Recent Horror DVD Review Highlights
With Halloween over and done with you might
think that DVD Stalk would take November off, you know, for Thanksgiving
or something, but as the old adage goes, there's no rest for the wicked. Here's
a look at the last month's worth of digital horror offerings...
Horror
fans and eighties TV junkies alike have been waiting for what seems like an
eternity for Friday The 13th - The Series to arrive on DVD but finally,
the wait is over. Was it worth it? DVD Talk reviewer Cameron McGaughy took a
look at Paramount's DVD debut of the complete first season, here's what he had
to say: "Depending
on your ability to appreciate bargain basement effects, many of the show's
exclamation points will have you laughing or rolling your eyes. Some of the
computer-generated wizardry is awfully eye opening: A flying blade in
Episode 2 takes the cake, but you also get a murderous shadow, a comic book
robot come to life, animated orange smoke, killer bees and countless other
objects that have a cartoonish demeanor, constantly forcing the actors to
comically shake in pain. You never see anything too graphic (most of the carnage
is off camera, with shots of the bloody aftermath), but considering the show's
time and place, I'm surprised it got away with as much as it did (although some
religious groups weren't too pleased). While it isn't as good as Tales from
the Crypt, Friday the 13th: The Series still manages to entertain you
as its three likable heroes try to save the world from haunted antiques. It's
cheap and cheesy, and while it's often too slow and formulaic, some episodes
rise above to create a spooky (yet still silly) atmosphere. The technical
presentation and extras are a bummer, but fans of the series will still want to
add it to their collection. Everyone else may want to Rent It first and see if
they like the show's flavor."
That said, David Cronenberg completists, and we know you're out there, will want
to pick this up as he directed an episode that is contained in this set. For
some fans, that's reason enough to own this release.
Moving right along, new DVD Talk reviewer
Stephen Hawco really dug the recent revitalization of TV's The X-Files,
that being the feature film, The X-Files - I Want To Believe.
After pondering the fate of the characters and the storyline as it was
'resolved' in this film, Stephen summed up his thoughts by writing "Chris
Carter, the creator of the show, and longtime collaborator Frank Spotnitz were
not ambitious with their vision for this film. Yet the result is a profound
amount of intimacy with the main characters, which is more appropriate than
focusing on big effects and action scenes. In fact, to fans who are disappointed
with I Want to Believe, I would argue that your disappointment is
misguided. The X-Files, despite all of the conspiracy theories and weird
creatures and alien encounters, was so popular based on a cult of personality.
I Want to Believe functions well as a stand-alone movie, one full of
mystery, suspense, and sci-fi. I loved it. So, will there ever be another
X-Files production? Well, this one didn't even make back its budget in the
US ($30 million budget to $20 million domestic box office), but a supposed $70
million total worldwide gross should give us hope, and Spotnitz admits on this
DVD that it's possible. For now, just enjoy this one. Buy this DVD as soon as
possible; you're not buying the (relatively worthless) Extended Cut, but the
excellent documentary and a long, high-quality, stand-alone final episode from
the best TV show of all time. "Highly Recommended." So there you have it. Fox
has presented the film in a 2-disc set that is simply loaded with extra
features, making this one a bit of a 'must own' for fans of the long running
cult favorite series.
Those
who want the most bang for their buck ought to check out the recently released
Paul Naschy Collection from BCI. Featuring five of the 'Spanish Lon
Chaney's' more interesting films (and not a werewolf to be seen in any of
them!), this set is loaded with supplemental material that really helps one
appreciate just why Naschy's films remain so popular in Euro-Horror circles.
Kurt Dahlke delved head first into the murky waters of classic Spanish horror
and found he had this to say about the collection: "El
Hombre Lobo makes no appearance in this Paul Naschy collection, which means this
might be seen as a B-list grouping. What do you get with a B-list collection of
B movies? A hefty brick of whack-job nuttiness, that's what! From Exorcism's
dire take on the pea-soup scene through to Vengeance Of The Zombies with
its stealth-icon creepy nude-women zombies, there's enough sensational weirdness
here to satisfy any Euro-horror fan looking to bolster the old DVD collection.
