BADass SINema Unearthed - Blu-ray 4K UHD Review

Movie Review

Get forklifted, baby!  Poodle zombies are on the loose!

It’s the damn giggling that always gets me. Mummified children brought to life on a fog-drenched night be terrifying enough for some people, but when they fucking snicker in high-pitched delight as they approach you? Count me out. I’m gone. Some even carry their own doll with them. Hell. No.

Low in budget but rich in Phyllis Diller as a possessed morgue attendent, The Boneyard is every bit the lost cult classic you hope it is. Creepy zombie children run amuck in this B-movie and, with enough atmospheric synths and flesh-shredding gore, this horror flick hits all the right notes with undead hijinks, bad acting, and unintentional hilarity.

Alley Cates (Deborah Rose), who is cursed with unwanted psychic abilities, is called out of retirement by Jersey, her former detective partner (Ed Nelson) who needs her help with a case involving three dead children. This case just smells all sorts of wrong to him. Cates is obviously depressed, wearing ill-fitting clothes and still in bed when the detectives come to her house, yet she knows exactly what needs to be done.

But the owner of the mortuary, who happens to be the prime suspect, Chen (Robert Yun Ju Ahn) suggests these children aren’t what they seem. They are demons and they are hungry. They are also his masters. And he’s on record for saying so. Cates; however, feels something is very interesting about this case. And it all revolves around Chen having access to a lot of protein.

Is Chen telling the truth? There’s only one way to find out and so Cates suggest the she accompanies the detectives to the maze-like mortuary where all the freaks come out at night. And this includes a poodle named Floofsoms and her owner, Miss Poopinplatz (Diller), who have been there since The Boneyard (the mortuary) first opened.

And so they review the dead bodies via security camera thanks to Shep (James Eustermann) as he preps the stiff bodies for their graveside appearance. As fun as this film is, there are sequences in this horror flick that are far too long. Several dull ones that shouldn’t be anything but a minute long yet the camera, unfortunately, stays static, filming the dialogue in one extended take. The set-up takes its time, too, making this one in need of a shorter edit before it goes full on gonzo when the children return to prey upon the living.

This is a truly bi-polar film but in a good way. The first hour is dead-on series and the final part is over the top with hilarity as the three kids, fantastic looking and so very mummified, come out to feast once more. Trust me, when I say that these children are beyond disturbing. And when they take possession of the living, all manner of hell is unleashed. And all of this Cates sees, thanks to her abilities.

One of the highlights in the flick happens when the mortuary workers start slicing into bodies that are still alive. Blood shoots everywhere and the supposed cadaver wakes up screaming. Another is hearing Diller refer to Cates as a fat bitch. Ultimately, the film comes together in a fun and grisly way, including a mutant poodle and a mutant Phyllis Diller. Crazy.  

Cheap, cheesy, and full of some seriously great make-up effects on the monster children, The Boneyard gives Horror Hounds and Gore-Gore Girls something to gnaw upon. It is now available on blu-ray thanks to Code Red’s new HD restoration, with extensive color corrections throughout.

Watch Phyllis Diller get slimed and then turned into a Muppet monster in Code Red’s release of The Boneyard.

Film Details

MPAA Rating: R for zombie violence.
Runtime: 98 mins
Director: James Cummins
Writer: James Cummins
Cast: Ed Nelson, Deborah Rose, Norman Fell
Genre: Horror
Tagline: Dare to Enter. Try to Leave.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Bad dog!"
Theatrical Distributor:
Official Site:
Release Date:
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: April 24, 2018
Synopsis: A policeman (Ed Nelson) and a psychic (Deborah Rose) link cult mayhem to a morgue (run by Norman Fell) where ancient ghouls are on the loose. The film plunges into the nightmarish experiences of a portly, depressed psychic (Deborah Rose), whose involvement in a grisly child-murder case leads her and her detective partner (Ed Nelson) to an imposing, fortress-like mortuary.

Blu-ray Details

Home Video Distributor: Code Red DVD
Available on Blu-ray - April 24, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Code Red and Kino Lorber team up to bring this seldom scene horror cult release with a new HD restoration from the original negative. There have been extensive color corrections completed, too. Black levels are strong and never crush the image and the colors are robust. The release features an Uncompressed LPCM Stereo Soundtrack and is framed in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

Commentary:

There is a good audio commentary with director James Cummins and producer Richard F. Brophy that is included with this release.

Special Features:

Front-loaded with new interviews from Phyllis Diller, James Cummins and Richard Brophy, this release also contains an interview with Producer Phil Smoot and crew members from North Carolina about their memory of the shoot. Reversible sleeve art is included.

Interview with Phyllis Diller

Interview with Director James Cummins and Producer Richard F. Brophy

Interview with Producer Phil Smoot and Crew Members From North Carolina