In late 1978, independent filmmakers, Dusty Nelson, John Harrison and Pasquale Buba with a budget of $55,000.00 made their film, Effects. The cast and crew was composed of mainly local talent as well as some roles being filled by the effects team and filmmaking team. Directed by Dusty Nelson and starring, John Harrison (Lacey Bickle), Susan Chapek (Celeste), Joseph Pilato (Dominic), Bernard McKenna (Barney), Debra Gordon (Rita), Tom Savini (who also did the special effects) (Nicky), Charles Hoyes (Lobo) and Blay Bahnsen (Scratch). By 1979, the film was ready for it's theatrical release, but a bad distribution deal saw Effects limited to only a few film festivals with no theatrical release or home video release, the film remained virtually unseen for over twenty-five years.

Director Lacey Bickel (Harrison) has gathered a small cast and crew to make a low-budget horror film. Included in the crew is Dominic (Joe Pilato), who is a special effects specialist and cinematographer and assistant director Celeste (Chapek). One evening, Dominic and Lacey, along with a couple of crew members are sitting around discussing the film at hand, when Dominic is introduced to cocaine by Bickel and the boys. Bickle soon pulls out an 8mm film which shows a topless woman being butchered, onscreen. Dominic is horrified by what he's seen, but Bickel quickly laughs it off as the magic of special effects. Dominic isn't so easily convinced that what he's witnessed is all film magic and it's not long before those concerns are realized. It seems director Bickel has employed a second crew, to secretly film the cast and crew in private moments and it isn't long before they plan on filming scenes far more horrific and realistic than those being done for the 'horror film'.

Effects was shot on 16mm film and is presented here in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1), so while the film has a grainy appearance, overall, it looks very nice, especially given the age, but I would suppose that the limited showings of the original prints may have actually saved the film for it's DVD release. Audio for the disc is offered in English mono 2.0, but that isn't an issue at all. While the film hasn't been seen in over twenty-five years, the bonus features included on the disc make for some great viewing as well and include:

-Commentary Track with Director Dusty Nelson, Actor/Producer John Harrison and Editor Pasquale Buba.

-AfterEffects-The Making of Effects and Pittsburgh Filmmaking in the 70s. This is a wonderful informative piece that includes a reunion of sorts of the cast and crew as well as George A. Romero that is filmed in both Los Angeles California and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and covers the efforts it took to produce, Effects.

-Ubu-A Short Film Based on a Play by Alfred Jerry and Adapted and Directed by John Harrison (1974)

-Beastie-A Short Film Written and Directed by Dusty Nelson (1974)

-Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery

I'd only ever heard of, Effects in passing and since the film was virtually unseen for twenty-five years, I'd never talked to anyone who'd seen the film, so going into the viewing, I had no idea what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised by the film.....sure, it is kind of over-the-top at times with some novice acting, but in the end, it may also be part of the charm for a film like this. I found the story to be quite fascinating and the film explored this idea quite well, in my way of thinking. The effects as with any Tom Savini effort is always very good and the pacing of the film, while slightly slow in the beginning, moves along nicely as it goes along. I listened to the commentary track and watched the featurette, AfterEffects and found both to be highly entertaining. Nelson, Harrison and Buba made the commentary fun and interesting and the technical aspects they covered weren't discussed in such terms that a novice like myself was totally lost. AfterEffects was great fun, as the participants were gathered in a very casual setting and came across as relaxed and seemed to enjoy discussing the film and how they became involved with the film. I always get a kick out of seeing cast members that may not still be in the public eye and how much they have changed over the years. While the disc I viewed was a rental, I'd definitely like to see this in my collection, it certainly has replay value for me. 

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