The army of Videvores out there are well aware of the fact that mold is one the VHS tape’s mortal enemies. There’s no bigger analog bummer than unearthing a radical tape, slipping it from the case for inspection and finding the reels ravaged by abominable white mold! Damn, it’s the worst! However, it just so happens there’s now an instance where a certain unfriendly fungi and the VHS tape can live in perfect harmony: the
Horror Boobs Video VHS release of Neil Meschino’s
MOLD!
The ultra-groovy one-sheet for MOLD! How's that mold taste, Congressman Blankenship?
Released in 2009,
MOLD! was directed and co-written (with Dave Fogerson) by Meschino. His first feature-length film, MOLD! is set in 1984 when Reaganism was rampant and the war on drugs was in full force. Deep in a circuit of underground labs, a clandestine government experiment is bubbling to concoct a new breed of mold intended to decimate Colombian coca fields. After a successful demonstration of the awesome destruction power of the mold, the celebration is interrupted when the coked-up Congressman Blankenship (played enthusiastically by James Murphy) is gruesomely overtaken by the mold. Panic slowly sets in as the motley crew realizes that they must contain the mold and avoid becoming infected themselves, but after they discover one of the HAZMAT suits was sabotaged by an outside force, collective anxiety and gut-busting hilarity ensue as the cast scrambles to avoid being contaminated, dodge an axe-wielding mold-infested zombie and find a way to strike back at the man who’s doomed them to a most abominable death.
The gooey, green and gruesome axe swingin' mold zombie! Gonna get'cha!
While Meschino certainly shows his finesse behind the camera, he also knows how to swing a hammer as he constructed the lab sets in an old warehouse and dressed the sets with authentic 80s materials he salvaged from an old folks home (and his Grandmom’s house according to some sources!). But even with Meschino’s Corman-esque efficiency and spirit, MOLD! owes a great deal to its cast of zany and archetypal characters. The performances are truly solid, all with their own quirks and quips that draw the viewer into the messy and murderous world of MOLD! My favorites of the bunch are the coked-up congressman who rails about 45 lines in the bathroom and spouts off some of the most hilarious lines in the film and the cigar-chomping Colonel (played by Edward X. Young) who gives new meaning to “A Real American Hero”. Oh, and let’s not forget about the abundance of epic moustaches (that’s how you get an 80s feel on a budget!) and a few scenes with an unconventionally alluring femme scientist stripped down to her skivvies. Rife with 80s horror sensibilities and drenched in homegrown and highly effective SFX, MOLD! is an over-the-top, ooey-gooey sci-fi comedy romp that proves independent fringe cinema can still be fresh, fun and full’a killer fungus! Check out the
official site here for a ton of killer stills, extras and groovy merch!
Neil crankin' out some exterior shots on the set of MOLD! Make love to the camera!
And just when you think MOLD! couldn’t give the 80s any more proverbial high-fives, Meschino decided to team up with Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs Video to produce HBV’s very first home video release. And what a dope release it is! Delivered to you in a freshie-fresh big box black clamshell case, the artwork was slightly re-worked to emulate that retro-classic look that us Videdovores know and love. The tape itself? It’s fucking green! How cool is that? From the label on the tape with a warning from the Colonel that “Bootleggers will be shot” to the “Videovore Approved” emblem on the side, this is one of the grooviest new tape productions I’ve stuck in my VCR. And as if these amazing traits weren’t enough, the HBV release of MOLD! also comes with an official “anti-mold mask” and get this: a 7 inch with the MOLD! theme song and a ripping B-side from NY thrashaholics
VERMEFUG! Turn it up!
I told you the tape was green! Is this ultra-bitchin or what? You know it is!
So where can you get it? Clickity-click on over to
Forbidden Planet NYC and snatch up a copy MOLD! in all of its gooey green glory! Your VCR won’t know what hit it! Groove on, Videovores! VHS lives!
Josh Schafer
The ultra-groovy one-sheet for MOLD! How's that mold taste, Congressman Blankenship?
Neil crankin' out some exterior shots on the set of MOLD! Make love to the camera!
I told you the tape was green! Is this ultra-bitchin or what? You know it is!