Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

DVD REVIEW: DARKEST DAY / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: DAN RICKARD / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: DAN RICKARD, CHRIS WANDELL, SAMANTHA BOLTER / RELEASE DATE: MAY 25TH

A zero-budget film that started life as a student project, with a cast of first-time amateurs and that was recorded over a period of four years (with another three for post-production) was never going to be the next Citizen Kane. That Darkest Day, obviously heavily inspired by 28 Days Later, is as good a match as it is for the Danny Boyle classic is, frankly, astonishing.

Dan (director Rickard, playing the lead himself for reasons the documentary makes plain) wakes up on Brighton beach with no memory of the last few days, only to find the town devastated and empty. He soon hooks up with a small group of twenty-somethings who have survived the apocalypse, leading a largely hedonistic life away from the rural refugee camps, and all the while avoiding the infected that stalk the deserted streets.

What follows is not only as entertaining as a film with many times the resources, but also intelligent enough not to be predictable. That it takes place largely in daylight is a bonus, making the abandoned Brighton a genuinely eerie place. Some of the acting might not be brilliant, but by the end of the film almost everyone has picked their game up considerably.

What sets Darkest Day apart isn’t just what Rickard and crew have managed with a minuscule budget (you’d swear the raw footage had been given a Hollywood makeover prior to release), nor is it the superb cinematography and sharp editing (there is never a point at which this looks like it had been made by anyone other than seasoned, professional filmmakers), or the professional score and sound design (it sounds as good as it looks). What sets Darkest Day apart is the maturity of the film-making. Student filmmakers can so easily fall into the habit of gratuity for the sake of gratuity, and while some of the earlier sequences (which tend to resemble a zombie Made in Chelsea) threaten to push the film a little too hard in this direction, as soon as the plot kicks back in everyone pulls together to create something for more thoughtful, better-paced and well-characterised than Darkest Day had any right to be, right up to the poignant and elliptical ending.

It won’t win any awards for originality – as alluded to earlier, it’s precious little more than a remake of 28 Days Later, although the twist that gives the premise its momentum is both unexpected and yet entirely consistent with the rest of the plot. And Darkest Day isn’t worth seeing because Rickard and his friends have managed minor miracles with what little funds they had. It’s worth seeing in its own right, and we can’t recommend it any more highly than that.

Special Features: Making of (an absolutely essential watch!) / Two trailers
 

Additionally, for details of a May 11th cinema screening of the film in London, click here.

DVD REVIEW: BING: SWING AND OTHER EPISODES / CERT: U / DIRECTOR: NICKY PHELAN / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: ELLIOT KERLEY, MARK RYLANCE, EVE BENTLEY, AKIYA HENRY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Imagine a world where sentient knitted cuddly toys are tasked with bringing up talking toddler animals inside the confines of a world entirely suited to their needs. In what seems like some kind of idealistic biome, Bing (a young black bunny) learns valuable life lessons from his stuffing-filled carer, Flop, ranging from learning to cope when toys break to taking turns and where shadows come from. Is this some sinister alien plan to raise a menagerie and intelligent animals to conquer the universe? No, not really, it’s just a very endearing (if undeniably odd) children’s TV series aimed at pre-schoolers.

While the vivid colours and simplistic (yet effective) stories are a large part of the attraction here, the key to its resounding success is down to the wonderful Mark Rylance. It’s the Olivier Award-winning actor’s calming tones as Flop which really hook you in to the show’s purpose, essentially showing parents of little ones how best to guide their impressionable offspring through the various challenges facing them. The little knitted ‘parent’ takes everything in his stride, never gets cross and always keeps his cool (definitely an alien!).

There are 10 five-minute episodes here covering subjects such as sharing, winning and losing and generally learning to cope with disappointment. All are great and eminently re-watchable which is essential for parents of little ones who value repetition.

Beyond that there are no extra features, but then this is for toddlers and we doubt they’d be interested in a Director’s Commentary, unless it was narrated by Mark Rylance of course.

Special Features: None

 

DVD REVIEW: WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: KIAH ROACHE-TURNER / SCREENPLAY: KIAH ROACHE-TURNER, TRISTAN ROACHE-TURNER / STARRING: JAY GALLAGHER, BIANCA BRADLEY, LEON BURCHILL, LUKE MCKENZIE / RELEASE DATE: MAY 11TH

Following a stream of foreboding shooting stars, life in the Australian outback is turned on its head as everyone wakes up to find their friends and neighbours have turned into screeching flesh-eating zombies. But not all have succumbed. Sensing that a foul stench has filled the air, mechanic Barry tools up and hurls gasmasks onto his wife and daughter before making a break into the bush while his similarly ill-fated sister Brooke fights for survival in a barn filled with the evil dead. As both siblings struggle for survival, the living and the undead do their best to make the end of days as barbaric and bloody as possible.

