Don't Touch the Watch

Video Nasties: The Burning (1981)

2012-02-21T19:15:00.002Z

Don't look, he'll see you. Don't breathe, he'll hear you. Don't move... you're dead!

Contains Spoilers!!

Movie:

The Burning would be the first of 2 films – Madman being the other - to explore the campfire tale of the murderous Cropsy.

A notorious urban legend that has terrified boy scouts for decades, the character of Cropsy made prime slasher material for the brutal bogeyman-tormenting young campers in, The Burning.

One of the first movies released under up and coming movie moguls, Harvey and Bob Weinstein's Miramax Studios, which would later release a number of phenomenally successful, Oscar winning movies. Most notably, Good Will Hunting and Shakespeare Ln Love, here, Harvey handled the production, while Bob co-wrote with Peter Lawrence, Brad Grey and director Tony Maylam.

By the time the movie was released in 1981, slasher mania was in full swing, as Friday the 13th had broken box office records around the country the previous year. Where Friday had taken the basic elements from John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, Halloween, it would itself unknowingly become the prototype for a whole host of summer-camp set slashers, with The Burning, being the most successful.

The movie opens in 1976 at Camp Blackwood, where we see a group of kids play a nasty prank on the cantankerous caretaker, Cropsy (nicknamed after his huge garden shears), who is left horribly burned, after the joke goes disasterously wrong. Years later, after being released from hospital following extensive burn treatment, the hate-filled Cropsy immediately murders a prostitute, before making his way back to the camp ground to wreak his terrible revenge.

I’m going out on the limb here, but I think The Burning is better than Friday the 13th, or any of its sequels for that matter. Also, to further incite fan rage, I think it may be one of the best slashers to grace the golden-age. While some of its elements may have dated since its release, I find the movie vastly superior to anything released in the late '90s slasher revival - yes even the over hyped Scream.

Although it was designed to be a purely commercial endeavour by the Weinstein’s, to launch their new found studio, the level of craftsmanship and creativity can’t be denied. From the fantastic direction by Tony Maylam, to Rick Wakeman’s much imitated, atmospheric score (finally granted a release in 2007). The Burning also has some of the most gruesomely inventive kills ever conceived by effects master tom Savini – who turned down Friday the 13th 2 for this.

Another strong ingredient is the host of likable and genuine characters that populate the film. The kids and adults here, are some of the most interesting and realistic people to populate a slasher in the whole of the '80s. Be it an early appearance by Jason Alexander as the camp jokester, or Brian Backer as the 'woody Allen goes camping' nerd Alfred. These people are likable, slightly annoying, but most importantly they seem completely believable.

Small things like having a competent cast and a genuinely interesting set up, somehow got lost in translation as the genre moved on. By the time you got to the meta slashers, with there cast of beautiful people dying by fish hook in, I know What You Did Last Summer, the creativity and suspense had long gone from the genre.

I might be a bit biased, as my love for '80s slashers runs deep, but as Hollywood continues to mine this fruitful period, it’s hard not to argue that maybe things were just that little bit better back then. For me I found the '90s to an almost total wasteland for quality horror (save for a few, Candy Man and Blair Witch), and it’s looking ever more slight as this new decade lumbers on.

Classics like Halloween, Friday the 13th and The Burning will continue to draw fans, as they are well made, interesting films, with characters that are more than just machete fodder. Hopefully Hollywood will one day get that it doesn’t matter how cool the kill is, or how polished the direction, sometimes all you need is the right tone, a few interesting creative people trying something different, and a killer, ORIGINAL, idea.

With movies like the Friday the 13th, Texas chainsaw and The Hitcher remakes, clogging up our screens, will there ever be a return to the heady days of the '70s and '80s?

As for me I am still trying to shake the god-forsaken Black Christmas remake from my mind. Unfortunately it might take a device like that in Eternal Sunshine, to finally rid it from by memory, just please for the love of god let Cropsy rest in peace. No remake needed.

Directed by: Tony Maylam

Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career as an actor and then television presenter for ZDF Bermuda (The Tony Maylam Show) and the UK’s ITV (Sportsweek), before concentrating solely on filmmaking.

He began his cinematic career in 1972 with the film Cup Glory, a feature length theatrical film with Richard Attenborough on the 100 years of the FA Cup. A number of films for television followed, which he wrote and directed. This led to White Rock, featuring James Coburn, with a bestselling soundtrack by Rick Wakeman, which played in British cinemas for over six months and garnered wide international sales and recognition, including BAFTA.

Another Tony Maylam film which received an extensive cinema release in 1976 was Genesis in Concert, featuring Phil Collins, which, like White Rock, was shot in anamorphic Panavision. This led to Tony Maylam’s first fictional feature film, an adaption of the classic novel, The Riddle of the Sands, starring Simon MacCorkindale, Michael York and Jenny Agutter, which he wrote and directed.

Bob and Harvey Weinstein then bought White Rock and Genesis for release in the United States and released it under the combined title of Sensasia (Harvey at the time was a major rock promoter based in Buffalo, New York). This led to Harvey and Bob’s first venture as full movie producers, a cult horror film, The Burning, which Maylam directed and which was also the first film for Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter.

Tony Maylam also wrote and directed, Hero, featuring Diego Maradona, the Official Film of the FIFA World Cup, which received wide acclaim during its international cinema release (includingArgentina, where it was one of the biggest box-office successes of 1987)

Back in the UK, Tony made the critically acclaimed feature-length film for the BBC[who?], Across the Lake, starring Anthony Hopkins, which was one of the highest-rated dramas on British television throughout the 1980s.

In 1992 Maylam made a science fiction thriller, Split Second, starring Rutger Hauer,which was widely shown internationally, including the biggest print-release of any independent British film in the US. In 2001, he wrote and directed the movie thriller, Phoenix Blue, and in 2008, wrote and directed a thriller shot in Italy and London, Journal of a Contract Killer, which won Best Film and Best Actress in New York.

Tony Maylam has also recently written and directed ten major documentaries for Speed/Fox TV under the title, Victory by Design. This award-winning series is continuing its run.

Also Known as:
Cropsy

Was it on the Dpp39: Yes

Bodycount: 10

Nastiest Bits:

Nasty Rating:

Pre-cert nasty cover:

How much is it worth on Pre-Cert:
20 - 50 pounds.

Available in the UK? Yes

Passed X (18) after 10s of BBFC cuts for 1981 cinema release

Thorn EMI initially released the video uncut. They then tried to replace rental videos with the BBFC cut version but most shops stuck with the uncut version.

The uncut version of the video was banned as a video nasty in October 1983. It remained on the list throughout the scare
Re-released after 19s of BBFC cuts in 1992 by Thorn/EMI

Cuts waived for the 2002 Vipco R2 DVD

Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut
Passed 18 with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
UK 2008 Blackhorse R2 DVD at UK Amazon
UK 2002 Vipco R2 DVD

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated (but labelled R Rated) for:

US 2009 MGM R1 DVD at US Amazon

Worth watching? Yes

Tom Savini on The Burning (1981)

2012-02-20T14:10:00.001Z

The Burning (1981) Posters

2012-02-20T14:07:00.001Z

Maniac Cop (1988) Blu Ray Review

2012-02-20T13:44:00.002Z

Maniac Cop - R0 Arrow Video

Movie:

You know how people have certain movies that invoke a sense of nostalgia, be it the candy-coloured world of Willy Wonka, or the fantastical musical numbers of The Wizard of Oz, well for me its Maniac Cop.

A personal favourite of my childhood, the original and its two sequels, became well worn friends of my VHS golden days. A time when finding a good playable copy of a movie wasn’t a right, it was a privilege.

Having never felt the need to revisit the fond, fuzzy memories of my youth, I avoided purchasing other incarnations of the movie on DVD. But as I have found myself purchasing every other Blu ray title released by Arrow, the temptation became too much and once again I ventured back to the mean streets of late ‘80s New York, to walk the bloody beat with Matt Cordell.

A product of two well known genre masters, William Lustig of Maniac (1980) fame - and Larry Cohen, the productive screenwriter behind a number of horror and suspense classics. Together they created a modern day old-school style monster movie, in the guise of a slasher.

Playing Cordell actor Robert Z'Dar is a formidable presence in the movie, whether snapping necks with his bare hands, or taking on a gang of criminals in the nude, in a brutal shower scene. This massive, lumbering killer is a genuinely unnerving threat in the movie, resembling a modern day Frankenstein’s monster created through a series of injustices.

While the movie may be nothing more than an enjoyably trashy late '80s horror, it does have a certain charm and competence missing from other movies of that time. One of the most enjoyable aspects is the abundance of cult actors populating the film, from Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell, to Halloween 3's Tom Atkins, and Shaft himself Richard Roundtree. Although many of these roles amount to little more than cameos, it's still cool to see them all together, chewing up the scenery with gusto.

Cordell of course would return like all good bogeymen for 2 more sequels, the superior action heavy Maniac Cop 2, and the lesser Badge of Silence. Thankfully he hasn’t been resurrected any further or turned into a horrible Michael Bay produced remake, well not yet.

For some a forgettable silly little horror title, but for me, and its small devoted fans, this is a fun movie that brings back fond memories of the good old days, when genre cinema was at its peak.

Video:

Arrow release Maniac Cop in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer.

Drenched in grain is a good description of the nighttime scenes here, while the ones during the daytime are clear and colourful. An improvement over the R1 release this has far more detail as well as much improved black tones and colours.

Audio:

Arrow only provide one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. this gives a rich competent, representation of the movie, and is much truer to the source over the R1 DTS-HD master audio track.

Extra Features:

Along with the usual array of Arrow extras, like reversible covers, a booklet and poster, is a number of interesting extra features.

Doomed Detective: Tom Atkins on Maniac Cop, is a wonderful interview with actor Tom Atkins, who discusses Bill Lustig's film and his lengthy career.

Lady of the Night: Laurene Landon Remembers Maniac Cop, actress Laurene Landon reminisces about her time on the Maniac Cop movies and actor Bruce Campbell.

Scripting A New Slasher Supper-villain: Larry Cohen on Matt Cordell, writer of Maniac Cop, Larry Cohen describes the geneses of the movie.

Region:
This is a region free release.

Worth it on Blu?

Not as accomplished as other '80s slashers, this is still one of the better late entries into the genre. A personal favourite of mine, I can see how others might be put off by the strange tone and cheesy dialogue. If your new to the franchise this could be the start of a beautiful friendship as the superior part 2 offered even greater action and violence.

Overall Rating:

Trailer:

Extra Features:

Trailer 1 - (2 min, 1080p).
Trailer 2 - (3 min, 1080p).
TV Spots - (1 min, 1080p).
Doomed Detective: Tom Atkins on Maniac Cop - (21 min, 1080p).
Lady of the Night: Laurene Landon Remembers Maniac Cop - (14 min, 1080p).
Scripting A New Slasher Supper-villain: Larry Cohen on Matt Cordell - (19 min, 1080p).
Booklet - illustrated booklet featuring writing on the film by author Troy Howarth and "The Original Maniac: An interview with William Lustig".

Technical Aspects:

Video

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: LPCM 2.0

Subtitles

English SDH

Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)

Packaging
Slipcover in original pressing

Purchase Here:

Curtains (1983) - Unearthing A Forgotten Slasher

2012-02-15T14:41:00.001Z

"Did you ever want something so bad, you would do anything to get it"

Was it fate, or just dumb luck, that helped me stumble across this obscure, 1983 Canadian slasher. It was about six years ago, while searching the net for lesser known ‘80s slasher movies, when I came across an interesting article(found here), for a movie I had never heard of, but whose concept instantly intrigued me.

The reviewer, who was a long time fan of the movie – even his pen name was Stryker - was desperate for the film to receive a proper, long overdue, re-release. You see at the time, this little horror gem, had like so many other movies, become lost in the void from VHS to DVD, with neither a release date, or a disturber hinted at for the near future.

Enticed by the prospect of an obscure '80s Canadian slasher - love me some Canadian slasher - I immediately set out to source as much information as I could. At the time, movie downloads were a foreign concept to me, I still believed in the old fashioned method of hunting a movie down through my local retailer, or as a last resort the dusty dens of second-hand shops.

Finally through many hours of searching, I managed to seek out a workable download link from a temperamental file sharing website. The copy I downloaded was terribly muddy and low resolution, but still, besides the visual faults, the over whelming experience was very enjoyable. The combination of creepy visuals, and the wonderfully atmospheric score by Paul Zaza, left a lasting impression on me. Like many before me, I was now a member of the, ‘please release Curtains on DVD club’. A small, but dedicated group, that continue to make this movie an underground cult sensation?

“Now imagine this, six actresses going to the same house, to audition for the same part, well that sounds like a lot a fun...if you like blood baths”.

Unlike the popular slashers of the time, Curtains strays from the clique traits that where already cemented into the genre, by the time it was released. Instead of the bland cast of 'bubble-headed'-blonds, or 'air-head' jocks, getting carved up, the characters in Curtains are adults, with genuine deep-seated, emotional problems. Be it envy, obsession or good old fashioned revenge, Curtains has, as they say, more proverbial meat on its bones, than just some bland maniac in a mask movie.

Taking a concept explored in Samuel fuller's classic Shock Corridor and also used in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. This has renowned actress Samantha Sherwood pretending to be emotionally unstable, so as to facilitate her admittance into a psychiatric facility, where she hopes to gain a better understanding of the diseased mind. As the next role she has chosen to play is, Audra, the lead in the new William Stryker movie, a director with an obsessive need for perfection, in his actors.

What starts off as an extreme, exorcise in method preparation, soon turns into a hellish nightmare of mental illness, that infects Samantha’s mind like a cancer. Left to rot in the hospital, Samantha learns that Stryker is gathering other actresses to audition for her intended role. Enraged by this deceit, she escapes the hospital, and makes her way to his snowbound retreat, where she plans one last showdown with the treacherous director.

In addition to the scorned Samantha, six other actress - Amanda, Patti, Brooke, Laurian, Tara, and Christie - are also on their way to audition for the part. Amidst the twisted mind games of Stryker, a killer disguised in a horrible old hags mask appears, murdering them one by one. It would appear that one of the actresses wants the part of Audra so badly, they're willing to kill to get it.

