The American Genre Film Archive kicks off their home video releases in mind-blowing fashion
The Zodiac Killer release doesn’t just represent a bugnuts film curio being given a new lease of life, it is so much more. The culmination of years of work by a group of film lovers, and beginnings of a new chapter of life for The American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), a non-profit that collects and preserves the genre films, specifically the physical prints on which they exist. Those living in Austin will know that much of this collection fuels the weekly Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday screenings.
They recently teamed up with Something Weird Video to launch a Kickstarter campaign, that would allow them to purchase a 4K film scanner to be used in creating digital transfers of these rare prints. While preserving the films past the eventual degradation of the physical film, this also allow them to expand their audience beyond theater attendees, to home video. Check out AGFA’s press release for more details on this, and future releases. For now, let’s delve into The Zodiac Killer, the inaugural release from this brand new label.
The Film
The Zodiac Killer was conceived by writer/director Tom Hanson as part of a scheme to actually catch the real Zodiac Killer. You can read about that in this interview with director Tom Hanson over at Temple of Schlock. Evidently helping by creating “an awareness of a present danger”, after watching is seems more apparent that he wanted to rile up the killer enough so he would attend one of the screenings whereupon Hanson could capture him. It’s another facet of the film that only adds to its peculiar nature.
Rather than a factual based look at the psychological workings of a serial killer, the film veers into nutso exploitation. First introducing a number of characters, each seeming normal, but the audience is shown a troubling insight, sequestered away society. Rage, misogyny, lewdness, and even a predilection for bunny rabbits. It’s a ungainly, but effect way to drive home that this killer could be anyone you encounter in the course of a day. While these introductions are underway, the film continues its barrage of killings, many mirroring real Zodiac Crime scenes, some riotously farcical, others chillingly effective. The film later reveals who the Zodiac is, at least in this story, and proceeds to delve more into his tortured mind, exploring his motives, his pain, his endgame, all while the killings continue.
While showing technical flaws, an absence of anything in the way of nuance, abrupt shifts in tone, and character, and a stunning level of misogyny, The Zodiac Killer is utterly compelling throughout. While many of the killings or letters to police and press depicted are made up, their correlation with later disclosed real pieces of evidence make the scenes all the more potent. With the scope of a serial killer’s unhinged psyche in mind, the film again drips in sufficient insanity and correlation to bridge that connection between exploitation and what may have actually happened. In doing so, it manages to unsettle as much as draws exclamations of disbelief.
The Package
The transfer is taken from remaining 16mm film elements. As such there are obviously some blemishes, the age of the print is noticeable. But it’s free of any heavy damage, color correction is natural, with no sign of overprocessing. What flaws are present, only add to the texture of the film. The release includes both a Blu-ray and DVD copy of the film, housed in a case with a liner booklet featuring an interview with director Hanson, notes on the restoration, as well as detail on the work of AGFA and Something Weird. Special features include:
- New 4K scan from the only surviving 16mm blow-up elements:
- Commentary track with Tom Hanson, writer Manny Nedwick, and more: Hosted by AGFA’s Joseph A. Ziemba, the beginning focuses more on the mission of the non-profit, including approach to preservation, with contributions from AGFA’s head archivist Sebastian del Castillo. The rest of the commentary is dominated by Hanson and his sons, who talk about his life before making the film, his ‘hustling’ characteristics, desire to catch the killer, as well as some of the more outrageous promotional events they did during its release. If you listen to one audio commentary this year, it should probably be this one.
- Interview with director Tom Hanson and actor Manny Nedwick: Short, but worth a watch if only to get a glimpse of Hanson in full flow
- Tabloid-horror trailers from the AGFA archive: Revel in these glorious trailers
- Liner notes and director Tom Hanson interview by Chris Poggiali of TEMPLE OF SCHLOCK: A shortened version of the interview I cite in the introduction to this piece
- Reversible cover art: Original artwork and the new
- Bonus movie: ANOTHER SON OF SAM (1977)! New 2K scan from a 35mm theatrical print: Yep. A whole other movie, something present in all of AGFA’s releases, a ‘B-side’ film to complement the main release. A mental patient escapes the asylum and goes on a killing spree across a college campus. It’s another step down the ladder in terms of quality to The Zodiac Killer, less exploitation film and more full on horror, a little less interesting as a result, but it still has its moments. The visual quality is a little rough, but it’s a bonus that is still pretty great to see included.
The Bottom Line
The Zodiac Killer fits in perfectly with the remit of Something Weird and AGFA, cinematic curios that need to be seen to be believed. It’s a fine first release for the label, setting a high bar for the future. While The Zodiac Killer is undoubtedly rough around the edges, this gives the film grit, its exploitative air met with an unsettling menace. It surely only served to inflame the real Zodiac Killer rather than help catch him, but that fact alone ensures Hanson’s feature is an enthralling watch.
The Zodiac Killer is available from MVD Entertainment and Amazon now.