{"id":26949,"date":"2017-11-17T18:24:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T23:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=26949"},"modified":"2017-11-17T18:24:07","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T23:24:07","slug":"deathdream-1974-blue-underground-blu-ray-dvd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/17\/deathdream-1974-blue-underground-blu-ray-dvd\/","title":{"rendered":"Deathdream (1974) (Blue Underground) [Blu-Ray\/DVD]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bob Clark\u2019s \u201cDeathdream\u201d is one of the most sought after horror films ever made, one of those films that has been inexplicably out of print constantly and very much prized as a genuine horror gem. I\u2019m one of those people that having seen \u201cDeathdream\u201d twice just can\u2019t like what Bob Clark brings his audience. One of the reasons why is because \u201cDeathdream\u201d is so relentlessly bleak and dark. It\u2019s an immensely depressing and viciously grim movie. And while that\u2019s one of the main elements it\u2019s been propelled it in to cult status, for me it\u2019s just a major hindrance. I remember watching Bob Clark\u2019s horror film the first time and just leaving it in a state of sadness.<\/p>\n

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Bob Clark was an amazing director who could tap in to any kind of genre that he wanted, and for a man who is so good at comedy, it\u2019s shocking how there isn\u2019t a single iota of comedy to be found here. \u201cDeathdream\u201d Based on the classic urban legend of \u201cThe Monkey\u2019s Paw,\u201d Clark\u2019s film is set during the Vietnam war where soldier Andy Brooks is shot dead by a sniper. Andy dies hearing the beckon calls of his mother, and back at home his family receives word of his death. Despite his father and sister\u2019s attempts to accept he\u2019s died, Andy\u2019s mother Christina refuses to accept that he\u2019s died. Much to the family\u2019s shock, Andy arrives home in the middle of the night, and the family embraces him. But as the days wear on, Andy begins acting differently, distancing himself from the family and becoming anemic.<\/p>\n

Before long police begin to discover the bodies of victims that have been murdered and drained of their blood. Much to their horror, Andy reveals himself to be an undead being that thrives on drinking the blood of his victims. I\u2019m not one of those people that have to have every single movie be light hearted or comedic, but \u201cDeathdream\u201d wears its themes on its sleeve. It\u2019s a commentary about post-Vietnam sentiment and the PTSD soldiers dealt with after coming home. The character Andy comes home after being thought dead in the war, and when he returns his life is something of an artifice that he has to keep elevated for the sake of his family. He has to work hard especially for his coddling mother, who values her son over everyone else in their family, including her own husband.<\/p>\n

There are light oedipal overtones conveyed through the way mother Lynn cherishes and keeps her son tailored toward, even when the shit hits the fan and chaos ensues. \u201cDeathdream\u201d gets the cult status as a genuine horror movie, but rest assured, it\u2019s dark as coal, and painfully depressing. It\u2019s really the picture of a family whose entire structure flushes down the drain, and how the refusal to let him go turns him in to a fiendish monster. It\u2019s the kind of movie you\u2019ll want to experience only once, and while it\u2019s not my favorite from Bob Clark\u2019s list of films, it certainly warrants a watch for respective horror buffs that love their cinema filled with social commentary.<\/p>\n

The brand new Blue Underground deluxe edition comes with some extras carried over from the 2004 DVD.<\/p>\n

This includes an audio commentary with Co-Producer\/Director Bob Clark and a second commentary with Writer\/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby. Both commentaries are moderated by David Gregory. There\u2019s also a vintage interview with Tom Savini and actor Richard Backus. There\u2019s an alternate opening title sequence, and a theatrical trailer. There\u2019s a half hour interview with Any Liffey and writer\/make up artist Alan Ornsby, both of whom discuss Ornsby\u2019s student films, their meeting with Bob Clark, and teaming up to make \u201cChildren\u2019s Shouldn\u2019t Play with Dead Things.\u201d The latter features funny anecdotes about shooting in the heat, and recruiting hippies to play zombies. Ornsby lends insight about writing \u201cDeathdream,\u201d his desire to make an anti-war horror film, inspirations, and a great footnote about Christopher Walken auditioning for the character Andy.<\/p>\n

He also discusses working with the cast, Tom Savini, the film\u2019s reception na d working on \u201cDeranged\u201d from 1974. There\u2019s a new interview with composer Carl Zittrer who discusses how \u201cDeathdream\u201d didn\u2019t find an audience, the various title changes, the score, and much more. Production manager John \u201cBud\u201d Cardos gives a brief interview, there\u2019s a twelve minute screen test footage with actor Gary Swanson in the role of Andy. There\u2019s a ten minute black and white student film by Ornsby, a large animated gallery with posters, and the US Press Book. There\u2019s also a trio of Easter eggs: Ornsby showing off prosthetic applications used in the film, \u201cOrgy of the Living Dead\u201d TV Spot, and a TV spot for the \u201cHugo: Man of a Thousand Faces doll.\u201d Within the casing there\u2019s an alternate sided slip cover, and a twenty page booklet with an in depth essay by critic Travis Crawford.<\/p>\n