It's true these movies are to a disc more ludicrous than scary, but not one
would be out of place in a late-night horror marathon. If having a big horror
collection is your thing, and you don't already have most of these previously
released features, grouped here in a fairly stylish slipcase, then this is a
box-set that is Recommended." Those who only know Naschy from his better known
werewolf films really owe it to themselves to check these films out - and now
that you can get them in one handy and affordably priced boxed set, why wait?
Meanwhile,
over at Dark Sky Films, Spanish horror continues to be in the spotlight. While
Shiver may not have the same sort of punch or style that better known
films like Pan's Labyrinth or The Orphanage have (despite sharing
a producer with those two pictures) it does share with those films some slick
cinematography and a nice, rich atmosphere. Ian Jane took a look and found that
"the score is good
and the make up effects relatively eerie but much of the horror has little
impact in the long term and you can't help but feel that this one was made for a
younger audience as scenes that should have shocked or unsettled us instead wind
up feeling tepid and understated. There's absolutely room for subtlety in the
genre, but when it comes at the cost of the scares that should keep the tension
mounting and the audience enthralled, then maybe a bit more gore could help. The
movie builds nicely in the first half but the pay off isn't what it needs to be
and while you can appreciate the look and the performances that Ortiz has
captured on what we can safely assume is a fairly low budget, the story itself
just can't hold the momentum it starts with.
Shiver isn't a great
movie by any stretch but despite a messy plot and some confusing themes, there
are some decent performances and a few interesting ideas that might make it of
interest for genre fans. Dark Sky's DVD debut is light on extras but makes good
use of a solid transfer and provides decent audio as well. Rent it."
Ian
also jumped into the Anchor Bay Entertainment release of the Halloween 30th
Anniversary Commemorative Set release which comes complete with its very own
replica Michael Myers mask! "John
Carpenter's seminal Halloween has been milked for all its worth on DVD -
or so it would seem. Anchor Bay apparently thinks differently, as they've
recently unleashed the Halloween: 30th Anniversary Collection, which in
reality probably should have been called the Halloween: Everything We've
Already Released But Now You Get A Smelly Plastic Mask Collection, because
aside from the novelty packaging, there's absolutely nothing new in this set.
You know, if you don't already own these films on DVD this isn't a bad way to
get them and the packaging is pretty sweet if you're into creepy little masks.
That said, it's hard to believe that fans of the series don't already at least
have a copy of the first movie in some incarnation and most of the die-hards,
who will want this package, already have everything here. Anchor Bay has done a
nice job and compiled a lot of material in this collection - if you don't have
it, step right up and consider this set recommended. If you've already got it,
however, it's hard to recommend this based on a plastic mask, even if it is a
neat plastic mask." How many times will this classic have to be released on DVD?
Speaking of classics, the inimitable Jamie
S. Rich was lucky enough to check out the Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection
from MGM. Compiling eight of the master of suspense's catalogue titles, this set
is a real treat for fans of Hitchcock. Here's what Jamie had to say about this
extensive package: "Pretty
much all of the films included in the Premiere Collection have been on
DVD before, including skeevy public domain releases and three long out-of-print
Criterion discs. Lifeboat has even been released by Fox before, and that
excellent "Special Edition" is reprised here. For many, this set offers the best
versions I have seen yet on DVD, and the large selection of bonus features
should be an enticing lure for Hitchcock fans looking to beef up their
collection. Recommended. On the basis of the movies, and even on the basis of
the intentions of this set, I would classify Alfred Hitchcock Premiere
Collection as not just "Highly Recommended," but I'd push it all the way up
to our Collector Series. It's a good looking package with truly excellent films,
and any film fan should have as much Hitchcock in their possession as possible.
With the master of suspense's early American pictures, as well as three of his
important British productions. Lifeboat and Notorious are two of
my absolute favorites, and this restoration of The Lodger is a marvelous
revelation. Sadly, giving manufacturing errors that appear to trouble to entire
run of boxed sets, the Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection has a dark
cloud hanging over it that may make waiting to see how the individual releases
of these films fare rather than diving straight in. Caveat emptor in the
extreme."
