Over the last year or so, UK indie cult home video label 88 Films has made a name for itself by releasing solid editions of in demand 70s and 80s horror and genre films. Through both their Slasher Classics and Italian Collection lines, 88 Films have filled in many horror fans' wish lists for HD slaughter.
Recently they sent us a care package of their newest releases, and asked us to take a look, so here we are. Keep reading to see what we thought of Andrea Bianchi's Burial Ground, Creepshow 2, Sleepaway Camps 2 & 3, and finally low-budget grinder Fred Olen Ray's Scalps.
1981's gut-muncher Burial Ground is one of the more notorious films to emerge from the post-Dawn of the Dead explosion of Italian zombie films. George Romero's mall-set classic inspired a slew of undead zombie flicks from Italy, not all of them great (or even good). Leading the charge in terms of both quality and speed was genre master Lucio Fulci, whose Zombi 2 (a.k.a. Zombie, Zombie Flesh Eaters, etc.) started the trend, but sadly not all imitators were quite up to his standards. Which leads us to Andrea Bianchi's (Strip Nude for Your Killer) Burial Ground, one of the lesser additions to the canon.
Burial Ground tells the story of a group of a bunch of zombies killing and eating a bunch of locals along with a professor and his family, who have all been invited to a country mansion for the weekend. The story is really pretty pointless, as Bianchi doesn't spend a whole lot of time fleshing out anyone's motivations or characters. What the film is really about is zombie hunting hapless humans trapped inside the mansion, and that's what happens. Repeatedly. For ninety minutes.
I'm obviously not a huge fan of the film, however, when I mentioned casually to some friends that I was rewatching it I was astonished to find that many of them are genuine fans. The film is objectively bad in that it is poorly made, poorly written, and poorly executed, however, it seems that these are some of the same elements that have made it a popular cult film while I wasn't looking. Sure, there are some pretty entertaining pieces to Burial Ground, and I will admit to being occasionally entertained, but there's not nearly enough meat on these bones to put together a full coherent film.
One of Burial Ground's most enduring legacies has nothing to do with the zombies at all, but with Bianchi's single stroke of bizarre genius that is the Oedipal relationship between the professor's wife Evelyn and her son Michael. Michael, played by little person cult hero Peter Bark, looks in no way like the child he's supposed to be. Evelyn and Michael share a truly unnerving incestual relationship that involves extended nursing scenes and full on groping at frequent intervals. This relationship between the two characters is easily the most entertaining by virtue of its sheer absurdity. Unfortunately it isn't nearly enough to sustain my interest for the entire film, and thus, I'll stick with YouTube clips from here on out.
The zombies, designed and executed by Italian gore specialist Gino De Rossi (City of the Living Dead, House by the Cemetery) have the particular look that fans will quickly associate with the Italian zombie genre. Unlike American zombie films which have typically striven to retain the humanity of the beasts through fairly minimal facial make-up, Italian zombies tend to completely dehumanize their monster by completely eradicating the facial features so that the creatures are indistinguishable from one another. In this case, De Rossi's zombies mostly just look like they feel face first into a mud puddle. It's not his finest hour.
There are dozens of reviews of Burial Ground that will counter my opinion point-by-point, but I just can't get into this film. However, if you are a fan, I must imagine this is the way to go.
The Disc:
88 Films' release of Burial Ground was one of their more anticipated Blu-rays thus far. The film had already been released in HD by American cult film label Shriek Show, and that disc left a lot to be desired. However, fans can rest easy in upgrading or replacing that old disc as 88 Films' version does away with the need for it. The new high definition restoration from the 16mm negative is quite solid, miles better than Shriek Show's, and the audio (I tested the English audio) is also very good. Films of this ilk tend not to be archived meticulously, but I can't imagine this looking a whole lot better.
In terms of extra features, Burial Ground is accompanied by a decent, though not overwhelming selection of contextual material. First up
is a commentary with film expert John Martin moderated by Calum Waddell. There's nothing out of the box fantastic about the commentary, but for those who
enjoy them, you could do a lot worse. The other substantial extra is an interview with Mikel Coven who talks about the films of Andrea Bianchi in great
detail. While I'm not a fan of the film, this interview was very informative and definitely worth my time. Also included in package is a “Grindhouse
Version” of the film transferred from a 35mm release print. It looks like shit, but it's kind of supposed to.
If you're a Burial Ground fan, you'll love this. If you are not a Burial Ground fan, it's still a pretty good package all around. If you've never seen Burial Ground, it's hard to give this one a full on recommendation; however, if you have seen other Italian zombie films from the early '80s and really enjoyed them you'll probably dig it. Burial Ground is out on Region B lock Blu-ray from 88 Films.
