Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Review: Subspecies / Cert: 18 / Director: Ted Nicolaou / Screenplay: Jackson Barr, David Fabian / Starring: Anders Hove, Laura Tate, Michael Watson, Angus Scrimm / Release Date: March 18th

This was the first American movie to be shot in Romania after the collapse of Communism, and it’s also the opening segment of a unique four-part cinematic vampire saga. A trio of Medieval history PhD students, two American, one Romanian, travel to a remote monastery and soon become fascinated by a nearby castle which doesn’t seem to be mentioned in any of the textbooks. Exploring the ruins, they have a glancing encounter with its sole inhabitant, the carrot-topped, long-fingered Radu (Hove), who as it so happens has just slain his father, the King of the Vampires (Scrimm), ending a long era of peace between the undead and mortal worlds.

With that, their fate seems sealed. However, among the monastery’s other guests is the palely interesting Stefan (Watson), he of the Flock of Seagulls haircut and long overcoat. Ostensibly a zoologist studying nocturnal wildlife, he is in fact Radu’s half-brother, and perhaps the only person who can stand in his way.

The joy of the Subspecies films is that they take a traditional, almost antiquarian approach to vampire mythology – Radu’s character design harks back to Murnau’s silent-era masterpiece Nosferatu – but somehow make it seem fresh and new. With its sense of being a country adrift from modern times, Romania provides a wonderful backdrop. But it’s more than that. Romanian culture and folklore infuse the tale, lending it a unique flavour. The backstory – to do with a holy relic that drips the blood of all the saints, gifted to the vampires by the grateful locals after they repelled the Turkish invasion of 1443 – rings with authenticity. The cast too are all very credible – the girls come across as mousy and intellectual, a refreshing change from the usual horror movie plastics – and there’s a sweetly pensive romance between the main female lead, Michele (Tate), and the deeply earnest Stefan. Radu, at this stage, doesn’t do much more than skulk about in the shadows, but you would be hard pressed to find a more visually striking villain.

Watching Subspecies, you’re aware that it’s been made with the most minimal of resources (oh, those dodgy stop-mo homunculi!), but the imaginations behind it are big. The picture quality on the DVD copy we saw isn’t as pin-sharp as on 88 Films’ recent Puppet Master releases, but it’s still pretty impressive. Among the extras is a documentary with some great behind the scenes footage showing the cast and crew roughing it Eastern European style – sticking bare wires into a wall socket to get a hair dryer to work – and having, you suspect, the time of their lives.

Extras: Cast and crew interviews / Killer Montage / Videozone / Trailer / Audio commentary

Review: Silent Hill – Revelation / Cert: 15 / Director: Michael J. Basssett / Screenplay: Michael J. Bassett / Starring: Adelaide Clemens, Sean Bean, Carrie-Anne Moss / Release Date: March 18th

The first Silent Hill film, based on the video game of the same name, was a watchable but forgettable movie that managed to blend some grotesque imagery with a couple of scares, some suspense and a laughable attempt at an American accent by Sean Bean. Six years later, the story continues in Silent Hill: Revelation, which is a direct sequel to the first movie and also loosely ties in to the third game in the series.

Heather Mason (Clemens) and her father (Bean) have been on the run since the events of the first film, constantly moving from town to town in an attempt to keep ahead of the horrors they left behind them. As Heather’s eighteenth birthday approaches, however, she begins to experience terrible, unsettling nightmares that warn her not to return to Silent Hill. Predictably, when her father disappears from their home and Heather’s nightmares begin to intrude on the waking world, she is left with no choice but to revisit the town and face her past.

The first few minutes of this film start off quite well. Heather’s initial dream sequence is full of some quite disturbing images, the Blu-ray transfer is clean and the sound quality is good. Unfortunately, those first five minutes are probably the high point of the entire film. Once the movie proper starts, it doesn’t so much go downhill as go off a cliff, perishing in a mangled wreck of over-the-top acting, nonsensical plot and bad CGI effects.

All of the above could be forgiven – and yes, even the return of Sean Bean’s torturous accent, the woeful dialogue or the criminal misuse of Carrie-Anne Moss and Malcolm McDowell – if the film had anything about it that could be considered entertaining, unsettling or scary. Unfortunately, it falls short on those counts as well. Any tension is killed stone-cold dead by hefty sections of exposition and the fact that the biggest jump scare in the entire movie comes from a pop-tart says it all.

