VFW

vfw

VFW / DIRECTOR: JOE BEGOS / SCREENPLAY: MAX BRALLIER, MATTHEW McARDLE / STARRING: TRAVIS HAMMER, DAVID PATRICK KELLY, MARTIN KOVE, STEPHEN LANG, SIERRA MCCORMACK, WILLIAM SADLER, AND FRED WILLIAMSON / RELEASED DATE: OUT NOW DIGITAL AND APRIL 6TH

Director Joe Begos has once again figured out a way to take a genre trope and turn it into something new with his latest film VFW. There have been so many films about old guys who used to be tough as nails getting together for one last ride that listing them would be absurdly long. Thankfully, director Begos has figured out a way to take a tired concept and turn it into something exciting, yet still familiar.

A group of old friends have gathered at the bar of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars hall for drinks on the day of Fred’s (Stephen Lang) birthday. They’re all veterans of Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan and are, appropriately, played by veterans themselves. David Patrick Kelly (Commando), Martin Kove (Karate Kid), William Sadler (Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey), and Fred Williamson (Black Caesar) make up the crew drinking at the VFW when young woman, Lizard (Sierra McCormack), comes barreling in the door, on the run after stealing the stash of drug dealer, Boz (Travis Hammer), who killed her sister.

Boz and his crew – which includes Begos regulars Graham Skipper and Dora Madison – come following, and chaos ensues. It’s the usual “send her out and we’ll let the rest of you live” storyline, but it’s filled with the kind of grit that viewers haven’t seen since John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13. This is a film that really leans into the idea that these guys know that they’re nearing the end of the line, and thus, they’re willing to do whatever it takes to protect what is, essentially, their home.

Thanks to some minimal, but well-executed exposition as VFW opens, the viewer knows that Fred, Walter (Sadler), Abe (Williamson), and Doug (McCarthy) are usually at the bar from open to close, telling the same stories over and over again. For these guys, one thinks, this is a chance to prove that they’re still worth something, and that their story might have one more exciting chapter in it. This is the way The Expendables would’ve been if there were no egos involved: a cavalcade of past-their-prime actors showing off one last time that they’re worth something.

Also, unlike so many recent action films, there’s no digital blood here. Once again, Begos has gone for practical effects, resulting in characters positively covered in viscera after heads and chests explode onto them. Thanks to the close confines of the VFW hall in which most of the action takes place, Begos has crafted a film in VFW that is splattery, loud-as-hell, and very much feels as if the viewer is sitting right at the bar as everything goes down. The score, by the director’s longtime collaborator Steve Moore, is half Carpenter-style creepily atmospheric synths and half big heavy metal riffs. It’s the perfect pairing for the explosions, axes to faces/arms/chests, and grizzled old men kicking mutant punk ass.

VFW might be the final chapter for many of these old warhorses, but they’re going down swinging. And stabbing. And shooting. And chopping. And bombing. And whatever it is when someone takes a concrete saw and uses it to work their way through a crowd of drug-addled mutant punks. Joe Begos is once again literally killing it, and after the glorious craziness of this and Bliss being released so close together, it’s impossible not to love him for all he does.

MONOS

Monos

DIRECTOR: ALEJANDRO LANDES | SCREENPLAY: ALEJANDRO LANDES, ALEXIS DOS SANTOS | STARRING: JULIANNE NICHOLSON, MOISÉS ARIAS, SOFIA BUENAVENTURA, LAURA CASTRILLÓN, DEIBY RUEDA | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

High atop a mountain in a South American country, camp Monos is made up of a group of teenage soldiers. Their mission is to take care of an American hostage and a new arrival – a cow named Shakira, an even more valuable possession than the hostage.

