Review: He Came from the Swamp – The William Grefé Collection

Blu-ray: He Came from the Swamp – The William Grefé Collection (1966 – 77)

I’ve always been a fan of low budget independent filmmaking and my VHS/DVD/Blu-ray collection includes films by Edward D. Wood Jr, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and Doris Wishman (Nude on the Moon being a particular favourite of mine…go check it out), but for some reason the films of William Grefé had passed me by…until now.

Arrow Films have quite often put the spotlight on the more obscure side of cinema (just one of the many reasons why I love their releases), and they don’t come much more obscure than the films of William Grefé.

Through the 1960’s and 70’s he used the Florida swamps and surrounding areas as the backdrops to his low budget exploitation films, often using local people (and even passers by) with no acting experience to jump in front of the camera and act out what was in Grefé’s head that day…because a lot of the time he didn’t even have a script and it was just made up on the spot with who and what was available!

If your usual cinema fare is from the likes of Christopher Nolan and you find the works of , for example, Stuart Gordon too lowbrow for your cinematic tastes, then this collection of William Grefé’s Floridian exploits will surely lead to you reaching for the off button.

However, for everyone else for whom the seedier and lower budget end of cinema is a tasty treat for the eyes no matter how bad the acting/story/soundtrack/cinematography (delete as appropriate), then this collection of 7 of Grefé’s films will be an enticing morsel of cinema history, especially as this marks their first blu-ray release and are of course accompanied by the usual informative and entertaining special features that Arrow Films are known for.

Sting of Death and Death Curse of Tartu were released as a drive-in double bill, with Sting of Death being the most enjoyable of the 2. In fact, I’d put it as my favourite out of the whole collection…how can you not be entertained with Neil Sedaka singing “Do the Jellyfish” as a group of “teens” (I use that word in its loosest possible sense) dance around a pool before the films monster (wait until you see that in all its glory!) claims its next victim in the pool. Just don’t ask how nobody noticed it in there beforehand.

Death Curse of Tartu has a shapeshifting witch doctor defending his land and killing anyone that gets in his way, while The Hooked Generation and The Psychedelic Priest capture the late 60’s drug fuelled zeitgeist in an amalgam of scenes that don’t necessarily always make any coherent sense, but hey, a couple of hitchhikers were passing on the day they were filming, so why not put them in a scene where the female hitchhiker gives birth…fully clothed…and with no baby anywhere in sight after the “birth”.

The Naked Zoo has Rita Hayworth in one of her final onscreen appearances, and can be summed up with this one short synopsis: “wheelchair-bound husband seeks revenge on lusty wife“. Not a tag line you’ll see on many films these days!

Mako: Jaws of Death is another film that jumped onto the shark craze following the success of Jaws, and features some scenes that you definitely won’t see in any other of the other Jaws ripoff films…though Jaws 4 has a remarkably similar premise with its human/shark telepathic communication theme!

Finishing off this collection is Whiskey Mountain, where a gang of bikers go wild in the wilderness and generally are a pain in the backside to everyone.

One of the most interesting special features included in this set is a two-hour extended version of 2016’s They Came From The Swamp, a documentary featuring interviews with Grefé and cast/crew members telling stories of what it was like to be on location back in the 60’s with these films. It certainly was a wild time indeed!

All of the films are filled with plot holes so big it’s a wonder some of the “actors” didn’t fall down them and were never seen again. While a coherent narrative, Academy Award winning acting, seamless editing, believable special effects, etc are all things mostly absent across the board.

But, and it’s a big but…if low budget exploitation films get your heart racing with excitement, then get the beta blockers ready immediately, as this blu-ray showcase of Grefé’s films is the best you’re ever going to see them.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Seven William Grefé films, all newly restored from the best surviving film elements: Sting of Death (1966), Death Curse of Tartu (1966), The Hooked Generation (1968), The Psychedelic Priest (1971), The Naked Zoo (1971), Mako: Jaws of Death (1976) and Whiskey Mountain (1977)
• Brand new, extended version of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’ definitive documentary They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations on 4 Blu-ray discs
• Original uncompressed mono audio for all films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring an extensive, never-before-published interview with William Grefé and a new foreword by the filmmaker
• Reversible poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil
• Reversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork for each of the films by The Twins of Evil

STING OF DEATH (1966) + DEATH CURSE OF TARTU (1966)

• Brand new introductions to the films by director William Grefé
• Archival audio commentaries for both films with William Grefé and filmmaker Frank Henenlotter
• Sting of Death: Beyond the Movie – Monsters a-Go Go! – a look into the history of rock ‘n’ roll monster movies with author/historian C. Courtney Joyner
• The Curious Case of Dr. Traboh: Spook Show Extraordinaire – a ghoulish look into the early spook show days with monster maker Doug Hobart
• Original Trailers
• Still and Promotion Gallery

THE HOOKED GENERATION (1968) + THE PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST (1971)

• Archival audio commentaries for both films with director William Grefé and filmmaker Frank Henenlotter
• Hooked Generation behind-the-scenes footage
• Hooked Generation Original Trailer
• Still and Promotion Gallery

THE NAKED ZOO (1971) + MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH (1976)

• William Grefé’s original Director’s Cut of Naked Zoo
• Alternate Barry Mahon re-release cut of Naked Zoo
• Original Mako: Jaws of Death Trailer and Promo
• Still and Promotion Gallery

WHISKEY MOUNTAIN (1977) + THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP: EXTENDED CUT (2020)

• Whiskey Mountain Original Trailer
• Still and Promotion Gallery
• They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé – the definitive documentary presented for the first in High-Definition and in a brand new, extended cut

He Came from the Swamp is released 30th November 2020.

Review by Dave from discs kindly supplied by Arrow Films via Fetch Publicity.