Phil reviews MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD (2011) DVD from Michael Perez Entertainment -January 12, 2012

This was one documentary that I have been waiting impatiently for. Ever since I heard about this film, the inner fanboy started to geek out. But I'm getting a head of myself, so let me back track first. On August 15, 1985, Orion Pictures released RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD, written and directed by Dan O'Bannon. With its blend of horror, humor, gore, and slapstick, the film became a cult classic that still to this day is loved and revered among horror fans and critics alike. Now 26 years after the film's release, director Bill Philputt and writers Gary Smart and Christian Sellers pay tribute to O'Bannon's film with their in-depth, informative, and highly entertaining film MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD.

Narrated by Brian Peck (who portrayed Scuz in the original film), the film chronicles the step by step process of the making of this legendary cult classic. From the pre-production nightmare that consisted of the legal battle between John Russo and George Romero over the rights to the film's title, original director Tobe Hooper backing out of the project and O'Bannon taking over even though he never directed a film before. Some of the issues that arose during the production of the film were the firing of special effects artist Bill Munns, the spats between the cast and O'Bannon, and the grueling 14 hour night shoots over the next 6 weeks took it's toll on the entire cast and crew. After filming was completed, the executives declared it "one notch above pornography." The film was finally released a year after it was finished and it grossed over $14 million during its theatrical run.

Philputt left no stone unturned when making this film. It also helped the writers Smart and Sellers wrote the book The Complete History of The Return of the Living Dead, to which the documentary is based on. Philputt was able to get 25 members of the original cast and crew to conduct on-camera interviews, including Clu Gulager (Burt), James Karen (Frank), Don Calfa (Ernie), Beverly Randolf (Tina), Thom Mathews (Freddy), Jewel Shepard (Casey), Linnea Quigley (Trash), and Peck too, just to name a few. With these individuals sharing some hilarious, interesting, personal stories and memories, Philputt crafted an amazing film and really pulled together some fascinating facts for fans about this cult classic.

The special features on this DVD are just outstanding! First there's THE WON'T STAY DEAD: A LOOK AT RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II: a half hour documentary on the making of the sequel and includes interviews with Michael Kenworthy (Jesse), Suzanne Snyder (Brenda), and Karen, Mathews, and Speck just to name a few. LOVE BEYOND THE GRAVE: A LOOK AT THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART 3: another short documentary chronicling the making of Part 3, including interviews with director Brian Yuzna, screenwriter John Penney, special effects make-up artist Steve Johnson, and actor Trevor Edmond (Curt). Resurrected Settings: The Filming Locations Today: both Speck and  Randolf host this very cool short showing us the actual filming locations as they are today, Stacey Q Live! An Exclusive "Tonight" music video, documentary deleted scenes, THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD told in 3 minutes, trailers for both MORE BRAINS! and NEVER SLEEP AGAIN: THE ELM STREET LEGACY, and A Conversation with Dan O'Bannon: The Final Interview: the last on-camera interview O'Bannon gave before his untimely passing from Crohn's Disease on December 17, 2009.

My conclusion is this: MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD is a highly recommended documentary that belongs on every horror fans collection. In fact here's a real treat for all you creatures of the night: watch the original film and this documentary as a double feature! That would be wonderful tribute you can do for Dan O'Bannon!

MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD DVD can be purchased at your local retailer or you can purchase a copy on the film's website at www.getmorebrains.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil reviews HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE (2010) from Something Weird Video-January 5, 2012

Demented Southern town folks killing off Northern visitors for revenge. Highway roaming she-devils looking for fun and fights. Nubile nudie cuties parading around in the buff. Bored suburban teenagers looking for kicks. A sadistic cater sacrificing young women to an Egyptian goddess. These depraved, sick, and perverted images are considered to be some of the most important and most iconic images to be captured ever in cinema's rich history. Ranging from the sublime to the subversive, the bloody to the sexy, one man dared to venture where other filmmakers never dreamed of, and as a result, has left us some of the greatest horror and exploitation films ever made. Now Mike Vraney and his company Something Weird Video has paid tribute to this iconic filmmaker with this, their first ever documentary feature film. Directed by Jimmy Maslon and Frank Henenlotter, SWV's  HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE shines the spotlight on this beloved and often overlooked pioneer filmmaker and his contributions to the world of cinema.

The documentary chronicles the film career of the man known as "The Godfather of Gore." From his humble beginnings teaching English and Humanities at Mississippi State which he later evolved into the advertisement business. When Lewis bought a half interest into a small, cheap movie studio in Chicago, he started Mid-Continent Films which produced two films: THE PRIMETIME and LIVING VENUS, which was his feature film debut as a director. It was during the making of THE PRIMETIME he met exploitation pioneer David F. Friedman, who helped Lewis distribute LIVING VENUS. With the release of Russ Meyers' THE IMMORAL MR. TEAS, the next film Lewis and Friedman made was the nudie cutie called THE ADVENTURES OF LUCKY PIERRE. After a couple of years making these nudie cuties and nudest camp films, Lewis came up with a completely different idea for a movie. A type of movie that the major movie studios wouldn't or couldn't make, but theater owners could make money at the boxoffice. Thus in the year 1963 BLOOD FEAST was made, and everything would never be the same again.

The other half of the documentary focuses of Lewis' partnership with Friedman as he created what has been called THE BLOOD TRILOGY which consisted of BLOOD FEAST, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS, and COLOR ME BLOOD RED (which takes up most of the middle of the documentary). These films introduced that famous four-letter word now forever associated with horror: GORE. The world of horror would never look the same thanks to Lewis and Friedman. After the completion of THE BLOOD TRILOGY, Lewis parted ways with Friedman and began to make a plethora of films within the exploitation genre such as MOONSHINE MOUNTAIN, JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT, SHE-DEVILS ON WHEELS, and SOMETHING WEIRD (which Vraney named his company after). Soon he returned to the horror genre with A TASTE OF BLOOD, THE WIZARD OF GORE, THE GRUESOME TWOSOME, and THE GORE GORE GIRLS, which was Lewis' swan song. After that film's release, he became one of the leaders in the field of Direct Marketing advertising (Lewis would return to the director's chair with the 2002 sequel BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL YOU CAN EAT).

Maslon and Henenlotter really packed the film with some great, informative, and funny interviews from people like John Waters, Joe Bob Briggs, Connie Mason, Mal Arnold, Jim Dennett and others, and by Henenloter himself. All these stories and opinions give the film life and also give praise to Lewis, to which this reviewer thinks is long overdue. These two directors threw everything in this film, including the kitchen sink! Also the on camera interviews with Lewis were just fascinating; detailing how he made a lot of his films, where he shot it, how he got the money, and how he made his gore-soaked films. Another great source of information came from Friedman, who shared his memories of the good 'ol days of exploitation filmmaking. Sadly, this documentary was one the last films he ever appeared in (he'll also be appearing in Henenlotter's upcoming SWV documentary THAT'S SEXPLOITATION). On February 14, 2011 Friedman passed away at the age of 87.

The DVD comes packed with over an hour of deleted scenes (which could almost make up another film!), a rare Lewis short film entitled HOT NIGHT AT THE GO-GO-LOUNGE, a gallery of Lewis exploitation art, and an extensive Lewis trailer reel!

Something Weird Video's HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE is required viewing and a must-own for every single horror fan out there. The film serves as introduction to people who may have never seen any of Lewis' films while simultaneously satisfies his fans with an in depth biography of the man who invented a whole new film genre. Highly recommended!!

HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE is available on the Something Weird Video website. To purchase a copy, please visit www.somethingweird.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!