DARK HOUSE

DVD REVIEW: DARK HOUSE / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: VICTOR SALVA / SCREENPLAY: CHARLES AGRON, VICTOR SALVA / STARRING: LUKE KLEINTANK, ALEX MCKENNA, ANTHONY REY PEREZ, ZACK  WARD, TOBIN BELL, LESLEY-ANNE DOWN / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 5TH

Nick Di Santo (Kleintank) has a unique talent. When he touches people, he can see how they’ll die. After his mother – a patient in a mental hospital – is incinerated by the voice that speaks to her through the wall, Nick discovers he has inherited a house that he never knew existed but which, weirdly, he has been drawing pictures of ever since childhood. He decides to check it out, accompanied by his heavily pregnant girlfriend Eve (McKenna) and his best friend Ryan (Rey Perez), only to be told it was swept down the valley by a flood that some locals believe was God’s attempt to destroy the house forever. As far as anyone knows, God succeeded. But when Nick and his companions locate the house they find it occupied by the menacing Seth (Bell) who not only warns them to stay away from the place but then, just to make the warning explicitly clear, sends several axe-wielding maniacs after them.

The only problem is that something in the house won’t let them go and when their escape inexplicably leads them back to the titular property, and Eve looks as if she might have the baby at any moment, Nick and friends have no choice but to venture inside and confront the gruesome secret that lurks behind the crumbling walls.

Victor Salva has had a chequered career, for reasons we won’t go into here, with his 2001 film Jeepers Creepers being his greatest success. There are moments during the first half of Dark House when it seems Salva might finally have trumped Jeepers Creepers, neatly building tension and unravelling a story that has some genuinely creepy promise, but all that good work is quickly let down by a script that badly goes south during the second half of the film.

It’s a shame because that first half introduces a few interesting ideas and builds some effective atmosphere. Nick’s ‘psychic’ abilities and his relationships with Eve and Ryan are sketched-in nicely and there’s a welcome cameo by Lesley-Anne Down as Nick’s mother, who reneges on the deal she has with the voice in the wall and pays dearly for it. There is some excellent cinematography, the backwoods location is suitably disorienting even in bright sunlight, and the house itself is definitely not a place anyone would choose to spend the night. Tobin Bell once again plays sinister excellently, but looks a little too Lance Henriksen for our liking, and the gang of axe-men he controls transform strikingly from crouched, heavy-metal Planet of the Apes rejects who race through the trees hurling their weapons like martial arts throwing-stars to unnervingly still Terracotta Warrior-types, standing like statues, waiting for the silent command to strike. There’s also a terrific moment when Nick and co. enter what appears to be an empty ghost town, looking through the café windows to see chairs stacked on tables while – in a reverse shot from inside the café – the place is packed with diners, eating, chatting, ignoring the strangers staring in from the outside.

But the good parts are outweighed by some Scooby Doo-worthy ‘let’s go back in the house/hump in the back of the van where we’re sure to be killed’ storytelling and a third act twist that might have been cool in the hands of another screenwriter but is absolutely ridiculous with Salva and co-writer Charles Agron in charge. And let’s not get started on the lazy ending.

A wasted opportunity after its initial first half promise.
 

WE STILL KILL THE OLD WAY

DVD REVIEW: WE STILL KILL THE OLD WAY / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: SACHA BENNETT / DOUGIE BRIMSON, SACHA BENNETT, GARY LAWRENCE / STARRING: CHRISTOPHER ELLISON, IAN OGILVY, STEVEN BERKOFF, LYSETTE ANTHONY, ALISON DOODY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

There is a strong theme of respect running through the very heart of Sacha Bennett’s old-school gangster homage We Still Kill the Old Way. When ageing East End bad boy Charlie (Berkoff) is killed by a gang of hideous hoodies led by upstart Aaron (the impressive Danny-Boy Hatchard in his début role) it’s up to his legendary brother Charlie (Ogilvy) to return from his Spanish sabbatical to exact bloody vengeance. After rounding up his remaining geriatric gang members, Charlie sets about doing just that using very traditional means while still finding time for a little old-fashioned courting with Anthony’s Lizzie Davies.

With his sixth feature, Bennett seems to be targeting a piece of East London somewhere between The Krays and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels but sadly just fails to harness the essence of what made both of those films great. The vengeance Charlie’s gang take is wince-inducingly brutal (particularly in a torture scene, reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs) but you get the feeling that any one of the gang could keel over at any time. The veterans may have their sights firmly set upon retribution but do they have they still have the energy for the task in hand? Similarly, while there is fun to be found in how the contrast of the two generations is portrayed, the humour feels somewhat forced and unnatural, and doesn’t always sit comfortably with the acts committed on screen. 

The biggest problem though is that none of the characters are at all likeable. The young vagabonds all need a damn good slap and the oldies seem a little too callously bloodthirsty to be at all endearing, as if they spend their remaining days prowling the back streets of London just looking for low-life to dispatch using a variety of general household implements. All the characters also feel a little stereotypical, reacting in ways you would probably expect and have certainly seen before. The performances are on the whole good, with Cosmo and Ellison providing a malevolent pensionable presence, but these are more of a footnote, with everything feeling a little too contrived and unoriginal.

On the plus side, Bennett has certainly captured a sense of the capital’s underworld with the old ganglands looking as equally striking as they do menacing. The main theme is also generally well handled, with the contrast of respect earned and respect demanded to the fore, and though occasionally bluntly underlined, is certainly a worthwhile one.

Ultimately, We Still Kill the Old Way is a decent attempt at making a traditional gangster film with a modern, socially identifiable twist. That it doesn’t quite succeed is a shame but it is still a film that is worth catching up with as it carries a little more nostalgic charm than most British films in the genre.
 

DOOZERS: MEET THE POD SQUAD

DVD REVIEW: DOOZERS: MEET THE POD SQUAD / DIRECTOR: MERLE ANN RIDLEY / SCREENPLAY: JIM HENSON CO. / STARRING: MILLIE DAVIS, TREK BUCCINO, JACOB EWANIUK / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 26TH

Remember Fraggle Rock and the tiny little green guys with the hard hats who used to march uncomplainingly around doing all the work while the Fraggles lounged about reading postcards from their Uncle Travelling Matt (still the best name for a character ever) and singing songs that planted themselves inside your brain like particularly annoying mind worms?

Well, those tiny little green guys were called Doozers and now they’re back and so are their kids – nope, my imagination didn’t want to take me there either (although it’s good to know the Doozers did get some down-time when they weren’t building edible towers for the Fraggles to eat) – and it’s those kids who are the stars of Doozers, the new animated TV show from The Jim Henson Company, nine episodes of which are included on this charming DVD.

The Doozers have come a long way since Fraggle Rock days. There are no signs of Fraggles and the musty caves the Doozers used to live in are just distant memories. Doozer Creek is bright, sunlit and psychedelically colourful and, although the Doozers are still busy building inventions and farming radishes, the young Pod Squad is always on hand with some crazy ideas to save the day.

Spike, Molly Bolt, Flex and Daisy Wheel are the Pod Squad (somewhere in Doozer-land there has got to be a Doozer called Monkey Wrench) and they love nothing better than to imagine, design, and build new inventions to make the Doozer’s lives more playful and productive. Amongst their adventures they repair an underground train tunnel, build a catapult to launch radishes across a gorge, solve a hiccupping epidemic caused by jumping beans and rework one of the Doozer’s old inventions into a scratching machine, not to mention building a zip-line to help harvest peaches and trying to find ways to make a Doozer baby laugh.

