Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Review: Crawlspace / Cert: 15 / Director: Justin Dix / Screenplay: Eddie Baroo, Justin Dix, Adam Patrick Foster / Starring: Eddie Baroo, Justin Batchelor, Nicholas Bell / Release Date: February 18th

In 1966, an opening caption informs us, the US and Australian governments set up a research facility known as Pine Gap in the Aussie outback. Legend has it that this is Australian’s very own Areas 51. Now something has gone wrong inside this top secret zone. Tell you one thing – it’s gonna be bad, Bruce.

We launch right in with a troop of hard-bitten soldiery types heading into the facility to subdue the escaped prisoners who are running amok there. But things soon go awry. The troop commander encounters a woman who reminds of his dead wife. And – in one of the first real WTF? moments of 2013 – his men are assaulted by what appears to be a gorilla in an American football outfit.

The actual premise of Crawlspace is pretty cool. The facility turns out to be one that focusses on psychic warfare. The prisoners are thus all capable of weird mental attacks ranging from making someone believe that they are dying horribly to Scanners-style exploding heads. The visuals are also impressive for a low-budget feature, the practical FX a refreshing change from the cheapo CGI which is the bane of your usual direct-to-DVD fodder. The main problem with Crawlspace is its screenplay.

The film slides into incoherence pretty early on and favours shouting and swearing over character development. The gorilla on a rampage scene is never really explained. Nor is the fact that everyone is crawling around in air ducts – which allows for a good title but wouldn’t seem to be of much use one way or the other in a tussle with telepaths. At the core there is a compelling plot about a grizzled warrior revisiting feelings for a lost loved one, but it gets swamped under blood and grime and pointlessly frenetic cutting. Something of a missed opportunity, Crawlspace isn’t the worst psychic thriller ever, but it could have been so much better if only everyone involved had put a bit more thought into it.

Extras: ‘Inside the Crawlspace’ Making Of

Review: Room 237 / Cert: 15 / Director: Rodney Ascher / Starring: Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks, Juli Kerns / Release Date: March 11th

This is in no way a promotional film for The Shining. In fact, the disclaimer at the beginning (ensuring you know that this is not approved by anyone connected with The Shining or Kubrick) hangs around long enough for you to read it at least twice. Instead, this documentary is a fascinating exploration of the shadowy subtexts lurking within Kubrick’s controversial interpretation of Stephen King’s classic, using footage from it and other movies to illustrate the disembodied interviewees’ comments.

It begins with one of the more widely touted interpretations: the parallel between Jack’s attempted murder of his family and the genocide of the American Indians. Found both in the script – The Overlook Hotel is built on a burial ground – and hidden in corners like the cans of Calumet baking powder (with their prominent Indian chief logo) stacked in the food-locker, there’s plenty to suggest that Kubrick was trying to make a statement. But it is by no means limited to that particular massacre. Further investigation finds elements pertaining to the holocaust, initiated in 1942 (Danny is seen wearing a football T-shirt with 42 on it), through items such as the Adler typewriter (Adler being German for eagle, itself used as a Nazi icon) and a stunning moment at the very end when a crossfade turns Jack Nicholson into Hitler.

But it doesn’t end there. Throughout this enormously gripping documentary, you discover several other themes potentially hidden amongst the frames of the film, but none is more eye-popping than the most controversial one of all: Kubrick’s alleged involvement in the faking of the video footage for the moon landing.

The clues simply have to be seen to be believed. Everything from Danny’s Apollo 11 jumper to the carpet he sits on and the infamous room number (237) winks at you, revealing a secret that some of the commentators strongly believe Kubrick was contractually obliged never to reveal. While they’re anxious to make clear that they’re only saying that the film was faked (not the mission), it’s still a staggering tick in the box of one of the biggest potential cover-ups of all time.

A few of the comments stretch credulity and have to be taken with a pinch of salt. But there’s no doubt that whether you like The Shining or not, this documentary will leave you wanting to see it (if not all of Kubrick’s films) again. It’s also a superbly crafted reminder that cinema can be about more than just CGI and explosions, something that Hollywood could do with remembering from time to time.

