http://www.filmmonthly.com/ en Copyright 2012 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:23:09 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Dead Hooker in a Trunk is finally getting a U.S. DVD release. It's no surprise that the film has been talked about extensively in genre circles: it's a ridiculously gory cartoon, a (nearly) all-girl show packed with enough blood splatter and pitch-black humor to more than deliver what its title promises, and the fact that the film was written and directed by twin sisters gives it a great back story. At a horrible concert in a dive bar, Junkie (Rikki Gagne) gets into a fight with the band's "vocalist" and storms off the stage. Badass (Sylvia Soska) lines up an entire bottle's worth of shots for them to drink in response. The next morning, Junkie and Badass don't really remember anything from the night before, and are severely hung over. Geek (Jen Soska) gets a text from her friend Goody Two Shoes (C.J. Wallis) asking her to pick him up from his church youth group. Junkie wants to score now that she's awake, so Badass agrees to pick up Goody Two Shoes as long as they can stop by Junkie's dealer on the way back. After picking up Goody Two Shoes at church where Badass has a flirtatious run-in with the attractive Pastor (Loyd Bateman), Badass pops the trunk and the group discovers the titular Hooker (Tasha Moth). Neither Junkie nor Badass can remember anything about the night before, so they have no idea how she got there, and rather than risk going to the cops they decide to finish up their errands for the day and then figure out what to do with her. Geek and Goody Two Shoes don't approve, but also don't have much choice, and now the standard stress-free day of picking up drugs is complicated by cops, rival gangs, and at least two vicious killers whose motives aren't clear, but who are obviously not interested in friendly conversation. Dead Hooker in a Trunk moves at a brisk pace, constantly dropping its nicknamed protagonists into one awful situation after another. There are a lot of solid practical effects throughout the film, and the Soska sisters famously did all their own stunt work in addition to writing, directing, producing and starring in the film. The film looks great, too-- it was clearly shot on digital video, but this look actually helps cement the film's neo-grindhouse tone. From a technical standpoint, Dead Hooker in a Trunk is a great example of what filmmakers can do with a very small budget. However, the actual content of the film is only intermittently engaging. The Rodriguez/Tarantino influence is strongly felt, but most of the characters are as one-dimensional as the Hooker, defined primarily by how much swearing they do. Everyone in the cast is good, but only C.J. Wallis as Goody Two Shoes is really required to do much other than look badass and swear profusely-- mostly he's a churchy nerd, but occasionally he is allowed to swear. Although clearly not short on ideas, the film spends a little too much time with the characters instead of moving the cartoonish action forward. The centerpiece scene where Badass storms into Junkie's dealer's apartment is the one point of the film where it felt like everything came together exactly the way it was meant to. If all of Dead Hooker in a Trunk had been pitched at that level of absurdity, it would have been an instant classic. As it is, it's still a hell of a ride, and it sets high expectations for the next film by the Soska Sisters. IFC Films released Dead Hooker in a Trunk on DVD on 31 January 2012. Special features include delete & alternate scenes, a "behind the scenes" featurette, interview and trailer.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/dead_hooker_in_a_trunk.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/dead_hooker_in_a_trunk.html Horror Video and DVD Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:13:09 -0600 The Woman (written and directed by Lucky McKee and now available on DVD and BluRay) bares a title that is little more than an unassuming facade -one that is entirely unrevealing of the perverse and occasionally bloodthirsty content that lies within. So, what is the film about? Well, essentially the film’s focus rests on the ostensibly typical “Cleek family” that is living a variation of the mythological “American Dream.” The family is headed by a supposedly benevolent patriarch named Chris Cleek played by Sean Bridgers (who doesn’t seem to be taking it seriously) who is not only a beloved family man but a well-respected pillar of their small, rural community. However, this illusionary portrait of small-town family life slowly becomes subverted upon the father’s discovery of a feral woman living in the woods surrounding the family’s farm. What follows is a gruesome odyssey of indoctrination -where the father attempts to acculturate the Woman to human society and whose own brutally domineering mentality is slowly revealed -resulting in near-apocalyptic consequences. Aesthetically, The Woman does not represent a highly accomplished piece of work. While, the make-up is certainly acceptable (particularly the make-up design for the titular feral woman, whose layers of caked-on dirt and forest grime provides for a jarring image) other creative facets of the film seem to be lacking in technical polish (particularly the musical score by Sean Spillane, which consists of abrasive guitar snarls and lyrics that in some scenes are about as appropriate for the thematic content of the film as playing the “Happy Birthday Song” at a funeral). Also, the editing of the film is woefully devoid in any sort of coherent vision. From the opening montage sequence (edited in the style of bad, early-1990's television) to the incoherent depiction of the film’s many acts of brutal human mutilation, the final cut of the film could have certainly benefited from another pass through the editing room. There were certain moments of the film (particularly the climax) where it was somewhat challenging to follow the bloody action contained in the film’s narrative. Technical quibbles aside, The Woman is a distinctive and genuinely disturbing piece of work that transcends such labels as “torture-porn” or “horror.” If anything, The Woman functions almost as a sort of satire -which takes direct aim at themes such as gender relations, the illusion of control and the human male’s inherent fear of unrestrained female sexuality. As a film, The Woman walks a difficult tonal line because, while many elements of the movie are presented in a sort of objective and realistic light, there are other aspects (such as the bizarre and stylized acting from some of the cast members) which seem to be indicative of the director’s intent to treat his story in a more fantastic or allegorical manner. The filmmakers' are not accomplished enough to fully integrate all elements of the film into one cohesive vision and so some of the shocking power that comes from the film’s central thesis is perhaps diluted due to the difficulty in knowing how to properly relate to what you are seeing on-screen. Still, the film’s central premise of a man determined to impose his will and control upon a woman’s autonomy is a daring and interesting subject that gives McKee’s film a visceral intensity. Certain subplots, including one involving Chris’s daughter, Peggy Cleek (blandly played by Lauren Ashley Carter) possibly being pregnant, go nowhere and fail to really add anything to the film’s discussion of the themes discussed above. The film is at its best during the sections where it depicts the father, Chris Cleek (with the reluctant assistance of his family) restraining the Woman in his cellar and where his attempts to instill “civilization” in her slowly reveals his own hateful and monstrous core. This concept of role-reversal (where the civilizer is the true savage) elevates Mckee’s film and imbues the horror of the story with maybe not a heart, but certainly a brain. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/the_woman_2.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/the_woman_2.html Horror Video and DVD Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:55:22 -0600 Spiderhole, a nasty little thriller from the UK. Molly (Emma Griffiths Malin) is introduced uncomfortably sitting in a waiting room at a hospital. She's a little freaked out, as she has a problem with waiting rooms, but luckily for her it seems all she has wrong is some particularly bad heartburn. She leaves the hospital and meets up with three of her art-school friends: unpredictable Zoe (Amy Noble), ringleader Toby (George Maguire) and nice guy Luke (Reuben-Henry Biggs). The four have decided to find an abandoned house and squat in it to save money on rent, and so they can have crazy parties whenever they want, not necessarily in that order of importance. After driving around London for hours, they finally find the perfect place. Which translates, in squatter terms, to a terrifying mansion that looks like a long-neglected crime scene. They break in and poke around a bit, and it does seem like just what they're looking for. It's huge and empty, with electrical hookups and water still working. Not so desirable, though, is the fact that Zoe stumbles upon a closet stuffed with bloody clothes. Toby tries to calm everyone down and manages to talk them into sleeping on it, and heading out in the morning if they still want to. This plan is complicated when they wake up to find they have been welded into the house-- metal slabs have replaced the doors and windows, and it quickly becomes clear that they are not leaving any time soon. Spiderhole bears some resemblance, plot-wise, to another recent import, Adrian Garcia Bogliano's Cold Sweat. Both films feature people trapped in a house by cruel villains, but Spiderhole is much more coy with its "monsters." In fact, for most of the film's running time, it is not entirely clear whether Molly and her friends are facing off against a human or something more supernatural. This adds a bit of mystery to Spiderhole, but instead of explaining the villain's motives (one of the more interesting facets of Cold Sweat), Spiderhole leaves many questions open to audience interpretation. This is not a bad way to end things, considering how slight everything is that comes before Spiderhole's jarringly abrupt finale. At a slim 80 minutes, Spiderhole doesn't spend too much time with any of the other characters but Molly, and so it's tough to muster much concern for them. Especially given how they make terrible decisions from the outset; it is truly as though none of them have watched a horror film before. Even so, Spiderhole manages to create an impressively dingy atmosphere and some effective shock scenes, although many horror fans will be left wanting something a little more substantial. Spiderhole is available to watch now on Netflix Instant. IFC Films will release Spiderhole on DVD on 31 January 2012. Special features include a trailer and behind-the-scenes featurette.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/spiderhole.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/spiderhole.html Horror Video and DVD Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:32:13 -0600 Rooms for Tourists (2004) on DVD in 2006 and reinforcing his reputation with the rape-revenge film I'll Never Die Alone in 2008 (although the latter has yet to see an official U.S. release). After a successful run on the festival circuit, Dark Sky Films picked up Bogliano's Cold Sweat for his highest-profile American release yet, and it will not disappoint horror fans looking for something a little different to go with their gore. Román (Facundo Espinosa) enlists his friend Ali (Marina Glezer) to help him find his ex-girlfriend Jacqueline, who left him for someone she met online and then disappeared. Ali befriends the same guy Jacqueline fell for and arranges a meeting with him at his home, a large but run-down house next door to some unpleasant characters. Once inside, Ali quickly discovers the situation is not what she expected, and after she doesn't return or answer his calls, Román goes in after her by sneaking around the back of the building. Román stumbles upon the shocking truth by accident very quickly. Two old men, supposedly revolutionaries who stole several crates of dynamite back in the 1970s, have been kidnapping young women after luring them in over the internet. They then perform experiments on the women before disposing of them, and Ali is next on the schedule. Román manages to free her, but is determined not to leave the house until he finds out what has happened to Jacqueline. Ali and Román sneak through the house, trying to avoid the old men and find a way out, while Bogliano occasionally drops in a flashback to the younger