WEASELS RIP MY FLESH 1979 (IMAGE)

It has been about 6 years since I reviewed this and now after finally seeing it again, I have to talk more about it.

There was a time long ago when movies were made on film. Still the best way as far as I am concerned. Nathan Schiff made this Super 8 epic back in 1979 and became somewhat of a cultural icon when he was a senior in high school.

The story revolves around a space probe shot to Venus that returns with samples from the planet. It crashes in a lake near the small town of Baldwin, New York and is discovered by two kids. One of the kids is bitten by a weasel and out of revenge they pour the radioactive substance the found down the weasel hole.

Within a matter of minutes the weasel mutates into a huge monster that quickly devours the children. Thus begins a string of 15 murders, many of which we don't see. A man hits the weasel with his car and tears off a leg which he promptly takes home. He call a friend and while both are at his home talking about the mysterious monster, the leg comes alive and infects the friend who is turned into a frothing, rabid fiend who chops up the other guy and stumbles out of the house never to be seen again.

Two detectives are put on the case and they are kidnapped by a madman who has captured the weasel and plans on making himself immortal and breeding an entire race of the monsters. He experiments on one of the men who is turned into a mutant monster that looks like a zucchini with arms.

Things really get out of hand when the mutant man attacks the scientist and then the huge rodent escapes. The monsters battle, but not before the weasel tears off the scientists' arm. The climax has more going for it than many, many films made today.

The film only runs 63 minutes, so you know it's packed with tons of stuff. Schiff made this film for $400, yet in many ways belies it budget. This was his first effort and it's actually his tamest film gore-wise. Schiff made other films including "They Don't Cut The Grass Anymore" and his most famous film, "Long Island Cannibal Massacre".

Back in the days when I sold VHS tapes, Nathan and I communicated and he bought a few titles from me, but it wasn't until I talked to another friend in Louisiana that I was informed Schiff made horror films.

The disc contains tons of extras. First there is a 30 minute interview with Nathan who discusses his childhood love of monster movies and making his films. He also relates that this film was premiered at his high school and that is something in these pitiful PC times one could never do today.

There are also interviews with two cast members. John Smihula who plays the detective and Fred Borges who plays the mad scientist. These two guys are great to listen to and they talk about the other films they worked on with Nathan as well.

There are also some weird promo trailers for Weasels, Cannibal Massacre and They Don't Cut Grass Anymore. The best extras are the 6 other short films Nathan made. They are "April Morning" a film he made in the 8th grade dealing with British soldiers who marched on Boston in 1775 to destroy a munitions stockpile. "Radik" about a giant killer monster. The title I assume was taken from a character name in the Roger Corman film "Day The World Ended". One of the shots in the film is an exact duplicate of the giant lizard foot crushing a car in "Giant Gila Monster". "Ramond" is about a man who raises snakes to obey his every command. "The Day The Dog Went Insane" is an attempt to mix live action with a claymation monster. "Katherine Khullman Let's It All Hang Out" is a spoof of the infamous televangelist and "Mission Destory" is a cleaver film about an alien invasion. There is also an extensive photo gallery.

All in all a great disc that was turned out by Image in 2003 and shouldn't be missed by anyone. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! WATCH OUT FOR THE KILLER SHARK IN WEASELS!!! Yep, you read that right.