CREEPSHOW 2 - BLU-RAY REVIEW

U.S. tagline: “When the curtain goes up, the terror begins.”

While nowhere near as memorable as George A. Romero’s CREEPSHOW (1982), Michael Gornick’s economical sequel serves up three more Stephen King short stories, which, despite its numerous flaws, does have its moments and is certainly worth a revisit, especially via Arrow Video’s newest, and extras-packed, Blu-ray.

“Welcome kiddies, to another edition of Creepshow!” intones our host The Creep (Tom Savini), who is first seen delivering the newest issue of Creepshow to a small, rain-soaked town as Billy (Domenick John) watches in awe.  Like CREEPSHOW, the image switches to animation, but unlike that film’s classy comic-book panels and transitions, CREEPSHOW 2’s rather ragged, substandard animation (courtesy of Rick Catizone) acts as a sort of wraparound, which centers on Billy and a bunch of bullies and is at first a little off-putting, but The Creep’s intros from within his castle are good, classic EC Comics fun. 

As voiced by Joe Silver – Canadian character actor best-known from two of David Cronenberg’s early efforts, SHIVERS (1975) and RABID (1977) – The Creep gets us ready for our first story, “a nasty lil’ bone-cracker” he calls “Old Chief Wood’nHead.” Ray and Martha Spruce (George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour) run a small convenience store in Dead River, a decaying, southwestern town that is (quote) “finally living up to its name.”  With no business, Ray has plenty of time to touch-up the war paint on Old Chief Wood’nHead, an imposing carven statue of an Indian warrior that stands guard out in front of their humble store.  When, in payment for their many debts, Ray and Martha are given some precious – and highly valuable – tribal jewels courtesy of Benjamin Whitemoon (Frank S. Salsedo), Ben’s nephew Sam (Holt McCallany), a wannabe Hollywood actor, and his two cohorts Fatso (David Holbrook) and Cavanagh (Don Harvey) rob their store and attempt to steal the jewels, only to have Old Chief Wood’nHead come to life and meticulously exact his revenge.  Typical of many EC Comics, it’s a simplistic story as our three antagonists get their much-deserved comeuppances, but it’s simply too drawn-out and slow-moving; which certainly captures the languid pace of Dead River, but when compared to CREEPSHOW’s memorable first episode “Father’s Day”, it’s a rather tepid opener, even when compared to an episode of Laurel’s TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE (1984-1988) TV show.

For our next (quote) “bubbly bon-bon”, four kids, Randy (Daniel Beer), Rachel (Page Hannah), Deke (Paul Satterfield) and Laverne (Jeremy Green), in search of a good time, drive out to a desolate lake in “The Raft”, but are soon menaced by some sort of unexplained “oil slick” in the water which is ready to devour anything in its path.  Originally appearing in the November 1982 issue of Gallery, one of the many skin mags which proliferated during the ’70s and ’80s, “The Raft” eventually made its way into King’s Skeleton Crew, his second collection of short stories published in 1985, but unlike the more fleshed-out short story, the filmed version is even more one-dimensional in its execution, without any backstory whatsoever and merely – if quite effectively – outlines their struggle against the mysterious, flesh-absorbing oil slick as it circles their pontoon.  Some unexpected and memorable death scenes soon follow and keep things moving through its 20+ minutes, including the best ‘surprise’ ending of all three stories. 

For the film’s third and last (quote) “morbid masterpiece”, Anne Lansing (Lois Chiles) is driving home after a late-night visit with her regular stud (David Beecroft), who is thinking of charging his clients “per orgasm”.  On her way home, she tries to conceive of possible excuses for her rich husband, but when she drops her cigarette while behind the wheel and becomes distracted from the road ahead, she accidentally runs over a hitchhiker and then leaves the scene, only to thereafter be repeatedly beset by the vengeful – and increasingly mangled – hitchhiker, who keeps coming back for more no matter how many times she re-runs him over.  Now famous for the recurring line, “Thanks for the ride, lady!”, “The Hitchhiker” could be considered a variation of the original, same-titled, TWILIGHT ZONE episode from 1960 with more gore, but minus the far-more-effective ending.  Chiles, a veteran actress best remembered for her role in Lewis Gilbert’s MOONRAKER (1979), carries the entire film as she screams, yells and then then slowly loses her mind while she tries to put an end to the tough-to-kill hitchhiker.  Then, in a jarring shift, the film returns to its animated wraparound story, wherein Billy, who has sent away for some mail-order “giant Venus Fly Trap bulbs”, eventually gets his revenge on the bullies as The Creep wholeheartedly approves, only to then drive off in search of another small town.

