PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Synopsis:
A young man arrives at his father’s mansion in Louisiana to discover that a secretive cult is using winged creatures to raise the dead to do their bidding.
Possibly inspired by Angel Heart (1987), writer/director David Schmoeller (Puppet Master, Tourist Trap) helmed Full Moon Feature’s inventive 1992 voodoo in the bayou effort, Netherworld. Now being released on Blu-ray through Full Moon Features, remastered in 1080p from the original negative, and appearing uncut for the first time, this oft overlooked entry needs another look.
Young pretty boy Corey Thornton (Michael Bendetti: 21 Jump Street) arrives at his recently deceased, estranged father’s (Robert Sampson: Re Animator) palatial Louisiana estate, which he has just inherited. His father’s mysterious attorney, Beauregard Yates (Robert Burr: A Return To ‘Salem’s Lot), leaves some documents for him to peruse and introduces him to the caretaker, Mrs. Palmer (Anjanette Comer: The Baby) and her blond vixen of a daughter, Diane (Holly Floria: Bikini Island), and quickly leaves.
Initially left to his own devices, Corey explores the property and his late dad’s belongings, and gets better acquainted with the comely Diane (who warns him away from the local bar/brothel, Tonk’s Place). Hallucinations, strange goings on, and… birds follow. After another meeting with Yates, young Corey soon finds out that dear old dad doesn’t exactly want to stay dead and was habitually doing the horizontal dance with local seductress/witch, Delores (the stunning Denise Gentile: Babylon 5), in an attempt to absorb some of her power and/or gain her help in his reincarnation. Sound crazy? You ain’t seen nothing yet!
After visiting Tonk’s Place, Corey is thrust into a struggle for life and death, forced to choose between light and darkness (literally—pale blonde Diane or raven-haired Delores), and must choose who to trust, as the old man may not have had his best interest in mind…
Netherworld has a lot going for it if, of course, you can wrap your mind around some of the batshit crazy goings on. But isn’t that indicative of (and a large part of the charm of) most of Full Moon’s catalogue? These are the guys that brought us homicidal gingerbread men, among other things.
Questions about the quirky plot abound: are Mary Magdalene (the impossibly hot Alex Datcher: Passenger 57) and Marilyn Monroe (Holly Butler: Vendetta) actually the reincarnations of the legendary women, or are they just raging, delusional, psycho prostitutes? Is the hulking, nutso Bijou (George Kelly: Forrest Gump) a friend or foe? Can you really transfer souls between birds and bring back the dead with voodoo? And what’s with the vengeful, flying, disembodied statue hand that’s equal parts Ash’s hand from Evil Dead 2 and a sentinel sphere from Phantasm? And why, after a weird-ass ice cube sex scene, doesn’t Corey seem at all bothered by the fact that he’s railing the same hooker that his dad journalized about railing ad infinitum? He did try on all of his dad’s clothes, but fucking sheesh, man! Couldn’t they come up with a better name for the evil voodoo queen? Delores? Really? Come on! And why is he growing feathers (in his… wait for it… feathered hair!)?
Unanswered questions aside, Netherworld is a capable throwback to those beloved films that came just as the golden age of home video was fizzling out. Plenty of great splatter effects, odd violence, and sweaty, humid Louisiana ambience are the order for the day here, and hey, Dean Halsey in unintentionally funny dead guy make-up scores some points too, right? Add copious amounts of early ’90s cred, like Bon Jovi keyboardist, David Bryan, creating the score, and he (along with Edgar Winter) even has a cameo!
The Blu-ray features a crisp, sharp, and consistent quality transfer, with no weird drop-ins or dubious quality that sometimes plague late, uncut releases. Extras are minimal, just some trailers and a Videozone segment.
A rollicking, demented, cray-cray film with tons of atmosphere, black magick, quirky charisma, and a damned near perfect cast, Netherworld is definitely a wild ride from a decade of horror that is often hit or miss, but any self respecting horror fan will leave this one with a smile on their face!
Netherworld is available from Full Moon Features at MVD Visual and other fine retailers.
