The Hammer Vault

2011, Author: Marcus Hearn, Publisher: Titan Books, Hardcover, 176 pages

Titan have been releasing books dedicated to Hammer studios for the last four years inclusive now, and it's become a bit of a tradition each Christmas for me in particular to be leafing through their latest outing.  The first three (The Hammer Story, Hammer Glamour, and The Art of Hammer) are all essential parts of the book collections of any Hammer - or even general cinema - fan.  The first thing I noticed about this one is that it is not in the same format: whereas the others were portrait style, this one is landscape (keeping more so in line with other 'Vault' books that are currently on the market).  There goes the relevance of the space I'd left on my shelf specifically for this one!  The second difference is that there's no dust jacket with this new book.  Otherwise initial thoughts on presentation are positive - the hardback cover is well designed and quality is very high throughout.

The point of the book is to chronologically present to the reader 'vault' materials on many of Hammer's better and lesser known movies, right from their first big genre success The Quatermass Xperiment, through to the present day for the revival movies Let Me In and The Resident.  This includes promotional artwork, front of house stills, newspaper cuttings, posters, photographs from behind the scenes, script pages (sometimes scrawled on), magazine covers, production sketches, letters, etc.  In fact just about anything you could think of.  All of this is laid out 'scrapbook' style with each film also represented by a few paragraphs of text providing some background history and other nice details.  Whilst nothing of this sort could ever be considered comprehensive (which would realistically be impossible anyway) it is beautifully presented, colourful, and insightful.  This is the sort of book you can leave lying around and pick up any time to look through randomly selected pages, either to read or just to pleasure your eyes.  One thing that I've derived from this publication in particular is a respected acknowledgement of Tom Chantrell's work.  Often Hammer would commission a poster based on an idea plus a title alone and Tom would draft something to promote the tentative production - these are fantastic works of art and I think worthy of a book alone should Titan/Hearn ever think there would be enough of an appreciative audience out there to get working on it.

Not necessarily the best in the series, this is nevertheless a gorgeous book and another essential release by Titan.  My only question now is, what on earth could they do for another Hammer book next year?

Night of the Creeps

1986, US, Directed by Fred Dekker
Colour, Running Time: 89 minutes
Review Source: Blu-ray, Region A, Sony; Video: 1.85:1 24fps 1080p, Audio: DTS HD

Distant space: a chase around an alien spacecraft results in the launching of a capsule containing some unexplained test project deep into the cosmos. 1950s, Earth: two lovers see a ‘meteorite’ crash in the nearby woods; the guy goes off to investigate it just in time to witness hundreds of slug-like creatures crawl from the impact site - he never returns. 1980s/the present: a motley pair of college outcasts, Chris and JC, decide to join a fraternity of popular dudes so Chris can impress the new girl of his creams, sorry, dreams: Cindy. The trouble is, their initiation prank involves obtaining a dead body and leaving it outside one of the student buildings. Their adventurous desire to impress brings them to the local science facility as they stumble upon a laboratory where a cadaver appears to be stored in a state of suspended animation. Fooling around with the controls they manage to unlock the chamber and decide this is the body they’ll use for the prank. Much to their shock the corpse opens its eyes - they panic and run (screaming like banshees...), but when the cops arrive at the scene they find the cryogenic specimen has ‘disappeared’. Meanwhile, outside the girls’ student quarters, Cindy sees a man staggering around by one of the windows; his head explodes and out crawl dozens of slug-like creatures. These things seem to have an attraction for gestating within human or animal brains leaving the host to walk around in virtual living death until the slugs are ready to escape into the outside world to find more hosts and therefore multiply even further…

Approached in a tongue-in-cheek manner the material functions adeptly on several levels, juxtaposing fun and frights whilst unfolding a well considered story that weaves a surprising number of its own narrative elements together. Its refusal to take itself overly seriously (indicated, for example, by naming the characters after genre directors that were popular at the time, and still are in some cases…) actually enhances the drama and tension in places. College dorks, Chris and JC, make for an amusing and endearing pair of leads that are easy to identify with for anyone who didn’t exactly fit in with the main crowd during their educational years, although I find Chris’s evolution from total nerd to hero a bit corny and implausible even in the context of this kind of movie. Embedded comfortably in the 80s the film might prove nostalgic for anyone who happened to be a teenager during the period. Delivering some of the best lines, Tom Atkins is brilliant as the cynical cop who hides a past that intricately plays an active part in the story. Dekker must have stretched the budget to its limits with the early sequence set on the spacecraft (which lasts a mere couple of minutes) followed by some excellent special effects work later on. Incorporating many elements of genre convention, from the walking dead to exploding heads and alien slugs, and combining them with a fast-paced adventure populated by great characters and some cool set-pieces, you get your money’s worth and Night of the Creeps remains a notable 80s B Movie that’s accumulated deserved cult status over the decades.

I don’t believe this even received a sell-through release on video in the UK - I purchased the tape in a rental-size box via mail order for £25 around 1992 and was glad I did as I watched it many times since. Following the surprise release of Dekker’s other fan favourite a few years ago, Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps was finally announced for not only DVD but Blu-ray as well - this was amazing news for myself and many other Creeps fans who had waited too long. Finally I could see this film as it was probably projected in theatres back in the 80s, possibly in better quality. The image, it goes without saying, is not the same as what you’d expect from a slick big budget film of the last decade or so but looks great as far as the source will allow. There’s plenty of detail and colour to saviour, the original aspect ratio is maintained, and it’s really like seeing the film for the first time. Wonderful! The real surprise is a full-blown DTS Master Audio surround track - it is limited but comes alive for the music and a plethora of sound effects. Eternal thanks, Sony! The film on the disc is the ‘director’s cut’ which basically ends differently to the theatrical edition and the cut on the original video tape. Not wishing to spoil anything it’s less polished but adds an interesting dimension to the outcome of the story. The original ending is there for your perusal, along with plenty of other extras, making this a fantastic Blu-ray Disc release of an adorable cult sci-fi horror that holds up well 25 years later. However, you‘ll have to import it as, just like in the video days, there‘s no off-the-shelf sign of it in the UK.

Dr Jekyll Versus The Werewolf

1972, Spain, Directed by Leon Klimovsky
Colour, Running Time: 83 minutes
Review Source: DVD, R2, Mondo Macabro; Video: Anamorphic 1.66:1, Audio: DD Mono

Somewhere in mid London (subtly hinted at with an opening shot of Big Ben…) a bunch of toffs are enjoying a little party where eminent hunter and host Kosta is showing off his collection of severed animal heads, which are boastful evidence of his bravely bloodthirsty exploits in foreign lands. The party is also attended to by Dr Jekyll, a practising doctor who jests about the existence of werewolves upon seeing one of the wolf heads. Kosta pines for his Hungarian homeland, somewhere in Transylvania apparently, and soon arranges a driving trip with his wife Justine (a woman who seems to be loved by all of the main male characters) to visit the village of the hunter’s origin. Upon arrival in the land lost in time they’re warned at a tavern not to stop by the old graveyard where Kosta says his family are buried.  Furthermore there’s talk of a nearby castle where the owner is a “monster”, also in the presence of one Ms Bathory… Needless to say the couple do not heed any warnings (he’s not travelled several hundred miles in an old Jag just to be scared off by some crazy villager) and wandering around the graveyard they’re attacked by bandits - known raiders that roam the hills in search of loot alongside a bit of female flesh. Kosta is brutally murdered in the process but Justine is saved by strapping Waldermar Daninsky who, exercising necessary self defence to the minimum, smashes a bandit’s head in with a heavy boulder. It soon materialises that the reclusive Daninsky has his own problems and each full moon brings about a werewolf transformation that he’s desperate to see the back of. Justine mentions that she knows of a great doctor in London and begs him to come back for treatment. Quickly falling in love with one another (this woman wastes no time clearly) they head off in a rush when they realise the angry villagers have formed a lynch mob and want Daninsky’s blood spread over the castle grounds. Escaping back to London the couple seek out the help of Dr Jekyll, who has the crack-headed idea of injecting Daninsky with the serum that his grandfather developed, turning the foreigner into Mr Hyde (as if he didn’t have enough shit on his plate), thereby somehow causing him and the werewolf to battle before an antidote is administered to leave a cured Daninsky… eh?!? They actually go ahead with this insane scheme and soon London is the alternating hunting ground of a nasty Mr Hyde and the bloodthirsty werewolf.

