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Writer, director, editor, fight choreographer, stunt-man, Jim VanBebber’s films are worth checking out for the behind the scenes material alone.

Visions Of Hell represents the collected works of the man labeled (lovingly) by Rue Morgue Magazine as a ‘certifiable nutjob’ a few years back upon the release of The Manson Family.  It is a terrific little set that proves that underground film-making can produce some amazing material in spite of rather harrowing odds.

The set is comprised of two feature films and an assortment of shorts and documentaries, so I’ll try to go through them in the order that they’re presented on the discs.

Deadbeat At Dawn is Jim VanBebber’s first feature, made in 1988 on a shoe-string budget.  Set around Dayton, Ohio, the film is a pretty basic story of two rival gangs, the Ravens led by Goose (Jim VanBebber himself) and the Spiders led by his rival Danny (Paul Harper).  The film opens with a knife fight that leaves both gang leaders wounded, and Goose’s girl takes the opportunity to talk him into getting out of the life.  Danny targets her in his revenge on Goose, and when she’s killed by his goons, Goose takes bloody revenge on everyone involved, his old friends and enemies alike.  It’s a predictable plot, but one has to admire VanBebber’s tenacity as the lead, leaping from a bridge, rappelling down the side of a building, hanging from the window of a moving car, his stuntwork is definitely what the film was created to showcase.  The incidentals of the plot or gritty Grindhouse style of the film is all a bonus as VanBebber manages to evoke echoes of The Warriors or Carpenter’s They Live, films also set in a down and out urban sprawl.  The extras included are some outtakes and a vintage behind the scenes reel shot on video which mostly features some of the stunt work being blocked out with VanBebber supervising and a still gallery

The second disc of the set contains the director’s 5 short films (which are of varying quality or interest), the most notable of which is My Sweet Satan, which also stars VanBebber and helped to kickstart his enthusiasm for what has thus far been the crowning achievement of his film career.

2003’s The Manson Family is that achievement, and after a grueling 12 year ordeal to see the film finished, it was truly worth it.  The film is set in 1996 as journalist puts the finishing touches on a documentary that takes the focus of the Tate-LaBianca murders away from Charlie (Marcelo Games) and puts it back on The Family who actually committed the murders.  The period portions of the film were mostly shot at the beginning of the production, and all look genuinely like 70’s era documentary footage, while the ‘modern’ footage of a band of latter day Manson acolytes nicely frames the film.  The 70’s material paints a frenetic, drug fuelled orgy of excess that must be seen to be believed, and is well worth a look.

The fourth disc of the set includes The VanBebber Family, which is an hour long documentary about the making of the film, detailing the struggles of the cast and even the departure of Marcelo, the actor who plays Manson in the middle of the project. The next feature, In The Belly Of The Beast chronicles the behind the scenes of Montreal’s FanTasia film festival, where the film was shown in an incomplete form as Charlie’s Family, VanBebber and five others are interviewed about their lives and experiences as underground film-makers, which makes for an interesting watch, as the footage is almost a decade old at this point and at least two of the featured projects have never had a release to my knowledge.  This final disc is padded out with an interview with Manson himself in which he acts like his usual nutty self for approximately 10 minutes.

Visions Of Hell: The Films Of Jim VanBebber is truly the showcase of an auteur’s vision, as the interview materials suggest that he’s never really made his film career easy on himself, from what he’s put himself through physically and mentally, to the wild drug fuelled shoot behind The Manson Family.  This set truly paints a picture of a man who has, for better or worse done it his way.

This set is well worth a look for horror fans, as there’s plenty of the red stuff to go around, and the FanTasia documentary piece was an enjoyable watch in spite of only being peripherally connected to the director.  Give this a look.

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