Feature Category: Article

[ENDED] Win a Dual Format Edition of BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ

John Frankenheimer’s 1962 classic Birdman of Alcatraz is often viewed as one of the very greatest prison movies in cinema history. And now, with Eureka Entertainment having given the Burt Lancaster-headlined classic a Dual Format release, we’ve got three copies of this new release to give away.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these fantastic prizes, simply answer the below question:

Burt Lancaster was famously nominated for the Best Actor gong at the 1962 Oscars for his turn in Birdman of Alcatraz, losing out to Gregory Peck’s performance in To Kill a Mockingbird. But which horror classic did Peck later star in?

a) Ghostbusters

b) The Conjuring

c) The Omen

Email your answer, along with your address details, to [email protected] labelled Birdman of Alcatraz before midnight on Sunday, August 19th.

To give you an idea of what to expect from this truly stunning picture, be sure to check out the trailer below:

The official word on Eureka’s highly anticipated Dual Format release of Birdman of Alcatraz reads:

Eureka Entertainment to release BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ, John Frankenheimer’s moving and compelling biopic starring Burt Lancaster and Karl Malden, as part of The Masters of Cinema Series in a definitive Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition on 6 August 2018.

Often acknowledged as one of the best prison films ever made, Birdman of Alcatraz was director John Frankenheimer’s first huge success and received rave reviews for its performances, cinematography (by the great Burnett Guffey; From Here to Eternity, Bonnie and Clyde) and Frankenheimer’s directing.

Burt Lancaster stars as the notorious prisoner, Robert Stroud, sentenced to a life of solitary confinement for murdering a prison guard. When he finds an injured sparrow in the prison yard, Stroud nurses it back to health and discovers a new calling in life. Over the years he becomes a renowned ornithologist, and even a respected author, achieving a greater sense of purpose behind prison walls than many in the outside world will ever know.

With an all-star cast that includes Karl Malden (A Streetcar Named Desire), Thelma Ritter (Pickup on South Street), Telly Savalas (The Dirty Dozen) and Edmond O’Brien (The Barefoot Contessa), The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present John Frankenheimer’s Birdman of Alcatraz for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK.

DUAL FORMAT SPECIAL FEATURES

1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray, with a progressive encode on the DVD.
• LPCM mono soundtrack (Uncompressed on the Blu-ray)
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Audio commentary with film historian and editor Paul Seydor, moderated by Twilight Time’s Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman
• Illusion of Freedom: Richard H. Kline on John Frankenheimer’s “Birdman of Alcatraz” (29 mins) – a new video piece on the film
• An exclusive new video interview with film historian Sheldon Hall
• Original theatrical trailer
• A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Travis Crawford, as well as a selection of archival imagery from the film’s production

BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ, the inspirational and compelling biopic is OUT NOW on Dual Format and can be purchased here.

[ENDED] Win a Dual Format Edition of FLESH + BLOOD

With Eureka Entertainment having now released a stunning Dual Format edition of Paul Verhoeven’s Flesh + Blood, we’ve got our hands on three copies of this medieval epic to give away.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these fantastic prizes, simply answer the below question:

Flesh + Blood star Rutger Hauer famously appeared opposite Harrison Ford in which iconic 1982 sci-fi movie?

a) Blade Runner

b) Close Encounters of the Third Kind

c) RoboCop

Email your answer, along with your address details, to [email protected] labelled Flesh + Blood before midnight on Sunday, August 19th.

To give you an idea of what to expect from this ever-impressive Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh-starrer, be sure to check out the trailer below:

The official word on Eureka’s highly anticipated Dual Format release of Flesh + Blood reads:

Eureka Entertainment to release FLESH + BLOOD, Paul Verhoeven’s irresistibly entertaining medieval epic, starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh, UNCUT and on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK on 6 August 2018, in a Dual Format Edition featuring a Limited Edition O-Card slipcase and collector’s booklet (first pressing only).

A deliriously violent medieval epic from genre master Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Total Recall), Flesh + Blood sees a savage and amoral band of mercenaries take revenge on the noblemen who betrayed them.

In Western Europe, 1501, a small army of mercenaries led by the charismatic and mercurial Martin (Rutger Hauer; Blade Runner, The Hitcher) reclaim a heavily fortified castle for its owner Arnolfini, who then betrays the band and ejects them from the city by force. Swearing revenge, Martin leads a violent assault on the nobleman and ends up accidentally kidnapping the beautiful Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight), the fiancée of Arnolfini’s son Steven, who in turn pledges to wipe out the mercenary group once and for all.

With its vision of a brutal and morally bereft Medieval Europe, the film shocked audiences who had become used to the highly romanticised depictions of the era commonly seen on the big screen. Originally censored in the UK due to its extreme amounts of sex and violence, Eureka Classics is proud to present Flesh + Blood fully uncut, and on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK in a special Dual Format edition.

DUAL FORMAT SPECIAL FEATURES

Limited Edition O-Card slipcase (first print run only)
• 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray, with a progressive encode on the DVD.
• Uncompressed LPCM audio (on the Blu-ray
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Audio commentary by director Paul Verhoeven
• Paul Verhoeven in the Flesh (21 mins)
• Verhoeven Versus Verhoeven – A documentary on the iconic director, covering the entirety of his career and featuring extensive interviews with the man himself (45 mins)
• Audio interview with actor Rutger Hauer (24 mins)
• Interview with screenwriter Gerard Soeteman (17 mins)
• Interview with composer Basil Poledoris
• Original theatrical trailer
• A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film (first pressing only)

FLESH + BLOOD, Paul Verhoeven’s irresistibly entertaining medieval epic is OUT NOW on Dual Format and can be purchased here.

[ENDED] Win CRISIS ON EARTH X and ARROW: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON on DVD!

With the simply breathtaking, all-encompassing Crisis on Earth X and the mesmerising, statement-making Arrow: The Complete Sixth Season out now on home release, to celebrate, we’re giving three lucky readers the chance to win a copy of both of these must-have box sets.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of both of these new releases, simply answer the following question:

Arrow: The Complete Sixth Season and Crisis on Earth X stars this actor in the role of Oliver Queen. He is also known for his role as Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Name this actor:

a) Stephen Merchant

b) Stephen King

c) Stephen Amell

Email your answer, along with your address details, to [email protected] labelled Arrowverse before midnight on Sunday, September 16th.

Witness all 4 episodes of the Crisis on Earth X crossover event. Barry and Iris’s wedding brings the gang together, but things go awry when villains from Earth-X attack the ceremony. All of the superheroes band together with help from their super friends like Citizen Cold, The Ray, Felicity Smoak, Iris West and Alex Danvers to take on their most formidable villains yet. Earth’s mightiest heroes – Green Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash and White Canary – lead their teams into battle to save the world.

