(Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray TM I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.)
Originally posted on 2/10/20
It's always a treat for fans of full-blooded (so to speak) 80s horror flicks to run across a new movie that captures that feeling as well as SNATCHERS (2019), which also also functions as a delightfully quirky teen comedy amidst the flying body parts and gouts of gore.
Mary Nepi stars as Sara, who wants to be accepted by the snooty in-crowd, and Gabrielle Elyse is Hayley, Sara's nerdy friend (one of those movie nerds who's pretty but wears glasses) whom she has recently "ghosted" in her quest for social status.
Their high school is the usual conglomeration of bitchy rich girls, hunky athletic dudes, nerds, and everything in between, with a satirical "Mean Girls" vibe running through the scenes in which mean-girl Kiana (Ashley Argota) holds court in the cafeteria.
Enter Skyler (Austin Fryberger), Sara's one-time boyfriend who left due to her constant refusal to put out. Now that Sara wants to lose her virginity, she and Skyler hook up for a night of unprotected sex after which she gets instantly pregnant and comes to full term in a single day.
Hayley grudgingly gives in to Sara's pleas for help, and together they visit a free clinic where (a) the ultrasound scan reveals something very ominous, (b) Sara gives birth to that something, and (c) that something not only kills everyone it gets its claws into but can also sink those claws into the back of a person's neck and operate their zombified body like a puppet.
Already we've got more than enough for a full-tilt horror flick, but SNATCHERS is just getting started. Sara and Hayley are a delightfully funny team as they scramble around trying to escape the creature (whose origin, it turns out, is connected to Skyler's recent visit to some ancient Mayan ruins) and bringing death and horror with them wherever they go.
Directors Stephen Cedars and Benji Kleiman, who co-wrote the lean, mean screenplay with Scott Yacyshyn, shoot it all in impeccable style with lots of creative camerawork and a non-stop pace.
Some choice found locations add much to the production values, including a soon-to-be-demolished city building that doubles as police station, jail, and hospital.
Horror fans with a yen for great practical effects will have a ball with the creatures (plural, since Sara quickly has a second one that intends to mate with the first one and create a race of kill-crazy aliens) and good old-fashioned hardcore gore, all of which is tastefully augmented by just the right amount of CGI.
It's like a throwback to the days of "The Reanimator", "The Thing", and "Dead Alive", with hints of the "Alien" movies (including a "queen") set against a kind of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"/"Mean Girls" backdrop.
The two sensibilities are finely balanced and compliment each other in ways that generate a high level of giddy fun that never lets up.
Performances are top-notch, including Nick Gomez as an earnest young cop who falls for Sara's ditzy mother (J.J. Nolan) while battling the beasts, and, to my pleasant surprise, Rich Fulcher of "Snuff Box" fame as Dave, a veterinarian who lends his dubious skills to trying to help Sara through her natal crises.
Everyone, human and alien, eventually winds up at the big party being thrown at Kiana's house, where the gore really hits the fan and Sara and Hayley are forced to step up and go into action-hero mode with an array of makeshift weapons. Happily, the story is resolved in such a way that's both satisfying and worthy of these characters whom we've come to like.
It's all tongue-in-cheek horror fun in high style, and anyone who appreciates those visceral thrills of the 80s should find SNATCHERS a solidly-done throwback to them.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Birth of Snatchers: A Behind-the-Scenes Look
Unexpected: The Snatchers Blooper Reel
Commentary featuring Directors and Writers Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman and Writer Scott Yacyshyn
BASICS
Blu-ray/DVD Release: February 18, 2020
Order Due Date: January 14, 2020
Blu-ray and DVD Presented in 16x9 widescreen format
Run Time: Approx. 96 min
Enhanced Content Run Time: Approx. 117 min
DVD
Price: $19.98 SRP ($24.99 SRP in Canada)
1 DVD-9s
Audio – English (5.1), French, Spanish
UPC# 883929697977
Catalog# 1000749305
BLU-RAY
Price: $24.98 SRP ($34.97 SRP in Canada)
1 Blu-ray + 1 DVD + Digital Copy
BD Audio –DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 – English, French, Spanish
UPC# 883929697984
Catalog# 1000749306
On Digital January 7
Blu-ray Combo Pack & DVD February 18
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