“If I believed in demons, I would damn your soul forever”

Released at the heart of 'stalk and slash' influx in 1983, it seems strange, slasher hungry audiences, didn't take to the movie. On paper it appears to have every element a 'slash fan' could want, from the mask wearing killer, to the bevy of 'Scream Queen' stars. The only assumption I can make, is that by the time it was finally released, audiences had become more accustomed to ever more extravagantly gory slasher movies. While the murders in Curtains are creepy and nerve inducing, they certainly aren’t violent, save for a toilet in a head moment.

A notoriously troubled production that involved cast changes and rewrites, the film took nearly three years to complete its production. Only recently, producer Peter Simpson (Prom Night), gave an exclusive interview to Terrortrap.com, where he revealed the myriad of problems that plagued the films production.

Simpson claimed to have shot almost half of the movie, after original directer Richard Ciupka walked off the film. Simpson said he filmed many of the integral scenes in the movie, from the famous daylight 'ice skating' murder scene on the frozen pond, to the excellent prop house chase sequence.

Admitting that Ciupka only filmed the interior scenes, such as the intense audition scenes that take place in the house. This melding of two directorial styles becomes apparent the more you watch the movie. Creating a sort of off-kilter, schizophrenic feel to the film, as slight differences become clear from one shot to another. Instead of this being a hindrance, I think it gives Curtains a weird sort of charm, as if two minds are at constantly apposing, leaving the viewer unsure of what to expect from one scene to another.

“I wouldn’t bother killing you, except I’m so looking forward to every last ounce of blood seeping out of your wretched body”.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Curtains is the wonderful genre cast of bitchy, back stabbing actresses, vying for the callous affection of the tyrannical, William Stryker. The talented Samantha Eggar (The Brood) gives the movie a lofty credibly, with her committed turn as the wronged Samantha Sherwood. Also on top form is Lynne Griffiths, as stand up comedian Patti, Lynne famously played the the 'bag over the head' victim, from Bob Clark's seminal 'proto-slasher,' Black Christmas.

Playing the rest of the doomed actresses are slasher alumni, Sandee Currie, as seen in Terror Train, and Lesleh Donaldson, who is recognisable from, Funeral Home and Happy Birthday To Me. Last, but certainly not least, is the immensely talented John Vernon, who steals the movie as the controlling misogynistic, Stryker.

With all this talent, and a prime slasher set up, of spooky snow-covered mansion, and creepy masked killer, why the movie was so badly received and still continues to be mistreated is a complete mystery to me.

Over the years since my first viewing, I have revisited Curtains a number of times. The movie seems to hold a strange, unnerving grip over me, it’s a movie that enthrals and commands my attention like no other slasher. Hopefully one day, after a respectful release, the movie will be finally seen as an integral part of the early '80s 'stalk and slash' boom.

The Music

An endearing and effective part of Curtains, is the stellar score by Paul Zaza. Zaza has worked on over 175 features, as well as TV and documentaries. Known to fans of his work as the ‘Zasa sound’, he left an indelible mark on the slasher genre with a number of spine chilling atmospheric scores. From Prom Night and it sequels, to My Bloody Valentine (1981), as well as Curtains and American Nightmare.

The soundtrack is long since out of print, but thanks to the wonderful people at Terrortrap.com, it can be listened to here.

"Not again, not ever again, you’ve betrayed me for the last time"

The film was finally released on DVD on October 5, 2010 by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, as part of the Midnight Horror Collection: Bloody Slashers DVD collection, which also includes Secrets of the Clown, Hoboken Hollow and Room 33, 3 direct-to-video B-movies. This release, which featured generic cover art for the film and a poor transfer, has angered many fans, who have demanded a separate re-release. It is unknown whether Echo Bridge will re-release it anytime soon.

Trailer:

VHS Covers:

Video Nasties: The Boogeyman (1980)

2012-02-11T11:58:00.000Z

The most terrifying nightmare of childhood is about to return!

Movie:

German director Ulli Lommel, took the standard American slasher formula, and injected it with an interesting supernatural twist.

The movie opens with a flashback, where we see two young children Willy and Lacey, spying on their mother and her lover, as they drink and fool around on the couch. As a joke their mother puts one of her stocking over her lovers face. The man likes it so much he leaves it on, even when the woman sees her children watching them.

As punishment, Willy is tied to his bed by the boyfriend, as the mother watches, laughing. When the two go off to make love, his sister gets a butchers knife to free him. After being released he takes the knife and proceeds to his mother’s bedroom, where, as seen through the bedroom mirror, he fatally stabs the man to death.

Years later, the children are now grown, but Willy was so traumatised by the events of that night that he hasn't spoken a word since. He lives with his aunt and uncle on their farm, with his younger sister Lacey who has forgotten the horrible events, and is now happily married with a husband and young son.

Unfortunately their tranquil existence is thrown into turmoil when they receive a letter from their dying mother, who wishes to see them one last time. The letter brings a flood of unhappy memories back for Lacey, who begins having terrible flashbacks to the night her brother killed, her mother's boyfriend. Later after she returns to her old house, to try and rid herself of the memories, she unwittingly unleashes the vengeful spirit of the murdered man, whose been trapped in the mirror, where his murder took place.

It’s interesting to see how different directors and writers added their own unique twist to the slasher formula as it became ever more popular with audiences. Here Lommel takes the notion of the bogeyman and makes him a literal unseen threat, who uses broken shards of mirror to murder, or just posses his victims.

The Boogeyman also noticeably borrows from a number of previously successful horror films (Halloween, The Amityville Horror and The Exorcist), which Lommel mixes together to create a heady broth of synth scored, spectral, slashing. That ends in a suitably over the top manner, with a blood leaking (literally!) exorcism, shaded in a wonderfully '80s, lime green glow.

It may not be up to the standard of some other slashers of this period, but it does have a playful, hopefully intentional silliness to it (the hilarious mirror scene). The murders, especially the shish-kabob scene, and the exorcism finale, are so over the top that it all ends up being an enjoyable, cheesy, horror romp.

Directed by: Ulli Lommel

Lommel started his career as an actor in films in 1960's. One of his earliest film roles was in Russ Meyer's Fanny Hill. In 1969, he starred in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's directorial debut Love Is Colder Than Death. The cast as an ensemble won an award at the German Film Awards in 1970.

Fassbinder and Lommel worked together more than 20 times after 1967. Fassbinder also produced Lommel's The Tenderness of Wolves, a drama about the murders of Fritz Haarmann, which was Lommel's second film as director. It was nominated at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival for the Golden Bear. Ulli Lommel participated in the documentary Fassbinder in Hollywood (2002).

Lommel moved to the United States in 1977 and started working with Andy Warhol, who produced his films Cocaine Cowboys, and Blank Generation (1980). In 1980, Lommel directed The Boogeyman (1980) which became a hit and made the UK's 'Video Nasties' list. After that, he went to make films like Brain Waves (1982), starring Tony Curtis and Vera Miles, The Devonsville Terror (1983) with Donald Pleasence, and Revenge of the Stolen Stars (1985) with Klaus Kinski.

Since the mid-1980s, he has directed several films, from drama to science fiction, but mostly horror. In recent years he has become notorious for a long line of direct-to-video movies based on the lives of serial killers, most of which have been critically panned.

Also Known as:

Ulli Lommel's Boogeyman, The Boogey Man

Was it on the Dpp39: No

Bodycount: 9

Nastiest Bits:

Nasty Rating:

Pre-cert nasty cover:

How much is it worth on Pre-Cert:
50 - 100 Pounds

Available in the UK? Yes

The 1980 cinema release was uncut.

Released on video in November 1981 by Vipco. The video was listed as video nasty in October 1983 but was dropped from the list in July 1985

Re-released after 44s of BBFC cuts in 1992 (Vipco)

Re-released uncut in 2000 with an 18 certificate

An extended version was again passed uncut in 2004

Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut

Passed 18 uncut with previous cuts waived for:

UK 2000 Horror Video/Vipco R0 DVD via UK Amazon

The US release is uncut and MPAA R Rated for:

US 2005 Sony R1 DVD at US Amazon

Worth watching? Yes

Psycho 2 (1983) Review

2012-02-08T19:29:00.000Z

The most famous motel in movie history is open for business again.

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Tom Holland, Robert Bloch (characters created by)

Stars:

Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles and Meg Tilly

Cinema's most unhinged mommy’s boy, Norman Bates, returned to the screen in this surprisingly accomplished slasher sequel.

Norman has just been deemed sane after spending 22 years of his life in a mental hospital, following the events of the previous movie. On the day of his release, Lila Loomis - the sister of Marion Crane (Janet Lee), who was brutally murdered in the iconic shower scene in part 1 - shows up in court to try and stop Norman from being released.

The judge dismisses her plea, so Dr. Bill Raymond (Robert Loggia), who is convinced he has cured him of his maternal obsession, takes him back home, to the Bates motel. Dr. Raymond even gets him a job at a local diner, where he meets the beautiful young waitress Mary Samuels (Meg Tilly). Who Norman invites to stay at his motel after she has a fight with her boyfriend.

As Norman tries to lead a normal life with Mary, it isn't long before ‘Mother’ makes an unwanted appearance. At first its only phone calls, but soon Norman thinks he sees her back at her old spot at the window. As the killing starts again, we are left wondering, is it Norman behind these new series of murders? or is someone else trying to drive him insane?

Psycho 2 is a cracking sequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, although nowhere near as good as the original, it still stands on its own merits as the next chapter in Norman Bates's story. Directed by Richard Franklin and written by Tom Holland, these two talented individuals push the movie beyond other mediocre sequels.

Writer Holland shows a great respect for the original, throwing in plenty of references to keep fans happy, in addition to adding to the Psycho mythology, with a brilliant shock ending. It’s no surprise he went on to make other horror classics, Fright Night and Child's Play.

As for Perkins, he slips back into the dual role of sane and crazy Norman with ease, as if it were only yesterday, since he played the part. The performance is so strong that you end up genuinely caring for him, even as he makes his inevitable descent back into insanity, as the presence of Mother takes over his fragile mind.

I am a big fan of this movie, and its sequel, that Perkins directed himself. It may not be a patch on the original, but as an '80s slasher and a horror film, it certainly excels on both counts.

Sum it up:
Norman Bates returns in this well made, and enjoyable sequel, that while not as accomplished as the original, is still one of the better horror sequels of the '80s.

Rating:

Slasher Art

2012-02-07T21:18:00.002Z

Geekchunks.com

How well Do You Know Your Bogeymen?

2012-02-07T20:50:00.000Z

As featured on Smash or Trash Indie film-making, can you match the 'stalk and slash' star to their movie, and their name, good luck!

First match the character’s letter to the film in which they appeared:

1. As Darkness Sets In
2. Curtains
3. Darkest Hour
4. Dead Hunt
5. Fear of Clowns
6. Friday the 13th Part III
7. Girl’s Nite Out
8. Graduation Day
9. Gutterballs
10. Halloween
11. Laid To Rest
12. My Bloody Valentine
13. Nail Gun Massacre
14. The Pool
15. Prom Night
16. The Prowler
17. Scream
18. Slaughtered
19. Steel Trap
20. Terror Train
21. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
22. Tourist Trap
23. Uncle Sam
24. Valentine

Now put the face to the name:

1. Alex Hammond
2. BBK
3. Black Mask
4. Chrome Skull
5. Cupid
6. Doll Face
7. The Fencer
8. Ghostface
9. Grizzly
10. The Hag
11. Harry Warden
12. Jason Vorhees
13. Kenny Hampton
14. Leatherface
15. Metal Mask
16. Michael Myers
17. Nailer
18. The North Bend Reaper
19. The Quote
20. Shard Face
21. Shivers the Clown
22. The Skull
23. The Soldier
24. Uncle Sam

Psycho 2 DVD & VHS Covers

2012-02-06T16:37:00.002Z

Scream Queen - Jamie Lee Curtis

2012-02-06T11:11:00.003Z

Born:

Jamie Lee Curtis was born November 22, 1958

Famous for:

Curtis got her big break playing Laurie Strode, in the iconic Halloween series, becoming the first true slasher movie star. After a few more entries in the stalk and slash genre, Jamie got her big break came in 1983 as the hooker with a heart of gold, in Trading Places.

Slasher Movies:
Halloween (1978), Prom Night (1980), Terror Train (1980), Road Games (1981) Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002).

Best Slasher: Halloween

The one that started it all, the babysitters in peril masterpiece gave Curtis her debut, entering her into slasher movie history.

Final Girl: 6 Times

Best Non Slasher Movie: Blue Steel

Curtis got to flex her action muscles in this exceptional and underrated classic from director Kathryn Bigelow of the Oscar winning The Hurt Locker, fame. Curtis plays trigger happy cop Megan Turner, who gains the affection of a twisted serial killer after an armed robbery goes wrong.

Movies Killed In: 2

Top 3 Slashers:

Halloween

Curtis showed off that famous scream, as she fought for her life against the unstoppable Shape.

Terror Train

One of two Canadian slashers Curtis made back to back in 1980. Terror Train has the unique twist of having its 'stalk and slash' scenario play out on a moving train.

H20

The writer of Scream got his dream job of bringing Jaime Lee back as Laurie Strode to battle once again with her demonic brother Micheal Myers. The fact that the Laurie character was meant to have died some time between parts 2 and 4 of the series didn't stand in the way of her return.

Photo Gallery:

Scream Queen - Danielle Harris

2012-02-05T22:05:00.002Z

Born:
Danielle Andrea Harris was born June 1, 1977.

Famous for:

If Jaime Lee Curtis is the 'scream queen' star of the Halloween series, then Danielle Harris is the dark haired princess. Harris made her name as Jaime Lloyd the young niece of evil incarnate Micheal Myers, in Halloween 4. Harris later reprised the role for part 5, but was recast for the terrible Halloween 6. She later returned to the franchise for Rob Zombies remake in 2007.