Crisis on Earth X stars Melissa Benoist (Glee), Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl), Chyler Leigh (Supergirl), Grant Gustin (Glee), Stephen Amell (Arrow), Emily Bett Rickards (Arrow), and Katie Cassidy (Gossip Girl), with Victor Garber (Argo), and Candice Patton (The Game).

Following the devastating explosion on Lian Yu, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) returns home to confront a challenge unlike any he’s ever faced: fatherhood. Oliver is determined to embrace this new role while continuing to serve and protect Star City as both Mayor and The Green Arrow. But enemies past and present, including Black Siren (Katie Cassidy), Vigilante (Johann Urb), Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo), Cayden James (Michael Emerson) and others, threaten him on all fronts. And bonds within the ranks of Team Arrow—veteran John Diggle (David Ramsey); tech genius Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards); former police captain Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) and brilliant inventor Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum), plus newest team members Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez) and metahuman Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy)—have become dangerously decayed. The future of Star City is at stake in all 23 of Season Six’s ferociously fast-paced, can’t-miss episodes.

Arrow: The Complete Sixth Season stars Stephen Amell (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows), David Ramsey (Dexter), Willa Holland (The O.C.), Emily Bett Rickards (Brooklyn), Echo Kellum (Sean Saves The World), Rick Gonzalez (Reaper) and Juliana Harkavy (Dolphin Tale), with Katie Cassidy (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Paul Blackthorne (The River).

Crisis on Earth X is out now on DVD (order here), and Arrow: The Complete Sixth Season is out now on DVD and Blu-ray™ (order here).

For further information on Crisis on Earth X and Arrow: The Complete Sixth Season, follow @WarnerBrosUK or visit www.warnerbros.co.uk.

Justin McConnell | LIFECHANGER

Justin McConnell has crafted a memorable horror drama with his latest film Lifechanger, which is generating some buzz on the back end of its recent screenings at Fantasia in Montreal and is scheduled to get another view when it plays at this year’s London Frightfest at the end of August. Starburst recently had the pleasure of speaking with the director ahead of the London show.

STARBURST: Lifechanger is rooted in the tradition of alien invasion films like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and, of course, John Carpenter’s now-classic remake of The Thing. Did the film start out that way, and how did the concept develop?

Justin McConnell: The film didn’t start out as an ode to anything in particular. I generally approach story development as organically as possible, and the concept influences the story flow. Of course my influences include all those films in your question, and more, but the key to Lifechanger for me was to tell a human story first, that just happens to have these fantastical horror elements driving it. It kind of just came to me in 2014 and was fleshed out from that point.

What were your key influences when you were growing up, and how did you develop as a filmmaker when you decided to pursue a career in it?

We’d be here all day if I had to list my influences. I grew up a monster kid/horror fan, and from a young age was introduced to the genre, mostly by my father. Growing up in the 80s/90s, the horror directors were like rock stars in a way. Everyone knew Carpenter, Romero, Craven, Hooper, Argento, etc. I loved movies from a young age, and started a collection that has grown to massive proportions throughout my life. I didn’t actually start working on my own movies until the age of 15 though (aside from a couple of experimentations in stop-motion using toys before that). I started with documentaries cut from existing content for class projects, then a couple of shorts. I bought my first video camera, cheap mixer board, and a VCR with a flying erase head around then too, so I could edit cleanly. I shot my first feature, Strata, while I was still in high school, and it kind of just continued from there.

When I hit Toronto I pursued a career in post-production while simultaneously collecting music video/live event shoot clients. Then took that money and some borrowed cash and made more shorts, and my next feature Working Class Rock Star. That kept on for quite a while until now, where Lifechanger is my 6th feature (if you count the one in high school), my production/post services company keeps me afloat, and I’m finally at a point where I have trusted production partners allowing me the privilege to work on a more professional level. Of course my work is always evolving, as I believe you have to keep learning and getting better.

It is great to see more physical horror and make-up effects in Lifechanger, which has been sorely missing in a lot of the genre offerings, which have been criticised for taking the easy option of using CGI. Were you determined that your film would be reliant more on the tradition of legends like Baker, Bottin and Savini?

I definitely wanted this to be a practical effects film. There is some minor CG in it, in places, but in ways that aren’t noticeable and only enhance certain elements. I grew up in a time where the best practical effects films were popular, and loved the tactile insanity that played across the screen. It just always seems more tangible and effective. I absolutely bow to the altar of Baker, Bottin and Savini, but also less-known, but still extremely talented people like Kevin Yagher, Screaming Mad George, Todd Masters, KNB, Tony Gardner, Steve Johnson, Amalgamated Dynamics, etc.

When I moved to Toronto I quickly ended up in a friend group that included a bunch of SFX people, and my best friend and writing partner for a decade was a very talented SFX artist named Kevin Hutchinson (who is unfortunately no longer with us). It gave me the ability to work with and understand practical effects, how much they cost, and the time they take to properly implement, from early in my career. So it’s only natural that this was my goal with Lifechanger.

Where did you shoot and how long did it take?

We shot in Toronto and parts of Southern Ontario over 20 days, plus two pickup days.

What was the budget of the film and how hard was it to raise the initial finance for the film?

My sales agents will kill me if I say the budget. All I can say is that it was lower than you think, but not so low that our hands were tied. Finance is one of the most difficult things in the film business. This film exists out of frustration from me unable to get two much larger projects, The Eternal and Tripped, off the ground. After the financing on those fell apart I wanted to do something lower budget. But even then it took almost 4 years. We went to Telefilm first, which was almost a year long process, only to be rejected for funding. Then we signed with another production company I’m not going to name here, and that deal fell apart too (they went off and made another film that played Fantasia last year). Finally we found our ideal partners in Uncork’d and Raven Banner, companies that my co-producer Avi Federgreen and I had pre-existing business relationships with. It was a long road.

There are a wide variety of actors playing the Lifechanger in this film. How many variants did you start out with and were there compromises due to budget and screenplay constraints?

We did quite a large casting call, but our pool was limited to non-union Southern Ontario performers. We looked at a ton of self-tapes, collected by our casting director Ashley Hallihan, and the best performers sort of rose to the top. There weren’t any real compromises as far as casting, aside from the pool being limited to non-union. The characters in the script were the characters in the film. The dynamics between them changed a bit during rewrites, but that’s natural. As for budget compromises, that’s definitely an issue, but we made do.

The film is due to screen at this year’s London Frightfest on the back of it’s Premiere Screening at Fantasia? Are you planning to come to the UK festival in the future?

Yes, I’ll be at Frightfest for the entire festival.

Finally, what is the next project for you?

