''The Supernaturals'' is a 1986 American

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Armand Mastroianni Armand Mastroianni (born August 1, 1948) is an American film director and producer. Biography Armand Mastroianni's directorial debut was the 1980 horror film '' He Knows You're Alone'' which was also the screen debut of actor Tom Hanks. He has ...

and written by Michael S. Murphey and

Joel Soisson Joel Soisson is an American filmmaker. He works primarily in the field of independent film. His numerous credits include '' Dracula 2000'', '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'', ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'', '' The Prophec ...

. Filmed in the United States in 1985, ''The Supernaturals'' was released by

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was active from 1942 to 1986. Embassy was responsible ...

in 1986, and has never been re-released since its original

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

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format. It is available to stream on

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Plot

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, deep in the sullen backwoods of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

town is held captive, the soldiers forced to walk through a piece of woodland laced with mines. Because he is found wearing a

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

outfit, Jeremy (Chad Sheets), a young boy is also forced to make the crossing. If they make it across the minefield the Union Army 44th will set them free. Only Jeremy and his mother (Melanie) - who runs to save him - survive, despite the fact that the mother has stepped on a mine. Jeremy exhibits unearthly powers. Jump to ''

circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...

'' 1985 and a platoon of soldiers are out on manoeuvres in the same backwoods. They too are the 44th, descendants of the Union platoon of years before, those who committed the atrocities. The main character here is Pvt. Ray Ellis (

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (born Maxwell P.J. Newby; 23 November 1959) is a British actor. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), ''Electric Dreams (film), Electric Dreams'' (1984), ''The Boys Next Door (1985 film), The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The S ...

), the only soldier to catch glimpses of the beautiful and mysterious Melanie; Ellis also has a romantic interest in Pvt. Angela Lejune (

Talia Balsam Talia Balsam (born 1959) is an American television and film actress. Early life Talia Balsam was born in New York City in 1959, to actors Martin Balsam and Joyce Van Patten. Her ancestry is Russian Jewish (father) and Italian, Dutch, and Engl ...

). The platoon decide to camp inside a circle of yellow grass seemingly caused by brush fire, a spot from which the wind only blows outward. Pvt. Ellis is reluctant to camp there, but Sgt. Hawkins does not like having her authority undermined. Whilst the platoon are setting up camp, Melanie reappears - this time witnessed by all in the platoon - and takes a strong interest in Pvt. Ellis who bears an uncanny resemblance to her husband, Evan. Trouble for Sgt. Leona Hawkins (

Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols ( ; born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal of Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels was groundbreaking for African American actresses on A ...

) and her

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

begins with the soldiers' drunken and childish antics; however, events take a sinister turn when Pvt. Cort ( Bobby Di Cicco) is found shot in the head. They inexplicably lose radio contact and the nearest town is over twenty miles away. Hawkins and her platoon go in search of - and arrest - Melanie, who lives in an old wooden shack with what looks to be her father or grandfather, a withered old man. In the cabin, they discover the relics of muskets and an old diary, written by Evan. They take Melanie back to camp, but leave the old man at the cabin; he is too old and frail to go anywhere. During the night, an eerie

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

rolls in, encompassing the 44th, and the Confederate Dead close in on their camp. Most of the 44th are subsequently killed - one-by-one - whilst Pvt. Ellis heads off into the woods in search of the old man who, it turns out, is Jeremy (he has used his powers to keep his mother the same age). Along the way he is forced to do battle with the Confederate zombies and also runs into Melanie, who shows him a locket. Inside is a picture of Evan, and Ellis immediately recognizes the resemblance. He snatches the locket from around her neck and runs in the direction of the cabin. Once there he persuades Jeremy to end the evil spell and send Melanie and the zombies back to wherever it is the dead are supposed go. Exhausted, Jeremy dies and Ellis returns to the camp where Lejune and Hawkins are waiting, the only survivors. Ellis embraces Lejune and the locket falls from his hand to the woodland floor, where it is lost amongst the leaves.

Cast

as Private Ray Ellis *

as Sergeant Leona Hawkins *

as Private Angela Lejune * Bradford Bancroft as Private Tom Weir *

LeVar Burton Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Roots'' (1977 ...

as Private Michael Osgood * Bobby Di Cicco as Private Tim Cort * Scott Jacoby as Private Chris Mendez * Richard Pachorek as Private Ralph Sedgewick * John Zarchen as Private Julius Engel * Margaret Shendal as Melanie * James Kirkwood Jr. as Captain * Patrick Davis as The Old Man * Robert V. Barron as The Old Vet * Chad Sheets as Jeremy *

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...

as Union Soldier In a

cameo role A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking one ...

Production

Make-up and special effects

Bart J. Mixon performed the

make-up Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created syn ...

and

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

. He has also worked on films such as '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'' and '' Hellboy II: The Golden Army''. Mixon worked with Ed Ferrell, Shannon Shea and

Mark Shostrom Mark Shostrom (born May 13, 1956) is a Hong Kong-born American special makeup effects artist for the film industry. Background Shostrom grew up in Hong Kong during the 1970s. He became interested in makeup after seeing ''The Bride of Frankenste ...

on ''The Supernaturals'': he describes them as "a very small but talented crew". Mixon said he administered a "forehead appliance on Bobby Di Cicco with a bullet hole in it": Di Cicco had just finished filming ''

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

'' and was then an up-and-coming actor. He also worked with

(star of the

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

Grease 2 ''Grease 2'' is a 1982 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film, and a standalone sequel to the Grease (film), 1978 film ''Grease'', adapted from the 1971 Grease (musical), musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Orig ...

'' (1982)), and with ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' regulars

and

. Mixon goes on to praise ''The Supernaturals'' for not following in the footsteps of George A. Romero, calling the film original. However, a limited and subsequently slashed budget meant that

prosthetic makeup Prosthetic makeup also known as special makeup effects or FX prosthesis, is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic special effects, effects. Prosthetics are used on stage and screen ...

gave way to head masks. Mixon commented on the finished product: "I think our work turned out very well and I wish it was shown off a little better in the final film".

Soundtrack

Originally, the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to ''The Supernaturals'' was scored by

of the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

. The score was rejected, though, in favour of one written by Robert O. Ragland. Gibb can be seen in ''The Supernaturals'' in a

as a Union soldier.

Reception

''Best-Horror-Movies'' call ''The Supernaturals'' an "original horror film" and one which is "interesting". Bruce Kooken of ''HorrorNews.Net'' wrote: "''The Supernaturals'' just wasn’t a good movie is all. It was a tired concept, with a tired script and a lackluster implementation". Writing in ''The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia'', academic

Peter Dendle Peter Dendle is a professor of English at Penn State Mont Alto, teaching classes on folklore, 20th and 21st century representations of the Middle Ages, Old and Middle English (language and literature), and the monstrous (in film, folklore, and ...

said: "Though there are a few chilling scenes, ... the scripting is threadbare and the characters uncharismatic".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Supernaturals, The 1986 films 1986 horror films American Civil War films American supernatural horror films Films set in 1985 Films set in the United States Films directed by Armand Mastroianni Films with screenplays by Joel Soisson Films scored by Robert O. Ragland Films produced by Joel Soisson 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language horror films