Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) is a once-promising author whose career has badly hit the skids. Now he’s reduced to teaching, receiving rejection notices for his latest manuscript, and watching while his wife Joan (Laura Linney) gets her short stories printed in prestigious magazines and wins a lucrative book deal with a major publishing house. The couple have two sons – Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and his younger brother Frank (Owen Kline) – and when Bernard and Joan decide to separate, each brother sides with a different parent. Walt, who plays the guitar and passes off the lyrics of Pink Floyd as his own work, is heavily influenced by his father, whereas Frank, who much prefers life with mom and her new tennis coach boyfriend, acts out his inner turmoil by jacking off and smearing his ejaculate across school library books. This is a deeply screwed up family, and when Walt develops a crush on the same student his father is secretly sleeping with, the dynamics aren’t going to get any better.

The Squid and the Whale is a gently brilliant dissection of a family in crisis, and a telling portrait of a husband and father who refuses to accept that his glory days are a long way behind him. Bernard is a fantastic character, arrogant, belligerent, and deeply flawed, and Jeff Daniels’ uncomfortably honest performance is easily the star of the show. But the rest of the cast are no slouches either, and Jesse Eisenberg – whose self-righteous intensity could easily have thrown the whole movie out of whack – is remarkable as the older son who refuses to accept his father’s flaws, taking sides against his mother right from the beautifully written opening scene when the family are playing tennis together and Bernard slyly tells him to aim for Joan’s weakest point. In fact, it’s that quality of writing – the subtle psychological interplay between the damaged couple and their clearly erratic children – that really makes The Squid and the Whale something special, with a marvellous low-key pay-off at the end of the movie. And Criterion’s new 4K transfer, with extras that include a behind the scenes documentary, audition footage, and new interviews with the actors and writer/director Noah Baumbach, is superb. Highly recommended.

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: NOAH BAUMBACH / STARRING: OWEN KLINE, JEFF DANIELS, LAURA LINNEY, JESSE EISENBERG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a feature follow-up to the series, taking place between the show’s 22nd and 23rd episode (out of 26). In the film, what appears to be a simple bounty hunting job turns into much more, and all of Mars is threatened by a deadly nano-virus.

Cowboy Bebop takes its time with its plot. The identity and the motives of the people behind the attack are presented as a mystery at first, and it is incumbent upon the main characters to solve that mystery. Because of that most of the movie has the feel of a detective story to it. There is action in this movie, and it is supported by fluid animation, but action isn’t the only thing on offer here. The movie uses its two-hour running time wisely, and it feels like it has enough breathing room to do everything it wants to do with its characters. The mystery unfolds organically, without trying to rush to meet its ending.

The film was released over two years after the series ended. Despite this and the movie’s placement within the series’ timeline, it is not necessary to have seen the series before you watch the movie. The characters are more or less at the end of their personal growth but their personalities are such that it is easy to understand who they are and what they are about. There is never a moment in which new viewers are punished for a lack of knowledge for the series. The benefit of this approach is that no introduction is needed and the movie isn’t held back by unnecessary setup.

Lately it feels like anime releases are often lacking in terms of special features. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie doesn’t have this problem. There is a featurette to explore the conception and development of each character. There are also storyboard sequences on offer. The Umbrella Entertainment release includes a decent amount of extra features at a time when it feels like other companies in a similar position just aren’t bothering.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is both a celebration for fans and an introduction for newcomers. It is a story of contemplation punctuated with strong action sequences, in which the animation really shines. The villain doesn’t break any new ground but serves his role as a character well. Combine this with special features that feel fitting for a Blu-ray release in 2016 and what you get is a worthy addition to the collection of anyone looking for a new space western to watch.

Closed Caption; The Making of Cowboy Bebop: 6 behind-the-scenes featurettes / Music videos for Ask DNA and Gotta Knock a Little Harder / Conceptual art galleries / Storyboard comparisons / In-depth character profiles / Widescreen; Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video / Original Japanese theatrical version

COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE (2001) / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: SHINICHIRO WATANABE / SCREENPLAY: KEIKO NOBUMOTO / STARRING: STEVEN BLUM, BEAU BILLINGSLEA, WENDEE LEE, MELISSA FAHN, DARAN NORRIS, JENNIFER HALE, NICHOLAS GUEST, DAVE WITTENBERG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

When looking back at the history of genre cinema in all its multi-regional incarnations, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything as entertaining as the boom period of Ozploitation, which saw countless action, horror and exploitation fare rise from the land down under during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Some, like Mad Max (1979), were international hits which changed the landscape of cinema; others like Razorback have gone on to become certified cult classics. That said, there is one director who’s synonymous with some of Australia’s finest cult output, and that’s Brian Trenchard-Smith. With features like Stunt Rock (1980), Turkey Shoot (1982), BMX Bandits (1983) and Dead End Drive-In (1986), he helped put the country’s cinema on the map, but 1975’s The Man from Hong Kong is arguably the pinnacle of his artistic achievement.

