Directed by Fred Olen Ray
Review by David Carter


Released by Retromedia
Running Time: 83 minutes
Rating: Rated R
Color format: Color
Audio/Subtitles: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo English
Region Code: 1, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
16:9 Enhanced: Yes
Special Features: Commentary track, clips from the original work-print, making of, “Night Owl Theater” segments, EVIL TOONS suite by Chuck Cirino
Trailer Online: Yes

Short Version: Fred Olen Ray’s best work

Fred Olen Ray only makes one type of movie. That’s not a criticism considering he’s probably the best there is at making that type of movie. Ray specializes in the direct-to-DVD “sexy-” film. You can add whatever you want after the sexy part – sexy-horror, sexy-sci-fi, sexy-action – but Ray’s forte has always been T&A. He’s not a mere sleaze-merchant, however; part of Ray’s ongoing success has been his ability to make sexy films that were non-exploitive and fun to watch and he never sacrificed the pacing or narrative of the film just to include more nudity. So Ray is something of an auteur of the bad movie and his over 100 films – at least 16 of which have the word “Bikini” in the title -- are cult classics, beloved by fans and his peers.

Despite being the man behind SCREAM QUEEN HOT TUB PARTY and HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS, Ray’s best film and perhaps his most well-known is EVIL TOONS, recently available on a 20th anniversary edition from Retromedia. The plot of the film very famously “borrowed” from both WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? and THE EVIL DEAD, but after a few minutes you’ll realize that Ray has minimized these influences enough to make the film still feel original. Four beautiful co-eds are hired to clean up an old mansion and they find a mysterious book, a dagger, and a shroud in a chest in the basement. Megan, the “smart one” played by softcore legend Monique Gabrielle, is able to read the book which, unbeknownst to the girls, unleashes a cartoon demon. Amorous co-ed Roxanne is the demon’s first victim and he begins picking off the remaining girls using the bodies of his victims as disguises. Luckily for Megan, the ghost of an ancient occultist returns just in time to help her defeat the monster.

EVIL TOONS cheats a little bit because the promised “evil toons” appear sparingly; most of the time the villain is in the body of Roxanne, played by one-named porn star Madison. The scenes with the cartoon demon lurking about are surprisingly well-done for such an ultra-low budget film, however, and don’t disappoint. As with most of Ray’s horror-themed films, comedy is at the forefront and the ‘toon is more for comic relief than scares. We are even treated to a Wile E Coyote style eye-bug once he first sees Roxanne. I was surprised at how gruesome some of the other kill scenes were as they had a bit more blood than one typically expects from a Ray film. It warrants mentioning that the only other disturbing aspect of the film is only bizarre in retrospect: David Carradine hangs himself in an introductory scene.

A full six years before Wes Craven “invented” – note the sarcasm – post-modern horror, Fred Olen Ray was making similar observations about the genre in EVIL TOONS. A conversation between the girls regarding saying “I’ll be right back” is echoed almost verbatim in SCREAM a few years later. The entirety of EVIL TOONS is filled with a self-awareness rarely seen in low-budget outings. Perhaps inspired by the meta-humor in ROGER RABBIT and THE EVIL DEAD, Megan and the girls are completely aware of the fact that they are in a horror movie and, as sexy women, know they are most-likely intended to be the victims. This allows the girls to make some very intelligent and funny observations about their situation and gives the film a bit more spark than it would have had if all the humor was scatological or sexual, as sometimes was the case with Ray.

Retromedia is the home of all things Fred Olen Ray – he’s behind all of those BIKINI (fill in the blank) movies we’ve been reviewing recently, directing them under a pseudonym – and this is by far the best release of EVIL TOONS we’ve ever seen. The print of the film is pristine and looks far better than I expected it to look. The DVD is loaded with extra features as well, including scenes from the original work-print and a commentary track by Ray. EVIL TOONS is an excellent release whether you’re viewing it for nostalgia purposes or discovering the film for the first time. Not only is it a fine example of the early nineties’ Scream Queen horror/comedy, it is probably Fred Olen Ray’s finest moment.