Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Written and directed by Satoshi Kon, Tokyo Godfathers is an over-the-top tale about three homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. Vowing to find the baby’s parents, they’re led on a wild goose chase across the heart of Tokyo in the hope of finding answers. With a cast of misfits which include an ageing transvestite, a middle-aged alcoholic and a teenage runaway, we’re able to get a glimpse into three individuals who have somehow lost their way.

Whether it’s their constant bickering or boisterous personalities taking centre stage, the dialogue never fails to convey the harsh reality of living life on the streets. With cutting retorts going back and forth like machine gun fire, the voice acting manages to effortlessly breathe life into the characters and make the most out of every situation.

Quirky, funny and offbeat, Tokyo Godfathers doesn’t give in to its relentless pace and manages to keep viewers glued to the action. This does, however, rob the audience of the chance to make the most out of some of the more sentimental moments which can at times become a little jarring. The music by Keiichi Suzuki manages to capture the magic and wonder of all of the events that are unfolding onscreen whilst sweeping the viewer into a joyous Christmas frenzy.

As to be expected from any of Satoshi Kon’s work, the animation is jaw-droppingly beautiful. With the Blu-ray release enhancing the visuals even further, Tokyo becomes even more of a spectacle as the neon lights shine amongst the snowy backdrop. The facial expressions are immensely detailed, giving the characters a life-like quality while the streets are painfully recreated to the most minuscule of features.

A film with universal appeal, Tokyo Godfathers is still as witty today as it was at the time of its original release 15 years ago. With the Blu-ray release containing some tasty extras about the creation of the film and a breathtaking look at the art, there’s plenty for fans to sink their teeth into.

A film which shows the limitless potential of animation, Tokyo Godfathers is an alternative Christmas classic that’s full of unexpected twists, turns and miracles. A festive bonanza which will put plenty of smiles on many faces.

TOKYO GODFATHERS / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: SATOSHI KON / SCREENPLAY: KEIKO NOBUMOTO & SATOSHI KON / STARRING: TORU EMORI, YOSHIAKI UMEGAKI, AYA OKAMOTO / RELEASE DATE: 15TH OCTOBER

Timing is everything. The Amityville Horror was released in 1979, riding on the wave of some highly successful source material. The book had been a huge best seller, its claim to be ‘more hideously frightening than The Exorcist because it actually happened’ cleverly making the most of existing cinematic interest in possession and hauntings. Fabricated stories of strange on-set goings-on had been drip fed to the press for months ensuring that interest in the film was at fever pitch. Consequently it took enough at the box office to be the most successful independent film ever at that point, a position it remained in for nearly a decade. Almost forty years on, it’s hard to see why the film was such a hit.

George and Kathy Lutz bought a fantastic house cheaply because the previous family had all been murdered in it by the eldest son, shot in their beds because he said that demonic voices had told him to do it. After 28 days, the Lutz family fled claiming that they and their children had been tormented and terrified by supernatural forces. The film recounts the gradual build-up of these events – slamming doors, demonic voices, flies – until, literally, all hell breaks loose.

Starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder (fresh from her success as Lois Lane), The Amityville Horror concentrates on the characters rather than special effects and it’s their mental, emotional and, in George’s case, physical breakdown which drives the movie along, their relationship going from happy to almost fatal as history starts to repeat itself. And as the young couple, Brolin and Kidder carry the film, their conviction encouraging you to believe even if you don’t. Alongside, heavyweight actor Rod Steiger chews the scenery like it’s a Curly Wurly bar in his scenes as a priest trying to help the family but being thwarted by the supernatural and his own Church. He never shares an actual scene with Brolin and Kidder, which is a shame.

The problem is that it’s just not scary. The Amityville Horror came half a decade after The Exorcist, three years after The Omen and year after the (underrated) Damien: Omen 2 and, in just three years time, Poltergeist would come along and do this so much better. Sure, you don’t have to show things for them to frighten you – Rosemary’s Baby anyone? Even so, watching it now, you realise that, without the excellent Oscar-nominated score by Lalo Schifrin, The Amityville Horror wouldn’t be scary in the slightest.