The Man from Hong Kong stars former 007 George Lazenby, an actor you could say is stuck in an unfortunate position between Sean Connery and Roger Moore when it comes to actors who have portrayed the iconic character. He may not be remembered as one of the best to ever to play our favourite spy, but that shouldn’t negate from the fact that he’s a very good actor with some rare gems in his filmography.  It also stars Jimmy Wang Yu, who rose to prominence in China during the 1960s with his roles in Shaw Brothers Studio films like One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and The Chinese Boxer (1970). With a cast that bad ass, it can’t go wrong – and it doesn’t. The Man from Hong Kong is a masterpiece of B-grade action cinema.

The story follows Hong Kong police inspector Fang Sing (Wang), who travels to Australia to extradite a fugitive. However, when the criminal is assassinated before he can be brought to trial, the main suspect is the seemingly untouchable crime lord Jack Wilton (Lazenby). Well, let’s just say that doesn’t sit too well with Fang Sing, so he decides to go up against the kingpin and chaos ensues.

The Man from Hong Kong is an action aficionado dream. In addition to being the first martial arts movie to come out of Australia, which makes it a must see for any serious fan of the genre, it contains everything you could want from a film of this ilk. The fight scenes are expertly choreographed, showcasing the sublime skills of its main star who is undoubtedly one of the best performers to ever emerge from China. On top of that, we are treated to some of the most gung-ho car chases ever filmed. The thrill of The Man from Hong Kong lies in its stunts, which are as realistic as can be. Australian exploitation films were known for their risk taking – and sometimes life threatening – set-pieces and this typifies those elements tenfold.

With a brilliant making-of documentary, a sublime audio commentary from Smith and other excellent features, this Umbrella Entertainment release of The Man from Hong Kong gives this classic the treatment it deserves.  If you’re a fan of action cinema, then this should be top of your wish list.  It will not let you down.

THE MAN FROM HONG KONG (1975) / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: BRIAN TRENCHARD-SMITH, YU WANG / SCREENPLAY: BRIAN TRENCHARD-SMITH / STARRING: YU WANG, GEORGE LAZENBY, HUGH KEAYS-BYRNE, ROGER WARD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

We all know that war is one of the biggest horrors mankind can inflict on the world and with his follow-up to the sublimely subtle tale of terror Lord of Tears, director Lawrie Brewster has created a tormented, nightmarish vision of PTSD and human frailty.

Andrew (Gordon) is a homeless Afghanistan veteran struggling with his life since returning from his tour of duty. His therapist gives him a chance to open up and explore his feelings at an artist’s retreat that isn’t being used for a while; she gives him the key and the directions, and implores him to dabble in the things that give him pleasure (photography and poetry) and keep a diary of his thoughts and emotions. Should he complete this and show that he’s willing to open up to her, she will be able to find him some permanent accommodation. Reluctantly, he gives it a chance.

No sooner is he there that he is faced with his worst fears: ravens. They seem to be everywhere; his irrational thoughts start taking over, and he begins to see more than just the black birds of doom.

Expanding on the folk-horror style of his debut feature, Brewster (and more so writer Daly) excels with this thoroughly absorbing tale of mental illness and fear. As the damaged squaddie, Gordon is mesmerising; he is in almost every scene (sometimes even twice) and plays the full gamut of emotions to perfection, taking the viewer on as much of an emotional rollercoaster as the character. Where his role could have deteriorated into caricature, the maturity of the writing allows the descent into complete mental breakdown appear natural. As we find out more about the soldier’s past and experiences (depicted in brutal and unflinchingly gory fashion), our sympathy might sway slightly, but ultimately, it’s a tragic situation given a mythical spin and expanded to terrifying levels.

