ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT has just released their 2nd John Landis film. They released "Kentucky Fried Movie" earlier this year. While John Landis' films have varied greatly in quality over the years, his sense of humor is often terrific and when he's able to successfully transfer it to film, there are some great results. This often results in parts of his films being much better than the whole. It also explains why films like "Into the Night" were only "partly" terrific! No one could confuse "SCHLOCK" with a great film, but it's certainly a "Fun" film! Most of its wit lies in the filmmaker's skill and self-deprecating style. Landis plays the prehistoric oddity, "Schlock" himself, and it only adds to the overall charm of the film. This is a low-budget, fun film, that only gets better with repeated viewings! It's also impressive to find make-up extraordinaire, Rick Baker, was responsible for the effects. They're quite impressive, considering the film's "low" budget! Showing a strong knowledge of film history and pop culture, Landis (who played the monster Schlock) pokes fun at numerous sources way before it became trendy to do so. The acting is so impossibly bad that it is always funny and one opening scene with four teenagers discovering Schlock in his lair is funnier than any Scary Movie or other horror parody could hope to be. Therein lies the charm that makes this freshman film so entertaining. Everyone involved had talent, but they knew how to laugh at themselves as well. ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT has provided the film's correct 1.85:1 aspect ratio for the transfer, along with 16:9 enhancement! While it's generally impressive, the colors appear a little dull at times. The contrast is fine, with generally distinctive blacks and grays. Fleshtones are fine, but not as consistent as with other ANCHOR BAY releases. The original 2.0 stereo mix is included here, and while it's adequate, it's not up to the standards of most ANCHOR BAY releases. The dialogue is seldom balanced with the effects mix. It is,however, free of distortion. We're happy to find that Landis and Rick Baker offer a running commentary! Just like the film, it's "Fun!" The two provide a whimsical banter for the duration of the film, and there are plenty of "fun" as well as informative "Film-making" facts about the film's production, allowing for fans to be even more impressed at what was achieved against great odds!