The Henson Company deserves their reputation. Very few of their films and TV shows are less than excellent and Doozers: Meet the Pod Squad is another triumph, although it doesn’t share the cross-generational appeal of most of their output: normally, a Henson product will contain something for everybody but, apart from the occasional slapstick moment, Doozers is a series aimed squarely at the pre-school audience it’s intended for. The stories are simple, energetic and fun and packed with ideas that will spark the young viewer’s imagination, the CG animation is smooth, sharp and almost three-dimensional in its clarity, and the characters are so cute and engaging it’s almost easy to forgive the fact they’re not genuine Muppets (because, let’s face it, genuine Muppets come with a puppeteer’s hand stuffed inside them, right? Henson’s characters always lose a certain charm when they’re turned into cartoons). Even the obligatory catchphrase ‘There’s nothing to it when you do do do it!’ isn’t so annoying you’ll want to take hostages every time you hear it, which is always a plus.

Doozer this up as a fantastic slice of educationally-conscious Henson magic that young fans will want to watch so often the Doozers will eventually have to come and repair your DVD player.

Rating:

VINCENT PRICE & ROGER CORMAN PRESENT SIX GOTHIC TALES BY EDGAR ALLEN POE

BLU-RAY REVIEW: VINCENT PRICE & ROGER CORMAN PRESENT SIX GOTHIC TALES BY EDGAR ALLEN POE / CERT: 12 / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (1960) / DIRECTOR: ROGER CORMAN / SCREENPLAY: RICHARD MATHESON / STARRING: VINCENT PRICE, MARK DAMON, MYRNA FAHEY, HARRY ELLERBE

The first of Roger Corman’s eight adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories stars Vincent Price, Mark Damon and Myrna Fahey in a Gothic and macabre film that would create a template for all of Corman’s films to follow and become an influence on the genre for years to come.

A young man, Phillip Wynthrop (Damon), travels to the remote Usher house in search of fiancée Madeline (Fahey) but is warned to leave by her brother, Roderick (Price). The claustrophobic camera work and brilliant use of light and colour create a stunning atmosphere in which the House of Usher is the integral character. The exquisite, bold set and costume design bring the decaying old house of the Usher family to life. Every scene pulsates with a brooding and menacing charm.

Price is relatively restrained as the strange and most likely incestuous Roderick. While in later performances he would certainly embellish his over the top campness, here he gives a sinister performance as the patriarch of the doomed Usher bloodline.

Watching today, there may not be many scares but the mood and sense of gloom that permeates in the film is something to be marvelled at and it makes for a compelling Gothic horror of its time. RM

Special Features: Commentary with Roger Corman / Video essay by critic David Cairns / Interviews with Joe Dante and Jonathan Rigby / Archival interview with Vincent Price

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961) / DIRECTOR: ROGER CORMAN / SCREENPLAY: RICHARD MATHESON / STARRING: VINCENT PRICE, BARBARA STEELE, JOHN KERR, LUANA ANDERS

Vincent Price is on fine scenery-chewing form in this garish, colourful – and extremely loose – 1961 adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story. We’re in Spain in the 17th century and Francis Barnard (Kerr) travels to the remote cliffside castle of brother-in-law Nicholas Medina (Price) to find out the truth about the death of his sister, Elizabeth (Steele). Frank’s unconvinced by explanations that she succumbed to heart failure brought on by fright, and when an exhumation of her tomb reveals her rotting remains contorted and twisted in a rictus of terror, Nicholas realises that he buried his wife alive – or did he? Nicholas topples into madness and convinces himself that he’s his own twisted father, the evil and abusive Sebastian.

