By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Severin Films is truly plumbing the depths of Italian exploitation fare with a notorious JAWS knockoff and more coming next month.
On September 29, the company will unleash CRUEL JAWS, in which HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD and SHOCKING DARK’s Bruno Mattei (under the pseudonym William Snyder) not only imitates Spielberg’s classic but “borrows” footage from Enzo G. Castellari’s GREAT WHITE and Joe D’Amato’s DEEP BLOOD. Remastered uncut in HD, it’ll be presented in both Mattei’s home video version and “The Snyder Cut.” Also coming that day is Michael E. Lemick/Michele Massimo Tarantini’s MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY, co-scripted by the ubiquitous Dardano Sacchetti, in which paleontologist Michael Sopkiw (BLASTFIGHTER) and fashion models encounter bloodthirsty cannibals (but not dinosaurs), scanned in 4K uncut from the original negative. Rounding out the releases is PRIMITIVES, another jungle flesheater shocker from Indonesian director Sisworo Gautama Putra before he made the groundbreaking SATAN’S SLAVE, scanned in HD from the vault negative for the first time ever. Special features are as follows:
CRUEL JAWS
- “The Great White Way–A Study in Sharksploitation” with Rebekah McKendry
- “These Things Got Made!”: Interview with actor Jay Colligan
- Trailer
A bunch of exclusive merch is also available for this one, including a “jaw-droppingly sleazy” novelization by Brad Carter, a limited-edition slipcase inspired by the Japanese release (with an “unpromotable” title), a toilet decal, a squirt gun and a Sharkmania head scarf.
MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY
- “Valley Boy”: Interview with actor Michael Sopkiw
- “Lost in Brazil”: Interview with co-writer Dardano Sacchetti
- Deleted and extended scenes reel
- Trailer/Italian credits
PRIMITIVES
- “Producing PRIMITIVES”: Interview with producer Gope T. Samtani
- “Way Down in the Jungle Deep”: Interview with screenwriter Imam Tantowi
- Trailer
- Alternate UK opening and closing titles
All of these films and merch bundles are now available for pre-order at the Severin Films webstore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA0TAhvyXHc
