Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Review: Baron Blood / Cert: 18 / Director: Mario Bava / Screenplay: Vincent Fortre / Starring: Joseph Cotten, Elke Sommer, Massimo Girotti, Antonio Cantafora / Release Date: Out Now 

Mario Bava made some of the greatest, most visually striking films of the ’60s and ’70s. By the time he made Baron Blood, the world had already seen Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and his previous film was the A Bay of Blood, the proto-slasher which influenced Friday the 13th. With Baron, Bava goes back to the Gothic roots of Black Sunday (1960), albeit in a modern setting.

Holidaying in Austria, Peter Kleist (Cantafora) pays a visit to his old ancestral home, which is being renovated to be a tourist attraction, and where he learns about his descendant, a sadistic 16th aristocrat, Baron Otto von Kleist, who notoriously tortured and killed many of his subjects. With Eva (Sommer), Peter inadvertently resurrects the evil Baron by reading aloud from an ancient parchment. The current owner is found dead, and the property put up for auction, only to be bought by the mysterious wheelchair-bound Alfred Becker (Cotten). The shadowy, mutilated figure of the long dead Baron is soon seen stalking the castle and village, and Eva and Peter have to find a way to reverse the incantation that brought him back.

The plot sags somewhat in the middle, but the use of Viennese locations (the only time he filmed outside of Italy due to a dislike of travelling) and the glorious cinematography (by Bava himself) more than make up for it. All the trappings of a great Gothic horror film are there, juxtaposed with the modern amenities (a Coca-Cola dispenser in the castle, for instance and the auction selling a shipment of large screen TVs). The vision of the Baron, in hat and trench coat, evokes Vincent Price in House of Wax (interestingly, Price was the first choice for the Cotten role). Elke Sommer, who was much more effective in Bava’s later Lisa and the Devil, does little more than scream at every given opportunity, but it is Bava’s luscious style and macabre touches that delight the most, and are enough to keep the attention. The new Blu-ray release offers three cuts of the film, an “export version” in English, the same cut in subtitled Italian and the shorter American “AIP” version, which had a different, more traditionally spooky score by Les Baxter. Maybe not the best film with which to introduce yourself to Bava’s work, but still a lot of fun.

Extras: HD Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of three versions of the film: “Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga” with Italian opening and closing titles and “Baron Blood” with English opening and closing titles and the European English export version audio, and the AIP version with alternate score by Les Baxter / Three audio versions: Optional Italian, European English and AIP English re-dub and re-score / Audio Commentary with Bava biographer and expert Tim Lucas / Introduction to “Baron Blood” by author and critic Alan Jones / “Bava at Work” slide show / Interview with director Ruggero Deodato on Bava / Trailers / Radio Spots / Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Oliver James, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

Review: Slice & Dice – The Slasher Film Forever / Cert: 18 / Director: Calum Waddell / Screenplay: N/A / Starring: Corey Feldman, Tobe Hooper, Mick Garris, Tom Holland, Jeffrey Reddick, Patrick Lussier, Felissa Rose, Adam Green / Release Date: May 13^th

Horror fans, and slasher fans in particular, have been spoilt recently by genre documentaries; His Name Was Jason and Never Sleep Again have dissected the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series to the core. Following on from these comes Slice & Dice, a very British look at the history of slasher cinema, which traces the trend back to its humble beginnings with Peeping Tom and the seminal Hitchcock classic, Psycho, and all the way through to modern remakes of original subgenre hits.

As with any documentary, there are the usual series of talking heads that are happy to provide their own little bit of insight into the subject matter. Corey Feldman (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) heads a stream of actors, directors and producers who recount their experiences on set and their thoughts on the slasher phenomena. It’s interesting to see and hear the musings of individuals who don’t normally get screen time in documentaries like this – Adam Green (Hatchet series), Tom Holland (Child’s Play) and Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine remake) are just some of the names that turn up here.

However, it is the fact that the talking heads on view here are not normally heard from and the obvious non-involvement of the bigger hitters who are conspicuous by their absence that lets Slice & Dice down. It has the best of intentions – Waddell is a known genre journalist who has a genuine love of horror – and tries to offer fans something new, which it achieves to a certain extent, but an extremely short running time means that what could have been an insightful deconstruction of slasher cinema comes up short.