I am a massive fan of George Romero's Creepshow. That film, a gruesome love letter to '50s EC Comics, had a perfect mix of gore, humor, and skewed morality to slake my particular appetites, but I'd never bothered giving the sequel a chance. So, when Creepshow 2 was sent to me for review from 88 Films I was a bit nervous. I know that no sequel or remake can evere replace my memories of the original film, but I still have a special place in my heart for the original. I can safely say that I still love Creepshow, and while Creepshow 2 shows the occasional flash of inspiration, it really doesn't put a patch on Romero's earlier effort, in spite of the fact that he wrote it.
Like the first film, Creepshow 2 is also a horror anthology, this time each story is introduced by The Creep, a crone played by FX wizard Tom Savini under massive amounts of prosthetics. The three stories – Old Chief Wood'nhead, The Raft, and The Hitch-hiker – are fairly bland, and apart from the first, have no real narrative to speak of. This is another film that a lot of my friends really enjoy, and many of them attempted to convert me as I watched it, but I just don't see what they see. Perhaps age has jaded me, or maybe my friends just have terrible taste. Who knows? I do know that Creepshow 2 did not impress me one bit.
In terms of the three stories within the film, it is only the first, Chief Wood'nhead, that even attempted anything like a true narrative, and for that I'll give it kudos. The tale of an old wooden Indian chief that comes to life to avenge his owner is definitely the winner here. It goes on a bit too long, but the FX are solid, the villains truly reprehensible, and the acting works the best out of the trio.
The Raft is the story of a quartet of horny teens that get trapped by an evil toxic sludge in a lake. Literally nothing happens in this section of the film. The teens make their way out to an anchored raft in the middle of the lake and get picked off one-by-one. It's dull, it has a shitty looking monster, and it goes nowhere.
The final story, The Hitch-hiker, feels the most like a Creepshow story, however, it suffers from the curse of The Raft in that the story goes nowhere and has no arc at all. It's just a single gag played over and over again for twenty minutes. There are no twists, no turns, no surprises, and by the time it's over, I'm relieved.
Sorry fright fans, I just can't get behind this pale imitation of a sequel. If the stories had more humor, or even an attempt at a story, I would've been happy to give this film a rave review. As it stands, it's just boring. Not even the Heavy Metal (film) style animated interludes could save it for me, though they were a welcome distraction from the blandness of the main story.
The Disc:
I know that Creepshow 2 is available on US Blu-ray, but I haven't seen that disc to compare. 88 Films release looks and sounds quite solid, so I'm not too worried about the HD restoration. There are two English language HD audio tracks and I tested both. The uncompressed LPCM Stereo track sounds great, very clear with dialogue forward, however, the uncompressed LPCM 5.1 remix is pretty weak in comparison. I'd stick with the stereo track.
The disc includes several great bonus features that are very likely better than the movie itself, and definitely make this the version to own when compared to the bare-bones US release. There is a great interview with Savini where he talks about the film and what it was like to be behind the makeup rather than the one applying it, there is also an interview with Romero explaining his involvement with the sequel. It's impossible to say if the film would've worked better with Romero as director, but since he was the screenwriter, I imagine it'd still be pretty lousy. The last substantial extra is a reel featuring Tom Savini's home videos from behind the scenes. It's a lot of fun to watch for a few minutes, but since it focuses largely on his experiences on set - which were minimal – it does leave a bit to be desired.
If you're a fan of Creepshow 2, this is the Blu-ray you want. Hands down. Creepshow 2 is now available on Region B Blu-ray from 88 Films.
Next up from 88 Films' Slasher Classics Collection are Sleepaway Camp 2 & 3. This pair of summer camp slashers rolled around years after the subgenre had died out, but still manage to entertain on their own terms. Ever since the very early days of the slasher film, summer camp was a very popular destination, and 1983's Sleepaway Camp was an alarmingly transgressive entry in the canon, if only for its unique and shocking final shot. These two sequels take some of the more standard elements of that first film and build on them, however, neither of them approaches the heights of the original, even though they are perfectly serviceable on their own.
Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers returns Angela Johnson to site of her earlier massacre, however, this time around she's not a camper, she's a counselor in charge. Before the little kiddies show up to camp, all of the counselors have to go through training, and Angela is there to whip them into shape, and God help them if they don't hold up to her standards. Before too long, counselors are being “sent home” and disappearing at a conspicuous rate and her bosses start to get suspicious. That's when things start to get really crazy.
In the final proper film of the trilogy, Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland, Angela returns for a third time, only now she's a camper again. When her old stomping grounds are turned into a social experiment combining teenage urban youth with upper class preppies, Angela decides that they can all stand to be knocked down a peg. As a set up, part three is clearly the most interesting, but it fairly quickly devolves into the same kind of film as the other two. One bright spot is the hilarious awkward Angela Rap preceding the death of a black camper that stands out as one of the worst songs ever performed by anyone ever.
