Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

She’s back! Evil is reborn as Samara, the creepy dead kid in a well who crawls out of the TV screen when you watch a haunting, eerie videotape and proceeds to ‘Do The Nasty’ returns for a third American outing. But time has moved on since she last appeared in The Ring Two, the 2002 sequel to the 2000 remake of the formidable 1998 Japanese original (are you keeping up?) and Samara is now a digital presence, her very particular brand of nightmare distributed via shared files and attachments and assorted other computer-related gubbins. Unfortunately for Samara and her various shrieks and jumps, horror movies have become a little more sophisticated since she last burst out of the screen, courtesy of the likes of The Babadook, The Conjuring series, It Follows and this year’s wildly overrated Get Out and even M. Night Shyamalan has hit another purple patch following the success of last year’s Split. These are generally slick, edgy, contemporary horror movies which largely evade the clichés and tropes of the genre and succeed in unsettling and terrifying their audiences in rather subtler ways. As a result Rings feels like it’s arrived a good decade too late and, more catastrophically, it’s deathly dull and really not very good.

 

And yet it all starts off reasonably promisingly when Samara is unleashed in a Seattle-bound passenger plane in what is to be the film’s only remotely effective and affecting moment. Two years later the VCR (that’s video cassette recorder for non-historians) owned by one of the plane’s unfortunates comes into the possession of college professor Gabriel (Galecki) and eventually the Ring cycle is set into motion all over again as Julia (Hutz) tries to discover the whereabouts of her missing boyfriend Skye (Teegarden) when he goes off to college and promptly drops off-radar. Thus develops, at a tortuous pace and with a remarkable lack of tension, the story of the battle to bring the curse of Samara to an end once and for all by locating her burial place and cremating her mortal remains.

 

If you’re a fan of the Ring series or are still likely, all these years later, to be even remotely spooked by the sight of the creepy jet-black-haired girl climbing out a well or a TV screen then you’ll get all you need (or possibly deserve) from this tired, derivative, thin gruel. But this is a film which is just going through the motions, largely retelling a story we’re already familiar with whilst trying to add some unnecessary and uninteresting additional backstory to the myth of Samara and, apart from having the wit to turn Samara’s deadly video digital (and with an ending which really capitalises on the idea, managing to provide the film’s only real sit-up-and-take-notice moment) has very little to genuinely recommend it because there really doesn’t seem to be any reason for it to exist this long after the originals beyond the desire for an ideas-strapped studio keen to wring a last few dollars from an idea well past its scream-at date. Today’s horror films are really so much cleverer and inventive than this; it’s fair to say that most of them run rings around Rings.

 

Special features: Terror Comes Full Circle / Resurrecting the Dead: Bringing Back Samara / scary scenes / deleted/extended/alternative scenes

 

RINGS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: F JAVIER GUTIERREZ / SCREENPLAY: DAVID LOUCKA, JACOB AARON ESTES, AKIVA GOLDSMAN / STARRING: MATILDA LUTZ, ALEX ROE, JOHNNY GALECKI, VINCENT D’ONOFRIO, AIMEE TEEGARDEN / RELEASE DATE: 29TH MAY

Let’s face it; if you choose to watch Headshot then you’re not here for the strength of narrative or thoughtful, earnest interactions between characters on the very edge of their emotional stability. No, you’re here for the violence; the bone-crunching, flinch-inducing, choreographed brutality that is promised from a film made by The Mo Brothers and starring Iko Uwais. And good Lord, you certainly won’t be disappointed.

With more than a throwaway nod to Jason Bourne (our man is even found by a fisherman), the unnamed “hero” (Uwais) is washed up on a beach after being shot in the head. Nursed back to health by the extremely attentive Ailin (Islan) the newly monikered Ismael sets out to discover who he really is, and how he ended up where he did.

A genuine attempt has been made at constructing a story around which to set Ismael’s journey to the truth, but it really is just padding, as if including a few “talking” scenes was compulsory in giving the audience time to grab their breath in between the numerous fights. And that proves entirely necessary as the sheer physicality of the battles is draining to watch. Guns are available, but they are entirely secondary as Uwais and his opponents eschew the obvious weaponry in favour of knives, batons and, in one particularly painful looking moment, a typewriter. Bones break, wounds gush and bruises swell as goodies and baddies literally go head-to-head in a feast of unrelenting aggression.

Directors and producers The Mo Brothers (Kimo Stramboel and Timo Tjahjanto) are known for their depiction of the bloody and the macabre, but here they bring a balletic beauty to proceedings. The camera swoops and spins around the combatants, often careering directly into the middle of a melee before halting abruptly as the action takes a breather of its own. Comparisons to Gareth Evans’ The Raid films are inevitable, and in many ways invited, and those long, lightly edited takes are clearly an influence. But Headshot is a far more visceral affair. Uwais cuts a more vulnerable figure, less skilled than some of his competitors and reliant on anything he has to hand to aid him in his quest, with bloody consequences.

There is also familiarity in those competitors, with Hammer Girl from The Raid 2 (Julie Estelle) a dangerous, marginally different foe once again. Head baddie Lee (Pang) is impressively evil, as a kind of malevolent Fagan, but this is Uwais’ film and he works hard to convince as both victim and possible protagonist.

Headshot is undoubtedly not for the fainthearted, and offers little compromise in its goal to shock and surprise as much and as frequently as possible, and this is the films major weakness. The Raid and its successor have redefined this type of martial arts based action cinema, and while Headshot is an impressive film in its own right, it ultimately doesn’t live up to its peers. Absolutely worth watching, and a ringing endorsement of the talents of all those involved, but it’s unlikely you’ll watch it more than once. You’ll watch The Raid again, though, just to be sure.

HEADSHOT / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: KIMO STRAMBOEL AND TIMO TJAHJANTO / SCREENPLAY: TIMO TJAHJANTO / STARRING: IKO UWAIS, JULIE ESTELLE, SUNNY PANG, CHELSEA ISLAN / RELEASE DATE: 5TH JUNE

Don Bluth was part of the Disney Animation division who helped conceive and create the likes of some of their later classics The Rescuers and Pete’s Dragon. After leaving the studio, he began to focus on more of his own projects, amongst these being the revolutionary arcade video game Dragon’s Lair. In recent times, he has been trying to put together an updated version through Kickstarter, according to online reports.

 

Bluth’s 1987 release, An American Tail, proudly presented as Steven Spielberg’s first ever foray into animation (via Amblin Entertainment), is released on Blu-Ray in a brand-new Special Edition, in this June 2017 30th Anniversary release by Fabulous Films. On it’s original release theatrically, it was then the highest-grossing non-Disney Animation film of all time.

 

In the UK, we had to wait about nine months from the US premiere in November 1986 until its Summer 1987 release. In the interim (particularly if you frequented the then-ABC cinema chain) you would have seen the promo video for “Somewhere Out There”, the Oscar-nominated song performed by LInda Ronstadt and James Ingram, which was composed by the late James Horner with Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (who composed the likes of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”).

 

The film chronicles the journey to America of a Russian Family, the Mousekowitzes, including young Fievel, who inevitably gets separated from them and begins a series of misadventures around ‘Ye Old New York’, encountering all sorts of feline and mouse-based foes in a Dickensian-style world and finding himself in the process.

 

Overall, An American Tail’s mix of musical numbers and action would match some of the more recent Disney offerings like Frozen and classics like Aladdin and Beauty And The Beast. Bluth certainly retains most of the trademark visual style and references from his Disney days. It remains to this day a commendable piece. However, it will be more of interest to the older generation, kids of the 1980s, who will definitely be enthusiastic enough to introduce their children to the film, which also yielded a sequel, Fievel Goes West.

 

It encapsulates classic Spielberg-ian elements of lost children, alienation and finding your way home, as well as having some excellent voice talents on show with the likes of Christopher Plummer, alongside the late comedians Madeleine Khan and Dom DeLuise. At a mere eighty minutes long, it is short and sweet, with sentiment not too far away from the proceedings.

 

It remains to this day the best of Bluth’s output, with later offerings like All Dogs Go To Heaven and Thumbelina not quite hitting the heights. The success of the film also led to Spielberg forming Amblin-ation, which in turn was the start-off point for DreamWorks later animation division (Shrek, Puss In Boots, et al.).

 

The film also had a nice post-script in 2000 via UNICEF, when Fievel was announced as the charity’s ‘spokes-mouse’, reflecting ‘the adventures and triumphs of all cultures and their children’, according to the official press release for the film.

 

In conclusion, An American Tail is morally wholesome entertainment that has a place in animation history. It’s harmless, inoffensive and morally clued-in. The animation is also impeccable, and one of the last cel-based animations of it’s kind, which is enhanced by the Blu-Ray remastering.

 

(Interesting bit of trivia: The film’s characters were created by David M. Kirschner, who produced the Chucky horror franchise – a contrast if ever there was one).

 

AN AMERICAN TAIL (1986) / CERT: U / DIRECTOR: DON BLUTH / SCREENPLAY: JUDY FREUDBERG, TONY GEISS / STARRING: PHILLIP GLASSER, AMY GREEN, JOHN P. FINNEGAN, CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Pablo Larraín’s first English language film is the Oscar nominated Jackie, the story of first lady Jackie Kennedy in the days after the assassination of her husband.

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Caspar Phillipson) his wife Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) attempts to come to terms with the grief while securing his legacy and planning a funeral that is worthy of his status.

Jackie takes a historical event that caused ripples worldwide and brings it down from a global event to the human story that was at the centre of it and is mostly overlooked. Jackie Kennedy was thrown in to a horrific and extraordinary situation, one which most people will never come close to experiencing, as she not only had to deal with the sudden and violent death of her husband and the turmoil this caused in her life and her children’s but also had to deal with it playing out on the world’s stage. The film shows the realities of what Jackie Kennedy went through as she suddenly wasn’t the first lady any more. Government and politics doesn’t hang around for grief and while everyone around her is trying to sympathise for her and help her, they have to push through the political protocol that a transition of president requires. We remember the motorcade and people remember where they were when the president was assassinated but they probably don’t think about Jackie Kennedy still covered in her husband’s blood while she has to stand and watch as the vice president is sworn in in front of her, or the fact that she has to move her family and things out of the White House as it is no longer her home. The film brings us down and confronts the human reality of Kennedy’s assassination.

Jackie is Natalie Portman’s film and she puts in a wonderful performance for which she should have deservedly won the Oscar. She portrays the emotional turmoil that Jackie Kennedy went through and captures her poise and grace and strength. The camera spends a lot of its time focussing on her face and Portman keeps its attention with a performance that moves through nervousness, devastation, bereavement, power and control. The film and Portman show the huge strength that Jackie Kennedy had in dealing with the event and also in the creation of her public persona and the securing of her husband’s legacy. All the while Mica Levi’s score underpins the isolation and absurdity of the situation through falling strings and haunting woodwind.

Jackie is a wonderfully shot and acted character study of the trauma behind one of history’s most well-known events. Moving, compelling, interesting and brilliant. One of the year’s best.

JACKIE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: PABLO LARRAÍN / SCREENPLAY: NOAH OPPENHEIM / STARRING: NATALIE PORTMAN, PETER SARSGAARD, GRETA GERWIG, BILLY CRUDUP, JOHN HURT / RELEASE DATE: 29TH MAY

How is this franchise still going after all these years?! When this all kicked off in 2003, the first Underworld movie had an intriguing concept behind it even though the execution was somewhat dull as a result. The second movie, Evolution, did improve slightly by expending upon the origins of the vampires and lycans, while the prequel, Rise of the Lycans, proved to be a solid war movie. Then we had Awakening, the fourth movie, which like the first film, had a great concept driving it, but the end result was severely lacking, and now with Blood Wars, we have what is quite possibly the worst entry in the franchise to date. 

