The Corpse Grinders 2 [DVD] [2001]

Ted V. Mikels' belated sequel to his low-budget horror hit gets its third release on DVD in this package from Alpha Home Entertainment. Shot on video (and more of a sci-fi story than the gore-fest the title suggests), The Corpse Grinders II has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and while the film's visuals often betray its low budget, the image is clear, bright and colorful and actually fares better on disc than the film-based original picture. The film's audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo (retaining the original monophonic sound mix), and the quality is on a par with the visual quality (which is to say it's strong enough to magnify the occasional production flaws). The dialogue is in English, with no multiple language options or subtitles included. This release also includes a commentary track from director Mikels (whose chat is cheerful but not especially enlightening) and a short documentary in which actress Shanti talks about the making of the film (she claims that members of the Blue Man Group appear in the film, though they're not listed in the credits). While this presentation isn't remarkable, it's a few notches up from adequate, and anyone interested in the movie is likely to be satisfied with this release.