Slasher Movies:

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Urban Legend (1998), Halloween (2007), Left for Dead (2007), Prank (2008), Halloween II (2009), Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet (2009), Hatchet II (2010), ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2 (2011)

Best Slasher: Halloween 4

A young Danielle Harris is brilliant as Jaime Llyod, who has to survive a Halloween night of terror after her bogeyman uncle, Micheal Myers returns to Haddonfield.

Final Girl: 6 Times

Best Non Slasher Movie: The Last Boy Scout

Danielle stars as the 'smartass' daughter of Bruce Willis's on the edge detective, in this action classic, from Shane Black and Tony Scott.

Movies Killed In: 1

Top 3 Slashers:

Halloween 4

After the commercial failure of Halloween 3 (Season of the Witch), which deviated from the 'stalk and slash' of previous entries. Fans were delighted to see Micheal Myers return to the franchise, with this accomplished sequel.

As Jamie Lee Curtis did not want to return, her character was written out of the series, as having died in a car crash. Taking over as Myers bait Danielle Harris made her debut as Jaime Llyod, the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode.

Halloween Remake

Returning to the Halloween franchise, Danielle was a welcome addition to Rob Zombie's controversial remake.

Hatchet 2

In this slasher sequel Harris takes over the part of Marybeth, who again battles with the deranged swamp dweller Victor Crowley.

Picture Gallery:

Scream Queen - Sheri Moon Zombie

2012-02-05T14:35:00.003Z

Born:
Sheri Lyn Skurkis, on September 26, 1970

Famous for:
Appearing in all of husband Rob Zombie's horror films since his debut, House of 10000 Corpses in 2003

Slasher Movies:
House of 10000 Corpses (2003), Toolbox Murders (2004), The Devil's Rejects (2005), Halloween -Remake (2007), Halloween 2 (2009)

Best Slasher: The Devil's Rejects (2005)

Reprising her role as Baby in the successful sequel to House of 10000 Corpses, Moon gives a wonderfully demented turn, as the helium voiced bubble-gum blond, with a penchant for murder.

Final Girl: Never

Non Slasher Movie: Haunted World of El Superbeasto

Moon lends her voice to husband Rob Zombie's bizarre, comedic, animated pop culture explosion, about a washed-up Mexican luchador, and his sultry sidekick sister Suzi-X, as they confront an evil villain Dr. Satan.

Movies Killed In: 3

Top 3 Slashers:

House of 10000 Corpses

Sheri Moon's screen debut, also marked the first appearance of the iconic golden haired murderous Baby. House of showed she was more than capable of holding her own against genre icons, Bill Mosley and Sid Haig. The cult of Sheri Moon Zombie officially starts here.

The Devils Rejects

Returning to the Baby character one last time, Moon tore up the screen as the on the run killer, in this superior sequel. Stylish, brutal and shockingly violent, Devil Rejects is one hell of a movie.

Halloween 2007

Her most dramatic role yet, here Moon portrayed the mother of pure evil, Micheal Myers. Altough only on screen for a short time, Moon shows unseen dramatic range as she ends it all with a bullet in the brain, after she realises she's spawned pure evil.

Image Gallery:

Watch Pieces (1982)

2012-02-04T16:32:00.000Z

Pieces (1982) Arrow DVD Review

2012-02-04T16:08:00.003Z

Pieces - R0 Arrow Video

Movie:

Absurd, demented, perplexing, violent, and that’s only the opening 10 minutes, welcome one and all to the crazy 'grindhouse' classic Pieces.

Opening in 1942, where we see a young boy assembling an erotic jigsaw puzzle, soon he is interrupted by his mother, who begins scolding him over the puzzle's nude contents. When the mother tries to confiscate the puzzle, the boy gets enraged, taking an axe, he hacks her into pieces.

Years later at a college campus in Boston, someone is chopping up young girls at a college campus in Boston. As the murders getting ever more violent, the police are left stumped to the identity of the killer, who shows no sign of stopping, at least not until he harvests every last piece of his murderous puzzle.

Pieces exists in that bizarre realm of cinema where bad taste and schlock exist in a symbiotic state of bliss. A sort of grindhouse paradise, with chainsaw wielding killers, badly dubbed blood splattered actress, and bumbling policemen, who wrap themselves up in a number of red herring until the obvious suspect is finally revealed

Trying to make sense of Pieces is a hard task, it's part slasher, part 'who dunnit', but mostly it's just 'bat shit crazy'. From the jigsaw obsessed killer, who has the ability to hide a chainsaw behind his back in an elevator, to the giant squinting gardener who casually beats up policemen without reprimand. Even a crazed karate teacher makes an appearance, only to quickly disappear again, nothing makes sense here.

Take the moment for instance where a girl on roller blades crashes into a pane of glass. The girl is never mentioned again and the scene seems to have no purpose in the movie, except as a visual reference to the movies title.

Pieces is filled with so many of these small, strange moments, that you will be left scratching your head in disbelief, as you struggle not to fall over laughing. Especially the out of nowhere, crazy ending, that I can imagine was only put in by the director, cause he needed one last minute fright.

Pieces will continue to amass fans of trash cinema, like other 'so bad its good' classics, such as Troll 2 and The Room. Pieces it seems, is destined to entertain, the intoxicated horror fan for quite some time to come.

Video:

Pieces is presented anamorphically in 1.66:1, having never owned any previous editions of this movie, I can't say if its an improvement over the US editions. This release by Arrow represents the movie well, but is a little washed out and grainier than I would have liked.

Audio:

There are 2 audio options here English or Spanish, this is purely up to the viewer, but the English dub is the more hilarious of the two. If you check out the Spanish track you will notice slightly different music to the English track.

Extra Features:

As with most Arrow release there is a fine selection of extras here. First up a commentary track with Pieces fans Calum Waddell and Fangoria editor Tony Timponeis. The two give a nice retrospective of the movie and its cast as well as a number of interesting tit bits.

Pieces of Jack: An Actor's Experience of Spanish Splatter, has actor Jack Taylor, who played Prof. Brown, reminiscing about the film. Pieces of Deconstruction: Looking Back at a Grindhouse Gorefest, has horror film journalists Howard S Berger, Michael Gingold and Santos Ellin Jr, as well as film producer Scott Spiegl Jr, discussing there first experiences with Pieces.

As with most Arrow releases the movie comes with a reversible sleeve, booklet with writing by Stephen Thrower and a poster.

Region
This is a region free release.

Worth it?

Pieces is like a fever dream you might have if you watched 20 slasher movies all in a row, while eating a cheese wheel, then fell asleep. If you're a fan of 'so bad its good cinema', please pay a visit to the upside down world of Pieces.

Overall Rating:

Trailer:

Extra Features:

Introduction by Jack Taylor
Commentary with Calum Waddell and Tony Timpone
Pieces of Jack: An Actor's Experience of Spanish Splatter
Pieces of Deconstruction: Looking Back at a Grindhouse Gorefest
Trailer
Reversible sleeve
Booklet
Poster

Technical Aspects:

Format: PAL
Region: Region 2 (
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 15
Studio: Arrow Films

Purchase Here:

All the Murders from Pieces (1982) Video

2012-02-04T13:23:00.001Z

Pieces (1982) Posters

2012-02-04T13:03:00.000Z

Eli Roth on the movie Pieces (1982)

2012-02-04T12:48:00.001Z

ER: It's a Spanish horror film [1982's Mil Gritos Tiene La Noche] that was released as Pieces here. It was made in Spain, but except for Paul L. Smith, it's mostly Spanish actors with some really great bad dubbing. Pieces is one of my favorite early-'80s slasher films, in that it's a chainsaw movie that gives you absolutely everything you want.

It's got amazingly cheesy acting, it's got fantastic kills, it starts off right away with a flashback with a kid killing his parents. It's just a fantastic, low-budget slasher movie with a terrific ending that makes no sense. And it's become a cult film, because there's a great line where the really hot undercover police agent—who's also posing as the tennis instructor—finds a girl who's been hacked up in the school bathroom. She just shakes her fist and goes [High-pitched female voice.] "Bastard! Bastard, bastard, bastard!" If you ever watch it with an audience, everyone always cheers along during that scene.

ER: I showed it to a packed house at a film festival I held a few years ago, and people had so much fun that, afterward, they were actually depressed they'd never have that good a time at the movies again. "Pieces" is just one of the craziest, most random and insane slasher films ever made.

You think you have it figured out and then the film blindsides you. There are many, many classic scenes, like the infamous tennis match, which has some of the best extras casting in the history of cinema. "Pieces" truly is my favorite slasher film of all time, and it's the one movie that never fails to have the audience totally entertained from start to finish. It's also got an ending to rival "Sleepaway Camp." I am almost sorry you are going to watch "Pieces" because pretty much any moviegoing experience after will be a letdown.

Pieces DVD & VHS covers

2012-02-04T12:09:00.001Z

Don't Touch The Watch on Facebook

2012-02-04T12:03:00.000Z

If you're a fan of Don't Touch The Watch, and want to keep up-to-date with the site, please join the Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by.

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Mark Rosman on House on Sorority Row: Part 2

2012-02-03T19:31:00.001Z

This is an interview with Mark Rosman, director of House on Sorority Row, from February 2001:

The Terror Trap had the opportunity to sit down with Mark Rosman, director of the superlative 1983 slasher The House on Sorority Row. We discussed this underrated gem from: filming, deleted footage and general thoughts from the filmmaker.

Continued from here: Part 1

TT: It appears as if Jodi Draigie, the actress who played Morgan, was given a very limited amount of dialogue. This is in contrast with the other girls, who have their fair share of action and talk. Just our imagination? Or a reason, a story there...?

MR: You know, there really isn't a story there. The part was written for somebody like that and when she came in, I said "God, this is perfect." She's funny yet genuine. She's really that character. It was a nice balance to some of the other girls. They all had kind of a distinctive feel to them and that was her deal.

TT: Did the girls get along?

MR: Yeah, they all lived together during the shoot. No big fights or anything. It was a pretty pleasant shoot.

TT: Was there any footage that was deleted?

MR: Yeah, there was some stuff. The biggest one being the ending. That is not where the film ended when I showed my rough cut. When the killer opens his eyes...

TT: You mean, essentially, the film keeps going?

MR: The ending was kind of rewritten a number of times. That was always there, that his eyes open at the bottom of the ladder. In the last scene as we actually shot it and was in our cut, it goes from him opening his eyes to a shot over the pool.

MR:There's flashing police lights, the camera starts to pull away (we actually had a crane for this) and you see the clown costume and somebody's floating face down in the pool. A cop and a paramedic turn the body over...and it's Kathryn.

TT: That would have been great...

MR: We kept pulling back and back and back and you see the fire people, the paramedics and the cops and it just freezes and fades out.

TT: What happened to that conclusion?

MR: Film Ventures said there were two changes they wanted. One was that...and the other change was that the opening sequence was shot in pure black & white and they wanted it colorized. It was toned to blue and white or something like that.

TT: And so the original ending to Sorority Row is gone?

MR: I don't know if it's on a cassette somewhere. I don't know where that would be.

TT: The assumption being that the ending was too dark, you can't have the main girl be killed?

MR: Exactly. The head of Film Ventures thought it was too much of a downbeat ending.

TT: Reminds us, incidentally, of the ending in Bob Clark's Black Christmas...have you seen that one?

MR: I never have. People have mentioned that movie to me because it takes place in a sorority house.

TT: It's fairly unconventional in that there's no explained motive for the killings and the killer ends up living in the end. That's an example in which the director has said he regrets the open ending. We love them.

MR: I loved my original ending. In fact, in the script we went into shooting with, after the killer opens his eyes, it cuts to a hospital and Kathryn is being wheeled out in a wheelchair. The camera pulls up to the orderly and the orderly is Eric. And the wheelchair makes a quick turn down another corridor and that's the end of the film.

TT: That would have been terrific too...

MR: I wanted her dead! (Laughs.) I felt that in every movie, the last girl lives and I wondered why.

TT: It's worse nowadays. Everyone's got perfect hair and perfect teeth and almost no one dies.

MR: Right.

TT: Did you have any inspiration for the clown outfit? We find clowns in horror films, when it's done right, very scary. Your film is one of the few in which it works.

MR: I just find them scary myself. There wasn't any specific inspiration. It sort of went along with the innocence of Eric, the idea that he was really a young boy mentally. It fit the whole idea of the toys.

TT: Were you satisfied with Rob Holland's special effects?

MR: Not really. We kind of had to cut around stuff. It probably ended up helping the movie. We stayed very distant from Eric. To me, the best effect in it remains when you see one of the girls' heads in the toilet. It was really her in the fake toilet.

TT: There's not a lot of gore, so we're guessing that's linked to the editing?

MR: There was even less when I showed the film to the distributor. They felt it needed a little more gore. We actually added some shots in post production that brought up the gore level.

TT: As long as the cane going into Eileen's eye is in there, we're okay with everything else! You gotta have that in there!

MR: (Laughs.) Yeah, I know.
Terrortrap.com

The House on Sorority Row: Nightmare Theater

2012-02-03T17:23:00.000Z

The House on Sorority Row - R0 Scorpion Releases

Movie:

The House on Sorority Row is given a 2-disc, deluxe treatment by Scorpion Releasing, as part of their Nightmare Theatre range.

Since being released on video in the 1980s, House on Sorority Row has been steadily gaining positive word of mouth, with many of the films fans claiming it's more than just another forgettable '80s slashers movie.

Helmed by first time director Mark Rosman, who had previously worked with Brian De Palma on 1980's Home Movies. Here Rosman does a competent job, at injecting a number of interesting visual flourishes into the tired slasher format.

After incurring the wrath of strict housemother Mrs. Slater, six sorority sisters, Morgan, Stevie, Liz, Vicki, Jeanie, and Diane, pull a sick prank on her as revenge. The girls set Mrs. Slater's favourite cane adrift in the dirty pool at the back of the sorority house, where they plan to force her, by gun point, to wade into the filthy water to retrieve. Unfortunately as this is a slasher film, things don't go as planned, as Mrs. Slater ends up getting shot by resident bitch and nemesis, Vicki.

