All these new, glossy horror remakes got you down? Looking for something with more of a brutal, retro vibe? Ever wanted to see Danielle Harris in a plaid skirt, carrying a large pick ax? Look no further than Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet.


WARNING: Contains Minor Spoilers!

Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet (if you’re not into the whole brevity thing), opens with a dark and stormy prologue in 1978, Long Island, New York. Young Mary Mattock suddenly goes postal on her parents, slaughtering them both in some gruesome ways. Merely 2 minutes and 48 seconds into the story, we’re treated to the first of many scenes boasting some rather impressive gore effects. More on that later.

After the police have arrived and carted the dead folks away, we flash cut to another prologue. This one takes place in 1989, at a Psychiatric Center. Mary, now played by perpetually naked, loud and proud screamer Samantha Facchi (The Book, Night for Day, The Abductor), is locked away in a seemingly otherwise vacant wing of the hospital. One of the employees has been making nightly visits to her room. During a rather disturbing and terrifying rape scene, he impregnates her.

We skip ahead some more to the birth (and death) of Mary’s child. The final straw broken, Mary manages to massacre the entire staff. She escapes, but doesn’t get very far. After tossing a severed head into the windshield of a police car, the cops shoot her full of holes, putting an end to her short, terrible life. Everything I just described happens all within the first twelve minutes of the film’s brisk running time, before the title card.

Through some flashy opening credits, we get the Cliff Notes version of those previous scenes. Additionally, we learn that Mary’s death results in a town holiday called (you guessed it), Blood Night. It’s an excuse for people to “dress up” like Mary Mattock (now known as Mary Hatchet), and cause random acts of chaos and vandalism. By the time we reach present day, Blood Night has been condemned by town officials, but that doesn’t seem to stop anyone. It’s here that we meet our “heroes”. I use the term loosely because well, these guys are pretty much jerks. Their dismissal of a couple of “nerds” tells us these are the cool kids. If they’re having a party, that’s where you want to be.

Thankfully, many of the actors bring their own natural charm and likability to the parts. Nate Dushku (Joan of Arcadia, Tru Calling, The Zodiac), brother to Joss Whedon muse, Eliza is fun to watch in all his punk-swagger glory, plus he has awesome hair. Seriously. Likewise, Alissa Dean (Midnight Club II, Cold Case, Without A Trace) stands out from the bevy of beautiful women here. She’s one to watch for in the future.

After painting the town with eggs, the group decides to visit the grave of Mary Hatchet, attempting to wake her spirit with a Ouija Board. Later, while a raging party of beer and sex goes down, someone (or something) begins to slaughter these disrespectful teenagers one by one. Much of the film plays out in typical, predictable slasher fashion, but it’s not without its merits. The proceedings embody a fun, retro 80s’ sensibility and there’s plenty of top shelf gore to go around. My favorite bits include intestines being pulled through someone’s back while coiled around the murder weapon, and a hatchet removing a portion of someone’s skull so that we get to witness all the brainy delights inside.

Outside the fine, young cast of relative unknowns, we get appearances from two Horror movie icons. Bill Moseley (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Army of Darkness, House of 1,000 Corpses) plays a wise, old caretaker who likes to tell scary stories and drink his body weight in booze. Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 & 5, The Last Boy Scout, Urban Legend) is sensational here, playing a sweet, friendly girl with a disturbing secret. In the past, Danielle has expressed a personal wish concerning her part in the Halloween franchise (which I wholeheartedly agree with). It took about 20 years, but in a roundabout way, her wish was finally granted. For that, I am thankful to the makers of Blood Night.

Thanks to the great PR work provided by Big Picture Media, I was sent a screener DVD in the mail. Aside from an occasional watermark on the screen (reminding the viewer that the film is property of innovative production company, Chaos Squared), the image is virtually flawless for its humble budget. Colors are rich, blacks are deep and detail is smooth and clear. Blood looks especially thick and hearty. Cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke uses the 2.35 aspect ratio to great effect, capturing every spanning moment of projectile bloodshed.

The sound mix is unknown to me, but I’d wager it’s a mostly solid 5.1 arrangement. The score by Victor Bruno and Stephen Tubin is simple, yet eerie and memorable. It’s never overstated. The foley work is exceptionally grand and dynamic. However, some of the dialogue sounds rather odd and flimsy, lacking in resonance. It’s sparse, but it’s as if some dialogue was looped in post and simply layered on top of the original recordings. Then again, it could just be my copy. Who knows?

As this is a screener disc, no special features are present.

See above. Screener disc, so only the movie itself was made available to me. This segment isn’t completely wasted, though. I was sent a nice folder with a striking, wall of blood theme to it. Inside, there was a clear plastic case that housed the disc itself, but I also found full-color printouts (with screen caps) brimming with tons of information about the cast, crew, production companies and the film’s story itself. Apparently, it’s inspired by an actual Long Island legend!

