SEX & ASTROLOGY (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1971
Directed By: Matt Cimber
Color/82 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: February 23, 2016

The Film
SEX & ASTROLOGY brings the viewer on a trip through time and space to bare witness to the sexual side to each of the twelve signs of the zodiac all while Venus looks on with a pink cupid and his blue wife.

SEX & ASTROLOGY is pure midnight movie gold. Through and through, it is a sexually charged, piece of probably drug induced art that is right at home in 1971. The film has virtually no dialogue, letting a narrator describe to us the personality and sexual desires of each zodiac while we get to watch a plethora of uncredited actors and actresses get it on. While this is most definitely a hardcore adult film there's only a few actual penetration or more hardcore shots, most of this feels and looks a bit softer than it actually was but it doesn't hurt the film at all.

SEX & ASTROLOGY feels like a 12 part stage play at times, with interludes of Venus putting up with Cupid's antics but this play wouldn't be found on Broadway, it'd be found in some basement stoner theater with about 25 people in the audience who end up having an orgy of their own once the cast takes their final bows and the curtain is closed for the night.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome have SEX AND ASTROLOGY looking quite good. It's evident that the movie was filmed soft, dark and sometimes in various colored lighting that washes out much of the picture. While there's nothing VinSyn can do about the way in which the film was photographed they've done a nice job on their 2K scan from original 16mm elements. The picture still has some scratchles and speckling and the odd piece of debris or hair but colors are strong and vivid and there's a nice sharpness to the picture. The mono Dolby Digital audio sounds very good with no background noise present. It's free of any distortions or audible hiccups. The majority of the sound comes from the score and narration so it sounds quite nice.

The Extras
The original theatrical trailer is included.

The Bottom Line
Compared to other Vinegar Syndrome releases SEX & ASTROLOGY may seem a bit on the tame side despite having plenty of skin on display but there's a fantastic oddball midnight movie quality to the entire picture that makes this one stand out from the pack in an almost stage play sort of way.

SEX & ASTROLOGY is available HERE

THE DEAD NEXT DOOR (Ultimate Edition Blu-ray Review) - Tempe Digital

USA/1989
Directed By: J.R. Bookwalter
Written By: J.R. Bookwalter
Starring: Pete Ferry, Bogdan Pecic, Michael Grossi
Color/78 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: December 15, 2015
Blu-ray/DVD/CD

The Film
Zombies are a problem, a big problem and an everyday problem. A special government appointed force called The Zombie Squad has been formed to clean out the problem while scientists look for a cure. Unfortunately zombies are only the start of the Zombie Squad's problems as a religious cult is protecting them, believing that they're punishment sent from God.

THE DEAD NEXT DOOR is the epitome of backyard filmmaking on a massive scale. J.R. Bookwalter wrote, directed and co-produced this movie that took over four years to complete and eventually had the help of Sam Raimi as an executive producer using some of his earnings from Evil Dead 2 and voice talents from Bruce Campbell. The movie was shot with a Super 8 camera which was long out of date even in 1985. The graininess and overall image quality those cameras give to the movie is one of almost an older documentary and add to that home video feel. It works for the tone of the movie. The acting is about as good as you'd expect for a DIY zombie movie that takes four years to complete but all sound had to be dubbed in post production, again adding to the low budget, backyard feel.

I've had plenty of history with this movie, having seen it at least half a dozen times and having quite the vast array of reactions to it on any given viewing. I've finally come to the conlcusion that I really enjoy THE DEAD NEXT DOOR for everything it is and isn't. The special effects are quite good, easily the most professional thing about the film. It's filled with references to popular horror culture and has a scene set in a video store, which is always a plus.

You have to be able to appreciate low budget cheese and you have to enjoy so bad they're good movies to really "get" THE DEAD NEXT DOOR. It has a great personality, some inventive filmmaking and even risked felony terrorism charges to get some Washington D.C. footage. That's guerilla filmmaking at its purest and shows the passion behind this movie from everyone involved. That passion is immediately evident when you watch it. A project of love that ends up being well worth all the time J.R. Bookwalter has poured into it over the years for each various format it has been released on.

The Audio & Video
THE DEAD NEXT DOOR was filmed on Super 8 film which immediately limits the amount of detail you can squeeze out of the tiny 8mm frames but Tempe Entertainment has gone the distance with a brand new 2K restoration that has brought every last drop of detail out of the film elements used. This Blu-ray won't look like the latest blockbuster release but it has a much higher level of depth and detail than any previous home video release this movie has ever seen. Colors are more vibrant and vivid giving them a strong presentation and not looking washed out. The reds are crimson and black levels have no problem with crush. Surfaces have a nice noticeable texture and the special effects makeup looks excellent in HD.