days of the villains. Cold Sweat is packed with tense situations and Bogliano wrings a good amount of thrills out of many of them, but the overly busy soundtrack unfortunately sometimes overshadows the on-screen action. There are a number of scenes that would be much more intense without the constantly pounding score, although in other scenes the unusual sound design works very well in helping ratchet up the tension. Bogliano also certainly does not skimp on the gore: there are exploding heads and ugly wounds aplenty. The film packs a few nasty surprises, a few of which are elegantly tied in to the flashbacks with a cool visual trick. Cold Sweat is definitely not lacking in visual style, with Bogliano deftly using slow motion, extreme close-ups and effective make-up and effects to help keep things interesting. Clocking in at a brief 80 minutes, Cold Sweat is a tightly-wound thriller that manages the rather difficult trick of making two old men seem like valid horror-film villains. Bogliano explains in one of the DVD extras how he drew on actual Argentinian history for the idea of their characters, and without that information the importance of their characters' history may be lost on U.S. audiences. Still, there's no denying that Bogliano knows how to play the audience and deliver slick low-budget thrills. Despite the sometimes overbearing soundtrack, Cold Sweat is a unusual take on some standard horror film territory and is well worth a look. Bogliano clearly has style to burn; here's hoping next time he reins it in just a little and lets the visuals speak for themselves a bit more. Dark Sky Films released "Cold Sweat" on DVD 17 January 2012. Special features include director's commentary, deleted and extended scenes, a "behind the scenes" featurette, post gallery, comic book gallery, trailer, teaser, and radio and TV spots.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/cold_sweat.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/cold_sweat.html Horror Video and DVD Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:01:43 -0600 Severance), some fresh takes on familiar material (see James Watkins' Eden Lake), and plenty of basic slashers that defy audience expectations (such as Paul Andrew Williams' The Cottage). However, for each interesting little horror film there are at least two dismal, unpleasant ones that may have clever ideas but are not well-executed. Don't Let Him In is one of the latter. Paige (Sophie Linfield) and Calvin (Rhys Meredith) are planning a weekend in the country with Tristan's sister Mandy (Gemma Harvey), but plans are already off track when Mandy invites her one-night stand Tristan (Gordon Alexander) to join them. Tristan is obviously a hateful bastard, and his reasons for joining the weekend out of town are clearly sinister. Once the foursome reach the cottage, a local policeman explains to them that a serial killer dubbed "The Tree Surgeon" has been stalking the locals and hanging up parts of them from trees (hence the name), so he helpfully suggests that none of them take a walk in the woods at night. Don't Let Him In opens with a sequence showing Paige tied up and hidden away in the Tree Surgeon's lair, so the audience can already guess that the vacationers probably didn't take the officer's advice. It's only a matter of time before Paige falls victim to the Tree Surgeon, but who is he? Is he the blatantly evil Tristan? The seemingly normal Calvin? The hippie girl who warns them to go home? The hitchhiker with the stab wound who shows up at the cabin in the middle of the night? Perhaps the most pressing question of all is: Does the audience really care? Sadly, I could not answer that question affirmatively. Don't Let Him In did not grab my attention, and its dull characters did nothing to help. Each character is barely shaded in so the film can introduce them and knock them off in 79 minutes (including opening and closing credits), so it's tough to muster much interest in their fate. When the Tree Surgeon is finally unmasked, the acting gets seriously over-the-top in a way that does not match the tone of the preceding events at all. There are a lot of solid low-budget thrillers coming out of the UK, and they're worth seeking out, but Don't Let Him In is not one of them. Image Entertainment released Don't Let Him In on DVD on 3 January 2012. Special features include a commentary track, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a trailer.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/dont_let_him_in.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/dont_let_him_in.html Horror Video and DVD Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:28:57 -0600 Deadgirl, one of the most controversial horror films of the past decade. However, before penning disturbing stories about undead sex objects, Haaga paid his dues working at Troma, the legendary independent film company known more for playing undead sex objects for laughs than for anything else. Chop, Haaga's directorial debut, is a jet-black comedy that harkens back to the gleeful absurdity and gore of Troma, and may be something of a shock for anyone expecting bleak and unsettling like Deadgirl. Chop's storyline is as simple and unpretentious as its title: Lance Reed (Will Keenan) is stranded by the side of the road and picked up by a stranger (Timothy Muskatell). The Stranger asks Lance a couple of odd questions before Lance is knocked out and wakes up in a room where the Stranger has Lance's brother tied to a chair. Lance can either kill his brother or the Stranger will unleash a ghoulish assassin on Lance's wife Emily (Tanisha). Once Lance makes his decision, the Stranger returns Lance to his home with the understanding that he can never tell anyone about the Stranger, or he will make Lance's life extremely difficult. Unable to restrain himself, Lance inevitably slips up under the Stranger's watch and, true to his promise, the Stranger begins to make Lance's life very unpleasant. Unless Lance can remember what it was he did to the Stranger and sincerely apologize, Lance's situation will not improve. As Lance wracks his brain to figure out who the Stranger is, unwelcome guests from Lance's recent drug addict past are tracked down and brought to him to exact their own revenge. Will Lance figure out who the Stranger is, or will he end up a head on the Stranger's mantle? Chop cleverly plays with audience expectations and takes several very nasty twists on its way to its hilariously anticlimactic finale. While Lance starts off as a victim, the more the audience learns about who he really is, the more the Stranger's revenge makes sense. This constant undermining of appearances is Chop's biggest asset, along with great, funny lead performances by Will Keenan and Timothy Muskatell. Haaga keeps the film moving at a brisk pace, and with a running time of just over 80 minutes Chop is certainly never boring. It is perhaps inevitable that whatever Haaga did to follow up Deadgirl would be something of a disappointment, and in that respect Chop is a bit of a letdown. However, it's still more than a cut above most other independent horror/comedy efforts, and it is definitely worth a look for horror fans with a taste for the unexpected. The Collective released Chop on DVD on 27 December 2011.