The extras on this Blu-ray edition though are pretty good. There are some revealing and funny interviews with Brolin and the late Margot Kidder, some interesting shorts about the writer and Schifrin too, plus a commentary from a genuine parapsychologist who had investigated the mystery / hoax at the time.

But the most interesting thing on the disc is a feature-length documentary about Daniel Lutz, the now grown man who was just a child when all of this happened. Whatever happened (or didn’t) back in the 1970s, it has affected this man’s life forever. Seeing what this all did to him is more upsetting than anything in the film.

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: STUART ROSENBERG / SCREENPLAY: SANDOR STERN / STARRING: JAMES BROLIN, MARGOT KIDDER, ROD STEIGER / RELEASE DATE: 15TH OCTOBER

George A. Romero created a furry little monster with this lovably daft 1988 chamber horror. No longer tied to his long-time production partners due to their wish to put out more diverse, family-friendly product, the man who lit a fire under the zombie genre went solo and threw all his eggs in the basket marked ‘crazed monkey madness’. You never know unless you try.

Jason Beghe (a sort of Poundland Ryan O’Neill) plays Allan Man, an athlete who ends up in a wheelchair after a truck hits him while he’s out jogging. Now paralysed from the neck down, he’s stuck both with a wheelchair and the worst fake beard in cinema history. Things begin to look up when his boffin pal from the local monkey experiment lab (we’ve all got one of those, right?) brings joy to his life in the form of Ella, a lovable – if you like monkeys – little helper. What our hero doesn’t realise is that Ella has received human brain tissue injections and is liable to go seriously ape. Sure enough, she’s soon inhabiting Allan’s feverish mind and going on a murder spree at his unwitting behest – or rather some highly convincing Tom Savini fake SFX monkeys are (many were constructed for the shoot).

A box office dud back in 1988, the passage of time has been kind to Romero’s arch script, self-adapted from Michael Stewart’s novel. The absurdity is played up, the dark laughs are plentiful and some very-repeatable lines of dialogue suggest Romero may have been midway through a John Waters marathon at the time. Joyce Van Patten as Beghe’s mollycoddling mother and Christine Forrest as his Nurse Ratchet-alike carer get the lion’s share of the hammy zingers, the cherry being Forrest’s boggle-eyed response to finding out Ella has murdered her pet bird: “YOU KILLED MY BOGIE!!!” Only Kate O’Neill’s super-sensible monkey trainer isn’t playing to the bleachers, but she does have to negotiate Allan’s full-body paralysis to perform one of mainstream cinema’s most ingenious sexual favours. You’ll definitely learn something new when you see it.

For the above reasons, and despite being lensed and lit like an episode of Columbo, Monkey Shines is well worth a look, especially with a few beers and some audience participation. The extras on this release include a commentary from the late director, a very decent retrospective and lots of making-of footage that reveals the surprising degree of on-screen monkey business that was really the work of Savini’s crew. Also included is an alternate ending that Romero preferred but is no great shakes compared to the one we finally get. You can’t go wrong with a monkey exploding out of a human being.

And yes, the real monkeys didn’t give a toss and would shit down the actors’ backs at every opportunity.

Extras / special features: Limited edition slipcase, feature length audio commentary by Travis Crawford, audio commentary with director George A. Romero, An Experiment in Fear – The Making of “Monkey Shines”, Alternate Ending and Deleted Scenes, Behind-the-scenes footage, original EPK featurette, vintage interviews and news reports, Trailers and TV spots, limited edition collector’s booklet

MONKEY SHINES / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: GEORGE A. ROMERO / SCREENPLAY: GEORGE A. ROMERO / STARRING: JASON BEGHE, KATE MCNEIL, JOHN PANKOW, JOYCE VAN PATTEN / RELEASE DATE: 8TH OCTOBER

Chris and J.C. are the dorks on campus. You know these guys, one’s a straight-A cardigan-wearing student, while the other is the wisecracking funny guy who’s always got his buddy’s back. Throw into the mix the gorgeous and popular Cynthia (who Chris falls immediately in love with) and you’ve got almost every teen movie released in the 80s. But wait, there’s more.

