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Released by: Troma
Released on: August 18th, 2015
Director: Alberto Bogo
Cast: Alessio Cherubini, Elisabetta Loi, Guglielmo Favilla
Year: 2013
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The Movie
Extreme Jukebox is one bizarre and surreal mess of a movie; a meta-comedy of sorts on the subjects of slasher movies, Italian horror and hard rock/heavy culture. The film seems to be a first time effort for many of the cast and crew involved, including director Alberto Bogo, and it shows, for there's a definite feeling of amateur fun going on when it comes to both sides of the camera.
The film's narrative is incoherent at times, with many characters appearing and disappearing at random times, but Extreme Jukebox generally focuses on a killer wearing a ridiculous, tongued mask and an ever more ridiculous array of colorful wigs, as it stalks and slashes rock stars and their assorted hangers-on. There's an abundance of meta-humor going on here on Bogo and Andrea Lionetti's script, with plenty of in jokes and visual gags referencing classic metal bands and Italian horror tropes, not to mention plenty of over-the-top clothing choices on the part of wardrobe.
Extreme Jukebox doesn't take itself too seriously, however, which makes this a light and fun watch if you're in the mood for a bit of the ridiculous. It also helps that a number of the set pieces happen to be well lit and shot, which denotes a bit of actual competency going on behind all of the inflated jokes. The practical effects are also gloopy and well achieved for a low budget film, particularly in one of the later murders around the hour mark, where Bogo and Co. tick all of the right balanced boxes in terms of atmosphere, humor and gore.
It takes a certain kind of film fan to get down with the humor here, however, preferably one well versed in how low many of the Italian genre films fell during the late eighties and nineties. Most of the actors here play it completely straight, and the resulting mixture of whimsy and stone cold anti-irony make this a viewing experience so utterly Italian in its bonkers balancing act of tone.
To be honest, though, Extreme Jukebox probably wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if everyone involved had went for a typical heavy metal horror film. There's no film out there quite like it, for better or worse, so dive in with full knowledge that you're in for a whole lotta head scratching moments, Italian-style.
Video/Audio/Extras
Troma's AVC encoded 1080p HD transfer, framed at 1.78.1 widescreen, for Extreme Jukebox looks great, with a super sharp picture that nicely shows off the film's colorful production style and WTF visual flair. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Italian audio track (with English subtitles) sounds clear, as well, although there are a number of errors when it comes to subtitling. This could be simple clerical errors, or perhaps the translator themselves didn't speak English as a first language, but they aren't pervasive, with most of the dialogue coming across fine via the subs.
The extras here include an hour long documentary behind the entire history behind Extreme Jukebox, from the first brainstorming ideas to everything behind the scenes and post-production. This feature really lets the audience into Bogo and Lionetti's love of everything Troma, and how dedicated the duo were to getting their first movie off the ground. There's an honest love of the whole process which comes across as distinctly Italian, especially when Bogo and Lionetti kick off the doc with a short message to the Tromaville Universe.
Speaking of which, Lloyd Kaufman also shows up with an intro of his own, while the disc itself also contains plenty of Troma extras, including Lloyd doing a variation on the Ice Bucket Challenge, a bunch of Troma trailers, a "40 Years of Troma" special, and more. Finally, there's an Extreme Jukebox photo gallery and the film's original trailer, which rounds up a solid array of extras.
The Final Word
Extreme Jukebox is more fun that it really needs to be, with the disc itself outdoing itself in the extras department, as well. Lunacy and irreverence abounds, so check your brain at the door and enjoy this flick in the company of friends, pizza and a whole lot of booze.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
