NELSON ALGREN LIVE Preaches to the Converted

NELSON ALGREN LIVE (Blu-ray Review)

2016 / 72 min

From OLIVE FILMS

Review by Fluffy the Fearless😽

Confession time, folks. Prior to viewing this disc, I couldn’t have told you who Nelson Algren was. And it was only when reading the back-cover synopsis that I learned he wrote the novel, The Man with the Golden Arm, which was the basis for the classic Frank Sinatra movie (and Algren apparently hated).

But I’m not alone in my ignorance. Based on the voiceover during the opening credits, most of Algren's other work never achieved any real mainstream popularity and has-since faded into obscurity, never rediscovered by younger readers. Nelson Algren Live attempts to remedy that, though the nature of the man’s work probably precludes expanding his fan base.

Filmed live in 2009, several actors and writers gather to read excerpts of Algren’s writing, mostly short stories featuring down-and-out, morally questionable characters. Though Willem Dafoe is the most prominent name, he’s just part of the ensemble, all of whom take turns assuming the roles of the author’s characters while they read.  These segments are loosely connected by narration and ‘interviews’ with Algren (Barry Gifford, quoting Algren’s himself). 

"Guys...what's this word?"

It goes without saying that live readings might be enjoyable to attend in-person, but aren’t necessarily a dynamic viewing experience. So one’s enjoyment of this film will depend largely on an existing appreciation for Algren’s work. If that applies to you, you’ll definitely want to check this out, especially since it climaxes with the reading of a previously unpublished story. 

Based on the prose presented here, Algren’s work is an acquired taste (if Jack Kerouac had ever bothered to proofread, it might sound something like this). For the most part, Nelson Algren Live preaches to the converted, meaning fans will certainly get a kick out of the sincerity of the performances. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKLET - Featuring essays by Barry Gifford & Dan Simon, who co-wrote the screenplay

TRAILER - Which is pretty-much identical to the film’s opening title sequence.

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.

THE SEVENTH SEAL and the List of Shame

THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)

Starring Max Von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt

Ekerot, Bibi Andersson, Nils Poppe. Directed by Igmar Bergman. (96 min).

Essay by D.M. ANDERSON💀

I was today-years-old when I discovered the greatness of The Seventh Seal.

There ain’t a movie lover alive who’s seen everything, though never for a lack of trying. But there are those films generally considered required viewing for any self-respecting cinephile...influential classics, Oscar winners, cinematic milestones and, of course, the ones widely lauded by critics and scholars alike as some of the greatest ever made. You know...like Porky’s.

During my five decades (and counting) of living vicariously through the silver screen, I’ve managed to see a lot of them, sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes out of a sense of obligation and occasionally just to show-off my highfalutin cinema smarts. It doesn’t really matter that nobody I know has ever been impressed by my efforts. To the wife, my growing batch of Criterion Collection titles - home video’s version of overpriced imported beer - simply means less room on the shelf for her Anne McCaffery novels.

But alas, I still have that list of canonical films that I’m forced to admit I haven’t yet seen...The Battleship Potemkin, On the Waterfront, Barry Lyndon and Dr. Zhivago are just a few titles on that "List of Shame." Actually, I tried to sit through Zhivago once, which turned out to be a better sleep aid than NyQuil. Some so-called classics are obviously not worth the effort, but of course, you can’t know that until you commit to a film. That’s often why, when faced with the prospect of catching Gandhi for the first time or firing-up a fat one to revisit The Angry Red Planet...sorry, Sir Kinglsey. Gandhi may have deserved its eight Oscars, but I’m pretty sure the titular character doesn’t confront any giant one-eyed amoebas. It would be a great fight, though.

"Comin' to get ya, Gandhi!"

