Director – Tom Hoover
Starring – Peter Ferry, Mary Mahoney, and Jim Lee Jones
Release Date – 2000
Rating – 3/5
Blu Release – 4/5
Watching a previously never released S.O.V. horror flick is something a lot of horror fans look forward to. There is a few companies out there that track down and preserve S.O.V. horror and I respect each and every one of them. A few weeks ago Tempe Digital announced that they would be releasing the 2000 unreleased S.O.V. horror flick Chupa on blu. I had never heard of this one but I’m a huge fan of Bookwalter and Tempe so as soon as the orders went live for Chupa I quickly rushed to makeflix.com and grabbed a copy.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a group of professionals from various backgrounds who are recruited by the government to investigate a series of murders that took place in a small town in Ohio. However, this investigation is unlike anything they have seen before and soon they realize that this is not what they suspected and one of them is not as they seem. **Spoiler Alert**
S.O.V. horror is very hit or miss with me. Sometimes it’s an amazing horror flick with crazy gore and a halfway decent story while other times they are nothing more than kids just fucking around in their parent’s basement with their video camera. I never go into them expecting a life changing experience but I do look to them for a cheap good time. Chupa was surprisingly fun but it was dull at times.
The acting in this one is well done which is very surprising considering that I can find very little about the cast on imdb.com. They were all extremely comfortable in front of the camera and the characters they created were very well grounded. They fit into the story very well but they don’t really stand out when the film is said and done. The story for this one is all over the place. We get X-Files inspired government conspiracies, cryptids, and creatures that can change their appearance. I really enjoyed the story for the most part and how it all came together. With that being said, it does have several dialogue heavy scenes that drags on a bit too long ruining the pacing of the overall film.
Finally, the film has some blood but don’t expect a lot of blood and gore. Also, there is a scene near the end with some visual effects that had me laughing my ass off. It was so bad but the unintentional laughs made if worth it. Overall, Chupa is a bit slow but I did enjoy the story. I liked the the conspiracy aspect and as a fan of The X-Files I really liked what this film pulled together. It’s fun and Tempe did a fantastic job putting out this release. I highly recommend it.
Special Features:
2021 Restored Feature in 4:3 Original Aspect Ratio (1.33:1)
BLU-RAY ONLY: DTS HDMA 2.0 Stereo & Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Mixes
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Mix
2021 Audio Commentary with director Tom Hoover moderated by Tempe historian Ross Snyder of Saturn’s Core Audio & Video
2021 Audio Commentary with stars Dan Sekanic, Tiffany Sandels, and Jeffrey Lynn Hall
2021 Cast & Crew Interviews (14 mins., HD)
2021 Location Tour (7 mins., HD)
BLU-RAY ONLY: Behind The Scenes Footage (22 mins.)
BLU-RAY ONLY: Blooper Reel (9 mins.)
BLU-RAY ONLY: Deleted Scenes (2 mins.)
BLU-RAY ONLY: 2004 Cook County Community Awareness Video (14 mins.)
BLU-RAY ONLY: 2000 “Trades” Promotional Trailer (3 mins.)
Insert with Vimeo On Demand Streaming Digital Copy (Makeflix Exclusive!)
Optional English Subtitles
BLU-RAY ONLY: Tempe Digital Trailers
