review: THE MUFFIN MAN

Dancing Monkey Productions  //  Buy DVD Summer is over, the day-olds are a day older, and it's business as usual at the struggling donut shop on Drury Lane. Chad, Jane, and the rest of the staff have no idea that the shop's former proprietor - serial killing baker, Desmond Bailey - is about to return to the scene of his original crimes. Deformed, enraged, and possessed by a malicious demon, Bailey is more dangerous than ever. It's up to Hank, the grizzled detective who ended the baker's first killing spree, to convince the staff of the imminent danger. Will they heed his warnings before it's too late, or suffer a delicious demise at the hands of the menacing murderer with a massive muffin for a head? The heat is on, the timer is set, and a new evil is on the rise! The same folks who brought you the cult classic Rotten Shaolin Zombies now unleash the fury of THE MUFFIN MAN upon your unsuspecting souls! A Calgary-made, uber-independent b-movie, "The Muffin Man" is a truly original romp into b-movieland, delivering a tightly-crafted story, acted by professionals, crewed by some very talented folks, all focusing on the carnage unleashed on the hapless employees of Gonuts Donuts... by a muffin-headed demon back from the dead! (Yes, I said "muffin-headed" - think of the deformed offspring of Mayor McCheese and a giant jack o' lantern... and some muffin mix.) I may be biased (given that I did direct, produce, edit and unleash the DVD), but I absolutely love this film. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you like your cinema a bit on the campy/cheesy side, are intrigued a 10 foot tall villan with a 3 foot muffin for a head, and can appreciate some very creative ways to kill defenseless victims, then this is the one for you. The DVD is jam-packed, the story is sweeping, the main bad guy is epic and if you're still reading this review, then you, too, will love... THE MUFFIN MAN! Video Originally shot on miniDV, then processed with a "film look" filter (with a 16x9 widescreen matte slapped on top of the original fullscreen picture), what's not to love? This is independent filmmaking at it's most glorious, folks - it doesn't get any better than this! Audio A Dolby Digital stereo mix delivers one of the most professional aspects of this movie: the sound mix. Designed by Calgary professional sound design studio Ear Candy, the mix is superb, adding further depth & life to an already intense and fantastical presentation! Extras TONS of extras, including: 3 audio commentaries (4? who said that? is there an extra one hidden somewhere?) making-of featurette (30 minutes) audion footage (8 minutes) introduction by Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma Studios & Creator of the Toxic Avenger trailer for ROTTEN SHAOLIN ZOMBIES photo gallery DVD-ROM features: MP3s, screenplay in PDF format Easter eggs! Closing Thoughts Unbelievably entertaining/campy/scary/enthusiastic locally-made indie movie + TONS of extras = one of the finest DVDs to come out of Calgary since zombies sang on the streets of Calgary! :: This review originally appeared on CalgaryMovies.com ::