Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957) 4K UHD

As the plague tears through medieval Europe, a knight (Max von Sydow) returning from the Crusades, challenges Death (Bengt Ekerot) to a game of chess. If he wins a game Death will postpone his demise, and allow the knight to perform at least one noble deed.

The mention of Ingmar Bergman can often strike trepidation into the hearts of film lovers. His name is so ubiquitous with existentialism that sitting down to watch one of his films can feel like cinematic homework rather than a pleasure. This might be true of his later work, but before The Seventh Seal, Bergman was known for his sexy comedies. The Seventh Seal was Bergman’s first foray into the allegorical. But that shouldn’t deter newcomers to Bergman’s films, for although The Seventh Seal uncompromisingly questions religion, blind faith and superstition it does so with humour. Death is not the dour, sombre character you might expect. He is really rather amiable in his manner, a bit of a trickster and has more in common with Bill and Ted’s Death than you’d initially think. When he comes to collect a soul the person whose soul he has come for is hiding up a tree. The poor peasant pleads for extra time as he has children. Naturally, Death knows that is a lie and he gleefully saws down the tree.

The first of many stand-out performances is that of Max von Sydow (has that man ever given a duff performance) as the disillusioned knight Antonius Block. After ten years of fighting in the crusades, the atrocities he has witnessed have all but eroded his faith in God and humanity. The man exudes a palpable weary disillusionment, and although he has comparatively few lines compared to other cast members his presence onscreen is magnetic. The Seventh Seal was Sydow’s first collaboration with Bergman.

Gunnar Björnstrand plays Block’s squire Jöns. It’s a wonderfully understated performance full of dry wit and sardonic humour. As a counterpoint to Jöns dry sense of humour, we have Jof (Nils Poppe), an acrobat and performer, and gifted – or cursed – with divine visions.

The Seventh Seal sees the BFI label enter the 4K arena which highlights Gunnar Fischer’s gorgeous black and white cinematography to absolute perfection.

As with BFI releases the extras are both eclectic and informative. The newly recorded audio commentary by film critic and editor-in-chief of Diabolique magazine, Kat Ellinger is of particular interest. She compares a scene of penitents in the act of self-flagellation to something out of a horror film, and it is indeed a disturbing scene full of smoke and off-kilter camera angles.

Behind the scenes footage from The Seventh Seal is rare silent footage with optional audio commentary by film scholar Ian Christie. It shows Bergman and some of the cast exploring locations as well as between takes shenanigans. Despite the short shooting schedule and the subject matter the cast and crew can be seen having a fun time. It also perfectly exemplifies Bergman’s sense of humour and mischievous nature. Karin’s Face is Bergman’s short film based on pictures from his personal photo album, particularly those of his mother, Karin. Naturally, there is the original trailer and a booklet that briefly describes the making of the film.

Ingmar Bergman’s iconic The Seventh Seal remains one of cinema’s most important and influential films and BFI’s release couldn’t be more timely.

The Seventh Seal is out now on 4K Blu-ray.

BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES

They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but in the terms of a sensational indie film coming out of Japan, this is certainly the case.

After the worldwide success of One Cut of the Dead in early 2019, our Eastern friends have provided us with another special film in Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes from Junta Yamaguchi, his feature directorial debut.

Kato lives above the cafe that he runs along with his friend Aya – everything is normal until one day when finishing for the day, he discovers that his TV is linked to the set in the cafe but on a two-minute delay when he begins to have a conversation with himself. After getting his friends Komiya, Ozawa and Tanabe involved with this revelation, things start to go wrong as they soon find out that maybe knowing the future isn’t as good as it can be.

From the outset, the most impressive aspect of this film, which comes in at a short runtime of 70 minutes, is that it is crafted to appear as one single take meaning that once the story has you hooked, there is nothing to take you away from the hilarious comedy and mind-bending sci-fi goodness that writer Makoto Ueda has created.

Even more awe-inspiring is that this film was made on a micro-budget by Europe Kikaku, a production company that has only ever done theatre shows before this with the majority of the cast never appearing in a film before.

From start to finish, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a wonderfully crafted sci-fi comedy that is surely going to go down as an important film for aspiring filmmakers and truly proves that if you have an idea and a camera, anything is possible.

The special features included on the home disc release are also a must watch including a short Making Of documentary, an interview with Director Junta Yamaguchi and even the original short film that Beyond is based on by writer Makoto Ueda, named Howling. All of these will add even more appreciation to how truly special this film is.

BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES is released November 15th on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital

COVEN

Coven is a 2019 production from Thriller Films just now making its DVD debut in the UK.

