Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

POINT BREAK (1991) [4K UHD]

One night in 2007, two West Country police officers spent an evening bonding to the joys of high octane ‘90s police thrillers with a double bill of Bad Boys 2 and the superior Point Break. Inspired by the onscreen carnage, they went on to emulate the mayhem, shooting up – and bringing justice to – the charming (if rather murder-y) village of Sandford.

Ok, so yes, that’s obviously the end of Hot Fuzz, but that doesn’t diminish either Point Break’s influence or position as one of the best – not to mention batshit insane – high concept action movies of the ‘90s.

The plot (and yes, we considered putting that in inverted commas) sees Keanu Reeves’ rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah – what a name! – assigned to find, infiltrate, and capture a team of bank robbers known as the Ex-Presidents, so-named due to their penchant for wearing masks of former presidents during robberies (the idea that a president could be a felon being somewhat of a novel concept in the ‘90s. It was a simpler time). His partner, Gary Busey, miraculously deduces that the gang are comprised of surfers, so Utah is dispatched to the nearest beach, surfboard in hand to learn how to surf, find the gang, fall in love with a surfer chick, re-evaluate all his life choices and loyalties, and say “woah!” with alarming regularity.

There, he soon falls under the influence of zen-like surfer Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and his group, who – wouldn’t you just know it – turn out to be the very gang he’s hunting (what are the odds, eh?). From there, it’s all conflicted loyalties, fantastic action (one-foot chase, in particular, is an all-timer), people jumping out of planes – both with and without parachutes – lots of beautiful shots of beaches at sunset, talks about mysticism, as well as some truly stunning surf action.

It all unfolds pretty much as you’d expect. As Hot Fuzz fans can attest, there’s a scene when a conflicted Utah finds himself unable to shoot Bodhi and ends up firing his gun in the air in frustration. (Whether Reeves or Nick Frost pulls it off best is up for debate.) But you don’t come here for a nuanced plot. You come for the most ‘Keanu Reeves’ Keanu Reeves performance of all time, Busey being insane, a never better Swayze (yes, even better than Roadhouse or that one with the dancing), and insane action (including Swayze doing his own skydiving stunts 30 years before Tom Cruise had the idea). Plus, Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers was punched in the face (one gem from the BTS on the Blu-ray – he refused to turn up for stunt rehearsals, so the stunt coordinator had his character immediately knocked out in his first fight. He cooperated after that).

To say Point Break is influential is an understatement. It took an actor best known for indie dramas and goofing off in Bill and Ted and turned him into a bona fide action star. Without Point Break, Reeves would never have done Speed, The Matrix or John Wick. Swayze may never have escaped the shadow of Dirty Dancing. Kathryn Bigelow may not have gone on to become the first woman in history to win a Best Director Oscar (for The Hurt Locker). It aided producer (and Bigelow’s then-husband) James Cameron on his quest for world domination. Plus, The Fast and the Furious franchise even started off as a Point Break rip-off, substituting Swayze with far less charismatic Vin Diesel, surfing with street racing, and bank robberies with stealing DVD players. And yet, somehow, that’s the one that gets 10 sequels!

The transfer on the new Blu-ray looks great, although it’s let down by a bog standard set of extras. These comprise regular behind-the-scenes featurettes (another gem – Swayze’s insurers wouldn’t allow him to skydive – which he did anyway – but were fine with him constantly risking his life while surfing) and a reunion where two of the ex-presidents wander around some of the locations (basically a beach). Ignore the extras, though and get lost in one of the best action movies of the ‘90s. It’ll make you want to roll on the floor while firing a gun in the air. That’s a good thing, honest.

POINT BREAK is available on 4K UHD Blu-ray on August 2nd.

DIE, MONSTER, DIE! (1965)

Die, Monster, Die! is a title in search of a much better film. Loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space (although not as loosely as the 2019 effort starring Nic Cage), this 1965 version (filmed under the working title The House at the End of the World) is largely notable for its opportunity to see the great Boris Karloff enjoying himself enormously in a late-career role from the period where he was living and working in the UK.

