THE TAKE / BLACK GUNN - Mill Creek Double Feature Blu-ray Review (youtube)

Check out Mill Creek Entertainment and this release is available HERE

LET THE CORPSES TAN (Blu-ray Review) - Kino Lorber

France/Belgium
Directed By: Helene Cattet, Bruno Forzani
Written By: Helene Cattet, Bruno Forzani
Starring: Elina Lowensohn, Stephane Ferrara, Bernie Bonvoisin
Color/92 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: January 8, 2019

The Film
If you're not familiar with the duo of Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani you may be familiar with their two previous features, Amer and The Strange Colour Of Your Bodies Tears, a pair of films that add a strong arthouse style and vibe to the duo's love for Italian genre film, most notably the giallo. The duo has gained noteriety in the cult film community because of their flourishing direction and dizzying editing. Their films have been devisive among fans with some fans being turned off by the arthouse style and other gobbling up their contributions to the genre. If nothing else, their films are interesting companion pieces to the genres they are love letters to.

LET THE CORPSES TAN is Cattet's and Forzani's homage to the Euro crime and spaghetti western genres. The plot is one that you've heard before and could fit either type of film, a gang thugs steal a load of gold bars and escape to a sparsely populated, crumbling cliffside village to hide out. The gang will soon find trouble with the lusty painter and her guests including a writer, and another sexy woman and her son that are already at the villa. Soon a pair of motorcyle cops arrive on the scene and the film plays out with a lengthy showdown within the stone walls and rocky hills between the two groups filled with floods of color, intense closeups, extreme violence and multiple double crosses. The film's progression is framed with intertitles displaying the time, often times showing the same scene play out from various character's perspectives.

Cattet and Forzani deliver an onslaught of intense visuals, colors, extreme closeups and violence. The duo focus on the styles of the spaghetti western and the crime films that came out of Italy during the 1970s using signature camera angles and music cues. The traditional plot should have allowed for something more cohesive, and linear, though I know that isn't Cattet and Forzani's style, their approach often leads to the images on screen being a bit an incomprehensible mess of flying bullets and various closeups of appendages. I think characters are cheated a more fleshed out and well rounded existence had they been given more to do than just show up and shoot every fucking thing. I frequently found myself asking why or what, and never really receiving any sort of answer, it seemed to be decisions and action for the sake of decisions and action. There was no development in these characters, they're very much paper doll versions of who we are introduced to and become nothing more, even when they perform some sort of double cross or their intentions change with the wind.

I liked a lot of what I saw and I certainly found myself entertained but I can't help but wish the duo helming this picture turned their style down a few notches and instead of being barraged with style I would appreciated a film that had more developed characters and a more practical storyline. There still would have been plenty of room for Cattet and Forzani to blow their artistic load all over the place but at least there would have been some substance to it. I think there's a good movie in LET THE CORPSES TAN and a great movie hanging around right outside of it, especially for fans of the genres that Cattet and Forzani are proclaiming their love for but the duo are perfectly happy getting their nut and leaving us with blue balls.

The Audio & Video
Kino Lorber gives LET THE CORPSES TAN a home on Blu-ray with a 2.35:1 anaormphic widescreen transfer that looks and sounds exceptional. The look and sound of this film are its strong suits and this Blu-ray gives the vivid colors, intense use of shadow and silhouettes and distinct textures the proper treatment. The bombardment of sound comes through with a 5.1 or 2.0 DTS-HD audio mix that is mixed and layered very well with the dialogue and score and sound effects complimenting each other nicely. The film's dialogue is in French with optional English subtitles. The subtitles are timed perfectly and translated well for easy reading.

The Extras
Special features include an audio commentary track with film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Queensland Film Festival Director John Edmond and a trailer for the film.

The Bottom Line
I appreciate LET THE CORPSES TAN but I wanted to love it. If you appreciated Amer or The Strange Color Of Your Bodies Tears than I think you'll appreciate this one as well.

LET THE CORPSES TAN is available HERE

STRAIGHT TO HELL - Blu-ray Review (Kino Studio Classics

UK/1987
Directed By: Alex Cox
Written By: Dick Rude, Alex Cox
Starring: Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, Dick Rude
Color/91 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date: August 28, 2018

The Film
What do you get when you combine the comedic anarchy of Mel Brooks with a "don't give a fuck what you think" punk rock attitude and roll it up in to a spaghetti western spoof that someone like Quentin Tarantino would worship? You get something along the lines of Alex Cox's STRAIGHT TO HELL.

Four bumbling criminals blow their job by being hungover and letting their target check out of his hotel before they could get to him so to make it up to their boss they rob a bank and barely escape. Their car breaks down in the Mexican desert so they bury the cash and hideout in what they thought was a deserted town. It's not ghosts they have to worry about here but maybe the undead would be better than dealing with a lot of kill-happy, cowboys that have been exposed to too much sun and are all hopped up on coffee.

Alex Cox is a well known cult filmmaker having made films such as Repo Man and Sid And Nancy which have amassed huge followings and have even found themselves among the ranks of the Criterion Collection. He's also a huge fan of the spaghetti western genre, he's provided commentary tracks to various films and even written a book on the subject. He has proven himself a very versatile filmmaker that can make great films in many styles and tones so it is no surprise that he wanted to make a spoof of the spaghetti western genre in a more contemporary setting. It's also made up of quite a cast of characters, largely filled with various musicians such as Joe Strummer of The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Pogues and Courtney Love as the female lead. This cast of non-actors add a bit to the chaos of the movie as you can only wrangle their performances so much. Even the more trained and traditional actors give wild performances but with a bit more polish to them.

STRAIGHT TO HELL is hilarious with the comedy coming from all angles and starting from the very beginning and never letting up. The cast that Cox uses definitely plays a big role in the vibe and attitude of the film. The overall story is a pretty typical western with the hunt for a hidden fortune, double crossing, a tough female love interest but it's all contorted into a zany and wacky affair. It also features some splattery violence that catches you off guard at first but quickly blends in to the madness. Story takes a bit of a backseat at times with a few stretches of film that went so far into left field that it lost me for a bit and that was okay because I was having enough fun that just spending time in this wackjob of a town was enough for me.

