THE BOXTROLLS

DVD REVIEW: THE BOXTROLLS / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: GRAHAM ANNABLE, ANTHONY STACCHI / SCREENPLAY: IRENA BRIGNULL, ADAM PAVA / STARRING: BEN KINGSLEY, ISAAC HEMPSTEAD WRIGHT, ELLE FANNING, JARED HARRIS, NICK FROST, RICHARD AYOADE, SIMON PEGG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Animation studio LAIKA has so far produced some pretty excellent work; their 3D stop motion is distinctive and extremely pretty and their previous movies (Coraline and Paranorman) contained fresh and clever stories presented in a fantastic way. The Boxtrolls is their third feature film, and is every bit as remarkable as the last two.

The movie transports us to the town of Cheesebridge, a place controlled by the cheese-obsessed White Hats, super-privileged gentlemen who are disinterested in anything that isn’t a dairy product. Sadly, this includes their own children. Lurking beneath the streets of this odd town are the Boxtrolls; canny little beasties who love to tinker with machinery and stay hidden from people. They are so kind and careful that they have even raised an orphan child as one of their own. Of course, this baby grows up to be our main protagonist, a boy called Eggs. Unfortunately for the Boxtrolls, the nefarious Archibald Snatcher has convinced the idiotic townsfolk that the shy creatures are horrible flesh-eating monsters that must be destroyed. Snatcher (voiced by a scenery munching Ben Kingsley) wants to become a White Hat himself, and the best way for him to achieve this is to exterminate all the trolls. In true LAIKA fashion, it’s up to the children in the town to save the day.

They are enough themes and multi-layered meaning in Boxtrolls to keep a team of Media Studies students busy for days but, much like Paranorman, the movie works better if you simply sit back and take it all in. It does have some mildly scary scenes, so those with sensitive little ones may want to watch it first before showing it to their beloved spawn.

This film does lack something on the small screen; LAIKA’s attention to detail and incredibly dense visual style benefits greatly from being on the big screen. This doesn’t make the movie any less visually striking, and the animation (and character design) is beautiful (and anarchic) throughout. In addition to Ben Kingsley’s performance, Nick Frost and Richard Ayoade are also particularly memorable as the incompetent henchmen Mr Trout and Mr Pickles.

The extras are nice; the directors are quite happy to talk about their work and the various behind the scenes pieces and featurettes give us a great insight into how LAIKA pulls off its complicated movie miracles, though fans of animation won’t be particularly wowed by the features. Over all, The Boxtrolls is great fun for all the family and will certainly keep small ones quiet throughout.

DOCTOR WHO – LAST CHRISTMAS

DVD REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO – LAST CHRISTMAS / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: PETER WILMSHURST / SCREENPLAY: STEVEN MOFFAT / STARRING: PETER CAPALDI, JENNA COLEMAN, NICK FROST, NATALIE GUMEDE, MICHAEL TROUGHTON, NATHAN MCMULLEN, DAN STARKEY / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 26TH

The Doctor and Clara arrives at a remote research facility in the North Pole where the crew are under attack from terrifying alien crabs who attach themselves to their heads and suck out their brains. Ah, if only…

Of course, this is a Steven Moffat Doctor Who episode – a Steven Moffat Christmas Doctor Who, no less – so things are, sadly, never quite as they seem. Last Christmas is, inevitably, no traditional exciting runaround adventure with the Doctor fighting off the advances of a gruesome alien threat. The alien crabs are, of course, ‘dream crabs’ and they only exist when people think about them and they plunge their victims into a dreamlike state as they – very slowly – absorb their brains. Cue a typically wordy, full-of-itself Steven Moffat Doctor Who revolving around yet another twist on the writer’s preferred story type featuring aliens existing somewhere at the edge of perception. For God’s sake, what’s wrong with a few tooled-up robots or tentacled things which are just too no-good for the hell of it rather than relying on the ‘you can’t see it!’ gimmick Moffat has been running into the ground since he hit gold with the Weeping Angels in 2007?