The world of Monos takes us up away from busy cities and calm farmland. The camp exists on a mountaintop above the clouds, isolated from any civilisation in an unnamed country, with the kids tethered from any life that existed when they were down below. The film makes good use of its location, crafting beautiful images that make the teenagers seem like they’re in purgatory. This untethered location is reflected by the timeline as days drift into each other, perhaps into weeks. We don’t know how long they’ve been up there or how long the film spans, in what seems to be an unescapable location, with all roads leading back to the camp. The child soldier’s work for something only ever called ‘The Organisation’, a group in the midst of a conflict. Whether rebellious or terrorist, we’re never told, but we do know that it’s easily enveloped the lives of these teenagers and changed the courses of their future.

There are big servings of Lord of the Flies in Monos, including a pig’s head on a stick, with the teenagers left mostly to their own devices. A shaky hierarchy has formed, with leaders vying for power. The kids spend their time being teenagers. They flirt, they chat, play games, even if they do have an undercurrent of violence to them, except they’re wandering around with loaded machine guns. There’s some outside authority that’s rarely seen but brings their freedom crashing down with every visit. It cuts through the teenage lives they’re living with the heavy hand of adulthood. You’ll make no mistake that though no soldier can be older than 17, they’re still dangerous and have been tasked with keeping a hostage, all not fully invested players in an unnamed conflict that has very real consequences. The film offers no simple answers. Whether it’s against their will, a case of coercion, or if they’re believers in the cause, we never really know, instead you watch as the film unfolds and ego, orders and youth collide. As their fragile society starts to collapse, the children fall into violence, revenge and even lose a lot of vocal language, instead moving towards animalistic noises, looks and actions.

The disc release is quite a disappointing one. The extras only consist of a gallery and a sparse Making Of feature, but you get the impression that after it’s very strong critical reception it’s likely to have a more expanded release further down the line that goes into more depth.

Monos sucks you into it’s almost unearthly world, with just under two hours of running time slipping easily away as your drawn into the shaken lives of these teenagers and their relationships.

COME TO DADDY

DIRECTOR: ANT TIMPSON / SCREENPLAY: TOBY HARVARD, ANT TIMPSON / STARRING: ELIJAH WOOD, STEPHEN MCHATTIE, GARFIELD WILSON, MADELEINE SAMI, MARTIN DONOVAN, MICHAEL SMILEY / RELEASED DATE: MARCH 2ND

Narval (Wood), a man in his mid-30s receives a letter out of the blue from his estranged father and decides to attempt to rekindle their relationship – but not everything is as it seems once he arrives at his dad’s beachside playboy house in the darkly funny and twisted directorial debut of Ant Timpson; Come to Daddy.

Much like Daniel Radcliffe, Elijah Wood, who rose to astronomical fame due to being the centrepiece of a billion-dollar franchise, has since embraced his popularity to accept and flourish in more unique roles such as his character in this particular film.

Narval is a timid and troubled individual, that we discover through some touching and tense interactions between him and his father, that has lacked a father figure for his entire life. However, once he receives a letter from the aforementioned estranged daddy and makes the long trip to see him, all is not as it may seem.

Come to Daddy is most certainly a film of two halves – the first, a drama about a father and son reconnecting (albeit with seriously dark and sinister undertones) and the second, a neon, blood-soaked thriller that pushes the boundaries of acceptable violence to a gloriously satisfying effect.

The cinematography is stunning allowing this house by the sea to not only stand out as a gorgeous location but also as somewhere extremely ominous. The final act is lathered in a purple and red haze that pays wonderful homage to giallo films of yesteryear.

The stand out aspects of Come to Daddy are all in the performances and the twist. Without engaging in a spoilerific discussion, Wood, along with his fellow cast members all shine and once things really kick off, audiences will be dragged along for the thriller ride and conclusion to the story.

A brilliant future cult classic gory thriller, Come to Daddy has everything to satisfy horror fans.

Special Features:

This Blu-Ray release is presented by Frightfest and contains a handful of interviews from its debut at the film Festival and also director Ant Timpson’s first short film from over 24 years ago!