While the story may sound familiar, director Kiah Roache-Turner adopts the Australian rules approach by sticking his survivors in full apocalyptic body armour and creating as much damage as possible while throwing in some hilariously typical Ozzie traits too. Sitting somewhere between Resident Evil and Mad Max, Wyrmwood (named after the falling star that heralds the rapture) punches the accelerator hard and doesn’t hit the break until the final credits roll, running over a hoard of exhaust-spewing zombies along the way.

And therein lies the most ingenious part of Roache-Turner’s zombie apocalypse: not only did the falling stars turn the living into the dead (unless you happen to have a rare blood type), but it also rendered all combustible liquids useless while at the same time turning the zombie’s blood into burnable fuel. You can see where that is going.

Wyrmwood may be lacking in certain areas, but the ballsy direction coupled with Ozzie humour, zombie engines and copious amounts of blood and gore means this is well on its way to being the best Australasian horror film to appear since Peter Jackson’s Braindead.

Perhaps the most commendable aspect of Wyrmwood is that it exists largely as a result of a crowdfunding campaign, taking around three to four years to make as the crew (who worked for nothing more than the passion of filmmaking) shot as and when they could. This prolonged period is documented in the 47-minute Wyrmwood Diaries that assembles fast-paced clips of the entire production process from initial set-up for the crowdfunding to the shoot and beyond, all of which is delivered with the same irreverent humour that burns through the veins of the film.

The original 7-minute teaser scene is also included along with two further crowdfunding videos, which laid out the filmmaker’s (brothers Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner) plans for the film that they wanted to make along with a thank you video to the funders (with the siblings in full zombie make-up) asking for help with post production.

Finally storyboards accompanied by crazy ‘70s funk music can be found, along with 10 deleted scenes totaling nearly 10 minutes are also included, along with the pre-requisite Director’s Commentary which is definitely worth a listen given the nature of the production.

Special Features: Director’s commentary / Wyrmwood Diaries featurette / 7-minute teaser / Crowdfunding videos / Deleted scenes / Storyboards

 

MOVIE REVIEW: STONEHEARST ASYLUM / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BRAD ANDERSON / SCREENPLAY: JOE GANGEMI / STARRING: KATE BECKINSALE, JIM STURGESS, DAVID THEWLIS, BRENDAN GLEESON, BEN KINGSLEY, MICHAEL CAINE / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 24TH (BOTH CINEMA AND DIGITAL RELEASE)

The year is 1899. Arriving at Stonehearst Asylum to continue his studies and gain much needed first-hand experience, Edward Newgate (Sturgess, drawing inspiration from Bram Stoker’s Jonathan Harker) finds the practices and policies of director Silas Lamb (Kingsley) strange to say the least. While struggling to understand Lamb’s theories that allow patients to mix freely with staff and enjoy the run of the hospital, Newgate becomes infatuated by one resident in particular; the mysterious Eliza Graves (Beckinsale). Only then does he discover the truth about the asylum.

The opening scenes of Brad Anderson’s homage to gothic noir bode very well indeed. Brendan Gleeson’s fiercely bearded doctor spouts forth on the nature of hysteria as unfortunate subjects are wheeled in and out of the lecture room insistently pleading their sanity. These shocking scenes then give way to external shots of the atmospheric titular asylum itself, an eerie mist enveloped institution that could give Castle Dracula a run for its money in the creepy, gothic stakes. So far so good. And then infuriatingly the film forgets entirely what it wants to be and becomes simply a tiresome checklist of routinely unimaginative horror tropes that are neither scary nor interesting.

Frustrated disappointment begins to pervade your soul almost immediately as the promise of the opening scenes fade like a misty memory. So much could have been good about Anderson’s film, but so little actually works. The sets, locations and costumes are beautifully shot by cinematographer Tom Yatsko, oozing as they are with Victorian grandeur, as misplaced opulence starkly contrasts with the brutal medical practices of the day. The performances of the cast could be deemed good, were they to be in entirely different films altogether. Kingsley’s supposedly sinister Lamb demonstrates little of this necessary trait, preaching as he does Ghandi-like acceptance rather than channelling Don Logan’s chilling temperament. Beckinsale swoons repeatedly with costume drama sensibility, Sturgess displays a presumably well-practiced stiff upper lip, while Sir Michael Caine simply grumbles at everyone in his vicinity before the under developed personality of his character is medically removed entirely. No cast member escapes the asylum in a better position than they went in, and later scenes give the unavoidable impression that motions were just being gone through.

The confused nature of the film becomes more noticeable in the middle third. The reveal that the lunatics have indeed taken over the asylum comes too early and removes any essence of mystery or intrigue. As the inmates then become more and more cliché-based in their extravagances, and the thinly veiled morality is wafted around like an extremely blunt medical instrument all sense of dread and peril disappears and you find yourself wondering what happened to the film you began watching all those long minutes ago.

