Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Back in the 1960s, after the success of the first three 007 movies, ‘Bondmania’ swept the world, and many readers of a certain age will remember the deluge of wannabe Bonds that hit cinema screens, not just American entries like the Derek Flint and Matt Helm movies but the infamous Eurospy movies featuring the likes of OSS 117 and Kommissar X to name but two.

Not many will be aware that Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers got in on the act, too. Eureka Entertainment is to be applauded for making three of these enjoyable and rarely-seen movies available in the new Blu-ray boxset release Super Spies and Secret Lies. The movies are The Golden Buddha (1966), Angel with the Iron Fists (1967), and The Singing Thief (1969), each of which emulates aspects of the Bond series with style, fast moving-action and attractive women and, in some cases, shows no shame in using familiar John Barry riffs from the Connery era in their music scores.

The Golden Buddha – in which a briefcase mix-up during a flight to Singapore leads businessman Paul (Police Story’s Paul Chang Chung) into conflict with the Skeleton Gang – is the movie that most resembles Bond and is directed by Lo Wei, who went on to direct the first two Bruce Lee movies so inevitably the action and numerous fights are well executed, and there’s also plenty of humour – not all intentional. Flamboyant villains and dastardly plots are the order of the day in all of these films, presented in their original Mandarin language with English subtitles.

All the films have informative commentaries from experts in Hong Kong action cinema, and the two accompanying featurettes on Bondmania and Shaw Brothers spy films are of particular interest. A boxset highly recommended to lovers of rare and unique international cinema from the “golden era”.

Super Spies and Secret Lies – Three Undercover Classics from the Shaw Brothers is available now on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment.

 

Dark Winds is more of a gentle breeze in the UK, so few people know about it. That is criminal as the show has much to commend it. While Season Two ups the action quota and is more procedural in nature, Season One has overtly supernatural elements. However, both seasons share more than a knowing nod with Twin Peaks and True Detective.
Adapted from the Leaphorn and Chee novels by the late crime laureate Tony Hillerman, Dark Winds is set against the distinctive backdrop of the Navajo Nation reservation. Although the series is set in the early 1970s, the show effectively incorporates elements of ancient traditions that resonate with the surrounding landscape’s timeless quality. Not only is the main cast predominantly Indigenous, but they often speak Diné Bizaad, which superbly enhances the cultural authenticity of the narrative.
Season One opens with a bold armoured car heist in a quiet Southwestern town, resulting in life loss. The criminals escape into the unforgiving Arizona desert by helicopter that lands in the street. Meanwhile, veteran Navajo Nation police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) is investigating the brutal murder of a young Navajo girl, a task that becomes increasingly perplexing. He is partnered with the enthusiastic rookie Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), who has the added pressure of working undercover for the FBI to track down the heist suspects. As their investigation progresses, the bank robbery and murder cases intersect, suggesting potential involvement from the Buffalo Society, a radical Indian militia.
Season Two begins with a noir-influenced black-and-white flash-forward, in which Joe Leaphorn and Sargeant Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), arrive at an RV to arrest a suspect. Upon discovering the trailer empty, they find themselves under fire, which they narrowly escape. The narrative subsequently shifts back six days to explore a car bomb explosion outside a hospital. This explosion is linked to a past tragedy involving the death of Joe’s son and connects to a separate investigation led by Chee, who is now a private investigator.
The entire cast is wonderful. But it is particularly satisfying to see Zahn McClarnon, who has appeared in Reservation Dogs, Westworld, Fargo, and Longmire, finally take centre stage. Leaphorn is a watchful combination of empathy and intelligence, constantly having to weigh up his instincts against what will be best for his people. It is a terrific, multifaceted performance.
The single, solitary extra is Show Me More: Dark Winds. It’s an AMC+ program that takes a closer look at the conception and production of Dark Winds: Season One. It features interviews with cast and crew members, as well as executive producer Robert Redford.

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%, beating even The Substance and equalling Nosferatu in the list of the year’s best horror films, Strange Darling deserves so much more exposure than it got on its cinema release back in August. Now released for home viewing, it’s time to give this gem of a film due recognition.

Essentially, this is a fairly standard tale of a serial killer spree and a victim’s revenge, following two protagonists after a one-night stand takes on a terrifying and sinister turn. But it may not be the turn you expect.

And that’s because Strange Darling has a number of very effective aces up its bloodied sleeve.

Writer-director JT Mollner clearly likes to mess with his audience. Told in six chapters, and in a manner that has the look and feel of ’70s and 80s slasher horror (Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre looms pretty large), the first of his aces is the film’s construction. Opening with Chapter Three, it’s almost halfway through the film before we get to know how our story begins, and this non-linear approach to the plot frequently pulls the rug from under us. Even when you think you know what’s going on, you don’t. It’s a gleefully wicked structure that overturns our expectations and plays with all that we think we know at the film’s start. It’s a narrative device that really works wonders in keeping us guessing and keeping the suspense at fever pitch.

Another ace is the look of the film. It’s a thing of beauty. Shot in 35mm and with a colour palette that leaps from the screen, the cinematography is stunning and works brilliantly in bringing to mind those films that terrified us decades ago.

