Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Orca, The Killer Whale finally surfaces on Blu-ray from Aussie distributors Umbrella.  We’ve waited a long time for this 1977 Jaws cash-in from Dino De Laurentiis to reach our shores, but sadly, the forty years or so since this movie hit our screens have not been kind.

It’s the tale of a vengeful killer whale who is injured by a fisherman who believes he can make a small fortune by capturing it and selling it to a sea aquarium. This is after the poor whale saves some lives by ramming the great white shark that was bearing down on them with a meal on its mind. (Whether it’s a great white shark or not is up for debate as the stock footage used shows different species from shot to shot.)

The fisherman’s acts lead the whale’s mate to commit suicide by ramming herself repeatedly into the ship’s propeller when they recover her body from the sea, she immediately gives birth to a pup, which dies on the deck, or is stillborn – again, it’s not quite made clear. But all this is seen by Orca, who wants his revenge.

Craftily, he sinks every boat in the harbour leaving only the craft of the guilty fisherman. He attacks and sinks the guy’s house, bites off poor newcomer Bo Derek’s leg leaving her as less than a 10, causes widespread fire and panic and lures the fisherman out to sea for a snowbound final showdown amid the icebergs.

As a nature vs. man film, it falls woefully into substandard ‘B-movie’ category with lacklustre performances all around, especially from Richard Harris as the annoyingly stupid fisherman and Charlotte Rampling overdoing the haughtiness as a scientist trying not to fall for Harris’s idiot redneck. It has to be said, though that the film has a gorgeously haunting score by Ennio Morricone.

The transfer to Blu-ray is good but shows up some pretty poor process shots where whales performing in an aquarium are matted on to the open sea with completely different lighting.

Overall, the film is far-fetched enough to make animal behaviourists weep, making Finding Dory look like a documentary on sea life.

ORCA – THE KILLER WHALE (1977) / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: MICHAEL ANDERSON / SCREENPLAY: LUCIANO VINCENZONI, SERGIO DONATE / STARRING RICHARD HARRIS, CHARLOTTE RAMPLING, KEENAN WYNN, BO DEREK / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It was rather bittersweet to see a recent interview with the late great comedy legend Jerry Lewis who looked very uncomfortable in the presence of a reporter who was trying to do his level best to ask him questions, but it was clear that the talent himself was at the very of a life that was clearly so significant in terms of his contribution to comedy, which sadly ended in 2017.

Gregory Monro’s 2016 documentary Jerry Lewis – The Man Behind the Clown is now available on DVD (via Australian company Umbrella) and gives people a chance to get a sense of what his achievements were both in front of and behind the camera. Notably, Lewis was the pioneer of the first ever ‘Video Assist’ system which many top directors utilise today to aid their direction and performance. Thanks to Eddie Murphy’s 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor, directed by Tom Shadyac (and co-executive produced by Lewis), his legacy remained firmly intact, with a remake that was every bit as good as the original.

To younger readers who may not be familiar with the importance of his work, there was a time years ago – specifically on UK TV when channels were limited to three (two on BBC and one on ITV) – where the films would dominate school holiday and weekend schedules.

Told in linear format, this one-hour documentary chronicles Lewis’ life, from his early years when his father Danny worked the cabaret circuit, to his own evolution as a solo artist, eclipsing his father’s success rapidly – and then with his phenomenal collaboration with Dean Martin.

You can learn about a more in-depth reflection of this period of success chronicled in Lewis’ excellent memoir, Dean And Me – A Love Story, which tells of the whole back-story (and rumoured back-stabbing) that went on behind the scenes, a side-effect of being simply too successful at what you do if talent wins out.

The second half of the film focuses on the reverence that the French critical establishment and filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle had for him, compared to the indifference that the Hollywood system and executives felt, but Martin Scorsese speaks highly of him, notably thanks to his collaboration on the 1983 cult classic The King of Comedy.

In addition, the documentary also touches on the immense charity and humanitarian work Lewis continued throughout his life, personified through the many US Telethons in aid of Muscular Dystrophy, not unlike the ‘Children In Need’ autumn events in the UK.

On balance, Jerry Lewis – The Man Behind the Clown is a perfectly enjoyable watch, but one feels that there is so much more to Lewis, overwhelmingly when you consider some of the other classic cinematic comedies Lewis fronted like Who’s Minding The Store? (1963) and The Disorderly Orderly (1964). There is a sense of let-down here, as aside from the limited extras, it would have been great to have a lot more behind the scenes footage and interviews with stars who worked with him.

