Blood Capsule #302

TIMESWEEP (1987)

This is my favorite type of Blood Capsule to write.  On some level, I enjoy writing all of them, but I particularly enjoy brushing the dust off of an obscure relic that hasn't found its way to Blu-ray.  I only learned of Timesweep recently, and I've never seen anyone bring it up before, whether online or in casual conversation.  Certainly, it's status as one of the last vestiges of VHS antiquity is befitting, as there is nothing casual about this thing.  I would put it somewhere between Spookies and Waxwork.  Calm yourself!  It's not as glorious as those films, but the similarities will be obvious once I unspool a synopsis.  A professor, his students, and a few other random tradesmen (carpenter, gaffer, etc.) convene at an abandoned studio.  We infer that it was used for TV and movie production, but it hasn't been in operation for decades.  Not long after entering, two ancillary characters are impaled by mystery ghouls.  It soon becomes obvious - and you're going to have to trust me here - that everyone is lost in time.

This is where Timesweep gets nutty.  Each room seems to be populated by different impediments (zombies, a phantom archer, a freakin' dinosaur) sent from different dimensions.  It's referred to as a "time shift," and somehow, there is more to it than I can rehash.  That probably sounds like a blurry headache, but it's actually fun trying to piece together.  I broached Waxwork because of the time travel gimmick.  Spookies...well, there are multiple monsters at play, although we never get a good look at what I'm assuming is a dinosaur.  I suppose it could be a were-lizard.  Or a Kool-Aid mascot.  Does Purplesaurus Rex have an alibi that would stand up to scrutiny?  I mentioned zombies earlier.  That's underselling it.  These are zombies from outer space, and yes, we get a glimpse of their spaceship.  How is Timesweep so obscure???  It wasn't even released on home video in the States.  Unreal.  Ah, but was it worth being released?  I'd say so.  The pacing is tight, and the death sequences are saturated with gore.

I'm not going to leave a link, but if you look for Timesweep on a major video-sharing website, you're going to find it.  Finders, keepers (at least until Vinegar Syndrome grabs it).