I have four that should be going in the next year. I have a sometimes writing partner named Serena Whitney who is co-directing with me on a Christmas horror feature called Do You See What I See? (based on the short film we co-directed in 2015). We also co-wrote and are co-producing the adaption of Michael Prescott’s novel Kane, set to shoot in Australia under the title Mark Of Kane (director Serhat Caradee is attached). I’m also currently in post on a documentary film/series called Clapboard Jungle: Surviving The Independent Film Business, which I’ve been shooting since 2014. And finally, the third edition of our Little Terrors anthology series, Blood Sweat And Terrors, comes out across North America this coming November (the previous two films were Minutes Past Midnight and Galaxy of Horrors).

Alon Young | PATRON

We caught up with filmmaker Alon Young to find out about his upcoming short film Patron, co-directed by Emily Haigh, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo.

STARBURST: What was the inspiration behind Patron?

Alon Young: Honestly, I was just appalled when news of the Weinstein scandal first broke. Then, as the extent of his crimes were revealed and as the whole thing broadened and it became apparent this was a widespread culture – not just within Hollywood but other industries as well – I felt I really needed to address it somehow in my work.

I’m a genre writer but I always have an underlying social theme running through my stories, as those are the types of sci-fi/fantasy/horror films I gravitate towards – in the same way, X-Men is really about racism or Dawn of the Dead was about consumerism.

I find that this approach is very effective – taking a social issue and putting it in a different context – it makes you look at the problem with new eyes and it also sticks in your head longer than a typical drama that covers the same themes. That can only be a good thing.

So, in a nutshell… Patron is a social horror with a surreal twist. Think Get Out meets Twin Peaks!

You’re co-directing with Emily Haigh, what brought about that collaboration?

Given the subject matter and that I chose a female protagonist for this story, I felt it was important that I brought a female perspective on board to shape the script and the production as a whole. Emily has a track record of bringing strong female characters to the screen so she was the obvious choice. I sent her the script, she loved it and the rest is history.

You’ve promised a very artistic look to the film, what do you mean by that?

We don’t want Patron to look like anything already out there, so we’ve picked a really distinctive colour palette and lighting style. We’re also aiming for a digital manipulation of the main character, we want to do something fresh and new and not fall back on typical horror tropes, so we’ve taken inspiration from surrealist paintings. The tests have come through and they look great, when you see how the VFX play out in the story you will be on the edge of your seat!

What can you tell us about the cast and crew you’re assembling?

This is a real showcase for an actress’ talents, so we needed somebody who could play the whole range – bubbly, vulnerable, stern and threatening… When we met Devora Wilde, it was clear she could do it all.

Jamie Lee-Hill has brought a really interesting take to his character, he’s got that energy and menace we were after and really developed the role into his own, bringing a sense of entitlement to the villain and many more layers to the character than what was originally on the page.

We are also keen for Patron to look as polished as possible, so we have brought on board a BAFTA crew DoP Beatriz Delgado Mena and other crew members that have worked on high profile features to ensure Patron looks and sounds far better than your average short. Emily has been instrumental in bringing on a predominantly female crew, which we thought was really important for a production of this nature.

What sort of incentives are on offer for people wanting to contribute?

So many perks! The big ones range from getting an Executive Producer credit (so your name will appear at the start of the film and on IMDb), to getting a signed poster, or a Skype session with me, or a digital download of the film. The smaller perks range from getting exclusive behind the scenes photos, a PDF copy of the locked script, down to getting a good old social media shout-out.

This short is going to the start of a trilogy, what can you tell us about that?

They’re all going to tackle a relevant social theme and will utilise innovative VFX and sound design. Kubrick and Lynch are big influences, I’m an obsessive so expect to find lots of extra little details in every aspect of these productions – they’ll definitely warrant a lot of repeat viewings!

Get involved with making Patron happen by heading over to Indiegogo and pledging some money!

The Top 12 Shark Movies… That Aren’t JAWS

One of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2018 for many a genre fan is the Jason Statham-starring The Meg. Adapted from Steve Alten’s iconic novel (and its plentiful follow-ups), the film will see The Stath heading up a crew tasked with battling a gnarly megalodon; a ginormous shark long thought extinct. With excitement high for Jon Turtletaub’s picture, audiences are already clamouring to get their Meg tickets ahead of the film swimming to the big screen on August 9th.

As huge fans of shark movies – both good and bad – here at Moonbase Alpha, we thought now would be the perfect time to take a look at the very best shark pictures out there. And no, we’re not including the hands-down greatest of the lot, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. So, with that in mind, here’s our definitive look at The Top 12 Shark Movies… That Aren’t Jaws.

And for those of you who think this sounds familiar, yes we did indeed do something similar back in 2014 to celebrate Shark Week. For those of you asking, “why 12?”, well that’s because we lost count of what we were writing and ultimately ended up with eleven – which in turn was evened out with a twelfth entry.

12) 12 Days of Terror

This ‘based on true events’ tale is the telling of the very real New Jersey man-eater (no, not Nelly Furtado) attacks of 1916 which inspired Peter Benchley’s Jaws novel. As a result, this 2005 movie often comes off very much as Jaws-lite in the way that a lot of the story, even a lot of the characters, come across as extremely familiar. Hell, there’s even John Rhys Davies doing his best Quint impression.

Whilst many often just accuse 12 Days of Terror as simply being a Jaws rip-off, in the defence of the Jack Sholder-directed feature, it is itself actually based on factual events and it upholds the true elements of the story impressively well. A minimalistic, atmospheric tale that is a refreshing change at a time when every shark feature seems to be an over-the-top atrocity that is trying to outdo its competitors in how bad it can be, 12 Days of Terror is one of the better less-known shark movies out there.

11) Jaws 3

Whilst Spielberg’s 1975 Jaws is exempt from this list, that doesn’t mean that the rest of the series aren’t fair game. And so, here we have Jaws 3 – a movie that certainly divides opinion – making a splash in our Top 12. Released in 1983 amidst the 1980s’ 3D “boom”, Joe Alves’ movie is often unwatchable yet surprisingly engaging.

Featuring Louis Gossett Jr. as the head of the Sea World theme park, the film’s central premise of a huge shark terrorising the park is an intriguing plot device. Throw in Dennis Quaid’s brilliantly-coiffed Michael Brody and some truly memorable moments – such as a group of water-skiers getting stalked by the shark – and there’s a lot of potential in the film.

It’s just a shame, then, that some terribly dated, horrible SFX work and a few true stinkers of performances – most notably from P.H. Moriarty – take away a lot of the good work that Jaws 3 tries to do. It’s also a massive shame that the notion of keeping the shark out of sight for large parts of the film was starting to become left behind by this stage in the franchise; something that would only get worse with Jaws: The Revenge several years later.