But Last Christmas isn’t as disastrous a festive special as last year’s appalling Time of the Doctor or the horribly-uneventful The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe from 2011. It’s powered by – and saved by – another crackling performance from Peter Capaldi and the ‘dream crabs’, despite the over-familiarity of their modus operendi, are a bit more repellent and visceral than many of the muscular monsters (Zygons, Ice Warriors, Judoon) the show tends to specialise in when it does get around to featuring some more typical Doctor Who nasties. But the ‘dream-within-a-dream’ storyline doesn’t have even a whiff of originality about it, and by the end it all gets a bit wearing as the whole drama has been undersold by the fact that we’re on our guard not to believe that anything we’re watching is actually happening. Moffat does, cleverly, toy with our expectations of the ultimate fate of long-time companion Clara (Coleman), who looks as if she’s really leaving the show this time and there’s a certain joyousness in her ‘clean slate’ reuniting with the Doctor as the two rush off into the future at the end of the adventure. But it does seem a shame that the beautifully-bittersweet finale of Death in Heaven has been sold down the river by the pair carrying on travelling together for at least one more season, but in the end we have to expect this sort of frustrating disappointment from Moffat who’s quite clearly making this all up as he goes along.

Where the story fails catastrophically, however, is as a standalone Christmas Doctor Who special. Moffat’s predecessor, the peerless Russell T. Davies, knew that the Christmas episodes were an ideal opportunity to ‘sell’ the series to a captive audience who might not normally watch the show so he carefully structured his always-enjoyable festive specials to draw in casual or disinterested viewers by some clever piece of marquee casting or ‘big concept’ storyline. Last Christmas boasts only Nick Frost as Santa and a fiddly too-cerebral-for-Christmas story which relies on at least some knowledge of the previous twelve episodes to fully understand and appreciate the relationship between the Doctor and Clara and the relevance of certain narrative beats – Clara’s dream of a happy home life with Danny Pink – and almost the entire final ten minutes. Last Christmas doesn’t specifically exclude new viewers but, along with its pedestrian story and remarkably unspectacular execution, it doesn’t exactly welcome them on board with open arms and the promise of the trip of a lifetime. This, along with the show’s slightly falling stock in the UK (and ever-changing TV-viewing habits, admittedly), is why the likes of Voyage of the Damned (Kylie! On the Titanic!) drew nearly 14 million viewers and Last Christmas struggled to appeal to 9 million.

Despite its largely-static nature, Last Christmas looks rich and gorgeous on DVD and Blu-ray and whilst the special features are minimal – the thirteen-minute Doctor Who Extra screened online following the TV transmission and a chatty and genuinely-detailed commentary from director Wilsmhurst and producer Paul Frift – they pretty much tell you all you need to know about the making of the episode. Last Christmas isn’t a clunker by any means; the show has given us far far worse in recent years but as a brash, bouncy, feelgood festive special it is very much (wait for it) not what the Doctor ordered.

Special Features: Audio commentary / ‘Doctor Who Extra’
 

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DREW: THE MAN BEHIND THE POSTER

DVD REVIEW: DREW: THE MAN BEHIND THE POSTER / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: ERIK SHARKEY / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: DREW STRUZAN, STEVEN SPIELBERG, GUILLERMO DEL TORO, HARRISON FORD, MICHAEL J. FOX / RELEASE DATE: TBC

What would be your favourite movie poster? Maybe it’s the one for Back to the Future with Marty McFly standing next to the DeLorean and staring at his watch in amazement? How about the legendary Return of the Jedi artwork showing the lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader with the latter’s helmet malevolently dominating the background? Surely the poster for John Carpenter’s The Thing showing hypnotic, startling light bursting from the hood of a parka would be up there?

Whatever your choice, there is a very good chance it will have been created by Drew Struzan, a man who has quietly, yet significantly, influenced filmgoers for around 40 years with his paintings as much as any of the numerous legendary directors for whom he became the go-to guy.

Beginning his career creating album covers, including one iconic piece of work for Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare, Drew’s talent was quickly recognised and offers for more lucrative film posters began to flood in. Not until he produced art for a little known film called Star Wars, though, did things really begin to change for him.

