Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

ENDANGERED SPECIES

Desperate to please his wife, Jack Halsey takes his dysfunctional family on a Kenyan safari, the holiday of a lifetime, but things soon go awry in M.J. Bassett’s Africa-set redemption story.

The unpleasant Americans barely have time to grab a themed cocktail before oil executive Jack’s secret is out; wife Lauren discovers he’s been placed on administrative leave following a major incident. Wanting to recover his family’s faith, Jack speeds through the park checkpoint and sets off down a track past a ‘No Entry’ sign that, for dramatic effect, may well have written in blood. One encounter with a maternally protective rhinoceros later the van is on its side, Jack’s leg is gored, diabetic Lauren’s insulin supplies are gone, and the family are in a battle for survival.

Endangered Species is a confused film. All the elements for a man vs nature thriller are here: the sultry, spectacular vistas, a family in need of redemption, dangerous fauna and an environmental message that is worthy and important.

But nothing really fits together. Even the political message, which should have been an easy win, feels forced and at times undermined by the film’s own script; a disagreement over taking eco-friendly glass bottles instead of unbreakable plastic results in the family being without water when the latter would potentially have saved their lives.

The final act takes a somewhat predictable twist, asking the audience to ponder on who are really the bad guys of the piece, but it all feels a little like the filmmakers wanted to include every idea they had in development when less would certainly have been more.

And the CGI animals are bad, really bad.

WELLINGTON PARANORMAL – SEASON ONE

The ‘other’ spin-off show from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s superb 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows has taken its time to make its way into the UK (it currently screens on Sky), and this Blu-ray release is most welcome.

Officers Minogue and O’Leary (Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary) are the two cops we see in the original mockumentary. Here, they are back on the beat in Wellington, New Zealand with their own camera crew shadowing them as they go about their day to day duties. Along with Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu), they are the only officers who are privy to the unusual occurrences that take place in their town. Their beat can include anything from werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and aliens, and each is handled with the same hilarious ineptitude.

Keeping the same off the wall style as the original film (and the other US-based spin-off), Wellington Paranormal is a treat. Minogue and O’Leary are perfect together, with the deadpan humour coming thick and fast. Naturally, The X-Files is paid homage to greatly. Both in the theme music and with the main characters drawing comparisons themselves in the opening episode – O’Leary claiming to be like Agent Scully because of her analytical brain, and Minogue is like Mulder due to his dark hair.

There are numerous nods and continuations from the film, which adds more fun for fans, but it’s easy to come into the show cold and just go with the flow. Like the best comedies, it’s worth watching each episode a few times to catch every sight gag and every subtle bit of wordplay. Although Minogue and O’Leary are the main focus, Pohatu gets his fair share of gags too (we particularly loved the varying methods he pretends to use when entering the secret room at the station).

For a show focused on supernatural and horror elements, there’s not a mean-spirited moment, which is refreshing. The Blu-ray release also includes a few nuggets in the form of bloopers and behind the scenes footage. While they’re certainly fun, they’re not essential. With more seasons due for release over the coming months, it’s time to make shelf space for some New Zealand spooks.

CRAZY SAMURAI 400 VS 1

A mix of sustained violence, Japanese history, and audacious filmmaking, Crazy Samurai 400 vs 1 is a must-see for fans of action cinema and a curiosity for others.

The plot sees an ambush being set for the Samurai Miyamoto Musachi (Tak Sakaguchi), who is set to duel with the head of the Yoshioka clan in retaliation for the murder of their master. Musachi mounts a sneak attack, however, and what follows is a bloody and unrelenting battle between one man and an army of mercenaries.

Crazy Samurai 400 vs 1 (which previously went by the simpler title Crazy Samurai Musachi) doesn’t depend on a story to drive the film – other than the opening and closing sections, a narrative isn’t needed. What we’re presented with is a 77-minute single take of Musachi attempting to fend off his numerous attackers. At times, it’s like being an observer to a video game. Unrelentingly repetitive, one ends up just marvelling at the choreography of violence. As several cameramen pass the lens between each other, the ballet of slashing, clashing swords, and slaughter continues, with only a few moments in which the main character manages to hide, take a swig of water, and catch his breath. It’s an impressive feat of filmmaking and even more commendable that actor Tak Sakaguchi gets through the carnage so beautifully.

