ANDRE THE GIANT

Andre the Giant

The legendary Andre the Giant is one of the biggest – in every way possible – stars that the professional wrestling business has ever seen. But it’s not just wrestling fans who are familiar with Andre, for he is a person who would go on to become a staple of pop culture for his literal larger-than-life presence. A tale of triumph and of tragedy, last year saw HBO chronicle the life of the real-life Andre Roussimoff, and now that documentary effort is hitting the home release market.

Born in Coulommiers, France in 1946, Andre Roussimoff was a normal youngster who was raised on a French farm. When Andre hit his teenage years, he had the mother of all growth spurts as he would eventually reach a height of over 7 ft tall. After trying his hand at rugby, Andre became gym buddies with several local wrestlers who were impressed by his ridiculous strength, and the rest, as they say, is history. Due to his unique look, Andre would soon become one of pro wrestling’s biggest attractions from town to town, city to city, country to country, and continent to continent.

Now while Andre’s size and remarkable athleticism for someone of such size made him the most recognizable figure in the wrestling world, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Frenchman. The continuous travel of the wrestling business would take its toll on Andre – the transport of the day not being tailored for a genuine giant – and there was no stepping away from the spotlight regardless of how much Andre wanted to do just that at times. After all, how can someone billed at a height of 7’ 4” ever go out in public and not be noticed. And with being noticed, you will then get those fools who poke fun and mock such a figure as nothing more than a freakshow.

Throughout Andre the Giant, we see this legends story told through the means of countless talking heads and archived footage of Andre’s personal and professional life. In amongst those helping to tell this story, we have the surviving members of the Roussimoff family, we have some of the wrestling industry’s biggest names, we have Hollywood types such as Billy Crystal and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and we have all-knowledgeable historians. At the heart of these anecdotes and interviews, though, it’s Timmy White who shines as the true heart of Andre’s story. White is a former WWE referee, but at one point in time he ended up being Andre’s handler, travel partner and ultimately his best friend.

Coming in at well-paced 85 minutes, Andre the Giant is an engaging, fascinating documentary that spotlights a man who became both myth and legend. If there is to be a slight complaint about Andre the Giant, however, it’s that it very much skews aspects and elements of Andre’s life and career to fit in with a narrative that benefits the WWE (this is, after all, a production made in association with Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment). For example, it’s positioned that Andre was desperate to cling on to his in-ring wrestling career despite his failing body, when it reality there was also the fact that McMahon and the then-WWF were desperate to keep throwing Andre out in front of audiences due to his drawing power. Andre the Giant could have also fared better by featuring Andre Roussimoff’s family as more than simply bookends to Andre’s story, while renowned yarn-spinners like Hulk Hogan and McMahon get to craft their own beneficial narrative.

Andre Roussimoff may have died in 1993, but his legacy still stands as strong as it ever has. This is man who was a legitimate one-off, and Andre the Giant is a feature that highlights just how special a figure Andre was while similarly stirring further intrigue for us to delve deeper into the life and times of the man known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Throw in a couple of classic Andre matches as bonus material, and you have a release that has a whole lot to offer to both wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans. Highly recommended.

Special Features: All-Star Wrestling 1978 – Andre the Giant vs Jose Estrada & Tony Russo / Showdown at Shea 1980 – Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan

ANDRE THE GIANT / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JASON HEHIR / STARRING: ANDRE THE GIANT, HULK HOGAN, BILLY CRYSTAL, ROB REINER, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, VINCE MCMAHON, TIM WHITE, DAVID SCHOEMAKER, PAT LAPRADE / RELEASE DATE: MAY 6TH

THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot

Catchy title, right? But while The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot is a movie title that instantly grabs the attention and has you thinking of all sorts of bonkers excesses, what we have here is a far more delicate and poignant picture than that admittedly fun title would initially conjure up.

With the unfaltering charm of Sam Elliott as Calvin Barr – the man responsible for doing what the title suggests – this is a film that is more of a character piece than it is any sort of elaborate over-the-top gimmick offering. Starting off by looking at Elliott’s Barr, The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot finds a former soldier living his small town life with the company of his trusty hound and a fractured relationship with his brother. Thanks to flashbacks featuring The Hobbit’s Aidan Turner as a younger version of Calvin, we see how this World War II warrior did indeed manage to off Adolf. But as we soon see, the sacrifices made by Calvin back then are still felt to this very day. And then, we see the FBI turning up at the door of the older Calvin Barr with one last mission: to hunt down and kill Bigfoot.

To discuss the plot of The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot really doesn’t do the movie justice. The handling of the World War II action is absolutely stunning yet heartbreakingly tragic from first-time director Robert D. Krzykowski, while the more modern-day task involving Bigfoot manages to keep things grounded and keep you onside despite the obvious stretch of logic. Whether in the then with Hitler or the now with Bigfoot, however, we have a feature that is magically constructed by Krzykowski and fantastically delivered by its minimalist cast.

Where the performances are concerned, Sam Elliott is on stunning form as a military veteran clearly loyal to serving his country yet paying the price for that same loyalty. Playing equally as a PTSD showcase or as a lost love tragedy, Elliott brings his absolute A game in a turn that runs the gamut of emotions. Likewise, Aidan Turner manages to hold his end of the bargain up, too; mimicking Elliott while also bringing his own tricks to the table. The likes of Ron Livingston and Larry Miller impress in supporting roles, but the other clear standout is Caitlin Fitzgerald as Maxine, the burgeoning love interest of the younger Calvin Barr. Fitzgerald brings an honesty and class to the role, making you realise just why Calvin regrets letter her slip away as he instead went hunting Hitler.

Is The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot a perfect movie? Of course not, for very film films are. But it’s a film that is far, far better than you might expect from a movie that has a title that could’ve so easily been the setup for a shlocky gimmick picture that skewed towards the “so bad it’s good” approach. Instead, we have a thoughtful, sincere, poignant and beautiful looking effort that could well be a true hidden gem of 2019.

Elsewhere on this release, there are some mightily fun special features, not least the engaging and interesting making-of that highlights how this picture was developed over a 12-year period. And again, bonus material such as this just further serves to make this an overall great release that you should definitely consider adding to your collection as soon as you can.

APT PUPIL (1998)

apt pupil

APT PUPIL (1998) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: BRYAN SINGER / SCREENPLAY: BRANDON BOYCE / STARRING: IAN MCKELLEN, BRAD RENFRO, JOSHUA JACKSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It’s not often we get the treat of Ian Mckellen in a villainous role, so there’s something immediately alluring about Apt Pupil. As some point you could have sold this as a legitimate psychological thriller, but now, it feels kitsch, exploitative, and every so slightly daft. Based on the short story by Stephen King, in which a paperboy (Brad Renfro) blackmails an old surviving Nazi (Ian McKellen) for first-hand accounts of the concentration camps. Sounds intriguing on paper, but is as problematic as you might expect in a modern light, even without considering it as a Bryan Singer film.

Any thrill which could once have been derived from the campery of McKellen as an ageing Nazi, slowly settling back into has terrifying old ways, is dashed by just how much of the film feels misguided or exploitative. Sadly, the preposterousness of an aged-up ‘90s McKellen growling in a thick German accent whilst trying to cram cats into his oven, just doesn’t entertain. Its not played as daft as it is. There’s some crazy tense sequences, most of them carried off by McKellen, who is great, but dances a thin line between ham and horror. One can’t help but wonder, looking back, what the intended tone was. Because, honestly, it feels sometimes like it should be the trashy B-Side to something like John Waters’ Serial Mum.

In terms of casting, it’s hard not to see Apt Pupil as exactly that: a suburbanised slice of ‘90s schlock. Problems don’t come from the cast, but some answers do. Bruce Davidson (Willard) turns up as Todd’s affluent father, whilst James Karen (The Return of the Living Dead, Mullholland Drive, and Poltergeist) plays his grandfather, and David Schwimmer a vaguely weird teacher. This particular band of stars adds a strange filigree of camp that might have otherwise remained more covert. Then there’s Michael Byrne, the evil Nazi Vogel from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, who appears as a kindly old concentration camp survivor. Byrne, a veteran villain and hard-ass, pretty much steals the whole show from McKellen in one heart-wrenching scene and does more for the films’ emotional appeal than any of its sordid sincerities around the nature of evil.