  • “Crab Boy” (1996) – Ant Timpson’s first short film
  • Frightfest 2019 Red Carpet Interviews
  • Frightfest 2019 Paul McEvoy Interview with Ant Timpson

 

CYRANO DE BERGERAC

CERT: U / DIRECTOR: JEAN-PAUL RAPPENEAU / SCREENPLAY: JEAN-PAUL RAPPENEAU, JEAN-CLAUDE CARRIERE / STARRING: GERARD DEPARDIEU, ANNE BROCHET, VINCENT PEREZ, JACQUES WEBER, ROLAND BERTIN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (REVIEWED – BLU-RAY, BFI 2020)

Cyrano de Bergerac is a poet, a soldier, a legendary swordsman, and a hopeless romantic. But although he is fearless on the battlefield, and not afraid to take on 100 men in a duel of honour, he is terrified of one thing; declaring his love to the beautiful Roxane, because he fears his famously oversized proboscis would cause her to reject his advances. So, when Roxane tells Cyrano she is in love with one of the soldiers in his regiment, a dashing but verbally challenged young man called Christian, Cyrano sees a way to express his love for Roxane in poetry, by writing romantic letters to her on Christian’s behalf. But will Roxane ever realise it’s Cyrano’s words that are making her heart melt, and that Christian’s surface handsomeness is nothing compared to the passion concealed beneath Cyrano’s external ugliness? And what will they do when a vengeful Count sends Christian and Cyrano off to war, and Cyrano’s enemies plot his devious and deadly downfall?

It’s been 30 years since moviegoers first fell in love with Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s delightful cinematic adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, and the BFI’s new blu-ray release proves the film has lost none of its quixotic, starry-eyed magic. Gerard Depardieu’s performance as the swaggering conk-challenged scribe remains the highlight of his illustrious career, although he’s well-matched by Jacques Weber as the foppish Count and Anne Brochet as Roxane, the rather impetuous object of everybody’s affections. Vincent Perez, who is probably best known for playing the titular undead hero in The Crow: City of Angels, does his best as the mannequin-like Christian, but if there’s one failing to this film it’s that it’s hard to feel any empathy for a character who’s little more than good-looking cardboard. That’s not really an obstacle for the majority of the story (in fact, it works to the narrative’s advantage) but, in the final Act, it severely undercuts a moment that should have had much more emotional resonance. Having said that, Anthony Burgess’s acclaimed but rather show-offy English translation (thankfully only available as subtitles) doesn’t help.

As Steve Martin’s Roxanne had already proved three years earlier, Edmond Rostand’s source play contains plenty of opportunities to be out-and-out funny and (as audiences would discover a year later, in Green Card), Depardieu is also a very fine comedian. Unfortunately, Burgess’s translation isn’t as fun as it should be and that’s a problem. Having said that, though, Cyrano de Bergerac is still a masterpiece.

The special features include a scholarly feature-length commentary, individual interviews with Depardieu and Rappeneau, and a pre-Cyrano conversation with Anthony Burgess that’s occasionally fascinating. All-in-all, a very nice little package.

CHAINED FOR LIFE

chained life

CHAINED FOR LIFE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: AARON SCHIMBERG / STARRING: JESS WEIXLER, ADAM PEARSON, STEPHEN PLUNKETT, CHARLIE KORSMO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A blind woman walks into a 1930s-era operating theatre, where she inadvertently disrupts the stomach-churning facial surgery that’s taking place. But no, this is just a scene in a low budget horror movie and when the director calls “cut” and the actor playing the blind woman instantly regains her sight, we see this is all make-up and artifice. But what will happen tomorrow, when he disfigured co-star and a cast of scarred, deformed, and otherwise physically imperfect extras arrives? Will she be able to see beyond their abnormalities to the hearts that lie within? Is the Herr Director (who, rumour has it, spent a childhood travelling with the circus and may not even be German) making a film that challenges our perceptions of ugliness and beauty, or is he exploiting the new arrivals as Tod Browning arguably did when he directed Freaks? As the film within a film develops, and the line between fiction and reality becomes steadily more blurred, the actor finds herself unexpectedly drawn towards her funny and gently spoken leading man. But what will happen when the production wraps and she returns to a world where beauty and vanity are prized above everything, and what of the scarred murderer who is at loose somewhere near the hospital where they’ve been filming?