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/chop.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/chop.html Horror Video and DVD Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:22:45 -0600 Little Deaths teams three UK genre directors for an anthology of sexually-charged horror shorts: Sean Hogan (director of Lie Still), Andrew Parkinson (director of I, Zombie) and Simon Rumley (director of Red, White & Blue) each turn in very different takes on the theme. Unlike most anthology films, Little Deaths does not feature a "wraparound" story that frames the separate sections. Instead, a simple title card introduces the audience to each segment in turn. First up is Sean Hogan's "House and Home," in which a rich, bored couple (Siubhan Harrison and Luke de Lacey) stalk homeless women and bring them home under the pretense of offering the less-fortunate a bath and a warm meal. Naturally, that's not what they're really up to, or else this short film would be very out of place in this context, and when they bring home a young woman named Sorrow (Holly Lucas), they get a bit more than they bargained for. "House and Home" is perhaps the weakest of the three segments in that it is the most predictable, almost playing like an episode of Tales from the Crypt. It is also the most sexually graphic of the three entries, at least in any traditional sense. "House and Home" is competent-- well-acted and nicely shot-- but given what is to come it is simply outclassed. Andrew Parkinson's "Mutant Tool" ups the ante quite a bit. In this short, research scientist Dr. Reece (Brendan Gregory) crosses paths with Jen (Jodie Jameson), a former prostitute and drug addict, when her boyfriend suggests her as a test subject for the doctor's latest project. The short follows parallel paths, showing Jen's reaction to the experimental medication-- "hallucinations" and psychic episodes brought on by touch-- and the day-to-day reality of just where the medication comes from. "Mutant Tool" is an interesting and unsettling mix of Cronenbergian body horror and mundane realities that Parkinson similarly explored in his film Dead Creatures, with a good lead performance and some utterly bizarre makeup effects. As tradition dictates, the best (and most disturbing) is saved for last: Simon Rumley's "Bitch" depicts the very unusual relationship between Claire (Kate Braithwaite), a young woman who is utterly terrified of dogs, and Pete (Tom Sawyer), a quiet bartender. Claire and Pete's relationship is based on games of sex and power, and Claire's favorite game is Pete wearing a dog mask. Odd as it may seem, this is presented as just another part of their life together, but when Claire escalates the sexual games past what Pete can stand, he concocts a truly horrific revenge. Rumley's segment revisits some of the same territory as his outstanding feature Red, White & Blue, spending plenty of time setting up the characters and allowing the audience in to their lives and minds before things inevitably go very, very bad. Overall, Little Deaths is a good bet for fans of transgressive horror cinema. Each segment is stronger than the last, and the final product has plenty to offer horror fans looking for something unique. Also, anyone who enjoys the work of the three directors featured will certainly want to see how they tackle this type of subject matter, and they will not be disappointed. Little Deaths promises something you won't see anywhere else, and it delivers. Just make sure it's something you actually want to see-- and don't say you weren't warned. Image Entertainment released Little Deaths on DVD on 13 December 2011. Special features include a behind-the-scenes featurette.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/little_deaths.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/little_deaths.html Horror Video and DVD Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:27:52 -0600 Body Puzzle and our direct music que for his grizzly murders. The film follows this murderer as he stalks Tracy (Joanna Pacula), a recent widow that finds the murderer's calling card left in her home, various body parts. Michele (Thomas Arana) is the detective that's placed on the case of a murder that leads him to the parts left in Tracy's home. Michele is trying to catch the killer and stumbles upon a link between the killer, Tracy and her recently deceased husband, that make Body Puzzle quite the murder mystery. Raro Video presents Body Puzzle with a new digital restoration and a nice booklet, containing an analysis of the film with Chris Alexander from Fangoria. Lamberto Bava has learned quite a bit from his father, the creator of the giallo film, Mario Bava. Body Puzzle was released in 1992 and by this time, the genre had already worn out fans and creators alike. Bava manages to show the abilities and the strengths of the genre by the use of insane gore, inventive camera work and awkward score within the film to set an example. There's a scene where the murderer traps a woman in the restroom, to retrieve a new body part. Each shot is so effectively, along with the editing, show the vitality of what makes the giallo film unique. Bava's camera work and the use of Mussorgsky's epic music give the murders the right amount of tension for Body Puzzle. While the plot holes get larger as the film carries on, especially with Michele being a complete dunce most of the time, Bava uses Body Puzzle's strengths to carry the film up until the final frames. Raro Video has done a really great job with the quality of this edition of Body Puzzle. Before, the film was released in the U.S. with severe cuts that ruined the film. It is now presented in its original cut, as well as a very nice looking digital remastering of the video. The booklet containing Chris Alexander appreciation and analysis is very detailed on the film itself, including a brief history of the giallo film, Bava's history working with his father and being an apprentice of Dario Argento. Overall, If your a fan of slasher films, great types of gore or horror films in general, you can't go wrong with Lamberto Bava's Body Puzzle. Recommended. ]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/body_puzzle.