A movie that was shot on video and then went straight to video in the ’80s and hasn’t been released on DVD yet doesn’t exactly pique my interest, but slasher enthusiasts will be excited to learn that 1983’s SLEDGEHAMMER is coming to DVD for the first time ever.
The slasher, written and directed by David A. Prior, is scheduled to hit shelves on May 11 from Intervision Picture Corp. The cover art can be viewed below. Here’s the humorous product description:
Have you ever stuffed an entire sandwich into your mouth? Have you ever poured a bottle of alcohol over your head? Furthermore, have you ever been stalked by an unending evil in the claustrophobic confines of a righteously depressing haunted condo? In slow motion? No? Then welcome to SLEDGEHAMMER! Heralding the revolutionary roar of shot on video (SOV) horror at the dawn of the 1980s, SLEDGEHAMMER is the gore-soaked saga of seven party animals, their trip to a haunted house, and their ensuing battle with an ultra-creepy, flannel-wearing, sledgehammer-wielding behemoth. In other words, it’s everything you want out of a SOV slasher complete with Bill Murray impersonations!
Helmed by writer-director David A. Prior (KILLER WORKOUT, DEADLY PREY) and starring Ted Prior, David’s iconic trash-superstar sibling, SLEDGEHAMMER is SOV nirvana, a paradoxical wonderland of outrageous hilarity, cool sweatpants, and genuinely unsettling chills. Appropriately staking its claim as the very first SOV horror film produced implicitly for the home video market, SLEDGEHAMMER joins BOARDINGHOUSE, BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL, and VIDEO VIOLENCE 2 as a bona fide cornerstone in grungy, homemade horror. The synths are thick. The sex is weird. The food fight is superb. So what are you waiting for? Get PRIOR-itized! NOW!
Special features on the disc will include a commentary with director David A. Prior, commentary with BleedingSkull creators Dan Budnik and Joseph Ziemba, interview with David Prior, Sledgehammerland featurette with Cinefamily programmers Hadrian Belove and Tom Fitzgerald, Hammertime! featurette with Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson and trailers
Pre-order SLEDGEHAMMER on DVD HERE.