King’s story, and Brandon Boyce’s adaptation, are essentially both studies in evil. At points Apt Pupil seems to nail some greater truth about the evils of men being passed down and reinforced, whether through nostalgia, habit, or otherwise, but both have a  leering fascination with the war which derides that dialogue. As opposed to being a We Need to Talk About Kevin style look at Todd’s obsession with violence and manipulation, it simply enjoys watching a young man empower himself with Nazi techniques. It also doesn’t help that Todd is grossly unlikeable.

Apt Pupil is a strange and misguided film by any stretch, but time hasn’t helped. Lawsuits around the nudity of underage boys on set paired with Singer’s contemporary criminal charges make some of the film an uncomfortable watch. There’s homoerotic undertones to the film in places they just shouldn’t be. Todd’s eventual blackmailing of a teacher, with fabricated accusations of abuse, feels particularly gross given the current state of Singer’s affairs.

As a psychological thriller, Apt Pupil has decent moments, it’s nicely put together, has a pretty great score from Michael Kamen but there’s just too much weirdness to get comfortably swept up.

ALIEN – 4OTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Alien 4K

What really is there left to say about a 40-year-old movie that is universally viewed as one of the greatest genre features in the history of cinema? First terrifying audiences in 1979, Ridley Scott’s Alien has now received a new release to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary. But is this a new release that’s worth your time and pennies, or is this simply yet another cash-grab?

To skim over the key plot points, Alien centres on the doomed crew of the Nostromo. Why are they doomed, you humour us and ask? Why, that’s because this on-its-way-back-to-Earth ship picks up a distress signal from a nearby moon that’s soon to threaten their very existence. You see, before you know it, our crew are soon being offed by a sinister, stalking otherworldly creature that is as clinical as they come.

We’re sure you’re well, well aware of that above paragraph – not to mention the breathtaking performances of Sigourney Weaver and Co., the exquisite, atmospheric tension conjured up by Sir Ridley and his team, the chilling score by Jerry Goldsmith, and all of the rest of Alien’s ins and outs – so what you’re likely more concerned about is what makes this new release of a famed classic any different from the countless other releases of Alien seen over the past 40 years.

The key standout pleaser of this 40th birthday celebration is hands-down the fact that Alien is now the latest movie to be given the swanky Ultra HD 4K treatment. For some older features, giving them a 4K clean-up doesn’t always work that well; at times only serving to highlight certain issues and making said film look extremely dated. Luckily, Alien is a movie that looks utterly breathtaking in 4K. Whether it’s adding to the eerie atmosphere of the numerous dark and pants-filling corners of this masterclass of sci-fi horror, or simply adding a new sheen and crispness to the space ‘n’ stars-set terror of Alien, this 4K transfer looks jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Elsewhere, this new release gives viewers that chance to watch either the original 1979 theatrical cut of the feature or Ridley Scott’s 2003 director’s cut. To be honest, there’s no key changes between each cut, with Scott’s 2003 take actually running slightly shorter than the theatrical cut. And yes, both cuts get the 4K treatment, not to mention the ’79 cut giving viewers the option between two versions of the movie’s iconic score.

One other new addition that’s been saved for this release is a brand new audio commentary from Ridley Scott and some of the film’s key cast and crew. This chat track isn’t massively different from the 1999 commentary that’s also included, but both offer a fascinating look behind the curtain at how one of the greatest genre pictures in history was put together and how its legacy has lasted for all of these years.

Sure, you may have various other releases of this absolute juggernaut of cinema, but Alien really has never looked better or more terrifying. Whether you pick this up or not will depend on whether you deem the new UHD transfer of this classic as important. If you’re a 4K junkie, though, this one is most certainly a must-have.