High Def Horror Highlights
The late, great Bob Clark's Black
Christmas is widely considered to be one of the most influential horror films of
the seventies so it's fitting to see it released on Blu-ray.
Adam Tyner peeked under the hood of the recent release from Koch Entertainment
and here's what he found "Black
Christmas boasts one of the greatest -- not to mention the bleakest and most
downbeat -- ending of any slasher movie I've managed to see, and I'm fascinated
by Clark's insistence on maintaining the ambiguity that swirls around Billy. So
many horror movies feel compelled to give their killers some sort of clear
motivation...some sort of sympathy, even if they are unrelentingly brutal
murderers...but there is no long, meandering backstory in Black
Christmas. That's so much more unnerving than some sort of stock revenge
story or childhood trauma -- that the killer has some twisted motive that only
makes sense to him, assuming he's not just butchering these girls out of pure
malevolence. Clark deliberately limits Billy to a fucked-up voice on the other
end of the phone and a discolored eye gleaming in the shadows, and that's so
much more ominous and disturbing than a maniac running around a house with a
butcher knife. Black Christmas is a seminal slasher, carving out a
template that countless other movies would go on to swipe, and it still holds up
as a hell of a horror flick in its own right. Its gritty, rough-hewn photography
doesn't exactly dazzle in high-def, and this is really kind of a modest upgrade
over the DVD special edition from a couple of years back. Still, horror
completists who've missed out on Black Christmas up to this point ought
to give it a look on Blu-ray, especially since this high definition release is a
couple of bucks less than the DVD on Amazon as I write this. Highly
Recommended."
Speaking
of slasher films on Blu-ray, Rob Zombie's 're-imagining' of John Carpenter's
Halloween finally arrived on high definition home video. Michael Zupon
reviewed the two-disc set from the Weinstein Company and summed up his feelings
as so: "It's
not a great film by any means. Rob Zombie's Halloween jerks its narrative
so abruptly in the middle of the film, you could probably cut this film in half
with a knife and have two short films on your hands, and they wouldn't seemingly
interfere with each other. This unfortunately never gives the audience enough
time to connect with Laurie and her friends, which was vital to experiencing
Michael in John Carpenter's original vision. For everything it gets wrong
though, there's still plenty it gets right. Michael's childhood was
fantastically put together, and the climactic scenes, despite the muffled effect
on the terror due to Rob's direction, are loaded with some of the best Myers
imagery we've ever seen. You have to give it up for this release; it provided
all the essentials as far as special features go, and takes it ten steps further
by providing such an in depth behind the scenes documentary that clocks in at
over four hours. The video and audio transfers are absolutely magnificent, and
recreate the experience you would have experienced in the theater, if not
better. This is a release I'm going to recommend. You can throw your popcorn and
soda at me all you want. Despite what anyone else thinks, this film may not be
perfect, but it's nowhere near as bad as everyone has made it out to be. After
we've seen the home video cheese market turn Myers into an evil mystical being,
as well as the wretched Halloween H20, there's no way this pales in
comparison to those. If you're a fan of the Halloween franchise, pick
this one up. Everyone else may want to stick to a rental.