Extras: None

Review: Django / Cert: 15 / Director: Sergio Corbucci /Screenplay: Sergio Corbucci, Bruno Corbucci / Starring: Franco Nero, Loredana Nusciak, Eduardo Fajardo / Release Date: Out Now

Released on Blu-ray to capitalise on the success of an entirely unrelated but similarly named new movie (we don’t need to remind you which one, right?), Sergio Corbucci’s Django is regarded as one of the keystones of the Spaghetti Western genre. Even now, forty-seven years after it premiered, it’s easy to see why. The passing of time may have diluted the impact of its graphic violence – the film was banned in the UK until finally classified in 1993 as an 18 certificate and downgraded to a 15 certificate in 2004 – but this is still a very bold and striking movie, worlds away from the jolly cowboys ’n’ Indians fare of the traditional Hollywood Western.

Drifter Django (Nero), dragging a coffin behind him, wanders into a near-abandoned town and quickly clashes with his old enemy Major Jackson (Fajardo). He then teams up with some bandits and together they plot to steal a sackload of gold from a Mexican army fort, but all does not go swimmingly and Django finds himself in deep peril and all but defenceless…

Whether or not Westerns are generally your thing, there’s no denying that Django is tough, stylish and richly rewarding. Corbucci’s decision not to clean up after winter weather turned their one-horse town set into a virtual mud bath contributes massively to the film’s grubby, grimy authenticity, while Nero’s Django comes across as the big brother of Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name. The blood-letting, flamboyant though it is – one character is force-fed his own ear – may seems a little tame by contemporary standards, but this is a brutally amoral film: no one’s really the good guy here and everyone’s out for what they can get. Corbucci’s direction (crisply captured on this HD transfer) is full of disorientating zooms and long shots, and he creates an edgy sense of menace – witness the moment when Jackson’s men troop into the town, faces hidden beneath Klan-like red masks.

Django went on to spawn literally dozens of cheap imitators but this is the real deal, the only Django you need in your life apart from the one currently unchained by Mr. Tarantino.

Extras: Alternative opening sequence / Conversation with Franco Nero / Introduction by Alex Cox / Trailers

Review: Death Race – Inferno / Cert: 18 / Director: Roel Reiné / Screenplay: Tony Giglio / Starring: Luke Goss, Danny Trejo, Tanit Phoenix, Dougray Scott / Release Date: February 4th

The spirit of Mad Max hangs over this third instalment in the Death Race franchise: churning dust, crazy wheels and bone-shaking stunts. Death Race 2 was a prequel to Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2010 remake of the Roger Corman cult classic, and this one follows straight on where that left off. Both concern themselves with the origin of the Death Race game and its seemingly indestructible star, Frankenstein. It’s one of those had-to-happen, no-brainer ideas, and it powers this stripped-down muscle car of a movie very nicely, with juice to spare.

This time round, the race has come under new management, in the guise of slimy Dragons’ Den reject Dougray Scott, and the scene shifts to the Kalahari desert for some gruelling off-road action. Luckily, Frankenstein (Goss) still has his ever-reliable pit crew to back him up, as well as his lovely co-pilot, Katrina (the wonderfully smouldering Tanit Phoenix in what is surely a breakout role, and we’re not just talking about her swelling cleavage). Although – crowd-pleasing moment, this – she has to fight for the right to ride shotgun in a to-the-death cage-battle with a bunch of other dolly birds who want the same thing and are prepared to stab, kick and axe murder in order to get it.

Tony Giglio’s script has a few bits that creak and clunk but generally serves its purpose, keeping the story focused around a number of grandstanding races that weave through scrub, sand and flyblown townships (great use is made of some gritty South African locations). Danny Trejo seems totally exhausted by the effort of remembering his lines and hefting the occasional socket wrench, but Scott gives good wicked leers, Ving Rhames pops up briefly to twirl a cigar and Luke Goss – who put in such sterling work in key supporting roles in Blade 2 and Hellboy 2 – is a solid leading man with a steely Lee Van Cleef squint.

But you want to hear about the stunts. The stunts are very cool. With just a few slashes of CGI gore for extra colour, they’re choreographed and shot with a raw, in-your-grill punchiness that George Miller wouldn’t be embarrassed by, and each and every moment of them is captured in pristine detail on this HD transfer. Those who feel the need for speed and are smitten by collisions won’t be disappointed. And when you’ve finished the main feature, there are some decent extras, including a slick ‘making of’, a chat with Trejo about his time in chokey and a behind-the-scenes which gives you more info on the film’s four-wheeled stars and the artful bodgers who cobbled them together. All in all, this is a release with plenty under the hood to keep you amused, and it’s just the thing to help you wind down after a long sesh on Gran Turismo.