In order to get Cynthia’s attention and enter a fraternity, the underdog duo break into a science lab to secure a cadaver as part of their initiation. It doesn’t go well. Before they know it, Chris and J.C. have unwittingly kickstarted a Night of the Living Dead scenario thanks to some parasitic alien slugs that like to nest in human brains before multiplying and exploding out.

Fred Dekker’s directorial feature debut is 80s B-movie magic in all its gory (sic). An ode to every film he loved, Night of the Creeps is Dekker’s love letter to the genre. Every surname is a director (Cameron, Landis, Raimi, Cronenberg etc) and every scene is inspired by the filmmakers that the Dekker admired. Yet this classic chunk of 80s cinema is far from a slavish checklist. Instead, Creeps is a brilliant example of a fun, popcorn-munching horror movie that is rarely seen these days. Plus this comes with the legendary alternate ending as standard (as it was always meant to be seen) to thrill you.

The beautifully restored disc comes with a wealth of Special Features that will sate any fanboy while also providing valuable insight for anyone interested in the genre. Two Commentaries are on offer, the first by Dekker himself and the second by the main cast. Dekker’s walkthrough is an honest and insightful one. There’s stuff in the film that he genuinely loves (and plenty that he doesn’t) which makes this essential listening.

Thrill Me: The Making of Night of the Creeps is a brilliant hour-long documentary charting the film from start to end, with interviews from all the main players, including the effects crew. The film’s resident cop, Tom Atkins also gets his own fascinating mini featurette in which he discusses his career, film by film leading up to Creeps.

Interview with Fred Dekker is just that, expanding on what we already knew from the Making of doc and filling in a few blanks while the Deleted Scenes back up Dekker’s claim that the studio cut quite a few scenes down for pacing. The brief Theatrical Ending and Trailer are also included.

Far from a forgettable slice of schlock, like the alien slugs themselves, Night of the Creeps will nestle in your brain for years to come thanks to its embracing of the genre. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you squirm, and it’ll leave you screaming like a banshee.

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: FRED DEKKER / SCREENPLAY: FRED DEKKER / STARRING: TOM ATKINS, JASON LIVELY, JILL WHITLOW, ALLAN KAYSER / RELEASE DATE: 8TH OCTOBER

Richard Marquand’s 1981 film follows Nazi spy Henry aka The Needle (Donald Sutherland) as he attempts to escape Britain back to Germany with his secret about the planned Allied invasion. He must make it to a meeting with Hitler that could change the direction of the war to Germany’s advantage. On the run, Sutherland finds himself stranded on the aptly-named Storm Island off the coast of Scotland awaiting rescue from a German U-Boat. There he meets Lucy and David and their young son Joe. The embittered David was once a Spitfire pilot but a motor accident took his legs years before and now he and Lucy share a marriage in name only, both miserable. As Lucy and Henry grow closer, David’s suspicions intensify and the stage is set for tragedy.

A mix of spy-thriller and romantic melodrama, Eye of the Needle has much to recommend it. The Needle, so called because of his preference for a stiletto blade as weapon, is a compellingly unknowable central character, and Nelligan’s Lucy the film’s melancholy heart. Marquand and cinematographer Alan Hume construct an achingly beautiful film that makes full use of the Scottish scenery as Henry’s doomed imposition on Lucy and David plays out. It’s a fairly unusual mix of occasionally brutal wartime thriller and windswept love triangle with two excellent performances at its core from Sutherland and Nelligan. A little too long perhaps, hanging together on contrivance and wasting Ian Bannen’s dogged investigator, but it’s mostly grandly entertaining.

The BFI’s new Blu-ray release compliments the film well. Despite some scratches here and there and occasional softness, the picture is usually sharp, clear and rich in detail, ably assisted by Miklós Rózsa’s score. For extras, there’s three short propaganda films made by Ealing Studios (36 mins approx) warning about the dangers of loose lips, an alternate ending for the film, an enthusiastic and appreciative commentary track and an audio-only interview with Sutherland from 1987 (73 mins approx). The release should also come with a booklet featuring writing by Paul Fairclough. It’s a good package for those interested in the film’s production.