It’s a teen horror concerning a coven that is trying to summon their goddess Ashura in the belief she will grant them ultimate power. And as the film opens, it shows a great deal of promise as we see these girls have no hesitation in sacrificing one of their own in a ritual.

Now one down, they need a fifth member, and this is where the film becomes stunningly familiar. We’ve seen this before. Of course, comparisons with The Craft (1996) are unavoidable with any teenage witch coven film that comes along. Sadly, they’re fully justified in this case. It’s almost the same film. Lizze Gordon, who also wrote the script, stars as Sophie, the innocent descendant of a witch is trying to bring back her deceased mother is chosen by the Coven as their new member. Lizze Gordon bears an uncanny resemblance to Robin Tunney, who portrayed virtually the same part in The Craft. The same can be said of the malicious Ronnie who leads the coven – actor Jennifer Cipola attempts to channel Fairuza Balk’s Nancy but doesn’t quite have enough reach.

When Ashura is invoked, she possesses Ronnie, and it’s up to Sophie to save them all in a final tepid showdown.

Though deeply reminiscent of The Craft, this film has none of the charm or staying power of the original. The actors are badly served by some atrocious dialogue, and their performances are wooden. There’s no real sense of menace, despite the opening surprising twist. Disappointingly, the film tumbles into the trap of clumsy titillation as the coven can’t seem to perform a single ritual without being clad in Anne Summers lingerie and heels.

Ultimately, we still remember The Craft fondly, 25 years later. Coven will be forgotten by Christmas.

Coven is out now on DVD.

LORE

Lore is a horror/thriller that marks the debut of co-writers, co-directors, and co-producers Brock Manwill and Christian Larsen, it’s an impressive achievement for the talented duo and one that should indicate a bright future for the partnership.

Inspired by Native American folklore, the story introduces a divorced couple whose teenaged son has apparently gone on a camping trip into the woods with some friends. This turns into every parent’s nightmare as it turns out he went alone and is now missing.

After the local police fail to find any clue as to his disappearance, the distressed parents, Ann and Rich (Lyndsey Lantz and Max Lesser), decide to go to look for themselves, especially since Ann is experiencing due to the vivid dreams of her son still being alive. They engage a Native American guide named John (Sean Wei Mah) and off they venture, despite the warning from a tribal elder to “watch out for the girl”.

Unfortunately, their problems are just beginning. In the wilderness, they encounter several signs that warn them to turn back, which they duly ignore. Subsequently, they find themselves being stalked by a shapeshifter called The Howler, who as John tells them, gets its power from killing a family member.

So, all the tropes are in place for a predictable, by-the-numbers horror film. But this independently made little gem elevates above that. The Howler is rarely actually seen. Just glimpses here and there, and never a clear look at the whole thing. And this subtle handling makes the knowledge that it’s there, somewhere, more ominous than had he popped up regularly and become familiar.

But over and above your standard horror fare, this is more a study of a mother’s resolve to find her missing child against all odds. Lynsey Lantz carries most of the film with a grim determination that will not be beaten. Not by a guide urging them to turn back, an estranged ex-spouse who seems willing to concede, nor the eerie supernatural force whose presence is menacing their very survival. It’s very much a tone poem of hope against hopelessness, skilfully directed and performed.

Filmed on location in Idaho, Lore makes full use of locations we’ve not seen in a movie before, with imaginative use of drone filming to achieve an uncanny sense of disorienting isolation that provides an unsettling backdrop.

An unusually atmospheric film that is more than it first appears.

Lore is out now on DVD

THE HILLS HAVE EYES (1977) 4K UHD

There is a lot of content on this new Limited Edition 4K UHD release of The Hills Have Eyes from Arrow Video. An awful lot. But perhaps that’s a good thing as Wes Cravens 1977 exploitation ‘classic’ isn’t ageing all that well and you’ll likely spend more of your time with the features than the film itself.

Surely everyone knows the story by now? A largely unpleasant, all-American family are on a vacation trip to Los Angeles when against the advice of a local they take the backroads and fall foul of an equally unpleasant family of cannibals.

Much has been written about the political, social, and moral themes evident in The Hills Have Eyes. Craven has spoken on the film’s ‘rage against American culture’, it has been described as a rape and revenge film, and it could be read as having something to say on minority groups and ethnicity. It could also be just another nasty horror film.

Viewed now, you can make your own assumptions. There is no doubting the film’s significance and legacy in genre filmmaking, with the heavily influenced Wrong Turn franchise spawning another entry in the last 12 months, and Craven’s focus on the dysfunctional family unit a prevalent theme throughout cinema itself.