Special Features: New audio commentary from cast and crew / 1999 audio commentary from Ridley Scott / 1979 theatrical cut and 2003 director’s cut of the movie / Two versions of the theatrical score / Deletes scenes

ALIEN – 4OTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: RIDLEY SCOTT / SCREENPLAY: DAN O’BANNON / STARRING: SIGOURNEY WEAVER, TOM SKERRITT, VERONICA CARTWRIGHT, HARRY DEAN STANTON, JOHN HURT, IAN HOLM / RELEASE DATE: APRIL 22ND

THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE (1971)

Iguana

THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE (1971) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: RICCARDO FREDA / SCREENPLAY: RICCARDO FREDA, SANDO CONTINENZA / STARRING: LUIGI PISTILLI, DAGMAR LASSANDER, ANTON DIFFRING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

In the early ‘70s, Italian giallo films were all the rage. Dario Argento made his name solidifying the genre with his ‘Animal’ trilogy, and a slew of like-minded filmmakers saturated the market with lewd, violent, and morally ambiguous thrillers. There are literally hundreds of these films in existence and over the past few years distributors like Arrow has made a lucrative affair of rereleasing many of the long-lost or ignored. The latest is Riccardo Freda’s The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire, a traditional giallo set, surprisingly, in Ireland.

Since most gialli are set in continental Europe, usually Rome, sometimes places like Paris, Iguana has an uncharacteristic British feel because of its setting. Director Freda apparently wanted Roger Moore for the lead, which would have been superb, and further pushed Iguana as a very different flavour, but we are blessed with the effortlessly suave Anton Diffring, here playing an incredibly guilty-seeming Swiss diplomat. The mystery that unfurls is a typical giallo one: a murder mystery strewn with red herrings and the private fiascos of the rich and powerful. But it doesn’t pack the punch most of its siblings do.

Compared to Lucio Fulci’s The Lizard in a Woman’s Skin or Argento’s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Freda’s offering feels disappointingly stale. Gialli often feel like intoxicating variations on a police procedural, with heightened style, sensuality, psychological elements, and visceral violence. Sure, Freda opens with a wonderfully grotesque kill, but he sets the bar high for himself and never reaches that kind of perfect giallo nastiness. The Irish setting is exploited a few times, most notably in a gorgeous foggy street chase that highlights the noir origins of the genre and provides one of the film’s few decent cinematic sequences. For the most part, though, the location feels like a natural dampener on the film’s style and rather than playing with the genre’s tropes in a foreign setting, the film just looks pretty dull. It’s missing the strange architecture and vibrant high-life exoticism often found in these films.

Stars like Diffring add instant panache to anything they touch, and watching the French star swan about as an effortlessly suave, and totally guilty, toff is an enjoyable treat. Dagmar Lassander (The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion) and Luigi Pistilli (Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) are similarly watchable but rarely given anything really decent to do. So as far as checking this one out goes, you’d be better impressed if you watched any of the other giallo mentioned, The Iguana With a Tongue of Fire feels like a curiosity for giallo die-hards, rather than a must-see.

TERRA FORMARS

Approaching Takashi Miike’s Terra Formars (2016) with no prior knowledge of the source material renders the viewing experience an interesting one. The plot is unarguably insanity itself, with a bizarrely assembled collection of misfits sent to Mars to combat a growing Earth-created cockroach problem. And they’re all criminals. And they’ve been injected with insect DNA to give them special powers. And the cockroaches have evolved.

Miike is often a controversial figure, with a body of work that covers a range of genres, and Terra Formars is certainly one of his most curious films. Based on a Japanese manga, Terra Formars became an anime before Miike created his version. Hugely popular in its previous forms, this live-action version feels strangely dull despite its inherent strangeness.

With a vastly growing population, Earth’s leaders send algae and cockroaches to Mars in an attempt to colonize the planet. The former is designed to purify the atmosphere while the latter feeds on the algae and spreads it. 500 years later, a manned mission is dispatched to clear out the cockroaches.