Agonisingly slow – and amusingly tame – by modern horror standards, The Pit and the Pendulum is gloriously hammy and deliciously Gothic, beautifully-filmed on evocative interior sets and boasting a commendably arch and occasionally tongue-in-cheek script. But it only really comes alive in the last reel, when mad Nicholas straps Francis to a stone slab beneath a swinging pendulum. Cheesy and creaky and spectacularly unscary to modern eyes, The Pit and the Pendulum is worth your time just to see Vincent Price at his wide-eyed, gibbering best. PM

Special features: Commentary with Roger Corman / Commentary with critic Tim Lucas / Making-of documentary / Additional TV version sequence / Vincent Price US TV orations

THE RAVEN (1963) / DIRECTOR: ROGER CORMAN / SCREENPLAY: RICHARD MATHESON / STARRING: VINCENT PRICE, PETER LORRE, BORIS KARLOFF, HAZEL COURT, JACK NICHOLSON

The fifth entry in Roger Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe movie saga, The Raven is a deliciously absurdist comedy which sees sorcerer Erasmus Craven (Price) team up with grouchy wizard Selbo (Lorre) in stopping both the wicked Dr. Scarabus (Karloff) and Craven’s long-thought-dead wife Lenore (Court) from claiming Craven’s powers for their own deeds. Turning Poe’s timeless gothic poem into an adventure-style comedy full of wizards and hocus-pocus might ruffle the feathers of Poe purists, but even after all these years, The Raven still manages to be an enjoyably fun romp that is completely nuts! The Gods of horror, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre, not to mention Jack Nicholson in an early starring role, ham it up in glorious OTT style and especially both Price and Lorre make a delightful comedy double-act with both of their unique personalities blending together brilliantly.

Whether or not Corman should have turned The Raven into a horror-comedy is debatable, and the hardcore target audience will probably be longing for the full-on gothic chills of the timeless horror classic, The Pit and the Pendulum. However, this is a film where you have to accept it for what it is and to just enjoy no matter what. RP

Special Features: Peter Lorre: The Double Face documentary / The Trick short film / Interviews with Roger Corman and Richard Matheson / Promotional record / Sills and poster gallery

THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963) / DIRECTOR: ROGER CORMAN / SCREENPLAY: CHARLES BEAUMONT / STARRING: VINCENT PRICE, DEBRA PAGET, LON CHANEY JR., FRANK MAXWELL

With brooding, atmospheric menace oozing from every dark and cobwebbed corner The Haunted Palace is one of the best examples of Roger Corman’s literary adaptations. Based on a H. P. Lovecraft novella but released under the guise of an Edgar Allan Poe story to fit consistently with Corman’s recent releases this film displays superbly realised gothic bleakness.

With regular collaborator Vincent Price in scene-stealing form as the troubled Charles Dexter Ward, a man haunted by the spirit of his malevolent warlock ancestor and possessed to the point of madness, The Haunted Palace follows traditional Poe themes while adding Lovecraftian mysticism in the form of The Necromonicon. Both influences are notable when Ward’s great-grandfather is burned to death as amidst blood-curdling screams he promises to return in vengeance, while cursing the village and leaving the residents with mutant offspring and centuries of misery.

Perhaps most significant is that Corman’s stylistic qualities and Price’s distinctive acting most successfully blend within this production. The director’s sweeping camera and dark aesthetics were rarely more prominent and with stunningly realised gothic tropes, The Haunted Palace for many will be a new and hugely enjoyable discovery. JT

Special Features: Commentary with Ron Chaney and Vincent Price biographer David Del Valle / Interview with Roger Corman / Kim Newman on H.P. Lovecraft / Stills and poster gallery

THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (1964) / DIRECTOR: ROGER CORMAN / SCREENPLAY: ROBERT TOWNE, PAUL MAYERSBERG / STARRING: VINCENT PRICE, ELIZABETH SHEPHERD JOHN WESTBROOK

Vincent Price was much too old for this one, but as he’s Vincent Price no one seems too bothered. He plays Verden Fell, a (not so) young widower whose (possibly not) dead wife is buried in the grounds of his (rather picturesque) abbey. A headstrong young woman (Shepherd) inexplicably falls in love with the rather weird Fell (probably the antiquarian sunglasses that did it) and they marry. But Fell is still obsessed with Ligeia, his (questionably) dead wife. You know this isn’t going to end well, especially as his cat seems to have it in for his new bride. They always do.

