Hard Rock Zombies / Slaughterhouse Rock – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1985 (Hard Rock Zombies), USA, 1987 (Slaughterhouse Rock)
Directors: Krishna Shah (Hard Rock Zombies), Dimitri Logothetis (Slaughterhouse Rock)
Cast: E.J. Curse, Geno Andrews, Sam Mann, Mick McMains, Lisa Toothman, Jennifer Coe, Ted Wells, Jack Bliesener, Richard Vidan, Phil Fondacaro (Hard Rock Zombies), Toni Basil, Nicholas Celozzi, Tom Reilly, Donna Denton, Hope Marie Carlton, Tammy Hyler, Steven Brian Smith, Ty Miller, Al Fleming (Slaughterhouse Rock)

Release Date: March 29th, 2022
Approximate Running Times: 97 Minutes 8 Seconds (Hard Rock Zombies), 85 Minutes 18 Seconds (Slaughterhouse Rock)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English (Both Films)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free (Hard Rock Zombies), Region A (Slaughterhouse Rock)
Retail Price: $44.98

Hard Rock Zombies: "A heavy metal band has been invited to appear in a conservative small town. What they don’t know is that their hosts are in fact a family of horrific and murderous mutants, whose patriarch is none other than Hitler! After being swiftly murdered, Cassie, the only non-violent member of this depraved clan, wills the band back to life. Soon the stuffy townspeople are faced with an unwelcome reckoning as the zombified musicians thrash and maim their way through the community, in the name of grisly revenge…and love!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Slaughterhouse Rock: "Alex, a college student, is being plagued by strange dreams in which a grotesque man commits heinous acts of torture and murder. With the help of his friends, Alex discovers that he has an unexplained telepathic link to a notorious killer who once lived on Alcatraz Island and whose bloodlust extends beyond the grave. When his supernatural experiences begin taking on real life manifestations, Alex and his friends sneak into the abandoned prison to put an end to their reign of terror, only to unwittingly walk into a bloodbath…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5 (Hard Rock Zombies), 4.5/5 (Slaughterhouse Rock)

Here’s the information provided about Hard Rock Zombies' transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from 35mm archival elements."

Hard Rock Zombies comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.9 GB

Feature: 26.4 GB

Though the source used for this transfer is in great shape, it should be noted that the grain looks thick throughout. That said, this is most likely due to the type of film stock used. Colors look good, the image generally looks crisp, and black levels and compression are strong throughout.

Here’s the information provided about Slaughterhouse Rock's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original negative."

Slaughterhouse Rock comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.4 GB

Feature: 23.2 GB

I have not seen Slaughterhouse Rock before, and therefore I cannot comment on how other Blu-ray releases look compared to this transfer. That said, this is another solid transfer from Vinegar Syndrome. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are strong throughout, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 3.75/5 (Hard Rock Zombies), 4.5/5 (Slaughterhouse Rock)

Hard Rock Zombies comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and removable English SDH subtitles. Despite the fact that the audio is clean, clear, and balanced throughout. Things are very limited in terms of range.

Slaughterhouse Rock comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and removable English SDH subtitles. This track is in great shape; the dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for Hard Rock Zombies include an interview with author Lucy Hall titled The Bible of Holy Moses: Watching Hard Rock Zombies Through a Fanatic’s Eye (10 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), an interview with actress Susette Boggs titled From Bit Player to Band Leader (10 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), a featurette with special effects artists Chris Biggs and Everett Burrell titled Popcorn Farts and Low Budget Cheese (21 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles) and a making-of documentary featuring interviews with the following actors: EJ Curse, Sam Mann, Geno Andrews, Mick McMains, Ted Wells, Richard Vidan and David O’Hara titled Never Say Die (66 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles).

Extras for Slaughterhouse Rock include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), an interview with actor Al Fleming titled Lunch Break with Claws (19 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), an interview with actor Nicholas Celozzi titled Wearing the Right Clothes (15 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), an interview with actress Tammy Hyler titled The Girl That Lives (19 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles) and an interview with cinematographer Nicholas Josef von Sternberg titled Low-key Horror (11 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art; the front cover art is Hard Rock Zombies; the inside cover art is Slaughterhouse Rock; and an embossed slipcover limited to 5,000 units.

Summary:

Hard Rock Zombies: Though the 1980s horror film industry is best known for its major studio-backed horror franchises, When it comes to lower-budget horror cinema, there are many examples of adventurous films that threw everything at the wall to see what would stick. Hard Rock Zombies, a film that began life as a twenty-minute segment that was to be part of American Drive-in, another film directed by Krishna Shah.

Content wise, Hard Rock Zombies is best described as a zombie version of Footloose that throws in a murdering family of misfits whose patriarch looks like Hitler. The plot revolves around a rock band who travel to a town called Grand Guignol for their big gig, hoping to be discovered by a record executive. Along the way, they encountered a family of psychopaths and a town whose city council banned rock music because of its effect on the youth. Things then take a wild turn when one of their songs is used by a fan of theirs to resurrect them as zombies.

Everything about Hard Rock Zombies' 1980s, the fashion, the music, and the dialog that some who never lived through the 1980’s are bound to be offended by. For a low-budget film, Hard Rock Zombies does a good job of maximizing its resources. Unfortunately, the result is a film that is truly bad, and your threshold for bad cinema will determine just how much you will enjoy Hard Rock Zombies. 

Slaughterhouse Rock: The one thing you can always count on when it comes to horror cinema are sequels and clone films, if a film is successful financially. A case in point is Slaughterhouse Rock, a film that bears a striking resemblance to one of the 1980’s most iconic horror series, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The narrative revolves around a young man named Alex Gardner, whose dreams are so vivid that it's hard to distinguish between what is real and what is a dream. And when his dreams become progressively worse, to the point where others can see what he sees, he convinces his friends to go with him to confront the source, which is at Alcatraz prison.

Slaughterhouse Rock is best described as a supernatural horror film. All the acts of violence are done by the malevolent spirit of a killer who was put to death at Alcatraz. That said, when it comes to kill sequences, they’re sufficiently gory. And the special effects look good considering the budget limitations.

The performances are best described as serviceable. No performance stands out, which is not surprising since all the characters are one-dimensional caricatures that are staples of the horror genre.

From a production standpoint, the premise is well-executed, and the narrative does a good job of building momentum. Other strengths include the soundtrack, which includes music by Devo, the cinematography looks excellent, and there’s an ample amount of 1980’s raunchy humor. Ultimately, Slaughterhouse Rock is a fun film that gets more right than it does wrong.

This is a solid double feature from Vinegar Syndrome. Both films look and sound great, and both films come with a wealth of extra content, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer