PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It’s Vinegar Syndrome time again, baby! Today, we’ve got the restoration company’s region free 4k UHD Blu-ray set of Tony Randel’s Ticks. Initially released in 1993, Ticks takes one of the nastiest bugs out there—the kind that suck out your lifeblood and replace it with a multitude of diseases—and makes them the size of a baseball glove, as fast as scuttling mice and twice as loud. Plus, the film is full of familiar faces. Check it out!
Ticks is directed by Hellbound: Hellraiser’s Tony Randel from a script written by Brent V. Friedmen (The Twilight Zone TV series). The film stars Seth Green (Stephen King’s IT TV series), Mickey Dolenz’s daughter, Ami Dolenz (Witchboard 2 1993), Alfonso Ribeiro (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV series), Clint Howard (Ice Cream Man 1995), Peter Scolari (Gotham TV series), Virginya Keehne (Pump Up The Volume 1990), Ray Oriel (Colors 1988), Dina Dayrit (My So Called Life TV series), and Rosalind Allen (Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult 1994). Chopping Mall’s Leslie Rosenthal edited the film while Daniel Licht (Dexter TV series) and Christopher L. Stone (Phantasm franchise) composed the score. Special FX artists Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead TV series) and Doug Beswick (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope 1977, Aliens 1986, The Terminator 1984) created the nasty bugs and their results.
Synopsis:
A group of troubled teenagers are led by social workers on a California wilderness retreat, not knowing that the woods they are camping in have become infested by mutated, blood-sucking ticks.
What Works
The story told in Ticks is not a new one, but it is a fun one. A bunch of troubled city kids go galumphing through the woods lead by social workers Holly (Allen) and Charles (Scolari). I’m not sure why these very different kids were chosen for this particular excursion, but that hardly matters. They all have their own hangups: Tyler (Green) has panic attacks and abandonment issues; Darrel AKA Panic (Ribeiro) is a dog-loving, kleptomaniac, gang member; Dee Dee (Dolenz) and John Stamos-wannabe Rome (Oriel) are horny, image-minded airheads; Charles’ daughter, Melissa (Keehne), just wants to be left alone; and Kelly (Dayrit) is extremely shy. They all have a bit of personality that gets you to care for them as they are attacked by what amounts to huge, mutated, bug vampires. This is something you don’t see much from these kinds of films, and I find it refreshing. Also, witnessing Carlton as a steroid-popping street thug is a true treat.
Ticks is an eco horror at its finest. People messing with the environment is something we’ve dealt with since the industrial revolution, and the results have been catastrophic. Mutations in nature are clearly the next step. Not only do these nasty creepy-crawlies grow to the size of a dinner plate, but the reason they get so big is through a chemically altered fertilizer that was Frankensteined by pot farmer Jarvis (Howard) on a machine powered by a hamster running in a wheel. At least he used natural energy for that part, I guess.
The best part about Ticks is the ticks themselves. These vampires of the insect world are gooey and gross. Their guts look like bloody Ramen noodles. They can burrow into your skin and pop back out at random moments. Their venom makes you see things. They hatch out of pulsing egg sacs that look like mini Gremlin pods. They’re fast as hell and sound like ducks dashing across a wet sidewalk when they run. Plus, they were designed by the great Greg Nicotero and Aliens’ Doug Beswick. What more could you ask for?
I’ll tell you what more you could as for. How about a tick transformation scene? It’s bad enough that these things crawl up your pants legs, root directly into your skin, and make you hallucinate so you don’t know to fight them off. But they also turn their victims into giant bloodsucking parasites, and we get to see the whole metamorphosis from beginning to end. That change is gloriously disgusting and detailed in a way only Nicotero and Beswick could do.
What Doesn’t Work
Okay, I have to get this off my chest. There is one glaring fault in Ticks, and it’s one I can’t forgive. I can watch anything happen to people in horror movies. The above mentioned transformation scene is one of the highlights in this film. But I can’t forgive that they kill the dog. Not only did they kill him, but they even had him seizing and suffering before he died. Granted, this is a movie about killer ticks, and ticks do go after dogs. But still. This was too much.
