It’s always a little alarming when a movie has Directed by Alan Smithee showing up in the credits. Known as the default name to use when a director doesn’t want his or her name shown on the movie, usually due to studio interference and the end product not being something they can endorse. I don’t know the circumstances behind Old 37, but I do know that it stars two kickass horror icons and that alone is worth checking this flick out. Sadly, the low budgetness of the flick comes through in certain areas, such as acting and story. The biggest crime against the flick, however, is the limited use of said horror icons Kane Hodder and Bill Moseley. They don’t do much for a good portion of the film and really only come into play at the end of the movie. It is however the ending that makes this movie a worthwhile watch. Read on to see if you agree with my assessment…
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 81 min
ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1
RESOLUTION: 480i
AUDIO: Dolby Digital 5.1
SUBTITLES: N/A
REGION: 1
RATING: 18A
PRODUCTION DATE: 2015
RELEASE DATE: Oct 6, 2015
PLOT SUMMARY
This psychological slasher stars Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th, Hatchet) and Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses) as twisted brothers working together to exact revenge on some careless teen drivers by posing as paramedics who intercept 911 calls in a retired old ambulance.
MOVIE
Even though the plot summary will have you believe this movie is all about Jason Voorhees and Chop-Top driving around in an old ambulance, slashing teens left, right and center, that actually is only a small portion of the flick. Instead we are subjected to watching a bunch of 20 year old high school teenagers party it up, drive really fast and cover up accidental murders. Combine all that with the plot thread about our main protagonist, Amy (Caitlin Harris,) wanting to get a boob job and fit in with all the cool kids. This has got me screaming at the TV for more carnage! I need blood and gore.
The movie does come around in the last 20 minutes or so (with the movie only being about an hour and 15 long, that’s actually a good chunk of the flick). We finally get to see the bad guys hack and slash some people and a little stalking takes place. The ending also had me grinning ear to ear, even though it was extremely cheesy. Also, what’s with the incoherent use of flashbacks in this movie? You are consistently being shown random scenes from the two killers past, but they loosely connect to the main plot of the movie, save for a few highly convenient circumstances that connects everything and everyone. I swear there must only be about 20 people that live in around this town.
I personally would’ve enjoyed the movie more had it gone all out with the killings and just been an hour and half of Kane and Bill just piling up the bodies. I needed less teen drama and more teen angst. Overall I enjoyed the flick for those final minutes and there are a few good kills that will please the gore-hounds. The one big thing I got out of this movie was to never dye your hair. You’ve been warned dyers.
DVD
The DVD from Anchor Bay is offering up some solid special features, with an audio commentary with the writer/producer, and composer; plus, a few interviews with the cast and crew. Sadly, there are no interviews with either Kane Hodder or Bill Moseley. Most of the interviews only run a few minutes, but the one with writer Paul Travers goes for 8 minutes and offers some insight into the making of the flick. Rounding it all out is a couple story boards for the beginning kill scene and the racing/accident scene.
The video quality of this DVD seems to be hit or miss for the most part. The movie more often than not is looking really soft and almost out of focus. Picture a low quality stream and you’ll get my picture (puntastic!). Could it be a bad authoring job or just the flick itself, as it is a low budget horror film?
Audio is served in Dolby Digital 5.1 and the screams are coming through clear, although the audio is a little on the low side for my taste. I had to turn up the speakers more than I normally do with other films. Most of the movie’s soundtrack plays out like a greatest hits list for hipsters.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Producer Paul Travers & Composer Darius Holbert
- Story Boards
- Interviews with Cast & Crew
VERDICT
Old 37 isn’t going be talked about 20 years from now, but as of right now, it’s a good movie to check out if you’re interested in seeing some horror icons kill some people, albeit only in the last portion of the film. The DVD from Anchor Bay is serviceable and for any fans it’s worth a pick up, but for the general crowd, it might be best to wait for it to be on sale. I will say this though, I wouldn’t mind seeing the characters continue on in a sequel, but just make sure the icons are front and center this time around.