What does keep the interest are the still immensely funny archive clips showing Lewis at his best and that is well worth a purchase here.

JERRY LEWIS – THE MAN BEHIND THE CLOWN / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: GREGORY MONRO / STARRING: JERRY LEWIS, MARTIN SCORSESE, SEAN HAYES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

One of the last Hammer productions to grace cinema screens (before a long hiatus that ended with the 2011 release of The Resident), To the Devil a Daughter, originally released theatrically in 1976 is getting a revival through Studio Canal as part of their Anniversary celebrations of the original release of The Curse Of Frankenstein in 1957.

Directed by Peter Sykes and adapted from the novel of the same name by Denis Wheatley, the film tells of American expatriate occult writer John Verney (Richard Widmark) who, whilst at a private business party, is approached by Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott) to try and rescue his teenage daughter Catherine (Nastassja Kinski), a practicing nun from a mysterious group called the Children Of The Lord, which is presided over by Father Michael Rayner, a priest who has fallen from the true faith. Verney succeeds in intercepting Catherine at the airport and takes her to his flat near Tower Bridge.

However, Rayner has devilish clever black magic in his midst, which he uses from afar on Catherine to try and regain her for his own dastardly ends – and the future of the group, whom Verney suspects have more sinister ideas about the beliefs and faiths of organised religion….

As a film that was made in the twilight of a golden era of Hammer production – and released in the same year that Richard Donner’s original version of The Omen was causing a stir at US and UK box-offices, To the Devil a Daughter is one of the key gems of the Hammer catalogue and filmography.

Upon reflection, the producers were clearly aware that the ground-breaking successes of films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist alongside The Omen were gaining on them and attempted to at least put something that had a lot more commercial and cross-over appeal to the international market. Originally, the film was not a great success and was the second of two Wheatley novels to be adapted by Hammer for the big-screen, the first being The Devil Rides Out. According to online reports, Wheatley allegedly disliked what Hammer had done with his work and refused permission for future books to get translated to the cinema.

Like Kubrick’s The Shining, another adaptation that the author Stephen King clearly under-appreciated, To The Devil A Daughter works on its own terms and has a compelling style about it. This writer has not read the original source material, so can only judge this film on what is in front of him.

The performances are great, led with conviction by Widmark and Kinski, in one of her early roles, evokes great presence as the innocent teenage girl who is the focus of Lee’s priest. Lee remains simply incomparable in another of his excellent performances for the Hammer brand. Honor Blackman and Brian Wilde (from the UK TV classics Last of the Summer Wine and Porridge) also form part of a good ensemble.

To the Devil a Daughter is a fitting tribute to a legendary horror production slate and one that fans new and old should seek out.

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER (1976)  / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: PETER SYKES / SCREENPLAY: CHRISTOPHER WICKING / STARRING: CHRISTOPHER LEE, RICHARD WIDMARK, HONOR BLACKMAN, NASTASSJA KINSKI / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 29TH

Around the same time that Clint Eastwood was beginning his acclaimed career as a director alongside his successful output as an actor with the now-classic psychological thriller Play Misty For Me (1971), Hammer Films was attempting to branch out into new territories with movies that were more contemporary in their feel whilst maintaining the darkly horrifying tradition of their work of the previous decade.

Straight On Till Morning was directed by Peter Collinson, whose contribution to British and World Cinema has been immortalised thanks to the original 1969 version of The Italian Job, whose climactic cliff-hanger and Michael Caine’s line “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!!!” have passed into cinematic folklore.

Studiocanal has revived the film as part of a series of early 2018 ‘Hammer Anniversary’ releases on Blu-ray and it is a great opportunity to view another of the contrasting output that the studio was keen on demonstrating as a desire to change their image and grow as a brand in entertainment.

Brenda (Rita Tushingham) is a mixed-up young woman who lies to her mother at their Liverpool home about being pregnant and decides to uproot to London to find a father. She arrives in Earls Court, finding a place to live and subsequently takes a job at a fashion boutique, where her co-worker Caroline encourages her to attend a party she is hosting to try and find a suitable male partner.

