COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - 'SLAUGHTER DAY' (VISUAL VEGEANCE BLU RAY)
If someone were to make a list of the most influential horror films for independent filmmakers, what movies do you think would be on it? JOHN CARPENTER’S HALLOWEEN, TOBE HOOPER’S TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and SAM RAIMI’S THE EVIL DEAD are what I reckon. And with regards to THE EVIL DEAD, well that makes a good cast to be at the top of the list. Since THE EVIL DEAD premiered the people lost in the demon-filled woods genre was born and with it a host of similar films with varying degrees of quality. Some like DEMON WIND are guilty pleasures that scratch the “so bad it’s good” itch. Then more contemporary films like CABIN FEVER take most of the same story beats and change things up just enough to make it different without being redundant. Hell, BLOODY MUSCLE BODYBUILDER IN HELL has been called the “Japanese Evil Dead” and for very good reason. So it’s no surprise that the fine folks at VISUAL VENGEANCE are blessing us with yet another hard-to-find SOV horror film that draws direct inspiration from Raimi’s cabin-in-the-woods nightmare, SLAUGHTER DAY. Does VISUAL VENGEANCE once again give collector’s the films they didn’t know they craved or is this a forgotten film that should have stayed that way?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A rarely seen, super obscurity of the shot-on-video era, and arguably the most insane and ambitious micro-budget horror action movie ever made! In the rural recesses of Hawaii, a pair of friends must fight an ancient evil force brought to life by an occult book that possesses a group of construction workers. Packed from start to finish with kinetic lo-fi action scenes, clever camera work, and buckets of homemade gore.
HOW IS IT?
Being a genre fan is an interesting experience. Like fandom in any other sense, your gateway is usually something popular and ubiquitous and gradually you delve deeper and deeper into the different branches of your chosen community. You go from enjoying the known entries, then hunting for the hard-to-find, and usually come back around to some middle ground between the two. Along the way, you’ll no doubt develop a deeper understanding of what you like and what you don’t and even be a bit surprised by how your tastes change. That is how I feel about SOV horror. Something I scoffed at when I was younger, but a genre that I have found myself enjoying more and more in my older fandom years. One of the many reasons I have found such a liking in this often disregarded part of the horror scene is because of movies like SLAUGHTER DAY. An earnest and endearing effort that wears its amateur production like a badge of honor and even impresses with some really fun homemade practical effects.
To be clear, and as I’ve said in previous VISUAL VENGEANCE reviews if you aren’t into the SOV aesthetic I’m not sure this film or any other is going to change your mind. SLAUGHTER DAY is the kind of movie you either enjoy because you’re laughing with it or at it, but not in a condescending way. Sure, there are moments when you can hear the director directing actors, but that doesn’t deter from the fact that what you’re watching is a labor of love and not a festival film fit for Cannes. The story in SLAUGHTER DAY is best described as THE EVIL DEAD meets construction workers as a group of workers finds their colleague possessed after reading from the Necronomicon and wearing an evil gas mask. For 58 minutes we follow the nefarious John Jones as he terrorizes his peers across the Big Island of Hawaii. Dangerous car chases filmed in the back of trucks and romps across the woods with entrails abound, SLAUGHTER DAY is essentially the meth of SOV horror. It packs so many ideas and so much energy into such a short film that by the time the final scenes occur you’re out of breath from the thrills and the giggles you’ve endured.