And then there’s the cast. Uniformally superb across all performances, Strange Darling belongs to its two leads, The Smile’s Kyle Gallner as the Demon and Willa Fitzgerald as the Lady. Entirely convincing and with levels of performance commitment that would put die-hard method actors to shame, this pair create on-screen dynamite. Willa Fitzgerald, in particular, gives one of the year’s very best performances, and it will be a predictable but enormous shame that she won’t get the recognition she deserves come awards season. Hers is a truly brilliant turn, displaying a huge range of emotions.

Nowhere is this more heightened than in the film’s epilogue and final shot, an extended and deeply affecting take that has one of the best pieces of acting to be on the screen for years. It’s stunning, and easily the best final shot since the one that ended The Fabelmens so brilliantly.

Criminally overlooked, this beautiful Blu-ray release from Kaleidoscope is a horror fan’s nightmare. In a very good way.

This fun, overlooked slasher has been given a welcome release from Treasured Films with an impressive host of extras.

Summer camp counsellor Sam (Fran Kranz) rings his best friend Chuck (Alyson Hannigan) in a panic as his colleagues have all been brutally murdered by an axe-wielding maniac. Knowing the slasher film tropes, Chuck attempts to help Sam escape the terrifying situation. As the conversation continues and they try to put the pieces of the terrible night together, the pair realise that the killer might well be Sam himself.

Despite the title almost being the biggest spoiler we’ve seen, You Might Be the Killer punches above its humble budget when it comes to the gore. There’s also a lighter tone than your average camp-based shocker. It never resorts to parody, although the genre-savvy Chuck provides a Scream-type knowingness that acts as more of a wink to the audience than lifting from the Wes Craven classic. Buffy star Hannigan plays another quirky character (who works at a geek emporium named Rings of Saturn) that will please her fans and keep the story flowing through the reverse narrative. However, the practical effects are what make the film. They are bloody and icky, with the ‘Wood Carver Killer’ clad in a memorable mask and carrying a unique-looking weapon cutting an imposing figure (that’s the complete opposite of Sam). Director Brett Simmons captures the feel of the early-‘80s summer camp slashers but keeps it grounded very much in the here and now. He adopts plenty of techniques synonymous with the subgenre, like the POV through the mask, and has a varied group of councillors to kill off.

The Blu-ray contains an impressive array of extras to accompany the superb presentation of the movie. As well as new interviews with many of the talent involved in the production, including Simmons, Kanz, and final girl Jenna Harvey, there’s a fun new commentary from the team at The Hysteria Continues! and a reflection on the comedy meta-slashers from genre expert Darrell Buxton. The limited edition package also includes a booklet and slipcase with artwork from Mariano Matthos., Treasured Films has really pushed the boat for such an under-the-radar movie.

While the pairing of Rick and Michonne in The Ones Who Live and the prospect of the reunion of Carol and Daryl in Daryl Dixon are premised on powerful emotional entanglements, Maggie and Negan are connected by a shared history of conflict and bloodshed. It’s the dysfunctional nature of their enforced alliance, a collaboration that seethes with resentment and distrust, that makes the storytelling of Dead City stand out from other Walking Dead spin-offs. In what is the most consistently action-driven of its siblings, it revels in showcasing its evocative urban locations – crowded with endless numbers of marooned walkers and battled over by competing groups of human protagonists. But it is the character clash between Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) that provides the spark, precisely because their working partnership is so unlikely (although it’s sufficiently well written not to feel implausible).

Settlement leader Maggie is a woman on a mission. Her son Hershel has been abducted and taken to the island of Manhattan in New York, and she is determined to rescue him. Meanwhile, the redemption-seeking Negan, who took the life of Maggie’s partner (and Hershel’s father) Glen, is being pursued by relentless marshal Perlie. Both these damaged individuals make their way into the citadel and are compelled to join forces to survive the island’s unexpected perils as they get ever closer to The Croat and The Dama, the powerbrokers of Manhattan. Presented with the opportunity to exchange Negan for Hershel, Maggie makes a fateful choice that will change the future for all three of them.

With strong visuals of undead-infested streets, zip-wire-linked skyscrapers, and claustrophobic sewer systems, Dead City scores well on the design front. Morgan and Cohan are well matched when it comes to channelling their characters’ inner alphas, with extra tension coming from their exposure as both hunter and hunted in an alien environment. While special features on the release are limited to footage of a promotional WonderCon panel, what will excite fans more is just how enticingly the betrayals and deceit of the season finale set things up for season two.

SEASON ONE of THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY is available now on Blu-Ray and DVD

With the recent deal with Sky TV meaning that the latest Walking Dead spin-offs are finally available to British TV audiences, appreciation of the quality of the new wave of the still-expanding franchise has continued to grow. The deeply impressive first season of Daryl Dixon, which introduces the story of the titular hero’s enforced sojourn to the shores of France, arrives on Blu-ray just days before season two begins screening in the UK.

