PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Let’s travel back to 1987 and talk about the genre flick, The Lamp/The Outing, Director Tom Daley’s only foray into the world of feature film. The script was written by Warren Chaney (Behind The Mask 1992), whose wife, Deborah Winters (The Winds Of War 19983), was cast in the film along with James Huston (The Life Of David Gale 2003), Scott Bankston (50 First Dates 2004), and Barry Coffing (TV Artscapes: ScubaScapes Volume IV 2008).
Synopsis:
An ancient genie is released from a lamp when thieves ransack an old woman’s house. They are killed and the lamp is moved to a museum to be studied. The curator’s daughter is soon possessed by the genie and invites her friends to spend the night at the museum, along with some uninvited guests. The genie kills them off in an attempt to fulfill her ultimate wish.
From Vinegar Syndrome’s The Lamp/The Outing page:
This special limited edition embossed slipcover (designed by Earl Kess) is limited to 5,000 units and is only available here at VinegarSyndrome.com!
After a group of thieves decide to ransack the home of a strange, old Gypsy woman, murdering her in the process, they unwittingly free a vengeful genie named Jinn who has been held captive for centuries in an ancient oil lamp. Soon after, the lamp is acquired by a local museum. But as Alex Wallace, daughter of the museum’s curator, decides to sneak a group of her friends into the museum after hours for a night of partying, she doesn’t realize that Jinn is looking for a new ‘keeper’ and that Alex is the perfect vessel to carry out the genie’s diabolical actions…
Primed with an assortment of gruesome deaths and a very dark sense of humor, Tom Daley’s THE LAMP (aka THE OUTING) is a wild, Texas lensed, mid 80s supernatural horror gem. Starring Deborah Winters (Kotch), James Huston (Ray, Powder), and featuring the voice of cult actor Jackson Bostwick (TV’s Shazam, The Prey) as the voice of murderous genie, Jinn, Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to resurrect THE LAMP on Blu-ray, featuring a brand new 2K restoration of a never-on-video, 92 min cut, and an extended making-of documentary featuring new interviews with its cast and crew, thus finally allowing the incredible story of its production to be told!
directed by: Tom Daley
starring: Deborah Winters, James Huston, Andra St. Ivanyi, Danny Daniels, Barry Coffing, Jackson Bostwick
1987 / 92 min / 1.85:1 / English StereoAdditional info:
• Region A Blu-ray
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm interpositive
• “All in the Family: Taking an Outing in the Lamp” – an extended making-of documentary with: writer/producer Warren Chaney, executive producer Fred T. Kuehnert, along with actors Deborah Winters, Andra St. Ivanyi, André Chimène, Hank Amigo, Michelle Watkins and Barry Coffing
• Commentary track with writer/producer Warren Chaney, actress Deborah Winters and actor Barry Coffing (moderated by Zack Carlson)
• Original theatrical trailer
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
What Works
The beginning of The Lamp opens with a title card explaining that the folks at Vinegar Syndrome stumbled upon a few short scene extensions that had initially been cut, so they reinserted them into this 2k restoration, making it the longest version of the film ever released. I was surprised that this wasn’t mentioned in the Special Features listed on the back of the disc case or on the Vin Syn product page as I think it’s a pretty cool tidbit.
The film itself starts out quite a bit like Don’t Breathe (2016 – read our review here) with a trio of money-hungry ruffians looking to rob who they think is a rich, disabled, elderly hermit. In this case, the victim (Deborah Winters) is an ancient woman currently in the possession of an Arabian Nights-like lamp that she hid after the previous owner, her mother (Deborah Winters), had been murdered for it almost 100 years previous. She’s killed during the invasion, and a gold bracelet dripping with rubies falls from her wrist. This is the way to control the lamp’s Jinn, so with no master, the demon wreaks havoc. He appears as only a neon green fog at first, keeping his actual visage a secret until later like the shark from Jaws (1975). He’s still attached to the lamp and the bracelet, however, so when they’re eventually sent to a museum to be catalogued and studied, he goes along with it. It just happens to be sitting there when Alex (Andra St. Ivanyi), the daughter of the museum’s curator, snaps the bracelet onto her wrist and then decides to rebel against her father, Dr. Wallace (James Huston), and throw a party with her friends at the repository.
The Lamp was made in 1987, a time before most women in horror movies had any clout or respect. However, there is one ass-kicking female character in this film that I absolutely love. Alex’s teacher, Eve Ferrell (Deborah Winters), does not let anyone push her around. When Alex and her friend are assaulted at school by two racist misogynists, everyone else stands around to watch, afraid of what to do. But not Miss Ferrell. She goes after these chauvinistic goons with a freaking baseball bat! Then later on, she gets Alex and her dad out of a nightmarish mess all by herself. She is the Ellen Ripley of The Lamp. I also noticed that the elderly victim, her murdered mother and Miss Farrell were all played by Daley’s wife, Deborah Winters. Interesting…
There’s also a killer mummy in the museum named Tracy. This means nothing to most people, but as someone named Tracy, this came as quite the pleasant surprise. She really does some damage, too. The other kills are fun, including a murderous swimming pool, swimming snakes, invisible strangulation, and a head chopping fan. Most of them take place off screen, but the intention is there.
It’s the ’80s, so of course there’s screaming girls, boobs, beer, make out sessions, convertibles, red and green light filters, unique kills, and big hair. These things are always welcome in cheesy horror, at least by me. It doesn’t get much more 1987 than The Lamp.
Last but not least is the product placement in The Lamp. I don’t know how many companies sponsored this thing, but I do know I recognized Pepsi, Guess? jeans and Fig Newtons, and that’s just off the top of my head. It reminds me of the satire of using generic products in Repo Man (1984). It makes me wonder how many more than I missed. Maybe a rewatch is in order.
What Doesn’t Work
The lighting in The Lamp can be quite dark, especially during the opening scene with the murder of the original lamp owner. I honestly had no idea what was even going on in some scenes. Watching this from a 21st century perspective makes the outright racism and sexual assault by some of the characters too much for me. It’s way too over the top and disgusting. I know this is a horror movie, but that stuff just rubbed me the wrong way. The jinn doesn’t actually appear for almost an hour, and he’s pretty cheesy looking. This could be a good thing for some, but I was in the mood for something more elaborate than a plastic figurine. I’m sure others will love him though.
2k Restoration
This 2k restoration is lovely. The result is still a bit grainy but the colors are spot on. It’s too bad they couldn’t do anything about the dark scenes, but I digress. The sound is excellent as well. I didn’t notice any weird transitions from the inserted scenes. The final results are as smooth as butter.
If you’re a fan of cheesy ’80s movies, you should definitely pick up the limited edition 2k restoration of The Lamp/The Outing from Vinegar Syndrome!
