Blood Harvest (1986) - Vinegar Syndrome - 10/30/18

[redrunner97]

BLOOD HARVEST (1986) - 10/30/18

Originally Posted by Vinegary Syndrome

Jill has just returned home from college to the rural farm community where she grew up, only to discover that her parents have mysteriously vanished. Learning that her father, a banker, has become the local pariah for overseeing land foreclosures on local farmers, Jill quickly becomes the victim of a series of strange and increasingly depraved assaults. With only her childhood friend and former lover, Gary, and his mentally unstable brother, Mervo (Tiny Tim), willing to believe her, Jill begins to fear for her life. All the while, a stocking-masked killer is abducting, torturing, and brutally killing those closest to Jill…

An unrelentingly grim and perverse psycho-sexual thriller, BLOOD HARVEST mixes gruesome throat slashings, copious amounts of T&A, and an unhinged supporting performance from music sensation, Tiny Tim. Long available only in heavily cut and grey market editions, Vinegar Syndrome proudly presents BLOOD HARVEST on Blu-ray, fully uncut, uncensored, and newly restored in 4k from its recently discovered original camera negative.

Directed by: Bill Rebane
1986 / 88 minutes / Color / 1.85:1 OAR
Cast: Tiny Tim, Itonia Salchek, Dean West, Lori Minnetti, Peter Krause

Features Include:

• Region free Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 4k from its 16mm original camera negative
• Brand new commentary track with producer and co-writer Leszek Burzynski
• Tiny Tim in Niagara Falls (September 3rd, 1987)
• Booklet with essay by Tiny Tim biographer Justin A. Martell
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles

[Member-222782]

I don't know if I'll be double dipping on this one. I said I would but I found that Tim guy super annoying. The film itself was OK but the best part was the last 15 or so minutes.

[redrunner97]

I've never seen it, but I'll definitely be picking it up. I've heard a lot of good things, glad we can finally cross this one off the list.

As a child of the Spongebob generation, obviously I know who Tiny Tim is. So the thought of him as a demented killer clown sounds bastsh!t crazy.

[mar3o]

Isn't this already out?

[Max Solo]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Isn't this already out?

Not the Vinegar Syndrome version.

[filmo70]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Isn't this already out?

October 30th

[nekromantik]

do we know if its a different transfer to 88films?

[filmo70]

Originally Posted by nekromantik

do we know if its a different transfer to 88films?

"Newly scanned & restored in 4k from its 16mm original camera negative"

[Puffy]

It’s a new transfer

[Zarak]

This will look great on my shelf next to Blood Beat, Blood Car, Blood Dancers, Blood for Dracula, Blood Hook, Blood Lust, Blood Mania, Blood Moon Rising, Blood Splattered Bride, Blood Theater, etc.

[redrunner97]

Originally Posted by Zarak

This will look great on my shelf next to Blood Beat, Blood Car, Blood Dancers, Blood for Dracula, Blood Hook, Blood Lust, Blood Mania, Blood Moon Rising, Blood Splattered Bride, Blood Theater, etc.

I can't wait for Severin to release Blood on Satan's Claws already!

[nekromantik]

not sure I will double dip as I wasnt biggest fan of it

[Davidian]

Same, Tiny Tim seemed rather out of place and (unintentionally?) comical in this...

[FarewelltotheFlesh]

Blood Harvest isn't a good movie, technically speaking. It's an entertaining film, especially if you have an idea of what you're getting into. Some bloody kills, lots of gratuitous nudity, and Tiny Tim being ridiculous. The locations are great and there's a solid atmosphere on display. I absolutely love it and can't wait to see the 4K scan VS has done. I have the 88 version but that was taken from a print and while it looks good, there was a decent amount of room for improvement. Really looking forward to this release!

[PowellPressburger]

Just watched this disc.

It was a blind buy. I was a little but iffy on the purchase however...

I don’t want to over hype it but I really thought this is a enteraining!

I didnt think Tiny Tim was annoying in fact his role comes across as WTF in a fun way.

The character of Jill wears the best unintentionnaly bad 80’s fashions and hair accessories.

I thought it was well made and shot. It is a HD scan of a 16mm print. And seeing work like this makes me appreciate film stock. No matter 35 / 65 / 70 and 16mm I prefer it to digital.

