From my Alien Outlaw review concerning Lash La Rue:
When Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction calls John Travolta “Lash LaRue” I thought that it was a Saturday morning cartoon character. My knowledge of actors at the time was not as great as it’s become so the joke landed flat. No longer. After almost three decades I’ve now have an idea of who LaRue was. That Tarantino reference makes perfect sense almost lining up perfectly with his specific sort of fandom (e.g., a 50s western star who eventually turned to grindhouse filmmakers in the 70s and 80s).
The Dark Power is the better of the two films when compared to director Phil Smoot’s back-to-back genre entries (this being the first and Alien Outlaw being the second coming out in 1986). It’s not just the story that’s better but the execution, performances, quality of writing, and even FX work. Smoot’s story which has Indigenous people from the past murdered by whites come back to seek vengeance against everyone in their path is clever. Though the adroit part is how it’s executed.
Part of the fun is that everyone, with a single exception, is terrible human being and is the kind of cannon fodder that makes you relish the kills when they do happen. Smoot’s secret weapon is his script doesn’t humanize the characters but creates trash doing trashy things and saying trashy things. The work here though at first can be jarring and even insulting with racial slurs, and sexual harassment played fast and loose. Give it time, though, it’s all purposeful in the best way possible.
As with Alien Outlaw the direction, FX work, and photography are all elevated for this type of regional filmmaking. Smoot understands the budget constraints he is under and turns everything into an advantage. Even the use of Lash La Rue is a perfect fit as the local town Sheriff in over his head but has one last big adventure in him. The whip fight is excellent with La Rue doing his own stunt work.
The Dark Power is a surprisingly entertaining cult drive-in entry to the B-Movie Patheon.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Restoration of the 16mm Original Camera Negative is an utter delight. The image is flawless without any defects or scratches. The transfer is clean but not in the way that it loses all of its filmic qualities. Kino has managed to create an image that retains its grain structure but never at the expense of clarity. Kino has done a marvelous job of presenting the film better than it’s ever looked in any iteration on home video or even when it was released theatrically in 1985.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentaries by Director Phil Smoot, Cast and Crew
THE TERROR OF THE TARHEEL STATE: NEW Featurette with Director Phil Smoot and Cast
Interview with Editor Sherwood Jones
Image Gallery
Trailers
The first track is an all-new Audio commentary hosted by fellow director (and friend) Worth Keeter with The Dark Power director Phil Smoot begins with the origins of the project. Much like their tack for Alien Outlaw, they begin with the origins of the project. Some of the details include the time it took to get the budget together – and the actual budget they had to work with; the inflated number they told the press in North Carolina; how working and meeting Lash La Rue on a Keeter-directed project led to a relationship and eventually Smoot the idea for The Dark Power; the various people that help put together the film; the shooting schedule they had to shoot the film; a larger discussion of the various actors that they hired and what they are doing now as most of the casting was regional cast; the additional shooting that they were allowed to have that helped firm up editing; the FX work throughout and how it was achieved; and much more. Smoot provides an informative track looking back at the production of the film.
This archival Cast and Crew Audio commentary features Editor Sherwood Jones with various crew members that include Art Director/Production Designer Dean Jones, Triade Films rep John Wolfe, Actor Mary Dalton, Actor Eric Mikesall, Cynthia Bailey, and others. The various cast and crew contribute various production anecdotes; how they were hired or cast; the work they did on the film – sometimes more than just one role or responsibility; their experiences before and after the production with film; and much more. Jones has created a commentary track that’s a collection of interviews or scene-specific commentary from the various cast and crew. The result is an interesting and informative look back at the film.
THE TERROR OF THE TARHEEL STATE: Featurette with Director Phil Smoot and Cast (25:57) – is an all-new featurette on the making of The Dark Power. Like its predecessor for Alien Outlaw, it’s a polished making-of is a great look into what it took to make the film. There’s a great number of anecdotes from the production that are collated here that creates more of a pastiche than a linear making of (e.g., Preproduction-Production-Post). However because the film is really the first big production that Smoot directed this seems to be more chronological with the inception of the idea of the film, how he met and eventually cast Lash La Rue, and how the production came together. The featurette is beautifully edited with footage from the film, production stills, b-roll, and more. Featuring comments by director Phil Smoot, and stars Mary Dalton, Eric Mikesall, and Cynthia Bailey.
Interview with Editor Sherwood Jones (12:01) – in this all-new interview begins with how his love of film began at an early age and was horror-based. Jones discusses how he was able to after he began to make short films, how he educated himself, moving to North Carolina – which led to building a community for himself, how he eventually met Phil Smoot, the making of The Dark Power and the various roles he played during the production; the post-production and editing of the film and much more.
Image Gallery (19:36) – the gallery consists of a whopping 235 different Behind-the-scenes stills; poster art; DVD and home video art; stills of FX work; and press clipping. The gallery can only be run automatically (though one can pause on a particular still) and cannot searched by remote.
Rounding out the special features are trailers Parasite (1:27); Rawhead Rex (1:06)
The Final Thought
Kino Cult has really started to cook with The Dark Power. Transfer and extras are all excellent. Recommended.