Silent Hill: Revelation is the cinematic equivalent of going round to see a friend, only to spend the next hour and a half sitting on the sofa, watching them play a bad video game over their shoulder. It takes the precious few things that worked about the first film and either ignores them or executes them so badly that you really wish that they hadn’t bothered.

Hard-core fans of the video game may find something to like about it, but pretty much everyone else would be advised to give Silent Hill: Revelations as wide a berth as possible.

Extras: Behind the scenes featurette / Trailer

Review: Person of Interest – Season 1 / Cert: TBA / Director: Various / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Taraji P.Henson / Release Date: March 18th

Person of Interest aired in the UK on Channel 5 last year and was met with an overwhelmingly positive critical response. This intriguing show is brought to you by Christopher (The Dark Knight) Nolan’s brother, Jonathan Nolan. Therefore, you would be hoping for some good twists, great performances and a compelling narrative right? Well, Person of Interest offers us even more.

Jim Caviezel plays John Reese, an ex-government worker who is now living life on the streets since the death of his former lover, Jessica. After a violent incident on a subway train, he becomes a person of interest to both the NYPD, fronted by Detective Carter (Henson), and a mysterious figure named Mr. Finch (Lost’s Michael Emerson). Mr. Finch enlists Reese’s help on a very important project. After 9/11, Finch built a machine to prevent the same thing from happening again. However, instead of simply picking up terrorist activity, the machine also homes in on “irrelevant” criminality such as the plotting of murders or kidnappings, and it gives out by the numbers of people surrounded by danger. With the guilt of not being able to help playing on Finch’s conscience, he enlists Mr. Reece to assist the “irrelevant” people that the machine detects. He wants Reese to prevent these events from happening and find out who is involved. Describing himself as a “concerned third party”, Finch gives Reese the chance to save people in time – a way of redeeming himself for being too late for Jessica. What adds to the confusion, though, is that it is unclear whether the people on Finch’s list will become the victims or will in fact be the perpetrators.

That is simply the basic premise of the show. Throughout 22 episodes, Nolan provides us with plenty of twists. What begins as just a good show really grows into itself as the series continues, becoming almost addictive. By the fourth episode, you’ll be hooked. One of the show’s most intriguing points is the machine itself. It seems as though Nolan is sending us messages about the implications of technology and advising us of how useful it is but also how dangerous it can be. This show is sure to provoke some government paranoia in its viewers; surveillance and voyeurism are crucial themes to the series.

Each episode focuses on a different person who needs help or must be stopped. There are also several unique stories, such as one episode in which the number comes up for a girl who is presumed dead. Although each episode is centralized on a different number, there are a few ongoing compelling narrative strands that make it difficult to stop watching. This is the bonus of the DVD, you can watch it all in one go, guilt free. As the series develops, the partnership between Reese and Finch becomes one of the most compelling aspects to the show, with Nolan providing us with just the right amount of comedic moments between the two protagonists. Although the characters are very different, they are both ultimately alone. Similarly, towards the end of the series, much of Reese’s past is disclosed – his work in the government, how the government deceived him – and we discover more about his relationship with Jessica, which helps us to identify with him even more. We are given a few surprising secrets about Finch but they are kept minimal. Hopefully, Season 2 will give us more information about the mysterious intellectual.  

Just as he was on Lost, Michael Emerson is a mesmerising and intriguing presence. Caviezel is similarly good as Reese. He’s the perfect leading man for this type of attractive and athletic role – a hero who is cunning, brace and willing to get his hands dirty. There also needs to be a nod here to Taraji P.Henson who plays Detective Carter. She is fantastic in her role, a well developed female character providing a good balance to Finch and Reese. 

The final episodes push the drama to its limits as the Feds begin to close in on Reese and someone comes close to discovering the secret Finch has worked so hard to keep hidden. The series finale is even more action-packed than usual and full of dramatic surprises. It would be hard to overstress the brilliance of the show – its writing, the performances from both the leading and the carefully selected guest stars, the cool and edgy soundtrack, the compelling visual style and unusual cinematography. It’s one of the best government-focused television shows since Fox’s 24… along with Homeland of course.

