Review: Moonchild (2-disc: Blu-ray + CD Soundtrack Edition)

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Moonchild
Directed by Todd Sheets
Visual Vengeance; Wild Eye Releasing; Jackalope Media; Extreme Entertainment; MVD Entertainment
102 minutes, 1994 / 2022
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.MVDEntertainment.com/
Director Todd Sheets was known early in his career as a fantastical yet grainy cult-god filmmaker. After a health scare, he came back stronger than ever, with the likes of Clownado (2019), Bonehill Road (2017), Dreaming Purple Neon (2016), and House of Forbidden Secrets (2013).   

This film, however, is from his early cult days, and is well-beloved by his followers. Honestly, I have never seen it till now, like much of his early work, so I am looking forward to checking it out. This was originally shot on sVHS, so it is grainy, but this release was taken from the master tape by Sheets himself. This is the first time it has been released on Blu-ray.

Auggi Alverez

In much like the Mad Max franchise, we are introduced to a dystopian future of the Chicago area (though filmed in Kansas City) where a group called Sodality (meaning “Brotherhood” or “Community”; also, a devotional association of Roman Catholic laity) run the dictatorial government of the United Nations of America; I guess more like Gilead but almost post-apocalyptic as we see a run-down city that drives cars from the 1970s and ‘80s (it was released in 1994, so it makes sense in that way). Sodality is run by Kronos (Tom Berg), a blubbery too-white guy (think of 1971’s The Omega Man) who has 666 drawn onto his body.

Government scientists have an inner-city compound where they experiment on creating super soldiers, such as one who is a cyborg whose outer clothes makes him look a bit like a cockroach (sans extra limbs, but adds a body chainsaw). He is one of three of these hybrids that are in search of our protagonist, Jacob Stryker (Auggi Alvarez).

Dave Miller

Stryker is also a hybrid, but has retained his consciousness. He escapes from the Republicans…I mean the Sodality. He is in search of his son, Ethan (Stefan Hilts), who is being held captive somewhere. And while he is on the run after an action scene right at the start, he manages to hook up with the underground, run by Talon (Dave Miller), who mostly dress like the Arrakisians in Dune, with scarfs and hooded robes. Speaking of which, you know Stryker is the hero because of his knee-length, open military jacket (belonging to Alverez’s dad), reminiscent of The Matrix franchise.

After his experimentation results, Stryker can also turn into a semi-werewolf-like creature, hence the title, though it’s a misnomer, even though he does not need the moon to actually “change.” He’s more like The Hulk in that he turns when he is angry or in a fight. Oh, and did I mention there is a bomb in his stomach scheduled to go off in 72 hours? How Snake Pliskin!

Kathleen McSweeney, Rebecka Rose

He sets off with new love interest (his wife was killed) that took less than a day, Athena (Kathleen McSweeney) and some others: Talon, boppy Weasel (Kyrie King), Rocky (Julie King), and Teela (Rebecka Rose). From this point it is more or less a travelogue where they meet different groups, each one dresses alike within the group. Quite like The Warriors (1979).

It is worth noting that despite the low budget, the sets are amazing, the lighting and shadows work well, and the editing is spot on.

Carol Barta

Now, as for extras, oh my god, there are so many. This may take days to get through. It starts with two commentaries. The first is with Todd Sheets and star Auggi Alverez. These two are friends, and their commentary is easy and breezy, yet still informative. I really enjoyed this one. The other commentary is Sheets and Rob Hauschild of Visual Vengeance, who released the Blu-ray. That’s right, if you watch the film and the commentaries, it’s like watching the film three times. The second one is a bit more of a technical view, details on filming process, and Sheets’ career, but it is interesting for those who like this side of the method. There is very little overlap with the other commentary, which is worth a note. While this Blu-ray is the Director’s Cut, it also Includes the alternate VHS version of Moonchild as originally released, I respectfully bowed out of watching it a fourth time.

The first featurette is the documentary, “Wolf Moon Rising: The Making of Moonchild” (32 min). This is archival footage including an entire newscast about the production, backstage scenes and the creation of the music. There is no narration, just some interviews with the cast at crew at the time of filming. And speaking of “back then,” this is followed by “Original BTS Casts and Crew Interviews” (9 min) that is pure candy. The “Deleted Ending” is an extra fight scene, but honestly, the film’s ending as it stands now is much better.

