SHAKMA (1990) Blu-Ray from Code Red Releasing

(Disclaimer: My knowledge of restoration and transfers is extremely limited. With that in mind, unless the transfer is glaringly awful or seemingly flawless, I will not attempt to comment on the quality of the video or audio)


THE FILM:
A handful of teenage medical students and lab assistants play a late night Dungeons and Dragons style, live action role-playing game in the research center where they work. Also roaming the halls, playing a game of it's own, is Shakma, a laboratory baboon, who hunts down the dorky teenagers one-by-one. The film takes awhile to get to the action, but it's worth the wait. The acting is pretty evenly split, one-half bad TV acting, and one-half top notch genre acting. Roddy McDowell is fantastic as the professor/game master. There's great animal acting, as well, from Typhoon the Baboon (you may recognize this particular baboon from The Fly!).  It's remarked upon a bit on the commentary, but this baboon really does an amazing job, hitting marks, making menacing facial expressions, and just generally being a scary presence. 


THE SPECIAL FEATURES:
First, the disc offers viewers the option to play the film in "Katarina's Bucket List Theater" mode. This is an Elvira-type feature, where Katarina introduces the film and pops in after the credits to outro it as well. Kind of neat, for that effect of watching horror movies on television late at night.

Next, a feature length commentary with co-director of Shakma, Tom Logan, and moderated by David Decoteau (who you may know as the director of a number of cult and b-horror films, including Puppetmaster 3, Talisman, and a personal favorite, A Talking Cat!?!). Bill Olsen pops in and out occasionally as well. Tom Logan is an extremely lively and talkative interview. There's rarely a lull in the conversation and Tom is full of information on the film. There are several great stories about the baboon and it's terrifying demeanor on set.

Finally, the disc features a ten minute interview with co-director Tom Logan. A lot of interesting stuff is packed into the ten minutes, so if you don't have the time to listen to the whole commentary, this is a nice piece. Produced by William Olsen and edited by Andrew Sterling.


THE VERDICT:
A really solid blu-ray release from Code Red. The film is a ton of fun, despite being slightly too long. The commentary makes this disc a must buy for genre fans. Also, bonus points for the exceptional back-of-the-box synopsis.