While we applaud both the balls and stamina of the film crew, there are a few times when the shadow of the camera is visible in the harsh Japanese sunlight. The gimmick of the long take comes at the expense of story and character development, although even though we’re introduced to the Yoshioka clan in the opening ten minutes, we’re certainly rooting for the outnumbered warrior throughout.

Director Yûji Shimomura and his team must be commended for their achievement, and with such restrictions in place on filming, there’s no high wire gymnastics on show during the battle. This could be tiresome for many viewers, but it’s a movie you should see at least once if you’re interested at all in pushing the boundaries of filmmaking as a medium.

BEYOND FURY

Darren Ward’s Beyond Fury has been many years in the making. It’s the final act in a trilogy started in 1997 with Sudden Fury, and the low budget credentials show in the acting of some of the characters, but this brash, gory, revenge flick manages to rise above its humble origins.

When his heavily pregnant girlfriend (a brief appearance of British scream queen Dani Thompson) is killed and raped (in that order!) by a pair of thugs (Gary Baxter and Glenn Salvage) and he’s left for dead, former mercenary Michael Walker (Nick Roberts) is out for vengeance. He discovers the assailants work for Russian crime boss Ivan Lenzivitch (Giovanni Lombardo Radice, best known under the name John Morghen in numerous Italian classics) and sets about getting his own brand of justice for his girlfriend and unborn child.

Ward has crafted a love letter to the Italian exploitation films of the seventies and eighties, and although the pace may be a tad languid, you can’t fault the gore quota. Impressively for a low budget film, the physical effects are impressive and on full display. We defy anyone not to wince when a foot is given a pummelling (several times) or when a chainsaw motors through someone’s face. He also manages to get a few familiar faces involved. As well as the aforementioned Dani Thompson (My Bloody Banjo) and Giovanni Lombardo Radice (Cannibal Ferox), there are brief appearances from the late Dan Van Husen (Salon Kitty) and Jeff Stewart (we still miss Reg Hollis!). These cameos unfortunately show how questionable some of the acting is. Luckily, the main keep things going and if you’re savvy with independent films, you’ll be able to overlook such shortcomings, especially when the action is so well-orchestrated.

Beyond Fury is available on Blu-ray from darksidereleasing.com in the US and Vimeo on Demand.

WEST 11 (1963)

Long before it became the trendy, gentrified place it is today, London’s Notting Hill was a seedy, rundown area filled with low rent rooms and dodgy characters. It’s this vision of the borough that Michael Winner’s West 11 brings to the screen.

Joe (Alfred Lynch) is a depressed lad, aimlessly going through life with no drive or purpose. Quitting his latest job (before he’s sacked) and thrown out of his dingy room by his overbearing landlady, he takes up an offer from seedy moocher Dyce (Eric Portman) to make some money. He knows it’s not right, but what else is there?

West 11 is a gloriously grimy adaptation of Laura del Rivo’s The Furnished Room and proves that Winner didn’t always shoot provocatively offensive films (although we love those too). The hero (or perhaps anti-hero since there’s no way he’s someone to look up to) Joe is a sympathetic character, but whose disregard for others – particularly women – gives the viewer a dilemma of whether they should root for him or not.

The West London setting is suitably dour. At one point, Joe passes by a rally being held by the ‘Britain’s First’ organisation (the speaker being Brian Wilde, later to be the kindly warden in Porridge). It’s a prescient scene as, like the dives people are expected to pay for these days, the situation has come full circle with similar demonstrations happening today.

The movie labours on Joe’s predicament much more than the criminal aspect he gets into, and rightfully so. By doing this, Winner emphasises the complete worthlessness the character thinks of his position in life, both emotionally and spiritually. He can’t even summon a reaction when informed of his mother’s death. Like many of later Winner’s films, West 11 is prime for reassessment.

There’s a host of great character actors filling out the cast; Diana Dors being the most prominent, but also seen are Kathleen Harrison (best known for the Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol), Patrick Wymark, Larry Dann, and a young David Hemmings, who all add to the flavour of the drama. StudioCanal’s Blu-ray release looks stunning, highlighting the brilliant noir-ish black and white photography. There might only be one extra feature (apart from the trailer, do we even count those these days?), but it’s a good one as broadcaster and writer Matthew Sweet talks us through the film and its history.

