Twilight People (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

The hero is Matt Ferrell, played by John Ashley, a fifties heart throb, here playing a world-famous adventurer. The heroine, Eva, the mad doctor's daughter, is played by Pat Woodell. Of course, they fall for each other. Pam Grier ("Coffy," "Foxy Brown," "Jackie Brown") plays the Panther Woman. The first half of the film is all exposition; the second half is an attempted escape. The whole production is clumsily made, with woeful acting, terrible music, abrupt edits, and virtually no pacing. It was perfectly crafted for the drive-in movie crowd.

Video:
The picture is presented in a standard, presumably pan-and-scan screen size, the colors bright and beautiful and usually blurred. Occasionally, almost by accident, the image jumps into focus for a minute or two and then reverts to bleary once again.

Audio:
The monaural sound is quite limited in frequency and dynamic range and is accompanied by a small but noticeable degree of background hiss.

Extras:
In addition to the film, VCI offer biographies of the two stars and director, a collection of trailers for other VCI horror films, and twelve chapter stops.

Parting Shots:
"The Twilight People," which, by the way, is continually referred to in the promotional materials as simply "Twilight People," without the initial article, is about as awkward and incompetent a monster movie as one could imagine. I suppose that's its charm. There seem to be an endless number of people who adore these things. Personally, I'd stay away from drive-ins unless it's a double feature, something VCI should look into, along with an intermission and previews in between. If they could provide the popcorn, too, they'd be in business.