I grew up on a steady diet of horror hosts. In the Philadelphia area where I grew up we had Dr. Shock. Every Saturday night my Dad and I would watch his bad puns and silly magic tricks; all the while I was being introduced to a world I was destined to fall in love with. And so I was exposed to Frankenstein, The Wolfman, and The Creature From The Black Lagoon. The friendship with those early year monsters continues today. But the 70’s are gone, and since the 1980’s it is Elvira who has inherited the lost art of the horror host. Unfortunately for us, the art should have stayed lost. Elvira is simply terrible as she cracks jokes only she laughs at. It’s obvious she goes out of her way to flash the only assets she has in order to mesmerize the adolescent boys who are being introduced to something radically different from what I was in the 70’s. What makes this set even worse is that the two films are as bad as Elvira. At least you can view the film with or without Elvira. I took the hit for you guys and kept her on so you don’t have to.
Blue Sunshine: The first disc offers us an art house film about folks going bald and then literally wigging out. Blue Sunshine is a new form of LSD that eventually turns those who’ve taken it into murderous zombies. Zalman King stars as a guy who’s not sure if he’s going crazy when he stumbles on the secret of Blue Sunshine, all the while becoming a suspect for the murders himself.
Monsteroid: A chemical spill in a small Columbia town has created a lake monster. The monster is absolutely laughable. Most of the film is a lot of talk about what might or might not be going on.
Video
Both films look like they are cheap VHS dubs, and I just can’t believe anyone thought this was broadcast quality, even for public access. Monsteroid is worse; with so many scratches and jump cuts the film is truly not watchable. Blue Sunshine appears in non-anamorphic widescreen but looks almost as bad.
Audio
The Dolby Digital Mono is almost as bad as the picture. You can hear all of the pops and crackles of the bad print. Elvira’s bits come through OK, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing at all.
Special Features
Good To See You Again Music Video: This Alice Cooper video is about the best thing on the set.
Final Thoughts
What? You’re still reading?
What the heck is the matter with you?
Do I have to spell it out for y’all?
OK. T – H – I – S S – U – C – K – S.
If you really want to see the films, go find a tenth generation dub; it will look tons better. If you spent any money at all on this stuff, that’s really scary. All you bought yourself are some “unpleasant dreams”.
