The Films (2/5 for both)

Intervision Picture Corporation has released a special double feature treat for those who love obscure gory horror movies. The movies are Dream Stalker and Death by Love. Both films are from 1991 and to be honest I didn’t know they existed and after watching them, I wish they didn’t. Okay they are not that bad and I’ve seen far worse, but they still aren’t very good. Both movies were SOV (shot on video) and had miniscule budgets.

Dream Stalker is a SOV movie about a fashion model, Brittany (Valerie Williams) who keeps having disturbing dreams about her late boyfriend Ricky (Mark Dias), who died in an automotive accident three years earlier. In her dreams, Ricky is trying to kill her in order for them to be reunited. Ricky, aka “Dead Ricky” is quite the creation with his face deformed and half burnt, somewhat resembling Freddy Krueger with a mullet wearing a motorcycle outfit. In fact speaking of Freddy Krueger, this film will remind you of a poor man’s Nightmare on Elm Street. Brittany seeks the help of a doctor, who determines she is a telekinetic, who is later also killed by Ricky, or it is another dream?  Dead Ricky, the jealous type, also kills anyone that tries to make the moves on Brittany, as he wants her for himself wherever he is. More of Brittany’s friends are killed; could this be the work Dead Ricky or could it be that Brittany is dreaming this entire thing up. Or still, maybe I’m dreaming that I sat through this movie.

Due to the lack of continuity, Dream Stalker is a tough movie to figure out what’s real and what’s just a dream or is it a dream within a dream. Who knows, and who cares. Director Mills makes this a confusing mess with no answers to be found, and the acting is purely amateur. The film does have an ample amount of gore and nudity which can be a positive for some viewers, but ultimately this movie is pretty forgettable.

Death by Love is the other obscure movie in this double feature, also shot on video. This one is written, produced, directed by, and also starring Alan Grant. The simple plot has an artist / sculptor Joel Falk (Grant), who after having sex with his girlfriend, wind up dead. Falk believes that his childhood friend is killing all of his new sweethearts because he is a devil worshipper. This leads to a clever but predictable twist ending

Shot in the suburbs of Dallas, Death by Love is a pretty hokey regional feature with lousy performances and minimal suspense. The twist ending shows that Grant at least tried to make this one stand out but it was too predictable and you might not even care when the ending hits. Skin connoisseurs will enjoy the extensive, padded out soft-core love making scenes which runs about one third of the films’ running time. Since this movie is Grant’s baby, he gets all the romantic love making scenes in it with his and his love interest’s bodies all on display.

Audio/Video (1.5/5 for both)

Given that both films were shot on video, the picture quality for both films are basically the same, which is of the horrid VHS quality. The two films are presented in the 1:33:1 full screen aspect ratio. Colors are blurry, murky and hazy, skin tones are well off the mark. If you were hoping for something remastered or in high definition, these will disappoint, but if you want to see these films in the way that they were originally shot and on DVD, then you will probably find these enjoyable. I’m sure purists will appreciate them for what they are. If you think the Artisan DVD of Fright Night is yucky, try watching this double feature.

The audio used is Dolby Digital 2.0 and while the sound is loud and clear, dialog is often blocked out by cars driving by, rainfall, hissing and other noises. Maybe dialog wasn’t too important and I’m sure it wouldn’t have helped the enjoyment of either film.

Extras (3.5/5)

The best part of these release are the extras because it is plentiful. The release includes a Death By Love feature, Remembering Ricky: With Actor Mark Dias, Dirt Bike Dreams: With Executive Producer Tom Naygrow, Alan Grant remembers Death By Love Via Video Skype, and lastly Yvonne Aric and Brad Bishop Remember Death By Love Via Video Skype

Overall (2.5/5)

These are two crummy SOV movies with equally as crummy audio and video quality, but the amount of extras make up for that. This release shows that there is a fan-base for these obscurities, and I’m very sure this DVD will be enjoyed by those who did or will pick this one