What can one say about H.G. Lewis? The schlockmeister and
widely proclaimed king of gore made so many exploitation movies that the word
is forever tied to his name. His films played for years in drive-ins across the
country. Fans now consider him one of the greatest directors on the horror
genre. And yet when you watch his films while there is a ton of originality in
them the quality is sincerely lacking. But that is overlooked. Why? The heart
that you find in them, literally as well as figuratively. Lewis wanted to make
movies his own way and did so. And he was successful at it.
Arrow Video released a box set of the collected works of
Lewis a while back with a limited run. That box set is now fetching huge prices
for collectors still seeking it. But they were smart enough to know there were
fans who still wanted the films even if the box set was outside of their price
range. So they began issuing the same films as individual releases. Like THE
GRUESEOM TWOSOME.
The film focuses on a little old lady named Mrs. Pringle
(Elizabeth Davis) who owns a wig shop in a small college town in Florida. She
rents out a room to some of the female students attending the college. What
they don’t realize is that in the same house lives Rodney (Chris Martell), Mrs.
Pringle’s mentally challenged son. And Rodney has a way of finding new “wigs”
for his mother.
As girls from the campus go missing the police search for
the killer who is scalping his/her victims. Student Kathy Baker (Gretchen
Wells) is trying to figure out where they’ve all gone as well. As she and the
police get closer to the killer, will she survive or just become yet another
victim?
Filled with the usual bad editing, cheap film stock in use
and overly staged locations/sets the movie reeks of being low budget. But it
delivers on what fans have come to expect from Lewis with is gore. Scalpings of
the victims (whose eyes blink on occasion) and a gutting are what those fans
are looking for and they find it here. The acting is poor and the direction
might be unsteady but not for lack of trying. These were movies made in short
time to be released on the drive in circuit to make quick money and they did
just that.
Arrow has made the film available for the first time in
hi-def blu-ray format. And as is always the case they’ve loaded it up with
plenty of great extras as well. These include a bonus feature A TASTE OF BLOOD
(another film directed by Lewis), an introduction to the film by Lewis himself,
an archive audio commentary on both films by Lewis, PEACES FLIPS HER WIG!
featuring San Francisco performer Peaches Christ on the movie, IT CAME FROM
FLORIDA Fred Olen Ray’s featurette on filmmaking in Florida, H.G. LEWIS VS. THE
CENSORS in which Lewis discusses some of the pitfalls of the gore filled movie
he made and the response by censors and angry movie goers, trailers and radio
spots and a reversible sleeve with original and new artwork by The Twins of
Evil.
If you’re a fan of Lewis, of exploitation films or of drive
in movies then you’ll want to add this one to your collection. Arrow once more
shows that they are one of if not THE best company out there paying tribute to
exploitation films.
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