Erik Sharkey’s documentary, Drew: The Man Behind the Poster, does exactly what it needs to do, but perhaps doesn’t do any more than that. There are an abundance of interviews with Drew himself, his wife, and an impressive roll call of Hollywood royalty from Steven Spielberg to Guillermo Del Toro, and the praise for his work verges on the euphoric. There is no doubt that Drew’s posters have sold cinema seats as much as any trailer could, and with credits including the Indiana Jones series and Blade Runner there is no doubt that the often used word “legend” is extremely apt in his case. Where the film does miss the mark slightly is in the slight repetition of this praise, with the only dark career shadow cast by an unscrupulous management team who siphoned off money and original works. Even that works out well in the end.

The difficulty the filmmakers faced is that Drew is a quiet, unassuming man who just wants to paint and perhaps, while being one of the unsung heroes of modern pop culture, hasn’t led the rock n’ roll lifestyle that makes a documentary fizz with illicit revelations and dark secrets. This is a man who has carved out an extraordinary career, for the most part under the radar, existing in a world in which a perfect poster remains imprinted on your brain, but may never lead you to ask the question of who painted it.

Certainly appealing more to an age group that grew up without the instant rush of social media and the ability to source anything, anytime, Drew: The Man Behind the Poster will twang nostalgic heartstrings and stir memories of seeing these amazing movie posters for the first time. That said, this is a hugely enjoyable, non-invasive portrait of a man whose work speaks louder than his words, and for that alone is essential viewing for anyone with a passing interest in the art form.

Iconic is another word too often used, but in the case of Drew Struzan, so much of his work is.

Special Features: TBC
 

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WHERE THE DEVIL HIDES

DVD REVIEW: WHERE THE DEVIL HIDES / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: CHRISTIAN E. CHRISTIANSEN / SCREENPLAY: KARL MUELLER / STARRING: RUFUS SEWELL, ALYCIA DEBNAM CAREY, ADELAIDE KANE, THOMAS MCDONELL, COLM MEANEY / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 26TH

There are some films that arrive with a noticeable hint of dejected failure about them. Others carry a barely recognisable scent of embarrassed resignation that slowly emanates from within your DVD player, as if the filmmakers know they have something deeply terrible on their hands but had to do something… so they released it. Where the Devil Hides, on the other hand, launches a wholly unpleasant sensory assault on any viewer unlucky enough to have unwittingly pressed play.

Released in U.S. cinemas very briefly under the title The Devil’s Hand some two years ago, Christian E. Christiansen’s film jumps awkwardly between various genres and borrows unsuccessfully from numerous cinematic sources. Initially focussing on the supernatural, the story begins in an isolated, and non-specific, religious community (we’ll get to that later) and the warning of a soon to be realised prophecy. Said prophecy declares the commencement of a countdown to biblical levels of destruction if 6 girls are born on the 6th day of the 6th month; the conclusion of which comes on the eve of their 18th birthdays. Then only one will remain and she will become the right hand of the devil himself, condemning the world to darkness. Elder Deacon (Meaney) truly believes in all this but is thwarted in his attempts at mass infanticide by the father of one of the girls, Jacob (Sewell). As the notable birthday approaches, one of the group, Jacob’s daughter Mary (Debnam Carey), begins to experience seizures and visions, and when two girls go missing under suspicious circumstances the community begins to believe the prophecy may actually be coming true.

Where the Devil Hides appears to be aiming for a supernaturally influenced thriller somewhere between Peter Weir’s Witness and formulaic-but-fun teen flick I Know What You Did Last Summer. After a few spooky goings-on in early scenes, however, the story moves into standard slasher movie territory with even the mysterious killer sporting a wardrobe reminiscent of the latter’s murderous antagonist. Sometime later the film embarks on a curious, sexually-awkward coming-of-age storyline before quickly realising it really wants to be a slasher film after all while returning to even more spookiness in the final act.

Simply put, this film is a disastrous mess. There is no sign of a comprehensive narrative, perhaps understandable given the trio of credited editors, and displays levels of confusion that implies no one voice had any control over the project. Among the many issues, and definitely the most disappointing, is the lack of any real commitment to the cause. Refusing to give a name to the religious group at the centre of the piece smacks of politically correct cowardice, and in sterilising any hint of horror to the point of blandness the film has failed in everything it has set out to do; not scary, not tense… just not interesting.