Extras: Commentary with the director / Deleted scenes / The Making of Death Race: Inferno / Racing For Death / Art Imitating Life: Goldberg / Alternate opening

Review: Fear and Desire / Cert: 12 / Director: Stanley Kubrick / Screenplay: Howard Sackler / Starring: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky / Release Date: Out Now

Even dreamt of becoming the next Stanley Kubrick? Then you might be curious to discover how the actual Stanley Kubrick started out. Not, until recently, an easy question to answer, for the simple reason that the director was far from fond of his first feature – shot outside of the studio system and financed with family money – and did his best to discourage people from seeing it. Which is odd because, in general, early Kubrick holds up very well – arguably better than late Kubrick. Here’s a thought – maybe it was too good? Almost embarrassingly precocious? So totally awesome it put the rest of his career to shame? Wouldn’t that be something?

Sadly, that’s not the case, and you can’t blame the maestro for trying to keep this cinematic blunder under wraps. Fear and Desire is one of those tyro efforts that’s all about a creative genius learning how not to do it. It tells the tale of four soldiers stranded behind enemy lines – a sound enough premise, you would think, but it goes belly-up the moment a voiceover proclaims that this could be any war, in any time or place. In a stroke, an air of hazy generality descends, and the movie never recovers. Scriptwriter Howard Sackler struggles to find anything for these crude archetypes to talk about, and you don’t even believe that they’re soldiers – the sense of an oppressive military pecking order that makes Paths of Glory so astringent is notable by its absence, and you get none of the near-documentary touches that underpin the satire of Dr. Strangelove.

Still, Kubrick does a good job as cinematographer, notching up some nice footage of the California mountains in full leaf. And the movie sputters to life briefly when the quartet capture and restrain a young girl (the mesmerizing Virginia Leith) in hopes of pumping her for info, only for one of their number to molest her in a bug-eyed frenzy. It’s a moment that pre-echoes the nastier scenes in A Clockwork Orange, and it shows just how deep-seated was Kubrick’s interest in that sort of thing. (Maybe that’s why he excluded the film from his canon. It was dirty laundry.)

The extras include Kubrick’s three early documentaries. These are about as compulsively watchable as you would expect 60 year-old documentaries to be, but, as with the main feature, the transfers are ace. An informative talking head piece by critic Bill Krohn is spoilt slightly by an annoying chirping in the background that might be a dripping tap, a defrosting fridge or a canary with diarrhoea of the beak. A treat for Kubrick completists and film academics, but the general viewer should scope it out with caution.

Extras: Three Kubrick shorts: “Day of the Fight”, “Flying Padre,” “The Seafarers” / Video introduction by Kubrick scholar Bill Krohn / Booklet featuring new and exclusive essays

Review: Tower Block / Cert: 15 / Director: James Nunn, Ronnie Thompson / Screenplay: James Moran / Starring: Sheridan Smith, Jack O’Connell, Ralph Brown, Russell Tovey, Julie Graham / Release Date: February 18th

The last remaining residents of soon-to-be-demolished and inaptly named Serenity House all refuse to help the police with their enquires following the brutal murder of a young man within their block three months earlier. Not even Becky (Smith), who tried to intervene and got a kicking for her trouble, will speak up. And – given how they’ve been forgotten by their local council and left to the tender mercies of property developers and neighbourhood thugs – who can blame them? But then they’re thrown into disarray when a sniper starts taking them out through their windows. The few who manage to escape to the apparent safety of the corridors must work together to find a way out.

This ensemble piece could have easily fallen at the first hurdle, but, to writer Moran’s credit, the characterisation is so spot-on we soon finding ourselves caring what happens to this motley bunch. Nasty young scrote Kurtis (O’Connell) confounds expectation by ditching gangsta bravado for a display of genuine guts (all it takes is a kick in the goolies). Tovey is as reliable as ever as the alcoholic loner forced to step up, and Brown lands more than his usual supporting role and is actually given something to do. There’s implicit social commentary, too, in the form of Montserrat Lombard (Ashes to Ashes) as the obnoxious, loudmouth mother of two toddlers who thinks nothing of giving them a good hiding and going out on the town, and the game-addicted teen (McEntire) who knows more about assault rifles than Brown’s ex-army Neville. Tense, grim and well-played, this is riveting viewing.

Extras: Interviews with the cast and crew

Review: Fear Itself – The Complete First Season / Cert: 18 / Director: Various / Screenplay: Various / Starring: Elizabeth Moss, Eric Roberts, Colin Ferguson, Brandon Routh / Release Date: January 28th

If you haven’t stumbled upon it already on 5*, here’s the perfect opportunity to catch up with this recent attempt to revive the supernatural anthology format from the people who also brought us Masters of Horror. Employing digital SFX, graphic gore and a sprinkling of name directors and actors, it sets out to give what can seem like rather a dreary old genre a sharp new face-lift, and, while the result doesn’t quite live up the hubristic title, it certainly has enough bowel-clenching moments to be going on with.

