The Supernaturals (film)

Last updated
The Supernaturals
The Supernaturals 1986.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Armand Mastroianni
Written by
Produced by
  • Michael S. Murphey
  • Joel Soisson
Starring
Edited byJohn R. Bowey
Music by Robert O. Ragland
Distributed by Embassy Pictures
Release date
  • 1986 (1986)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Supernaturals is a 1986 American zombie horror film directed by Armand Mastroianni and written by Michael S. Murphey and Joel Soisson. Filmed in the United States in 1985, The Supernaturals was released by Embassy Pictures in 1986, and has never been re-released since its original VHS Video rental format. It is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Contents

Plot

During the American Civil War, deep in the sullen backwoods of the Southern United States, a Confederate town is held captive, the soldiers forced to walk through a piece of woodland laced with mines. Because he is found wearing a Confederate States Army outfit, Jeremy (Chad Sheets), a young boy is also forced to make the crossing. If they make it across the minefield the Union Army 44th will set them free. Only Jeremy and his mother (Melanie) - who runs to save him - survive, despite the fact that the mother has stepped on a mine. Jeremy exhibits unearthly powers. Jump to circa 1985 and a platoon of soldiers are out on manoeuvres in the same backwoods. They too are the 44th, descendants of the Union platoon of years before, those who committed the atrocities. The main character here is Pvt. Ray Ellis (Maxwell Caulfield), the only soldier to catch glimpses of the beautiful and mysterious Melanie; Ellis also has a romantic interest in Pvt. Angela Lejune (Talia Balsam). The platoon decide to camp inside a circle of yellow grass seemingly caused by brush fire, a spot from which the wind only blows outward. Pvt. Ellis is reluctant to camp there, but Sgt. Hawkins does not like having her authority undermined. Whilst the platoon are setting up camp, Melanie reappears - this time witnessed by all in the platoon - and takes a strong interest in Pvt. Ellis who bears an uncanny resemblance to her husband, Evan.

Trouble for Sgt. Leona Hawkins (Nichelle Nichols) and her platoon begins with the soldiers' drunken and childish antics; however, events take a sinister turn when Pvt. Cort (Bobby Di Cicco) is found shot in the head. They inexplicably lose radio contact and the nearest town is over twenty miles away. Hawkins and her platoon go in search of - and arrest - Melanie, who lives in an old wooden shack with what looks to be her father or grandfather, a withered old man. In the cabin, they discover the relics of muskets and an old diary, written by Evan. They take Melanie back to camp, but leave the old man at the cabin; he is too old and frail to go anywhere. During the night, an eerie fog rolls in, encompassing the 44th, and the Confederate Dead close in on their camp. Most of the 44th are subsequently killed - one-by-one - whilst Pvt. Ellis heads off into the woods in search of the old man who, it turns out, is Jeremy (he has used his powers to keep his mother the same age). Along the way he is forced to do battle with the Confederate zombies and also runs into Melanie, who shows him a locket. Inside is a picture of Evan, and Ellis immediately recognizes the resemblance. He snatches the locket from around her neck and runs in the direction of the cabin. Once there he persuades Jeremy to end the evil spell and send Melanie and the zombies back to wherever it is the dead are supposed go. Exhausted, Jeremy dies and Ellis returns to the camp where Lejune and Hawkins are waiting, the only survivors. Ellis embraces Lejune and the locket falls from his hand to the woodland floor, where it is lost amongst the leaves. [1]

Cast

Production

Make-up and special effects

Bart J. Mixon performed the make-up and special effects. He has also worked on films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge and Hellboy II: The Golden Army . Mixon worked with Ed Ferrell, Shannon Shea and Mark Shostrom on The Supernaturals: he describes them as "a very small but talented crew". Mixon said he administered a "forehead appliance on Bobby Di Cicco with a bullet hole in it": Di Cicco had just finished filming 1941 and was then an up-and-coming actor. He also worked with Maxwell Caulfield (star of the musical film Grease 2 (1982)), and with Star Trek regulars LeVar Burton and Nichelle Nichols. Mixon goes on to praise The Supernaturals for not following in the footsteps of George A. Romero, calling the film original. However, a limited and subsequently slashed budget meant that prosthetic makeup gave way to head masks. Mixon commented on the finished product: "I think our work turned out very well and I wish it was shown off a little better in the final film". [3]

