The Reel Nerds review Eighth Grade! Gucci!
Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. Part 15 is the John Carpenter Anthology, Body Bags!
Released in 1993, Carpenter tried his hand not only in directing a cable television horror series but he also serves as a Crypt-Keeper knock off host known as The Coroner. Now Carpenter says that this was to serve as sort of pilot for Showtime, however in the commentary, Sandy King (producer and also Carpenter’s wife), says that is not the case. That Body Bags was intended to be a horror movie on TV to show everyone else on how to do horror. King is right at least one of the three tales as the final tale, “The Eye”, not directed by Carpenter but by Tobe Hopper is pure horror bliss.
The first tale is “The Gas Station” that is a straight up slasher film starring Robert Carradine from “Revenge of the Nerds”. A woman named Anne is starting her first day at a remote gas station. After her co-worker leaves she is unsettled by several customers, the best being a man played by the great Wes Craven. Besides some cool horror cameos, “The Gas Station” is pretty ho-hum and it’s those cameos that save it from being totally forgettable. Carpenter does have some clever shots as well, however “The Gas Station” is just average.
Second up is a more comedic tale, “Hair”. Starring Stacy Keach as a man who is going bald, looking for anything to give him a full head of hair. He finds it in a wacky doctor who gives what he wants a beautiful mane of hair. Featuring more awesome horror legend cameos, “Hair” works better than “The Gas Station.”
The final tale is easily the best and maybe the best segment ever in a horror anthology, “The Eye” is mean and violent. Mark Hamill stars in a tale as a Major League baseball player who suffers a horrendous car accident that costs him his right eye. With the help of doctors, he receives an eye transplant. His new eye comes with a side effect however, as now he has violent visions and a violent temper. Hamill is amazing, his descent into madness is something to behold.
Body Bags is a little uneven. Carpenter, who admits he’s no actor and his Crypt-Keeper/Beetlejuice knock off, The Coroner is just not as good as the those two horror icons. That might not be fair to Carpenter, but when you do a horror anthology, being introduced by a dead guy, the comparisons are inevitable. Also, the first tale, which should have been right in Carpenter’s wheel house suffers from predictability. Body Bags is saved by the other two tales being better, with “The Eye” a straight up classic.
The video on Scream Factory’s Collector Edition of Body Bags is solid but won’t blow you away. The colors a little muted but the detail that appears on the makeup and clothing is great. The image does have some scratches and a big red dot pops up during “The Hair”. I am also betting that because this is a TV movie from the early 90’s might also have something to do with the inconsistences in the video.
No issues with the audio. It sounds clear with dialogue coming through very well. It won’t test your home theatre system but it does the job.
For being a Collector’s Edition, Body Bags is a little light on extras. The extras that are included however are pretty good. The better of the two is the commentary that is supplied by Carpenter and a few of the actors, specific to their segment. Sandy King pops up to give some great insight to the production of the film on “The Eye”. King is great at giving some really great behind the stories of the making of Body Bags. The only other new extra is a short 20 minute making of featurette.
Body Bags is a fun horror anthology. It never reaches the heights of Creepshow, but it doesn’t have to. It does entertain and deserve a place on a horror movie fans shelf.
Film: B-
Video: A
Audio: B+
Extras: B-
Overall: B
Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. I’m cheating on this entry as I review the latest Collector’s Edition, a long overdue film to blu-ray, Part 14 is Return of the Living Dead: Part II!
Return of the Living Dead Part II, revolves around a group of teenage boys that stumble upon a canister of the deadly Trioxin. The boys accidently open the canister and unleashes the Trioxin into a nearby cemetery, where a threesome of Ed, Joey and Brenda go into a mausoleum to rob graves.
Soon the living dead rise from their graves to reign terror on the local town.
Return of the Living Dead II is an odd movie. The first Return of the Living Dead is a brilliant blend of horror and comedy. Directed with flair, it’s a horror classic. Part II almost completely abandons all hints of horror and goes right for screwball comedy. Much of the comedy comes from not so scary zombies. Some of the comedy falls flat which makes for an uneven viewing experience. Even the famous tar man zombie makes another appearance in the film, but the lighting and the way tar man is shot he loses a lot of what made him great. The performances also are a little uneven. Thom Matthews and James Karen return from the first film, but playing different characters that end up with the same fate. They are pretty fun, so too is Jesse the young hero. The rest of the cast is ok, nothing that stands out. There is one true horror scene, Jesse is being stalked by a zombie in the basement of a hospital that lends itself to some great horror and gore moments. It is fun seeing a bunch of practical effects used to some gory goodness that only a film from the 80’s can deliver.
