Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout Blu-ray Movie Review

Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout is an essential slice of old-school sleaze-meets-camp released right at the start of the 90s (and as such it still retains a strong 80s horror vibe). The direct-to-video feature is something that blurred the lines of the camp horror genre. Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout offered genre junkies a unique blend: part workout video but in the form of a classic aerobic exercise spoof video.

Executive produced by David DeCoteau (Sorority Babes in the Dance-A-Thon of Death, Assault of the Party Nerds) and Ruth Landers (Club Fed, California Casanova), Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout is an under- seen genre classic. The direct-to-video special also featured production by Fred Kennamer and associate producer Linnea Quigley (the star of the show). A must-see for any Linnea Quigley fans. If exercising with zombies doesn’t sound fun to you, are you really even a horror fan?

Horror legend Linnea Quigley returns and the genre fun begins with a sumptuous and soap-spud laden shower beginning the video – wait, did you put on the right release? Of course, Quigley wants to be squeaky clean before getting a work-out. Flex those muscles.

Linnea Quigley is the star of an exercise spoof and the video explores her own lasting legacy as an actress – showing clips from some of her most popular and endearing pulp genre classics – alongside new footage of her exercising and leading the way alongside a group of zombies (working out through Zombiecise). Linnea Quigley even accompanies an all-girls slumber party workout (with the workout leading to a slumber party style massacre along the way). Better grab the popcorn but remember to watch out for the knife-carving.

Whether Linnea Quigley is doing a set of sit-ups, leading a zombie dance revolution, or tossing fluffy pillows alongside her girlfriends, Linnea Quigley has an exercise vision one won’t be soon to forget. Nothing is more satisfying than a slumber-party mixed with exercise shenanigans. The only real downside is there isn’t more kinky binding.

Linnea Quigley is the main attraction: the star of the show (as herself). Quigley is joined by her co-stars for a fun Zombiecise experience. Ginger (Cynthia Garris), Dee Dee (Amy Hunt), Missy (Victoria Nesbitt), and Bambi (Kristine Seeley) don’t want to miss out on the fun. The real action is arguably at the slumber party. The girls just want to have fun. Yet the exercising wouldn’t be quite the same without the help of Ginger, who plays a big role in the exercising fun.

Dubbed as the “scariest exercise video ever made” and with the promise from Linnea Quigley to give audiences a “workout that you’ll never forget” (interpret as you will – after all, in the opening of the video Quigley herself says to not exercise “that” muscle), Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout is full of exercise fun – including a somewhat lengthy dance session with Quigley helping zombies to get fit.

 Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout is total camp and audiences who enjoy their horror campy and with a dose of good comedy, Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout might just be the perfect antidote for a boring afternoon. The jokes are surprisingly funny and the video is well-paced. The editing by Clayton Woolley (The Girl I Want, Murder Weapon) is surprisingly good for an exercise video-spoof (though some viewers might find the zombie exercise routine in the middle of the video a bit over-long – even the director had this opinion).

The production has a lot of good merit for a direct-to-video horror spoof and this helped to result in a special that has acquired a cult following over the years. The video features impressive special make up effects by Earl Ellis (Carnival of Souls, Return of the Living Dead III) and fun hairstyling by Cindy Warren, who was also one of the makeup artists on the production. Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout also has interesting art direction and costuming by Kathleen Coates (Emperor of the Bronx, Death by Dialogue). Coates knows how to make Quigley look sexy-as-hell with the costuming. Dynamite!

The score composed by John Vulich (Tales from the Darkside) isn’t the best part of Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout but it does have some good music vibes for a direct-to-video special. Vulich is usually known for working in make-up effects (especially on television works including Babylon 5 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Star Linnea Quigley wasn’t a big fan of the score – as she shares in a behind-the-scenes interview on disc. Oh well, can’t win them all!

The cinematography by Michael Seaman (Murder Weapon, Insignificant Other) is surprisingly good for a cheap sleaze-meets-camp horror video. Seaman captures the right essence of horror-and-sexiness in this video. Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout is all the more fun as a result.