Panicking the girls decide to hide the body in the pool, at least until their graduation party later that night is over. Unfortunately for them getting away with it is not going to be so easy, as this heinous act sets in motion a murderous rampage by an unseen killer, who stalks and murders each of the girls. Has Mrs. Slater somehow survived the gun shot? or is it something far worse stalking the girls?

House on Sorority row is certainly one of the more memorable 'stalk and slash' titles of the early '80s period. Although not as accomplished as say The Burning, or as fun as Sleepaway Camp, Sorority still has plenty of great things to recommend it.

For one, all the girls look like real people, their acting might not be Oscar worthy, but at least you end up rooting for them. As for the annoying pristine, airheads that populated the terrible remake, that's another matter. Of all the girls from the original, the two that stand outs the most have to be, 'final girl' Kate McNeil, and soap queen Eileen Davidson, as the deliciously, devious Vicki. Who is brilliant as the gun totin' bitch, who accidentally sets the killing spree in motion.

One serious downfall to Sorority and a pretty glaring one, is the terrible special effects, that nearly ruin each of the murders. Rosman himself has gone on record as stating how dissatisfied he was with these poorly executed killing.

The worse of all being the first murder, that especially with this new high-def transfer really shows how shockingly fake the effect is. Try not to laugh as the beer drinkin' party guy who gets stabbed in the neck, is clearly in the next shot replaced by a latex dummy.

Thankfully as the movie makes its way toward the tension filled climax, Rosman let’s rip with a beautifully purple tinted nightmare sequence that calls to mind masters like Hitchcock and De Palma. This nightmare scene and the killers final costume reveal, are enough to ensure its holds its own against the endless '80s slasher crowd. Recommend.

Video:

Finally The House On Sorority Row has been given a decent print. Released previously by Elite Entertainment and then later by Liberation Entertainment, this new transfer from Scorpion easily trumps both of them.

Presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen, and remastered in high definition the movie looks wonderful. Colours and faces are very strong, as are the day time scenes. The opening and night time scenes are still a bit soft, with the night time portions especially drenched in grain. Overall though a vast improvement for the film.

Audio:

There is only audio option, an English language Dolby Digital Mono mix with no alternate language or subtitle options provided. The track is fine as the source is a bit dated, overall it serves the movie well.

Extra Features:

This is the real standout out and the reason it might be worth a double dip if you have previously bought the movie before. Spread over 2 discs there are commentary's, comprehensive interviews and trailers.

The first commentary is from the out of print Liberation DVD, which has writer/director Mark Rosman joined by actresses Eileen Davidson and Kathryn McNeil. There's also a new, exclusive commentary again with Mark Rosman, but this time accompanied by Katarina.

The interviews are quite extensive, first up is a lengthy chat with Harley Jane Kozak, which runs just under forty two minutes. On the second disc there are more interviews with stars Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson, director Mark Rosman, composer Richard Band and co-producer Igo Kantor.

Region:
This is a region free release.

Worth Buying?

The House on Sorority Row is a stand-out from the endless parade of slashers that were released after the success of Halloween and Friday the 13th. Although not as accomplished as them, it is still worth seeking out if your a fan of the genre. Especially with this new transfer, there has never been a better time to do so.

Overall Rating:

Trailer:

Extra Features:

Disc 1
Watch this in Katarina s Nightmare Theater format with our hostess Katarina Leigh Waters or play feature only
Brand New 16x9 (1:78) HD master
Brand New audio commentary with Director Mark Rosman moderated by Katarina Leigh Waters
Bonus commentary with Stars Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson and director Mark Rosman
On camera interview with co-star Harley Jane Kozak
3 TV spots
Thearical Trailers
Storyboard Comparisons
Photo Gallery
Alternate ending

Disc 2
On camera interview with star Kate McNeil conducted by Katarina Leigh Waters
On camera interview with star Eileen Davidson conducted by Katarina Leigh Water
On camera interview with Director Mark Rosman conducted by Katarina Leigh Waters
On camera interview with composer Richard Band
On camera interview with co-producer Igo Kantor

Technical Aspects:
Format: NTSC
Language: English
Number of discs: 2
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Scorpion Entertainment
DVD Release Date: January 24, 2012
Run Time: 93 minutes

Purchase Here:

Mark Rosman on House on Sorority Row: Part 1

2012-02-03T13:50:00.000Z

This is an interview with Mark Rosman, director of House on Sorority Row, from February 2001:

Mark Rosman: I'm from L.A. actually.

TT: Originally?

MR: Yes, I grew up in California, went to NYU film school, undergraduate, and then came back out to Los Angeles. At that point, I moved back into my parents' house and decided the only way I was going to get to direct a movie, which was my goal, was to write a script.

TT: Were you a fan of the horror genre?

MR: I was always fond of thrillers, suspense movies. I wasn't really a big horror fan.

TT: That's what they all say!

MR: (Laughs.) No, that's not true! A best friend of mine grew up with Mummy, Frankenstein and Werewolf stuff. I wasn't into that. I was into The Twilight Zone.

TT: Before we get into detail about your work on House, we're curious as to how you ended up working with Brian De Palma...

MR: That was a really great experience. The summer after I graduated from NYU, I got involved in a movie he was putting together called Home Movies. He had just finished The Fury. I was Brian's first assistant director.

TT: What was he like?

MR: He was not the easiest person at times to work with. But I loved his work, especially Carrie and Sistersand I learned a lot from him. Timewise, Home Movies was between Fury and Dressed To Kill.

TT: Do you like Dressed To Kill?

MR: Yeah, I thought it was an interesting film. It was kind of more on the homage side than it was an original movie. I didn't like it as much as Carrie and Sisters but it was pretty good.

TT: Was it difficult to get financing for House on Sorority Row?

MR: Going through it, it seemed that way. In hindsight, I think it went pretty quickly. It took about six months. I had finished the script and I decided to pursue a couple of different ways of getting money.

TT: You were pretty young at the time, weren't you?

MR: Yes, like twenty-three, twenty-four. I then decided to try and get independent financing for it. A friend of mine was working for a company in Washington, DC that wanted to make a small movie. This wasn't a film production company.

TT: Of the group, we particularly like Kathryn MacNeil and Eileen Davidson.

MR: Eileen I think we found in L.A. We had an open casting call and 300 people showed up because it was non-SAG. My theory was I wanted to see everybody. We got to where we were like two weeks from shooting and we didn't have the main lead. We didn't have Kathryn.

We were in Baltimore in pre-production and the reason we got that far is that we did have an actress in the part, who I loved. But she was SAG and at the last minute, she decided she didn't want to jeopardize her SAG status.

TT: Do you remember what Kathryn's background was at the time?

MR: We found her in New York about two weeks before shooting. I don't think she had done much. Since then, she's done a soap opera and a movie with the word 'monkey' in it.

TT: Monkey Shines?

MR: That one. In fact, she walked into an audition I had for another movie I made called The Force in the mid '90s. I saw her then but I haven't seen her since. I liked her a lot. Harley Kozak was hot for a little while. She made some feature comedies and then kind of faded.

TT: Where did you find Lois Kelso Kent, who played Dorothy Slater, the house mother?

MR: She came from Baltimore.

TT: There's something odd we've noticed each time we watch the film. Her vocal intonations make it seem as if she's dubbed. Is that really her voice we hear?

MR: She WAS dubbed. She had a great look and she was actually a pretty good actress. She was a stage actress...but the problem was that she was not scary enough vocally. We ended up looping her.

TT: Who dubbed her?

MR: We got one of the best ADR people in the business, Barbara Harris, who actually did it. She's still in the business and runs a loop group, a group of people who do voice replacement and stuff.

TT: Not Barbara Harris from Robert Altman's Nashville right?

MR: No, no.

Terrortrap.com

Part 2!

The House on Sorority Row Art

2012-02-03T13:25:00.001Z

The House on Sorority Row Covers

2012-02-03T12:29:00.001Z

Prom Night (1980) Slasher Guide

2012-02-02T16:50:00.000Z

If you're not back by midnight... you won't be coming home.

Contains Spoilers!!!

Plot:

For six long years, Hamilton High School seniors Kelly, Jude, Wendy, and Nick have been hiding the truth of what happened to ten-year-old Robin Hammond the day her broken body was discovered near an old abandoned convent. The foursome kept the secret how Robin fell to her death, but now someone is ready to exact murderous revenge...on prom night.

Movie:

Prom Night would be Jamie Lee Curtis' first slasher movie, after her breakout performance in the classic shocker Halloween, two years previously.

The first time I heard of Prom Night was during Scream, when film geek Randy was making one of his crazed meta speeches on past slasher movies. Like many, I set myself the challenge to watch as many titles that had been referenced as possible, with Prom Night, top of my list.

As was the custom in the dark days before movie downloads, and other online outlets, I was forced to do it the old fashion way. By searching high and low through dusty VHS second-hand emporiums, in the hope of somehow finding my slice and dice prize. It took me almost a year, but finally hidden in amass of used tapes, I saw it beaming up at me; I was finally going to see Prom Night.

Of course the experience of actually watching the movie was never going to meet my feverish expectations. I do remember liking it at the time, but was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed by the lack of violence and the slow plodding nature of the movie.

With the excuse of writing this review, I recently revisited the movie, and was pleasantly surprised how watchable it still is. Lots of the movies elements have dated horribly, especially the squirm inducing disco scenes, that stick out like a badly hidden chopped up corpse. Even a tense scene, like the ending fight to the death against the killer, is set to a tacky misjudged disco tune.

Besides all its faults, slasher fans should still get a kick out of this, as it's one of the iconic titles from the golden-age, before the total mediocre onslaught happened about a year later. Also any movie that has Jaime Lee in her bra is always a welcome addition, as well as the sight of a serious Leslie Nelson dancing to disco muzak.

As the terrible remake showed, no matter how hard studios try they will never be able to match the nostalgic charm of the superior originals. Not that's gonna stop them.

Prom Night is a fun little slasher, that should entertain any retro 'stalk and slash' fan.

Final Girl: Kim Hammond (Jamie Lee Curtis)

The Killer:

Body Count: 8
1) Young girl falls to her death
2) Female stabbed to death with broken glass
3) Female has throat slit with shard of glass
4) Female stabbed to death with shard of glass
5) Male dies when van goes over a cliff and explodes
6) Female killed with axe
7) Male decapitated with axe
8) Male dies from head wound inflicted with axe

Best Kill:

Gore Rating:

Cheesiest Moment: The cringe inducing Disco scene

Did you Know?

'David Mucci', who played troublemaker Lou, had a serious medical condition. He was forced to be immobilized underneath the stage for the scene in which Lou is decapitated. He was terrified that something would happen while he was trapped there so director Paul Lynch held his hand for the duration of the scene to assure him everything would be all right.

Overall slasher rating:

Prom Night Art

2012-02-02T11:40:00.002Z

Jillianmcdonald.net

Prom Night VHS Covers

2012-02-02T11:35:00.000Z

Terror Train Art

2012-02-02T11:32:00.000Z

jillianmcdonald.net

Terror Train VHS Covers

2012-02-02T11:17:00.000Z

Terror Train Art

2012-02-01T20:19:00.003Z

Francescofrancavilla

Terror Train (1980) Slasher Guide

2012-02-01T19:55:00.000Z

The boys and girls of Sigma Phi. Some will live. Some will die.

Contains Spoilers!!!

Plot:

A college fraternity prank goes horribly wrong, resulting in a student ending up in a mental ward. Four years later, it's graduation time, and the members of the fraternity decide to have a costume party aboard a train. Unknowingly, a killer has slipped aboard, who disguises himself in his victims costumes, as he goes about his bloody revenge.

Movie:

After the unexpected success of the seasonal slasher Halloween (1978), studios were eager to cash in on the 'teens in peril' brand, as well as its scream queen star, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Two years after John Carpenters classic, Curtis returned to the genre with a set of back to back Canadian shockers (Prom Night, Terror Train).

Of the two movies Terror Train is certainly the more accomplished, both visually and creatively. As it has the unique twist of having its stalk and slash events play out on a moving train.

There is a lot to like here, such as the costume changing killer, who disguises himself in the clothes of his victims. One major disappointment unfortunately is the lack of gore throughout, as this was early in the slasher cycle. It was only later that the real blood and guts violence fully came into the genre.

Overall Terror Train is a fun little slasher that will have you entertained, until the final unexpected twist. Just fast forward past the dodgy David Copperfield magic scenes, you have been warned!

Final Girl: Alana Maxwell (Jamie Lee Curtis)

The Killer:

Body Count: 10
1: Male stabbed with sword
2: Male has his head smashed against mirror
3: Female throat slit
4: Male stabbed in the chest
5: Male M.I.A
6: Male M.I.A
7: Male decapitated
8: Male stabbed with sword
9: Male found stabbed

10: Male falls to his death

Best Kill:

Gore Rating:

Cheesiest Moment: David Copperfield's magic act

Did you Know?

The idea for Terror Train came from a dream that producer Daniel Grodnik had. One weekend night after seeing the films Halloween and Silver Streak, Dan woke up and said to his wife, "What do you think about putting Halloween on a train? His wife answered, "That's terrible. He jotted down "Terrible Train" on a piece of paper on his nightstand. In the morning he changed the title to TERROR TRAIN, wrote up 22 pages, and made a deal with Sandy Howard's company at 3 in the afternoon.

Overall slasher rating:

February Blu Ray Releases

2012-02-01T12:45:00.001Z

Top Blu Ray Releases February 2012

Hi all, I have just updated the blu ray release calender to show the high-def highlights February is gonna bring us. The full list can be found here: blu-ray-feb.

Here are the top choices:

Arrow Video

Arrow have become the leading distributor of cult blu ray in the UK, releasing titles by genre faves Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. Recently they have started to release art-house classics under their Arrow Academy label, this month they only have 1 title from each. On Arrow's cult label there's the Dolph Lundgren trash action classic, Red Scorpion. While on Academy there's Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist.