One film I did recently manage to scratch off the "List of Shame" is 1957’s The Seventh Seal. It’s my first Igmar Bergman film and the first time I’ve heard Swedish that wasn’t parodied by a culinarily-challenged Muppet. If the title doesn’t ring a bell, certainly its most iconic image does: a knight on the beach engaged in a chess match with Death himself. The Seventh Seal’s depiction of Death has-since had a sweeping influence on how it’s personified in film, perhaps most amusingly in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. That-alone compelled me to finally sit down and try powerIng through it. Even though the film looked relentlessly bleak, to say nothing of pretentiously arty, I felt like my status as a card-carrying cinephile was at stake.

But The Seventh Seal was not what I expected.

Antonius Block (Max Von Sydow) is a weary knight returning home from the Crusades with his squire, Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand). A decade of fighting has him questioning whether or not God even exists, a feeling exacerbated by the Black Plague, which is rampaging through the country. When Death (Bengt Ekerot) comes for him, Block doesn’t really seem surprised, calmly declaring “My body is afraid, but I am not,” which I took to mean “You can’t tell by looking at me, but I just shit my armor.” At any rate, Block isn’t quite ready to go because he has unfinished business...to seek proof of God’s existence. 

Being something of a chess whiz, he challenges Death to a game in order to stave off the inevitable. That scenario had me wondering what game I’d choose if my own life was at stake. I came to the alarming realization that I’m not particularly skilled at anything competitive. I used to play soccer, but that was 40 years and 30 pounds ago. For a brief time, I also considered myself a decent poker player, often lightening relatives’ wallets during family get-togethers. But when my wife and I vacationed in Vegas a few years back, I bought a seat at an actual tournament and was eliminated in 30 minutes (but at least I beat the old fart wearing a MAGA hat).

"Possessed? What makes you think he's possessed?"

A majority of the film has Block and Jöns making their way across the plague-ravaged country, picking up a few folks along the way, most of whom appear to be in Death’s crosshairs, as well. Still no sign of God, though Jöns has a few great scenes where he inflicts some well-deserved payback on Raval, a former holy man who once talked him and Block into joining The Crusades in the first place. Now, however, Raval is a thief who goes around stealing valuables from the bodies of the dead. When Jöns first accosts him, Raval’s in the process of adding rape to his list of new skills. Later, Raval is seen tormenting Jof (Nils Poppe) for no reason other than the man’s a traveling actor and therefore beneath contempt. 

Now if that actor was someone like Jared Leto, it would be understandable, but Jof is the film’s most likable and congenial character. More significantly, he’s the only one whose faith in God remains unshaken. In fact, the only problem I have with Jof is how he and his wife, Mia (Bibi Andersson), let their kid run around without pants throughout the entire film. I have a sister-in-law who’d allow her boys to parade around naked all the time, which made one particular camping trip an uncomfortable experience, especially since they were 5 and 7 at the time, well-past the age when seeing junior's Johnson is even remotely amusing.

At any rate, Jöns carves up Raval’s face but doesn’t kill him. The film has a more befitting fate in-store. Raval is an interesting character because of what he represents to me. As I write this, COVID-19 is not-only still rampant, but solidifying the sharp divide between those taking it seriously and legions of science-denying dumbfucks who feel it’s their God-given right to risk infecting others by dining at Applebee’s. And a lot of ‘em are egged on by zealous evangelical leaders who'd rather name-drop God than Anthony Fauci. So even though thousands are still dying every day, these assholes continue to pack themselves into megachurches, get willfully fleeced and marginalize anyone who isn’t Christian, white and heterosexual. 

After goading soldiers to fight in God’s name, lining his own pockets by robbing the dead and tormenting a man simply for being different, Raval is seen in the death-throes of the same plague he once took advantage of. It’d be fucking awesome if the same fate befell the likes of Joel Onsteen, Peter Popoff and Jerry Falwell Jr. So in one aspect, The Seventh Seal could be seen as one hell of a karmic revenge fantasy.

A bit of Bergman-style Karma would be good right now.