10) Shark Night

Now, a lot of the more recent shark features have had some insane plots and stories at their core, but 2011’s Shark Night had one of the more interesting premises to come along in a fair while.

In a world where reality TV and social media seems to be the be-all and end-all, David R. Ellis’ film focussed on shark attacks that are designed purposely for entertainment purposes and to garner online hits. Talk about clickbait, right? Geddit? Geddit?! Bait?! *sigh*

With a wide variety of sharks on offer, Shark Night has a lot going for it. Sadly, the film suffers at times, particularly coming across as style over substance more often than not. Still, in a time of mega sharks, sharks with multiple heads, sand-dwelling sharks, and the like, this is one of the more appealing films around, particularly in this world where big brother is always watching you. Plus it’s got Donal Logue. That’s always a good thing.

Now, if only the Love Island and Kardashians of this world embarked on a similarly themed show. Maybe that’d actually make us tune in to watch the dross that’s so often splashed across the TV landscape.

9) Tintorera

Tintorera is one of those rare shark films that came out in the aftermath of Jaws – it was released in 1977 – yet wasn’t a direct rip-off of Spielberg’s classic. Based on Ramon Bravo’s novel of the same name, the titular killer is a tiger shark this time out. Then, away from the shark element of the movie, there’s also some bizarre love-triangle going on with Straw Dogs’ Susan George as the sausage in the middle of this particular hotdog.

A movie that oozes enough ‘70s machismo to make Ron Burgundy’s moustache green with envy, Tintorera is a cheese-tastic yet often vicious (when not bordering on soft porn) movie, and if you take away the far-too-frequent, unnecessary shots of pale white arses, this is quite the decent film when viewed through 1970s’ eyes.

As far as the slew of shark flicks that instantly followed in Jaws’ immediate aftermath, Tintorera really is a rare beast in being, y’know, actually decent.

8) 47 Meters Down

With straight-to-DVD and TV movies spewing up a cavalcade of crap for shark film fans these days, that’s not to say that there haven’t been some efforts that have made it to the big screen – even if, in the case of Johannes Roberts’ 47 Meters Down, it was only in a limited capacity.

Roberts has made quite the name for himself in the horror genre, with efforts such as F, The Other Side of the Door, and The Strangers: Prey at Night amongst those on the director’s resume. And with 47 Meters Down, he took a fairly simple concept and made it work rather well.

Mandy Moore and Claire Holt play a pair of sisters who decide to amp up their holidaying stint in Mexico by going cage diving. What could possibly go wrong, we hear you mutter with knowing certainty that this situation isn’t going to end well?

Before you can say “feeding time”, the cable on the cage snaps and the pair find themselves stranded with limited air supply and some hungry sharks. All of which, of course, is taking place… 47 meters down.

While it certainly had its issues – not least with its main two characters – 47 Meters Down is a taut affair that will have you glued to the screen.

7) Bait

This 2012 Australian effort initially sounded like yet another ridiculous premise – sharks in a supermarket – but it actually turned out to be one of the better shark movies in recent memory.

Tied together by The Loved Ones’ Xander Samuel, the main story here sees a tsunami strike a coastal town, flooding the local supermarket with plenty of water and a rather hungry great white shark. Whereas other films with potentially ludicrous plots play to the audience and poke fun at themselves, Bait plays it straight and is all the more better for doing so. There are still some elements of humour with certain characters, but the tone, pacing, atmosphere, and charm of this Kimble Rendall-helmed film are all as good as we’ve seen in many a year when it comes to the shark movie subgenre.

So, sharks in supermarkets? Sure, but it works. It really, really works.

6) Cage Dive

Released only last year, Gerald Rascionato’s Cage Dive may have flown under the radar of many – particularly as how Johannes Roberts’ 47 Meters Down was originally titled Cage Dive before getting rebranded – but it’s certainly a shark movie that’s worth hunting down.

A found-footage affair (but don’t let that put you off!), the picture centres on two brothers and of their girlfriends as they embark on a trip to Australia. As these adrenaline junkies chase their next fix, they decide to observe some of the Pacific Ocean’s famed great white sharks in an attempt to get themselves noticed for a gig on a reality TV series back home in the United States. Unfortunately, the tide is well and truly turned with the boat that their cage is attached to is overturned by a freak wave. With the trio joined in the water by the crew of said boat, the ocean’s apex predators see this as the ringing of the proverbial dinner bell. With survival the order of the day, tensions are only heightened when dark secrets prove to be just as dangerous as the sharks that lay in wait.

As we alluded to, Cage Dive may have passed you by, but writer/director Rascionato manages to capture both the hopeful youth of the film’s central threesome and the gloomy realisation of the unfurling situation we see our protagonists caught up in.

Oh, and don’t let the awful cover art or last minute Open Water add-on – Cage Dive was changed to Open Water: Cage Dive shortly before its release – put you off, either.

5) Jaws 2

In more recent decades, it seems as if the shark subgenre has made an unfortunate habit of churning out sequel after sequel that suffer from major diminishing returns where the quality is concerned. And when you’re talking about something like the Shark Attack or Sharknado franchises, the quality isn’t even that good to begin with!

As far as shark sequels go, though, Jeannot Szwarc’s 1978 Jaws 2 isn’t anywhere near as bad as the third and fourth instalments in the Jaws series. In fact, it’s a film often massively overlooked by many. Yes, of course it’s not as good as Jaws, but that’s one hell of a picture to live up to.

Picking up with Roy Scheider’s returning Martin Brody and his family, Amity Island is again in the midst of a shark frenzy. This time including Chief Brody’s sons in more prominent roles, you can’t help but feel that if the exact same film was made by Spielberg then it would’ve gotten a lot more praise. As it stands, the relatively-unknown Szwarc ended up with the directing gig for this sequel. And in fairness to him, he does a decent job of having Brody revisiting the water to face his fears once more.

If for nothing else, Jaws 2 gets props for another great turn from Scheider, another memorable climax, and for having one of the greatest taglines of all time: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.”

4) Open Water

In terms of grim, depressing atmosphere, Open Water is unrivalled in the shark movie world. Based on the true events of two divers left stranded in the middle of the ocean, waiting for the elements and what lurks beneath the murky depths to engulf them, this is a film that lacks any ray of sunshine or any happy ending.

Starring Daniel Travis and Blanchard Ryan, this is a film that threw its lead pair in actual shark-infested water throughout the shooting process. This alone drew massive attention and hype to Chris Kentis’ movie, although the film ultimately failed to hit the highs that it had promised.

Viewers were still treated to a bleak, relentless story of a couple isolated, at their wits’ end, in and out of consciousness, and waiting for their inevitable fate to gulp them down.

In terms of happy endings, Open Water is The Empire Strikes Back of shark movies.