Scoring by far the highest on the clench-o-meter is Stuart Gordon’s Eater, about a trio of cops on night duty, unnerved by the cannibalistic Cajun voodoo man in their holding cell. As you would expect from the helmsman of Re-Animator, it’s totally gripping from first to last, and Elizabeth Moss furnishes the standout performance of the series as the rookie cop with an affinity for the dark side who starts to notice that her partners are acting strangely.

More night sweats occur in Spooked, directed by Brad Anderson (The Machinist), which sees a seedy private dick forced to relive his childhood traumas when he’s tricked into mounting a stake-out in a haunted house. Anderson deploys some admirably subtle CG, and Eric Roberts is so good in the lead role it reminds you why he’s generally considered to be an actor with a great future behind him.

Breck Eisner (The Crazies remake) delivers slick visuals and wince-making grue in a tale of a gang of armed hoodlums running foul of some Amish-type sisters harbouring a deadly secret, and Eureka‘s Colin Ferguson gets to step outside of his comedy persona in The Family Man, in which an average Joe swaps bodies with a notorious serial killer. Even better, though, is Skin and Bones, wherein a wealthy ranch owner comes back from a disastrous hunting expedition possessed by a ravenous Wendigo. It’s beautifully steered by Larry Fessenden and features some stunningly cadaverous creature make-up.

The trouble with an anthology format is that, unless a story reels you in quickly, you find yourself itching to click on to the next. For this reason, the episodes which work best are the ones which have the lapel-grabbing feel of miniature movies, while the ones that get into trouble are those which go for a more old-fashioned, twist in the tail approach. Of these, by far the worst is John Landis’ bridezilla story In Sickness and Health – you’ll see the twist coming after ten minutes, which leaves 50 minutes to take in the stuck-in-the-’80s direction. But this is a rare low point in what is by and large a decent collection of chills ‘n’ kills.

Extras: None

Review: From Beyond / Cert: 18 / Director: Stuart Gordon / Screenplay: Dennis Paoli / Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon / Release Date: February 25th

From the team behind the classic Re-Animator comes their follow up, not released in the UK since the VHS era. We’re happy to say, this 1986 shocker is still a gooey delight.

Crawford Tillinghast (Combs) is aiding Dr. Edward Pretorius (Sorel) with his experiments into stimulating the pineal gland, which they believe to be the seat of a dormant sixth sense. As a result, they are able to see things the human eye cannot, but also unlock a deadly force which takes over Pretorius and causes his demise. Accused of the doctor’s murder, Crawford is sent to an insane asylum, only to be released into the custody of young but eminent psychiatrist Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Crampton), who hopes to recreate Pretorius’ experiments in order to prove her theory that understanding the pineal gland is the key to curing schizophrenia. Inevitably, things go wrong, not least with the return of Pretorius in a hideous glutinous form.

Reuniting the Re-Animator team – director Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, writer Paoli and stars Combs and Crampton (and the distinctive Purdy-Gordon; the director’s wife) – and once again inspired by an H.P. Lovecraft short story, this is tons of fun. Here, they replace blood with slime in an attempt to win over the US ratings board who refused Re-Animator a certificate, but the result is shocking and visceral nonetheless. As well as plenty of gross practical effects (in the manner of John Carpenter’s The Thing) there’s Crampton sensual performance, and Combs at his most maniacal. Paoli’s script elaborates on the short story (which is used up in the prologue) to great effect, and is certainly in keeping with Lovecraft’s mordant style, right down to the fates that befall the leads. The movie is presented here it its full, uncut, brain-sucking beauty for the first time in the UK. If you were too young to catch it the first time around, don’t hesitate to give it a go. And if you have seen it before and are curious whether it has aged at all – trust us, it hasn’t. With a spirited audio commentary from Gordon, Yuzna and Combs and well over an hour’s worth of other fascinating extras – including one story from the FX guys that will have you squirming in your seat – this is a fine release of an ’80s horror classic.

