DVD Review: Soultangler (1987)

Crazed scientist Dr. Anton Lupesky has for some baffling reason created a drug that frees the soul from the body and lets it inhabit any given corpse, as long as it possess eyes. That sounds pleasant…but wait, it get’s worse. You see the drug also gives the user hellacious hallucinations and drives them batshit bonkers. While that bit of biz is going on, an intrepid reporter is hot on the Dr.’s heels as she feels he may have had something to do with the death of her father…but mostly she smokes a lot and randomly bangs on typewriter keys. Along the way we thrill to people wanting to rent videotapes, random serial killers, Lovecraftian pseudo-science, buckets and buckets of blood and gruesome gore, a jingle-jangle soundtrack, a zombie that appears to be practicing for the Cunnilingus Olympics, and most importantly rampaging Long Island accents!
As baffling as it is brilliant, Soultangler is a film you just have to experience…preferably under the influence of your “medication” of choice. Although I tried valiantly to describe the film in the above sinister synopsis, I honestly did it no justice…the entire affair is inept, operates under fever dream logic (when it has logic at all), filled with utterly brilliant gore effects (all practical ‘natch), and acted with the subtitle of a sledgehammer to the groin. It’s absolute bedlam, and I loved every second of it!
After your brain melts and seeps out of your eerie earholes from the feature, you can try and recover with a bout of beastly bonus material! Included on this fine AGFA (in conjunction with the top geezers at Bleeding Skull and MVD Entertainment) release are; a commentary track with Director Pat Bishow (it’s self-effacing, hilarious, and informative…an all-around great listen!), a 62 minute Director’s Cut of the film (which admittedly plays much better than the 90 minute version…all killer, no filler and all that…), a collection of behind the scenes footage, two trailers (one for Soultangler and the other for The Dead of Night Town), and a music video directed by Bishow.
Soultangler is pure ’80’s awesomeness; it’s low-tech, crude, schizophrenic, and packed with gore…you know, just the type of fright flick you need to own immediately!