To say this is a mixing pot of a plethora of ideas is a bit of an understatement - characters routinely theorise about what’s going on with unrestrained imagination; one villager reckons that the castle is inhabited by Countess Bathory, an evil witch who, if you catch her eye, will curse you forever in a glance - that’s not how I remember the Bathory legend! There’s also mention of vampires upon revelation that Kosta wants to go back to Transylvania - with everything else going on it’s actually surprising that one didn’t show up. We even get a deformed leper who initially scares the snobby couple from England, later assisting Daninsky with such routine tasks as burying corpses. The settings for each act are similarly chaotic - we go from swinging seventies London to Transylvania, which seems like some medieval world where villagers are clothed in rags and sit in taverns with no electricity. Later on we’re back in modern London and Jekyll’s laboratory where we’re almost plunged into science fiction territory with flashing lights, strange sounds, and a strapped down guinea pig being transformed from one monster to another. Then, once Hyde has been on the move for a while, the streets of London are fog enshrouded and the attempted murder of a drunken bystander results in police whistles as if we’ve gone back a hundred years! All of this makes one shake the cranium in disbelief at times, but it also produces quite a pleasurable, if schizophrenic ride, through genre ideas that were either implemented in a sense of fun, or simply misunderstood by the writers. Having said all that, there are moments of acknowledgeable proficiency as displayed periodically by director Klimovsky in other films: the awakening of Justine in the centuries old castle and her subsequent meandering through the dark corridors by candlelight is exceedingly spooky, and similarly the locations used for Transylvania’s barren landscapes, its graveyard and castle, are incredibly cold and desolate. The windswept, intermittently snowy regions are the perfect backdrop for the half hour dark ages-style segment of the story that takes place there. The score is supplied by Antón García Abril, a composer known for his versatility as he worked in anything from operas to many a good Spanish horror film. His work here is nicely executed and enhances a number of sequences such as the aforementioned castle exploration.

The main problem for me is Daninsky’s werewolf - despite supposedly being the star of the show, the creature is frustratingly ineffectual here, staggering impotently about as if he doesn’t know what to do and lumbering towards victims with a distinct lack of velocity or aggression. The London disco set piece is a consequential lost opportunity - the werewolf appears in the club, panic ensues as everyone scrambles for the exit, and… that’s it! No massacre, no pile of torn up bodies, nothing! I think the problem is a combination of slow editing and Klimovsky’s absent knack for action. Hyde is actually more potent - a sinister individual who at least looks like he might cause violent havoc (and proving this at one point by strangling a prostitute with her own stocking). There’s lots to smile at in the film - I particularly like the way Justine goes off to Transylvania with one man and comes back after the former’s death with another, and nobody seems to bat an eyelid! Whilst not one of the greatest Spanish genre films around, there’s so much going on in Dr Jekyll Versus The Werewolf (or Dr. Jekyll Y El Hombre Lobo) it’s difficult not to find it a little bit endearing, even if it doesn’t really hit all of its copious targets. The wonderful Mondo Macabro rescued it from obscurity albeit in its domestic ‘clothed’ variety - admittedly unfortunate, however, just about all of the other boxes are ticked. Audio is provided as Spanish language (adequately translated with English subtitles), an original 1.66:1 aspect ratio (i.e. slightly window-boxed) is presented with very attractive image quality that stands up admirably to large screen projection, and a few extras include text history of Spanish horror and a twenty minute video interview with Paul Naschy. I believe the DVD is out of print so it may cost a bit to pick it up nowadays - even a couple of years ago I don’t think I could get it for less than ten or eleven pounds. Regardless, as a fan of Euro horror I consider this a cool disc to have in my collection and another plus for Mondo Macabro.

My Name is Bruce

2007, US, Directed by Bruce Campbell

Colour, Running Time: 84 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Anchor Bay; Video: 1.78:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS HD MA

Bruce Campbell is a B movie loser whose career has been on a downward spiral now for several years (this is the plot of the film by the way, not a biographical summary!) and his current project, Cave Alien 2, shows now sign of turning things around.  A few states away in the backwoods town of Goldlick, a group of foolish teenagers steal a relic from a Chinese cemetery, unleashing Samurai demon Guan, who predictably reaps bloody havoc on passers-by.  Campbell's biggest fan - one of the aforementioned teenagers - sees no other option but to kidnap the fading actor so that the once-chainsaw wielding superstar can put the ugly demon back in its grave.  Of course, Campbell, once released from the teen's car boot, initially thinks this is a birthday present set-up courtesy of his producer and heads off into battle, before making a sharp about-turn and heading with haste in the other direction when he realises what he's really been brought up against.

Lots of ideas from writer Mark Verheiden (Timecop, The Mask) are thrown into the mix to create a self-referential satire of Bruce Campbell himself, the actor (and director/producer here) willfully playing along.  The problem for me is that, while I think they could work if handled by a more appropriately skilled crew, the jokes largely fall flat.  Campbell is portrayed as a pretty repulsive person and despite this factor eventually serving the purpose of outlining the character arc that he follows (i.e. he gradually realises what his faults are and makes amends to win the day), he's probably  not the kind of person most of the audience can (or would want to) identify with and therefore it's hard to enjoy what's going on around/to him.  I personally think it would have worked better if he was a bummed out B movie actor, albeit a fairly nice guy (à la a Ben Stiller type of character) and someone who you would at least sympathise with.  Looking around at the opinions of others online, it seems I'm not necessarily in the majority but for me this film became a chore to sit through - the worst kind of movie: a comedy that's not funny - and I found myself actually getting a little irritated by Bruce; something that I've not experienced before watching any of his other movies.  One of those movies that's probably either going to work for you or it isn't.

Anchor Bay's UK Blu-ray Disc is similar to the stateside Image release, albeit without the comic book that was included in the case of the US version.  The main extras are an audio commentary from Campbell, its inclusion to be expected given his tendency to provide them for the better films that he's contributed his talents to in the past, plus an hour long making-of documentary.  There are a few other bits that are barely worth looking at.  Image quality of the film itself is average - at a glance it looks pretty good but there are a few very noticeable moments of macro blocking which are unacceptable in this day and age - it took me back to some of the early DVDs that I was picking up around 1998/9.  The audio track is reasonably well handled.  Anchor Bay have certainly not short-changed their audience in terms of extras (speaking of quantity at least), but the film leaves a lot to be desired I'm afraid.

Underworld

2003, US, Directed by Len Wiseman

Colour, Running Time: 139 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, EIV; Video: 2.39:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS

A rivalry between werewolves and vampires that began a millennium ago continues into the present day when it becomes apparent to the coven of vampires that a foreboding ‘lycan’ is killing off the bloodsuckers with a small army and a new weapon. Action vampiress Selene notices that the lycans appear to be pursuing what looks like an ordinary human called Michael and sets out to find out what’s going on - it turns out that Michael is blissfully ignorant himself, until it’s revealed that he’s the unwitting carrier of a unique gene that holds the key to a new hybrid species. Developing mutual attraction, Selene becomes the protector of Michael as both species indulge their interest in him for one reason or another, leading to a bloody subterranean showdown between the ancient rivals.

When the film was released a few years ago Underworld looked like little more than a popcorn foray into gothic/action horror, one the earlier examples of a contemporary generation that manifests itself to this day with the likes of the Twilight films. The (original) story appeared a little convoluted and hard to follow considering one would go into something like this expecting to temporarily detach the brain from consciousness and the accomplished visuals gave the impression of an emphasis of style over content. Clearly amassing some popularity, the film has spawned a couple of sequels (plus another on the way - Underworld Awakening, with Beckinsale back in the lead role) and has apparently proved to be quite influential several years later (contribution towards what is now an unnecessary proliferation of vampire TV and cinema). I always thought it was reasonably entertaining candy for the eyes at best, though that opinion has improved a little thanks to repeat viewings, and more so after finally seeing it on Blu-ray. The persistently dark visuals do certainly take centre stage, almost stealing the spotlight throughout, however the story has grown on me over the years. Kate Beckinsale had been around as an actress for a while but it was Underworld that granted her a certain degree of appeal to larger numbers of fans - this is mainly because she is utterly gorgeous as Selene, and dressed in a ridiculously tight spandex/leathery suit that would be welcome in most S&M dungeons (as well as the majority of bedrooms). It also had the unfortunate (from her perspective) side effect of pigeonholing the British actress to a degree, resulting in her repeatedly threatening to quit acting but never quite managing (ah, the lure of $$$!). The rest of the cast do an acceptable job of looking like the yuppie Goth outsiders they’re supposed to be. The action sequences are usually accompanied by machine gunfire exploding from all directions and despite promoting mild excitement these scenes do seem to be aimed mostly at the teen crowd. Special effects tend to be very good and include some excellent werewolf transformations amidst the copious body-dropping, although the revelation of the hybrid creature that feels like it should be climactic turns out to be a less than powerful disappointment of a monster that was built up by the script but has to have its butt saved by a lady. With a film such as this there are going to be shortcomings from anybody’s point of view, but it does create a tangible world of darkness where natural humans are rarely seen, incorporating characters wrapped up in their own little soap opera in between bouts of blowing each other away with limitless ammunition. The conclusion sets itself up nicely for the sequel that followed three years later.



