Day of the Dead 2008 - Dear God!

[MoonSylver]

Moon - aye, it's one of those "so bad it's kinda good" movies, and it always makes me smile (with a laugh) when I think about it - same goes for the likes of Zombi 3, or Zombie Lake, or Oasis of the Zombies. The difference with Yawn04, or Ghey08, or even Craptagium, is they thought they were making something good in the first place... Yup. Same w/ CotLD. That has always been one of my main gripes w/ that flick. It COULD have rocked as a straight z-grade zombie flick (w/out all that Abbot Hayes crap), but instead they played it as straight & self-important as possible & it fails on nearly every level.

[MinionZombie]

Yup. Same w/ CotLD. That has always been one of my main gripes w/ that flick. It COULD have rocked as a straight z-grade zombie flick (w/out all that Abbot Hayes crap), but instead they played it as straight & self-important as possible & it fails on nearly every level. There's an excellent article on this very site about COTLD - from the director Tor Ramsey himself - it details all the trials and tribulations and explains exactly why it turned out to be such a steaming pile of monkey butts. http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/cotld_email.html It's a fantastic read, check it out. ... Triste - yeah I got it on R2 years ago, there was a whole bunch of cheap-o zed flicks (like Zombi 3, Zombi 4, Zombi Holocaust, The Zombie Dead, and Zombie Nosh) for a fiver each, so I just got a whole bunch and set about watching them. Back in those days I hadn't discovered DVDCompare.net (which is now like a Bible to me), nor was I particularly up on the differences between R1 and R2 packages mostly - I certainly am now and am very particular about which version I purchase.

[krakenslayer]

Triste - yeah I got it on R2 years ago, there was a whole bunch of cheap-o zed flicks (like Zombi 3, Zombi 4, Zombi Holocaust, The Zombie Dead, and Zombie Nosh) for a fiver each, so I just got a whole bunch and set about watching them. Back in those days I hadn't discovered DVDCompare.net (which is now like a Bible to me), nor was I particularly up on the differences between R1 and R2 packages mostly - I certainly am now and am very particular about which version I purchase. Ahh Vipco - the company that would release damaged VHS prints on DVD and (originally) charge £20 for em. Once upon a time they were considered pioneers of the Video Nasty, but they fell from grace with their lazy attitude to DVD.

[EvilNed]

Meh. Vipco had the disadvantage of being based in the UK, which meant that they'd would have to comply with the standards over there. Vipco was always considered of bad quality over here in Sweden, because they wouldn't release uncut versions of alot of films.

[MinionZombie]

