Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
and it's in color..., August 1, 2009
This review is from: Demented Death Farm Massacre (DVD)
Fred Olen Ray was a little-known producer of low-budget schlock-movies in the 70's and 80's. Today, he's, well, still unknown. But Ray deserves a niche' in the history of independent film-making of that era. Make it a tiny niche'.Here's a chance to see horror film icon John Carradine in a near final, if not totally curious, starring role. If you can call it that. "Demented Death Farm Massacre(1986)" is a 16mm, amazing color compilation of non-drama, B-movie regurgitation, and frankly, I don't know what. The only thing more odd than this movie is the history of it's production. "Demented Death Farm Massacre"'s opening scene shows John Carradine standing on a darkened backyard set, with a fence and bushes in front of him. He proclaims: "I am the judge of Hell. I see the evil men do. Some people think that they can get away with murder. But are they? Let's see if Judge Death can help them on their way to hell." "Death Farm" is set in the hillbilly part of the Carolina mountains. As a jeep with two men and two women drive throught the countryside, a radio is blaring a news report that tells us that the police are looking for four New York thieves who robbed $1 million worth of gems. The four are headed to Florida, but suddenly the jeep stops. "It appears that we are out of petrol" states Phillip, the gangleader. The four come across the home of moonshiner Harlan and his new and near jail-bait bride(in a fetching bare-legged skirt). When Harlan discovers that they are the thieves, he and his bride are overpowered, and the thieves soon decide that they want the hidden fortune that Harlan has made from his moonshine business. The murder and mayhem that follows is framed in pasty, red, Hollywood blood. The actors are pretty bad, and the screenplay is mostly talk, talk, talk. And yet, "Death Farm" has a totally on-location earthiness that's hard to describe. In a sex scene that's half rape and half seduction, it manages to show a topless woman in various poses, without much in the way of actual nudity.In 1985, producer Fred Olen Ray bought an old movie called "Shantytown Honeymoon(1971)" from Jeffrey Hogue. It was directed by Donn Davison. He could only view the last color-faded reel, but that was enough. He bought the picture for $5500, and retitled it "Demented Death Farm Massacre", and made a new master from the negative. Intending it as a straight-to-video, Continental Video said they would buy the U.S. rights for $15,000 if he could put John Carradine into the film. He did. Ray planned to re-shoot the titles, and insert John Carradine, his old friend, into new, added scenes. On December 14, 1985, Ray hired Carradine for the entire day, for $2400. His part would only take an hour to shoot, so Ray wrote up a series of additional scenes to shoot that would provide him enough footage to make three more John Carradine movies. He planned to use one scene for the future "Star Slammer", which he did, and another scene for "Frankenstein's Brain", which was never made. Other footage(about two minutes) was with Carradine as Judge Death, and was editted into "Death Farm'. Other footage wound-up in "Jack-O", in 1995. By then, John Carradine had been dead for seven years. In "Death Farm", Ray cuts in shots of Carradine intoning: "Love of money is the root of all evil. The lust that comes with wealth is the lust of death!". In the finale, Carradine proclaims: "Well, I see things turned out as planned. The evil were punished and the good rewarded. I like a happy ending, don't you?". The Carradine footage was shot at Movie Tech in Hollywood. Fred Olen Ray said later: "Carradine was reading from cue-cards, but I think he knew that different scenes were for different films. He was called a doctor in one, and a judge in another. We finished at three o'clock. Seven A.M. till three o'clock. I can tell you what Carradine had that day, because he had the same thing for lunch that he had for breakfast: a Spanish omelet. He always had a Spanish omelet!".
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3.0 out of 5 stars
DEMENTED DEATH FARM MASSACRE, July 15, 2011
This review is from: Demented Death Farm Massacre (DVD)
After a daring robbery in the big city, a gang of psychotic diamond thieves steal a Jeep and head out into the country. When the Jeep runs out of gas, they ditch it and wander into a bakwoods farm, the perfect hideout! They meet the wife of the owner of the farm. The husband returns home from work.
Sensing the ill-fated intentions of his freaky farm guests, the farmer must come up with a plan to turn the tables on these dangerous thugs. Fighting to save his wife, his farm, and more importantly himself, the farmer pulls out all the stops- including his dreaded pitchfork in a series of heart-stopping and nail biting confrontations with the thieves.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Typical Troma, November 15, 2010
This is a typical Troma film. Anyone expecting Oscar performances will be disappointed, but anyone expecting to be mediocrally entertained will enjoy this film.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
|
