Home Grown Horrors: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Home Grown Horrors: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 9, 2024

Vinegar Syndrome returns with “Home Grown Horrors: Volume 3,” looking to celebrate the wonders of low-budget regional filmmaking with the release of 1986’s “Revenge,” 1987’s “Deadly Love,” and 1991’s “HauntedWeen.”

Click here for a review of Revenge

Click here for a review of Deadly Love

Click here for a review of HauntedWeen

Home Grown Horrors: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

See above for reviews.

Home Grown Horrors: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

See above for reviews.

Home Grown Horrors: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Revenge

• Commentary #1 features producer Linda Lewis and film historian John Wooley.

• Commentary #2 features director Christopher Lewis, producer Linda Lewis, and composer Rod Slade.

• "Working Her Guts Out" (15:07, HD) is an interview with actress Andrea DeLesDernier, who was originally employed on 1985's "The Ripper," receiving an opportunity to spend a single day on "Revenge," shocked to be working on a film-based production. She wasn't offered a full script, challenging her to form a character, and she found happiness in the violence presented with the part. The interviewee recalls her time on the set, including some risky moves from cinematographer Steve McWilliams, and her experience with post-production, learning to loop with the best of the best. DeLesDernier discusses some of her others endeavors, including 1987's "Blood Lake" and "Slaughterville," and she details her post "Revenge" life, joining the world of music.

• "Back for More" (8:47, HD) is an interview with producer Linda Lewis, who endeavored to build on the success of "The Ripper" and "Blood Cult," while director Christopher Lewis wanted a "name" to help sell the feature, settling on John Wayne's son, Patrick Wayne, and John Carradine. Tripling the budget from the last movie, production began on "Revenge," with Lewis determined to shoot on film for "legitimacy." Lewis details actor demands and excitement in Tulsa, who flipped for Wayne, causing a commotion. Gore zone efforts are examined, with the production inching its way into more graphic content.

• "Revenge is Sweet" (4:17, HD) is an interview with VCI president Bob Blair, who's also the son of producer Bill F. Blair. The interviewee tracks the development of the home video industry in the 1980s, inspiring the production to push harder for a more polished product, including to move to film. Blair lists "Revenge" as his personal favorite of the Lewis oeuvre, and he shares his pride in VCI's position as an early industry leader.

• Archival Making-Of (4:46, SD) is a short but interesting look at the creation of "Revenge," merging cast and crew interviews with BTS footage. The focus of the featurette is on the rise of home video industry and the use of film to elevate the low-budget appearance of the picture.

• Image Gallery (3:06) collects BTS snaps and film stills.

• And a Trailer (1:47, SD) is included.

Deadly Love

• Commentary features editor John Strysik and composer/sound recordist Charles Binckley.

• "The Great Times We Had"(25:57, HD) is an interview with actress Kelly O'Rourke (credited as "Eileen Hart"), daughter of writer/director Michael S. O'Rourke, and she details her experience with her dad, who moved his family to Los Angeles when Kelly was very young. The interviewee shares her memories of "Deadly Love," endeavoring to learn more about acting as she worked to perfect her hair for the shoot. She provides some thoughts on the locations, digging into the details of a speedy production working with little money and resources. The interviewee also highlights a reshot ending completed months later, when the movie ran too short. The conversation turns to 1989's "Moonstalker," giving O'Rourke another chance to prove himself in horror, and the helmer eventually transitioned to becoming an author, finding some success in the literary realm. Kelly also dived into writing, even creating YA "Halloween" books in the 1990s.

• "Here's the Equipment, Figure it Out" (18:52, HD) is an interview with composer/sound recordist Charles Binckley, who arrived on "Deadly Love" with minimal experience in the world of filmmaking. Already friends with editor John Strysik and writer/director Michael S. O'Rourke, the interviewee learned on the go, turning to his home synthesizers to create the musical atmosphere for "Deadly Love." Binckley offers some personal history, developing a love of instruments, managing to sharpen his skills, which were put to the test on a few early projects. The production experience is recalled, exposing Binckley to how labor-intensive his job was, getting into some of the technical challenges he faced, especially when recording soundtrack selections. Reflecting on the finished project, the interviewee is candid about his limitations and his ambitions.

• "Deadly Cuts" (15:18, HD) is an interview with editor John Strysik, who developed his tastes in film school, putting his education to the test by making short films in Chicago. Eventually working his way to L.A. in 1983, he met Michael S. O'Rourke, combining forces to compete in the home video market with "Deadly Love." Memories from the shoot are shared, with plenty of creative and technical challenges for the team, and some talk of casting is offered, with Buddy Reynolds, related to Burt Reynolds, hired to have a "name" actor. The interviewee shares a few other career achievements, including a screenwriting credit on Stuart Gordon's "Stuck."

• Original Score (67:14) is offered.

• "Forever" (4:20) is audio of the theme song from "Deadly Love."

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

HauntedWeen

• Commentary features The Hysteria Continues.

• "HauntedWeen" (85:10, SD) is a re-edited version of the film, prepared for its 20th anniversary DVD release.

• Commentary features director Doug Robertson and producer/cinematographer/editor Cory Lash.

• "Capturing the Horrors" (30:42, HD) is an interview with producer/cinematographer/editor Cory Lash, who was a film student at Penn State University, working his way into a local news station for experience. Meeting writer/director Doug Robertson, Lash was pulled into the production of "HauntedWeen," working with an extremely tight budget that only permitted two takes for the actors, putting pressure on them to perform. Shooting in Kentucky, Lash and Robertson formed a partnership, handling script changes and casting, and technical challenges are identified as the production elected to shoot on film. Locations are recalled, working with older buildings, and the interviewee analyzes tricks and planning used to capture specific shots. Work from special effects artist Dave Snyder is celebrated, and Lash shares a lengthy anecdote about a mishap involving a fiery van.

• "Say Cheese and Die!" (20:22, HD) is an interview with first camera assistant Michael Reff, who managed to make his entrance into moviemaking on "HauntedWeen," joining writer/director Doug Robertson and producer/cinematographer/editor Cory Lash on the production adventure. Reff details his friendship with Robertson, meeting him in college, responding to his "hustler" ways and creative spark. The interviewees the particulars of his position, comfortable working with film, and he shares memories from the shoot and locations, pointing out technical highlights. He also identifies some "danger" involving a flamethrower and a bad angle. Reff shares his initial reaction to the feature and the influence of "HauntedWeen" on his career, building a future for himself in television.

• "All Hallow's Eve" (19:27, HD) is an interview with production assistant Emory Schroeter, who offers memoires and tracks the early career of his brother, writer/director Doug Robertson (who passed away in 2020). After spending a little time in Los Angeles, Robertson returned to his home state of Kentucky ready to begin work on "HauntedWeen." Exploring "the funnest summer job he never got paid for," Schroeter recalls the production experience, which moved quickly around the Bowling Green area, pointing out his participation in front of the camera. Anecdotes are shared about a potential meal time disaster and trouble with an exploding van, and the interviewee displays some merch and t-shirts from the picture.

• Making Of (45:36, SD) is a look at the creation of "HauntedWeen," featuring on-set interviews with cast and crew and BTS footage of the production in motion.

• Image Gallery #1 (6:50) collects BTS snaps.

• Image Gallery #2 (1:39) collects BTS snaps.

• And a Trailer (2:44, HD) is included.

Home Grown Horrors: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vinegar Syndrome supplies excellent A/V options for these obscure titles, also providing terrific supplements to fully understand the creative drive behind these oddball productions and their quest to deliver horror to the video store generation.