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Released by: Intervision Pictures Corp.
Released on: 5/10/2011
Director: David A. Prior
Cast: Ted Prior, Linda McGill, John Eastman
Year: 1983
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The Movie:
A bunch of teens go off for a weekend to a remote house that was once the scene of a brutal double homicide. A séance seemingly releases the evil entities within the domicile, and the teens get killed one-by-one by a big lummox in a mask. Booze, boobs, and blood ensues. This movie is about as original in story as an episode of The Love Boat. This movie is horrid. Horridly awesome, that is. 85 minutes of indescribably dreadful amateur filmmaking that has to be seen to be believed and appreciated.
Reportedly the first truly shot-on-video movie made specifically for direct-to-video, Sledgehammer is plagued with horrible acting, horrible pacing, and horrible dialogue. But that just adds to the charm of this stinker which earns a place among The Great Movie Endurance Test flicks.
Enjoy the raucous exploits of the of the six youths: the Chippendale's reject, the Hall & Oates dude, Lyle Alzado's red-headed step-brother, the sister of the Scottish girl from Caddyshack, and a blonde and brunette who don't look like anyone. As they drink and eat merry, oblivious to their impending deaths, the demon/ghost of the house starts picking them off with cheap and shitty effects (SFX by Blood & Guts) which are actually a bit effective. One in particular is pretty well done for a no-budget job. Throw in some supernatural/Satanic vibes and a fucked up looking mask to help up the ante and the movie surprisingly pulls off some creepy moments.
The movie also pulls off some painful moments, long moments, by stretching the running time by oh-so-cleverly inserting slow-motion shots (one lasting nearly two-and-a-half minutes) and freezing the frame. In fact there are at least 30 spots where they use slow-motion and at least ten freeze frames. They even replay the entire opening scene as a “campfire†type story so we get what has to be the first ever slow-motion flashback of slow-motion. And if that wasn't enough the filmmakers also use incredibly long establishing shots, at times lasting half a minute. Inspired by Sergio Leone or just inept editing?
Crappy chroma-key visual effects, swanky synth music, feathered hair, boom shadows, a bad Bill Murray impression, a disgusting food fight, grown adults listening to records on a little kid record player, gooey gore, and ass-crack covered sex put this flick right up on the same level as such SOV classics as Boarding House. If they had added more nudity, this one may even have been the king shit of Shot-On-Video. Sledgehammer is most definitely in the “so bad it's rad†category.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The video is shit, but what do expect from a movie filmed on a cheap camcorder? The ratio is 4:3 full screen of course, taken from a tape source of course. There's some lines running along the bottom throughout the whole thing, but it's not distracting. The disc has no noticeable defects and there's really not much else to say. It looks like a video tape. The audio is a mono track, but in 2.0 Dolby Digital. As with the picture it sounds like a video tape, but its never hard to understand. No imperfections to report.
Two commentaries are available and both are worth checking out. One is with the director (via phone) and Clint Kelley of Riot Releasing (owner of the rights) basically interviewing the director while adding his own two cents. He seems to have a lot more to say than the director, but he keeps the man going and the track is pretty well void of dead air. The other commentary is by the two guys who run Bleeding Skull, Joseph A. Ziemba and Dan Budnik. This one is basically two fans of trash movies gushing over the film. It's a fun listen and they drink brandy while they talk. As with the other commentary they leave next to nothing for dead space and keep things entertaining for the whole running time. Both are worth spending time with for those who enjoy commentaries.
The rest of the extras consist of “Hammertime†(8:10, and in 16:9) in which an author named Zack Carlson talks about picture; “Sledgehammerland†(6:08, in 4:3) featuring a couple of guys from Cinefamily talking about a recent screening the movie had; and an interview with the director, David A. Prior (who has since directed many more movies) that lasts just under six minutes and is in 16:9. He really seems kind of disinterested talking about the movie, but he gives some good info. Rounding the extras out are some trailers: The Secret Life of Jeffrey Dahmer, A Night To Disremember, and one of the grand daddies of The Great Movie Endurance Test movies, Things (which also plays before the feature).
The Final Word:
Buy this DVD right fucking now.
