All
of us genre lovers know that horror films are a hot commodity. Some of the most well-known slasher films of
the 1980's have been re-issued on DVD and Blu-ray by companies looking to cash in
on audiences' seemingly insatiable appetite for murder and mayhem while also
introducing them to a new generation of fans with disposable income. Two titles that fans are requesting on DVD
and Blu-ray in the way of special editions are Paul Lynch's PROM NIGHT
(1980) and Richard Ciupka's CURTAINS (1983),
both Canadian productions through Simcom, the former having fared far better on
home video than the latter.
PROM
NIGHT was originally released theatrically by Avco Embassy Pictures on July 18,
1980:
When
it came time to releasing the film on home video in 1981, MCA Home Video distributed
it on VHS:
MCA
also released a laserdisc pan-and-scan version on their laser rot-prone
DiscoVision line the same year (curiously, the film bypassed the RCA
Select-A-Vision Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) stylus-based format of the
early 1980's, the direct competitor to laserdisc):
Virgin
Vision, Inc. released it on VHS in 1988 with this less-than-inspiring cover:
The
film fared better when a widescreen laserdisc sourced from a 35mm interpositive
followed in 1997 courtesy of Elite Entertainment, however it still lacks the
high resolution of Blu-ray that contemporary audiences have come to expect:
In
February 1998, Anchor Bay Entertainment released a widescreen DVD that included
the original theatrical trailer (1.85:1 presentation is a must for this title
as a boom mike is clearly visible in several shots in the full frame format, an
issue that also surfaces in Tom DeSimone's HELL NIGHT from 1981). After the rights lapsed, the film was picked
up by Echo Bridge Entertainment and reissued in October 2007, this time
dispensing with said trailer:
Overall,
PROM NIGHT has been released on home video in three different formats no less
than six times in the United States alone.
This number excludes the international, non-Region 1 releases around the
globe. All of six U.S. versions contain
only the film without any additional extras that are practically a requirement
to home video now: running commentaries, on-set interviews, behind-the-scenes
footage, isolated musical scores, comments from contemporaries, stills
galleries, etc.
CURTAINS,
on the other hand, is a thriller that has suffered indignities far too numerous
to list. Plagued from the outset by a
problematic production, the financing ran out and put the cast and crew on
hiatus for over one year.
Much
of the crew was replaced, and despite having been released theatrically on
April 8, 1983 to many respectable movie theaters by the long-defunct Jensen
Farley Pictures, CURTAINS has only appeared on home video twice in the United
States. In December 1983 Vestron Video
released it on VHS:
In
October 2010 Echo Bridge Entertainment released it as part of THE MIDNIGHT
HORROR COLLECTION: BLOODY SLASHERS set which also includes HOBOKEN HOLLOW
(2006), SECRETS OF THE CLOWN (2007), and ROOM 33 (2009). In a maneuver regarded as perfunctory by
those not in the know, CURTAINS appears to be lumped in with these three
contemporary tales for no better reason than to "round out" the other
titles, the original ad slick jettisoned and replaced with an image of a hand
parting a curtain, easily the least inspired artwork used to promote the film:
CURTAINS
was also released in April 2007 by Black Horse Entertainment as a Region 0 DVD
in the NTSC format, which means that it will play on all DVD players worldwide. As with the Echo Bridge Entertainment
release, the original poster artwork was not used. Again, an uninspired makeshift cover image
that fails to accurately represent the film in any way adorns the case:
CURTAINS
can be found at horror film conventions on DVD-R sporting its beautiful and
atmospheric original one-sheet artwork:
However,
the DVD transfer is sourced from the Vestron VHS cassette and is therefore in
dire need of color correction and a 2K/4K high definition upgrade is long
overdue.
PROM
NIGHT has a very creepy score by Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer (the latter scored
a handful of films for Bob Clark, including the classic 1974 film BLACK
CHRISTMAS and was also a musical consultant on "Act II" of CURTAINS). Mr. Zaza also scored CURTAINS, which might
have been a rejected score for PROM NIGHT as several cues that appear in PROM
NIGHT also made their way into CURTAINS.
Mr. Zaza also scored 1981's GHOSTKEEPER,
yet another Canadian horror thriller. The
scores to all of these films are beautifully composed and all deserve
soundtrack album releases.
Director
Ciupka's name was also removed from the credits to CURTAINS and the directing
duties are now attributed to Jonathan Stryker, the name of the director within
the film as played by John Vernon (as well as the pen name of Yours Truly);
whether or not this has any bearing on the lack of a DVD release is a
mystery.
Fans
can ponder why these titles are not available in full-blown special editions,
and there are probably many legitimate reasons why the current DVDs turn up in
Walmart discount bins. The original 35mm
film negatives to each respective film may not be available as the whereabouts
may be in question, or they may no longer even exist; management might feel
that an insufficient number of fans willing to pay for the films exists and
there is a fear of losing money on these titles; both films were made as Canadian
tax
shelter projects and this may also pose a problem. With the glut of far lesser quality horror
thrillers available in beautifully designed special editions, the mind reels as
to why these two films in particular have been marginalized (especially
CURTAINS) and seem to be anathema to the royal treatment.
Echo
Bridge Entertainment, a DVD company that uses the slogan "The
Entertainment Alternative for What the World Wants to See," is now being
approached by fans on an online petition website respectfully asking them to
release the rights for these two films to Scream Factory, the Shout! Factory
subsidiary that is making a name for itself with beautiful deluxe versions of
genre favorites TERROR TRAIN (1980), THE FUNHOUSE (1981), HALLOWEEN II (1981), HALLOWEEN
III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982), and the upcoming DEADLY BLESSING (1981) to
name a few. This company would be an
ideal organization to release these films as their work thus far has proven
that they will spend the time and provide just the proper amount of TLC that
these films deserve.
As
of this writing, the petition has 245 signatures and is looking for a total of
1200, which is not an impossible number to reach. Please click here to
sign the petition on Petition Buzz requesting licensing of PROM NIGHT and CURTAINS!