors, he vows to stop Trex’s murder spree, no matter what the cost…

First seen as a scruffy, delusional self-talking psychotic, Wiener really plays Trex to the hilt. In the film’s opening moments, he even manages to engineer an audacious escape from prison by first hanging himself, then, in a supreme bit of self-confidence, is eventually resuscitated by the prison doctor, which leads into a bloody mess at the prison’s infirmary. In an interesting – and at first bewildering – bit of juxtaposition, Trex’s near-death experience is depicted as a subconscious battle between himself and some sort of sword-wielding, “Conan”-inspired barbarian in a mask (there is a reason for this, but not what you may think!), which only further substantiates the skewed state of Trex’s inner workings. Meanwhile, Ingvordsen as put-upon Detective McCardle, who may or may not have been partly responsible for his partner’s death, is convinced that Trex is responsible for a recent rash of brutal murders, even though his prime suspect had cunningly staged his own death (cue a previously-shot insert of a pickup truck exploding) after escaping from prison. Although at times each portraying their characters appropriately over-the-top, if coming from different ends of the moral spectrum, both Ingvordsen and Wiener manage to bring an earnestness to their rather thinly-written roles which is a testament to their dedication and belief in the project. Ingvordsen also has the good fortune to star alongside Garland Hunter, who plays a spunky, no-nonsense punkette named Tiffany, whom he first meets at NYC’s now-legendary punk venue CBGBs, which is only one of many (quote) “pre-Disneyfied” locations used in the film, including Times Square. 

Although released in the U.K. and Europe on VHS courtesy of RCA/Columbia Pictures, and later on DVD via Shock Video in the Netherlands, Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-ray/DVD combo is really the only way to go. Scanned and restored in 2K from (quote) “the original 35mm camera negative”, VS’s Blu is a real eye-opener, and it looks absolutely first-rate, with a perfectly-defined picture and a nice amount of natural film grain, which finally allows Michael Spiller’s photography to get some of the recognition it deserves. The DTS-HD MA mono audio sounds particularly full and robust, and doesn’t present any issues whatsoever. In short, VS’s restoration is quite outstanding.

Naturally, VS have also packed their release with a number of illuminating extra features, which shed plenty of light on the film itself, as well as the New York independent film scene. Starting-off with an audio commentary featuring director/star Ingvordsen, which is moderated by ex-Fangoria editor Michael Gingold, they discuss the (quote) “last great gasp of independent cinema” and guerilla filmmaking at the time; Ingvordsen’s time working as a key grip with Larry Cohen on such films as THE STUFF (1985); the re-development of NYC; the colourful locations, including the aforementioned CBGB’s and their graffiti-strewn bathrooms; the very uncharacteristic final battle in the film; plus his and John Wiener’s love for John Milius’ CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1981), elements of which they manage to put into their film in a decidedly bizarre albeit fascinating way. Actor John Wiener flies solo in the second audio commentary, and he actually fills the running time with plenty of similar facts and anecdotes, including the film’s genesis as a horror film about (quote) “people who eat people’s hearts”; his friend’s band Nevermore (seen playing live at CBGB’s in the film); his research on the film itself, which led him to some (quote) “creepy website” in Germany and the film’s German title ZWANG ZUM TÖTEN (trans: “Compulsion to Kill”); and BV’s many (quote) “great locations”. 

In the documentary Making Blue Vengeance (19m26s), Ingvordsen (as well as writer/actor Danny Kuchuck and assistant director Matthew Howe) discuss the high demand for product at the time, his desire to produce a (quote) “NYC cop drama”, his love for NY cop films from the ’70s in general, and how his distributor at the time wanted a horror title instead. He also talks very highly of Larry Cohen and the (quote) “art of the sneak”, his amazing ability to get some truly incredible shots without utilizing a permit, something which Ingvordsen himself also does quite admirably in BV. Next up is On Blue Vengeance (13m28s), an on-camera conversation between Ingvordsen and Gingold, which covers similar territory, but also touches on his association with Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment; some of his earlier projects and his (quote) “big ambitions [with BV], despite the low-budget”. In a surprise extra, VS have also included Danny Kuchuck’s THE FIRST MAN (1996), a previously-unreleased, feature-length film starring Lesley Ann Warren, Heather Graham, Ted Raimi, Lisa Zane and Paul Ben-Victor. Although not entirely successful, this unusual sci-fi film with arthouse pretensions is an interesting inclusion just the same, but it’s easy to see why it has remained unseen for so long. As per VS’ usual standards, the disc also features reversible cover art featuring both original artwork designed by Derek Gabryszak, as well as artwork from the film’s German video release. The first 1000 copies also include a thick slipcover featuring Gabryszak’s eye-catching art. 

