Shivers: Vestron Video Collector's Series - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Shivers: Vestron Video Collector's Series



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Ahhh, Vestron Video releases! Not only has it been a while since Vestron Video has released their horror flicks on Blu-ray (the last one was Maximum Overdrive back in 2018), but it’s been about 3 years or so since we reviewed one. I think the last one that I did was the Wishmaster Trilogy back in early 2017 just before Avnirvana was formed. Lionsgate has always had a massive backlog of horror titles, and the Vestron Video line is an attempt to bring back a lot of the more obscure and bizarre films in their collection using the name of a now defunct film studio that Lionsgate holds title too. The line is always a pleasure to watch as the titles are usually more obscure and strange, but also usually quite good in the video/audio line, kind of like the “Shout Select” line or the “Paramount Presents” line.

Shivers marks the 18th film of the lineup and a true gem in the rough as it is one of famed Director David Cronenberg’s first horror works before he did Rabid and then on to more blockbuster titles like The Fly, Scanners and Crash. The movie is decidedly low budget 1970s gonzo work, but it has all the earmarks of David Cronenberg’s budding body horror trademarks, complete with up close and personal facial shots of horror, as well as parasitical monsters that control the host being. Sure, the film feels like it was shot on a $5 budget and pizza for the actors, but it’s tense, twisted and rather humorous (another Cronenberg trademark).

The film opens up with an elderly professor looking gentleman attacking and murdering a teenage girl, only to kill himself shortly after. This scene acts as the inciting incident for this whole film, as we then skip over to Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton) who happens to be living in the same posh apartment complex. Roger soon discovers something is wrong at the apartments as strange things seem to be attacking and killing other apartment members. After doing an analysis it comes out that the old man at the beginning of the film was conducting scientific experiments on human beings, and had accidentally created a parasite that was was murdering humans and jumping from host to host as it uses the host for sexual contact in an effort to spread. Now it’s up to Roger and his aid Nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry) to stop them before the spread is out of control.

I really do like the early David Cronenberg works as they present a more raw and unfiltered version of what the prolific director would soon become. This and Rabid are absolutely fantastic as low budget gonzo horror flicks, which allows the director to go hog wild and fine tune what would soon be his most defining features in later films. Namely body horror and an intense use of close up shots to deliver terror.

Characters are a bit more cold and sterile in this flick than many of this others, as Cronenberg seems obviously obsessed with the body horror aspects, rather than the characterization. They are more window dressings and useful tools than actual characters. A move which is strange for the director as he usually is so inclined to create intricate characters for his films. Although a bit different, it acts as a breeding ground for his visual horror aesthetics and the creatures themselves are really the feature of the film. The characters and actors themselves are neither good nor bad, but rather vessels to carry the monsters to another subject, and Cronenberg doesn’t seem to want to create an emotional connection with the characters, but rather observe their actions and marvel at the intricacies of the creatures themselves.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




Video:

I’m not sure what the master was struck from as Lionsgate didn’t really let us know, but it seems to be from a duplicate source, or a secondary master, as the movie is quite soft. That’s not shocking as the movie has never looked great on DVD, and the film was reportedly shot on less than $185,000. The grungy “exploitation” style of the film produces strong yellow tings, some overall softness, and a chunky grain structure that can be obtrusive at times. Still, the Blu-ray shows noticeable improvement over the DVD (which also never looked great), as facial details look better, and colors more vibrant. There’s no real signs of banding, so kudos to Lionsgate on the encode.








Audio:

The audio fares about the same as the video. Most of the issues seem to be source related, as the 2.0 Mono sound track is a bit thin and tinny, with obvious hiss and background noise due to the low budget audio gear used at the time. Vocals are a bit crushed and sound compressed, with screams and higher octaves getting hissy and distorted. The sound stage is rather limited due to the Mono nature of the track, but background noises and violent acts come through cleanly and the overall mix isn’t bad considering.









Extras:

• NEW Audio Commentary with Writer-Director David Cronenberg and Co-Producer Don Carmody
• NEW "Mind Over Matter" – An Interview with Writer-Director David Cronenberg
• NEW "Good Night Nurse" – An Interview with Actress Lynn Lowry
• NEW "Outside and Within" – An Interview with Special Make-Up Effects Creator Joe Blasco
• NEW "Celebrating Cinépix" – An Interview with Greg Dunning
• Archival 1998 David Cronenberg Interview
• Still Gallery with Optional Archival Audio Interview with Executive Producer John Dunning
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spot
• Radio Spots

Final Score: ​

Shivers is utterly gonzo, primal David Cronenberg back before he became famous, and while the film isn’t exactly a masterpiece, it is most definitely a great treat for fans of the man, and a great Friday night flick with the guys (or gals, I don’t discriminate). The movie has been a LONG time coming on Blu-ray, and Vestron Video did well with the elements they had. Video is a bit “meh” due to the cheap source material, and the same can be said for the audio, but this is not an encoding issue, but rather an issue with the condition and quality of the source elements. Source elements that never looked that great in the day and are faithfully replicated on the Blu-ray. Check it out.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry, Allan Kolman, Susan Petrie, Barbara Steele
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Written by: David Cronenberg
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 87 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: September 15th, 2020

Recommendation: Check It Out

 

[Asere]

Thank you for the review. I may check this one out. I don't remember seeing it before but I have heard of it for many years.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review as well. I never heard of it nor saw it so will check it out.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I read "Vestron" and instantly think: 1980s.

Not sure this flick is up my alley... but fun review read!

 

[Michael Scott]

I read "Vestron" and instantly think: 1980s.

Not sure this flick is up my alley... but fun review read!

yup, Lionsgate owns the old Vestron Studios from the 80s... this is using their back catalog of titles as a specialty horror line