Both films are fine, but neither really attempts to stretch the Angela mythos beyond its established roots. In fact, Angela's transgressive reveal at the end of the first film is only mentioned once, as far as I can recall, and beyond that it is never exploited at all, in spite of being the most memorable piece of the first film. In similar films, like the summer camp slasher grand-daddy Friday the 13th, the mythos is constantly evolving. This can be a pain in the butt for viewers looking for continuity, but at least it provides a bit of variation between the films. In Sleepaway Camp films, the rules are pretty simple: If you aren't Angela, you're gonna die. Is it fun? Yes, however, without the desire to leave the camp or delve further into Angela's persona, I'm not sad that the series ended where it did.
The Discs:
These two films released back to back in 1988 and 1989, long after the slasher boom ended. However, their newer vintage does them favors in terms of the Blu-ray releases from 88 Films. The two films are available on separate discs, but for the sake of this review, we'll talk about them as a unit since there's no discernible difference in quality. Both films looks and sound great. No problems with the image or sound quality, buy with confidence.
There are only two significant extras on these discs, one for each, however, they are informative and worth checking out. Part two features an “interview” with Mikel Coven in which he discusses some of the elements of the Sleepaway Camp series, but mostly just smells his own farts in an extended free form monologue. Not my style. However, on part three is there is a far more topical interview with slasher expert Justin Kerswell who talks about these films and their place within the slasher canon. This is an academic extra that I can get behind. His talk is entertaining and informative, if you're going to check out only one of the extras, it should definitely be Kerswells' on Teenage Wasteland.
Overall, the discs are solid and the films are a lot of fun, even if they don't break any new ground. For UK and European fans, these are an easy recommendation, however, if you're in the US or other Region A territories, there's no reason to go double dipping if you already own the Scream Factory discs. Sleepaway Camp 2 and Sleepaway Camp 3 are available now from 88 Films on Region B Blu-ray.
I am a relative newcomer to the films of no-budget schlockster Fred Olen Ray. Out of the 100+ films that he has directed in the last forty years, I'd only seen two before I was sent Scalps for review. Those two, Dinosaur Island and Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, are both decidedly low-budget, low-brow affairs. However, next to Scalps, they are masterworks. Scalps has the distinction of being one of the very few slasher films to use Native Americans and their mythology, however, Ray's interpretation is wildly off base and most likely very offensive.
In the film, a group of archaeology students wander out into the wilderness of the southwest looking for a good time and maybe a little bit of Native American booty as they carelessly poke around an old native burial ground. When their fun goes a little too far and the spirits get annoyed, the ghost of Black Claw begins to pick them off one by one. Black Claw possesses the nosy hikers one at a time, and takes revenge on those who would seek to disturb his sleep and exploit his people.
If there is anything unique about Scalps, it's the element of possession, apart from that, this film is pretty dire. The Native American elements in the film are purely exploitative and don't reflect the people at all, which is fine, it's a schlocky horror movie, but they aren't even exploited in a particularly creative way. I guess when you're trying to make the cheapest movie possible, a lot of things go out the window, like a creative and/or compelling narrative.
As I've grown older my tolerance for these no-budget films has definitely decreased. I still love a good schlocky gore movie, but there has to be something interesting about it. With Scalps, there's just nothing to latch on to. I don't care about any of the characters. I don't care about the ghost of Black Claw. All I care about is how much longer I'm going to have to watch this shit. Even at eighty-three minutes, Scalps seems about seventy-three minutes too long. Just dreadful.
The Disc:
Scalps on Blu-ray is described by 88 Films has being a new 2K scan from the original negative, but don't get your hopes up, the movie looks terrible. The print is absolutely littered with specks and scratches and it's frequently difficult to tell what's going on. Thankfully the damage manages to mask some of the messier FX work, but I can't say I've seen many worse Blu-rays in my time are a reviewer. Now, it's important to note that I'm pretty sure this isn't the fault of 88 Films, it's just what they were given by Ray, however, it is quite ugly.
Thankfully, to balance out the poor A/V presentation there are a wealth of bonus features to cruise through for fans. There is a commentary from Ray which is a boon for fans, as well as a twenty-two minute retrospective piece in which Ray talks with several of his cast about their experiences on Scalps. That piece is pretty fun, and definitely more enjoyable than the film. The final significant extra is an interview with Justin Kerswell who does a good job contextualizing the film.
Scalps is not a good movie. But if you're a fan, this is your best option.
Scalps is available on Region B Blu-ray from 88 Films.