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Terry's
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Directed
by Jeffrey Obrow & Stephen Carpenter | |
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aka PRANKS / DEATH DORM (the title actually used on this Blu-ray) it's great to finally see this Uncut Director's Cut reach the Blu-ray format. I hadn't see this film since at least the early 80s, when I believe I caught it on one of the pay channels like HBO or Showtime. Seeing it now it's certainly a low budget affair that kind of plods thru it's running time to reach a bit of a twist ending (though you probably will see it coming). DEATH DORM is not real different than any other slasher in the at you've got an unseen killer picking off people one by one at an empty college dorm. I think what makes the movie gleam is Chris Young's outstanding score that creates some suspense and Matthew Mungle's Special Make-Up FX. Young's score is a little heavy handed but truthfully the movie needed it to maintain mood and tension. Mungle's bloody FX are pretty impressive (this version allows us to see them entirely) considering he didn't have much experience or money to work with. Synapse Films has released this as a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack. DORM was shot at UCLA while Obrow and Carpenter were students there. It was filmed 16mm and blown up so the imagery is a bit grainy and the lighting in some scenes a bit questionable. For me the extras Synapse has put together stand out. On the Audio Commentary Obrow & Carpenter talk freely about the reality of their in experience, limited means and how they were fortunate to use the school's equipment and campus to make the movie. Commentaries are always more interesting on older films because the filmmakers and audience have had more time to let the movie settle in so that everyone has a better perspective. It was also interesting hearing and seeing some of the cast & crew would go onto bigger things such as Daphne Zuniga (THE SURE THING, MELROSE PLACE), Darren Starr (MELROSE PLACE, SEX IN THE CITY), Christopher Young (too many scores to list) and Matthew Mungle who would go on to win an Academy Award for Bram Stoker's DRACULA. Chris Young is interviewed in "My First Score" and he is genuinely thankful that he got this opportunity though he has mixed feelings about his music. Matthew Mungle is featured in "My First Slasher" and he doesn't remember any time of or money issues, just that he has disappointed his effects got trimmed by ratings board. DEATH DORM should be sought out by any respectable fan of the genre and it wouldn't be a bad choice for those of you who are just a casual viewers.
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