It would be prudent to state, though, that amid the wreckage of this cinematic catastrophe are two small, barely discernible positives. Colm Meaney is always watchable and voraciously chews the scenery as if the catering truck was late every day. He manages to be the singular creditable presence and carries just enough ambiguity as to be moderately menacing. The second is in the song that accompanies the end credits, although sheer relief may have played a factor in affecting judgement.

Special Features: None
 

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JESSABELLE

DVD REVIEW: JESSABELLE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: KEVIN GREUTERT / SCREENPLAY: ROBERT BEN GARANT / STARRING: SARAH SNOOK, MARK WEBBER, JOELLE CARTER, DAVID ANDREWS / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 2ND

Editor Kevin Greutert might be best known for his work on the Saw series (even directing the fourth and 3D entries) but his third feature is a far cry from the torture porn and splatter-fest of modern horror’s most enduring franchise.

Jessabelle is dependent on genre fail-safes, utilising familiar themes, plot points and scenarios. After a car accident which kills her boyfriend and unborn baby, Jessie (Snook) stays with her hick father to continue her slow and painful rehabilitation. Stranded in a wheelchair, she soon learns uncomfortable truths about herself and her mother who died when she was a baby.

Greutert ditches the dread and debauchery of Saw for a lighter more introspective touch, the finished product looking more like a coming of age indie drama, with a score reminiscent of something conjured up by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. It’s very well shot, and the editing is precise and effective, both giving glimpses into the filmmaker’s potential. But the script from jack-of-all-trades Robert Ben Garant is the film’s major shortcoming.

Jessabelle is a story of possession which trivialises Haitian culture for a few cheap thrills. It sees Jessie tormented for the better part of 90 minutes for no other reason than she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The most unsettling scenes are watching the videos of her mother that Jessie discovers, documenting her descent into the cancer she won’t accept treatment for. That said, horror films need to stop relying on tarot cards to progress weak scripts. Stylistically different, thematically familiar, and insultingly bland, Jessabelle is one for fans of Ouija and Annabelle only.

Special Features: Audio commentary / Featurette / Outtakes / Deleted Scenes
 

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TREEHOUSE


DVD REVIEW: TREEHOUSE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: MICHAEL G. BARTLETT / SCREENPLAY: ALEX CHILD, MILES HARRINGTON / STARRING: J. MICHAEL TRAUTMANN, DANA MELANIE, CLINT JAMES, DANIEL FREDRICK / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW


One day, a young girl, Elizabeth (Melanie), discovers that her younger brother has been kidnapped from her rural home, and so she nervously pursues whomever or whatever has taken him into the woods, only to presumably vanish without a trace. Then, we’re introduced to Killian (Trautmann), who is shy, isolated and always relies on his older brother Crawford (Fredrick). When the duo decides to organise a secret double date in the woods, they unwittingly stumble across an old deserted treehouse. As soon as they start investigating it, they discover the terrified Elizabeth, who tells them of her ordeal; that some unknown force had taken her brother. Crawford tells them he will go for help as Elizabeth is in no fit state to move, leaving her and Killian hiding for their lives as an unknown evil closes in.


So the film starts off at a yomping pace, and continues on with that pace, and along the way, you know that this clearly marks the emergence of a new breed of talent within the horror genre. Like the works of horror maestro John Carpenter before him, director Michael Bartlett possesses a visual style and flare that is stark and visceral. Bartlett succeeds in creating and capturing that taut and claustrophobic vision of these two injured, traumatised teenagers trapped in a dark, foreboding woodland setting that is populated by multiple, largely unseen blood-hungry predators. The cinematography and camera work are top-notch with the occasional lingering point of view shot to create tension, plus the use of sound is superbly spine chilling. In a sense, Treehouse isn’t really much of a full-on horror movie, but more of a slasher thriller that thankfully doesn’t veer into Wrong Turn territory.