3) Deep Blue Sea

After what seemed like an eternity of us all waiting for a good shark movie to come along, up stepped Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea – complete with a *shock horror at the time* cinema release. With an impressive cast that included the likes of Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard, Aida Turturro, Samuel L. Jackson and, err, LL Cool J, Harlin’s movie had a nice mixture of practical animatronics and CGI on display.

Plot-wise, the film centres on a group of scientists stationed in an isolated research centre out at sea, with the team tasked with finding a cure for Alzheimer’s by carrying out tests on sharks. Unfortunately, this research work leads the sharks to experience increased intelligence – and let’s just say these toothy terrors decide to use this new ‘n’ improved smarts to terrorize the poor souls trapped in their increasingly-dilapidating underwater lab.

Logic is at times stretched – such as a shark turning on an oven! – but Deep Blue Sea is still one of the more enjoyable shark movies out there, managing to conjure up several moments of genuine terror for its ensemble cast as the tale plays out.

2) The Shallows

In a murky subgenre of misdemeanours, The Shallows manages to do what has proven to be an extreme rarity over the decades: be an actually great shark film.

Small in scale and with its focus on Blake Lively’s Nancy as she finds herself between a literal rock and a hard place, Jaume Collet-Serra’s picture is high in stakes and nail-biting tension as we see a classic survival tale of man vs. nature unravel once the stranded-on-a-rock-at-high-tide Nancy finds her path back to shore and safety patrolled by a rather irked Carcharodon Carcharias.

Further adding to the overall package, The Shallows makes sure to use its shark in a truly masterful way, largely keeping the great white under the surface and making its every move mean something. And even more impressive, the beautiful beast is an entirely digital creation that is jaw-dropping in its detail. The Shallows, much like its menacing predator, is a movie that has bite by the bucketloads.

1) The Reef

Coming in at the peak of this list looking at some of the best shark-driven films of all-time is the 2010 Australian movie, The Reef. Another ‘based on true events’ shark tale, the crew of a ship capsized in the Great Barrier Reef decide that their best bet is to make a swim for it whilst they still have the strength to do so. Attempting to make it to an island safe haven, it soon becomes apparent that the group are being stalked by a menacing shark who has them on its lunch menu.

Andrew Traucki’s film showcases its central killer as a true calculating predator and the result is a deeply atmospheric, gripping, traumatic story of humans as the hunted prey that are completely out of their element. Played straight and with some great performances at its core, The Reef is a hugely refreshing film in the often murky ‘bad is better’ subgenre of the shark movie, placing it as the king of the ocean that is our Top 12 Shark Movies… That Aren’t Jaws.

And there we have it, our completed list. Agree? Disagree? Did we miss one? Let us know what you think.

Vanessa Marshall | STAR WARS REBELS

In anticipation of her appearance at MCM Comic Con Manchester (July 28th – 29th), STARBURST caught up with legendary voice actor VANESSA MARSHALL to talk about her incredible career, cons, closure, and of course, STAR WARS…

STARBURST: You’re a regular on the circuit in the US, but is this your first UK convention appearance?

Vanessa Marshall: This isn’t my first time in the UK – I’m a huge Anglophile – but this is indeed my first UK convention appearance!

Manchester is honoured! We imagine attending events such as these can be very rewarding…

Absolutely – I’m thrilled to attend this con! I’m looking forward to seeing all of my Star Wars friends and family!

That’s surely one of the biggest ‘pros’, but are there any ‘cons’ to cons; so to speak?

Only that I have to go back home, I wish I could stay forever!

You’ve had a long career playing characters that have either gone on to garner huge fanbases, or, in the case of many of the superheroes, were already wildly popular; but which of them have been the most enjoyable or rewarding to perform?

I enjoyed playing Hera in Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels. As a massive Star Wars fan, this was a dream come true! I was honoured to play Gamora in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, also on Disney XD, as well as Black Canary in Young Justice and Mary Jane in The Spectacular Spider-Man. It was fun to play Irwin in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy too!

Speaking of Hera, those final few episodes of Star Wars Rebels certainly packed a powerful emotional punch for the audience – full disclosure, there were many tears shed here at STARBURST – did those scripts affect you in similar ways when you were performing in the studio?

It was an emotional time for the cast. We knew we were in the final stretch, so every moment was precious. The intense plot points only heightened our awareness of this reality. As an actress, I think I did what I had to do and got the job done.

And how about as a fan?

When I watched the episode, I was devastated. I think it was actually even harder to watch than to perform. I was shattered watching most of Season 4. It was beyond anything I could have imagined. Lucasfilm rocked the animation as usual. It packed a massive punch for sure!

We believe that Rebels is different in that creator Dave Filoni insists that the scripts are recorded with the cast together in a single studio, rather than separated, which is the more traditional approach. Do you find this method more beneficial? Any downsides?

Yes, it’s amazing… so much better as a group! There are no downsides, I loved it.

So we all heard references to Hera Syndulla in Rogue One, and the character has featured in several episodes of Forces of Destiny so far, but can fans expect more of her in the future do you think? Obviously you might face some… Resistance… from Lucasfilm if you were to confirm anything *cough* so we understand if you’d rather stay schtum!

I sure hope so!

Schtum. Nuff said. If you were offered the chance of playing Hera in one of the many future live-action Star Wars projects, would you be interested?

Absolutely. I would be honoured. I have a Masters degree in Acting from NYU, and I’d love to return to on-camera acting.

To be honest, I don’t think fans would accept it any other way!

It would be delightful!

If you could switch roles with any of your Star Wars cast members for an episode, and they weren’t allowed to refuse, which would it be?

Chopper! That would be hilarious!

Perfect! Since first winning the role of Hera and really getting invested in the world of Star Wars, have you noticed a change in the fandom as a whole?

The fandom has always been great! I feel less alone with all my new Star Wars friends and family, so I’m forever grateful for all their kindness and support.

Moving away from Star Wars, are there any characters out there in pop culture that you would still love to play?

Jean Grey!

Readers, let’s start campaigning for that to happen! Talking of your fans, if any of them want to follow in your footsteps and dream of becoming a voice actor one day, what advice would you give?

I would say check out Dee Bradley Baker’s website www.Iwanttobeavoiceactor.com. Also, take tons of classes and never give up!

What projects do you have coming up that we can look forward to? The ones you’re allowed to tell us about, that is…

The Star Wars Rebels Season 4 DVD is being released in the US on July 31st, there’s new Forces of Destiny episodes coming soon to the Disney YouTube channel, and Guardians of the Galaxy Season 3 continues in 2019! You can hear my voice in the new Teen Titans movie, and I have exciting news coming soon about new cartoons and video games either on my Twitter, @VanMarshall, or Instagram, @VanessaMarshall1138.