The audio was all recorded in post production dubs and it sounds quite good here with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that is sparkling clean and very crisp sounding. The mix across the levels is steady and the fullest and most powerful this movie has ever sounded. There's no issues with damage or background noise.

The Extras
Disc 1 (Blu-ray)
-"Restoration Of The Dead" - Interview with director J.R. Bookwalter on the filming and painstaking restoration of the movie from the original Super 8mm film to the 2004 DVD release and this current Blu-ray.
-Capitol Theater Screening - Footage from the 2015 screening and reunion in Cleveland, Ohio.
-The Nightlight Screening - Footage from the 2015 screening in the film's hometown of Akron, Ohio
-Behind The Scenes
-Deleted Scenes and Outtakes
-Trailers
-Still Galleries

Disc 2 (DVD)
-Original 1990 VHS Version of the Film
-2005 DVD Version of the film
-2015 Audio Commentary with Doug Tilley and Moe Porne of the No Budget Nightmare Podcast
-2005 Audio Commentary with Director J.R. Bookwalter, Actor Michael Todd and Cinematographer Michael Tolochko
-Rare Short Films w/ Audio Commentary
-Local TV Appearances
-"The Dead Up North" - Footage from a Canadian screening of the film
-1995 Making-Of Excerpts
-Local TV Commercials
-"20 Years In 15 Minutes"
-Video Storyboards
-Video Preshoots
-Auditions
-Three Miles Out Music Video
-2000 Frightvision Reunion
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
THE DEAD NEXT DOOR isn't for everyone. It's cheesy, it's bad and it's wonderful. It's gory, it's silly and it's not the prettiest thing to look at. If that all sounds good to you then you'll probably appreciate it and there's only one way to see it and that is this definitive edition of the movie with a ridiculously extensive collection of extra features chronicling the history of the film over the last 30 years.

THE DEAD NEXT DOOR is available HERE

KILL OR BE KILLED (DVD Review) - Image/RLJ Entertainment

USA/2016
Directed By: Duane Graves, Justin Meeks
Written By: Duane Graves, Justin Meeks
Starring: Justin Meeks, Paul McCarthy-Boyington, Greg Kelly
Color/104 Minutes/Not Rated
Region1
Release Date: March 2, 2016

The Film
Sweet Tooth Barbee and his gang of outlaws are on a desperate ride across the inhospitable terrain of Texas to recover their hidden loot from a previous robbery but with a bounty on their head and plenty of other ruthless killers riding the area their ride to riches becomes a fight for survival.

KILL OR BE KILLED is a violent, revisionist western in the spaghetti style. There's no shortage of fist fights, shoot outs, and bloodshed left in the wake of Sweet Tooth's gang. While that makes for a fun western if doesn't make for an engaging western as the majority of the characters are paper thin, and the story couldn't be more one note. It is nothing more than a timeline of places where another fight takes place in the travel-fight-sleep-repeat pattern.

The focus on travel does allow the filmmakers to show off the sprawling Texas landscape where KILL OR BE KILLED was shot and they manage to capture that epic landscape nicely with some nice photography. Sadly at times it seems certain filters are used on the camera that soften the look and cheat us of some of the vivid colors that the natural terrain has to offer.

Performances are solid from top to bottom, with big points going to Brider Zadina as the young ventriloquist who's growth from a medical swindler's sidekick to a young man hardened by the west and the men around him may be the most interesting part of the film. There's other interesting things that never quite fully develop and left me feeling unsatisfied.

That feeling carried on through much of the film - I think westerns work because you can completely lose yourself in the setting and the characters. They engulf you from the scenery and the characters to the music. KILL OR BE KILLED felt a bit like an imitation western almost as if someone read the tropes of the genre and made a movie that they thought would be the real deal. I know this isn't the case because directors Duane Graves and Justin Meeks show talent throughout but moments of CGI blood spray and uneven special effects pulled me out of the film. Westerns, to me, need a feeling of authenticity and at times KILL OR BE KILLED loses that feeling.

KILL OR BE KILLED is uneven throughout. There's some beautiful compositions and decent performances but there's also a one note story and questionable direction that makes this feel more like a cheap action movie than a western. It's a missed opportunity at being an impressive contemporary western.

Side note- This movie was originally called Red On Yella, Kill A Fella which I think is not only a far more original name but it better suits the film as well.
The Audio & Video
Image RLJ Entertainment's 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks good with no compression or blocking even during the dark scenes. The picture is clean and has pretty strong detail for a standard DVD. The colors are reproduced nicely but the way the movie was shot doesn't always allow them to shine leading to a soft picture. The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix sounds great, with a powerful mix allowing for the loud bangs of gunshots to ring true and the traditional western score to become a bit infectious. There's no background noise or distortions to the audio mix.