Daryl’s arrival on a French beach, in a near-death state and lashed to an upturned lifeboat, is introduced without explanation in the opening moments of episode one. When he comes across an isolated abbey, he learns of a mortal threat to a young boy named Laurent from the nuns living there. In their eyes, he’s a would-be saviour who must be given safe passage to sanctuary in Normandy before the militia hunting him discover his whereabouts. Agreeing with resolute warrior-nun Isabelle to join her mission in exchange for transit to a transatlantic port, Daryl’s group meet multiple threats out on the road. They confront crime lords, political fanatics and crazed scientists in the catacombs of Paris before reaching temporary safety behind the walls of the fabled Nest. Daryl is left to weigh up his commitment to Isabelle and Laurent against his longing to find a way back home.

Daryl Dixon is a truly distinctive new take on the show’s core idea that makes extraordinarily effective use of its urban and rural French locations and the different ambience and aesthetic that this evocative and unusual setting fills the screen with. Rewatching the first season as a whole confirms how much rich storyline and character development the showrunners have crammed into just six episodes. As a solitary American, untethered from all his familiar moorings, the threats and surprises that Daryl encounters in both the French hinterland and in its capital city all introduce new and dramatically interesting challenges. His allies and enemies are well drawn and given genuine agency, even if the underlying premise (a golden child who must be protected if the world is to be saved) is an over-familiar one in post-apocalyptic fiction. With filming on a third series already well underway, fans can invest in Daryl’s travails without the fear of a premature and unresolved cliffhanger. Special features on this release are limited to brief ‘cast diaries’ and a behind-the-scenes featurette, but it’s the substance of the main story that will continue to merit repeat viewing.

SEASON ONE of THE WALKING DEAD: DARYL DIXON is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

This Eureka Classics release is a delight for fans of old-school martial arts movies from the glory days of the 1970s and has never been seen before in the UK in its complete 112-minute version rather than the severely truncated 79-minute VHS version that omitted much of the action content and which is also contained in this Blu-ray disc as an extra feature.

A Man Called Tiger stars the inimitable Jimmy Wang Yu in a role originally intended for Bruce Lee before Lee decided instead to make his directorial debut The Way of the Dragon rather than work with director Lo Wei on a third movie. Wang Yu brings his own brand of kick-ass charisma to Tiger as the heroic Chin Fu who tracks down the killers of his father to Japan where he encounters the Yakuza and engages in increasingly spectacular bouts of kung fu action as he infiltrates Tokyo’s criminal underworld.

Eureka has excelled with the brilliant, crisp, and colourful 2K restoration provided here. It is a joy to watch and a perfect companion piece to The Man From Hong Kong, Wang-Yu’s movie best known to Western audiences. The action scenes are superb and include surely the best cable car fight sequence ever committed to film. It’s good to see James Tien and Maria Yi from  The Big Boss amongst the supporting cast.

As always, Eureka has not skimped on bonus features, with informative commentaries from experts on Hong Kong cinema, such as Mike Leeder and Frank Djeng. An excellent collector’s booklet with new writings on the film is a welcome addition. Of course, you can watch the film in the original Mandarin language or an English dub. The choice is yours.

This splendid release is thoroughly recommended, and we hope to see future releases from Eureka in the Golden Harvest library.

A MAN CALLED TIGER is now available on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment.

On a dark desert highway, cold rain hammering his windscreen, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) picks up a lone hitchhiker. It’s an action he soon regrets. As the hitchhiker, John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) plunges Jim into a violent game of cat and mouse.

Director Robert Harmon’s The Hitcher is a genre-defying gem of a film. It isn’t quite a horror or action thriller, but it straddles both sides of the road to be a perfect hybrid of the two. Harmon’s tightly controlled direction generates an increasingly taut atmosphere as the body count rises, and Halsey futilely tries to extricate himself from the madness.

Harmon’s use of the New Mexico desert is employed to stunning effect. He truly creates a sense that there simply isn’t anywhere to run to. The lonely landscape is unrelentingly stark, flat, and endless.

There’s a supernatural quality to John Ryder, although it isn’t implicitly implied that he is a supernatural being. However, he is, very deliberately presented as a man without a past, without a history. He kills for the sheer pleasure of it. Just his name alone, Ryder, suggests that he travels the lonely highways forever, seeking his next victim or waiting for an opponent to be worthy enough to stop him.

Jim Halsey is that opponent. He’s put through a horrifying ordeal, including being framed for mass murder. But he’s not alone in his ordeal, for he is befriended by Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh). The friendship is brutally extinguished by Ryder, prompting Jim to abandon his genial nature and become a mirror image of the killer in order to stop him.

As this is a Second Sight release, the extras are as bountiful as you’d expect. There are cast and crew commentaries, the obligatory trailers and The Projection Booth Podcast with Harmon and Hauer. There’s In Bullseye:, a new interview with director Robert Harmon and Penning the Ripper: a new interview with writer Eric Red.

If that isn’t enough, there’s Doomed to Live, a new interview with C Thomas Howell; The Man from Oz, a new interview with director of photography John Seale; and A Very Formative Score, an interview with composer Mark Isham. There’s also a 20-minute film featuring the work of Rutger Hauer and short films by Robert Harmon and Eric Red.

THE HITCHER is available in 4K UHD and Blu-ray from September 30th. You can pre-order here.