HORROR DVD/BLU-RAY REVIEWS

From Dustin Mills (intrepid director of hits like Bath Salt Zombies) comes Night of the Tentacles. Dave's a down-on-his luck graphic designer who recently survived a heart attack. Naturally, he makes a deal with the devil to get a new heart so he can live longer and pursue the love of his life. Of course, Dave's heart doesn't sit in HIS chest, but A chest..on his table. Yeah, it has four killer tentacles, speaks in a british accent and naturally feeds on at least two humans a week to be kept happy. Can Dave overcome the odds?

Ya know what? These sorts of over-the-top movies aren't usually my thing because I tend to find they overstay their welcome after about ten minutes. I feel like so many young horror filmmakers don't really understand how to use comedy effectively when making silly homage/creature feature styled horror flicks. And to be totally honest, it's not like Night of the Tentacle is going to totally change my opinion about this style of movie but at least this one's entertaining and done in the right vein.

Clearly taking its influence from Frank Hennenlotter (the guy who did the Basket Case movies, among others) and even some Rocky Horror or Little Shop of Horrors, this twisted little love story is almost guaranteed to please fans of the latter. If you like your horror love stories to be twisted, crude and bloody with an extra spoonful of bizarre, you're going to love Night of the tentacles. Just to give you an idea of what you're getting into, this movie opens with a furious double masturbation scene. No fooling.

I must also give some props to Dustin Mills and his crew for pulling off some decent effects. Yes, this movie was made for next to nothing and it won't blow you away. However, the effects are respectable and it's clear that some work went in to them, so bravo on that. On top of that, the death scenes tend to be insane and way, way over the top. The demise of the evil bitch neighbor character is particularly memorable and the flick hardly lets up after that.. Night of the Tentacle certainly delivers on the nasty front. Sure, not every effect is a winner (is the creature a kitchen appliance? it's hard to tell), but the goods are delivered.

Ultimately, whether or not you enjoy a film like this is really up to your taste in horror movies. There's nothing scary about this bizarre and absurd romp through hell and back, but there's plenty to laugh at, if you don't mind lots of anal sex references, farts, masturbation and acting that ranges from horrible to pretty okay (for the most part, our lead Brandon Salkil is solid, if not a bit much in a few scenes), then you'll be able to have a decent time with Night of the Tentacle.

Video comes in 1.33:1 widescreen and isn't exactly beautiful. Serviceable, but nothing to show off your new TV with. A little blurry and fairly unimpressive.

I couldn't find audio specs, but this one seemed to be Dolby 2.0. This may not be a final copy of the movie so I won't judge too harshly, but this is a serviceable presentation.

The only extra feature is a Director's Commentary with Dustin Mills. He's very soft spoken and intelligent, with lots of tidbits about his influences and the technical side of the film. Not the most riveting listen, but different from what you'd expect, in a good way.

There are also trailers for Zombie A-Hole and The Puppet Monster Massacre.

This low budget creature feature deserves some attention if it's your cup of witches brew. It's crude, silly and violent, and if you support indie cinema, do this one a favor and pick it up. Entertaining.