The Rifftrax team of Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy just released its first original DVD -- Rifftrax: Best of Shorts, Volume One.
The site sells its laugh-out-loud commentary tracks for recent bombs like The Happening or The Day after Tomorrow on a per download basis, but Rifftrax can't release those in hard copy form for fear of vicious Hollywood lawyer types. But dig up a few public domain educational and industrial films from past decades, and any riffer worth his or her salt should be ready to roll out a DVD.
Nelson, Corbett and Murphy don't disappoint, going wondrously darker than they ever could during the glory days of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The trio members surpass themselves with "Shake Hands With Danger," an excessively violent construction-safety film featuring knuckle-dragging dimwits mangling themselves in a myriad of creative and unexpected ways. The fact that the same movie features the three riffers as 3-D caricatures of themselves only adds to the delightfully disturbing atmosphere.
The only quibble? They got this DVD out in time for Christmas (or "Chri'tmas," as Elvis would say), but there's no holiday-themed short. Maybe next year, kids.
Image courtesy Rifftrax
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