link THE BLACK CRYSTAL (1990)

[Scoopicman]

Just got this book from Amazon, today. It's about 90's trash horror cinema. My movie, THE BLACK CRYSTAL, made the front cover (Lily Santoro looking at the crystal - top, center).

I've mentioned the movie a few times, but never made a thread about it. I'll put pertinent info here. I'm not suggesting anybody watch it, as it is a crude first feature, but the trailer and scenes are worth a look.

It was also supposed to get a 30th anniversary DVD release from Bleeding Skull, but covid pushed it back, and possibly nixed it. Here was a BTS interview, myself and Mark Lang (who played the villain).

 

[mlesemann]

That's really cool! Congratulations.

 

[Nate North]

Just watching that trailer, I feel a deep sense of certainty that Quintin has watched this movie in his home theater.

 

[indietalk]

Looks like you watched a lot of B horror and Dukes of Hazzard! But my question is, how did you get Tom Cruise?

 

[EnglishinMiami]

Congratulations!

 

[Scoopicman]

While I would be embarrassed to ask anyone to watch this 4:3 frame, Super 8 quality, Vinegar Syndrome recently released a Blu-ray of THE BLACK CRYSTAL. I'm still waiting for my copy, but it should be a good package. I gave them a few of my favorite short films and recorded a pretty cool commentary.

The Black Crystal – Vinegar Syndrome

Subscribers: This is NOT included in your subscription. If you'd like to purchase it, your 50% off SRP discount code is:sub50 for Yearly Subs / sub50half for Halfway SubsThese codes will work with most Partner Label, VSA, VSP or Peekarama titles that falls within your subscribership (certain...

vinegarsyndrome.com

My approach was to make the commentary an entertaining listen for film fans and filmmakers. A lot of modern references are made. One story involves the witch's cabin. We shot there without ever having asked the owners for permission. I often wondered if they ever saw the movie.

The limited release is 2,000 units. To my surprise, nearly half of them are sold already. It is a known VHS collector's item (my buddy, Greg, said he saw one sell for over $100, on Ebay), so it may be that community that is buying them up.

 

[James Rogers]

That's great. Congratulations, Mike..

I must have had a VHS copy at some time because I saw this movie. I"ll have to check with Sarah to see if she has it...

I really liked this film, and I know you don't agree with me, but I think it's your best work, although maybe a better way to say it would be to say it's my favorite of all your features..

 

[James Rogers]

Just got this book from Amazon, today. It's about 90's trash horror cinema. My movie, THE BLACK CRYSTAL, made the front cover (Lily Santoro looking at the crystal - top, center).

I've got mine on order!

I went to order the Black Crystal but the website is down until January 1.

 

[Scoopicman]

Out of curiosity, I googled the movie. I was surprised at how many new links popped up. Some response and places that feature the Blu-ray:

Mondo Digital review
Letterboxd.com

AFGA
Grindhouse Video
Blu-Ray.com
TMDB
Scarecrow.com
Blu-Rayhighdefdigest
Diabolikdvd
Filmtreasures
Rateyourmusic.com
Orbitdvd
Renaud-Bray

 

[James Rogers]

Got the book.

 

[Feutus Lapdance]

You could sent it to the But film festival. This looks really good.

 

[Scoopicman]

You could sent it to the But film festival. This looks really good.

Hey, I just saw your post. Thanks!

The movie is very crude. I'm surprised that there are fans still keeping this alive. I just got a check for the first quarter of Blu-ray release. I'm tickled!

B.C. has some bright spots, like the bad guy, the witch girl, some actual stunts and squibs. People often comment on the musical score. In fact, retro is in. A vinyl and cassette company just asked if they could release the score. I did a very faithful re-recording, this past week. (The master music tapes were lost when Rae Don bankrupted many years ago.)

Big, sloppy kiss at the end of this:

 

[Nate North]

I miss my old Oaysis. Those were the days, lol. I spent so much time programming those old keyboards back before DAW software and VST tech was a thing.

Great video, I think I'll go play some John Carpenter music on a midi guitar. lol.

 

[Scoopicman]

I miss my old Oaysis. Those were the days, lol. I spent so much time programming those old keyboards back before DAW software and VST tech was a thing.

Did you ever get my DVD by chance? I was also in some of Korg's advertising.

 

[Nate North]

Did you ever get my DVD by chance? I was also in some of Korg's advertising.

Sadly, I did not, that would have been quite a coincidence. I probably should have gotten it, I seem to remember having trouble figuring out all the functionality of the sequencer, but I might be thinking of the fantom-s.

Awesome that you made that though, I expect it was really useful to a lot of people.

 

[Scoopicman]

I probably should have gotten it, I seem to remember having trouble figuring out all the functionality of the sequencer, but I might be thinking of the fantom-s.

The sequencer was difficult for many. The DVD came out in 2007. Here is 57 seconds of the sequencer/vocoder demo. A lot of people were blown away by this.

 

[Nate North]

Yeah, the early days of sampling were a lot of fun, those first years when you could take any sound and make it an instrument. I used to make all kinds of crazy tracks with homemade samples. It's amazing what you can get out of household items, a mic and a rack verb.