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25th Anniversary Edition
For the lucky few viewers in the 1980s who caught Alien Dead - their image of independent science fiction filmmaking would be forever changed. At first it would be lumped in with other "home-grown" sci-fi epics of the late 70s. But Alien Dead would soon eviscerate its way to the top of the flesh heap thanks to the first appearance of what has become known as "The Fred Ray Formula." In his (almost) first effort, B movie auteur Ray fills his frame with what would become his trademarks: healthy doses of blood-drenched gore, corn-fed swamp girl nudity, unrelenting pace, a professional "Hollywood" sheen and the presence of a genuine (if somewhat aging) name star - in this case, former serial and western star Buster Crabbe. All of these elements combined to spew Alien Dead far ahead of its other backwoods competitors.
Shot in 16mm under the title "It Fell From the Sky," this film was Ray's first attempt at a real movie after the briefly released sci-fi/wrestling epic Brain Leeches. Filmed for a measly $12,000 (partially raised when Fred hocked his motorcycle) Alien Dead was slated for the dying Drive-In circuit. But in poor economic times, the best it could do was a brief run on home video in the 1980s.
In the 25 years since the production was completed all film elements were thought to be lost. Fred Ray himself completed a restoration (including missing scenes) from various video elements. But late last year a collector named Ron Ringhofer contacted Fred with some amazing news. He was in possession of a mint 16mm print of Alien Dead, purchased from the original distributor - and never opened. Would he be interested in this newly discovered treasure? Fred's answer is on the DVD you hold in your hand.
In a 1989 interview, Fred Ray was dismissive about Alien Dead, claiming "It's in color and in focus and that's all anybody better say about it."
Well... we've said more. Much more. And so will you. Enjoy. |
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