This feels very much like a filler movie with a plot that is nonsensical and all over the place and characters that are shifting loyalties left and right with no clear motivation as to why. It almost bordered on the lines of becoming a video game movie, and not in a good way. In truth the execution of every single aspect involved is flat and does nothing to improve or evolve the franchise in any clear way. Michael Corvin is mentioned and gets bumped off while the daughter is frequently referenced in a bid to make her some glorified plot device to increase tension but is nowhere to be seen except at the very end, thanks to some hokey CGI.

To be fair, the gothic surroundings are creatively inventive and atmospheric for a while and the idea of a Nordic coven of vampires is a fascinating concept, even though it feels as though it was ripped straight out of Game of Thrones, especially when all the coven look like the offspring of Khaleesi Targaryen. The CGI is horrible and looks worse when compared to the first movie (and that was 2003!), especially the horrendous man-wolf effects on poor Tobias Menzies. Even the action is lame in execution with a lot of jump-cutting and ridiculous wire-fu, which makes the lame action choreography in Assassin’s Creed look like John Wick in comparison.

As far as the cast goes, none of them have anything great to work with and are all just left floundering around looking mean and moody. Kate Beckinsale was absolutely phenomenal in last year’s Love and Friendship as it completely displayed her acting range, whereas here, she’s trapped in an emotionless blank slate, despite the fact she still looks amazing in the tight black leather outfit after all these years. Divergent‘s Theo James feels awkward in his role as the rightful heir to the vampire throne, Charles Dance is there to pick up his overdue cheque, and Tobias Menzies looks bored out of his brain as one of the main villains of the film. Lara Pulver is somewhat interesting as the other main villain of the movie, even though her character is basically a vampire-coated, rip-off from her Sherlock character, right down to her being a dominatrix with one particular scene of sexual dominance coming across as being more awkwardly corny than stimulating. 

Perhaps it’s finally time to close the door on this franchise that was long past its sell-by-date; the core concept makes zero sense, is executed poorly, insulting to its own mythology and to make matters worse, they try to sequel-bait a sixth movie that will probably never happen (fingers crossed!). Granted it’s not as abominable as Resident Evil: The Final Chapter or Fifty Shades Darker, but nevertheless, Underworld: Blood Wars comes across more as a major step backward than a step forward.

UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ANNA FOERSTER / SCREENPLAY: CORY GOODMAN / STARRING: KATE BECKINSALE, THEO JAMES, LARA PULVER, CHARLES DANCE / RELEASE DATE: 29TH MAY

If you thought the mindless Underworld franchise was stretching it by having yet another sequel released, well your day has just got better thanks to another sequel in the mindless xXx franchise. Granted, you’d go in thinking this was just an insanely OTT action schlock-fest that was so bad it was hilarious, and there are certain scenes that deliver on that, but just not enough to make this an entertaining watch for you and your mates to enjoy. Frankly, it’s as if everyone and everything in this movie was just going through the motions, and that’s where this movie falls apart and is a perfect demonstration on how lazy writing can damage your movie despite the amount of talent involved.

 

Right from the opening credits, you know the kind of movie you’re getting and the movie itself knows that, which allows the potential to have fun with itself and become crazy and adventurous. You do get that now and then along with impressive action sequences with some terrible CGI involved (notably when Vin Diesel’s Xander Cage runs out of an exploding plane), yet it doesn’t deliver on its cheesy potential and opts to go for the generic, safe and bland route. The movie tricks you at first when you have Vin Diesel jumping off a radio tower, skiing through the forest and skateboarding on the side of a bus, but suddenly all the generic tropes that we’ve seen a thousand times before creeps in and hampers the fun and wastes its talented cast.