I am also a bit disappointed that this movie has a forest fire in the middle of a pot farm and no one was affected by it. Second hand smoke has never been so dangerous! Maybe that would have made Ticks too silly, but come on. It was the ’90s!
4k UHD Restoration
This 4k UHD restoration is absolutely beautiful. I am truly impressed with this release. If you take out the obviously ’90s clothes and haircuts, you might even believe that this version of Ticks was released in the 21st century. It’s that good. The sound can be off a bit, especially at the beginning, but it wasn’t something that took me out of the film. The slipcover with the “I’m infested!” artwork by Earl Kess and Tom Hodge is a glory to behold.
While not as prolific as some other Vin Syn releases, the extras here are fantastic. There are two commentary tracks: one with Director Tony Randel and Actor Clint Howard; and one with Special Effects Supervisor Doug Beswick and Stop-Motion Animator Yancy Calzada. There’s also a an extended three part making-of documentary called Under The Skin: The Making Of Ticks featuring Director Tony Randel, Actress Rosalind Allen, Special Effects Supervisor Doug Beswick, Actress Ami Dolenz, Writer Brent Friedman, Editor Leslie Rosenthal, Composer Christopher Stone and Executive Producer Brian Yuzna. This documentary is worth the price of the release alone, especially for fans of this film.
So, if you’re searching for a grisly, gruesome stocking stuffer that will make the horror fan in your life twitch with revulsion and awkward ’90s stereotypes, look no further than Vinegar Syndrome’s region free 4K UHD Blu-ray release of Tony Randel’s Ticks. This creature feature is a gory good time and a perfect homage to the killer bug movies from the ’50s, and the ultra high def quality of this 2 disc set is second to none. Just close your eyes during the dog scene.
From Vinegar Syndrome’s Tick page:
This special limited edition rigid slipcase & slipcover set (designed by Tom Hodge & Earl Kess) is limited to 8,000 units and is only available here at VinegarSyndrome.com!
An assortment of unruly and misfit teens have all been forced to attend camp at a wildlife preserve, to commune with nature. What they don’t realize is that nearby in the woods, an illicit marijuana growing operation is underway and the weed farmers have been using a pesticide which has had one very unintended side effect: turning ordinary ticks into giant, ravenous bloodsuckers…
One of the quintessential creature features of the early 90s, Tony Randel’s (Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Amityville: It’s About Time) Ticks pays loving tribute to 1950s giant monster movies, updating the formula by adding copious amounts of slime and heavily increased bloodshed. Starring Seth Green (Austin Powers), Alfonso Ribeiro (TV’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Rosalind Allen (TV’s Seinfeld) and a very memorable appearance from Clint Howard (Ice Cream Man), Vinegar Syndrome brings TICKS to 4K UHD for the very first time in a never-before-seen extended version, featuring comprehensive interviews and commentaries with the film’s key creators including producer Brian Yuzna (Society) and Ticks creator and effects supervisor, Doug Beswick (Aliens, The Terminator).
directed by: Tony Randel
starring: Seth Green, Ami Dolenz, Rosalind Allen, Clint Howard, Alfonso Ribeiro, Virginya Keehne
1993 / 88 min / 1.85:1 / English Stereo
Additional info:
• Region Free UHD/Blu-ray Set
• 4k UHD presented in High-Dynamic-Range
• Newly scanned & restored in 4k from its 35mm interpositive
• Commentary track with director Tony Randel and actor Clint Howard, moderated by Nathaniel Thompson
• Commentary track with special effects supervisor Doug Beswick and stop-motion animator Yancy Calzada, moderated by filmmaker Joe Begos
• “UNDER THE SKIN: THE MAKING OF TICKS” – an extended three part making-of documentary with: director Tony Randel, actress Rosalind Allen, special effects supervisor Doug Beswick, actress Ami Dolenz, writer Brent Friedman, editor Leslie Rosenthal, composer Christopher Stone and executive producer Brian Yuzna
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