Soundtrack

Originally, the soundtrack to The Supernaturals was scored by Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees. The score was rejected, though, in favour of one written by Robert O. Ragland. Gibb can be seen in The Supernaturals in a cameo role as a Union soldier. [2]

Reception

Best-Horror-Movies call The Supernaturals an "original horror film" and one which is "interesting". [4] Bruce Kooken of HorrorNews.Net wrote: "The Supernaturals just wasn’t a good movie is all. It was a tired concept, with a tired script and a lackluster implementation". [5] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle said: "Though there are a few chilling scenes, ... the scripting is threadbare and the characters uncharismatic". [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Shock Waves</i> (film) 1977 horror movie directed by Ken Wiederhorn

Shock Waves is a 1977 American horror film written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn. The film is about a group of tourists who encounter aquatic Nazi zombies when they become shipwrecked. It stars Peter Cushing as a former SS commander, Brooke Adams as a tourist, and John Carradine as the captain of the tourists' boat.

<i>House of the Dead 2</i> (film) 2005 American film

House of the Dead 2 is a 2005 American action horror film and a sequel to the 2003 horror film House of the Dead. It is based on the video game series of the same name and the 1996 video game. The film was directed by Michael Hurst. It premiered at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain on October 14, 2005, and premiered in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel on February 11, 2006.

<i>Tombs of the Blind Dead</i> 1972 Spain/Portugal film

Tombs of the Blind Dead is a 1972 Spanish-Portuguese horror film written and directed by Amando de Ossorio. Its original Spanish title is La noche del terror ciego.

<i>The Bunker</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Rob Green

The Bunker is a 2001 war horror film directed by Rob Green, written by Clive Dawson and starring Jason Flemyng.

<i>The Midnight Hour</i> 1985 American comedy horror film

The Midnight Hour is a 1985 American made-for-television comedy horror film directed by Jack Bender and starring Shari Belafonte-Harper, LeVar Burton, Peter DeLuise, and Dedee Pfeiffer. Its plot focuses on a small New England town that becomes overrun with zombies, witches, vampires, and all the other demons of hell after a group of teenagers unlocks a centuries-old curse on Halloween.

<i>Zombie Chronicles</i> 2001 film directed by Brad Sykes

Zombie Chronicles, also known as The Zombie Chronicles and Zombie Chronicles: 3D, is a 2001 horror film directed by Brad Sykes. It follows Tara Woodley, a reporter who visits an old desert town to research her article on the ghost town legends from around there. On the way she picks up the hitchhiker, Ebenezer Jackson, who takes her to an abandoned building where she interviews him via tape recorder.

<i>Ghost Brigade</i> 1993 film

Ghost Brigade is a 1993 American supernatural horror film set during the American Civil War and directed by George Hickenlooper. Starring Corbin Bernsen, Adrian Pasdar, and Martin Sheen, the film was also released under the alternate titles The Killing Box, Grey Knight, and The Lost Brigade.

<i>Curse of the Cannibal Confederates</i> 1982 American film

Curse of the Cannibal Confederates is a 1982 American horror film directed by Tony Malanowski and distributed by Troma Entertainment. The film follows six friends who unwittingly raise the undead corpses of Confederate soldiers.

<i>The Zombie Diaries</i> 2006 British film

The Zombie Diaries is a 2006 British independent found footage horror film written, produced and directed by Kevin Gates and first-time feature-filmmaker Michael Bartlett. It stars Russell Jones, Sophia Ellis, and James Fisher.

<i>One Dark Night</i> 1983 film

One Dark Night is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Tom McLoughlin, and starring Meg Tilly, E. G. Daily, and Adam West. It follows three teenagers sent to a mausoleum for the night as part of a high school initiation rite. A telekinetic occultist returns from the dead and haunts them, forcing the three to survive the night inside the crypt.