The cinematography (by Gavin Robertson and Michael Brewster) is sumptuous. It makes the most of the remote location and not afraid to show its horrors in broad daylight. A brave decision, but certainly the right one since the mind doesn’t wait for the dark to present its fears. The Raven Warriors who manifest to torment Andrew appear to be influenced (at least visually) by the Plague Doctors of the 17th Century, but rather than just attacking as traditional movie ‘villains’ would, this malevolent presence breaks down the already fragile mental reserve of their victims. It’s an approach that makes the film all the more terrifying, since one doesn’t know when the breaking point will come and leads to a much more gripping watch.

The Unkindness of Ravens is available as a stunning deluxe Blu-ray/DVD edition direct from the filmmakers (the set also includes the sublime soundtrack CD), and is packed with extra features, which range from the obligatory trailers and behind the scenes footage (the accompanying documentary is longer than the actual feature film!) to eerie poems and a suitably creepy and atmospheric look at the legend of the Raven Warriors. The attention to detail in the presentation is incredible, and coupled with the fantastic film, makes it an essential purchase.

THE UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: LAWRIE BREWSTER / SCREENPLAY: SARAH DALY / STARRING: JAMIE SCOTT GORDON, AMANDA GILLILAND, LEON CARRINGTON, DANIEL CASEY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Dating from that mid-1980s period when Spielberg was getting over an early wobble and was first beginning to alternate between his mature pictures and the crowd-pleasing ones, Amazing Stories was essentially the TV sequel to Twilight Zone the Movie, a film that had already pre-emptively sunk its own fortunes thanks to a fatal accident on set.

With a first series that included directors the likes of Joe Dante, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Spielberg himself having failed to top the TV charts, a second run was always going to be a struggle and NBC cancelled their interest once the two-season contract had expired. Which is not to say that this second series doesn’t continue to produce some small-scale gems, and provide a platform for the kind of themed anthology storytelling that was rare at the time.

Beginning with the Danny DeVito starring and directed The Wedding Ring, a sweet and somewhat saucy story about a couple reviving their love life via supernatural means, Amazing Stories treads a fine line between horror and fantasy, often dovetailing into distinctive Spielbergian whimsy along the way, but rarely straying into purely science fiction territory. There’s a good deal of black magic and spectral presences and the springboard for many of the stories is the question ‘What if?’, like a paranormal Americanised version of Tales of the Unexpected. At a running time of 23 minutes apiece (with one exception, the Robert Zemeckis-directed Go to the Head of the Class starring Christopher Lloyd), the stories never outstay their welcome and indeed many are as crammed with ideas as any number of feature productions. This second series also includes the animated episode Family Dog – later a short running series in its own right and the directorial debut of one Brad Bird, whose subsequent resume speaks for itself – but concludes with Tobe Hooper’s embarrassing Weird Al Jankovic-starring Miss Stardust in a prime example of the inconsistency in quality.

Starsky star Paul Michael Glazer’s Blue Man Down is better, a story of a ghostly cop, but perhaps exposes the series’ biggest issue, its predictability. The short story form rather imposes the twist or revelatory resolution on the show, but the surprises are very rarely sprung out of the blue. Instead, Amazing Stories is a collection of genre staples and fantastical fables reimagined in a palatable form for the kind of viewer who wouldn’t necessarily stump up for a cinema visit to this kind of thing. For aficionados, it’s an often toothless experience.

Nevertheless, this set is well worth a revisit (it includes a more than reasonable transfer of some very 1980s images and associated picture quality), comprising as it does a fairly easy-going collection of familiar story types.

STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS AMAZING STORIES SEASON 2 / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: VARIOUS / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: PATRICK SWAYZE, HAYLEY MILLS, DAVID CARRADINE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Hellgate is a trashy horror from the late ’80s, now out in HD as part of Arrow’s latest batch of re-released cult classics.

Four college kids on a road trip hear the local legend of the Hellgate Hitchhiker, a young woman named Josie who was killed by a biker gang and whose father resurrected her with a mysterious crystal cluster. Of course, the story turns out to be true, and Josie now haunts the back roads looking for lost travellers, seducing and killing them as they approach the ghost town of Hellgate.

You might think the above description sounds incredibly stupid, but believe us, it’s all so much worse. The film starts off with the story of Josie, giving us a double helping of kitsch with a ’80s film recreating the ’50s and as much good girl cliché as can be crammed into two minutes of introductory screen time before her tragic death.

The budgetary limitations of the film are seen soon after, with Josie’s dad Lucas wandering into a mine and inexplicably discovering a block of quartz glowing like a prop from a Jon Pertwee episode of Doctor Who and encountering a rubber bat bouncing on an elastic band. Discovering the crystal’s reanimation properties, he brings his daughter back to life with the side-effect of turning her into a seductive murderess with a penchant for translucent nightdresses and garish eye makeup.

She then takes it upon herself to kill anyone who comes to the town, because the motorbike gang were called “the Strangers” and, y’know, anyone from outside the town is by default a “stranger” and oh, forget it. Hellgate itself is a tourist ghost town – which is apparently a thing – and at night turns into a literal ghost town for no discernible reason.

Poe’s Law is an Internet maxim observing that a parody of extremism is difficult to differentiate from the real thing. Similarly, it’s sometimes hard to tell if a film is satirising the style of bad films or is just plain bad itself, and in Hellgate, plot, reason and character development take a back seat to overblown histrionics and WTFery. We have eerie sets overtly backlit by industrial halogens, a seduction even more ham-fisted and unerotic than Gigli’s “turkey time” (and set to the ubiquitous love theme from Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet no less), present day Lucas appearing as some kind of Old West cyborg, a girl having already sparked up a post-coital cigarette even as she’s rolling off her inadequate lover, the most hilarious facial reaction to cunnilingus you’re ever likely to see, and a newly crafted makeshift machete lifted triumphantly with all the reverence of Nimue holding aloft Excalibur.

The whole film feels like a feature-length episode of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and should be taken about as seriously. The rating below is something of a compromise; in terms of professional and objective analysis of the film’s quality, it’s a 2, but if you’re a connoisseur of the unintentional comedy value of irredeemably atrocious films, consider it an 8.

Extras: Road to Perdition, B-Movie Style / Alien Invasion, Blaxploitation and Ghost-Busting Mayhem / Video Nasty

HELLGATE / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: WILLIAM A. LEVEY / SCREENPLAY: MICHAEL O’ROURKE / STARRING: RON PALILLO, ABIGAIL WOLCOTT, PETREA CURRAN, EVAN J KLISSER, JOANNE WARDE, CAREL TRICHARDT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Spanish director Jesus
‘Jess’ Franco first met his principal leading lady Lina Romay in the early
1970s. They spent the next four decades together making exploitation movies of
many hues, some of them rather good, others little more than elegantly-filmed
porn with Romay an enthusiastic participant. He was a highly-driven Svengali of
sleaze, capable of greatness but more often mired in threadbare drudge-work to
keep the wolf from the door. She was a declared exhibitionist with a
disarmingly natural screen presence although never much of an actress. After
the strangest, longest courtship in film history, they decided to get married
in 2008, around the time Franco was turning out his 150th feature. Estimates
vary on the exact number he eventually made.

Not that you need to know any of that to enjoy this 1976 chapter from
their union but it certainly helps to explain why Franco’s camera so clearly
adores Lina Romay. The name-checking of the Marquise (sic) de Sade reflects
Franco’s career fascination with the notorious scribe, although the actual
movie has nothing to do with him, being instead a re-imagining of Oscar Wilde’s
The Portrait of Dorian Gray from a female perspective.

The plot, such as it is, centres on enigmatic, ageless aristo Miss
Gray (Romay). While wandering the grounds of her opulent gaff, she explains the
set-up via voiceover. Turns out her twin sister is banged up in an asylum and
Miss Gray herself needs to shag the life out of mortal humans in order to stay
looking disarmingly like Wendy Padbury from 1960s Doctor Who. While she is
unable to experience direct sexual pleasure, her imprisoned sister (also a dead
spit for Wendy) feels it on her behalf, so to speak.  She relates all this to a female reporter who
turns up the way female reporters tended to do in this kind of thing (see also
Joe D’Amato’s Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals). Cue some seriously hirsute
co-joinery involving the two versions of Miss Gray, an inquisitive lady
visitor, the reporter and (this being a 1970s porn film) some spare bloke with
a beard.

Full Moon Features are to be commended for sourcing a very decent
print of the uncut version which obviously means you see people going all the
way and then going back for seconds. And thirds, if truth be told. But on its
own terms it certainly succeeds; there is a dreamlike quality to the location
photography and it’s edited and scored with panache.  Above all, there is Lina Romay in her dual
role, alternating between cool detachment and unbridled sexuality as only she
could do.

You don’t necessarily expect much in the way of extras when delving
this deep into the 70s sleaze pit but you do get a fun VHS-quality trailer reel
of Franco’s work plus a short retrospective documentary interviewing the late
Jess Franco himself and producer Erwin C. Dietrich. This is rather good;
Dietrich claims this production was never even sanctioned, being instead one of
those notorious ‘extra’ movies Franco would secretly knock out at the same time
as the one he was actually hired to make, using the same actors and sets, in
order to go double-up at the box office for the same outlay. Challenged on this
ruse, Franco mumbles a denial but looks a tad sheepish, the old rogue.

