“They got Alfalfa!” The good lads at Deadpit Radio dropped us a line to let us know while recording their April 3rd edition with DVD producing mogul Michael ‘Slipcase’ Felsher from Red Shirt Pictures. They learned that this Halloween is going to be creepier than ever with Fred Dekker’s Night of the Creeps at least hitting official DVD. Felsher stated:
‘In October Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be releasing Night of the Creeps to DVD in a directors cut special edition, it is coming out officially for the first time ever. Fred Dekker is already working on it, It’s going to be the director’s cut with the original ending. We’re going to go balls to the wall with the special features on it…I talked to Sony today its official, we’re going ahead and its coming out in October!’ ‘It’s officially In production…and moving forward, its coming!’
We here at Retro Slashers are big fans of ol’ pockmark-face Joe Spinell’s thematic acting follow-up to Bill Lustig’s MANIAC, and are excited about its forthcoming S.E. DVD release via the bastions of the bad, Troma Entertainment.
The uncut status and special features sound mouth watering – it even contains the “lost” remnants of the MANIAC sequel MR. ROBBIE! We hope to have a review for you soon – for now, read on for the details:
TROMA TO RELEASE CLASSIC 80s SLASHER GEM – UNCUT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AMERICA!
THE LAST HORROR FILM: THE UNCUT SPECIAL EDITION – THE TROMASTERPIECE COLLECTION #3
Street Date: 5.19.2009 – List Price: $14.95
“Cuts deeper than the average slasher film.” – MOVIE GAZETTE
“The late, great Joe Spinell is a knockout…a must-see!” – RETROSLASHERS.NET
Troma Team Video is proud to unleash for the first time uncut on DVD, one of Joe Spinell’s (Rocky, The Godfather) most perverse, unnerving performances, since his unforgettable starring role in Maniac, in this underrated gem of the 80s — The Last Horror Film.
The Last Horror Film will be the third installment in the ‘Tromasterpiece Collection’ – Troma’s new line of video product which promises fans and new audiences alike, optimum quality releases, along with the comprehensive supplemental material, of the world’s greatest obscure entertainment.
Cult/horror fans will rejoice, as this film also reunites Spinell with another Maniac-alum; Hammer horror film star and Bond-girl babe Caroline Munro. Contrary to the typical psycho-stalker-roaming-the-streets affair, The Last Horror Film at the height of the American slasher revolution takes place during the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.
Vinny Durand (Spinell), a lonesome New York cab driver who lives at home with his mother, has dreams of becoming a famous film director. Consumed by his depraved obsession with beautiful horror actress Jenna Bates (Bond-Girl Caroline Munro) and determined to have her star in his first film, Vinny trails her to the Cannes Film Festival. While Vinny’s disturbing fascination grows, a mysterious killer begins slaughtering all people in Jenna’s entourage. Is the obsessed fanatic and the psychotic killer one in the same? Will this be Jenna’s Last Horror Film?
“Exciting…Like nothing else…” – Steve Swires, STARLOG MAGAZINE
The Last Horror Film DVD will include the uncut version of the film, which has never been released in America on video and was only available on the pre-certification UK VHS tape released over 25 years ago. The Troma Team produced a fascinating new featurette, My Best Maniac which features Spinell’s closest friend, Luke Walter who boldly reminisces about the hilarious antics and vivacious spirit of Spinell during the film’s production. Also inclusive on the disc, is a brand new audio commentary with Walter, a new interview with Maniac director William Lustig, Buddy G’s (Combat Shock) rarely-seen short film Mr. Robbie (aka Maniac 2) which features Spinell in one of his last performances before his untimely death, original and new trailers, and much more!
Special Features include:
My Best Maniac: An afternoon with Spinell’s best friend, Luke Walter
Audio commentary by Walter
Buddy Giovinazzo’s short rarely-seen short, MR. ROBBIE, a.k.a. MANIAC 2, starring Spinell
Interview with Maniac director William Lustig
Original theatrical trailer and tv spots
Introduction by Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma Entertainment and creator of the Toxic Avenger
Last year John Klyza, Amanda by Night, and myself were approached by a television network in desperate need of ghost writers. The writer strike was on and the network that shall remain nameless needed some slasher experts to jazz up some scripts for an upcoming series. In exchange for our cooperation, the network promised each of us our own special Halloween project to be broadcast in October. So now, after complete secrecy on my part and numerous hints from Klyza and Amanda, I can finally reveal the three Retro Slasher Halloween Specials coming your way this fall.
ABN will be hosting Made-for-TV horror movie double features for TVLand. The films and dates are Moon of the Wolf and Deathmoon (Oct. 3), This House Possessed and Death at Love House (Oct. 10), Dark Night of the Scarecrow and Don’t Go to Sleep (Oct. 17), The Bermuda Depths and Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby (Oct. 24), and The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler (Oct. 31). Check back with Retro Slashers in the coming weeks for images from the set and pics of ABN dressed in her horror host costume.
John Klyza is making his directing debut with the remake of Hillbillys in a Haunted House for VH1, only this version is based on a Dee Snider script and called Heavy Metal Maniacs in a Haunted House. The basic plot is Dee Snider and Bret Michaels have a party to announce their new tour in a house haunted by the victims of rocker Sinner Steel, who went nuts and killed his band and several groupies twenty years ago. Since VH1 is producing expect to see cameos from many of their “stars”, including Danny Bonaduce, Joanie “Chyna” Laurer, Christopher Knight and wife Adrianne Curry, Ron Jeremy as Dee Snider’s sleazy manager, and Jeff Conway. Ed French is handling the gore effects. H.M.M.i.a.H.H will be broadcast on Friday Oct. 30 on VH1 at 9 p.m. The uncut dvd should be released in November.
My pet project is a script for The Ghost and Mr. Chicken remake on CBS Oct. 25. Jon Cryer stars as Luther Heggs, a reporter for The Rachel Courier Express who comes face to face with the supernatural when he spends the night in the Simmons place. Most of the cast are regulars on CBS programs but I did talk the producers into hiring a few familiar genre faces. Angus Scrimm is playing the ghost of Old Man Simmons, Linda Blair is the ghost of his murdered wife, and Tom Noonan is playing the sinister Nicholas Simmons. This story is different from the original in that Luther will really encounter the supernatural. None of that “tuning keyboard under the pipes” crap in my script. I will be supplying the voice yelling “That a boy, Luther!” during the crowd scenes.
While we won’t make appearances in each other’s projects, we did throw in an in-joke that will connect all three projects. There will be a “John” and “Thomas” on ABN’s shows (John suspects one will be a pet rat and the other will be a pet snake), an “Amanda” and “Thomas” in Heavy Metal Maniacs in a Haunted House, and an “Amanda” and “John” in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. John actually took the in-jokes much further by including references to many of his slasher blog buddies. Some are pretty obvious. His Final Girl is named Stacie, ponder that one for a minute. Others take a little thinking. One character is an anchorwoman and she will be in peril.
Expect more updates, interviews, and photos from the sets of all three projects as we get closer to October.
“They got Alfalfa!” The good lads at Deadpit Radio dropped us a line to let us know while recording their April 3rd edition with DVD producing mogul Michael ‘Slipcase’ Felsher from Red Shirt Pictures. They learned that this Halloween is going to be creepier than ever with Fred Dekker’s Night of the Creeps at least hitting official DVD. Felsher stated:
We here at Retro Slashers are 