The Extras
-Kill Or Be Killed: Making An Indie Western
-Audio Commentary with Duane Graves and Justin Meeks
-Deleted Scenes
-Interview with Justin Meeks and Duane Graves
-SLACKER 2011 segment by Duane Graves and Justin Meeks

The Bottom Line
Casual western fans may be more forgiving to KILL OR BE KILLED but they'd also be better served digging deeper into an unsung classic of the genre. It's the double edged sword that the movie itself is. You take the good with the disappointing.

KILL OR BE KILLED is available HERE

SWEET YOUNG FOXES/THE YOUNG LIKE IT HOT (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

Back in September of last year Vinegar Syndrome released this pair of films on Blu-ray in a limited edition of 2,000. That release sold out quickly as limited editions tend to do and is going for big bucks on the secondary used market. While I think if you dropped the $75-80 it'll cost you to get the limited edition Blu-ray you wouldn't be disappointed in the work done by Vinegar Syndrome because it is a truly beautiful job done by VinSyn, I'm totally on board with this DVD release of the films.

Fans commonly complain in situations like these when a limited edition is re-released but VinSyn is keeping the Blu-ray edition special by re-releasing the films for those that missed out on them the first time to get them at a reasonable price but not giving them the entire package that the people that bought the limited edition get. It's a fair trade off in my opinion and the Blu-ray editions are still out there on the secondary market if you want to pay the collector prices to get it. It's gorgeous and worth it if you need these films in HD. Otherwise this DVD release is a very nice release that carries over the special features from the original Blu-ray.

You can read the original Blu-ray review HERE but just note that the A/V takes a small step down in quality as we're talking about a DVD instead of an HD presentation here. The films are still a blast, Hyapatia Lee is still sexy as hell and a legend of adult films and I hope you'll give this one a chance if you previously missed out on the Blu.

SENSUAL ENCOUNTERS OF EVERY KIND (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1978
Directed By: Richard Kanter
Written By: Richard Kanter, Harold Lime
Starring: Serena, Lesllie Bovee, John Leslie
Color/76 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: February 23, 2016

The Film
An ancient alchemist developed a talisman with a special power that its owner will experience their ultimate sexual fantasy. The catch is that you can only use it once and then it must be passed along to someone else.

Things start out with a sexually frustrated wealthy woman who allows herself to be forcefully ravaged by the landscaping crew, the powerful politician who finally gets to nail his sexy mistress and a gym coach who gets it on with his students and much more.

SENSUAL ENCOUNTERS OF EVERY KIND is a perfect title for this lovely piece of smut. There's seemingly endless skin, a bit of taboo and some purely breath taking scenes with some of adult film's most recognizable faces. This sexy romp doesn't stick around too long but while it's here it is like a whirlwind of ancient sexual dreams coming true.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome deliver this piece of sexploitation on DVD with a 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer scanned in a new 2K scan from the original negative that looks quite good for the vast majority of the duration. There's a couple instances of damage to the source material in the forms of tears and scratches but they are towards the end of the film and only happen a few times for a total of a couple seconds worth of screen time. The rest of the film looks quite good, with a clean look with just minor speckling and a warm natural color palette and strong detail for a standard definition release. The mono Dolby Digital track is crisp and clear free of any distortions or background noise. It's not much more than a standard mix job but it gets the point across perfectly. There's no need to tamper with it or try to create a false surround mix.

The Extras
The lone extra is an audio interview with actor Jon Martin.

The Bottom Line
SENSUAL ENCOUNTERS OF EVERY KIND is a fun one, it may not have the lasting impressions of raunchier or more outlandish adult films but the scenes included here are seriously good stuff.

SENSUAL ENCOUNTERS OF EVERY KIND is available HERE

HOLE (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2010
Directed By: Joaquin Montalvan
Written By: Eunice Font, Joaquin Montalvan
Starring: Paul E. Respass, Jim Barile, Randall Barnes
Color/94 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: November 24, 2015

The Film
Ed Kunkle has recently been released from prison against his own wishes and is now a suspect in the disappearance of several women from his area. He has started a relationship with a woman damaged by the tragic death of her infant son who has no idea of the demons that haunt Ed or the secrets he hides in the shed out back.

HOLE is a noitcably low budget indie horror picture from 2010, finally given a home on DVD by Wild Eye Releasing in 2015. It features ideas that don't fully pan out, stilted acting, and too much (and totally unnecessary) slow motion photography during some of the more graphic violence scenes. It is flawed at best, imperfect and amatuerish at worst. The real film falls somewhere in the middle of those extremes.