Having watched this on VHS many full moons ago (panned and scanned!), followed by DVD on a few occasions since, I actually enjoyed Underworld more on Blu-ray than before, probably due to the noticeable enhancements to the image quality. There are fluctuating grain levels but the detail is improved to a point where individual hairs on Beckinsale’s beautiful head are often quite vivid. There isn’t a great range to the palette, which largely consists of blues and blacks, but I suspect the original cinematography is fairly faithfully reproduced. I was disappointed by the lone inclusion of a non-HD DTS track, meaning that the Blu-ray doesn’t offer much of an upgrade audio-wise. This track is foolishly referred to as ‘Dolby Digital 5.1’ in the menu system and EIV’s ignorance extends to the cover details that claim this is ‘anamorphic widescreen’ - anybody who knows anything about the technical specifications of DVD and Blu-ray knows that this refers to the electronic compression/decompression technique employed on DVDs to provide increased resolution for the benefit of widescreen VDU owners - it has no relevance in Blu-ray terminology (though you’ll still see reviewers erroneously say that Blu-rays are presented in anamorphic widescreen) which delivers a resolution most suitable to widescreen displays by default. The disc also seems to be missing an audio commentary, although the rest of the useful extras are still there alongside the fact that the film is presented in its extended cut. EIV took an age to understand the difference between VHS and DVD, so it’s not a surprise to find them slow taking full advantage of superior Blu-ray technology (witness their 'HD' disc of The Crow...) - for example, the US Sony disc comes with an uncompressed 5.1 PCM track. Despite the fact that the release could be better, Underworld on Blu-ray still beats the DVD with the marked improvement in picture quality, and I found the movie itself highly watchable in high definition.

Exorcist II: The Heretic

1977, US, Directed by John Boorman

Colour, Running Time: 113 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R2, Warner; Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic, Audio: DD Mono

Four years after the supposed exorcism of the demon possessing a young girl by the name of Regan, Father Lamont is assigned to investigate the event to determine whether the priest that was killed at the time was legitimate in his actions. Lamont attends a centre for children with difficulties where Regan is being helped overcome her trauma by Dr Tuskin, a woman who is pioneering the use of a ‘synchroniser’ device that permits a hypnotist to view the same memories as their hypnotised subject. With Lamont present Tuskin takes Regan back to the event of 1973, at which point Tuskin begins to experience irregular heart palpitations that threaten her life. Believing he knows what’s going on Lamont steps in to ‘pull out’ Lamont from Regan’s regressed memory. It becomes a disturbance to him to realise that a demon called Pazuzu is still attempting to break through into the physical world using Regan’s unwitting mind, body and soul.

The infamous first film was an international success of course, something that was bound to result in a follow up sooner or later. Utilising different writers and director on this project would inevitably produce a different film altogether, and that proved not to be in its favour either. Exorcist II straddles a thick line between being a potentially scary and intelligent movie, possibly in a similar fashion to The Omen a year before it, and being a ridiculous hamfest that can’t get enough right. Too often it falls into the latter category. Richard Burton was brought in to play Father Lament, and lament we should have because his performance here is an over-the-top joke most of the time. Not helped by some of the lines he’s forced to deliver. This is a perfect example of someone attempting to be deadly serious throughout but coming across as a complete prat instead - Patrick Troughton would have (and did) do the same thing with far more potent results. Burton’s hard-edged voice suited something like Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds but here seems at odds with the rest of the cast. Linda Blair returns as Regan natch, now several years older and several times as hot! Her desires to become a critically relevant actress were sadly never to be - she went on to star in the rape-revenge exploitation flick Savage Streets, and average supernatural non-frighteners such as Hell Night and Witchcraft (aka Witchery) but, whilst still vocationally active, I’m sure her career is done no favours by roles in the likes of The Blair Bitch Project! Anyway, she’s functional here though at least is pleasing to look at - one of the few plus points in Exorcist II. What is both compelling and utterly potty is Regan’s possessed equivalent, a poignant creation in The Exorcist to be transformed here into a weirdo fancy dress failure that misses the mark, although not by much. With perhaps a more perceptive director behind the reins (John Boorman was never meant to shoot horror pictures), this film could have perhaps hit a few more of its many targets. One area where its ambition is evident but ultimately not fully realised is a brief exploration of science/religion debates where Lament’s theistic beliefs clash with Tuskin’s resolute attitude towards pragmatic explanation of everything. There are a few other pseudo-intellectual contributions to the script, alas not enough to save the project overall. Similarly there are moments in the African sequences that are quite good in their elaboration of a strange world (I particularly like the idea that one spiritual place has to be reached by climbing between two frightening looking cliffs, the drop below like something out of a nightmare). So, whilst the content itself is not complete rubbish, the execution largely is. Despite this, a shambles was not nearly enough to kill off such a lucrative and notorious franchise as there were several more instalments (the third chapter itself not being bad at all actually) that were to be unleashed on to those wishing to commit self harm.

Warner’s UK DVD is presented with an anamorphic image containing plenty of SD detail, albeit one lacking contrast (that can be fixed to an extent with adjustments to your AV equipment). Alongside this is a functional mono track with an absence of real impact. There is (as bonus material) an alternative opening segment that wasn’t used for the main feature, and basically has Richard Burton narrating what brings him to his present circumstances, with some shots from the original film to outline this. The theatrical trailer is worth a watch because it’s completely off its head - manic disco music accompanies almost the entire story edited into its two minute timeslot. The film should have killed the series dead, as the first one was the only excellent one of the lot. However, whilst The Exorcist remains a landmark piece of cinema, part 2 is notable for all the wrong reasons unfortunately.

Survival of the Dead

2009, US/Canada, Directed by George A Romero
Colour, Running Time: 90 minutes
Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Optimum; Video: 2.39:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS HD MA

Several days after the dead begin to walk a long running feud on a secluded island results in stubborn rogue Seamus being banished because of his relentless, apathetic drive to despatch all of the island’s wandering corpses, despite objections from family members who refuse to accept that their loved ones are ‘gone’. A few weeks later, back on the mainland, a military man (Alan Van Sprang, playing the same character as that in Diary of the Dead) and his small team of devotees go AWOL and decide the only way to escape the ensuing mayhem is to find an island which they can claim for themselves. Heading out to the harbour after seeing an internet broadcast by Seamus they run into a virtual ambush that sees them the victors. Somehow Seamus survives the body count and manages to beguile and tag along with the team of soldiers as they head out to Seamus’ home island by ferry. There they run head-on back into the same feud that Seamus is still effectively integral to, now somewhat mutated by the fact that half of the populace are currently dead and walking around in a threatening manner…

For those not in the know, this is Romero’s sixth official zombie movie, following fairly hot on the heals of Diary of the Dead (and paying cool homage to that movie at one point), which itself trailed the fairly popular Land of the Dead. Despite this being a Romero production, written and directed by the man who gave us several genuine classics decades ago, I find this very difficult to consider as part of the official ‘Dead’ series, and the same goes for its aforementioned predecessors too. Almost in similar fashion to how Star Wars fans think of George Lucas’s prequels, these last three films of Romero’s are just not in the same class as the originals (which I only watched about a week ago, for approximately the eleventh time over the years). Land of the Dead I really wanted to like at the time, and gave it the benefit of the doubt by watching it several times over the coming years thinking that perhaps mine was a premature reaction akin to that which Day of the Dead received from a large portion of the fan base twenty years before. I finally gave up trying to like it, and I’m sorry to say I’m not even going to give Survival… the same opportunity. The script is of comparable quality to Land of the Dead (i.e. functional but out of touch and displaying the need to point everything out to a patronised audience) and Romero has clearly lost his feel for extracting superb performances from relatively unknown actors. This newer film is mundane in almost every way - it doesn’t look better than much else at the moment, there are very few original ideas in here, and the gore is nice but we saw all this before (and whilst I’m not a ‘CG-knocker’ like many film lovers out there, the man does appear to be utilising computer graphics for the bloody bits a bit too often - is Tom Savini not available anymore?). I came away from the film thinking, what was the point? It’s all just okay: if Romero’s series were being made for TV I could understand - Survival… gives the impression of having a storyline that’s written for such a series rather than having what should be a monumental impact. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t consider this to be a bad film in any sense, but it has no right to be filed alongside Dawn of the Dead (I’m even loathe to mention the first three masterworks in the same review) and could have been shot by any number of very average directors. Some of the poster art and Blu-ray/DVD covers for this film have been pretty cool (see above for example), but really that’s the only cool thing about this outing. Taking the lead from earlier films, there is further indication of an evolutionary aspect whereby some of the islanders have the idea that they can retrain the corpses to eat animals rather than humans - possibly suggesting that ultimately they will turn (back) into us in some form or another, and also resulting in the film’s goriest sequence. Other than that, this seed of an idea doesn’t really go anywhere useful. Romero tries to suggest he’s in touch with the times by, for example, having the youth who tags along claiming that PCs are out of date as he produces an iPod (or something of the kind) but it just doesn’t wash. Perhaps the storyline suggests that people aren’t willing to get along with their neighbours and that less than amicable situations can lead to ongoing disagreements that can eventually result in death (and beyond in this case); perhaps also Romero relies too much on his now infamous ‘social commentaries’ these days rather than simply trying to make a great film.