Extras: Stuart Gordon on From Beyond / Gothic Adaptation – An interview with writer Dennis Paoli / The Doctor Is In – An interview with Barbara Crampton / Monsters & Slime – The FX / Director’s Perspective / The Editing Room – Lost and Found / Interview with the composer / Commentary with Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna and Jeffrey Combs / Photo Montage / Storyboard to film comparison

Review: The Lodge / Cert: 18 / Director: Brad Helmink, John Rauschelbach / Screenplay: Deb Havener / Starring: Kevin McClatchy, Owen Szabo, Elizabeth Kell / Release Date: Out Now

A tediously oversexed young couple head to an expensive woodlands lodge for a week of boozing, heavy petting and pot. Unfortunately, neither of them has anticipated the presence of the lodge’s creepy owner – a panty-sniffing loner who casts a sleazy eye over hottie Julia and harbours murderous thoughts towards boyfriend Michael.

Despite its cheeky attempt to cash in on Cabin in the Woods‘ popularity (‘it’s like Cabin in the Woods crossed with The Shining!’ – which is a lie), The Lodge is a very straightforward psycho thriller. With a core cast of four, there’s no surprise to its outcome, nor seemingly any real reason for it to exist. There’s a brief subplot about a creepy little girl being spotted around the grounds of the lodge, but it’s quickly explained away in a yawn-worthy revelation.

However, disinterest turns to disgust as The Lodge heads into rapey-er territory. Rape is (unfortunately) a familiar device in horror films, but The Lodge uses it with depressing nonchalance. It’s not even marked by an unpleasant atmosphere or in-your-face anger – the film just treats it as another tool its villain has at his disposal, like Freddy’s glove or Jason’s machete. And when it’s done, it’s done – The Lodge goes back to what it was before. Too many modern horror films are guilty of casually using rape as a tool to show the villains’ power, and The Lodge is amongst the worst, because it has the audacity to use it with a shrug. Whatever happened to genuine scares, atmosphere and story?

At least, for a low-budget film, it has some decent acting and an interesting location. Kevin McClatchy is the best of the bunch as Henry, cutting an imposing, formidable figure, in spite of a boring script and silly motivations. Kell and Szabo are fine as Michael and Julia, although the script does neither of them any favours. The direction is slow and workmanlike, never managing to make the most of the actors or setting (some decent cinematography could have made the place feel like The Overlook Hotel or Yankee Pedlar Inn). An obvious lack of funds doesn’t help, but that’s no excuse for having no ambition or imagination.

The Lodge isn’t particularly terrible, but nor is it very good either. Its mediocrity would be more forgiveable if it wasn’t for that lazy rape scene and its indifferent attitude towards it. Tired after a long day and looking for somewhere to pull off the road? Channelling our inner TripAdvisor, we’d recommend you find alternative accommodation.

Extras: None

Review: Stitches / Cert: 18 / Director: Conor MacMahon / Screenplay: Conor MacMahon, David O’Brien / Starring: Ross Noble, Tommy Knight, Tom Cullen / Release Date: March 4th

Ever since Killer Klowns from Outer Space, big shoes and red noses have meant only one thing to cinemagoers: danger! And so it proves in Stitches. It begins at a child’s tenth birthday party where the little tykes are just getting to that stage where jelly and ice cream no longer hold an interest and random destruction does. A foul-mouthed, joint-smoking clown named Stitches rolls up late and fails to impress with his spring-loaded hand, balloon animals and magic tricks. Whereupon one of his young audience plays a prank which ends badly when Stitches gets a knife through the head and dies.

The kid throwing the party is racked with guilt, which turns to fear when he witnesses some kind of ancient clown black magic ritual at Stitches’ funeral. Jump forward six years, and he’s sprouted into a depressed, virginal teenager about to celebrate another birthday, which gets out of hand when most of the kids in his school find out he has a free house for the week and decide to hold a party there. Inevitably, Stitches returns from the dead and stalks the adolescents, killing them off in increasingly gory and hilarious ways.

Stitches scores mainly in terms of its grue and gag content. Despite having a fairly mainstream comedian as the lead, the film goes full tilt into graphic violence and comic brutality. Heads are exploded, intestines are made into balloon animals and penises are graphically severed. Some of this will have you chuckling or flinching pleasurably, but it’s a shame that the victims aren’t more likeable, with only the wimpy main protagonist providing some relief from all the teenage bravado.

Another disappointment is that Ross Noble seems oddly restrained in the title role, which is probably more the director’s fault than his own. He delivers with aplomb the occasional Freddy Krueger-style wisecrack as he kills, but it’s only really in the outtakes over the end credits that we get to see how this gifted comic might have improvised and expanded the material given the chance.

For all these reasons, Stitches is great post-pub viewing for the casual horror fan but something of cinematic pratfall for the rest of us.

Extras: Making Of featurette