*** out of 4.

For a first-time feature film, writer and director, Frank Sabatella has done well for himself. The film is far from perfect. There are pacing issues aplenty, many of the characters lack definition and the big “reveal” that comes way too late is nothing special (I figured it out early on, without really trying but your mileage may vary). Still, Blood Night has slick cinematography, precision editing, good performances and crowd-pleasing special effects. Plus, I was never bored, which is more than I can say for even some of the bigger, expensive productions in Horror these days.

Blood Night is currently listed in Amazon.com’s “Top 100 Horror Movies Sold”, just behind The Blair Witch Project and Army of Darkness. Not too shabby if you ask me. If you’ve got some rowdy friends over on a Saturday night, you should definitely consider making it a Blood Night. Yeah, that’s right. I went there.

Take one writer from X2 and mix well with producer Bryan Singer. Sprinkle with impressive cast from the likes of True Blood, Battlestar Galactica and Manhunter. Inject a wicked sense of humor and classic horror. Bake for 2 years. Result: Trick ‘r Treat.


WARNING: Contains Minor Spoilers!

For the uninitiated, Michael Dougherty made an animated short back in 1997 called Season’s Greetings, which featured a burlap sack-headed trickster named Sam, but more on that later. The writer made a name for himself years later, with his contributions to the screenplay for Bryan Singer’s dramatic, superhero opus, X2: X-Men United, arguably the best film in the franchise to date. Dougherty went on to write again for Singer in the comic book film genre, with Superman Returns. The results this time were, debatable.

In any event, their partnership gave Mike the in he needed to expand on his Halloween-themed ideas expressed in that award-winning, hand-made cartoon. With a love for old-school, 80s’ horror and a comic book narrative structure reminiscent of Creepshow and Tales From The Crypt, the young writer/director went for as many wicked laughs and surprising scares as his blood-soaked debut could sustain, much like Sam Raimi and John Carpenter before him.

I bring up those two names specifically because of their resounding relevance. Trick ‘r Treat feels like the fun macabre films those guys were know for back in the 80s’. There’s a twisted sense of infectious glee here that you sadly won’t find anywhere within the sadistic, cynical, drab defeatism of horror today. Though there are a decent amount of geniune scares in this offering, the film cares more about evoking mischievous fun and eerie atmosphere than it does about shocking you or making you vomit (although, believe me when I tell you, there’s a character in the film who does enough of that to last all winter).

I won’t go into great detail in regards to the plot and characters, as much of that is half the fun in discovering for yourself. However, the cast here is quite impressive, both in star power and in quality of performance. It’s difficult to figure out why the film was never given a wide theatrical release on Halloween of 2007 (the initial release). A monkey’s head in a jar could tell you it would have easily made some serious bank, knocking the undeserved Saw franchise off it’s smug perch as King of Halloween.

For starters, you have Tahmoh Penikett (Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse) and Leslie Bibb (Popular, Midnight Meat Train, Iron Man) as an amorous, rule-breaking couple. Then there’s Dylan Baker (Spider-Man, Fido, Drive) in a devilish and memorable performance as a loving but twisted Father and school principal. The next segment features Britt McKillip (The Outer Limits, Sabrina’s Secret Life, Dead Like Me) as a manipulative prankster telling urban legends.

Followed by that, we’re treated to a nice twist on an old classic, involving Anna Paquin (The Piano, X-Men, True Blood), Lauren Lee Smith (Mutant X, The L Word, CSI) and Rochelle Aytes (Drive, Bones, The Forgotten). The last story centers around the local Scrooge of Halloween, played by a nearly unrecognizeable Brian Cox (Braveheart, The Ring, Deadwood). The entire film is connected by Sam, from Season’s Greetings, a fiendish little terror who makes sure the rules of Halloween are respected. He’s played by Quinn Lord (White Noise 2, Smallville, Virtuality) and you can actually see him in the previous segment, as a Peeping Tom. I believe Sam will go down as one of the new horror icons of this generation.

The cinematography from Glen MacPherson (Sliders, Doctor Who: The Movie, Rambo) is presented in a classic, widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1. With the Halloween-based color pallette of orange and black, the film calls up warm memories of early John Carpenter and Dean Cundey. There are plenty of firelight scenes, but no color bleeds to be found. Many of the other tones are lush and vibrant, but never overwhelming. There’s a nice, gritty graphic novel look to the picture (sometimes quite literally). Particularly of note is the striking, crushed red of Anna Paquin’s Halloween costume. Blacks are deep and effective, making for an overall sinister feel.

The 5.1 surround sound for the DVD is nothing spectacular, but it is still very good. Dialogue is clean and even. The sound effects are subtle and specific. It’s fun to kind of strain the ear to pick up everything, whether it’s crackling fire, ominous whispering or dripping blood. It’s a well-rounded mix. The score by Douglas Pipes (Moonstalker, Monster House, City Of Ember) is sometimes a bit bombastic for my taste, but can also be quite memorable and effective at times. The use of the “trick or treat”, nursery rhyme motif is especially nice. Still, I would have preferred less Danny Elfman, more John Carpenter. Your mileage may vary.

