Darkness: The Vampire Version [Special Limited Edition] [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A small town is besieged by a bloodthirsty army of malevolent vampires in director Leif Jonker's ultra-gory, no-budget, underground horror hit. Shot on a shoestring budget and heavily circulated on the underground horror circuit after making a hearty splash with gore-hounds, Jonker's high-energy frightfest finds a lone warrior facing off against a legion of the undead after watching his friends get wiped out in a nearby convenience store. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Color
• Features:
  • Darkness: The Vampire Version -- 16 x 9 widescreen enhanced presentation of the newly created, definitive director's cut featuring never-before-released scenes and footage including even more torrents of blood and gore
  • New digital transfer struck directly from the original film elements, with restored image and sound, supervised and approved by director/cinematographer Leif Jonker
  • Three feature-length audio commentary tracks featuring the director, special FX artist, co-composer, cast, and crew
  • "Vampire Bootcamp: The Making of Darkness" -- All-new 30-minute featurette with cast & crew interviews
  • New Apostasy music video for the song "World of Sin"
  • Behind-the-scenes footage of four exploding vampires
  • Extended rough-cut of the climatic meltdown sequence
  • Photo gallery, including promo art for Darkness 2 & 3
  • Festival screening intro with Demon Machine promo
  • Alternate audio/commentary track on all bonus materials
  • Remastering demo, trailers, promo-spots
  • Darkness -- the original release version, unaltered and unedited, sourced directly from the 1" videotape master
  • The Photo Archive - Comprehensive 50-minute gallery of over 1,000 (yes, over one thousand) images documenting the production and "life" of the film, all accompanied by excerpts of the Darkness original music soundtrack, composed/performed by Michael Curtis and Leif Jonker
  • Highlights from the Nevermore & Cucalorus Film Festival screenings with filmmaker Q & A and audience reactions
  • Alternate/deleted scenes -- Some never before released
  • A brief tour of the Wichita, KS production studio in 1990
  • "Deth's Oogly Hed #3" -- Sacramento public-access cable television interview segment with director Leif Jonker
  • Television broadcast introduction with lab mascot Chaka
  • Three alternate trailers and three rarely seen promotional teasers including spots for Skull Full & Darkness 2
  • Alternate audio, music, FX, and/or filmmaker commentary tracks on all bonus materials, and much more

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Producer:

  Leif Jonker

• Screenwriter:

  Leif Jonker

• Cinematographer:

  Leif Jonker

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Curtis

• Editor:

  Leif Jonker

• Makeup Special Effects:

  Gary Miller

REVIEW:

• Darkness: The Vampire Version is a movie for horror fans who can appreciate the genre at its rawest extremes. The film's got plenty of rough edges on display: it's 8 mm visuals give it a grainy, homespun look, the cast consists of excited amateurs, and the gore effects are more plentiful than they are polished. As a result, Darkness: The Vampire Version isn't the kind of horror film for fans accustomed to more polished fare. That said, anyone who enjoys underground-style horror will be impressed by the intensity of Darkness: The Vampire Version. Director Leif Jonker keeps the viewer from focusing on the film's shortcomings by giving it a lean, speedy pace and delivering plenty of outrageous, bloody set pieces (the highway-set finale in particular is a grue-soaked stunner). The end result isn't perfect, but it's hard not to admire the film's enthusiasm for what it is doing. In short, Darkness: The Vampire Version is for a select portion of the horror audience, but those select few rowdy fans who can get into its "shoot from the hip" style will love its joyously bloody excesses. ~ Donald Guarisco, Rovi