The Theatre Bizarre [Blu-ray]

Jeremy Kasten

Overview

A curious young woman sneaks into a derelict movie theater and experiences six tales of Grand Guignol terror in this horror anthology featuring contributions by Buddy Giovinazzo, Tom Savini, Jeremy Kasten, Richard Stanley, David Gregory, Douglas Buck, and Karim Hussain. As the sinister host (Udo Kier) emerges to introduce the show, the screen flickers to life and the terror begins to build. In Buddy Giovinazzo's "I Love You," a bewildered man (Andre M. Hennicke) awakens with a gruesome hand injury and a debilitating case of amnesia, and he endures a brutal verbal onslaught from his unfaithful wife (Suzan Anbeh). Marital troubles continue when an abusive husband gets his gruesome comeuppance in Tom Savini's "Wet Dreams," and an anthropologist (Shane Woodward) and his frivolous partner (Victoria Maurette) encounter an enigmatic witch (Catriona MacColl) who casts a seductive spell before making a grotesque transformation in Richard Stanley's "The Mother of Toads." Hopelessly depressed after being rejected by his gorgeous girlfriend Estelle (Lindsay Goranson), portly sugar addict Greg (Guilford Adams) discovers that you really are what you eat in David Gregory's "Sweets," and a female serial killer seeking to preserve the tragic memories of society's outcasts finds an unusual means of doing so in Karim Hussain's "Vision Stains." Elsewhere, in Douglas Buck's "The Accident," a mother searches for the words to comfort her traumatized young daughter after the pair witness the sudden death of a friendly motorcyclist.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/26/2021
UPC:	0663390004364
Original Release:	2011
Rating:	NR
Source:	Severin
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:54:00
Sales rank:	30,511

Special Features

Closed Caption; 2020 Filmmakers Audio Commentary; 2012 Filmmakers Audio Commentary; Backstage: The Making of The Theatre Bizarre - New feature length documentary; French TV On-Set Report on Richard Stanley's Return to Genre Filmmaking; Making of Vision Stains by Filmmaker Pat Tremblay; Making of The Accident by Filmmaker Pat Tremblay; Shock Till You Drop's Choice Cuts with Buddy Giovinazzo; Shock Till You Drop's Choice with David Gregory; Shock Till You Drop's Choice Cuts with Jeremy Kasten; Boswell Scores - Interview with The Mother of Toads & Vision Stains Soundtrak Composer Simon Boswell; The Mother of Toads - Extended Cut; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Udo Kier	Peg Poett
Virginia Newcomb	Enola Penny
Amanda Marquardt	Squalid Woman
Ameila Gotham	Gypsy,Gypsy
Jeremy Gladen	Naked Man
Liberty Larsen	Little Girl
Brett Laudermilk	Naked Man
Christopher Sachs	Groom
Nicole Fabbri	Bride
Catriona MacColl	Mère Antoinette
Shane Woodward	Martin
Victoria Maurette	Karina
Lisa Crawford	The Naked Witch
Amélie Salomon	The Monster
André Hennicke	Axel
Harvey Friedman	George
Cynthia Barcomi	Mo's Sister
Christian Goebel	Mo's Brother-in-law
Debbie Rochon	Carla
Tom Savini	Dr. Maurey
James Gill	Donnie
Jodii Christianson	Maxine
Halfbreed Billy Gram	Dungeon Master
Lena Kleine	Mother
Melodie Simmard	Daughter
Jean-Paul Rivière	Motorcycle Father
Bruno Décary	Motorcyle Son
Kaniehtiio Horn	The Writer
Cynthia Wu-Maheux	Junkie Girl
Imogen Haworth	Pregnant Woman
Rachelle Glait	Older Homeless Woman
Lindsay Goranson	Estelle
Guilford Adams	Greg
Lynn Lowry	Mikela
Jessica Remmers	Antonia
Elissa Dowling	Subs
Erin Marie Hogan	Test Tube Baby
Jeff Dylan Graham	Buzz
Dave Grave	Old Punk
Gregg Shore	Guitarist
Erica Rhodes	Cellist
Tree Carr	Kissing Couple,Kissing Couple
Jeffrey Block	Chef
Bobby Hacker	Restaurant Patron
Adam Keese	Restaurant Patron
Andrew Schwartz	Restaurant Patron
Jill Snyder	Restaurant Patron
Whitney Moore	Restaurant Patron
Lorry O'Toole	Server
Julietta Randall	Server
Damon Packard	Sous-Chef (Sweets)
Simon Boswell	Composer
Susan Dibona	Composer
Mark Raskin	Composer
Bobb Freund	Composer
Eric Liam Powell	Composer
Pierre Marchand	Composer