Lina Romay died in 2012 and Franco followed her a year later,
seemingly from a broken heart (although the fags didn’t much help). As filmic
legacies go, theirs remains a bizarre and filthy trove for connoisseurs of a
certain persuasion.  It will certainly
take some beating, if you’ll excuse the pun.

DIE MARQUISE VON SADE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: JESUS “JESS” FRANCO / STARRING:
LINA ROMAY, MONICA SWINN, MARTINE STEDIL/ RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
 

Now
known for Fantastic Mr Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson
came to the world’s attention with Rushmore
in 1998, before The Royal Tenenbaums
put him on the map three years later. His detached, nostalgic sensibility and
skewed humour places him in the same arena as the Coen Brothers, and The Royal Tenenbaums is a tragic comedy
in the vein of J.D. Salinger’s post-Catcher
in the Rye Glass family stories; indeed the film takes the form of a
visualised novel, with on-screen chapter titles and plot descriptions, and a
third person narration by Alec Baldwin. It is a qualified achievement,
distinctive and original but also distancing and lacking in warmth, less
successful maybe than the ostensibly similar The World According to Garp.

Following the fluctuating
fortunes of the Tenenbaum family, the film centres around their huge townhouse
in what might be the 1950s but is actually contemporary New York. The
six-minute prologue dispenses with the departure of the Tenenbaums’ father in
non-chronological order, first presenting us with Royal (Hackman)’s expulsion
then introducing us to his three over-achieving offspring one by one. Firstly
there is Chas (Stiller, once grown up), a business prodigy, and then the
adopted Margot (Paltrow), already a successful playwright before she hits her
teens. Then there is Richie (Luke Wilson as an adult), an adolescent tennis
sensation. Their mother is Ethel (Huston), as distracted a presence as the
father she throws out.

Twenty-two years later Royal
Tenenbaum finds himself homeless and pretending to have cancer, in order to
wheedle his way back into the home of his empty, directionless adult children. Thus
begins what passes for a plot, as the Tenenbaums start the process of learning
what are the important things in life, having been raised to appreciate only
success as its own measure.

Anderson’s films are filled
with an incredible amount of affectation, and this is no different. Everything,
from the performances to the artfully conceived plot diversions, sings of artifice
and pretension. Yet somehow, this absolutely works, finding a unique balance
between stillness and freneticism and managing to persuade us of the humanity
of its over-caricatured characters. From Danny Glover as Etheline’s suitor to
Anderson favourite Bill Murray as Margot’s husband, there is a richness and
diversity among the supporting cast that Anderson convinces us are real. He
even casts the Wilson brothers as friends despite there being roles for them as
siblings, in the ultimate artificiality.

It’s a brilliant but perhaps
meaningless endeavour, its points too blunt or too cryptic to fully involve.
Nevertheless it’s a dazzling experience and one that pretends towards an
emotional engagement that never quite materialises, and in this Criterion Blu-ray
edition receives its most comprehensive possible release.

Extras: Director’s commentary, With the Filmmaker portrait, interviews, behind
the scenes, outtakes, The Peter Bradley Show, trailers and more

THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
/ CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: WES ANDERSON / SCREENPLAY: WES ANDERSON, OWEN WILSON /
STARRING: GENE HACKMAN, ANJELICA HUSTON, BEN STILLER, GWYNETH PALTROW, LUKE
WILSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A year before he wrote and directed The Monster Squad,
that classic ‘80s riff on the Universal Monsters movies, Fred Dekker made his
debut with Night of the Creeps. 
The young Dekker grew up watching every kind of horror and sci-fi film
(good and bad) and it’s no surprise his first try at a feature was a case of
mixing genres and throwing everything at the audience.

Somewhere out in deep space, an
alien is determined to make sure something sinister is shot out of the craft
into the darkness.  It’s successful and
the canister lands on Earth in 1959.  On
the same night a mass murderer escapes a mental institute the slug-like
creature in the canister escapes and infects a curious jock who came to find
the crash site. 

