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Released by: Ammo Content
Released on: March 15th, 2019.
Director: Zach Carter, Jeremy Garner, Bryan Hiltner, Steven K. Jackley, Christopher Jayawardena
Cast: Quinn Allan, Alyssa Fozmark, Erin Hagen, Johnny Buell
Year: 1994
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Spunk's Not Dead - Movie Review:
John Oak (Mick LaFlamme) is the host of a web show entitled Actual Factual Truths. He uses this platform to bring attention to conspiracy theories that he believes that public needs to be aware of. When he learns the supposed truth behind a drug called spunk, one that turns its users into violent maniacs, he takes to the web to issue a warning and in doing so, we bear witness to a half-dozen stories, each related to the drug (and each helmed by a different director).
The Devil's Spunk (directed by Zach Carter): The biggest sports star in town decides to hedge his bets by taking a "performance enhancing drug" - this turns out to be a horrible idea. Good thing that Reverend Redmund is around.
The Babysitter (directed by Jeremy Garner): Heather (Tara Marie Kirk) takes a night time babysitting gig that quickly goes very, very wrong once spunk is brought into the equation and The Crowman (Hunter O'Guinn) gets involved.
Spunk Of The Reaper (directed by Bryan Hiltner): Billy (Jeffrey Janoff) is a junkie who, rather foolishly, gets talked into entering a home where he comes face to face with his own mortality.
Xombie (directed by Steven K. Jackley): Kathy (Nicole Resner) host a sleepover with a few of her friends. It's all just fine until an uninvited guest arrives, complete with a new strain of spunk that might be even more deadly than the original version.
High Score (directed by Christopher Jayawardena): A man struggling with drug addiction must choose to live in his own real-world reality or the reality that exists only in the video games he enjoys while high on spunk.
Spunky Shines (directed by Calvin Morié McCarthy): A spunk addict with a taste for human flesh named Elijah discovers first hand that he needs to be more careful when choosing his would-be victims.
Shot in and around Portland, Oregon, Spunk's Not Dead is a scrappy little indie genre picture that mixes up horror and comedy in fairly equal doses. These shorts were clearly made on a modest budget but the six filmmakers responsible for the finished product do a very nice job of telling their respective stories. There are some pretty solid gore and makeup effects present in the picture and there's a lot of creativity on display. The acting isn't always perfect - this was shot entirely independently - but it's sometimes pretty solid and never less than okay. LaFlamme in particular does a great job as the Alex Jones style host and the movie is savvy enough to interject his commentary in between segments, which ties it all together rather well. As the stories progress, his character becomes more and more manic and it's fun to watch him inhabit the character the way that he does here.
Spunk's Not Dead - DVD Review:
Spunk's Not Dead arrives on DVD framed at 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen and this looks fine. Again, the low budget can shine through at times, but that's a feature, not a bug. Detail is pretty decent given the film's origins, colors look fine and the standard definition presentation would seem entirely true to source. No problems here.
The only audio option for the feature is an English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track. Channel separation isn't always a constant, the mix is more front heavy, but it sounds fine. The levels are balanced and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion. There are no alternate language or subtitle options offered.
Extras are limited to three-minutes' of deleted scenes, a two-minute Reaper “PSA,†a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter selection.
Spunk's Not Dead - The Final Word:
Spunk's Not Dead is a very entertaining, low budget mix of humor and horror that offers six very different takes on a recurring theme. Some of the stories work better than others, which is always the case with anthology pictures, but each of the six shorts is unique, creative and worth checking out.
