Crazy production story behind Spookies, fairly extensively discussed in the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray extras. This movie was originaly made under the name Twisted Souls, and directed by Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Duran. Produced by VIPCO founder Michael Lee, who was not happy with the results. So everyone then-presently involved was either fired or quit, and Lee set out to complete/remake the film with an all-new staff. Hired as director was former porn star Eugenie Joseph. The 43 minutes of new footage (as opposed to 42 minutes of old footage left; not a coincidence) inserted is, frankly, disastrous. It is super obvious to spot, too. Everything that occurs in it is completely outside the core plot. It's too bad, because Spookies has some really amazing creature effects, and is a potentially fun haunted house-style horror flick. My only gripe with this half of the movie is that the voluptuous redhead does not get naked. I mean, you don't put a woman with a body like that in a horror movie and not have her get undressed! We can actually thank Michael Lee for missed opportunities such as this, as he stated he didn't want to do anything controversial or graphic. VIPCO was at the center of the Video Nasty panic in England back in the 80's.
If you're going to watch Spookies, essential viewing are the two feature-length documentaries on VS's special edition. First up is "Twisted Tale - The Unmaking of Spookies." This is the original production team of Twisted Souls speaking quite candidly (and bitterly) about the making of their ill-fated horror film. Quite a fascinating journey. Next is "VIPCO - The Untold Story," which really just seems like a fan letter to the VIPCO label. But running over two hours, another dialogue entirely emerges. It tells of the story of the unraveling of the label, all at the hands of president Michael Lee. This extra is telling. It shows not only how out of touch the guy was, but also how money hungry he was (always quick to point out how much money he made). Much of this is told IN HIS OWN WORDS. There's no doubt VIPCO was the godfather to current boutique labels like Arrow, Scream Factory, and Vinegar Syndrome, but this documentary proved that they not only weren't willing to keep up with the times, but also any reasonable suggestions to Lee fell on deaf ears.
If you're going to watch Spookies, essential viewing are the two feature-length documentaries on VS's special edition. First up is "Twisted Tale - The Unmaking of Spookies." This is the original production team of Twisted Souls speaking quite candidly (and bitterly) about the making of their ill-fated horror film. Quite a fascinating journey. Next is "VIPCO - The Untold Story," which really just seems like a fan letter to the VIPCO label. But running over two hours, another dialogue entirely emerges. It tells of the story of the unraveling of the label, all at the hands of president Michael Lee. This extra is telling. It shows not only how out of touch the guy was, but also how money hungry he was (always quick to point out how much money he made). Much of this is told IN HIS OWN WORDS. There's no doubt VIPCO was the godfather to current boutique labels like Arrow, Scream Factory, and Vinegar Syndrome, but this documentary proved that they not only weren't willing to keep up with the times, but also any reasonable suggestions to Lee fell on deaf ears.