There are several issues for the casual observer. Firstly, there’s that plot. Colonising Mars? Fine. Algae and cockroaches we can get on board with, and then a mission to wipe them out? Okay, we’ll go with it. But there is something unsettling about the make up of the team. Not only are they criminals, there are serial killers, terrorists and even the head of a child prostitution ring. It’s a little difficult to root for characters that on paper are so grotesque as to be unpleasantly distasteful. Then there’s the roaches themselves. Or the humanoid, six-pack sporting muscular monsters that have evolved from the lowly insect. They are entirely unbelievable, and the ropey CGI by which they are created does little to help their cause. And they can speak and use phones… how? How??

There are other problems too: the insects that the ‘heroes’ transform into are largely ludicrous, the fight scenes go on far, far too long (much like the film itself), and there is nothing remotely engaging or endearing in any of the characters at all.

Feeling more like an episode from some fanciful futuristic adventure series than a standalone film, Terra Formars is difficult to make friends with unless the more preposterous side of Japanese manga and anime is your thing. It is a bloated blend of varying themes all fighting for air when there’s little to go around. If that’s your thing then the Blu-ray extras will be of interest. An in depth ‘making of’ feature almost as long as the film itself, alongside several interviews, provide an insight into the filmmaking process if little else.

As interesting as Miike is as a filmmaker, and there are classics in his filmography such as Audition (1999) and Ichi The Killer (2001), this is an entry in his extensive body of work that is solely for fans of the genre or the completists.

Special features:

High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation, Original uncompressed Stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD MA options, Newly-translated English subtitles, The Making of Terra Formars – feature-length documentary on the film’s production featuring a host of cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, Extended cast interviews, Footage from the 2016 Japanese premiere, Outtakes, Image Gallery, Theatrical and teaser trailers, Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork options

TERRA FORMARS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: TAKASHI MIIKE / SCREENPLAY: KAZUKI NAKASHIMA / STARRING: RINKO KIKUCHI, RILA FUKUSHIMA, SHUN OGURI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

WACKO

Thirteen years ago, a lawnmower-riding pumpkin-headed killer terrorised a small un-named American town. Detective Dick Harbinger has since become obsessed with solving the case, and when he’s called to track down an escapee from the local asylum – just as Halloween and the local high school prom are right around the corner – he quickly realises that history might be about to repeat itself.

Directed by Greydon Clark (the same person responsible for 1983’s similarly-forgotten “Porky’s in an arcade” Joysticks), Wacko plays out like a mash-up of Halloween and The Naked Gun with a dash of Carry On. Something ridiculous is pretty much guaranteed to happen every few seconds, which is either a blessing or a curse depending on your point of view (hint: it’s a blessing). Andrew Dice Clay’s character, Tony “The Schlong” Schlongini, is introduced by a gang of his mates doing an impromptu musical number, a magic trick goes disastrously wrong in science class, Vice Principal Harry Palms is quite literally clamping down on undesirable behaviour, and there’s one of the most absurd car chase sequences we’ve ever seen. Every single scene contains something silly – and several scenes seem to only be there because they’re silly – and the hit rate is pretty high, with most jokes eliciting at the very least a smile.

Released in 1982, Wacko is one of those films that somehow managed to almost completely disappear off the face of the earth. By rights it should be at the top of the list for Halloween comedy viewing. Joe Don Baker (perhaps most recognisable from his appearances in several James Bond movies) plays the exasperated detective perfectly, with some excellently dismissive delivery and wonderful physical comedy. For the most part, everyone involved generally holds up their end of the bargain, with plenty of laughs coming from the script itself and the performances of the cast. There are a ton of visual gags too, which help the film stand up to repeat viewings.

This new release from Vinegar Syndrome marks the film’s Blu-ray debut, but it’s currently only available in the US – folks elsewhere will need to look into importing this one, if it tickles your fancy. With both DVD (region-free) and Blu-ray (Region A only) versions included in a rather nice limited edition slipcase, it’s an excellent package. There’s also a seven-minute interview with Wacko cinematographer Nicholas Von Sternberg in the extras (or rather it’s the only extra), which might be rather brief but is still a nice addition. Notable for being an early example of the horror homage / parody, Wacko is very much one for fans of absurd nonsense.