The dance choreography by Cynthia Garris is noteworthy. Garris joined in on the fun as one of the slumber party girls. Garris usually worked as an actress and wasn’t originally supposed to appear in Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout but when an actress failed to show up for filming, she went from the choreographer to the split-role of choreographer and co-star (helping out with the routine in the video). A great sport.

Written by Directed by Kenneth J. Hall (Nightmare Sisters, Puppet Master), Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout was released under the alias of Hal Kennedy. Kennedy was afraid to release the film under his own name as he felt it might hurt his career at the time (being a direct-to-video production when he was trying to do more well-known theatrical fare). Nowadays, Hall is proud to take credit for Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout and is pleased with the cult fandom that has developed over the years. Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout is tremendous fun and any camp-horror fan with an appreciation for the great Linnea Quigley should find this to be essential viewing.

Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Terror Vision, Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout features a selection of video presentation options. Terror Vision made sure to include a plethora of options to provide fans with enough good viewing modes to please just about anyone. The default video selection option is an upscaled 720/60p presentation. This is due to the video format of the presentation. This default viewing selection is based on the original master tape and features deinterlacing and scaling using a format that preserves the original intended aesthetic of the presentation

The original Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout masters were on 3M tape. The original tape wasn't in the best condition and Terror Vision worked to restore the materials with Gotham Photochemical in order to restore the presentation and preserve the best image possible. Dirt, mold, and debris were removed from the original tape. Though the picture-quality is excellent for a tape presentation, there are source inherent flaws and the image is not going to be perfect.

There is also a standard-definition (non-upscaled) version option on the disc available in a native 480i presentation. Lastly, the set also includes an upscale enhanced by artificial intelligence. This encode is advertised as an "AI" upscaled presentation for a sharper image. The "AI" upscaled video is presented in 1080i/60 to provide a sharper image. Don't expect perfection with any of these viewing options but the results are surprisingly excellent looking given the source limitations.

Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: uncompressed PCM mono and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound.  The 5.1 audio mix was created using the original master audio tapes. The audio quality is excellent sounding given the source. The quality of the master sounds great. The audio is pleasing with nice dialogue clarity. The score and sound effects are well integrated on the release (without sounding overbearing or harsh). An excellent effort was made to preserve the audio by distributor Terror Vision.

Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a gorgeous looking o-card slipcover with unique art-work. The art sleeve underneath the slipcover features additional key artwork. The clear case also provides some compelling and fun interior art. A well-designed package.

NEW Audio Commentary with Linnea Quigley and Kenneth J. Hall – Moderated by Terror Vision's Brad Henderson

Archival Audio Commentary with Linnea Quigley and Kenneth J. Hall

Fit to Kill: An Interview w/ Linnea Quigley (HD, 8:41) is an exceptional interview with the star of the show and anyone who considers themselves a fan of the actress should make sure to watch this exceptional interview. The interview offers some great insights in to the production.

Cemetery Dance: An Interview w/ Cynthia Garris (HD, 7:22) is an insightful and entertaining interview highlighting the dual role of Garris (working as both a choreographer for the video and taking on an actress's role when someone didn't show up on set during filming).

Sweatin' to the Zombies: An Interview w/ Ken Hall (HD, 12:25) is terrific fun and provides good details about the release and its history. Learning about the legacy of the production makes this a wonderful inclusion to the package.

Archival Making Of (SD, 12:56) is a classic behind-the-scenes with more information covering the history of Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout.

Archival Intro (SD, 00:16)

2023 Trailer (HD, 00:53)

Isolated Score

Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout is an outstanding campy-horror classic. The video is part exercise spoof and part sleazy-camp and the unique combination provides audiences with a fun throwback that offers clips of classic Quigley films alongside exercise footage with the sexy star making a great turn in the leading role. Quigley is a gorgeous babe and she sure knows how to sell this Zombiecise video. An essential and Criterion-esque quality release from relative newcomer Terror Vision. The release promises more exciting things to come from Terror Vision in the future. Highly recommended.