Feb 13

Dolph Lundgren is Nikolai - a killing machine - a deadly, highly skilled agent for the Russian army whose brutal efficiency and single minded determination to serve the motherland leaves behind a trail of battered bodies and bloodied enemies. With a body count that leaves jaws firmly on the floor and a healthy disregard for troublesome logic, Red Scorpion is a classic 80s action spectacular that doesn't let up for a second.

Feb 27

At the peak of his creative powers the 29 year old Bernardo Bertolucci, eschewed the influence of mentor, Jean-Luc Godard and partnered up with Vittorio Storaro and developed his own style for one of the most visually dazzling, politically and psychologically intriguing and possibly greatest of all Italian films. Arrow Academy is proud to present Bernardo Bertolucci s masterpiece on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time in the UK.

Criterion Releases

Criterion are releasing 5 titles this month, that cover a range of genres, from sci-fi to samurai. Here are the top titles:

Feb 07

One of the most influential, radical science-fiction films ever made and a mind-bending free-form travelogue: La Jetee and Sans Soleil couldn’t seem more different—but they’re the twin pillars of an unparalleled and uncompromising career in cinema. A filmmaker, poet, novelist, photographer, editor, and now videographer and digital multimedia artist, Chris Marker (A Grin Without a Cat) has been challenging moviegoers, philosophers, and himself for years with his investigations of time, memory, and the rapid advancement of life on this planet.

Feb 14

This first film by the legendary Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast) is among the most canonized chambara (sword-fighting) films. An origin-story offshoot of a Japanese television series phenomenon of the same name, Three Outlaw Samurai is a classic in its own right. In it, a wandering, seen-it-all ronin (Tetsuro Tamba) becomes entangled in the dangerous business of two other samurai (Isamu Nagato and Mikijiro Hira), hired to execute a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of a corrupt magistrate.

Feb 21

A virtuoso James Stewart (Vertigo) plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: that of a young Army lieutenant (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie’s Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering the local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Days of Wine and Roses’ Lee Remick). This gripping, envelope-pushing courtroom potboiler, the most popular film from Hollywood provocateur Otto Preminger (Laura), was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sex—more than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words.

Digibooks

Feb 13

Ranked 34 on the American Film Institutes list of the 100 Greatest American Films, To Kill a Mockingbird is quite simply one of the finest family-oriented dramas ever made. What emerges from this evocative, exquisitely filmed drama is a pure distillation of the themes of Harper Lee's enduring novel, a showcase for some of the finest American acting ever assembled in one film, and a rare quality of humanitarian artistry (including Horton Foote's splendid screenplay and Elmer Bernstein's outstanding score) that seems all but lost in the chaotic morass of modern cinema.

Feb 15

If Franz Kafka had been an animator and film director--oh, and a member of Monty Python's Flying Circus--this is the sort of outrageously dystopian satire one could easily imagine him making.

Feb 15

David Lynch peeks behind the picket fences of small-town America to reveal a corrupt shadow world of malevolence, sadism and madness. From the opening shots Lynch turns the Technicolor picture postcard images of middle-class homes and tree-lined lanes into a dreamy vision on the edge of nightmare. After his father collapses in a preternaturally eerie sequence, college boy Kyle MacLachlan returns home and stumbles across a severed human ear in a vacant lot. With the help of sweetly innocent high school girl (Laura Dern), he turns junior detective and uncovers a frightening yet darkly compelling world of voyeurism and sex.

From silent movie classics, to obscure Japanese samurai films, Masters of Cinema brings a never ending collection of masterpieces. Recently adding an exciting range of steelbooks to their line, this company seems to have really come into their own lately.

Feb 20

Arguably the defining cult film of the Reagan era, the feature debut of Alex Cox (Sid & Nancy, Walker, Straight to Hell) is a genre-busting mash-up of atomic-age science fiction, post-punk anarchism, and conspiracy paranoia, all shot through with heavy doses of deadpan humour and offbeat philosophy. With an iconic soundtrack (Iggy Pop, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies), stunning Robby Müller cinematography, and iconoclastic direction, Repo Man remains one of the great debuts of the 1980s.

Feb 20

Elliptically plotted, brimming over with black humour and taboo material, and immaculately staged in crystalline NikkatsuScope, The Insect Woman is arguably Imamura's most radical and emphatic testament to female resilience. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present The Insect Woman alongside Imamura's rarely seen 1958 feature Nishi-Ginza Station in a special Dual Format edition.

miscellaneous movies

Feb 07

Alien creatures invade a small town and a group of four teenagers, plus one little boy, try to escape from them.

Feb 14

Inspired by the fictional Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin dreams of creating a 12-person centipede and sets out to realize his sick fantasy.

Feb 27

Based on the million-selling Orange Prize winning novel by Lionel Shiver and directed by acclaimed film-maker Lynne Ramsay, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is an emotional thriller starring Academy Award Winner Tilda Swinton, Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly, & Ezra Miller. Eva (Tilda Swinton) puts her ambitions and career aside to give birth to Kevin. The relationship between mother and son is difficult from the very first years. When Kevin is 15, he does something irrational and unforgivable in the eyes of the community.

Steelbooks

Feb 08

Feb 13

Feb 24

Feb 27

The Artist (2011) Review

2012-01-31T20:08:00.002Z

The Artist is a delightful throwback to the golden-age of Hollywood, that dares to go silent.

Director:

Michel Hazanavicius

Writer:

Michel Hazanavicius (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo and John Goodman

French director Michel Hazanavicius captures the troubled plight of a silent movie star as he goes from hero to zero, with marvelously inventive zeal. Turning sound into an invading villain, that torments the put-upon star, as his world is slowly eroded around him, with the advent of 'talkies'.

Opening in Hollywood 1927, where we meet the dashing movie actor George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), who is at the packed premiere of his latest film A Russian Affair. Outside while having his picture taken, a young autograph hunter, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), accidentally stumbles into his path. To put the girl at ease, George poses for a few pictures with her, to the delight of the numerous photographers.

The following morning, these very pictures of George and Peppy have beensplashed all over the front page of the newspapers, complete with the headline "Who'sThat Girl?”- much to the disgust of George’s wife. Later, with the new foundcelebrity, Peppy goes to Kinograph Studios', where she wins the part of adancer in George's new picture. Receiving a helpful tip from Georgre, Peppy slowly becomes one of the most sought after actress' in Hollywood.

The most unique and talked about aspect of the film, isthat the movie features almost no dialogue, like a true silent film. It's even projected in thesmaller, black and white aspect ratio commonly used in the golden-era. This adherence to silent film-making may seem like a risky venture, but it's exactly this level of detail that makes the film work.

Although it's a very nostalgic film, The Artist still manages to seem fresh, with the actors all giving thoroughly entertaining silent performances. Unfortunately for them, a little dog named 'Uggie' steals the entire movie.

Sum it up:

Director Hazanavicius took a great risk in shooting The Artist almost entirely without sound. Thankfully, he knows the silent-movie genre inside out, as he makes the arduous task seem like a breeze. A delightful night at the cinema, that makes you think, laugh and most importantly care.

Rating:

Don't Touch The Watch is 1

2012-01-30T01:00:00.000Z

Don't Touch The Watch is 1 Year Old!

Upcoming Arrow Titles 2012

2012-01-27T12:50:00.000Z

Demons (Arrow Video) Limited Edition Blu-ray

Live and direct, straight from HELL!

Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento bring you THE Gonzo Horror movie of the 1980s with Demons, a frenzied slice of gore heavy shock cinema that gives up on logic and instead assaults the screen with a riot of X-Rated violence, face chewing Zombies and pounding Heavy Metal.

In a mysterious cinema, an audience are watching a brutal horror flick when the horror rips out of the screen, unleashing a swarm of slathering Demons who are intent on spreading their evil plague across the globe.

Time to tool up and take no prisoners… The Demons are coming!

THIS AMAZING EDITION INCLUDES:

- Four option reversible sleeve with original poster and video artwork with additional fifth artwork panel featuring all-new Jeff Zornow artwork

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- Collector’s Booklet featuring brand new writing on Demons by Calum Wadell

- Collector’s Comic: ‘Demons 3’ Part 1 of 2! Not ‘The Ogre’. Not ‘The Church’. Not even ‘Black Demons’! For the first time ever, Arrow Video presents an original sequel to the cult classics.

BLU-RAY CONTAINS

- Remastered from a brand new HD restoration of the film

- Optional English and Italian audio

- Optional English subtitles for Italian and English (SDH) audio

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- The audio recollections of director Lamberto Bava, Special Make-Up Creations Artist Sergio Stivaletti and Journalist Loris Curci

- The audio recollections of the cast and crew, a brand new commentary

- Dario’s Demon Days: Producer Dario Argento discusses the inception of Demons

- Defining an Era in Music: Composer Claudio Simonetti on the Demons Soundtrack

- Luigi Cozzi’s Top Italian Terrors: Cozzi discusses the highpoints of Spaghetti Splatter

- Original trailer

Directed by Lamberto Bava

Starring Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny

Restored from the original camera negative by Cineteca di Bologna

Original Aspect Ratio- 1.66:1 (16x9)

Region- ABC

Blu-ray RRP £27.99

Released 02/04/12

Demons (Arrow Video) DVD

Live and direct, straight from HELL!

Time to tool up and take no prisoners… The Demons are coming!

THIS AMAZING EDITION INCLUDES:

- Reversible sleeve featuring all new artwork by Jeff Zornow and alternate original poster artwork

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- Collector’s Booklet featuring brand new writing on Demons by Calum Wadell

BLU-RAY CONTAINS

- Remastered from a brand new HD restoration of the film

- Optional English and Italian audio

- Optional English subtitles for Italian and English (SDH) audio

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- The audio recollections of director Lamberto Bava, Special Make-Up Creations Artist Sergio Stivaletti and Journalist Loris Curci

- The audio recollections of the cast and crew, a brand new commentary

- Dario’s Demon Days: Producer Dario Argento discusses the inception of Demons

- Defining an Era in Music: Composer Claudio Simonetti on the Demons Soundtrack

- Luigi Cozzi’s Top Italian Terrors: Cozzi discusses the highpoints of Spaghetti Splatter

- Original trailer

Directed by Lamberto Bava

Starring Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny

Restored from the original camera negative by Cineteca di Bologna

Original Aspect Ratio- 1.66:1 (16x9)

Region- 0 PAL

DVD RRP £15.99

Released 02/04/12

Demons 2 (Arrow Video) Limited Edition Blu-ray

Panic on the streets! The Demons are back!

The Demons are back! Unleashed through the TV and bringing Hell direct to your Living Room. Out of the dark Forbidden Zone, the world’s ugliest zombies are causing carnage in an apartment block, eating the residents and spreading their deadly plague.

Watch as a teenage birthday girl ruins the party by eating her guests, see bodybuilders torn to shreds and tremble in terror as possessed children run amok. Will anyone survive or will the Demons rise once more and destroy us all?

Directed by Lamberto Bava (Demons, Macabre) and produced by Dario Argento (Sleepless, Inferno), this Italian splatter classic will leave you in fear of turning on the Television…

THIS AMAZING EDITION INCLUDES:

- Four option reversible sleeve with original poster and video artwork with additional fifth artwork panel featuring all-new Jeff Zornow artwork

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- Collector’s Booklet featuring brand new writing on Demons by Calum Wadell

- Collector’s Comic: ‘Demons 3’ Part 2 of 2! Not ‘The Ogre’. Not ‘The Church’. Not even ‘Black Demons’! For the first time ever, Arrow Video presents an original sequel to the cult classics.

BLU-RAY CONTAINS

- Remastered from a brand new HD restoration of the film

- Optional English and Italian audio

- Optional English subtitles for Italian and English (SDH) audio

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- The audio recollections of director Lamberto Bava, Mechanical Creations & Transformation Artist Sergio Stivaletti and Journalist Loris Curci

- Creating Creature Carnage: Extensive Interview with makeup man Sergio Stivaletti

- Bava to Bava: Luigi Cozzi tracks the history of the Italian horror film; from Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava to the end of the golden age with Michele Soavi and Lamberto Bava as well as considering recent Italian horror films.

- Original trailer

Restored from the original camera negative by Cineteca di Bologna

Original Aspect Ratio- 1.66:1 (16x9)

Region- ABC

Blu-ray RRP £27.99

Released 09/04/12

Demons 2 (Arrow Video) DVD

Panic on the streets! The Demons are back!

Directed by Lamberto Bava (Demons, Macabre) and produced by Dario Argento (Sleepless, Inferno), this Italian splatter classic will leave you in fear of turning on the Television…

THIS AMAZING EDITION INCLUDES:

- Reversible sleeve featuring all new artwork by Jeff Zornow and alternate original poster artwork

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- Collector’s Booklet featuring brand new writing on Demons by Calum Wadell

BLU-RAY CONTAINS

- Remastered from a brand new HD restoration of the film

- Optional English and Italian audio

- Optional English subtitles for Italian and English (SDH) audio

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- The audio recollections of director Lamberto Bava, Mechanical Creations & Transformation Artist Sergio Stivaletti and Journalist Loris Curci

- Creating Creature Carnage: Extensive Interview with makeup man Sergio Stivaletti

- Original trailer

Restored from the original camera negative by Cineteca di Bologna

Original Aspect Ratio- 1.66:1 (16x9)

Region- 0 PAL

DVD RRP £15.99

Released 09/04/12

Maniac Cop (ArrowDrome) DVD

Police brutality never felt so good!

Notorious video nasty creator William Lustig and B-Movie legend Larry Cohen return to the dirty streets for a unique high speed collision of the slasher movie and police thriller in Maniac Cop, a blood splattered tale of brutal cop vengeance from beyond the grave.

When reports come in of a man in a police uniform committing gore drenched bloody murder on the city streets, officer Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) stands accused. Now, with few friends, powerful enemies and a psychopathic slayer still at large, it’s up to Jack to prove he’s not guilty and bring down the killer.

