Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Review: Phantom of the Paradise / Cert: 15 / Director: Brian De Palma / Screenplay: Brian De Palma / Starring: William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham / Release Date: February 24th

A welcome return for this horror comedy rock musical, not half as well-known as the roughly contemporaneous Rocky Horror Picture Show but every bit as good.

Good-natured Winslow Leach (Finley), a talented but struggling singer-songwriter and composer, is conned into handing over the sheet music for his epic interpretation of Faust by all-powerful record company magnate Swan (Williams), who plans to use it for the grand opening of his new venue, the Paradise. When Leach seeks out Swan for recompense, the evil one has him beaten up, framed for dope-pushing and sent to Sing Sing for his trouble. Hearing on the radio that Swan-managed pop idols The Juicy Fruits are to release one of his songs as a single, he breaks out and heads straight to the record factory to destroy the pressings, but, interrupted by a guard, he gets caught in the vinyl press and is violently crushed.

Now hideously disfigured, Leach finds his way to the Paradise and begins a reign of terror as Swan and his flavour-of-the-month acts prepare their opening extravaganza with his music. However, this is put on hold when he comes face to face once again with Swan, who offers him the chance to have the music recorded the way he wants it and performed by Phoenix (Harper, of Suspiria fame), a talented young singer whom Leach worships. But of course he should know better than to trust the sinister Swan, never mind sign a contract with him in his own blood…

So, a comic Phantom of the Opera for the groovy ’70s then, with a bit of Faust thrown in for good measure, but this doesn’t quite cover it. De Palma creates a damning satire of the popular music industry that is just as relevant today – where it seems more insidiously putrid and pointless than ever thanks to Simon Cowell’s ‘Next!’ culture. Swan and his Death Records label (originally ‘Swan Song’ in the script, until De Palma discovered that was the name of Led Zep’s label) flit from pushing one manufactured band to another at the drop of a hat, with The Juicy Fruits and their immediate successors, The Beach Bums and The Undead all tellingly played by the same actors. It’s not just the industry that comes under fire though; the jaded audiences are depicted as equally callous, ecstatically excited by each new untimely on-stage death that Phantom brings about.

As a piece of filmmaking, it’s a true phantasmagoria, with the enthusiastic young De Palma employing every trick in his cinematic grab-bag; spilt screens, montages, coloured filters, tracking shots, distorted lenses, you name it, many of which would be employed to devastating effect again in his breakthough feature, Carrie. The music on the whole is great too, the score being also written by Williams, himself a massively successful songwriter who’s heard his work performed by everyone from Elvis to Karen Carpenter. His songwriting work on this was deservedly nominated for an Oscar, but it’s his portrayal of the satanic Swan that really sticks in the memory. No one will forget The Undeads’ metal-tastic performance of ‘Somebody Human Like You’ in a hurry either.

Pure insane, delirious, beautiful, ’70s brilliance.

Extras: Isolated Music & Effects Soundtrack / 50 minute Making Of Documentary / 50 minute Paul Williams interview by Guillermo Del Toro / Outtakes / Alternate takes / Trailers / Collector’s Booklet

Review: Nothing Left To Fear / Cert: 15 / Director: Anthony Leonardi III / Screenplay: Jonathan W.C. Mills / Starring: Anne Heche, Clancy Brown, James Tupper, Ethan Peck, Rebekah Brandes, Jennifer Stone / Release Date: Out Now

The first release from Slasher Films takes us to the town of Stull, Kansas and introduces us to Pastor Dan (Tupper), his wife (Heche) and their three kids. Pastor Dan has agreed to take over from the retiring Pastor Kingsman (Brown) and on arriving, everything seems idyllic enough. The locals help to move them in and everyone appears to be more than welcoming, but as with any horror film, you know that it’s never going to stay that way.

Unbeknownst to the new family in town, their purpose is a much more important one than taking over the church. One of the family is chosen to be the saviour of the town, but not in a good way, and when it all becomes clear what is going on, it’s a question of whether the family can escape their enforced destiny or not.

The film is a slow burner, and has some impressive leads. There’s no sensationalism on show here, with the effects kept to a minimum and only used when integral to the story. The overall arc is one we’ve seen before countless times with the new guys in town not knowing what lies in store for them – but for once, neither do we. That’s the film’s biggest strength, leading us along until all is revealed. Unfortunately, that’s where it also falls short.

