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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: April 27th, 2021.
Director: Anson Williams
Cast: Christopher Walken, Charlie Schlatter, Josie Bissett, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Kind
Year: 1991
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All-American Murder - Movie Review:
Artie Logan (Charlie Schlatter) is arrested for burning down his dorm room and shipped off to Fairfield University where his father states in no uncertain terms that this is his last chance to make something out of himself on the old man's dime. Artie, however, is a trouble maker and twenty-four-hours later he's boinked the Dean's wife (not quite the conquest you'd assume as apparently she gets around).
However, when Artie meets the lovely and intelligent Tally Fuller (Josie Bissett), he is instantly smitten. It takes a bit of time but he eventually finds the stones to talk to her and although she's a good girl and he's a bad boy, she does agree to give him a shot. The date goes well and while Artie is lucky enough to win a smooch, that's as far as it goes. Tally isn't the type of girl to hop into bed with any guy who comes along, after all. They go out again the next night but before the date can happen, Artie sees Tally fall from her balcony, her body clearly on fire. Those near the crime scene spot Artie and automatically assume that the new kid on campus had something to do with it and before you know it, he's been pulled down to the police station where a detective named P.J. Decker (Christopher Walken) starts questioning him. The cops figure Artie has to be the killer, but Decker isn't quite so sure and decides to give him twenty-four hours to figure out who Tally's real killer was. As Artie goes about using the little time he has left to figure out 'whodunnit' we, and he, analyze a few bizarre clues (including a VHS tape on questionable origins). Was it Tally's best friend Wendy (Amy Moore Davis), the weird custodian who couldn't keep his eyes off of Tally or maybe the Dean's horny but potentially very jealous wife? As the bodies start to pile up, things look increasingly worse for Artie. As his race against time starts to come to a close, it looks more and more like he might be brought up on charges for a murder that he didn't commit...
Directed by Anson Williams (yup - this movie was directed by Potsie, in fact it was his feature film directorial debut!) and released in 1991, All-American Murder was originally meant to be directed by none other than Ken Russell. That didn't happen (and one is left wondering what might have been), and while Potsie might not be a director on the same level as the man who gave us The Devils, he delivers a seriously entertaining mix of thriller tropes, slasher-inspired set pieces, wonky dialogue and Walken in one of his most Walken-esque roles. All of that, dear reader, adds up to a really fun way to kill an hour and a half with a movie.
The cast is fine. Schlatter is quirky and likeable, a rascal of sorts. Bissett is gorgeous, and we really don't know what she sees in him. David is good in her supporting role. Everyone does fine work. But it's Walken who steals every damn scene that he's in here. That weird screen presence that he takes to his best roles is definitely a big part of what makes this film as fun to watch as it is, the guy seems, at times, like he's from another planet and it only helps this movie in the long run.
Production values are decent enough. This wasn't made with a huge budget but Williams and company don't overshoot. The score is fine, the cinematography is good and the editing is well done. Keep your eyes peeled for gratuitous refrigerator poster placement featuring Oklahoma band Jimmy Swat! Really though, watch this for Walken. He's reason enough for this to have a cult following.
All-American Murder - Blu-ray Review:
All-American Murder has been transferred from the original 35mm negative with a new 2k scan and it looks excellent. Presented here in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and framed at 1.85.1 widescreen taking up 27.8Gbs of space on the 50GB disc, there's little to complain about. Colors really pop here, they look gorgeous, while black levels are deep and strong throughout. Detail is very impressive and skin tones looks great. There's nice depth and texture throughout and very little in the way of print damage, just the occasional small white speck now and again. The image looks like film - there's natural grain evident throughout the duration of the picture, but it's never distracting. All in all, it looks great.
The only audio option for the feature is an English language 24-bit DTS-HD Stereo track with optional subtitles provided in English only. Audio quality is fine. The dialogue is clean, clear and easy to follow, the levels are well balanced and track is free of any hiss or distortion. An optional Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is also provided.
The crew from The Hysteria Continues provides a commentary track for the film that is done in their typically enjoyable laid back and listenable manner. They cover their own experiences coming across the film for the first time and the impressions that the film made on them, the film's slasher elements, some of the nods that the film makes to other genre pictures, how the film is definitely a step or two above most straight to video movies of the era and how the fact that it did go straight to video may have been why critics ignored it. They also discuss Ken Russell's one-time involvement with the film and how it was originally meant to be made by Vestron, the use of red herrings in the picture, the contributions of the different cast and crew members and especially Walken's presence in the movie and how he probably relished being involved in a gory thriller.
As to the featurettes, Being On A Team is a fifteen-minute piece with actor Charlie Schlatter who speaks quite bluntly about his experiences on the film. He offers up a lot of interesting info here, including the fact that Ken Russell was at one point attached to direct! He talks about getting along with everyone on set, noting how quirky Walken really and truly was when working on the film, and detailing the locations, the director and the film's less than ideal distribution history.
Cinematographer Geoffrey Schaaf is up next in the fifteen-minute A Valuable Experience. Here he talks about his relationship with Anson Williams, the film's tight production schedule, the importance of using good storyboard to plan your shots in advance, why certain scenes were shot the way that they were, the use of color in the film and his own experiences working with Walking.
Menus and chapter selection are also provided and this release comes with some nice double-sided cover sleeve art.
All-American Murder - The Final Word:
All-American Murder is a seriously entertaining and underrated thriller made all the better by Walken's beautifully bizarre performance. Vinegar Syndrome brings this gem to Blu-ray with an excellent presentation and some nice extra too. Highly recommended!
Click on the images below for full sized All-American Murder Blu-ray screen caps!