This was the last of Corman’s Poe-cycle and it’s noteworthy for use of outside locations rather than the entirely studio-bound fare of the earlier efforts. So it looks very pretty (especially on Blu-ray), but it’s a bit too slow (it’s only 80 minutes but feels longer) and you get the sense that the series was dragging on by this stage. Still, it’s pretty good once it finally gets going and you kind of expect Poe to be done at a glacial pace. Something to do with dramatic tension, we expect. Just a shame it wasn’t called That Darn Cat. It would have worked… JK

Special Features: Commentary with Roger Corman / Commentary with Elizabeth Shepherd / All-new interviews with cast and crew / Trailer

Also included in the set: Tales of Terror (1962) / 200-page collector’s book / Reversible sleeves featuring and newly commissioned artwork for all films

Reviews by Rod McCance, Paul Mount, Ryan Pollard, John Townsend, and John Knott.

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LIFE OF CRIME

DVD REVIEW: LIFE OF CRIME / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: DANIEL SCHECHTER / SCREENPLAY: DANIEL SCHECHTER / STARRING: JENNIFER ANISTON, MOS DEF, JOHN HAWKES, ISLA FISHER, TIM ROBBINS, WILL FORTE / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 5TH

In 1970s America, Mos Def and John Hawkes team up to kidnap millionaire real estate developer Tim Robbins’ wife, played by Jennifer Aniston. Isla Fisher and Will Forte round off the cast to make this adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel one of the more interesting crime oddities you’ll ever see. Oh, and did we mention that it’s a sort-of prequel to Jackie Brown?

Heavily influenced by the work of the Coen Brothers and black comedy-veering crime movies such as Ruthless People, this smart, funky film utilises its actors well, with the less well-known Hawkes a personable anchor in the midst of bigger stars such as Aniston, Robbins and Def. It’s made all the more interesting due to the fact that Hawkes and Def are here playing younger versions of Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson’s characters. Tarantino would certainly have had a field day with Aniston’s injured foot – punctured on glass during the initial kidnapping.

Still, Life of Crime is more interested in doing its own thing than aping Tarantino. It’s a folksy, restrained tale that goes for quiet amusement over belly laughs (like the kidnappers, it doesn’t bother with gags) and steady drama rather than big car chases or loud gun fights. Screenwriter and director Daniel Schechter lets his actors do all of the heavy lifting, confident in the strength of the dialogue and character work. Aniston is given more to do than she’s had in a while, even if most of her screen time is hidden beneath a balaclava and duct taped eyes. That sense of comic timing – so well used in the mighty Friends – is gently exercised, while Robbins is very good as her mean, unpleasant husband. Fisher, meanwhile, comes close to stealing the whole show, running rings around the typically mumble-y Mos Def.

With its cool visuals, intelligent performances and tense story, Life of Crime proves more than worthy of Leonard’s characters and its actors’ talents. Sometimes, crime does pay.

Special Features: Making-of featurettes / Commentary / Deleted Scenes
 

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DESECRATED

DVD REVIEW: DESECRATED / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: ROB GARCIA / SCREENPLAY: CECIL CHAMBERS / STARRING: HAYLIE DUFF, WILMER CALDERON, MICHAEL IRONSIDE, GIB GERARD / RELEASE DATE: TBC

A backwoods horror film starring one of the Duff sisters (not even the good one) alongside a host of obnoxious kids being bumped off by a murderous psychopath? This low-budget cabin in the woods movie (minus the cabin) should have viewers everywhere suffering from a serious bout of deja vu.

Not only is it reminiscent of literally hundreds of other backwoods horror films, it’s also remarkably similar to star Haylie Duff’s last horror effort, Backwoods (a TV horror feature every bit as imaginative as its title) – the only real difference here being a refreshing lack of rapey vibes and the substitution of an inbred hillbilly family for a crazed ex-Marine running around the woods dressed like Sam Fisher. Ironside doesn’t even play the crazed Sam Fisher type in question.