The creators must have struggled to get hold of the rights to a lot of slasher classics, hence the use of stills from the big studio productions rather than clips, and the inclusion of more films from lower budget companies such as Charles Band’s Full Moon show that the budget of this production was lower than was perhaps hoped for. This is a real shame as it would be great to see a packed documentary about this sub-genre – both in length and content. Interesting in parts, but a real missed opportunity.

Extras: Audio commentary with director/producer Calum Waddell / Additional ‘outtake’ interviews featuring Corey Feldman, Felissa Rose, J.S. Cardone, Kevin Tenney and more / Q&A from the Glasgow Film Theatre featuring James Moran and Norman J. Warren / Footage from premiers / Trailers

Review: Devils of War / Cert: 15 / Director: Eli Dorsey / Screenplay: Eli Dorsey / Starring: Jerry L. Buxbaum, Lawrence Anthony, Jeremiah Grace/ Release Date: Out Now

Once upon a time, in Nazi occupied Poland…

Sadly, it’s the spirit of Uwe Boll which lives on through Eli Dorsey’s Devils of War, and not Quentin Tarantino. Assembled for a top-secret mission, a crack team of allied forces find themselves trapped behind enemy lines in 1944 Poland. With Dead Snow, War of the Dead and Outpost (not to mention videogames such as Wolfenstein and the Call of Duty add-on modes), the Nazi zombie movie remains as popular a subgenre as ever. Unfortunately, we have yet to see a truly great Nazi zombie film. When the amusing but flawed Dead Snow remains king of the subgenre, you know you have a problem.

Hidden in the woods of Poland, a group of occultist Nazis attempt to create super soldiers, by having their own men possessed by actual demons. In the grandest of Third Reich/occult traditions, these experiments are accompanied by a whole host of mad scientists, buxom nurses and similarly boobed test subjects (all local girls, kidnapped by the Nazi nasties). Our heroes are similar genre archetypes – there’s the nice-but-dim cannon fodder, lapsed preacher, racist hick and black hero (here dubbed ‘Black Hercules’). The ingredients are primed for a trashy but enjoyable horror film. 

Sadly, what could have been an Iron Sky exercise in cheesy, sleazy, slightly kinky exploitation becomes one of the more worthless outings for the subgenre, complete withyawful acting, a terrible script and misjudged comedy. It tries to be offensive, funny and even shocking at times, but just comes across as obvious and cynical. Dialogue exchanges such as “Are you a virgin? I must check your virtue” and “Get out and get me more virgins” appear to have been culled from the script of a particularly tasteless pornographic movie, while the acting isn’t much of a cut above that level. As the characters call dibs on the virginity of a recently rescued young lady, the whole thing tumbles head over heels over the line into complete desperation. “Don’t be afraid of Big Daddy,” says the supposed hero, offering forth his penis as salvation. I fear I may be making Devils of War sound more worthwhile than it actually is.  

Which is a shame, because Devils of War looks much better than most cheap zombie films, with impressively coherent action sequences, decent gore effects and a man character who wields a Samurai sword in the middle of World War II. More of this would have been nice, and less of… well, almost everything else.

The Grindhouse influence sadly lives on, giving folks an excuse to half-arse their way through filmmaking, all in the name of ‘irony’. Ironic or not, Devils of War is a bad film.

Extras: None

Review: The Wicked / Cert: 18 / Director: Peter Winther / Screenplay: Michael Vickerman/ Starring: Devon Werkheiser, Nicole Forester, Caitlin Carmichael / Release Date: June 10th

After a little girl is snatched from her bedroom, a group of teenagers decide to sneak into the woods to drink and have sex with one another. Unbeknownst to ringleader Zach, his little brother Max and girlfriend Sammy have snuck along for the ride. As they break into the home of the local wicked witch, it seems as though all may have bitten off more than they can chew. Altogether now, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…”

With its Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids-style opening animation, young cast and witch villain, The Wicked plays like a horror film for the younger crowd. Perhaps it’s because of all the fairy tales, but there’s something inherently childish about witches. But with its 18 rating and severe case of potty mouth, The Wicked does not make for family friendly viewing. You’d be better off with Mama instead, which manages to be scarier despite the lower age rating and more pronounced fairy tale vibe.

If Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Wizard of Oz and, um, Wicked taught us anything, it’s that – one or two exceptions aside – witches aren’t very scary. Ding-dong, the witch is dead (insert predictable Margaret Thatcher joke here). Alas, the script and story don’t do much to make their villain very scary either. It takes far too long to get going, with the characters spending the first half an hour swearing relentlessly at one another and attempting to hit on their attractive friend. Some of that swearing is amusing (I particularly liked “shut your smelly d*ck hole”) but I would have preferred it if the film had spent more time being good rather than just rude. It’s a film that spends more time establishing that its female lead isn’t a lesbian than it does any actual threat. Yes, young love is sweet, but shut up and show us the witch. When it all does kick off, it’s atmospheric and creepy, but it just takes too long getting there.

For all the swearing, shagging teenagers and eventual violence, there’s no hiding from the fact that there’s already a much scarier, much more effective witch movie out there, and it was made in 1990. Yes, without a single swear or naked teenager, Roald Dahl’s traumatic The Witches effortlessly blows straight-to-DVD trash like this out of the water, even today.

Extras: None

Review: Supernatural – The Anime Series / Cert: 15 / Director: Atsuko Ishizuka, Shigeyuki Miya / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles / Release Date: May 27th

What with a multitude of novels, comics and, oh yes, eight seasons of the live-action show already done and dusted, you might be forgiven for having had enough of the Winchester boys, Dean and Sam, who hunt demons and assorted bogeymen across the length and breadth of America. But if you’re hungry for more, then how about a cartoon version from masters of Japanese anime, Madhouse?

And why not? Supernatural: The Anime Series basically zips through the story arcs of the first two seasons, cutting the fat out of the old material and throwing in enough original episodes, new slants and fresh supporting characters to keep it interesting even for those of you who know every curl of Dean’s upper lip off by heart. Been dying for some more background info on the Winchester family? Well, look no further – there’s an episode in which John Winchester goes on a solo adventure, and we also get to see Sam meeting his ill-fated girlfriend Jessica at Stanford. Meanwhile, the cases new to this series include one in which Dean becomes haunted by a Japanese poverty god in the shape of a little old man who perches on his shoulder during a trip to Vegas, and another about a ghost Chevy Impala. 

Talking of that all-important third star of the show, the animators get their priorities right and ensure that it’s beautifully and faithfully rendered in every frame. Elsewhere, the look is angular, thickly shadowed and moody, with the screen frequently blocked in a single dominant colour. It’s not the most lovingly detailed of anime styles, but it’s effective, and the team pull out the stops for the finale showdown, all pools of moonlight, rotting tombstones and rippling dust coats. And there’s grue, plenty of it – spurts of gore, twisted bodies and gooey creature transformations. So altogether this is an edgier Dean and Sam than any we’ve seen before, even if their modus operandi hasn’t changed very much – they still go about purifying everything that moves and running through more fire and salt than an army of barbecue chefs. 

To ensure extra authenticity, leads Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have been strong-armed – that’s the impression they give – into presenting short intros to each episode (a bit embarrassing, but actually quite helpful in keeping track of which are new and which aren’t). In addition, Padalecki voice acts throughout, while Ackles lends his oily vibrato to the two-parter, All Hell Breaks Loose. There’s also a decent bunch of special features, among them a chat with Padalecki, where the interviewer makes the mistake of asking him whether there are any particular anime or manga titles he likes: “Uh, I don’t necessarily know of any particular titles…” Oh well, never mind. But hey, maybe they should try asking Ackles the same question? “No, I’m not as familiar with it as I’d like to be…” Agh!

Extras: Intros with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles / Interview with directors / Interviews with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles / Interviews with Japanese voice actors / Trailers / The Making of Supernatural, Parts 1 & 2

 

Review: Sawney – Flesh of Man / Cert: 18 / Director: Ricky Wood / Screenplay: Ricky Wood / Starring: Samuel Feeney, David Hayman, Elizabeth Brown / Release Date: August 19th

Historians tend to believe that Alexander “Sawney” Bean never actually existed, but legend has it that he was the head of a 28-strong clan in 15th or 16th century Scotland that was executed for the mass murder and cannibalisation of over 1000 people. This is the launching point for Ricky Wood’s film, which supposes that remnants of the Sawney clan remain alive and are abducting helpless victims from the streets of Scotland in order to keep themselves fed.

Sawney: Flesh of Man follows reporter Hamish (Feeney) as he tracks a story about a missing girl and stumbles across the rumour of a black taxi cab which picks up wayward young women who are never seen or heard of again. The police tend to view him as something of a nuisance who is hampering their investigation but eventually the horror strikes close to home and Hamish ends up having to take on the ruthless clan of cannibals all by himself.  

