|
THE ALIEN FACTOR (1978)
FIEND (1980)
Directed by Don Dohler
Retromedia DVD
Reviewed 01.12.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILMS
Don Dohler must have been a whiz
in high school art class. Back then,
the projects weren’t terribly
exciting, but creative enthusiasm
was never so innocent. Funny how
life can repeat itself.
Fanzine publisher, genre author,
and regional Maryland filmmaker;
that’s the legacy of Don Dohler.
Beginning in the late 70s, Mr. Dohler
embarked on a backyard film career
that rolls to this day. The
Alien Factor and Fiend
are Dohler’s first two full
length films, both produced on pocket
change, then subsequently sold to
TV and video in the early 80s. For
a jumping off point, think Larry
Buchanan’s Azalea era in an
embrace with Donald Jackson’s
The
Devil Master. The awkward
combination of off-the-wall effects,
Moog mania, and Don’s neighbors
making small talk will never cement
these productions as trash classics.
While watching, you might find yourself
sneaking peaks at the bookshelf
or thinking about your grocery list.
But this isn’t about riveting
plots and consistent movement; it’s
about a guy from Baltimore following
his dreams and having a product
to show for it. To the basement!
With the synths from that hockey
scene in Strange Brew as
co-pilots, three bizarre aliens
unleash a wave of violence upon
the residents of a Baltimore suburb
in The Alien Factor. It’s
up to curious psychic Ben Zachary
(Don Leifert), excited Mayor Wicker
(Richard Dyszel aka TV horror host
Count Gore De Vol), and the big-haired
police force to plug ‘em up.
Seeping with old fashioned fun,
Dohler’s simplistic debut
remains his most balanced. Every
five minute chunk of boredom (snowy
forest inspection, police station
pow-wows) butts up against unbelievable
monster attacks and unnatural ambiance.
The dated dialogue (“Perhaps
now, you can see my reasoning...”),
dead pan delivery, and noise collage
soundtrack walk the home movie line,
reinforcing the film with that scent
of regional individuality. The
Alien Factor remains a charming,
late-nite diversion; never perfect,
but always eerily entertaining.
Meet Mr. Longfellow. He’s
an undead Fiend. Summoned
from his grave by a glowing red
spirit and a near perfect graveyard
opening sequence, the mustached
Mr. Longfellow proceeds to buy a
house (huh?), open a violin academy
(what?), and terrorize a small suburb
of Baltimore with his red-glowing,
strangulation voodoo. Can neighbors
Gary (he drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon)
and Marcia (she drinks tea) save
the citizens from Longfellow’s
not-so-clear plans? Upping the technical
ante with tighter edits and more
stylish camera work, Don Dohler’s
second feature unfortunately leaves
out everything else. Mostly a weird
mess of extended dialogue and wine
drinking scenes, the tame, slow
moving Fiend is little
more than a snapshot of suburban
Baltimore circa 1980. While that’s
not such a bad thing, 90 minutes
of repetitive events (talk, strangle,
drink, talk, strangle, drink) with
little variation is enough to crush
even the best of intentions. In
the end, Fiend would have
made a decent short film. As is,
it’s often torturous.
Don Dohler’s hands glow with
thrifty talent and unique gumption.
His early films pay tribute to that
innocent charm, but fall short in
terms of consistency. Depending
on who you are, the insane, stilted
beast from The Alien Factor
might make up for that. Just maybe.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Retromedia released both The
Alien Factor and Fiend
as stand alone discs in 2002. Following
a distribution deal with Image Entertainment,
the company has started to repackage
many of their early DVDs as double
features. The two sided disc presented
here directly ports the previous
Don Dohler discs. Both prints appear
full frame and in similar shape;
lots of vintage film grain, average
amounts of dirt, and nicely washed
out color palettes. The films look
better than expected, given their
16 mm garage origins. You can feel
the cathode tube heat. The Alien
Factor had a slight advantage
in terms of contrast and clarity.
The mono sound on both was just
fine. Compression artifacting shimmers
a bit and tends to block up during
darker scenes, but it’s nowhere
near as bad as it was on Retromedia’s
recent Zontar
The Thing From Venus/The Eye Creatures
double feature.
EXTRAS
Both movies get an identical set
of film-specific supplements. Each
side contains a fun, vintage blooper
reel (4 minutes for The Alien
Factor, 10 minutes for Fiend),
a couple of brief behind the scenes
still galleries (featuring some
skin-grating butt rock instrumentals
on The Alien Factor side),
and a full length commentary track
on each film from actor George Stover.
We also get an alternate climax
sequence for The Alien Factor
that runs around 3 minutes. George
Stover, a frequent Don Dohler collaborator
(and Baltimore cult star), delivers
the goods on both of his well-prepared
commentaries. In depth and constantly
moving, George explains Dohler’s
methods and relates loads of background
information on everyone involved.
Like a good commentary track should,
the likable discussions raised my
appreciation for Dohler’s
films by leaps and bounds.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The early films of Don Dohler had
their hearts in the right place.
The Alien Factor succeeds
more than Fiend, but neither
will completely bowl you over. Worth
a rent if you like hanging out in
the backyard. If not, take a pass. |
Battery fun
Dad, you're embarrassing me
Phantasimastic
What, him worry?
Sharp accessories
Tomato eyes
|