As far as the two main lead performances are concerned, J. Michael Trautmann feels less assured as Killian, going from weakened kid to hardened man. It may be to do with clunky character development or him struggling with the dialogue, but it’s somewhat telling with Trautmann’s lack of experience in a leading role. In the end, it’s Dana Melanie who truly stands out as the real star of the show as she completely dominates the entire screen. Spawning from the long line of “final girls” of slasher yore, Melanie brings an underlying emotional core and strength to the role of Elizabeth that contrasts with her slight frame and feminine fragility. She is undeniably a true rising star, and there’s no doubt we’ll see much more of her in the near future.


On the downside, some of the dialogue is ropey, and there will be mixed reactions about the open ending, which is somewhat illogical, implausible and confounding. It’s not a devastating decision, but it’s still a “WTF!?” moment.


In the end, while there are inadequate faults with the script and some ungainly performances, Treehouse overcomes its flaws with its core aesthetic, visceral atmosphere, Dana Melanie’s towering performance, and ultimately delivering on its promise to scare the pants off you.


GRACE THE POSSESSION

DVD REVIEW: GRACE THE POSSESSION / CERT 15 / DIRECTOR: JEFF CHAN / SCREENPLAY: JEFF CHAN, CHRIS PARE / STARRING: ALEXIA FAST, LIN SHAYE, ALAN DALE, CLARKE PETERS / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 19TH

Eighteen-year-old Catholic girl Grace (Fast) goes to college after a strict and puritanical upbringing from her fearsome grandmother Helen (Shaye). Although determined to remain a good girl in a hedonistic new environment, Grace is drawn into the party lifestyle of her new friends and colleagues. But something’s not right, something’s tormenting her with visions and hallucinations and after passing out at a party she’s whisked home by her Nan for some r‘n’r… but Grace remains haunted by the memory of the horrific death of her mother who died giving birth to her, and the terrible destructive urges she realises she can’t control…

At first blush it looks as if we’ll be settling down to watch another lo-fi Carrie wannabe; naive young girl adrift amidst the worldly-wise and corrupted by some unspeakable power she’s barely aware of. High school hi-jinks ahoy! What’s intriguing about this set-up though is the way it’s being played out; this isn’t exactly a ‘found footage’ effort but the story is told from Grace’s perspective (or, as we find out, the perspective of whatever’s inside her) – we see her only in passing, usually reflected in mirrors. It’s a neat conceit, entirely disconcerting but absolutely beguiling and we look forward to watching Grace wreak havoc across the campus as she’s undoubtedly humiliated and tormented by her new teen chums.

But not a bit of it. After about half-an-hour – and a bit too soon, frankly – the film changes direction. The High School and its temptations are left behind when Helen takes Grace home and she has to come to terms with the fact that she’s harbouring something very nasty and very destructive. If she’s to control and even rid herself of it she needs to find out what it is and where it comes from – which means she has to find out the truth about her mother’s death. Much chaos ensues as the creature within rises to the fore and starts to do a Linda Blair on all and sundry…

There’s nothing much new in Grace The Possession and yet it’s still a snappy and engrossing experience. The first person perspective gimmick helps take our minds off the fact that the whole movie is shamelessly ripping off both Carrie and The Exorcist and Fast, although we don’t see much of her, is compelling and likable as the naïve innocent out of her depth in her own body in every respect imaginable. The about-face from the familiar High School setting back to Grace’s more insular home environment is jarring at first but is actually a brave narrative move which pulls the rug right out from our expectations and leaves us wondering quite where we’re heading next. The film thunders confidently towards its climax (some decent low-key FX as Grace’s demonic passenger reveals himself) and an entirely unambiguous ending which reminds us that sometimes things don’t always turn out absolutely for the best. Grace the Possession rattles along and finally clocks in at around eighty minutes; but for once this is a straight-to-DVD effort which not only doesn’t outstay its welcome, but which actually could have done with an extra thirty minutes or so to put a bit more flesh and colour on the bones of a good story, surprisingly well told.
 