This very ordinary movie is matched by an even more ordinary disc from Optimum - whilst the audio and visual reproduction of this digitally shot movie is quite nice in HD, there is absolutely zilch in way of extras. A highly unusual move nowadays and the sceptic may have suspected a better release at some point down the road, a notion confirmed by the eventual release of an ‘Ultimate Undead Edition’ by Magnolia in the US - this Blu-ray features a commentary, documentary, intro by Romero, a short spin-off film, featurettes, etc. Despite that, the fairly priced Optimum disc will have to suffice until something better is announced for the UK, though I’m more disappointed by the fact that, in an age of chilling movies like Triangle, the downright disturbing Martyrs, or even the rocking remake of Dawn of the Dead, Romero’s sluggish dead-fest just doesn’t cut it.

Psycho

1960, US, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

B&W, Running Time: 109 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Universal; Video: 1.85:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS MA

There’s almost certainly nobody out there who hasn’t already seen this seminal piece of work from one of the field’s most acknowledged and fascinating directors, but just on the off chance I’ll explain the early stages of plot very briefly and without spoilers: an otherwise reasonable woman spontaneously steals a large sum of money from her estate agent employer and heads out to California to meet up with her boyfriend. Being confronted by a cop on the way who can smell something wrong she exchanges her car to divert attention away from herself. After a couple of days driving the exhausted woman is caught in a storm at night and leaves the highway to stop at a lonely motel. Here she meets the manager Norman Bates, a reserved and possibly deep young man who is ruled over by a psychologically deteriorating mother. He looks after the outlaw but soon there is a brutal murder committed on the premises that Norman feels obliged to clear up after and essentially cover up for. It would seem that the owners of the motel hide a disturbing past that collides with the unfortunate arrival of a young woman who has seen the error of her ways, possibly a little too late.

There is extensive analysis of this film elsewhere on the web and in literature so I’ll cover my own opinion with as much brevity as I can. Psycho is almost the grandfather of the slasher film, preceding Halloween (the official birth of the sub-genre) by around eighteen years. Of course there is not the explicit violence on display that would become a staple of the slasher film (especially up into the contemporary era) and there is significantly more of an emphasis on character examination than in even the best that said genre has to offer, but identification marks are present that would mutate over the next few years to become things like, dare I say it, I Know What You Did Last Summer… Anthony Perkins alerted the world to his presence as Norman Bates, a character who exhibits nervousness and a neurotic tendency to hide things, traits that are carried out by Perkins almost too convincingly. Indeed after many viewings the character is incredibly intriguing to watch during some of the long dialogue sequences between him and several of the other people that come by the hotel during the course of the story. Generally I think the other actors do a really good job too, though the side is let down slightly by the iron-jawed boyfriend hero played by John Gavin, a guy who could have contributed to any fifties sci-fi movie quite nicely. The film is shot appropriately in a noir style that elevates the contrast between dark and light and maintains the moodiness while the distinguishing score by Bernard Herrmann is frequently unnerving, and often seems to ape the sound of a knife being quickly driven the through the air… This man made his debut with Citizen Kane; if ever there was an explosive way to begin one’s career that was probably it, but for me he cemented his talents with the likes of Psycho and Cape Fear a couple of years later. With a daring exploration of psychopathic mental breakdown and the manifestation of Hitchcock’s morbid sense of humour combined with a cinematic brutality that was at that point almost unheard of, Psycho deconstructed boundaries in film and remains a powerful viewing experience to this day.

Universal have released Hitchcock’s film to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, and they seem to have knocked the ball out of the park! There is no comparison between this Blu-ray Disc and its former appearance on DVD - the image on BD is sharp and almost always vivid with non-intrusive grain. Blacks are deep with general greyscales maintained at balanced levels. If ever anyone thinks that old films can’t look good enough to warrant a Blu-ray release then they need to see a comparison between this Universal disc and the DVDs before it - it’s glorious to watch, and a testament to the fact that Blu-ray represents what films should look. This is how I imagine it might have looked when originally seen in cinemas and stamps on anything previous formats have had to offer. Sound is thoughtfully provided in two options: the original hiss-free mono track, and a careful recreation of the soundtrack in surround. The latter is actually very good, keeping dialogue to the front centre whilst opening the music up across the whole field (embellishing its impact), and spreading effects where most appropriate (the storm that Janet Leigh finds herself in is a good example of this, with rain surrounding the viewer). Of course there will always be purists who don’t agree with this kind of modernisation of an old movie’s soundtrack, but nobody can complain with the presence of both options. The film is accompanied by a plethora of extras, including commentary, documentaries, analyses, and an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents based on a Roald Dahl novel. This is a truly brilliant disc from Universal and an example of how to do it right - film fans should have this in their collection. It also happens to be an example of why Blu-ray is the film lover’s dream - it gives us the movie in a manner that surely can’t be bettered on any medium, imitating its source as closely as can be desired (i.e. any greater resolution is surely only going to give us more grain?). I bought the limited edition tin and this attractive steel box is preferable over the standard case in appearance/feel, and because it contains a booklet with further information/images from the production.

Upcoming UK Blu-rays

Blu-rays on interest on their way to UK shores in 2012 include:

Troll Hunter
Final Destination 5 in Real3D and 2D options
The Terminator (finally we can complete our Terminator Blu-ray collections!)
Apollo 18
Paranormal Activity 3
A Lonely Place To Die
Hostel Part 3 (? I didn't know there was one!)
Hybrid 3D (from Afterdark)
Dark Star (John Carpenter - how about Prince of Darkness?)
Fright Night (remake - Real3D and 2D options)
Apocalyse Now (Theatrical and Redux)
Spidey 1 and 2 separate (only available on Blu hitherto as part of the boxed set)
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (the Del Toro presentation)
The Awakening
Teen Wolf
Misery (probably bare-bones looking at the RRP)
Dracula Prince of Darkness (Looking forward to this on in HD especially)
Plague of the Zombies (Yes!  Even more so)
The Reptile
Repo Man
Separate releases of the Alien movies, plus a new movie-only pack by the looks of it
Child's Play
Oh, and Four Flies on Grey Velvet from Shameless at the end of Jan... (!)

With the US territories producing some great cult films too, 2012 is looking pretty good already.

Nekromantik

1987, Germany, Directed by Jorg Buttgereit

Colour, Running Time: 75 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R1, Barrel; Video: 1.33:1, Audio: DD Mono

Amassing a notable degree of underground notoriety in the late eighties, Nekromantik was/is a film that refused to hold back in any sense, whether referring to its onscreen depiction of visceral gruesomeness, its rarely explored concept, or the downright bleakness of the story at hand. Rob is a bit of a loser who can’t hold down a job - somehow he just doesn’t fit in with the average group of people, of which there are surreptitious reasons for. His current role as ‘street cleaner’ involves removal from site of dead bodies after various unexpected incidents such as car accidents, suicides, accidental murders, etc. What his workmates don’t know is that he thieves bits of bodies (e.g. internal organs) whenever he sees the opportunity, taking them home to store in jars of formaldehyde. Surprisingly, he’s not a loner - his live-in girlfriend shares the same morbid passion. And this passion is granted vivid manifestation when he manages to get a complete corpse back to the apartment - the couple proceed to make sickening love to each other and the putrescent mess that lies on the bed. But his antisocial nature at work soon gets him an instant dismissal, causing his girlfriend some stress at the fact that he won’t now be able to obtain fresh cadavers and the like - she swiftly departs taking the rotting body with her. Rob’s mind descends into a turmoil and his life spirals further out of the grasp of whatever control he ever even had.

