Evil Ed is that horror film that I’ve always been meaning to watch ever since seeing the poster of a Steven Weber lookalike going crazy. It always sat at the back of my horror mind, teasing me to seek it out and watch it, yet I never did. Having said that, you can only guess at how delighted I was when Arrow Video announced their May lineup and what do you know, Evil Ed is coming to Blu-ray! Finally, I exclaimed! I can now watch this movie.
Well, I finally did watch the movie, and even though the film is poorly acted, the love that the creators have for horror films is very much evident on the screen. Each scene is littered with nods to other horror films (honestly, better horror films) and the special effects are fantastic for a film that was shot for an estimated $29,000 (unconfirmed). I can’t stress enough that this movie is not meant to be taken seriously, not in the least bit. You also have to forgive the flicks jumbled mess of a story as well. If you can get past all that, you’ll realise you’re in for a pretty fun treat.
PLOT SUMMARY
WHEN HIS MIND BLOWS, ANYTHING GOES!
A blood-soaked love letter to the splatter films of the ’80s, video rental favourite Evil Ed returns in a brand-new Special EDition featuring an extended cut of the feature and hours of stomach-churning bonus features!
Mild-mannered film technician Edward enjoys his job. That is, until he finds himself transferred from his regular post to the “Splatter and Gore department”, where he’s forced to edit hours upon hours of grisly video nasty footage. Traumatized by the onscreen violence, Ed starts to lose his grip on reality – with ghastly (and bloody) consequences…
Owing a debt to films such as The Evil Dead, Re-animator and the early splatter classics of Peter Jackson, Evil Ed is a veritable smorgasbord of flying limbs, exploding heads, busty babes and creepy creatures!
REVIEW
The story for Evil Ed goes a bit like this. Edward is a tasked with editing the violent series Loose Limbs for distribution in markets where gore, nudity and violence are prohibited. Edward has to sit through countless hours of extreme footage, which eventually drives him insane. He starts to imagine monsters coming after him, or creatures living in his fridge telling him off. Eventually, Edward images that a creature tells him to cleanse the world of bad people and he starts with the people close to him.
That’s the gist of Evil Ed. There is more to it than that, as the film has a tendency to change things up each act. Viewers will probably find this weird storytelling jilted, as the film has several moments where it could end, yet keeps going. It’s pretty easy to tell that the movie was shot over five years, as it feels like there are three or four ideas in this film wanting to be told.
Nevertheless, the mishmash of story ideas gives the makers a chance to really cram in some crazy horror, gore and bits of comedy, giving a big middle finger to Sweden’s pre-1996 policy of censoring anything that had scenes of sex or violence. Evil Ed is one film that should not be taken seriously, or else you’ll never get past the terrible acting and dialogue.
The Arrow Video Blu-ray for Evil Ed includes the extended cut of the film, along with the shorter original cut. I watched the extended cut myself and went through the other cut to see the differences, and besides a couple of scenes, one that extends the fight scene near the third act, the two cuts are relatively the same. Whichever version you watch, you’ll be the getting the same film. Each cut has been cleaned up rather nicely, and even though the film is really low budget, the HD upgrade helps make the film look the best it ever has. The same goes for the stereo and 5.1 audio options. That menu music really pumps through your speakers nicely.
Given the history of the films trouble making, the special features are packed full of interviews and an extensive three-hour making-of. They dive into the issues that came up, and you can tell that the people behind the film really loved what they were doing. Of course, you’ll need to love the movie yourself to want to go through everything, as you’ll be hours. There are deleted scenes, a few hidden easter egg features on the first disc, a fun introduction, that crazy long making-of on the third disc and even more! Seriously, this Limited Edition is freaking packed full of goodies.
VERDICT
I really enjoyed Evil Ed, terrible acting and disjointed storytelling and all. The film is a love letter to horror fans, in which they provide you with ample amounts of gore, amazing special effects and some nudity to please the horny crowd (proud member right here). If you enjoy your horror loaded with cheese, you’ll get a huge kick out of Evil Ed, and the Arrow Blu-ray Limited Edition is going to keep your ass glued to your couch for hours.
SPECIAL FEATURES
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 3-DISC LIMITED ED-ITION CONTENTS
- Two versions of the film
- Original Stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD MA Audio Options
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
- Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing on the film by horror journalist Michael Gingold
DISCS 1 & 2 (BLU-RAY/DVD) – SPECIAL ED-ITION CUT
- Special ED-ition cut [99 mins]
- Introduction by writer/director Anders Jacobsson and editor Doc
- You Keep ‘Em Heads Rollin’ – extensive making-of documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew
- Before Ed – featurette looking at the early filmmaking endeavours of the Evil Ed crew
- Beyond Ed – the filmmakers discuss their careers following Evil Ed
- Deleted Scenes Featurette
- Reconstructing Edward – featurette looking at the preparation of the Special ED-ition cut
- New Scenes Featurette – a closer look at the scenes that were added to the Special ED-ition cut
- Trailers and Teasers
- Image Gallery
DISC 3 (BLU-RAY) – ORIGINAL CUT [LIMITED ED-ITION EXCLUSIVE]
- Original cut [93 mins]
- Lost in Brainland – never-before-seen extended three-hour making-of documentary
- Cast and Crew Interview Bloopers
PRODUCT INFORMATION
- Format: BLU-RAY DISC
- Street Date: 05/30/17
- Label: Arrow Video
- Genre: Cult
- Run Time: 95 mins
- Number of Discs: 3
- Audio: Original Stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD MA
- Year of Production: 1995
- Director: Anders Jacobsson
- Actors: Johan Rudebeck, Olof Rhodin, Gert Fylking
- Territory: US
- Language: English