"
Other Horror DVD's You Might Have
Missed
Guillermo
del Toro's Hellboy hit box office gold a few years back and the
blockbuster sequel pleased fans in much the same way prompting Universal to
really role out the red carpet with a massive special edition DVD debut. Brian
Orndorf reviewed this one and said "Once
del Toro is pried away from his fiendish vices, "Golden Army" reveals itself to
be a wonderfully touching character odyssey for Hellboy, as he struggles with
his place among the humans, not to mention his difficulty expressing love for
Liz. Perlman is just so positively perfect in this role that every scene with
Hellboy that doesn't involve things going kablooey is a delight, furthering the
soul-searching needed to temper the outrageousness of his exterior. The director
even manages to sneak in magnificent, beer-fueled bonding time between Hellboy
and Abe, refreshing the friendship between "Red" and "Blue," while also giving
the fish-man a little more to do with a bizarre, yet quite fruitful romantic
subplot. There's also a new boss for the BPRD in Johann Kraus, a steampunk-inspired
creation who looks like a robot and speaks with a goofy "Hogan's Heroes" German
accent (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), who brings fresh energy into the film. An
energy that takes a good half of the movie to compute, but eventually falls into
line with del Toro's exaggerated comedic beats. I enjoyed "Golden Army" much
more than the original "Hellboy," but the concept still needs a fixation outside
of ghouls and goblins. The moments that light up this sequel are the personal
asides, infusing resplendent warmth that del Toro could manipulate even further
for maximum investment. Surely "Golden Army" fulfills every sci-fi fantasy
around, but watching Hellboy find his purpose, contemplate his newly complicated
future, or recall his past (a lovely prologue shows the character a curious boy
in a veritable Jean Shepherd Christmas card) is where the real awe of the
premise is found, not by dancing the "Monster Mash" until your eyes bleed.
On the flip side of that glowing
recommendation comes Paul Mavis' take on the recent Legend Films release of
Vincent Price vehicle The Last Man On Earth (in...gulp...color).
Paul's take on this one?
"Shot in startling
widescreen black and white by ace Italian exploitation cinematographer Franco
Delli Colli, The Last Man On Earth's opening scenes of a deserted Italian
city at sunrise, its streets gradually revealed to be littered with dead bodies,
resembles Italian neo-realism as filtered through the sci-fi genre. Surely
George Romero watched this film, prior to lensing Night of the Living Dead
- any Romero experts out there know if he's ever fessed up to this? Price's
home, marred by erratic planking for security, and criss-crossing extension
cords, provides dreamy chiaroscuro lighting schemes that give way to creepy,
blown-out daytime shots that seem ghoulishly funereal as opposed to sunny (the
night-time scenes, with plenty of high key lighting, are equally effective).
Whenever The Last Man On Earth keeps quiet about its hero's inscrutable
motives, and lets Price prowl around the stark, black and white Italian urban
landscapes, it succeeds quite well enough. I don't have a big beef with
colorizing as long as the original black and white versions don't go away. We've
had colorizing for decades now, and the famous black and white films that were
colorized didn't disappear. You can still watch them in their original state. So
colorizing, while usually an unnecessary novelty, isn't the harbinger of the
death of cinema (as I once believed). But it doesn't make any sense to
colorize The Last Man On Earth when doing so ruins the most successful
element of the film: its beautifully modulated black and white widescreen
cinematography. As for this disc's come-on about having the original black and
white version "restored," it doesn't look as good as MGM's transfer used for
their 2004 and 2007 releases of The Last Man On Earth. Which begs the
question: why bother with this Legend release? Exactly. Skip The Last
Man On Earth (in COLOR)."
And
to finish off this month's recent release round up, we take a look at the
Dimension Extreme DVD debut of Zombie Diaries.
Justin Felix dug into this one with fangs bared and said "The
Zombie Diaries follows some human survivor groups who are recording their
travails for various reasons. It's a bit off-putting to be suddenly moved from
group to group (and a month after the events of the first diary in the second
diary), but the movie comes full circle in the end connecting the disparate
storylines - with the ultimate terror not coming from the zombies but from
mentally disturbed humans themselves. Some of the horrific scenes are quite
well-done given the clearly limited budgetary constraints. The acting isn't bad
either. Zombie fans should find a lot to like here. I'd recommend it to others
too, but keep in mind this is Dimension Extreme territory and the movie is
definitely a hard R. While not a classic in its own right, The Zombie Diaries
is an interesting low budget shaky cam take on the traditional zombie apocalypse
narrative. There are enough traditional zombie gore scenes and engaging
characters here to warrant a look. Recommended."
Cineplex Scares: Current And Upcoming Theatrical
Horror
Other Horror DVDs Released in the Past
Month
Spotlight
On Synapse Films' Minoru Kawasaki DVDs
Earlier this month, Synapse Films
quietly released three films from Japanese filmmaker Minoru Kaswsaki. You may
not have heard of him, but hopefully with these release (and Pathfinder's
release of The Calamari Wrestler from a couple of years ago) that will change.
