Effects: Forgotten George A. Romero alumni-made meta horror movie gets dug up by the Alamo Drafthouse
In a wild bit of cult movie news today, Alamo Drafthouse’s American Genre Film Archive, the largest non-profit genre film archive in the world, has just announced an August 22, 2017 release date for the Effects Blu-ray as well as a celebratory cast and crew screening.
What’s Effects, you say?
Cobbled together with loose change by George Romero‘s friends, Effects is a mesmerizing do-it-yourself horror movie starring FX legend, actor and director Tom Savini, Joe Pilato (Day of the Dead), and actor/director and composer John Harrison (Creepshow, Tales from the Darkside). A group of coked-up filmmakers — including Savini and Pilato — gather in Pittsburgh to make a slasher called “Duped: The Snuff Movie.” As filming begins and “accidents” happen, it’s clear that something isn’t right. And no one can be trusted. Landing somewhere between Michael and Roberta Findlay’s Snuff and a student film by John Carpenter, Effects is a meta-enhanced takedown on the philosophy of horror that doubles as a sleazy and terrifying movie on its own.
“We were blown away to discover that we had the only existing 35mm theatrical print of Effects at the archive,” said AGFA director Joe Ziemba. “We’re happy that we’ve been able to help the filmmakers create a new 4K transfer that will be seen by for years to come by audiences who appreciate the movie for the right reasons.”
Effects was produced by Harrison, edited and produced by Pasquale Buba (editor of George Romero’s Knightriders, Day of the Dead and Monkey Shines), and written and directed by Dusty Nelson (Sakura Killers). Legendary horror icon Tom Savini also provided the film’s visual effects.
“It was a good thing we didn’t listen to those who thought we were crazy,” said producer and star John Harrison. “Effects was one of those magical moments in one’s life when everything just seemed to come together.”
To celebrate the release, AGFA teams up with the Alamo Drafthouse’s Terror Tuesday series in Austin for a screening of Effects on August 22 with a full cast and crew reunion. Tom Savini, Joe Pilato, John Harrison, Dusty Nelson, Pasquale Buba, and Zilla Clinton will be in attendance.
“To have the film ‘re-discovered’ and appreciated 40 years later, is not only gratifying, but quite frankly, something I never even imagined,” said director Nelson. “I can’t wait to see it with the audience in Austin.”
Special features include:
– New 4K scan from the only surviving 35mm theatrical print
– Archival commentary track with John Harrison, Dusty Nelson, and Pasquale Buba
– AFTER EFFECTS documentary with optional commentary track
– UBU and BEASTIE short films
– Liner notes by Joseph A. Ziemba of AGFA and Bleeding Skull
– Reversible cover art with illustration by Charles Forsman (Netflix’s THE END OF THE FU**ING WORLD)
You can pre-order Effect here.