Chained for Life is a frequently wonderful film, combining a powerful human message with some fantastic black comedy jabs at the shallowness and ridiculousness of the movie industry. Writer/director Aaron Schimberg was born with a bilateral cleft lip and an obsessive love of the movie Freaks, so Chained for Life is obviously one from the heart. Jess Weixler (star of the genre-favourite Teeth) is wonderful as the leading lady, and shares great chemistry with Adam Pearson, who – like the character he plays – has the disfiguring disease neurofibromatosis. One of their very first scenes together – when Rosenthal (Pearson) asks Mabel (Weixler) to teach him some acting, we quickly become aware of how much his condition restricts his physical ability to portray emotion but that, even without Mabel’s expressive face, he can still convey all the emotions he needs – is genius. So is the clever multi-layering of the dialogue, which constantly keeps the viewer on their toes (are we watching the film or the film-within-the-film?) In fact, the only flaw in Chained for Life – albeit a big one – is that it sometimes feels a little too meandering, and the ending doesn’t make the definitive statement a film like this needs. Although we’re left wondering where Mabel and Rosenthal’s lives are going to take them, it also feels like Mabel has stepped into another jeopardy which has nothing to do with the movie we’ve just watched. Chained for Life feels like a film you’d need to watch several times over to completely get a grasp on, and even then you couldn’t be certain. That’s a shame, because it carries an important message that shouldn’t have been so lost in translation.

This comprehensive two-disc set also includes Schimberg’s debut film Go Down Death, which is an interesting (although some might say pretentious) piece that’s a lot harder to like. In an undisclosed time and an undisclosed place (it looks like some kind of ramshackle mining town composed mainly of a poker saloon, a whorehouse, and the world’s most unsanitary dentist’s office), a selection of characters monologue aimlessly about death, hopelessness and despair. Meanwhile, the film’s only real protagonist – a young boy called Butler – seems to be doing everybody else’s jobs, including tailoring, grave-digging, and spewing horrendous poetry. Stylistically, it’s a little bit like David Lynch’s Eraserhead, Guy Maddin’s Tales from the Gimli Hospital and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr all got thrown into a blender with an early trying-too-hard draft of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. But, whereas all those projects had an internal dream-logic and compelling characters that narratively bound all the weirdness together, Go Down Death is in permanent freefall, solely relying on its atmospheric strangeness to get us through. The images are often striking, but you may feel every minute of its overly-long running time.

AFTER MIDNIGHT

AFTER MIDNIGHT

AFTER MIDNIGHT / DIRECTORS: JEREMY GARDNER, CHRISTIAN STELLA / SCREENPLAY: JEREMY GARDNER / STARRING: JEREMY GARDNER, BREAD GRANT, JUSTIN BENSON / RELEASED DATE: VOD OUT NOW

Jeremy Gardner’s latest, After Midnight, follows the tactic the director has used to great effect in past films such as The Battery; the majority of the film is at one location, with just a few actors, and a plot that hinges on one particular challenge. In this case, most of After Midnight follows the story of Hank (Gardner) and Abby (Brea Grant) over the course of their decade-long relationship.

The story unfolds in the here-and-now, as well as in copious flashbacks to the early days of the pair. Flashbacks are soft-focus, musically-bedded, warm-toned looks at a couple very much in love, whereas the present day scenes are sharp and often dark, after Abby takes off, leaving only a note. Shortly thereafter, a mysterious beast begins attacking Hank and the house at night, leaving terrifying claw marks on the front door.

Genre fans will be quick to wonder as to whether or not Abby’s note, reading ‘I had to go away for a while’ means that she’s the monster. Perhaps she’s a werewolf or other such shapeshifter. Given the presence of Justin Benson as Abby’s sheriff brother, Shane, and his work on 2014’s Spring, for which he served as co-director, writer, and producer, that might be a little too on-the-nose in terms of nods and allusions, but it’s not an unreasonable assumption.