I’ve been told the Blu-ray release holds a wealth of quality special features. Unfortunately, you won’t find much here. Thankfully, the lone supplement this disc holds is rather solid. “Season’s Greetings”, is a brief, hand-drawn animated short from 1997. It introduces the earliest conception of the Sam character and is a fun watch. There’s also an informative audio commentary for the short film by Michael Dougherty.

The DVD box art is simple, straightforward and just plain great. Sack Boy Sam stands in all his spooky goodness, next to a burning jack-o-lantern. The orange glow from within the grinning pumpkin illuminates various characters from the film. Yes, it’s all very monochromatic. Nonetheless, it manages to stand out.

The interactive menus on the disc apply the exact same elements, with one minor change. Instead of standing, little Sam is now sitting, probably tired from a night of hacking and slashing. The eerie score calls to viewers in the background, daring you to make a selection. The glowing, neon-slash font is relatively easy to read. Since much of this text rests against a dark background, there’s nothing cluttering the space, making for easy navigation.

**** out of 4.

The horror anthology film is somewhat of a lost art. There’s a level of skill and care that goes into the pacing and structure of this kind of storytelling. You don’t want to front-load your film too much, or you’ll wind up running out of steam by the end. Additionally, a balance must be maintained in the second act, so it doesn’t feel like padding and all the various vignettes (usually three or four, with an added framing story) are each given equal screen time. There’s also something to be said for keeping a consistency in tone, so that all the stories feel more cohesive, like they belong together, rather than having one or more stories feeling like they were forced in from a completely different anthology set.

Michael Dougherty and his talented cast and crew have all crafted something special here. I’m pleased to say that not only is Trick ‘r Treat a deliciously satisfying homage to horror anthology of old, it is also a worthy installment in Halloween-themed fright fests. For a quality double feature this haunted holiday, I highly recommend John Carpenter’s slasher classic for dinner, and then easily munch on this macabre offering for dessert. Happy Halloween, folks!

Buy Nature of the Beast on Amazon.com.

Looking for a fun, comedy/supernatural movie?  Now available on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment, Nature of the Beast is the movie for you.

With a mix of the funny and the sweet, Nature of the Beast makes it a popcorn flick that actually has a well-written storyline. Starting with the basic idea that “every man is hiding something,” this film takes a hilarious look at the problems with living with a werewolf. Will Julia still marry her beloved Rich when she finds out that three days out of the month Rich is a true monster?

Nature of the Beast stars Eddie Kaye Thomas, (American Pie movies, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), Autumn Reeser (“The O.C.,” “Pushing Daisies”), Eric Mabius (“Ugly Betty,” “CSI: Miami”).  Since I was a big fan of Eric I was happy to see him in the film. His role isn’t a huge part of the movie, but it’s a good one.

It’s a hard to balance the funny and the serious emotional moments, but Nature of the Beast does so beautifully. There’s no point where the movie seems slow or too over the top, and the supporting cast makes the film even funnier. I especially love that they keep the actual werewolf shots to a minimum (especially at the beginning of the movie) it adds to the mysterious air of the movie.

Nature of the Beast is definitely a great film and one that you should definitely pick up for your next movie night.

Before Joss Whedon’s witty dialogue and smart, vulnerable characters, before Kevin Williamson’s sly, self aware pop culture references and before Edgar Wright’s good-natured poking at beloved horror classics there was Fred Dekker and Shane Black’s The Monster Squad!


WARNING: Contains Minor Spoilers!

We begin this tale with some helpful text explaining that a century ago, a group of freedom fighters tried to rid Transylvania (and ostensibly, the world) of the monsters and darkness that had befallen them. Let’s just say, they were not successful. After a brief, action-packed glimpse of what exactly happened that night, we fast forward to “Present Day”, or what was known at the time to be 1987, roughly.

Sean and Patrick (Andre Gower and Robby Kiger, respectively) don’t run with the popular crowd at their school. They have their own circle of social misfits and outcasts, who like to geek out about monster movies and comic books. When we first meet them, they’re in trouble with the Principal, for drawing monsters (a spider with a human head, to be precise) during class. Meanwhile, portly cohort, Horace (the late, memorable Brent Chalem) is getting picked on by bullies for being, “Fat Kid”. Just as a fight breaks out, local “biker” punk, Rudy (Ryan Lambert) rides up to save the day, light a smoke and generally be bad ass.

Walking home from school (while discussing the Wolf-Man’s need to wear pants), Horace tries to convince Sean and Patrick to make Rudy a member of their, “Monster Club”. While weighing the pros and cons, Sean’s adorable, tag-along little sister Phoebe (Ashley Bank) warns, “I heard he killed his Dad!”. They decide a simple, “Monster Test” is the way to go. During that time, Sean’s Mom gives him the diary of Abraham Van Helsing, which she bought just up the road at an estate sale. This all ties back to a powerful amulet, but you get the picture.

