The Editor
Blu-ray
Directors: Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy
Writers: Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney
Cast: Adam Brooks, Udo Kier, Paz de la Huerta, Laurence R. Harvey, Tristan Risk, Samantha Hill, Sheila Campbell
Scream Factory
Not Rated | 95 Minutes
Release Date: September 08, 2015

From Astron-6, the demented minds who brought you Father’s Day and Manborg, comes The Editor, a love letter to the Italian giallo films of the 1970s and ’80s.

The term giallo – or “yellow” in Italian – is used to refer to a distinct style of Italian-produced thrillers, typically murder mysteries, that include elements of horror and eroticism. Made popular by filmmakers such as Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace), Dario Argento (Suspiria), and Lucio Fulci (The Beyond), the super-saturated, supernatural giallo aesthetic was a huge influence on the slasher films of the ’80s.

If you’re unfamiliar with Astron-6, the group is composed of five filmmakers, writers, and artists: Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Matthew Kennedy, Steven Kostanski, and Conor Sweeney. Known for producing low-budget retro horror-comedies, Astron-6 has gained a cult following for their shorts like Lazer Ghosts 2: Return to Laser Cove and Bio-Cop.

In The Editor, Brooks plays Rey Cisco, the greatest film editor the world has ever seen. After a horrific accident left him with four wooden fingers on his right hand, Rey is forced to work on low-end genre films and trash movies. But when the actors from the film he’s editing turn up dead, Rey is fingered as the prime suspect by Peter Porfiry (Kennedy), a clueless detective on the case.

Astron-6’s film also stars Paz de la Huerta (Boardwalk Empire, Nurse 3D), Samantha Hill (Bad Meat), Laurence R. Harvey (Human Centipede 2), Tristan Risk (Dark Continents) and the legendary Udo Kier (Blade, Suspiria).

Gory, gruesome, and absolutely absurd, The Editor is a charming, stylish send-up of Bava, Argento, and Fulci. Complete with candy apple red blood, milky eyes, and bad dubbing, the film emulates the creepy (and sleazy) vibe of ’70s giallo perfectly while delivering more than a few inside jokes to fans of the genre.

If you’re in the joke, there’s plenty to enjoy here, but for the uninitiated, The Editor may come off as tedious. Of course, one of the staples of the subgenre is taking a simple, straightforward story and making it as convoluted as possible, so even in this way The Editor stays true to its roots.

Now on DVD and Blu-ray from Scream Factory, The Editor comes loaded with bonus features, including an audio commentary with Adam Brooks, Connor Sweeney, and Matt Kennedy, a brand new “Making Movies Used to be Fun” documentary, deleted scenes, music and poster featurettes, and more.

The “Making Movies Used to be Fun” documentary is a candid look into the production of the film and the various issues Astron-6 ran into along the way. For aspiring writers and directors, it’s an interesting look at what happens when indie filmmakers are thrust into a situation where they’re dealing with budgets (and crews) bigger than anything they’ve experienced before.

The Editor is an inspired satire and heartfelt homage to giallo with buckets of blood and old school practical effects. With every film, Astron-6 grows as a filmmaking unit. I look forward to the day a studio gives the quintet a big budget and free reign to create something truly mind-blowing.

The Editor is now available at Amazon. A list of bonus features, as well as a trailer and deleted scene from the film, can be seen below!

Bonus Features

* Audio commentary with Adam Brooks, Connor Sweeney and Matt Kennedy
* Making Movies Used To Be Fun – Making-of documentary
* Music and poster featurettes
* Astron-6 film festival introduction
* Deleted scenes

Trailer

Deleted Scene – Rey Accused

Cover

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