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House on the Edge of the Park / Last House on Massacre Street - Blu-ray Review

Movie Review

5 beersDecapitated chicken heads, neurotic brides, and a creepy killer who is handy at fixing cars, soaping up babes in the shower, and slitting throats. Sounds like a damn good Friday night film pairing to me. With this release from Code Red the 70’s drive-in twofer continues!

Last House on Massacre Street, also known as The Bride, gets the murder mood started off right with a swift kick to the seat of the pants for every man in the audience.   I swear this low budget horror flick is a commentary on marriage. In it, David (Arthur Roberts) is found, on his wedding day, kissing another woman. Yeah, he’s an idiot but the consequence of his deceit is swift and quite ironic.

Anyway, Barbara (Robin Strasser, who turns in a damn good performance here), his new wife, discovers him and his secret and completely loses her shit. There is a pair of scissors nearby and, yes, they end up in his arm. She walks back out of the house with a blood red stain on her wedding dress and then, after stopping the party with all the stares she’s getting, destroys the wedding cake.

And then she disappears into the architecturally strange house she built for herself and her husband.

David and the other woman (Iva Jean Saraceni), in the following weeks, move in together and try to settle into a normal life. Except David is still married to Barbara and no one, not even Daddy Dearest (John Beal), knows where she has run off to (but we do). And, as people go missing and her father warns David of her bizarre penchant for killing the things she love, David’s return to the house will be for all eternity.  

After a 20-minute intermission, complete with trailers and concession advertisements, the kills continue with David A. Hess (The Last House on the Left) and Giovanni Lombardo Radice in House on the Edge of the Park, a Video Nasty that is presented uncut and absolutely demented.  This Italian exploitation flick features a weird set-up as a group of yuppies, out for cheap thrills, con two lowlifes into the their large villa for a night of entertainment.

But the tables are turned on these mean-spirited rich assholes, as the two guys they wrangled into their spacious house aren’t the most stable. One is a serial killer – who we saw in action at the beginning of the movie when he forced a female driver off the road and then proceeded to have his way with her – and the other is socially awkward, mostly confused and he seems to take his cues from the serial killer. Ruh-roh! 

Heads will roll.

These films are both good, but – for my tastes – Last House on Massacre Street edges out House on the Edge of the Park for the win. Either way, both films are great in giving you the feeling of the drive-in and what it once so proudly stood for. Let’s hope these releases keep coming. This series is filled with a lot of retro-themed cinematic goodness.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

House on the Edge of the Park / Last House on Massacre Street - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Code Red
Available on Blu-ray - March 6, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: House on the Edge of the Park - Digitally Mastered Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Last House on Massacre Street and House on the Edge of the Park are presented with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Last House has been scanned and restored from the best possible source. There are still damages to the print that the new scan can’t fix, but this film looks all sorts of great on Blu-Ray. There’s certainly more detail, even if the colors are a bit inconsistent. While there is nothing wrong with the HD transfer of House on the Edge of the Park, the edges through the shadows might disappoint fans. Overall, it looks great. The sound is presented in a Digitally Mastered Mono soundtrack.

Supplements:

Commentary:

None

Special Features:

You get to watch these films separately or in Drive-In Mode. Choose wisely.

Drive-In Theater Mode

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House on the Edge of the Park (1980) - Movie Trailer

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House on the Edge of the Park / Last House on Massacre Street - Blu-ray Review

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