It may not be the most accessible film ever produced as it really does scream "cult" in every aspect of its production and not everyone is cut out to watch these types of movies. Whether it is the punk rock cast, the over the top violence, a pregnant and shrieking Courtney Love or just how bizarre the entire affair is, it definitely has a limited audience. One person that definitely enjoyed it was Quentin Tarantino as it is immediately evident how it influenced him on his early work, especially Pulp Fiction. Maybe STRAIGHT TO HELL is a bit too self indulgent and maybe Alex Cox gave too few fucks to make a traditionally good film and the bad reviews it received upon its release reflect that but for as much as I think Alex Cox was seriously loving every second of making this film I appreciate how bonkers it is and I had a lot of fun watching it.

The Audio & Video
STRAIGHT TO HELL arrives on Blu-ray with a new 2K restoration from Kino's Studio Classics line with great success. The anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 transfer has great picture quality and is sharp and clear, with no dirt, scratches or other debris. The desert setting is hot and sweaty and the fine details of the dirt, sand and broken down town textures are on point. Colors are vibrant with deep black levels and no signs of pixelation or blocking issues. the audio comes across in a DTS-HD Master Audio mix that sounds crystal clear. There's plenty of shoot outs and explosions to give your sound system some content to show off with while dialogue and music compliment each other nicely.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with co-writer/director Alex cox and co-writer/star Dick Rude
-"Back To Hell" - Making-of documentary
-"Black Hills" - A vintage tour of filming locations
-"Straight To Hell Returns" trailer

The Bottom Line
STRAIGHT TO HELL isn't the smoothest ride in town but that's what makes it memorable and gives it a distinct personality. This movie is wild and I dig it. Recommended!

STRAIGHT TO HELL is available HERE

OBSESSIONS - Cult Epics (Blu-ray Review)

Holland/1969
Directed By: Pim de la Parra
Written By: Pim de la Parra, Martin Scorcese, Wim Verstappen
Starring: Alexandra Stewart, Dieter Geissler, Tom Van Beek
Color/91 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Blu-ray/DVD

The Film
A medical school student witnesses a gruesome crime while peeping through a hole drilled in the wall to his neighboring apartment. Soon after his journalist girlfriend tells him about a murder that has been reported that sounds very similar to what he witnessed through the hole in the wall and becomes obsessed in finding out exactly what is going on in the apartment next door even if it puts him and his girlfriend in extreme danger.

Pim de la Parra directs OBSESSIONS, the film that truly opened Dutch films to the world for the first time as this film was distributed in over 120 countries. The story lends itself to exploitation filmmaking and it certainly wades in those waters with moments of sleazy sex and violence, commonly after having slipped a pretty woman some drugs. Or there's the scene where the bad guys try to make a key character look like she slit her own wrists while naked in the bathroom. There's more than just pure exploitation here however as the film is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's timeless Rear Window. James Stewart didn't quite see the same kind of dirt that Dieter Geissler's character would in OBSESSIONS but the film takes a lot of cues and influence from Hitchcock as well as the Italian giallo films. OBSESSIONS might be best summed up as a giallo directed by a half interested Hitchcock. I don't mean that as an insult to the film in any way, it's just that Hitchcock was a master of suspense and tension and the level of filmmaking in OBSESSIONS isn't up to par with Hitchcock's best. Few movies are. Its exploitation side fits in well with the murder mysteries from Italy that debuted in the mid 60s and dominated cinemas in the 70s with their mix of sex, violence and bizarre stories. OBSESSIONS certainly fits that bill.

OBSESSIONS is perhaps most known for having been co-written by a young Martin Scorcese and scored brilliantly by Bernard Herrmann. It is historically significant in the landscape of European film and Holland's film industry more specifically. For that reason alone it is worth seeing but there's plenty for exploitation film fans to latch on to in this sporadically stylish but usually completely competent crime thriller that pays off in a classic scene that is as hallucinogenic as it is brutal.

The Audio & Video
Cult Epics gives OBSESSIONS a home on Blu-ray for the first time with a brand new HD transfer taken from the original 35mm film. The 1.33:1 full frame presentation preserves the film's original aspect ratio while the new HD transfer gives way to a rather sharp look but finer detail is lacking a bit. Grain is on the heavy side but looks natural while colors and skin tones are warm and attractive. The 2.0 Dolby Digital mix sounds crisp and clear with no background noise or damage noticeable. The mix allows Bernard Herrmann's excellent score to shine through while not overpowering the dialogue.

NOTE: The screen grabs do not represent the HD presentation on the Blu-ray disc.

The Extras
A nice selection of extras, many of which are newly produced are included to round out this Blu-ray release. A pair of optional introductions from Pim de le Parra and Dieter Geissler start out the disc and then each of them have given new HD video interviews  as well. A text interview with Martin Scorcese rounds out the interviews. A roughly five minute excerpt from the 2010 documentary "Parradox" is included and focuses on the history of Scorpio Films. This is a well done excerpt and makes me want to seek out the full documentary. Rounding out the special features are Martin Scorcese's original script notes, the original Dutch theatrical trailer and a photo gallery.

The Bottom Line
OBSESSIONS is a blend of influences from Hitchcock to gialli to exploitation films that preceded it. It doesn't stop at being important to the history of an entire nation's film industry, it is also an early example of Scorcese's writing and Hermann's scoring. Cult Epics has given OBSESSIONS the treatment is deserves and cements its place in cult film history.

OBSESSIONS is available HERE

MALIBU HIGH - Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray Review

USA/1979
Directed By: Irvin Berwick
Written By: John Buckley, Thomas Singer
Starring: Jill Lansing, Katie Johnson, Alex Mann
Color/90 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: May 30, 2017

The Film
MALIBU HIGH is a film with a misleading title and poster. One look at the poster makes you imagine a lighthearted, sex comedy with an attractive lead and a colorful cast of supporting characters romping around classrooms and the beach. It was a decision producer Lawrence Foldes made strategically and purposefully. It paid off as MALIBU HIGH was quite the financial success but it did not represent the movie audiences would see in any way, shape or form.

The alternate working titles, High School Hit Girl, Lovely But Deadly and Death In Denim all paint a much more accurate picture of what is in store when watching MALIBU HIGH. Jill Lansing stars in her only film appearance as Kim, a teen with an attitude who has been dumped by her boyfriend for the local rich girl. With slumping grades and the proposition of not graduating looming over her head she takes it upon herself to sleep with all of her teachers and blackmail them into straight A's. And while she's at it she decides to make some money along with those better grades so she hooks up with the local small time drug pushing pimp Tony (Alex Mann). He mistreats her and she splits to work with Lance (Garth Pillsbury) who offers a more professional, high profile lifestyle for Kim while she's turning tricks but quickly gets Kim involved in much more violent and deadly crimes spiraling the high school senior's life out of control.

