Extreme Jukebox Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

Extreme Jukebox Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 27, 2015

“Extreme Jukebox” is an Italian production that’s positively in love with horror movies. The feature has comedic aspects reminiscent of a Troma production (the effort’s U.S. distributor), but screenwriters Alberto Bogo (who also directs) and Andrea Lionetti sample from a wide range of influences, with their passion obvious throughout the 80 minute picture. Ambition gets “Extreme Jukebox” only so far, with genuine production polish lacking as it conducts scary business, finding Bogo a lackluster helmer with limited ideas for fright sequences, while the story itself is a confusing jumble of characters and references that grows tiresome long before the endeavor has a chance to sort itself out.

In the town of Nova Springs, trouble is brewing. Superstar rocker Jessie Cake (Alessio Cherubini) is obsessed with the work of 1980’s pop star David Crystal (Maurizio Lastrico), who went missing decades ago. Making a pilgrimage to his remote home, Jessie and girlfriend Chloe (Elisabeth Loi) discover a secret recording containing an evil spell that awakens the Naughty Rocky Boy killer for seven days, unleashing pure evil on the innocents of Italy. While the temptation to possess such a recording is nearly impossible to resist, bodies soon begin to pile up around town, requiring assistance from Father Zappa (Pino Scotto), a man of the cloth who teams with Jessie to destroy Naughty Rocky Boy before the week is up.

“Extreme Jukebox” establishes its satiric intentions from the opening scene, following a young track runner as she completes her training regiment for the evening, soon chased by Naughty Rocky Boy, who has to negotiate hurdles to catch his prey. Once pinned to the ground, the victim is force-fed a microphone, awkwardly squeezing in a reference to the music world theme the production is intent on sustaining. It’s silly and gory, yet Bogo doesn’t exactly have a tight game plan for his feature, only vaguely defining the story and characters as he concentrates on superfluous business, including the use of a jukebox display to break down the movie into chapters, and often disparate ones at that. Clearly, there’s some form of vision at play here, but “Extreme Jukebox” is poorly put together, often leading with ideas instead of consistency.

Naughty Rocky Boy is a behemoth in black, wearing a clown-esque mask with a protruding red tongue, emerging from the earth when the music calls him, eager to slaughter victims with musical instruments including a cymbal, drumsticks, and an ax that’s shaped like a guitar. Impossibly, he’s not the only masked killed in the feature. “Extreme Jukebox” also details the wrath of the “Killer of the Woods,” a more mythical murderer who also preys on the weak. It’s a juggling act of focus and tone that’s beyond Bogo’s abilities, confusing the true driving force of fear that should dominate “Extreme Jukebox.” It can be a confused movie at times, especially when it never settles on an actual enemy to topple, rendering the effort indecisive despite its excitement to showcase violent bloodshed, comedic or otherwise.

There’s a routine of stalking and killing in “Extreme Jukebox,” flavored with bits of oddity from Jessie’s adventures in the rock world and Chloe’s visits to the dream world, where she meets with Crystal to learn more about the cursed recording. Absurdity is everywhere here, watching one record collector be folded up into a square and sealed in cellophane to preserve his “value” by the killer, and the picture’s “hosts” are two aging punkers in a record store bantering about their likes and dislikes, providing commentary for nothing in particular. Additional music-inspired visual gags arrive with a detective investigating a murder scene while munching on “Pop Korn” (the actor always points the label to camera, just to make sure everyone has a chance to enjoy the wordplay) and there’s the casting of Scotto, a veteran heavy metal singer ironically (?) playing a man of virtue here.

Extreme Jukebox Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot with a high-end DSLR camera, "Extreme Jukebox" retains a highly digital look, preserved adequately during the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. The picture is very crisp, bright, and clean, and supplies adequate detail, capturing facial creases and reaction, and monstrous props and particulars are open for inspection, extending to gore zone visits and ghoulish costuming. Colors are exaggerated and askew but passable, focusing on primaries and a few psychedelic hues for dream sequences. Delineation isn't strong, with blacks solidified throughout the viewing experience. Macroblocking and banding are detected as well.

Extreme Jukebox Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound mix tries to make the best out of a limited situation, setting a musical mood early on with soundtrack cuts that aren't especially powerful, but they retain instrumentation, finding some sense of definition along the way. Dialogue exchanges are crisp, establishing performance quirks and extremities. Atmospherics are broad but alert, while sound effects are expectedly squishy and loud.

Extreme Jukebox Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Intro (1:53, HD) showcases the band Toxie and the Mop Boys, featuring Lloyd Kaufman on clarinet. The Tromaville Mayor welcomes viewers to the Blu-ray of "Extreme Jukebox," claiming it to be "lovingly recreated" for its HD debut, whatever that means.

• "Inside 'Extreme Jukebox'" (53:43, HD) is a thorough making-of documentary from director Alberto Bogo and writer Andrea Lionetti, who walk viewers through the picture's development process and creative ambitions, while also focusing on elements of the production, including music and acting. Bogo and Lionetti are enthusiastic and informative, and extensive BTS footage supplies a greater understanding of the movie's obvious limitations. And, for those out there wondering why such a junky European offering doesn't include any nudity, Bogo provides an answer.

• Photo Gallery (1:22) collects stills from a promotional shoot, featuring models in various stages of distress as Naughty Rocky Boy comes in for the kill.

• "Rainbow Projects" (3:03, SD) is a brief video highlighting poverty in Guatemala, detailing a charity project run by one of "Extreme Jukebox" cast members.

• "It Gets Better" (1:36, SD) is a parody PSA on bullying featuring Kaufman yelling at his bumbling crew.

• "Ice Bucket Challenge" (2:26, HD) finds Kaufman refusing to be doused with cold water, preferring to be hit with two buckets of baseballs, concluding the event by kicking a Troma intern in the testicles.

• "Radiation March" (:56, SD) is a short dance piece concerning the dangers of pollution.

• "The American Cinematheque Honors 40 Years of Troma" (2:03, SD) is a montage of company achievements, scored to song by Motorhead.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:29, HD) is included.

Extreme Jukebox Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Extreme Jukebox" is a no-budget production and Bogo gets a lot of mileage out of outdoor locations and his actors, who are all willing to please. There's a stage performance as well, watching Jessie work his day job as a rock singer -- a sequence that helps to pad the picture, not necessarily add to it. "Extreme Jukebox" lives up to its title as an effort of standalone tracks often presented without comment or reason, with sheer enthusiasm expected to cover for an absence of directorial planning.