Although low budget and shot on digital, this film goes to prove that just because you don’t have much money doesn’t mean your film has to look cheap. The film is visually very striking, from the desolate late-night city streets to the misty Scottish countryside. Cinematographer Ranald Wood makes the film look far more expensive that it is, and it all helps add to the sense of menace. Sawney also has all the unpleasantness and gore you could hope for. Actor David Hayman plays the current leader of the clan and he relishes the role and the camera seems content to linger on all the meat and battered and bruised flesh as he (literally) chews the scenery. Apart from one scene of sexual violence, the film never goes too far just for the sake of it and doesn’t cross the line from thriller to exploitation.

What holds the film back from greatness is the lead actor Samuel Feeney, in a terribly underwritten role. The film’s characterisation of ‘grizzled journalist’ seems to consist of little more than stubble, manbag and hip flask, while Feeney looks like he’s just wandered in off the set of Hollyoaks. Every time he is on the screen you will find yourself disconnecting, which is a shame considering how good the rest of it is. The finale in particular is one of the most exciting in a horror film for some time.

Sawney: Flesh of Man is a nasty and entertaining hour and change of entertainment which would be perfectly nice post pub viewing. Ricky Wood has made a very strong debut and is definitely a name to watch.  

Extras: None

Review: Curandero – Dawn of the Demon / Cert: 18 / Director: Eduardo Rodriguez / Screenplay: Robert Rodriguez, Luz Mari Rojas / Starring: Carlos Gallardo, Gizeht Galatea, Gabriel Pingarron/ Release Date: May 20th

Steeped in Mexican folklore and co-written by cult icon Robert Rodriguez, Curandero: Dawn of the Demon is an interesting prospect. It tells the story of a cop who teams up with a Curandero (a spiritual healer and exorcist) to purify Mexico City of the demons – both imagined and not – which lie beneath it. It has an intriguing plot and some great action sequences, but Curandero is not the complete success that it could have been. 

Shelved by Miramax since 2005, it’s taken a long time for this lost Robert Rodriguez movie to reach us. It’s a good job that no one was really holding their breath waiting for its release, since that would have made for a lot of disappointed people. Nevertheless, Eduardo Rodriguez (no relation) does a good job of filming Robert’s script, which – in typical RR fashion – is fun and stylish, but not without its flaws.

Curandero is like a Spanish language version of Constantine crossed with a fairly traditional (if gory) crime movie. As Magdalena (Galatea) and her Curandero investigate a series of crime scenes (some infested by demons, some not) it becomes apparent that the work of a more traditional form of evil is also at play, in the shape of a sinister Mexican drug lord. Whereas one can be beaten using a carton of eggs, the other may take a little more work. Magdalena and Carlos must scramble before the city’s resident drug lord is able to strengthen his hold on the city. But originating from the pen of Robert Rodriguez, rest assured that Curandero is far from a hard-boiled crime drama. Alright, that’s enough egg puns. I’m fried anyway. There’s lashings of gore, some cool physical special effects and even some nice demon makeup towards the end. The washed out, yellowish look of the film isn’t very nice, but it looks no worse than most other low budget horror films out there. Those who dislike reading (shame on you) get the short thrift though, since the English dubbing is awful. Stick with the subtitles.

Had the man himself been stood behind the camera, Curandero could have been a worthy Robert Rodriguez movie. After all, he does have a way with entertaining trash. As it is, it’s RR lite – violent fun, marred by an unpleasant colour palette, dodgy acting and convoluted plot. It’s a misfire, but an interesting one – a good egg, in spite of its few imperfections.

Extras: None

Review: The Facility / Cert: 18 / Director: Ian Clark / Screenplay: Ian Clark / Starring: Aneurin Barnard, Alex Reid, Steve Evets, Chris Larkin / Release date: May 6th 

Authentic, realistic and even sincere at times, Ian Clark’s The Facility tells the story of seven volunteers of a clinical trial run by Prosyntrex Pharmaceuticals. For £2000 pounds they agree to be guinea pigs of a new drug called “Pro9” for two weeks at a clinic. One by one each of the participants is injected with either Pro9 or the control drug. When the doctor says, “Pro9 has dealt us some unforeseeable problems”, he’s being a master of understatement. 