Following their other New World Pictures acquisitions, it was only a matter of time before Arrow Video would tackle CREEPSHOW 2, and even though it has been readily available on both DVD and Blu-ray, Arrow Video’s edition is the best it’s ever looked on home video.  Picture quality is a major upgrade compared to previous DVDs from Anchor Bay, Image Entertainment’s lackluster U.S. Blu-ray or even 88 Films’ recent U.K. Blu-ray.  Touted as a “brand new 2K restoration from original film elements”, Arrow’s disc reveals considerably more picture information on the left-hand side of the frame, which compositionally, works better; also, colours are much more pronounced and really pop off the screen, giving some of the images that much-needed comic-book appeal, which was quite lacking in previous transfers, including both Blu-rays.  As usual, the LPCM English mono, stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio all sound fantastic, with nothing to quibble about.

In a very cool gesture, Arrow Video has gathered together all the significant extras from the various DVD and Blu-ray releases over the years, and have also included a bunch of new material as well.  First up, the audio commentary with Michael Gornick (moderated by Perry Martin) from Anchor Bay’s 2004 rerelease is included where he discusses the budgetary constraints of the production; including revealing his eagerness to direct after helming a few TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE episodes, and how Tom Savini was originally planned to direct this sequel, plus plenty of other interesting anecdotes.  In another extra originally included on Anchor Bay’s disc, “Nightmares in Foam Rubber”, is a nice half-hour piece dedicated to FX wizzes Berger and Nicotero about their initial meeting on Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD (1985), their arrival on the C2 set, and tensions which arose between them and special make-up effects man Ed French, whom they eventually replaced on the production.  Initially included on 88 Films’ Blu-ray, “Screenplay for a Sequel” has Romero discussing his work adapting King’s work into a workable script.  The original script had five stories, including “Cat from Hell” (which was eventually used in John Harrison’s TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE [1990]) and “Pinfall”, which were both dropped due to a smaller-than-intended budget being imposed on the production.  In “Tale from the Creep”, Savini discusses his apprehension about wearing prosthetic makeup and reveals some interesting trivia surrounding “The Raft”, including Patricia Tallman, who later starred in Savini’s official remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990) doubling as a stuntwoman for Page Hannah.  In “My Friend Rick”, Berger briefly talks about Rick Baker and how he eventually worked with him on William Dear’s HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS (1987).  New extras to this already well-stacked Blu-ray include “Poncho’s Last Ride”, which is an interview with actor Daniel Beer, who discusses both the bout of severe hypothermia he suffered while filming “The Raft” as well as his still rather uncomfortable love scene.  In “The Road to Dover”, actor Tom Wright discusses his stuntwork on “The Hitchhiker” and how it earned him further roles in stuff like Rusty Cundieff’s TALES FROM THE HOOD (1995).  Other extras include some behind-the-scenes footage, a generous still gallery, two theatrical trailers and a TV spot.  The Limited Edition comes in a real spiffy slipcover, which includes the standard edition Blu-ray, some excellent liner notes from Michael Blyth and a cool comic-book adaptation of the unfilmed “Pinfall” segment by Jason Mayoh.

All-in-all, CREEPSHOW 2 may not have been the amazing sequel people were hoping for, but Arrow Video’s outstanding new Blu-ray may earn it some new fans.  Order it from DiabolikDVD or from Amazon.

MOONSHINE COUNTY EXPRESS - BLU-RAY REVIEW

Made at a time when feuding kinfolk, car chases and scantily clad “100 Proof Women” dominated the box office, Gus Trikonis’ MOONSHINE COUNTY EXPRESS (1977) is yet another film adhering to the specific template set out by many of its contemporaries, and as such is a well-made, well-acted “hicksploitation” film – as they are now more commonly referred to.  While it hasn’t been seen on video since the early days of VHS, Code Red has finally made this “drive-in classic” available once again via a limited edition Blu-ray.

When ambitious moonshiner Pap Hammer (Fred Foresman) is ruthlessly killed by a rival, local outfit led by Jack Starkey (William Conrad), who is eager to monopolize Pap’s highly illegal but financially prosperous “shine” business, he didn’t expect Pap’s three daughter’s Dot (Susan Howard), Betty (Claudia Jennings) and Sissy (Maureen McCormick) to continue in their father’s footsteps.  Of course, this leads to the inevitable conflict, so they enlist the help of J.B. Johnson (John Saxon), an aspiring stock car driver and former moonshine runner.