Meh. Vipco had the disadvantage of being based in the UK, which meant that they'd would have to comply with the standards over there. Vipco was always considered of bad quality over here in Sweden, because they wouldn't release uncut versions of alot of films. hehe, aye I've got a number of Vipco releases - some still cut, some uncut - of course part of the reason for some of them being uncut is due to the BBFC. Although a flick like House By The Cemetery is now finally uncut in the UK, if memory serves, from a few weeks ago. Yeah, Vipco's DVDs never had any extras of worth, and the picture quality varied massively from one release to the next. Vipco was very attractive with it's lurid advert (with spooky horror voice saying "Vipco Vaults of HORROR!") on TV, just when all these flicks were getting released properly in the UK for the first time in 20 or 30 years ... especially attractive to someone who is new to the world of DVDs, let alone Region 1 DVDs often being better than their Region 2 counterparts. I've since learned, naturally, and the likes of Shriek Show (excellent Zombi 2 25th anniversary DVD on R1), or Blue Underground (I've got numerous DVDs by them, the most recent being Mountain of the Cannibal God, which while having almost no extras, does feature a very good looking copy of the film in pristine 2.35:1), or even Grindhouse Releasing - which has a spiffy logo, is co-run by Sylvester Stallone's son Sage (I know, right???!!! ), and is one I've recently discovered. I recently got Cannibal Ferox, the Grindhouse Releasing uncut copy - and clearly it's one of their early DVDs as it's fairly light on extras, but they really put the effort in with putting together cast & crew bios, the nice (but rough) hidden feature of the re-release premiere in New York etc. Most recently I got the 2-disc Grindhouse Releasing uncut copy of Cannibal Holocaust - this DVD being a different-covered re-print of the same Deluxe DVD that came out 2 or 3 years ago (but which went out of print). You can really see they've put a lot of effort into the Cannibal Holocaust DVD - tons of hidden features, plus plenty of up-front extra features (I'm currently watching the 1 hour making of doc - the only shame is that it's only subtitled, if they'd gotten translators to speak over those on camera it would have been ideal), plus the packaging is quite cool (nice little in-lay card, just like with their Cannibal Ferox release) and the DVD menus for Cannibal Holocaust are well made too. They've really put the effort in with that one, I should check out and see what other flicks they have on their label, as I've been pleasantly impressed by the two that I have bought on their label. ... Speaking of shoddy DVD releases, I got one years ago of "Nightmare in a Damaged Brain" - my god, what a pish DVD that is - I've only watched it twice (once when I got it years ago, and a second time earlier this year) - the picture quality is awful, and has clearly come from some 3rd-or-worst generation VHS dub. The DVD presentation is pretty shoddy too - but what do you expect - it was early in the cycle of the UK finally getting their hands back on these movies, I was a few years younger, I had student loan money, and I was in HMV quite often. The release of Maniac is kick ass though ... but sadly it is cut in the UK (again, bought it years ago before I found DVDCompare.net, and before I got so picky - rightly so). ... Speaking of Vipco DVDs costing £20 ... yep, I've been there (fortunately only once) - I found this comic book shop in town and saw the cover for Drive-In Massacre and thought "that looks cool", and dumbly handed over TWENTY QUID for it. Although I did buy a book all about Last House on the Left, and had a fanboy chat with the guy at the counter about the (at the time) up-coming 'big DVD release' of said Craven movie. Of course at the time Last House was still cut by 32 seconds (doubled from the proposed 16 seconds, after a passionate appeal for an uncut version by Mark Kermode) ... now though Last House has been re-released FULLY UNCUT (at last), but *sigh* I've already got this DVD now, so... You win some, you lose some. ... And anyone who bought Ghey08 has definitely LOST big time.

[bassman]

And anyone who bought Ghey08 has definitely LOST big time. I'm amazed at how many people still come here complaining about buying it. I mean....I easily found and watched it on youtube. Plus there are many other ways of seeing it. Even though I watched it on youtube, I still somehow feel cheated.

[darth los]

I'm amazed at how many people still come here complaining about buying it. I mean....I easily found and watched it on youtube. Plus there are many other ways of seeing it. Even though I watched it on youtube, I still somehow feel cheated. Because no matter how much we try in life time is the one thing you can't get back. I can't count the amount of times that I listened to someone tell me a bullshit story and walked away thinking, " Dammitt! I can't ever get that 10 minutes of my life back".

[capncnut]

Yeah, Vipco's DVDs never had any extras of worth, and the picture quality varied massively from one release to the next. Vipco was very attractive with it's lurid advert (with spooky horror voice saying "Vipco Vaults of HORROR!") on TV, just when all these flicks were getting released properly in the UK for the first time in 20 or 30 years ... especially attractive to someone who is new to the world of DVDs, let alone Region 1 DVDs often being better than their Region 2 counterparts. The barebonedness and tacky galleries/menus with Vipco releases kinda appeal to me for some reason. But yeah, the R1 editions are generally much better than R2. Speaking of shoddy DVD releases, I got one years ago of "Nightmare in a Damaged Brain" - my god, what a pish DVD that is - I've only watched it twice (once when I got it years ago, and a second time earlier this year) - the picture quality is awful, and has clearly come from some 3rd-or-worst generation VHS dub. The DVD presentation is pretty shoddy too - but what do you expect - it was early in the cycle of the UK finally getting their hands back on these movies, I was a few years younger, I had student loan money, and I was in HMV quite often. That film is a stinker. But you know what? As a kid it was terrifying! I remember when I was very young and had a stay over at my aunt's house and all her children. We sneaked it on and all of us were hiding under the covers shitting ourselves. Especially when that severed head came to life on the bed. When I bought it on DVD all these years later, I was severely disappointed. And you're correct, the picture quality hasn't changed and looks exactly the same as the ropey VHS tape I watched twenty years earlier. The release of Maniac is kick ass though ... but sadly it is cut in the UK (again, bought it years ago before I found DVDCompare.net, and before I got so picky - rightly so). Is it? I do believe mine is uncut. Of course at the time Last House was still cut by 32 seconds (doubled from the proposed 16 seconds, after a passionate appeal for an uncut version by Mark Kermode) ... now though Last House has been re-released FULLY UNCUT (at last), but *sigh* I've already got this DVD now, so... About time. Not that I'm going to buy it because I'm not really a Craven fan. I really liked what they did on the gallery though with the old DVD - the censored thirty seconds in frame by frame images so you can flick through it real fast and watch. That was sneaky.

