If the news that there won’t be another Sex and the City movie hit you hard, it’s time to cheer up as Arrow Video have your Charlotte fix on it’s way with their Blu-ray release of Doom Asylum. With lashings of gore and more than a few macabre chuckles, this is one of the most entertaining slashers of the 1980s - and that’s saying something.
If you thought Sex and the City 2 was a stomach-churner, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Long before playing one of Carrie Bradshaw’s best gal pals, actress Kristin Davis found herself up against an altogether different kind of horror in 1987’s Doom Asylum: a riotous mix of gore, gags and goth girl groups galore!
When a group of horny teens wind up on the grounds of a creepy abandoned asylum, they think they’ve found the perfect place to party. Little do they know that inside the building’s crumbling walls lurks a freakishly deformed maniac, driven to madness by the tragic loss of his fiancée in a car accident. With an array of grisly surgical tools at his disposal, it’s only a matter of time before the youngsters begin meeting various splattery ends at the hands of the ghoulish Coroner. Helmed by director Richard Friedman (Scared Stiff and Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge), and also starring Penthouse Pet of the Year 1988 Patty Mullen (Frankenhooker), Doom Asylum combines outlandish gore and a wise-cracking villain to create one of the most wildly entertainingly blood-spattered slashers of the late ’80s.
When a group of horny teens wind up on the grounds of a creepy abandoned asylum, they think they’ve found the perfect place to party. Little do they know that inside the building’s crumbling walls lurks a freakishly deformed maniac, driven to madness by the tragic loss of his fiancée in a car accident. With an array of grisly surgical tools at his disposal, it’s only a matter of time before the youngsters begin meeting various splattery ends at the hands of the ghoulish Coroner. Helmed by director Richard Friedman (Scared Stiff and Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge), and also starring Penthouse Pet of the Year 1988 Patty Mullen (Frankenhooker), Doom Asylum combines outlandish gore and a wise-cracking villain to create one of the most wildly entertainingly blood-spattered slashers of the late ’80s.
Horror-comedies are somewhat ten-a-penny but they so often get the balance completely wrong. They either go too funny and nullify the scares, or too scary so the laughs seem misplaced. Doom Asylum, hailing from 1987, however, gets the balance spot-on with lots of gross-out splatter combined with hilarious wise-cracks from serial killer, the Coroner.
Doom Asylum, as all good 1980s horrors should, also has perfect trash casting (in the best possible sense, of course)! As well as marking Kristin Davis’s movie debut a good 11 years before Sex and the City first premiered. The film also stars Penthouse Pet of the Year 1988, Patty Mullen, and Playboy centrefold, Ruth Collins. Now, just try to imagine Charlotte’s face if she were to hear about this…
For those who’ve only ever seen Doom Asylum on a grainy VHS, this Arrow Video release is a real treat. It includes a brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative, two brand new audio commentaries, plus a selection of new and archival interviews. First pressings also come with a brand new, fully-illustrated collector’s booklet. So, sit back, relax and enjoy some good old 80s splatter like never before.
SPECIAL FEATURES
First pressing only: Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Amanda Reyes
-Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative
-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
-1.85:1 and 1.33:1 versions of the feature
-Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
-Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Brand new audio commentary with screenwriter Rick Marx
-Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
-Tina’s Terror, a brand new interview with actress Ruth Collins
-Movie Madhouse, a brand new interview with director of photography Larry Revene
-Morgues & Mayhem, a brand new interview with special make-up effects creator Vincent J. Guastini
-Archival Interviews with producer Alexander W. Kogan, Jr., director Richard Friedman and production manager Bill Tasgal
-Still Gallery
-Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourne
-Archival Interviews with producer Alexander W. Kogan, Jr., director Richard Friedman and production manager Bill Tasgal
-Still Gallery
-Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourne
Pre-order the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk
