Kenny Everett, Pamela Stephenson and Vincent Price star in a 1984 horror comedy Bloodbath at the House of Death, now released in a 2 Blu-Ray set by Nucleus Films.
Following the grisly murders of 18 guests at Headstone Manor, eight scientists arrive at the scene of the crimes to investigate the strange events that are happening there. Unbeknownst to them, the building is being used by a Satanic cult, who plan to kill them before they leave. The cast also includes Everett TV regular Cleo Rocos, Gareth Hunt, Sheila Stefal, Don Warrington, and Graham Stark, who steals every scene he appears in.
As a huge fan of Everett’s zany, off-the-wall humour, it saddens me to say that this film is a big disappointment. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but quite a lot of the gags fall flat, and often. The medical flashback scene is hilarious, but the ‘comedy rape’ scene is genuinely uncomfortable to watch. The killings are imaginative, however, and although the film isn’t particularly good, it is never boring.
The picture, transferred from the original negative, is mostly in superb condition, though a bit speckly around the reel changes. There are two soundtrack options – a new 5.1 remix along with the original mono, and both sound great, with no distortions.
The icing on the cake of this release is the Special Features. The commentary track by Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons is light-hearted and informative, and their enthusiasm is terrific. Pointing out film references, locations and a voiceover by an uncredited 8-year-old Michael McIntyre.
Crying With Laughter is an interview with co-writer Barry Cryer. This was the last interview he ever gave before his passing. He is on top form here, talking about his working relationship with Kenny, the making of the film, its failure, both critically and at the box office, and a fantastic story about Kenny meeting Stanley Kubrick while The Shining was being made. It is one of the release’s highlights. He is so full of energy here, it’s a terrific watch.
Running the Bloodbath is a collection of interviews with Executive Producers Stuart Donaldson and Laurence Myers, with archive footage of Kenny Everett. They discuss the film, it’s disastrous reception, along with the two video releases that featured Kenny doing material unsuitable for TV, which are also included in this set.
Along with 2 different trailers for the film, there is a trailer reel of fifteen films that Vincent Price made in the UK. Running at 36 minutes, it’s a fantastic watch.
As previously mentioned, there are two 1980s video exclusive releases on the second disc. They were released on videocassette in the 1980s, and this is the first time they have been released since then,
The Kenny Everett Naughty Joke Box was filmed in a small, dark club in Soho, and features Kenny along with the likes of Barry Cryer, Lennie Bennett, Leslie Crowther, John Junkin, Fogwell Flax and Willie Rushton telling gags too extreme for TV. It’s amusing, but it’s surprising to hear household names from that time using racist and homophobic terms that would ruin their careers now.
The New Kenny Everett Naughty Video is more like his TV shows, as it is mainly short sketches involving his popular characters like Sid Snot, Cupid Stunt, Gizzard Puke, and Marcel Wave along with a new character, Bruce Droop, an Australian drunk. On the whole, it is the better of the two shows.
The picture and sound quality on these are pretty poor. They are fuzzy, due to being sourced on videotape, and the sound levels fluctuate significantly. They might be VHS sourced. Luckily there are subtitles, which I had to depend on occasionally, but some scenes in Naughty Joke Box filmed in low lighting are a pixellated mess.
On the whole, the good outweighs the bad on this release. If you are a Kenny Everett fan, it is an essential purchase. To the casual viewer, you might wonder what all the fuss about him was about, so approach cautiously.
Both discs are region-free.
FILM – 6 PICTURE – 8 AUDIO – 9 EXTRAS – 8
REVIEW BY STEVE WELLS
