reasonable tension as a psycho- drama built on switchblade pre- dation and clothes-ripping humiliation, and also despair as one escape attempt after an- other fails under the stubbly leer of King’s David Hess-like per- formance. The young women’s roles are sketchily written (one is described as a Bible-bred vir- gin, though her virginity is never directly threatened nor is her re- ligion otherwise referenced), with half of them portrayed as such teases that they seem al- most game for the action, but the film’s power is sustained by surprisingly defeatist twists and turns, and by giving one of the girls an unexpected and some- what poignantly staged demise, another lesson learned from Craven’s THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. Competently photo- graphed and scored with library music sometimes a decade older (we recognized some Pete Rugolo cues from TV’s THE FU- GITIVE), it ends in survival for the majority and smiles all around— much too soon, considering the
horrible losses incurred—but its effectiveness is proved by the residual shame we feel for hav- ing sought entertainment from it. A cut about the usual Crown International product, it’s easy to see why people still talk about it as a memorable day in the dark of night at the drive-in. Sourced from vintage 35mm prints, with minor scratches and audio crackle, both anamorphic features are presented with 1.78:1 framing. Of the two, TRIP WITH THE TEACHER looks best; MALIBU HIGH’s image looks softer and darker with occasional hints of vertical compression. Generally, both films look as good as they ever did on a the- ater screen and upconvert attrac- tively, but viewing in “Film” or “Cinema” mode is suggested as the colors become overheated in more optimal settings. The disc menu permits the films to be viewed separately or together as a “Grindhouse Experience,” com- plete with standard ratio Coming Attractions (THE STEPMOTHER, THE TEACHER, VIRGIN WITCH,
WEEKEND WITH THE BABY- SITTER), three out of four bear- ing the Something Weird Video watermark.
MILLENNIUM CRISIS aka BLOODMASK
2008, Shock-o-Rama Cinema, DD-5.1/+/, $19.95, 84m 52s, DVD-1 By David Kalat
Once upon a time, the barri- ers to getting an independent film made, much less seen by au- diences, were so steep as to discourage all but the most determined. Even modest pro- ductions demanded such aston- ishing outlays of cash that aspiring filmmakers had to plead their cases to bankers, investors and other types whose motiva- tions were narrowly defined. A filmmaker unable to make a compelling case that they had a potentially popular idea that oth- ers would pay to sit through... well, they weren’t going to get the chance to prove otherwise. Fast- forward to the digital age, where
Clare Stevenson strolls into a CGI sunset in MILLENNIUM CRISIS.
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