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.

KILLERMAN

killerman

KILLERMAN / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: MALIK BADER / STARRING: LIAM HEMSWORTH, EMORY COHEN, DIANE GUERRERO / CERT: 15 / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

After a drug deal goes wrong, Moe Diamond finds himself waking up with little memory of the past. Suffering from a state of amnesia with a bag load of money and drugs in his possession, he must scour the streets in search of answers whilst trying to keep himself alive at whatever the cost. Written and directed by Malik Bader, Killerman is a gritty crime thriller that throws subtlety out the window in favour of crime cliches from the past. As one might have guessed from the film’s title, Bader’s latest offering doesn’t shy away from living up to its hard-boiled roots by combining mystery and intrigue with dollops of bloody violence throughout.

The cast and crew have been able to do a great job at setting the tone thanks in part to some fantastic cinematography by Ken Seng, who perfectly captures the raw and gritty underbelly of New York City. The grim and cold aesthetic is heightened further when combined with Julian DeMarre and Heiko Maile’s music, which does a superb job at elevating all the events that gradually unfold. The synthy repetition of the film’s score is able to heighten the suspense and add an element of gravity to the hardened performances by Liam Hemsworth and Emory Cohen.

However, it’s a shame that they haven’t much to work with as the script at times feels undercooked and with a running time of just under two hours, one does wonder whether a rewrite may have helped make the film more palatable with a wider audience. Luckily, Rick Grayson’s slice and dice editing does enough to keep us hooked to the volatile action on display and keep us somewhat entertained. For a low budget production, Bader has done a fantastic job at setting the tone to this gutsy throwback thriller.

Ultimately, it’s a shame that the script lets the film down as with paper-thin characters, one does find it hard to care about much of the action that takes place. Luckily the villains are despicable enough to warrant us to stick around to the end and see what fate ultimately has in store for them. A propulsive low budget thriller, what Killerman lacks in substance, it more than makes up for in style. Tether your expectations and you might just find yourself bowled over by this bold and brutish caper.

RENT-A-PAL

rent a pal

Set at the height of the videotape era, Rent-a-Pal stars Brian Landis Folkins as David, a lonely man in his early-40s who looks after his dementia-suffering mother full-time. Seeking some respite from the drudgery of his life, David enrols in a video dating service, and spends hour after hour watching dating tapes, making careful notes in order to submit his matches.

On a visit to the agency, who fleece him for money every time he steps through the door, David acquires a discount tape called Rent-a-Pal, whose host Andy (a suitably-creepy Wil Wheaton) promises to be your new best friend. David begins to spend more and more time with Andy, rewinding the tape for a fresh conversation (which, of course, are all the same conversation), relieving some of loneliness his round-the-clock care for his mother has instilled in his life.

Landis Folkins is wonderful as David, a picture of a man trapped by his circumstances and slowly losing his grip on reality as Andy becomes more involved in his life, and when he finally matches with someone at the agency – Amy Rutledge’s Lisa – things do not go as you desperately hope they will.

Written and directed by first-timer Jon Stevenson, Rent-a-Pal’s period setting is never played for laughs or empty nostalgia, and the situation David finds himself in is applicable to more technologically-advanced eras. Stevenson imbues the piece with a claustrophobic and psychological malaise, and his stylistic choices only add to the portrait of a man on the edge of a breakdown.

Rent-a-Pal is an understated gem, and deserves a huge audience for all its principals, dealing with a subject that is rarely touched upon by mainstream cinema.