Some indie films — especially genre films from the
VHS era — arrived and then were quickly forgotten. There were some, however, that made the
rounds at the local video store and somehow survived over the years as allusive
“gets” — as in, “man, you gotta get this one … so cool.”
It’s been a long and winding road (a 30-year wait),
but Unearthed Films, with sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD
Entertainment Group, has finally settled in on Sept. 17 for the DVD and Blu-ray
debut of writer/director Bruce R. Cook’s 1989 direct-to-video haunted house
thriller, Nightwish.
The DVD and Blu-ray releases are culled from a new
4K restoration from the film’s original camera negative.
The gist of the story, which often wanders down
rabbit holes that are never fully explored — but interesting “rabbit holes”
none the less — has four “graduate” students (genre fans recognize this as the
“victim pool”) isolated in a remote desert cabin (complete with a mine shaft
maze) for the purpose of doing inter-dimensional research. Their professor (Jack Starrett — Born
Losers, Blazing Saddles, First Blood,
etc.) is more than just a little unhinged.
Fans of the film have come to relish it for the
performances of Donna (Elizabeth Kaitan — Savage
Dawn, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, Assault of the Killer Bimbos, Friday
the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) and
Kim (Alisha Das — Danger Zone II: Reaper's Revenge, Firepower,
Object of Obsession) for obvious reasons. Plus there is Brian Thompson (Cobra,
Alien Nation, Fright Night Part 2 …
and The X-Files) on
board as one of the professor’s assistants, who has some terrific lines and is
fun to watch but his role is limited.
In the end, Nightwish has
the supernatural, monsters, aliens and lunatics. And, of course, Donna and Kim!!
Bonus features include commentary from producer Paul
White (Society, Bride of the Re-Animator),
who is joined by Unearthed Films founder and president, Stephen Biro.
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