One by one, our pretty young heroes are knocked off, their demise almost guaranteed after two of their number break into Crazed Sam Fisher’s old trailer and have sex in there, right in front of the pulped remains of his wife and daughter. Hence the ‘desecration’ of the title. With the killer’s identity being revealed in the very early stages of the movie, there’s no mystery or intrigue to watching the kids wander off to get caught or killed by him – and that they don’t twig on to his evil until the final act makes them seem even stupider in our eyes. And they’re already pretty stupid looking. In theory, Ironside should be injecting a shot of class, but the man is wasted as Duff’s onscreen father, seeming incredibly bored for every moment of his scant screen time. To be fair, we can sympathise. While the acting is a cut above what you’d expect from a straight-to-DVD horror film of this vintage, the dialogue is awful. The characters mostly run about the woods screaming insults or ‘banter’ at one another, such drama apparently only being present so as to bulk up the script and fill time until the end.

And oh, how prolonged that time-filling feels. Desecrated is like every budget backwoods horror film you’ve ever seen, balled up into one, without any invention or ideas of its own. It’s as by-the-numbers as horror filmmaking gets. No doubt the filmmakers’ intentions were noble, but their movie certainly isn’t. Desecrated, sadly, is utter duff. And not even the good one.

Special Features: TBC
 

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SHAUN THE SHEEP – FLOCK TO THE FLOOR

DVD REVIEW: SHAUN THE SHEEP – FLOCK TO THE FLOOR / DIRECTOR: RICHARD GOLESZOWSKI, CHRISTOPHER SADLER / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: JOHN SPARKES, JUSTIN FLETCHER / RELEASED: JANUARY 26TH

If you’re of the opinion that Wallace and Gromit just don’t get out enough and you just need a bit more of Aardman’s stop-motion in your life, then you’re probably aware of Shaun the Sheep. Just in case you’re not, Shaun debuted in A Close Shave (1995) and has been the titular ruminant in his own CBBC spin-off series since 2007. Apparently it’s aimed at the four to seven age-group but, in all honesty, we can’t imagine that anyone of any age isn’t going to find Shaun’s exploits charming and funny.

The set-up is that Shaun is the leader of his flock at Mossy Bottom Farm (and that’s funny before we even start). It’s all a bit surreal but, basically, the sheep behave liked bored British POWs in a WWII flick and relieve that boredom by getting into all manner of scrapes, with the farmer completely oblivious to their human-like intelligence. You know the sort of thing: they walk on their hind legs and hold discos but they’re on all fours chewing grass whenever the farmer looks at them. Bitzer is the sheep dog who’s in on the act but is supposed to be in charge despite the fact that he usually gets dragged into their schemes. Curiously, the farmer just accepts the fact that Bitzer walks on his hind legs and wears a woolly hat. Like Wallace and Gromit, all the references are terribly British and you’d have thought the rest of the world wouldn’t get it. But apparently they do and, as the humans just mumble and the sheep just bleat, the BBC have flogged Shaun all over the world.

This DVD represents the second ten episodes of Series 4 and it’s all you’ve come to expect from the series. But just to prove there’s more to Shaun the Sheep than meets the eye, the episode “Wildlife Watch” riffs on the absurd self-referential notion that a natural history film crew would come to film a rare bird on the farm while Shaun and the rest of the flock are playing cricket in the next field (with Bitzer umpiring). And there’s a sheep-playing-the-violin gag in the horror-themed “Phoney Farmer” that the kids just won’t get but you will (and it actually got an audible laugh from this jaded reviewer). Needless to say, the younger viewers will love this and we even got this reviewer’s son to take an hour-long Boxing Day break from Minecraft to watch it. You have no idea how remarkable an achievement that is. Family viewing that really does appeal to everyone is no easy task but Shaun the Sheep nails it.