Now, Arrow video brings the Maniac Cop back from the 80s video vault to stalk the night time streets once more, looking for fresh victims…

ARROWDROME IS A FLEAPIT SELECTED LIBRARY OF CULT FILMS; VIOLENT, HORRIFIC, SLEAZY, EXPLOITATIVE. TO EXPLORE STEP IN TO THE CULT ARENA! EVERY ARROWDROME RELEASE INCLUDES A REVERSIBLE SLEEVE OF ORIGINAL ARTWORK AND A COLLECTOR’S BOOKLET!

ALSO INCLUDES INTERVIEW WITH STAR TOM ATKINS, TRAILER AND COLLECTOR’S BOOKLET!

85 mins approx

English language

RRP £9.99

Released 16/04/12

SPRING PREVIEW!

The House by the Cemetery (Arrow Video) Limited Edition Blu-ray

You may have just mortgaged your life!

Shock gore master Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetery is one of the finest typically single-minded exercises in zombie terror. Its just a shame no-one told the Boyle family who move into a gothic style house (by a cemetery) with a bloody past and a guts spraying future, what is yet to come! You’d think they’d twig given the basement door is nailed shut that they should get the hell out. Instead they stay long enough to discover their zombified non rent-paying lodger, the cellar-dwelling, flesh-hungry Dr Freudstein and boy is he pissed!

THIS EDITION CONTAINS

- Reversible sleeve with 3 original poster artworks and newly commissioned artwork cover

- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster

- Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by author Calum Waddell

BLU-RAY CONTAINS:

- Brand new High Definition restoration from the original negative presented totally uncut

- Optional English subtitles for both the English and Italian audio tracks

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Audio commentary with star Catriona MacColl, moderated by Calum Waddell

- Audio commentary with co-star Silvia Collatina, moderated by Mike Baronas of Paura Productions

- Introduction to the film by star Giovanni Frezza

- Back to the Cellar: Interview with star Giovanni Frezza

- Cemetery Woman: Interview with star Catriona MacColl

- Freudstein's Follies: Interview with special effects artist Giannetto De Rossi

- Women of Italian Horror: Featuring Silvia Collatina (The House by the Cemetery), Stefania Casini (Suspiria/ Bloodstained Shadow) and Barbara Magnolfi (Suspiria/ The Sister Of Ursula)

- House by the Cemetery Onstage Q&A Cast Reunion: Live from the Horrorhound convention, Indianapolis, March 2011: Featuring Catriona MacColl, Giovanni Frezza, Silvia Collatina, Carlo DeMejo and Dagmar Lassander.

- From the Vault: Italian Gore Classics - a collection of reminisces on key spaghetti splatter shockers from the vaults of High Rising Productions: featuring Sergio Martino, Luigi Cozzi, Sergio Stivaletti and more.

- Trailers of Terror: Twenty Cult Trailers - including several rare previews from the resume of the late, great Lucio Fulci

- The Italian Master of Splatter Featurette

- Deleted scene

- Trailers

- TV Spot

- Easter eggs

Artwork by Rick Melton

Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1

Region ABC

RRP £24.99

Released 07/05/12

Forbidden Zone (Arrow Video) Limited Edition Blu-ray

Step into The Forbidden Zone, a bizarro world of frog butlers, topless princesses, machine-gun toting teachers, eccentric dwarves, their demonic wives, and the Devil himself (Danny Elfman). You’ve never seen anything like it…!

Check your basement. Is there door to the 6th Dimension there? If so, you’re going on a wild ride into excess as you join Frenchy and Rene in a land of musical madness, despotic queens and strange frog man-servants.

If you’ve tired of Rocky Horror and had enough of Hedwig, it’s time discover The Forbidden Zone, a demented tribute to the hot jazz and dark glamour of a lost age, featuring new wave pop music and Cab Calloway-style insanity, filtered through the mind of a maniac!

THIS EDITION CONTAINS

- Reversible sleeve with 3 original poster artworks and newly commissioned artwork cover

- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster

- Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by critic David Hayles

BLU-RAY CONTAINS:

- Brand new High Definition restoration of the Black and White and Colour versions of the film

- Optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio / LPCM Uncompressed Mono Audio

- Optional English SDH subtitles

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Audio commentary with director Richard Elfman and writer-actor Matthew Bright

- A Look into Forbidden Zone – extensive behind the scenes documentary featuring interviews and archive footage, including scenes from Elfman’s lost film The Hercules Family

- Two complete scenes from The Hercules Family

- Outtakes

- Deleted Scenes

- Oingo Boingo Music Video Private Life

- Original Theatrical Trailer

Artwork by Jeff Zornow

Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1

Region ABC

RRP £24.99

Released 07/05/12

The King of New York (Arrow Video) Limited Edition Blu-ray

Christopher Walken is out of prison and back on the dirty streets of New York as convicted drug lord Frank White in a pitch black 90s crime classic from the magnificently disreputable Abel Ferrara (Driller Killer, Ms.45).

White returns to his old patch to find it in disarray as the parasites that moved in to capture his business don’t share in the same Robin Hood spirit. Soon he’s violently taking out the competition, stealing their stashes and turning a healthy profit on the gear, putting it towards building a new South Bronx hospital.

But you can’t make an omelette without breaking some heads. As the street killings rise and the corrupt cops close in, White’s crazed mix of criminal psychosis and heartfelt charity threatens to tear apart everything he’s fought so hard to build…

THIS EDITION CONTAINS

- Reversible sleeve with 3 original poster artworks and newly commissioned artwork cover

- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster

- Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Brad Stevens, author of Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision

BLU-RAY CONTAINS:

- High Definition Presentation of the film

- Optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 Stereo Audio

- Audio commentary with director Abel Ferrara

- Audio commentary with composer Joe Delia, producer Mary Kane, casting director Randy Sabusawa and editor Anthony Redman

- Interview with producer Augusto Caminito

- Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty: Documentary on Abel Ferrara from the French TV show Cinéastes de Notre Temps

+ More special features to be announced!

Artwork by Tom ‘The Dude Designs’ Hodge

Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1

Region TBC

RRP £24.99

Released 04/06/12

The King of New York (Arrow Video) Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-ray

(Temporary Artwork)

SPECIAL FEATURES:

- Limited Edition collectable SteelBook packaging

- Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Brad Stevens, author of Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision

- High Definition Presentation of the film

- Optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 Stereo Audio

- Audio commentary with director Abel Ferrara

- Audio commentary with composer Joe Delia, producer Mary Kane, casting director Randy Sabusawa and editor Anthony Redman

- Interview with producer Augusto Caminito

- Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty: Documentary on Abel Ferrara from the French TV show Cinéastes de Notre Temps

+ More special features to be announced!

Artwork by Tom ‘The Dude Designs’ Hodge

Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1

Region TBC

RRP £29.99

Released 04/06/12

“From our exclusive feed with Cult Labs”

Classic Bergman on Blu Ray 23/04/12

2012-01-26T11:23:00.003Z

Independent British distributors Artificial Eye have revealed that they are planning to release a box set with five films by legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman: It Rains On Our Love (1946), A Ship Bound For India (1947), Sawdust And Tinsel (1953), Dreams (1955), and So Close To Life (1958).

The exact technical specs, region coding status and supplemental features to be included on this release are unknown at the moment, but the preliminary release date set by the distributors is April 23.

New Masters of Cinema Line Up

2012-01-26T11:17:00.002Z

Eureka Entertainment is pleased to announce its forthcoming releases for the months of April, May and June 2012. There will be seven new releases added to the Masters of Cinema series (DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE LOST WEEKEND, LIFEBOAT, ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, RUGGLES OF RED GAP, SANSHO DAYU and UGETSU MONOGATARI) as well as one non-Masters of Cinema release, namely Takashi Miike's YATTERMAN. Eureka also continues its ongoing association with Bounty Films (responsible for the UK release of THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE) with the release of Yamaguchi's DEADBALL.

Curator, Founder and Production Director of the Masters of Cinema, Nick Wrigley says "We're very excited to finally be welcoming British legend Alfred Hitchcock into the Masters of Cinema Series. He made LIFEBOAT during WW2, his only film for Fox, and the same year he made two shorter films for the war effort - BON VOYAGE and AVENTURE MALGACHE - both collected here, in new HD restorations as a sumptuous Dual Format special edition.

Our two best selling Mizoguchi titles, the enormous Japanese masterpieces SANSHO DAYU and UGETSU MONOGATARI will receive the upgrade treatment in April when they appear in new HD restorations / Dual Format editions alongside OYU-SAMA and GION BAYASHI, also in HD.

May 2012 sees a Charles Laughton double-bill. One of England's most-loved actor/directors (his only directorial effort - THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER - being one of the most remarkable one-offs in the history of cinema), Scarborough-born Laughton has a marvellous time in the pre-Code Universal horror classic ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. Three years later he starred in Leo McCarey's amazing RUGGLES OF RED GAP. The director of MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW directs Laughton who plays an English valet whisked away to the American west. Banned on release by Nazi Germany because of Laughton's moving recitement of the Gettysburg Address.

In June we welcome the great Billy Wilder into the Masters of Cinema Series with two of his very greatest achievements on Blu-ray only - DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, and THE LOST WEEKEND (1945), which stars an Oscar-winning performance by Welshman Ray Milland."

Full line up is as follows:

Released on 23 April 2012

LIFEBOAT (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)

Alfred Hitchcock's only film for Fox, made at the height of WW2, stars a first-rate ensemble cast, led by grande dame of the stage Tallulah Bankhead, as the survivors of a Nazi attack set adrift on a lifeboat in the Atlantic Ocean, pitted against interpersonal animosities, creeping paranoia, and the captain of the Nazi sub that placed them in their current predicament...

UGETSU MONOGATARI (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT

Mizoguchi's intensely poetic tragedy consistently features on polls of the best films ever made. This new HD restoration is the film's first appearance on Blu-ray anywhere in the world, and is accompanied by an HD presentation of Mizouguchi's 1951 classic OYÛ-SAMA.

SANSHO DAYU (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT

One of the most critically revered films in Japanese cinema history, Mizoguchi's deeply affecting classic has been newly restored in HD and appears here on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, and is accompanied by an HD presentation of Mizoguchi's 1953 classic GION BAYASHI.

Released on 28 May 2012

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)

For the first time in the UK, one of the most imaginative and nightmarish fantasies from Hollywood's golden age of horror - starring the legendary Charles Laughton. Originally rejected by the BBFC, this first and best screen adaptation of H. G. Wells' THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU, is one of Hollywood's wildest pre-Code pictures.

RUGGLES OF RED GAP (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT

The UK home viewing premiere of one of the finest films of Leo McCarey (MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER) finds Charles Laughton in one of his greatest roles as a personal valet shipped off to America in the service of the brash and wealthy Egbert Floud (played, coincidentally enough, by Charlie Ruggles); a sophisticated comedy of rude manners ensues.

Released on 25 June 2012

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)

Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler team up to create one of the greatest, and quintessential, films noirs of the studio era, a classic of the hard-boiled genre nominated for seven Oscars, and whose performances by Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson have been leaving audiences breathless for almost 70 years. Now, exclusively restored by The Masters of Cinema Series for its first ever release on Blu-ray anywhere in the world.

THE LOST WEEKEND (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)

An Academy-Award-winning (including Best Picture) triumph from the great Billy Wilder, with Ray Milland as a writer's-block-ridden and booze-sodden author spiralling into a days'-long rock-bottom binge crafted by Wilder with expressionist fervour. This gorgeous Blu-ray edition is the first available anywhere in the world.

Further details of the Masters of Cinema releases can be found at www.mastersofcinema.org and Eureka's new Facebook site www.facebook.com/EurekaEntertainment

Melancholia (2011) Blu Ray Review

2012-01-24T19:18:00.001Z

Melancholia - R2 Artificial Eye

Movie:

Melancholia brings the end of the world, as seen through the eyes of the emotionally depressive Justine (Kirsten Dunst), and her controlling sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg).

The opening prologue shows the once hidden planet Melancholia - a massive blue telluric planet that went undiscovered behind the sun - and Earth colliding into each other, in a balletic dance of destruction, set to the prelude of Wagner’s 'Tristan und Isolde'.

The next part entitled ‘Justine’ jumps back before the catastrophic collision, where we see the tension filled wedding between Justine and Michael, at a lavish mansion. Over the course of the reception Justine’s behaviour becomes ever more erratic and troubling, culminating in her new husband leaving her.

The second part entitled 'Claire', sees Justine entering into a severe state of depression after the events of the wedding. It is now up to her sister, to tend to her, as she slowly recovers. All the while, the impending spectacle of planet Melancholia casts a dark troubling shadow as it inches ever closer to its inevitable fate with Earth.

Since completing The Idiots in 1998, Von Tier has since been making movies that deal predominantly with the nature of womanhood and femininity. Through a number of bleak, but powerful films, the director has been exorcising his own personal demons, along with examining the struggle of modern woman.

In the bleak musical Dancer in the Dark, he looked at the responsibilities and sacrifices of motherhood. As Bjork's character is forced to suffer through a progressively, worsening blindness, so as to necessitate her son in having a sight-saving operation.

Next he dealt with female empowerment, and a woman’s perceived place within the community, in the stripped down stage-plays of Dogville and Manderlay. After which he moved into even darker territory with the sexually violent Antichrist. That showed, emotional pain manifesting itself psychically on the female body.

Sharing many themes with Antichrist, Melancholia is awash with mental neuroses, mined from Von Trier's own personal struggles with depression. Through a shroud of impending doom, both sisters show differing levels of anxiety and mental instability, as the world itself comes to an end.

Melancholia has some of the richest ideas yet raised by Von Tier. Here he deftly mixes new elements such as science fiction, astrophysics and disaster movie, with his own unique take on mental disorder and the female mindset, which he wraps in a visually and audibly captivating end of the world masterpiece.

Video:

Melancholia arrives on blu ray with a stunning high-def transfer. The film is home to array of fantastic imagery that is caught perfectly in pin point digital.

Audio:

There are 2 Audio options, both lossless, a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track at 2842. and a liner PCM 2.0 channel stereo track at 2304 kbps. The 5.1 is very impressive giving wonderful depth to Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" overture.

.Extra Features:

The best extra here is the informative and self critical commentary by Peter Schepelern (associate professor at University of Copenhagen) and Lars Von Trier. Von Trier casts a critical eye over his movie, damning as much as praising his own work.

