A construction company blasts a massive hole in the side of a stone quarry which has exactly two results; 1. The air fills with the smell of the Earth’s farts, and 2. Dinosaurs are awakened from deep underground and decide to go on a crazed rampage… and the two things are related!
Springing from the creative tar pits of Writer/Director/star Mark Polonia (Cocaine Werewolf… and many, many more), Saurians asks the eternal question of what if Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.’s Dinosaurs! was relocated to rural Pennsylvania… honestly, we’ve asked more bizarre questions ‘round here…
Anyway, produced on a shoe-string and shot on 8MM, Polonia’s film is long on charm and short on technical expertise… which always equals a good time when parking your arcane ass around the ol’ terror tube.
Adding to the whole affair are a couple of fun, hand crafted dinosaurs (which appear as various (and differing) puppets and larger props) that, while lacking the deft touch of stop-motion wizards like Ray Harryhausen, still manage to delight with their rough-hewn gnarly-ness, some no-budget gore (always welcome), and an entirely dubbed soundtrack.
Special mention has to be paid to Todd Carpenter who seems to be absolutely eating up his role as a shady hunter out to collect a big bounty for those rampaging beasts!
While the above joltin’ Jurassic journey needs to be experienced and savored, this Visual Vengeance release contains a T-rex sized amount of bonus features to dive into once the credits roll!
First up comes a good humored audio commentary featuring Polonia (and moderated by Visual Vengeance’s Matt Desiderio and Rob Hauschild) himself that takes a refreshingly self-effacing look at the film’s production, followed by an entertaining “making of” mini-documentary, and a visit to the film’s locations.
Next comes interviews with Actor Todd Carpenter and Indie Producer/Filmmaker Kevin Lindenmuth (who’s stock footage appears in the film), and collections of outtakes and raw footage.
Following that we get the unreleased Rae Don Home Video cut of Saurians that re-orders footage, changes music cues and audio, and slices the film down to a lean fifty five minute run time (compared to the seventy seven minutes the picture normally runs). This version also contains another top-shelf commentary from Polonia (once again moderated by Visual Vengeance’s Matt Desiderio and Rob Hauschild).
Fuck else we got here…
Oh, that’s right… an entire second feature, 2004’s The Dinosaur Chronicles, also directed by Polonia (this time joined by his brother, the late John Polonia)…
Comprised of two stories, The Dinosaur Chronicles kicks off with a terror tale concerning three friends who end up getting sucked back to the age of dinosaurs after sailing a yacht into turbulent seas.
Once there they run afoul of a giant spider (a neat physical creation), and dinosaurs (realized by a fun as fuck combination of stop motion animation from Drainiac director Brett Piper, puppetry, and models… one of which shits).
An absolutely intoxicating blend of juvenile humor, time travel, low budget effects (which absolutely make this such a beastly bash!) this segment is just fucking awesome.
The second yarn, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, concerns two gunmen wandering around an abandoned structure patrolled by a killer android and dinosaurs!
Full of Digital Toaster-created vistas, fun costumes, rubber creatures, and unique fever dream world building, DotD fuckin’ rocks… I would love to see this world continue honestly…
As with all the other films/versions on this release, The Dinosaur Chronicles is accompanied by a hilarious, brutally honest commentary from Mark Polonia and the Visual Vengeance crew.
Also included are a “making of” for The Dinosaur Chronicles, new trailers for both Saurians and The Dinosaur Chronicles, and a trailer for Saurians 2.
The package also includes a faux-retro VHS rental joint sticker set, a reversible sleeve, and a folded mini-poster… and if you snag a first pressing, you’ll receive a limited edition O-Card and an actual piece of Super-8 film from the movie!
Packed with dino madness, heart, and irresistible charm, Saurians is a gruesome good time on it’s own… but paired with the absolute avalanche of bonus content this release is essential for lovers of low-budget, creature features!
