When you really think about it, New Jersey is kind of a horror magnet.
The Garden State has given us Friday the 13th, The Toxic Avenger, The Amityville Horror and plenty of other genre nastiness over the years. There is something about New Jersey that just seems to work when horror filmmakers need a place where things can go horribly wrong.
One Jersey horror classic we will always remember is The Deadly Spawn, that gloriously weird 1983 slice of science fiction horror (that could be a sister to Sam Raimi‘s Evil Dead), had us laughing and grossed out all in one viewing. Now Synapse Films is giving this low budget creature feature the treatment it deserves, with The Deadly Spawn arriving on 4K Ultra HD and Blu ray on Nov. 10.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR “THE DEADLY SPAWN” BELOW
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Campers stumble upon a meteorite and discover some fanged, worm-like creatures have hitched a ride to Earth. After the camper “appetizer,” the aliens take refuge in the basement of an isolated house and prepare for the main course! With the people in the neighborhood now becoming the entrees of an intergalactic monster buffet, a group of teenagers decide to take this matter into their own hands!
Directed by Douglas McKeown and produced by Ted A. Bohus, the film stars Charles George Hildebrandt, Tom DeFranco, Richard Lee Porter, Jean Tafler, Karen Tighe and James L. Brewster. The movie was made independently in New Jersey, with the production originally shooting on 16mm.
FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: The new 4K Ultra HD edition features Synapse Films’ restoration of the original uncut 16mm camera negative, presented in the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision and HDR10 compatibility. The accompanying Blu ray contains a 1080p remaster sourced from that same restoration.
Both editions include the original producer’s feature mix along with the 21st Century Film Corporation theatrical mix in lossless DTS HD Master Audio.
The extras are pretty damn impressive for a movie that started as a scrappy independent creature feature. The release includes three audio commentaries featuring Bohus, McKeown and members of the cast and crew, along with A Visit with John Dods and The Deadly Spawn, a comic prequel sampler, original audition tapes, an alternate opening credits sequence, behind the scenes footage, a still gallery, TV spot and theatrical trailer.
This is going to be the edition you want in your collection. We hear your wallets cringe from here, stay strong friends, it’s worth it.
If you have somehow never seen it, consider this your warning to fix that situation. The Deadly Spawn is exactly the kind of practical creature feature that makes digging through horror history so much fun. Add it to the collection, throw it on as the weather gets colder and let some flesh eating space monsters make you feel a little warmer inside.
Something about aliens from outer space just has a way of doing that.