There is nothing that feels quite like a backyard, or “Homegrown Horror” film as the latest box set from Vinegar Syndrome calls them. I am not just saying this, as a fan of horror films, but I genuinely feel that horror (with science fiction as a close second) has the most genuinely passionate fan base of all cinematic genres. Like how punk rock inspired a generation of kids to pick up guitars and write their own 3 chord anthems, horrors films from the 50’s to the 80’s inspired generations to pick up cameras and make their own films, whether they had the budget or not. This helped creates regional pockets of horror filmmaking, and some of the most unique horror films seen around the world.
This month Vinegar Syndrome released Homegrown Horrors Vol. 1, this set is akin to Arrow Video’s American Horror Project series, except these films definitely fall into the extreme low budget territory. The 3 films in this set are Winterbeast, Fatal Exam, and Beyond Dream’s Door, and each show different facets of horror, and what can be achieved on a low budget.
I just put these on in a random order as they didn’t come in a box and they all looked superfun. So Winterbeast kicked off my own “Homegrown Horrors” Marathon. Oddly, maybe I was drawn to this one knowing it would be my favorite, because of the 3 this was the absolute best from my perspective.
The film follows 2 forest rangers Whitman (Tim R. Morgan) and Stilman (Mike Magri) who are meant to keep the local State Park safe. Unfortunately, they are having a hard time of it, as locals begin to disappear starting with one of their crew of forest rangers. Unfortunately, a local creepy lodge owner gets in the way of their investigation and when they do finally find out what’s behind it, it ends up being a monster beyond their imagination!
Winterbeast is the type of horror film that reminds me of why I love horror films. Sure the budget doesn’t exist, but the imagination of the creators is totally up on screen. The film opens with a death seen that has some great Argento-esque lighting (I’m serious), that never gets touched on again, before we get into the main plot with the rangers, and their plight. The death scenes in the film were never completed on set, so they used really imaginative stop motion to finish them. When it first happened I literally laughed out loud, and by the end I was cheering on the imagination of the filmmaking here.
Vinegar Syndrome presents Winterbeast in a very solid 1:33: 1080p transfer that mixes 16mm and 8mm to great effect. Everything looks very natural here, colors are well reproduced, and detail is fine. The HD mono mix comes through clear, but occasional has a bit of a crackle that occurs.
The 2nd film I ended up watching from the trio was Beyond Dream’s Door. I like when horror takes a dreamlike turn, and expected some weirdness from this one and certainly got it. Beyond Dream’s Door follows Ben Dobbs a psychology student who is having nightmares that involve his past. He doesn’t know how they connect to his present, and so involves the psychology department as his university. One of his professors help him to find a case going back decades that is similar to his own, and things begin to connect slightly, and get stranger from there.
Beyond Dream’s Door is a Columbus, OH. Production directed by Jay Woelfel, and while there is a plot here, it just seems to be an excuse to string together wild scenes of monsters and surrealist weirdness. The thing is IT WORKS! The film does feel a bit bogged down at times, but when the weird ramps up, that is forgiven.
Vinegar Syndrome presented Beyond Dream’s Door in a 1:33:1 transfer. It comes from 16mm and tape sources, and looks as good as this film possibly can. Very natural, and film like, nice colors and details except where tape is applied. The 5.1 HD soundtrack has nice balance of sound and takes advantage of the updated mix. Extras include a new making of documentary, a group commentary with the cast and crew, and a commentary with Dave Parker and Nick Baldasare. There is also a bunch of archival extras ported over from a prior release including more commentaries, blooper reels, FX, and more.
The third film in the set is Fatal Exam, a sort of standard type of slasher film with a Porky’s Standard too old to be playing these characters cast, but it works. The film follows a group of college students who like in something like Hell Night go to a haunted house to study some supernatural occurrences that may have happened there. At that point the group convenes at the house to investigate, and the normal slashings happen… sort of.
So Fatal Exam is entertaining in spots. It has a decent score, and some great and quotable lines, and the characters are just quirky enough to seem interesting. But it has a 114 minute run time, I really don’t believe any slasher should push a run time on an audience like that. I think Jason X is cheesy insanity, but on my last rewatch of that I realized it pushed 2 hours and just wanted it to end, and the thing about Fatal Exam is, a lot of the extraneous material can be cut out without affecting the film too much. Still it’s a fun enough watch, and probably would play better in a group setting when there would be less focus on the film itself.
Vinegar Syndrome presents this one in a 1:85:1 1080p transfer that looks quite solid. Again, very natural, and very filmlike. Audio is handled by a DTS-HD mono track that sounds very nice. Extras include a group commentary, a making up documentary, and reversible cover art.
Homegrown Horrors Vol. 1 comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.