The rest is made up of the standard making of, which is broken into 4-parts - 'About', 'Melancholia Visual Effects', 'The Universe' and 'The Visual Style'.

Region:
This is a region B release.

Worth it on Blu?
Melancholia is an acquired taste, if you have dined at Von Triers table before you will know exactly what to expect. For those that are new to the director this is a wonderful place to start.

Overall Rating:

Trailer:

Extra Features:

Audio Commentary with Lars von Trier
About Melancholia
Melancholia Visual Effects
The Universe
The Visual Style
Interviews

Technical Aspects:
Video
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio
English - Dolby Digital (5.1)

Subtitles
English for the hearing impaired

Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)

Purchase Here:

Shame (2011) Cinema Review

2012-01-23T19:16:00.000Z

Fassbender and McQueen collaborate again for an uncomfortable, exploration of sexual dysfunction.

Director:
Steve McQueen

Writers:
Abi Morgan (screenplay), Steve McQueen(screenplay)

Stars:
Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan and James Badge Dale

Shame gives the viewer an uncompromising and troubling glimpse into the life of a sexually compulsive individual.

Brandon (Michael Fassbinder) is living a successful, regimented life in New York City, where everyday he has to contend with his uncontrollable addictive tenancies towards sexual relief. From masturbating at work, to endless sexual encounters with prostitutes, as well as consensual anonymous strangers.

With the unwanted arrival of his emotionally damaged sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), Brandon’s controlled appetites start to unravel, as his sick urges get ever more taboo and dangerous.

Director Steve McQueen opens Shame with a shot of Michael Fassbender lying in bed, his gaze averted to the ceiling. This image is an almost exact recreation of one that appears in Paul Schrader's New York set Light Sleeper.

In this one establishing shot McQueen lets us know we are entering the harsh-detached world of Paul Schrader's seminal New York movies, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Light Sleeper, Bringing out the dead.

Schrader's movies feature similarly emotionally tormented men, like Brandon, who are wracked with a barrage of psychical and mental problems. Such as: depression, loneliness, obsession, and sexual dysfunction.

Brandon can almost be seen as an amalgamation of Schrader’s past character's, from the sleek, toned, well-dressed cool of Julian in American Gigolo, to the sexually abnormal world-view of Travis Bickle, in Taxi Driver.

McQueen’s direction hasn't evolved any further since Hunger. His pacing is still extremely slow and deliberate, with long drawn-out takes. While I felt that style worked in the solitary hell of the Maze prison, here it just feels needlessly overwrought, and being completely honest, a little bit boring.

For instance take Carey Mulligan's slow painful rendition of New York, New York. It is meant to expose the tender fragility behind her broken character, as Brandon looks on crying. Instead in the cinema I attended the audience started laughing and became very uncomfortable. It just seemed as if every character has been transported in from different movies. As all of the actors are operating on different levels of intensity, with wildly varying acting styles, creating an uncomfortable grinding mesh.

New York is also shown as a quiet sullen metropolis, full of people wracked with loneliness and existential fatigue. It reminds me in a way of the New York presented in a similarly themed sexual exploration movie, Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut.

There is a part of me that wants to love Shame as much as the numerous positive critical reviews. Unfortunately I just didn’t respond to it and its cast of unlikeable characters. The cinematic experience I had watching this movie was uncomfortable and awkward, as the audience became ever more bored and frustrated with the movie, with many instead consoling themselves with their loud off putting snacks.

Maybe when the movie makes its home-video debut and I am able to watch this unhindered, maybe then I can fully appreciate Shame better. As it is, I left the cinema feeling numb and frustrated by the whole experience, but maybe in the end that was the point all along.

Sum it up:

Fassbender again gives a brilliant, emotionally raw performance, that deserves all the plaudits he gets, I just wish the movie around him had a bit more life to it.

Rating:

Kill List (2011) Blu Ray Review

2012-01-21T16:00:00.000Z

Kill List - R2 Studio Canal

Movie:

The second feature from up and coming British director Ben Wheatley (Down Terrace), Kill List is a combination of hitman thriller, cult shocker and David Lynch style 'mindfuck'.

A returning solider Jay (Neil Maskell) is in a pit of depression after a botched job in Kiev - the details of which are never revealed. An emotional and financial burden to his wife and son since his return, Jay is propositioned by old friend Gal (Michael Smiley), into taking an assignment to kill a number of arranged targets.

Reluctantly agreeing to the task, Jay accompanies Gal to a hotel where they meet the perspective client. The client is a mysterious individual who seems to be aware of Jay's past trouble in Kiev. Handing them a list of 3 names (the kill list), Jay and Gal are given a number of days to complete the job. It isn’t long though before strange and frightening events start to occur, as Jay becomes ever more violently detached from reality.

I was utterly hooked by the bizarrely, brutal story presented in Kill List. I had heard a number of mixed reviews on the movie, ranging from 'utter brilliance' to 'self indulgence nonsense'.

The greatest stumbling block with Kill List, seems to be the nature of its unresolved plot points, of which there are many. Past relationships, grievances, conversations, symbols and the ending all go unanswered.

Director Ben Wheatly - who co-wrote with his wife - deliberately set out to make something akin to the thought provoking cinema of David lynch, such as his later work Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire, with a dash of cult horror classic, The Wicker Man.

Like many other filmmakers who have ended their movies in a similarly ambiguous manner, most will agree, that whatever conclusion an audience member reaches therein lays the answer. In other words it is given to each individual audience member to create the movies resolution, whether its right or wrong is incidental. Wheatly purposely intended the movie to stick in the viewers mind like an itching torn.

Kill list will divide viewers, as much as it excites. What it does manage to be, is one of the most original and debatable movies to appear in awhile. In an age of remakes and brand name cinema, low budget fare like this is certainly a welcome change to the ever stagnate Hollywood blockbuster fare.

Video:

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, Kill List looks outstanding on blu ray. Colours, textures and contrast are all above standard for British distributor Studio Canal.

Audio:

There are three audio tracks available on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0, and an Audio Description track. The sound is just as important here as any of the characters, from Jim Williams' haunting score to the bevy of strange unidentifiable nosies throughout. The 5.1 handles all these tasks in a clear and precise manner.

Extra Features:

The extras here are a little constrained by the fact the cast and crew don't want to reveal too much about the movies plot details. What we are left with then is a competent making-of and interviews that forced to skirt around the meaning of the movie.

Director Ben Wheatly is an interesting presence in the interviews and commentary, discussing his influences and his reasoning in making the movie, but again he never goes to deeply into the meaning of the film.

Region:
This is a region 2 release.

Worth it on Blu?

The unresolved nature of the story Kill List presents can be a major turn-off for some people. There have been many sites and forums that have tried to unravel the mysteries herein, with none reaching a satisfying conclusion. The best way to approach the movie is to enjoy it for what it is, and simply let the experience wash over you, sometimes over analysing can kill a perfectly good mystery.

Overall Rating:

Trailer:

Extra Features:

Trailer - the original UK theatrical trailer for Kill List. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).
Making of - a short featurette with various camera tests and raw footage from the shooting of selected scenes. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080i).
Interviews - Ben Wheatley - (7 min, 1080/50i).
Neil Maskell and MyAnna Buring (11 min, 1080/50i).
Claire Jones and Andrew Starke (8 min, 1080/50i).
Commentary - director Ben Wheatley and writer Amy Jump.
Commentary - Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring and Michael Smiley

Technical Aspects:
Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0

Subtitles
English SDH

Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy

Purchase Here:

Bronson (2008) Blu Ray Review

2012-01-19T19:00:00.000Z

Bronson - R2 E1 Entertainment

Movie:

Bronson is the demented, darkly comedic true story of Britain's most dangerous criminal.

Eschewing the standard biographical story methods, director Nicholas Winding Refan instead presents the life of Micheal Peterson (Charles Bronson), as told through his own volcanic, but enthralling ranting.

Standing in front of a blinding spotlight with unseen spectators as his audience, Bronson (Tom Hardy) recounts his chaotic life story through a witty volley, of verbal recollections. Shown through flashbacks, Bronson narrators the violent actions that led to him having to serve an exurbanite prison sentence.

Originally sentenced to 7 years for armed robbery, Bronson wound up spending over 30 years in prison, mostly confined to solitary. The reasons for his repeated violent outbursts are never explored too deeply, this isn't some serious exploration into the mind of a criminal. Instead director Refn serves up a pop-culture 'balls to the wall' beat'm up.

Presented as a larger than life, almost cartoon creation, Tom Hardy plays Bronson as a pumped up anarchist. Whose Snarling wit explodes from lips shrouded behind a black wispy old-time moustache, as fast as his fists fly into a prison guard's face. That Hardy manages to inject a sense of humanity and compassion into this potentially one dimensional figure, is a testament to his acting skill.

If Drive was Refan's homage to 80s crime cool, like Miami Vice and To Live and Die in La, then Bronson can be seen as his take on the classic British hard-man. Which he mixes into a bloody stew with the verbosity of Alex from A Clockwork Orange, and the iconic cool of Caine in Get Carter.

Some will dislike the way the movie moves from stage-act to prison drama, but this is Bronson's show and he's rightfully put in the center. Credit is due, both for Refan for trying something different, and to Hardy for immersing himself so fully within the role.

Video:

Granted a 1080p/AVC-encode, this blu ray release of Bronson was never going to win best picture quality of the year awards.

Shot in both 16mm and 35mm - with the 16mm being the most prevalent throughout - there is fine use of colour and detail, but it just never really comes alive like other blu ray titles.

Audio:

Presented in a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. It's important given the copious amount of speech's and monologues that Bronson makes, that the dialogue be crisp and intelligible. Thankfully the 5.1 audio more than meets this task, along with serving up a suitably base filled presentation of the retro and classical soundtrack.

Extra Features:

Charles Bronson Monologues, are recording made of the real life Charles Bronson that were played before the films premiere. The quality of these recording are very poor, but it gives you a sense of the man if nothing else.

Making of Bronson, thankfully this avoids being the usual stagnant making of by roping in members of the real Bronson's family, along with the cast and director. The next few featurettes are Training Tom Hardy, which speaks for itself - we see the rigorous workout routine that got Hardy, Bronson's brawler psychique - and Behind the Scenes, B-roll footage.

The most interesting extra is the extensive interviews, in the abstinence of an audio commentary this gives you every last detail on the movie.

Region:
This is region B locked.

Worth it on Blu?

Bronson is a little too wild and crazy to be every-ones cup of tea. If your a fan of director Nicholas Refn's excellent Drive, this is another brilliantly told tale of male masculinity, that he skillfully manages to turn into a welcomely unexpected hyper violent circus, filled with imagination and blistering fight scenes.

Overall Rating:

Trailer:

Extra Features:

Charles Bronson Monologues (SD, 17:16)
Making of Bronson (SD, 15:22)
Training Tom Hardy (SD, 5:47)
Interviews (SD, 47:59)
Behind the Scenes Footage (SD, 11:41)
Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:27)

Technical Aspects:

Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles
None

Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)

Purchase Here:
UK:

US:

One Hundred Thousand Views

2012-01-19T13:19:00.000Z

Don't Touch The Watch hits 100000 views!

Thanks to everyone who checked out my site, cheers.

A Serbian Movie: Art or Filth?

2012-01-16T18:55:00.003Z

From Hell:

Since the dawn of cinema there have been movies that deliberately set out to challenge and provoke mainstream sensibilities.

This craze exploded in the 1970s and followed right through to the 90s, until all the dirty film genres were seemingly swept under the carpet, exploitation seemed dead.

That was until a new set of wild European film-makers, started churning out movies that can only be described as sick endurance tests. Martyrs, The Human Centipede and of course the vilest of all, A Serbian Movie.

A Serbian tale:

A Serbian movie follows retired porn star Miloš, who takes one last job to secure his family’s financial future.

Living peacefully with his wife Marija and his 6 year old son, Petar, Miloš is offered the part in a secret production by Vukmir Vukmir, a well-connected, independent pornographer. As soon as filming begins Miloš senses something is frighteningly wrong.

His first scene has him receiving fellatio from a woman, while video of her pre-teen daughter seductively sucks on an ice lolly projects all around him. The situation continues to escalate into ever greater acts of stark, brutal degradation including: misogyny, rape, decapitation, incest and the greatest of all the movies sins...'newborn porn'!

Wallowing in filth:

Soon into A Serbian movie, we see a hooded man violating a newborn infant. This vile act is the moment I completely turned against the movie, this content cannot be excused or forgiven. I would consider myself far from prudish, but there are two things I never want to see on screen: animals cruelty and sexual violence toward children.

There has to a line drawn somewhere when it comes to cinematic content. The most worrying aspect is that now that the bar is raised, what can someone else conjure up to outdo it. Do any one really want to watch a movie that manages to outdo infant rape? I know I certainly never want to see that day.

Ban this sick sadism:

The film is under review in a number of countries even in the Serbian state, which has opened an investigation to find out if the film violates the law. It is being investigated for elements of crime against sexual morals and crime related to the protection of minors.

It was banned by a San Sebastián (Spain) court for "threatening sexual freedom" and thus could not be shown in the XXI Semana de Cine Fantástico y de Terror (21st Horror and Fantasy Film Festival). It was also banned in Norway after two months of sales due to violation of criminal law section 204a and 382 that deals with sexual representation of children and extreme violence.

The film was shown at an adults-only screening at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain during October 2010; as a result the festival's director Ángel Sara has been charged with exhibiting child pornography by the Spanish prosecutor who decided to take action in May 2011 after receiving a complaint from a Roman Catholic organization. In the UK the film remains cut of more than 4 minutes of material, and is unlikely to be granted an uncut certificate any time soon.

In their own words:

The director and writer, Srđan Spasojević and Aleksandar Radivojević, have made statements to the effect that their creation is a parody of modern politically correct films made in Serbia which are financially supported by foreign funds.