Stealth George Lucas reference noted! So will you be making any more UK convention appearances after this, just in case any fans can’t get to Manchester this weekend?

We’re trying to arrange more visits, but there are no concrete plans yet. That said, I hope to return to the UK as soon as possible!

Be sure to catch the wonderful VANESSA MARSHALL while she’s a special guest at the upcoming MCM Comic Con Manchester, July 28th – 29th

Photo credit: Cherie Crowder

Robert D. Miles | UFO Chronicles

We talk to Robert D. Miles, a filmmaker whose life could have come straight out of a sci-fi movie but actually spurred him on to be behind a series of UFO conspiracy documentaries. The truth might be out there, just keep watching the skies!

STARBURST: What made you become interested in UFOs?

Robert D. Miles: An extraordinary event occurred in my life almost fifty years ago. At the time, I lived aboard a sailboat, a forty-seven foot trimaran. This modern trimaran three-hulled vessel had been built by me and my partner in Portland, Oregon, and sailed down the Oregon-California coast in the spring of 1968. After several months in San Diego, California we sailed on to Hawaii, a voyage of over twenty-four hundred miles. This sailboat was our home for over two years.

Early one morning, just a couple of minutes after 5 am, I looked out the open skylight from my bunk at the beautiful early morning sky. The sailboat was tied to a dock in the Alawi Yacht Harbour in Honolulu, Hawaii. I had gotten up a littler earlier, dressed, made coffee, and then returned to stretch out on my bunk. My mind was filled with the events of the coming day. My partner and I had just sold the boat and the new owner would take possession within a few hours.

Suddenly, I experienced a dazzling array of shimmering light followed by an intense tingling of energy, which filled the entire stateroom and engulfed me. My entire body began to vibrate as a beautiful woman materialised in the walkway right next to my bed. My first reaction was, of course, to believe that I was dreaming or perhaps hallucinating.

She spoke to me and took my hand. In a matter of moments, I came to understand that she was real and much more alive than I. The energy aura that she emanated made my entire being vibrate at a level that could only be described as ecstasy. I asked, “Why have you come to visit me?” She replied, “I and others like me are friends and we want you to come to a very important briefing.” Moments after agreeing to go with her, an unparalleled series of events occurred.

First, I was teleported to New York City. I then boarded a saucer-like spacecraft and was transported to an extra-terrestrial location for the briefing. The extra-terrestrials orchestrated the briefing to give me and about fifty other guests a glimpse of Earth’s history.

They also showed to us a dramatic and vivid view of humankind’s potential destiny. After the briefing, I was asked to undertake a mission to help change the conditions on our planet through using our abilities and our mental thoughts to bring about positive changes.

Upon returning to the sailboat, I realised that only thirty-three minutes had passed. However, from my personal perspective, it seemed like many unhurried hours had been spent with these incredible beings. To this day, I remain convinced that the series of events were real and not a dream or delusion.

When did you get the idea of making documentaries about the subject?

Upon returning from that briefing, I took television production classes at a San Diego community network and over the course of a year or so I quickly learned how to use a video camera, edit, and produce documentaries.

Having acquired those skills, I began producing documentaries that aired on local and national TV and was nominated for a local Emmy award.

Over the ongoing fifty years since my contact experience, I have used my knowledge and skills to create, market, and distribute sixteen documentaries – UFO Chronicles – which feature the material that is covered up by most of the nations of our world relative to what is commonly known as UFO and ET disclosure films.

What was your first major success?

In November 2006, I was the executive producer/producer/writer of the award-winning UFO and ET feature film Fastwalkers. It was a breakthrough documentary that won two EBE awards (for People’s Choice and Best Music) from the International UFO Congress.

Fastwalkers sold-out theater premieres in New York, Phoenix, Washington, DC; Hawaii, Roswell, New Mexico, and Toronto. A DVD of the film was given to every member of the US Congress, the Presidential Staff, NASA, and every member of the Canadian Parliament. It is currently in distribution under an updated title, which is Alien Agenda: Planet Earth, executive produced by Warren Croyle and distributed in association with Reality Entertainment.

Outside of documentaries, have you any experience in narrative features?

I was the executive producer and line producer for the general release motion picture Ice Cold in Phoenix, which premiered in Milan, Italy and is currently in international distribution. It was written and directed by the late Lindsay Schonteff, who helmed cult classics Devil Doll (1964), The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967), and Big Zapper (1973).

More recently, I optioned a script Starseed to the newly-formed Starseed LLC, based in Arizona. Filming is set to begin shortly in the greater Phoenix area.

What audience are you aiming your films at?

My films are targeted toward an audience who are interested and aware of the simple fact that the governments of the world do not want the general public to know the truth that the world we live in is far more advance than we are led to believe.

As people, we are kept in the dark about the true reality of our world’s actually level of technology and that we currently have ongoing treaties and agreements with numerous aliens and off-world visitors to our planet.

The average person has no idea that we, in fact, have anti-gravity propulsion systems and even extra dimensional crafts and even on-going mining projects on the Moon and other planet both in our own solar system and beyond.

Have you included any alien abduction cases?

Our award-winning documentary Fastwalkers covered not only abduction but also interviews with ‘experiencers’, who even though they were abducted without their consent they ultimately came to believe that it was a positive experience.

Some of these experiencers believe that they have hybrid children as a result of their abductions. Often they say they had a chance to actually see and hold their children when they were once more taken aboard space crafts in or around our solar system.

Other than eyewitness testimony, is there any solid evidence that proves they are more than the product of Cold War hysteria that has evolved over the decades?

As far as any real proof that what I write and make films about is my own experience to take the ‘nickel tour’ aboard the space craft and my briefing experience. And, of course, the witness testimony that is contain within my series of UFO and ET films and documentaries.

Is there a government cover-up?

Without question there is an ongoing government cover-up not only by the US but also by most of the western countries and by almost all of the countries of our world.

However with the ongoing progress of the formal ‘discloser movement’, the true story of what is in fact the real history of our planet and its people is moving forward and will hopefully result in the truth becoming known sometime in the near future.

Do you enjoy science fiction as well? If so, what are your favourite books/films?

As far as science fiction goes, I have long been a reader of virtually all the sci-fi books that I could find. Some of my favourite authors are Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and, of course, Robert Heinlein.

Some of the most outstanding films of the science fiction type in my opinion are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ex_Machina, Avatar, The Matrix, and Star Wars, which I saw twenty-four times!

Do you do anything outside the UFO world?

I am also an avid adventurer and have designed and built four large sailing vessels and sailed to Hawaii, Baja, Mexico, and Honduras. And I have undertaken film projects in Tahiti and Nicaragua.

I especially enjoy living the boating and the RV lifestyle. I was also a gold miner and the publisher/writer/photographer for the magazine Modern Gold Miner and Treasure Hunter.