American scientist Stephen Reinhart (Nick Adams) travels to the slightly creepy English village of Arkham (featured in many Lovecraft stories) to visit his fiancée Susan Witley (Suzan Farmer), living at the eerie, ominous Witley estate with her ailing, bedridden mother Letitia (Freda Jackson) and her suspicious, hostile father Nahum (Karloff). Stephen is intrigued by a blackened, flattened patch of land near the estate, and although Nahum passes it off as damage caused by a fire, no one is really able to explain what actually happened properly. Mysterious hooded figures, strange noises in the basement, and a weird glowing light from the locked greenhouse lead Stephen and Susan to discover plants that have grown to an abnormally large size and fragments of a meteorite emitting radiation.

Die, Monster, Die! sadly isn’t as lurid as its title suggests. It’s a fairly routine and unexceptional mid-’60s horror that’s heavy on atmosphere (director Daniel Haller works hard to generate some suspense in a story sadly lacking in much of either) but light on excitement or genuine tension. Nearly scuppered by a bland performance by troubled star Nick Adams, the film is lifted enormously by both Karloff as Nahum and Freda Jackson as the disfigured Letitia, who give the story a much-needed sense of urgency and dramatic dynamism. The film itself is an interesting but unexceptional footnote in the history of British horror films, running to just under 80 minutes, and it’s been lovingly restored in HD for this new BFI release. The film is supported by comprehensive new special features, including a commentary from historians Vic Pratt and William Fowler, a fascinating 19-minute consideration of the film by Karloff’s biographer, a brief feature on Nick Adams, a slightly embarrassing staging of a couple of scenes from a never-made proposed fantasy film about the life of Nick Adams and a chat with the film’s unit publicist Tony Tweedale.

DIE, MONSTER, DIE! is released on Blu-ray on July 22nd.

GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM (2018) [Blu-ray]

The bank accounts of horror fans across the globe are preparing to be raided as Second Sight Films release yet another content-filled special edition version of Jung Bum-shik’s found-footage flick Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum.

Starring Wi Ha-joon, Lee Seung-wook, and Park Ji-hyun, the 2018 film follows a horror web series crew who travel to the infamous titular asylum to investigate the ghost stories surrounding the building. Rumour has it that the ping-pong-loving director of the hospital killed all of the patients and went missing, and the filmmakers’ livestream sees them uncover the horrors that took place behind closed doors.

The scares of Gonjiam begin in the opening scene, where a previous filmmaking team’s journey through the building is cut abruptly short, and it doesn’t let up from there as viewers are locked into a supernatural assault from all angles. Long, unmoving handheld camera shots ratchet up the tension, which is heightened by the harrowing tales unearthed in the asylum. Bum-shik has one mission and one mission only: to terrify his audience, and he achieves just that on multiple levels as its found-footage format grounds it in a haunting realism.

And what’s more, the Second Sight release features a brand new audio commentary, video essay, featurettes, trailers, and limited edition content for viewers to delve deeper into the mysteries of Gonjiam. This is the definition of terror: needling into your brain and never offering even a morsel of relief throughout its runtime. It is a must-watch for any horror fan, and this release should be a staple in any physical media collection.

GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM is out now on limited edition Blu-ray from Second Sight

DOCTOR WHO – THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER

Despite the odd stumble and creative misfire, the BBC’s mission to animate (hopefully) every missing episode from the 1960s era of Doctor Who continues apace. This latest release takes us back to 1966, towards the end of William Hartnell’s time in the role of the Doctor, and one of the most bizarre and surreal stories in the show’s history and one that leans quite heavily into the new style of storytelling established by Russell T Davies in the latest series. Of course, the Toymaker himself was resurrected by Davies last year in the third 60th Anniversary special The Giggle, which pointed quite clearly to the supernatural-tinged theme of several episodes in the current run with the Toymaker serving as one of the harbingers of a great evil from the Doctor’s own past resurrected in the season finale. Apart from its last episode, The Final Test, The Celestial Toymaker is absent from the BBC Archives, and its absence has allowed its animators – Australian motion capture animation specialists Shapeshifter Studios in conjunction with Big Finish in the UK – free reign in recreating the serial in a manner way beyond the tiny budget of the 1966 original. The Toymaker’s domain is rendered here in distinctly psychedelic tones full of whirling, spinning shapes, weird and angular and distorted backgrounds and settings and the Toymaker’s pawns are presented as nightmarish distortions of humanity – living playing cards, creepy dancing dolls, grotesque parodies of familiar childhood archetypes.