MALIBU HIGH is a bit rough around the edges giving the movie a proper exploitation attitude. Jill Lansing's performance is raw and believable and she has a natural screen presence on top of her natural sex appeal. It's a shame that her experience making MALIBU HIGH was apparently not one she enjoyed as she would never make another film despite being good enough to have continued in the field. Alex Mann and Garth Pillsbury add a bit of veteran experience as the feuding crime bosses. Their styles and characters are totally different but each played brilliantly with Mann portraying Tony's low rent operation that for the blue collar workers around town while Lance gives a more luxurious experience to wealthier clients from the city in true mob boss form.

Ironically it would be Lance that ultimately destroyed Kim's life by persuading her into taking a gun along on various jobs to knock off the client and Kim is quite good at it and takes it upon herself to get a bit of revenge on her rival from school. This descent is fascinating and endlessly entertaining to watch. The movie would be fun just having Kim fuck her teachers and blackmailing them for grades but you add in a mob boss, murder, drug addiction and an icepick to the back in what may be my favorite scene of the film, you get a shining example of exploitation.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome has given MALIBU HIGH a new HD transfer and 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative leading to a warm picture with a healthy grain structure. Colors and skin tones have a natural look with no waxiness or DNR. A DTS-HD Mono audio track handles the audio perfectly with a crisp and clear sounding mix that is free of background noise, or any damage like hissing or popping. I wonder if I'll ever get tired of saying Vinegar Syndrome did a stellar job on a release? I highly doubt it.

The Extras
A bountiful selection of special features are included on the disc to round out a great presentation of a fine film, starting off with an audio commentary track with producer Lawrence Foldes and actress Tammy Taylor. Then a trio of video interviews with Lawrence Foldes, Tammy Taylor and co-star Garth Pillsbury and footage from a Q&A at a screening of the film at the New Beverly Cinema with Lawrence Foldes, Tammy Taylor and Alex Mann round out the main extras for the film before we can give in a pair of short films from Lawrence Foldes titled "Struggle For Israel" (1976) and "Grandpa And Marika" (1975). Rounding out the features are the original theatrical trailer, a promo still gallery and reversible cover art.

The Bottom Line
MALIBU HIGH has everything an exploitation film fan could want all wrapped up in a beautiful Blu-ray package. I highly recommend you get off your ass and pick up this treasure of sleaze.

MALIBU HIGH is available HERE

BLACK ROSE (2017)

USA/2017
Directed By: Alexander Nevsky
Written By: Brent Huff, George Saunders
Starring: Alexander Nevsky, Kristanna Loken, Adrian Paul
In Theaters April 28, 2017
VOD and DVD Release Date: May 2, 2017

A serial killer is terrorizing the Russian community of Los Angeles, killing young women and leaving a black rose in their mouth. A Russian police Major is enlisted on loan from Moscow by the LAPD to connect with the locals and solve the murders with his young female partner.

BLACK ROSE was filmed in 2014 and you could say there's a reason that it is just now seeing distribution. It's not that BLACK ROSE is a bad movie but it is painfully familiar. You've seen this movie before under a myriad of titles done better and done worse. Director Alexander Nevsky also stars as the Russian policeman Vladimir Kazatov and after his introductory scene which shows him single handedly stopping a violent bank robbery and hostage situation in Moscow by ramming a truck through the wall and firing off a handful of perfectly placed rounds after his good looks and charm didn't sway the armed robbers into giving themselves up you could call BLACK ROSE a bit of a vanity piece for Nevsky. Nevsky is fine in his role as the no nonsense, hardass Russian stereotype who offers a bit of comic relief when he doesn't understand his partner, competently played by Kristanna Loken, and her typical English phrases. These moments where two cultures clashed for comedic relief were easily the most head-bashingly bad moments in the film. I wanted to yell "Look at these two! He doesn't understand her and she thinks his food is gross! Oh my God it's so fucking funny!".

Now, it really isn't Nevsky or Loken that are the problem with the movie, they both play their characters just fine. They have a good chemistry on screen and cringe worthy moments in the writing aside they are an asset to the movie. The writing and overall angle the film takes are its biggest weaknesses. Focusing more on the serial killer would have added an air of darkness and coldness that BLACK ROSE desperately needed. The most interesting thing about serial killer movies is the serial killer and we simply don't spend enough time with him or get in his head at all. The twist is lazy and thrown together and is used in place of better writing with the serial killer character. BLACK ROSE has good performances and that is easily the best part of it, sadly they're within the confines of a movie that doesn't push the boundaries of the hundreds of similarly mediocre straight to video movies it will inevitably be lumped in with.

CHICAGO ROT (2017)

USA/2015
Directed By: Dorian Weinzimmer
Written By: Brant McCrea, Dorian Weinzimmer
Starring: Brant McCrea, Shira Barber
On Demand Release Date: April 4, 2017

Ambition is something all filmmakers should strive for. Making the most out of whatever budget and talent you have isn't always the easiest thing however, especially for independent filmmakers. If there's one word to sum up CHICAGO ROT it is "ambition."

The film centers around a man nicknamed "The Ghoul" and he's fresh out of prison after a decade of incarceration and now he's hunting Chicago's seedy, violent and supernatural underbelly searching for the man for stole his soul. What ensues is a sleazy, ultra violent, neon and rock-n-roll infused horror/sci-fi/crime mashup that really needs to be seen to fully understand, although I'm not sure I fully understand it after viewing it.

From what I was able to find out about CHICAGO ROT with some internet research is that the film took several years to complete, which means the filmmakers were damn persistent on top of ambitious. It does lead to some moments where the film feels piecemealed together but the direction from Dorian Weinzimmer is so damn good that it really doesn't detract too much from the film's flow. Weinzimmer's direction looks and feels like that of someone that is far beyond their debut feature film. It's stylish and makes the world we're in feel massive and legitimate, never feeling cheap or that they're hiding the shortcomings of various sets like I've seen in plenty of bigger pictures from more experienced mainstream filmmakers with exponentially larger budgets.