Although Arthur Ripley’s THUNDER ROAD (1958), with Robert Mitchum, seemed to set the template for this particular genre of filmmaking, it was during the ’70s that it gained more momentum, with such early forerunners as Richard Quine’s The MOONSHINE WAR (1970), co-starring Patrick McGoohan and Alan Alda; Lamont Johnson’s highly-underrated The LAST AMERICAN HERO (1973); Joseph Sargent’s WHITE LIGHTNING (1973) and Gy Waldron’s MOONRUNNERS (1975) – latter of which served as the basis for The DUKES OF HAZZARD (1979 – 1985) TV show.  Financed by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, MOONSHINE COUNTY EXPRESS was filmed concurrently with Hal Needham’s SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) and, given Corman’s penchant for taking advantage of any particular trend, MOONSHINE premiered a week after BANDIT’s enormous box office success; it too reaped sizable box office returns.  In a rather brazen bit of marketing, Corman’s poster art also features the very same – and now-iconic – 1977 black Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am from SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, even though it never actually appears in the present film!

Taking a cue from Lamont Johnson’s aforementioned film with Jeff Bridges, writers Hubert Smith (who also wrote Bob Kelljan’s BLACK OAK CONSPIRACY the same year) and David Ansley, “borrow” quite a bit from Lamont’s film, and much like Elroy Jackson as played by Bridges, John Saxon for all intents and purposes plays the same character right down to driving a Ford Mustang.  Although he doesn’t have a personal vendetta to pursue, Saxon rather begrudgingly agrees to help out Dot and her sisters (“I knew the minute Dotty brought me out here, I’d end up in a blaze o’ shit!).  The Brooklyn-born Saxon would seem to be rather cast against type as a “good ol’ boy”, but as the overconfident ex-bootlegger with bigger aspirations, he pulls off the role quite well while veering between alliances with Starkey and Dot, who refers to him as a (quote) “smilin’ skunk”.  Future DALLAS (1979-1987) star Susan Howard is also excellent as the tough and equally-resilient Dot (or Dotty), who simply won’t give-in to the demands of Starkey and his ruthless henchmen, led by the sadistic Sweetwater (Morgan Woodward).  She rallies her kid sisses Betty and Sissy, who are pretty handy with a shotgun themselves. While Jennings was already a veteran of such drive-in fare as Ferd and Beverly Sebastian’s ’GATOR BAIT (1974) and Mark L. Lester’s TRUCK STOP WOMEN (1974), she really gets an opportunity to show off her acting chops here without having to resort to any of her customary nudity; she went on to star in David Cronenberg’s race car drama FAST COMPANY (1978) – again with Saxon – before her untimely death in 1979.  Ex-BRADY BUNCH (1969-1974) star McCormick is also cast against type, but unlike her more revealing role in Gary Graver’s TEXAS LIGHTNING (1981), she does keeps her clothes on for the duration, but it’s still certainly a long way from The BRADY BUNCH! 

William Conrad, who had recently wrapped-up a five-year stretch on the popular TV series CANNON (1971-1976), virtually oozes slime as Starkey, the hateful and all-controlling boss, who has everyone in his pocket, including the local deceitful preacher, Hagen (Jeff Corey) and just about anyone else who crosses his path.  When Scoggins (Len Lesser), a local business owner, endorses Dotty’s new shine, he’s promptly delivered a message via a well-concealed bomb, which seems rather extreme, but Starkey rules with an iron hand, which even leaves Sheriff Larkin (Albert Salmi) at a loss; that is, until he connives a deal with J.B. and the girls.

Gus Trikonis began his long and varied career as an actor, and is probably best-known for his role as Indio in Robert Wise’s WEST SIDE STORY (1961).  He would later appear in Wise’s The SAND PEBBLES (1966) before moving onto lower-budgeted fare, such as Robert F. Slatzer’s The HELLCATS (1968).  He would eventually move into directing, and would helm a number of memorable films during the ’70s and ’80s, including The SWINGING BARMAIDS (1975), NASHVILLE GIRL (1976), The EVIL (1978), and TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT (1981), one of his most-popular titles, whose smash success propelled him into the mainstream.  Like most directors of the period, he eventually settled into television work, directing numerous shows, including episodes of BAYWATCH (1989-2000).