What makes SLAUGHTER DAY a cut above the average SOV film is that it is relatively unknown and yet packs some really impressive homemade visual gags. One, in particular, involves someone being sucked into a book Raimi style that is put together so well with very little to go off of. The entire movie is full of various different visual gags and effects that work more or less most of the time. Little details like sparks flying out of the shotgun barrel or the entrails busting out of someone’s mid-section are all handled better than most films of its kind. The most glaring, and potentially deal-breaking aspect for some is that the editing is more choppy than normal. Considering the film was edited using VHS to VHS, it’s impressive what the final product is even if it does underscore the limitations of consumer-grade video equipment. It’s hard for me to be objective in films like these because I admire the effort so much that I tend to forgive the final product. What I can say is that if you’re not already a fan of this kind of thing and you are curious about dipping your toes in, SLAUGHTER DAY is a lot of fun and a great watch alone or with friends…and lots of adult beverages.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
SLAUGHTER DAY is presented on blu ray from the original 1991 SD Master tape in its fullscreen 1.33:1 ratio. Given the medium, this was originally filmed in and the age of the film overall it looks as good as one might expect. If you’ve seen previous VISUAL VENGEANCE releases you know what to expect in this department, and it’s safe to say this is the best these movies will look until a technological revolution.
Screenshots from the VISUAL VENGEANCE disc are used throughout the review and below:
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
Much like the looks, the sound in SLAUGHTER DAY is limited only by the format it was filmed in. A stereo audio track is included along with English subtitles (thank you!). The audio levels are as expected for home video equipment in that it’s either too loud or not loud enough, but I like to think of it as part of the charm here, and putting a Dolby Atmos track on this would be like dropping an airplane engine in a smart car.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
VISUAL VENGEANCE put more TLC in their releases than almost any other label out there. Since so many of the SOV films come from lesser known or one-time filmmakers it is always impressive to see how they are able to find heaps of material to supplement the film’s blu ray release.
While I did not listen to either of the two commentary tracks, I did watch a few of the included interviews and previous films from the Cousins brothers. First up was The Cousins Brothers Today which was an 8-minute interview with Brent and Blake Cousins the duo behind SLAUGHTER DAY. This short but informative interview talked about how the brothers got started by somewhat reluctantly winning the John Carpenter Award for their films which led them to try and make it out in LA. After not seeing much success, they came back to Hawaii and remade their four Slaughter Day films into the feature-length SLAUGHTER DAY we know today. It was great hearing how much they drew from Raimi not just with the content of THE EVIL DEAD, but also with the innovative technical approach that Raimi took to filmmaking. They even hint at the idea of going back for a sequel, and I wouldn’t be opposed if they did!
Also included are the brothers’ previous films from their younger years. These are essentially home movies, and you can watch their first short “Full Metal Platoon” as well as the original four Slaughter Day short films. Again, these are not meant to be taken is as the epitome of cinema, but rather, a retrospect on how the bug to create starts at an early age and all it takes is the time and effort to do it. A full list of special features is listed below, and coming soon we will have an exclusive interview with The Cousins Brothers on the site!
Region Free Blu-ray
Archival 1991 SD master from original tapes
Limited Edition Slipcase by The Dude Designs -- FIRST PRESSING ONLY
New audio commentary with Brent and Blake Cousins
The Cousins Brothers Today: New Interview
Alternate takes
Early short film: Full Metal Platoon
Slaughter Day theme song
Slaughter Day 2: Original short film (1989)
Slaughter Day 3: Original short film (1989)
Slaughter Day 4: original shirt films (1989)
Original trailer
Trailers for other Cousins films
Folded mini-poster
Four Page Liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng's Chop magazine
Stick your own video store sticker sheet
Visual Vengeance Trailers
Reversible Sleeve featuring original VHS art
DTS-HD master audio option
Optional English subtitles
LAST RITES
SLAUGHTER DAY is another slam-dunk from the SOV sultans over at VISUAL VENGEANCE. High on charm and doused in gallons of guts and blood, even those who don’t fancy this kind of filmmaking may enjoy taking a 58-minute trip to the Hawaiian Evil Dead construction site!
THE GORY DETAILS
SLAUGHTER DAY is available NOW on blu ray from VISUAL VENGEANCE. Thank you to MVD ENTERTAINMENT for the review copy and you can purchase SLAUGHTER DAY from MVD DIRECT!
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