Tim Ritter stands as one of the key figures in US low-budget/ SOV horror.  Here from SRS Cinema is a four Blu-ray set bringing together all of Ritter’s SOV work- aside from the Truth Or Dare series. It takes in six films in all- each featuring a commentary, as well as interviews and other extras.

Ritter was born in the year 1967. And by the age of ten or so, he had started to make his own Super 8 films. In 1984 he made his first feature film Day Of The Reaper- a crude, raw, and gory slasher. He went onto 80's B horror classics such as Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness and Killing Spree. He has to date twenty directors’ credit to his name.

Twisted Illusion opens the set & is from 1985. It was an anthology film- taking in seven stories- with the runtime of the version here running at the one hour and nine minutes mark (not one hour & twenty listed on IMDB).  It was jointly directed by Ritter & Joel D. Wynkoop. It was Joel's first directing job- though he went on to helm thirty-two other credits to his name, as well as an impressive one hundred and seventy-eight acting credits to his name.  Ritter directs three ( The Capricorn Network, The Clean Up Job, and Truth Or Dare).

The film opens with the unnamed story- which sees Ritter & Wynkoop playing themselves going to meet a backer for Day Of The Ripper- this had a rather more ham-fisted Curb Your Enthusiasm vibe…and you guessed it the backer is not quite what he seems. Next is The Capricorn Network- which finds a penny-pinching redneck trying to a cable channel for free with a rather Videodrome-like resolve.

Next is Mind The Step- which sees two buddies talking on a couch- one drinks, eats bad food, and does excise- the other doesn’t. This is one of the shorter stories here- and I found it rather disposable.  The Clean Up Job finds an overworked housewife finding a good use for her vacuum cleaner.

Tapper Horror is one of my favourites here- it regards a kid finding a VHS machine at the side of the road- he takes it home, hooks it up, and finds there’s a tape in it featuring a stalking masked man- with the Kid suddenly thrown into the action. Chemical Reaction is another short story- regarding a scientist who thinks he’s created a growth potion- with his assistant using it to disastrous results.

Finally, we have Truth Or Dare- which finds a guy being dumped by his girlfriend- he decides to hit the road- picks up another girl, they set up camp. And play a rather disturbing version of the Truth Or Dare game.

There are fleeting moments of gore in Twisted Illusion- in particularly in the final story. And as with most anthologies, it’s a rather mixed-in quality affair- but there are some great stories here.

The extras for this film take in two commentaries- the first is with Ritter and Matt Hill, who was the producer of Truth Or Dare Part 4 as well as a big/knowledgeable SOV fan. And the second is just with Ritter. I played the first of these, and it’s a good chatty track- with the pair giving a good balance of insight & history.  They discuss how the film to hand came about after Ritter’s first high school Day Of The Reaper- how he teamed up with his ’70s babysitter Wynkoop, and Al Nicolosi- who worked at a local TV station- to make the film. We find out it was all filmed in January of 1985 over weekends, and they debate what was the first SOV film. They discuss how they photocopied sleeves for both the VHSs they made for his first film which they sold around local video shops  They talk about Saun Ruddy Ritter's video shop buddy- who scored both of the films. They discuss what influenced the film- The Twilight Zone, Creepshow, and Tales From The Darkside. Ritter talks about how he showed this & his other shorts in his high school, and he points out actors as they appear- with a few of them being teachers. They talk about how this is the best transfer of the film ever, and how it looks pretty good for a scan from a thirty-seven-year-old VHS master.  Later on, they discuss some of the film's locations, and how some of them have drastically changed. The influences on the Truth Or Dare story, and much more.

Otherwise, extra wises for this first film we get an interview on film interviews with both Ritter (15.42) and Wynkoop (35.15). Trailer for the film & Day Of The Reaper, and a photo gallery.

Next up we have another anthology in the form of 2004’s Twisted Illusion 2.  This takes in three stories from three different directors- no wrap-around story, instead, we get a selection of retro cinema adverts around each of the tales. The film runs around the one hour and forty-minute mark- with each story hitting around the half-an-hour mark.

After the first batch of retro cinema ads- we have Betrayal. This was written and directed by John Bowker- who is both a B movie actor (appearing in a fair few Joe Sherlock films), as well as ten other directorial credits since the turn of the century.

Betrayal opens with a woman arranging a Halloween date night with her partner. She dresses herself up, cooks some food, and watches the hours tick by. She heads down to their friend’s house- and sees her man with another woman. She pulls out a spell book , and the next thing you know she raises a body from the grave to do her bidding. This is entertaining enough- with a rather neat twist in its tail.

Next, we The Part- this was written, directed, and stars Joel D. Wynkoop. The story opens with in asylum recordings of Timothy (Wynkoop) who is locked away for killing several people- sometime ticks by & its decidedly he’s fully cured- so he is released.

