Vinegar Syndrome is a distribution company I learned about this year, a lot later than everyone else. They've released interesting stuff in the past (including "The Lost Films of Hershell Gordon Lewis", which I need to buy). They're a little bit more into sleaze or genre stuff that not even Code Red wants to touch, so of course I had to make an order.
I was one of the "lucky" who got their double feature of Savage Water/Death by Invitation, a DVD pulled even before it was officlally released - I think because of some rigths issues with Savage Water, but I'm still happy. Because it's a slasher and it's probably the worst slasher I've ever seen.
Savage Water tells the story of a bunch of idiots out rafting. Most of them looks like hippies, or is wearing far too tight jeans shorts, big beards (but nada hair on the chests!) and completely lack the talent of acting. Included in this is a very annoying kid, an odd Indian character named Mamoud and a girl who at one point takes out her guitar, starts to sing and then we're treated to a romantic montage (with full orchestra) for 3-4 minutes.
It takes more than half the movie until something actually happens. Before that we're learning how to use a life jacket, listning to dialogue that goes nowhere and a couple of nice shots of the nature. The director, Paul Kener, often just puts every actor in the shot, almost in a line, and then let them say their lines. No bothering with storytelling here. Just up in front of the firing squad, say your damn lines and we can go home.
The kills is hardly nothing to talk about so I won't even bother. The weird thing is that I watched the whole movie without interruption. It had some kind of cozy, talentless feeling that worked as a hypnotic device. And then it's over. The worst slasher ever made.
I was so emotionally drained after Savage Water that I was extra happy that Death by Invitation was on the same disc and I didn't have to get up from the sofa. This is a totally different form of movie. I might be a lie to say it's great but it's... good. Yeah, it's good.
Shelby Leverington is excellent (even if she look a bit stoned most of the time) as the young woman who understands (how? I don't know, probably through visions...) that her ancestor was killed as a witch by a family hundreds of years ago and now she's plotting to kill them all. It's starts of by showing the witch execution, which both looks like a cheap community theatre reenactment, but with great editing and very good, dark, eerie music putting it together to a great opening.
After that it's quite a long stretch with family melodrama, which by itself isn't bad. The actors are above average and seems to actually try to do something good with the script. It still have the cheap look of a 70's blue movie most of the time (with the famous "one spotlight aimed directly at the actors" style of lighting) but tells the story good, very far from what I've just seen in Savage Water.
It's also bloodier and more graphic than the first movie, but don't expect a bloodbath. It's an ambitious production made with very little money. Not much happens, but it still works as a horror-drama. A fine example of ultra low budget regional filmmaking.
"Vinegar Syndrome is a distribution company I learned about this year, a lot later than everyone else."
I missed this company completely, thanks Fred.
"They're a little bit more into sleaze or genre stuff that not even Code Red wants to touch, so of course I had to make an order."
Oh.....yummy!
"Because it's a slasher and it's probably the worst slasher I've ever seen."
Holy cow.....really...?
That´s saying something....
"and a girl who at one point takes out her guitar, starts to sing and then we're treated to a romantic montage (with full orchestra) for 3-4 minutes."
Damn...I just love these musicvideo segments/montages in 70´s exploitation films....just look at Truck Stop Women(1974), it got a country western, nude girl montage, I kid you not!
"It had some kind of cozy, talentless feeling that worked as a hypnotic device. And then it's over. The worst slasher ever made."
Some exploitation films are like that.
"Shelby Leverington is excellent (even if she look a bit stoned most of the time) as the young woman who understands (how? I don't know, probably through visions...)"
Probably was stoned, and yeah, a leap of faith is required some times, in genre films.
"It still have the cheap look of a 70's blue movie most of the time "
I like that look.
Good reviews and thanks, double fetaures can be nice.
Posted by: Megatron | April 13, 2013 at 15:14