This film is something that you view very differently as you age, with opinion shifting between perversely screwed up entertainment to feeling downright depressed at the atrocities on sight and in mind. The infamous corpse-fu**ing sequence is shot with various optical effects obscuring the activity somewhat but there is enough there to render it pretty horrific (if one must be a necrophiliac then surely it would be more pleasant to get hold of a body that wasn’t rotting down to the bone!), and as it remains hung on the wall between bouts of ‘love’ making its dirty fluid drips into bowls beneath - with that and the jars of internal organs, etc, littering the shelves, the place must reek to Hell. Rob’s slide further into existential instability is accompanied and symbolised by interspersions of animal violence (the virtually unwatchable slaughter and skinning of a rabbit) and dreams where two lovers run through a field in slow motion tossing intestines to one another. All of this is accompanied with some of the most downbeat and devastating acoustic music ever heard on film: this stuff brings you spiritually to your knees. Rob’s destruction of the cat he buys to appease his girlfriend (thankfully the death not actually visible in this instance) is enough to break your soul. The eventual and inevitable resolution of his predicament of lost love is something you’ll never have seen in cinema before, and you’ll hope never to see again. The message seems to be that Life is stripped down to its primordial essentials and there is no God in the universe and no saviour from our journey to death and the decomposing shambles we are doomed to become afterwards. Admittedly amateurish in places, Nekromantik is nevertheless not a film any sensitive person is likely to enjoy, but it does elevate itself to the level of the unforgettable with its sheer audacity, visceral intensity, guts (no pun intended), and utterly bleak nihilism.

Barrel’s DVD was released around 2001 and remains the sole disc worth picking up, though it’s long out of print. Presenting the fullframe version of the film about as well as possible on home video (it was shot on Super 8 so I doubt even Blu-ray could do any better with this primitive material) the image is as clear as it needs to be, especially if, like me, you originally experienced this film on bootleg VHS tape in horrendous condition. There are also loads of extras present (including one of Buttgereit’s insane 8mm shorts) making this a true collector’s edition. Not a film for the masses, or even the majority of horror fans, but something that has stamped its dirty mark on humanity and, for better or worse, remains indelibly in the minds of all who have witnessed it.

Splinter

2008, US, Directed by Toby Wilkins

Colour, Running Time: 83 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Icon; Video: 2.39:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: Dolby True HD

From the brain of London visual effects practitioner Toby Wilkins (who also directed Grudge 3) comes a creature feature with a minimal cast and limited locations – ideal for a small budget where you want to see it all up on screen in the form of monsters and gore.  Vacationing couple Seth and Polly abandon their ideas of camping when their tent malfunctions and head off to find a motel.  Stopping to aid a girl at the roadside they’re taken hostage by the spaced out druggie and her overly angered boyfriend.  They pull in at a petrol station unawares that someone has been killed there by an organism that takes over a body by feeding on blood and propelling the adopted corpse towards anything else of similar nutrition.  They’re soon trapped, the druggie girl is killed by the organism, and there seems to be few options to allow them escape from their claustrophobic environment.

The creature/organism thing is the film’s main selling point here, everything else being a by-the-numbers story of a group trapped in a small place by a supernatural monstrosity.  Recreated with superb special effects it’s a truly horrific and morbid creation that the makers are bound to be proud of – the titular word referring to the many spikes that each overtaken body produces as the thing ‘metabolises’ via the consumption of blood and attempts to spread to others.  The actors also do a fine service, despite being a little irritating at first.  Those are the primary good points.  What doesn’t work in the film’s favour, and a factor that increasingly infuriates me in contemporary film-making, is the apparently creative decision to use ‘shaky cam’.  Handheld cameras were never meant to be like this (witness the beautiful camerawork of Kubrick’s The Shining), where so many shots are simply waving about randomly as if photographed by an epileptic with Parkinson’s disease.  Watching on a large screen only amplifies this problem.  A camera is generally there to allow the viewer to witness the story being told – a first person perspective utilised in the likes of Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield is another matter.  As soon as the camerawork draws your attention to it, it takes you out of the film, and in this case it could have been a tense, frightening experience; instead I sat there gobsmacked most of the time at how insanely random many of the movements appeared to be.  No skill, no composition, no thought.  A real shame because they could have been on to a good little Thing-alike here (though I realise some reviewers have been less perturbed by the technique given the odd rave opinion).  So what you have is effectively some great ideas and sound execution marred by deplorable camera work.

The UK Blu-ray looks tremendous (I believe it was shot using an Arriflex digital camera, which records at 4:3 and is then cropped to the desired ratio in post production, sort of like a digital version of Super 35).  Colour is vibrant and attractive while detail (when the image isn’t waving around like a dying fish) is realistically high and consistently sharp.  Similarly, the Dolby True-HD audio is very strong, with much happening at the rear (there is also an LPCM stereo track).  In the package as bonus material you’ll find audio commentaries and a few featurettes, none of which are very long.  A fantastic AV presentation with an average set of extras for a frustrating film that could have been more.

Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except (Upcoming Blu-ray)

Synapse have announced a new Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of the cult Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except (AKA Stryker's War), which features the Raimi brothers in acting roles and was directed by Josh Becker.  The pack is due on March 13th 2012.  I'm not a huge fan of the film myself though it's great that Synapse are putting out cult fan stuff such as this (personally I'd like to see Street Trash from them on Blu...).  Anyway the transfer will be a full HD restoration (scanned at 2K apparently) from negatives, and the disc will also feature the original 8mm short, a featurette, two audio commentaries, a Bruce Campbell interview, deleted scenes (with comm), etc.  A very well specified set with attractive (reversible) cover artwork from one of my favourite companies - check them out here.  I hope to be picking their new Intruder BD/DVD up soon.  They've also recently released Frank Henenlotter's Frankenhooker, though I'll be waiting for comparison to take place between that and the upcoming Arrow Blu-ray before deciding which one to buy.  Henenlotter fans should check out the Something Weird Blu-ray of Basket Case, which is a superb presentation of one of the genre's most original and insane films.

Don Sharp RIP

Unfortunately Don Sharp, the director of Kiss of the Vampire, has passed away at the ripe old age of 89.  Director of a handful of Hammer films (including Rasputin) and one of the better episodes of the Hammer House of Horror TV series, as well as a few of The Avengers episodes, Sharp has made a reasonable mark on the genre.  You can read our review of one of his best films, Witchcraft, right here.  Condolences to his family/friends.

House of the Devil

2009, US, Directed by Ti West

Colour, Running Time: 95 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Metrodome; Video: 1.78:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS-MA

Heading into House of the Devil somewhat blindly I was admittedly expecting a traditional haunted house movie, having avoided reading much in way of reviews simply because I liked the look of it and didn’t want too much revealed before seeing it. Without spoiling much it’s more of a movie that’s ultimately about devil worship and ritual sacrifice, a world that Samantha, the young college student who is onscreen almost throughout, unwittingly gets herself tangled up in. Looking for some survival cash Samantha finds an advertisement for a babysitter role out in the countryside. On an evening happening to coincide with a widely publicised lunar eclipse, Sam persuades her friend Megan to drive her out to the place, which turns out to be a creepy old house near a cemetery. Meeting the strange old owner of the house it turns out the ‘babysitter’ advert wasn’t entirely truthful and the resident couple in fact want someone to make sure the lady’s mother is okay while they go out for the evening. Megan is suspicious of the whole thing but is persuaded to arrange collection of her friend around midnight after a substantial amount of money is offered to Sam for just four hours of vigil. After some time alone downstairs Sam starts looking around the house but sees no sign of the mother, however things start happening to suggest not all is normal in the household - Sam’s imagination may be overly active given the mystical climate of the night (and the fact that Night of the Living Dead is on TV!) but it’s clear there’s an air of uncanny discomfort in the isolated house.

Most of the film does take place within the creepy titular building and there’s a surprisingly slow build up before any nasty stuff starts happening. I do generally like slow developments in a story personally, as it provides opportunity to appreciate the hell that eventually breaks loose, and its with this latter aspect that I have small issues - after all happens it feels a tad anti-climactic, without a solid point to acknowledge. There is a generous dose of atmosphere, plus the central performance (by Jocelin Donahue) is quite likeable and proficient, reminding me a little of Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. There are amusing nods to the genre with the emergence (sometimes brief) of several cast members who’ve appeared in movies you’ve probably already seen: Mary Woronov was a genre regular from the likes of the funky Night of the Comet, to the not so funky Chopping Mall; Dee Wallace was of course in The Howling, Cujo, and a million other things (she’s still pretty prolific); Tom Noonan played one monster in Manhunter, and another kind in Monster Squad. Certainly a fun cast to help elevate the lower budget movie to the realms of the credible. What the director and his team have commendably managed to achieve is to create an incredibly authentic late seventies/early eighties vibe and appearance - you could really be fooled into thinking this had been shot in the around 1980 rather than a couple of years ago. Overall an efficient film that I think (after one viewing) needed a bit more chaos to balance out the slower pace of the first hour; as some films take time to grow on you it’s something I’ll return to possibly in a year or so.