It’s the animation that has been the cause of much consternation amongst certain sections of Doctor Who fandom, in addition to the fact that the animators have chosen to reinterpret the story’s visuals wildly. But the animation simply mirrors the intention of the story in creating a weird and disturbing environment in which the Doctor (Hartnell, invisible for two episodes to give the actor a much-needed break) and his companions Steven (Peter Purves) and Dodo (Jackie Lane|) – who do most of the dramatic heavy-lifting – have to play the Toymaker’s twisted games if they are to return to the TARDIS and escape his unnatural dimension. Here, his world is much more unnerving and convincing than anything the tiny Riverside Studios in London could possibly hope to achieve in 1966. While it’s understandable that fans might be aggrieved that the story is not being recreated ‘as seen on TV’, their refusal to accept that animation offers the potential to bring stories to the screen in a more imaginative way is sadly typical of a very vocal section of Who fandom tied irrevocably to the past that refuses to accept that even the show’s history is organic and can be reimagined to make it more palatable for a modern audience.

Character animation is a very different matter. Motion capture gives the characters a greater fluidity and a far better range of expression than the 2D animation we’re used to. Steven and Dodo are particularly well-realised – fortunate as they carry much of the story – and Michael Gough’s Toymaker is quite malevolent, moving magically throughout the story in ways well beyond the technical capabilities of the original production. Hartnell is a tougher sell; here, he looks a bit like a caricature, his features pinched and sharp, and the animation doesn’t always capture his quirky mannerisms and eccentricities.

Ironically, for all its innovative animation, what lets The Celestial Toymaker down is the story itself. The crisply-restored soundtrack betrays its studio origins as it’s all clumpy wooden floors, doors, and clattering props and the story itself really just isn’t that interesting. The animation doesn’t make the games Steven and Dodo play any more engrossing or understandable, and the storyline’s sluggish pace and repetitive nature make it all a bit of a slog. Enlivened by beautifully colourful animation (it’s also available in black-and-white for reluctant purists), the release is supported by a brief ‘making of’, a couple of archive bits, a new restoration of The Final Test and a bafflingly unwatchable 73-minute feature that sees Peter Purves, Maureen O’Brien (former companion Vicki) and Big Finish regular Lisa Bowerman trying to solve clues to help them find their way out of an Escape Room. Seriously, life’s too short…

The Celestial Toymaker has been brought back to life in the only way that could make it work with a style of animation that suits the story perfectly but might not work so well on a more traditional and grounded adventure. It’s probably an inessential piece of Who history despite its (unwarranted) reputation but with the Toymaker himself having re-entered the modern world of Doctor Who, it’s probably more relevant than it might have otherwise been. An odd and curious footnote in the history of Doctor Who.

THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER is available now in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray.

THE LAST BREATH

In the ever-changing film landscape, we will never escape from killer sharks. This year alone, we have seen a cocaine shark story in Netflix’s Deep Fear, and lurking in the streamer’s waters, we have Under Paris coming this summer, and in the cinema, we get ready for July’s Something in the Water. We are never out swimming sharks, folks, and if we have movies like The Last Breath to look forward to, we, for one, welcome these shark-infested movie waters to come!

Joachim Hedén’s The Last Breath plays out as 47 Meters Down crossed with Ghosts of the Abyss, as independent seafaring duo Levi (the late Julian Sands in his final film role) and Noah (Jack Parr) finally pinpoint the shipwreck of a WWII battleship they have searched endlessly for. But when Noah’s old college pals rock up for a reunion, they push for an impromptu scuba diving trip to this uncharted shipwreck, finding far more than rusted metal awaits them in these Caribbean waters.