Currently, I am one of the Executive Producers on a reality-based TV series entitled Deadly Dogmen, which is based on an original concept by Leslie S. Mitts, who is also the content creator of this cryptid-based series. It’s is currently in pre-production under the Timestream Pictures banner.

Leslie S. Mitts and I penned a book entitled Lycandroids Super Soldiers and the Freedom War. It’s a science fiction novel and outlines what we both feel is unfortunately the course that humankind and our planet is heading. In its first week on Amazon, Lycandroids was ranked #8 in horror and #12 in sci-fi!

Still, as I was told in my briefing while I was on the planet Jupiter in the summer of 1971, humankind as a species has been gifted with free will. It is that which gives us the opportunity not only change the destiny of our planet but to take our rightful journey to the stars.

Where can people see your work?

The series entitled UFO Chronicles is available on Amazon Prime as well as other media platforms worldwide and is an ongoing series of programs featuring well known and highly regarded investigators, historian researchers, contactees, and scientists who provide insights into the real situations that are covered up by the mainstream press. Interested parties could also check out fastwalkers.com.

What’s next on your agenda?

Deadly Dogmen is currently being launched. Filming of its first episode happened in early June 2018.

My book Safespace was published in 2003 and received the Editor’s Choice Award. It’s based upon my own UFO-extra-terrestrial experience, and I’ve adapted it into a screenplay, Safespace: The Briefing, which is currently in pre-production. It documents the briefing by these friendly beings.

For more information on Robert and his documentaries, head over to timestreampictures.com.

Out Now – ISSUE 451

STARBURST takes a trip down memory lane to revisit the dark time of the VIDEO NASTIES, when horror films were thrown in the dock and cut to ribbons plus the seminal TV show THE OUTER LIMITS comes under our spotlight.

We also preview the upcoming releases THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS and CHRISTOPHER ROBIN, two polar opposite fuzzy pictures, we’re sure you’ll agree!

Elsewhere, Marvel’s BLADE is twenty years old, which is a good enough reason to celebrate the film that arguably started the MCU’s dominance at the cinema. Another birthday is Manchester’s FAB CAFÉ, and the owner (who happens to also be our illustrious Editor) JORDAN ROYCE reveals all about the institution of geek nightlife came about.

If that’s not enough, we have exclusive interviews with poster artist extraordinaire GRAHAM HUMPHREYS, directors JOE LYNCH (MAYHEM) and ABEL FERRARA (THE ADDICTION), the crew behind ANOTHER WOLFCOP, and DAVID GILBANK takes us through his upcoming film POLTERHEIST.

In our regular features, we take a look WAKE IN FEAR, heading to HORROR CHANNEL, and Independents Day talks to AUSTIN SNELL, the director of the EXPOSURE.

Plus all your favourite COLUMNS, NEWS, REVIEWS and much MORE from the worlds of SCI-FI, HORROR and FANTASY!

Vampires Get Wood…

As you would have found if you read the two-part feature on the Master of Horror in STARBURST #446 and #447, John Carpenter’s early filmography is outstanding. Across a burst of remarkable creativity in just under 15 years he made Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, the still definitive version of the Elvis story (and first project with frequent collaborator Kurt Russell), The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Christine, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness, and They Live. Either successful or critically acclaimed at the time of release or given distance (The Thing and Prince of Darkness, for example) now lauded as major or minor classics, it was an incredible run. But imagine you’re Carpenter back in those days for a moment. How do you sustain that kind of quality? It’s more than likely at some point you’re going to run out of steam. And so it was for Carpenter, starting with the poorly received and underperforming Chevy Chase vehicle Memoirs of an Invisible Man in 1992 and a subsequent slow down in productivity that ultimately found only two Carpenter films released so far this century. Creative people often find the business approach of studios and the ‘suits’ not just unyielding or uncomprehending but actively destructive and find themselves out of pocket or not given their financial due for their projects as well. And even with John Carpenter as the brand or hook for an audience, it became increasingly difficult to get projects decently funded and his directing career all but stalled. Of course, Carpenter is a man of many talents and has kept busy throughout, most notably recently with albums and tours of his music and iconic movie themes. As this year’s reboot of Halloween (actually pitched as a straight sequel to the first film) approaches Carpenter is somewhat back in the game, returning as producer, composer and spiritual godfather to the franchise that made him a horror legend.

But that period following the Chase film also produced at least a small gem or two. His twisted 1995 Lovecraftian horror In the Mouth of Madness was released recently to Blu-ray and has finally earned a wider critical reassessment and appreciation. And the film we’re covering here, Vampires, was Carpenter’s only project of the decade to turn a sizable profit at the international box office. More than that, however, it’s a frequently enjoyable mix of western and horror film that has much to recommend but still divides opinion. However, we here at STARBURST prefer wherever possible to say why you should give something a chance and sing praises where due and that’s what we’re going to do here. Although not vintage Carpenter, Vampires is certainly not bloodless (sorry, really) but succeeds as violent, gory and caustic fun, with some sequences standing tall against his best work.

Before the film, as often it goes, there was a book. Vampire$ was written by John Steakley and released first in 1990. It’s violent, gory, and caustic too, concerning the work of the company Vampire$, Inc., who kill vampires for money. They’re supported and sanctioned by the Catholic Church, and Steakley’s novel is a mix of dark fantasy horror and even darker humour. It’s no stretch to imagine the book as a film and after lingering around as a project for half a decade, it eventually found its way to Carpenter at the right time for him. Filmmaking is a tiresome, convoluted, and exhausting thing to do even when you’re enjoying it, and Carpenter wasn’t. But with Vampires (as the script was now called) he found an opportunity to revisit the western-in-a-modern setting themes he had started his professional career with back with 1976’s Assault on Precinct 13. Vampires would also be a horror film, the genre he was most familiar with and revered for, and Carpenter keeps this aspect awash with blood throughout. A few years before Vampires’ release, Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel Interview with the Vampire had brought her world of beautiful, Gothically tortured bloodsuckers to the screen. The ‘90s zeitgeist for vamps was that of the spiritual ennui and emotional savagery of immortality. This would later transfer into things like the character of the guilt-ridden Angel in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. The novel Vampire$ and Carpenter’s film have none of this sort of thing, however. The vampires here are savage, animalistic and totally brutal. This is set up by Carpenter in one a sequence at the start of the film, as we’re introduced to slayer Jack Crow (James Woods) and his crew.

