ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011, Blu-ray Review)
Director: Robert Hall
Cast: Thomas Dekker, Owain Yeoman, Mimi Michaels, Gail O’Grady, Brian Austin Green, Danielle Harris, Angelina Arman, Nick Principe
Image Entertainment / Region A / Unrated / 1.78:1 Widescreen / DTS-HD 5.1 / English Language / English and Spanish subtitles / 93 minutes / GET YOURS FROM TLACULT
Disk Extras: Commentary with Robert Hall, co-writer Kevin Bocarde and Brian Austin Green / Creating Chromeskull featurette / Jump to Kill feature / Bloopers / Deleted Scenes / Trailer
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In 1996 special effects make-up artist extraordinaire Robert Hall decided to open his own SFX studio called Almost Human. Much of his company’s start was working with Roger Corman’s Concorde Productions on roughly 30 film and TV projects. In between those films he would direct music videos for bands like Buckcherry. In 2005 Hall got the writer/director “bug” with his film debut of Lightning Bug starring That 70s Show‘s Laura Prepon about a young horror movie make-up artist. But it wasn’t until 2009 when he and his Almost Human comrades dived head first into the horror genre with the extremely gory slasher Laid to Rest that he began to get his due as a writer and director. The film would highlight not only his magically gruesome FX, but his ability to create a truly original villain and concept.
The bloody sequel begins where the first one left off, with the homicidal Chromeskull believed dead and his two surviving victims getting away as the police arrive on the scene. The killer’s assistant Preston (Brian Austin Green) gathers up his body and rushes Chromeskull back to serial killer headquarters to begin the process of bringing him back from the brink of death and grafting new skin to his flayed face. While his boss is recovering, Preston makes it his mission to tie up any and all loose ends from the killing spree gone awry, that is to find and kill Tommy (Thomas Dekker) and his girlfriend (the survivors from the first movie). As ol’ Chromedome gets stronger his other assistant Stann (the new Queen of Horror, Danielle Harris) begins manipulating him to see that Preston is getting a little too big for his britches and needs to be taken care of before his bloodlust turns on them.
Having never seen the first Laid to Rest I had no expectations other than from what I have read about it on message boards and horror magazines. Even with reading some pretty decent reviews, I still wasn’t sold on yet another hack and slash flick. I have been burned too many times with the new breed of slashers with their tired plots, uninteresting villains and horrendous production values. But when I received it in the mail from Image Entertainment I thought “why the hell not”? I am so fucking happy I did because I was blown away by Robert Hall’s polished (pun intended), super stylish and ultra gory creation. The visceral make-up effects are second to nothing I have ever seen. Think about the first time you saw Tom Savini’s fantastic FX in movies like Maniac and Friday the 13th and that is the sense of awe you will get while watching Hall’s grue-strewn make-up madness. He did some things with editing and effects that looked like real-time kills and it made me wonder how the fuck he did it.
Some of the very original kills like an American History X-style scissor blade head stomp left me in amazement. Now that I think about it, there was a shit load of facial trauma and devastation in this movie. I think that is one reason why it seemed so extremely brutal. Well, that and the fact that IT WAS INSANELY BRUTAL! Somehow Hall even got me to like Beverly Hills 90210 alum Brian Austin Green as the murderous, sycophantic serial killer fanboy. He should only be allowed to play psychos in all of his roles. Too bad that rule can’t be retroactive and he could off “Brenda” in a very messy way. I’ve become a fan of Danielle Harris as well as the new ruling Scream Queen of this decade. She is nice to look at and can play anything from an ice-cold murderer’s assistant to a feisty “final girl” in movies like Hatchet II and the Rob Zombie Halloween movies. The only place the movie suffers is in some silly horror movie plot points that seem to plague the genre but it really doesn’t detract from the loads of fun to be had.
The unrated Director’s Cut available on DVD and blu-ray from Image Entertainment is a solid release. The full 1080p HD blu-ray is gorgeous and really shows off the blood splattered set-pieces and the very stylish direction, cinematography and editing. The DTS-HD 5.1 surround does have its problems with levels with some very low dialogue and booming sound effects and soundtrack. Keep your finger on the volume control and you will be fine. The disk extras contain a “Jump to Kill” feature which is pretty sweet for showing off the goods to your friends. The deleted scenes are pretty uninteresting but the blooper reel is fascinating in that seeing levity on a gory horror movie set is odd. The Creating Chromeskull featurette is also worth a look for fans of the awesome villain. Be sure to pick your copy of the DVD or blu-ray this Tuesday, 9/20/11!
