The 1986 horror film The Supernaturals has arrived on free streaming platforms including Plex, Fawesome, and Dark Matter TV. The movie features a rare cinematic collaboration between Star Trek legends Nichelle Nichols and LeVar Burton.
Nichelle Nichols and LeVar Burton in a Civil War Zombie Plot
In The Supernaturals, Nichelle Nichols takes on the role of an Army sergeant who leads a military patrol through Confederate territory during the American Civil War. The plot centers on the squad's struggle for survival in a landscape infested with zombies. LeVar Burton appears alongside Nichols as a fellow Union soldier participating in the mission.
The production also features Maxwell Caulfield, known for his role in Grease 2, who portrays another soldier within the Union-affiliated platoon. While the film is not considered a cornerstone of the horror genre,it provides a unique glimpse into the early film careers of its lead actors before they became synonymous with the Star Trek universe.
The Direct-to-VHS Journey of a Film Without a US DVD Release
For decades , The Supernaturals remained an obscure piece of cinema. As the report says, the movie was originally a direct-to-VHS release and never received an official DVD or Blu-ray distribution within the United States. This lack of physical media availability effectively turned the film into a piece of "almost-lost" media for years.
The current availability on Plex, Fawesome, and Dark Matter TV marks a significant shift in accessibility . This is particularly notable given the current landscape of streaming costs; the report notes that Plex has recently tripled the price of its lifetime pass, making the free availability of The Supernaturals more appealing to budget-conscious viewers.
Chris Scheib's Mixed Verdict on the 1986 Horror Entry
Critical reception for the film has been sparse and generally lukewarm. however, critic Chris Scheib, writing for Moria Reviews, offered a more nuanced perspective, regarding The Supernaturals as a "quite good film." Scheib specifically praised the director's ability to extract strong performances from an unusual ensemble cast.
Despite the praise for the acting,Scheib expressed disappointment regarding the film's narrative execution. According to the source, Scheib felt the movie faltered during its climax and failed to provide adequate explanations for the supernatural elements driving the plot. This tension between strong performances and a weak ending characterizes much of the film's legacy.
A Rare Intersection of Uhura and Geordi La Forge
The primary draw for modern audiences is the pairing of Nichelle Nichols and LeVar Burton. Both actors are celebrated as sci-fi icons: Nichelle Nichols portrayed Uhura in the original Star Trek, becoming one of the first Black women to hold a leading role on American television. LeVar Burton later became a household name as Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation and as the host of the educational series Reading Rainbow.
This 1986 film represents the only time these two specific Star Trek alumni shared the screen. for fans of the franchise, the movie serves less as a horror experience and more as a historical curiosity, documenting a moment where two pioneers of inclusive sci-fi casting crossed paths in a B-movie setting .
The Mystery of the Missing Supernatural Explanations
Despite its new availability,certain gaps in the production remain. The most prominent is the narrative void mentioned by Chris Scheib regarding the lack of explanation for the zombie phenomenon. It remains unclear whether this was a directorial choice or a result of editing constraints during its original VHS production.
Furthermore, the reasons behind the film's total absence from the US DVD and Blu-ray markets remain unverified. Whether this was due to licensing disputes,poor initial sales, or the perceived lack of market interest in a Civil War zombie flick is a question that still lingers for cinema historians .
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