As for Anderson, his back catalogue shows that he can do much, much better. The Machinist was a deeply troubling character study while Session 9, although not entirely successful, hinted at a rare ability to balance tension and scares. Instead of drawing on this experience to create a modern horror that reverentially references classic Hammer styles while capitalising on the Edgar Allan Poe’s source material, instead Stonehearst Asylum is just bland and forgettable.

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

BLU-RAY REVIEW: MASSACRE GUN / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: YASUHARU HASEBE / SCREENPLAY: YASUHARU HASEBE, RYUZO NAKANISHI / STARRING: JO SHISHIDO, TATSUYA FUJI, JIRO OZAZAKI, RYOJI HAYAMA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

For many, film noir conjures images of smoky bars, the femme fatale and a smoking gun in a decidedly American setting. But since the ‘40s, Japan has been producing consistently exciting and visually dynamic films to rival the world over. Yasuharu Hasebe’s Massacre Gun, released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video, isn’t the definitive word or indeed essential viewing, but as a document on Japanese crime cinema, it’s a vivid entry point.

After being forced to kill his lover, mob hitman Kuroda (Shishido) resigns from his employers and joins up with his brothers Eiji (Fuji) and up-and-coming boxer Saburô (Okazaki), all of whom have been on the wrong end of the mob’s anger. The three of them orchestrate a calculated retaliation which quickly leads to a brutal turf war. The final scene is a beautifully choreographed shoot out, taken straight from a spaghetti western.

It has all the swagger of the archetypal film noir but with a superior technical prowess. The intricacy of shot construction leads to repeating motifs of shapes and shades of grey, but doesn’t stifle the fluidity of the camera movements. In fact, it’s often very playful, using quick zooms to pick out character expressions in a crowd. Cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka manages to use intimate shots of exquisitely lit night clubs, to vast open shots of a beach and burning ship with a meandering back and forth between light and dark. Between him and art director Takeo Kimura, Massacre Gun really does let you hang every frame on your wall.

But it’s not all shadowy figures and cigarette smoke; there’s some lush shots which show off the swinging ‘60s in the fashion, cars and haircuts. The understated soundtrack too is superb, from smooth jazz and moody blues, to more invigorating bebop. Many of the film’s best sequences are just of the shadowed club with songs from Ken Sanders. Many of the sound effects, particularly the punching, hasn’t dated well. But the gunshots, and there’s an absurd amount, pack a wallop.

Massacre Gun doesn’t have the most compelling plot, but it has terrific central performances, a considered visual style and great pacing. Filled with a sly humour and subtle gore effects, it’s the yakuza flick to introduce you to the heady world of Japanese mob movies.

Special Features: Interviews / Trailers / Promotional gallery / Booklet
 

DVD REVIEW: KOIMONOGATARI / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: AKIYUKI SHINBO, TOMOYUKI ITAMURA / SCREENPLAY: AKIYUKI SHINBO, FUYASHI TOU / STARRING: HIROSHI KAMIYA, EMIRI KATOU, YUI HORIE, SHINICHIRO MIKI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Koimonogatari is the final in the Mongatori Series Second Season, and takes its story from the twelfth book in Nisio Isin’s light novel series. It’s an avant garde approach to anime culminating in a story arc which is as much an occult tinged detective story as it is a cosmically fated love story.

The six episode story, titled Hitagi End, follows on from previous release Shinobu Time. It sees Hitagi ask con man Kaiki, whom she hates, to deceive the recently made deity of snakes, Nadeko. She is planning on killing Hitagi and Koyomi when they graduate only 74 days later. He reluctantly agrees, and kick-starts a narrative with all the nuance of a good detective novel with the endearing weirdness that typifies the franchise. Kaiki is an engaging main character, both morose and calculating and he certainly makes a change from Koyomi dominating the screen with his creepy antics.

The lush animation combines traditional character models on top of pristine CG backdrops and settings. The visual aesthetic is uniform with previous arcs, maintaining the same trippy subtleties and flashcards brandishing the protagonist’s inner thoughts.

There’s no English dub, but given the weighty themes and distinct visual flair, that won’t be much of an issue for fans. Newcomers might find the style overwhelming, but it’s one of the strongest entries so far and there’s enough context to sink into the narrative.

Although the story is often long winded, it’s a powerful study of the human condition with an ending that’ll take you completely by surprise. Quirky, moving and delightfully unusual, Koimonogatari is for those looking for something more cerebral.

