A LOOK ON THREE RELEASES:
BRAIN DEAD
The very first release from them was "Brain Dead". Not the Peter Jackson zombie flick, but the Kevin Tenney zombie flick. It took a while before it got a release in US, and now a few years later it is also getting a release in Sweden thanks to Dark Entertainment. I must say I really prefer the Swedish cover for it over the Breaking Glass Pictures release that, to me, looked only like a poor Photoshop job.
Already with their first release they make it a standard to include a documentary ("Behind The Screams"), audio commentary and trailers. But it also has deleted scenes, a small written biography about the director and also a written statement straight from the director.
Years have passed since Kevin Tenney's heyday, but he still remembers how to cook a fun splatter movie. With a thin plot, the movie quickly focuses on the gore and zombies, and with a heavy dose of comedy. It's not all good comedy, but comedy nonetheless!
Read Preston's original review for "Brain Dead" here.
LA PETITE MORT
The artwork for this one isn't as eye-catching as the one for "Gutterballs", but I think it's more than fair. A girl being tortured sums the movie up rather nicely, and with additional folds to make it look like a poster it kinda gives you the idea what they were going for.
The release also gives you "Making of La Petite Mort", audio commentary, deleted scenes, photo gallery and trailers. I'm a huge fan of extra material and that can often be what makes me decide which release I want. "La Petite Mort" isn't exactly a film that I would bother to pay extra for to get bonus material, but when the release is as cheap as this one I doubt you will find any reason not to choose this.
It's easy to draw parallels to "Hostel", and with the way they have Ryan Nicholson presenting it (like Tarantino presented "Hostel), it would be appropriate to suggest that part of the film is actually trying to out-do that movie. Clearly it's a much more fun movie to watch. If you want to be challenged intellectually, then this isn't for you. If you just want gore (by none other than Olaf Ittenback) with your Germans, then by all means, pick it up!
Read Preston's original review for "La Petite Mort" here.
GUTTERBALLS
The release of Gutterballs comes with a fantastic artwork, and probably their best one so far. It also puts focus on the fact that it's the "FULL UNCUT VERSION". Which it is. This is my third release of the film, the other two being the French 2-disc NEO Publishing release, as well as the original Plotdigger release. I don't have the standard US Balls Out release, but from what I understand this Dark Entertainment release is the same cut as that one. I skimmed through my past releases and tried to compare but it was just too hard. All in all, as far as the cut goes, this is the version to get. Ryan Nicholson is releasing a PIN-etration Edition which will contain more penetration, but the Dark Entertainment release is the official uncut.
The disc features a documentary entitled "Behind The Bag" which is different from the other two releases (they had one called "Behind The Balls") and an audio commentary. By no means a "smacked with bonuses" release, but a documentary, trailer and audio commentary is very fair bonus material and there's no need to ask for more.
And finally, the movie is one of my favorite homages to a bygone era when things were in-your-face, sleaze and brilliant. It's a slasher movie in true 80's spirit but with the smut from the 70's. The gore is fantastic and it's just one hell of a good time. And it has Dan Ellis, the coolest Canadian ever.
Read Preston's original review for "Gutterballs" here.