Because what we are seeing is all too familiar, we think we know what’s going to happen and although it’s probably not what we thought, when the intentions become clear it’s almost a let down. If you read up on the backstory of Stull, there’s a rich heritage of tales to utilise and it feels frustrating to know that the creators didn’t delve a little deeper into that. With these types of horror films, you should have a blanketing feeling of impending dread, but it’s missing here.

However, with that said, it’s a promising, if stuttering debut from the fledgling studio and provides signs that better is to come.

Extras: None

Review: Thor – The Dark World / Cert: 12 / Director: Alan Taylor / Screenplay: Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely / Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston / Release Date: Out Now

The Marvel movie-making machine ploughs further into Phase 2 of their battle plan with an action-packed sequel that just about hits all the required beats. Thor: The Dark World follows the dictates of Movie Follow-up Rules 101 by giving you more of everything: from Thor kicking ass to Thor being funny. It broadens the scope of the universe with the techno-Nibelungen production design mixing up Norse mythology and science fiction traditions into a striking melange.

The sight of mighty Thor (Hemsworth) getting some hammer time with Mjolnir makes the fans happy, for sure, but it is Tom Hiddleston’s Loki who has emerged as the secret weapon of these films (as well as Joss Whedon’s Avengers Assemble). Loki’s reptilian menace is enriched with a poignant take on familial disgruntlement and entitlement. Hiddleston has created a boo-hiss pantomime villain and provided the character with a sense of near-Shakespearean tragedy.

Thor’s ‘adopted’ brother is also given a fresh coat of dramatic depth, too, by virtue of what could be the classic redemption arc. Loki does have amends to make, after all. There was the nefarious scheme to seize the throne of Asgard, kill his brother, destroy Earth, reduce NYC to dust and subjugate the entire human race! As Malekith (Eccleston) and his mecha-pixies (sorry, dark elves) threaten to destroy the universe with a cosmic weapon/ force known as the Aether, Thor must learn to put his trust in Loki if they are to break out of Asgard and save the day. It’s a big ask…

The HD quality imagery and sound mixing on Blu-ray is stupendous. The animated menu is good-looking too – capturing faces from the film in a rich, pop art style. The bonus material, however, is solid stuff. A cast and crew commentary track is informative and open about such matters as reshoots and test screenings and the half-hour doc on Thor and Loki delves into their sibling rivalry. The ‘gag reel’ is missing a vital component: humour. The best of the seven Deleted/Extended Scenes is Loki annoying Thor by transforming into various people (including Captain America). In the movie, Chris Evans made a brief appearance. Here, we get to see Hiddleston’s less buff frame in the Star-Spangled Man’s uniform. Fans will get a kick out of it.

The Marvel One-Shot short, All Hail the King, directed and written by Iron Man 3 co-scribe Drew Pearce, is the best of the bunch. Ben Kingsley returns as The Mandarin fraudster Trevor Slattery, now living in a maximum security prison and living off the scraps of celebrity. Kingsley is, once more with feeling, on top form. A featurette on Brian Tyler’s score and a preview of Captain America: The Winter Solider round things off nicely.

Extras: See above

Review: Shadowzone (Grindhouse #12) / Cert: 18 / Director: J.S. Cardone / Screenplay: J.S. Cardone / Starring: Louise Fletcher, James Hong, David Beecroft / Release Date: Out Now

One of a bunch of recent releases from cult movie distributor 88 Films, this little-known offering by writer/director J.S. Cardone is a pleasant surprise. The setting is an old plutonium mine that has been turned into a underground laboratory run by shady Doctor Van Fleet (Hong). Captain Hickock (Beecroft), a NASA guy, has come to investigate the death of a human test subject. He discovers that the laboratory has being doing experiments into extended deep sleep, and that some of the test subjects have been interfacing with an unknown entity from another dimension. But then the entity comes a-calling, an arrival which triggers the facility’s antiquated defence systems, and they all find themselves trapped inside the mine with just a short time before the power runs out.

Okay, not a wholly original plotline then, but the way in which Cardone handles it is pleasurably creepy and unexpectedly clever. – a bit like The Thing, but with a downbeat, Nigel Kneale-ish sensibility. The milieu is attractively rusty and rickety, the characters complex and flawed, and the script poses credible conundrums for the characters to worry about, springing some well-judged scare gags along the way.

