Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 17: INVASION OF THE SCREAM QUEENS
Donald Farmer’s interviews with B-movie actresses was originally released by Mondo Video on VHS in 1992. Never before available on DVD, the film is now available in a 20th anniversary edition (never mind that it’s actually the 22nd anniversary).
The preview provided appeared to be a transfer from an old VHS, complete with some tracking and sound issues – it’s unclear if these artifacts will be in the final release version or not. If so, they fit the lo-fi approach of Farmer’s movie well-enough, which primarily consists of sit-down interviews with actresses in front of horror/sci-fi movie posters, intercut with clips from some of their work. There’s a monotony to their answers – at times it feels like they are on a press junket, giving rote responses to very basic questions about what it’s like to work with a particular director, or how they feel about nudity and exploitation in their roles – it’s all very promotional, and, frankly, not well put together. While this makes it a tough watch, the overall effect, if one does make it all the way through, is a bit tragic, as the present-day audience hears these frankly still-unknown young women speak with certainty that they’ll eventually get a shot at “real” movie roles. The one notable exception is Mary Woronov, whose quirky sequence breaks somewhat from the conventions established by Farmer to include asides about the camera set up and an explication of several of her paintings. Still, as a whole, this is of interest to genre fans only, or, if generous, as a curious relic of the VHS-era.
what (not) to doc 