A specially commissioned VHS tape of House of the Devil was produced in the US to celebrate the film’s encapsulation of seventies/early eighties horror, apparently the first VHS to be commercially released in several years. I believe some time back Dark Sky (the US distributor) were doing a pretty cool VHS/DVD bundle that could be picked up by more dedicated fans. More interested in the best possible A/V presentation I opted for the movie on Blu-ray Disc. The 1080p/24 frames per second Blu-ray transfer looks very good with plenty of detail, though darker scenes are a bit swamped with black. Viewers will undoubtedly notice that there’s a fair amount of grain - some may be unhappy about this, however, it is to be expected more so than usual when a film is shot on 16mm (an unusual choice nowadays, but one I’m sure is deliberate given the objective). I still think it looks better than DVD, so once you get used to the grain it’s no real problem. The sound mix is less retro - DTS-HD makes sure there’s plenty going on with loud music effects often coming from behind and edging up the tension a bit. I certainly enjoyed the higher resolution sound mix myself (plus there are some nice music choices along the way). Extras include some deleted scenes, a 14 minute ’shooting’ documentary, trailer, plus two audio commentaries. Generally a good package of a film that will work well for some, yet need more time for others I suspect.

Devils of Darkness

1965, UK, Directed by Lance Comfort
Colour, Running Time: 88 minutes
Review Source: DVD, R1, Fox; Video: Anamorphic 1.85:1, Audio: DD Mono

Prologue: we get a glimpse into the past of some foreign land where a vampire (parading by the name of Count Sinstre!) curses the local gypsy community with his malevolent presence. Choosing one of the more nubile specimens to be his bride (presumably this being nothing to do with the titillating dance she performed just moments prior) he swiftly drains the life from her, to the horror of her genuine newly acquired husband, before granting her shell with undead re-animation so that her now pitiful existence is entirely focussed on serving him from that point on. Jumping forward to the sixties, a few friends are enjoying either general tourism or potholing trips in a French village. Whilst tunnelling underground a couple of them discover two coffins, one of which is empty, the other revealing an emerging hand! Of course not only does the adventurer quickly disappear but also so does the female friend of Paul, one of the men staying at the hotel. In the place of his abducted friend, Paul finds a bat-shaped talisman lying on the floor, unbeknownst to him this being an important part of a ritual that the aforementioned vampire is soon to hold whilst accompanied by his growing posse of hexed followers. Back in England the sceptical Paul attempts to find out more about people who believe in supernatural forces such as witches and the like. What he doesn’t realise is that Sinsitre is also in town, looking for the stolen amulet as well as a little revenge to appease his discontent. Paul befriends an elegant and solipsistic woman at a party before even she is lured in by Sinistre’s hypnotic advances, though this time for sacrificial purposes…

Decidedly anaemic in terms of sex and violence and living in the shadow of Hammer‘s output of the time, Devils of Darkness is a reasonably efficient albeit ploddingly paced take on the vampire theme, entwining ideas of what was then increasingly popular satanic worship practices. The film tends to (leisurely) explore fears of devil-worship through a desire (represented by the thoughts/actions of the main character) to find sense in a practice increasingly at odds with a scientifically propelled new world. William Sylvester makes a decent mark as said central character Paul, a man whose rational mind is thrown off course by the barrage of strangeness that comes his way - you may remember Sylvester for his prominent role as Dr Floyd in Kubrick’s 2001. On the other hand I can’t make up my mind whether the campy Frenchman Hubert Noël is an asset to the film as Sinistre. I get the impression the production team were taking Hammer’s lead by introducing hints of sex and bright red blood at various intervals - Paul’s new London girlfriend is quite a sleek and voluptuous thing, baring as much flesh as the producers dared (which is not that much, believe me), and it’s no wonder Sinstre’s wife gets a tad jealous when she sees his new ‘acquisition’! Making fine use of the Eastman process, this colourfully shot film (transferred well for DVD) is talky and lacklustre is many respects, but does adequately demonstrate a couple of the fears of the time with some thought. Perhaps a more lively approach could have embedded this slightly deeper into the annals of cinema history, although at the hands of tired director Lance Comfort this would never be - this film was the end of his cinematic career and pretty much the end of his life (he died just a year later).

Witchcraft

1964, UK, Directed by Don Sharp

B&W, Running Time: 80 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R1, Fox; Video: 1.33:1, Audio: DD Mono

In the name of Progress a building contractor has an ancient cemetery bulldozed to make way for a new complex, against the wishes of the Whitlock family whose ancestors are buried there. Wrapped up in the building project is Bill Lanier, the head of a family who has traditionally been at odds over the centuries with the Whitlocks. His involvement brings him into conflict with an ageing Morgan Whitlock, the main person who is vehemently opposed to the reuse/relocation of the graveyard despite nobody having been buried there for aeons. While this domestic bickering is going on, one of the upturned coffins on the building site is revealed to be open, and from it has emerged a long-dead woman - a subject of the aforementioned arguments and someone famed for her witchcraft practice back in darker ages, and the fact that she was buried alive for her crimes. Before long the contractor who had the Whitlocks’ cemetery plots ripped up in the first place is drowning in his own bath, then the old lady of the rival Lanier family inexplicably drives herself off the edge of a cliff - the resurrected witch would appear to be extracting sinister revenge using uncanny powers of mental projection and psychological manipulation.

Don Sharp’s Witchcraft is comprised of a strong cast belting out their lines as if convinced by the proceedings, especially in the cases of Jack Hedley as main family man Bill Lanier and Lon Chaney as Morgan Whitlock. The latter, despite looking podgy and old, actually puts in a surprisingly aggressive performance that really grants his character an air of uncompromising intimidation. A sweet looking Diane Clare (from Hammer’s Plague of the Zombies) makes an appearance too as Morgan’s niece, someone who has forged a covert relationship with one of the Whitlocks adding an extra touch of complexity to the family feud. Sumptuously shot in Black & White this is a great example of the gothic chiller brought into the modern day (well, the sixties) mixing both worlds quite adeptly. At a glance resembling Barbara Steele in Black Sunday the witch who is accidentally returned from the grave is a creepy creation, one who wanders around quite mute but causing death in her wake, usually through some sort of mentally projected suggestion and/or the use of voodoo dolls. Her awakening is one of the film’s highlights: as Bill is surveying the damage during a nocturnal expedition to the graveyard he keeps thinking he can hear a sound coming from the upturned coffins, a quiet moaning in the dead of night - enough to make anybody jump in the car and rapidly exit I should imagine!

Coupled with Devils of Darkness under the ‘Midnight Movies’ monicker (adopted by Fox following the acquisition of most of MGM‘s home video distribution rights in 2006), Witchcraft is the better of the two by some margin. The pacing is improved, acting uniformly more interesting, execution higher in atmosphere. The link between the two conceptually lies first and foremost in the portrayal of a group of devil-worshippers at the heart of each story. As a further and less obvious connection, it’s amusing to note that Leslie Nielson lookalike Victor Brooks plays an inspector in both films. In fact the actor seemed to be typecast as police authority figures but this clearly stems from his credible ability in such roles. The DVD transfer is very good as far as the video/audio quality is concerned, however I believe the image is cropped from a widescreen ratio (of 1.66:1) to fullscreen. This is unfortunate but it’s far from unwatchable. Nevertheless, the double bill has always been reasonably priced and for one spooky chiller coupled with a fairly average one it’s certainly not bad value.

Spirits of the Dead

1968, France/Italy, Directed by Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim

Colour, Running Time: 121 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Arrow; Video: 1.85:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: PCM Mono

Histoires Extraordinaire (or Spirits of the Dead as AIP re-titled it) is quite an unconventional anthology horror movie filmed in 1967, featuring three, almost experimental, adaptations of Poe stories from three well known European directors (Vadim, Malle, and Fellini respectively). They’re not particularly horrifying but there is an air of mystery about them, plus they’re particularly artistic explorations of Poe’s tales of the weird and supernatural. Episode 1, Metzengerstein, relates the fate of a hedonistic woman who becomes attracted to a man - her cousin - living in a nearby castle. When her invite to an evening of entertainment (and probable debauchery) is turned down she extracts revenge by burning down his stables (he’s a horse lover), unwittingly killing the object of her dissatisfaction in the process. After this she develops an unnatural fixation with a horse herself, something that will eventually seal her fate. Vadim’s story is sexy (featuring Jane Fonda in an array of rather amazing costumes) but somewhat wayward, disjointed and protracted. Poe’s poetic prose is reflected in the material developed for the screen to an extent, and would have benefited from some ruthless tightening (I’m guessing each director had a predetermined time slot to fill seeing as they all last around the forty minute mark).

