Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		1.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Fiend Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 20, 2019

Writer/director Don Dohler has enjoyed cult appreciation for his limited filmography, praised for his fierce independent spirit, finding much of his work captured on his own property, utilizing whatever’s nearby to create sci-fi/horror pictures for nearly three decades (he passed away in 2006). 1978’s “The Alien Factor” gave Dohler a career, solidifying his love for creepy tales of extraterrestrial invasion, with the no-budget endeavor generating attention with B-movie addicts. Dohler follows up his scrappy debut with 1980’s “Fiend,” which, if possible, looks even less produced than his previous effort, literally making the feature in his own basement, trying to stretch a reported $6,000 budget into a suitable chiller. “Fiend” makes “The Alien Factor” looks like a David Lean production, providing only the barest of directorial finesse and production coin. Dohler attempts to shape another tense meeting between worlds with his screenplay, but he’s mostly made a talky endeavor that’s low on scary stuff and personality, spinning its wheels while stuck in the mud pit of lethargic storytelling.

A shrimp-like alien has crossed time and space, ending up in suburban Maryland to find a suitable host in a local graveyard. The creature selects Longfellow (Don Leifert), reanimating the corpse and bringing him to a cul-de-sac to set up shop inside a basement apartment, renting a secretive place next door to couple Gary (Gary Kender) and Marsha (Elaine White). Opening a music shop, Longfellow takes time to teach the violin to students and keep tabs on Frye (George Stover), his lone employee. However, to remain human in appearance, Longfellow requires life essence from unwilling victims, beginning a routine where he searches for an innocent to strangle, collecting their magical spirit to continue his life. While Longfellow tries to keep his weekly feedings out of view, Gary senses something strange about the man, setting out to investigate a string of murders in town, believing the new neighbor to be a threat to the safety of the community.

Dohler offers a little help at the beginning of “Fiend,” offering an explanation of the titular threat, which is an entity that lives inside the dead, using bodies to disguise itself and create all kinds of trouble, requiring feedings of life force to continue its mission. Why such a being would pick suburban Maryland to make a home for itself isn’t clearly defined, but Dohler believes in the cinematic atmosphere of his neighborhood, as most of the action takes place inside his home and around the cul-de-sac, which offers the retro view of children playing with each other outside and neighbors conversing about their day. Longfellow doesn’t fit in with the locals (his display of evil is simple to spot), but Dohler doesn’t seem to care, trying to generate tension with his arrival, as the character is a business owner by day and a serial killer…by day (night shoots are too expensive for this production).

Longfellow is trouble, striving to remain human as a violin teacher and a business owner, but he’s also someone who’s erected an altar to his crimes in the basement, keeping a knife in a box and sliced photos of his victims in plain view. “Fiend” does include many murders, with Longfellow preying on easily overwhelmed locals with his super spaceman grip, and he manages to strangle a child during the picture, with Dohler trying to dilute the absurdity of his movie by sobering it up with pure cruelty. Of course, directorial nuance isn’t really his gift (this is a filmmaker who casts two actors with identical hair, sideburns, and mustaches to play the leading roles), and Dohler is happy to share his shortcomings throughout “Fiend,” which is primarily detailed through banal conversations, including Gary and Marsha, with their dull marital interplay prized most highly by the helmer. Despite some macabre intentions, the effort slows to a crawl quickly, unable to do much with Longfellow’s menace and Gary’s irritability, which turns him into a detective after he spots the neighbor in his true, pre-feeding form. And by detective, I mean a master sleuth who manages to spend time in Longfellow’s incriminating murder corner and doesn’t find anything to be worried about.

Fiend Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The MPEG-2 encoded visual (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation does not provide a restoration of "Fiend." In fact, quite the opposite, with Massacre Video doing next to nothing to clean up the feature for its Blu-ray debut. This is basically just a new scan, lacking clean-up and color refreshing, while the source is in rough shape, with judder, scratches, speckling, and a few chemical blotches detected during the viewing experience. Hues are on the mild side, showing age with slightly faded greenery and house interiors, leaving more pronounced primaries, such as red blood and alien glow, to liven up the palette. Skintones are a tad bloodless but within the realm of natural. Detail reaches as far as the original cinematography allows, offering softness with rare moments of definition, most coming from monster make-up and suburban activity, with a satisfactory level of depth to neighborhood encounters. Costuming also has its moments of texture. Grain is inconsistent throughout. Black levels are a bit milky at times, threatening delineation during shadowy encounters. Granted, this is probably the best "Fiend" is ever going to look on home video, but perhaps some addition care was in order to help it look its best.

Fiend Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound mix could technically qualify as intelligible, but age and production limitations have pulled all definition out of the track. Dialogue exchanges are muffled when they aren't plagued by sibilance issues, keeping conversations, suspicions, and threats dulled for most of the listening event. Scoring brings out genre synth to deliver a creep-out factor to the movie, but there's hardly any noticeable force to the electronic wave, offering little support. Sound effects are minor at best, clouded like the rest of the mix. Hiss and pops carry throughout.

Fiend Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bonus Feature: "Blood Massacre" (73:12, SD), a 1991 film from Don Dohler.

• Commentary features actor George Stover and cinematographer Richard Geiwitz.

• 8MM Shorts from Don Dohler include "Mr. Clay" (12:25), "Pursued" (10:23), "Horrors from the ID" (7:59), and "To Die…Or Not To Die" (7:13).

• "On Fiend" (2:14, SD) is a brief summary of the Dohler production experience, but the featurette doesn't list interviewees and covers random topics.

• Blooper Reel (9:44, SD) includes all kinds of mix-em-ups, including flubbed lines, giggle fits, feline wrangling, and some light dancing.

• Image Gallery (5:42) offers VHS cover art, publicity skills, BTS snaps, newspaper articles, and storyboards.

• A Trailer has not been included.

Fiend Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Fiend" is made up of discussions and prolonged stalking sequences, while Dohler's skill level as a director matches early John Waters, sweating to come up with excitement while having very little ability as a craftsman. "The Alien Factor" was minor work as well, yet it contained some level of ambition to achieve a sense of scale. "Fiend" remains in basements, living rooms, and the woods, while sci-fi elements remain underdeveloped and flashes of horror are mismanaged. Perhaps Dohler's ability to pull anything off for lunch money is impressive, but this effort is feeble at best.