 

Vin Diesel becomes insufferably annoying as the film goes on, Toni Collette looks bored out of her brain, Samuel L. Jackson shows up for five minutes to collect his pay cheque, both Kris Wu and Rory McCann end up being pointless additions with no personalities, at times Deepika Padukone looks out of place and Hermione Corfield’s cameo is questionable at best. Plus, having Nina Dobrev as a geeky weapons specialist is about as believable as Denise Richards in The World Is Not Enough having a degree in nuclear physics (let that thought sink in)… However, Ruby Rose was a fun addition as the badass sniper, while Donnie Yen was utilised properly and, like in Rogue One, this demonstrates why he is one of the true martial arts legends. Just a shame that poor Tony Jaa (another martial arts legend!) ends up getting the short end of the stick.

 

With films like Broken Arrow, Commando and even the recent Mechanic: Resurrection, they were outlandish, ridiculous and stupid to the point where you would be having a great old time and laughing all the way through, whereas xXx: Return of Xander Cage is stupid to the point of becoming tired and forced. They even try to sequel bait at the very end, as a means of setting up and building the future of the xXx franchise, but what we have here just wasn’t enough to earn and justify that, even by bringing back its big star in Vin Diesel. Granted there are some impressive action sequences and some brief goofy scenes here and there, but there were far and few between, and director D.J. Caruso fails to inject new blood into this age-old franchise. Maybe if this was on TV or On-Demand then it would probably be worth a watch, but otherwise, just watch the trailer as it shows all the best moments you’re going to get.

 

XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: D.J. CARUSO / SCREENPLAY: F. SCOTT FRAZIER / STARRING: VIN DIESEL, DONNIE YEN, TONI COLLETTE, DEEPIKA PADUKONE, SAMUEL L. JACKSON / RELEASE DATE: 29TH MAY

We all know what Power Rangers is by now, right? It seems to have been around since the dawn of time, after all. High school dudes and chicks in snazzy lycra and shiny oversized motorcycle helmets knocking seven shades of you know what out of all manner of outlandish intergalactic meanies in the name of children’s entertainment and massive merch sales. And yes, it’s just as daft and excellent as it sounds!

 

Dino Charge is the Rangers’ 22nd adventure, premiering on TV in 2016 and now arriving on DVD in a set of several individual volumes. Unleashed is the first disc in the series, with the rest of the episodes being released throughout the rest of this year. The plot, for what it’s worth, centres around a space-faring bounty hunter called Sledge and his search for the Energems, ten crystals which had been given to a group of dinosaurs 65 million years ago by the Keeper, who is a dead ringer for ET crossed with the Dungeon Master from the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. In the present day, saucy bespectacled scientist Kendall Morgan encounters the Keeper during an archaeological expedition, and together they set up a base underneath a dinosaur museum from where they bring a new bunch of Rangers together and set out to find the Energems before Sledge can take over the universe…

 

Some might say that Power Rangers episodes are badly written, badly acted, filled with ropey CGI and the worst kinds of corny dialogue, and that the Rangers themselves are so relentlessly positive that you quickly find yourself wanting to stab every single one of them. Some might also say that the Rangers are so good looking that you could almost believe they were constructed in a factory somewhere, put together from the leftover bits of plastic of their action figure counterparts.

 

But that’s if you’re looking at things through grown ups eyes. Let’s remember that this is a kids TV show, and in that respect Power Rangers definitely follows a winning formula. Monsters that are just silly enough to not be too terrifying, loads of jokes (terrible ones, but jokes nonetheless), memorable (if mildly irritating) soundbites and catchphrases, tons of colourful flashing lights and explosions, and masses of insane over the top action. Throwing dinosaurs into the mix adds yet another exciting hook to get the kids’ imaginations running wild and, regardless of how old you are, the gigantic dinos vs monsters kaiju-style battles at the end of each episode are undeniably spectacular.