After Midnight is a romance, and it’s a monster movie, but it also is neither of those things. For the vast majority of the film, Gardner is playing a man dealing with loss, almost verging on grief. Hank doesn’t know what’s happened to Abby, and nobody believes what’s happening to him. The reason as to their doubt is never spoken, but it’s certainly alluded to in the cases of empty wine bottles in a storage room, his job as owner of the local bar, and the fact that he’s rarely on-screen without a beer or a shot of whiskey in his hand.

The performances are excellent, in particular the interplay between Gardner and Grant. There’s a scene in the latter part of After Midnight wherein Abby has a discussion with Hank, laying out all of her feeling regarding herself, him, and their relationship. It’s honest, but it’s not angry. The things she says to Hank come across more as resignedly sad, tinged with regret. It’s not Abby giving up on them, but she’s laying everything on the line, and the hint of hope in her eyes is positively heartbreaking.

The swinging back and forth between paranormal creature and personal connection makes it difficult to really settle into After Midnight as the film goes along. While the early scenes of love contrast excellently with the early scenes wherein one isn’t quite sure what’s happening to Hank, as the film settles into the interpersonal aspects for a good stretch, it becomes difficult to make the switch back to monster movie.

If a viewer’s willing to accept that there might be more tenderness than terror, accepting the brief scenes of fiendish interaction for what they are, however, After Midnight can be a rewarding experience.

 

DEADLY MANOR (1990)

deadly-manor

DEADLY MANOR (1990) / DIRECTOR: JOSÉ RAMÓN LARRAZ / SCREENPLAY: JOSÉ RAMÓN LARRAZ, BRIAN SMEDLEY-ASTON / STARRING: CLARK TUFTS, GREG RHODES, CLAUDIA FRANJUL / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Deadly Manor is the third in a set of slasher horrors made by José Ramón Larraz at the tail-end of his long and varied career. The premise follows a typical outline for the genre as a group of horny young people get diverted by a storm into staying at a seemingly abandoned mansion packed full of photos of a strange, alluring (usually naked) woman on nearly every wall of every room. That’s after they pick up a hitchhiker who may or may not be bad news himself. Of course, the mansion isn’t as empty as first thought and blood gets spilled as the mystery reveals itself. It’s the type of stuff that played well on VHS box blurbs back in the halcyon days of rental stores.

Larraz was a rare talent but for this reviewer at least, there’s not much here to recommend. Events plod along to the expected conclusion, enlivened only by some incongruous but diverting nudity and some flourishes from Larraz that only serve to make you wonder how much better it would have been if he’d been more creatively invested in the material. Even the kills are largely dull, and the final explanation behind why is so flimsy it’s tempting to think the film works better as satire of the genre than straight horror.

Still, it’s pretty enough on this new Arrow release, with a vivid 2K restoration from the original film elements ensuring everything onscreen is pin-sharp and clear, particularly considering much of what happens is set over one stormy night. Where this release excels is in its selection of extras. A new, relatively brief interview with producer Brian Smedley-Aston works as an aperitif of sorts. This is followed by another new interview, this time with actor Jennifer Delora, who is both delightful and entertaining company as she discussed her career. There’s an extract from an archive interview with Larraz, an image gallery and a humorously spoiler-packed trailer from the film’s American release as Savage Lust.

The indisputable gem included here is a wonderful commentary from writers Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan. Although they couldn’t convince this reviewer Deadly Manor is a lost classic (nor are they trying to), their knowledge about genre film, enthusiasm for Larraz and for exploring his work and finding depth and nuance and joy in it, is a perfect example of what a commentary should achieve: providing context, developing understanding, appreciation and being a huge amount of fun while doing it. It will be a struggle for any other commentary this year to beat this one. While the film is no great shakes and is far from essential, the extras elevate this release into a recommendation, and consider that doubled for fans of slashers.

