Magic, Myth & Mutilation: The Micro-Budget Cinema of Michael J. Murphy, 1967–2015

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A compilation of bloopers from Death Run, Moonchild, Torment, Atlantis and Second Sight that provide the expected amusement and act as a handy reminder of just how frequently actors swear when they fluff a line. Aspiring writer Terry (Tim Morris) travels to Greece to spend a holiday with his celebrated movie director father and the younger actress Alex (Carol Aston) that his father has recently married. When work delays his father's arrival, Terry is able to spend some time alone with Alex and work on his latest story, but he seems to be planning something sinister. When you play this film, you can elect to watch it either with its original title, Quälen, or with the alternative The Hereafter title sequence, which appeared on the American VHS edition published by Mogel Video. So for the titles sourced from tape masters. Are they shot-on-video or are these the best available elements? All-new 2K restoration by Powerhouse Films of Moonchild (1989), using 16mm film elements from the Murphy archives

Michael J Murphy on ‘Beast’(2010): interview with the filmmaker about Chris Jupp’s remake of his lost version of SkareMurlyn’s Cave (2023, 22 mins): footage of Murphy’s friends and collaborators salvaging rare promotional materials, production equipment, props and other materials from the director’s home shortly after his death in 2015 The performances of the leads are once again impressive, with three of the key players from Road to Nowhere returning here in very different roles and again really bringing Murphy's script to life. It's a glum-looking film, with interiors that look brighter than the footage shot outside in the daylight, but this adds to the film's increasingly unsettling atmosphere, and I'll freely admit that by the halfway point, I genuinely didn't know how the rest would play out. It leaves some questions teasingly (and a little frustratingly) unanswered, but is still an intriguing and enjoyable genre work that nicely misdirects us and plays its winning cards close to its chest. Audio commentaries on Invitation to Hell and The Last Night with Murphy, Lyndon and Sally Duncan (2008)

Standard Definition presentation of Second Sight (1991), newly digitised from Michael J Murphy’s tape master This is more like it, a trailer that captures the essence of the film, makes the drama and characters look interesting, and it chooses a choice line to sign off with. All-new 2K restorations by Powerhouse Films of Tristan & Iseult (1970), Happy Ever After (1974), Secrets (1977), and Almost a Movie! (1979) That theme song from Stay, which plays over the rotating image of its 45rpm single release. I presume this is the real deal, and while I have no doubt the record was scanned and animated to fake the image of it spinning on a real turntable, whoever was responsible certainly took their job seriously, as it really does rotate 45 times over the course of a minute. And yes, I counted. What do you mean, I need a hobby? Alternative openings for Invitation to Hell and Death in the Family featuring the logo for Custom Video, Murphy's short-lived stab at self-distribution after he was shafted by the Neon Video label over the deal for distributing the second of these titles. According to the opening caption, Murphy sold about 20 copies of the tape featuring a double-bill of both films. I'll bet these are collector's items now.

Two presentations of Tristan: the original version (108 mins, High Definition); and the re-edited version (102 mins, Standard Definition)

Two presentations of The Rite of Spring: the original version (90 mins, High Definition); and the re-edited version (81 mins, Standard Definition) All-new 2K restorations by Powerhouse Films, using film elements from the Murphy archives, of Tristan and Iseult (1970), Happy Ever After (1974), Secrets (1977), Almost a Movie (1979), The Cell (1980), Stay (1980), Death in the Family (1981), Invitation to Hell (1983), The Last Night(1983), Bloodstream (1985), Moonchild (1989), Torment(1990), Atlantis (1991), Road to Nowhere (1993), Tristan(version one, 1999), ZK3 (2012), Nekros: Isle of the Dead (2014), and The Return of Alan Strange (2015)A fun collection out outtakes from Skare. The expected fluffed lines are often amusing, but the best moments are all technical gaffs, with Murphy's trademark fire-in the-foreground shot triggering a smoke alarm that ruins a deadly serious monologue, a lightbulb that is the main source of room light falling out and then dropped when an attempt is made to replace it, and an absolute belter when a body falls towards the camera and slams into the lens instead of stopping short as intended. For me, this proved a fascinating and often surprising journey, with the films I expected to like the most overshadowed at seemingly every turn by ones I would not have expected to have warmed to so readily. I elected to write a little about each film immediately after I watched it for the first time, and only made alterations later if the special features revealed I'd made a factual error or they prompted me to give the film in question a second look, which I often did anyway. I should note, as ever, that all comments are purely personal ones shaped by my own taste in films and my viewing experience, and in this case my years working on amateur productions and with student filmmakers. This will see me swim against the prevailing tide a little, as while Murphy's minor cult status is built around his horror works, for me, there are far more interesting films in his oeuvre. Make no mistake, I'm a horror fan, and being old enough to remember when admitting a fondness for low to medium budget horror would invite the scorn of serious cineastes, it's great to see the critical turnaround that sees the genre treated as seriously as any other. But it's got to the point where horror is sometimes so over-analysed now that it's given a free pass in areas where films of similar quality from other genres would be roundly slammed, and has as result has become a literal definition of cult cinema. Again, this is probably a discussion for another day.