<i>Beneath Still Waters</i> 2005 film

Beneath Still Waters is a 2005 horror film directed by Brian Yuzna. It stars Michael McKell, Raquel Meroño and Charlotte Salt. It is based on a novel by Matthew Costello.

<i>The Vineyard</i> (film) 1989 American film

The Vineyard is a 1989 American horror film directed by James Hong and William Rice, written by Hong, Douglas Kondo, James Marlowe and Harry Mok, and starring Hong, Michael Wong, Sherri Ball and Playboy Playmate Karen Witter.

<i>Dead and Deader</i> 2006 American made-for-television film

Dead and Deader is a 2006 American made-for-television zombie comedy horror film directed by Patrick Dinhut. The film stars Dean Cain, Guy Torry, Peter Greene and Susan Ward, with cameos from Armin Shimerman, John Billingsley, and Dean Haglund. It was aired from Sci Fi Channel on December 16, 2006.

Wasting Away is a 2007 zombie comedy film directed by Matthew Kohnen and starring Matthew Davis, Julianna Robinson, and Michael Grant Terry. The events of the plot take place from the zombies' point of view. The film uses color footage to show the action from the zombies' point of view in which they see themselves as normal humans and occasionally switches to black-and-white footage to show the zombies from the point of view of normal humans.

<i>Shake, Rattle and Roll Fourteen: The Invasion</i> 2012 film by Chito S. Roño

Shake, Rattle and Roll Fourteen: The Invasion is a 2012 Filipino science fiction horror anthology film directed by Chito S. Roño, and the fourteenth installment of the Shake, Rattle & Roll film series. The film stars an ensemble cast including Dennis Trillo, Lovi Poe, Janice de Belen, Herbert Bautista, Paulo Avelino, Martin Escudero and Vhong Navarro.

Virus Undead is a 2008 German horror film directed by Wolf Wolff and Ohmuthi, written by Wolf Jahnke, and starring Philipp Danne, Birthe Wolter, Anna Breuer, Nikolas Jürgens, and Marvin Gronen. The screenplay concerns a group of medical students and locals in a small town who suffer an outbreak of a mutated H5N1-like virus that causes people to turn into zombies.

<i>Army of Frankensteins</i> 2014 American film

Army of Frankensteins is a 2014 American science fiction horror film written and directed by Ryan Bellgardt. It stars Jordan Farris as a time-traveling youth who, along with multiple versions of Frankenstein's monster, are pulled into the American Civil War.

<i>The Girl with All the Gifts</i> (film) 2016 British adventure film

The Girl with All the Gifts is a 2016 British post-apocalyptic adventure film directed by Colm McCarthy and written by Mike Carey. The film is based on the book of the same name by Carey. Starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, and Sennia Nanua, the film depicts a dystopian future following a breakdown of society after most of humanity is wiped out by a fungal infection. The plot focuses on the struggle of a scientist, a teacher, and two soldiers who embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.

<i>The Rezort</i> 2015 British film

The Rezort is a 2015 British zombie horror film directed by Steve Barker and written by Paul Gerstenberger. It stars Dougray Scott, Jessica De Gouw and Martin McCann. After humanity wins a devastating war against zombies, the few remaining undead are kept on a secure island, where they are hunted for sport. When something goes wrong with the island's security gates, the zombies attack the guests and the world faces the possibility of a new outbreak.

Prison of the Dead is a 2000 supernatural horror film with elements of a zombie film and a slasher directed by David DeCoteau under the pseudonym Victoria Sloane and produced by Charles Band. It follows a group of friends who unwittingly resurrect a trio of zombie prison executioners that systematically hunt them down.

References

  1. ↑ Lee-Williams, Matt: Supernaturals, The, Synopsis, Amazon [accessed] April 28, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Eder, Bruce. "Maurice Gibb". Allmusic . Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ Bene, Jason (June 24, 2011). "Late Night Classics – The Supernaturals". KillerFilm.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ Angel, Ronnie (July 7, 2012). "The Supernaturals (1986) Review". Best-Horror-Movies.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ Kooken, Bruce (March 24, 2012). "Film Review: The Supernaturals (1986)". HorrorNews.Net. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ Dendle, Peter (2001). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 167–168. ISBN   978-0-7864-9288-6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.