I don't usually do both movies in one review, but I make the exception here simply because I want to. The first film on this disc is SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED from 1974. Michael Findley directed this little gem which, since I first saw it has always been a personal favorite of mine.
A group of college students make preparations with their teacher to take an expedition into the woods along Hudson Bay to find an elusive Yeti creature that seems to be living in the area. before they leave they attend a party in which one of the people tells a mysterious tale of the last expedition which ended in disaster.
The man leaves the party with his wife and then attempts to slit her throat!! I will get back to this scene later. As the movie progresses the students catch glimpses of what they think is a white yeti monster, and one by one the students are killed, all but one.
This one student, the teachers favorite is kept alive in order that he may join the weird cult of cannibals to which his teacher belongs. Turns out the yeti story is just a ruse to get "fresh meat" for an annual feast.
This film is a wild ride from start to finish. This print from Retromedia does finally have the song "Popcorn" by Hot Butter which is great but the print has a huge splice in it and we actually never get to see the death by toaster scene which is considered a classic.
Other than that, the print is actually the best quality I have seen of this film. Now, lets move onto the co-feature.
The next film on the disc is GARDEN OF THE DEAD from 1972. This is an obscure film that actually played with "GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE" on a double bill back in the day.
The film concerns a group of convicts that sniff fumes from experimental formaldehyde and then attempt an escape, only to be killed by the guards.
They rise from the dead and seek revenge against the guards and the warden. They use garden tools to exact their revenge. I had never heard of this film until a few years ago and that is odd for a film to pass me by from the 70's.
The film is also very short as it runs 58 minutes. I liked the film, and the print from Retromedia is ok. I like the scratches and such as this makes it all the more "real" as far as watching old movies goes. It doesn't look all cleaned up.
It will hold your attention, but there are a few slow spots even in it's brief running time. All in all this was a very good way to spend a few hours, and I would recommend this to any horror fan.
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