The elements aren’t too harsh and balance is good, so while a little lacking in presence, the film sounds passable in this version. The movie was a major hit with audiences and critics alike and opened up the floodgates for aliens to be monsters again. After the “camper” appetizer, the alien spawn take refuge in the basement of an isolated house and prepare for the main course! Criminally, all fine detail has been scrubbed away, leaving monstrous stampedes and "frightened" reactions flat and uninviting, while critical textures of gore and location have lost their grit.

Visit with the Deadly Spawn" (8:39, SD) is a comical visit with one of the feature's creature designers, who shows off his work and questionable sense of humor before revealing the enormous Deadly Spawn puppet used in the picture. I know, I know, it's all in the name of B-movie fun, yet it's difficult to get into an enterprise that appears to fall asleep on occasion, doing extraordinarily little with a promising concept collected from hundreds of merry creature features. Cogliostro encourages Spawn to fight the devil and become a new champion for humankind, while Clown goads Spawn into continuing to serve his new master and lead the Armageddon.Besides, let’s all be honest here — once you finally receive it, I’m sure it’ll just sit in your unwatched pile for months anyway. Bohus (1:19, SD) welcomes the viewer to "The Deadly Spawn," while taking a few moments to display some merchandise for the film and goof around with an alien puppet. So now Synapse is going to pour all their efforts into Trick or Treat or other newer acquisitions while older acquisitions like Deadly Spawn continue to get pushed back further and further. Local News Segments (40:32, SD) stitches together a few news profiles on "The Deadly Spawn" and Bohus from the New Jersey area, highlighting the promotion of the film, with the producer out in front, attempting to charm people into a ticket sale.

I cringed when I heard what he said in that last podcast about why he won't release it but not surprisingly, his comments were different than when he asked about it in a previous podcast. The late, great character actor’s unhinged take on Howard is so iconic that it feels like the film only exists as an excuse to allow the veteran thespian a chance to completely let loose.

Directed by Wu Ma (one of Hong Kong cinema’s most beloved multi-hyphenates; writing, directing, producing, and acting in a career spanning over 50 years) in perhaps his best directorial effort, and also starring Sammo Hung – The Dead and the Deadly is a must-see for both horror and action fans.

That's my point - if Synapse hadn't picked this up, maybe another label might have gone for this one by now, like Vinegar Syndrome. Where they had been genuine threats—as far as the public was concerned—in the ‘50s, extraterrestrials were now becoming the stuff of action and adventure stories. On the Plus side, Don commented during a podcast a year or two ago that the deals they make for titles are 20-25 year licenses which take effect once they take ownership of the film elements.

Bohus and editor Marc Harwood (the other commentaries from the Synapse DVD have been left out here), and an hour’s worth of vintage TV materials related to the feature that have been culled from VHS. Sadly, producer Robert Fern just passed away, so are they still going to play the "rights issue" card?

The fanzine had been started by El Paso effects fan Jay Duncan and Bohus in the 1970s; Bohus resurrected the title 20 years later and continues publishing it on an irregular basis.The horror genre has been all about the indies long before the movement was cool, due in part to the fact that most folks who want to make a horror movie don’t have much cash. The Schlock Pit The home of film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain who, for the best part of a decade, have parlayed their shared, lifelong obsession with horror, B-movies, and direct-to-video shenanigans into a writing career. The body count rises, with the aliens attacking an electrician, a group of older ladies hosting a soiree, and a majority of the family members in the house above the main alien’s hiding place. Absolutely impressive effects and it delivers with everything you want in a movie about alien space worms taking over Earth. With Hellbound: Hellraiser’s Tony Randel in the director’s seat and Brian Yuzna attached as executive producer, you know to expect something icky, oozy, and fantastical.