Extras: Original Broadcast Pilot / Commentaries / Living in an Age of Surveillance Featurette / Gag Reel

Review: The Princess Bride – 25th Anniversary Edition / Cert: PG / Director: Rob Reiner / Screenplay: William Goldman / Starring: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Christopher Guest, Chris Sarandon, Peter Falk / Release Date: March 25th

The easiest way to review The Princess Bride, Rob Reiner’s 1988 adaptation of William Goldman’s classic romantic comedy novel, would be to recite the entire script; after all, that’s how the movie’s legion of devotees express their appreciation. But this rather charming and ramshackle little film deserves much more than just blind adoration. The Princess Bride is exciting, funny, clever and, in the end, deeply romantic. It’s inconceivable that a film this warm-hearted and this much fun was never a huge box office hit although it’s a textbook example of a movie which found its true audience in the home video arena.

In the beautiful fictional land of Florin the stunning Princess Buttercup (Wright) falls madly in love with handsome farmhand Westley (Elwes). Westley takes to the sea to find his fortune so the pair can marry but his ship is attacked by the notorious Dread Pirate Roberts and Westley’s presumed dead. Five years later and Buttercup is reluctantly engaged to the scheming Prince Humperdinck (Sarandon), heir to the throne of Florin. But Buttercup is kidnapped by three incompetent outlaws who plan to plunge Florin into war by implicating the neighbouring Guilder in her murder. Fortunately there’s a mysterious ‘man in black’ in hot pursuit as the bumbling trio flee with their prize and Buttercup finds she has a thrillingly unexpected rescuer.

Despite its occasional production shortcomings – the Cliffs of Insanity are conspicuously a soundstage and the ‘creatures’, including shrieking eels and the Rodents of Unusual Size, have a primitive, makeshift charm about them – The Princess Bride is a delight because it’s so random and shambolic. The humour, never cruel or crude, has shades of Monty Python/Terry Gilliam lunacy and whilst the budget clearly won’t quite stretch to the real spectacle the story demands, it’s still a rich and colourful experience  (the Blu-ray image is startlingly good) and the world the film creates is utterly believable. The framing device – Peter Falk as a Grandfather reading the story to an initially-disinterested sick grandson – never descends into mawkishness and the film’s ultimate and strongest message, that love conquers all, avoids feeling cloying or sickly because the movie’s fairytale world is so richly drawn. This is a film that’s not only stood the test of time but has matured with age and it’s never been better served than on this glorious, lavish new Blu-ray edition.

Extras: Featurettes old and new / Commentaries /  Trailers / TV spots / Image galleries.

Review: Mandroid / Cert: 15 / Director: Jack Ersgard / Screenplay: Earl Kenton, Jackson Barr / Starring: Brian Cousins, Jane Caldwell, Robert Symonds, Curt Lowens, Patrik Ersgard / Release Date: Out Now

After the fall of Ceausescu’s Communist regime, Full Moon made a number of pictures in Romania in the early ’90s, most famously the Subspecies series, but also this rather classy tale of battling boffins. With former members of the Soviet Bloc falling over themselves to sell their military secrets, two Americans, scientist Wade Franklin (Cousins) and CIA spook Joe Smith (Ersgard), have come to strike a deal with the grey-bearded and natty Dr Karl Zimmer (Symonds), who has invented Superconn, a miracle element that will be a source of clean fuel as well as a cure-all for all kinds of diseases. Thrown into the deal almost as an afterthought is the Mandroid, a remote controlled robot devised to help with the production of this wonder substance.

One person who isn’t so chuffed about all of this is Dr Drago (Lowens), Zimmer’s long-time collaborator, who designed the Mandroid and now feels overshadowed by his colleague’s success. Convinced that it can be turned into a fighting machine of unimaginable power, Drago sets about stealing his creation back, and the Superconn too while he’s about it.

We might as well say straight off that the Mandroid isn’t any great shakes – the robot costume looks like the sort of thing you would wear if you were going to try and ride a BMX bike underwater. Nor is what is on offer here the greatest of stories. But despite that, the whole thing is oddly persuasive and gripping. The Romanian setting – decrepit wedding cake architecture, peasants swaddled in shawls and scarves – gives it a richness of texture, and the cast all fill out their roles in interesting ways. Symonds twinkles as Zimmer, Patrik Ersgard (brother of the film’s director) is charismatic as the shady CIA agent and Jane Caldwell provides underplayed sex appeal as Zimmer’s brainy daughter, Zanna (whatever happened to her? Only four acting credits listed on IMDb).

