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Released by: Millennium Entertainment
Released on: 9/20/2011
Director: Matt Walsh, Jeff Monahan, Michael Fischa
Cast: George Romero, Amanda Frost, Nick Mancuso, Jeff Monahan
Year: 2011
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The Movie:
This is the second installment of a horror anthology series hosted by George Romero, known of course as one of the masters of horror. George appears on numerous television screens in a stack, switching from one to another and introducing the short features, wearing his giant eyeglasses while delivering corny one-liners that would make Bob Hope roll his eyes. But, it's George Romero and those who don't love Mr. Romero can go fuck themselves. The man is a legend, an amazing filmmaker, and if he's getting a nice paycheck for his part in these DVDs, then kudos to him.
The Gorge
Three amateur spelunkers go deep into an underground labyrinth to explore and discover, and to do whatever else spelunkers do. Two of the three youths make a nice couple, with the third person being sort of the group dickhead. A mishap causes a cave in with one of the trio ending up with a shattered leg. After weeks underground, the food is gone, the unfortunate one's leg is rotting, and he's not going to make it. The two others make a decision that just might condemn them to hell, but at least it'll quiet their stomachs down.
“The Gorge†is pretty effective in delivering a few chills, mainly in the form of a claustrophobic setting and the most unsettling concept of consuming long pork. There's plenty of the red stuff with gooey sound effects to help with the schlock value and with strong performances this one is probably the best of the three.
On Sabbath Hill
Richard Weaver is a college professor whose first name fits him well because he is in fact a dick. The kind of dick that will give you an incomplete if you miss one class, so you'd best not miss his classes under any circumstances. The kind of dick professor no one likes, except for one little blonde girl who sits in the front. She likes him so much that she screws him all the time, unbeknownst to the man's wife. When she tells Dick she's pregnant and he's the only one she's been with (yeah, right) he gives her the cold shoulder. She gets back at him by blowing her brains out in his class. But she doesn't go away. Oh no…she haunts him until she gets what she wants…revenge.
This one has some decent creep elements to it, and the pacing is good. But for this viewer it was tough to feel bad for either character because they're both two-timing sleaze balls and they got what they deserved. The acting throughout is decent, and they give a few good chill moments. Add to the mix and a good amount of gore that should satisfy the hounds.
Dust
A security guard in a high-level scientific research facility makes conversation with a late-night scientist, obsessed with what he believes to be the cure to cancer. He has powder from Mars, and has discovered something amazing about it. The old guard's wife just so happens be dying of cancer, she has been given four months to live, and so his interest is piqued, to say the least. He wants to offer up his wife as a guinea pig, but the passionate scientist says no. That could cost him his career and they don't know a lot about the powder to begin with. Well that won't work for the duffer so he does what any loving husband would do: he steals some. Seems the stuff turns her into a sex-starved succubus. But it wears off fast and so he needs to get more. He'll stop at nothing, but just might be getting more than he bargained for.
“Dust†doesn't quite have the suspenseful moments of “On Sabbath Hillâ€, but it still manages to dish out the blood and guts on a high level. Also, welcomed to the anthology is a bit of nudity. Thankfully they only showed his wife naked (the dust also seems to take years off her age), and not the old guy. Like the other two, the acting is decent which makes for an easier time watching, and the stories all move along quickly. The people making the movies in the collection made a series of tight little flicks and obviously know what they're doing. This isn't going to wow anyone, but its entertaining and the brevity of each short subject keeps things from bogging down. The use of foam and rubber FX is a nice treat and those people do a great job. As said, the Romero one-liners are pretty awful, but easily overlooked. As much as Romero is awesome, the anthology can live without his intros, at least as they are on this volume.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Deadtime Stories Volume 2 is presented with an aspect of 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. Things look fine by way of colors, skin tones, and detail, and it delivers pretty much a standard DVD picture. There's a lot of darkness in the movie and the black levels looked a bit better than average. No pixelation was noticed. The audio offered is a 2.0 stereo mix and a 5.1 Digital Surround one, which was selected for the review. Everything sounds fine, with the right balance of the various sound sources, with some amplified bangs to help with the scare factor. No distortion to report, and no humming or hissing was heard.
Aside from trailers for other releases from the disc company, a 16-minute “making of†featurette is offered up. It's more of an onlooker's perspective and is quite interesting if you enjoy watching filmmakers in action. There's a pretty good FX blooper in there.
The Final Word:
Although not the greatest anthology ever, and certainly not the best one Romero's been involved with in his lifetime, it is entertaining enough to give it a chance at least once. It probably won't leave you slack-jawed, but it should keep your eyes busy.