The cast is quite good as well and with the number of colorful characters with very distinct personalities it's impressive to see that there isn't much in the way of overdoing it or a performance that feels out of touch with the rest of the film. Brant McCrea stars as Les aka "The Ghoul" and gives a strong performance as the center of the film that the rest of the cast revolves around. McCrea also co-wrote the film with Weinzimmer and if I had to pick something about the film that didn't work as much for it it's the story which is convoluted and as much I enjoy everything that is going on within the film on a visual level I think it may be too much for the story to contain and keep a steady flow. CHICAGO ROT has different levels of story going on and at times it goes back to the piecemeal feeling that I mentioned earlier that it feels like various parts were tacked on in stages. This may not be the case but that's the feeling it gives me and is my biggest gripe with the film.

Gripes are to be had and while I don't absolutely love CHICAGO ROT I quite enjoyed watching it and respect the absolute shit out of it. The costumes, locations, effects and overall quality of filmmaking cannot be overlooked or understated. There is some legitimate Hollywood level work in CHICAGO ROT and it's the ambition that drives this film and the successful realization of that ambition that really sets CHICAGO ROT apart from most indie films.

Too much work, damn good work, went into CHICAGO ROT for it to fade away into the indie film abyss. Go watch it.

CIRCUS OF FEAR / FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS - Blue Underground (Blu-ray Review)

UK/1966, 1967
Directed By: John Moxey, Jeremy Summers
Written By: Peter Welbeck
Starring: Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski
Color/195 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: June 28, 2016

The Films
This pair of films based on the work of novelist Edgar Wallace each feature, appearances by the late great Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski. That was enough to get me excited about them, especially CIRCUS OF FEAR which is a film I've long wanted to see but the film and I never ended up at the same place at the same time. FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS was of less interest as the Harry Alan Towers produced spy film's I've seen don't really get my blood pumping but again, Lee and Kinski in the cast made it a must see.

CIRCUS OF FEAR is from 1966 and directed by John Moxey who is best known to me as the director of City Of The Dead aka Horror Hotel which is a brilliant gothic horror film from 1960 starring Christopher Lee. He would pair up with Lee once again here where an armored car heist leads London's detectives to a mysterious circus where a disfigured lion tamer (Christopher Lee) is one of several suspects in a series of accidents and murder but nobody is as innocent as they seem.

I enjoyed CIRCUS OF FEAR it's a well made crime mystery with a strong cast including Suzy Kendall, Margaret Lee Leo Genn and Klaus Kinski. There's enough action to keep things moving along at a comfortable pace and the plot is constantly thickening. The danger of the lions add an element of horror to the picture and there are a couple of more gruesome scenes that had been cut in some releases.

The film's mystery is quite obvious and there's little surprise to the big reveal that comes in the third act. The weak reveal doesn't hurt the picture too much thankfully as the movie is never more than just good. I'd never call the film great but it is an enjoyable watch from start to finish.

FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS is easily the more visually appealing of the two films. This Jeremy Summers (House of 1,000 Dolls, Vengeance Of Fu Manchu) stars Bob Cummings in what would be the former Hitchcock cast member's final feature film. Cumming stars as Bob Mitchell, a wealthy American playboy type (why they chose a rather washed up actor at the end of his career for this doesn't make sense to me) who is quickly thrown into a dangerous and life threatening situation between local mobsters and a group known as the Five Golden Dragons who hope to take over the world's economy without revealing their identities to each other until some grandiose ritual of key turning, box opening and gun shooting. It's up to Mitchell to reveal the identities of the Five Golden Dragons if he can survive long enough.

FIVE GOLEN DRAGONS is easily the more visually stimulating and appealing of the two films. Shot at Shaw Brothers' Studio in Hong Kong this film has a very exotic flavor filled with beautiful bikini clad women, boat chases and strikingly colorful costumes including the golden dragon masks. The visuals of FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS are its best asset as the writing is awful. The film is apparently a comedy because Bob Mitchell takes the entire thing as joke despite very real danger and attempts on his life he's laughing and joking throughout. That may be forgivable if the movie didn't have extremely out of place and down right bizarre music and sound cues that would fit more in a 3 Stooges slapstick act than a spy thriller.

On top of this the majority of the cast is given nothing to do, including Klaus Kinski who shows up every half hour for about 15 seconds and Christopher Lee who is relegated to taking off a mask and is given about 10 seconds of screen time. I like the art direction in this film but sadly that's about it.

The Audio & Video
Blue Underground makes sure you have no reason to search down any other version of these films as they've presented both films uncut with gorgeous 2K scans from the original negatives. Both films feature strong detail in textures, surfaces and especially in close-ups. The grain in wood and the fabric in clothing is immediately evident. Colors are faithfully reproduced from the darker and drearier CIRCUS OF FEAR to the far more bright and vivid color palette of Hong Kong and the costumes in FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS. The black levels are deep with no signs of blocking up and the more vibrant colors shine without bleeding or looking artificially enhanced. Each film features an English DTS-HD Mono mix that are free of any background noise or distortions. I feel that CIRCUS sounds slightly better with a more crisp and clear sound overall. There's nothing drastically wrong with DRAGONS audio but I don't think it was quite as crystal clear sounding to my ear which leads me to believe it has to do with how the audio was originally recorded.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with Director John Moxey on CIRCUS OF FEAR
-Theatrical Trailer Collection
-Poster and Still Galleries

The Bottom Line
Blue Underground's excellent presentation of these films is probably better than the films themselves but I found CIRCUS OF FEAR plus the appearances by Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski in both films to be enough to warrant a recommendation.


CIRCUS OF FEAR/FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS is available HERE

CODE 7, VICTIM 5 / MOZAMBIQUE (Blu-ray Review) - Blue Underground

UK/1964
Directed By: Robert Lynn
Written By: Peter Yeldham, Harry Alan Towers
Starring: Lex Barker, Steve Cochran, Ann Smyrner
Color/186 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: March 29, 2016

The Films
CODE 7, VICTIM 5 stars Lex Barker as Wexler, a private detective hired by a South African millionaire for protection and to solve the murder of his butler. Upon arriving Wexler meets all the people associated with the millionaire, including his family, business partners and men from his past that may hold the key to the killings as they all appear in an old war photo together. Car chases, fights and shoot outs become the norm as Wexler tries to unravel the mystery.

CODE 7, VICTIM 5 is an entertaining crime thriller that is straight forward in its delivery of a decent mystery that puts everyone involved in immediate danger. The direction is solid and the photography by Nicolas Roeg is beautiful. Lex Barker is a Bond knock off without all the gadgets and is more than capable of it. He's the man to handle all of the bikini clad eye candy running around while solving the crime. The film is more violent than I had expected with more bloodshed than I could have guessed.
All of the elements come together making CODE 7, VICTIM 5 an exotic crime flick that is a fine film.