If you thought Michael Winner only made exploitation trash, then give West 11 a shot. For those of us who know Winner’s worth, this is an essential purchase.

West 11 is available on Blu-ray from July 5th.

THE HEAD HUNTER

Set in a Medieval world, one man’s calling is to rid the land of monsters, all the while seeking vengeance on the creature that killed his daughter. Returning to his isolated cabin after completing each of his tasks, our warrior mounts the beast’s head on his trophy wall and tends his wounds with a regenerative potion. Until one day, a chance at revenge comes his way.

Jordan Downey’s minimalist The Head Hunter is, given a budget of less than £30,000, an accomplished work. Filming as practically as possible, Downey, along with co-writer Kevin Stewart and cinematographer Ricky Fosheim, stretch their limited funds to create a living, fully textured world where danger and intrigue lurk in the shadows. And in removing all the fight scenes – much of the actual headhunting takes place offscreen – bar the climactic one, and with only a few lines of dialogue, mystery is layered upon mystery.

And perhaps therein lies the only real flaw to Downey’s film. By the time you reach the low-key finale – unsurprising given the tone of what’s gone before – many viewers will have more questions than answers. Indeed, in the case of this Blu-ray release, the two commentaries prove essential in unpicking some of the vaguer elements.

But this is a film in which the strengths should be applauded. Filmed in Portugal and California, with footage from actor Christopher Rygh’s Norwegian homeland, the cinematography blends effortlessly with composer Nick Sole’s score to deepen the sense of scale and emotion. There were clearly budgetary battles, but Downey and his team have brought this world to life, however unpleasant and unforgiving that world may be.

SACRIFICE

Isaac (Ludovic Hughes) and his heavily-pregnant wife Emma (Sophie Stevens) have taken a trip to a remote Norwegian island to look at his old home, which he has inherited following the death of his mother. The initially hostile locals turn on the charm once Isaac reveals his heritage, but Emma feels like an outsider and is worried that they might be indoctrinating him into their strange ritualistic ways. The local police chief, Renate (Barbara Crampton), doesn’t put her mind at ease when she reveals the truth about Isaac’s parents and she begins suffering a series of bizarre, terrifying nightmares.

Directors Andy Collier and Toor Mian – who helmed the brilliant Charismata a few years back – really ramp up the apprehension and intrigue with their Nordic tale, while also filling the screen with some stunningly beautiful vistas. While there are a plethora of ‘oh it’s a dream’ jump scares, they do continue to work thanks to the way the story never really allows us to feel comfortable. In the opening credits, we’re told this is based on a story by Paul Kane and ‘influenced by the works of H.P. Lovecraft’ and although there is a brooding element of the otherworldliness of Howard Phillips work and a little bit of tentacle action, it’s certainly not derivative.

Having horror royalty Barbara Crampton on board will certainly raise the profile of the film with some and she’s great here – even with a slightly dodgy Norwegian accent. Sophie Stevens is the standout here, though. The anxieties of a pregnant woman ooze from the screen as the story twists and turns. Ultimately, it’s an intriguing take on Nordic folk horror with some genuinely sinister moments.

You can read our interview with the directors of Sacrifice here or watch the chat on YouTube.

BLOOD PAGEANT

This low budget witchcraft-flavoured film takes a swipe at reality TV and while not entirely successful, has its moments.

American Dream is a cross between a beauty contest and American Idol, with a panel of judges (Snoop Dogg, Danielle C. Ryan, and Matthew Marsden playing themselves). The new season is getting underway, and the contestants gather in a fabulous house, ready to battle it out to become the winner. Unfortunately, one of them is inadvertently invoking an evil presence that is doing away with the competition.

For all the forced scares, Blood Pageant actually works better as a satire of the reality TV industry than it does as a horror film. The behind-the-scenes jealousies, divas, and shenanigans involving the producer are more fun than the hokey witchcraft plot. The Christian angle is laid on a little heavy, with one of the hopefuls being a card-carrying ‘Jesus freak’ (as one of the characters calls her).

Interestingly, the new season of American Dream that the film focuses on contains only women, yet there’s a male in the ‘final’ of the previous series we see earlier in the film. That wouldn’t have anything to do with filling the screen with ‘eye candy’ would it? Considering the ladies who are in the running are mostly odious, vacuous types, a few blokes might have been welcome.

