PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Yes! It’s another Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray review! The last two VinSyn releases we looked at, Anson Williams’ All-American Murder and Kevin Tenney’s The Cellar, were fantastic and beautiful to look at. This time, we’re looking at Jack Synder’s 1990 film, Fatal Exam, which the restoration company is offering as part of their Home Grown Horrors collection (along with Winterbeast 1992 and Beyond Dream’s Door 1989). How does it compare?
Fatal Exam was Filmmaker Jack Snyder’s (Bad Grandmas 2017) first film, which was shot in 1985. He wrote, directed, produced, and edited the project. Times were tough, however, and due to budgetary constraints, the film wasn’t released until 1990. To give you an idea of what’s to come, three-quarters of the cast and crew never made another movie after this. Mike Coleman, Terry Comer, Carol Carlberg-Snyder, Gilio Gherardini, Joe Midyett, Maureen Lampert, Teresa Nienhaus, Dave Mayer, Karen Greer, Joan Lang, Cinematographer Mike Suzor, and SFX Artist subsequent all share one thing – their only IMDb credit is for Fatal Exam. Cast members Greg Rhodes (Ghosthouse 1988) and Paul Steger (Vipers In the Grass 2010) were the only actors who went on to do other projects.
From the Vinegar Syndrome Fatal Exam page:
A group of college students have been given a very unusual assignment: spend the night inside of a supposedly haunted house, as part of their studies into the supernatural and occult. Although the rag tag team of collegiates would much rather party and get stoned than look for ghosts, it’s not long before unexplained events begin to occur. Initially suspecting that some of their classmates might be playing a practical joke, their fears are proven very real when someone – or something – dressed in robes and carrying a scythe starts bumping them off one by one.
A truly local slice of ultra low budget supernatural-slasher made by a first time cast and crew based in St. Louis, Missouri, Jack Snyder’s FATAL EXAM plays its haunted house tropes for its first half, before shifting gears into slice n’ dice mayhem for its second half. Barely released in any format and never officially made available on disc, Vinegar Syndrome is happy to bring this low-fi curiosity on Blu-ray, newly restored in 2K from its 16mm original camera negative and featuring an illuminating array of extras.
Directed by: Jack Snyder
Starring: Mike Coleman, Terry Comer, Carol Carlberg-Snyder, Paul Steger
1988 / 114 min / 1.85:1 / English Mono• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 16mm original camera negative
• Group commentary track with: Jack Snyder (director), Terry Comer (actor), Carl Leta (composer), William Crawford (sfx), Mike Coleman (actor), Dave Mayer (actor)
• Fatal Examination – a brand new extended making-of documentary featuring interviews with the cast and crew
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
Out of all of the Vinegar Syndrome releases I’ve reviewed over the past few yeas, I have to say that Fatal Exam is my least favorite. I know, I know… But the film has flaws. Let’s start with the acting. It’s not good, even in a cheesy way. There’s so much time spent with characters standing around talking about what they did and are planning to do. It’s not even worth the RiffTrax treatment because there’s nothing to laugh at. It’s just so boring. Nothing happens until the last 15 minutes of the film, and even those scenes overstay their welcome. The cinematography is shaky at best, especially during long shots. The FX are tame and the blood is nearly nonexistent.
The restoration is still pretty grainy, and there are a few instances of blue and red color distortion. The sound is off throughout the whole Fatal Exam, making the film look badly dubbed. The restored colors are good and bright, though.
The best part of the film is Roger Ellington (Comer), the mustachioed muscleman crushing on Nick’s (Coleman) sister, Dana (Carlberg-Snyder). He brings a shovel—not a trowel, but a full sized, long-handled garden spade—along on this haunted house adventure because you never know when you’ll need one to save your life. Plus, the guy was obsessed with his yo-yo. Yes, his literal yo-yo. He can’t stop playing with it. He’s awesome, and I wish this had just been The Roger Chronicles from beginning to end. Alas, it is not. Oh, and the claymation demon at the end of the film is pretty cool, too.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for an exciting, action-packed haunted house escapade, skip Fatal Exam. The lack of story, terrible acting, and badly dubbed sound make this film a chore. Do yourself a favor and watch What Lies Beneath or Stir Of Echoes instead.
