12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 2, 2002 ARTS BRING THE HORROR HOME! 0 'Night of the Living Dead' a classy DVD Interesting makeup does not save poor 'Thirl3een Ghosts' By Jeff Dickerson Daily Arts Editor "It has been established that persons who have recently died have been' returning to life and committing acts of murder." The horrific news echoed by the radio announcer sums up the plot of one of the landmark independent films in motion picture history. George Romero's "Night of the Liv- ing Dead" is one of the most influen- tial films of the past 50 years, yet it cost only $114,000 to produce. The budget of the classic horror film was so miniscule that investors, friends and even a butcher were cast as zom- bies due to the lack of actors. That same butcher also provided animal intestines and blood to use as effects. Even with minimal.financing to back his project, Romero was able to induce fright and terror in the unsus- pecting audience. The legendary hor- ror director's first feature is only surpassed by his sequel, 1978's "Dawn of the Dead." Elite Entertainment has released their feature-laden "Millennium Edi- tion" of "Night of the Living Dead," marking the umpteenth release of the zombie flick on DVD. Until recently, the rights to the film were public, Coming to g meaning any company could produce a DVD of "Night of the Living Dead," original mon which saturated the mar- ket with near identical " releases. Elite Entertain-D ment, a purveyor in the NIGHT OF THE restoration and release LIVING DEAD of horror classics, pur- chased the rights to Picture/Sound: ***** "Night of the Living Film:***** Dead" this year and have Features: **** released the definite ver- sion of the flesh-eating- Elite Entertainment fright-fest, for now. Never before has "Night of the Liv- laserdisc. TA ing Dead" looked this good. The THX available,o Courtesy of Elite Entertainment et Barbara. She's good eatin'. no track. The crystal clear music score is a perfect complement to the on- screen terror, although at times can be a bit melo- dramatic. Then again this is a zombie movie, not a Victorian drama. The "Millennium Edition" disc includes a wealth of extras, many of which are taken from the original Elite 1993 wo commentary tracks are one an informative track a celebrity recluse who died at age 52 in 1988. He was rarely seen in the pub- lic eye and the interview is a wonder- ful segment revealing his thoughts on the film and his character. Other extras include a short film parody "Night of the Living Bread," a still photo gallery, scenes from the lost Romero film "There's Always Vanilla," an 11-minute interview with actress Judy Ridley, various posters, a collection of props, a text version of the shooting script, a scrapbook, several TV spots and a host of the- atrical trailers. For horror fans, "Night of the Living Dead" is the genesis of the genre that should be savored for its pure thrill and creative brilliance. At 34-years-old, the film looks better than ever thanks to the THX approved tranfer, reason alone to own Elite's new "Millenium Edition" of the zombie masterpiece. By Lyle Henretty Daily Arts Editor When, before the credits, a woman angrily chastises a megalo- maniac-millionaire for playing God, and he spits back "Playing is for children," the seasoned film scholar will often turns off the DVD player and watch the news. When the a millionaire is hunting ghosts and is played by THIL Oscar-winning actor F GHOS Murray Abraham, with all the integrity he Picture/Soun brought to the role of Film: ** Omar in "Scarface," Features:*j the scholar may gri- mace before turning Warne off the DVD. Odds are, though, that the sea- soned film scholar would not be interested in "Thir13en Ghosts," a remake of William Castle's 1960 cheapo-horror fright-fest, especial- ly one produced by the soul-suck- ing production team of Joel Silver, Gilbert Adler and Robert Zemeck- is. Castle, king of the gimmicky Vincent-Price-brand films of the late fifties, was notorious for turn- ing a profit on glossy trash by per- fectly estimating the audience and its desire for scary camp. If the movie wasn't scary enough, Castle R nd: ier remastering from the original 35 mm negatives is astounding considering the film's initial budget. Romero's black and white cinematography has been gloriously restored, highlighting the superb lighting of the film. A nice 5.1 surround sound audio mix is available, but purists will delight in the clean with director Romero and a more nos- talgic commentary track with cast members Bill Hinzmen, Judith O'Dea, Keith Wayne and Kyra Schon, among others. A rare 16-minute-long interview with star Duane Jones is included; the "Night of the Living Dead" actor was a 0 ad . ': F ..4 .. P:/ :o:CEx.Y, } Y4WZ,..,. . . ...Q ' .... MO>,.. ,. 