Workprint Cuts

First, as a side note that I feel like getting out of the way, I saw "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" the other night. Bill Condon is far better than this material. It is clear from the first twenty minutes that he understands and has a love for the horror genre, creating some fine visuals beyond what has been done in the series thus far. Obviously, this isn't a horror film, but the vampire aspect does lend itself to some of the elements of the genre. It quickly turns sour, however, when you realize that nobody can make this material entertaining or interesting. Nobody. I was completely bored. Not that I'm a fan of the series, but I was hoping for more.

Now, to the topic at hand...workprint cuts. A workprint cut refers to a rough version of the film used by directors and editors during the editing process. It's usually missing music, sound effects, and sometimes dialogue. Certain collectors and completists enjoy watching these cuts as it gives you the full, unedited film, even if it is in a raw form. Workprint cuts are not meant for general audiences, but they usually find their to the public through the internet or other ways.

Synapse Films recently released a limited edition version of the 1989 film "Intruder" on Blu-ray and included in that package a DVD-R featuring a workprint cut of the film. The Blu-ray/DVD/DVD-R combo was only available through their website for those that pre-ordered, and was also only available to the first 500 people who pre-ordered. Obviously, I pre-ordered it or else I would not be writing this. Ever since I got my copy a couple of weeks back I have been dying to watch it, but I struggled with which disc to put in first. My immediate reaction was obviously the workprint cut. Though it was an incomplete version of "Intruder," it was the major reason why I bought this Blu-ray disc from their site. Yet, the quality on the Blu-ray would obviously be far superior. It was a hard decision to make.

In the end I finally just watched the workprint cut, and I certainly do not regret it. Obviously, the viewing suffered somewhat from watching this version as it was far from perfect and sourced from an old VHS copy. With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is something about watching a rough copy of a film that's not really meant for the general public, and being able to see how the final version differs from the workprint. I appreciate the fact that Synapse Films recognized that some (not all) fans would enjoy this experience and hope they do more like this in the future.

As for "Intruder," director Scott Spiegel ("From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money" and co-writer of "Evil Dead 2") has crafted a fun slasher film that takes place within...a grocery store. It's not the most likely place to set a slasher film, but there are a lot of surprisingly gruesome things that can happen in a grocery store. Most of the murders happen in the butchering area, but it does go beyond that point. Featuring performances from genre favorites Renee Estevez ("Sleepaway Camp II") and Sam Raimi (director of "The Evil Dead"), this movie is an underrated gem that fans of the horror genre should see. There is no better way to see "Intruder" than to get the Blu-ray which will be in stores December 13, but might ship early if you order directly from Synapse Films.