Deadly Spawn [Blu-ray] [2011] [US Import]

Product Information

Music Videos (SD) — Two crappy music videos with really crappy music: one called "Trip Like I Do" by Filter & The Crystal Method, and the other from Marilyn Manson & the Sneaker Pimps entitled "Long Hard Road Out of Hell." Alternate Opening (4:43, SD) offers little to no discernible changes from the theatrical cut outside of a different opening title sequence. Still Gallery (SD) — There are actually two galleries ("Original Todd McFarlane Sketches" and " Spawn Concept/Sketch Galleries") from which to choose, showing various ideas created for the development of the characters and the movie.

Visit with the Deadly Spawn" (8:39, SD) is a comical visit with one of the feature's creature designers, who shows off his work and questionable sense of humor before revealing the enormous Deadly Spawn puppet used in the picture. Like all of the supplementary material on this disc, little explanation and identification is offered to encourage any appreciation for the footage. The Deadly Spawn is the ultimate example of guerrilla filmmaking; it was shot on 16mm and contains so many flubs, dropouts, and herky jerky behind-the-scenes mayhem that one cannot help but fall for this perfect imperfect example of ultimate science fiction freakdom. The kid is stunned though, showing signs of cheap craftsmanship and problem solving on the part of the filmmakers. After all, what other excuse is there to show a woman’s decapitated head lying on the ground with flesh being ripped off? Actor and director Tim Sullivan got his start in film as a 15-year-old production assistant on The Deadly Spawn. [2] Dods was the brother of Sullivan's art teacher, and Sullivan earned the chance to work on the film as a result of that relationship. [2] Among other tasks, Sullivan assisted in the manipulation of the main spawn puppet, which was made of rubber and controlled from below by wires. [2] Filming [ edit ] Introduction with Ted A. Bohus (1:19, SD) welcomes the viewer to "The Deadly Spawn," while taking a few moments to display some merchandise for the film and goof around with an alien puppet.

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In fact, if memory serves right, much of the publicity attention went to John Leguizamo and his scary clown prosthetics. Of the entire movie, he's the only real highlight, which is actually rather sad since his performance and dialogue are genuinely awful. The one thing he does right in the part is making the character a frightening children's performer and proving that clowns really are Satan's foot soldiers from the lower depths of Hell. Aside from that, he spends most of his time spewing lame jokes about farts, rotten food, and doing out-of-place impersonations. Oh, and he supposedly plays a confusing role as the ringleader of the Apocalypse, which leads to the one and only sincere piece of humor to garner any laughs when he tells Martin Sheen with a straight face he only wants to bring the apocalypse now. Storyboard Comparisons (SD) — Five videos comparing drawings made in pre-production with the final CG effect. Take One" (24:58, SD) is a cable access show from 1982, interviewing Marc Harwood on his experiences shaping the movie and his feelings about the low-budget world of filmmaking.

Todd McFarlane: Chapter and Verse (SD, 20 min) — Broken into seven separate parts which can be watched sequentially, this lengthy interview with the comic book creator talks about the Spawn character, the story and the movie adaptation. Pete sets up a study date with classmates Ellen (Jean Tafler), Frankie (Richard Lee Porter), and Kathy (Karen Tighe). Uncle Herb, a psychologist, and also preparing for a conference, wants to investigate Charles' interest in the macabre, and he holds a brief interview with the boy before he falls asleep in the living room. Aunt Millie heads over to her mother Bunny's (Judith Mayes) house for a luncheon with her retired friends. When an electrician arrives to investigate a circuit breaker malfunction in the basement, Charles dons a costume and goes down to scare him. There, he discovers the basement is infested with slug-like creatures feasting on the electrician's and his mother's remains, guarded by their huge mother, the monster from the meteor crash. After realizing that the eyeless creatures react to sound, he stands silently, escaping his parents' fate.

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Of course the foolish tenants of the farmhouse are clueless to our space invaders (who have already taken their first victims down into the cellar) and, before long, spend the rest of the movie trapped in the attic…trying to outsmart and outrun the three-rowed sharp teeth of our alien invaders as they slither through the house. Chomp, chomp, chomp. Where we come across some serious issues is in the front soundstage, starting with the dynamic range. The higher frequencies noticeably clip and distort during much of the action, sounding like high-pitched squeals with hardly any distinct detail. This is made especially apparent when Spawn's cape expands and flies all around the room. It's far too bright and piercing, basically like someone turned up the volume on the special effects and called it a day. The low-end is also loud and heavy, but not at all articulate yet very boomy with several hints of noise. The only good moments are during the songs. Through all this, vocals are occasionally drowned out by the commotion, as in the scene when Spawn and Clown race to Wanda's house. Plot: What’s it about? Video: How does it look? Audio: How does it sound? Supplements: What are the extras? Plot: What’s it about? Memorable Movie Quote: "The gorilla! No eating the flesh for him, no sir. He's peace-loving, and adorable!" Making of Spawn (SD, 22 min) — A short EPK doc hosted by Michael Jai White, covering the usual aspects of the production like the plot, the characters and the source material.