Meanwhile, the chess match continues, as does Block’s quest to learn of God’s existence. It’s a narrative that’s structurally similar to Voltaire's Candide (I just knew being forced to read it in college would pay off someday). The revelations are found in the journey itself, even if we don’t realize it at the time. Though the journey ends at Block’s castle - where his wife awaits - Block ultimately learns the answer to his question during the final moves of the chess match, when he uses a childish-yet-effective tactic to distract Death from his task. I wouldn’t dream of giving away what that is, but Block’s expression tells us his quest is over.

That was my takeaway, but I could be full of shit in my assessment. One of the cool things about The Seventh Seal is that it can be interpreted completely differently, such as being an incendiary condemnation of organized religion. Or it could be a cautionary tale about the deadly folly of blind faith. Or maybe it simply suggests challenging Death to a game of Monopoly would be a better idea, since that fucking game always goes on long after it stops being fun and there’s a 50/50 chance Death would rage-quit before finishing.

What I didn’t expect was how entertaining the film turned out to be. Sure, The Seventh Seal is often dark, perplexing and just a tad pretentious, but there are also moments when it’s surprisingly sweet-natured and light-hearted, even funny at times. Jöns is particularly amusing, especially his cynical views of religion and the so-called sanctity of marriage. But the film is filled with a lot of other great characters, each fleshed-out with their own interesting quirks. Even Death displays a bit of playful arrogance. Ironically, the one character we learn the least about personally is Block himself, who might be more-intended to embody the ol’ crisis-of-faith many people face than a flesh & blood human being.

Even without one-eyed space amoebas, The Seventh Seal turned out to be a great film, easily the best thing to hail from Sweden since I bought my first Opeth album. Not-only can I cross it off my "List of Shame," the film might even find a place among my top 100 (yeah, I’ve got one of those, too).

SILENT RUNNING Blu-ray Giveaway

FREE KITTENS MOVIE GUIDE is giving away a Blu-ray copy of Universal’s classic sci-fi film, Silent Running, starring Bruce Dern, Huey and Dewey! 

In the not-so-distant future, Earth is barren of all flora and fauna, with what remains of the planet s former ecosystems preserved aboard a fleet of greenhouses orbiting in space. When the crews are ordered to destroy the remaining specimens, one botanist, Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern, The Burbs), rebels and flees towards Saturn in a desperate bid to preserve his own little piece of Earth that was, accompanied only by the ship s three service robots. Featuring a captivating central performance by Dern, visual effects that rival anything in 2001 and a powerful ecological message, Silent Running is a haunting and prescient sci-fi classic that resonates even more strongly today than it did at the time of its original release.

Silent Running has since become a cult classic that belies its age with a timely message and an affecting story. Arrow Video does right by the film with a newly remastered video & audio transfer, along with a great batch of new & vintage bonus features, making this one a must-own for fans. 

TO ENTER:

Shoot us an email at freekittensmovieguide@gmail.com

CONTEST ENDS 1/11/21

Rest in Peace, Lee Wallace

Lee Wallace (1930-2020) 

The BEST & WORST Stuff We Reviewed in 2020

Without going into yet-another diatribe about the shitstorm that was 2020, I will say that the ongoing global pandemic has affected the content we’ve shared. As a relatively small site that primarily covers physical media, Free Kittens Movie Guide reviewed far fewer titles from various studios than previous years. Still, we’ve managed to put together decent lists of the best and worst.

PURR-R-R...THE BEST: We reviewed some good stuff this year, but the following titles were better than taunting a mouse to death:

10. THE LAST BLOCKBUSTER (PopMotion) - Now that Blockbuster has become the very mom & pop video store they all-but put out of business to decades ago, this might be the most ironic documentary ever made.  Informative, congenial, funny and surprisingly affecting, the film is most-highly recommended for anyone nostalgic for the weekends when they walked out of their local video store with an armload of tapes. 

