Review Category: VOD

SCOOB!

For a franchise that has been airing new TV episodes (almost) nonstop since 1969, it’s quite remarkable that Scoob! marks the series’ first-ever animated theatrically-released film… or, at least, it would have done had COVID-19 not forced cinemas shut, leading to the film being released straight-to-PVOD. Instead of becoming only the third Scooby-Doo feature film (following the two live-action efforts penned by James Gunn in the early noughties), Scoob! joins the ranks of over 30 straight-to-video efforts before it, and, sadly, doesn’t exactly stand head and toe above them. A modern Scooby-Doo movie should have been a slam dunk. The characters are a nostalgia printing-press with over five decades of material and in-jokes to draw upon. Where Scoob! could have been a loving, self-aware send-up of all things Hanna Barbera, modernising the characters for today’s audience, it’s ultimately just another utterly disposable kids’ movie.

The film quickly rushes through a sequence where the gang solve a haunted house mystery within the first 15 minutes, begrudgingly fulfilling its minimum duty to audience expectations. After that, Scoob! is Scooby-Doo in name only (and even then, they’ve abbreviated it). It isn’t a mystery movie, but it ‘is’ a superhero movie and it ‘is’ desperately attempting to establish a cinematic universe (which is going to have questionable mileage). In order to stop an evil plot by Dick Dastardly (now referred to as a supervillain), Scooby and Shaggy are paired with Hanna Barbera C-listers Blue Falcon and Dynomutt. While this sounds like a disgusting grab at relevance, rest assured that any notions that the film might be timely go out the window 13 minutes in, once Simon Cowell appears as himself in order to judge Mystery Inc. as though they were a pop act.

That said, a Hanna Barbera cinematic universe makes a lot of sense. From The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones to Yogi’s Treasure Hunt, their work practically defined the idea of shameless cartoon crossovers. And none of their characters was as prone to crossing over as Scooby-Doo who, at this point, has canonically solved mysteries with everyone from Batman to The Addams Family to the cast of Supernatural. It’s a shame then that Scoob! is executed so poorly. You’d be better off seeking out the surprisingly good Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon, one of three straight-to-video Scooby-Doo movies released in 2013, in which Scooby previously met Blue Falcon and Dynomutt.

Some glossy animation aside, there’s very little to recommend here. It’s a smorgasbord of questionable voice-acting, uninspired action and limp humour. Even by the standards of straight-to-video Scooby-Doo movies, Scoob! feels like a weak cash-grab.

APARTMENT 1BR

CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: DAVID MARMOR / STARRING: NICOLE BRYDON BLOOM, GILES MATTHEY, TAYLOR NICHOLS, NAOMI GROSSMAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Sarah (Nicole Brydon Bloom) is adamant to make the move to Los Angeles and pursue a career as a fashion designer following her mother’s death. Her relationship with her father is strained due to his admission of having an affair while Mum was on her deathbed. She signs up for an apartment in an exclusive gated community, and while the residents appear a little strange, they are friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately, she’s had to sneak her cat in against the tenancy rules and she’s disturbed at night by some horrendous noises. Her idyllic abode soon becomes much more sinister and nightmarish than she could possibly imagine.

Writer/director David Marmor’s debut feature is an engaging, uneasy reminder that cults are not exclusive to Bible-thumping ‘ministers’. Marmor confidently helms the picture, which draws the viewer in with the pleasant surroundings before delivering some impressive shocks. There’s an air of Rosemary’s Baby, but don’t let this fool you, this film has its own surprises in store. Wrong-footing the audience into thinking something supernatural might be going on, it instead takes us on a journey into the twisted world of the residents of the complex, warning us of conformity living for the sake of the ‘community’. Bloom is fantastic as the young and enthusiastic designer forced to make do with an office job while she finds her feet in LA. She also shows great range while being conditioned her to her surroundings (which includes an intense, wince-inducing moment!) and during the frantic final act. While the twists might be signposted throughout, it’s a surprisingly taut horror thriller in which the monsters are otherwise regular folk.

LOCKDOWN KINGS

DIRECTORS: BILL THOMAS, CHRISTOPHER PUTTOCK / SCREENPLAY: BILL THOMAS, HUW SAMUEL / STARRING: DAZ BLACK, HUW SAMUEL, SOPHIE-LOUISE CRAIG, HARVEY QUINN / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 20TH

The movie industry has adjusted to the global pandemic in many different ways, from changes in distribution model to changes in the very way films are put together. This necessary shift in focus has led to many indie filmmakers embracing the challenge of making a feature during lockdown. One such example is Lockdown Kings, a dystopian near-future comedy set in an England that has been in quarantine for many years.