Timothy has a real passion to be an actor- so he auditions for a low-budget horror film Grandma & Her Chainsaw. The director & his friend really like him, but they have to wait for three weeks until the money man is in the area. But they ask him to practice his role.  Wynkoop is great as Timothy really hamming it up well, as the seemingly cured psycho killer. Again, another entertaining story.

Finally, we have Dexter Deadbeat- and this is of course the Ritter story. And it highlights his talent for quirky storytelling, and a great mystery/ horror. 

The film opens with a strange and disturbed bald-headed, shades-wearing, and smart-suit man forcing his way into the home of a woman- after she confirms her name is Angela Whitt. He acts very odd/ threatening the just-out-of-her-shower woman- with weird jump cuts to the man wrapped in unreeled VHS tapes. There are also jarring lines repeated in different colours/ inversed- as well as these weird body sound like audio colleges. The man suddenly declares he’s got the wrong Angela Whitt- and leaves.

We next switch to a slightly older Angela Whitt- who seemingly has a fair few issues/ problems of her own, and her braless friend rings her up to tell her the man is looking for her. This story some great & jarring camera tricks, a neat building mystery regarding why the man is stalking Angela- and you really won’t guess the reason.  Again, another most entertaining story, which I’d say is the best of the three stories.

Each of the films are well enough made, with fairly standard low-budget acting- with a few better actors in the mix, and some effective 90’s retro synth soundtracking. My one issue is that there are far too many old adverts- yes some of them are quirky/ charming- but they are way, way too many- and at points it becomes rather frustrating waiting for the next film to start.

On the extra side, we get a commentary track- Ritter pops in at the beginning to discuss how the film came about and this version of the film. Then for each story has its own director (and sometimes other crew members popping up) talking. There’s a trailer, photo gallery, making of Betrayal (23.14), and Bigfoot short (4.05) which finds a bickering middle-aged couple breakdown at night to be attacked by something.

Moving onto the second disc in the set, and we just have one film & its extras, and that is 1995’s Creep. This was Ritter's fifth film- with him both writing and directing the just over hour and a half feature. On its surface/ from its general write-up you’d be forgiven for thinking this was just another run-of-mill crazy prisoner escapes from prison slasher, and yes, it is to an extent, but with some neat- at points quirky elements, as well as a rather surprising twist in its tail.

After the inversed & colourized stripper footage credits- we meet our first lead character Angus Lynch (Joel D. Wynkoop) who has just been in a car crash while the prisoner was been transferred, and he takes advantage of the situation to get his cuffs off & running for it. And fairly quickly we get a broken bottle in the eye kill & a female bloody slashed up.

Next, we get introduced to our next lead- troubled blond cop Jackie Ketchum (Patricia Paul) who rather takes things over the top when getting perps in her sights, she makes a baby food poisoner eat her own food, and beats up a rapist before saying ‘your now viable to be in the disabled space you should have been in”. She also keeps having black & flashbacks to when her mother was stabbed to death in front of her as a child.

As the film unfolds Angus meets up with his huge fake-breasted sister Kascha Lords (Kathy Willets) who’s a stripper. Jackie goes out to a cabin to chill out, and her police chief dad (Tom Karr) gets worried Angus is going to track him down, there is more than a whiff of incest, and we have a few rather surprising twists.

Throughout the film get a fairly bit of leering shots of female flesh, and of course some gore/ killings- most memorable being with a giant corkscrew in someone’s head, a head burnt to a crisp with a welding troche, and a few ultra blood gushing attacks, There is also light touches of action & one big explosion.

 Acting wise Wynkoop nicely hams it up nicely as Angus. Paul is a good enough fit as the trouble cop, though at points her acting does drift a little. And Karr is effective as the seemingly good guy, though swigging booze police chief. The rest of the cast is on par with the normal B movie fair.  On the whole, Creep was an entertaining horror/ thriller- you really barely notice that it’s a SOV.

On the extras side, we get a commentary track from Ritter.  He begins by talking about the warning at the start of the film which was influenced by the likes of Manic & Dawn Of The Dead. He talks about the film having a budget of $50,0000, and how they had several different cuts of the film with different market. He discusses how the film used similar cameras to that of a porn film, and how the original script was much more contained being set in just one location- with a cop being kidnapped by a serial killer. He talks about the baby food poisoning scene, and what influenced it. We find out who Kathy Willets was- basically, her & her husband filmed her having sex with various politicians. He talks about how she became involved in the project, and how this brought a fair bit of publicity.  She also stripped in clubs and did adult films- this was her non-porn film. He talks about the influences of the time on the film like Natural Born Killers & Henry- Portrait Of  A Serial Killer. We find out they use some recycled effects from his early films, including props from 1974’s Deranged( directed by Jeff Gillen Alan Ormsby). Later on, he talks about how the film was with Blockbuster for some time, while they decided if they’d take it. He discusses how he got death threats for some of the films cover artwork. We find out there were over forty hours of rough footage filmed to make the picture.