Taken from the “only surviving vault elements”, Code Red’s All Region Blu-ray sports a “brand new HD master” in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, and, while this is never going to be demo material, it’s a nice sharp transfer nonetheless, and miles better than that seen on Warner’s muddy old VHS tape.  While some of the colours are a tad muted, it’s all very naturalistic.  The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 sound comes through loud and clear, accentuating Jeff Werner’s exciting score (full of typical C&W instruments like banjo, fiddle, dobro and pedal steel guitar).  There are no real extras to speak of included with the MCE package other than a few trailers for some of Code Red’s other current and upcoming titles, including David Winters’ MISSION KILL (1986), Burt Brinckerhoff’s ACAPULCO GOLD (1976), Richard Compton’s MANIAC (a.k.a. ASSAULT ON PARADISE, 1977), Sergio Martino’s HANDS OF STEEL (1986) and Paul Glickler’s RUNNING SCARED (1980).  Check DiabolikDVD for their current stock of Code Red titles or for you lucky U.S. based readers, order directly from Code Red’s Big Cartel site.

JACK-O AND FRIENDS - THE STEVE LATSHAW COLLECTION - DVD REVIEW

In the spirit of Halloween, let’s take a look at Retromedia Entertainment’s JACK-O AND FRIENDS – The STEVE LATSHAW COLLECTION, which contains JACK-O (1995 – identified as JACKO LANTERN in the opening credits), a very low-budget if lively production about a resurrected demon sporting a giant jack-o’-lantern for a head.  Produced by Fred Olen Ray for his American Independent production company, JACK-O is the main attraction on this limited, 2-disc triple feature DVD, which also contains Latshaw’s earlier DARK UNIVERSE (1993) and BIOHAZARD: THE ALIEN FORCE (a.k.a. BIOHAZARD 2, 1994), a sequel of sorts to Ray’s BIOHAZARD (1983).  While deceased at the time of filming, both John Carradine and Cameron Mitchell appear in JACK-O, thanks to the resourcefulness of Ray, who had unused footage of both late actors at his disposal.  Utilizing true exploitation chutzpa, Latshaw and screenwriters Ray, Brad Linaweaver and Patrick Moran incorporated most of this footage into the main feature. 

Unfolding in the fictional town of Oakmoor, an old warlock (Carradine) was put to death by Arthur Kelly (Mike Connor) and the local townsfolk, but, before dying, he unleashed Jack-O, a demonic killer known as “The Pumpkin Man,” to exact revenge on his killers.  Having been destroyed by Kelly, the pumpkin man lay dormant for decades, until three drunken teens – who all appear to be well into their twenties, as per the usual norm – desecrate the grave on Halloween night, thus setting Jack-O free.  Not only does Jack-O wreak havoc in the quiet suburban town of Oakmoor, he also seeks vengeance on Kelly’s ancestors; in particular Sean Kelly (Ryan Latshaw), an unassuming child who has recently been plagued by various nightmares involving the pumpkin-headed horror.

In spite of the very low-budget, JACK-O is one of the better direct-to-video films produced during the mid-’Nineties.  Obviously not to be taken seriously, JACK-O does – possibly inadvertently – capture the spirit and fun of the Halloween season and, as silly as the titular scythe-wielding demon is, his bulbous pumpkin head – with glowing orange eyes and an evil grin – is eerily effective at times.  Populated with the usual rather stiff actors, it must be said that Latshaw’s son Ryan actually manages to portray a meek-mannered, bullied kid rather well… but perhaps he wasn’t just acting!  As the obligatory babysitter, veteran scream queen Linnea Quigley performs her ‘duties’ with solid professionalism, including doing a lengthy and totally gratuitous shower scene, which was most likely expected of her.  Much like he did in Robert Worms III’s direct-to-video compilation TERROR ON TAPE (1983), Cameron Mitchell plays Dr. Cadaver, a horror host showing something called “THE COVEN”, featuring original footage of Brinke Stevens as a witch, which doesn’t propel the story forward any, but does add to the Halloween spirit of it all.  At times overly convoluted with a host of peripheral characters, JACK-O is a surprisingly entertaining bit of innocuous silliness that delivers all the requisite exploitation staples.  

Isolated to the first disc, JACK-O is loaded with special features, including a solid commentary from both Latshaw and producer Fred Olen Ray, who offer some great anecdotes about filming low-budget films, and, in a few instances, things even get a little heated when they seem to be taking opposing sides regarding the gratuitous nudity and its placement within the film; it’s a good, lively listen.  Other extras include a fairly in-depth “making-of” featurette, which includes loads of behind-the-scenes footage.  A trailer for the film finishes things off.