In MOZAMBIQUE a broke and out of work American pilot is offered a job as a cargo pilot making runs between Mozambique and Lisbon. He quickly finds himself in a web of kidnapping, murder and smuggling. The pilot's focus changes from making a buck to finding out the identity of the person that has put his life in danger.

The exotic setting of Mozambique should be interesting and beautiful, adding to what could have been a thrilling potboiler from director Robert Lynn. Instead the film is dreadfully dull. As fun and thrilling as CODE 7, VICTIM 5 was, MOZAMBIQUE feels that soulless. The score is slow and drawn out, especially in the big climactic ending which could have made the entire film worthwhile to sit through but instead it is a letdown with an incredibly bland score that doesn't fit. The best thing I can say about MOZAMBIQUE is that it's competently made.

This double feature of Robert Lynn films from 1964 show the best and worst of what the director could do and in very similar vehicles. On the surface they're almost identical plots in exotic locales but the paint by numbers MOZAMBIQUE doesn't take advantage of just about anything it had going for it while CODE 7, VICTIM 5 revels in being an exciting detective romp that is surprisingly violent.

The Audio & Video
This Blu-ray from Blue Underground marks the U.S. home video debut for both of these films and it wastes no time showing how good it can look in the opening scenes of CODE 7. The vibrant colors of costumes and decorations in a festival scene are gorgeous and vibrant. This carries on throughout both films and at its best the PQ lives up to those moments with very strong detail down to facial hair stubble and the texture of clothing with a natural film look and grain structure. At its worst the disc has some noticeable digital scrubbing that takes the PQ down a step but never to the point of looking offensive or bad. The image on this disc is good, even at its worst and fantastic at its best. The English audio track is a DTS-HD Mono mix that is crisp and clear. There's no distortions or background noise. Blue Underground took the original mix for these films and made them sound excellent in HD without needing to create gimmicky new surround mixes.

The Extras
Theatrical trailers for each film are included

The Bottom Line
I wish both of these movies were as good as CODE 7 - I still recommend this pulp crime double feature.

CODE 7, VICTIM 5 / MOZAMBIQUE is available HERE

NIGHTMARE WEEKEND (Blu-ray Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1985
Directed By: Henri Sala
Written By: George Faget-Benard, Robert Seidman
Starring: Debbie Laster, Dale Midkiff, Debra Hunter
Color/86 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: September 22, 2015

The Film
Bonkers. That's the only way to describe this film about a scientist who shares his great invention that  can transform bad personalities with a fellow scientist who is secretly using the invention to turn people into raving bloody thirsty mutant maniacs. It's bonkers.

NIGHTMARE WEEKEND is several types of film depending on what part of the film you're watching. It's a science fiction film, an erotic thriller with plenty of softcore porn stylings, there's a crime film in there as well but at its heart it is indeed a horror film. A really bizarre, stupid and frankly pretty shitty horror film. I mean that in the best way.

Filled with goopy and slimy gore and make up effects along with plenty of nudity there's nothing going on here but a big pile campy fun. The acting is quite hammy but particularly bad. All of the actors are dubbed and the dubbing isn't that bad either. The direction and photography are both competent which hold the film together enough to allow for the other qualities to be total cheesefests and still work out.

Oh, and did I mention there's a talking hand puppet. And that his name is George? Yeah, there's a talking hand puppet named George. And a metal ball that flies around and kills people. Are you following? No? Just see the movie. It's so weird and just plain out there that I can't help but love it. I didn't even mention the roller skating, bikers, public sex scenes, theme song... I can keep going on but I don't think I need to. Just enjoy it.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome gives NIGHTMARE WEEKEND a beautiful HD transfer for its Blu-ray debut. The transfer has strong detail and nice colors. Dark scenes are a bit heavier on noise than lighter scenes but black levels are inky and deep with no traces of compression or blocking. The English DTSHD Master Audio sounds crisp and clear with no background noise or damage noticable. The mix job is quite well done as well as the soundtrack and dialogue compliment each other nicely.

The Extras
-"Thank God It's Monday" - An interview with special effects creator Dean Gates (23 minutes)
-"Killer Weekend" - Interview with Marc Gottlieb (13 Minutes)
-Alternate R-Rated edits
-Theatrical trailers
-DVD copy of the film

The Bottom Line
Vinegar Syndrome has plucked NIGHTMARE WEEKEND from obscurity, restoring all of the cut footage and release it on an attractive Blu-ray release for us to enjoy. Now all you have to do is enjoy it. Go get it!

NIGHTMARE WEEKEND is available HERE

JURASSIC PREY (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2015
Directed By: Mark Polonia
Written By: John Oak Dalton
Starring:  Houston Baker, James Carolus, Danielle Donahue
Color/87 Minutes/Not Rated
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Region FREE

The Film
"You played a tattered ass Bigfoot and you think you know about bears!"

If the rest of the film was as great as that line is this would be a cult classic. Even though it will never reach the status of cult classic, JURASSIC PREY does play itself into the hands of drunken entertainment. The story of a prehistoric dinosaur being freed after an explosion in some mines and terrorizing a forest where some bank robbers are hiding out is both stupid and ridiculous in a mildly entertaining way.

The acting is okay, the writing is a ham and cheese sandwich with some laughs scattered throughout and the dinosaur looks to be somewhat poorly rendered stop motion animation with shitty CGI blood effects that are good enough for a chuckle each time it's on screen. Even though the movie is short enough to not overstay its welcome you'll be thankful to see the credits when they start to roll.

I wouldn't put JURASSIC PREY on as the night's only entertainment. I'd save it for the tail end of a night of drinking when you need something that doesn't require your undivided attention or your most stable and sober mindset.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing's DVD release of JURASSIC PREY is pretty standard and passing grade material. The 16x9 transfer is relatively sharp and the digital photography is obviously free of any dirt or debris. Meanwhile colors are decent. The English 2.0 audio fares about the same. It gets the job done without being anything to write home about. There's no damage and the levels are mixed adequately.

The Extras
-"Making Of" featurette (7 minutes)
-Audio commentary with the director

The Bottom Line
What can I say, it's worth a drunken watch to laugh at.

