The Drive-In Delirium series is quickly becoming one of my favorite trailer compilation franchises of all time. This third collection of previews only strengthens my convictions. Fans of exploitation, sci-fi, and (especially) horror are guaranteed to love it.
This time out, the running time clocks in at a whopping six hours and change. That’s a little daunting for any jaded, dyed-in-the-wool trailer compilation fan. However, if you break it up over a few evenings you’ll get the most mileage out of it. It’s even split into two parts, “The Quickening” and “The Spawning”, which helps.
The Quickening is easily the weaker half. Despite that, we still get a wealth of great trailers. There are previews for movies starring Richard Jaeckel (The Green Slime, Chosen Survivors, The Dark), Martin Landau (Meteor, It Came Without Warning, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs), and Charles Bronson (The Stone Killer, 10 to Midnight, Death Wish 3, Death Hunt). It’s just as fun though seeing trailers for obscure-o flicks like Swordkill, Savage Attraction, and Fair Game.
Unfortunately, there are some ill-fitting trailers that seem like they came out of another collection. The trailers for such highbrow entertainment as Gorky Park, Eyes of Laura Mars, and Last Tango in Paris feel especially out of place. Plus, too many comedy trailers (The Pink Panther Strikes Again, High Anxiety, The Nude Bomb) kind of gum up the works as The Quickening is nearing its conclusion.
Although things sort of putter out near the end of the first half, the intermission that bridges the two sections is a real humdinger. It’s a ‘70s anti-smoking PSA starring none other than C-3PO and R2-D2! After that, the compilation really hits its stride with “The Spawning” as it offers us wall-to-wall horror trailers. There are slashers (The Prowler, Happy Birthday to Me, The Funhouse) sequels to several of the genre’s most famous franchises (Friday the 13th, Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror), Stephen King (The Dead Zone, Firestarter, Pet Sematary), Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red, Phenomena), When Animal Attack flicks (Orca, Deadly Eyes, Razorback), and werewolf movies (Wolfen, An American Werewolf in London, The Howling).
In fact, The Spawning is so strong that it could’ve been an outstanding standalone release. It just goes to show Umbrella Entertainment’s dedication. Most companies would’ve been content to give you one three-hour compilation and call it a day. This one gives you two for the price of one. At six hours, it was a given that some of the trailers would be a tad underwhelming. Still, it’s well-worth picking up just for The Spawning alone.
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