But is The Hills Have Eyes actually a good film? If your memory is a positive one; a tender, reverential view of a cult classic, then rewatching may cause you to question those opinions. Seen for what it is, this is a mean-spirited, somewhat grisly story which, while clearly having something to say, is questionable in how it says it.

The Hills Have Eyes 4K UHD is released on November 8th.

THE MONSTER (1975)

In the wake of hugely successful and thoroughly unholy classics such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973), the horror market was swiftly inundated with a torrent of films focusing on the more cosmic side of terror: witchcraft, possession, and satanic worship. For the most part, these schlocky horror titles were weak, rote affairs – rushed exploitation that failed to capture, or even understand, the unspeakable nature of evil in its purest and most-feared form. But Peter Sasdy’s The Monster is so incredulously wide of the mark that it’s bewildering.

Joan Collins stars as Lucy, a London burlesque dancer who is taking time out from her work after becoming pregnant with her husband, Gino, played by Hammer regular Ralph Bates. Unfortunately, before leaving work, Lucy had rejected the sexual advances of a fellow performer, Hercules (George Claydon), causing him to bestow a curse upon her unborn child. And, sure enough, when the little devil finally hits the scene, the infant immediately sets about attacking his family, destroying his home, and unleashing all manner of cot-rocking, room-shaking, sub-Exorcist shenanigans.

Seeking the help of a Catholic nun (Eileen Atkins) and a local doctor (Donald Pleasence), Lucy searches for solutions, both pragmatic and spiritual, in an effort to free the hefty terror tyke from the demonic control of… Hercules? Satan? To be honest, it doesn’t seem to matter much anyway. Like most of the plot’s more crucial details, the where, why’s, and how’s of the narrative seem to be a source of ambivalence to the writers, in a screenplay that merely staggers from one scene to the next, grasping for motivation and reason at every turn.

The Monster, also known as I Don’t Want to Be Born, The Devil Within Her, and Sharon’s Baby (reminder: the mother’s name is ‘Lucy’), is an abject disaster on all fronts. Painfully dated in style, our cast dawdles around ugly locations in uglier fashions, while repetitively recounting their concerns about the demon seed over and again. “He’s a very strong baby” we’re told every other scene. Sasdy’s occasional efforts to shock only serve to elicit laughter, as what is perceived to be frightening in The Monster is, in reality, extremely funny. When the perpetrator of your set-piece murders is mere days old, you’re somewhat limited in your kill creativity, and even further limited in your ability to actually frighten your audience. There’s a reason The Omen’s Damien had a dog.

Even at a scant 95 minutes, The Monster has so little narrative to offer it chooses to pad out the runtime with impromptu travelogues of a gloomy 1970s London. Huge chunks of the movie are eaten up watching the cast simply potter around the concrete confines of Piccadilly and Oxford St. The intention appears to be to add a bit of homespun exotica to the proceedings. But, with all of its rusted cars and perpetually grey skies, it’s all so completely uninviting. In both its interior and exterior photography, The Monster presents a stark visual account of yesterday’s London – and frankly, you can keep it.

The Monster is deserving of its disastrous reputation. No one would argue against it being a schlocky, scare-free horror film. But while there are many terrible and tawdry entries in the pantheon of horror – it’s practically an occupational hazard for fans of the genre – The Monster is so staggeringly bad, so ill-equipped to deliver any effective thrill whatsoever, that it becomes oddly compelling. A cinematic equivalent of a car crash, it’s almost impossible to tear your eyes away as the calamity unspools onto the screen, consistently accelerating toward disaster before reaching terminal velocity with a stunning, nonsensical climax. While The Monster is impossible to recommend as an accomplished feature, it conversely plays incredibly well as a morbid curiosity, and, for all of its flaws, remains required viewing for all die-hard horror aficionados. Just the once.

Network has been more generous to The Monster than the film’s detractors might expect. Along with as crisp a print as you are ever likely to ever get for the film itself, the extras package includes the original theatrical trailer, an alternative title sequence, a selection of new video interviews with crew members, (including director Peter Sasdy), and a light-hearted commentary track featuring Laura Mayne and Adrian Smith of the Second Features podcast. Network’s Blu-ray also employs a fun ‘grindhouse’-style presentation, opening with old-school cinema bumpers and a few ‘70s trailers to help set a suitable mood. A nicely generous package for a modest retail price.

The Monster is out now on Blu-ray from Network.