For those who appreciate an exercise in classic Hollywood thriller filmmaking techniques, or twisted romantic entanglements, Eye of the Needle gets a solid recommendation from us.

Special Features: Director Richard Marquand’s preferred cut of the film, presented in High Definition and Standard Definition, Audio commentary by Julie Kirgo, Nick Redman and music historian Jon Burlingame, Alternate ending sequence, Donald Sutherland Guardian Interview (1987, 73 mins, audio only), Careless Talk Costs Lives: Wartime Warnings (1940, 36 mins): three short wartime propaganda films produced by Ealing Studios for the Ministry of Information, Theatrical trailer, Illustrated booklet with full film credits and new writing by Little White Lies essayist Paul Fairclough

EYE OF THE NEEDLE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: RICHARD MARQUAND / SCREENPLAY: STANLEY MANN / STARRING: DONALD SUTHERLAND, KATE NELLIGAN, CHRISTOPHER CAZENOVE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Those folks over at Arrow Video have been making a habit of bringing old favourites back to HD life, and throwing an abundance of special features in for good measure. And now, Arrow has turned their attention to Ted Post’s 1973 effort, The Baby. So, let’s take a look at what’s on offer here.

For those not familiar with The Baby, let’s just say it’s a unique beast. You see, the Wadsworth family – led by Ruth Roman’s matriarch – have a 21-year-old baby known as, err, Baby. As in, goo-goo noises, nappies, crawling, baby food, and the full shebang. Anjanette Comer’s Ann Gentry is a social worker tasked with exploring the strange case of Baby, and once she realises that something isn’t right, all hell begins to break lose. Before you know it, the Wadsworths and Ann are butting heads over what’s right for the mentally-challenged Baby – with each party willing to go to extreme measures to do what they think is right for this manchild.

To discuss any further plot details would likely veer towards spoiler territory, but let’s just be clear that this is a film that doesn’t waste any time in setting its stall out as something to shock. Not to worry, mind, for this isn’t a picture that is full of shocks, shocks, and more shocks, all for the sake of shocks. Instead, The Baby uses its twists and turns sparingly but with maximum impact. And trust us, if you’ve never seen this movie, it has certain moments that will leave your jaw agape.

If you’re coming in with fresh eyes, The Baby may seem very much of its time and could have you asking some very valid questions involving, well, logic. But that aside, this is a twisted film that messes with its audience at a moment’s notice; lullabies a-playing as brutal acts play out on the screen. Is it a masterpiece? Not quite. Is it worthy of the infamous tag that some place on it? Again, not quite. This is, however, a film that is certainly worth a one-off watch or worthy of a revisit if you’re one of those wishing to see if this is as bizarre as you remember. And with a runtime of less that 90 minutes, The Baby is an effort that grabs you by the seat of your jumpsuit and rarely lets you go. And special praise must go to David Manzy as the titular character, making the harder-than-it-may-sound task of playing an infant seem like a breeze. Then we have to mention Ruth Roman, though, with her on fierce form as Mrs Wadsworth. Part caring mother, part tough gun moll of yesteryear.

Of course, with any of Arrow’s releases over the past several years, a lot of the attention here will be on the bonus material included. On that front, the Down Will Come Baby retrospective with Fangoria and Blumhouse alum Rebekah McKendry is a highlight, with that taking a trip down memory lane and looking at what makes The Baby such a one-off feature. The new chat track from critic Tom Crawford is an interesting accompaniment, and the archive interviews are similarly fun to check out.

All in all, The Baby is a movie that all genre fans should watch at least once. Even if it will leave you feeling a tad uncomfortable when all is said and done.