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/body_puzzle.html Horror Video and DVD Sat, 10 Dec 2011 05:18:20 -0600 The Vanquished) and Fellini (Clowns), but they have expanded their roster to include giallo films such as The Perfume of the Lady in Black and, most recently, Murder Obsession, the final film of the legendary director Riccardo Freda (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock). Michael Stanford (Stefano Patrizi) is an actor who is maybe working a little too hard: as the film opens, he nearly strangles his costar Beryl (Laura Gemser) for real while shooting a scene for his current film. Michael decides to take his girlfriend Deborah (Silvia Dionisio) along with him to visit his mother Glenda (Anita Strindberg) in the remote estate where she still lives. Michael has not seen his mother in years, and is shocked to find the estate's servant Oliver (John Richardson) still waiting on her. Oliver informs Michael that his mother is gravely ill, and while she tries to downplay the severity of her condition, it is obvious that she is weak. This visit is not just for relaxation, however, as Michael invites some of his friends from work (including Beryl) to the estate to look for locations for their next film. Deborah has a strange nightmare in which she is used in a Black Mass, and before too long Michael's past comes back to haunt him: he has not returned to the estate for so long because he believes he was responsible for his father's death, even though he was just a child when it happened. While confronting these demons, a mysterious black-gloved killer begins stalking the estate, and true to giallo form, the long-buried truth will explain who the killer is and why they must kill. Murder Obsession features all the standbys of the giallo genre: the haunted past, the childhood trauma, the killer in black leather gloves, the grand estate turned into a house of horrors by long years of neglect, and plenty of sex and murder. It is somewhat unusual (and reminiscent of The Perfume of the Lady in Black) in that its storyline refers to occult and supernatural themes, while most giallo films avoid such overt genre trappings. However, there is no question that the film falls neatly into the giallo template, and North American fans will no doubt be glad to finally have a legitimate DVD release of the film. They will also likely be very pleased by Raro Video's presentation of Murder Obsession. While most of the film is presented in English, scenes excised for international release that were only recorded in Italian are presented (with English subtitles) as part of the film. There is a 10-minute interview with special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti (who admits his experience on Murder Obsession was not ideal) and the package includes an informative booklet about the film and its director. With such attention to detail, fans will no doubt want to keep an eye out for future releases by Raro Video. Raro Video released Murder Obsession on DVD on 6 December 2011. Special features include an interview with Sergio Stivaletti and booklet about the film.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/murder_obsession.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/murder_obsession.html Horror Video and DVD Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:26:28 -0600 Doctor Blood's Coffin, a British horror film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring genre favorite Hazel Court, perhaps best known in the U.S. for her starring roles in Roger Corman's 1960s Edgar Allan Poe film adaptations. Furie rarely directed genre films, and has had a long career in cinema directing such films as The Ipcress File with Michael Caine (1965) and returned to the genre after a few films in the early 1960s with The Entity (starring Barbara Hershey) in 1982. Doctor Blood's Coffin has a distinct Hammer tint in its tone and style. Dr. Robert Blood (Ian Hunter) is the doctor in a rural village that has little contact with the outside world. The townsfolk tend to be healthy, leading the local funeral home owner to scold Dr. Blood for doing too good a job. Shortly before Dr. Blood's son, Peter (Keiron Moore), returns from school, there is a mysterious disappearance in the town. While helping locals search some nearby mines, Peter deliberately leads them away from a strange makeshift laboratory. Why he does this is initially unclear, but what is clear is that Peter is not quite what he appears to be. Dr. Blood's nurse Linda Parker (Hazel Court), recently widowed, finds herself falling for the handsome young doctor. However, as Peter opens up to her, his behavior becomes more and more unusual, and she finally learns the terrible secret of Peter's research and exactly why he has come home from medical school. There are a few scenes throughout the film of Peter at work that feature what would have been fairly graphic and shocking violence for the day, pushing the envelope even a bit further than Hammer's famed versions of the Dracula and Frankenstein stories. The film climaxes with a resurrection that is unfortunately somewhat spoiled by the promotional art, with a creepy and effective undead monster. The film looks and sounds fantastic on this new DVD, which is a notable improvement over previously available public domain releases of the film on VHS and DVD. This is definitely the best Doctor Blood's Coffin has ever looked on home video, and again it's a huge credit to MGM for taking the time to release the film with such care. The pace of the film is a bit slow, but thanks to great performances by Hazel Court and Keiron Moore-- and some gorgeous location shooting-- it's certainly worth a look for fans of Hammer-style horror. MGM released Doctor Blood's Coffin as part of the Limited Edition Collection on 18 October 2011.