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[tab title="Movie Review"]
I don’t dream in cheesy music videos, but Tommy Drindle does. And his twisted music-fronted nightmare features a bikini-clad model shooting green lasers out of her eyes at the band members who lip sync poorly to the lyrics in the song. The model eventually hits a few and the surprised band members evaporate; big hair and all. Poof. Gone. Nothing left. Slowly, the model cavorts over to the guitarist who is shredding away at his metal-minded riffs. She knocks him over and suddenly has a pitchfork in her hand. She lowers it toward his neck and POP goes his head.
Not so oddly enough, it turns out actor Hy Pike isn’t the only part of Hack-O-Lantern that is over-the-top and extremely fantastic. And the new 2K restoration from the original camera negative only makes this once highly sought after VHS release that much better.
Originally filmed when the fear of devil worshippers and metal music ruled small towns (my own included), Hack-O-Lantern probably helped to spread some of the insanity that gripped the public in 1986 and for the few years after that. It was a release that went straight to video. It was also a release that, when discovered in my bedroom, got me grounded thanks to its satanic images and naked girls. Featuring a revealing appearance from porn star Jeanna Fine, a fabulously freaky devil mask, and a number of creepy cemetery locations, the film was definitely a trick AND a treat for depraved souls on Halloween (or, hell, ANY) night.
There’s something really, really, really wrong with Tommy! Holy shit is there ever something wrong with that creepy guy. You could say, being the product of a father’s rape of his daughter, he was cursed from the start. As a young boy, his grandfather (you know, his secret daddy) spoiled him with his pick from the pumpkin patch. Even when asked not to be around, his grandfather was there. Every Halloween. You see, Tommy’s a special boy. Satan has BIG plans for him. In a 10-minute introduction to the creepy and crazy world of Hack-O-Lantern, we get a murder and a smashed pumpkin.
As a young man, Tommy (Gregory Scott Cummins) wears cut-off tees and a ranger green bandana, does curls alone in his room, and tosses dudes off his sister like a paperboy delivering Sunday morning’s paper. He dates a bleach blonde bimbo with a tattoo on her butt. He also, thanks to his increasingly ornery grandpappy, who still greets his daughter (the one he raped, mind you) with a rowdy “why, hello, my lovely offspring”, worships the devil and listens to hair metal bands that tell him he’s “the devil’s son.”
The funky Satan-fueled filth that Massacre Video delivers with their 30th anniversary limited blu-ray release of Hack-O-Lantern is worthy of praise in and of itself. The slipcase packaging (and cover art) and supplemental material included is definitely filled with some good ol’ TLC for the genre of cheapo-deapo horror titles. This fantastic release is yet another sign that cult and low budget oddities are making a HUGE comeback.
Hack-O-Lantern (also known as Halloween Night, Death Mask and The Damning) is not a great movie, but this cult film has quite the devoted following. It’s full of bad acting, choppy edits, and wonky choices in story structure. It also remains eerily intriguing and with good reason. That cast of scenery-chewing talents is a truly eclectic assortment of faces.
This low budget schlock-fest also features a bizarrely dramatic performance from Pyke (Vamp) as the mean-spirited grandfather and is directed by Indian-born Jag Mundhra (Open House), who didn’t speak English at the time the movie was made, all of which simply adds to its psychotically charged charm. It is also – with a fabulous Dead End Drive-In poster on the wall of Tommy’s “stuffy” room – a product of its time period. Will anyone be able to wake Tommy up from his Satanic sleepwalking haze?
With dialogue like, “trick or treat, give me all your candy or I’ll blow your head off” and “but, mom, I like the taste of blood”, Hack-O-Lantern is a low budget gas through a cinematic world of cheap thrills, naked chicks, and practical effects. The soundtrack is full of cheesy keyboard tones (some as flat as the acting) and glam metal from forgotten acts like D.C. La Croix.
It’s no wonder then that this late 80s arrival maintains its permanent wave among Horror Hounds and Gore-Gore Girls. It’s cheesy as fuck, hilariously vapid (with tons of continuity errors), full of bizarro Satanic references (including a devil-horned fist bump?!), hilarious southern drawls, and – unaware of just how out of place it is – a stand-up comic’s sad routine. It’s safe to say that this B-movie has a bit of everything, including the Old "Mr. 666" Goat himself.
“You can’t live like this,” screams Tommy’s mother through the door of his basement dwelling. She’s right. No one can. Which is why Hack-O-Lantern, a product of straight-to-video 80s sleaze, remains a cult favorite of fresh kills and dramatic implausibility. Somehow this b-movie, ugly warts and all, defies the odds and echoes on down through time.
HACK-O-LANTERN LIVES AGAIN!!!
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 88 mins
Director: Jag Mundhra
Writer: Carla Robinson
Cast: Hy Pyke, Gregory Scott Cummins
Genre: Horror
Tagline: A film by Jag Mundhra
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor:
Official Site:
Release Date:
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: June 20, 2017
Synopsis: When Tommy was a boy, he saw his grandpa (Hy Pyke), the leader of a vicious satanic cult, murder his father in a brutal ritual on Halloween night. Now Tommy (Gregory Scott Cummins) is 18 and grandpa is ready to indoctrinate him into the ways of the black arts. But as night approaches, someone dressed like a member of the cult, whose face is hidden behind a devilish mask, begins stalking and killing people connected to Tommy. Could it be grandpa, Tommy himself, or someone even more sinister behind these increasingly brutal murders?
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Massacre Video
Available on Blu-ray - June 20, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (192kbps); English: Dolby Digital Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: Region A
Released by Massacre Video, the 1080p transfer will simply amaze anyone who suffered through Hack-O-Lantern’s VHS presentation back in the day. Holy shit does this movie ever clean up well. The 2K restoration is nicely done, making what was tired-looking about the release look all sparkling new. Colors are bold and, thanks to the involvement of a colorist who matched the raw negatives to the original print, accurate. Black levels are FINALLY solid. There’s a healthy grain structure, too. It’s not nearly as insufferably orange in the skin tone department and feels more true to life. Details in clothing and in exterior scenes are also standouts. The audio options include a 2.0 Dolby Digital remastered mix and the original mono mix in 2.0 Dolby Digital. An isolated music track is also offered.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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The NEW audio commentary with producer Raj Mehrotra and moderator Joe Rubin is decent. It doesn’t always engage with the visuals, getting silent at times, but does fill us in on the sordid history of the shoot
Special Features:
There’s a retrospective included with the release that features Cummins and actress Katina Garner talking about the film and speculating on whether or not Hy Pike a real Satanist. Also included is a vintage public access TV appearance from the film’s director and two of its leading ladies. A gallery of photos from the production and a collection of trailers rounds out the release.
- The Power Is in the Blood (11 min)
- Public Access Interview with Jag Mundhra (28 min)
- Behind the Scenes Photos
- Trailers
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[tab title="Art"]
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