SONS OF DENMARK

sons denmark

SONS OF DENMARK (DANMARKS SØNNER) / CERT 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ULLA SALIM | STARRING: ZAKI YOUSSEF, RASMUS BJERG, MOHAMMED ISMAIL MOHAMMED | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The 1966 picture It Happened Here told of a Britain that had been invaded by Nazi Germany during World War II, and as a result of capitulation and collaboration, had become a vassal state. The title referred to the opt-repeated phrase, “it couldn’t happen here” whereby western civilisations think themselves above the sheer, naked brutality of a race-based ideology.

Recent history would beg to differ, however, and Ulaa Salim’s Danmarks sønner (Sons of Denmark) takes place in an all-too-recognisable near-future, and not one that can be said to be unique for the Scandinavian nation. Recent events in countries across Europe – sadly including our own – have seen a lurch to the right, accompanied by a rhetoric of the other; that someone else is to blame for what ails society, something that must be rooted out because national exceptionalism teaches it can’t possibly be a problem of our own making.

There are several innocents in Sons of Denmark but none of the main characters come out of the film with clean hands. Zaki Youssef’s Malik is an undercover policeman tasked with rooting out a terrorist cell amongst immigrants from Iraq, Syria, and other countries, in the Copenhagen of 2024. The first portion of the story is sympathetic to the plight of these often war-torn refugees, but there’s no mistaking that, for all his charity and concern, community leader Hassan is every bit as exploitative as those he blames for the immigrants’ ills.

The threat to the security of the people of Denmark – as opposed to Danish people – comes from two opposing ideologies, both adopting a position of reactive justice, but is also just as enabled by the Danish establishment, and Danish voters, who create the environment necessary for the events of the story to take place.

Presented in parts in both Arabic and Danish, with English subtitles for those of us not fluent in both (or either!), the script is not expository, rather allowing the feel of the piece, excellently shot in a dull palette by cinematographer Eddie Klint in his first feature, to carry the weight of the story and the emotions it provokes.

This is not a happy film, nor – we suspect – is it meant to be. As with the best science fiction (although its barely eligible, the future setting its only qualifier), it’s a warning as to what can happen if we continue on a path we can very easily turn around. Your mileage may vary, but Britain of the 2020s does not look to have gotten off to the best of starts; Sons of Denmark is a very real projection of our possible future. It happened here? Let’s make sure it doesn’t.

ONE MISSED CALL TRILOGY

DIRECTORS: TAKASHI MIIKE (1), RENPEI TSUKAMOTO (2), MANABU ASO (FINAL) / SCREENPLAY: MINAKO DAIRA (1, 2, FINAL), YASUSHI AKIMOTO (2), SHIRO KUROI (FINAL) / STARRING: KO SHIBASAKI (1), SHINICHI TSUTSUMI (1), MIMURA (2), RENJI ISHIBASHI (1, 2), PETER HO (2), MAKI HORIKITA (FINAL), MEISA KUROKI (FINAL), YUN-SEOK JANG (FINAL) / REVIEWED: BLU-RAY / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 24TH

After the debut of Ringu and Ju-on: The Grudge, Japanese Horror was at the height of its popularity at the turn of the Millenium. So, in 2003, legendary filmmaker Takashi Miike brought the world the latest Japanese horror sensation, One Missed Call (not to be confused with the abysmal American remake from 2008). The film, which borrows similar story beats to its terrifying predecessors, spawned a trilogy with One Missed Call 2coming in 2005 and the finale, aptly titled One Missed Call: Finale, hitting theatres in 2006. And now – courtesy of Arrow Video – the entire trilogy is available on Blu-Ray for western audiences for the first time.

As previously mentioned, the narrative of the series as a whole predominately lifts its basic setup for curse-based horror tales, but what sets One Missed Call apart from its peers is its unique use of technology that was still in its infancy at the time – mobile phones. The curse is simple – someone receives a phone call (accompanied by the now iconic ringtone) and the answer message that is left is from them at a point in the near future, and they hear how they die courtesy of the evil spirit Mimiko. Once the prophecy of the call comes true, a number, seemingly at random, in their phone book is the next on the list to receive the deadly call.