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/doctor_bloods_coffin.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/doctor_bloods_coffin.html Horror Video and DVD Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:51:38 -0600 Amer to Martin Scorcese's love letter to Georges Melies, Hugo. It should come as little surprise, then, that the lowbrow horror films that used to reign over the drive-ins of the American Midwest should get their moment in the sun, and what better way to pay homage than in the classic anthology format? Chillerama brings four indie horror directors together for a heartfelt, gross-out tribute to those drive-in films with low, low budgets and even lower standards of taste. It's the last night of business for America's last drive-in. Theater owner Cecil Kaufman (Richard Riehle) decides to go out with a bang, screening four never-before-seen films from their only known existing prints. As the unsuspecting viewers are treated to world-premiere screenings of "Wadzilla," "I Was a Teenage Werebear," and "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein," an outbreak of sex-crazed zombie-ism is being spread through tainted popcorn butter. While he preps the first film, Kaufman gives a surprisingly touching monologue on the loss of movie-going magic as a montage of film threading its way through the projector plays out on the screen. It's a great moment, and it clearly shows that these guys love movies and definitely feel the loss of the drive-in culture. Each of the films on Kaufman's program is a short written and directed by a different filmmaker, mimicking a different style and era of horror and exploitation films. Adam Rifkin's "Wadzilla" starts off the show with an impressively ludicrous bang. Rifkin himself plays Miles, a young man who finds himself being used as a guinea pig for a new sperm-enhancing drug that causes his sperm to grow to gargantuan proportions. "Wadzilla" looks a lot like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, less like a 1950s "giant monster" movie than a 1970s parody of one, complete with appropriate film grain and a stop-motion giant sperm monster created by the Chiodo Brothers. Rifkin is hilarious in the lead, but the whole cast is great, especially Ray Wise as Miles's doctor. Tim Sullivan's "I Was a Teenage Werebear" is the weakest of the segments. Ostensibly a take-off on 1960s beach movies, "Werebear" is the story of Zac Efron lookalike Ricky (Sean Paul Lockhart), who finds himself drawn to leather-jacketed bad-boy Talon (Anton Troy). During a gym class wrestling match, Talon bites Ricky on the ass, turning him into a Werebear, which is exactly what it sounds like. When aroused, they turn into stout, hairy guys wearing a lot of leather. The premise isn't bad, but the execution is lacking and the songs are mostly forgettable. Perhaps the biggest failing of "Werebear" is its lack of period stylings beyond some costumes-- it just doesn't look or feel anything like the films it is apparently trying to invoke. Fortunately, after "Werebear" is perhaps the film's strongest segment, Adam Green's "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein." Modeled after poverty row horror films of the 30s and 40s, "Diary" finds Hitler (Joel David Moore) discovering the Frank family in their attic hideout after Anne (Melinda Y. Cohen) finds the notebook of her evil ancestor and her father explains how they had to change their name to "Frank" from "Frankenstein." Hitler and Eva Braun (Kristina Klebe) use the notebook to create a monster whom Hitler names Meshugganah (Kane Hodder). "Diary" is outrageous and hilarious, recalling Mel Brooks in his prime, and Joel David Moore is hysterical as Hitler, his fake German becoming more and more obvious as the film goes on. The film concludes with Joe Lynch's "Zom-B-Movie," which explodes into an all-out zombie orgy of humping undead and brightly-colored fluids shooting everywhere. It's an appropriately inappropriate finale for a film that revels in lowbrow humor and splatter, but like "Werebear" it doesn't much look like the films it seems to be mimicking. However, for sheer gut-splashing ingenuity, it's hard to beat, and the first-person camera during one sequence where a character is running through a drive-in full of zombies is pretty awesome. Chillerama is packed with gross-out jokes, lo-fi special effects, outrageous and offensive humor, and more than its share of dick and poop jokes. It is also, somewhat unbelievably, a genuinely moving tribute to the magic of the drive-in and the ridiculous low-budget fare that kept people driving out to the movies every week to see what could possibly top the last Dusk-to-Dawn show. The film's tagline promises Chillerama is "The Ultimate Midnight Movie," and damned if it doesn't very nearly deliver just that. Image Entertainment released Chillerama on DVD and Blu-ray on 29 November 2011. Special features include video commentary with all four directors, deleted scenes for "Wadzilla," "I Was a Teenage Werebear" and "Zom-B-Movie," a making-of featurette on "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein," trailers for "Wadzilla," "I Was a Teenage Werebear," and Chillerama, and interviews with the directors.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/chillerama.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/chillerama.html Horror Video and DVD Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:25:44 -0600 Savage Harvest in 1994, and won major acclaim in the underground horror community with the harrowing Scrapbook, which was named Rue Morgue magazine's "Best Independent Movie of 2001." Given the often punishing content and style of the films produced and released by his company Wicked Pixel Cinema, the relatively restrained, low-key horror of 2007's Deadwood Park came as a welcome surprise. Gone were the rough-edged "shot-on-video" look and claustrophobic interiors; Deadwood Park was a hugely ambitious undertaking for any independent filmmaker, a deadly serious horror film taking place in the present and WWII, shot on slick digital video in widescreen. The fact that Stanze pulled it off in grand style-- Deadwood Park is easily one of the best independent American horror films of the last decade-- meant that expectations for his next film among die-hard horror fans are ridiculously high. It should come as no surprise, then, that Stanze has zigged (after a fashion) where many would have predicted he would zag. Ratline, his latest feature, improves on the already impressive production values of Deadwood Park but uses them for a much different kind of horror story. Where Deadwood Park was often quiet and subtle, Ratline is loud and nasty. In other words, if Deadwood Park put a newfound maturity on display, Ratline is a reminder that this is still the same guy who made Scrapbook-- the picture may be prettier, but he still knows how to hit you in the gut. As the film opens, Crystal (Stanze regular Emily Haack) guns down the guys on the other side of an illicit deal involving a large bag of cash. She and Kim (Alex Del Monacco) take the money and hide out in a small Midwestern town. As it happens, this is hardly the sleepy, innocent town it appears to be-- aside from harboring a small but devoted Satanic cult, a powerful evil lies hidden here. The "Blood Flag," a Nazi flag used in arcane, demonic Nazi experiments, is being relentlessly sought out by Frank Logan (Jason Christ). It soon becomes clear that the arrivals of Frank and Crystal to this place are hardly coincidental, and as Logan moves closer to his goal, Crystal will be forced to make a decision that could seal the fate of all humankind. Ratline is full of surprises, and discussing much of the plot in any detail is bound to ruin them. Suffice to say that the storyline takes a few hard left turns and gleefully pulls the rug out from under the audience more than once. Stanze and co-writer/star Jason Christ treat the story's mix of horror fiction and historical fact seriously, but there is a streak of dark humor here that was notably absent from Deadwood Park. Horror fans looking for the old standbys won't be disappointed-- there is plenty of gore on display, and for the most part the makeup and effects are fantastic, but despite their queasy effectiveness, they're not the focus of the film. Ratline looks and sounds great, too, making it another technical leap forward for Stanze and Wicked Pixel, and the lead performances by Emily Haack and Jason Christ are excellent. It may lack the emotional heft of Deadwood Park, but there's no question that Ratline is another example of independent American horror film at its best. Ratline is available on DVD from Wicked Pixel Cinema and is available On Demand from Amazon.com. The DVD features two commentary tracks (one with Eric Stanze, the other with Stanze along with Emily Haack and Jason Christ), a lengthy behind-the-scenes documentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel and trailers.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/ratline.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/ratline.html Horror Indie Video and DVD Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:37:33 -0600 Elvira's Movie Macabre, and now the Mistress of the Dark is back at home and Entertainment One is releasing episodes of Movie Macabre on DVD, as well as Elvira's Haunted Hills, her second feature film. The latest discs in the Movie Macabre double feature series follow the formula that made Elvira a pop culture touchstone. Elvira introduces the features and appears in short bits between the film and commercial breaks, offering snarky commentary on the feature while she deals with some sort of issue in her castle. During the features, Elvira occasionally pops up in the bottom left corner of the screen to directly comment on the action, but unlike Mystery Science Theater 3000 she is not on-screen for the whole movie. Since the latest incarnation of Movie Macabre uses public domain films, though, there is some overlap with the films shown on MST3K-- one of the double feature discs released in October includes Tormented, which was used on MST3K. That film shares a disc with Scared to Death, Bela Lugosi's first color film. Also released at the same time is a double feature disc of Lady Frankenstein and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter. Some of these features have appeared on various compilation sets of public domain films, but diehard Elvira fans will certainly want to see what their favorite horror hostess has to say about them. The transfers are as good as can be expected for such fare, but the tech specs are hardly why anyone would want to tune into these DVDs. The star of the show is Elvira, and to say that the show is basically exactly the same as it was in the 1980s will tell you everything you need to know: Elvira pokes fun at the movie and pop culture, with plenty of goofy dark humor and boob jokes. Speaking of which, Entertainment One has also reissued Elvira's long out-of-print second feature film, Elvira's Haunted Hills to coincide with the release of the latest batch of Movie Macabre DVDs. This "Special Enhanced Edition" includes a making-of featurette and interview with Richard O'Brien from the 2002 DVD release, and adds a feature-length commentary with Elvira (well, Cassandra Peterson, her alter ego), director Sam Irvin and some cast members and a new feaurette "Transylvania or Bust: Elvira & Company Tell All." Elvira fans could hardly ask for more! Entertainment One released Elvira's Movie Macabre: Scared to Death & Tormented, Elvira's Movie Macabre: Lady Frankenstein & Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, and Elvira's Haunted Hills: Special Enhanced Edition on 4 October 2011. The double feature discs include a behind-the-scenes featurette, a video of an Elvira photo shoot, "Mistress of the Dark" video by Ghoultown, a making-of featurette about the Ghoultown video, and a number of trailers for other Movie Macabre features.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/elviras_movie_macabre_and_haunted_hills_on_dvd.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/elviras_movie_macabre_and_haunted_hills_on_dvd.html Horror Video and DVD Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:16:45 -0600 Bite Marks, but anyone looking for a film that confounds expectations likely will be. Before the opening credits roll, Walsh (Stephen Geoffreys) is attacked in the darkness by some thing hidden from the audience. He's a truck driver, and when he doesn't show up for his shift, his boss calls Walsh's brother Brewster (Benjamin Lutz) to cover for him. Perfect timing, as it allows Brewster to avoid questions about his recent trouble in the bedroom with Walsh's wife. Brewster sets out for Kansas and picks up a pair of hitchhikers the next morning, not realizing that they're a gay couple backpacking across the country together. Cary (Windham Beacham) and Vogel (David Alanson) are very different: Cary is sensitive and responsible, while Vogel is impetuous and sarcastic. Vogel also has a very active libido, and when Brewster catches Vogel and Cary having sex in the bathroom of a truck stop restaurant, Brewster begins to wonder if there's not something more to his recent lack of interest in sex with his brother's wife. He soon has bigger problems on his hand when he narrowly avoids a wreck in the middle of nowhere and the three men find themselves stranded in a junkyard waiting for a mechanic. While they wait, they learn about an even more pressing issue: Brewster is transporting five coffins, each one apparently packing a ravenous vampire. Soon Brewster, Cary and Vogel find themselves barricaded in the cab of Brewster's truck with pages of a Bible pasted over every inch of the windows to hopefully keep the vampires out. When the mechanic arrives, they learn they're dealing with a very different breed of vampires than they're used to seeing in the movies, and that the familiar rules don't exactly apply. Bite Marks is competent enough, and the cast is mostly pretty good, but it certainly has some problems. Cary and Vogel suddenly start spouting horror nerd dialogue when the vampire attack starts, although there's nothing to suggest that they have any interest in horror movies up until that point. The meta humor feels somewhat out of place in a film that has played its story relatively straight up until that point. Still, there's definitely some funny stuff here, including Vogel's fistfight with a vampire using some interesting improvised boxing gloves, and most of the gore and makeup effects are effective. Bite Marks has some intriguing ideas about its vampire villains, but unfortunately not enough of that inventiveness carried over into the plot, which is just a little too familiar. Bite Marks is certainly fun, and it's always good to see Stephen Geoffreys, but horror fans will probably be left wanting a bit more than the film delivers. Breaking Glass Pictures and Vicious Circle Films released Bite Marks on DVD on 15 November 2011. Special features include two audio commentaries with the director and cast, interviews with the film's stars, a gag reel, photo gallery and a "behind the scenes" featurette.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/bite_marks.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/bite_marks.html Horror Video and DVD Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:32:54 -0600 Isolation, for example: chances are good that you already know it's a film that fits into the horror genre. Knowing that, you automatically start to watch the film and read it in a specific way. And for genre-savvy viewers, Isolation may prove to be a frustrating experience. There is a brief scene of interaction between Amy (Eva Amurri) and her father Lawrence (Gregg Henry) in which he attempts to console her about something that has happened to make her upset. The film then cuts abruptly to Amy in a bed in a large hospital room, with radio snippets suggesting that an outbreak of a highly contagious virus may be why she is in an isolation unit. After some foggy time floating in and out of consciousness, Amy wakes and meets intern Jake (Joshua Close), and shortly afterward meets her doctor, Dr. Sloan (David Harbour). Details about why Amy is in the hospital are scarce, at least partially because Amy is so agitated that she can't let Dr. Sloan finish a sentence, but the gist is that she collapsed and was brought in to the hospital, where she has been resting for days. The film cuts between scenes of Amy in the hospital and brief scenes of Dr. Sloan and Jacob as they monitor her through cameras mounted in the hospital room and interacting with each other discussing her case. The audience learns early on that Amy is a resident, working towards becoming a doctor, and as she becomes increasingly restless and Dr. Sloan says and does some things that make her suspicious, the uncertainty of Amy's situation becomes more ominous. Given the little information she has, and the odd behavior of Dr. Sloan and Jacob, Amy begins to wonder if she is being treated for a mysterious sudden illness or is being held in the hospital for a more sinister purpose. Now, the main problem with Isolation is the fact that you know going into it that it is a horror movie, so chances are you will be watching with a careful eye. For its first hour, Isolation does a good job of diverting attention away from its central question, and the scenes that could tip the film's hand wisely play things close to the vest. However, once the third act begins, things turn disappointingly predictable. All this work is for naught, though, if you have somehow managed to see the film's trailer before watching the movie-- the trailer literally spoils every conceivable thing that could be spoiled in the course of the film's storyline. The trailer issue aside, Isolation is often effective, playing on the universal fear of extended hospitalization and of getting an unexplained and unknown illness. Eva Amurri delivers a strong performance in the lead as Amy, and David Harbour is very good as Dr. Sloan, hitting just the right tone of concern tempered with a brusque manner. The trouble with Isolation is not its cast, or production values, or even necessarily the structure and writing-- although Amy conveniently avoids doing at least one very obvious thing that would put to bed her uncertainty about her situation until the film is nearly over. Mostly, Isolation is undone by the expectations viewers will bring to the film with the knowledge of its genre. As it is, Isolation is a neat little thriller, but a few different choices to confound expectations could have made it something much more. Entertainment One released Isolation on DVD on 4 October 2011.]]> http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/isolation_2011.html http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/isolation_2011.html Horror Video and DVD Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:21:04 -0600