JURASSIC PREY is available HERE

ALL AMERICAN BULLY (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2011
Directed By: Jason Hawkins
Written By: Jason Hawkins
Starring: Daren Ackerman, Alexander Fraser, Alicia Rose
Color/90 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: June 23, 2015

The Film
A small group of friends who like to spend their time playing role playing games every weekend are the target of a local group of bullies led by an old friend turned enemy who is terrorizing the group by destroying valuable books, and beating them up. When the group tries to fight back in their own way the bullying quickly escalates into a place you can't return from.

ALL AMERICAN BULLY is a raw film, not only in its production values as an independent film that is far from polished but in its delivery and execution which gives a grave realism to the film. The characters are written with actual everyday people in mind. Our group of nerds (and I use the word lovingly) could be found at any high school across the country and our bullies are more of the popular group who like to continually prop themselves up by putting everyone else down. I'm sure many of us have experienced these types of people during our days in grade school and it's that easy type of connection that makes ALL AMERICAN BULLY a successful film.

The movie could have easily ended up as nothing more than a respectable attempt at making a powerful drama pulled down by weak writing, inexperienced acting and amateur directing. Instead the acting is quite competent with one of the worst performances surprisingly coming from one of the more experienced actors in Adrienne King of Friday The 13th fame.

ALL AMERICAN BULLY plays on its aforementioned rawness to make the audience feel like they're more a part of situation as opposed to just watching it. And that's the power of a movie such as this, there's nothing fictional about ALL AMERICAN BULLY. Things like this can happen every day in any school in any town to anyone and lives are lost because of it. I think ALL AMERICAN BULLY is a very good film and turns disadvantages to advantages but I can't say I had a lot of fun watching it. It punches you in the gut and causes visceral reactions.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing delivers a ALL AMERICAN BULLY on DVD with an anamorphic widescreen transfer that looks good. The digital photography is clean and in very good condition and there's little to no compression or artifacting which was a pleasant surprise. The 2.0 audio is perfectly clear with good mixing and steady levels. There's no damage or background noise to speak of.

The Extras
-Extensive cast interviews
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
I think ALL AMERICAN BULLY is a truly great independent film that deals with a major issue plaguing America's youth.

ALL AMERICAN BULLY is available HERE

FLESH AND BULLETS (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1985
Directed By: Carlos Tobalina
Written By: Carlos Tobalina
Starring: Glen McKay, Mic Morrow, Cydney Hill
Color/85 Minutes/R
Region FREE
Release Date: August, 18 2015

The Film
A pair of divorced men fed up with their ex-wives bleeding them dry meet in Las Vegas and make a plan to kill each other's wife. The catch? If they fail to do so they're fair game to be killed as well. The plans get tangled when each man begins to fall in love with their respective target.

Carlos Tobalina is known for his extensive work directing X rated films in the '70s and '80s, plenty of which have been covered here on Celluloid Terror. He's no stranger to creating entertaining films and this rare venture outside of the X rating finds him creating a sexy thriller based on Alfred Hitchock's Strangers On A Train.

While the film doesn't have the budget, beautiful camerawork, top notch performances or signature Hitchcock moments, FLESH AND BULLETS does have well, flesh and bullets. The artistry of Hitchcock's classic is replaced with lots of nudity and sex (no hardcore shots), including scenes with adult stars Mai Lin and Sharon Kelly and some tense action scenes.

Is it fair to really compare the two films? No, probably not. There's no way FLESH AND BULLETS could live up to the film it is mimicking but Carlos Tobalina works within his limits and makes a largely successful skin and guns thriller that will appeal to a wider audience than his normal output.

The Audio & Video
It's immediately apparent that the film elements for FLESH AND BULLETS have been kept in pretty good condition because this DVD from Vinegar Syndrome is nice. The 16x9 transfer has a nice sharpness for a standard definition release along with an overall clean presentation and nice colors. There's some speckling and minor damage but nothing major or distracting. The mono audio sounds good with about as much wrong with it as the picture quality, that's to say nothing much.

The Extras
-Alternate cut of the film under the title "Wife Contract" sourced from a VHS
-Theatrical trailer

The Bottom Line
Sexually charged but not reliant on being hardcore, FLESH AND BULLETS is a fun, tense and seductive thriller that takes Hitchcock on a cab ride through 42nd street. Recommended!

FLESH AND BULLETS is available HERE

JOHN DOE: VIGILANTE (DVD Review) - Arc Entertainment

Australia/2014
Directed By: Kelly Dolen
Written By: Kelly Dolen, Steven M. Coates
Starring: Jamie Bamber, Lachy Hulme, Sam Parsonson
Color/93 Minutes/R
Region 1
Release Date: April 14, 2015

The Film
The legal system is failing, letting known criminals walk free on violent and disturbing charges. Unwilling to live in a society where crime is essentially rewarded, John Doe begins to take the law in to his own hands by killing criminals. The media latches on to his story and soon John Doe's actions have spawned a nationwide movement of copycats and those looking to take back control of their country.

Told through a series of interview segments and flashbacks, JOHN DOE: VIGILANTE tells the story of this character who is a hero to his countrymen, a headache to law enforcement, and the cause of concern for free criminals everywhere. The method in which the story is told holds the film back as it is too much start and stop which kills the flow of the narrative. There's some really great scenes, my favorite of which when a group of copycats come out of the shadows to hand out justice to a known pedophile.

The acting is good throughout and the direction is competent. Unfortunately every time I settled in with the movie and started to really get into it the movie switches gears again back to an interview segment or coming out of one. It simply happens too often and gives the entire film a jerky feel. The other let down to JOHN DOE: VIGILANTE is that I felt like the film was talking at me. No, I don't mean talking TO me, I mean talking AT me. I feel like it was yelling at me with a preachy vibe that I couldn't get passed. This all comes to a head when John Doe looks directly into the camera and starts talking about taking action and this and that. I'm fine with social commentary and using film as a means of creating change but don't have your film talk at me like a school teacher scolding a child for not doing his fucking homework.

The Audio & Video
JOHN DOE: VIGILANTE lands on region 1 DVD with an attractive and effective presentation. The anamorphic widescreen transfer has good sharpness and detail and handles black levels well. The color palette is a bit cold intentionally and the disc represents that naturally. The English audio is handled through a 5.1 Dolby Digital mix that sounds great. The mix is bold and boisterous when it needs be but handles subtle dialogue moments with grace as well.

The Extras
This DVD is loaded with feautres including:

-Audio commentary with Kelly Dolen and Steven M. Coates
-Audio commentary with Jamie Bamber
-Behind the scenes: Courthouse Explosion
-Behind the scenes: Gang Fight
-Behind the scenes: "I'm Not John Doe"
-Interview with the director
-Interview with Jamie Bamber
-Filmmakers featurette

The Bottom Line
The movie may be hit or miss but the DVD is a winner with a nice A/V presentation and great special features. This one is worth checking out for that fact alone.

JOHN DOE: VIGILANTE is available HERE

Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2015 - Days 4 and 5

The fourth day of the challenge started with a pair of movies on a double feature DVD that Troma has recently released called FROM ASIA WITH LUST Volume 1. Both films are from Japanese director Ainosuke Shibata whom I am not all familiar with. Interestingly enough I couldn't find any information about either of these films online while trying to research them a bit so I can't discuss anything other than what I saw... The first movie, CAMP, is a rape/revenge movie about two sisters who wreck their car and take solace with a young man at his home nearby. All hell breaks loose when the man's friends stop by and it is apparent that the entire group are recovering sex addicts of some sort and begin to brutally torture and humiliate the girls by punching them, tying them up and even going as far as forcing them to urinate so they can drink it. One of the sisters is able to escape and runs into a strange woman who turns out to be some kind of vigilante and teaches her to use a crossbow to hunt her captors and take revenge on them.

CAMP was certainly a roughy. It has some of the meanest content I've seen in recent years but falls apart as soon as the vigilante woman comes in to play as it all feels incredibly hokey and cheap afterwards. There's nothing terrifying about a cheap plastic crossbow that looks like it cost $20 at Wal  Mart and can barely get the arrows 15 feet to a practice target. There's even less to be intimidated by when the vigilante woman can barely hold or control her own weapon, a long bow. A weak twist finishes out the movie falling apart from something decent to something ultimately forgettable.

Then there was HITCH-HIKE, a remake of the film from 1977 that starred Franco Nero, where a bank robber is picked up while hitchhiking and ends up taking the couple in the car hostage and on a long terrifying road trip in search of an escape from the law hunting him. This remake is pretty bland and misses the ability of Nero and numerous other aspects that made the original something special, not least of which was a score by Ennio Morricone. It wasn't terrible but nothing special.

EFFECTS was next, a Pittsburgh based horror film from 1980 that was never released on home video before Synapse put it out in 2005. The film stars Joe Pilato and Tom Savini and is about a low budget horror film being made that is a front for the director actually making a snuff film out of the whole thing. I really enjoyed the last 30 minutes or so but the first 2/3 of the movie bored the piss out of me. It just takes too long to get going.

I switched gears for a bit and popped in an old favorite to end day 4. THE TOXIC AVENGER is the first movie of the challenge that wasn't new to me and it remains as incredibly campy, offensive, funny, and exciting as it ever was. I love the entire series to death and always will. This was the second movie of the month in which a pet dog is murdered... I wonder if that will become an unintentional theme going forward.

Day five started with another re-watch as I got to watch my new Blu-ray of EXTERMINATORS OF THE YEAR 3000. If you can't figure it out, this is Mad Max style exploitation. Post-nuke cheese where a guy named Alien helps a kid with a bionic arm find water for his group of survivors while Crazy Bull and his band of dirt bike riding baddies battle them in fantastically fun fights, chase scenes that are packed with explosions and action. This release is so much nicer than the old Code Red disc.

And the last movie for this post was EVE OF DESTRUCTION. I had pretty high hopes for this to be trashy sci-fi action but I have to say I was a bit let down. Gregory Hines stars as a military man assigned to track down and destroy an android type robot that is on a bit of a rampage. Little does he know that it's a nuclear weapon and in 24 hours will self destruct, taking 30 city blocks with it. Hines is good and the movie really isn't bad but slow moving and aside from 3 or 4 scenes it is pretty light on the action. Lower expectations would have left me with a better impression of this one.

Today's Rundown
Camp - 4.5/10
Hitch-Hike - 4/10
Effects - 4/10
Toxic Avenger - 8.5/10
Exterminators of the Year 3000 - 7/10
Eve of Destruction - 6/10

MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2012
Directed By: Shane Ryan
Written By: Shane Ryan
Starring: Katie Marsh, Demi Baumann,
Color/90 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: September 23, 2014

The Film
Based on the true crime case of the murder of nine year old Elizabeth Olten by her fifteen year old neighbor Alyssa Bustamante, MY NAME IS A takes a raw and graphic look at growing up alienated and left to your own devices while not knowing how to deal with your own emotions.

Small on straight forward narrative, MY NAME IS A is more of a test of patience while dealing with angsty teens who are a near perfect personification of the "emo" label and stereotype. How long can you stick with this movie watching the girls binge and purge, cut their wrists or cry so that mascara is running down their face? I finished it, but just barely.

What could have been a powerful film touching on the struggles of growing into your own shell and dealing with the hand you've been dealt and showing the consequences of thinking there are none or that there's nobody outside of your own little world ends up looking like a music video from a band like The Used or My Chemical Romance.

The Audio & Video
MY NAME IS A was made with little in the way of professional equipment it seems and the DVD from Wild Eye Releasing looks as such. The picture quality looks like it was shot with low end consumer grade cameras and gives a soft and grainy look. This style does work for the film itself in ways that HD might not. The audio is similar in that it works but it is no frills and is adequate.

The Extras
Wild Eye has assembled a nice collection of extras for their release of the film...

-"The Columbine Effect" - an alternate edit of MY NAME IS A
-"I Hate Me, Myself and Us" - An hour long cut of MY NAME IS A
-Deleted and alternate scenes
-Music video
-Teona Dolnikova music video spotlight
-"Isolation" - a short film
-"Oni-Gokko" - a short film
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
Big fans of films based on true crimes may want to take a look but otherwise know what you're in for.

MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS is available HERE

God Told Me To (Blu-ray Review) - Blue Underground

USA/1976
Directed By: Larry Cohen
Written By: Larry Cohen
Starring: Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis
Color/90 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: February 10, 2015

The Film
A man sits perched atop a water tower in New York City armed with a rifle and opens fire on the lunch time crowds on the streets below, striking well over a dozen victims without a single miss. When detective Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) ascends the tower to try and talk the shooter down he asks what has made him commit this crime and the shooter responds simply with "God told me to." before hurling himself off the tower to his own death. Thus begins one of the strangest experiences you're ever going to have with a film.

