Directed by: Todd Norris
Distributed by: Visual Vengeance / MVD Entertainment
Today's review is for another film in the Visual Vengeance line, which is a division of Wild Eye Releasing. It looks like most of the Visual Vengeance releases are low budget independent films which can be hit or miss for sure. I'm glad to say that this one was actually quite fun. Here is the basic plot synopsis from the MVD Entertainment website:
Something is haunting the Englewood movie theater - an unseen force that comes alive after dark. Paranormal investigator Kyle Jennings is called in, but the moment he steps inside, the nightmare begins. The theater seals itself shut, the screen tears open like a doorway, and the low budget zombie movie playing suddenly becomes real. With the undead spilling into the aisles, Kyle must uncover the source of the disturbance before the entire theater becomes a feeding ground, and the only clues may be trapped inside the film itself.
Now let me first start by mentioning that this is a low budget film. Like, a really low budget, and it shows. It looks like it was shot on an old video camera from the 80's, although the pic is clear thanks to the new blu-ray transfer. I was surprised to see this film is from 1998, as it felt much older than that. It had a very early 80's look and feel to it. Maybe that is what the filmmakers were going for at the time, or maybe 1998 is just a lot longer ago than I realize! The acting is also subpar for sure, with Director Todd Norris taking the lead role.
That all being said, the movie had a great story and was still fun enough to make me overlook all the aforementioned shortcomings. What I thought was going to be a simple zombie film turned out to be a much more complex film that actually made you think!
While watching a certain zombie film, the main characters are trapped inside the theater and realizes that the film has opened a doorway to where the zombies can come through the screen and into the real world. In order to stop this, Kyle realizes that if the zombies can come out of the film into the real world, then the door should work both ways so that he can go in the door and into the movie! He does this in order to stop the zombie hordes, but realizes that anything he changes in the movie changes the outcome of the real world. It reminded me of the butterfly effect kind of thing, where those that go back in time change the present and future if they change anything. This was a very smart aspect of the plot and was very interesting to see how his actions changed things back at the theater.
Again, don't expect a blockbuster here, but THE PARANORMAL was a fun film that I was glad to have seen.
Once again Visual Vengeance has spared no expense with this release, giving it probably far more than it deserves, if we're being quite honest! It's packaged in a very nice slipcase and contains the following Special Features:
* New Director-supervised transfer from original tape elements
* Commentary with Director Todd Norris
* Commentary with Director Todd Norris and Composer Paul Roberts
* New Cast and Crew Interviews
* The Two Todds: Todd Norris and Todd Sheets Interview
* The Paranormal Channel 5 TV Airing Bumpers
* Blooper Reel
* Deleted Scenes
* Original Script Exerpts
* Storyboard Gallery
* Short Film: The Closet
* Short Film: L...
* Short Film: Night of the Growling
* Short Film: Parallax
* Visual Vengeance Trailer
* Trailers
* Optional English Subtitles
* Folded Mini-Poster with Art by Giorgio Credaro
* Reversible Sleeve Featuring Original VHS Art
* 'Stick Your Own' VHS Sticker Set
* Limited Edition O-Card Featuring Art by Uncle Frank - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
* Limited Edition 'Ghost Finder" Viewer - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
* Limited Edition Promo Flyer for "Z is for Zombie" Movie
* Original Sleeve Art by The Dude
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray












