If you followed the indie horror scene at any point in the last thirty years, you might be familiar with J.R. Bookwalter and his company Tempe. I have been fascinated by Bookwalter's work since I was a kid, especially since many of the greatest movies he was involved with as director, writer, and/or producer were made in my home state of Ohio. So I'm glad that he has been crafting special edition Blu-ray releases of those classics in recent years. It started with a Blu-ray release of THE DEAD NEXT DOOR (you can watch the movie HERE), continued with a Blu-ray release of ROBOT NINJA (watch it HERE), and now Bookwalter is giving his 1995 movie OZONE the special edition Blu-ray treatment.
Directed by Bookwalter from a script he wrote with David A. Wagner, OZONE (which you can also watch on Amazon Prime) has the following synopsis:
While on a stakeout, hardboiled cop Eddie Boone gets injected with a dangerous new designer drug causing nightmarish side effects. As he searches for his missing partner, Eddie discovers the urban streets full of mutants, monsters, and mayhem orchestrated by the mastermind behind the lethal narcotic! Produced and directed by J.R. Bookwalter (“The Dead Next Door,” “Robot Ninja”), “Ozone” is the shot-on-video epic Videoscope calls “an exciting, fast-paced action-horror hybrid that never lets up the momentum.”
Information on the Blu-ray release:
Painstakingly restored from original Super-VHS-C camera masters with a dynamic 5.1 surround sound remix, camcorder classic “Ozone” explodes onto Blu-ray looking sharper and more vibrant than ever together with three audio commentaries and over two hours of bonus materials.
– 2020 Restored Feature in 4:3 Original Aspect Ratio (1.33:1)
– DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround Remix
– 2020 Audio Commentary with producer/director J.R. Bookwalter moderated by Tempe historian Ross Snyder of Saturn’s Core Audio & Video
– 2003 Audio Commentary with director J.R. Bookwalter and star James Black
– 2003 “Street Zombies” Audio Commentary with director J.R. Bookwalter
– Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Castilian Spanish Dubbed Mix
– Bloopers & Outtakes (30 mins.)
– Production & Artwork Gallery (5 mins.)
– Promotional Gallery (6 mins.) • 1993 Channel 23 News Segment (3 mins.)
– 1993 Newstalk 29 TV Appearance (19 mins.)
– Paying For Your Past Sins: The “Ozone” Story (30 mins.)
– Into The Black: James Black and “Ozone” (8 mins.)
– 2003 Location Tour with actor James L. Edwards (5 mins.)
– Behind The Scenes Footage with Optional Audio Commentary (7 mins.)
– Early Test Footage (13 mins.)
– Tempe Digital Trailers
Amazon is taking pre-orders for the Blu-ray and will be shipping it out on August 11th. You can also get a copy from Bookwalter's Makeflix website, where there's a "signature edition" available.