Diane Franklin is an icon from the 80’s having starred in “The Last American Virgin”, “Amityville II: The Possession”, “Better Off Dead”, “Terrorvision” and “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”.
She is also an author with her latest book titled “Diane Franklin: The Excellent Curls of the Last American, French-Exchange Babe of the 80s”.
Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Diane to discuss her rise to fame and also her current work in “The Amityville Murders”.
Actors: Rocky Duvall, Chad Allen, Roxanna Augesen, Diane Franklin, Mary Woronov, Gerrit Graham
Directors: Ted Nicolaou, Robert Scott
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Scream Factory
Release Date: February 19, 2013
Run Time: 171 minutes
Double Feature: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is my first go at reviewing a title from Scream Factory, a division of Shout! Factory. I grew up as a kid watching both “TerrorVision” and “The Video Dead” and have been fans. Are they the best thing to ever come out of the 80’s? Probably not but they are fun as well and thanks to Scream Factory, they are on Blu-ray for the first time. Since they are more of an obscure titles, they probably wouldn’t be able to hold their own on individual Blu-ray. These films are plain and simple campy fun and this double feature should be a guilty pleasure for all horror fans.
“TerrorVision” is a very silly movie but it has really delivered a nice cult audience over the years. It is directed by Ted Nicolaou, who is known for his work with the “Supspecies” franchise also. It is co-produced and written by Full Moon’s Charles Band and composed by his brother Richard Band, who are both legends in the horror genre. The film also packs some decent creature effects for a low-budget indie. “The Video Dead” has become another fan favorite in the horror genre and even inspired a hardcore punk band of the same name. It features some solid zombie effects, not “Walking Dead” quality but still decent for 1987.
“TerrorVision” Official Premise: Life will never be the same for the Putterman family in Terrorvision. Stanley Putterman (Gerrit Graham) installs a state-of-the-art satellite dish in his backyard. Through a cosmic accident, a wayward monster’s energy is beamed across galaxies, into the satellite and onto the Puttermans’ television set. The Puttermans don’t notice any changes, only better reception and a strange monster continually appearing on the screen. But when the monster leaps off the screen and into the Puttermans’ living room, terror erupts, as it needs to feed on humans for its survival! Uh Oh!
“The Video Dead” Official Premise: On a quiet, tree-lined street, evil has arrived in a most ordinary way, an old television set. It receives a single channel, one that not only shows the same film over and over a horror film where zombies rise from the grave to kill but also frees the gnarled, evil monsters….and once out, they’re not going back! They like the real world. They’ve already killed five people and want more blood…and a new family is moving into the neighborhood!
I have only ever seen both of these films on VHS (what’s that right?) and television, so the quality of “TerrorVision” on Blu-ray is stunning compared obviously. It is not a perfect transfer and the film itself looks its age, which is almost 30 years old. But Scream Factory’s 1080p transfer is still a pleasure to view and fans of the film should enjoy it. The film also packs a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track. This works well with creature action and dialogue, which are both well-balanced.
“The Video Dead” also packs a decent high definition transfer. There is some noticeable grain for the film itself but it is acceptable and still impressive. In fact, the 1080p transfer on “The Video Dead” is a notch better than “Terrorvision” although the can’t be said for its audio tracks. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a bit spotty especially with the dialogue. Luckily thought I think Scream Factory knew this, which is why they also included an DTS-HD MA 2.0 track, which sounds a little more like the film should sound. Fans will most likely prefer this track.
“TerrorVision” runs a little light in the special features department but what it does has works very well. There is an audio commentary track with Writer/Director Ted Nicolaou and Stars Diane Franklin & Jon Gries. It is very entertainingm, informative and fans should eat it up. “Monster on Demand — The Making of TerrorVision” is an awesome all-new retrospective look into the production. This features tons of great talent including Writer/Director Ted Nicolaou, Stars Diane Franklin, Mary Woronov, Jon Gries, Ian Patrick Williams, Special Make-Up Effects Designer Jon Carl Buechler, Executive Producer Charles Band, Composer Richard Band and others!. If you are a fan of this film this is worth the purchase alone. Lastly there is a Poster & Still Gallery including.
“The Video Dead” comes with some more content but focuses more on commentary on documentaries. The first audio commentary comes from Writer/Producer/Director Robert Scott, Editor Bob Sarles, and Makeup Effects Creator Dale Hall, Jr. Decent track but not amazing. The second is an commentary track from stars Roxanne Augesen and Rocky Duvall with moderator Chris MacGibbon, Production Manager Jacues Thelemaque, Makeup Effects Creator Dale Hall, Jr. and Makeup Assistant Patrick Denver. Much better than the first and more interesting. “Pre-Recordead” is an interview with Makeup Effects Creator Dale Hale, Jr. and Makeup Assistant Patrick Denver. Lastly there are some Outtakes, a Behind the Scenes & Poster Still Gallery and wrapping it up with a trailer.