I’m going to leave the rest for you to discover on your own, including the monsters. There are so many elements, side-characters and subplots to this movie, I could go on for pages. Patrick’s older Sister, who may or may not be sexually active. The marital turmoil of Sean’s loving Parents (Stephen Macht and Mary Ellen Trainor). His Father’s frustrating job as an over-worked cop (courtesy of Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang scribe, Shane Black). The redemption of Frankenstein’s monster. Little Eugene and his fearless dog, Pete. And of course, let’s not forget the “Scary German Guy” who just wants to serve pie.

The monster effects by Stan Winston and his team are first-rate (and even some deliberately cheesy ones are thrown into the mix). The visual effects by Richard Edlund are graceful and inventive. The script is sharp, nuanced and Fred Dekker directs with a precise balance between horror and comedy, which is quite impressive given that this was only his second feature film at the time (the first being the equally delightful, Night Of The Creeps). The actors are all genuine and energetic. The drama has sincere pathos, due to the fact that no matter how fantastical the situations, the cast plays it straight. Bradford May’s cinematography is atmospheric and colorful, but never betrays the intended tone of a given scene.

Which brings us to the audio and visual portion of this DVD. For the first time in a long time, the film is presented in its original, 2.35:1 Widescreen aspect ratio! This is a big deal, since the VHS tapes and television broadcasts always crop the image to the point of frustration and unwatchability (it is too a word!). Many scenes take advantage of the wide, panoramic format and fans can finally appreciate it the way it was meant to be viewed (some, for the very first time). The actual quality of the image itself is another matter. While generally clear and colorful, especially given its age of 20 years, it could stand to be sharper. Much of the picture is rather soft, particularly in night time scenes. I would imagine this will be easily and substantially corrected in the much-rumored and anticipated Bluray release, should that ever come to fruition.

Thankfully, the sound quality is very satisfying, offering a 5.1 Dolby Digital remastering and an original 2.0 Dolby Stereo mix. Dialogue is always clean and understandable, even if the ADR looping happens to stand out quite a bit, but it’s easily forgiven. The sound effects are plentiful and well placed throughout the mix, so your ears will never get bored. The real treat however, comes from composer and conductor, Bruce Broughton. His orchestral and choral score is vigorous and grand, but never too loud or obstructive. From the triumphant horns during “Fat Kid’s” burst of confidence (“My name, is Horace!”), to the beautiful and touching swell of strings of Phoebe’s Theme, the music stands on its own as a pleasurable feast for the ears. If that doesn’t excite you, there’s always the cheesy fun of the “Monster Squad Rap” during the end credits, or Michael Sembello’s toe-tapping, rhythmic clap-inducing “Rock Until You Drop”, during the classic montage.

Lionsgate pulls out all the stops for this 20th Anniversary release, with two discs full of content. On disc one, in addition to the nicely restored feature, we get two commentary tracks. Fred Dekker brings in the cinematographer, Bradford May for a discussion that’s fun and friendly, but mostly leans more on the technical side. Better suited for film school enthusiasts, but still interesting. The other commentary is a whirlwind of laughs, warm regards and fond memories as Dekker revisits the film with cast members Andre Gower, Ryan Lambert and Ashley Bank. The track is alive with constant chatter as they discuss growing up on movie sets, poke a few small holes into the film’s plot, make fun of their own performances and we even get a rousing rendition of Rock Until You Drop from Ryan (“Party ’till your nuts are gone!”).

Disc two contains an extensive, feature-length documentary. Interviews abound from the cast and crew. This retrospective is a must for Monster Squad fans. It covers every aspect of the production, from Fred’s career before and during the film, all the way to the movie’s current cult status and beloved fanbase. There’s also a touching segment where everyone fondly remembers Brent Chalem. Have the tissue box near by. You may need it. The documentary is broken into distinct chapters to select from, or you can watch in one sitting through the “Play All” function.

For a chuckle, there’s also a tongue in cheek “interview” with Frankenstein’s monster. It was shot back in the day, during filming. In full make-up, Tom Noonan chats about the hardships and joys of being a monster working in Hollywood. The joke runs over just a little bit, but it’s fun, regardless. There are a few deleted scenes, with commentary from Fred explaining why they were cut. They’re mostly disposable, but completists (like myself) will appreciate them. We also get the cheesy, ever-so-80s’ trailer, tv spots and a nice, nostalgic photo gallery to close out the special features.

The packaging provides a slip-sleeve for your plastic snap-case. I suppose it’s fine, if you perhaps want to get your copy autographed (like I did. Thanks a million, Fred!). Otherwise, I’ve never understood the desire for these, especially since the box art is the exact same on the case itself. Speaking of, the art is somewhat of a point of contention with die-hard fans. In order to “help” sell the DVD to newcomers, Lionsgate created all new cover art. It’s nice and all. The monsters are well-represented, but God only knows who the guy with the ammo belt and dagger is! Andre Gower even setup a petition early on to try and get the image changed back to the theatrical poster everyone knew and loved. A kind of compromise was met. The insert (inside the case) features the classic, Drew Struzan-inspired art on one side, and a heartfelt, Thank You note from Fred Dekker on the other.