There’s a pleasing coolness to the characterization – a slight prickliness between the two Yanks, a subtle attraction shared by Franklin and Zanna – and Drago gets a fun story arc. Having previously been eaten away from the inside by envy, he is then ravaged outwardly in a chemical explosion, and from there evolves into a Dr Doom-style character in a beekeeper’s hat.

To be honest, Mandroid feels less like a movie than the pilot of a crackingly good TV show. But this crisp DVD release will be a real treat for Full Moon fans. It comes with a decent ‘behind-the-scenes’ that explores the problems of getting a film made with a Swedish director, an American cast and a Romanian crew.

Extras: Original Videozone episode / Full Moon Trailer Park / Original Trailer

 

Review: Utopia – Series 1 / Cert: 18 / Directors: Marc Munden, Alex Garcia Lopez / Screenplay: Dennis Kelly, Mark Aldridge, Huw Kennair-Jones, Clare McDonald / Starring: Paul Higgins, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Alexandra Roach, Neil Maskell, James Fox, Geraldine James, Simon McBurney, Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Adeel Akhtar, Oliver Woolford, Michael Smiley / Release Date: March 11th

Now here’s a tricky thing to review; we suspect you’ve all seen Utopia and that you already have a fairly robust opinion. If you haven’t seen it, then you’re going to want this box set; it really is “compelling”. In fact, it’s hard to describe this series without using the word “compelling” far too often (but we’ll do our best). From the stunning opening scene, you’re going to feel compelled (there we go again) to watch the rest of it, even if you don’t actually like it that much; and there are plenty of reasons not to like it. We’ll come to that in a moment.

For the uninitiated, Utopia tells the story of a group of comic book fans in search of a lost manuscript by a mysterious and apparently mad writer, only to discover a dark conspiracy with not-so-hilarious consequences. Classic graphic novels have often been inspired by cinematic techniques; so when Zack Synder filmed Watchmen (2009), the reverse was bound to be a unqualified success. Except that it wasn’t; not entirely. Snyder was too slavish to original images; the page and the screen are not the same. But Utopia uses the stylistic tropes of a comic book with no source material looking over its shoulder; the result is, at times, visually dazzling. This comic book feel also allows Utopia to make many things work that would not with a more conventional piece. The plot is far-fetched and some characters are just a bit too larger-than-life. But that visual disconnect with reality lets you buy into what is, essentially, a fantasy world (even if it is supposed to be real); a process that is greatly assisted by some terrific performances from most of the cast. Special mention must go here to Neil Maskell (Kill List) as Arby: overweight, middle-aged, apparently suffering from asthma and yet one of the most terrifying screen villains we’ve come across. This is a psychopath who comfort-eats and, on occasion, manages to come across with such wide-eyed and genuine innocence that you actually warm to him. Quite an achievement for a character who cold-bloodedly kills anyone, including children.

Of course, this is where Utopia has attracted great controversy. This is a very violent story and, it must be said, this reviewer was beginning to dislike it by the time episode 3 started with the now notorious school massacre. At this point we’ve already had some pretty nightmarish acts of violence and torture but this is actually the third time in the story that children are killed, even if the deaths were “off screen”. In a sense this actually made these killings all the more unpalatable. Utopia is also clearly influenced by Quentin Tarantino (in several aspects) and makes the correct decision to show the consequences of violence (indeed, this is referred to in some of the box set’s featurettes). It seems somehow cowardly not to do so when the victims of violence are children; a point made all the sharper by only showing one of Arby’s child victims blurred and out of focus before he is shot. Was this an artistic decision or was this to get by censorship? Perhaps both; it’s difficult to imagine anyone would be willing to watch children killed with the visual brutality that Utopia opts for throughout the rest of the series. But after a while you start to become desensitised by the violence; even that against children. That, of course, is the point. What’s more, this is a story about children; by the end you realise that those scenes of brutality and their desensitising effect are essential to tell this morally ambiguous story as well as it can be told. To leave children out of Utopia’s disturbing brutality would have actually been dishonest. If you find yourself beginning to dislike Utopia then the chances are that it will have won you over by the time you make it to the end. It’s worth the discomfort; they were right and this reviewer was probably wrong to get so hot under the collar while watching it. Or was that just the reaction creator Dennis Kelly wanted? Actually, it probably was; after all, it was the rational response.