Special Features: Morph episodes / Shaun the Sheep movie trailer
 

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GANJA & HESS

BLU-RAY REVIEW: GANJA & HESS (1973) / DIRECTOR: BILL GUNN / SCREENPLAY: BILL GUNN / STARRING: DUANE JONES, MARLENE CLARK, BILL GUNN, SAM WAYMON / RELEASED: JANUARY 26TH

So the story goes, director Bill Gunn was asked to make a blaxploitation vampire flick in the style of Blacula (1972). He didn’t. He made Ganja & Hess instead. Blacula, this most certainly is not.

What we have is a very art house movie and it certainly isn’t for the fainthearted. Dr Hess Green (Duane Jones – yep, the fella from Night of the Living Dead in his only other starring role) has been stabbed with an ancient dagger that has left him immortal and addicted to human blood. So that’ll be a vampire then, even if the fangs, cloaks, and debilitating effects of daylight are noticeable by their absence. When his somewhat unhinged assistant (Gunn) commits suicide (Hess drinks his blood and shoves him in the freezer), the assistant’s wife Ganja (Marlene Clark – you know her from The Beast Must Die, of course you do) turns up and falls in love with Hess.He initiates her into his world of blood-fuelled immortality and, despite Ganja discovering her hubby in the freezer, it’s all a jolly vampire romp from thereon in. Except it isn’t.

Ganja & Hess is a film of pretty big aspirations, and if allegory and symbolism are not really you’re cup of tea, you’re really not going to like this one very much. It’s clearly a film about the victims of addiction, but much of the African imagery in the numerous dream-like scenes and the (rather brilliant) soundtrack would also suggest this is a film about the victims of slavery. The wealthy Hess is fully assimilated in the world of western art, culture and religion but there is an older world that would have once been his heritage had his race not have been enslaved as he is now enslaved by his addiction . Well, that’s what we think is going on. To be honest, this is a film review not a film studies essay but you get the idea; there’s a lot going on in this movie and it’s the sort of thing that rewards repeated viewings. On the other hand, it moves at a glacial-like pace (although it perks up a bit once Clark appears) and you’re probably going to find it unwatchable if you’re not prepared to work hard at investing in the experience. You have been warned.

We suspect this release is due to Spike Lee recently remaking Ganja & Hess as Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014), but as it was cut like no-one’s business on its original release it’s nice to see it on Blu-ray in all its HD glory. If you like your films arty and cerebral, then Ganja & Hess might just push your buttons as long as you’re in the right mood. If it’s not, or you’re just in a no-brainer kinda’ mood, you really won’t want to watch this one.

Special Features: Commentary / Blood of the Thing documentary / Screenplay
 

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THE HAUNTING OF BLACK WOOD


DVD REVIEW: THE HAUNTING OF BLACK WOOD / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JACK HELLER / SCREENPLAY: SHAWN CHRISTENSEN, JASON DOLAN / STARRING: SCOTT EASTWOOD, KATHERINE WATERSTON, SARA PAXTON / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 2ND 2015


Known on its 2012 American DVD debut as Enter Nowhere, it’s a mystery as to why The Haunting of Black Wood has taken three years and a name change to make it across the Atlantic. An advertising campaign attempting to sell the movie as a descendant of The Evil Dead, when in reality it is anything but, can’t be helping. People expecting jump scares and supernatural horror will be sorely disappointed. Anyone inclined towards something a little more cerebral will be more than pleasantly surprised, however; this is much closer to The Butterfly Effect than it is The Cabin in the Woods.


