Back in 1993, Steven Spielberg unleashed the classic “Jurassic Park” on an unsuspecting world. This blockbuster sparked a new interest in all things dinosaurs, with plenty of knock-off films and TV projects being released in its wake. But perhaps none of the dinosaur films of the last 25 years can compare to “Tammy and the T-Rex.” And thanks to the folks at Cinepocalypse, the world is about to be reintroduced to the cult classic film.
Released in 1994, ‘Tammy’ told the story of the titular high school girl and her boyfriend, Michael. But this isn’t your typical coming-of-age feature. Not at all. You see, through the assistance of a mad scientist (obviously), Michael ends up having his brain transplanted into a life-size, robotic T-Rex body. Yes, that means that the film is a love story between a teenage girl and a robot dinosaur. Needless to say, it’s batshit crazy.
But there have been plenty of ludicrous premises found in films of that era. So, what truly sets ‘Tammy’ apart from the rest of the B-movie schlock is the fact that this film is one of the first to feature soon-to-be stars, Denise Richards and Paul Walker. Before he was ‘Fast & Furious,’ Walker donned a crop top and white pants as Michael in “Tammy and the T-Rex.” And well before she was a sex symbol in the latter part of the ‘90s, Richards was the innocent teenage Tammy that was just trying to figure out high school life and what to do with her robot dinosaur boyfriend.
In a few short weeks, attendees of the annual Cinepocalypse film festival in Chicago will see the original 35mm “gore-cut” of this ultra-violent, campy dinosaur comedy. And as seen in the new trailer for the film, it’s clear why the fest would honor such a rare gem with a such a high-profile screening.
The new “Tammy and the T-Rex: Gore-Cut” makes its premiere at Cinepocalypse on June 17. However, if you’re not able to make it to the genre festival, then a 4K restoration (from the film negative, no less) is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray and in theaters later this year.