Our main characters are Mitch (YouTuber Daz Black) and Bash (Huw Samuel), two ageing slackers who have been doing everything they can to stop themselves from going mad with boredom. Society has been restructured by the Emergency Council and everyone now lives in lockdown. Emergency Council monitoring controls the locks on their doors and even the windows are electrified; they really mean it when they say stay at home. Rather than doing anything resembling work or exercise, our heroes mostly play video games.

Of course, given that they live in a world where everything is closely monitored, their grifting will only get them so far. As the realities of a plague-infested world begin to catch up with them, the two friends find themselves way out of their depth, discovering secrets that could change everything. And, of course, all of this happens when they are sitting in their front rooms in front of a computer.

One of the remarkable things about this movie is how much an action-style thriller relies on good dialogue. Mitch and Bash have an easy going friendship and the banter between the two really makes this movie stand out. Though Lockdown Kings sometimes feels like a mix of comedy shorts, improvised chats, and the odd sci-fi cliché, the blend of these things makes it something more than that. The acting is appropriately over the top, the comedy is spot-on, and special effects are efficient and cleverly done.

Director Bill Thomas is perhaps best known to STARBURST readers for his micro-budget flintlock fantasy zombie flick Fallen Soldiers. That movie did an awful lot with very little, and Lockdown Kings pulls off the same sort of trick, focusing heavily on dialogue rather than action. The premise of this film was never going to win points for originality; moviemakers have been remixing The Machine Stops for decades now, but Lockdown Kings makes a plague-fuelled dystopian near-future something we can laugh at, and that’s an incredible feat in this day and age.

The full movie will be released onto the Daz Games YouTube channel from June 20th.

LITTLE JOE

CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: JESSICA HAUSNER / SCREENPLAY: JESSICA HAUSNER, GERALDINE BAJARD /STARRING: EMILY BEECHAM, BEN WHISHAW, KERRY FOX, KIT CONNOR / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

We are currently living in a frustrated, pent-up world full of anger and fury, finger-pointing, and fist-shaking. Social media is awash with furores and backlashes, and everyone currently appears to be obsessed with either causing offence or being offended. Little Joe, Jessica Hausner’s eerie and disquieting debut English-language feature film offers us the possibility of a life detached from such tiresome inconveniences and leaves the audience to decide if we’d be better off with our baser instinctive passions removed or perhaps turned into something less than human.

In a cold and clinical laboratory facility somewhere non-specific, a group of scientists, including Emily Beecham’s divorced mum Alice Woodard, are working to genetically engineer a new type of plant that will survive extended periods of neglect and undernourishment. But they inadvertently create a flower that actually requires more care but which induces heightened calm and happiness in its owner. Alice’s colleague Bella (Fox) suspects that something is amiss and she believes that the pollen from these new, sterilised plants, is having a strange effect on those who inhale it. Naturally no-one believes her. Alice names the new plants ‘Little Joe’ after her young son and takes one home. But suddenly her son starts to behave oddly, his whole demeanour changed overnight…

Fans of Jack Finney’s book The Body Snatchers and its subsequent film adaptations and indeed any fantasy story in which human free will and identity is compromised will absolutely adore Little Joe. Jessica Hausner has created a chilling and disturbing film set in a world we recognise but seems slightly off-kilter thanks to the clipped, snipped dialogue from its slightly (and undoubtedly purposely) stilted and disconnected characters and Martin Gschlacht’s inventive cinematography, in which the camera often moves slowly in on characters, eventually cutting them out of the frame altogether and focusing on something inconsequential and apparently irrelevant in the middle of the image. The film builds up a quiet sense of dread as the effects of the pollen become more and more apparent and its strange dislocation is intensified by the film’s thoughtful production design and colour palette, and an edgy soundtrack, which often consists of random bangs and crashes and, now and again, a cacophony of crashing drums and barking dogs.

Little Joe is a brilliant, unshowy movie that delivers a subtle, skilled marriage of themes from Invasion of the Bodysnatchers and Day of the Triffids and it quietly, subtly, evokes the former’s sense of paranoia and fear of the loss of self as nature asserts itself and gently puts the arrogance of man firmly back in its place. A cautionary tale for these strange times, perhaps, and a haunting, beautiful and stunning piece of arthouse science fiction in its own right.

THE ASCENT

CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: TOM PATON / STARRING: SHAYNE WARD, SAMANTHA SCHNITZLER, BENTLEY KALU, RACHEL WARREN, SIMON MEACOCK, TOBY OSMOND, ALANA WALLACE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Britain is currently enjoying a surge of interesting and clever genre movies, and one of the directors leading the charge is the incredibly talented Tom Paton, a chap who seems quite adept at taking a simple idea and a small budget and turning them into a memorable movie. The Ascent blends horror, mystery and military action into a profoundly weird yet gripping experience.