DVD Talk writers Bill Gibron and John Wallis took on these three films - here's
a look at what they had to say about this odd trilogy of genre pictures.
The World Sinks Except Japan
- By Bill Gibron
Irwin Allen made them
popular. He also took them to the point where seriousness was seemingly replaced
with silliness. A box office bonanza like The Poseidon Adventure
or The Towering Inferno was, in a few short years, replaced by outrages
like The Swarm and When Time Ran Out. Since then, the disaster
film has walked the very fine line between spectacle and spoof. Independence
Day is a perfect example of the new contemporary conceit, with The Day
After Tomorrow an equally effective representation of the subgenre's
extremes. In 2006, Nihon Chinbotsu (Or Japan Sinks) took modern
technology and the standard post-apocalyptic histrionics to imagine the mighty
island nation being destroyed by shifts in the Earth's various plates. As he
does with almost all categories of cinema, the country's reigning cult crackpot
Minoru Kawasaki took the piss out of entire project by making Nihon Igai
Zenbu Chinbotsu, or as offered by Synapse Films, The World Sinks...Except
Japan. And in perfect parody style, it's a razor sharp shredding of all
involved.
America is ripped apart
and raped repeatedly, our self-absorbed sense of entitlement coming back to bite
us in the bottom over and over. Non specific world leaders (more types than
anything else) are depicted as depraved and slovenly, dedicated to personal
pleasure and shrill self-aggrandizement. Kawasaki gets a lot of mileage out of
the long standing tensions between Japan and their Asian neighbors. Korea and
China are depicted as double crossing boot licks, kissing ass one moment,
plotting the overthrow of their 'enemies' the next. It is in this regard that
The World Sinks...Except Japan gets most of its mileage. If you hate
Postal-level commentary, then this bonsai Uwe Boll will test your limits for
likeable, occasional lame kitsch. But if you peek beneath the surface and see
what director Kawaski is striving for, if you add the necessary "T" to a key
word in the title, you'll get the much bigger picture being inferred. Indeed,
the rest of the planet may 'stink', but this is one disaster that keeps its eye
on the troubles at home as well.
Maybe you have to be in the mood to enjoy Minoru Kawasaki's films. Perhaps
his peculiar approach, about as random and slapdash as possible without being
considered chaotic, will rub you the wrong way. Whatever the case, something
like The World Sinks...Except Japan will not appeal to everyone. It's an
unusual entertainment, and requires an equally unhinged temperament to enjoy its
oddities. Easily earning a Highly Recommended rating, it is definitely
something to be sampled before being dismissed. In an arena where the repugnant
'X-Movie's (Date, Epic, even Disaster) are seen as
the standard bearers of the spoof, something like The World Sinks
definitely stands out. In fact, it has much more to offer than your typical
lampoon - for good and for bad.
Executive Koala - By Bill Gibron
In the world of filmmaker Minoru Kawasaki, the typical often gets taken apart
and twisted. He'll turn an athlete into a squid, a crustacean into a soccer
star, and a police officer into a toupee-tossing hero. Never content to work
within a specific genre, he'll add gore to a comedy, thrills to a romance, and
serious political skewering into an otherwise standard disaster film. In fact,
his most recent head scratcher Neko Râmen Taishô offers the stirring tale
of a cutesy pie cat who longs to be a noodle chef. Oh, and did we mention that,
more times than not, Kawasaki uses puppets and life-sized 'men in suit'
mechanics to realize his aims? That's right, like a daffier David Lynch, or a
literal costume dramatist, his films are refreshing, confusing, cheap, cheesy,
insightful, unfocused, and a heck of a lot of fun. While not on the level of his
previous hit, Calamari Wrestler (yes - it's exactly what you think it
is), Executive Koala shows off Kawasaki's style effortlessly. And when
it's this enjoyable trying to figure it all out, who cares if it ends up making
little or no sense.
