thing” for TV than a tale in which Belinda Montgomery learns that she was pledged to Satan as an infant? Diane Ladd (misspelled “Lad” in the end credits) regrets the youthful indiscretion in which she agreed to bear Satan’s child, so she manages to get a 21-year delay written into the bargain before she’s “offed” by the Devil’s minions. Time’s up, and 21-year- old Diane Shaw, attending her mother’s funeral, is immediately accosted by Lilith Malone (Shelley Winters), an “old friend” of her mother who is more than willing to put her up for a while... Plot summary becomes a to- ken gesture exactly now. Lilith and her circle (a classic television cast of characters including Abe Vigoda and Jonathan Frid as a mute chauffeur) try to prepare Diane for her destiny as the “Daughter of Darkness” via rabid overacting (“LEAVING? What do you MEAN, you’re LEAVING??!!”), while Diane can’t even grasp the significance of a Satanic portrait on Lilith’s wall or the fact that the ring she’s given as a gift bears the same insignia seen on said painting. But it’s all okay—Diane soon meets the charming Steve Stone (Robert Foxworth) and agrees to marry him, since he’s the voice of reason that will put an end to all the “devil” nonsense (“Perhaps a couple of mice did battle over it,” he suggests over a shattered figurine). Meanwhile, Joseph Cotten essays the sort of transparent role he perfected in Mario Bava’s BARON BLOOD. Neither the attractive loca- tions (California’s Central Coast) nor acknowledgement of the production’s vintage can do much to disguise the fact that this is one hokey movie—but of course, it’s a campy delight for aficionados of ’70s TV horror. Unfortunately, the tatty, ragged print provided by Wild Eye must rank as a disappointment when
Neville Brand plays your garden variety swamp-dwelling-scythe-wielding-muttering-madman- with-a-pet-alligator in Tobe Hooper's oft-named EATEN ALIVE.
one considers that this title was in syndication on the USA Net- work in much better condition as recently as the 1990s. (One imagines that Paramount must have a better print available somewhere.) There’s fun to be had here—but condition-wise, consider yourself warned.
EATEN ALIVE
aka DEATH TRAP, HORROR HOTEL, HORROR HOTEL MASSACRE, LEGEND OF THE BAYOU, MURDER ON THE BAYOU, STARLIGHT SLAUGHTER
1976, Dark Sky Films, DD-2.0/MA/16:9/LB/ST/+, $24.98, 90m 43s, DVD-1 By John Charles
Kim Newman reviewed Elite’s no-frills DVD of this well-cast, but decidedly uneven Tobe Hopper horror thriller in VW 59:51, and Dark Sky has now issued a fea- ture packed, 2-disc edition boast- ing a new anamorphic 1.85:1
transfer. Reportedly derived from newly discovered vault materials, the film still looks fairly grungy, with variable color (more intense hues remain somewhat problem- atic) and detail, and intermittent scratches and speckles on the source. It does represent some- what of an improvement over earlier renditions we have seen, and the audio options (English, French, Spanish) are sufficient. English captions are also in- cluded, a godsend in helping one to figure out what star Neville Brand is mumbling.
The main extra is a commen- tary featuring co-writer/producer Mardi Rustam, make-up artist Craig Reardon, and actors Roberta Collins (whose anecdote about an offset experience suggests that Brand was almost as unhinged in real life), William Finley (relating how he became involved with the project and the challenges of work- ing for Hooper), and Kyle Richards. Hooper finally surfaces for an interview on Disc 2, providing
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