The video boom of the 80's brought many unusual titles to the average moviegoers attention. Long before the evil chains took over, Mom and Pop video stores were starving for entertainment and would stock just about anything they could get their grubby little hands on (and they ALL had a XXX section in the back). Big box horror flicks were all the rage and they came in many different flavors, from European imports (cut down to size by American distributors) to homegrown horror from right here in the US. One such title was Tim Ritter's Truth or Dare. It's doubtful that you would have walked into a video store in the 80's (West Coast Video, Errol's you name it) and NOT found a copy of Truth or Dare on the shelf. Unfortunately, the video boom had all but died by the time Killing Spree came along, and with the little distributors being bought out by the majors, it was getting tougher for the little guy to get his flick into video stores. It wasn't until the early 90's that Killing Spree would even see a decent wide spread release to the home video market. Nearly 10-years later, Sub Rosa Retro has released Killing Spree onto DVD in a nice little special edition. Time for a quick peek, shall we?

Killing Spree is not a complicated film by any means, it was born from the days of 80's splatter, and really only stands as somewhat of a "splatter showcase" if you will. Tom and Leeza have just been married and while the newlyweds should be having the time of their lives, jealousy seems to be getting the best of Tom. Feeling his inadequacies as a breadwinner, he searches for a part time job to supplement his 40% paycut at work. Leeza begs and pleads for Tom to allow her to get a part time job herself, but no dice. It isn't until Tom discovers Leeza's diary, or little black book if you will that things really start to pick up.

Tom discovers that Leeza has been writing stories of some of her alleged erotic encounters. The encounters involve everyone from Tom's best friend, the UPS guy, groundskeeper and TV repairman. Jealousy gets the best of Tom and he invites each of the men back into his home so he can dispose of them in some gruesome and grisly ways. The dead don't rest to well when they've been wronged and I don't think I have to tell you what happens next. To make a long story short, there's a delicious little twist thrown in for good measure, a twist that you really should see coming over a mile away…but in the end it won't matter that it was so obvious.

Killing Spree is really a film for the compromising viewer, basically either you'll get it or you won't. The story is paper-thin and the performances are spotty (to say the least). It takes a little time for the action to get rolling, but once it does, it's well worth the wait. Part of what makes Killing Spree work lies within the fact that the negatives are just as much fun as the positives. Killing Spree is not great filmmaking, by any means. However, it's a slice of 80's splatter that was obviously made by fans of the genre and it shows.

At the heart of Killing Spree are the films gruesome effects. It's said in the audio commentary that the filmmakers tried to emulate certain aspects of films that they dug like Creepshow and Return of the Living Dead, and it does show. The gruesome murders are fairly creative for the most part involving lawnmowers, hammers (in a show stopping gore scene) and a ceiling fan with sharp machete blades. There's also a truly bizarre dream sequence with one of the craziest effects that I have ever seen. The gore scenes are a lot of fun to watch and brought me back to a much simpler time in direct to video filmmaking. Although the most horrific scene would have to be seeing actor Asbestos Felt (is that his REAL name?) in these teeny tiny underpants, ouch!

Sub Rosa has done quite a commendable job in bringing Killing Spree to DVD. The film was originally shot on 16mm and holds up quite well here. With only minimal traces of print damage including a few specs and scratches (which are explained in the audio commentary), Killing Spree holds up nicely with bright solid colors. Artifacting is not a problem either on this solidly encoded disc.

Audio is presented in your standard mono mix and while it does suffer a bit from the films original budgetary limitations it still sounds fine. There are some scenes in which characters weren't miked properly, but this flaw can be easily overlooked. For the most part, the audio sounds fine with acceptibel legible dialogue. Not to mention the great(?) 80's synth score, dig it!

Extras are where this disc truly shines and are definitely the icing on the cake. We'll start things off with two feature length commentaries. First up is director Tim Ritter and let's just say that this guy remembers his stuff. He's even conscious about repetition and tries to keep his track fresh from the other extras on the disc. It's an excellent listen, highly enjoyable. Next up are actors Asbestos Felt, Joel D Wynkoop and RM Hoopes. The second track is more lighthearted than informal. These guys are just having a good time taking a trip down memory lane, the second track is equally enjoyable. The final extra is a behind the scenes segment that runs just shy of 90-minutes! Followed by a new introduction with one of my favorite scream queens, Ms Debbie Rochon (::sigh::) is a plethora of behind the scenes goodness from the original shoot of Killing Spree as well as mucho info on the cast and crew behind many a Tim Ritter film. I REALLY enjoyed watching this segment, it's a historical goldmine for those interested in low budget 80's splatter. Very 80's!

I found myself really enjoying this release from Sub Rosa Retro. Although this disc will certainly not be for all tastes, fans of 80's splatter or top of the line horror cheese should really dig it. The presentation and extras are all top notch, if you're in the right frame of mind, this one comes highly recommended.

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