DEMONIC

Filmed in secret during the pandemic – and there is a distinct ‘project’ feel to the movie, as if everyone involved is nervous they’ll be discovered doing something they shouldn’t – Neill Blomkamp’s latest follows Carly (Carly Pope) who has been estranged from her mother Angela (Nathalie Boltt) following a violent incident many years before. With Angela now in a coma, Carly is persuaded by two men to talk to her mother using technology they have developed which allows her to enter her mother’s ‘dreamscape’. Given the title, you can rest assured something else is in there with her.

Blomkamp’s filmmaking has always been about ideas and originality. District 9 and Elysium confidently dealt with themes of social segregation and xenophobia through bold, futuristic concepts. By contrast, Demonic feels nervous, restrained somehow as if from a first-time filmmaker uncertain of his craft. The script, cast, and direction are all cautiously flat, rendering the final result blandly forgettable.

Perhaps damaged by the critical response to his last feature Chappie in 2015 or reeling from an inability to get projects moving (he has been involved in the unsuccessful development of Alien and RoboCop movies in recent years) Blomkamp seems unable or unwilling to fully commit to his concept.

Some interesting ideas remain – the Vatican’s use of technology to combat demonic possession being one – but many of the influences are too obvious, and you’ll be considering rewatching The Exorcist long before the predictable, somewhat rushed finale.

Like many before Blomkamp comes across like a filmmaker struggling to rediscover the talent and conviction that brought early success. Let’s hope he does, and we can quickly mark Demonic down as simply a blip.

Signature Entertainment’s DEMONIC is on and Blu-ray and DVD from October 25th

CELIA (1989)

At the end of the 1980s, an Australian ‘new wave’ cinema started to emerge which would result in some of the best films and most promising directors of the period. And if the true star of that movement was Jane Campion, who released Sweetie in 1989, that same year heralded the arrival of a talent equally as interesting in the form of Ann Turner and her debut film, Celia.

On the surface, it’s a film about a young girl in 1950s rural Australia navigating a period in her life between the innocence and fantasy of childhood and the realities of becoming an adult. But there’s more going on. A lot more.

Celia, beautifully played by Rebecca Smart, lives in a conservative town with her conservative parents. As the film begins, her grandmother dies, a woman with a bookshelf suggesting she’d been something of a political rebel in her younger days, and Celia loses the one person she really connects with. When a family move in next door, they welcome Celia into their home, one which is a lot freer and less stuffy than her own. But the family are communists and, in 1950s Australia, that’s not a good thing to be.

At the same time, the government, dealing with a rural farming crisis and a plague of rabbits, ban pet rabbits too and Celia’s beloved Mergatruyd gets taken away.

These traumatic, political, grown-up things have a profound impact on the imaginative child, as she combats rivalry and bullying from other kids, a love/hate relationship with her father and monstrous creatures called Hobyahs which may or may not be just in her own mind…

Celia is a brilliant film. It expertly examines the horrors and confusion, the innocence and joy of being a child whilst being all too aware that becoming a grown-up doesn’t solve all of your problems. Never heavy-handed, Turner’s deft writing and direction cleverly weaves the personal and political with such a light hand and with such skill, always keeping the focus very much from the point of view of young Celia.

Beneath it all lies a deeply troubling period of Australian history, the plague of rabbits and subsequent botched handling of that by the government providing a perfect metaphor for those pesky lefties ruffling those 1950s Conservative feathers.

On Blu-ray for the first time, Celia looks glorious, the transfer providing the quality upgrade the film deserves. There’s an interview with Turner lifted from the 2009 DVD release, but a new documentary sees her looking in-depth at the political landscape that underpinned the making of the film. It’s fascinating and lovely to see someone revisiting something they made over 30 years ago of which they are deservedly proud. A 2021 recording from a film convention eulogises the film too, so the extras are pretty good.

Campion went on from her success in 1989 to make classics like The Piano and it’s hard not to feel robbed of what else we might have had from Turner, whose career took a different path to that of her more celebrated contemporary. On the evidence of her stunning debut, Celia, Ann Turner should have continued to be one of the greats.

THE WALKING DEAD – WORLD BEYOND (SEASON ONE)

As a fixed two-season spin-off from The Walking Dead, new show World Beyond has a remit to offer a distinct ‘young adult’ perspective on life in the same zombie apocalypse as its parent show. Set ten years on from the original outbreak, the first half of World Beyond focuses on the mobile adventures of a group of young protagonists who set off on a mission to find and rescue the missing father of their group’s leader.

