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Automaton Transfusion: Unrated and Undead
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: James Teitelbaum (30th March 2008). |
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The Film
 This ultra-low budget horror film was made for something like $50,000 by three guys who had just graduated from Full Sail film school in Florida. Utilizing their friends and family, as well as fellow film school students, they slapped this debut feature together in less than two weeks. After enduring 100 degree Florida heat, uncooperative property owners at most of the filming locations, and extreme budget constraints, they managed to finish the movie. The story is rather simple: a bunch of people in Florida inexplicably turn into zombies (even people who aren't dead yet), and the few remaining humans must survive. Most of them do not survive. That is basically it. In the commentary track, the young producers talk a lot about how different and unique their film is, but I was unable to discern anything particularly new at all about people running away from zombies for seventy-five minutes. There is one scene in which a zombie in a Ramones t-shirt punches a pregnant woman in the gut, penetrates the womb with his clenched fist, pulls out the fetus, and eats it in front of the hysterical mother. I must admit that I have not seen that particular gag before. However, if that is what it takes to constitute originality or a perception of something new being said within this idiom, then so be it - but count me out. I suppose that given the fact that "Automaton Transfusion" was produced by a bunch of people barely out of their teens, it isn't a wholly unimpressive bit of work. These kids are still carrying around a geeky adolescent male fascination with gratuitous gore and violence, mixed with that enthusiasm that comes with being just out of film school and eager to make a mark on the cinematic world. Peter Jackson started out making no-budget splatter films, and time will tell if the boys responsible for "Automaton Transfusion" will have stories to tell, and the skills to tell these stories, as they mature...and perhaps next time they won't cop out with an incomplete non-ending that reeks of nothing other than a lack of inspiration or writing skill. As for performances, the best I can do is to list them as 'not applicable'. The lead foursome are made up of the handsome guy, the girl, the black guy, and the geeky guy. Fear, exhaustion, and resolute determination are about all they are required to put across in performances that are more about blood, chainsaws, gristle, and baseball bats than any sort of human story.
Video
The film is presented in widescreen 2.35:1 non-anamorphic. The video suffers from a strobing effect, as if it was only shot at 10 or 15 frames per second. If this was a stylistic choice, it is a failure. The blacks on this DVD are extremely deep, but are not always balanced with bright enough whites, giving the video a murky look. Grain is evident throughout. The entire film also looks mushy and soft, with a decided lack of resolution or detail. All of this said, the print is free of any dirt or damage. The running time is 1:15:17, divided in 15 scenes.
Audio
"Automaton Transfusion" is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (the package incorrectly states 5.1) with subtitles in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish. Almost all of the dialogue was ADR, so speech comes across fine for the most part (not that the dialogue is very important in this movie). Suitably creepy and atmospheric music and the sound effects are both by Jamey Scott; they sit nicely in the mix without becoming overwhelming.
Extras
Genuis Products has released this film as part of the 'Dimension Extreme' label and has included extras such as an audio commentary, a featurette, a short film, two music videos, some deleted scenes, the film's theatrical trailer and a collection of bonus trailers. Below is a closer look at these supplements. An audio commentary track with writer/director Steve C. Miller, producer William Clevinger, and executive producer Mark Thalman is lively and full of the lads enthusiastically relating anecdotes about the making of the film. As difficult as the production was, the guys seem to have had a lot of fun making it and they share a lot of good tales. "Trials and Tribulations: the Making of Automaton Transfusion" featurette runs for 25 minutes 49 seconds. This runs a bit longer than it needs to, as the same threesome who did the commentary tell a lot of the same stories, but on-camera this time (they look exactly how one would expect them to look). This is of course mixed with on-location footage and short on-set interview clips with the actors and crew. "Suffer or Sacrifice" runs for 4 minutes 54 seconds and is a short film by Steve C. Miller that was made as part of a challenge to write, shoot, and edit a film in 48 hours. It is about some people chasing some other people. So much for the 'writing' part. Two music videos are also included: "Can You Hear Me Now" runs for 3 minutes 34 seconds and is by Blinded Black, and "Arsenaholic" runs for 3 minutes 56 seconds and is by Dancefloor Tragedy. Some short deleted scenes follow: - "Mayhem Montage" runs for 1 minute 16 seconds; various shots of gore and violence. - "House Party" runs for 33 seconds; extra footage of the house party sequence. - "Director Death" runs for 31 seconds; the director in a cameo is eaten by zombies. - "Producer Death" runs for 15 seconds; the producer in a cameo is eaten by zombies. Up next is a theatrical trailer for "Automaton Transfusion" that runs for 1 minute 58 seconds. Rounding out the extras are a collection of bonus trailers for: - "The Mist" which runs for 2 minutes 29 seconds. - "Rogue" which runs for 2 minutes 8 seconds. - "Planet Terror" which runs for 2 minutes 18 seconds. - "Halloween" which runs for 1 minute 59 seconds. - "Furnace" which runs for 1 minute 21 seconds.
Packaging
This disc is packaged in an amaray case housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
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