The Ascent is the tale of ‘Hell’s Bastards’, Black Ops mercenaries who are extremely well equipped but lack a moral compass. A mission somewhere in Eastern Europe leads the team to make a series of somewhat suspect choices, including the murder of an innocent woman. She hisses a peculiar malediction just before her untimely demise. Upon returning to the UK, the consequences of their actions become unleashed in the form of a deadly curse. The team is trapped in a Sisyphean time loop, forever having to move forward or die.

This is essentially a stalker/killer movie, except the thing that is killing them is a supernatural manifestation of their own poor choices, forcing them to constantly relive the team’s worst moments. This is a feature that could easily have been too preachy or obvious; instead Paton lends a subtle touch to it all, never giving the audience quite enough time to overthink the premise.

Shayne Ward is particularly gripping as Will Stanton, the increasingly unstable leader of this band of mercenaries. Samantha Schnitzler, whom we previously saw in another Paton movie, Blacksite, plays the more sympathetic Kia Clarke. The two have a strong chemistry together making, Schnitzler’s cool charm bouncing off against Ward’s manic energy. Toby Osmond provides what little humour there is in this feature with his usual skill and Bentley Kalu is as mesmerising as always as Ben, a mercenary who just wants to get the job done.

Paton applies his trademark creativity to the low budget; the movie is shot in a wash of blue or red, lending a powerful sense of strangeness and dread to the entire affair. The soundtrack is solid throughout, conveying the growing sense of dread and change rather effortlessly. CGI is used sparingly. There’s enough action throughout to deliver on the promise of the premise, but this is mostly a tense supernatural thriller.

The Ascent is unique, clever and unforgettable. Just be careful you don’t end up watching it on loop.

The movie is now available via the curated streaming service BirdBox, and is known to the US market as Black Ops.

THE VAST OF NIGHT

CERT: 15 | PLATFORM: AMAZON PRIME VIDEO | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Attracting rave advance notices thanks to screenings at a number of high profile film festivals last year, Andrew Patterson’s low-fi, low-budget old school sci-fi thriller The Vast of Night finally arrives on Amazon Prime. It might not be quite as good as its champions have been suggesting but it’s hugely entertaining, wonderfully evocative, and a welcome throwback to the early days of sci-fi cinema, reminding us of that sense of creeping fear, paranoia and general unease that permeated classics like Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, The Thing from Another World, and The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Framed as an episode of a fictional Twilight Zone-like anthology series entitled Paradox Theatre, The Vast of Night takes place over a single night in the 1950s in the small New Mexico town of Cayuga. Everett (Jake Horowitz) is a DJ at a local radio station, Fay (Sierra McCormick) operates the switchboard. With everyone else attending a high school basketball game, Fay picks up a strange signal through the switchboard. She plays it to Everett who is broadcasting on the radio. Neither of them can identify the sound so he throws it open to his listeners and invites calls from anyone who might be able to cast some light on its provenance. As luck would have it the first call he receives is from someone who is very familiar with the sound. He’s heard it before, years ago. He knows what it means and he knows what’s coming…

Self-financed by Patterson with a budget significantly under a million dollars, The Vast of Night is a triumph of raw, lean filmmaking. This is a film that just drips atmosphere and tension. Opening with an extraordinary tracking shot that follows Everett and Kay around the bustling gymnasium, out into the deserted streets, and finally into their separate workplaces – the dialogue is dense, scattergun, and frequently hard to keep up with – the film finds its groove as it settles down and starts to explore the mystery that is its beating heart.

A charming love letter to low-budget genre filmmaking, The Vast of Night puts character and plot above spectacle (although it doesn’t skimp in delivering one key money shot) and, as we twiddle our thumbs waiting for our usual diet of summer blockbusters to come racing out of global lockdown, it’s a timely reminder that sometimes the simplest ideas and the tiniest budgets can create something very special and hugely enjoyable.

INMATE #1: THE RISE OF DANNY TREJO

INMATE #1: THE RISE OF DANNY TREJO / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: BRETT HARVEY / STARRING: DANNY TREJO, ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, CHEECH MARIN / RELEASE DATE: 7TH JULY

Director Brett Harvey’s portrait of Latino action god Danny Trejo, Inmate #1, leans heavily into its subtitle, “The Rise of Danny Trejo,” and that’s a good thing. While the film does take a look at the now 76 year-old actor’s work with the likes of Robert Rodriguez, Michael Mann and more, the real focus of this documentary is on Trejo’s life as a whole, and there are a lot of things which happened before his first role in Andrei Konchalovsky’s 1985 film, Runaway Train.

And, honestly, the stories of what happened prior to Trejo becoming an actor are far more interesting and pertinent to Danny Trejo the man than Danny Trejo’s acting career. His life growing up Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood saw Trejo bouncing between various members of his family at an early age, eventually idolising his uncle Gilbert who would lead the young Danny into substance abuse and criminal activity.

The way Trejo speaks about his uncle might be one of the few times during Inmate #1 when the actor comes close to tears. While he’s usually jocular and friendly, his trademark laugh frequently ringing out as he tells many stories of his eventful life, there are points – especially when discussing family – where Trejo becomes sombre. When discussing the death of Gilbert, there’s an audible catch in his throat, as when discussing the fact that Michael Mann named his character Gilbert in the 1995 movie Heat, having actually met Trejo’s uncle when shooting The Jericho Mile at Folsom State Penitentiary in the late 70s. It’s a side of the actor not frequently seen, with maybe the exception of Laurie Collyer’s Sherrybaby, where Trejo almost essentially plays himself – a former addict helping people out.

That, right there, is the heart of Inmate #1: the many ways in which Trejo turned from addiction and crime to helping people. Throughout the film, the actor speaks at many, many events in order to bolster peoples’ spirits, and it’s amazing to see how he connects with everyone. Given his vast number of film roles – more than 400, as of this writing – over the last 35 years, he’s been in something that nearly everyone, from kids to great-grandparents, has seen, and everyone loves him.

The folks who love him are the ones with whom director Harvey speaks. While it’s very likely that the director could have assembled a rogue’s gallery and veritable who’s who in Hollywood to talk about Trejo, he instead focuses on the actor’s friends and family, all of whom share deeply considered insights into his life and career. These are folks who know the man, as opposed to those who just have anecdotes. The way in which Craig Balkam, Trejo’s head of security, talks about him, shows more thoughtful consideration than most documentary talking heads.

Throughout the documentary, Trejo is featured in and around where he grew up and where he now lives, and it’s readily apparent that the actor is deeply thoughtful about his life and where he came from, but also willing to live in the moment and accept his current success, and the way in which director Harvey presents everything means Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo is a remarkably thorough and well-considered film.

STEVEN BERKOFF’S TELL TALE HEART

CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: STEPHEN COOKSON / SCREENPLAY: STEVEN BERKOFF, STEPHEN COOKSON / STARRING: STEVEN BERKOFF, HUGH SKINNER, DUDLEY SUTTON, HENRY GOODMAN / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 11TH

It’s one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous stories and has been adapted for the screen numerous times. Steven Berkoff tackles the tale of a man driven to madness (while protesting his mental illness too much) by the glacial eye of ‘the old man’ with whom he shares a large house with faithful flair. Even expanding the short to feature length doesn’t mean Berkoff and director Stephen Cookson have taken the liberty to deviate from Poe’s perfect tale like other adaptations have.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s a first-person account of how a man meticulously killed his housemate while protesting his sanity. This version has the feel of a filmed stage play. The wonderful sets and evocative, moody lighting add a great deal to the often over the top, gurning hysterics of Berkoff, who as ‘the man’ is perfectly maniacal and completely engaging. The vulture-eyed unfortunate is played by the late Dudley Sutton, and while it’s a limited role, he certainly throws his all into it. The real horror of the story is presented in full as the man commits his wicked deed and is particularly graphic when depicting the disposal of the body!

The Gothic surroundings are perfect for the grisly nature of the tale and the cinematography impeccably captures the sense of insanity of Berkoff’s performance, channelling German expressionism and parlour theatrics in a magnificent display of delicious ham. It’s arguably this in-your-face first-person presentation – while very faithful to the original text – won’t be for many people’s taste, it’s an engrossing and deliberate adaptation that gets across Poe’s macabre genius while showcasing Berkoff’s captivating performance.

WRESTLEMASSACRE

WRESTLEMASSACRE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: BRAD TWIGG / STARRING: RICHIE ACEVEDO, JULIO BANA FERNANDEZ, ROSANNA NELSON, RENE DUPREE / RELEASE DATE: 16TH JUNE

There’s a thriving market for low-budget horror movies, ensuring that if you have the wherewithal to follow your dream and make that gory story that’s been sitting at the back of your brain for years, there’ll be an audience eagerly lapping up the gallons of fake blood used in the making of your film.