Special Features: TV Spots / Openings / Traileres

DVD REVIEW: BENEATH / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BEN KETAI / SCREENPLAY: PATRICK DOODY, CHRIS VALENZIANO / STARRING: BRENT BRISCOE, ASHWAY LAWVER, JEFF FAHEY, ERIC ETEBARI, MOLLY HAGAN, JOEY KERN / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 20TH

If, like us, you’re a little jaded by the current fad for horror movies that purport to be true stories, then the opening title for this film reading “Inspired by true events” will no doubt elicit a heavy sigh and a mutter of “here we go again”.

But, the good news is that Beneath is actually a good thriller. It isn’t some over sensationalised haunting or possession, it’s the story of a group of coal miners trapped six hundred feet underground after a disastrous collapse cuts off their means of returning to the surface, the tunnel weakened when the large drill they’re using breaches the wall of another cavernous mine.

As the miners await a rescue which might not come, paranoia starts to creep in and it begins to seem that they’re not alone. Stories of a mine collapse in the old mine (presumably the one they’ve just accidentally drilled into) begin to fill their minds, along with the fables of madness which infected their trapped predecessors.

Okay, so those camp fire stories are enough to creep anybody out, but the real enemy in this unusual film aren’t anything as fanciful as zombie miners from the 1920s. Rather, it’s the fact that they’re running out of oxygen as the spare tanks go missing and the fan which draws the poisonous methane out and brings fresh air in has been destroyed meaning the air is becoming more toxic.

As the miners’ paranoia mounts and the bad air is causing hallucinations, the group begin to turn on each other. The make-up effects, particularly on the injuries caused by the collapse, including a particularly realistically gristly and graphic compound fracture, are far beyond what you’d expect from a direct-to-DVD offering, as are the performances from the largely unknown cast.

Yes, the film lapses into the predictable sudden “light thrown upon something frightening, with an accompanying blast of loud music” cliché that most of the films set underground are prone to, but that’s only to be expected.

All in all, a satisfying chiller that’s not too taxing and has some depth.

Special Features: Two featurettes

 

DVD REVIEW: SUCK / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ROB STEFANIUK / SCREENPLAY: ROB STEFANIUK / STARRING: ROB STEFANIUK, JESSICA PARÉ, PAUL ANTHONY, MALCOLM MCDOWELL / RELEASE DATE: MAY 4TH

Suck is a curious addition to the horror/comedy genre in that it is both horrific and funny as well as being a musical… well, in as much as the protagonists are a struggling band that perform to unappreciative audiences in seedy, whisky-soaked dives.

Suck is the creation of its writer, director, actor and author of seven of the film’s original songs, Rob Stefaniuk (if you want something doing right…). The Winners are a failing rock band that suddenly discover the beginnings of fame and success when their bass player (Paré) becomes a hypnotically alluring vampire. But their rising notoriety soon earns them the unwanted attention of Eddie van Helsin (Malcolm McDowell), a vampire hunter who has sworn to slay the vampire that killed his wife.

Being as this is a Canadian film, the humour is much dryer than what their neighbours south of the border might produce, but if you like your humour delivered deadpan (pun intended) then you’ll find Suck to be a very amusing movie indeed. One comedic little gem is in the matter-of-fact way the band’s manager (Kids in the Hall’s Dave Foley) greets a near death groupie that has inadvertently become the bands post-gig snack. Chris Ratz. as the bands French-Canadian roadie Hugo, gives a wonderfully subtle performance as a man whom craves immortality. Instead he not only has to lug the bands equipment about, he’s also charged with corpse disposal which slowly drives him into the arms of insanity. Think Renfield and you’ll get the idea.

As you would expect from a film that centres on a rock band, there are music references aplenty as well as some great cameos from rock royalty. Alice Cooper effortlessly portrays a bar tender that is anything but what he appears to be. He has plans for The Winners. Iggy Pop plays the bands producer, a man who has been in the music business so long that vampires are nothing unusual to him. And then there’s vegan Moby, who plays the frontman of a band called Steak, a band that relishes having raw, bloody meat thrown at them by their adoring audience. Henry Rollins is perfect as an opinionated radio DJ, Dimitri Coats as the hypnotically creepy Anne Rice-style-like vampire Queeny and Rush’s Alex Lifeson as an NRA card carrying US border guard round off the cameos.

Stefaniuk does an amazing job as director on this his first feature. He skilfully uses footage of a young McDowell from O Lucky Man! in a flashback sequence. But there is very occasionally the sense that, with juggling so many balls, the narrative flow does slightly go off track. However, the instantly likeable characters, impressively stylish visuals, catchy tunes and clever use of stop-motion travel scenes more than atone for any of the films short comings.

Not only is Suck genuinely worthy of the comedy/horror moniker but it’s also an effective little treatise about just how far a struggling band will go in order to make it into the big time, and that you can’t escape what fate has in store for you, be it good or bad.

Special Features: “Down to the Crossroads or: How to Make a Movie SUCK” featurette / Audio commentary / Trailer