Ruby
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: C+ Film: C
There are those who make
good movies, and then there are those that copy from good movies. I suppose if you are going to take from
others it would be best to take from some of the best. The 70’s became a wellspring for the
horror-genre as the rating system allowed for harder material to be
released. Classics like Last House on the Left (1972), The Exorcist (1973), and Carrie (1976) became icons of the era
combining shock value with style. No doubt
that these films would be emulated for years to come, but just like now once
something becomes cool, it is soon copied.
Released just a year after
Brian De Palma’s Carrie was Ruby, which not only stole much of that
film’s material, but also used (i.e., exploited) Piper Laurie, who starred as
Carrie’s mom. Here she plays the title
character, a woman that watches as her mobster lowlife boyfriend is killed one
evening in 1935. She shortly gives birth
after to Leslie. Then in 1951 Ruby is
running a drive-in movie theater, where she has employed some ex-mobsters (I
guess they make the best popcorn). Soon
Leslie (mute since birth) begins talking in her father’s voice and other
demonic incidents occur. She has strange
powers like telekinesis and then people are slowly showing up dead. So essentially we have elements of The Omen, The Exorcist, combined with a story similar with Carrie only with a gangster twist.
In an interview on the DVD
director Curtis Harrington mentions that he had nothing to do with many of the
changes that took place with the film and that the producers changed many
things for TV edits. He actually had his
name removed from the film until this DVD release, which brings back as much to the film as could be saved with the edits that
Harrington wanted. Having his name
removed from this film was probably more of a blessing than a curse, but
whatever the case, he mentions that the film was the largest grossing
independent film until the release of Halloween
(1978). If I do the math correctly that
would only be one year later, so I am sure that the statement is really all
that powerful. We also doubt its
authenticity.
So with this DVD edition Ruby is finally given the directors
cut, which is presented letterboxed at 1.85 X 1. Oddly enough some scenes look sharper than
expected, while other times colors are too soft or oversaturated. Darks look way to light and whites are never
truly white. This is a typical problem
of lower budget films that have been transferred onto DVD with minimal amount
of money to do a full restoration.
However, this digital transfer is from the original 35mm camera
negative, which does explain the sharpness at times. The audio also seems to be strange because
the DVD sends a stereo signal, but it has a more monophonic presence making me
assume that it is closer to a 2.0 mono soundtrack. Either way it makes little difference since
the film offers little maneuverability in terms of left and right panning or
other directional effects that would be associated with a stereo soundtrack.
The film runs a short, but
thankful, 85-minutes and the DVD also includes a commentary track and interview
with Curtis Harrington, which even the interview alone is framed rather poorly
making me wonder who in the world operated the camera on it! Also joining the commentary is Piper Laurie,
which alone might be worth for some fans.
Overall, this is a relatively nice edition for a film that is so-so. True horror fans might want to seek it out for
some odd reason, but most will be disappointed more than anything else.
- Nate Goss