However, when she discovers Caroline in bed with a colleague she fancies, she runs out into the lonely London night, where she comes across a dog called Tinker, whom she takes back to her bedsit. However, she has been seen by the owner, Peter (Shane Briant). After cleaning the dog, she takes him back to Peter, who is curious to know why she returned the pet he alleges she stole. After she bursts into tears, Peter tells Brenda it is OK and suggests she move in with him. However, it soon becomes apparent Peter is seemingly alike in nature and holds a number of dark aces in his pack….

Straight On Till Morning is not, by any means, the very best example of Hammer’s work. It is very much of its time when London was emerging from a decade of ‘swing’. The supporting cast is representative of familiar faces from the time, with Likely Lad James Bolam as one of Brenda’s co-workers and John Clive, who taunted Malcolm McDowell on stage during his Ludovico rehabilitation in A Clockwork Orange (1971).

The film remains a curious mix of style, with a high-energy cross-edit style evoking the likes of Ken Russell and Donald Cammell’s Performance (1970) and probably will throw some Hammer fans more comfortable with the likes of Cushing and Lee as the lead. It does feel rather dated now, but the very heart of the piece reveals some suitably shocking moments.

STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING (1972) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: PETER COLLINSON / SCREENPLAY: JOHN PEACOCK / STARRING: RITA TUSHINGHAM, SHANE BRIANT, JAMES BOLAM, KATYA WYETH / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 29TH

Another of Studio Canal’s anniversary releases in honour of Hammer Films, The Horror Of Frankenstein featured the late Ralph Bates in one of several key roles he held during his time working under the company. It is a part-remake of Hammer’s debut 1957 colour release, The Curse of Frankenstein, and was originally released in 1970.

Bates took over from Peter Cushing in the lead role of Victor Frankenstein, who is portrayed in this film as a young and arrogantly brilliant student who taunts his professors, as well as taking advantage on any number of female students in the process. Things go a little pear-shaped when his father, Baron Frankenstein (George Belbin) demands that he discontinue his experiments on human anatomy, a demand that leads to him sabotaging one of his father’s guns and causing his death during a shooting trip.

Inheriting the title of Baron von Frankenstein, he moves to medical school in Vienna but is expelled after getting the Dean’s daughter pregnant. Upon returning to England, he decides to continue his experiments and resorts to murder and grave-robbing with the help of an accomplice, with a grand plan to create a monster for his own needs….

Directed by Jimmy Sangster – and featuring the original Vader David Prowse following Boris Karloff in the pivotal role as the Monster – The Horror of Frankenstein is a competently executed old-style, old-fashioned horror film and another of the Hammer releases that defined the essence and style of the horror genre.

It’s a faithful tribute to the Shelley characters and legacy and follows the plot line of other adaptations of the novel. Bates is excellent in the role of Frankenstein and evokes the sense of a man at ease with the desire to kill in the name of science, as well as trying to satisfy his darkest nocturnal desires with the local female populace. Kate O’Mara provides good support as Frankenstein’s housemaid Alys.

As with other horror films of the period, seen today The Horror of Frankenstein will be viewed as more of a curiosity with genre fans and will probably have more impact with die-hard Hammer fans and cultists who want to re-trace the back catalogue which they have started to do with recent Hammer releases and remastered version.

It’s not a scare-fest in the grandest sense and some of the moments will provide mild amusement. Prowse is pretty good in the role of The Monster, although he may remind some fans of Oddbod from the classic Carry on Screaming made in 1966.

The film looks great in its re-mastered version like the other key releases this year, with excellent sound and picture and it will certainly be a great addition to any Hammer fans collection.

THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1970) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: JEREMY BURNHAM, JIMMY SANGSTER / STARRING: RALPH BATES, KATE O’MARA, VERONICA CARLSON, DENNIS PRICE, JON FINCH, DAVID PROWSE / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 29TH

Another of the slate of Studio Canal Hammer remasters which open their 2018 release schedule, Dr Jekyll And Sister Hyde is the third adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll, adapted for the screen on this occasion by legendary TV creative Brian Clemens, who conceived the likes of the Patrick Macnee Avengers and the 1970s classic The Professionals, which can be seen in regular repeats on the UK ITV4 channel during the day and at it’s peak in prime time was a popular 9pm draw.