Episode 2, William Wilson, is an intriguing look at a sadistic man with an apparent doppelganger that appears whenever his cruel nature reaches excessive heights. Callous from childhood, Wilson appears to meet his match at a casino-environment when femme fatale Brigitte Bardot challenges him to a card game that lasts all night. When she runs out of money the final round claims her as his slave, but once again the mysterious double appears to put paid to his unethical plans, resulting in a duel to the death between them. Offering no real explanation to help us comprehend what/who the double is and where it/he came from, William Wilson captures a suitable air of mystery alongside its inherent moral commentary. Episode 3, Toby Dammit, skips time to a sort of twisted version of the modern era (à la A Clockwork Orange) whereby a perpetually inebriated celebrity reveals his antipathy towards the world, humankind, and - possibly subconsciously - himself. Following a series of escapades that result in him speeding through a surreal version of Rome in a Ferrari, he finally stumbles upon Satan, the image of whom he has endured prophetic visions of up until that point. Fellini’s final piece famously showcases Terence Stamp’s convincingly deranged performance as a lost, cynical drunk. The director’s approach to the material is exceedingly eccentric and artfully manifested, something which would probably be expected by followers of his work and offering a suitable contrast to the segments preceding it. People who have seen/reviewed Spirits of the Dead generally favour Toby Dammit over the first two parts. Personally I found something to appreciate in all of them, though …Dammit and …Wilson offered the most actual enjoyment. As a whole the film is different to the view of Poe’s material made famous by Roger Corman, though it was obviously picked up for American distribution by AIP because it was the same studio that produced Corman’s classics prior to that. AIP established a certain traditional sex & horror tone, common to the period, with the advertising campaign that I don’t feel is completely in line with how the film should be perceived. They also requested a cut of several minutes (re-instated here) and drafted in Vincent Price (star of the aforementioned Corman movies) to narrate over the opening and closing credits. Clearly they were pulling out stops to present the film as a continuation of their Poe cycle; thankfully it plays here in the manner intended by its makers and can therefore be appreciated in its purest form.

An important film such as this is embellished with a superb transfer for the Arrow Blu-ray Disc - periodically grainy, often exhibiting fantastic clarity. There are a couple of audio language options for each segment and you may wish to flip between these depending on the tale (the first and third tales I believe work better in English due to the fact that the main characters are portrayed by English speaking actors who dubbed their own voices). The fact that Arrow has provided such an array of options is incredibly thoughtful and as a result this release blows the previous video/DVD/laserdisc editions away. The entire French language version is available as a separate entity (can be chosen from the brilliantly designed main menu) but the picture quality of this is not up the standard of the main presentation (though still probably better than DVD quality), plus it’s notable that the colour scheme is very different. The AIP commissioned Vincent Price voiceover is available as a short extra too. The main bonus is a 60 page booklet containing reprints of the three Poe stories that make up the film, plus two essays, one of which is the excellent Tim Lucas study of the film (originally from Video Watchdog in the late 90s). The presentation of this book is very professional and grants a great backdrop with which to understand the film. The Blu-ray Disc is encased in a thin Blu-ray case adorned with poster artwork on every side, and the book plus case are housed in a sturdy cardboard outer box making the whole package supremely attractive. Though the film does take more effort than your average genre outing, this is an essential buy for fans of historical horror and foreign cinema and Arrow are to be congratulated on bringing the definitive edition Spirits of the Dead to the HD market.

Horror Express

1972, Spain/UK, Directed by Eugenio Martin
Colour, Running Time: 88 minutes
Review Source: Blu-ray/DVD, Region B/1, Severin; Video: 1.66:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: Dolby Digital Mono

This is one of those movies you're most likely to remember from late night television, and seems to have acquired a bit of cult respect over recent years - something that's at odds with the lacklustre treatment it's generally received on home video hitherto. The story of Horror Express (or Pánico en el Transiberiano as the director prefers to refer to it) goes that an anthropologist (Christopher Lee) and his team discover a frozen neanderthal in the Chinese mountainous regions once known as Manchuria and decide to cart the monstrous thing back to England. Picking up tickets for a long distance train journey (this is the early part of the twentieth century - no jets just yet) there are problems from the outset when an overly curious thief has his irises burned out while messing with the crate. Once aboard the train and trapped on the voyage it's not long before anybody coming close to the crate experiences premature sight and coronary issues. The creature has somehow returned to life and flourishes by absorbing its victims' usable brain matter through their eyes, thereby developing its own intellect and therefore chances of survival.

One of the likable aspects of the production is the infamous pairing of Peter Cushing and Lee in one of their best screen outings. They both have some great lines and their interactions in particular are frequently electric despite being simply dialogue based. Making an appearance also is Kojak's Telly Savalas as an amusing fascist despot authority figure who boards the train mid journey with a group of aggressive cronies to investigate what's going on. The train itself is a great cinematic success: ornately decorated throughout, the perpetually rocking death trap forms a prison for the clueless passengers as it hurtles onward. Imagine a groovy Agatha Christie mystery turned perversely on its head into significantly grimmer territory. Then there's the creature, whose origins push the concept into science fiction realms (although the Paul Naschy lookalike priest who graces the train with his presence has alternative theories as to the driving force that's causing the mayhem) - the exposition may present ideas that are dated and improbable nowadays but it's imaginative stuff that at least gives you something to ponder over for a while. It all ends in pretty spectacular fashion and, despite initially writing the screenplay to take advantage of another film's production, the multicultural crew would appear to have stumbled upon a concoction that's left the world with a fairly original thrill ride for fans of older genre material. To top it all, the movie plays to a cool Ennio-Morricone-esque score that could easily have been spawned by a spaghetti western.

In the past the only worthwhile home video release of this film was Image's Euroshock Collection DVD released around 2000, which presented the film in its correct 1.66:1 aspect ratio, albeit non-anamorphic, alongside separate effects/music audio track (something not present on Severin's new release) and a few other minor snippets of extra material. I think every other DVD without question has been an insulting 'public domain' turd, generally with inferior full screen transfers of questionable picture quality, both here (UK) and in the States. Luckily Severin have rescued the movie from public domain hell and put out a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with a renovated transfer for a new era. Having read a few opinions here and there before buying this new set I was worried about the results - apparently a lower than average bitrate brought the HD image into mosquito-ridden life leaving us hungry fans with an improved but disappointing picture. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I found, after pointlessly looking for pixel-related flaws, that the new transfer is bold and very attractive to the eye. My subjective opinion is that Horror Express looks really good on Blu-ray. Maybe the bitrate could have been bumped up and compression issues reduced, however, I think the difference would have marginal and not particularly noticeable to most viewers. I sampled comparisons between the HD version and the DVD - both sourced from the same master and thus the best possible way to compare formats. The Blu-ray has greater contrast, superior colour fidelity, increased detail - an overall much better way to experience the film. English audio is about the same and limited by the technicalities of the period (the Spanish track is also included, albeit without subtitles - not a great loss given the fact that the English-speaking actors dubbed their own voices for the English track). Both discs also contain a 7 minute piece with Fangoria editor Chris Alexander, about 45 minutes in total with the director Martin and producer Bernard Gordon, and 8 minutes or so with the composer of the wonderful Euro score (John Cacavas, who went on to compose for the lamentable Satanic Rites of Dracula before embarking on a career in TV scoring). The best extra is an audio interview with Cushing, running about 80 minutes and playing on one of the film's audio tracks, commentary-style (though this is not actually a commentary obviously). Some trailers round out the disc, one of note was the trailer for Nightmare Castle (the Barbara Steele gothic horror) - I'm sure this was of a HD source because it looks superb and whetted my appetite (the Severin DVD is already a decent release). Will this come out on Blu-ray I wonder? By the way I found a little Easter egg in the extras menu - press 'left' on the remote when you're hovering over the second option from the top and the eyes of the character to the left light up. This leads you to a one minute piece where we revisit the real and still functioning train station that formed the setting of the opening sequence in the movie.

Despite reservations caused by marginally negative on-line opinion in some quarters, I'm particularly happy to finally own a copy of this film that does it justice. This may be the best we ever get for Horror Express, so don't pass it up if you're at all interested.

