Killers Blu Ray Review (Synapse Films)

Killers is a 1996 crime horror film co-written and directed by Mike Mendez (The Convent, Masters of Horror, The Gravedancers, Big Ass Spider!, Tales of Halloween, The Last Heist, Don’t Kill It, Satanic Hispanics, Lavalantula, and Bimbo Movie Bash). It was co-written and produced by Dave Larsen (The Tears of Heaven and Together Apart). It was produced by Moshe Bibiyan and Simon Bibiyan (American Chinatown, Hollywood Cop, Terror in Beverly Hills, The Secret Force, Warrior of Justice, Double Cross, and City Dragon). The James boys, two of America’s most famous killers that are known for their parents gruesome dismise, Odessa (played by: Dave Larsen from Tina and the Professor and Vampire Centerfolds) and Kyle (played by: David Gunn from Vampire Journals, The Convent, and Street Corner Justice) have escaped from San Quentin’s Death Row during a dangerous storm. They are being chased down by various law enforcement to bring them back to where they belong. They are desperate to hide out until the weather gets better. They end up invading the home of the Ryan’s which includes Charles (played by: Burke Morgan from Dark Passion, Wicked Pleasures, Dungeon of Desire, Haunted, and See No Evil Hear No Evil), Rea (played by: Damian Hoffer), Jami (played by: Nanette Bianchi from The Killer Eye), and Jenny (played by: Renee Cohen from Freaks and Geeks, The Nanny, and Friends of Friends). They seem like your typical All American family but as the intense night goes on, something isn’t right with them. The vicious James brothers have met their match when they realize that they picked the wrong house. Who will make it out alive from this disaster???? 1996’s Killers is basically Natural Born Killers meets The People Under the Stairs. This crime horror hybrid script had some excellent dialogue which elevates all the performances in this independent feature. It had a creative concept for the late 90’s, two psychopaths end up at the wrong place at the wrong time. It has pretty crazy twists here when all hell breaks loose. The family seems so normal and perfect at first, they slowly get weirder as you get to know the real versions of them. Dave Larsen and David Gunn are solid as the James brothers. They are based on the Menendez brothers with their original crimes and the public making them infamous. They have both have an interesting look to them. Softcore actor C.T. Miller aKa Burke Morgan as Charles Ryan is the real surprise here. He basically plays two different roles in this. He really stands out in this low budget horror crime movie. The rest of the supporting cast includes Renee Cohen, Nanette Bianchi, Damian Hoffer, Wendy Latta (Midnight Mambo), Ivan Vertigo (Blast), Chad Sommers, Ellis Moore (Guyver: Dark Hero), Timothy Patrick Quill (Spider-Man franchise) and Susan Laprelle (Halloween franchise). The acting is mainly over the top here but it works for something like this. Killers is loaded with violence, action, dark comedy, sleaze, and so many bizarre moments mixed in. I’ve never heard of it until now, it kinda blew me away for how it good it was. I was expecting this when it showed up. Killers is so much fun and very entertaining with great replay value to it. This obscure cult gem needs more attention so I hope this brand new home video release helps it get a bigger audience. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Synapse Films! This 1080p (1.78:1) unrated director’s cut transfer is from a brand new restoration. I did some research, Killers looked a really rough during it’s original releases plus some of them weren’t uncensored like this full version. It’s a huge improvement and it’s probably the best it’s ever going to look anywhere. It has a fantastic stylish visual style to it especially for being such a small budget film. It almost feels like a high quality film school project. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track on the disc. Killers is loaded with action and chaos so the audio shines for this independent film. All of the dialogue is very clean, the madness is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio commentary” with director Mike Mendez and horror expert Michael Gingold. They chat about the making of the independent feature. They talk about the cast, the characters, locations, influences, and it being set around Christmas. It has some connections to Sam Raimi. They bring up how the low budget scene has changed so much since this was made. Lots of information and personal stories are shared here on this track. If you ever wanted to know more about it, then you will love this. It has an “Alternate Ending”. It has a few “Original Promotional Trailers”. It comes with a Liner notes booklet with critic Heather Drain and Synapse Films catalog. This is probably one of the most underrated low budget films of the late 90’s, this should be in every collection. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!!