The menus evoke the feel of the picture nicely, using images and concepts from the movie through simple animations. However, the graphical side is a bit blocky and difficult to read sometimes, like a cheap video game with low resolution. The font is accurate and in keeping with the film’s opening credits, but be prepared for some possible squinting. The little skull cursor is cute, though. Not bad, but could’ve been better. Then again, maybe it’s just me and my craptacular eyesight.

**** out of 4.

The Monster Squad is for anyone who grew up loving the Universal horror classics, or for anyone who grew up loving Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, or for anyone who just plain never completely grew up! A cult classic in its own right, the film is one of those big, crowd-pleasing party movies that was way ahead of its own time. Movies today rarely contain a youthful exhuberance such as this. People are often too cynical or jaded now, and the movies of today can often reflect that.

Still, The Monster Squad can appeal to the young hopeful buried within all of us. The determined underdog that managed to form his or her own surrogate family of other, like-minded latchkey kids. Equal parts Steven Spielberg, Joss Whedon and a sprinkle of Scooby-Doo and The Little Rascals for good measure. If any single part of that gets your inner geek salivating, then this movie is definitely for you. Welcome home.

Tired of bleak, depressing zombie films? Miss the wacky, fun zombie flicks of the 1980s’? Want to see two zombies making out? Do you like me saying “zombie” so much? If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes”, then check out Dance Of The Dead.


WARNING: Contains Minor Spoilers!

The students and faculty of Cosa High are gearing up for The Prom, but they’re having to contend with a lot of obstacles. Detention, getting dates and oh yeah, the town is home to a big, freakin’ nuclear power plant! Due to all the green smoke in the air and toxic waste in the sewers, zombies are a common occurrence at the local cemetery. For now, they’re merely a minor nuisance and half-kept secret for The Gravedigger (the film’s Production Designer, James Jarrett), who doesn’t tell anyone because he wants to keep his job.

At school, we meet the Xander Harris of the group Jimmy, played with dry, disarming wit by Jared Kusnitz (Surviving Suburbia, Otis, The Taste of Summer). He gets detention after standing up to an over-the-top, mean teacher (seriously, this guy would’ve been fired by now), gets head-butted (right in front of the Principal’s office) by the school bully Kyle, hilariously brought to life by Justin Welborn (The Signal, The Final Destination, The Crazies) and has to work at Pizza Wagon the night of The Prom.

To top it all off, he’s dumped by his prom committee girlfriend Lindsey (delightfully played by rising star, Greyson Chadwick), opting instead to date someone more serious. Enter walking tool and obvious, future date-rapist, Mitch (Jeff Adelman). Meanwhile, Jimmy’s sidekick Steven (Chandler Darby) is trying to ask out hottie Cheerleader Gwen, played with sweet sincerity by Carissa Capobianco (One Tree Hill, August, Drake & Josh). Unfortunately, his efforts are thwarted by his affiliation with the guys in the Sci-Fi Club and the moon eyes Gwen has for punk-rocker Nash Rambler (what a name!), played cool and casual by Blair Redford (The Day The Earth Stood Still, Passions, The Young & The Restless).

Resigned to their fates as losers in life, Jimmy and his buddy ditch The Prom. Steven and the Sci-Fi guys decide to video tape their alternative adventures in the cemetery (for some reason). All of a sudden, zombies attack! One of the film’s few highlights of creativity happens here. While our nerdy band of heroes run for their lives, the camera dollies along side them as zombies explode out of their graves, catapulting into the air and chasing after their victims the second their feet hit the ground. It’s actually kind of jaw-dropping, much like the now-famous, similarly-staged war scene in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

From this moment on, the characters put their personal and social differences aside to band together and kick a whole bunch of zombie butt! With the help of their military-obsessed Gym Coach, played gleefully by Mark Oliver (Stargate: SG-1, George Of The Jungle, Fantastic Four), our heroes descend upon the school dance to rescue survivors and slaughter zombies.

The acting throughout the film ranges from serviceable to surprisingly good. No one here is flat-out bad. As I mentioned before, Jared Kusnitz is charming and funny, but it’s Greyson Chadwick who more or less steals this movie. Her bright, infectious disposition really carries the picture, keeping things airy and fun. Though Carissa Capobianco can be a bit stiff in one or two moments, she really shines in her physical performance, flipping, fighting and running her way through much of the film. She has an especially noteworthy sequence where she sprints out of a funeral home, weaves her way through zombie traffic and leaps across the hood of a hearse, all in one shot.