But even if you can cope with the violence, Utopia is not a faultless piece of television. While the use of colour and composition constantly remind you of the highest quality graphic novel, it does, occasionally, start to look a little bit like a film studies project with a ludicrously high budget. It’s just a bit too self-conscious; it is, perhaps, just trying a bit too hard. There’s also a repetitive rhythm to Utopia. You don’t just become desensitised to the violence; those confrontations even start to become boring. Scene after scene of “if you don’t do this, then I’ll do that” (and you know they will, no matter how ruthless) begin to turn into Utopia’s vicious but perhaps unimaginative signature. You might find these observations a little churlish and you’d probably be right; Utopia is a remarkable piece of television even if it isn’t perfect. But you’d be disappointed if we just said it was dazzling roller coaster of mind-bending plot twists and visceral storytelling. So we won’t; even if it is a fair summing up of this television landmark.

You’ll also be pleased to hear that the review bumph indicates that it says “series one” on the box. Can we sit through all that again? We suspect it’ll be worth it.

Extras: The World of Utopia / Fly on the Wall featurette / Analysis of stunt scene / Deleted scenes

Review: The Bionic Woman – Series 2 / Cert: PG / Director: Various / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Lindsay Wagner, Lee Majors, Richard Anderson, Martin E. Brooks / Release Date: Out Now

“At least the bionic gold robbery makes sense now. Bigfoot must have broken in there.” The Bionic Woman returns, as adorably kooky as ever. Series One introduced us to Jaime Sommers, tennis pro, spy and bionic woman – her life and limbs left shattered after a parachuting accident gone wrong with beau Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin.

As before, the box set kicks off with a pair of crossover episodes from The Six Million Dollar Man. In this case, it’s The Return of Big Foot, which is about as bonkers as it sounds. The series’ status quo hasn’t changed much since the last time around, with this very first episode opening with Austin once more jogging through a field in slow motion, finishing his morning’s workout by jumping over a house. Then, ten minutes later, they set off again, jogging together this time. Those bionics and their jogging. No singing though, thankfully. Steve is wearing a moustache now though, which is what passes for character development in this series.

The crossover episodes are a good way to start each season, giving fans of The Six Million Dollar Man a chance to get acquainted with his girlfriend, and vice versa. It’s an approach which works even today, in television series such as CSI and NCIS. Both of which could use more slow-motion jogging, if you ask us. As Steve and Jaime investigate the case of a bank-robbing Sasquatch (you read that right), it becomes evident that there may be more to the crime than meets the eye. Aliens, for one thing, and genre legend John Saxon (sporting an impressive beard). As if the presence of the mighty Saxon wasn’t enough to get you to pick up this series of The Bionic Woman (and it definitely should be) there are mad scientists, equally mad supercomputers and nuclear missiles too. There’s also the introduction of the Fembots, who are a little bit like those of Austin Powers fame, save for some really awful effects when the ladies take their faces off. The dodgy effects only add to the show’s charm though. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Bionic Woman is a lot of fun, never taking itself too seriously. Wagner remains incredibly loveable as Jaime, with Lee Majors popping up occasionally to up the hunk quota. The man certainly knows how to rock a moustache and double denim. Serious actors such as the Saxon make fun villains, giving Wagner plenty to do. Fans of slow-motion running through fields rest assured – you’ll get your money’s worth with this box set. There’s also an amusing scene in which she uses her bionics to peel potatoes at super speed. With Steve also using his own powers to move a refrigerator in Season One, it’s nice to see those bionic men and women putting their powers to good use.

Series 2 of The Bionic Woman is every bit as silly, funny and sweet as the first. It’s a little bit more eccentric though, which should please fans who love it for its cheesier moments. Like its heroine (and occasional hero) it’s impossible to dislike. Maybe it’s one of Jaime’s super powers.

As Mr. Saxon himself puts it in The Return of Big Foot Part 2: “Very tenacious, that bionic woman.” Very tenacious indeed. And also lovely. Did we mention lovely?