Radivojević answers: "A Serbian Film is a metaphor for our national cinema - boring, predictable and altogether unintentionally hilarious which throughout our film to some extent is commented on and subtly parodied". Similarly, Radivojević describes Serbian cinema as "...pathetic state financed films made by people who have no sense or connection to film, but are strongly supported by foreign funds. Quality of the film is not their concern, only the bureaucratic upholding of the rule book on political correctness

According to Spasojević, the character of Vukmir is "an exaggerated representation of the new European film order ... the Western world has lost feelings, so they’re searching for false ones, they want to buy feelings."

In another interview Spasojević is quoted as saying "my shocking 'A Serbian Film' exposes the fascism of political correctness". On the question of whether the violence depicted deals with Serbian soldiers and war crimes that they have committed, Spasojević answers: "'Srpski Film' does not touch upon war themes, but in a metaphorical way deals with the consequences of post-war society and a man that is exploited to the extreme in the name of securing the survival of his family”

Spasojević and Radivojević also express that the film is not exclusively dealing with Serbian issues but issues in the "New World" in general. "We didn’t want to make a hermetic picture that would deal exclusively with our local tragedies, but to tell a story with global overtones, because Serbia is merely a reflection of the ways of today’s New World in general, as it tries to imitate it and fails miserably.

Contrary to the peerless politically correct facade of the New World, it’s still a soulless devouring machine for killing every small freedom – of art and free speech – we have left, destroying everything different in its path".

Martyrs (2008) Blu Ray Review

2012-01-16T14:51:00.003Z

Martyrs - R2 Optimum

Movie:

It Isn’t a regular occurrence, but when the French make a horror film you better run for cover, cause you know it’s gonna be brutal.

Director Pascal Laugier's Martyrs took the world of horror by surprise, when it was released to unsuspecting audiences in 2008. The film became one of the first in a line of extreme European cinema that reached an apex years later with A Serbian Movie.

The movie opens with the distressing sight of a young girl (Lucie), escaping from unseen assailants who have been holding her prisoner, as well as savagely torturing her.

Years later a grown up Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï) invades the home of a family that she believes were behind her incarceration as a child.

From the moment Lucie enters the house, the movie kicks into a hyper-violent state, like an overdose of adrenalin into the mind, culminating in one of the most distressing scenes I have ever seen.

To give any of Martyrs secrets away is to do a deserve to both the movie and its director. What I will say is that this film deeply affected and disturbed me. No stranger to outlandish violent cinema I was still taken aback by the relentless brutality on screen.

It’s the fact that the performances are so tremendously good, and the direction so accomplished, that you unwittingly get immersed in this mire of repugnant violence. The real test comes later though, as you try to wash the images from your mind.

Only recently director Laugier was dismissed from the Hellraiser remake, that macabre concept of his style mixed with sadism of Baker is one of the great losses in cinema. For now though we can still revel in his visceral masterpiece of endurance cinema, thats only for the brave.

Video:

Martyrs makes its blu ray debut in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

Similar to the transfer used for the French release by Wild Side Video. This offers strong levels of detail and contrast, with only the hint of softness creeping into some scenes.

Audio:

There are two audio tracks: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French Dolby Digital 5.1.

The DTS-HD Master track seems to be the stronger of the two offering more clarity, but there is little to differentiate between them.

Extra Features:

Outside of a few interviews, the real meat here is the informative feature length making of, that offers an incredible look into how director Pascal Laugier put the whole thing together.

Region:
This is a region free release.

Worth it on Blu?

Martyrs is an incredibly well made movie, but it’s just that fact that makes it all the more distressing. The level of misogyny and violence might just be too much for the casual horror fan, approach with caution!

Overall Rating:

Trailer:

Extra Features:

A Making Of - (With imposed English subtitles) (86 min).
Pascal Laugier Interview - (With imposed English subtitles) (20 min).
Benoit Lestang Interview - (With imposed English subtitles) (14 min).

Technical Aspects:

Video
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English

Discs
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)

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Guide to Extreme Cinema Part 3

2012-01-12T15:30:00.002Z

Famous Extreme Genres 3:

Shocksploitation

Shock exploitation films, or "shock films" or "shocksploitation films"; contain various shocking elements such as extremely realistic graphic violence, graphic rape depictions, simulated bestiality and depictions of incest.

Notable Films:

I Drink Your Blood (1970)
Pink Flamingos (1972)
The Pig Fucking Movie (1974)
Salo or The 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS and its sequels (1975)
Blood Sucking Freaks (1976)
Island of Death (1977)
Fight for Your Life (1977)
Last House on Dead End Street (1977)
Combat Shock (1986)
Nekromantik (1987)
Men Behind the Sun (1988)
SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan (1997)
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
August Underground's Mordum (2003)
Antichrist (2009)

Slasher films

Slasher films focus on a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner. The victims are often teenagers or young adults. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is often credited as creating the basic premise of the genre.

It truly emerged as a genre during the 1970s with Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974 and John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), which is usually credited with starting the genre, most specifically with masked villains, groups of weak teenagers with one strong, hero female, isolated or stranded in precarious locations or situations, and either the protagonists or antagonists experiencing warped family lives or values.

Notable Films:

Psycho (1960)
Peeping Tom (1960)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Black Christmas (1974)
Halloween (1978)
Friday the 13th (1980)
The Burning (1981)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Childs Play (1988)
Candyman (1992)
Scream (1996)

Splatter films

Splatter films, according to film critic Michael Arnzen, "self-consciously revel in the special effects of gore as an artform." Where typical horror films deal with such fears as that of the unknown, the supernatural and the dark, the impetus for fear in a splatter film comes from physical destruction of the body. There is also an emphasis on visuals, style and technique, including hyperactive camerawork.

Where most horror films have a tendency to re-establish the social and moral order with good triumphing over evil, splatter films thrive on a lack of plot and order. Arnzen argues that "the spectacle of violence replaces any pretentions to narrative structure, because gore is the only part of the film that is reliably consistent." These films also feature fragmented narratives and direction, including "manic montages full of subject camera movement...cross-cuttings from hunted to hunter, and ominous juxtapositions and contrasts."

Notable Films:

Blood Feast (1963)
The Wizard of Gore (1970)
Maniac (1980)
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Thing (1982)
Demons (1985)
Street Trash (1987)
The Evil Dead 2 (1987)
Hellraiser (1987)
Braindead (1992)
Cabin Fever (2002)

Women in prison films

Women in prison films emerged in the early seventies and remain a popular subgenre to this day. They are primarily voyeuristic sexual fantasies about prison life that rely on heavy quantities of nudity, lesbianism, sexual assault, humiliation, sadism, and rebellion among captive women.

Notable Films:

99 Women (1969)
Love Camp 7 (1969)
The Big Bird Cage (1972)
Caged Heat (1974)
Barbed Wire Dolls (1976)
Nazi Love Camp 27 (1977)
Chained Heat (1983)

Zombie

Zombies are creatures usually portrayed as either reanimated corpses or mindless human beings. While zombie films generally fall into the horror genre, some cross over into other genres, such as comedy, science fiction, thriller, or romance. Distinct sub-genres have evolved, such as the "zombie comedy" or the "zombie apocalypse". Zombies are distinct from ghosts, mummies, or vampires, so this list does not include films devoted to these types of undead.

Victor Halperin's White Zombie was released in 1932 and is often cited to be the first zombie film. However, arguments have been made that the 'somnambulism' in the German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) was an earlier example, involving a character in a state similar to that exhibited by zombies and of course, the 1910 film Frankenstein features a reanimated corpse.

Notable Films:

White Zombie (1932)
I Walked Like A Zombie (1943)
Night of The Living Dead (1969)
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1975)
Dawn of The Dead (1978)
Zombie (1979)
The Return of The Living Dead (1985)
Day of The Dead (1985)
Night of The Living Dead Remake (1990)
Braindead (1992)
28 Days Later (2003)
Shaun of The Dead (2004)
Dawn of The Dead Remake (2004)
Land of The Dead (2005)
Zombieland (2009)

542. Antichrist (2009) Criterion Review

2012-01-11T21:05:00.000Z

Plot:

After the death of their child, a couple retreat to a cabin in the woods where the man experiences strange visions and the woman manifests increasingly violent sexual behaviour. The narrative is divided into a prologue, four chapters and an epilogue.

Directed by: Lars Von Trier

Lars Trier was born in Kongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, the son of Inger Trier. He had believed that his biological father was Ulf Trier, until his mother revealed to him on her deathbed that he had been conceived as a result of an affair she had with her employer, Fritz Michael Hartmann.

In 1979, he was enrolled in the National Film School of Denmark. His peers at the film school nicknamed him "von Trier". The name is sort of an inside-joke with the von (German "of" or "from"), suggesting nobility, while Lars is very common.

During his time as a student at the school he made the films Nocturne (1980) and The Last Detail, both of which won Best Film awards at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools. After graduation he began work on the crime drama The Element of Crime, which won a technical award at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1994 he made The Kingdom and The Kingdom II (1997), a pair of miniseries recorded in the Danish national hospital. In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg presented their manifesto for a new cinematic movement which they called Dogme 95. It would however take a while before the first of these films appeared, and at this point many thought of the concept mainly as a radical idea with no future.

Von Trier's next film, Breaking the Waves (1996), the first film in von Trier's 'Golden Heart Trilogy'. Its grainy images and hand-held photography pointed towards Dogme 95. The second was The Idiots (1998), nominated for a Palme d'Or, which he presented in person at the Cannes Film Festival notwithstanding his dislike of travelling. Dancer in the Dark (2000) was the final component of the trilogy.

He then directed two films in his announced 'U.S. trilogy': Dogville (2003), starring Nicole Kidman and Manderlay (2005), starring Bryce Dallas Howard in the same role - as Grace. Both films are extremely stylized, with the actors playing their parts on a nearly empty soundstage with little but chalk marks on the floor to indicate the sets.

In 2009 he made Antichrist, about "a grieving couple who retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping a return to Eden will repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. The film, which includes sexually explicit content, stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where the festival's jury honoured the movie by giving the Best Actress award to Gainsbourg.

Von Trier's latest work Melancholia, is a psychological disaster drama, shot between 22 July and 8 September 2010 at Väst's studios in Trollhättan, Sweden.

Von Trier announced that after finishing Melancholia he hopes to begin production of Nymphomaniac, a film about the sexual awakening of a woman.

Movie:

Controversial Danish director Lars Von Tier beats, rips and brutalises the institution of marriage, in this haunting examination on coupledom, therapy and grief.

Opening with a slow motion black and white hardcore sex scene - set to 'Lascia ch'io pianga' - we are introduced to a nameless married couple who are enthusiastically copulating in the shower. Unbeknownst to them their young son has escaped from his playpen and has made his way to an open window. The young boy leaps from the window to his death, presumably to reach the snow that has gathered outside his window.

The young boy's mother (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is utterly distort by her son's death, while his father (William Defoe) sets about to correct her anxiety, by implanting a number of psychoanalytic methods. Over the course of a month the mother is seen trying and failing to overcome grief. In a last ditch effort her husband decides to take her to Eden - a remote forest - to try a controversial form of treatment known as exposure therapy.

The couple's trip to the cabin in the dark heart of the forest, turns into a harrowing exploration of inner and personal demons. As well as bringing about numerous strange hallucinations, that plague both patient and doctor.

Written while director Von Tier was in the grip of a dark, seemingly endless depression. Antichrist is a movie covered in a molasses black cloud of despair, grief and loss, that sits beside Trier's familiar film-making traits.

In Charlotte Gainsbourg the director has found someone willing to fully engage in his extreme take on the female psyche, which he would later expand to fuller effect in his end of the world masterpiece, Melancholia.

Stripping herself to the bone, Gainsbourg delivers a blistering performance as she has to contend with a barrage of uncomfortable, taboo scenarios. Including: violent masturbation, sadomasochistic sex and the infamous clitoridectomy scene.

A movie I would be hesitant to recommend to those not accustomed to this kind of extreme European cinema. Although it is nowhere near the level of Irreversible or A Serbian Movie, this is still a gruelling, visceral misogynistic watch.

Picture:

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer.

Sound:

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

Extras:

Interviews - with director Lars von Trier, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Willem Dafoe.
Confessions about anxiety - (5 min, 1080i).
Charlotte etc. - (44 min, 1080i).
Willem Dafoe: Agent of Fantasy - (19 min, 1080p).
Commentary - with Professor Murray Smith from University of Kent in the United Kingdom and director Lars von Trier.
The Making of Antichrist
Behind the test film - (7 min, 1080i).
Visual style - (16 min, 1080i).
Sound and music - (13 min, 1080i).
Eden-production design - (6 min, 1080i).
Makeup effects and props - (9 min, 1080i).
The three beggars - (9 min, 1080i).
The evil of woman - (8 min, 1080i).
Cannes 2009 - the film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009.
Chaos reigns at the Cannes Film Festival - (8 min, 1080i).
Charlotte Gainsbourg at Cannes - (7 min, 1080i).
Willem Dafoe at Cannes - (9 min, 1080i).
Trailers - In English, not subtitled.
Trailer 1 - (3 min, 1080p).
Trailer 2 - (3 min, 1080p).
Trailer 3 - (3 min, 1080i).
Booklet - a 30-page illustrated booklet containing Ian Christie's essay "All Those Things That Are to Die"

Overall Rating:

Spine Number: 542

Technical Aspects:

Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles

English SDH

Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)

Playback
Region A (locked)

James Bond Complete Blu Ray - 01/10/12

2012-01-11T14:47:00.001Z

This October marks 50 years since the first James Bond film appeared to wow cinemagoers worldwide. To celebrate, MGM and 20th Century Fox have teamed up to release all 22 films that have borne the 007 marque in one Blu-ray box set.

Bond 50 not only packs in every Bond film to date from 1962's Dr. No to 2008's Quantum of Solace, but also includes more than 130 hours of bonus features, some of which will be new to even the most avid of 007 enthusiasts.

Announced at CES, the collection marks the first time that nine of the current roster has been released in the Blu-ray format. Check out the official Bond site for further info.

James Bond - Complete 22 Film Collection is up for pre-order on Amazon priced at £90. This spy-definition set will be available from 1 October 2012.