WACKO / CERT: UNRATED / DIRECTOR: GREYDON CLARK / SCREENPLAY: DANA OLSEN, MICHAEL SPOUND / STARRING: JOE DON BAKER, STELLA STEVENS, ELIZABETH DAILY, GEORGE KENNEDY, ANDREW DICE CLAY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

DEVIL HUNTER (1980)

Devil

DIRECTOR: JESS FRANCO | SCREENPLAY: JULIÁN ESTEBAN, JESS FRANCO | STARRING: URSULA BUCHFELLNER, AL CLIVER, ANTONIO MAYANS | RELEASE DATE: APRIL 8TH

Devil Hunter was one of a small number of the remarkable Jess’ Franco’s incredible amount of films to make the infamous ‘video nasties’ list. It’s not one of his most idiosyncratic films, really more another entry in the huge catalogue of Euro-splatter features coming out at the time. It’s also vaguely part-cannibal film, again popular at the time, although Franco himself also made a more straight-ahead gut-munching movie that same year with Mondo Cannibale. Instead it’s a mishmash of styles, from jungle adventure to sort-of-zombie film, along with the strong elements of sexploitation that Franco was notorious for.

It begins with a model-slash-actress getting kidnapped, after which she is taken to a remote island while her captors wait for the ransom they have demanded. Mercenary Peter (Al Cliver) is hired to take the ransom to make the exchange but also instructed a sizeable percentage of the money is his if he can bring both the girl and the cash back. Meanwhile, on the island, the kidnappers start to run afoul of the local tribe and the naked, bloodshot and bug-eyed ‘god’ they worship. Peter realises his mission is going to be even more dangerous than he had imagined.

Although not a passion project for Franco, it’s inevitable his very personal approach still informs the film. From lingering shots of nature through to crash zooms, there’s still plenty of personality in here. Devil Hunter is of its time too, from the gloopy gore effects to the mix of sex and violence, plus copious nudity. As with many Franco pictures it’s an odd stew and one that will appeal most to his admirers, more willing are we to forgive the slapdashery and treat sequences like Cliver’s rock-climb as an example of Franco’s ambition and furtive creativity, instead of carelessness or haste. As a film, file this under ‘completists only’.

If you do appreciate the man’s output and want to subject yourself to it, however, this is definitely a recommended release. Shot in bright sunlight, the picture here is mostly gorgeous for what was a low budget film, showing everything good and bad in high definition. As far as extras there’s only one, but it’s very good. Gathering the likes of critics John Martin and Rachael Nisbet amongst others (including our own Martin Unsworth), it’s a near 50-minute analysis of Franco’s career from his gothic horror beginnings to his still-prolific later years. Huge fun it is too as the contributors wrestle with the appeal of Franco at both his best and his worst.

THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE

Psychologically damaged ex-cop and recovering addict Megan is trying to rebuild her life after quitting the force when her partner was killed as she froze under fire during a routine stop. With the help of her mentor, she secures a job as the solitary overnight cover in the morgue of the city hospital, taking delivery of cadavers and carrying out routine processing of the corpses.

Despite the grim demands of her work, Megan welcomes the absence of social interaction, finding the separation from others a balm to her guilt and a relief from the pressures of temptation. When she discovers that not everything in the morgue is quite as lifeless as she had been led to believe, she is unsure at first whether it’s her sanity or reality that is coming apart.

On its initial release, The Possession of Hannah Grace endured something of a roasting from unimpressed critics, several of whom compared it unfavourably to 2016’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe. But while it’s true that there’s little original or unexpected in the unfolding of the film’s “undead things on the slab” premise – its focus on the demonic possession of a young woman or its reliance on a flawed hero ill-equipped to face the monstrous terrors that await her – it would be unfair to dismiss this horror outright because of its derivative storyline.