Special Features: New audio commentary with Travis Crawford / Down Will Come Baby new retrospective / Archival audio interviews / Trailer / Collectors’ booklet

THE BABY / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: TED POST / SCREENPLAY: ABE POLSKY / STARRING: DAVID MANZY, ANJANETTE COMER, RUTH ROMAN, MARIANNA HILL, SUZANNE ZENOR, ERIN O’REILLY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Nick Briggs has long since earned his star in the geek pantheon for his knowledge of and support for Dr Who during its Dark Ages. Here he tackles Blake’s 7, often seen as Who’s little brother, particularly with regard to the sharing of quarries, one of the many sets visited by the interviewees in this compilation of interviews old and new(ish).

The interviews are, mostly, conducted by Briggs, who does a very good impression of a fanboy on his best behaviour, desperately trying to ask thoughtful questions about jobbing actors’ lives while bursting to ask about interpersonal tensions on the bridge of the Liberator.

There is something particularly loveable about all of these interviews, particularly because the interpersonal tensions on the Liberator seem to have amounted to zero, zilch and none, every interviewee stressing (separately and without prompting) what fun they had working with each other.

Peter Tuddenham (or Tudders, as the others call him) is particularly adorable and, in an extra cute touch, plays his own interviewer, in character as Orac. The sadly recently-departed Jacqueline Pearce is also every bit as languid and minxy as you could possibly want or hope of her, and Blake himself (the late Gareth Thomas), while still clearly trying to position himself as an actor of some standing outside of the role of Blake, is still willing to enter into the silly fun of having Federation troopers stalking around as he’s being interviewed. Michael Keating (Vila) doesn’t have a huge amount to say, but clearly has a lot happy memories, particularly of location shooting. We also discover, many many many times over, that his life since has been very rich, since “he’s a rambler, you know”.

One downside is the clear negative effect that this childhood favourite clearly had on the careers of these jobbing actors, for whom repeat fees and, later, conventions have ended up being a boon, but perhaps not one that would make up for the loss of work in the years after they left Blake’s 7. Vila only seems unfazed by this, but aside from being Walford’s vicar, nothing fazes him as “he’s a rambler, you know”.

Paul Darrow (Avon) is frustratingly notable by his absence, but often summoned up – almost literally by two interviewees – only in third person. Stephen Greif manages a very good impression of him though.

If all you’re interested in is Blake’s 7, you may find yourself disappointed as there’s not much new here, but if you’re interested in people, then these are seven interesting people with stories to tell. And one of them is a rambler, you know.

BLAKE’S 7: MYTHMAKERS / CERT: E / DIRECTOR: NICK BRIGGS / STARRING: GARETH THOMAS, JACQUELINE PEARCE, JAN CHAPPELL, STEPHEN GRIEF / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but between movies like Death in Venice, Vampire in Venice,and especially Nicolas Roeg’s extraordinary Don’t Look Now, the big screen hasn’t done the Venetian Tourist Board any favours. Neither did 1990’s The Comfort of Strangers, an intriguing psychodrama that serves as a vivid warning to anybody who may find the kindness of strangers too difficult to refuse. Sometimes, your survival might depend on being impolite and walking away very fast.

Mary and Colin (Natasha Richardson and Rupert Everett) are an English couple holidaying in Venice. After losing their way while in search of a restaurant, they are befriended by a swaggering Venetian bar owner called Robert (Christopher Walken) who quickly reveals an unhealthy obsession with his late father. Despite the couple’s best efforts to extricate themselves, Robert and his disabled wife Caroline (Helen Mirren) gradually draw Colin and Mary into their twisted world of baroque grandeur, violence and sadism – and Mary discovers that their original ‘chance’ encounter with Robert wasn’t so ‘chance’ after all. But it’s too late now. The trap has closed.