Years later and Chris and J.C.
are two friends at university.  Chris is
smitten with Cynthia and thinks she’ll only speak to him if he’s a fraternity
brother.  So he and J.C. undertake a
pledge task to relocate a corpse from the university’s morgue onto the front
steps of a rival frat house.  The corpse
they choose turns out to be said curious jock who has been cryogenically
preserved since that night.  A plague of
alien slugs, exploding heads and zombies follows.

Starting with a black and white
homage to ‘50s sci-fi flicks Night of the Creeps is Dekker having fun
with all of those influences from the B-movies he had consumed.  Add into that elements of the
still-popular-at-the-time slasher film and nearly two decades of the modern
zombie film (Romero-style) and it’s a busy mix. 

It’s a slow but deliberately
paced film.  Dekker likes his characters
and spends time giving them a bit of depth. 
Chris and J.C. aren’t jocks but they aren’t nerds either.  J.C. is the sidekick but he has his own
moment of heroism that makes him more than comic relief or the audience
surrogate.  Then there’s mighty genre
icon Tom Atkins, here playing the gruff, sarcastic Detective Ray Cameron,
straight out of a brawling film noir.  

Night of the Creeps didn’t do too well on release and it’s understandable why.  For a wide audience it’s probably too much
mixing.  There’s zombies in it, but it’s
not a standard zombie film.  There’s a
madman with an axe on the loose, but it’s not a straight slasher.  It’s more a sci-fi B-movie than anything else
but even then Dekker fills it with a knowing humour that’s a minor forebear of
the self-referential style Scream would make big business a decade
later. 

For genre fans it’s a hoot.  Enjoying the references is one thing, but
Dekker loves these types of films and above everything this is no pastiche but
an honest attempt at making something in the genres he knew so well.  And in that he succeeds.  Night of the Creeps is great fun and
measures up to its influences in style. 

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS / CERT: 18 /
DIRECTOR & SCREENWRITER: FRED DEKKER / STARRING: JASON LIVELY, TOM ATKINS,
STEVE MARSHALL, JILL WHITLOW, WALLY TAYLOR / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Originally released theatrically in the UK
in a double-bill with the Chuck Norris action film An Eye For An Eye (and subsequently in the early pre-regulated
UK  VHS home video days by Embassy Home
Entertainment alongside the likes of Escape
From New York and Codename: The
Soldier) Richard Franklin’s Road
Games (aka Roadgames in the opening credits)  is also a film that STARBURST championed
first-time around in an early 1980s edition of the magazine.

It is an unusual entry in the Australian
New Wave of that time, not least in the fact that this Australian set horror
film has two Americans (Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis) in the leads. The
title might lead you into thinking that this is another Mad Max-style thriller, given that that film’s Production Designer,
John Dowding and composer Brian May (not the Queen guitarist, I must add) also
lend their talents to the film. In terms of visuals, it does remind one of
George Miller’s classic in the broad strokes of open road. However, this is
more of a psychologically-driven piece and evokes memories of Duel, The Hitcher and Wolf Creek as a reference point. It
works very well on this level and the total lack of gore and overall suggestion
that something isn’t quite right in the Outback actually heightens the
atmosphere.

Quid (Keach) is a truck driver who carts
all manner of things across the continental Oz landscape and is on his way to
deliver an urgent supply of meat to Perth amidst a butchers strike affecting
the Western side of the country. With a trusty pet dingo, Boswell, in tow, he
notices at one stop somebody in an upstairs window observing the rubbish bins,
a fact not lost on Boswell.

Back on the road, he picks up a stranded
woman whose husband drove off, but notices a green van parked by the side of
the road and a man allegedly digging a hole, who stops when Quid sees him. The
woman is dropped off at a gas station and Quid tries to notify the local
authorities. Later on the journey, he picks up another woman (Jamie Lee
Curtis), who he calls Hitch, who may or may not have something to hide….

Road
Games is an intriguing, stylish thriller and
heightens the paranoia that Keach’s character feels, particularly in the verbal
games that he plays with his passengers to pass the time. This was also
Franklin’s calling-card to Hollywood and led him to direct the admirable sequel
Psycho II, scripted by Tom (FRIGHT NIGHT) Holland. Given the popularity of
the serial killer genre, this film may just have far more impact this time
around than it did 35 years ago on its original release. Fans who are expecting
more bloodshed and surprises of that ilk may be disappointed, but if you read
it as a more suggestive piece, you will not be.

ROAD GAMES / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: RICHARD
FRANKLIN / SCREENPLAY: EVERETT DE ROCHE / STARRING: STACY KEACH, JAMIE LEE
CURTIS, MARION EDWARD, GRANT PAGE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW