From Hell To Your Machine: Black Sunday

As previously mentioned here, Redemption/Kino are exhuming Black Sunday for a restored Blu-ray release on September 18th.  This was, if I recall, the first video cassette I bought by the fledgling UK company back in the 90s, and the film grew on me to a point, around the turn of the millennium, where I decided not to watch it again.  Not because I had gotten bored with it; quite the opposite.  The dubbing drove me nuts, plus it was nastily cropped to fullscreen.  So I had the plan to wait until a version true to its source appeared on DVD - Image put out a nice edition in the early days of the digital format as part of their 'Mario Bava Collection', which was widescreen, but still dubbed in English!  It has also since been released by Anchor Bay as part of a boxed set, and very close to being definitive was a release in Italy by RHV (Ripley Home Video), which actually contained the Italian language track... BUT no English subtitles!!!  It also had a second disc of extras, and restored some previously lost footage to the film.  Here's hoping that Redemption have done their homework and get this one truly right.  They will also be putting out a double of Lisa and the Devil with both cuts so things look promising on the Bava front.

Prometheus

2012, US, Directed by Ridley Scott
Colour, Running Time: 124 minutes
Review Source: Cinema screening; Image: 2.35:1, Redcode RAW 3D (Digital)

So, was this film supposed to be a sequel to the Alien series? A prequel? Something vaguely related? Or something with nothing at all to do with the acid-blood monsters from the outer regions of the cosmos? Amidst the pre-release hype I began to lose track, thus - interested in the latest Ridley Scott sci-fi project either way - I stopped watching the trailers (which tend to show too much in my opinion) and finally sat back to enjoy a film whose direction I wasn't entirely sure of. To keep the plot down to spoiler-free level I would relay to potential viewers the following details: Towards the end of the 21st century two anthropologists have found further evidence in cave paintings that suggests ancient knowledge of planetary coordinates in the galaxy that could link mankind to his creator. Several years on and an intergalactic science mission is funded to determine the validity of the evidence - a long distance trip to another world aboard 'Prometheus'; in simple terms, a quest to meet the maker. Coming out of a two year hyper sleep, an exploratory expedition across the world's landscape does indeed reveal remains of alien activity on the surface (and beneath), however, the findings prove to be increasingly threatening and not quite as expected.

The opening minutes actually take place on a windswept alien domain and mysteriously set up a taster for what's to come: a humanoid consumes a compound that breaks down and transforms his genetic structure as a spacecraft takes off for the stars. This sequence combined with what follows epitomises what science fiction is all about in my eyes: it reinstates a sense of wonder about the future, the undiscovered universe, and its multitude of theoretically inhabitable planets. It creates such a tangible environment (no doubt helped along by the 3D projection - more on that below) that your consciousness is drawn into the world devised by the artists; you want to be a part of it. Despite the fact that it's a decidedly hostile terrain that is. There are some mutterings about this being a limited story, and that may be the case, but what it might lack in narrative complexity (which, as far as I'm concerned, isn't a cinematic pre-requisite anyway) it makes up for in wonderment and the sheer scope of its core concept. And to not be interested in such a concept - the question of mankind's origins (evolution is still only theory after all) - would require a head made of wood. Aside from the vastness of the question it asks, and partly attempts to answer, there are many science fiction trappings present and accounted for here, including the Alien series favourite, the inclusion of a human-like robot as part of the crew. Ironically, Michael Fassbender's android character is possibly the most fascinating out of the otherwise human crew - while his 'peers' are in hyper sleep he spends his months educating himself on human history. Essentially he's trying to find out as much as possible about his creators, just as they are about theirs. There are many more imaginative ideas revolving around technology (for example, the brilliant levitating reconnaissance devices that progressively build a holographic three dimensional map of any structure they're released in), the abundance of which endangers the focus of the film itself admittedly. Unlike many of today's Hollywood products, the characters aren't excessively dislikable (even the hard-hearted ship's commander played by Charlize Theron doesn't irritate like it should) and Noomi Rapace, who plays what is arguably the film's anchoring character, is refreshingly imperfect. The question you may be asking is, how does this film tie in to the Alien franchise? It's one I won't answer as I think this journey is far more rewarding when embarked upon without prior notice of what's likely to happen. I will, however, state that the final moments sent a cold chill through my nervous system: this is one film where I actually want there to be a sequel. It's pleasing to see Ridley Scott once again reshaping the science fiction genre, as he has on a couple of prominent occasions before.

Viewing this film as a digital 3D projection in a suitably advanced cinema is an incredibly gratifying experience (for the record I saw this at Birmingham's amazing Giant Screen, formerly branded as Imax) - the visuals and special effects of Prometheus are second to none, the planet and surrounding space created with inspiring design and realisation. A convincing landscape is made all the more so with the stunning addition of a natively shot third dimension (notably superior to a recent screening at the same cinema of the post-processed Avengers Assemble - or just Avengers to those outside England). With a potent surround mix this is a satisfyingly enveloping experience, one that should leave you walking out of the cinema feeling thrilled and in awe of what has been achieved here. This is something that is all too uncommon these days. Highly recommended as a cinema viewing, though I'll be in the queue for the Blu-ray too without a doubt.

The Dead

2010, UK, Directed by Howard J Ford, Jonathon Ford
Colour, Running Time: 105 minutes
Review Source: Blu-ray, Region B, Anchor Bay; Video: 1.78:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: Dolby TrueHD

There was a time when I was an obsessive zombie movie fan, tracking down just about anything on tape (this was the nineties by btw) where the flesh-devouring (or not) dead might be using up even a small amount of screen time. My obsession faded just prior to the time the phenomenon began taking off in a more commercial manner resulting in a proliferation of related movies to the point of saturation, and nowadays I specifically avoid anything containing walking cadavers. I recently broke the habit and picked this one up, however, as there were a few opinions that suggested it could stand out from the horde. Opening sequence is really promising: a shrouded man walks across an African desert; he looks dazed and exhausted by the heat (and whatever else he's had to face in the preceding hours). A reanimated corpse wanders by, attracted to living tissue, its near-severed leg barely carrying the weight above. The unperturbed man avoids it and carries on his journey, using his gun sparingly as he encounters more of The Dead. The days leading up to this situation are then recounted for the viewer: an outbreak of an unspecified infection has escalated the existing militaristic chaos in Africa, and the aforementioned survivor, Brian Murphy - an engineer for the U.S. forces - is on the last aircraft to make an escape attempt as bodies everywhere come back to life with a hunger for humankind. The plane goes down though, just off the coast, and Murphy has to retreat back to land amidst constant threat from the corpses that seem drawn to anything with warm blood. He finds an old car and gets the thing working again before taking off in search of another way out. Amidst altercations with walking corpses he picks up an African soldier, Sgt Dembele, the two reluctantly becoming friends on the adopted expedition of travelling to an airbase in the case of the American, whilst looking for the son of the African.

The plot is thin, but that seems to go with the territory in this subgenre - it's all about survival in the face of a relentless, fearsome enemy that is effectively a dead version of ourselves. The fact that death has become manifest is not enough though, as the sheer volume makes the problem ever more potent (indeed, with Earth's population reaching ridiculous levels, the idea of all living people eventually turning involuntarily to the opposing side poses an astronomical threat to remaining survivors). It could be argued that the plot is too thin: sometimes Murphy would appear to be heading from one encounter with reactivated corpses to another, the idea that he becomes aware of an airbase a couple of hundred miles away being of little significance to storyline depth. But, as I say, this goes with the territory; any random selection of the subgenre classics - Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Zombi II, etc. - is not likely to be especially different. What is apparent, in this era of super-slick film-making, is that this film does not appear to be aiming for über-cool style. Murphy himself is a middle aged guy of intelligence, but not one who would stand out in any crowd. He is, by his own admission, just trying to survive. He's not trying to show off to his unseen audience - there are no slow-mo shots (and thankfully shaky cam is kept to what it's best for - the action scenes - rather than being irresponsibly adopted to depict just about anything including someone drinking a cup of tea, as often seems to be the case in cinema/TV nowadays), no flashy poses, and no one-liners. In light of all this, the films feels all the more realistic. If there was a zombie apocalypse then it would probably be like this. The final act is rendered in a powerful splat of hopelessness, resulting in a shiver running through the nerves - the likes of which I've not experienced watching a zombie film for a very long time.

The film is executed in a technically proficient manner, with strong gore effects, some pleasing landscape photography, and a handful of well orchestrated scare sequences. The Blu-ray itself is fairly average - the image is certainly good (it looks like it was shot digitally, but the imdb says otherwise) filling a widescreen TV (or projected image in my case), while the high resolution audio track is excellent: the atmospherics of the African wilderness really draw you in, coupled with an outstanding score by Imran Ahmad (making aggressive use of all five/six speakers). But those seeking extras will be disappointed to find a measly deleted scene, a poxy four minute featurette, and an audio commentary (all the same as the US disc if you think looking elsewhere will yield rewards). Not having enough time to go through the extras I already have for other films I'm not majorly concerned about this, but it does suggest lack of effort/interest on the part of Anchor Bay, who released it both here in the UK and the US. For a film that feels quite different from the norm (mainly due to the unusual location, à la District 9) with a couple of affecting central performances, and creepy, older fashioned slow-moving corpses, The Dead is certainly a dramatic, involving example of the genre that you might want to check out on Blu-ray (or DVD if you still haven't made the HD jump).

Two Evil Eyes

1990, US/Italy, Directed by George A Romero, Dario Argento
Colour, Running Time: 120 minutes
Review Source: Satellite Broadcast; Video: 1.78:1, Audio: Stereo

When it was announced back in the late eighties that George Romero and Dario Argento - who had previously collaborated to legendary effect on Dawn of the Dead - were to re-unite in the production of a horror based on the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, fans were understandably excited.  Neither were considered particularly to be in decline at that point.  Most recently Romero had bestowed the world with the wonderful Day of the Dead - okay, not well received upon initial release it would later go on to be appreciated and understood as a great piece of cinema by many - and the pretty decent Monkey Shines, a fairly original and engaging take on the man-vs-animal sub genre.  Meanwhile Argento had experimented with crossing the supernatural with his forte, the giallo, to materialise with some success Phenomena, soon drifting back into stylish giallo territory for Opera.  Not only that but the guys were bringing along special effects master Tom Savini (who'd worked on the last couple of Dead films at that point, amongst many other fine examples of the genre).  What the hell could go wrong?  Well, how about almost everything?  The film was a disappointment of the highest order, but it lingered around on video for years, then DVD from the likes of Anchor Bay (and more recently Arrow, whose disc strangely split the film into two distinct options from the menu rather than allowing viewing of the movie in its intended entirety), while nowadays it's available from Blue Underground on what looks to be a well produced Blu-ray.  Years after that initial drop in enthusiasm (I caught it on video rental around '92) I'd considered buying it a few times, thinking that it couldn't have been as boring as I originally remembered.  A recent satellite broadcast gave me the opportunity to check it out again without risking a few quid...

Comprised of two adaptations of Poe stories, Romero takes on the first - 'The Facts in the Case of Mr Valdemar', about a scheming wife and her illegitimate lover who are more than a little interested in the woman's dying husband's vast fortune.  Allowing the old codger to die prematurely before the legal issues have been ironed out they cart the body down into the (grim) cellar where a handy chest freezer becomes the poor guy's home for the next few days.  What they don't expect is to hear his whining voice haunting them from beyond the grave, followed by his eventual lumbering awakening as his corpse is apparently controlled by dark spirits in a quest for vengeance.  This opening story, stretching out its bareness to around an hour, is seat-fidgetingly boring.  The cast, crew, and eventual editor (Pasquale Buba, who surprisingly had previously edited the much more efficient Day of the Dead) appear to be in a trance-like state, and I hate to say but Romero's direction exhibits none of the drive that had previously been evident in virtually everything from Night of the Living Dead onwards.  None of the characters are likable, which doesn't help the maintenance of viewer consciousness, and even a handful of superior gore effects from Savini cannot save this piece.  The near ubiquitous scoring becomes infuriating, implemented in a distinctly unprofessional manner, and the whole thing smells like a bad TV movie.  An increase in pace, sparing use of a score composed by someone else, along with a substantial reduction in running time could have resulted in an improved film all round.

The second story is based (again, loosely) on 'The Black Cat', and directed with more flair by king of the roving camera, Argento.  A flamboyant artist is repeatedly bugged by the black cat that his partner has let into their apartment - no matter what he does he can't get rid of the persistent moggie.  Following the butchering of his partner the artist walls her into a concealed section of their home, but getting away with murder will be cast under the shadow of a meddling cat... The centre performance by Harvey Keitel is suitably angry, and pushes this one a bit closer to 'entertainment' than Romero's segment ever got.  Argento also displays a touch of style here and there (e.g. the pendulum perspective in the opening minutes), reminding us of the presence of an auteur.  Aside from similar issues with the music and to a lesser extent the overall pace, the main problem is probably caused by the first story - by the time the second one kicks off the viewer is already bored to hell and not especially interested in anything that the screen might throw at them next.  I get the impression that each director was granted an hour time slot and they possibly had to fill it regardless, and with threadbare materials this was always going to result in a slow lumbering blob of a film.  The fact that neither director has managed to put out much worth a damn since Two Evil Eyes also suggests that both had in fact begun their decline into mediocrity around this point, a factor entirely symbolised by the effect (or lack thereof) of this film.  I'm glad I saved my money.

Upcoming stuff (Shout Factory etc)

Shout Factory look like becoming one of the forerunners in Blu-ray exploitation: it's been a while since their line of Roger Corman B movies arrived (a great selection that included Forbidden World and Galaxy of Terror) but new announcements under its 'Scream Factory' brand include (note that this is all in the US territory, and they may be region locked as were the former Corman discs) Halloween II and Halloween III Season of the Witch (haven't seen this for nearly twenty years) special editions in September, with audio commentaries and featurettes on each disc, plus both containing limited edition posters in the first 500 copies (surprisingly II also contains an additional disc - DVD - of a rarely seen television version of the movie).  Beyond that they will be bringing John Carpenter's They Live to Blu (let's hope they pick up Prince of Darkness too), the slasher crazed Terror Train (something I'll be picking up), Tobe Hooper's pretty decent Funhouse (already got the Arrow of this one), Phantasm II (the rights to this series in the US are spread all over the place, so a boxed set seems unlikely - still cherish my old Anchor Bay UK DVD set), and one of Wes Craven's boring flicks - Deadly Blessing.  There are a couple of other minor titles to be released in the same series: The Island (Peter Benchley's 1980 pirates-on-a-mysterious-island film rather than Michael Bay's slicker science fiction action ride) and the 1982 serial killer-stalking-mother/boyfriend/son film Death Valley.  Shout are to be commended for digging up some of the less likely stuff for HD restoration, that's for sure!

I'm hoping to catch Prometheus at Birmingham's Giant Screen (formerly branded as an IMAX cinema) in the next couple of weeks, but pre-orders are being taken for various editions of this over at Amazon.com already (nothing on Amazon UK as yet).  It was of course shot in 3D (as the film world goes kinda 3D crazy) so there'll be all sorts of permutations on this one.  On the subject of Ridley Scott Bladerunner is being released (US again) in a 45th anniversary incarnation - I thought my five disc f**king set was the ultimate edition!  Anyway, upgrades on the previous set appear to be minor in disc content at the moment (though the book packaging looks kinda nice).

Remember Riccardo Freda?  He was part of the golden age Italian Gothic horror movement, being involved as he was with the direction of I Vampiri (which appeared towards the end of the fifties) and The Ghost.  One of his most notorious films has never been properly available on disc: The Terror of Dr Hichcock, with Barbara Steele in a pretty classic Gothic tale of the supernatural and suggested necrophiliac lust.  There is an Italian only disc on the Medusa label, and I believe there was a lacking DVD of the short version floating around the US from a company called Video Dimensions.  I used to own the UK Stablecane video cassette before selling it as VHS effectively died at the end of the nineties, and have been eagerly awaiting a decent digital release of this ever since.  Well it could be on the horizon, but who has picked it up?  Bloody Mya Communication, the company with so many interesting films in their roster, almost all of which have been pretty roughly treated.  And with those guys we may as well forget about a Blu-ray.  Oh well, be thankful for small blessings - looks like forking out a lot of money for substandard product... (I hope I'm proved wrong).

Night of the Sorcerers

1973, Spain, Directed by Amando De Ossorio
Colour, Running Time: 85 minutes
Review Source: DVD, R1, BCI Eclipse/Deimos; Video: 1.33:1, Audio: DD Mono

Somewhere in the more primitive regions of Africa decades ago a female missionary worker is captured and has her clothes (literally) whipped off in a bizarre voodoo ritual, before she is taken advantage of and decapitated. Her rescuers are moments too late despite arriving on the scene to slaughter the voodoo sorcerers like dirty pigs. Oddly, the woman's head, now boasting fangs, returns to life after having been separated from the body... In the present day a group of not-quite likely zoologists stop to camp near the same area. An expert on voodoo tradition (including the aforementioned tale retold within the prologue) warns the bunch about risks, but this mainly falls on deaf ears of course (otherwise there'd be no fun to be had!). Overly enthusiastic with a focus ring one of the girls heads off to investigate the local legends and is caught by the woman who was slain decades earlier and soon succumbs to the same fate as the dead sorcerers have awoken to curse the land. And that woman too becomes a vampiric harbinger of doom, again despite the removal of her head. The camp's numbers are going down one at a time as the slow moving voodoo-raised blood-drinking women increase their's.

The director himself needs no introduction to the Euro horror fiend - the Spaniard was responsible for the four Blind Dead films around the same period, and while that series was slightly different in tone, the enjoyment levels here are not too far removed. The expedition is made up of an entertaining variety of nutters, from the daddy's-girl who won't lift a damn finger to help because her father is funding the whole trip, the camera button hammering babe who's even snapping pictures of nearby wildlife when the Land Rover she's a passenger in is bouncing up and down over the rough terrain (must have produced some zany examples of motion blur), and the hard-assed leader played by Euro regular Jack Taylor, etc. One of the most consistently amusing elements of Euro horror is the approach to characterisation in these stories, and the oblivious manner in which these oddball American-wannabees are portrayed on screen by actors/actresses who probably didn't know what the hell was going on half the time. It's certainly no different here. The film mixes up a number of ideas to create its unique take on horror, most notably vampirism, zombies, and voodoo, and De Ossorio lets his imagination roam a little, adding to the mix some sex and nudity plus a few dollops of gore. There is also an air of creepiness combined with eroticism that you don't witness every day in the undead women that prance through the jungle almost ecstatically going about their killing business. Not superb, not even particularly great as cinema goes, but likable and one to re-watch.

The long defunct BCI Eclipse/Deimos label released this on DVD in 2007 and superseding the rumoured Japanese VHS with a slightly different cut this is the best way to watch Night of the Sorcerers, and that may remain to be the case forever in the future of decreasing returns on published media. Probably presented as an open-matte image (that is, the full 35mm frame opened up without the 1.85:1 top/bottom matting that may have occurred during theatrical projection) the image was scanned from negatives producing something colourful and, for Standard Definition, reasonably detailed. Quite nice to look at overall. These DVD producers were always as thoughtful as possible and with the audio you get a choice of Spanish or English dubs, and a good standard of English subtitles is there as an option. Extras are understandably limited: alternate clothed sequences (thankfully the film itself contains the 'unclothed' shots), stills (including some nice posters), and trailers, plus liner notes present in the box. I lament the loss of this company quite highly, and that's why - this film being I think the only one of this line of editions that I never picked up at the time - I forked out £20 to get this and complete my collection. Compared to the Laser Disc days this is not much I know, but way more than I'm willing to pay for a DVD nowadays as HD is generally a much more desirable way to watch a film. Anyway, the people who this film is likely to appeal to will already know who they are.

Nightmare City

1980, Italy/Spain, Directed by Umberto Lenzi
Colour, Running Time: 92 minutes
Review Source: DVD, R2, Anchor Bay; Video: Anamorphic 2.35:1, Audio: DD Stereo

Ace Reporter Dean Miller is sent on an assignment to interview an influential politician upon his arrival at the airport. Miller is immediately aware of a ‘situation’ unfolding as he reaches the airport with his cameraman - there is indeed a plane soaring in to land but it’s not responding to communication of any kind and, possibly worse, it’s an unmarked military aircraft. The army are called in due to the potential security issue and everyone gathers there waiting - machine guns or cameras at hand - as the plane comes to a halt on the runway. Omniscient minutes pass with no sign of activity, until the door opens and out pour a horde of crazed disfigured men - crazed and armed to the hilt. All hell breaks loose as they go about slaughtering virtually everyone in the vicinity - army gunfire proves useless and before long there are scores of bloody, motionless bodies littering the runway. Miller manages to get out alive to head for the TV station with the intention of alerting the public to avoid any lethal delays. Interrupting an important dance show that’s being aired (‘It’s All Music’!) he bags himself about a minute of broadcast time before the boss realises his schedule has gone to shat, and switches the busybody newsman off the air. His efforts were in vain either way as there is a sudden disturbance down on the dance floor - the mutants have invaded the building, ripping apart the dancers (at last granting them a modicum of dignity…) leaving Miller to escape once again as the army try to regain control of the situation - the massacre would appear to be progressing across the city as the horde of creatures show no mercy in their unstoppable motiveless destruction.

People think that the Running Dead phenomenon started with the likes of 28 Days Later or Dawn of the Dead '04, but it started right here back in 1980 with a vengeance. This film makes up its own rules from the beginning and, despite being influenced heavily by Romero’s second Dead outing, it adds its own spin on the proceedings to craft something that continues to stand out from the rest of the Italian zombie movies that spewed forth from around 1979 onwards. These indestructible monsters have absolutely zero motive, other than to perhaps drink blood but that seems almost like a footnote in the wake of the surrounding madness. The creatures are downright ugly with their rotting putty-mass faces and strange camera poses, but they stop at nothing in the onslaught - all humans can do is fight and die, or retreat, or scream like ninnies as their clothes are ripped off in the case of the some of the dancers. Miller (Mexican actor Hugo Stiglitz) manages to get away from the airport (his assistant stands there shooting film, blissfully ignorant to the threat - with cameramen the job comes first!) and subsequently the TV station to collect his wife so they can leave the city behind as civilisation crumbles. This movie is an almighty ‘SIT ON IT' to critics as it obstinately lies beyond conventional criticism - you can stand there pointlessly outlining its abundant cinematic problems, or you relax your brain and have a great time wallowing in the insanity that jumps off the screen. In that sense, it’s not a ‘good’ film, but you almost can’t help but have a good time as you witness the spectacle: that gob-smackingly ridiculous It’s All Music dance show that has to be seen to be believed (where the cameramen have stone faces and laboratory coats); the female dancers when attacked routinely ending up with their breasts exposed; the doctor who greets an intruder to his surgery not with questions, but by throwing his scalpel across the room into the sod's body; the army colonel delivering his rather non-specific militaristic instructions (Plan H, Plan B, etc.); the list goes on and on. The TV station was probably only written in because Romero had done the same a couple of years earlier, and the conclusion would have been a cliché in any other film, but the sheer audacity somehow gets Lenzi and co. off the hook. Miller and his wife’s journey turns out to be pretty cool, while the final sequence depicting them on the run before climbing a roller coaster structure to get away from hordes of creatures is actually rousing. An apt symbol if ever there was one. Taken on its own unbelievably unhinged terms, Nightmare City is a bit of a winner. Groovy electronic music score too.

Anchor Bay’s UK DVD was a blessing for fans such as myself. Previously I’d only seen Incubo Sulla Città Contaminata (or City of The Walking Dead, etc) on video cassette. VTC released it in the early eighties; good looking for video but cropped at the sides and censored to hell. There have since been a number of uncut DVDs released around the world: for example, EC Entertainment (non-anamorphic 2.35:1, with trailers, stills gallery), Italian Shock (containing gallery, trailer, interview, commentary, plus the entire soundtrack as a separate entity), a rough one from Laser Paradise (with non-removable Japanese subtitles!), and a US Anchor Bay disc that’s virtually identical to the British release. As far as extras are concerned the Italian Shock disc wins out, but transfer-wise the Anchor Bay discs are probably the victors - the film looks stupendous and is a joy to witness from start to finish. The film is dubbed in English but this seems to suit the oddball nature of the production, adding to the enjoyment somewhat. Check it out if you’re feeling brave, but switch off the synapses and get the beers in for maximum effect.

Upcoming Jean Rollin/Redemption Blu-rays, Round 3

Redemption and Kino Lorber are (after Requiem For a Vampire and Rape of the Vampire have been released) putting out Blu-ray Discs of another couple of Rollin films in August, one of his better ones, and one of his lesser (you can probably guess which is which): The Living Dead Girl, a 1982 artfully poetic take on walking death, and one of his later pieces Two Orphan Vampires.  I couldn't quite get into the latter although Shriek Show's DVD wasn't especially good (aside from the ropey image, there were problems selecting the French language audio on the players I tried, and the alternative English dub is god-awful!).  Perhaps a HD re-evaluation may help; I'll probably get both discs.  I have to say I love what Redemption are now doing with these films, and the prolific nature of the releases is perfect, particularly compared to the other collectors' favourites who are releasing stuff pretty slowly on Blu-ray (e.g. Blue Underground, Synapse, Shout, etc).  Whilst I don't believe Redemption ever really did the best they could with DVD, they've suddenly and surprisingly embraced the Blu-ray format.

Just before that in July we can expect The Blood Beast Terror (a 1968 creature feature with Peter Cushing) and Burke and Hare (the 1972 Armitage film of course rather than the more recent re-telling with Simon Pegg and Gollum as the titular characters...).  One more film of interest coming our way around the same time as the aforementioned titles is Black Magic Rites (previously also released as The Reincarnation of Isabel), a completely insane occult exploitation nuthouse from the lovable Renato Polselli.  There is also word that we will be in the salivating possession of the following BD products in the not-too-distant: Virgin Among The Living Dead (Jess Franco - hopefully the proper version without the stupid wandering dead Rollin inserts, or perhaps both common versions branched), Female Vampire (Jess Franco), Exorcism (probably Demoniac - er, Franco again!), Frightmare, Die Screaming Marianne (both Pete Walker), Lisa and the Devil, plus - FFS! - Black Sunday/Mask of Satan!  Please, God of Exploitation, let the latter have an Italian language track!  I'm in for a year of drunken nights in by the looks of it...

The Strange World of Coffin Joe

1968, Brazil, Directed by José Mojica Marins
B&W, Running Time: 82 minutes
Review Source: DVD, R2, Anchor Bay; Video: 1.33:1, Audio: DD Mono

Adopting a portmanteou style The Strange World... (AKA O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão) is not really a sequel to This Night I'll Possess... but it does feature 'Coffin Joe' opening the narration in a familiar pseudo philosophical fashion, and when he does finally appear within the film itself (in the final chapter) he's not really playing the same character. That's not to say that this film is without the sadistic edge that we've come to expect... The first chapter - The Dollmaker - sort of apes The Twilight Zone in tone. Three deadbeats listen in on a conversation down the pub where an ageing dollmaker is muttering about having a fortune in the house. Later on they follow him back to where he and his four nubile young daughters manufacture dolls (rather crap looking ones, but dolls nonetheless) for a living. They break in and, threatening the old artist, cause him to collapse clutching his heart. Then the young criminals spot the four daughters in bed in the next room; needless to say, in conjunction with a certain degree of salivation, they decide to head in there and have a bit more fun... The next story, Obsession or Perversion depending on where you get your translation, is pretty much a silent movie. A hunchbacked balloon-seller develops an infatuation with a woman who gets murdered at her own wedding by another, presumably jealous, knife-wielding female (talk about a big-day spoiler). Not letting a little thing like death get in the way of his desires he later breaks into her tomb, strips her off, and molests the body, probably acknowledging that this is the only way he's ever gonna get a hot (or cold in this case) babe. The final tale, Ideology, stars Marins as a professor who speaks about the godless world he believes in, and his theories on the reality of human existence. To make his point he captures a young couple where he subjects them first to horrors experienced by others, and then to horrors experienced by themselves (presumably this now having some context for them...), pushing the girl to a point where she reaches such a level of desperation she is driven by her own instincts to drink the blood of her dying partner.

As with the preceding films by Marins, there is an undeniable air of maliciousness and venom surrounding this film. Each tale becomes more uncompromising than the last, the first being the most - if one can use this word speaking about Joe - commercial of the three. Quite a creepy little tale with an atmosphere of doom as the soundtrack vibrates with constant thunderous noises of the winds and skies outside the morbid little house where most of the action takes place. The second tale must have been the most explicit suggestion of necrophilia ever seen in cinema at that point. It had been touched on before, the most enticing example being The Terror of Dr Hichcock (which I'd dearly love a Blu-ray of), but not quite as obviously as here in Strange World. Very slow and too long for its content (the 'seduction' scene goes on for a hell of a sleep-inducing time), the tale again has an unusual tone that compensates for its shortcomings, which is generally in the acting department. The third story brings us into more familar Coffin Joe territory, although his performance here is much more controlled and sedate. That doesn't mean to say it's much less horrific - the things the young couple, and we the viewers, witness are graphic and downright nasty (one scene had me in a state of surprise that it even got past the BBFC). A man is stretched on the rack before having his flesh devoured whilst still alive by a horde of lepers followed by a caged girl rejecting the advances of men before being burned with acid, the traumatic event causing her to kiss the feet of one of them. The torture of the couple concludes with such profundity it must have been on a Martyrs type plane of its day. Marins does raise some interesting ideas amidst his conquests to shock.

Like the film, the DVD (part of a Coffin Joe boxed set) is grimy and not nice to look at! It's arguably perversely satisfying to watch these oddities in this condition and, let's face it, who's going to spend thousands remastering them? The subtitles are again burned in, though not of great grammatical quality - the errors are, however, moderately amusing (think of watching Hong Kong films). Again, we can be thankful that this sort of thought-lost and buried weirdness can be exhumed and brought to us at all.

Upcoming Total Recall (1990) and The Boogens Blu-rays

The classic Arnie sci-fi action movie (one of my personal favourites) Total Recall is being re-released on Blu by Lionsgate in the US (obviously bump-started by the Colin Farrell remake), and it looks like it's at last getting the sort of disc it deserves this time too - this version is dubbed "Mind-Bending Edition" as they've already used up "Special Edition" and "Special Limited Edition" in the past...; the previous Blu-ray featured the ridiculous 'Beyond High Definition' slogan across the front, so I'm wondering if this will be 'Beyond Beyond High Definition'.  Includes commentary by Arnie and Paul Verhoeven (probably the one that was originally recorded for the special edition DVD, the same commentary that Arnie reportedly wanted $50K for...), plus an interview with the director, featurettes on the special effects etc, restoration comparison, trailers, gallery.  Release in the US: end of July.  Even better, I have suspicions that the UK may see a triple play steelbook of this one...

Also on its way from US company Olive Films is something I've heard of in the past but never seen: The Boogens.  A monster movie from 1981, this looks like a low budget B movie that could be some fun.  Being released by the same guys who are bringing the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers our way this could also turn out to be a lavish Blu-ray (it is apparently being struck from a 35mm print).