It’s also extremely well cast. Hong is as watchably OTT as ever as the untrustworthy Van Fleet. As Hickcock, Beecroft may not be a name to conjure with (he did stints on Falcon Crest and Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman) but he looks like Channing Tatum and makes for a decent furrow-browed lead. But what gives the whole film a real lift is an excellent performance from Louise (Nurse Ratched) Fletcher in a key role as Van Fleet’s morally compromised but well-intentioned second in command – she’s so good it makes you weep with frustration that she wasn’t better appreciated by Hollywood.

The monster FX are a little under-powered, and this contributes to the slight slackening in tension in the final act. Overall, though, this is an intelligent and well-craft piece of cult SF that is long overdue for rediscovery. The DVD appears to have been sourced from a video, with a 4:3 ratio, a bit of wobble and very muted colours, but the effect is attractively ethereal and in keeping with the cult movie vibe of the whole affair.

Extras: Trailer

Review: Dollman / Cert: 18 / Director: Albert Pyun / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Tim Thomerson, Jackie Earle Haley, Kamala Lopex, Frank Collison / Release Date: Out Now

“You’re so small!” Words no man likes to hear, so you’ll sympathise with the hero of Full Moon Feature’s 1991 film Dollman. Brick Bardo (Thomerson) is the planet Arturos’ answer to Dirty Harry, a tough maverick cop with a big gun and a hard boiled attitude. But then he chases an old enemy named Sprug (Collison) through dimensions all the way to Earth, only to discover that he is in the land of the giants and that he is now only thirteen inches tall. Luckily, this is one movie where size definitely doesn’t matter.

More specifically, he has wound up in a South Bronze rife with gang warfare. Here, he falls in with Debi (Lopez), a feisty neighbourhood watch girl who chases off drug dealers by throwing rocks at them. In the meantime, Sprug puts the bang into gangbanger by teaming up with some local hoodlums and offering them the use of a dimensional fusion bomb, “something that will rip your dimension a new asshole”. But never fear – pint-sized or not, Brick can still protect and serve with the best of them.

Without much in the way of a budget for spectacle, Dollman is a grower, not a shower. It has more than its share of dodgy optical FX, but it also has energy and a sense of fun. Sprug – a decapitated head fixed to a mini-flying saucer – makes for a colourful villain, and there are some amusing scenes as Brick suffers various indignities as the result of being vertically challenged (for a guy who’s all about the bravado, he spends a surprising amount of time sulking inside his spacecraft while Debi’s friends and family peer delightedly in at him). Best of all, it has Thomerson, who plays it just right – deadpan, but with a twinkle.

If you originally caught this movie on VHS, you’ll be startled by the transformation on this Blu-ray. There are some spotty patches and a degree of softness in the interior scenes, but on the whole the picture is impressively crisp, especially the early sequence involving a hostage situation in a launderette. It’s not quite on a par with the recent Blu-ray versions of Full Moon’s Puppet Master films, but certainly getting on for it. Extras include a decent vintage featurette and a vidcast in which producer Charles Band tries to flog dodgy limited edition toys while star Thomerson drifts off to sleep beside him.

Extras: Videozone / Charles Band and Tim Thomerson vidcast / Trailers

Review: The Terrornauts / Director: Montgomery Tully / Screenplay: John Brunner, Murray Leinster / Starring: Simon Oates, Zena Marshall, Charles Hawtrey, Patricia Hayes, Stanley Meadows, Max Adrian / Release Date: March 17th

You probably know Amicus as the people who gave us those portmanteau horrors of the ’60s/’70s or the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies. However, Who wasn’t their only excursion into sci-fi. The Terrornauts (1967) is a bona fide piece of cult British sci-fi with a screenplay by John Brunner and fondly remembered by people with fuzzy recollections. Network specialise in turning up these oddities and they haven’t let us down with this one.

It starts off as a promising if low-budget story of scientists working on Project Star Talk, a sort of low-rent British SETI. The jargon’s good (although we’re not vouching for its authenticity) and they’ve even got Zena Marshall as their secretary – so after ten minutes you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re watching a glammed-up version of a Quatermass story. And then Charles Hawtrey walks in. No, really; he walks right in and starts auditing their accounts. While you’re still reeling from that shocker he’s followed by Patricia Hayes with a tea urn smoking a fag. So the building then being picked up by a spaceship that transports them all to an alien base at the edge of the solar system is something of an anti-climax. Blimey, who’s going to review this one? Oh, right.

