The Soultangler — The Soultangler(DVD)
The region free DVD comes in a clear DVD case- this features a double sided color cover- on one side we get the original video artwork, and on the other side new artwork featuring a garish representation of one of the films deranged 'n' gory set pieces. You also get a glossy ten-page booklet- taking in on-set pictures, a write-up from Bleeding Skull, and an interview with the director.
The Soultangler was the directorial debut of Long Island-based Pat Bishow(The Adventures of El Frenetico and Go Girl, It's a Haunted Happenin'!, and action/ comedy TV show We Might Be Superheroes). And the film appeared in 1987, in the form of a fairly ltd VHS release- so really this is the first larger official release of The Soultangler.
The film was very much a lo-fi/ z budget affair- with Bishow getting his friends, family( and then therapist) to act alongside local actors. With the film utilizing basements and garages for the backdrop for much of the action. That said in its crazed & deranged finale- it does feature some impressive, bigger budget gore effects/ set-ups.
The films plot/ flow is fairly incoherent & confused for much of its runtime- but basically, it revolves around crazed Dr. Anton Lupesky- who invents a drug that can free the soul of the user and allow them to possesses the bodies of corpses. The horrible side effect of the drug is that sometimes it can cause fatal hallucinations that leave the survivors incurably mad.
The films 91-minute runtime moves from surreal & dreamy imagery/ scenery, onto campy overacting, through to red spurting & often bizarre gore. Through to dread-soaked talk-overs, ominous zombie attacks, and brutal hooded killer action. This is all soundtrack by an often wonky & off-kilter blend of drum machines, guitar scaping, and keyboards- with forays into more formal dark ambient mood-scaping. There are certainly hints & influences of more known films present through-out the films runtime-like Return of the Living Dead & Reanimator- but the way it’s put together in such an often unpredictable & darkly quirky manner makes it a very distinctive viewing experience.
Extras wise- we get a full-length commentary from director Pat Bishow- as you expect it’s full of facts & background information, though for much of the film he’s fairly damning- really only praising a few dialogue scenes & the effects. Other extras included an hour-long ‘directors-cut’ of the film- this basically takes out a lot of the more surreal dreamy & ominous elements- trying to streamline the whole thing, personally I prefer the released cut better. You get also get around twenty mintues of behind the scenes footage, an original trailer for the film, as well as one for Bishow’s other horror venture, and lastly you get a music video he made.
The Soultangler is certainly a distinctive & at times bizarre shot of 80’s horror fare, and big kudos must go for AGFA and Bleeding Skull for putting out such a grand edition of this odd rarity. Let's hope there are plans afoot for them to do more joint releases, as there are so many weird & wonderful horror films still languishing un-released from the 70’s & the 80’s.