Technical Credits

Richard Stanley

Buddy Giovinazzo

Karim Hussain

Douglas Buck

David Gregory

John Esposito

Emiliano Ranzani

Scarlett Amaris

Zach Chassler

Jeremy Kasten	Director
Tom Savini	Director
Richard Stanley	Director,Screenwriter
Buddy Giovinazzo	Director,Screenwriter
Karim Hussain	Director,Screenwriter
Douglas Buck	Director,Screenwriter
David Gregory	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Victoria Sanchez Mandryk	Producer
Alexandra Spector	Producer
Nicco Ardin	Producer
Jacqui Knapp	Producer
Gesine Giovinazzo-Todt	Producer
Caroline Piras	Producer
Fabrice Lambot	Producer
John Cregan	Producer
Michael Ruggiero	Producer
Erika Larsen	Producer
Jean-Pierre Putters	Producer
Carl Daft	Producer
Kirsten Sohrauer	Producer
Daryl J. Tucker	Executive Producer
John Esposito	Screenwriter
Emiliano Ranzani	Screenwriter
Scarlett Amaris	Screenwriter
Zach Chassler	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Grand Guignol horrors abound in The Theatre Bizarre, a gloriously twisted, frequently stomach-turning anthology horror film comprised of six segments, each from a different genre director. Anthology films are a mixed bag by definition, and that's even more apparent when multiple storytellers are involved: It's simply impossible to expect different filmmakers at various stages in their careers to all be firing on the same number of cylinders. And while the resulting variance in tone and quality can often be part of an omnibus' scabrous charm, there's always the distinct possibility that the lesser efforts will weigh down the stronger ones. In the case of The Theatre Bizarre, at least, the balance is fairly even. A curious young woman sneaks into a derelict movie theater and experiences six tales of terror from six shock specialists. As the sinister host (Udo Kier) emerges to introduce the show, the screen flickers to life and the terror begins to build. In Richard Stanley's "The Mother of Toads," an anthropologist (Shane Woodward) and his frivolous partner (Victoria Maurette) encounter an enigmatic witch (Catriona MacColl) who casts a seductive spell before making a grotesque transformation. Buddy Giovinazzo's "I Love You" tells the tragic tale of a bewildered man (Andre M. Hennicke) who awakens with a gruesome hand injury and a debilitating case of amnesia, only to unravel even more as he endures a brutal verbal onslaught from his unfaithful wife (Susan Anbeh). The marital troubles continue when an abusive husband gets his gruesome comeuppance in Tom Savini's "Wet Dreams," while Douglas Buck's "The Accident" finds a concerned mother searching for the words to comfort her traumatized young daughter after the pair witness the sudden death of a friendly motorcyclist. Hopelessly depressed after being rejected by his gorgeous girlfriend Estelle (Lindsay Goranson), portly sugar addict Greg (Guilford Adams) discovers too little too late that she is colder than soft serve in David Gregory's "Sweets," and a female serial killer seeking to preserve the tragic memories of society's outcasts finds an unusual means of doing so in Karim Hussain's "Vision Stains." Though it's difficult to recommend The Theatre Bizarre as a whole, at least three of the featured segments are strong enough to warrant a look from devoted horror fans, with one among them standing out as a mini-masterpiece that transcends the genre altogether. Nearly 20 years after seeing his last horror feature (1992's Dust Devil) gutted by Miramax (and later having his Island of Dr. Moreau adaptation hijacked altogether), South African writer/director Stanley proves that he still has what it takes to craft an atmospheric frightener in "The Mother of Toads." Imbued with the dark esoteric concepts that have always been Stanley's specialty, the perverse tale finds Lucio Fulci muse MacColl returning to her genre roots with striking effect, and it gets things off to a suitably grim start. The second entry, Giovinazzo's "I Love You," gets points for its mind-bending tale of emotional cruelty, though the segment ultimately feels a bit too rushed to be genuinely effective, and despite containing a few gruesome surprises, Savini's "Wet Dreams" only offers further proof that the talented makeup-effects artist should probably stick to his specialty. After a pair of forgivable misfires, however, things really get back on track in Buck's affecting segment, "The Accident." Despite the grim subject matter of a child attempting to grasp the concept of death after witnessing a fatal motorcycle accident, Buck's story is difficult to label as outright horror, and to do so would be a bit of a misnomer. We all remember that profound moment when we realized that we wouldn't live forever, and any parent who has struggled for the words to speak honestly with their child about death will instantly recognize the perceptive writing and skillful direction displayed by Buck as he tackles a very real and very difficult subject in a way that's genuinely moving. Perhaps it's simply due to the placement of the shorts within the feature, but to follow "The Accident" with Gregory's alternately revolting and darkly comic "Sweets" makes the latter come off as a bit forced. Still, for those who like their shocks served with a side of ghastly humor, "Sweets" does manage to deliver at least a few enjoyably foul laughs. And if the malevolent ringmaster of this sick spectacle was seeking to send us out with a bang, it's hard to imagine a more effective means of doing so than ending on Hussain's "Vision Stains," a heady, high-concept short anchored by the repeated, disturbingly realistic imagery of eyeballs being pierced by hypodermic needles. But as unsettling as the sights of "Vision Stains" may be, Hussain proves that he isn't simply interested in making us squirm by taking us deep into the tortured psyche of his troubled protagonist and shooting his story with a sense of grimy, stylistic flair. Director Jeremy Kasten, meanwhile, makes the most of horror legend Kier (lumbering around the stage like a possessed marionette) in the spooky framing segment, which casts an intoxicatingly eerie yet weirdly playful spell over the whole macabre endeavor.