Non-existence reason number two? DNR. Not a single frame goes by where digital manipulation doesn’t come into play. Faces and skin have a unmistakable flat, pasty, and plastic appearance. Close-ups reveal an unacceptable level of smearing, the slightest motion enough to send the disc into a tizzy. Little to no definition is allowed to seep in, and a handful of shots are on the level of a degraded VHS tape, sans the artifacts associated with the format. The film score by Michael Perilstein was released by Perseverance Records on December 21, 2004. AllMusic awarded it 3.5 out of 5, with reviewer Jason Ankeny describing it as an "innovative score" that "deserves greater notoriety". [4] Ankeny praised its atmosphere, and said that it successfully reached a "balance between serious musical aspirations and the tongue-in-cheek demands of the material". [4] Reception [ edit ] The real challenge in watching 'Spawn' is not letting your mind wonder why anyone ever greenlit this mess. From the start, as Nicol Williamson's corny voiceover narration describes a war brewing between heaven and hell, the movie seems like a DTV release made with inexpensive computer graphics even from a 1997 price point. Fifteen years later, things are made visibly worse as animated characters, especially the devil-like creature in Hell that looks like a hairless Chinese Crested (you know, the world's ugliest dog) with horns, jump into action with the same fluid movement as a 'Gumby' episode. I had to keep reminding myself that this wince-inducing adaptation of Todd McFarlane's comic book series did in fact hit theaters at one point, but I don't recall the CGI being anything to gloat about even then. B-movie enthusiasts and cult film fanatics can rest easy now. The darling no-budget creature feature from 1983 finally has found a welcomed home in dazzling high definition. Released by Elite Entertainment, The Deadly Spawn finally completes many a freak’s quest in the sacred collection of quintessential cult films. It is a film beloved by many creature-feature gorehounds and grislettes and certainly the only to feature slimy penis-looking mutant muthas from outer space that munch on human flesh for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The Deadly Spawn: Blu-ray Editions

Is Deadly Spawn gratuitous? In the best way possible. The movie loves blood, at least as far as the budget allows it to. The alien creature, a denizen born from a stray meteorite, is a goofy, red teething monstrosity. Whatever flaws exist in the suit or the puppet driven heads are masked by the teeth… so many teeth. The Deadly Spawn is presented in full frame, as intended. I am not sure what the source was for this release, but it is not a good visual effort. Even the DVD release seems to sport better detail, which is not good news. This is perhaps due to the excessive noise reduction applied, which softens the image and harms the inherent grain. I wanted this transfer to be a home run, but sadly it fails to live up to that expectation. I think we all know this movie will never look pristine, but it deserves a sharper, more natural treatment than this. Audio: How does it sound? Take One is another interview, again from a local show, and running for 25-minutes, replete with the worst case of edge enhancement you’ll likely ever see. Visit with the Deadly Spawn is a vintage trip through the creature shop where the monster was made, which in reality is more of a spare bedroom. A series of trailers, sideshow, and comic book preview remain. [xrr rating=5/5 label=Extras]

For more about The Deadly Spawn and the The Deadly Spawn Blu-ray release, see the The Deadly Spawn Blu-ray Review published by Brian Orndorf on February 15, 2012 where this Blu-ray release scored 2.0 out of 5. Deadly Spawn is so sloppily encoded, there’s a massive flub at 1:15:06 where a complete digital breakdown occurs before the screen turns completely gray, breaking the boundaries of the 1.33:1 frame. There’s clearly been little attempt at clean-up on the source itself, the myriad of scratches left to their own devices, along with the strips of off-color fading. There is certainly worse out there. Casting and Gags (35:57, SD) supplies B&W VHS footage from the production's improvised rehearsals (Bohus is quite the ham), showing the cast as they figure out the script and peppy character interactions. Plenty of tomfoolery ensues.Producer Ted Bohus said that he conceived the idea for The Deadly Spawn in 1979, and that he was inspired by an article in National Geographic about seed pods that were recovered from the Arctic. [1] According to Bohus, he created an initial creature design that involved a man in a suit, but associate producer and effects director John Dods was unenthusiastic about that prospect. [1] Several days later, Dods returned with several alternatives, including the "Mother Spawn" that was eventually used in the film. [1] I suppose I should get to the plot at some point in this review, so here goes. Michael Jai White plays a mercenary turned Faustian-like superhero dubbed "Spawn" and meant to lead Hell's army into Armageddon. Leguizamo's overweight clown functions as a sort of guide, continually trying to influence White's path towards the dark side, like a little floating devil over his right shoulder. Of course, there's just enough humanity left within Spawn to create doubt and a hokey drama ensues where White is expected to show emotion over his family beneath the burn-victim prosthetics. Williamson comes in as the little angelic mentor floating over White's other shoulder, cajoling him to use his evil powers on the side of good. This eventually evolves into another videogame-like battle where lots of forsaking takes place and makes obvious hints at a sequel which never happened. Deadly Spawn acts as an entry gate into the realm of no-budget horror, a genre where even the hilariously campy Critters is considered too grandiose for inclusion. Appreciation doesn’t come from the pacing, litany of no-name actors, or cinematography. Enjoyment isn’t even “spawned” from the B-movie antics. It’s being able to piece together that somewhere cared, knew what they were doing, and had a memorable ride making it. Issues are compounded by the damage, including obnoxious popping and wavering volume. Fading is impossible to miss whenever the score ramps up, and lines are lost to the muffled overall quality. At the very least, none of these concerns sound digital. The PCM mono offering stays out of the way, presenting the material as clear as it could be. Clear being, of course, all relative. [xrr rating=2/5 label=Audio]