9. THE MORTAL STORM (Warner Archive) - Obviously not a feel-good film, but the performances are excellent and the story itself is relentlessly compelling, mainly because we know this happened to countless real families. We see the dark side of human nature, where people’s worst tendencies surface through sheer manipulation. Probably the only chance you’ll get to witness a beloved TV dad (Robert Young) totally nail-it as a despicable Nazi. Who knew he had it in him?

8. SHUDDER ON BLU-RAY (RLJE Films) - Somewhat fittingly, 2020 was a pretty damn good year for horror movies, with a surprising number coming from the streaming service, Shudder. While not everything they pumped out on disc was worth the effort, films and TV shows like Scare Package, The Beach House, Blood Quantum, The Room, Cursed Films, The Dark and the Wicked and Creepshow Season 1 are worth having in any horror collection.

7. POSSESSOR (Well Go USA) - A chip off the old block, Brandon Cronenberg also demonstrates a penchant for combining uninhibited, wince-inducing violence with a sharp, challenging story. A potential cult classic, Possessor is a superlative example of sci-fi body horror, courtesy of a director who probably grew up around it.

6. PICARD Season One (Paramount) - Think back to some of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s best episodes, the ones which have the most intriguing stories, terrific character exposition and a far-reaching impact on the direction later seasons - as well as the subsequent movies - would take. Picard plays like one of those classic episodes, only it happens to be eight hours long. It’s also the best Star Trek series since TNG.

5. BEYOND THE DOOR (Arrow) - Whether one considers Beyond the Door a terrifying treasure, crazy campfest or ridiculous rip-off, this is a beautifully-packaged set with considerable historical importance for horror buffs. Extensive bonus features offer an in-depth look at both the film and the opportunistic Italian auteurs who briefly started a movement. The fold-out poster is awesome!

4. ANTEBELLUM (Lionsgate) - While everyone's entitled to an opinion, I wonder if the critics who panned it watched the same movie I did. First-time writer-directors Gerard Bush & Christopher Renz built a wonderfully-structured narrative, punctuated by atmospheric cinematography, authentic production design and a powerful performance by Jenaelle Monáe as the main protagonist.  Antebellum completely blindsided me with one of the most unexpected plot twists I’ve seen in a long time.

3. SILENT RUNNING (Arrow) - A cult classic that belies its age with a timely message and an affecting story, this disc has an outstanding video & audio transfer, along with a great batch of new and vintage bonus features. The only thing missing is a box of tissues because it’s still one of the most bittersweet sci-fi movies ever made.

2. THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Criterion) - If not the quintessential alien invasion movie, The War of the Worlds is certainly one of the most influential. In addition to what might be the best restoration of a film I've ever seen, the disc includes many new bonus features, as well as a few archival supplements and – of course – Orson Welles' original radio broadcast from 1938. An essential film for any collection.

1. TREMORS (Arrow) - Arrow Video saved their best release of 2020 for last. It’s been released on Blu-ray before, but never quite like this Limited Edition boxed set. In addition to the terrific 4K restoration, it’s loaded with a ton of entertaining bonus material, much of it brand new, and just about everyone else who was essential to the film’s success are featured in revealing interviews, from it’s conception through it’s disappointing theatrical run and eventual popularity on home video. 

HONORABLE MENTION: The Captain (Well Go USA), The Sin of Nora Moran (The Film Detective), Roman Holiday (Paramount), The Dead Ones (Artsploitation Films)

BLEH...THE WORST: As much as we love movies, there are times when reviewing them feels like an actual job. The following titles deserve to be buried in the litter box:

10. THE HONEYMOON PHASE (Dark Sky Films) - A derivative sci-fi-horror film that has a few interesting moments, but hampered by a muddy narrative, erratic pacing and two main characters who are dull-as-dishwater from the get-go, a definite liability considering it’s just the two of them in nearly every scene. It also seems to draw a lot of inspiration from The Shining, which includes blatantly ripping-off one of its key scenes. As the “antagonist,” actor Jim Schubin Is certainly no Nicholson, playing Tom with all the menace of an obnoxious house guest.