The Terrornauts is very nearly a complete disaster. Hawtrey and Hayes are there purely for laughs but it would help if they’d been given some funny lines (although Hayes does get a zinger right at the end). And while it is terribly unsporting to mention special effects in low-budget ’60s Brit-flicks, it would help if they were capable of assisting the story. We honestly thought that was a sort of small hovering robot thing until it appeared over the radio telescope like something out of Michael Bentine’s Potty Time. Hard to believe 2001: A Space Odyssey was being filmed down the road at the time. But for all that, there’s some interesting bits in here: the ancient dead alien at the base (very Who); a scientist’s childhood memories of dreams in an alien landscape; the bathing caps with bits stuck to them to read the base’s memory cubes. OK, not the bathing caps then (although admirable straight faces all round). And certainly not the Least Exciting Space Battle in the History of Cinema at the climax.

But we can’t really think of anything similar, so if you’re the curious sort you might want to give this a try; but only if you’re very, very curious. Or maybe you think Patricia Hayes stepping off a teleportation pad and saying “I feel like I’ve been squirted through space like a BBC broadcast” is worth the price of admission. Oh, now you’re tempted.

Extras: Original theatrical version / Trailer / Gallery

Review: Muirhouse / Cert: 15 / Director: Tanzeal Rahim / Screenplay: Tanzeal Rahim / Starring: Iain P. F. McDonald, Kate Henderson, Steve Lynch, Libby Ashby / Release Date: February 10th

The opening titles reveal that in 2007, Phillip Muirhouse was left alone in a historic house called Monte Cristo. He was there making a documentary that was to accompany his latest book. By the end of this, you’lll really wish he hadn’t bothered.

An author and ghost hunter, Muirhouse is waiting for the rest of his crew to arrive in the old Australian homestead where the Crawley family once died in horrible circumstances. He spends most of his time walking around the beautiful and creepily designed old house delivering vaguely spooky exposition about what formerly occurred here. Things predictably start to go bump in the night, breathing gets heavier, harder and faster and the camera work goes right out the window.

Muirhouse features all the usual found footage attempts to signify that what we are seeing is real; recordings from a radio phone in, interviewees directly addressing the camera and snap shots that suggest but never actually confirm a spooky presence. Despite its claim that ‘the following is actual video evidence of the events’, the acting is never convincing enough to deceive.

Even at 75 minutes, it’s fatally over-stretched. With Muirhouse all on his own in the house, he gets little to do except wander around and film as the lights go off, the furniture moves and he repeatedly shouts ‘who’s there?’ at the strange sounds he hears.

The backstory of the mysterious house is woefully underdeveloped, the central character barely registers and while it’s always a little scary, seeing nothing but the torch lit point of view of a terrified person in a haunted house, it is never enough to fill a film… even a 75 minute one. Australia did the mock-doc format better with Lake Mungo. That’s some footage you might want to find instead.

Extras: The Spirit Level – A Look at the Monte Cristo Homestead / Theatrical Trailer / TV Spots

Review: Scorned / Cert: 18 / Director: Mark Jones / Screenplay: Mark Jones, Sadie Katz / Starring: AnnaLynne McCord, Billy Zane, Viva Bianca / Release Date: Out Now

As the expression goes, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And with this movie, Mark Jones, writer/director of Leprechaun and Rumpelstiltskin, brings that saying firmly to life. Co-written by Jones and former-partner-now-writing-partner Sadie Katz, the film sees Sadie (McCord) and Kevin (Zane) as a couple in love, with Sadie telling her bestest friend Jennifer (Bianca) that she believes her one-true will propose to her in the coming days. Unbeknownst to the slightly unhinged Sadie, her beau and her bestest are secretly getting up to the horizontal hustle. How this dirty deed is revealed is that Sadie finds some slightly inappropriate text messages on Kevin’s phone, including various “magic pussy” and “I wanna B inside U” efforts. Ah, the joys of modern technology, no?

So, with her world shattered, Sadie takes the standard, rational approach of drugging her partner, tying him up, texting her best friend (pretending to be Kevin, of course), arranging some sexy rendezvous time, and then proceeding to torture both parties in some twisted ways that she believes may salvage her relationship. Added to this, in a convenient plot point, it’s revealed that Sadie has previous convictions for being a just a tad unhinged.

Scorned is a relatively unique revenge ride that feels almost as if it should’ve been released in the mid-’90s; it has a few moments that attack the senses but overall delivers what could be called safe scares. Scorned does have elements of tension – in particular, one scene involving a dog and a microwave will have you holding your breath – but it generally holds back on the blood ‘n’ guts of torture porn entries like Hostel, deciding to focus on slowly built, uneasy-to-watch moments of anticipation of what may be about to be unleashed on the adultery-committing Kevin and Jennifer.