Extras: Bonus Six Million Dollar Man episode “The Return of Big Foot Part 1” / Gag Reel / Bionic Galleries / Audio commentaries from creator Kenneth Johnson and Lindsay Wagner / Bionic Blast featurette / Full-colour booklet

Review: The Bionic Woman – Series 1 / Cert: / Director: Various / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Lindsay Wagner, Lee Majors, Richard Anderson, Martin E. Brooks / Release Date: Out Now

On a date with Six Million Dollar Man Steve Austin (not Stone Cold, although WWE Films are missing a trick in not having him headline a remake), tennis pro Jaime Sommers drops out of the sky and smashes herself to bits. Thankfully she couldn’t have picked a better boyfriend to be with during a parachuting accident, and Steve soon kits her out with a new set of legs. So the Bionic Woman is born.

Comprising fourteen episodes, Series One of The Bionic Woman is a blast from the past of the best variety – the kind that hasn’t aged too badly. Viewers aren’t given short thrift with this box set either, which also includes her four initial appearances in the The Six Million Dollar Man series. I had never seen this or The Six Million Dollar Man before picking up this set (heathen, I know) but I fell instantly in love. The stunning beauty of Lindsay Wagner might have helped there. And Lee Majors isn’t exactly difficult on the eyes either. Audiences new and old should enjoy this re-release of the series, in spite of (or perhaps because of) its cheesier moments. The early episodes are slow on action but very sweet. Visiting his home town, bionic man Steve Austin (think a more competent version of Inspector Gadget) rekindles his romance with sweetheart Jaime. It’s all sweetness and light until Jaime parachute malfunctions during a spot of skydiving, and she plummets into the ground, suffering grievous damage to her head, legs and right arm. Steve manages to convince his government chums to fit Jaime with some bionics of her own.

These early episodes are quite lovely, with some very cheesy singing (and a surprising amount of it too, during the many montage scenes), jogging (ditto) and jumping over tractors. There’s even a pillow fight between the pair, complete with the show’s signature slow motion effects and sound cues. It’s all very daft, but it’s surprisingly watchable, even to a virgin audience today. It’s certainly better than that Michelle Ryan nonsense (may have worked with Joss Whedon in charge, but stood next to no chance otherwise) and is helped by the easy charisma and looks of Lindsay Wagner and Lee Majors. Her tennis career is by de facto less interesting than being an astronaut (sorry, Tim Henman), but this series from the 1970s does a surprisingly good job of not being too condescending to Jaime. She does get chloroformed and tied to things quite often, but her super strength usually puts a stop to that.

Over the course of these fourteen episodes, you’ll see Sommers adjust to her bionic bits, suffer a case of amnesia (in a standard TV trope of the period) and battle all manner of rubbish ’70s-style villainy. All accompanied, of course, by plenty of montages, horse riding and slow motion use of superpowers. Also, not one but two variations on the old “doc, will I ever play the piano again?” joke. Of all the superpowers granted to Austin and Sommers, singing is apparently not one of the Bionic Man’s talents. Not that it stops him from doing so repeatedly. “I love you, Jaime,” Majors croons over yet another jogging montage. And now, thanks to this box set, so do we.

Extras: All 4 episodes of “The Six Million Dollar Man” explaining the origin of the Bionic Woman / “Bionic Beginnings” featurette / Gag reel / Bionic galleries / Q&A with Lindsay Wagner

Review: The Amazing Mr. Blunden / Cert: U / Director: Lionel Jeffries / Screenplay: Lionel Jeffries / Starring: Lynne Frederick, Laurence Naismith, Diana Dors, Garry Miller / Release Date: March 11th

It’s horror for all ages, although it’s perhaps unlikely that you’ll be able to get your kids to sit through this often slow, old-fashioned tale of ghosts and their dusty old country mansion. The age rating may be a U (something which will turn off most horror fans anyway), but the youth of today will have little patience for The Amazing Mr. Blunden.

