Some of you may be asking yourselves, “What’s The Guyver?” But, I suspect if you were a kid in the nineties, you know EXACTLY who and what The Guyver is.
When I was growing up, my parents subscribed to the Canadian version of HBO, which was called The Movie Network. The mixture of programming on the channel was eclectic, to say the least, and the blockbusters were padded out with many direct-to-video tiles, usually in the erotic thriller or action genres. Folks like Shannon Tweed, Lorenzo Lamas, and others became pretty common to see pop up on the channel. Occasionally, one of these movies would feature a bigger star and sometimes turn out to be a real gem.
With that in mind, I remember vividly as a kid tuning in to watch The Guyver because it was promoted as a superhero movie starring Mark Hamill. While that’s maybe “partly” true, as an eleven-year-old, my brain wasn’t quite ready for the whacked-out madness delivered by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang.
The Guyver is a 1991 flick loosely based on a Japanese Manga, which was initially put out (in a heavily truncated version) by New Line Cinema on home video. It did well enough to get a sequel, Guyver: Dark Hero, but it’s a movie that hasn’t been super easy to see over the years – until now that is.
Unearthed Films, the samethat rescued Martin Campbell’s awesome No Escape, is putting out The Guyver in fresh 4K edition packed with extras. Here’s the details:
When college student Sean Barker (Jack Armstrong) finds the Guyver, an alien device that transforms him into a cyborg fighting machine, he inadvertently makes himself a target of the evil Chronos Corporation, who will stop at nothing to get the Guvyer back, including kidnapping Sean’s girlfriend Mizuki (Vivian Wu). Sean’s only hope is a mysterious CIA agent named Max Reed (Mark Hamill). Together they fight to save Mizuki, keep the Guyver out of Chronos’ hands and stop their ultimate goal of world domination. Directed by Screaming Mad George (Freaked) and Steve Wang (Drive) and produced by Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) The Guyver is an epic superhero action adventure that you won’t soon forget.
The 4K UHD + Blu-ray + CD Soundtrack Limited Collector’s Edition includes new commentary with co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, a new interview with producer Brian Yuzna and co-director Screaming Mad George, outtakes with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, a new gag reel, a new production and artwork gallery, an alternate title sequence, trailers, and The Guyver soundtrack, composed by Matthew Morse.
The Guyver hits 4K disc on June 25th. Here’s the cover art:
Do you have fond memories of The Guyver? Let us know in the comments!