Trapped Ashes 4K Review (Deaf Crocodile)

Trapped Ashes is a 2006 horror anthology directed by Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th, A Stranger Is Watching, DeepStar Six, Spring Break, and The New Kids), Joe Dante (Gremlins franchise, The Howling, Piranha, Hollywood Boulevard, The Burbs, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School), Ken Russell (The Devils, Tommy, Crimes of Passion, Gothic, The Lair of the White Worm, and Altered States), Monte Hellman (Silent Night, Deadly Night 3, Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter, The Terror, Beast from Haunted Cave, and Iguana), and John Gaeta (The Matrix franchise). It was written and produced by Dennis Bartok (Nails, Stanley’s Girlfriend, and The Red Herring). Tobe Hooper, Dario Argento, and Curtis Harrington were all considered for this project. Seven strangers which includes Leo (played by: John Saxon from A Nightmare on Elm Street) and The Guide (played by: Henry Gibson from Magnolia) are trapped inside an infamous House of Horrors during a Hollywood movie studio tour. They are all forced to confess their most shocking personal memories while waiting to leave. Ken Russell’s ‘The Girl with Golden Breasts,’ a struggling actress (played by: Rachel Veltri from American Pie Presents: Band Camp) decides to get gel implants made from reprocessed human cadavers. It ends up having monstrous results for her and her boyfriend (played by: Jayce Bartok from SubUrbia). Sean Cunningham’s ‘Jibaku,’ an unhappily married woman (played by: Lara Harris from The Fisher King) and her architect husband (played by: Scott Lowell from Queer as Folk) have a nightmarish encounter with a dead monk on a visit to Japan. Monte Hellman’s ‘Stanley’s Girlfriend’, two ambitious young filmmakers become unlikely friends in 1950s Hollywood: Leo (played by: Tahmoh Penikett from Battlestar Galactica), writer of sadistic low budget productions and an upcoming director named Stanley Kubrick (played by: Tygh Runyan from Disturbing Behavior). When they both fall in love with the same enigmatic woman (played by: Amelia Cooke from Species III), it unleashes a decades-long mystery involving desire, jealousy, and celluloid. John Gaeta’s ‘My Twin, The Worm,’ a young Goth woman (played by: Michele-Barbara Pelletier from Brainscan) reveals the horrific, bizarre tale of the inhuman ‘twin’ that grew alongside her in her mother’s womb!!!! Trapped Ashes is an independent horror anthology. It’s one of my personal favorite sub-genres and it has some really talented people involved with it. It’s awesome to see some of these horror veteran directors back behind the camera. I really enjoyed the concept of forcing a group of people to share stories while being stuck in a old school house of horror like so many other classic horror anthologies from back in the day. Trapped Ashes has a nice variety of different horror shorts put together as one here. I thought “The Wraparound”, “The Girl with Golden Breasts”, and “Jibaku” were the strongest entries for Trapped Ashes. The script had some interesting twists to it. I thought the other two stories were just okay to be honest but they had their moments. This horror anthology is loaded with familiar faces like John Saxon, Henry Gibson, Dick Miller (Gremlins franchise), Ken Russell (The Russia House), and Ryo Ishibashi (Audition). The rest of the supporting cast includes Rachel Veltri, Amelia Cooke, Michele-Barbara Pelletier, Jayce Bartok, Scott Lowell, Lara Harris, Tygh Runyan, Tahmoh Penikett, Richard Ian Cox (Spy Kids: Mission Critical), Scott Heindl (Blade: Trinity), Matreya Fedor (Slither), Luke Macfarlane (Killjoys), Jerry Wasserman (Watchmen), and Deanna Milligan (Stealing Sinatra). Trapped Ashes provides plenty of nudity, suspense, and grotesque scenarios. It kinda flew under the radar when it was originally released so hopefully it gets some more attention with this brand new home video release. It’s morbidly fun and it stays entertaining for the most part during it’s horror shorts, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Deaf Crocodile! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is from a brand new 4K restoration. This new UHD blows away the older 2008 DVD from Lionsgate. It’s the highest quality that you’ll see for the independent Trapped Ashes, it’s a major upgrade. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the UHD. Depending on which short, it has some scenes that really stand out when it comes to the audio. The dialogue is crisp, the stories are elevated, and the music has a solid boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has the brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with Stephen Bissette. That’s the only extra on the UHD, the rest of them are located on the blu ray. It has the Director’s Cut of Monte Hellman’s “Stanley’s Girlfriend” that’s a little over 28 minutes. This is a cool addition but I’m definitely glad they keep the finished version a little shorter. It has the original full-length cut of Ken Russell’s “The Girl with Golden Breasts” that’s a little over 26 minutes. This was one of my favorite shorts from the horror anthology so I really liked this extended version of it. It has the original little over 32 minute 5-part “Making Of” with interviews with the cast and crew. The segments featured here are The Making of Trapped Ashes, The Girl with the Golden Breasts, Jibaku, Stanley’s Girlfriend, and My Twin, the Worm. It goes over the influence of Amicus and Hammer when it comes to this sub-genre. It’s a reflection of Hollywood in many different ways. The actors show appreciation and share their experiences working with the directors on it. They discuss how all the film makers got involved with the project and all their different stories for it. It has some good behind the scenes footage here. It has the little over 15 minute “Hollywood Parasite: Hysteria in Trapped Ashes”, a new visual essay from Ryan Verrill and Dr. Will Dodson. It has 206 minutes of brand new exclusive “Interviews” with John Gaeta, Jayce Bartok, Scott Lowell, Lisi Tribble, Yuko Yoshikawa, Yoshifumi Hosoya, and Zoran Popovic, Tahmoh Penikett, Tygh Runyan, Robb Wilson King, and Mike Frislev. The chats are moderated by Dennis Bartok. Several of these participants do a little panel together on video chat to speak about Trapped Ashes. Lots of the cast and crew were based in Canada for this production. They bring up how they got started and talk about their careers. Lots of detailed behind the scenes information and inside stories are brought during these conversations. This 4K is packed with so many special features, it really makes you appreciate Trapped Ashes even more after going through them. It comes with a QC Code with additional material when you scan it and artwork underneath the case. This is the first Deaf Crocodile home video release that I’ve covered so far and I’m very impressed with my first impressions of the boutique label. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!