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Komodo
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
If there's one thing I've learned over the past twenty-two years, it's that there are two kind of people in this world -- those who want to see Komodo dragons eat people, and those who, well, don't. As you could probably tell from the title, "Komodo" is a film for killer-creature fans. Some unpleasant smelling eggs are inexplicably tossed aside on an island that's...off the coast of somewhat (North Carolina, South Carolina, or Florida, depending on whether you're using the film, the featurette, or the trailer as your source), and nearly twenty years later, the full-grown Komodo dragons, starving in the oil-polluted environment, turn their attention towards the nearby humans... One young island resident, Patrick, is traumatized after seeing Komodo dragons feast (off-screen) upon his parents. In an attempt to cure young Patrick, his psychologist, Victoria Juno (who, as always in these sorts of movies, is young, female, and very attractive), takes him back to the island to confront his fears. What she doesn't realize is that the shadows of his nightmares do exist and, of course, will try to eat her. Add in a couple of corporate merceneries trying to cover up the Komodo mess, a megalomaniacal exec complete with goofy accent, and...well, Komodo dragons eating people, and you have 90 minutes of sheer delight.
Video: I've noticed that there's apparently some sort of unwritten rule that if any section of a movie looks bad on DVD, it has to be the opening sequence. "Komodo" starts off with a rather grainy helicopter shot, riddled with dust and dirt, complete with a rather odd color palette. This disappears as soon as the 'real' part of the movie begins, with only one other shot (also fairly early on) exhibiting any similar flaws. "Komodo" is an extraordinarily colorful movie, and the vibrant colors are very well-represented on the disc. The image is sharp and, aside from a couple of shots, virtually flawless. "Komodo" sports a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer.
Audio: Although the audio is a bit low (I believe I turned up the volume at least five times in the first ten minutes of the film), the overall quality is pretty decent. Both 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks are included. The Dolby Digital mix isn't exceptional, but the rears do a pretty good job of providing the proper atmosphere. Spanish subtitles are also available.
Supplements: Loaded! Sterling flooded this disc with extras. The only downside -- the number of supplements required a dual-layered disc, and "Komodo" has the single worst layer change of any of the 200-plus discs I've watched. "Komodo" has some pretty entertaining animated menus (very nicely designed, though some of the animation is exceptionally cheesy), but the menu-change animation gives away one of my favorite surprises in the film. Don't look too closely. Anyway, the extras... A feature-length commentary with first time director Michael Lantieri is perhaps the most notable supplement. Presumably this was Lantieri's first commentary track, and there are a number of pauses throughout, as Lantieri mostly responds to what's on-screen. There are two featurettes -- an eleven-minute one taking viewers behind the scenes of "Komodo", and a much shorter featurette focusing on the dragon fx. A trailer is included, along with trailers for other Sterling releases. Cast/crew bios, a list of Komodo facts, a trivia game, and a photo gallery round out the extras. (The photo gallery, by the way, features very small images. Again, nice design, but the photos each take up a little more than a quarter of the screen.)
Conclusion: I've always been a big fan of killer animal movies, and after a pretty long period of disappointments, it's nice to see a movie like "Komodo" to jump-start things a bit. The effects are amazing for a low-budget horror film, although I supposed that's to be expected from a movie directed by an fx supervisor from "Jurassic Park". If the plot sounds appealing to you, then I highly recommend picking up "Komodo". If the "Highly recommended" banner up top made you roll your eyes...well, obviously you shouldn't bother. Definitely recommended, particularly as part of a double feature with MGM's DVD release of "Frogs" (to be released 9/19/00).
Video: I've noticed that there's apparently some sort of unwritten rule that if any section of a movie looks bad on DVD, it has to be the opening sequence. "Komodo" starts off with a rather grainy helicopter shot, riddled with dust and dirt, complete with a rather odd color palette. This disappears as soon as the 'real' part of the movie begins, with only one other shot (also fairly early on) exhibiting any similar flaws. "Komodo" is an extraordinarily colorful movie, and the vibrant colors are very well-represented on the disc. The image is sharp and, aside from a couple of shots, virtually flawless. "Komodo" sports a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer.
Audio: Although the audio is a bit low (I believe I turned up the volume at least five times in the first ten minutes of the film), the overall quality is pretty decent. Both 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks are included. The Dolby Digital mix isn't exceptional, but the rears do a pretty good job of providing the proper atmosphere. Spanish subtitles are also available.
Supplements: Loaded! Sterling flooded this disc with extras. The only downside -- the number of supplements required a dual-layered disc, and "Komodo" has the single worst layer change of any of the 200-plus discs I've watched. "Komodo" has some pretty entertaining animated menus (very nicely designed, though some of the animation is exceptionally cheesy), but the menu-change animation gives away one of my favorite surprises in the film. Don't look too closely. Anyway, the extras... A feature-length commentary with first time director Michael Lantieri is perhaps the most notable supplement. Presumably this was Lantieri's first commentary track, and there are a number of pauses throughout, as Lantieri mostly responds to what's on-screen. There are two featurettes -- an eleven-minute one taking viewers behind the scenes of "Komodo", and a much shorter featurette focusing on the dragon fx. A trailer is included, along with trailers for other Sterling releases. Cast/crew bios, a list of Komodo facts, a trivia game, and a photo gallery round out the extras. (The photo gallery, by the way, features very small images. Again, nice design, but the photos each take up a little more than a quarter of the screen.)
Conclusion: I've always been a big fan of killer animal movies, and after a pretty long period of disappointments, it's nice to see a movie like "Komodo" to jump-start things a bit. The effects are amazing for a low-budget horror film, although I supposed that's to be expected from a movie directed by an fx supervisor from "Jurassic Park". If the plot sounds appealing to you, then I highly recommend picking up "Komodo". If the "Highly recommended" banner up top made you roll your eyes...well, obviously you shouldn't bother. Definitely recommended, particularly as part of a double feature with MGM's DVD release of "Frogs" (to be released 9/19/00).
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