The first film, directed by Miike, successfully delivers a solid set up for the series as is easily the best-directed film of the three which is down to the master himself. Even though the script is arguably average at best, Miike’s attention to detail, framing each shot perfectly to put the viewer on edge and having some truly awesome death sequences, the film manages to be a satisfying scare-fest that will make you look differently at your phone or perhaps delete your contact list entirely, just in case. The antagonist of the piece Mimiko is also an interesting villain as she has a decent backstory. It also leaves things open appropriately for a sequel whilst also working well as a standalone piece.

One Missed Call 2, unfortunately, fails to follow up on the success of the first film by implementing what most horror sequels do – adding another unwarranted villain to the proceedings and giving them a long-winded and convoluted backstory that bores and confuses audiences rather than scaring them. The film itself isn’t all that bad as the protagonists are well performed and some of the emotional beats between them are compelling and engaging – although overall, this instalment added very little to the franchise.

However, the finale takes the best of both its predecessors, shifts the tone and becomes a sort of chain letter meets Final Destination 90-minute gorefest. The curse in this instalment has evolved and a girl named Asuka attempts to commit suicide, allowing Mimiko to latch onto this vulnerable soul and gives her the ability to send the curse to any of the phones that her classmates and bullies posses by clicking on their face on a school portrait. Bullying is very much at the centre of the film and that emotional grounded weight, along with some hilarious brawling between the scumbag teenagers who are at fault for the poor girl’s pain that don’t want the curse “forwarded” to them. Great performances, cool deaths and a solid moral dilemma and emotional narrative make the finale the most overall enjoyable instalment in the franchise but the least scary – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The One Missed Call trilogy is a solid J-Horror franchise that didn’t really invent anything new for the genre but each of the films, that are directed by different filmmakers, each stand on their own whilst having acceptable ties with each other within the narrative.

Special Features:

Each of the two discs contains a whole host of interesting in-depth special features from documentaries to interviews to allow the viewer to get into the filmmaker’s minds behind the movies. If you are a fan of the films, these are essential viewing.

Disc 1 – ONE MISSED CALL (2003)

  • COMMENTARY BY TOM MES
  • THE MAKING OF ONE MISSED CALL [57:06] – an hour-long archival documentary on the film’s production.
  • CAST & CREW INTERVIEWS [14:23]
  • INTERVIEW WITH TAKASHI MIIKE [20:15]
  • SCREENINGS [14:09] – clips from screenings of the film in 2003 in Tokyo.
  • LIVE OR DIE [11:56] – raw footage from the TV special in the film, presented from two different camera angles.
  • A DAY WITH THE MIZUNUMA FAMILY [2:45] – the hidden camera footage from the Mizunuma house.
  • ALTERNATIVE ENDING [3:44] – an alternative ending to that of the theatrical cut presented on the disc.
  • THEATRICAL TRAILER [1:21]
  • TEASER TRAILERS [0:51]
  • TV SPORTS [2:15]

Disc 2 – ONE MISSED CALL 2 (2005) & ONE MISSED CALL: FINAL (2006)

  • THE MAKING OF ONE MISSED CALL 2 [32:46]
  • GOMU [3:51] – a short film tie-in for One Missed Call 2 by the film’s director, Renpei Tsukamoto.
  • ONE MISSED CALL 2 DELETED SCENES [10:10]
  • ONE MISSED CALL 2 MUSIC VIDEO [4:46]
  • ONE MISSED CALL 2 THEATRICAL TRAILER [1:38]
  • ONE MISSED CALL 2 TEASER TRAILERS [1:37]
  • ONE MISSED CALL 2 TV SPOTS [1:17]
  • THE MAKING OF ONE MISSED CALL: FINAL [51:55] – an hour-long archival documentary on the film’s production.
  • MAKI AND MEISA [15:34] – an archival behind-the-scenes featurette on One Missed Call: Final with actresses Maki Horikita and Meisa Kuroki.
  • BEHIND THE SCENES WITH KEUN-SUK JANG [11:45] – an archival featurette with One Missed Call: Final’s South Korean star.
  • THE LOVE STORY [12:06] – a short film tie-in for One Missed Call: Final.
  • CANDID MIMIKO [15:02] – an archival location tour with the series’ iconic villain.
  • ONE MISSED CALL: FINAL THEATRICAL TRAILER [1:49]

