Crash and Burn Blu Ray Review (Full Moon Features)

Crash and Burn is a 1990 ditect to video horror sci-fi film produced and directed by Charles Band (Trancers franchise, Puppet Master franchise, Doctor Mordrid, Head of the Family, Hideous!, Evil Bong franchise, Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, Meridian, Parasite, The Dungeonmaster, and Blood Dolls). It was written by J.S. Cardone (The Stepfather, Prom Night, The Slayer, Sniper 3, and Shadowzone). It was produced by David DeCoteau (Creepozoids, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Assault of the Killer Bimbos, Assault of the Party Nerds, Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout, Puppet Master franchise, and Nightmare Sisters). The estimated budget of $1,000,000. It’s the year 2030 and man’s worst nightmares have finally become a terrifying reality. Ultraviolet rays have punched through the ozone layer and dooming earth to an uncomfortable eternal summer. Unicom has taken total control following a computer induced economic holocaust and various governments defaulting on their national debts. A group of dissenters which includes Lathan Hooks (played by: Ralph Waite from Cliffhanger, The Bodyguard, The Waltons, Five Easy Pieces, Carnivale, and Cool Hand Luke), Arren (played by: Megan Ward from Trancers franchise, Encino Man, Arcade, Freaked, and Joe’s Apartment), Quinn (played by: Bill Moseley from House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, Repo!, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Silent Night Deadly Night 3, Army of Darkness, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams, and Night of the Living Dead), and Winston (played by: Jack McGee from The Fighter, Gangster Squad, Moneyball, Backdraft, Rescue Me, and Rumpelstiltskin) all help run a secluded television station in the sand-blown desert using abandoned primitive technology that can’t be corrupted. A courier Tyson (played by: Paul Ganus from Lethal Weapon 3, The Mask of Zorro, C.S.I., and Forever Young) brings the small crew some supplies but he’s stuck there for a few days due to the unexpected bad weather. When one of their own falls to their death, they think it’s an Synthoid that is programmed to kill any threat to Unicom. Now, everyone is paranoid about each other. Who is actually real? and Who is the murderous robot???? Director and producer Charles Band takes advantage of the popularity of killer robots/cyborgs in the 90’s with his own low budget version. Crash and Burn is one of the most underrated features with Band behind the camera. It doesn’t ever get the credit it truly deserves, it’s one of the highest quality overall productions from Full Moon. Veteran screenwriter J.S. Cardone delivers a unique and entertaining take on the sub-genre. Paul Ganus shows up as Tyson Keen, he’s the outsider that’s forced to stay because of the dangerous weather. No one really knows him and they all are dealing with chaos inside their television station. Ralph Waite as Lathan Hooks is the leader of this secluded group that tries to stay away from the corrupt powerful company that’s trying to take everything over. Megan Ward is his granddaughter Arren. She’s fantastic as the hopeful team member trying to make a difference. She tries to give everyone a chance and she wants to trust them all. Horror Icon Bill Moseley steals the show as Quinn and he gives one of his best early performances in his career. He’s the helpful handyman that fixes all the problems around their secret location. The rest of the supporting cast includes Jack McGee, Eva LaRue (RoboCop 3), Elizabeth Maclellan (Puppet Master II), Katherine Armstrong (The Arrival), John Davis Chandler (Adventures in Babysitting), and Kristopher Logan (Puppet Master III). Band delivers gratuitous nudity, gore, suspense, and paranoia in this. Once it all picks up, Crash and Burn goes into slasher territory which is a nice addition. It has some creative and brutal kills. The visual and special fx are ahead of their time especially for being a direct to video movie. Luckily for Full Moon, that’s when Paramount Pictures were doing distribution for them so it got a major push in every rental store back in the day. They play tribute to John Carpenter’s The Thing with it’s blood test scene to prove who’s actually a human among the suspicious group. Crash and Burn has some fascinating surprises and twists towards the end. It keeps itself very intense and thrilling with it. It’s always been a fun science fiction and horror hybrid with strong replay value to it. It’s awesome to see it resurrected on home video in HD after all these years, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Full Moon Features! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer is from a brand new restoration from the original 35mm negative. This direct to video independent horror feature looks better than ever on home video. The picture quality is a major improvement compared to previous DVDs and VHS stuff. It’s no surprise but this brand new restoration blows them away with it’s sharper images. It feels like a completely different experience watching it now. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Digital 5.1 and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. It’s a solid upgrade for this low budget production especially during the suspense and action. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the paranoia is elevated, and the music from Richard Band has a great boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with director Charles Band and actor Bill Moseley. Two of the most important people from Crash and Burn reunite for this revisit. Band chats about finding the original camera negative and how it’s such an upgrade compared to what they have had for years for it. They make fun of the low quality sets for Crash and Burn. Band mentions how he had much bigger budgets for his direct to video projects in the 90’s. They go over the scenes. They talk about the cast, characters, story, and crew for it. They don’t hold back, they are honest and tell some personal stories about it. They share plenty of information. There’s some silent spots where they are just enjoying watching this again. It has the 6 minute “Blooper Reel”. It has the original almost 7 minute “Videozone: Making of Featurette”. It has interviews with the the cast and crew. It shows various clips and unreleased footage from the shoot here. Full Moon was ahead of their time back in the day making these behind the scenes extras for home video when no one else was really doing it. They all talk about it’s concept, story, and characters. They share their experiences from the film and they tell some stories about it on for this. It has a “Trailer” for Crash and Burn. It has a variety of Full Moon related “Trailers”. It’s available everywhere right now including FullMoonHorror.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!