Home Video
[DVD Review] ‘Chromeskull: Laid to Rest II’
Laid To Rest is a film that, despite being dumped direct to DVD for the most part, managed to find a cult following. When I first watched it, I didn’t really like it until the halfway mark. It started growing on me, and by the time the credits rolled, I was a full-on fan. I can’t verbalize why it was such a rollercoaster of a film. I guess it just made up for the early problems with a solid final act. It wasn’t an expertly crafted film by any stretch of the imagination, and some of the acting was downright atrocious. But, the killer was interesting and the gore was ample enough, so it found an audience. Because of this cult status, it’s next to impossible for the sequel to live up to the hype that the fans have created around it. Look at Hatchet 2, for example. People talked about that film for 2 years as if it were the second coming of (insert deity here). When it was released though, it was met with mixed opinions.
Flash forward a couple of years, and Chromeskull: Laid To Rest 2 is finally upon us. I have to be honest, I had pretty low expectations for this after the lackluster trailer. Thankfully, for the most part anyway, it was just a case of poor marketing and the final product is pretty entertaining. The story picks right where the first film ended as police arrive at a convenience store, which is now the scene of a brutal massacre. The final girl of the first film has fled the scene with the only other survivor of the incident, leaving the cops a note to explain the grizzly scene. The original actress has not returned to her unnamed role, but that’s not important because as the new generation of horror rules dictates, returning characters are loose ends that must be tied up with haste. We soon learn that Chromeskull is not a lone gun, but the CEO of an organization that’s dedicated to serial slaughter. It’s now we’re introduced to Preston. Preston appears to be Chromeskulls right-hand man, though that may change very soon. Brian Austin Green turns in a great performance as the insane man, with killer aspirations of moving up the corporate ladder. As a team of company medics rush Chromeskull back to the bat-cave to put him back together, Preston goes out on a little hunting trip of his own to tie up some loose ends.
One of the biggest problems with this movie is that this “organization” is never explained. We’re just supposed to buy that such an organization exists and has such a wide reach. Though it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the movie, I just felt like there was some sort of inside joke that I wasn’t in on. This organization apparently, like all companies, has a chain of command. Preston has apparently overstepped his bounds by taking care of his boss’ unfinished business, denying him the closure that he fought so hard to attain the first time around. It makes for an interesting concept, but I felt they could have spent some time explaining how this organization came to be and where their money comes from. Perhaps director Robert Hall is saving that for the inevitable prequel to the series; Chromeskull’s work isn’t finished and we’ll be seeing more from him within the coming years.
The kills in the film are some of the most insane effects gags I’ve seen recently. The gore is fantastic, and makes for some wildly creative, and brutal scenes of carnage. One strange thing is this movie has a much slower pace than one would assume. There are a couple of kills early on, but the entire first half, possibly even two thirds of the film, are spent setting all the pieces in place for the final act. It’s one of the reasons, accompanying the blatantly obvious reasons shoved in our face by the film, that I am absolutely certain that there will be further films. Chromeskull almost feels like the “Empire” of a trilogy. Hopefully, if the next film is a sequel rather than a prequel, our chrome-faced slasher won’t be facing off against a bunch of puppets.
Scream Factory brought Frank LaLoggia’s 1988 Halloween movie Lady in White to Blu-ray several years back, and now Vinegar Syndrome gives the film a 4K Ultra HD upgrade.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Lady in White 4K release is available now and shipping now!
Watch the trailer below and grab your copy from Vinegar Syndrome today.
This limited edition 4-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray x 3 set comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Dylan Haley), includes a 40-page perfect bound book and is limited to 8,000 units. It is only available on their website and at select indie retailers.
The full Special Features package includes…
- 4-disc Set: 1x 4K Ultra HD (High Bitrate BD100) / 3x Region A Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- Presented in three versions: 126-min Pre-Release Director’s Cut (UHD+BD), the 118-min Extended Home Video Cut (BD), and the 113-min Theatrical Cut (BD)
- New group commentary track with writer/director Frank LaLoggia, alongside actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut
- New commentary track with Frank LaLoggia, moderated by Scott Neumyer for the Extended Home Video Cut
- New commentary track with authors Emma Westwood and Stephen A. Russell for the Extended Home Video Cut
- Archival commentary track with Frank LaLoggia for the Extended Home Video Cut
- “Learning How to Fly” (10 min) – an interview with actress Karen Powell
- “A Snapshot in Time” (9 min) – an interview with actress Lisa Taylor
- “Human Touches” (6 min) – an interview with actress Lucy Lee Flippin
- “Still Relevant” (16 min) – an interview with actress Rose Weaver
- “75% Listening, 25% Editing” (9 min) – an interview with editor Steve Mann
- “Welcome to Willowpoint Falls” (6 min) – a location featurette hosted by Benjamin Scrivens, founder of Fright-Rags
- “Dream Talking: Looking Back” – a visual group commentary for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut with Frank LaLoggia, and actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou (103 min)
- Deleted Scenes with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (36 min)
- Behind-the-scenes footage with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (16 min)
- Extended behind-the-scenes footage (73 min)
- Introduction from the 20th anniversary dvd release
- Promotional ‘industry sales’ trailer (7 min)
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by film historians Molly Henery, Mark H. Harris, and Heidi Honeycutt (limited edition only)
- Multiple radio spots
- Theatrical trailer
- Multiple TV spots
- Workprint trailers (7 min)
- Still gallery
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
1962. Nine-year-old Frankie Scarlatti enjoys a homespun childhood in a rustic Western New York town. The entire community gets into the spirit of Halloween, but then two bullies prank Frankie by locking him in his school cloakroom, leaving him trapped for the night. Alone and afraid, his slumber is interrupted when the ghost of a little girl appears, and Frankie witnesses the specter of her murder by an unseen assailant. Later, while recovering at home, the girl’s ghost appears to him again. With help from his older brother, Frankie begins investigating the circumstances of her death. He soon discovers that her murder was one of several unsolved crimes connected to a local child-killer. As the town’s bucolic veneer fades and long-buried secrets and tensions bubble to the surface, all of the clues to the mystery seem to point towards a huge mansion inhabited by a reclusive woman known as “The Lady in White.”
A nostalgia-driven ghost story wrapped within an intricate murder mystery and coming-of-age drama, writer-director-composer Frank LaLoggia’s passion project Lady in White remains one of the most beautiful and original American horror films of the 1980s. Featuring acclaimed actors Alex Rocco (The Godfather), Len Cariou (Executive Decision), and Sydney Lassick (Carrie, The Unseen), it boasts the first starring role by Lukas Haas (Mars Attacks, Inception) as well as breathtaking photography by Academy Award® winner Russell Carpenter (True Lies, The Lawnmower Man). Vinegar Syndrome is honored to bring this genre masterpiece to 4K UHD, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative and presented in three versions: its pre-release director’s cut, its extended home-video version, and its original theatrical version, along with an abundance of both new and archival extras.
Paul Lê wrote here on Bloody Disgusting back in 2023, “Over the years, fans have described this film as gateway horror, but they liken it more to The Watcher in the Woods than, say, Hocus Pocus or Casper. There are chilling moments that warrant its PG-13 rating.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.