Certainly no stranger to the odd convention of the genre (the rich d-bag of the friend group, the blood in water stalking, the logic leaps at times), The Last Breath distinguishes itself with an atmospheric underwater setting and a roster of good characters.

Its breathless thrills play out well, with the shipwreck setting being effectively capitalised on with air pockets, winding corridors and rooms, and sharks almost enclosing the group like a survival video game scenario. It makes for a thrilling approach to this toothy subgenre. The underwater cinematography is well shot, and the audio is remarkably unmarred, giving this a prestige reserved for a lot of bigger budgeted fare that lands on the big screen. The sharks themselves also look menacing and impressive, with the filmmakers never allowing any effects to look false, and the energy of the movie is kept up thanks to the ratcheting suspense that comes with the plot’s escalating dire situations, including dwindling oxygen, injuries and persistent deep sea predators at every exit.

The performances are also rather good, with Sands’ grizzled, knitting, rebellious sailor being a particular highlight. This cinematic send-off is one rather appropriate for the sure-to-be dearly missed English actor in a genre film with a great supporting part that steals the show and with a rather old-school antihero vibe attached to it that Sands gives real-life to. There is also a great lead part by Parr, who is likeable as Noah, a character doing his best despite the desperation that has put him and his friends beneath the waves. Another standout is Kim Spearman as his former girlfriend Kim, who puts her medical training to more use than she ever expected on this dive!

Well-paced and constructed, if not free entirely of some of the setbacks of the genre, The Last Breath is a compelling viewing that keeps you watching, never taking things too far, and delivering a few potential setups, making for some unpredictable directions the film could head. The Last Breath effectively strands you in the rusted vessel on the sea bed, with these characters, as they try and evade their ef(fin)’ deadly captors, and it might just make you savour every gulp of air that bit more.

A shark movie well worth diving into, just keep an eye on that breathing…

THE LAST BREATH is on Digital Platforms and DVD and Blu-ray on June 24th.

HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS

What a title! And thankfully, the film delivers; if it were called “This Movie Will Give You $1,000,000” we’d be writing this review from a yacht. Greenhorn director Mike Cheslik introduces us to an alcoholic cider manufacturer in pioneer-time America who must learn to survive in the wilderness by fighting off rabbits, raccoons, and, of course, beavers, as played by cast members in Disneyland-style costumes. Although on the surface, it may seem like a parodic B-movie oddity, it is, instead, a cannot-be-ignored rip-roaring comedy that will stand the test of time for its classic elements alongside its timeliness. The trick Cheslik and his team have pulled off is to create a fresh-feeling, original film with the familiarity of an old sweater.

Rather than creating new aesthetics whole cloth, the filmmakers lifted a combination of ideas from other art in an original way. This is ‘Influenced Cinema’. Cheslik joins the ranks of Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright in constructing works so strongly indebted to their creators’ influences that they are inextricable until a generation decides only to remember the influenced work. Audiences are hailing Hundreds of Beavers as the return of early cinema, and indeed, the almost completely dialogue-free black and white movie brings to mind Chaplin’s slapstick or, in talkies, W.C. Field’s absurd games. But Cheslik has layered upon it so much more. The Looney Tunes logic, a Silver Age Disney animated musical number, charming Muppets-like expression, and most prominently, a Legend of Zelda video game shop system, inventory tracker, overworld map, and use of sound effects are all in service of a wholly original story.

While certainly frenetic, the collage feels so natural in execution. Watching our fur trapper friend set traps like comedic setups with ten-minute later punchline payoffs is genuinely engrossing. The experience of seeing the film isn’t a nostalgic one we hold at a distance but a raw, immersive laughter powerhouse that could only come to us now. This child of the ’00s and ’10s American Midwest Internet video sketch scene doesn’t adopt its parent’s propensity for parody. The “going out in the woods to film a thing with friends” could easily turn into something derivative. Instead, these filmmakers set out to make something fun and original from the media that made them. In a world where Hollywood comedy movies are relegated to the Apatow-style of improvisational awkwardness, it’s incredibly refreshing to explore other avenues of movie comedy that are not reliant on references to pop culture even as they adopt their look.