Otherwise, we get a lengthy interview/ making of with Ritter( 1 hour 35) and Wynkoop(1 hour 9), a trailer, and a photo gallery.

Next is disc number three. First up we have 1999’s Dirty Cop No Donut- which is best described as a very dark/bad-taste comedy & satire of cop reality shows, as a cameraman follows a cop on his nights work.

The cop in question is Officer Friendly/ or Gus Kimble as he's listed on IMDB. He’s played by Ritter collaborator Joel D. Wynkoop, and as usual, he well & truly throws himself into the role. Things start off relatively tame- as he goes into a nighttime shop/ garage drinking & eating stuff and not paying for it. But with each new location/ his character gets more extreme- he pushes his way into a drug dealers’ apartment- steals his coke, and forces him to sniff a load. He takes a hooker to his serial killer target sheet-decorated apartment, breaks into a paedophile/ sex pest home & gets him to do bloody damage to his member, and much more.

The film runs one hour & twenty minutes mark- and you are mainly kept hooked by wondering what the not-so-good office will do next. I guess you’ll have to have seen cop reality shows to let it fully click with you. And you do wonder how Ritter & Wynkoop got away with some of the stuff here.

Extras for this film we have a commentary track from Tim Ritter and Matt Hill. They start by talking about how the film was made in 1998, before Blair Witch- been a send-up/ spoof of the reality show Cops- which played for many years on US TV. We find out the opening gas station scene featured real customers, and that the whole thing was filmed with a high 8 Sonny camera. They discuss how the open & end credits were created on stencils by Ritter. They chat about the film's long takes, and how impressive it was the cast stayed in their roles.   We find out that the mainstream press at the time was very negative about the film- which didn’t help it, but it went on to get a deluxe DVD & double VHS release with the first film.  They point out cast as they appear- many of whom weren’t actors.  We find out the total budget for the film was $350.00, and that at one point there was a possibility they were going to get Burt Reynolds to do a later picture- but this never happened. Later on, they talk about Joel’s rages in some of the film's scenes, and a few other things. This is a chatty/interesting enough track.

Next, we have a stills & PR gallery (3.19) this features a com track from Ritter- with us getting to see stills from the film, and video/DVD cover art. We get an interview with both Joel & Tim (4.15). Three lots at trailers, and a ‘rock’ video (11.00)

The other film on the third disc is Dirty Cop 2: I Am a Pig- which is from 2001, and is (largely) a sequel to the first Dirty Cop film. With once again a highly bad taste, at times highly sleazy send-up of reality cop shows.

Once again, we have Joel D. Wynkoop playing Gus Kimble- it follows on directly after the first film, and we see the not-so-good officer being picked up on by someone. He lands up in a psych ward- and we get some hammy deranged interview with Gus( some of these I’m sure were used in another Ritter film?!).  He’s finally let out after serving three years in the psych ward & a year in prison- meeting up with Sam the cameraman- who has kept his apartment just as it was. Gus is now somewhat reserved & controlled wearing a pink shirt- but fairly soon he’s back to his demented & deranged cop character.

Running alongside this, and often jarringly edited manner, we have a second story/ character- Simon Cutter- played by cult film director Donald Farmer.  He’s a cop that has seemingly on the cusp of being fired- due to his shady behaviour.   He gets his own cameraman to follow him around, and he gets filmed shot up(with a stripper thong as a torque), belittling strippers, and randomly stabbing a woman working out. He decides to kidnap the town major's daughter to try and find something against her.

The Gus side of the film has its moments of amusement/ effective bad tastiness- the most memorable of these is when he breaks into a local TV studio- and starts ranting & bad behaviour on a talk show.  For the Simon side of things- Farmer does manage to portal a sense of slimy/ sleaziness- at points this works well enough- though at other it comes across as really grabby & unpleasant, and this is most notable when kidnaps the major’s daughter- as we get lots of linger shots of her drugged & nude body.

To be honest Dirty Cop 2: I Am a Pig is a bit of a mess- with jump cuts, weird editing, and a plot that seems to be made up as it goes along. It’s ok for what it is- but if you didn’t like the first film, you’ll hate this with a passion.

The extra for this film takes in a commentary from Ritter. He starts off by discussing the influence of the I’m a Pig subtitle- Rob Halford, and the solo albums he did with Trent Reznor. He talks about the first film again, and we find out he’s written two novels in his time. He talks about how Donald Farmer came to the project, and we find out it was filmed in 1999.  Later on, he talks about the video shop scene, and the rather awkward sexualized scene with Farmer- which apparently was cut from some versions of the film. He talks about how the film is very mainstream, and a few other things. This is another chatty track- though a fair chunk of it covers the first film again.