 

It’s hard to fault Dino Charge because it knows exactly what it is – easy to watch nonsense to keep the youngsters entertained for 20 minutes – and it doesn’t try to do anything to convince the viewer that is might have any ideas to the contrary. Fantastic fun for kids of all ages!

 

POWER RANGERS DINO CHARGE: UNLEASHED (VOLUME 1) / CERT: U / STARRING: BRENNAN MEJIA, CAMILLE HYDE, YOSHUA SUDARSO, MICHAEL TABER, JAMES DAVIES / RELEASE DATE: MAY 29TH 2017

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Dark Side of Dimensions returns to the characters from the original Yu-Gi-Oh manga anime, and is set a year after the end of the original series.

 

Traditionally Yu-Gi-Oh movies have tended to keep most of the duelling to one match. The Pyramid of Light movie had two and a half but most of the movie was centred around one main duel that followed smaller duels. Dark Side of Dimensions bucks this trend; there are several duels throughout the movie, and they are all fun to watch. They have a quicker pace than duels in the show and they never feel like they are stalling. They start quickly and last as long as they need to. Some of the monsters are animated with computer effects rather than hand drawing and the duels have a feeling of intensity to them that the show rarely managed.

 

The quality of the movie’s action is matched by the quality of its story. The plot revolves around a new set of characters that have the ability to reshape reality, and Kaiba’s attempts to gain the Millennium Puzzle. The main theme of the movie is one of loss. Despite being a celebration of Yu-Gi-Oh‘s 20th anniversary the movie is primarily about learning to let go of your past and say goodbye to people you’ve lost. It is a message that is told beautifully through multiple characters and not once does it feel forced.

 

If there is any one flaw that can be levelled at Dark Side of Dimensions it’s that there is a lot going on. This may sound like an odd complaint but the movie has a two hour running time. It never becomes boring but occasionally it feels like the movie could have been better served by being a two-three part mini-series, or if one or two of the duels were cut. An early duel between Yugi and Kaiba for example was fun, but probably could have been cut without the movie losing anything.

 

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Dark Side of Dimension is as close to perfect as a Yu-Gi-Oh movie could be expected to be. The characters all get a chance to shine. It is just as goofy as it has always been, but it is backed up by a story with real weight behind it. The card game segments feel like action scenes and the movie revels in how over the top it can be (there is a lift that goes to space in this movie). This movie succeeds at being a genuinely good story that adds to its franchise, instead of merely existing to exploit nostalgic fans.

 

YU-GI-OH! THE MOVIE: DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: SATOSHI KUWABARA / SCREENWRITER: KAZUKI TAKAHASHI / STARRING: DAN GREEN, ERIC STUART, WAYNE GRAYSON, GREG ABBEY, AMY BIRNBAUM, DANIEL J. EDWARDS / RELEASE DATE: 29TH MAY

Alan Clarke remains one of the most influential British filmmakers of all time. His TV work includes the controversial original version of Scum (made into an equally fine big screen version with Ray Winstone reprising his TV role in 1979) and the hard-hitting drama about football hooliganism, The Firm, starring Gary Oldman.

 

Very much a hard-line version of Mike Leigh and perhaps Danny Boyle in an earlier incarnation, the BFI celebrated his work in a box-set chronicling his TV output, but it wasn’t until 1987 that Clarke finally got some cinematic recognition with the bittersweet Comedy/Drama Rita, Sue And Bob Too. Thirty years on from its original release and now remastered on Blu-Ray, the film is ripe for reassessment in a post-Cameron, pre-Brexit context, although you sense that even today, the latter might have been something far from the minds of the principals on show in this film.