[superunknown80]

I used to own the 88 films bluray, but sold it the second VS announced their release of Blood Harvest. Very glad I did. This is a vastly superior release in every aspect. Another home run for Vinegar Syndrome. Definately my favourite label by a mile. I love that they take obscure titles and give them the VIP treatment. Their staff are by far the most friendly and helpful in the industry too.

[darkkrisp]

I just finished watching this and was curious about some restoration issues. Can someone that is more knowledgeable than me, explain why some scenes are crystal clear and some look like there is a layer of snow applied to the film? When Jill first returns home, there are scenes in the kitchen that are razor sharp and almost look like a recent movie, than there are shots that look fuzzy and you can tell it’s an older movie. This happens quite a bit in through out the film.

It says it’s restored from its original negative, so how come the look is not consistent with it being only one source? Shouldn’t the whole movie look sharp, or fuzzy, not the alternating look this has?

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by darkkrisp

I just finished watching this and was curious about some restoration issues. Can someone that is more knowledgeable than me, explain why some scenes are crystal clear and some look like there is a layer of snow applied to the film? When Jill first returns home, there are scenes in the kitchen that are razor sharp and almost look like a recent movie, than there are shots that look fuzzy and you can tell it’s an older movie. This happens quite a bit in through out the film.

It says it’s restored from its original negative, so how come the look is not consistent with it being only one source? Shouldn’t the whole movie look sharp, or fuzzy, not the alternating look this has?

I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember hearing somewhere before that the film was shot on different film stocks, so that may be a likely reason why. It's not all that unusual on lower budget productions... and it may have even been shot with some short ends.

[darkkrisp]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember hearing somewhere before that the film was shot on different film stocks, so that may be a likely reason why. It's not all that unusual on lower budget productions... and it may have even been shot with some short ends.

Sounds like a good reason. Thanks

[The Great Owl]

Jill, a college student played by Itonia Salchek, returns to her Midwestern hometown to visit her parents, only to receive a cold reception from the townspeople, all of whom are resentful toward her banker father for his role in several recent farm foreclosures. She suspects the worst when she discovers upon arriving home that both of her parents are missing and that the house has been vandalized. Jill's old high school flame, Gary, played by Dean West, and her waitress friend, Sarah, played by Lori Minnetti, both offer concern and solace, but Gary is also burdened by the tragic fates of his own parents and by the subsequent mental breakdown of his brother, Mervo, played by Tiny Tim, who wanders around the area while dressed in a clown suit and makeup. Jill's fiancé, played by Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), shows up in town, but even he might not be able to come to her rescue when those close to her start disappearing one by one. Meanwhile, there's a terrible secret waiting in the barn next to the house.

The 1987 slasher film, Blood Harvest, which was directed by Bill Rebane (The Giant Spider Invasion), is a predictable entry in the genre, and most astute viewers will see the ending from a mile away. It nonetheless emerges as a strong horror feature, however, due to its ability to convey a genuinely unsettling sense of isolation, because of the rural farmhouse location and because the animosity of the community toward the lead character's family. Tiny Tim, a famous 1960s ukulele musician and singer, provides an ever-present aura of menace as an unhinged person who never gives any indication about what he will do next, much like Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and his odd theme song for the movie lends an additional displaced feel to the proceedings.

Blood Harvest thematically brushes with a real-life horror that was sweeping the Midwest during the 1980s, in the name of the agricultural depression, especially with the grain industry, that led to farmers being besieged by crippling debts. As a 1980s kid with schoolteacher parents in an industrial Georgia town, I was not directly affected by this economic crisis, but I clearly remember the Farm Aid concerts and songs, like John Mellencamp's “Rain on the Scarecrow” and Don Henley's “A Month of Sundays.” As such, this low-budget work of slasher cinema, despite its dramatic ineptness and over-the-top inclinations, conjures recollections of an era where the “big 80s” were growing smaller each day for certain segments of society.

This Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray delivers a bountiful crop, with a filmic video presentation, great audio, and interesting supplements. I admittedly played the Tiny Tim performance interviews without undivided attention, but the commentary track by producer Leszek Burzynski is a good listen.