A small casting issue comes from the fact that Jimmy and Steven look too similar, right down to sharing the same hairstyles. It’s difficult sometimes to sort out who you’re watching from scene to scene. Thankfully, Jimmy dons a tuxedo early in the picture, so that helps. Also, many of the characters are a bit too stereotypically over-the-top. The Sci-Fi Club, for example is almost insulting in its depiction of socially awkward geeks. The characters suffer from a lot of cliched, sitcom trappings, but the actors do a nice job of working above it. At least we didn’t have some fat slob clicking away on his computer, in his parents’ basement.

According to the informative commentary track on the DVD, the script was written a good ten years ago, back when zombie films were not all the rage. That’s both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the film has an old-school sensibility to it that’s quite charming and humble, much like the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Greyson Chadwick even wears combat boots with her prom dress). On the other hand, the film was made in 2008, making much of this picture feel derivative, redundant and unoriginal.

Still, the Director Gregg Bishop manages to inject the film with lots of technical creativity and energy. The editing is especially superb, particularly during the scenes shot at the High School. Joe Ballarini’s script, while sometimes dated and predictable is also clever and fast-paced. The film as a whole is reminiscent of cult-classics such as Night Of The Creeps, Return Of The Living Dead and Shaun Of The Dead. It’s not as strong as those other films, but it still has merits of its own and is worth at least a rental with friends, pizza and alcohol.

This DVD was produced by Lionsgate, which means upon insertion of said disc, we get the requisite trailer for their latest offering in the Saw franchise. After that, however, we’re treated to what feels like 30 more trailers from the distributor, Ghost House Underground. If the other previews are any indication, this basically means they specialize in movies too cheap and lacking for theatrical release. No matter. Dance Of The Dead may be their best offering, which is good enough. However, the image on the DVD leaves much to be desired half of the time. I say “half” due to the fact that the day time scenes in and around the High School look fantastic. Shot with High Definition cameras (often using prime lenses for many attractive close-ups), they’re vibrant, clean and colorful. I was reminded of Veronica Mars more often than not.

Unfortunately, this is not to last. Most of the film takes place at night, which does not bode well for this DVD. Either they couldn’t afford a digital intermediate, or they could only stretch for the first half of the picture. Chadwick’s fiery-red hair, the blood-stained clothing and the film’s one explosion pop out quite nicely. Additionally, the green and blue lighting at the dance is also bold and strongly saturated. Sadly, the rest of the look doesn’t fare as well. Colors are sometimes drab and muted. The black levels are shamefully shallow and riddled with grain. If only the entire film had retained the comic-book flair showcased in those early scenes. Thankfully, the sound is at least done well enough. Don’t expect to get much from your surround sound system. If nothing else, the dialogue and the pop-punk soundtrack are represented clearly and cleanly. The score by composer Kristopher Carter (The Spectacular Spider-Man, Justice League, Teen Titans, Batman Beyond) was fine, but kind of generic and unimpressive.

For such a low budget production and DVD, there’s a solid amount of supplemental material. The commentary by Bishop and Ballarini is warm and lively, with friendly chatter concerning the script’s long history, filming in Rome, Georgia and casting teenagers to play teenagers (madness, I know!). There are also featurettes covering the stunts, digital and practical effects and interviews from the cast and crew on shooting the film. They’re all worth your time, especially if you’re at all interested in cheap, inventive film making.

There are two bonuses on this disc that I feel are worth the DVD rental price alone. First up, is Gregg Bishop’s student film, Voodoo. It’s a stylish, black and white comedy about the perils of dating a single mother, with a satisfyingly unconventional conclusion. The film is breezy and madcap, very much in the style of Robert Rodriguez’s short, Bedhead. Bishop also provides a quick, informative commentary about what he went through in making the film, while trying to adhere to USC project regulations.

The second bonus not to be missed comes in the form of deleted and extended scenes, all with optional commentary from the Director. These scenes are mostly pretty funny and would have made the film’s all too quick first act flow much better. Not only that, some of the characters would have been better defined had these scenes not been removed, particularly Jimmy and Steven. In Bishop’s commentary, he insists that the scenes weren’t helping to move the plot forward and he wanted to get to the zombies as fast as possible. This is a mistake to me. Once the plot kicks in, it’s harder for me to care about it or the characters if I can’t spend enough time getting to know them and their relationships to each other first.
For example, take this deleted exchange between Jimmy and the Principal:

PRINCIPAL – Why am I not surprised to see you here? Mr. Hammond wants you in detention today after school…. and every day next week.
JIMMY – Today’s no good. I have detention with Coach Keel. Um, then Miss Raines wants me in detention Monday and Tuesday…. I’ll talk to her. I’ll see if I can work it into my schedule.
PRINCIPAL – Jimmy, you really need to pull yourself together. Focus. You can’t do this out in the real world.
JIMMY (smiling) – That’s why I’m doin’ it now.

