A deputy on the trail of a missing woman finds himself trapped with her in an undead old west ghost town. A curse placed upon a group of outlaws has trapped the whole town in a state somewhere between ghosts and zombies. Only when a lawman dispatches the leader of the gang will the town finally be free. It’s a creative twist on ghost stories of the old west and features some good make up and appearances by Charles Band film actors like Michael Alldredge.
The high def transfer is competent if not exceptional and given the film’s relative obscurity, probably the best it has ever looked. There’s always something fun to watch in old Empire Films movies but given that the disc includes exactly zero extras; I would say this release is for die hard collectors and any big Ghost Town fans out there. Scream Factory would have been better served making this a double feature offering because in my opinion it was not a strong enough title to stand on its own release.
Daddy-O Episode 307
In this beatnik tale, a street racer named Phil is accused of the hit-and-run death of his friend Sonny. Once he beats the wrap, Phil starts his own investigation to find the real murderer. This film is known as having the first score written by John Williams. Daddy-O is paired with the short film Alphabet Antics.
Earth vs the Spider Episode 313
Like all the very best Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes, Earth vs the Spider is directed by Bert I Gordon. It follows a pretty familiar Gordon plot which is giant animal (in this case Spider) terrorizes a small town. The episode is paired with the brilliant short film Speech: Using Your Voice
Teen-age Crime Wave Episode 522
This Blackboard Jungle inspired Juvenile Delinquent film has some of the best jokes in any MST3K episode. This was the origin of the running joke line ‘He’ll never touch you Terry, you’re dirt’. Three delinquents break out of reform school and go on the titular crime wave, taking a family hostage overnight.
Agent for H.A.R.M Episode 815
This film is pretty weak all around, a run of the mill spy movie about a super-secret agent protecting a defecting Russian scientist who’s developed a deadly new weapon. The film was intended to be a television pilot but they released it theatrically to cash in on public interest in the Bond films.
Bonus Features Include:
- Beatnick Blues: Investigating Daddy-O
- This Movie Has Legs: Looking Back At Earth Vs. The Spider
- Film It Again, Sam: The Katzman Chronicles
- Tommy Cook: From Jungle Boy to Teenage Jungle
- Peter Mark Richman: In H.A.R.M.’s Way
- MST Hour Wraps
- Theatrical Trailers
- 4 Exclusive Mini-Posters by Artist Steve Vance
Adam Ruhl is a writer and life long Cinephile. He is the Executive
Cinema Editor of Pop Culture Beast’s Austin branch; covering festivals,
conventions, and new releases. When not filing reports, Adam can be
found stalking Alamo Drafthouse Programmers for leads on upcoming
DrafthouseFilms titles. Adam once blocked Harry Knowles entrance to a
theater until he was given extra tickets to a Roman Polanski movie.