SUPERMAN: RED SON

Superman: Red Son

SUPERMAN: RED SON / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: SAM LIU / SCREENPLAY: J.M. DeMATTEIS / STARRING JASON ISAACS, DIEDRICH BADER, AMY ACKER, VANESSA MARSHALL, ROGER CRAIG SMITH / RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 25TH (DIGITAL), MARCH 16TH (BLU-RAY/DVD)

Special Features: DC Showcase: Phantom Stranger / Cold Red War featurette / Superman: Red Son motion comics / Sneak peek at Justice League Dark: Apokolips War / Previews of The Death of Superman and Gotham by Gaslight / From the DC Comics Vault – both parts of Justice League, ‘A Better World’

Mark Millar’s Superman: Red Son is one of the all-time great ‘what if?’ comic book tales. A 2003 three-issue Elseworlds tale, Millar’s Red Son posed the question of what would happen had the Last Son of Krypton landed in the Soviet Union instead of crash-landing in Kansas. And now, this iconic story has been brought to animated life.

As alluded to, this animated feature sees the All-American Superman changed-up to instead be a symbol of the Soviet Union. To be more precise, Superman here is fighting Russia’s enemies as the superpowered might behind Communism. Seeing this all-powerful fist of the Communist Party doesn’t particularly sit well with everyone – such as a Lex Luthor who is intent on putting a stop to this red right hand of the Soviets by any means necessary. Likewise, there are a slew of familiar DC Comics characters given skewed slants here in a vastly different landscape to what regular DC fans are used to.

From director Sam Liu (Batman: Year One, Batman: The Killing Joke, The Death and Return of Superman), Superman: Red Son is a fine adaptation of a legendary comic book tale. As is so often the case with such adaptations, of course, certain elements of the original story are left out in order to streamline the tale to fit the confines of an animated movie. Even then, though, Red Son’s near-90-minute runtime is a good ten or 15 minutes longer in length than is usually afforded to such animated DC offerings. Liu and writer J.M. DeMatteis certainly make the most of their time, with all of the major beats of the story hit in a way that feels emotive, engaging, and massively impactful throughout. And in terms of impactful, not only is the narrative a hard-hitting one, but so too are the action sequences served up in the picture.

Away from the explosive action and rampaging musical numbers of the film, Red Son is full of brilliant performances. While Jason Isaacs does his best Russian twang as the titular Big Blue Boy Scout, it’s Diedrich Bader (the voice of Batman: The Brave and the Bold‘s Caped Crusader) who often steals the show as Lex Luthor. Special praise also has to go to Amy Acker as a Lois Lane who is doing her utmost to fight an uphill battle to be recognised on her own merits – rather than simply being the wife of Lex in this alternative realm.

The bonus content on the DCAU releases always manages to hit the right beats of showcasing current and upcoming projects while simultaneously utilising some of the classic material in the DC Comics Vault – and that is again the case here. Red Son gets explored in the Cold Red War featurette and a sampling of the Red Son motion comic, and the inclusion of the two-part A Better World tale from the classic Justice League cartoon is fantastic to see. The showstoppers in this regard, however, are the Paul Dini-developed DC Showcase: Phantom Stranger and the anticipation-elevating ten-minute look at what lies ahead in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.

All in all, this is yet again another fantastic overall release from Warner Bros. Animation and the team tasked with bringing such DC Comics characters to life.