Or, this one between Jimmy and Mitch, which serves to better establish their feelings towards each other:

MITCH (trying to convince Lindsey to go out with him, instead of Jimmy) – You wanna smell like Pepperonies, or vanilla bean air freshener? Look, he’s a joke. He doesn’t take you serious. He doesn’t take anything serious…. Look at me. You deserve a serious person.
(Jimmy sneaks up on Lindsey and scares her. She laughs.)
LINDSEY (noticing Jimmy’s bruise) – Jimmy. Hi. What happened? Are you okay?
JIMMY – Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little miscommunication with Kyle Grubbin, I’ll live.
LINDSEY – Okay. Well, aren’t you supposed to be in English?
JIMMY – Yes, but I took a detour to bring you this.
(He gives her a flower.)
MITCH – Hey, Hoodlum. Keep moving. Only student council members and hotties allowed here.
JIMMY – Oh, this is where all the cool kids hang out. (looks around) Finally found it.
MITCH – Is that supposed to be funny?
JIMMY – I don’t know, are you supposed to be funny?
MITCH – No.
JIMMY – But you are.
MITCH – That doesn’t even make sense.

The only downside is that there is no “Play All” function, which would have been nice. You can also watch the film’s trailer.

The DVD has simple, clean box art and gives you a great sense of what to expect when watching the movie. Three of our heroes in high contrast black and white, wielding weapons and banned together against a stark, white wall covered in blood. The only thing I’m not particularly fond of is the Ghost House Underground logo stretched up across one side of the image, bigger than the movie’s title, with a big, screaming skull in the bottom corner. It reminds me of when Republic Pictures first started putting out DVDs (which were usually just Laserdisc ports), and the word “WIDESCREEN” would take up a big section of the cover, in clashing, cheap-looking gold letters. But, I digress.

The main menu is simply a looped montage of shots from the movie, with the navigational text below. The other corresponding menu pages are mostly just bold, easy to read text against textured, white walls and some splashes of blood. Simple, but effective.

** 1/2 out of 4.

With the right type of friends around, Dance of the Dead can be a fun, schlocky B-movie, but there’s not much of a reason to suggest watching it alone, especially if you have cable. There’s bound to be a better horror movie on somewhere. Don’t get me wrong, the film is quite charming, which goes a long way. But, it’s also ten years too late in a lot of respects, and if you’re any kind of zombie-horror fan, you’ve seen all this before and done better.

Having said that, the direction is stylish, the humor is amusing and smile-inducing and the actors are bright and earnest, particularly Greyson Chadwick. Keep an eye out for her in the near future. If you’re in the mood for some low budget, popcorn entertainment (the kind one could expect from Full Moon Entertainment or to a lesser degree, Troma), you could do a lot worse than Dance of the Dead. Put it on your Netflix Queue and give it a spin, at least once.

Over the years, the Horror genre has been dismissed by film snobs as nothing more than an indulgence in excessive, shallow pleasures by violence and gore obsessed individuals who feed on screams, despair and bloodshed. Admittedly, so much of it is often derivative, cheap and uninspired. However, innovation and care can still occasionally be found within the dark recesses of this mostly misunderstood form of storytelling. Case in point, Splinter.

WARNING: Contains Minor Spoilers!

After a grisly teaser involving a bored gas station attendant, Splinter follows two couples (separately, at first) traveling through the back roads of the sprawling, Oklahoma woodlands. The first couple are Seth and Polly, on a camping trip to celebrate their anniversary. Polly, played by Jill Wagner (Bones, Stargate: Atlantis, Blade: The Series, Wipeout) wants to enjoy an intimate, outdoor evening under the stars. Seth, played by Paulo Costanzo (Royal Pains, Joey, Josie and The Pussycats, Road Trip) would much rather abandon the bugs, heat and tent-building for a motel room.

The second couple are Dennis and Lacey, broken down on the side of the road and forced to walk to the next town. Dennis, played by Shea Whigham (Fast & Furious, ER, Wristcutters: A Love Story, All the Real Girls) is running from his criminal nature while trying to redeem himself with someone he’s wronged. Lacey, played by newcomer Rachel Kerbs is a struggling drug addict trying to follow Dennis to the promise of a better, cleaner life. Desperate to keep his word to Lacey, Dennis pulls a gun on Polly and Seth after they pull over to help the stranded couple.

While driving at gunpoint, Polly hits something in the road, causing a blowout and forcing them to stop. Mentally troubled and detoxing, Lacey drags Seth into the darkness to help what she thinks is her deceased puppy, Ginger. What the two find is much more unsettling. Meanwhile, Polly and Dennis are changing the tire. Dennis accidentally pricks his finger on an odd-looking splinter embedded in the rubber, but chalks it up to simple carelessness at the time.

Eventually, the group pulls into a seemingly abandoned gas station. Lacey tries to sneak away to the restroom for a fix, but instead runs into what used to be the register jockey from the opening of the film. His body is mangled and twisted beyond the laws of human anatomy and architecture, but he’s still alive and begging to be killed. What ever’s doing this to him is still, hungry!