In his US feature debut, director Van Rooijen pulls an impressive amount of impact from what is an undeniably underwhelming script and plot. The brutalist environs of the basement morgue are fantastically designed and lit, with maximum value wrought from the motion-sensor lights, the unsettling stillness and silence of Megan’s lonely night shift, and the blaring horn that announces the next ambulance’s arrival. Van Rooijen holds back the musical score in favour of chilling and unnerving sound design.

The film’s stylish cinematography prioritises atmosphere over jump scares (although the trailer would have you believe otherwise) and gets a good return from shots that show the threat to Megan scuttling in the background and across the edges of the frame. It’s a filmic style that ensures an effective contrast with the unflinching moments of gore and (dead)-body horror that punctuate the film.

Shay Mitchell cuts a sympathetic figure as the damaged Megan, balancing vulnerability against her obvious reserves of strength and returning self-belief. As Hannah, Kirby Johnson brings extraordinary skills as a contortionist and dancer, and shows no qualms about appearing as a naked and badly-injured corpse for large segments of the film. Her physicality, and complete commitment to delivering on the role, is central to the film’s punch.

The small ensemble cast of characters who intersect with Megan at different points during her worsening plight are reasonably well drawn, with Nick Thune’s empathetic paramedic the most three dimensional amongst them. The gruesome make-up and visual effects are, in the main, more than acceptable.

So, given all of those strengths, why does The Possession of Hannah Grace come up short? The key fault lies with writer Brian Sieve’s unimaginative script which, as well as relying too much on over-familiar tropes, offers only the sketchiest characterisation of his two female leads. It also fumbles its own internal logic. Sieve’s by-the-numbers finale is the weakest component of his underpowered screenplay, something which even the clearly capable Van Rooijen can do little to compensate for.

THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: DIEDERIK VAN ROOIJEN / SCREENPLAY: BRIAN SIEVE / STARRING: SHAY MITCHELL, GREY DAMON, KIRBY JOHNSON, NICK THUNE, LOUIS HERTHUM / RELEASE DATE: 8TH APRIL

REPLICAS

Keanu Reeves plays William Foster, a scientist in charge of an experiment that is attempting to place the consciousnesses of the recently-deceased into synthetic bodies. It’s not going well, so Foster takes a weekend away with his wife and three children; they’ve barely left home when tragedy strikes, and all but Foster himself are killed in a car accident. A grieving Foster then comes up with the idea to clone his family and import their memories into these copies, thinking nobody will ever know, provided he can solve the puzzle that has eluded him in his experiments thus far.

Anyone who’s ever seen a film with such a premise will know that it can only go horribly wrong. Scientists have tried to play God since Frankenstein, and are rarely completely successful. The story that plays out is watchable enough, if a bit of a mess – Replicas could concentrate on charting a man’s descent into obsession and madness, or either be a serious discourse on the nature of science going too far or a bleak comedy. Instead of being one of those, it attempts to be all three and more besides, meaning there are tonal shifts and plot developments that will leave viewers scratching their heads, wondering where and how something has happened. We can’t help thinking that this is a story that would have worked well as a TV series, allowing characters and relationships to develop so that we genuinely care; Foster is a likeable character and his motives are understandable, but it all feels a little rushed and there is too much within the plot that is told through dialogue rather than shown.

This is evident in the deleted scenes which, while only being a few minutes long, do create atmosphere and twists that a 70s conspiracy thriller would be proud of. Barring timing issues, it’s hard to see why these scenes were cut, as they add depth to the events that are happening to and around Foster. As well as a Director’s Commentary, there’s an informative Making Of documentary in which we’re offered a glimpse of what the film could have been, a concept that has been close to Keanu Reeves’ heart for a number of years.

Overall, Replicas isn’t a bad film. It’s a frustrating one, in that it tries to please everyone and feels watered down for a mainstream audience, ultimately leaving the viewer with the sense that it is a missed opportunity at being a worthy addition to the genre.

REPLICAS / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: JEFFREY NACHMANOFF / SCREENPLAY: CHAD ST. JOHN / STARRING: KEANU REEVES, ALICE EVE, THOMAS MIDDLEDITCH / RELEASE DATE: 29TH APRIL