Central to Scorned is the performance of AnnaLynne McCord as the deranged, “scorned” Sadie. At times you fear that her portrayal could come off as just a little too over-the-top and glassy-eyed, but McCord generally keeps things on the right side of farcical and camp. Alongside her, Viva Bianca does a decent enough job but Billy Zane struggles to bring anything noteworthy to the table bar looking like a rather large shell of his former self.

It all amounts to a fun and initially well-paced low-budget thriller, although it does seem to drag and stagnate a little in the middle third as Sadie looks to torment those who have wronged her, and there are a few plot-holes throughout. The movie also isn’t helped by a soundtrack that sounds like the wailings of an angsty 13-year-old girl. Overall, though, the moral of the story is to never cross a woman… or at least to always remember to delete your text messages.

Extras: None

Review: In Fear / Cert: 15 / Director: Jeremy Lovering / Screenplay: Jeremy Lovering / Starring: Alice Englert, Iain De Caestecker, Allen Leech / Release Date: March 10th

A young couple, on the way to a music festival, hop into a car for a drive around the British countryside. After getting on the wrong side of the locals in a rural pub, the pair find themselves lost in a maze of country roads, bickering with one another and, eventually, in fear for their very lives. Well, they do say that the first holiday together can make or break a couple.

With a core cast of three kids and a car, In Fear has a very limited canvas with which to present its wares. What didn’t go so well for the atrocious Five Across the Eyes played better in the creepy Wind Chill; the differences between the two revealing how little margin for error there is on such a small-scale piece.

Thankfully, we’re more in the territory of the latter here, with Iain De Caestecker continuing to impress as young Tom. He was great in the underrated and under-watched The Fades, and displays a similar level of talent here. Alice Englert is good as Lucy, especially considering that her role here doesn’t give her much more to do than scream and be confused. To be fair, she has plenty to be confused by, with car doors slamming, shadows leering from the bushes and car keys mysteriously going missing. Tom’s no help either, repeatedly taking his frustrations out on the poor girl.

The first half is strong; tense, atmospheric and remarkably creepy, it sets forth a promising premise for a homegrown low-budget British horror. Director Jeremy Lovering handles the pacing and mounting terror well, crafting an experience that could have rivalled Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project, if done right. Alas, as soon as the nature of the threat is revealed, all that tension and mystery evaporates, replaced by a villain who isn’t remotely scary. It remains watchable and intelligent throughout, but struggles to recapture its earlier sense of urgency and terror.

With In Fear, an old adage is once again proved – sometimes the scariest things are best left unseen.

Extras: Commentary with Lovering, Englert, De Caestecker and Leech / Behind The Scenes Documentary / Stills Gallery / Music from and inspired by In Fear by Roly Porter / Trailer

Review: The Adventurer – The Curse of the Midas Box / Director: Jonathan Newman / Screenplay: Christian Taylor, Matthew Huffman / Starring: Michael Sheen, Lena Headey, Sam Neill / Release Date: Out Now (US), TBC (UK)

Based loosely on the Mariah Mundi adventure series by G.P. Taylor, Midas Box is a mixed bag of tricks.

Part Jules Verne, part Indiana Jones with a touch of the Wild, Wild West series set in the Victorian era, the story sees Mariah Mundi’s (Aneurin Barnard’s) world turned upside down as his parents (Ioan Gruffudd and Keeley Hawes) disappear, and his younger brother is kidnapped and used with a group of other missing children as slave labour.

It turns out that Mariah’s parents have valuable information that will lead Otto Luger (Neill) and his partner in crime, Monica (Headey) to the ancient, magical Midas Box that will turn anything into gold. Adventurer Captain Will Charity (Sheen) keeps a distant eye on Mariah as he begins his quest, encountering along the way mystery, action and even romance, not to mention a sinister hotel with hidden secrets.

Director Jonathan Newman’s work is adequate, but the script is the problem. Mariah figures out clues within minutes that have baffled scientists for centuries. Loose threads are left dangling and some questions are never answered. The last twenty minutes seem a bit contrived, obviously borrowing from Raiders of the Lost Ark’s third act. Acting standouts are Neill and Sheen, but the rest of the cast fail to live up to their talents.

As for the visual effects, they’re good enough, if not a bit familiar and at points it felt like Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law were about to show up in the background somewhere. Midas Box has some entertaining moments, but it’s definitely not TV gold.

Extras: “Making of” documentary