Ralph Bates (who also features in another of the newly remastered releases, The Horror Of Frankenstein) plays Dr Henry Jekyll, a talented practitioner of medicine, who is curious and fascinated about the curing of diseases to the extent that he wants to seek the answer to long life. His first experiments are on an insect, which he proudly proclaims based on a serum he injects lasts three days, far longer than its traditional life expectancy.

Further experiments result in him creating a mix based on female hormones from victims which he consumes, causing evident side effects and a transformation into the mysterious Mrs Hyde (Martine Bestwick), who provides a fascination to Jekyll’s neighbours, brother and sister Howard and Susan Spencer (Lewis Flander and Susan Brodrick), not least in that Howard is attracted to Mrs. Hyde, whilst Susan has designs on Henry….

Dr Jekyll And Sister Hyde is one of the most ingenious adaptations of a classic horror tale and would be ripe for a remake, which according to online reports has been in the works as recently as 2011. It’s a daring variant on the Stevenson tale and courageous in that it focuses on the complications of gender and emotional needs. Bates hits the mark again, as he did in The Horror of Frankenstein, as a man plagued by over-eagerness and a desire to fulfill his potential for the greater good.

However, it is Martine Beswick who steals the show. Beswick had made her mark in two classic Bonds, From Russia With Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965), where she was up against Claudine Auger and Luciana Paluzzi for the honour of most glamorous Bond girl (an accolade that has been gifted to Auger in an all-time poll on occasion).

Here she is given fuller rein to rule over proceedings as the mysterious ‘sister’ of Henry Jekyll and she creates an air of sexual magnetism and cunning that off-sets the doctor’s neurotic predicament. It’s not an easy thing to pull off, but Beswick is effortless in this film.

This writer certainly would welcome a remake of the film to explore modern-day gender and sexual ideals, but until Hammer decide to commission it; we will happily make do with the 1971 original, which should whet fans’ appetite for more re-mastered releases of Hammer’s back catalogue.

DR JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE (1971) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ROY WARD BAKER / SCREENPLAY: BRIAN CLEMENS / STARRING: RALPH BATES, MARTINE BESWICK, GERALD SIM, LEWIS FIANDER / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 29TH

In a world full of remakes, reboots, reimaginings, recalibrations, relaunches and rejigs, you’d be forgiven for mouthing obscenities at the news that Stephen King’s famed IT was being adapted once more. While you can be excused for initially not being all that enthused about this new IT, the mood started to change once the terrifying early footage of the film was slipped out in teasers and trailers. So, was this a worthy new take on a classic tale, or was it merely a needless rejig that relied on nostalgia and once more stepping through played-out tropes?

Luckily for us – and, it has to be said, to the surprise of many – Andy Muschietti’s IT was a stunning effort that stands as one of the best films that 2017 dished up. Despite having been stuck spinning its wheels since as far back as 2009, audiences were treated to a true modern classic of the horror genre when Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise was let loose on Derry, Maine; Skarsgard himself joining after the similarly left-field pick of We’re the Millers’ Will Poulter dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Plot-wise, Pennywise is a shape-shifting entity that surfaces every 27 years in the search of feeding its hefty appetite for fear, chaos, carnage and bloodshed. Unfortunately for the group of youngsters dubbed the Losers Club, Pennywise has risen once more – and he has them in his sinister sights! Of course, this was a story previously adapted as a two-part mini-series back in 1990; an adap that is itself rightly beloved my many. What Muschietti’s IT does, though, is that it gives a far more fleshed-out look at the home lives of the Losers Club, highlighting the individual plights that they face on a daily basis in addition to the snarling clown that’s now started to haunt them at every turn. Then there’s the setting, spruced up to take place in the late 1980s. Likewise, this new take on King’s classic tale also increases the horror element of its playfully eerie Pennywise. While many genre fans have been longtime fans of Tim Curry’s turn as Pennywise in Tommy Lee Wallace’s ’90 adaptation, this latest incarnation of the creepy clown is a completely different beast. In fact, in comparison it actually makes Curry’s version look rather tame. Still, that’s not to say that the 1990 IT is now redundant, for it still has its own unique charm, but it’s more an indication of the stronger, more blunt and brutal horror angle that’s played up this time around. And this is truly edge-of-your-seat terror the likes of which have rarely been seen in a mainstream movie for many a year.