The first of the last two biggies is the short film “Sanguinary Desires” (1988, I believe; 13 min), where a group of people are offered $10K to spend the night in this series of rooms, but of course, as the title indicates, there is lots of blood and guts involved as they meet up with various forms of the undead. Will any survive? The second, of course, is the additional disc that is the soundtrack of the film, which is quite good, including the expected synth pieces and the orchestrated songs as well. Worth a listen.

Then there are others like the original VHS trailer and one for one of my fave Sheets releases, Bonehill Road (another werewolf film), a music video by death metal band Descension of “Burn the Church,” and other Visual Vengeance trailers (including the new one for this film), which always plays whenever you put in the disc, and English subtitles upon request.

On the non-digital side, there is a reversible sleeve featuring the original VHS art, a four-page liner notes booklet by Matt Desiderio of “Horror Boobs,” stick your own VHS sticker sheet, and a folded mini-poster

One point in the full film that confuses me is that the terribly intentionally overacting bounty hunters, especially Lothos (Harry Rose) and Medusa (Carol Barta) from the Sodality – It reminds me of the villains from the old “The Power Rangers” series – seem desperate and will use any method to catch Stryker, but if he had a bomb inside of him, why bother, as he will be dead in a couple of days? Also, the fight choreography is kind of funky, and there is a lot of it. But my big bugaboo about the film is not enough transformations. But then again on the good side, it is important to remember how low-budget this was, and some mental leeway has to give way for the zeitgeist of the film as a whole.

All-in-all, though, this was a fun ride, from beginning to end. But I can totally understand why it is a cult classic, and rightfully so, in my opinion.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: L.A. AIDS Jabber

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

L.A. AIDS Jabber (aka Jabber)
Directed by Drew Godderis
Visual Vengeance; Wild Eye Releasing; MVD Entertainment
78 minutes, 1994 / 2022
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.MVDEntertainment.com/
This relatively new imprint of Wild Eye Releasing, called Visual Vengeance, is an interesting idea. They deal with lowest of low budget archival films, usually shot on VHS or some other older medium, without correction. The stories are goofy, but usually not as much as the acting. And for all of that, I say ‘Woot Woot!!” It is great that these films are getting to see the light of day again. There are so many VV films that I have never heard of before, though I have read the name of this one before in indie horror mags. I am looking forward to seeing it.

Jason Majik

The cheesy synth score by John Martin Turner during the opening credits tells you exactly where you are in the indie horror food chain. The main character, who is also the antagonist, is 19-year-old Jeff Roberts (Jason Majik). He definitely has some borderline mental issues, especially with anger. And now he has been diagnosed with AIDS; wouldn’t he have HIV first, especially since he believes he contracted it from a particular prostitute six months previous? Saywhat?

His anger is having an effect on his world, including getting fired by his boss (Fred Nugent); his physician, Dr. White (Craig Harris) and a social worker (Victoria Crane) are worried about him, that he will hurt himself or someone else, including his girlfriend (Mitzy Tony), but they will not call the police. Saywhat?

Meanwhile, Jeff is making a list to take revenge upon, including the prostitute, by, yes, injecting them with his blood. But wait, if the prostitute (Susan Para) already has AIDS to his belief, what would be the purpose of injecting her with his blood? Saywhat?

Marcy Lynn, Tony Donangelo

Unstable Jeff starts going around stabbing people on his list, as well as random pedestrians. The cops (Marcy Lynn, Tony Donangelo, and then Justin Mack) almost catch him but he escapes. I bring this up because in an alley chase scene you can clearly see the shadow of the cameraperson, which made me smile. I love low-budget films just for reasons like that.

When Jabby calls a feisty female television reporter, Judith Campbell (Joy Yurada), to threaten her, she has a co-worker include the police on the call to try and nab him. Yet when the cops come a-callin’ to her house to see if she wants protection, she questions how they know about it. Saywhat?

But, to be honest, I am impressed by the sub-stories, like the cops who are trying to get him, and the reporter who is in danger from needle-boy. The film actually has more depth than I was expecting, despite some of the logical fallacies, such as the ones I mentioned above. There are others as well, just not as glaring.

Despite being taken from master SD tape, the film is grainy as all get out, especially the outside night shots (the time capsule imagery of seedy L.A. is enjoyable), and towards the end there is video noise that made me both grateful that it is uncommon with current digital technology, and ironically a little bit nostalgic. The acting runs from pretty flat to over-emoting, but that is to be expected.