This is where the film gets really fun. Like previous films of the “besieged” sub-genre (Night of the Living Dead, Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing, From Dusk Till Dawn), Splinter makes excellent use of its minimalist, isolated location. In this case, a rundown gas station and convenience store. The writer and director Toby Wilkins (The Grudge 3, Devil’s Trade) mainly worked in visual effects before now on such films as Rings, After the Sunset, Bulletproof Monk and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. He uses these skills to create a thick atmosphere of dread, spine-tingling tension and a fresh, disturbing new monster the likes of which have never been seen before.

All of these elements are finely woven to support a solid script full of rich, diverse characters forced to work together against such a grotesque and fascinating threat. Paulo Costanzo does a nice job of representing the audience, playing cautious and frightened with a pulling thread of curiosity and observation. For the small amount of screen time she has, Rachel Kerbs gives a memorable performance as someone dealing with both a mental and physical instability. Shea Whigham, while mostly superb in his intense and nuanced delivery, is marred only by his intrusive, redneck accent. It’s a bit much, making him hard to understand. The standout here is Jill Wagner. Tough, smart and confident, she makes for a solid heroine.

Shot using High-Definition cameras with film-quality function, Splinter looks superb. The blood is thick and dark. Flesh tones are muted, but never sickly looking, which can be a problem under all those fluorescent lights. Taking place mostly at night, the film is consistent with deep, contrasting blacks without any noise or grain during low light scenes. While most of the night photography is tamed in unobtrusive, moody desaturation, the early daytime scenes more than make up for it. The forestation is vibrant and earthy, reminiscent of the greenery found in episodes of Lost. The warmer tones are bright, but not blinding as can often be the case with most other hot, sun-baked affairs (I’m looking at you, Steven Soderbergh and Michael Bay).

The 5.1 sound mix is rather exquisite. Rattling splinters, trickling blood and merging body parts (don’t ask) provide an almost musical experience for the ears. The only minor oddity comes in the form of gunfire. It’s not that they sound bad, just different. Unnatural. Anytime someone shoots something, it sounds too muffled, like the weapon of choice is being discharged underwater or buried into a thick, heavy pillow. Your mileage may vary. All dialogue, save for Shea’s occasional, mumbling Southern drawl can be heard just fine. No subtitles should be necessary.

The special features on this single disc release are thick and hearty. There are not one, but two commentaries. The first, consisting of Wilkins and his three principle actors (Shea, Jill and Paulo), is informative without being boring. The participants are energetic and warm as they fondly remember their experiences while making the film. The second commentary comes from Wilkins along with director of photography, Nelson Cragg (CSI, Boogeyman 2, 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails) and editor, David Michael Maurer (Big Brother, The Apprentice, Paradise Hotel). This one goes deeper into the specifics of the production, from the cameras that were used to the gas station set and location. Worth a listen for aspiring filmmakers.

In addition, we get a wealth of featurettes, the longest and more general one courtesy of HDnet. Broken up into shorts (too short. Each one runs for just a couple minutes), the remaining accessible featurettes deal with each individual aspect of the production. There are interviews aplenty dealing with pyrotechnics, set building, digital film making, creature design and even the unpredictable weather conditions of the Oklahoma locations. There’s also a slide show gallery of creature concept art and my personal favorite, a fun arts & crafts video where Jill Wagner teaches fans how to make their own “Splinter Pumpkin”. I think I’d like to try it next Halloween. The only thing missing is a spotlight on the film’s composer, Elia Cmiral (Pulse, Wrong Turn, They, Ronin). His score here is mostly percussion-based, but also shows flourishes of John Carpenter’s early work.

While the box art does do a serviceable job of giving you an idea of what kind of movie this is (two tense-looking people behind a pair of glass doors, barricaded in from some outside, unseen danger), I much prefer the simpler, more ominous theatrical poster. Grimy, blackened fingers reaching over a metal sill, with sharp, deadly splinters protruding every which way from the knuckles, along with a blood splattered title.

The interactive menu design is dark, but clean and easy to navigate. The lone gas station with flickering, fluorescent lights, surrounded by black emptiness. Each menu selection gets its own page, which in turn uses the vibrating splinter theme and the shallow depth of field to emulate the look and feel of the picture. Against all this darkness, the text is big, bold and white. Very nicely done.

**** out of 4.

Splinter is an eerie, bloody slice of old-school horror fun. It has characters with progressive growth, inventive, practical effects (though there are is some slight, excellent digital enhancement in places) and grounded performances from all involved. Toby Wilkins is a director who clearly has an appreciation for the genre. He’s to be commended for showing us something new, which is nearly impossible and rare in this day and age of modern horror. This would make a great, midnight party movie to watch with friends who like their thrills and chills in a tight, satisfying package. Splinter is currently available to “Watch Instantly” for Netflix members, but I recommend seeking out the DVD for the full experience.