Yet another direct-to-video release, BIOHAZARD: THE ALIEN FORCE, opens the second disc and, according to Latshaw, this actually played theatrically in South Korea, where its “name”-star, Christopher Mitchum, is (was?) big box-office. Much like Ray’s original BIOHAZARD, this is yet another monster-on-the-loose film, which – even when compared to Ray’s cheapo 35mm original – was done dirt-cheap.  Triton Industries has, through the use of combined human DNA from a number of donors, developed a slimy humanoid creature that is viciously offing folks in and around central Florida.  An ex-employee at Triton named Mike (Steve Zurk), along with a feisty reporter (Susan Fronsoe), are trying to get to the bottom on the rash of killings, but, further complicating matters, a laconic hitman named Quint (Tom Ferguson) is attempting to destroy any evidence related to Triton at the behest of Brady (Christopher Mitchum), the company’s ruthless CEO.

Lionsgate's 2005 DVD release.

Originally conceived as a simplistic creature feature along the lines of Stephen Traxler’s SLITHIS (1977), director Latshaw seemed intent on doing something different with BIOHAZARD: THE ALIEN FORCE, and the film quickly morphed into an overly ambitious action film, which does move at an entertaining enough clip, with plenty of poverty row action scenes, some of which were even spliced-in from F.O. Ray’s The TOMB (1986), but don’t necessarily mesh well with the other footage. Designed by John Carl Buechler, the titular so-called “alien force” (a silly retitle, since it’s not extraterrestrial in nature), is an effective man-in-a-suit monster, which looks like a cross between the creature in William Malone’s SCARED TO DEATH (1980) and Don Dohler’s rubbery, inexpressive NIGHTBEAST (1982) baddie; which isn’t a bad thing per se, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been seen before.  Although BIOHAZARD: THE ALIEN FORCE does have some inventive touches – for instance, the creature seeking out its DNA donors – it’s really up to the cast to inject any real substance.  TV character actor Steve Zurk plays the usual ‘hero’ with the necessary but stereotypically gruff self-confidence. As the resourceful reporter, Susan Fronsoe interacts well with Zurk, and, in typical exploitation fashion, she even gets topless during a rather amusing post-coital bedroom scene.  In another gratuitous scene, the ‘well-proportioned’ Katherine Culliver – as one of the DNA donors – is interrupted while making love and sculpting (!?), both at the same time!  Pioneering Florida filmmaker William Grefé also gets a cameo discussing “jellyfish monsters” and the “death curse of Tartu”, which does register as a little forced, but it’ll make most “in-the-know” viewers smile just the same. 

Featuring yet another relaxed but enjoyable audio commentary with Latshaw and Ray, they freely admit to “smokin’, drinkin’ and eatin’ pizza,” and encourage viewers to do likewise while watching the movie.  As usual, both men have plenty of stories revolving around their economical resourcefulness to tell – such as how they utilized shots of explosions from Disney’s ‘Miami Vice Stunt Show’ in their film, thus adding significant production values to it.  This commentary makes for another solid and entertaining listen.

Retromedia's 2001 DVD release.

Taking cues from Val Guest’s The QUATERMASS XPERIMENT (1955) and Robert Day’s FIRST MAN INTO SPACE (1959), the second film on disc 2 is about an astronaut (Steve Barkett) who returns to Earth as a giant alien after becoming infected by strange orange spores from outer space.  Upon crash-landing out in the Florida everglades, the alien begins stalking and picking-off a search crew while the extraterrestrial spores begin taking-over the entire swamp. 

The is easily the most threadbare of Latshaw’s films in this collection, so it’s nice to see the improvements he made with each successive film.  Featuring endless scenes of talking heads – where no one really says anything of any importance – and aimless wandering through the everglades, the film is all exposition, and even the monster is kinda ineffective and ho-hum; a typically inexpressive and immobile, H.R. Giger-inspired alien.  As is customary, DARK UNIVERSE does provide the usual exploitation staples, including nudity, some gore, and, in one particularly hilarious (and certainly original) scene, an infected armadillo attacks an amorous couple right in mid-coitus!    

DU features yet another audio commentary with Latshaw and Ray, which is far more interesting than the movie itself, with the usual anecdotes and interesting tidbits of info and trivia, such as how the monster was reused in Ray’s and Jim Wynorski’s threadbare DINOSAUR ISLAND (1994).  Other extras on disc 2 include trailers for both BIOHAZARD 2 and DARK UNIVERSE, a blooper reel for BIOHAZARD 2 (7m34s) and footage from GATOR BABES (7m20s [“that jungle is full of big, mean, pissed-off Amazon women!”]), plus a trailer for said mock movie, which was used in Ray’s BIKINI DRIVE-IN (1995).

Totaling a nice, inexpensive triple feature, Retromedia’s JACK-O & FRIENDS is an undemanding night’s entertainment, which is well worth picking up for the commentaries alone, especially for a mere twenty bucks.  Currently available on Amazon here, grab this limited edition DVD before it sells out and starts commanding exorbitant prices online!