The film ends exactly like one might think it would be concerning our AIDS gent (well, I did, anyway), but there is still a nice O. Henry-ish twist at the end that had me laughing and a bit confused.

Majik, Joy Yurada

Now, the bonus features of this Blu-ray are extensive, all done within the past two years. It starts with the “Director’s Introduction to Movie” (1 min), a nothing burger of thanks to the cast and distributor. The real meat starts with the full-length commentary with Godderis, Wild Eye Releasing’s Rob Hauschild, and low-budget director Mark Polonia (e.g., Camp Blood First Slaughter; Shark Encounters of the Third Kind;Virus Shark). Sometimes there is a bit of just describing what is happening on the screen, but that is only a small part of it. Most of it is pretty interesting as there is descriptions of what was going on with the scenes, talking about L.A. at that time, and explains some of the Saywhat? moments, like the disappearance of a particular character. It is a good schooling for indie, low-budget filming. Amusingly, no one mentions the shadow in the alleyway.

And if that wasn’t enough, next up is “Lethal Injection: The Making of L.A. AIDS Jabber,” with the director (10 min). While I found the full commentary interesting, this covers mostly new ground, and is just long enough to keep the interest going. It makes sense the next interview is “Bleeding The Pack: An Interview with Lead Actor Jason Majik” (29 min). It’s a bit rambling, but he discusses how he was chosen for the role, what it was like shooting the film, and he fills in some gaps which even Godderis is vague. He also talks about the post-filming in his life, including seeing it for the first time while tripping. While it’s kind of unfocused, and maybe because of it, it kept my interest.

The next featurette is “L.A. AIDS Jabber - 2021 Locations Visit.” (16 min). I always find these before and after location scenes fascinating. It is led by Godderis, and things are almost indistinguishable from 30 years ago. Following is an “Interview with Blood Diner Director Jackie Kong” (9 min). As an actor, Godderis co-started in Blood Diner, which became legend. Honestly, I did not watch it. Nor did I watch an interview with Godderis’ son who appeared briefly in the film when he was 3-years-old, called “Growing Up On Set: Justin Godderis” (9 min). However, I was curious about the next, “Actress Joy Yurada Interview” (7 min). She played the reporter. Some of it is a bit rambling, but it was fun when she pulled out a binder with the film’s notes and her lines.

The next talking head is the “Through the Lens: An Interview with Cameraman Rick Bradach” (6 min). It’s okay, but not very engaging to me. “Interview with Actor Gene Webber” (4 min) follows. He was a secondary police character, and doesn’t really bring much to the table. The last two digital extras are a photo gallery consisting of behind-the-scenes shots of the first day of shooting, and the new version of the trailer.

On the physical side, there are liner notes in a booklet titled “Rage in the Blood” by Tony Strauss of Weng's Chop magazine, a collectible folded mini-poster, stick your own VHS stickers, and a reversible BR sleeve featuring the original VHS art

This is Drew Godderis’ only directorial endeavor, though he’s acted in a number of well-known B horror films. When it came out, Godderis personally distributed the film on VHS. I am aware it has been decades since this was released, but I wonder if he will ever direct more, please.

IMDB listing HERE

Reviews: The Necro Files; Necro Files 3000

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

The Necro Files
Directed by Matt Jaissle
Visual Vengeance; Threat Theatre International Inc.; Wild Eye Releasing; MVD Entertainment
72 minutes, 1997 / 2022
www.facebook.com/thenecrofiles/
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.MVDEntertainment.com/
This film is a classic in the home movie subgenre. Essentially, what that means it that it was shot on video. Visual Vengeance is one of the few companies that are rereleasing the lowest quality looking films imaginable, which is, well, fantastic. The reason? Because of the imagination behind it. The execution? Well… Note that this film has been cleaned up significantly, and the quality of the visuals are quite good, unlike most of the VV fare which is seen in their trailers.

Named after “The X Files,” you gotta love a film that starts with the obligatory shower scene with full frontal nudity (Theresa Bestul). Serial killer and rapist Logan (Isaac Cooper) is not far behind, chased by a couple of police detectives:  the ultra-violent after a bomp on the noggin Martin Manners (Steve Sheppard) and his partner, the mustachioed Orville Sloane (Gary Browning), that latter of whom has a personal stake in the whole affair as his sister was a previous victim.