SANATORIUM

DVD REVIEW: SANATORIUM / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BRANT SERSEN / SCREENPLAY: BRANT SERSEN / STARRING: DON FANELLI, MEGAN NEURINGER, JUSTIN PURNELL, KATE RILEY, BEN RODGERS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It seems as if we now have to face the unpalatable truth that ‘found footage’ films will probably forevermore be a small part of our cinematic diet. Of course, it’s not all bad news – it is, after all, the genre that’s given us Chronicle, Cloverfield and Blair Witch, which pretty much started it all off in 1999. It’s also gifted us a lot of cheap and nasty twaddle too; there’s no escaping the constant stream of horrible horrors which slip onto our supermarket shelves week after week, somewhere between the broccoli and the cat food. ‘Found footage’ at least gives people with a nice camera but next to no money the chance to string something resembling a movie together, for better or for worse – and now again something quite good clambers out of the rubble and deserves a bit more acclaim that yer average Wrong House, Wrong Room or Wrong Breakfast Cereal. Case in point: Sanatorium.

However, it doesn’t start too promisingly. A gang of too-full-of-themselves filmmakers – they’re responsible for the apparently phenomenally popular TV series ‘Ghost Trackers’ – are on their way to seek out supernatural shenanigans at the long-abandoned Hillcrest Sanatorium, a facility where an insane inmate murdered three children in 1955. They’re a bouncy and slightly irritating bunch and they happily set up their spook-searching paraphernalia amongst the crumbling corridors and dusty debris, waving torches about in the darkness and waiting for signs of life from the dead.

So far, so what? We’ve seen all this before and it never ends well. But Sanatorium actually succeeds in ramping up some genuine tension not only by the usual gradual escalation of unearthly goings-on but by actually doing it with some style, imagination and wit. For once, the ‘found footage’ gimmick isn’t utterly intrusive and hokily contrived, and by the time the first eerie shadow appears on a wall and the disembodied voices start gibbering, we’ve pretty much forgotten this isn’t a ‘traditional’ movie at all. The location helps enormously, of course; the Sanatorium itself – dark rooms, crumbling paintwork, abandoned gurneys and wheelchairs – is more than enough to put the willies up the audience before everything goes pear-shaped and the girls start screaming, “Oh my God, oh my God” in the approved and required manner of the found footage feature. The last fifteen minutes or so are pretty hair-raising even if a little voice in the back of our minds is telling us that this is really nothing new and that we’re being played like cheap banjos.

But, absolutely contrary to any and all expectations, Sanatorium just works. Director/writer Sersen knows exactly which buttons to press to achieve the desired result and he handles the inevitable clichés and shock-jumps with a deftness and sophistication we’re just not used to from this type of cheapie. This is one Sanatorium you really won’t mind paying a visit – but you’ll probably want to put the lights on when you leave… just in case…
 

SIRIUS

DVD REVIEW: SIRIUS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: AMARDEEP SINGH KALEKA / SCREENPLAY: AMARDEEP SINGH KALEKA, LAURIE KNAPP / STARRING: THOMAS JANE, JACK AUMAN, CORRADO BALDUCCI / RELEASE DATE: MARCH 9TH

The United States (aka the World) is governed by the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) and by a cartel of four powerful banks that have a vested interest in oil. Aliens from outer space have visited us in the past, as recorded in religious texts and renaissance paintings, and they have returned again because we started testing and using atomic bombs. The aliens are rightly concerned that we will destroy ourselves and other planets. That’s the agenda set out by Dr Steven Greer, who is shown by this documentary as a hero crusading against the conspiracy that hides the truth about these alien visitations and their free energy technology that could easily release us from the grip of the banks and the MIC, and the mainstream media of course.

Greer, a former emergency room doctor, is shown lecturing to an audience that hangs on to every word he says and believes the films of blobs of light he shows on the screen behind him are the vehicles of extraterrestrial visitors. He acknowledges Dr Allen Hynek’s close encounters classification system, the one that Steven Spielberg used to title his Close Encounters of the Third Kind movie, and adds his own close encounter of the fifth kind. This encompasses the concept of seeking out and establishing psychic/telepathic communication with extraterrestrials through meditation. Is Greer siruis, sorry serious? Is this a spoof? There is nothing particularly new about his ideas – George Adamski, and many other contactees of the 1950s who said they met the occupants of spacecraft, had rides in them to nearby planets and were warned about the dangers of the atomic bomb.