9. THE TRIP TO GREECE (IFC) - Steve Coogan & Ray Brydon’s week-long road-trip through Greece. Along the way, their semi-antagonistic banter covers a variety of topics, sometimes related to Greece, but more often about each other. These guys seem reeeeeally impressed with themselves and it soon becomes apparent the film is gonna be more about them than the country they’re visiting. In fact, Greece often feels like an afterthought. 

8. THE BARGE PEOPLE (RLJE Films) - This is a drab rip-off of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, only with slimy, fish-faced mutants whose diet happens to consist of dull twenty-somethings.The film largely depends on tired tropes and the stupidity of its characters to move the plot along. Unlike Tobe Hooper’s perennial classic, this one substitutes gore for shocks and suspense, but even the death scenes are repetitive and dull.

7. FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH (The Film Detective) - “Brucesploitation” at its most shameless. Vultures had already been picking at Lee’s corpse for years, cobbling together new movies with unused or existing footage from other films, but this pseudo-documentary takes it to another level, not-so-much a movie as patchwork of unrelated sequences in search of a plot. 

6. PLAYING WITH FIRE (Paramount) - The bloopers are the funniest part of Playing with Fire. The rest sinks under the weight of its own stupidity, an almost plotless parade of broad slapstick, obnoxious caricatures and heavy-handed sentimentality, squandering the comic talents of John Cena, John Leguizamo and Keegan-Michael Key, dumbfounded straight-men to three troublemaking kids whose “mischief” would make Mike & Carol Brady consider infanticide. 

5. ABIGAIL (Well Go USA) - A hodge-podge of the usual steampunk tropes: quasi-Victorian setting, waistcoats, biomechanical headgear, goggles, gas-masks, gear-driven machinery and, of course, airships that resemble sadistic colonoscopy tools. It’s all very pretty, but not enough to compensate for the terrible dialogue, dull characters, histrionic performances and a plot so murky that it’s difficult to figure out what the hell’s going on half the time.

4. MIKEY (MVD) - Desperate to be The Bad Seed for a new generation, this rotten relic is undone by unimaginative direction, stupid characters and a story that ain't remotely plausible. The entire film coasts on the conceit that simply showing a marginally-talented child actor doing the killing is inherently terrifying. Dumb enough to make Sleepaway Camp look like Rosemary’s Baby.

3. EDGE OF THE AXE (Arrow) - Edge of the Axe was released direct-to-video in 1989, long after the genre’s glory days were over. Though director Jose Ramon Larraz is somewhat respected in European horror circles, he brings nothing new to the table. That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, but not only is the film highly derivative, it’s erratically-paced, illogical, poorly acted (even by slasher standards) and packed with more red herrings than a London supermarket.

2. AMERICAN ZOMBIELAND (Mill Creek Entertainment) - American Zombieland eschews brains for a non-stop parade of screaming characters, fat jokes, bodily functions, drugs, boobs, beer and, of course, buckets of blood. Much of the humor is intentionally tasteless, which would be fine if it was actually funny. Even the revealed cause of the zombie outbreak is painfully stupid.

1. GHOST KILLERS VS. BLOODY MARY (Dark Sky Films) - With geysers of blood, gore and a variety of other gross-out gags involving bodily functions, there’s an air of desperation in the film’s constant attempt to shock the viewers, as though over-the-top outrageousness is inherently funny. Tossing-in heavy-handed self-awareness and pop culture references doesn’t elevate this film above any other calculated bid to amuse 15 year old boys.