Film fans of a certain age will feel some nostalgia towards Mister Blunden though, coming from a beloved director (Lionel Jeffries of The Railway Children fame) and being an adaptation of a popular children’s book – The Ghosts by Antonia Barber. The Edwardian setting and funny names make it feel like a Dickens adaptation, complete with the really slow pacing. Modern kids (by which I’m ashamed to say myself) will be watching it thinking “this is like A Series of Unfortunate Events.” Shame on them (me). Look past your own impatience, and you may fall in love with The Amazing Mr. Blunden all over again. The film counts Extraordinary Gentleman Mark Gatiss amongst its fans, with him naming it a “neglected classic” on Radio Four’s The Film Programme. And as Mr. Gatiss proved with the quite wonderful and engaging A History of Horror and Horror Europa, the man knows his stuff. With this DVD re-release, the film should be on its way to becoming slightly less neglected. Although that ghastly cover art certainly doesn’t help its cause.

The titular Mister Blunden (Naismith) is an elderly solicitor who reaches out to the mother of two children, living in rotten old Camden Town. He offers her a job and the impoverished family a chance to escape their grotty lodgings. Their mother becomes the housekeeper at a decayed country house. There, young Jamie (Miller) and Lucy (Frederick) meet Sara and George, apparitions from the year 1818. Jamie and Lucy go back in time in order to prevent their new friends’ deaths in a deliberately set house fire. Skipping between two timelines and with fantastic performances from all involved (particularly an almost unrecognisable Dors as evil matriarch Mrs. Wickens), The Amazing Mr. Blunden is a classy, intelligent affair, suitable for all the family. If you can get the kids to pay attention for long enough, that is. The multiple timelines and slow plotting make it very difficult to follow if you’re not giving it your full attention.

Like a family friendly Hammer horror, The Amazing Mr. Blunden is atmospheric, interesting and well-made. This re-release should serve the film’s fans well, and hopefully introduce it to a whole new audience. We suspect that it’ll remain fairly obscure, but one should at least do their bit by giving The Amazing Mr. Blunden the time of day. We owe him that much.

Extras: None

Review: Lost Girl – Season 1 / Cert: 15 / Director: Various / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Anna Silk, Kris Holden-Reid, Ksenia Solo, Richard Howland, Zoie Palmer / Release Date: Out Now

The people she feeds on may die with a smile on their face, but otherwise well-meaning succubus Bo (Silk) has her work cut out pleasing everybody in this first season of Lost Girl. New in town, she comes to the attention of the neighbourhood supernaturals when she sucks the soul out of a would-be rapist attempting to molest light-fingered punkette Kenzi (Solo), who immediately becomes her adoring sidekick. Having been raised by foster parents, she has no idea what she is or that there is such a thing as Fae. ‘An evolutionary branch that predates on humans’ (as one character explains), the Fae are split into clans, breeds and, most importantly, into Light and Dark. Custom demands that Bo should pledge her allegiance to one or the other, but instead she decides to be a free agent, beholden to none, and with only a push-up bra between her and all kinds of lurking dangers.

Taking advantage of her maverick status to go to places other Fae can’t, she sets herself up as a supernatural PI. Helping out with some of the legwork is her on-off boyfriend, woolly-chinned werewolf cop Dyson (Holden-Reid). Along the way, she encounter furies, banshees, body-jumping spirits, carrion-feeders and headless mercenaries, and learns more about her own powers and mysterious past.

The tone is for the most part bubbly, with Whedon-esque episodes about spookily cheerful sororities and country clubs exploiting illegal immigrants, and non-stop wisecracks courtesy of Kenzi (“How about we make a deal we won’t kill where we shop?” she suggests when Bo eyes up a tasty-looking dude at the local hardware store). Later on, the season takes a darker turn as secrets eat away at Bo’s relationship with Dyson, and edge of another kind is provided by her sexual omnivorousness – in particular, her thing with Lauren, the icily reserved human doctor who works for the Light. 

Silk, with her everyday looks and gym-toned body, is more athletic soccer mom than sultry succubus – which is either a clever sidestepping of cliché or a sign of somewhat less than top drawer casting, depending on your point of view. Nor is there a whole lot of sex appeal in her romantic entanglement with Dyson (is it just us, or do those ginger face curls make him a dead ringer for The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz?). Such things hardly matter, though, thanks to the strength of the scripts. Show creator M.A. Lovretta knows how to have fun with all kinds of folkloric-mythic paraphernalia without letting it get out of hand and tip into absurdity. If you’re a fan of the urban fantasy novels of Jasmine Galenorn and the like, this is a box set to devour without guilt or hesitation.

Extras: None