The release appears on Intervision, with is a sub-label of Severin Films, releasing ultra obscure & SOV films from the past- taking in horror, sci-fi, soft-core, and comedy films. Both films come on a single disc, and really it doesn’t seem as if too much has been done with them in the re-mastering department, which mostly adds to films charm & give one that retro VHS feel.

First up we have Dream Stalker- this is from 1991, and as its title might suggest it’s more than a little influenced by Mr. Freddy Kruger & the Nightmare on Elm Street films.  The film was directed Christopher Mills, and this was his one & only film directorial credit. Though since the early 2000’s, he has gone onto to have nearing 50 credits in sound department, which is a way is kind of ironic- as the sound, and in particular, the dialogue recording on this film is really bad.  Anyway, the film focuses in on  Kitty - who’s an inspiring model, and her mullet wearing boyfriend Ricky- who’s a motocross rider.  After a short time of seeming bliss between the pair- which takes in smooching in a hot tub,   & him taking her out to the dinner and buying her this truly tacky & hideous sliver clown music-box. Ricky has a serious crash and is burned alive.  Some two years after his death he starts visiting Kitty- mostly at night-time when she’s asleep. The clown ornament flashers with bad post effects and he appears with fairly effective burn make-up on his face, through his mullet remains untouched by the flames.  He starts taking out vengeance on people who have wronged Kitty, and we get a few (darkly lit) though amusing attacks/ deaths. The film features some cringe inducing quips from the burnt-up Ricky,  a passable soundtrack that often wholesale rips off the lead theme from Phantasm, and one or two bits of gore. Of the two films here I’d say it’s the least original, but it’ll certainly causes a few more chuckles than the second film.

The second film is 1990’s Death by Love- which I guess is best described as a blend of thriller, soft-core & horror. The film was directed, written, produced, and stars middle aged Texas building contractor Alan Grant- who plays Joel Frank a  slightly bolding, yet decidedly virile sculptor. Each of Joel’s lovers lands up dying from having their blood drained- is the killer Joel’s devil worshipping friend, an unrelated psycho, or is it the work of some more monstrous. The film starts off extremely campy & soapy- with really cheesy & happy sounding keyboard sound-tracking, tacky couple montages, and rather overtly clichéd cops. But as it goes on it does really pull you in- this is down to a few factors- firstly Mr Grant, who really isn’t a  bad actor at tall, and he works well as the slightly arrogant-yet- likable sculpture. Next, the pace of the whole thing is fairly well balanced, the soundtrack does improve(though we do get returns of the cheesy cues), and the film features a fairly surprising twist. And lastly, we get a selection of bad-lit & funny soft-core scenes that really lack any form of titillation. The horror/ effects elements are fairly sparse in the film- so if you’re looking for that you may be disappointed. But if you’re after a fairly competent SOV with a more thriller type leaning, I think you’ll enjoy what you find here.

Moving on to the disc it’s self & its extras- as mentioned early both films are seemingly left untouched or re-masteted, which is ok for that retro VHS feel, but can be a little annoying in places, particularly on the first film. And one slight criticism I did have was the menus on the DVD- they are not very clear in their layout- using a mix of purple & gray coloring- meaning it was often difficult to see which selection you were on. Extras wise we get a selection of four recent interviews with actors/ cast from both films. Each of these run around the ten to fifteen-minute mark, and for the most part, these are interesting, as we get some nice insights into SOV acting/ production in the 1990’s.

It’s great to see Intervision, and companies like them, releasing these long lost & mostly forgotten slices SOV film-making. And If you’re a fan of the SOV genre, or just enjoy low budget horror/ thrillers this double headed release is well worth picking-up…I’m looking forward to seeing what next Intervision uncover from Video obscurity.