I do enjoy the film and any sequel to one of the greatest horror film ever was most likely to be a step back. But the director’s choice to make it more of a straight up comedy really hurt the overall quality of the film. Flawed but fun.
Return of the Living Dead II had never looked better. The brand new 2K scan does wonder to the film. I’ve seen the film many times but watching Scream’s new transfer it was like watching it again for the first time. Textures can be seen. Colors truly pop. This is a great transfer.
The dead have also never sounded better. One of the biggest issues with the previously released DVD is the not so great replaced soundtrack, well Scream has fixed this by including the original music from the theatrical release! That makes Return of the Living Dead a must for fans. I have never heard the original mix and it makes for a much more satisfying experience. The rest of the film also sounds great. From dialogue to gore this film is thumping.
Scream Factory has packed Return of the Living Dead II with some great new features. A whopping three commentaries can be found on the disc, two brand new, and one ported over from a previous release. All three are great with my favorite being with Gary Smart and Christopher Griffiths it’s full of history and is lots of fun. Also included is about an hour and a half of new interviews. I love when the participants are candid about their time on a movie. 0The disc has fun and very honest interviews, all a must watch.
Return of the Living Dead Part II is not the best zombie movie, but that’s ok. It’s a fun B-movie that has some really fun moments. It deserves to be on blu-ray. Scream Factory once again delivered an amazing disc that fans of the film and fans of the zombie genre will surely devour.
Film: B-
Video: A
Audio: A+
Extras: A
Overall: A
The Reel Nerds open wide when they review The Meg.
Sooner or later your past catches up with you when the Reel Nerds bring Corinne in to review Christopher Robin.
Some missions are not a choice when the Reel Nerds review Mission: Impossible: Fallout with guest Emil Acevedo.
Check out Emil’s work at https://www.youtube.com/user/Virgeo1228
The Reel Nerds travel back in time 20 years to the movie landscape of 1998!
Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. Part 13 is the early slasher film, Blood and Lace!
A crazed maniac kills a young woman’s mother and her lover with a hammer! The young lady, Ellie is now an orphan and sent to live at an orphanage ran by Mrs. Deere and her handyman Tom, but something sinister is afoot!
Blood and Lace is all over the place. Besides the opening murder scene that is somewhat effective it is a really strange picture. The opening scene is a cool tracking shot that is focused on the hammer, but it is ruined by some really hokey effects. The next scene deals with a teenage boy running from the orphanage, only to be chased by the handyman Tom who throws a knife at the kid which in turn he gets his hand chopped off. There’s also a really creepy subplot that deals with a Detective assigned to Ellie’s moms murder who falls in love with the young woman, who is in her teens and he is like 50. Also there is a batshit crazy subplot that involves Mrs. Deere killing the kids but keeping them in a freezer. She does this to collect a fee from the state, but if the state finds out they are dead or runaways she loses that money. All this is happening plus Ellie trying to run away from the orphanage as well. I am going to spoil this movie because it is so gross and stupid that it needs to be said (((Spoilers!!!!))) Near the end of the movie Ellie is terrorized by a burnt up old man. She runs from him and is chased to somewhere outside the orphanage. When the “killer” catches up to her he removes his mask, it’s Detective Carruthers! He tells Ellie that he knows she murdered her mom and her lover (this is confirmed in a flashback scene). He then tells her that if she agrees to marry him he will forget the whole she murdered someone part. Barf. Oh it gets better, during the course of the movie Ellie remarks on how she never knew her father but her mother said that he was the first person she made love to, and that’s how she became pregnant. Flashback to the last scene of the movie where Ellie tells Carruthers that her mom told her that older men make the best husbands (barf again). Carruthers then says, “you know I was the first man your mom made love to.” (triple barf).
Blood and Lace is not well made. The performances go from awful to terrible. The direction is boring. The effects are horrific. Movies like this should be fun because they are bad, Blood and Lace is a chore.
The video is pretty solid. The movie was released in 1971 and there is some nice looking colors and the details are pretty sharp. Some of the scenes lack some depth but that might be due to the lack of money not a transfer issue.
The audio is serviceable. It’s a lossless Mono track and the dialogue comes through well. The music in the movie is garbage but that has nothing to do with the discs capabilities.
Not much in the way of extras, but the Audio Commentary by Film Historian Richard Harlan Smith is way better than having to listen to the actual film, so if you want to watch Blood and Lace, I recommend it with the commentary. He has a lot of interesting facts about the film.
Blood and Lace is awful. I am sure it has fans, I am not one of them. Scream Factory’s disc however is solid and the one meaty extra on the disc is great.
Film: D-
Video: B
Audio: B
Extras: B
Overall: C-