Double Feature! Review

Distributor: Wicked Pictures Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Comedy, Classic (1990s Shot Digitally) Run Time: 147 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 1999 Director: Jonathan Morgan Written by: Rodger Jacobs (as Martin Brimmer) Director of Photography: Jake Jacobs Cast: Serenity, Randy Spears, Jewel De'Nyle, Sana Fey, Mickey G., Shanna McCullough, Stephanie Swift, Herschel Savage, Ian Daniels, Kary Evers, Steve Justice, Ursula Moore, Anthony Crane, Danielle Rogers (as Daniell Rogers), Spud, Ken E., Butch, Diangelo, Big Wood, Michelle Villa, Richard Head, Harry, Mark E., Jonathan Morgan Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: none Video: Full Screen, 1.33:1/Widescreen, 1.85:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Disc: DVD 5 (Single Layer, Single Sided) Special Features: Interactive Menu Chapters, Audio Biographies of Stars, Slideshow/Photo Gallery, Trailers, Audio Commentaries by director Jonathan Morgan and star Serenity, highlights from the 2000 AVN Awards Show, multiple screens DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Synopsis:
An adult spoof of old B-grade horror, sci-fi and mystery films with two main features, “Attack of the Bimbos from Outer Space” and “Man Made Beast.” “Attack of the Bimbos from Outer Space” is about female aliens who come to Earth to seduce all of Earth's men to make them their slaves and two scientists who have to try and save the world. “Man Made Beast” about a female scientist who tries to create a man to quench her insatiable sex drive but her creation gets loose and local villagers try to destroy it.

Video/Audio:
The feature presentation is in a combination of 1.33:1 full screen and 1.85:1 widescreen which, given the way it is done, works for the film. The film is also a combination of color and black & white sequences. The picture for the first part of the film is poor, but that was done purposely. The rest of the film is crisp and clear with good color levels. The film looks like it was shot directly on video, but it is not as obvious as many of the films being released these days.

Available sound tracks are a 2.0 Dolby Stereo English track and a 2.0 Mono audio commentary with the film soundtrack on low volume behind it. No other language tracks and no subtitles are available. The music is well done and the film is edited to it, at no point does the music interfere with spoken dialog.

Special Features:
Audio biographies of the stars are a lot better than they sound. Each biography has an audio track that gives information about the star, pictures of the star, written personal info about each star a video clip featuring the star from Double Feature and a Wicked Pictures filmography for the star. Available bios are for Serenity, Jewel De'Nyle, Shanna McCullough, Stephanie Swift, Randy Spears, Herschel Savage, Mickey G. and Jonathan Morgan.

The slideshow/photo gallery contains matted color photos from the film. Each one stays on the screen for five seconds and the special feature lasts for two minutes and seven seconds.

Available trailers are for Flashpoint, Satyr, Conquest, and Crazed.

The audio commentary by director Jonathan Morgan and star Serenity is a feature long commentary. Jonathan Morgan is witty and insightful about the making of the film. He even makes fun of the film's short comings. Serenity doesn't add a lot to the commentary except it is nice to hear a second voice. The commentary is almost as good as the film itself.

Highlights from the 2000 AVN Awards Show are a 12 minute set of clips from the show showing the parts where Double Feature! won awards. This is probably the weakest special feature on the disk.

Overall a nice set of special features that adds value to the disk especially since all of the features except for the trailers relates to the film.

Conclusion:
Double Feature! has four parts to it, the first part of which being the opening previews. These aren't the previews for other Wicked titles but are part of the film. Although the previews contain no explicit sex, they are incredibly amusing sendoffs of classic B-grade horror and mystery films. The picture for this part is in full screen black & white, the picture has been purposely washed out and looks torn to emulate the old previews, a nice touch.

The second part is the first of the two features, “Attack of the Bimbos From Outer Space.” The plot portions of this section are in the widescreen, 1.85:1, aspect ratio in black & white. Sex sequences are in the full screen, 1.33:1, aspect ratio in color so those who are uninterested in the plot can fast forward straight to the sex parts. The feature is a funny spoof of old 50's B-grade schlock sci-fi films.

The third part is the second feature, “Man Made Beast.” The filming style is the same as the second part of the film. A great takeoff of Roger Corman style B-horror films.

The fourth and last part is presented in full screen, in color, and features the bloopers and outtakes from the film. The best part is the Jonathan Morgan/Serenity commentary runs through the bloopers so with that special feature on, you can hear the stories behind each blooper. Then we go to the credits.

What makes this film so good is the script writing and direction which has made an excellent film, almost as good as the ones from the golden age. Some jokes even become running jokes throughout the whole film.

The cast is good looking but can't always act, which actually works for the film instead of against it since the film's Double Feature is spoofing had horrible acting. It appears to be part of the joke until you listen to the commentary track where you find out it really was bad acting.

The sets are great, they obviously didn't have a huge budget, however they used it to it's best and worked around the problems and created sets and found locations perfect for the film.

Overall a great film, the movie itself is excellent with a great set of special features that have to do with the film. If you are a fan of plot driven adult entertainment this is a must see. If only more adult film companies could put this kind of attention into their discs.

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