The film has a rawness about it that makes it a more interesting watch than it would be as a polished product. It's gritty and dirty in a way that reminds me of a low budget Rob Zombie flick. And I mean that in a good way. The editing leaves the film feeling a bit disjointed, but it has a personality to it that is undeniable, even if that personality isn't wildly original.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing gives HOLE a nice home on DVD with a 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The color palette is often cold and saturated on purpose and the disc reflects that nicely. The movie was obviously filmed on less than professional level gear so the transfer is only going to look so sharp - luckily it does look good. It has a raw quality that matches the film itself. The image is clean and handles black levels decently as there is some light compression and artifacting issues. The audio sounds as good as you would hope given the low budget production. The levels have a good mix and dialogue never gets lost amongst the music. There's no distortions or audible annoyances to speak of.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with the Director
-Making Of Documentary
-Ed's Journals
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
If you're digging for something new, something outside what the studios are throwing at you on a weekly basis and want to give a low budget picture a chance HOLE has a certain quality to it that allows it to rise above its shortcomings and be an interesting watch with plenty of violence.

HOLE is available HERE

PIECES (Blu-ray Review) - Grindhouse Releasing

Spain, USA/1982
Directed By: Juan Piquer Simon
Written By: Dick Randall, Joe D'Amato
Starring: Christopher George, Linda Day George, Edmund Purdom
Color/89 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: March 1, 2016
2x Blu-ray/CD/Replica Jigsaw Puzzle (First 3,000 copies only)

The Film
In the 1940s a young boy is caught putting together a nudie jigsaw puzzle by his mother who comes down hard on him. The boy responds by attacking his mother with an axe and dismembering her body with a hacksaw. Fast forward 40 years and there's a murderer on the loose at a local college and they're using a chainsaw to murder and maim their victims.

PIECES is a gloriously exploitatative piece of horror from director J.P. Simon who takes a more is more approach. More gore, more nudity and more red herrings. Simon's direction is competent but not very flashy. It doesn't need to be as he lets the murder set pieces and special effects be the glitz and glamor of the movie. Oh and the nudity, did I mention the nudity?

The cast has a surprising amount of recognizable names from Edmund Purdom to Paul L. Smith. Purdom and Smith give a couple of the better performances of the movie as you'd expect but much of the rest of the cast hams it up and overacts to comedic delight. The dialogue in the script is clunky at times but that leads way to some classic scenes such as the "Bastard!" scene.

You shouldn't tune in to PIECES for a subtle, atmospheric horror film with a tight script and strong performances, you should tune into PIECES for a glorious exercise in excess. There's a reason PIECES is a classic example of drive-in era horror and was a staple of the seedy grindhouse theaters on and around 42nd Street in New York City and that is because PIECES not only approves of the type of things a mother who would force you to burn a nudie jigsaw puzzle forbids but it relishes those dirty things and even encourages you to dabble in them. I love PIECES a little bit more with each subsequent viewing.

The Audio & Video
Grindhouse Releasing nails the 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer on PIECES with a brand new 4K scan from the original camera negative, maintaining the original aspect ratio. Colors are vibrant with deep crimson reds that pop just a bit to lush greens. Skin tones are fleshy and natural without a hint of waxiness. Detail level is nearly off the charts from textures to surfaces and especially in facial closeups with facial hair and skin details. The picture is crystal clear, it's immediately evident that there was significant effort into making sure the print is squeaky clean. There's no DNR or edge enhancement to speak of and PIECES has never sparkled like this.

The new DTS-HD Master Audio mix is exceptional with sparkling clarity. The mix gives a strong boost to the soundtrack that manages to slice through the various screaming and chainsaw buzzing of the film and become complimentary without ever fighting for the foreground. There's no background noise or imperfections such as crackling or popping. PIECES looks and sounds like perfection.

The Extras
Disc 1:
-Audio Commentary With Star Jack Taylor
-Music Re-Score By Umberto
-The Vine Theater Experience
-Still Galleries
-Liner Notes

Disc 2:
-42nd Street Memories: The Rise And Fall Of America's Most Notorious Block - A feature length documentary on the mecca of exploitation film
-Interview With Producer Steve Minasian
-Interview With Paul Smith
-Interview with Director Juan Piquer Simon
-Bios and Filmographies
-Grindhouse Releasing Prevues
-Production Credits

A CD soundtrack is also included along with a replica jigsaw puzzle to the first 3,000 copies.

The Bottom Line
Grindhouse Releasing has become synonymous with delivering the most beautiful looking and sounding releases that the cult film market has ever seen and they always pack them with special features. They seem to outdo themselves with each release these days adding something special to the mix of superb A/V to make the fans scramble with excitement. All hail Grindhouse Releasing! PIECES is an essential part of your horror Blu-ray collection.

PIECES is available HERE