Tweet
Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: June 3rd, 2014.
Director: Theodore Gershuny
Cast: George Shannon , Mary Woronov, Lynn Lowrey, Daniel Sadurs, Jennifer Welles
Year: 1973
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Team up two seventies cult movie hotties and pair them off as 'the kind of ladies who like ladies' in a sleazy and semi-twisted revenge tale revolving around an adult filmmaker and you're getting close to the heart and soul of Theodore Gershuny's Sugar Cookies. Co-written by director Gurshuny and Troma head honcho Lloyd Kaufman, it's earned and maintained its cult status over the years and upon revisiting it, it's easy to see why - particularly when you get the chance to re-evaluate it by way of the excellent high definition presentation that it's been afforded on this release by Vinegar Syndrome.
A sleaze merchant named Max (George Shannon) is doing the hokey pokey with an adult film actress named Alta (Lynn Lowry) when things get a little out of hand in the kink department. How out of hand do they get? Well, Max winds ends up shooting Alta in the head. Alta had a lesbian lover in the form of Camilla (Mary Woronov) who has also been playing around with Max on the side. Camilla tells the police that Max was with her the entire night, providing him with a solid alibi and essentially letting him off the hook for any involvement in Alta's death.
Max has some explaining to do to his wife (Monique Van Vooren) about the whole affair, however, and she's understandably unhappy about the way things have turned out. Meanwhile, Camilla is auditioning new actresses to bring into the industry and comes across a woman who might as well be Alta's long lost twin sister, Julie (also played by Lynn Lowry). Camilla takes Julie under her wing and brings her into the world of nude modeling, filmmaking, and girl on girl hijinks. Camilla has other hidden agendas on her mind however, and Julie just might be the puppet in her ultimate plan for revenge on Max. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, after all.
Plenty of lovely gratuitous nudity from the two female leads and a few random acts of violence all add up to a nice, sleazy little revenge film that actually works quite well in spite of its low budget the sometimes obvious limitations thereof. The script is a little on the predictable side but the able cast handles it well and they all give pretty decent performances. Even if it doesn't take a genius to see some of the plot twists coming ahead of time, the movie is nicely paced and has an intriguingly gritty tone and feel to it. The cinematography is definitely better than your average seventies exploitation film with plenty of care put into the lighting and filters. These are used rather well and serve to give the movie that almost surreal look that it has from start to finish.
The cast are also quite good here. Lowry and Woronov are the true stars of the film, Lowry in particular exuding her own unique brand of very alien sexuality in pretty much every scene that she's in. Her unconventional looks allow her to portray both deviousness and naivety with equal amounts of professionalism and she makes the most out of the role, even if it isn't one that she was dying to take on. Woronov is also very strong here, she's easy to be suspicious of from the early scenes and brings a certain sense of menace to the part. It's also interesting to see Monique van Vooren of Flesh For Frankenstein pop up in the film and keep your eyes open for a supporting role from the beautiful Jennifer Welles.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Vinegar Syndrome brings Sugar Cookies to Blu-ray in a brand new transfer in 1080p high definition framed at 1.85.1 widescreen taken from a new 4k scan of the original 35mm negative. As you'd expect, it leaves the 2004 DVD release from Troma in the dust. Detail is exceptional and the image is crisp and clean throughout. The strange use of color featured in the movie really shines here while black levels are nice and strong. There are no issues with compression artifacts or edge enhancement and honestly it's hard to imagine the movie looking any better on this format than it does here.
The only audio option on the disc is an English language DTS-HD Mono track, there are no alternate language options or subtitles provided. The audio is also quite good. There are no problems with hiss or distortion and the score has a bit of depth to it. Things do occasionally lean towards the flat side but that's to be expected with an older mono mix. Levels are properly balanced and the dialogue sounds nice and natural.
This release is a combo pack so it also includes a DVD version of the movie and the extras are spread across the two discs. On the Blu-ray we get an interview with Lynn Lowry that runs thirteen and a half minutes. She talks about how she got involved in working on this picture, how her modeling experience for 'art photography' gave her experience dealing with nudity and her thoughts on the script and why she initially said no to it. She talks about some of the different characters in the movie, what she liked about the two different roles she played in the film and what it was like working with director Theodore Gershuny. She also talks about how the movie is actually a thriller/love story more than anything else even if it wasn't necessarily marketed as such and she talks about attending a screening and thinking that the picture would launch her to stardom and where the title came from. It's a solid interview worth watching, Lowry is articulate, intelligent and interesting to listen to. Additionally we get the film's original theatrical trailer (in HD).
The extras on the DVD include the same Lowry interview and a few others, starting with a new interview with Lloyd Kaufman that runs just over thirty-five minutes. Lloyd talks about how he discovered Lynn Lowry, how he had a huge crush on her and what happened when he put the moves on her! He then goes on to talk about how his parents feuded with the parents of one of Lloyd's co-producers, Oliver Stone. He tells a few interesting stories about Stone, how Theodore Gershuny wound up directing even when Stone thought Kaufman should direct, how Mary Woronov got involved in the picture and quite a bit more. Lloyd likes to talk and he jokes around a lot but he offers up a lot of interesting background info on the movie and this interview is not only a lot of fun but pretty revealing as well. Additionally, Mary Woronov herself is interviewed on the disc (Kaufman is actually the interviewer here) as well for just under five minutes. She talks about how and why she was cast in the role she has here, how the director wrote the part for her, what it was like working with him and more. The DVD also includes the same theatrical trailer that's on the Blu-ray disc as well as an alternate theatrical trailer. Menus and chapter selection round out the extras on both discs.
The Final Word:
Sugar Cookies is a really enjoyable and sometimes fairly twisted picture that melds suspense film standards with a sexpliotative edge. Woronov and Lowry are fantastic as the two female leads and the movie is well paced, tense and sometimes pretty steamy. The Blu-ray release from Vinegar Syndrome is excellent, offering up the movie in fantastic shape and with some quality supplements as well.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