Although the Walking Dead universe has continued to expand at pace, including three separate TV series (with two additional ones announced), a commitment to produce movies featuring the show’s original hero Rick Grimes, new works of fiction, tie-in console games and more, World Beyond still stands out as an unexpected creative choice. If a blend of YA teen drama, complex political intrigue and hand-to-hand combat with the endless undead sounds like an unlikely mix – that’s because it is. And World Beyond is continually tripped up by the challenges of trying to reconcile these disparate dramatic elements.

Many of those difficulties are writ large in the opening episode. The story begins in a stable and well-resourced community, now thriving a decade on from the disaster. The settlement welcomes an airborne delegation from the Civic Republic Military (the CRM), an organisation ostensibly committed to the betterment of humankind. The community’s leading scientist and technician Leopold “Leo” Bennett has been seconded to assist with the CRM’s research programme. Yet Bennett’s two daughters,, the diligent Iris and the disruptive Hope, become convinced that their father is being held against his will and is in deep trouble.

Together with two companions, bookworm Elton and the socially withdrawn Silas, they set out on a lengthy cross-country mission to find and rescue Leo. Learning of their departure, the community’s leaders dispatch two security officers, Felix and Huck, to track them down and bring them home. With all of them now far beyond the settlement’s walls, the CRM enact a devastating plan that will change the lives of these six refugees forever.

While this first instalment sets out the series’ premise and sketches the outlines of its key characters, the show’s tonal discord is immediately apparent. Wholesale slaughter jostles for attention alongside teenage high-jinks, heavily signposted flashbacks, and lengthy adolescent reflections on the meaning of life, family and integrity. The showrunners have taken care to put together a foursome of teen protagonists that are not the standard TV issue. Their leader is a young black woman, who’s capable, motivated and empathic. And the three kids in her charge are all awkward outsiders of one sort or another, not part of the cool in-crowd. But there’s not enough depth to the characterisation of “the nerd”, “the rebel” or the “gentle giant” to support the frequent heart-to-hearts that are stitched into the narrative of every episode.

For the most part, the wider context of the world remains beyond the show’s view. Instead, as the group’s journey takes them through different states, and confronts them with new obstacles, Worlds Apart harks back to the texture of those ‘community of the week’ seventies’ US TV shows like The Fantastic Journey, Planet of the Apes and Logan’s Run. At the end of each story, the party gets back on the road having resolved their latest challenge. Throughout these adventures, the bloodletting, decapitation and cranial stabbing are all pared back. There’s less gore and a great deal more jaw-jaw than in any other incarnation of the show.

So while it’s competently done, and delivers some effective set-pieces along the way, World Beyond remains an amalgam that fails to properly bond. With the show designed to complete after a twenty-episode, two-season run, there would be no excuse to end matters with an unresolved cliffhanger. But season two of World Beyond will confront the same seemingly irreconcilable tensions that hamper the first. The ‘special features’ of the Blu-ray and DVD releases of the first ten episodes are perfunctory: limited to just three short promotional TV spots.

THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND (SEASON ONE) is out now on Blu-Ray and DVD

THE SINGING RINGING TREE (1957)

If you’re of a certain age, early TV memories are sure to feature this strange German folk tale, based on an obscure story by the Brothers Grimm and is a variation on Beauty and the Beast.

A handsome prince is shunned by the beautiful princess he hopes to marry. She will not even consider him until he brings her the fabled singing ringing tree. Located in a magical garden but guarded by an evil dwarf, the tree will only ring out when true love is found and, because he has failed on his quest, the prince is turned into an ugly bear. But when the vain princess is also cast out into the magical garden, can she learn to look beyond material wealth and physical good looks and see how much inner beauty really matters?

It’s a fairy story so what do you think?

With not the most sophisticated plot ever devised, this charming, delightfully produced piece of nostalgia from 1957 East Germany was first brought to UK screens by the BBC in 1964, cut into three separate parts. It was so popular that it was often repeated right up to 1980, embedding itself into the memories of a generation.

Now regarded as a classic, it’s easy to see why. Despite some iffy political incorrectness, it harks back to simpler times, a capsule of childhoods lived pre-Star Wars, pre-video games, pre irony.

The sets, costumes and effects are beautiful, the characters, despite the stereotyping, are wonderfully played and the overall effect is, indeed, magical.

Extras are slight but the best of them is an interview from an unknown date, perhaps around the late ’90s, with the actor who played the princess, Christel Bodenstein, talking lovingly about her experience.

Sometimes you watch something beloved from your childhood and it’s a bit of a disappointment, but The Singing Ringing Tree continues to shine.