Steve Sheppard and Gary Browning

Long story short, dead killer, who is raised from his “slumber” by a group of Satan worshipers by killing the baby of the rapist’s victim (yes, an obvious doll). Be careful what you wish for because what arises is a flesh eating and extremely violent zombie.

Two of the surviving Satanists (who were in the group to hopefully get laid), the not-too-smart Barney (Jason McGee), who wears a Smashing Pumpkins Mission to Mars tee which is apparently quite rare these days and selling in the hundreds of dollars, and Jack (Christian Curmudgeon; like others in the cast, such as Ann R. Key and Drew Burymore, I am going to go out on a limb and say that’s not his real name), who wears plaid flannel (remember, this is filmed in Olympia, WA, in the ‘90s), try to resurrect a demon that will take care of the zombie, but instead raise the baby (again, it’s a doll) that flies around, also killing people while it searches for its zombie daddy. You read that right. I am only expressing this here because that is part of what makes this film so infamous among the subgenre. Well, that and the extreme level of gore.

I will be honest, and posit that I do not like scenes of rape, even if it is with a zombie and a 12” prosthetic dong/dildo). Never did. If you will pardon this soapbox paragraph, I once got into conversation with Frank Farel, the producer of Street Trash (1987) at a private pre-release showing of the film about how I objected to the rape scene in that film, and that it was gratuitous. I enjoyed the rest of the film, but that part just seemed so unnecessary and sexist. Then again, it was the 1980s, and envelopes were purposely pushed. But I stand by my conviction.

Isaac Cooper

The gore level in this film is over the top, and of course, that’s a good thing in this case. Piles of offal more than blood fill the screen often. For a gorehound, it is a pleasure, especially since it looks like they got it from a slaughterhouse; and yet, it is so extreme, it is almost cartoonish at the same time. Good times.

The acting is horrendously wooden, but I will chime the same tune I have been stating since the beginning of this review, and that is, it is what is expected in this subgenre. If you are looking for, say, Halloween (1978, 2007) quality, you are looking in the wrong place and will not be satisfied. If, however, you are like me, and marvel at how something this low budget and independent managed to do as much as they did with the means they have, this film is actually better than most.

Part of the relative success of the release, in my opinion, is the camerawork and editing by the director, Matt Jaissle, who works with the material (cameras, etc.) at his disposal, and has made this to look, well (and I mean this as a compliment), better than it should. Sure, the story itself (by first-time screenwriter Todd Tjersland, who also plays the head of the Satanic cult) is kinda ridiculous; the flying baby is priceless.

Speaking of fake names, it comes to the crew as well, such as “The X Files” related Dana Duchovny and David Fox, but the one that caught my eye was Gilles de Rias (if you are into serial killers, he’s worth looking up on Wikipedia; I have known about him for decades).

The music is often a varying hum, which actually works well for the film. There is some humor woven into the story (especially around the flying baby and the sounds it makes), though I would not necessarily call this a comedy.

Having heard of this film for years, I was not sure exactly what to expect from this, but I was not disappointed. In fact, it was much better than I was expecting, and again, I give that credit to the director who took a really silly story and, on some level, made it all work.

There is a whopping number of extras on the region-free Blu-ray that took me quite the time to get through. They include (but not all) a new, full-length audio commentary with the director, Matt Jaissle, where he has lots of good stories about the filming, and what’s going on in a particular scene you may not have noticed. A second full-length audio commentary is with Matt Desiderio of the VHS distribution label and podcast, “Horror Boobs,” and Billy Burgess of the Druid Underground Film Festival. They are knowledgeable about the film, and yet are not clinical, as I find some of the commentaries for, say, Fulci films. They seem to be there to have a good time and share that. It’s also amusing how they attach things that aren’t related to “show off” a bit (I would do the same), such as calling the opening shower scene a nod to Psycho (1960), and the Cassio soundtrack reminiscent of Blood Feast (1963). They are there to do a job, but because they are having so much fun doing it, that is transferred to the listener.

