The Screaming Blu Ray Review (Visual Vengeance)

The Screaming is a 2000 direct to video horror film written, produced, animation, special fx, and directed by Jeff Leroy (Crack Up, Eyes of the Werewolf, Hunting Season, Hell’s Highway, Creepies franchise, Werewolf in a Womens Prison, Frankenstein in a Women’s Prison, Dracula in a Women’s Prison, Predator World, and Furious Road). It was produced by David Sterling (Cocaine Werewolf, Death Factory, Camp Blood franchise, Witchcraft franchise, Axegrinder franchise, and Things franchise). College student Bob Martin (played by: Vinnie Bilancio from Sorority House Massacre, Killjoy Goes to Hell, Rat Scratch Fever, and Camp Blood) rents a room from the alluring Crystal Traum (played by: Wendi Winburn from Poisoned Kiss, Pacific Blue, Satan’s Menagerie, and Daybreak), who introduces him to her New Age religion Crystalnetics. After that, Bob’s health and mindset dramatically improve. When a detective reveals a string of mysterious deaths tied to the cult, Bob uncovers the chilling truth and must face a slew of cloaked assassins, monsters and the cults’ charismatic alien leader!!!! The Screaming is a total blast that uses it’s limited resources in the right departments. Director Jeff Leroy has kept busy making a variety of micro budget features over the years and this is one of his best efforts. The script is ridiculous at the times but it’s not bad for what it is. He put together a group of performers that actually cared about this crazy project and it truly shows in the final product. The Screaming kinda plays out as a spoof on Scientology with a darker vibe added to it. The humor doesn’t feel forced, it just happens during these batshit crazy scenarios. The chain smoking Bob Martin is thrown in a unknown and dangerous environment. Veteran actor Vinnie Bilancio is the unlikely hero. He feels like a new person after meeting Crystal. Everything is starting to get better in his life but something doesn’t seem right. He notices some bizarre things happening around him so he does his own investigation into it. Actress Wendi Winburn is solid as the stunning Crystal Traum. She tries to push her new religion to anyone that she comes across. She wants it to take over and grow to something more powerful. She uses her looks and charm to convince others to join her movement. The rest of the supporting cast includes Elizabeth Barris (Dead Air), John F. Goff (Maniac Cop), Tim Gannon (Friday the 13th: The Series), Curt Swobel, Erin Horne, Daniella Green (Eyes of the Werewolf), David Lipson (Werewolf in a Womens Prison), Linda Serbu (Corporate Ghost), and Tanya Taskila. The Screaming becomes a murder mystery with a supernatural twist to it. The main character goes through several changes during it and nightmares start to haunt him as he gets deeper into this unknown society. It has a nice amount of gore, death, and violence so it delivers when it comes to that. The special fx do the job here but don’t expect anything mind blowing. It get some killer puppet action and stop motion with it. The visual fx are unintentionally hilarious and they are really bad in this. It’s an interesting mix of cult and monster. This is one of the better SOV that I’ve seen recently, it’s ambitious but generally it’s actually a fun production. I am impressed what Jeff Leroy was able to pull off in The Screaming with only 3K to spend. It’s worth checking out. I think might be even better with some friends or a crowd but it’s fun as hell. RECOMMENDED!!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Visual Vengeance in association with Wlld Eye Releasing! This 1080i (1.33:1) transfer is from a newer restoration from the remaining SD tapes masters that’s supervised by director Jeff Leroy. It’s definitely an upgrade compared to any previous DVD or VHS but it will never be reference quality. It’s SOV so the viewer should already know what they are getting into with this. It looks better than expected to be honest. It has an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track on the disc. Some of the wild moments stand out a little more but it’s mainly the score from Jay Woeful that shines here. All of the dialogue is clean, the thrills are elevated, and the music has big boost to it. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Tony Strauss from Weng’s Chop Magazine. It’s a well informed track with all kinds of facts and history from the SOV feature. It has the almost 9 minute “Screaming and Screaming Again: The Making of The Screaming”. It features Joe Haggerty and Vincent Bilancio. It has location tours to see what they look like now after all these years. It has comments from director Jeff Leroy and producer David Sterling. They made this for 3K. They originally wanted to call it Scream Again but they couldn’t with the popular franchise around. They joke about an actress turning this down. They say a unknown blonde actress only worked one day on this before she quit. They show off some props from The Screaming. They show appreciation for it’s music. They update the viewer on what they have been doing since they made this. It has the almost 7 minute “Composing a Cult Classic: Music Composer Jay Woelfel”. He chats about this being his first opportunity to do a full movie score for Jeff Leroy. He talks about his process and what equipment he used to put together the music for this. He goes over his motivations for some of the main themes in this. He brings up other projects that he scored over the years including his own feature Asylum of Darkness. It has the little over 82 minute “The Screaming Reborn”. This is the preferred cut from the director. It’s been re-edited to be shorter so it has a smoother flow to it. It replaces practical fx with CGI. It has the score with some new changes to it. Plus it’s been remastered, this version looks better than the original. I can see why this alternative cut exists because modern day fans would probably dig this a little more. I enjoyed both but I thought the original one was better. It has an optional “Audio Commentary” with director Jeff Leroy, producer David Sterling, and lead actor Vinnie Bilancio. It has an almost 2 minute “Image Gallery”. It has the “Original Trailer” for The Screaming. It has “The Screaming Reborn Trailer”. It has the “Visual Vengeance Trailer” for The Screaming. It has a variety of Jeff Leroy related “Trailers” for Rat Scratch Fever, Werewolf in a Women’s Prison, and The Witch’s Sabbath. It has the CD for the original score from composer Jay Woelfel (Beyond Dream’s Door, The Summoned, Things, High Tomb, Hell’s Highway, The Pact, Asylum of Darkness, Hi-8, and Heartland of Darkness). It has 31 tracks that run for around 51 minutes. It comes with a slipcover, multiple reversible artworks, a mini poster, and a retro sticker sheet. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!