WrestleMassacre, completed in 2018 but now given a VOD release, is from director Brad Twigg, responsible for the low- to no-budget MILFS vs Zombies and Killer Campout, and eager contributor to the Grindsploitation series. Working with regular partner Matthew Furman, Twigg has crafted the story of a lonely groundskeeper keen to follow in his father’s footsteps as a professional wrestler, only to be thwarted at the first hurdle, sending him into a murderous rage.

Richie Acevedo, who wrestled in the 1990s and 2000s as the Cuban Assassin (but not the famous one), stars as groundskeeper Randy and, while he brings some sympathy to the role, you can see why his resumé mostly consists of uncredited background parts. He has all the skills needed, however, for the latter part of the film – and the reason most people will tune in to this kind of movie – when he embarks on a homicidal rampage, using wrestling moves and whatever weapons are to hand to render his victims into gory puddles.

Twigg and Furman try to build the story of a young couple – who, despite some attempt to have us feel for the wife, are a pair of massive assholes – in over their heads with colourful local loan sharks, led by the diminutive Mr Valentine, backed up by a wonderfully over-the-top Jimmy Flame, and including former grapplers Tony Atlas and Jim “Sandman” Fullington among their heavies. Bolted on is a former soldier, apparently supposed to be suffering from PTSD, played by former WWE star René Duprée, the brother of the asshole wife and set up to be the movie’s heroic ace.

Once it gets going, WrestleMassacre is a terribly bloodthirsty movie, with some stomach-turning ways of doing the death to people, both innocent and guilty, and really that’s what sells it. Just as blue movies felt compelled to tack on a storyline to earn a late-night showing on Channel 5, the poorly-acted first half of this film, full of unlikeable characters and gratuitous nudity, may seem like nothing more than an unwelcome prelude to what most people have come for.

The fight scenes are well done, choreographed by Acevedo, and some of the lo-fi special effects are impressive, but narratively the film is a mess, with a pre-titles scene that makes no sense once you’ve reached the end of the movie, and an inexplicable switch from day to night during the film’s final scene. And that’s without even mentioning the tacked-on demonic angle that comes out of nowhere.

Low-budget horror movies have their fans, and WrestleMassacre will find an audience with devotees of chop, slice and smash rampage flicks. It may even attract some curious old-time wrestling fans, with appearances from Jimmy Valiant, Nikolai Volkoff and Manny Fernandez added to those already mentioned. For anyone else, this is something that needn’t trouble you, and there’s nothing wrong with that; in a world full of video distractions, there’s enough to go round for everyone.

BLOOD AND FLESH: THE REEL LIFE AND GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON

CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: DAVID GREGORY / STARRING: AL ADAMSON, STEVEE ASHLOCK, FRED OLEN RAY, SAMUEL SHERMAN / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 1ST

Al Adamson’s films may not have the instant cult recognition as the likes of Ed Wood or Russ Meyer, they do have their fans. This documentary of the life, work, and sad murder of one of cinema’s underdogs is a worthy tribute and an eye-opening, entertaining celebration of the director.

As you’d expect, the bulk of the film takes in Adamson’s upbringing and film career, but it’s in the final act that the story takes its dark turn. By the time we get to story of his shocking murder, we’re given enough testimony through talking heads and archive interviews with the director himself to form a positive opinion of the man and even gain a new perspective on his films, which were more often than not dismissed as low budget trash. This is a story of independent cinema; a man who got things done regardless of the lack of funds. It’s this tenacity and likeability that makes his fate all the more tragic.

The Blu-ray release contains several entertaining stories cut from the finished documentary. These are rather substantial and interesting in their own right, including more background on Al’s father, who had a successful and controversial career as an actor in westerns in the dawn of cinema, and how the director inadvertently got connected to the Manson Family. The biggest ‘extra’ here though is one of Al’s films, included here in full (as this disc also makes up part of the mammoth Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection released by Severin). The Female Bunch was filmed in 1968 but not released until 1971 and features a rough-and-tumble group of ladies who have their own rules to their ranch hideout and are not afraid to uphold them. It marks one of the last screen appearances of Lon Chaney Jr, who appears bloated and gravel-voiced due to treatment for his throat cancer. It’s a tragic vision, but despite his relatively small part, he’s still a commanding presence. The film itself could be an extension of Russ Meyer’s Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill with its gender empowerment message but does stray rather gloriously into prime exploitation territory.

This is a documentary anyone interested in cinema should see. Al Adamson may not have been Fellini or Welles and never made anything that would wow the Academy, but his films hold an important place in history and his story is an important one to tell. David Gregory’s film treats the subject with respect and reverence throughout, and doesn’t resort to sensationalism in the unfortunate conclusion.

You can read our interview with the director here.