It’s the holidays! What do you do when all the gifts are opened, food is devoured, and “guests” are finally out of your house? You dive into your sack of Black Friday goodies from Vinegar Syndrome! I got a decent stack from VS this year and carefully choose the first feature that I would check out and that lucky gem was Tammy and the T-Rex!
Tammy and T-Rex was released in 1993 and aimed to be a family friendly film. The film focuses on high school students Tammy (Denise Richards) and Michael (Paul Walker) who have feelings for one another, except Tammy’s asshole boyfriend Billy isn’t too keen on their budding relationship. So, what is a jilted boyfriend to do? Beating the hell out of his rival and leaving him to get mauled by a lion at the local zoo is the only answer here and Billy and his goons deliver on it.
A girl and her dinosaur
Michael ends up surviving the attack and winds up in a hospital but with very few lacerations on his face after the lion had his entire head in his mouth. It’s the little quirks like this that makes the film amusing. An insane scientist (Terry Kiser, Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s) shows up, convinces Tammy that Michael is dead and steals his body where he then extracts Michael’s brain and installs into the robotic T-Rex. Why? Why not? Tammy soon discovers that Michael is now a T-Rex and sets off on a mission to get Michael back into a human body.
First off, I want to give props to Vinegar Syndrome. Not only did they dig this film up and give it a 4K remaster, but they also dug up the R-rated cut of the film. The blu ray has both cuts if you have younger eyes that would like to view the film but trust me the differences between the two make an entirely different watch.
The R rated cut contains all the juicy blood and gore. You want to see Paul Walker get his head cut off in all it’s gory glory? Well, you got it! Want to see the scientist manipulate the exposed brain to cause the corpse to get a boner? You get that as well! I went back and watched the PG-13 version and the cuts are clearly noticeable and, in some cases, make the film uneven. Let’s be honest, no one wants the PG-13 cut.
At the core, Tammy and T-Rex is very schlocky, but it knows what it is and doesn’t attempt to be anything different. The puppet T-Rex effects are gold. The dinosaur makes calls on a pay phone, comforts Tammy, and even rides off into the sunset with her on his back. One of the highlights displays Michael destroying a high school party. Students get stomped on and thrashed about in a remarkable bloody way.
Moments like this is where Tammy and the T-Rex shines.
I did enjoy watching a younger Denise Richards and Paul Walker. Richards pulls off a solid job as Tammy despite the goofy script and the fact she must play it up to a puppet dinosaur. Walker isn’t in the film long before he is killed, but for his first role, he wasn’t too bad either. Throw in the cliché mad scientist and the comedic gay best friend and it combines for a great 90s romp!
Tammy and T-Rex is a great time if you’re looking to just grab some popcorn and check your brain in at the door. Vinegar Syndrome always pulls rabbits out of their hat with surprise releases and this one easily shot up high on my list for 2019. The film is gorgeous and the “gore cut” more than makes up for the money you will spend acquiring this film. Plus, there is a bunch of awesome extras including interviews by Denise Richards and Director, Stewart Raffill which is a great look into the madness of the film. Give Tammy and T-Rex a watch! No collection is complete without a movie that includes Paul Walker’s brain being transplanted into a robotic dinosaur!
Special features:
• Region Free
• Newly scanned & restored in 4k from its 35mm original camera negative
• Audio commentary with director Stewart Raffill and producer Diane Kirman
• “Blood, Brains and a Teenage T-Rex” – an interview with director Stewart Raffill
• “A Blast from the Past” – an interview with actress Denise Richards
• “Having the Guts” – an interview with actor Sean Whalen
• “A Testicular Stand-Off” – an interview with actor George Pilgrim
• Full length PG-13 cut of Tammy and the T-Rex (sourced from video)
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
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