Horror Remix

HORROR REMIX:

SPORTS!

2 Hours of ‘Offensive’ 80s Horror
Rated R – Free Admission

Bros! What else do I have to say? Grab yo sports buddies, sneak a keg in the theater, and let’s party!

Horror Remix: THANKSGIVING
2 Hours of Turkey Terror!

Rated R | Free Admission

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Arlington – Studio Movie Grill (10pm – now on Wednesdays)
Atlanta – Studio Movie Grill (10pm)
Austin – Alamo Lake Creek (10pm)
Dallas – Studio Movie Grill / Royal (10pm)
Houston – Alamo West Oaks (10pm)
San Antonio – Alamo Westlakes (10pm)
Winchester, VA – Alamo (9pm)

Saturday, November 19, 2011
Katy, TX – Alamo Mason Park (10pm)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck (9pm)

The Horror Remix holiday trilogy is now complete. Christmas, Halloween, and now Thanksgiving.

When director Eli Roth created his faux trailer ‘Thanksgiving’ for GRINDHOUSE, he claimed his inspiration was to fill a void. All other holidays had at least one 80s slasher degrading it. All but Thanksgiving. Thankfully, Mr. Roth was dead wrong. There are actually two 80s Thanksgiving slashers; HOME SWEET HOME (1981) and BLOOD RAGE (1983). HOME SWEET HOME has some bizarre moments, but ultimately it’s a forgettable mess. Our main focus is the highly underrated BLOOD RAGE (aka NIGHTMARE AT SHADOW WOODS). This is a film that takes the slasher formula and executes it to perfection. It’s got great gore, nudity, cheese, cussing, drugs, and video games. Director John Grissmer doesn’t forget to add a touch of weirdness, giving the whole film a dark undertone. This formula seems too easy, unfortunately, slashers like this are all too rare.

BLOOD RAGE may not be my favorite slasher, but it’s definitely the film I’m most intrigued by. I would love to hear the complete back story. There is a scene where two guys are playing video games and guy #1 says, ‘I’m gonna beat you like a stepchild.’ Knowing the history of this film, this line feels painfully ironic.

From the BLOOD RAGE wikipedia page:

Although the film was shot in 1983, it was given only a limited release theatrically under the title, Nightmare at Shadow Woods in 1987. It was released on VHS the same year under the title, Blood Rage.

Nightmare at Shadow was heavily edited, abbreviating much of the gore of the original 1983 version. However, the 1987 VHS Blood Rage version by Prism Entertainment mentioned above is a different edit of the theatrical release of the same year. The Nightmare at Shadow Woods version is missing an early scene where Maddy visits Todd at the mental hospital, but includes a swimming pool scene not found in the Blood Rage version. The Blood Rage version has not been officially released on DVD as of September 2011.

There are actually a few more differences in the two that have nothing to do with gore. SHADOW WOODS randomly places leftover edits (or trimmings) from nude scenes already in the film and redistributes them out of context to the story’s timeline. My guess is the producers wanted to spread the nudity out a bit, unfortunately it’s just about the cheapest thing I’ve ever seen. And I love cheap, but this was obviously not the director’s decision, just a butcher job by a producer trying to make a boob quota.

There is also a make-out scene shot in two different ways. The BLOOD RAGE version is just standard making-out while the censored SHADOW WOODS becomes sexual assault. Just weird.

There’s a half dozen or so other edits that make each version unique, but nothing notable, outside the fact that someone felt they should be changed. Which, again, is weird.

And one more final thought. I believe the 1983 version has a totally different title. Both BLOOD RAGE and SHADOW WOODS title cards are obviously spliced into the film covering up a title already there. And the font and font colors of both titles don’t match the other opening credits. Unfortunately, the end credits don’t list any title, but do confirm it was made in 1983.

So the big questions are… Is there a 1983 version of BLOOD RAGE? And what happened between 1983-1987 that cause the film to be ‘beat like a stepchild.’ Aside from a horror miracle, this remix of BLOOD RAGE (combining the best material from both the DVD and VHS) is likely the most satisfying version you will ever see.

The second feature in THANKSGIVING is the wacked-out turkey classic, BLOOD FREAK (1972). A one-of-a-kind mess-terpiece, this film satisfies on every level. Drugs, bikinis, motorcycles, blood, and turkeys. And not to short change BLOOD FREAK on a description, but the less you know, the better. So don’t Bing it!

And don’t forget, after each feature snarky puppets, Cheesecake and Thunderclap, try to be funny.