I just received the latest DVD from Cult Epics due for release probably by the time you read this, on October 28^th. POPULATION: 1 is the first release from The Rene Daalder Collection.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I grew up when cable TV was new, HBO was new and MTV had just started. No, I don’t think I ever saw the ‘Video Killed the Radio Stars’ premiere of MTV, but I certainly remember it when there were no commercials; they were more like station identifications where you just see grassy fields or forests, and then it was back to more music. Before all of the music video channel hoopla, there were movies being made around popular music. THE WHO’S TOMMY or Frank Zappa’s 200 MOTELS are some notables, and another, lesser known film was Rene Daalder’s (Massacre at Central High)  POPULATION: 1.

It had its official theatrical release in 1986 well after MTV’s premiere, yet shooting of this film started back in 1977. It stars punk rock singer Tomata Du Plenty from the group The Screamers. Now as much as I enjoy a rock musical, I am not particularly a fan of punk rock, not even the popular kind. Maybe I grew up too late for it, but my ears tended to gravitate to either the flowery psychedelia of Moody Blues or the gothic mythology of Iron Maiden.

Although I know nothing about this music, or this film going into it, I still felt at home with it growing up with the kooky early MTV videos. Many of them made no sense and I don’t think they were trying to either. POPULATION: 1 is unique apart from the early MTV style of music videos.  I have the sense throughout the viewing that if Liquid Sky was a musical, it might almost be something similar (in style only).

The movie is about the possibility that everyone in America is dead and that there is one person left living in a bomb shelter who is alive to retell American history. Of course, it would be a history none of us ever grew up with, so it’s a post-apocalyptic-revisionist-America…you might say. Tomata plays himself where we see him exhibit his history/philosophy for the new world in the form of art, dance, poetry and singing. We see his visions, hallucinations, daydreams and nightmares all come to fruition in a charm that is no longer present in today’s video filmmakers (did I forget to mention this was shot on video, and then transferred to film?).

Although this film had difficulty getting off the ground, with a low budget which was eventually cut, and finally had to be shot at Tomata’s own apartment making it all happen on the weekends. Using the new chroma-key composites (which flattens the layers), director Daalder had the fortunate stroke of luck to find himself at the helm of the most modern technical equiptment of the time at Todd Rundgren’s Utopia Video Studio in New York to do the post editing to POPULATION: 1.

In addition to Tomata Du Plenty, included in this movie is a number of other notable musicians and names of the time, most prominently is Sheela Edwards who sings a good portion of the music, including, what I particularly enjoyed, Jazz Vampire. Other names are Vampira, Beck (as Beck Campbell at only 12 years old), Penelope Houston, Carel Struckyen (the Giant from Twin Peaks), Al Hansen, KK Barett, Tommy Gear, Steve Hufstetter, Steve Berlin and El Duce. A host of cinemtographers like Frans Bonet, Jan De Bont, Bill Pope and Oliver Wood. The story and most of the lyrics were written by Daalder himself and he also produced the music. So a great handful of talent outside of the musicians came together on this film and put together a quirky, if not, memorable music video political piece.

Released in 1986, it was later recut for a director’s cut and remastered for this DVD set which looks and sounds as good as it could. This is a 2-disc set full of features both about the music and film. The chapters of the film are the titles of the songs sung in the film. Many rare, live performances included of The Screamers with Tomata at the Whiskey A Go-Go and some clips with Sheela Edwards. A documentary on the Daalder in Hollywood, an interview with the director, a tribute to Tomata, and a never before released music video of Penelope Houston’s song ‘Girls’ and to round it out is ac lip of an interview with the late Vampira (Maila Nurmi), the last interview at 82 years old, from the recently released documentary Vampira: The Movie. A 4-page insert that provides historical and production information is also included.

Cult Epics pulls out all the stops on this set and puts together a great package - if punk rock and 80’s music videos are where your inner rebel teen angst gravitates towards. With over 3 hours of material, a true fan will surely revel in this material. As for someone (like me) who does not listen to this music and generally unfamiliar with it, I found POPULATION: 1 harder to appreciate.

For more information about Cult Epics and their releases, visit their website.