Otherwise, we a stills & cover art gallery (2.41), Hall of Shame (4.04) a rather embarrassing battle rap between the films two cops, and a trailer.

Moving onto disc number four, and first up we have Reconciled Through The Christ. This is from the year 2004, and is basically a Christianity-focused mix of drama, thriller, and horror, which I think is a first for me- but makes sense as apparently, Ritter had become a reborn Christian.

The film opens with a man running through some woodland- in the sky above him is a rather ropy-looking computer graphics dragon, which looks like it’s from the 90’s. The man comes to a clearing, and ahead of him is a small church- the dragon sets down on its roof, with PC graphic flame engulfing the church. He wakes up with and jolt, and we find out his name is Phil (Andrew Willett)- he’s in his mid-twenty and has a thin scraggy beard. We find out Phil is very much a man of Christian faith- and as he drives his car, he details his feelings about false profits, and the state of the world. He gets to his destination, and its a hospital, where his voiceover tells us he’s come to visit his brother is in a coma, after living a rather deceitful, sinful, and decadent life.

We then drop into flashback, and we meet Phil’s brother Franklin (Reaper M. Jones)- he’s a rather large man, with a goatee beard, and thinning shaved hair. He’s on the phone to his wife, and we find out she’s left after years of his cheating & general unpleasantness. She won’t tell him where she’s gone- but he does call back finding out she’s at her mother’s- some six or seven hours away.

After swigging back a few hits of liquor he decides he’s going drive to his wife’s mother's house, and kill his wife- he takes with him several things to do the job- a flick knife, a gun, some rope, and a can of petrol. He hits the road, and fairly soon gives a lift to a woman- she is getting a Greyhound bus in the next town- we find out she just left her husband, he sees red- stops the car, she runs into the woods & he proceeds to stalk her.  She collapses near a body of water, and he has the flick knife out- just about the cut her….then a man with a hat, ragged white collared shirt, and soul patch beard appears…he asks for a lift, and Franklin agrees- leaving the woman untouched.

And so the road trip unfolds with Franklin & the stranger- who is seemingly some kind of Christian preacher, or maybe something else. As the film unfolds we get more 90’s PC graphics, with a very end-of-time/doomsday setting. A Bloody & brutal recreation of Christ's crucifixion. And a blend of drama, thriller, and horror tropes

Jones isn’t bad as the disgruntled and moral corporate Franklin- working well with both interacting with the strange hitchhiker, and his stern focus on getting the job of killing done. Most of the rest of the cast are ok to passable, and I’m sure I recognize a few of the actors- maybe from other Ritter films, or someplace else

The film runs at one hour and twenty-two minutes, and is largely engaging- yes, the horror elements are more subdued here, with most of the film playing like a drama with thriller elements. Yes, it does become a little preachy at times- but again this is expected, and it never gets too overbearing.

On the extras side for this film, we get a commentary track from Ritter. He begins by talking about the film's score- which was created by a college student. He talks about the woodland, church and CGI dragon at the start of the film- pointing out his cameo playing trumpet in church. He discusses his move to Kentucky in 1998, and the books he wrote after the move. We find the film was shot in October of 2003. Just after this, something goes a little wrong with the track- as he’s talking about a car scene, and that’s not on screen. Unfortunately, throughout the rest of the track, this out-of-sink error carries on- he does talk about his beliefs and a few other things, but unfortunately, it’s quite difficult to follow- due to the sinking issue.

Otherwise, we have First Sneak Peak (2.45), a trailer, making the VHF (3.33), second unit making of (8.47).

Moving onto the second menu page on this disc we get a selection of odds & ends. There are his first two Super 8 films from 1978- Superpanther (3.27), and Conan (3.38)- these feature friends and family members, and it’s nice to see Ritter’s first steps into film- each feature a Ritter com track. We then get two shorts- I’m guessing these are from the late 90’s. He Loves Me Not (7.01) regarding a lover’s tiff that goes weird. Santa Kills (7.42) which finds a large-breasted woman taking a bath, and Santa look at mutilated bodies in her house. We have Corn Sharks music video, Savage Master music video, making of the savage master video, and a selection of trailers. Lastly, we have a selection of eight videos- including a clip from a talk show where Elijah Wood talks about sees=ing Ritter’s Truth Or Dare at the age of five.

All told this is a well put together set- the only major issue I had is a technical one- all of the menu pages feature similar colour red highlights- so it’s often difficult to see where you are in the menu.

In conclusion, it certainly is great to have these six films together- with the interesting commentary tracks, a fair selection of interviews & other extras. It’d be nice to see a future boxset bringing together all of his other SOV work- though I’m guessing if you’re going to pick this up- like me you're already familiar with his more known/ classic SOV films.