Keiichi Tamura works for one of Japan's top pickle manufacturers. Though he's
good at what he does, and has just landed a lucrative contract with a South
Korean firm to bring their brand of kimchi to customers, he is still devastated
over the disappearance of his fiancé, Yukari, three years before. Luckily, his
current girlfriend Yoko is there to supply support and affection - that is,
until she's found murdered...and Tamura becomes the prime suspect. Soon, the
police are chasing after the unassuming executive, and secrets about his
abusive, megalomaniacal past start coming out. His shrink thinks he's paranoid.
Naturally, his boss is somewhat supportive. And why wouldn't he be - he's a
large white rabbit (or at the very least, a man wearing a bunny suit), and
Tamura is a giant koala. Eventually, a conspiracy even larger than anything our
hero could imagine shows its intention - to destroy the businessman once and for
all.
Executive Koala is not a halfway experience. Unless you meet it 100%
on its own unusual terms, unless you tune in totally to its weirdly whacked out
wavelength, you'll find it completely taxing. Nothing will make sense, and
you'll believe Kawasaki isn't even trying. If you do "get it" however, you'll
get the kind of warm and fuzzy feeling that only a thriller acted out by
performers in animal mascot outfits can provide. From a totally personal
standpoint, this critic gives Executive Koala a Highly Recommended
rating. Even better, this DVD does something rare in the realm of home video
releases - it instantly makes one want to see everything else Kawasaki has made.
Sources suggest that Calamari Wrestler is the place to start (though the
Ramen noodle making kitty seems especially insane). Wherever you begin, remember
- Minoru Kawasaki doesn't play by the rules. He doesn't even care that they
exist. Maverick or madman, this is one wholly original and odd film.
Rug Cop - By John Wallis
Minoru Kawasaki is one of Japan's more active comedy directors. I know I saw
Calamri Wrestler but I honestly don't remember much about it that I liked
or disliked. His Executive Koala and The World Sinks Except for Japan
have been on my radar. Because Calamari Wrestler had such a lukewarm
effect on me I still haven't gotten around to watching them. Reviewing Rug
Cop presented me with a further chance to check out the mans' work and lets
just start by saying checking out those other Kawasaki endeavors just slid
further down my list.
Stone-faced Inspector Hatsuo Genda is introduced in a typical cops 'n'
robbers scenario, the hold up. The comic twist is, the bank robber is a
ventriloquists dummy and when it comes time to disarm the villainous puppet from
the panicked puppeteer, Genda throws off his toupee, Ultraman style, which
knocks the dolls head off before zooming back onto his head. He is the Rug Cop.
Most synopsis, and the seeming half baked intent, pass Rug Cop off as
a parody of 1970's Japanese cop shows. Hearing that, first thing Western viewers
need to do is clear out any vision of period referencing. The setting is modern
and the characters all fit into the modern day with no figure-out-of-time jokes
like the Brady Bunch or Austin Powers movies utilized. That is the
first point that seems like a missed opportunity for comedy. Yes, older tv had
some, by today standards, silly premises, but, unless there was some subtle
point I was missing, other than its stable of silly-talent detectives and simple
cop show scripting Rug Cop's gags never directly looked back on that past
era.
If you think a tongue-flicking, face-twitching, nerdy guy (stereotypically
dumpy body, glasses, bowl haircut) named Detective Big Dick who gets a glowing,
Spaceballs ripped off, lightsaber boner is high comedy, then by all means
Rug Cop is the flick for you. Rug Cop's goofs don't get more
elaborate than that and its safe to say your brain wont struggle to penetrate
any great comedic depths. DVD is pretty good, decent image, a nice round of
extras, but I gotta' go with a rental because I just didn't find it very
gut-busting.
Upcoming DVD Scares For December 2008
DVD Stalk encourages you to check
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We'd love to read your comments and feedback. Send us your thoughts on other
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of horror. Drop us a line at
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DVD Stalk on MySpace.
DVD Stalk Editor: Ian
Jane.
Contributors to DVD Stalk: Ian Jane, Bill Gibron,
Kurt Dahlke,
John Wallis,
Justin Felix,
Jamie S.
Rich and
Cameron McGaughy.