For the cast, the young crew of actors who make up the Losers Club are all pitch-perfect for their roles. While Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard may often steal the show as his Richie constantly quips wise and gets the majority of the best lines, it’s Sophia Lillis and Jaeden Lieberher who stand out amongst the fantastic ensemble effort. As Bev and Bill, respectively, Lillis and Lieberher have the most interesting stories to sink their teeth into – Bev with a disturbing home life centred around an extremely overprotective father, Bill as the grieving older brother of poor young Georgie whose disappearance is the launching point for this story. Then, of course, there’s Bill Skarsgard, magically balancing the childish charm of Pennywise with the utter dread that the character can conjure up at a moment’s notice. If Tim Curry’s Pennywise was Jack Nicholson’s Joker, Skarsgard’s version is Heath Ledger’s Clown Prince of Crime on his absolutely worst day. Skarsgard absolutely mesmerises every time he’s on screen, and he’s a thoroughly creepy beast that will stay with you long after the film concludes.

As for the bonus content of this release, the deleted scenes are extensive (and may well be reinstated on the main picture for Muschietti’s upcoming director’s cut) and the featurettes make for some fun, fascinating viewing; with featurettes showcasing Pennywise, the bonding between the young actors involved in the film, and then even some input from Stephen King himself. For those with 4K capability, the ‘4K Ultra HD’ release of the movie is simply phenomenal. Colours vibrantly pop, crystal clear carnage unravels, and the 4K transfer is one of the very best transfers we’ve ever seen.

All in all, IT is easily one of the best horror pictures to come around in years, particularly in a mainstream sense. The only downer? That’s the wait for the second, concluding chapter of this tale in which we see the now-adult Losers Club return to tackle Pennywise 27 years down the line. Until then, this stunning first chapter should keep your nightmares ticking over nicely.

Special Features: Three featurettes / Eleven deleted scenes

IT / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ANDY MUSCHIETTI / SCREENPLAY: GARY DAUBERMAN, CARY FUKUNAGA, CHASE PALMER / STARRING: BILL SKARSGARD, JAEDEN LIEBERHER, JEREMY RAY TAYLOR, SOPHIA LILLIS, FINN WOLFHARD, JACK DYLAN GRAZER, WYATT OLEFF, CHOSEN JACOBS, JACKSON ROBERT SCOTT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD), JANUARY 15TH (BLU-RAY/DVD)

Director David Lowry made an impression back in 2013 when he released the indie hit Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, and then delving into the mainstream with the live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon last year, which proved to be the best of the live-action Disney remakes to date. Now, Lowry returns to his indie roots with A Ghost Story, which reunites Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, and is about the notions of loss, legacy and the longing for human connection and meaning. You have a normal mundane couple living within this house, and then suddenly the husband dies, comes back as a ghost (embodied by a white sheet with cut-out eyes), and witnesses how everything moves on without him, including his wife.

This film really plays more akin to a fantasy story more than anything else, which is its huge benefit as it never reaches beyond what is happening to the husband, the wife, and even the house itself, which is as much the main character as the two people that occupied it. This movie makes you question what you would do if something this tragic happened to you, and how you would cope being this invisible, disembodied entity who can do nothing except watch life pass you by, and that rationalization is scary to imagine and is perhaps more chilling than certain other horror movies out there.

This movie doesn’t go overboard and forget what it is and what its intention is; this is a ghost story that is very light on scares but very heavy on thoughts and ideas. Really, the biggest scare is trying to put yourself in the position of this lone ghost who can’t do anything but watch his wife grieve; he can’t support her or talk to her, but just watch as she inevitably moves on and he becomes almost forgotten, and that’s what makes it scary: it reminds you how terrifying death is. This is helped enormously by Casey Affleck’s closed-off performance as he spends nearly 90% of this movie underneath a sheet, yet that helps convey both the tragedy and the subtle emotional nuances. Plus, Rooney Mara, too, gives a subtly heartbreaking turn as the grieving wife.

Overall, A Ghost Story feels like David Lowry attempting to create an experimental horror ghost story about loss and how death can be a very lonely place. This captures that brilliantly, and while many audiences might be turned off by the film’s slow burn nature or by the fact that this is almost like a silent movie, this shows Lowry as being a real creative force as he’s delivered a movie that is both unnerving and beautiful to watch.

A GHOST STORY / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: DAVID LOWERY / STARRING: CASEY AFFLECK, ROONEY MARA, MCCOLM CEPHAS JR., KENNEISHA THOMPSON / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 15TH