As the golden age of high-def horror continues, we aren’t just getting bells-and-whistles Blu-rays of films we never expected to receive such treatment—titles like The Mutilator and Squirm—but also of films some of us barely new existed. American Horror Project Vol. 1, the new Blu-ray box set from Arrow Video, collects three such films: low-budget independent horror movies from the 1970s that have either been forgotten or are in danger of being lost forever.
In attempting to find obscure titles that are still in good enough condition to be restored in high-def, the curators of American Horror Project Vol. 1 (among them Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA, as well as books on both Lucio Fulci and Jess Franco) could easily have found esoteric films that fit the criteria but were, for lack of a more diplomatic way of saying it, better off staying lost. But that couldn’t be further from the case.
In attempting to find obscure titles that are still in good enough condition to be restored in high-def, the curators of American Horror Project Vol. 1 (among them Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA, as well as books on both Lucio Fulci and Jess Franco) could easily have found esoteric films that fit the criteria but were, for lack of a more diplomatic way of saying it, better off staying lost. But that couldn’t be further from the case.
- 4/6/2016
- by Patrick Bromley
- DailyDead
In a commendable effort to save forgotten genre items either cloaked in obscurity or in danger of disappearing completely due to degrading source materials, distributor Arrow Video releases its first volume of a new series called American Horror Project. Fans of vintage indie horror from a game changing golden era should be enthused for this trio of inventive efforts even if not all live up to the excitement promised by the vibrant packaging. Lurid, carnivalesque, and even tawdry, it’s a new formidable platform for films unfairly dismissed upon release and deserving of another opportunity to provoke.
The earliest film here is the ungainly titled Malatesta’s Bucket of Blood, the 1973 debut and solo feature of Christopher Speeth. The plot synopsis promises palpable weirdness, concerning a middle aged couple, Mr. and Mrs. Norris (Paul Hostetler, Betsy Henn) who show up seeking employment at a seedy, run down carnival. Their zeal is a ruse,...
The earliest film here is the ungainly titled Malatesta’s Bucket of Blood, the 1973 debut and solo feature of Christopher Speeth. The plot synopsis promises palpable weirdness, concerning a middle aged couple, Mr. and Mrs. Norris (Paul Hostetler, Betsy Henn) who show up seeking employment at a seedy, run down carnival. Their zeal is a ruse,...
- 3/15/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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