The Undertaker (also released as Death Merchant)[citation needed] is a 1988 American slasher film directed by Franco Steffanino and starring Joe Spinell. The film was completed in November 1988,[1] but was never released for the public and existed only in an incomplete form. The Undertaker was later reedited for a DVD release by Code Red in 2010 and a Blu-ray release by Vinegar Syndrome in 2016. The film is considered a cult classic, due in part to both Joe Spinell's involvement and its troubled production. This was Joe Spinell's last film before his premature death in 1989.
The mortician Uncle Roscoe (Joe Spinell) attends community college by day and murders women for his personal use. His nephew Nicky, his professor Pam (Rebeca Yaron) and her roommate Mandy (Susan Bachli) begin to suspect Roscoe, unaware that the undertaker has now taken a special interest in them.
The film was made on location in Port Chester, New York at the former Colony Funeral Home on King Street and was produced by Double Helix Films. Filming for The Undertaker was completed in November 1988.
Releaseedit
The film was never released to theatres or to video, and the only known copy belonged to Joe Spinell,[2] who died not long afterward. The film circulated as a bootleg for years, before Code Red released an edited version of the film on DVD in October 2010. The release was padded with public domain films to increase running time, was titled Death Merchant in the opening titles, and scenes were both cut and rearranged from the bootleg version.[3]
In 2016, Vinegar Syndrome restored and released The Undertaker in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack limited to 3,000 copies. Unlike the Code Red release, the Vinegar Syndrome version does not include the public domain films edited in to pad the running time.
Referencesedit
^"The Undertaker: Release Info", www.imdb.com, retrieved June 5, 2013
^"The Undertaker (1988): Joe Spinell's Lost Slasher", www.retroslashers.us, retrieved November 26, 2016
^"The Undertaker", www.dvdbeaver.com, retrieved June 5, 2013
undertaker, 1988, film, undertaker, also, released, death, merchant, citation, needed, 1988, american, slasher, film, directed, franco, steffanino, starring, spinell, film, completed, november, 1988, never, released, public, existed, only, incomplete, form, un. The Undertaker also released as Death Merchant citation needed is a 1988 American slasher film directed by Franco Steffanino and starring Joe Spinell The film was completed in November 1988 1 but was never released for the public and existed only in an incomplete form The Undertaker was later reedited for a DVD release by Code Red in 2010 and a Blu ray release by Vinegar Syndrome in 2016 The film is considered a cult classic due in part to both Joe Spinell s involvement and its troubled production This was Joe Spinell s last film before his premature death in 1989 The UndertakerFilm posterDirected byFranco SteffaninoWritten byWilliam James KennedyProduced byFrank AviancSteve BonoStarringJoe SpinellRebeca YaronSusan BachliCinematographyRichard E BrooksEdited byLarry MarinelliDavid SzulkinMusic byJ Eric JohnsonProductioncompanyDouble Helix FilmsDistributed byDouble Helix FilmsCode RedRelease dateOctober 2010Running time89 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Premise 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 References 6 External linksPremise editThe mortician Uncle Roscoe Joe Spinell attends community college by day and murders women for his personal use His nephew Nicky his professor Pam Rebeca Yaron and her roommate Mandy Susan Bachli begin to suspect Roscoe unaware that the undertaker has now taken a special interest in them Cast editJoe Spinell as Roscoe Rebeca Yaron as Pam Hayes Susan Bachli as Mandy Martha Somoeman as Hazel Charles Kay Hune as Police Chief William James Kennedy as Inspector Barry France Porta as Security Guard Joe Magle as Kevin Max Stone as Sergeant Ginny Franco as Mary Lawrence Lisa Vondal as Nancy Bowen Rita Kling as Angela Jan Harrison as Cashier Mette Holt as Jean Robert Kessler as Inspector Vance Guillermo Gentile as State Coroner Tommy LoRusso as Coroner DriverProduction editThe film was made on location in Port Chester New York at the former Colony Funeral Home on King Street and was produced by Double Helix Films Filming for The Undertaker was completed in November 1988 Release editThe film was never released to theatres or to video and the only known copy belonged to Joe Spinell 2 who died not long afterward The film circulated as a bootleg for years before Code Red released an edited version of the film on DVD in October 2010 The release was padded with public domain films to increase running time was titled Death Merchant in the opening titles and scenes were both cut and rearranged from the bootleg version 3 In 2016 Vinegar Syndrome restored and released The Undertaker in a Blu ray DVD combo pack limited to 3 000 copies Unlike the Code Red release the Vinegar Syndrome version does not include the public domain films edited in to pad the running time References edit The Undertaker Release Info www imdb com retrieved June 5 2013 The Undertaker 1988 Joe Spinell s Lost Slasher www retroslashers us retrieved November 26 2016 The Undertaker www dvdbeaver com retrieved June 5 2013External links editThe Undertaker at IMDb nbsp This article about a 1980s horror film is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Undertaker 1988 film amp oldid 1134174211, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