If you seek to be surprised with genuine movie magic, the kind of delights where a younger version of yourself would wonder how a certain effect, stunt, or gag has been achieved or how a script seems to know exactly how your mind works, then there’s no better recommendation this year. Through a combination of costuming, animation, green screen environments, and a sprinkle of puppetry, the world of Hundreds of Beavers feels as tangible as Hyrule, as brimming with laughter as the Muppet theatre, and as full of imagination as the woods behind your own suburban house.

HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS is screening in selected UK cinemas July 9th, and will be released on Blu-ray August 5th

DUNE (1984)

David Lynch’s version of the classic Frank Herbert novel was much derided upon its release. However, over the years, the film has found its fanbase, and this ViaVision Australian 3-disc release presents the movie in a new light. It includes both the original theatrical cut and the extended TV version that Lynch disowned, as well as a full disc of bonus features.

The plot covers more or less the same territory as the recent, much better-budgeted Denis Villeneuve version. Rival planetary dynasties are feuding about who can control the lucrative spice mining on the planet Arrakis. The son of Duke Atreides, Paul (Kyle MacLachlan), becomes the centre of the battle when he is adopted by the Arrakis natives, the Fremen.

As we’ve seen with the aforementioned modern movies, adapting a story as vast as this is difficult. Lynch makes the most of the budget, but the result is more Flash Gordon than the Lawrence of Arabia-style epic it should be. The director and his troupe do their best. There are some standout performances; MacLachlan is a convincing Paul Atreides, Kenneth McMillan is repulsively brilliant as Baron Harkonnen and Freddie Jones’ eyebrows should have their own credit. However, the slight miscasting of Sting (however iconic he is visually) and Paul Smith (who provides his trademark look throughout) can be overlooked. As an of-its-time space epic, it’s entertaining enough despite the reputation it holds.

Accompanying the two versions of the film is a disc literally jam-packed with extras. The flagship being the feature-length documentary The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune. Other featurettes cover different in-depth aspects (with the occasional bit of anecdotal repetition) alongside a number of vintage interviews. There’s only one commentary, this time for the expanded TV version, making its debut on this release. Top it off with a nifty lenticular hard case and some art cards, and it’s a must for collectors.

DUNE 3-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray is out now from Via Vision.

THE BORDERLANDS (2013)

While The Blair Witch Project may not have invented the found footage genre, it certainly brought it back into the public consciousness. 25 years later and it’s still providing fertile ground for fledgling filmmakers (and a few more established ones, such as the late, great George A. Romero) to take advantage of the (usually) low-fi, low budget opportunities the genre provides. With wildly varying results.

Originally released in 2013, and after gaining a cult following (Mark Kermode is a big fan, but don’t hold that against it) and now finally gaining a well-deserved Blu-ray release, The Borderlands is a superior entry in the genre. It sees a small Vatican team (two church-y types and a smart-ass tech guy) sent to a ‘charming’, unnamed English village (the kind where the local youth set fire to sheep for the lols), to investigate a supposed miracle at the local church. Their mission is to investigate the veracity of the claim made by the local priest Father Crellick, (yes, we know it’s close to Father Ted’s Crilly, just ignore that bit) using scientific methods to disprove or verify the claim. Needless to say, there’s genuinely some spooky goings on at the church, and as part of the investigation – and luckily for us – the team wear headcams at all time to document everything, as well as installing cameras throughout the church as well as the cottage where they’re staying.

There’s a couple of areas in which The Borderlands surpasses many of its contemporaries. Firstly, the cast is superb, with Ben Wheatley regular Robin Hill being alternately entertaining and irritatingly punchable as the team’s tech expert Gray, and Gordon Kennedy as Deacon, one of the Vatican’s investigators (with a shadowy past) being the standouts.