4 ..', . < v.4. ' S Pkata F.'o 4. C 4*'~' ... 9 ry$ .% $ C ?ms a4 q444y #k 5A.3v a "#>' y 3 r .y * . ..."'"4"'...... d444444.'.V.' . 1Y.4 . . . l Sf MR " r ,. 44.h.< . . AplPoras m eritrnhp w rkn:n.neiod fM sinHihPaes trrnRnritnL w Yo cou«rc eve anR all-expenses-paid trip ? i to Nshvlle whre ou'l atenda uivesit proramin he ntetaimentbusnes. Ten ave chnceto ly o Ls Anele an Yelowton Natona Pak o hlp roucethesho. indoutho togetan ntrnsipwihou th hep f yur¢ads fien's ouinat5asercrd4om had electric shock devices implant- ed in the theater seats. For the orig- inal "Ghosts," the specters could only be viewed with special glass- es, that were to be put on when the characters on the screen used their own ocular enhancements. Out on DVD today, the remake keeps the glasses, though it drops the audience participa- tion and any sem- blance of explanation 13EN as to why they pick up 'S DVD the ghosts. "Thir3en Ghosts" is little more : **** than an attempt to res- urrect the profit-turn- * ing "B-movie" camp of the '50s while Bros. updating it in order to appeal to the "hip" modern kids. While thoroughly entertaining on a primal, exploitive level, the high production-value and CGI-enhanced special effects only showcase how bankrupt the film really is. Creepy cardboard castles and guys wearing sheets would have suited just fine. Instead, director Steve Beck sub- stitutes cardboard for glass. Instead of a rich uncle dying and leaving his old castle to his poor, nearly unknown nephew, the rich uncle, Cyrus (Abraham), leaves his giant, moving glass house to his poor, nearly unknown nephew (Tony Shalhoub). The house is made completely of clear glass and steel, and it moves, so exits disappear and stairways change shape. Why someone would want to live (or could get lost) in a house you can see straight through is never clear. The house is quite a spectacle, but not in a good way. Abraham, apparently, had been collecting ghosts that met violent ends with his business partner/pet psychic Dennis (Matthew Lillard), and storing them in glass cages in the basement. They get out, they chase nephew and his children ("American Pie" exchange student Shannon Elizabeth and Alec Roberts, who actually played Elian Gonzalez in a TV movie) around the house. Not much else happens, and it's really hard to get scared when Lillard is in danger, as most people could think of worse things than the annoying actor's grisly demise. The cast also includesEmbeth Davidtz ("Army of Darkness") as the bizarre Kalina, whose life work seems to be freeing enslaved spir- its, with her ACLU-for-the-dead cronies, and musician Rah Digga as a sassy black nanny who's afraid of ghosts (I'm not kidding). Digga and her character are truely offen- sive, with her nanny caring more about her nails and saving her own hide than she does about the kids. Why more critics didn't condemn this aspect of the film goes to show just how quickly "Ghosts" fell off the pop-culture radar. What the film, and the DVD, have going for there are the truly creepy and innovative makeup work by Howard Berger. The ghosts, from the dismembered "Torso" to the violently disfigured "Hammer," are instantly memo- rable and provocative, despite the woefully short screen-time given to each. The DVD contains a "Ghost Files" section, which gives a good look and brief background of each tormented soul, and why Cyrus chose them for his collection. The ghosts are pure horror-film cool, in the real '80s sense. The disc also includes a behind- the-scenes documentary with the how-to guide on make-up and set design, and a few talking-head interviews. A nice addition, but not very in-depth for a film so driven by special effects. A brief (written) description of Castle and a trailer round out the goodies, showing this is more of a rental than a "must-own." The technical specs are fine for a new release, but don't expect to be wowed. Three-dimensional glasses may enhance viewing, but only if you're watching a different film. 0 _;..