Director Phil Smoot’s The Dark Power comes to Blu-ray with a 4K Restoration of the Original Camera Negative from Kino Cult!
The Film
From my Alien Outlaw review concerning Lash La Rue:
When Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction calls John Travolta “Lash LaRue” I thought that it was a Saturday morning cartoon character. My knowledge of actors at the time was not as great as it’s become so the joke landed flat. No longer. After almost three decades I’ve now have an idea of who LaRue was. That Tarantino reference makes perfect sense almost lining up perfectly with his specific sort of fandom (e.g., a 50s western star who eventually turned to grindhouse filmmakers in the 70s and 80s).
The Dark Power is the better of the two films when compared to director Phil Smoot’s back-to-back genre entries (this being the first and Alien Outlaw being the second coming out in 1986). It’s not just the story that’s better but the execution, performances, quality of writing, and even FX work. Smoot’s story which has Indigenous people from the past murdered by whites come back to seek vengeance against everyone in their path is clever. Though the adroit part is how it’s executed.
Part of the fun is that everyone, with a single exception, is terrible human being and is the kind of cannon fodder that makes you relish the kills when they do happen. Smoot’s secret weapon is his script doesn’t humanize the characters but creates trash doing trashy things and saying trashy things. The work here though at first can be jarring and even insulting with racial slurs, and sexual harassment played fast and loose. Give it time, though, it’s all purposeful in the best way possible.
As with Alien Outlaw the direction, FX work, and photography are all elevated for this type of regional filmmaking. Smoot understands the budget constraints he is under and turns everything into an advantage. Even the use of Lash La Rue is a perfect fit as the local town Sheriff in over his head but has one last big adventure in him. The whip fight is excellent with La Rue doing his own stunt work.
The Dark Power is a surprisingly entertaining cult drive-in entry to the B-Movie Patheon.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Restoration of the 16mm Original Camera Negative is an utter delight. The image is flawless without any defects or scratches. The transfer is clean but not in the way that it loses all of its filmic qualities. Kino has managed to create an image that retains its grain structure but never at the expense of clarity. Kino has done a marvelous job of presenting the film better than it’s ever looked in any iteration on home video or even when it was released theatrically in 1985.
The Extras
They include the following;
The first track is an all-new Audio commentary hosted by fellow director (and friend) Worth Keeter with The Dark Power director Phil Smoot begins with the origins of the project. Much like their tack for Alien Outlaw, they begin with the origins of the project. Some of the details include the time it took to get the budget together – and the actual budget they had to work with; the inflated number they told the press in North Carolina; how working and meeting Lash La Rue on a Keeter-directed project led to a relationship and eventually Smoot the idea for The Dark Power; the various people that help put together the film; the shooting schedule they had to shoot the film; a larger discussion of the various actors that they hired and what they are doing now as most of the casting was regional cast; the additional shooting that they were allowed to have that helped firm up editing; the FX work throughout and how it was achieved; and much more. Smoot provides an informative track looking back at the production of the film.
This archival Cast and Crew Audio commentary features Editor Sherwood Jones with various crew members that include Art Director/Production Designer Dean Jones, Triade Films rep John Wolfe, Actor Mary Dalton, Actor Eric Mikesall, Cynthia Bailey, and others. The various cast and crew contribute various production anecdotes; how they were hired or cast; the work they did on the film – sometimes more than just one role or responsibility; their experiences before and after the production with film; and much more. Jones has created a commentary track that’s a collection of interviews or scene-specific commentary from the various cast and crew. The result is an interesting and informative look back at the film.
THE TERROR OF THE TARHEEL STATE: Featurette with Director Phil Smoot and Cast (25:57) – is an all-new featurette on the making of The Dark Power. Like its predecessor for Alien Outlaw, it’s a polished making-of is a great look into what it took to make the film. There’s a great number of anecdotes from the production that are collated here that creates more of a pastiche than a linear making of (e.g., Preproduction-Production-Post). However because the film is really the first big production that Smoot directed this seems to be more chronological with the inception of the idea of the film, how he met and eventually cast Lash La Rue, and how the production came together. The featurette is beautifully edited with footage from the film, production stills, b-roll, and more. Featuring comments by director Phil Smoot, and stars Mary Dalton, Eric Mikesall, and Cynthia Bailey.
Interview with Editor Sherwood Jones (12:01) – in this all-new interview begins with how his love of film began at an early age and was horror-based. Jones discusses how he was able to after he began to make short films, how he educated himself, moving to North Carolina – which led to building a community for himself, how he eventually met Phil Smoot, the making of The Dark Power and the various roles he played during the production; the post-production and editing of the film and much more.
Image Gallery (19:36) – the gallery consists of a whopping 235 different Behind-the-scenes stills; poster art; DVD and home video art; stills of FX work; and press clipping. The gallery can only be run automatically (though one can pause on a particular still) and cannot searched by remote.
Rounding out the special features are trailers Parasite (1:27); Rawhead Rex (1:06)
The Final Thought
Kino Cult has really started to cook with The Dark Power. Transfer and extras are all excellent. Recommended.
Kino Cult’s Blu-Ray edition The Dark Power of is out now.
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