Shatter Dead
Shatter Dead
Shatter Dead
Shatter Dead
Shatter Dead
Shatter Dead
Shatter Dead

Saturn's Core

Shatter Dead

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Edition Type: Standard Edition

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This Partner Label release is distributed through Vinegar Syndrome's sister company OCN Distribution. Vinegar Syndrome had no part in, nor are responsible for, the restoration, extras, quality control or any content(s) of this release. We hope you enjoy our growing roster of Partner Labels and the expertise and curation brought to each release by their dedicated staff!

Details

This listing is for the standard edition Blu-ray release. The limited edition slipcover was limited to 2,000 units and is sold out. The two versions are identical, aside from the slipcover.

Saturn's Core Audio & Video is a New Jersey based home video label devoted to releasing underground oddities and shot on video cinema on VHS, and now, blu-ray discs! In partnership with OCN Distribution, Saturn's Core will exhume forgotten or under-seen genre cinema from the 80s and 90s, with an emphasis on SOV horror features. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line!

When the Angel of Death impregnates a mortal woman, the dead cease to die and the world becomes inexplicably populated by morose and disenfranchised zombies whose primary desire is to co-exist with the living during their never ending plight on Earth. Determined to traverse through this dystopian landscape and return home to her boyfriend, the gun-toting Susan runs afoul of a car-jacking, undead religious cult led by a mysterious zealot known only as The Preacher Man. With suicide now a pathway to eternal youth, Susan must grapple with her own mortality after discovering that her lover has gone through an ominous transformation of his own in her absence.

Winner of the “Best Independent Film” award at the 1995 Fantafestival and the focal point of one of the most sensational “video nasty” controversies in BBFC history, the directorial debut of New York based filmmaker Scooter McCrae (Sixteen Tongues) remains one of the most innovative and visionary milestones to emerge from the ‘90s wave of underground SOV filmmaking. Featuring Stark Raven (Limbo), John Weiner (Blue Vengeance), & Pericles Lewnes (Redneck Zombies), Shatter Dead is an unconventional and transgressive mix of art house allegory, ferocious splatter, and Euro-Sleaze inspired sexual debauchery; coalescing effortlessly into a subversive riff on the zombie sub-genre that is unlike anything audiences have experienced before. 

directed by: Scooter McCrae
featuring: Stark Raven, Robert Wells, Marina Del Ray, Flora Fauna, Daniel "Smalls" Johnson, John Weiner 
1994 / 76 min / 1.33:1 / English Stereo

Additional information:

  • Region Free Blu-ray
  • Brand new restoration of the Director's Cut from the original Betacam SP master tapes supervised by Scooter McCrae.
  • Audio commentary with director Scooter McCrae
  • Audio commentary with director Scooter McCrae and cinematographer Matthew Howe
  • Audio commentary with director Scooter McCrae and cast members Stark Raven, Marina Del Ray, Daniel "Smalls" Johnson, and Robert Wells
  • "God Still Hates You" -an interview with director Scooter McCrae and cinematographer Matt Howe
  • "No Scars To Hide" -locations then-and-now featurette hosted by Michael Gingold
  • "The Loner" -an early short film by Scooter McCrae (with optional audio commentary)
  • Vintage Scooter McCrae cable TV interview
  • Archival behind the scenes footage / blooper reel
  • Vintage tour of the "Shatter Dead" house
  • Trailer
  • English SDH subtitles

Overall rating: 4.5148516 / 5 from 101 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

This Blu-ray release of 'Shatter Dead' is highly praised for its restoration, extras, and bonus features. Customers find the movie to be a meditative zombie flick with a brilliant concept and smart execution, though opinions on the acting vary. The release is considered one of the best SOV films ever, with a solid budget and engaging content.

Summary topics

  • Extras: 6%
  • Bonus Features: 6%
  • Film Experience: 8%
  • Production Quality: 11%
  • Concept: 7%

Review topics: ["quality","looks","picture","buy","piece","film","movie","release","budget","idea","acting","flick","title","restoration","extras","feature","story","take","sov","horror","watch","premise","gore","content","atmosphere","performances","interview","director","world","tone"].