The film begins with the group getting to know each other in this unusual situation. The tone is near-documentary, and the absence of a soundtrack and use of handheld cameras adds to the creepy, naturalistic effect – it’s all about long stretches of silence, painfully white walls, endless corridors and very unattractive curtains. Oh, and the phones don’t work, so they’re pretty much stuck in solitary confinement.  

There’s a strong ensemble cast including Alex Reid (The Descent, Misfits), Aneurin Barnard (Elfie Hopkins) and Steve Evets (BBC’s recent zombie series In the Flesh). However, the main protagonists, Alex (Barnard) and Joni (Reid), feel slightly underdeveloped and do not contribute to the narrative as well as they could. It is the supporting characters such as Evetts as the sarcastic Derek and Skye Laurie as Carmen who prove the most enjoyable to watch.

Things are fine until Jed begins to have a bad reaction to the drugs in the middle of the night. As he tears his hair out, cries out and his skin becomes ferociously red, the doctor sedates him & takes him to be observed overnight. It is after this that Arif (Amit Shah) becomes nervous and attempts to escape the medical clinic. However, when the same thing happens to him and both he and Jed become manically violent, it is clear that the drugs are doing this to the patients. As the remaining volunteers fear the severely affected participants, they must cope with the possibility that it may happen to them and must try and find a way to escape. The Facility is tense, violent and brutally finished off with an overwhelming ending that provides shocking answers about the nature of the medical trial.

Extras: None

Review: Dr. Who and the Daleks / Cert: U / Director: Gordon Flemyng / Screenplay: Milton Subotsky, David Whitaker / Starring: Peter Cushing, Roberta Tovey, Roy Castle, Jennie Linden / Release Date: May 27th

The Daleks! On the big screen!! In colour!!! So close you can feel their fire… Imagine how excited those first generation Doctor Who fans must have been when, little more than eighteen months after the TV series had debuted, their hero and his deadliest enemies were suddenly projected onto the nation’s cinema screens in glorious Technicolor in a big family adventure movie with production values and visual effects way beyond the capability of the modestly-budgeted TV show. So what if this was to turn out to be just a retread of the very first Dalek serial, already fading from the collective memory and, presumably, buried away in the BBC Archives forever? The Daleks – loads of them, not just the four props wheeled out on TV by the BBC – were coming to the big screen at the height of their popularity, so it’s no real surprise that Dr. Who and the Daleks became one of the ten top-grossing movies in the UK in 1965. 

The movie, rushed into production in 1965 to capitalise on the growing Dalekmania sweeping Britain, is routinely dismissed as trivial nonsense by hardcore contemporary Who fans who wilfully miss the point because the film is connected to the TV series by name and subject matter alone. William Hartnell was the irascible, curmudgeonly Doctor in the TV series at the time, but, for the big screen, Hammer horror favourite Peter Cushing was roped in to play an entirely different character. Cushing’s Dr. Who (that’s his name) is a doddery, fussy old British scientist who has housed a Time and Space machine inside an old Police Box (the interior looks like an explosion in an electrical supply shop) and together with his granddaughters Susan (Tovey) and Barbara (Linden) and the latter’s clumsy boyfriend Ian (Castle) he travels to a blasted, barren alien planet inhabited by the warlike Daleks in their gleaming futuristic city and the immaculately-coiffed Thals who are battling to survive in an irradiated landscape. It’s the story of the original seven-part Dalek serial boiled down to under eighty minutes and it bounces along at a fair old clip, hitting the main beats of the TV serial whilst removing much of the padding. It’s colourful, kiddie-friendly stuff, of course, but the Daleks – taller, chunkier and, obviously, more colourful than those previously seen on TV – have never looked better (despite the rather feeble fire extinguisher weaponry which replaced the planned flamethrower effect). Remarkably, the film still holds up well nearly fifty years later; this new Blu-ray transfer is the crispest the movie has looked since it appeared on cinema screens, and whilst more recent converts to the world of the Doctor and the Daleks might be baffled or bored witless by its childlike naivety, Dr. Who and the Daleks remains a charming and ambitious period piece and stands as another reminder of the huge impact Doctor Who made on British popular culture the moment it arrived on TV screens.

Extras: The ‘Dalekmania’ documentary dates from 1995 but is still an interesting look at the making of the two Dr. Who movies / Restoration feature / Interview with Shepperton Studios historian Gareth Owen / Trailer / Gallery