 

Set in Bradford, and adapted from Andrea Dunbar from her own play, which in itself was autobiographical showing elements of her upbringing, the title effectively tells the story of the main characters, feisty teenagers Rita (Siobhan Finneran) and Sue (Michelle Holmes), whose only means of escape from their mundane council estate is to babysit for a local couple, Bob (George Costigan) and Michelle (Lesley Sharp).

 

Bob isn’t quite getting it all his way at home and one night after babysitting duties are over, he drives them to an isolated spot on the Moors and attempts to have sex with the two of them in his car. This is the start-off point for a complex three-way sexual awakening in all three, not to mention the suspicions of Michelle….

 

Although it has been classed as a reflection of ‘Thatcher’s Britain’, the film actually pre-empts the current relationship frustrations that are defining the current Conservative context in the country. At it’s heart, though, there is a refreshingly frank and honest, not to mention amusingly real representation of how awkward and believable the reality of sexual experiences can be, although you sense these two girls are more savvy about their knowledge than at first glance.

 

The performances of the three leads are excellent, particularly in the female bond between Rita and Sue and Costigan’s portrayal of Bob captures the sleazy desperation of a man who isn’t quite getting it lately in his marriage. Clarke frames the film with some elements that are of their time, but the honesty and clarity of the film comes through as effective as it did three decades earlier.

 

Rita, Sue And Bob Too is a likably sincere and teasing film. The profanity was a shock to the system for it’s time like most period films, but today it adds a strength and honesty to a fine piece of British Cinema.

 

RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO (1987) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: ALAN CLARKE / SCREENPLAY: ANDREA DUNBAR / STARRING: MICHELLE HOLMES, SIOBHAN FINNERAN, GEORGE COSTIGAN, LESLEY SHARP / RELEASE DATE: 22ND MAY

This ‘90s hand possession stoner comedy horror, Idle Hands, gets a release on Blu-Ray.

Slacker stoner Anton’s (Devon Sawa) neighbourhood is under curfew as a serial killer picks off local residents. It might have something to do with his recently possessed right hand. His two friends, Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), help Anton as he tries to work out what to do while trying to win the affections of hot neighbour Molly (Jessica Alba).

Idle Hands is basically the scene from Evil Dead 2 where Ash’s hand gets possessed but stretched to ninety minutes and with a lot more pot smoking. It also has the dead friends hanging out with the dangerous hero idea from American Werewolf in London. It has the same feel as the teen comedies released around the time like American Pie and Road Trip or Scary Movie, so if you’re a fan of those kind of films you may get some enjoyment out of it. It’s not as good as you remember with a handful of jokes landing and some decent gore that gets a little better as the film goes on but Idle Hands never really manages to be anything other than mildly entertaining and the potential for real fun slips through its fingers.

Idle Hands works best as a trip down memory lane rather than a film that you want to watch for its own genuine merits. The recognisable cast makes for a good where-are-they-now game with Final Destination’s Devon Sawa, making a solid fist of it but he’s no Bruce Campbell, Elden Henson who now graces our TV screens as Foggy Nelson in Netflix’s Daredevil and Jessica Alba in one of her first feature roles before her breakout role in Dark Angel. You’ve even got a pre-Kill Bill Vivica A. Fox, an Event Horizon alumnus and a disappointingly underused Fred Willard. You’ll get a little hit of nostalgia from the memories of watching it with a load of friends, especially when The Offspring turn up as the school prom band, but a film can’t run on nostalgia alone. The best thing to do is get a few friends round who you watched it with the first time when you were all young, get a few snacks and drinks and put it on.

Idle Hands runs more on nostalgia than genuine entertainment. Fun for a watch with a few friends but you’ll probably realise it’s less fun than when you were fourteen.

IDLE HANDS (1999) / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: RODMAN FLENDER / SCREENPLAY: TERRI HUGHES, RON MILBAUER / STARRING: DEVON SAWA, SETH GREEN, ELDEN HENSON, JESSICA ALBA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW