Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity

Yeah, that's where they're from.  Can I have directions please...?  In the far depths of space two female astronauts escape with their lives from potential slavery using a spacecraft that ultimately plummets into the tractor beam of another planet.  There they are taken in by an eccentric hunter who initially appears to be hospitable.  They are soon warned by one of the other 'guests' that they're in danger (a matter also hinted at by the collection of severed heads on one of the walls...) and have to head out on the run through the surrounding jungles in order to once again escape with their lives.

Directed for Taryn Productions by Ken Dixon in 1987 Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity is a pleasing science fiction romp on a very limited budget that makes up for shortcomings in the epic department with several gorgeous women who spend the entire film wearing very little.  While acknowledged scream queen Brinke Stevens might be present, for me the star of the show is Hungarian-born Elizabeth Kaitan (credited here as Cayton).  She's got a cute voice, lovely face, perfect body, and next to the other woman comes across as much more voluptuous - to see her running around scantily clad for almost an entire film is pretty much worth paying for the film alone.  Pity that she was never more widely famed in the eyes of genre fans as the other scream queens of the era were.

The sets are cheap, and the effects are base level.  Oddly the dialogue is not overtly humorous, which feels offbeat when spoken by actors who are clearly in quite ridiculous situations, but because of this restrained nature in the delivery I feel that the material works quite well.  I was never a fan of the OTT Troma style of script delivery.  I do, however, feel that the exploitation elements could have been enhanced somewhat (and given a 70 minute running time, there was certainly room for it!).  Considering the girls have next to nothing on for most of the film, there is surprisingly little in way of nudity (although it is thankfully there to some extent).  If you're gonna do it, then go the whole hog!  As a Saturday night after-drinks film though, this is not a bad way to end it.

Once released in the US by Cult Video, 88 Films in the UK many years later put out a DVD (as part of their Grindhouse Collection) with similar credentials on the surface.  The full frame (probably as shot) transfer is merely okay - serviceable.  I suspect a Blu-ray upgrade will never be on the cards unfortunately.  Luckily the 88 disc does improve a little on sharpness over the old disc, and colour is much more bearable than the red-hued transfer of old.  The Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack is, again, functional.  While both discs have a batch of trailers to enjoy, along with a couple of other minor titbits, the 88 disc excels by including a feature length documentary also by Ken Dixon called 'Famous T&A', which is basically exactly what it states, featuring clips of actresses who have at one time or another bared their flesh for Charles Band (and other) productions.  Rough quality standard definition (closer to VHS quality actually) does not detract much from the novelty factor of having this grimy little piece as a bonus, so well done to 88 for including that.  The final advantage of the 88 disc is that is has a reversible cover with alternate artwork on the rear.  I prefer the main cover (pictured) as it replicates the art of the old video tape that I once owned many moons ago.

Puppet Master II

A posse of creepy autonomous puppets resurrect their creator in a cemetery during the dead of night.  Returning to the derelict Bodega Bay hotel where they formerly reaped havoc they gradually pick off a team of paranormal researchers that have moved in there temporarily, while Toulon, their exhumed master, masquerades as the new owner of the place.  Toulon himself recognises the resemblance of one of the investigators to his lover from decades previous, who may be reincarnated here in good old Egyptian fashion.

Continuing with a near-identical vein to the first entry in a very long series, Band obviously realised that the formula worked well enough to be a success and decided not to change it much at all.  I do feel that the exploitation elements could have been embellished - gore and nudity are there only in small doses - but essentially the puppets themselves are the draw of the show here, so I guess most of the attention is focussed on them.  They're given life by various means and it's always pleasing to watch stop motion (which makes up much of the technique used) photography in action.  They are suitably sinister designs all round.  The main problem for me is Richard Band's composition, a near relentless whiny soundtrack that rarely seems to consider the on-screen sequence that it is depicting (e.g. you might get the same feel of music in the background for someone walking across a corridor as you would for somebody else being drilled through the head).  I really try to see the appeal in Richard's work but for me his material sometimes strips a film of its dramatic potential.  While the film as a whole could have been tightened up, there are good moments spattered throughout- Charlie Spradling looks as good as ever (remaining somewhat underused in my opinion) and there's a great Action Man sequence with his child owner (who is whipping the soldier - that never happened in Toy Story!) then finding a real living doll...

Puppet Master II (1990) is a relic of the VHS era when films were being churned out specifically with the intention of putting them out in video stores.  The 88 Films Blu-ray is a nice way to experience the film.  The full HD image (1.78:1 running 88 minutes at 24 fps) is lively, bright, and often very attractive to look at - a noticeable improvement over DVD.  The DTS-HD MA audio track makes Band's score sound better than it has any right to.  The extras package is the same as the DVD, with a Charles Band commentary, an introduction to the film itself running a couple of minutes, a 21 minute historical making-of documentary, plus plenty of trailers.  The package is presented with reversible cover art so you can switch it around if you prefer, and an eight page booklet talking about Puppet Master II, the series itself, Band and Full Moon, and contains snippets of information/interview quotes from Charles Band.  It's a nice read, rounding off a good package that improves on its American cousin (which had mere Dolby Digital audio and no booklet or reversible sleeve).