Review highlights

  • "Loads of features and short films which compliment the main feature well." — RICHARD L.
  • "This title is a lot of fun, great release with good special features." — Lennard B.
  • "Decent low budget movie with fun perfomances and good extras on disc" — Jamie S.

Reviews

Eeek!

"Soul shattering. Fun movie to watch for shot on shiteeo."

— Ian H. (5/5)

Sov fun!

"Was very surprised with this one definitely worth the watch!"

— Brendan L. (5/5)

Superior SOV Gem

"Another really compelling slice of SOV horror from Scooter McCrae. A grimy, erotic zombie horror with a wholly original premise. Fascinating and unique, this rises well above its microbudget trappings."

— Andrew W. (4/5)

I love when movies have

"I love when movies have unique takes on established monsters/genres and the way the undead are handled here is real fascinating stuff. Glad to have this upgrade from my old DVD copy."

— Sam A. (5/5)

A really disturbing one, maybe

"A really disturbing one, maybe less for the graphic violence than for its bleak message."

— Manuel S. (5/5)

An unique and dreary take on the living dead genre

"When you venture into the area of SOV features of the early '90s and you hear the words 'living dead', you immediately expect a merry avanlanche of cheap effects and a focus on getting as much gory action on screen as possible, acting and story and other such things be damned. Basically enthusiastic people who watched zombie flicks and want to recreate. You certainly do not expect a meditation that focuses on dready atmosphere and philosophical musings on the meaning of life and death. Well, Shatter Dead, while not really an amusing watch (more on that later), scores big points on ambition and the will to go a different route. Susan, a living person, wants to arrive back to the appartement where she left her boyfriend. She has to contend with the dead, no zombies who want to eat your brains but wandering people who are not alive anymore and have to shuffle on Earth for eternity. She even encounters a preacher who wants Susan to voluntarily come over to the other side, yet with her trusty gun Susan manages to reach the appartement where her boyfriend awaits her with a big surprise. As with a lot of SOV films, the cinematography is grungy. I don't think I've ever seen a film of this type with truly beautiful composition or the drive to provide eye candy. I've always seen this as an immediate handicap that hinders SOV films to truly compete with their celluloid brethren. Shatter Dead is no different, yet the unappealing visual side of this fits with the depressing themes and approach of this film. This is way more George Romero social commentary than Lucio Fulci grand guignol (though there certainly is a fair amount of blood, gore, nudity and even some hardcore porn-skirting images). The music amplifies this feeling of misery, dread and downbeat nihilism. The acting is better than average for this kind of thing. There are even a couple of provocative moments that give the audience some food for thought : this truly is Hell On Earth as the living can see the fate that awaits them and the dead know that no matter what happens to them, they will never leave this world (this is shown in one of the best scenes at the very end). The problem here is that it can become too dreary and the level of acting needed to make all this truly sing isn't here. This was a project that I could respect and appreciate but never love, though I surely am going to give it a rewatch a couple of years later on. Saturn's Core did a great job on the blu-ray, which is still available at Vinegar Syndrome."

— Tim V. (4/5)

Wonderful!

"Blind bought this movie after wanting to see it forever and WOW! Very interesting story, and a nihilistic tone that reminds me of Deadbeat At Dawn. The restoration is AMAZING! I thought it must've been shot on 16mm because I've never seen SOV so crisp! Recommend!!!"

— Rhi S. (5/5)

Shatter Dead

"Excellent service from Vinegar Syndrome as usual. The movie was decent too"

— Andrew B. (5/5)

Shatter Dead

"Infamous SOV title that needs to be in your collection."

— Ryan F. (5/5)

One of the best SOV Titles

"This exists in a weird space where, as it exists, it is a brilliant concept with very smart execution but terrible acting, BUT, with a bigger budget and higher caliber actors it definitely wouldn't have the same inexplicably mesmerizing atmosphere. Belongs on the pantheon, along with Limbo, of the absolute best SOV films worth watching."

— Harper H. (5/5)

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