We can dismiss Greer’s encounter group meetings at remote UFO hotspots as New Age mumbo jumbo, and his special workshops that teach you about ‘The Science of Consciousness and higher states of consciousness and how it applies to us & to Interstellar Civilizations and their technologies’, but the resourceful Greer has some solid evidence for the existence of aliens. This evidence is nothing less than a miniature alien corpse. The PR for the film promised that it would present “paradigm shifting physical evidence of a medically and scientifically analyzed DNA sequenced humanoid creature of unknown classification.” Though in reality there is no conclusive proof it is of an alien origin, and the media is blamed for ignoring its existence. All part of the cover-up to keep the established powers in control.

Using crowd sourcing to fund this production, it is a good-looking and well-presented film, but it is all based on a stack of suppositions to support the idea of a utopian future where we’ll communicate with extraterrestrials and enjoy the benefits of free energy. For sceptics its shows how an ET-based cult can be created and sustained in a world where the word of authority is regarded with deep suspicion.

Special Features: None
 

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NEKROMANTIK

BLU-RAY REVIEW: NEKROMANTIK / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: JORG BUTTGEREIT / SCREENPLAY: JORG BUTTGEREIT / STARRING: BERND DAKTARI LORENZ, BEATRICE MANOWSKI, HARALD LUNDT, COLLOSEO SCHULZENDORF / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Fans of extreme cinema rejoice! Jorg Buttergreit’s infamous German grindhouse movie arrives for the first time ever on UK home cinema. As we’ve come to expect by now, the fine folks at Arrow Video have done a fantastic job with this release, bringing British audiences the definitive Nekromantik experience. And ‘experience’ is the only word for Nekromantik.

The very basic story sees street cleaner Rob (not the sort that deals with cadavers rather than crisp packets) appropriate a decomposing corpse in order to spice up things in the bedroom with his wife, Betty. Wait, what? At first necrophiliacs Rob and Betty have a great time with their pet carcass, strapping various bits to his person and playing suck-eye with his lone remaining eyeball. As scenes of body horror go, this makes David Cronenberg look like Richard Curtis. For the duration of its big lovemaking scenes, Nekromantik is precisely as bad as its reputation suggests. That, coupled with its scenes of non-simulated animal murder and explicit grot, makes it a very difficult prospect.

Look past that (if you can), however, and you’ll be rewarded with one of the most original horror films ever made. Beyond its more obviously extreme elements, there’s a sweeter story than one might expect, and a dirty, almost surreal visual palette not dissimilar to Tobe Hooper’s classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The Blu-ray set comes with standard and high definition versions of the movie, plus an authentically dirty 35mm ‘Grindhouse’ print very much in keeping with the film’s aesthetic. To have it looking too cleaned up and tidy just wouldn’t do. This is a film, after all, that was made primarily to annoy Germany’s censors, with no intention on Buttergreit’s part of a subsequent career in filmmaking. The rest, as they say, is history.

That history is raked over in a comprehensive set of documentaries and commentaries available among the film’s bonus features. Arrow have done a bang (no pun intended) up job putting this one together, from the cover artwork to its compilation of special features. Shell out for the extra special edition, and you’ll find yourself the proud owner of the film’s soundtrack on CD (like Riz Ortolani’s Cannibal Holocaust score, it’s a thing of beauty among a lot of muck and putrescence). It may have taken almost thirty years to reach home video, but it’s been well worth the wait. There’s no better way to experience Nekromantik than this. As a rediscovery, it’s even better.

Nekromantik isn’t necessarily a film to be enjoyed, but it is one worth seeking out. It’s unpleasant, cruel to cats and bunny rabbits alike, and very rough around the edges, but it’s about as authentic and honest as horror cinema gets. You know, if you can look past all the carry-on with the carrion.

Special Features: Three audio commentaries / Director’s introduction to Nekromantik / ‘In conversation with The Death King’ interview with Butggereit / ‘Morbid Fascination’ documentary / Q&A with Buttgereit / Four featurettes / Buttgereit-directed music videos / Trailers / Stills gallery / Individually-numbered certificate / 5 exclusive limited edition polaroid postcards / 100-page book / 27-track CD soundtrack
 

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