Next up is a brand-new video, “A Chat with Director Matt Jaissle” (7 min), as he roams around a cemetery with a handheld camera (with no stedi-cam) as he discusses other films he’s made, his influences, and getting The Necro Files started. It’s short and sweet. This is followed by a couple of Matt Jaissle’s Super 8 Short Films from when he was a teenager: “The Paroxysm Plague”, a zombie flick, and “The Adventures of the Walla Monster” (which includes a homage to Leatherface, Michael, and Jason). They are as amateurish as you can get, but that’s part of what makes it so much fun. A third 8mm short, “The Corpse” (1987; 9 min.) is a bit better realized along storyline and execution.

The Chilean Talk Show Segment (4 min.) is okay, except I do not speak Spanish. However, I am impressed they showed some of the graphic details (including dildos) both sexual and violent, while the group of hosts laugh it off. I wish this was captioned. More importantly is the documentary, “Dong of the Dead: The Making of The Necro Files” (20 min.). This is essentially a one-shot of Jaissle (with some brief clips) where he once again talks about the beginning of the film, the shooting, and especially the reaction afterwards (including a Chris Farley story!). It is engaging. Then there are also some Visual Vengeance trailers, including two original ones for the main film.

Included is a bonus Movie, the sequel Necro Files 3000 (2017) and its trailer, the film of which is reviewed below.

Some of the physical extras include a Limited Edition Slipcover for the first pressing, a retro VHS sticker set, the Necro Files Official Condom (yes, you read that correctly), a Reversible Sleeve featuring the original VHS art, a Collectible Mini Poster, and a 2-Sided Insert.

IMDB listing HERE  The trailer is at the bottom of the reviews.

 

Necro Files 3000
Directed by Matt Jaissle
Superpuppetanimation; VidEvil Video Company; Carilliam Pictures; Gravehill Production
62 minutes, 2017 / 2022
www.facebook.com/necrofiles3000/
This is actually the second sequel for the film, the first of which was The Necro Files 2 (2003), which Jaissle only had a limited contribution. It took 20 years for this second and official sequel to be released.

In the beginning… is the prologue. It shows a clip of the Satanists in the first film, raising up Logan, but in black and white. Instead of Isaac Cooper, we get a rapacious and cannibalistic… skeleton marionette. Yes, you read that right. In fact, from this point on, which is in color, all the characters are either puppets or dolls; the women victims are Barbie-esque, reminding me of Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), which also used dolls. The obvious question is, of course, how does a skeleton (never mind a puppet) rape with no foot-long schlong as did the original Logan, never mind a plastic one?

Professor Blackthorne and Phineas Hogweather

We are then introduced to the protagonists of the film, Professor Blackthorne, an expert in the occults whose beard and eyebrows are drawn on with a marker, and Logan is brought to his attention by an investigative journalist, Phineas Hogweather (the latter is played by an elfin-eared “yokel” puppet; is that a commentary on modern journalism? Neil Postman would be proud).

Odd thing is, the gore level is high, and actually looks decent next to the plastic “victims” which are torn asunder. Not only that, but his plan is to resurrect “a death god to roam the planet,” exclaims the professor. They chase skeleton Logan to different parts of the globe, such as the Amazon Forest. Apparently, Logan travels to these destinations via supernatural portals. Then again, I’m watching a film about puppets. There are humans in the film, usually in the background or B-roll, shot in Ann Arbor, MI, such as trick or treaters, or crowd shots. Being shot around Halloween makes some nice costumes.

Victim and skeletal Logan

While the film tries to be funny, it kinda doesn’t achieve it much, but is still fascinating to me to watch how far they’ll go. For example, in a somewhat racist scene in the Amazon, there is an almost direct reference to a particular Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs meets an Aboriginal tribesman from Australia (“WhadIsay?” was Bugs’ response, rather than the professors, “Oh, shit”).

And what happens when the prof and Phineas hack into the Pentagon’s deadly Godzilla-sized Killbot 9000 (referencing Alex Jones conspiracies, of all people). This leads to the irony of the story, that P&P are responsible for killing a multitude of more people than Logan. While all that is happening, can you find Waldo? (I did.)

Stick around for the blooper reel in the credits. Okay, so much of the film is just ridiculous, but I certainly enjoyed particular aspects of it, like the bravery of the crew creating this in the first place, and for $1000. Also, there are a lot of cool references that pop up here and there (like the Waldo thing). Do I recommend it? For the right frame of mind, certainly. If you have a low threshold of insanity, well…

IMDB listing HERE