Why The Comfort of Strangers is one of Paul Schrader’s least known films is a mystery to us, because it’s easily as good as anything else he’s made as a director. His lens delights in the decaying opulence of the Venetian architecture, prowling the alleyways, celebrating the sunlit expanse of the Grand Canal and fetishising the gorgeous décor of Robert and Caroline’s apartment. Schrader isn’t let down by his cast, either. Richardson, Mirren and Everett give three complex, understated performances while Walken seems to enjoy himself tremendously playing the larger-than-life but still realistically intense psychopath. If Harold Pinter’s screenplay seems a little cold and theatrical, that’s because most of the dialogue (and all of the structure) has been lifted wholesale from Ian McEwan’s excellent source novel, but the stiltedness works well within the context of the story. Some viewers may wonder why Mary and Colin don’t make their excuses as soon as Robert first materialises out of the shadows because it’s obvious from his bearing that nothing good is going to happen, but The Comfort of Strangers plays so perfectly on a particular ‘remain gracious at any cost’ old-fashioned English politesse that we can almost understand why the couple let themselves be swept up into Robert and Caroline’s darkness, never believing that events will turn as nasty as they do. To that degree, the film is a vividly black dissection of the middle-class English psyche, a humourless comedy of manners with a grand guignol punchline.

Although it’s taken The Comfort of Strangers far too long to make it to blu-ray, the BFI’s new presentation is worth the wait. It’s also complimented by a small but perfectly formed Schrader-centric collection of extras.

Do yourself a favour. Watch The Comfort of Strangers, watch Don’t Look Now, and then compare and contrast and try to decide which of the two masterpieces leaves you feeling the most ill-at-ease. Roeg’s supernatural thriller has the biggest reputation but The Comfort of Strangers’ power may surprise you, not least because it’s so utterly, nightmarishly, believable.

THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: PAUL SCHRADER / SCREENPLAY: HAROLD PINTER / STARRING: CHRISTOPHER WALKEN, HELEN MIRREN, RUPERT EVERETT, NATASHA RICHARDSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Set your expectations to non-existent, because here we go again; we’re out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, we’ve met one spooky neighbour and been told about the other – the even spookier one, the one who went missing several years ago – and we’re shacked up in a wooden cabin overlooking a lake for the evening, without the husband who’s been delayed thanks to an important meeting at work. There is so little here you haven’t seen before you’ll need a magnifying glass to find it – and what a terribly bland title, which says nothing and yet says it all. If it’s a Friday night and you’re desperate for something which promises a few jump scares and maybe an attractive lead getting terrorised by someone or something you don’t really care what, and if you’re not really bothered about being fulfilled in any other way either intellectually or emotionally, then this will perhaps find its way somewhere onto your radar.

Yet scratch those expectations. Quinn Lasher’s film starts with that old Babes in the Wood horror movie trope of a small child’s voice reading out an unnecessarily dark children’s rhyme, while panning slowly across a jump forwards to the aftermath of everything you’re about to see during the next hour or so. Two tricks you’ve seen before quite often enough, we’re sure. But the poem is just that little bit more involved and less obvious than we’d usually see, and those pans across crashed cars and blood-dripping weapons are just that little bit more nicely filmed, that little bit more effectively framed. Make no mistake, this is a cheap’n’cheerful slasher with all the gore, all the terror and all the scares you’ll be anticipating, but it’s a little more nicely shot, a little more resonantly scored, a little better performed – including by the two children, sisters in real life – than you’d settle for it being. And for all that this is Lasher’s feature debut, he’s showing a decent grip on the developing tension that fixes you in your seat from about the half-hour mark, and keeps you there almost till the very end.

He’s Out There is essentially a fairytale, albeit a rather bloody one, and in the cold light of day it doesn’t add up to a whole lot of sense. But there are a couple of genuinely disturbing ideas and a bunch of spine-tinglingly suggestive images in there, and Yvonne Strahovski – fresh out of The Handmaid’s Tale – is excellent as the mother left to fend for her family into the night. This isn’t terrifically ambitious, and there aren’t any hidden depths it’ll lead you to, but it’s purposefully made and probably will exceed your expectations after all.

REVIEW: HE’S OUT THERE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: QUINN LASHER / SCREENPLAY: MIKE SCANNELL / STARRING: YVONNE STRAHOVSKI, ANNA PNIOWSKI, ABIGAIL PNIOWSKI, JUSTIN BRUENING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW