By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The indie filmmaker is celebrating his 30th year in the business with hi-def releases of old and new titles.
Writer/director Jason Paul Collum has issued new Blu-ray editions of SAFE INSIDE 2 (pictured), the sequel to his 2017 chiller SAFE INSIDE, and the 5 DARK SOULS trilogy of movies that includes the 1996 original, 1998’s 5 DARK SOULS PART II: ROOTS OF EVIL and 5 DARK SOULS PART III: RETRIBUTION, which was shot in 2003 but not completed until 20 years later.
According to the official synopsis, “SAFE INSIDE 2 stars Michael Thomas Determan as Gibbs, a man recently separated from his wife, who moves into the “is it?/isn’t it?” haunted abode where another man went insane and a trail of bloody bodies were left behind nearly a decade ago. To solve the mystery of why scratching is heard from behind the walls and hordes of bugs infest the property, he reaches out to former resident Alex [Darcey Vanderhoef] for help.” The cast also includes the stars of the previous film, such as Brinke Stevens, Judith O’Dea, Chris Harder, Tina Ona Paukstelis, Michael Oilar and Karen Dilloo.
“I need to be clear to audiences which SAFE INSIDE movie this is a sequel to,” Collum says. “We shot the original film in June 2012, but before it was released a short film with the same title came out in 2015. Then after we released it to theaters in the summer of 2017, three other movies also came out with that title! So now there are five horror movies–plus a song–titled SAFE INSIDE on the market. I’m admittedly a bit nervous that people aren’t going to know which one my SAFE INSIDE 2 belongs to. I can only hope none of those other movies turn into their own franchises.”
The SAFE INSIDE 2 Blu-ray, along with a DVD release, is currently available at Makeflix and contains these bonus features:
- Director interview
- Blooper reel
- Trailer
- Photo gallery
- JULIA WEPT (2000 Short Film)
The SOV 5 DARK SOULS is “the story of five popular high schoolers who terrorize three nerdy classmates–‘just to see what it would be like to kill someone,’” and struck a chord in the years just before the Columbine high school massacre. “I’m still surprised at its longevity,” Collum admits. “It took a while to gain traction, but then one day I was on eBay and an original VHS showed up for $150! Then it happened again…and again, at these crazy high prices–and they were selling! Then fans kept reaching out for a DVD release, so when I finally did it in 2012, the sales were solid. I don’t truly understand its power or the fan base it’s gathered over the years, but I’m truly happy about it. Something done for such a low amount of money, with an old camcorder and fairly novice actors–i.e., friends and family–is still gaining people’s attention.”
The 5 DARK SOULS trilogy Blu-ray also includes Andrew Gibbs’ new 90-minute making-of documentary FROZEN BODIES: MAKING THE “5 DARK SOULS” SAGA, a 2023 Collum introduction, trailers and a photo gallery. It’s also available at Makeflix, along with individual DVD editions of the three features.