The star names only appear briefly; Snoop Dogg can hardly be seen through all his smoke and Stephen Baldwin pouts his way through his cameo as a priest. The rest of the cast struggle to make the material memorable and director Harvey Lowry excels at portraying the behind the scenes of the show but struggles to raise any fear factor.

There’s some entertainment value in Blood Pageant but lower your expectations if you’re looking for a good fright.

Blood Pageant is out now in select US cinemas and available on digital platforms on June 29th and DVD on July 20th (US only). UK TBC

PUNK THE CAPITAL: BUILDING A SOUND MOVEMENT

As Minor Threat’s Stumped plays, the opening credits of Punk the Capital: Building A Sound Movement shows a series of images of the American capital in the late ’70s as a way of setting the time and place of this documentary, which situates DC punk within the larger narratives of rock n’ roll, working as a powerful multi-layered story for both fans and non-fans of punk rock and explores the incredible challenges that this subculture faced when it took root in the Nation’s Capital in the late 1970s.

While there have been quite a few punk rock docs over the years, from Another State of Mind to The Decline of Western Civilization to American Hardcore to Turn It Around, et al, it’s surprising that it took this long for a film to focus on the Washington, DC scene. Not for nothing, but Minor Threat and Fugazi frontman Ian Mackaye and his trademark beanie have appeared in almost every punk rock film made in the last decade.

This film, from James June Schneider (co-director, editor), Paul Bishow (co-director), and Sam Lavine (associate producer, co-editor), begins with what many to be the genesis of DC and its particular strain of punk – hardcore – in the seminal band Bad Brains. However, the directors quickly state that this isn’t the whole story and rewind back to present bands like the Slickee Boys, who laid the groundwork for what would become an iconic scene. By presenting the bands who came before the Bad Brains and the mile-a-minute early Dischord bands which followed in their wake, Punk the Capital offers up a well-rounded look at D.C. and whence came this music.

Thanks to a slew of Super-8 footage and photos from the archives of many of the ‘zine writers and musicians, there’s very much a sense of being present that doesn’t exist in many documentaries of this ilk. Here, the viewer’s getting their eyes on things which haven’t been included in every other film, making this story – which has been told again and again in books and magazine articles over the last 40 years – feel fresh. Add in Bad Brains’ H.R. offering up clear and lucid commentary, a deep-dive into the influence of early clubs and radio shows, and Punk the Capital manages to exceed all expectations.

Punk the Capital releases as part of Record Store Day in the UK on Saturday, July 17th, on DVD and Blu-ray.

FRIENDSHIP’S DEATH (1987)

This obscure British production marked the final directorial outing for celebrated film theorist Peter Wollen. Bleak and cerebral, it boasts a tour de force of acting, some still-relevant politics, and even forward-thinking technologically.

Set in September 1970, Sullivan (Bill Paterson) is a journalist covering the troubles in Jordan at the hands of the PLO. Friendship (Tilda Swinton) joins him despite having no papers or accreditation. The topics of conversation between them get very deep, particularly as she claims to be a robot from an alien planet.

Set in only two rooms, this is a claustrophobic affair. Newsreel footage is shown depicting the war-torn territory Sullivan is there to report on, banging away on an old typewriter, much to Friendship’s concern: “It’s bad for the machine.” She has no concerns about knocking back a full tumbler of whiskey, however, since she’s not built to drink. The film has an air of a filmed stage play, all talk and no action, but is completely mesmerising, thanks to Wollen’s direction and the cinematography of Witold Stok, who gained plenty of experience working on Polish documentaries.

This was only Tilda Swinton’s second film, yet her enigmatic presence is already on show. The chemistry between Swinton and Bill Paterson is electric. The former being adept at playing burnt-out, cynical characters. It’s full of metaphors, of course, but even taken on face value, it’s an absorbing, prescient watch. Comparisons to The Day the Earth Stood Still are valid, although don’t go in expecting a regular sci-fi spectacle.

The BFI Blu-ray release has some interesting extra features, including a pair of Q&A sessions conducted over Zoom during the London Film Festival 2020, where the film was screened. The chat featuring Swinton and Paterson is the most interesting, although a discussion on Wollen’s writing and politics in his films gives the viewer more insight on Friendship’s Death. Also included is one of Wollen’s best-known shorts, Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti (1983). If you’re wanting some thought-provoking cinema, Friendship’s Death is worth a shot.