They are somewhere in New Mexico outside an abandoned farmhouse. Crow and his right-hand man Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) survey the peaceful daytime scene before them. But Crow and his crew have been hired by a nearby town and he suspects the house is now home to a nest of vampires and their leader, their ‘master’. Crow and his men unload their various weapons, ranging from stakes to high-tech crossbows. They approach the house and slowly, quietly make their way to the front door. Carpenter layers this with a distinctly western-themed score that could easily pitch Crow as a sheriff, his men as a posse and the inhabitants of the house as outlaws. He also makes it clear these men, whilst trained and brave/dumb enough to go into a nest of vampires, are nervous and on edge. They unlatch the door and head inside, making their way around the house slowly, steadily and with a dread for what is to come. When it does, it’s swift. The crew are set upon by two vampires to begin with, both dressed more like you would imagine cult members would be in bland brown robes. They’re shot, stabbed and one even has a stake rammed through its forehead, but the only thing that stops them is being hooked and dragged outside into the sunlight that finally destroys them as they burst into flames. As the crew clear out the nest, the vampires’ screams echo across that previously peaceful scene. Remember, at this time vampires were more often aware they were monsters and ridden with guilt over their actions. And in this one sequence, Carpenter announces his vampires are something else altogether. In Vampires, they are violent, near-unstoppable killers that deserve death. The crew refer to them as ‘goons’ and we’re not invited as an audience to feel any sympathy for them at all. Crow isn’t satisfied after they’re done burning up these goons. The master should have been there too, the lore being that they don’t stray too far from their nests. As the slayers drive off to their reward (which the film suggests is always cash, booze, and hookers) the one that got away punches its hands from the shallow dirt it was buried under.

This leads us into the next sequence at the Sun God Motel (the movie always has a sense of humour about itself). The men of Jack’s crew are having a thoroughly misogynistic time drinking and pawing various prostitutes while Crow himself stews over the missing master. Twin Peaks’ Sheryl Lee plays Katrina, a prostitute who briefly seems as though she will distract him. But Katrina doesn’t get chance, because Thomas Ian Griffith arrives in full bass-player-in-a-’90s-Goth-band get-up as master Jan Valek to bite down on her thigh and suck blood in the only moment of Vampires that tilts towards that Anne Rice sex-and-death fascination. After that, Valek drops by on Crow’s boys and kills them all bar Montoya. It’s not as strong a sequence as the opener but the reason it works, despite some inelegant special effects and Griffith’s (at least initially) cheesy, very literally ‘arrrrggghhh’ performance is because it leads directly on from the house clearance and sits as direct opposition to it. One massacre follows another, and much like the first one, we don’t feel a lot of sympathy for Jack’s crew either, only the girls caught up in the carnage.

Montoya and Jack narrowly escape Valek and take Katrina with them because, as Jack says, he can ‘use her’. It’s indicative of the film’s treatment of women that they’re presented as either goons or prostitutes and Lee’s character doesn’t escape this either. Carpenter has established his film isn’t about good or evil necessarily, or heroes either and so harks back to some of its western influences, focusing on characters that don’t deserve or earn our identification, a more complex approach sitting in line with the predominant Sam Peckinpah influences. And really, Crow is a magnificent douche. After their escape and subsequent car crash, the trio walk to a gas station (Crow refers to Katrina as a ‘piece of shit’ and pushes her in his irritation that she’s slow because she’s been bitten by a vampire and survived a vehicle rolling down a hill) where Crow orders Montoya to steal a car. These men are definitely not heroes; everything’s a commodity to them, including other people, to use to get their job done. It’s interesting because Carpenter’s film (and the script by Don Jakoby) is kicking against everything contemporaries were doing and by also making a western, not exactly Hollywood’s favourite genre at that time, despite the relatively recent successes of films like Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. Making it a hybrid horror-western seems almost reckless and this is what continues to make the film interesting, with Carpenter’s unwillingness to soften his approach or characters and humanise them or provide even one person we can root for.

The extended set-up then leads into the remainder of the film focusing on Jack’s desire for revenge. It deviates from the source novel in quite a few a few notable ways as Carpenter retools the dark modern fantasy of Steakley’s book towards his concept of nihilistic western. Directly contravening his instructions from the church to hold off and establish a new crew, Crow heads off in search of Valek with Montoya, Katrina and new priest support Father Adam (Tim Guinee). The pace slows somewhat as Crow and Montoya wait for Katrina’s psychic connection to her master to kick in so they can figure out where he is and what he’s doing. It turns out Valek is the original vampire and he’s looking for a MacGuffin that will let him walk in the daylight after 600 years, making him almost indestructible. Meanwhile, Montoya doubles down on his earlier apparent disdain for ‘bitches’ with an oddly pathetic attraction to the slowly vampirising Katrina that displays itself through him generally being awful to her. Crow continues being a scumbag who has no qualms about torturing priests for information and the film builds to a final confrontation where you eventually root for Crow because he’s the marginally better option than Valek.

Carpenter is pretty much incapable of making a genuinely bad film, with even his misfires having their points to recommend. Vampires isn’t top tier Carpenter but neither is it one of his weakest films. It straddles the divide between the two, and some of the rougher moments are right up against some of the best. It also shows how he uses his knowledge of film to create almost off-the-cuff bits of invention. Whether the footage of the motel massacre was working or not we don’t know, but Carpenter says he hit on the idea of using dissolves in the editing process and it works splendidly to create an unreal effect to the sequence that mirrors the disorientating impact on the crew as their evening of carousing and boozing descends into a nightmare of bloody death. And above all, Carpenter has always focused on making his films entertaining and Vampires continues this. If you want to examine Crow’s relationship with God and the church or the movie’s commentary on it or religious hypocrisy, it’s there. Equally, Crow aside, you could have all the fun you want with the film’s deconstruction of the alpha male, most specifically Montoya’s pointless and doomed attraction to a damaged woman that will literally tear his throat out. But most of all, you can enjoy the film as what Carpenter intended it to be, a good fun mix of Peckinpah-style carnage and hard and gory horror. And that job is one it does pretty well.

Although it didn’t become a box office hit, Vampires did nearly recoup its budget at theatres so international returns and a second life on VHS and late-night TV showings (and latterly DVD) made it his most profitable film of the decade. Profitable enough to inspire two straight-to-video sequels that had little connection to the original film other than ostensibly being set in the same universe. The first, Vampires: Los Muertos, was produced by Carpenter and starred Jon Bon Jovi. The second, Vampires: The Turning had no Carpenter and even less to do with his first film. Woods, meanwhile, went via more films and television appearances before settling on his new gig as a performance artist political stooge on Twitter. You don’t have to like the man to enjoy Vampires, of course, because as we’ve covered, Jack Crow is a pretty crappy guy. He just happens to kill vampires for a living, which is probably a good thing for everyone (except the vampires, of course), because without that, he’d probably have taken to killing people himself.

You can sink your teeth into JOHN CARPENTER’S VAMPIRES when it screens on Horror Channel. Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.