[krakenslayer]

The barebonedness and tacky galleries/menus with Vipco releases kinda appeal to me for some reason. But yeah, the R1 editions are generally much better than R2. You know, I sort of know what you mean. It has a kind of tacky car-boot sale charm, and is kinda fun because it really feels like you're really watching some grubby old sleaze, which has a sort of masochistic charm to it. Mind you, it still seemed a rip off when they were selling em for twenty quid a pop.

[MoonSylver]

There's an excellent article on this very site about COTLD - from the director Tor Ramsey himself - it details all the trials and tribulations and explains exactly why it turned out to be such a steaming pile of monkey butts. http://www.homepageofthedead.com/baps/cotld_email.html Yeah, I'm well familiar with that one. Required reading if you've seen that film so that you know where the blame REALLY lies.

[EvilNed]

I can't count the amount of times that I listened to someone tell me a bullshit story and walked away thinking, " Dammitt! I can't ever get that 10 minutes of my life back". I hate listening to people who like telling stories, but are very bad at it. Because they don't seem to know what parts to leave out and what parts to tell, so in the end you sit there listening for ten minutes, and the only thing you can think about is "Get to the fucking point!".

[capncnut]

You know, I sort of know what you mean. It has a kind of tacky car-boot sale charm, and is kinda fun because it really feels like you're really watching some grubby old sleaze, which has a sort of masochistic charm to it. Exactly the words I was searching for.

[MinionZombie]

Exactly the words I was searching for. hehe - aye I feel the same way about those Vipco DVDs - there was a bit of illicit charm, in a way, when buying them - it felt sleazy and new (heck, they were newly being released). Although if you really want the 'at home grindhouse' feel - it's gotta be a 3rd generation VHS dubbed from one of your mates who got it down the video shop - just like how I saw Chainsaw Massacre the first time. I borrowed my mate's dub (that he dubbed from the copy he rented) and made my own dub and watched it that way - fudgy picture, fudgy audio - but it felt illicit. Kinda like the times I was borrowing other video nasties from the same dude and dubbing them in secret like ... e.g. Child's Play - I told my folks I was dubbing something different (I was about 13 at the time and they hadn't yet warmed up to me watching horror flicks in general, but I was wearing them down fast ) Capn - aye, I've got that DVD of Last House that you speak of, I thought the frame-by-frame of those cut scenes was, firstly hilarious, and secondly kinda cool - they snuck it on there regardless. In fact as Kermode pointed it, it kinda makes those 'objectionable scenes' worse, because you can now view it frame-by-frame, rather than in fleeting seconds on screen in context ... silly buggers at the BBFC sometimes, eh? Also, the copy of Maniac I've got is this one from Anchor Bay: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maniac-DVD-J...9581980&sr=8-1 Came out around 2002/2003 - one of my earliest DVD purchases. - and this R2 DVD is cut. R2 United Kingdom- Anchor Bay - Yes - 58 seconds: "Cuts required to reduce length of sexualised strangulation sequence by half and to remove shots of a knife played over and stabbing into female flesh with sexual connotations. Cuts made in accordance with the Video Recordings Act 1984 and BBFC Guidelines and policy on sexualised violence." (from DVDCompare.net) Lame, huh? The New York Ripper got the same deal too - cuts required for sexualised violence - and it's not a bad grot flick either, I quite like it - I bought it on video (Vipco again) around the same time as I got Maniac.

[capncnut]

In a way I'm quite sad Vipco folded. Those guys were really pushing forward the gore flicks back in the day. I think I still have my ye olde VHS of The Slayer somewhere.

[krakenslayer]

In a way I'm quite sad Vipco folded. Those guys were really pushing forward the gore flicks back in the day. I think I still have my ye olde VHS of The Slayer somewhere. I liked Vipco partly because they planted the idea in my head as a teenager that it might be possible to one day run a low-rent video distribution company myself. After all, if a lazy cad like Michael Lee (owner of Vipco) can do it... :P