TOURIST TRAP and Your Own Personal Mr. Slausen

TOURIST TRAP Uncut - VHS Retro Big Box Collection (Blu-ray Review)

1979 / 90 min

From FULL MOON FEATURES

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

It’ll be a sad day if and when physical media goes away completely, as millennials love to smugly predict. Not to sound like yet-another curmudgeonly Boomer, but the older I get, the cooler relics of the past become...vinyl records, brick & mortar video stores, pop culture collectibles.

Kids today - I can’t believe I just said that - totally missed-out on the tactile joys of Kiss records that came with stickers and honest-to-goodness prizes buried at the bottom of cereal boxes. Sure, you can stream 1979’s Tourist Trap - even the Riff Trax version - for just a few bucks. But since the film is as enjoyably archaic as the giant VHS box Full Moon Features has bestowed us with, what would be the fun in that? Throwing-in a prize you can’t get anywhere else, I don’t see how any self-respecting cult horror fan can pass this up.

Said-prize is a three-inch action figure of Mr. Slausen, the telekinetic loony played by Chuck Connors in Tourist Trap. Done-up in bib overalls and clutching a shotgun, it doesn’t really resemble Chuck much, but the film is just obscure enough that horror buffs who know their shit will love having a collectible that isn’t likely to be fighting for space with Pop Funko dolls at Hot Topic. Too bad a ‘Becky’ figure isn’t offered. Since dolls are expressionless as Tanya Roberts (who plays Becky), it would have been a dead-ringer.

Try streaming this.

Speaking of performances, they run hot & cold, like the film itself. Roberts is just one of five interchangeable twenty-somethings who get stranded in a dilapidated mannequin-filled museum in the middle of nowhere. It’s run by Mr. Slausen, who’s not-only homicidal, but able to terrorize and murder using telekinesis. In a scenery-chewing performance that borders on high camp, Connors is a real hoot and looks to be having a grand old time. His victims, however, are generic caricatures and as dull as dishwater.

With an effective music score, isolated setting and some suitably grimy production design, Tourist Trap plays sort-of like a supernatural variation of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (and despite a PG rating, is more graphically violent). The numerous scenes involving mannequins - whether they’re moving or not - are genuinely creepy. The climax, in particular, has a haunting, surreal quality that was generally pretty rare for low-budget fright-fests of the time. However, the mood is frequently broken by unnecessary exposition from a killer who talks way too much.

Not a mannequin.

It also must be said that the video quality of the disc ain’t all that great. There are a lot of distracting blemishes and spots, particularly during the night sequences (which is a majority of the running time). Still, the film itself is fun and since mannequins are inherently unsettling, there are just enough spooky sequences that we can forgive the goofier moments. 

But best of all, you can now add Mr. Slausen to your collection of Full Moon action figures, which includes Blade, Torch, Jester and the turd-shaped alien from Laserblast. When home alone, you can stage yourself a mini battle royal. Let’s see those stream-happy suckers top that!

EXTRA KIBBLES

MR. SLAUSEN ACTION FIGURE 

INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR DAVID SCHMOELLER

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director David Schmoeller

TRAILERS - For various Charles Band/Full Moon films (including Tourist Trap)

DVD COPY

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.

Everybody Loves TREMORS

TREMORS 2-Disc Limited Edition (Blu-ray Review)

1990 / 96 min

From ARROW VIDEO

Review by Tiger the Terrible😸

Who doesn’t love Tremors?

That's a rhetorical question, of course, because everybody loves Tremors...now, anyway.

Forget the plethora of unnecessary - and generally awful - sequels. Like Jaws, the concept is really only fresh the first time and the original is just as freaky and funny as it was 30 years ago. 

Has it been that long, already? I remember seeing Tremors during its opening weekend. My wife and I went with another couple, though I was the only one who actually wanted to see it. Reflective of its lackluster box office performance, hardly anybody else was in the theater. However, the film was a wonderful surprise (even to my wife & friends) and a relative rarity among killer creature features...solid direction, smart writing, engaging characters, great performances and monsters that are both scary and amusing. 