Secondly, it’s genuinely creepy. Something bad is happening in the church, and as the team gradually uncover the mystery, first-time director (and writer) Elliot Goldner does a great job of ratcheting up the tension. Whether it’s with a well-timed (but fortunately not overused) jump scare, some superbly creepy effects on the soundtrack (which sound great on the blu ray), or a superbly claustrophobic finale, the films uses the limitations of the genre to its benefit, using them to enhance the scares. Goldner knows that what we don’t see if often just as – if not more – terrifying than what we don’t, and plays into that to great effect.

The blu ray does the film justice, with a new commentary and in-depth interviews with actors Hill and Kennedy, as well as the film’s producer and special effects artist (director Goldner being strangely absent). There’s also a limited edition with a 70-page book comprising essays on the film and artwork.

The Borderlands is an overlooked gem, and one of the best British horrors of recent years. Hopefully, this new release will help it find a new, wider audience. Recommended.

THE BORDERLANDS is out now on Blu-ray from Second Sight.

*batteries not included (1987)

An expansion of a Mick Garris story originally meant for the TV anthology series Amazing Stories, this Steven Spielberg-produced fantasy is a heartwarming tale of a fight against urban gentrification.

Residents of an apartment building in New York are being bullied by a ruthless developer using strong-arm tactics. Owners of the corner diner, Frank (Hume Cronyn) and Faye (Jessica Tandy) take the brunt of the attacks, having their business trashed. When they are at their lowest point, they discover a pair of small alien craft that is using their electricity. In return, the visitors repair things that have been broken by the thugs (led by Michael Carmine). As things worsen, the last occupants unite with the aliens to save their homes.

Spielberg’s trademark schmaltz is all over director (and co-writer with Brad Bird) Michael Robbins’ film. And that’s not a bad thing at all. We’re on board with the characters’ plight from the opening moments. Tandy and Cronyn are fantastic as the aged couple who, as well as dealing with the constant aggro from the developer’s minions, are struggling with Faye’s dementia. Without the fantasy element, the movie would still be an engaging human interest film; with them, it’s a magical fight against the ‘man’. Despite having no backstory for the visitors, the little alien/spaceships have plenty of character, and it’s fun to see one of them ‘giving birth’ from an amalgamation of metals and electrical devices pilfered from the residents,

Imprint’s Blu-ray presents the film looking spectacularly and three new extras that are very interesting. These take the form of interviews with the director, original writer Mick Garris, and the widow of composer James Horner. If you’re a fan of the film (and it’s a very easy movie to like), this is a highly recommended pickup.

THE CROW (1994, 4K UHD)

Alex Proyas’ adaptation of James O’Barr’s comic book series was, of course, marred by the tragic on-set killing of star Brandon Lee. This 30th anniversary UHD release presents the fan-favourite movie in the best possible way with a host of extras.

When Eric Draven (Lee) is murdered along with his soon-to-be wife, Shelly (Sofia Shinas) by a local criminal gang, his eternal slumber is broken as a crow (which, we’re told, is meant to carry the soul to the land of the dead) resurrects him to avenge his love’s killing. With the bird as his companion, he tracks down those responsible, leading him to the crime boss behind everything.

There’s no denying the cult following The Crow has, and it’s pleasantly surprising to find the movie still stands up after all these years. While the miniature work becomes more obvious with the ultra hi-def transfer, the overall set designs are stunning. The extra definition helps bring out the brooding darkness of the story and visuals. The film itself still packs an emotional punch, with powerful performances and cool set pieces that have stood the test of time. Ernie Hudson shines as the weary beat cop, busted down for a mistake he made a while back, who has a sort-of friendship with the undead Eric after he sets about his trail of revenge. The bad guys here are of the comic book variety; dumb druggies with gangland attitudes (The Warriors’ David Patrick Kelly is a standout), while the big bad is in the shape of Michael Wincott’s Top Dollar, himself cutting an iconic sway with his long hair and Bai Ling by his side. It’s difficult to watch The Crow without thinking of Brandon Lee’s sad demise, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s just as entertaining and cool as it ever was.

Fans will be happy to see many of the previously released extras are ported over, and the two new featurettes are very welcome.

THE CROW is available as a 4K UHD steelbook now and released generally on 4K and Blu-ray from June 3rd.