Model Hunger Blu Ray Review (Wild Eye Releasing)

Model Hunger is a 2016 horror film produced and directed by Debbie Rochon (Tromeo and Juliet, Terror Firmer, Death House, Varsity Blood, Slime City Massacre, Hanger, Mulva franchise, Santa Claws, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm, Witchouse 3, Kill Joy 2, American Nightmare, and Return to Nuke ‘Em High Vol. 1/2). This is the scream queen’s feature directorial debut, she is well known all over the horror community as an actress. She is also known for her various work with Fangoria magazine and various other respected publications. It was written and executive produced by James Morgart (Collar, Seed 2, The Abduction of Jennifer Grayson, The Day of the Living Dead, Cult Vol. 1, and Won Ton Baby!). Cheerleaders during a rough practice are all trying to be the best. Coach Lisa O’Bannon (played by: Kathy Murphy from Slime City Massacre, Dry Bones, Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast, and The First Purge) tells Missy (played by: Lisa Dee from Abstract Messiah, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and Battledogs) and the others they better set up on their fundraising because no freeloaders are allowed on this team. She is forced to step up her game and she goes to houses for door to door sales with her friend Catharine. That’s where they meet Ginny Reilly (played by: Lynn Lowry from Shivers, The Crazies, I Drink Your Blood, Cat People, Eating Raoul, Rabid, Hell’s Kitty, Sky Sharks,band Sugar Cookies). She invites them in to watch her favorite show “Suzi’s Secret” (played by: Suzi Lorraine from Satan’s Schoolgirls, Chainsaw Sally, House of Manson, and Bleeding Hearts) and have some delicious tea. Desperate to earn money and beat out popular rival Amy they agree. Missy is really rude and she’s very disrespectful to Ginny. She doesn’t know that Ginny has been sizing them up the whole time. New neighbors Debbie Lombardo (played by: Tiffany Shepis from Tromeo and Juliet, Victor Crowely, Abominable, Sharknado 2, Ted Bundy, Death Factory, The Hazing, Nightmare Man, Bloody Murder 2, Tales of Halloween, and Night of the Demons) and Sal Lombardo (played by: Carmine Capobianco from Psychos in Love, Disconnected, Galactic Gigolo, Cool as Hell franchise, and Cemetery High) are about to move in. They are already suspicious of their new neighbor. Ginny starts to taunt and torture the kidnapped cheerleader. She’s hungry for fresh young blood! She reminisces about her past. Ginny sends over her new neighbors a house warming gift. It’s a “meal” she made. Debbie does a little research on her new friend Ginny. Ginny’s friend Colin (played by: Brian Fortune from Tree Keeper, An Irish Exorcism, Red Room, Spiders Trap, and Game of Thrones) shows up to get the vehicle he let her borrow from the shop. Debbie has her own mental issues but she notices something isn’t right with the mysterious Ginny. Jehovah witness Melanie (played by: Kaylee Williams from III Slices of Life, Mrs. Claus, Mr. Buzzkill, The Barn: Part II, Don’t Fxck in the Woods 2, 13 Slays Till X-Mas, and Porkchop franchise) shows up at the wrong place at the wrong time trying to preach her ways. Ginny shows her young visitor her evil ways and she prepares for another delicious meal. Debbie is done spying on her weird neighbor and she decides to come over to investigate for herself. Can someone save her???? What more can you ask for when it comes to two of the most respected scream queens around battling it out directed by another legendary scream queen? Debbie Rochon has opened some eyes and she made an impact on her ambitious debut behind the camera. She learned from some of the most creative minds in the film industry over the years as a performer. All that experience with Troma and other independents really comes through on Model Hunger. Horror icon Lynn Lowry gives the best performance in her entire career as the unhinged Ginny Reilly. She is one of the darkest elderly villains of all time. She seems very sweet and innocent until she traps all of her unlucky victims. She’s a former model that time caught up on her and now she’s punishing younger women for their current beauty. The whole independent scene really needs to pay attention to this demented portrayal and give Lynn Lowry more opportunities because she’s still on the top of her game. Scream Queen Tiffany Shepis gives a different performance than usual as nosey Debbie Lombardo. She’s depressed and she’s dealing with a complicated past. She doesn’t have much to do so she pays attention to her new neighbor but things keep getting weirder and weirder. It’s a unique hero role for the known actress and she shows off some real acting chops in this. The rest of the supporting cast includes Debbie Rochon (Time to Kill), Carmine Capobianco, Kathy Murphy, Kaylee Williams, Brian Fortune, Suzi Lorraine, Lisa Dee, Michael Thurber (Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead), Aurelio Voltaire (ABCs of Death 2), Babette Bombshell (Return to Nuke ‘Em High), Bob Bozek (The First Purge), Michael Varrati (Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High), Michael O’Hear (Johnny Gruesome), Rachel Jane Conn (The Abduction of Jennifer Grayson), Ash Emily Laura Smith (Dying for Fame), and Erika Frase (Return to Nuke ‘Em High). It has a John Waters meets Troma vibe to it with a little Rear Window thrown in the mix for good measure. It doesn’t shy away from it’s violence and gore especially since it deals with cannibalism. The special fx are really good in Model Hunger and they elevate the madness in this. It keeps itself very thrilling and suspenseful so there is never really a dull moment in this, it kept the audience waiting for more after every intense disturbing scene. It also features an original score from horror master Harry Manfredini (Friday the 13th franchise, House franchise, Slaughter High, Swamp Thing, The Children, The Hills Have Eyes Part II, Kickboxer 3, Zombie Island Massacre, DeepStar Six, and Wishmaster). Model Hunger combines dark humor, horror, drama, and revenge. It’s a grim tale on the painful truth of getting older and revenge on the new generation when forgotten. The lesson here is rather true, don’t forget to respect your elders because you might end up paying for it, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Wild Eye Releasing in association with OCN Distribution! This 1080p (1.85:1) unrated director’s cut transfer is from a newer restoration. I originally covered the 2016 DVD from Wild Eye Releasing and this is a big improvement over every previous version including the 2018 HorrorPack exclusive release. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on this disc. It’s an upgrade compared to it’s older versions so the tension filled scenarios and dark moments stand out a little more now. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an 2024 “Audio Commentary” with director Debbie Rochon. It has an additional 2024 “Audio Commentary” with James Morgart and Adam Torkel. It has an archival 2015 “Audio Commentary” with director Debbie Rochon and actor David Marancik. All kinds of personal information and inside stories are brought up during all of these audio tracks. They are all so much different from each other so they make entertaining companion pieces if you want an alternate viewing on your next revisit. It has the little over 18 minute “Model Hunger – Audio Essay” with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. She breaks down several women themed cannibal features especially Model Hunger. She gives her opinion on the independent horror production and the director Debbie Rochon. She shows her appreciation for Lynn Lowry, she goes into her career and her villain role here. It’s an interesting take on the sub-genre. She even leaves in her outtakes so it just feels more natural. It has the little over 53 minute “Debbie Rochon: Unfolded” directed by Kevin J. Lindenmuth (Vampires and Other Stereotypes, Monstersdotcom, Blood of the Werewolf, Twisted Tales franchise, and Alien Agenda franchise). It’s a career retrospective and a very personal conversation with Scream Queen Debbie Rochon. She chats about the beginning of her acting career. She talks about moving from Canada to New York to give her career a real chance. She goes over some of her earlier projects such as Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains, Lurkers Party Girls, Do You Like Women?, Cleo/Leo, and Banned before she worked with Troma. She goes over movies that really helped her career. She mentions several things that she learned over the years. She shares personal experiences at conventions and how film was back in the day. She had to make sure she got a nice death or some nudity so her scenes wouldn’t be cut. She discusses her writing, autobiography, podcasts, and potential other directing opportunities. It’s great inside look into the Scream Queen, she proves that she’s much more than that in this. It has over 3 hours and 15 minutes of various “Interviews”. It features Debbie Rochon, James Morgart, Harry Manfredini, Lynn Lowry, Babette Bombshell, Bob Bozek, Brian Fortune, Dave Marancik, Paul McGinnis, Voltaire, Michael Varrati, and Tiffany Shepis. Debbie jokes that she made Model Hunger for 50 people. She chats about how she got involved with the project. She says she has been offered other films to direct over the years but she turned them down because she wasn’t fond of the material unlike this one. The lead character Debbie was written for her to act but she decided to just stay behind the camera. Her first choice for the role was Tiffany Shepis. James Morgart goes over how he got started in the film business. Those projects lead to him meeting Debbie Rochon. The Model Hunger feature was originally developed in 2003. He brings up that the only change he would make to the film now is a bigger budget and advanced crowd funding for it. He mentions that it might be able to be made these days considering how much everything has changed in the world. The legendary Harry Manfredini speaks on the horror genre and the importance of music when it comes to them. He chats about his past popular productions that put him on the map. He says his shortest turn around for a score was in 6 days. Tiffany Shepis jokes that she didn’t think Debbie liked her when they originally met on Tromeo and Juliet. She goes over their friendship while working together on a few other movies. She goes over her overall experience working on Model Hunger. She shows her appreciation for the late Carmine Capobianco while filming this horror feature. She reflects on taking on a new type of role, it was nothing like she’s done before. Lots of the participates for Model Hunger talk about how they got involved with this low budget production. They all have their own take on everything and it’s a quality deep dive into independent filmmaking. It has the little over 11 minute “Debbie Directs: Behind the Scenes”. It has plenty of footage for this. It feels like you are almost there directing with Debbie Rochon. I love her honest and hilarious commentary while she’s filming all of this material. It has a little over 13 minutes of “Model Hunger Outtakes” from the cutting room floor. This is actually really cool besides it has removed scenes from Debbie Rochon and the legendary Lloyd Kaufman. It has a little over 9 minute “Behind the Scenes Image Gallery”. It has the little over 6 minute b”Michael O‘Hear – Tribute Video”. This dedicated to the late actor and it shows various clips from his performances over the years. It has the little over 2 minute short film “Weenie Wonderland”. This is a very bizarre segment but it kinda fits the style of Model Hunger. It has the little over 4 minute “Music Video: Song for Debbera” from Troma. It has the “Trailer” for Model Hunger. This home video release for Model Hunger is packed with multiple hours of extras to keep you entertained plus you will learn all kinds of information about this independent production. The limited edition comes with a high quality slipcover. The standard still comes with a 24-page booklet and reversible artwork. It’s available everywhere right now including Vinegar Syndrome.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!