But it’s the humor - especially the quotable dialogue - that truly elevates the film. However, Tremors isn’t so-much a comedy as it is a horror film that just happens to be very funny, never descending into parody or heavy-handed self-awareness over the ridiculousness of its concept. That we’re more-than-willing to accept the premise without being handed any explanation for the Graboids’ existence is part of what makes it so endearing. 

The last band photo before the break-up.

So of course it became a classic. Like The Shawshank Redemption’s latent popularity, everyone simply showed up late to the party. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t flash a shit-eating grin at the mention of Tremors. Claiming to hate the film is sort-of like saying out-loud that you dislike Muppets...or The Beatles...or pizza.

Best of all, Tremors has aged remarkably well, both technically and aesthetically. It’s been released on Blu-ray before - numerous times - but never quite like this Limited Edition box from Arrow Video. In addition to the terrific 4K restoration, the set is loaded with a ton of entertaining bonus material, much of it brand new. Though Fred Ward is unfortunately absent (we get Jamie Kennedy instead?), just about everyone else who was essential to the film’s success are featured in revealing interviews, from it’s conception through it’s disappointing theatrical run and eventual popularity on home video. Collectively, we get the entire story behind Tremors.

The set is also beautifully packaged, featuring new and original cover art. Like other recent Limited Edition Arrow releases (such as Robocop and Beyond the Door), it’s packed with posters, lobby card replicas and a nicely designed supplementary book - not a booklet! - with essays & photos. 

Not too shabby for a movie almost nobody saw 30 years ago. This edition of Tremors is easily Arrow’s best release this year and as close to a definitive version as we’re likely to get. It’s worth grabbing by anyone who loves the film (which is, of course, everyone).

EXTRA KIBBLES

MAKING PERFECTION - Documentary featuring interviews with director Ron Underwood, producers/screenwriters S.S. Wilson & Brent Matlock, producers Nancy Roberts, DoP Alexander Gruszynski, Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, Ariana Richards, etc. (disc two also contains extended interviews from the same doc).

THE TRUTH ABOUT TREMORS - Interview with producer Nancy Roberts

BAD VIBRATIONS - Interview with director of photography Alexander Gruszynski

AFTERSHOCKS AND OTHER RUMBLINGS - Interview with producer Ellen Collett

DIGGING IN THE DIRT - Special effects featurette

MUSIC FOR GRABOIDS - Interviews with composers Ernest Troost & Robert Folk

PARDON MY FRENCH! - An amusing series of side-by-side comparisons between scenes containing profanity and their edited-for-TV versions.

2 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By Underwood, Wilson & Matlock; 2) by author Jonathan Melville

ARCHIVAL FEATURES - “The Making of Tremors”; “Creature Featurette” (making the Graboids); EPK (interviews with Michael Gross, Kevin Bacon & Reba McIntire); 2-Part Q&A with cast & crew at a 25th Anniversary screening.

3 SHORTS - Two early educational films by director Underwood and one short horror(?) film by producer-writer Wilson.

DELETED SCENES & OUTTAKES

TRAILERS - Theatrical trailer, radio/TV spots, home video trailer, trailers for other films in the franchise.

59 PAGE BOOK - New essays, “Good Vibrations,” by Kim Newman & “Graboids, Gummer & Guns: The Evolution of a Franchise,” by Jonathan Melville; “Tremors Rocks the House” (archival Fangoria article); original press kit; cast, crew, production & restoration credits.

2 SIDED POSTER - Featuring new and vintage artwork (the new stuff is pretty cool).

2 SIDED MINI-POSTER - Featuring a “Welcome to Perfection” sign and a diagram of Graboid anatomy.

OTHER GOODIES - Several promotional lobby card replicas and a Chang's Market ‘coupon’.

REVERSIBLE COVER - Featuring new and vintage artwork.

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEE-OW! LIKE TAUNTING A MOUSE TO DEATH.