On the surface, BLUE VENGEANCE may appear to be just another low-rent action film, but between the spirited self-confidence of everyone involved and many of the film’s quirkier moments, the film distinguishes itself from the norm and is definitely worth checking-out, especially via Vinegar Syndrome’s impressive new Blu-ray. Order it directly from Vinegar Syndrome or DiabolikDVD.

OFFERINGS - BLU-RAY REVIEW

By 1989, traditional stalk ’n’ slash films were definitely well past their prime. However, despite it then very much being the genre’s ‘petering-out’ period, an intrepid group of Oklahoma filmmakers opted to not only have another stab (pun intended!) at this once-thriving genre, but at the same time blatantly emulate John Carpenter’s prototypical trailblazer HALLOWEEN(1978), albeit with a decidedly different kind of twist.  In spite of its exceedingly derivative nature, Christopher Reynolds’ OFFERINGS(1989) remained a bit of a fan favourite during the VHS era and, thanks to Dark Force Entertainment, it’s now available on Blu-ray (!) to stupefy an entirely new generation of slasher film freaks.

The story, such that it is, is simplistic to the point of pure plagiarism: A young boy named John (Josh Coffman), is continually harassed by the other kids for his strange behaviour, and no one but his only true friend Gretchen (Kerri Bechthold) stands up for him; not even his craggy old mother, who, at one point, even contemptuously flicks cigarette ash onto his scrambled eggs! Following a threatening bit of peer pressure from the neighbourhood kids, John falls down a well, and winds up being left in a coma due to it. Ten years later, the now-adult John (Richard A. Buswell) escapes from the nearby asylum to seek revenge on those who had bullied him so mercilessly, in the process also attempting to win back the affections of Gretchen (now played as a young adult by Leigh Bowman) by imparting some truly unique ‘offerings’ upon her.

Like many of these low-end slasher films (of which, of course, there are plenty), OFFERINGS possesses a similarly imitative style, and while dramatically sluggish and lacking even a hint of anything resembling suspense, it does offer plenty of (un)intentional laughs and a few unique surprises. The rudimentary framework gathers together the requisite group of teenagers (well, um, twentysomethings) for a sleepover at Gretchen’s house, where, much to their understandable surprise, they discover a severed human earon her front doorstep: this being one of John’s first ‘offerings’. Sheriff Chism (G. Michael Smith) is introduced soon after, uttering one of the film’s more cringe-inducing – if priceless – lines of dialogue, “What’s all this I hear about an ear?” Then, in yet another of the film’s wackier developments, a mysteriously-delivered and suspiciously-topped pizza from earlier in the night is also taken in as evidence by the worrisome Sheriff (“That don’t look like sausageto me!”), who knows all-too-well about John’s predilection for cannibalism (!). Amongst other things, OFFERINGSalso includes a doom ’n’ gloom psychiatrist (Jerry Brewer) who follows John back to town in the hopes of stopping him; unlike Donald Pleasence’s Sam Loomis character from HALLOWEEN, however, he’s given virtually nothingto do in a role which is woefully underwritten, but in keeping with some of the film’s other ‘surprises’, he confronts John in a most unusual way. As expected, the film goes on to replicate HALLOWEEN’s third-act stalking sequence (replete with an almost identical piano-driven synth score to boot) without generating any of that other film’s flair or excitement whatsoever and ending with an endlessly drawn-out – and needlessly silly – slow-motion sequence. Regardless of its completely unoriginal structure, OFFERINGSstill possesses enough quirky touches scattered here and there throughout its derivative narrative to make it worthwhile; touches which, for the benefit of those who haven’t seen it, shan’t be revealed here.

First released in 1989 on VHS videocassette in the U.S. via Southgate Entertainment, OFFERINGS eventually made it onto DVD in 2003 through Madacy Entertainment (one of the better cheapo domestic labels from the early 2000s) in a full-screen transfer which, much like the VHS, stayed a little too much on the dark side. Released in association with Kino Lorber, Dark Force Entertainment has decided to revisit this regionally-shot, late-entry slasher on Blu-ray in what is by far and away its finest-looking presentation. A nicely-detailed picture and strong colours (unlike in previous releases, the blue gel lighting finally looks far more accurate and nowhere near as smeary as before) highlight most of this disc, although a few scenes do feature some brief speckling, which may very well be inherent in the film’s original materials themselves, but it’s nothing to get too overly concerned about. The DTS HD 2.0 Master Audio also sounds clear and free of any distortion whatsoever, which is especially nice for such an economically-produced film whose technical aspects were far from state-of-the-art then, and are even less-so now. Unfortunately, other than the film’s original trailer and a handful of trailers for some of Dark Force’s upcoming horror releases, no extras are included, but this still remains a solid-enough release for anyone wishing to see – or own– every ’80s slasher film ever made, while most casual viewers should still be suitably entertained by its audacious copycat nature and oddball surprises. Order it from DiabolikDVD, or, for you Canadian readers, Suspect Video.