Slime City (1989)
Directed By Gregory Lamberson

Written By Gary G.

Slime City makes me sad. I’m sad that the era that produced such a perfect jewel of low budget splatter is over. You see Slime City is the last of the great age of New York indie horror that includes such cult classics as Frank Henenlotter’s double bill of Basket Case and Brain Damage, Charles Kaufman’s Mother’s Day, Bill Lustig’s Maniac, and Jim Muro’s Street Trash. Add to that list Gregory Lamberson’s Slime City, a sickeningly outrageous slice of sleaze that positively reeks with the funky stench of mid eighties New York. And that’s a compliment to the film, if not the city. Because it was basically the last of that dying breed of kick ass, take no prisoner low budget film making, (it was completed in 86′ but not released until 89 in a few midnight showings in NYC), Slime City has been almost forgotten save for a scant few VHS copies released by Camp Home Video cherished by a few lucky fans and some pirated copies through the underground video trade market. But now the DVD generation can revel in the charms of the Slime City through Retro Shock-O-Rama Cinema’s beautifully produced DVD reissue of the film.

Slime City stars Robert Sabin as Alex, an art student in New York City who rents a third floor apartment in a grungy building presided over by two creepy old ladies. Soon what was meant as a love pad for he and his virginal girlfriend Lori turns into a gory, slime drenched hell hole when Alex is possessed by the spirit of a dead occult figure named Zachery and his body slowly turns into a melting mess of green goo…unless he kills to stop it.

Lamberson was only nineteen when he wrote, produced and directed Slime City, and it shows. That’s not a put down but a compliment because the film throbs with a youthful energy. It is so over the top in its efforts to make you gag or howl that it could have only emanated from the mind of a young renegade filmaker.

Surprisingly honest work from his two stars helps in bringing you on the ride. Despite one hilarious outburst (You whore?) Robert Sabin’s cheeky sense of humor is perfect for Alex. And Mary Huner’s performance is stunning if at first, like me, you don’t realize that she is playing two different characters. She’s perfect as good girl Lori and almost unrecognizable as the vampy neighbor Nicole, one of Zachery’s cult followers who seduces Alex.

Another standout is Robert Tomaro’s pulsating new wave score, an excellent compliment to the film. But its the gore (By God, The Gore!) that really shines. Lamberson and his effects team let loose some of the most disgusting gore set pieces ever seen. The climactic battle between Alex and Lori is a grueling depiction of body disintegration as Alex’s body is split open, beheaded, disemboweled and de-brained. It will leave you squealing in disbelief. It goes to show what a lot of ingenuity and imagination can do over a meager budget. Bravo!

What makes Slime City for me is what is wonderful about all of those New York indie horror films; its gritty urban look and feel. Anyone who lives in a crummy neighborhood in a big city like New York, (I grew up in Philadelphia, PA, the new murder capital of the country. Go Eagles!) will feel instant recognition with the world of Slime City, from the trash strewn alleys ways, the dusty apartment hallways full of chipped and peeling paint, bums, Asian hookers, weird gypsy psychics accosting you, slutty metal chicks with impossibly large hair, it’s all there. The grit and flavor of those New York locations comes through perfectly because it’s real; Alex’s apartment is really an apartment that most of the film crew lived in while shooting, the alley way in which Alex kills a bum is an alley way outside one of the producers apartment.

I spent a lot of my youth in the late eighties and early nineties watching movies like Slime City on video and late night cable. So when I stumbled upon a used copy of the original Camp Video release years ago I felt like I had found some perfectly preserved time capsule from my childhood.

Retro Shock-O-Rama has done a hell of a job with it’s DVD reissue. Not only is the film gorgeously transferred and re-edited by Lamberson (to sharpen some of the loose editing) but comes with a fun, laugh filled commentary by the director and his lead actor Robert Sabin. These two men, as well as most of the crew, were close friends who worked for no money but were incredibly dedicated to what was obviously a labor of love. The DVD also comes with a short documentary narrated by Lamberson on the making of the film and a full color insert with liner notes also by Lamberson with more info on the making of the movie. We also have the requisite trailers and a documentary on the the inaugural year of the Shock-O-Rama video line. This is basically a must have disc for fans of the movie and anyone curious to check out one of the most wonderfully gross, disgustingly over the top movies of the eighties.

Read Gary’s in depth intreview with Director/Author Gregory Lamberson HERE.

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