Tulsa Terrors Blu Ray Review (VCI Entertainment)

Tulsa Terrors is a 2024 horror documentary produced, shot, music, and directed by Brain Crain (RSU Public TV). It was written, produced, and narrated by John Wooley (Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective, Still Swingin’, and Cafe Purgatory). It explores the direct to video horror boom in the mid 80’s. It all started in Tulsa, Oklahoma with 1985’s Blood Cult which was distributed by United Entertainment that would later become VCI. It’s owner Bill Blair pitched the high risk idea of making low budget movies directly for the home video market instead of going into theaters or television. He gave upcoming filmmakers Chris and Linda Lewis a real chance to put together their own independent feature with his script. It was a huge success considering what it actually cost to make. It spawned other films like The Ripper, Revenge, Mutilations, The Change, Vigilante Blood, Subterfuge (Bio-Kill), Party Crasher, The Prize Fighter, Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, Cafe Purgatory, Toe Tags, Branded, and The Stitcher that were all created in the same area. These Tulsa Terrors changed the industry forever and they will always be remembered as the originals in the direct to video craze that dominated rental stores across America!!!! This documentary focuses on the beginning of S.O.V Horror and the low budget productions made in Oklahoma back in the day. It has interviews with Ana Berry, Milton Berry (The Prize Fighter), Paul Cowdin (Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies), Robert Blair (Still Swingin’), Darla Enlow (The Stitcher), Leo Evans (Cafe Purgatory), Craig Lamb (Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb), Christopher Lewis (Blood Cult), Linda Lewis (Revenge), Dana Pike (Toe Tags), Harvey Shell (The Bounty Hunter), Rod Slane (Subterfuge), Larry Thomas (Mutilations), and John Wooley. Director Francis Ford Coppola came to Oklahoma, he filmed both The Outsiders and Rumble Fish there which created an interest in the movie industry for the small community. A family member was shooting soap operas on video so it inspired them to try it for a full length feature. They went to distributers like Vestron Video with the fresh concept but no one was interested so they did it themselves. The creative team reached out to Sony that was developing a new cheaper camera and various equipment to use it to promote their products. They agreed to it and it helped them make everything more affordable. They went with horror because it was cost friendly and it usually did good business to audiences. They spent $27,000 on a 9 day/night shoot to finish Blood Cult. They spent around $120,000 to promote it everywhere but luckily it made $400,000 right away. It ended up getting over a million after word of mouth. This early direct to video horror feature is heavily discussed here in great detail. They were able to do their next ambitious project The Ripper that had almost triple the budget and it had horror legend Tom Savini as the star. They were moving along with some momentum after these underground hits so they did a Blood Cult sequel called Revenge that had a $150,000 budget now. They were able to get bigger actors for this one which included John Wayne’s son Patrick and the iconic John Carradine. They had to deal with demands from the bigger names that made things a little more difficult but they pulled it off. Carradine was very sick at the time so he had to rest while he wasn’t needed on the set. These earlier 3 projects inspired other local directors like Larry Thomas, composer Rod Slane, Mark Mason, Darla Enlow, and Leo Evans to follow the footsteps of these pioneers. Lots of these shared the same actors and crew for various collaborations. They all tell some hilarious and fun inside stories about producing these no budget exploitation efforts. It takes you way behind the scenes for this obscure cinema that’s basically disappeared at this point. Everything from casting too many old people to getting their own film turned off by customers at a restaurant during their actual premiere. They tried several different sub-genres over the years while cashing in on the high demand of video stores for more stuff to fill their shelves with. Hollywood Video had a first time director program that got them exclusives so it really motivated people to give this a shot. Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb only cost $75 to do which sounds almost like a record to me. Unknown artist David Cook offered to do music for nothing when one of these later slashers were about to be released but he got turned down for it and he ended up winning American Idol a few weeks later. Most of these can’t be found anywhere and there’s almost no information about them available besides this documentary which is really unbelievable. Tulsa Terrors has all kinds of video clips, rare photos, and behind the scenes footage in it. I’d love to explore some of the mysterious stuff that’s mentioned in this someday if they are ever released again. This is a must watch for any fans of no budget cinema or just someone that’s interested in making their own films because it’s loaded with some great advice. This is still flying under the radar and no one is talking about it yet. Tulsa Terrors to my knowledge still hasn’t been covered until this which is a shocker because it’s been out for awhile now!!!! Let’s discuss the special features from VCI Entertainment. It has the almost 4 minute “Rewinding Terror: VCI and The Dawn of Home Video”. It’s a short dedication to the company that it started it all when it comes to direct to video. VCI was launched/rebranded when VHS took off. They did their own movies including material like Terror at Tenkiller and they really expanded after having some success. They are one of the longest running distributors when it comes to home video. It has a little over 11 minute “Archive Interview” with Bill Blair. He chats about when major studios stopped giving him their films for distribution because they wanted to do it themselves and cut out the middle man. They were still offering some but at a ridiculous high price so it motivated him to make his own. That’s where Blood Cult came from. He talks about always wanting to do it himself but it never happened until it was kinda forced. He says horror was the easiest and safest genre to take risks on. He goes over the origins of direct to video and the influence it had in the business. He was an innovator and it paid off early on for his company. He felt comfortable making his work in Tulsa rather than going to New York or California for so much extra money. He goes over the changes for direct to video and it says the future is bleak for it but it will make a comeback. He’s honest and blunt about everything here. It has a little over 12 minute “Archive Interview” with Christopher Lewis. He chats about going to USC film school. He talks about how he got involved with Blood Cult. He wasn’t a big fan of horror so he looked at it as just a job but it worked out for him in the long run. It helped his career and he ended doing more features because of it. He breaks down the difference between direct to video now compared to when he was doing it. He goes over why they stayed in Oklahoma instead of somewhere else that was more expensive. He had to do promotional tours and plenty of traveling to push his projects everywhere. It has the little over 4 minute “History of United Entertainment”. It’s an interview with Robert Blair about his father’s legacy. United handled non theatrical deals and distribution for big studios before they did it all on their own. He explains what changed and how It turned into VCI Entertainment eventually. It has the little over 7 minute “The Making of Terror at Tenkiller”. It’s an interview with Robert Blair. He chats about it’s beginnings and how It was put together. It has a solid budget and it did great for it’s release. He provides plenty of detailed information and inside stories about it. The crickets were so loud while they were filming it that it had to be re-dubbed later on in post-production. His job at the time when this was made was sales and marketing. He originally didn’t like it at all but it’s grown on him over the years. It still has interest after being around since the 80’s. It even got it’s own 4K home video release from Vinegar Syndrome. It has the almost 11 minute “United Entertainment Pictures Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery”. It’s loaded with a variety of rare photos from their entire history. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!