Vacancy

2007, US, Directed by Nimród Antal
Colour, Running Time: 85 minutes
Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Sony; Video: 2.39:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: LPCM 5.1

From the director of the more recent Predators and Mark Smith, the writer of Joe Dante’s 3D terror flick The Hole, comes a fairly basic tale about a disenchanted couple - Amy and David Fox - whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Unable to get anybody to fix the unreliable vehicle so late at night they resort to staying at a Bates-style motel that should at least offer them respite from the night until they’re able to call upon a local mechanic the next day. At least that’s their plan. Firstly there seems to be something slightly offbeat about the motel owner, though perhaps this is the result of him living in backwoods America (hey, they’re all potential headcases and salivating homicidal loones in the movies anyway, right?). They then settle into their room to find it’s a pretty disgusting excuse for a hospitable environment that one must pay to retire to: dirty bed sheets, insects crawling about on the floor - reminds me of the hotel I accidentally booked in Copenhagen’s red light area once. Before they have chance to get back to arguing about their failing marriage there is heavy banging on the walls and doors. Understandably spooked David heads back to the owner to politely request a resolution to the noise problem, and things calm down for a while after the manager grabs his gun, suggesting to David that vagrants sometimes break in and cause a bit of trouble. Back in the room David finds a few VHS tapes (remember those?) and tries a couple out. Making a welcome change from the Gideon’s Bible, the tapes depict people being raped, tortured and murdered, a momentary distraction until David notices that the people were being put out of their misery in the very room the couple are now staying in - it clicks that these are not horror films but snuff recordings! Then the terror really starts - the room is attacked by one or more masked assailants and the couple can find no way of escape; it looks like they are scheduled to become the next in a line of unwitting snuff movie stars…

Utilising the capable talents of Kate Beckinsale (as ever, very comfortable to gaze at) and Luke Wilson as the stereotyped jaded couple (they lost their child, she holds them as a couple responsible, makes sarcastic comments every time he even breathes, etc) Vacancy can’t be accused of wasting much time, coming in at a much shorter than average running time. Of course, that is partly a consequence of there being very little story to pad the film out much beyond eighty minutes anyway, but as long as you go in without expectations of an epic there’s not much to be disappointed about. Direction is slick and the set is impressive - interiors and facias were built at Sony’s soundstages I understand, whereas the entire exterior set was recreated outdoors, the whole thing boasting an authentic appearance and being suitably grimy. Photographic approach is deliberately dark with harsh lighting and shadows for the most part - this might prove problematic for some home cinema set-ups and I did find the excessive darkness a little irritating on occasions, though I can certainly understand the intended purpose of creating an unnerving atmosphere. Considering it could have been tempting in today’s cinematic climate to focus on the torture/violence depicted in the videotapes, Antal and Smith avoided this by volition, offering only glimpses of torment and brutality while concentrating on the frenetic drama cooked up for the couple as they scramble for some kind of escape from their would-be killers. This is both a potential plus and minus for the film because, whilst it is refreshing to take an alternative route to the overly popular torture-porn subgenre, some may level the criticism that Vacancy is consequently anaemic by today’s standards. That’s not a problem in my eyes because the genre is saturated with more visceral material should that be preferable. What we’re left with is a fast-paced chase horror/thriller that induces a little bit of an excited response as the couple’s situation looks like it could be an impossible predicament.

The Blu-ray disc presents a highly crisp image with very little grain to speak of - this is surprising because the film was reportedly shot in Super 35. Colours are especially bold but the aforementioned cinematography ensures blacks and darker areas are present in abundance - I had to perform some minor recalibration to make the image a little easier on the eyes. Nevertheless there are many shots that are good demonstrations of the format. Sound options come in the form of plain old Dolby Digital 5.1, or and uncompressed LPCM track which is better for those with capable amplifiers; both offer a thumping audio experience without any issues. Extras are a little under-resourced - the 20 minute featurette sheds a little bit of light on the background and shooting of the film, there are a couple of excised sequences, the snuff films as a separate piece, and a trailer from the third chapter of Sony’s more profitable franchise, Spider-Man. Overall I’d recommend the Blu-ray over the DVD, of course for its strong A/V presentation. The film itself has held up quite well over a couple of viewings for me, and has spewed forth a straight-to-disc prequel that sounds like it doesn’t reach heights of anything above average.

Island of Lost Souls

1932, US, Directed by Erle C Kenton
Black & White, Running Time: 71 minutes
Review Source: Blu-ray, Region A, Criterion; Video: 1.33:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: LPCM Mono

This is the first of three adaptations of the H G Wells book, Island of Dr Moreau (the second being made in the 70s, and the third - probably not final - take being the condemned mid-90s production that Richard Stanley should have directed). Whilst reportedly not being a strict conversion of the material for screen (I haven’t personally read the book), it is nevertheless a powerful film for its time that retains a twisted quality that even some of today’s more open minded audiences may appreciate. The story introduces typical American hero Ed Parker, who is rescued from shipwreck but dumped again, after disagreements with the captain, with a group of odd people that inhabit an isolated island. There Parker discovers that vivisectionist experiments are being conducted to transform animals into humans, these creatures being ruled over by their creator and law-enforcer, Dr Moreau. Initially control is maintained, but soon things begin to get out of order, and the deformed inhabitants of the island gather mob-like to overthrow the crown.

Directed with a flair uncommon in the 30s by Erle C Kenton (whose other horrors include the not-so-impressive Ghost of Frankenstein, and the fun but similarly ill-fated double act that was to end Universal’s more serious monster movie run, House of Dracula/Frankenstein) Island of Lost Souls is striking in its portrayal of the doomed creatures that are forcibly brought out of their natural lifestyle to adopt human characteristics for no better reason other than to prove that it’s possible (and maybe to feed the god-complex of the Moreau character, who here resembles an amoral Dr Frankenstein). Bela Lugosi is amongst them, though not receiving a huge amount of screen time. The most notable hybrid, however, is played by Kathleen Burke - slinky, attractive, and meek, the moment that Parker realises the truth about her still sends a bit of a chill through the veins. What struck me about the spiralling chaos of the final act also was its similarity to that of 70s masterwork, Dawn of the Dead, as the creatures get more and more out of control, eventually taking over the ‘asylum’ as the human survivors make a desparate bid to escape.

I would have bought this from UK suppliers Eureka, but they are unfortunately choosing to release the film in standard definition only (at time of writing), and as matter of course these days I always buy Blu-ray when it’s available. Having said that it is likely that the Eureka will feature unique extras so it’ll be worth keeping an eye on when it arrives in 2012. Criterion’s Blu-ray 1.33:1 Black & White HD (1080p) transfer is comprised of a combination of 35mm nitrate positive (the original negative is unfortunately deemed gone forever) and 16mm print in order to ensure as much audio/video footage, including previously censored material, is present in what we see on the disc. Considering the conditions the film looks very good - soft on occasions, persistently grainy, often pretty detailed and exhibiting good contrast. There is noticeable hiss on the soundtrack periodically but I wouldn’t expect otherwise. I suspect that this could be the best this is ever going to look for home cinema, and would like to think it is comparable to original theatrical presentations. Criterion, as usual, have done their absolute best to preserve and restore a classic movie.

I haven’t had chance to sift through all of the extras yet, but for information they include segmented interviews with John Landis, Rick Baker, Bob Burns, David Skal, Richard Stanley, Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh (of ‘Devo’) - these latter pair also provide a short film for the disc. Also present is a commentary by Gregory Mank, original trailer to the movie, plus a fascinating stills gallery showing off close-up images of the ‘monsters’ along with publicity photos, etc. This is all supported by a lovely booklet giving us an essay on the film, plus details of chapters, cast and the technical side of the transfer. My favourite piece of all this stuff so far is the fifteen minute interview with Stanley, who wanted to and should have directed the 90s remake that Frankenheimer was evetually hired for. This man (who directed the mesmerising Dust Devil if you’re unfamiliar with the name) is always a joy to listen to - he comes across as highly educated, knowledgeable on a range of subjects, relentlessly enthusiastic, and is seemingly the beneficiary of a varied and enviable existence, even if he has had his share of tougher times. I could listen to this stuff for long periods of time. This is the sort of extra that most DVD/BD distributors can only aspire to.

It should be noted that this release is Region A only. The booklet and disc are packed in a translucent, standard-sized Blu-ray case adorned by attractive design work. Whilst I do wish that Criterion’s Blu-rays had more of a physical presence in the manner that some of their DVD releases did (e.g. Vampyr, Videodrome, etc), one cannot argue with the content. Island… proves itself to be among the elite of 30s horror, and at last there is a release that does it justice and is very difficult to fault.