The premise, three complete strangers (all young and relatively attractive) arriving at a tiny, sparse cabin in a wintry forest, is of course all the excuse Metrodome needed to advertise Jack Heller’s low budget production as a spooky successor to any number of teens-in-danger backwoods shockers. Within twenty minutes, most viewers will be thinking The Sixth Sense. But Heller has made a virtue of the lack of cash and crafted a film that owes more in its visual aesthetic, as well as its low-key tone, to Keith Gordon’s 1992 film A Midnight Clear – and by the end of The Haunting of Black Wood there are other reasons for the allusion too. To reveal anything more about the plot would be to spoil it, suffice it to say that any expectations engendered as the story progresses are roundly subverted by the final third, while the clues strewn abundantly throughout the first two acts as often as not work as red herrings in terms of the film’s ultimate destination. This isn’t a horror movie so much as a clever metaphysical fantasy thriller, albeit one that walks a very fine line between success and selling its audience short.


Because in order to tell a story of this sort, you need to keep a great deal of information not just out of the audience’s sight, but outside the characters’ awareness too. Heller and the scriptwriters make a decent fist of this, but the more the clues pile up, the odder some of the spartan conversations feel. It helps, when watching, either to disengage the brain somewhat, or at the very least to have a decently sized capacity for suspension of disbelief.


Those who do manage to maintain their credulity will be amply rewarded though, because even if the logic of the plot doesn’t quite marry up, the solution makes a great deal more sense than anticipated. The film’s rewatch value might be limited – the clues are just a little too obvious in retrospect to repay further visits – but as a renter, The Haunting of Black Wood will certainly reward an evening’s viewing.

WATAMOTE

DVD REVIEW: WATAMOTE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: SHIN OONUMA / SCREENPLAY: TAKAO YOSHIOKA / STARRING: IZUMI KITTA, KANA HANAZAWA, YUICHI NAKAMURA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Based on the manga series by Nico Tanigawa, Watamote (or ‘No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!’) recounts the stumbled growths and awkward adjustments which naturally swallow us at the beginning of adolescence. Sexual awareness flicks to green, image consciousness scorns your past ways, and navigating the hierarchy of high school popularity feels impossibly herculean. For anxiety-bogged Tomoko however, it seems even worse. But looking to start anew as her first year looms, she clings to a warped internet formula which ties popularity to success with the opposite sex.

What follows is a highly comical and surprisingly affecting journey through Tomoko’s troubled high school life escapades. As she finds herself isolated and not welcomed by fellow students with open arms, she starts to despise those around her. Labelling other girls as ‘sluts’ and slowly slipping into the invisible void as her overthinking tendencies cripple her ability to socially interact, and prevent her from attaining the popularity she so desires.

While anime is no stranger to the high school setup, the refreshing perspective of Tomoko really defines the show. Both wildly erratic and frightfully shy, her qualities are brought to life by Izumi Kitta’s incredible voice work. Whether she’s practicing talking to guys through video game dating sims or nervously buying her first pair of racy underwear, she manages to bounce around her minefield personality while always keeping things convincingly sweet.

How the show handles anxiety issues has attracted controversy however, with some deeming the comedy to be at the expense of Tomoko’s suffering. And while the humour can uncomfortably clash with the occasional sombre moment, it never feels mean-spirited. You’re always on Tomoko’s side, and her drifts into ideal fantasy and naive logic are funny because they’re equally relatable as they are extreme. Situations where she spirals into fairytale dream after a brief exchange with a crush, or panics after being moved to another seat in the classroom, always feel like playful pokes at the issue to benefit those who will relate to Tomoko’s plight, and never snide digs at her ways.

The series’ best moments however come from the dynamic with her younger brother, Tomoki. His dry wit and deadpan responses to his sister are hilarious, and it’s unfortunate the series fails to deliver upon the touching arch created for them both at the outset. Moments where they reminisce about their close relationship prior to school and their dwindling connection since are genuinely moving, and it’s a shame this is pushed to the wayside as the series comes to a close.

But as an opening series, it’s extremely promising. Refreshing, funny, with a zany heart in the right place, we’ll just have to hope this is merely the beginning for Watamote. If you’re a fan of anime and possess a fondness for kickass opening title sequences soundtracked by Japanese metal, look no further for your next TV fix.

Special Features: Clean Opening Animation / Clean Closing Animation
 

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