Detective Peter Nicholas continues to investigate a bizarre string of killings plaguing the city where all of the murderers claim that God has instructed them to kill. Nicholas' investigation takes him on a strange journey of alien abduction and insemination, virgin births, unholy faith and more violence. It is only when he discovers his true connection to it all that he will be able to stop it.

GOD TOLD ME TO is a film that may only have been able to be made when it was made. Larry Cohen may have been king of the drive-in film with works such as The Stuff, Q The Winged Serpent, Black Caesar and the It's Alive trilogy to name just a few. GOD TOLD ME TO may be his best work however and quite possibly his weirdest. In what plays out like any detective crime story, we're thrown through a whirlwind blender of demonic horror and off the wall science fiction twists. Cohen's writing certainly had a more is more attitude with this film and it somehow all comes together and works. His tight, moody and sometimes stylish direction aids in that. In a film that perfectly shows off New York City's grittiness of the period it's worth noting as an accomplishment that he's also able to pull off perfectly lit and artistic shots with some heavy handed use of colored lighting.

Tony Lo Bianco and the rest of the cast that reads like a who's who of various eras of Hollywood, give everything they have to bring Cohen's script to life without a single ounce of cheese, ham or overacting. This film would fail if the actors corn balled up their performances and it is something that Larry Cohen wouldn't have allowed, especially with the talent he had on board. From Andy Kaufman's first screen appearance to Richard Lynch and Sylvia Sidney nobody misses a beat.

The fashion in which the story progresses will have the viewer fully locked in and engaged wondering just what the hell will happen next. It may take a minute (or more) to process some of the big turns the film takes but you know what? It's a blast and somehow Cohen pulls it all together for a fucking awesome piece of bizarre drive-in cinema.


The Audio & Video
Blue Underground's release of GOD TOLD ME TO is absolutely stunning. The 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer has been scanned in 4K from the original negative and the results couldn't be nicer. The print is clean and in excellent condition. Colors are vivid and pop off the screen in breathtaking fashion. There's substantial detail shown in textures, surfaces and close ups. Black levels are deep and inky and handled with skill as there's no blocking up whatsoever. Skin tones are healthy and natural without any sign of waxiness from excessive DNR.

The English audio track is handled with a 7.1 DTS-HD mix that is pretty much perfect. The mix is boisterous and powerful while featuring subtlety that allows for a perfect balance of dialogue and score. There's no damage to the track such as popping or crackling and there's no background noise. Frank Cordell's score was in perfect hands for this disc.

The Extras
A fairly extensive lineup of special features are included:

-Audio commentary with Larry Cohen
-"Heaven and Hell on Earth": An interview with Tony Lo Bianco
-"Bloody Good Times": An interview with special effects artist Steve Neill
-"God Told Me To Bone" - Q&A with Larry Cohen at the New Beverly Theater
-Lincoln Center Q&A with Larry Cohen
-Extensive selection of TV spots and trailers for the film's ad campaigns under both titles "God Told Me To" and "Demon"
-Poster and stills gallery

The Bottom Line
This will be a disc that future drive-in era exploitation film Blu-ray releases will held to. The incredible A/V presentation with a healthy selection of extras makes this Blue Underground release essential to any fan of horror, exploitation, or oddball cinema.

GOD TOLD ME TO is available HERE

Poker Night (Blu-ray Review) - XLRator Media

USA, Canda/2014
Directed By: Greg Francis
Written By: Greg Francis
Starring: Beau Mirchoff, Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito
Color/104 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: February 10, 2015

The Film
Newly appointed detective Stan Jeter is invited to his first poker night with some of the best detectives on the force. The group uses their poker nights to swap stories and give insight to the new guys as much as for a night of fun and harmless gambling. Jeter quickly learns of their triumphs and failures and the lessons and knowledge they all learned from various stories and he'll immediately have to put them to use to try and match wits and survive being captured and held in a basement while tortured for weeks.

POKER NIGHT starts off with great intensity and tension. The killer's menacing look adds to the fear quickly being imposed in the viewer. The stories being shared around the table by the veteran detectives are all interesting and well done in their flashbacks and montages. Jeter's predicament features some very nasty and violent scenarios but unfortunately the back and forth from Jeter's situation to the poker table draws the viewers attentions elsewhere and the focus is put on the other stories which are frankly more interesting than Jeter's.

The performances are all very good, including a much larger role for Ron Perlman than I had predicted. The direction is stylish and the editing is tight. Unfortunately it is the writing from Greg Francis that let's his own direction and overall film down quite a bit as the film's most interesting parts are not based around its main character. POKER NIGHT remains a pretty well done film, and it is violent and entertaining from start to finish and while the meat and potatoes of the film aren't the most interesting part the villain is a smart and pretty well thought out killer.

The Audio & Video
XLRator Media's 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is stunning. Detail levels are high in surfaces, textures and close ups, while colors are vivid. Skin tones look fleshy and natural and black levels are deep and don't suffer from pixelation or blocking up. The source material is crystal clear and clean as can be. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is crisp, clear and dynamic. The mix job is excellent letting the dialogue and score channels mix nicely. There's no damage or audible annoyances to speak of.

The Extras
A trailer is the lone extra

The Bottom Line
POKER NIGHT has some interesting scenes and some well done moments that make it worthwhile.

POKER NIGHT is available HERE

The Mule (Blu-ray Review) - XLRator Media

Australia/2014
Directed By: Tony Mahony, Angus Sampson
Written By: Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Jaime Browne
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell
Color/102 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: January 20, 2015

The Film
A man agrees to transport packets of heroin in his stomach but is caught and detained by Australian police while going through airport security. Scared and not knowing what to do the man makes a choice to not defecate which would expose his guilt. The police take him into custody at a hotel and monitor him at all times. The man continues to refuse to defecate and tries to outlast the one week limit the police have to hold him putting his own life and his family's well being in harm's way.

And that's about it. THE MULE is apparently based on true events from 1983 in Australia and maybe the true events were more exciting than the movie about them because THE MULE is about as uneventful as it gets. About thirty minutes into the film we start our escapade at the hotel and very little happens then. We watch our man constantly keel over in stomach pain from holding in his dumps and we watch the cops beat him. The film and it's artwork seem to want to have a comedic tone, which would be extremely welcomed and would work very well but the attempts at comedy are abandoned too quickly and simply aren't funny.

The cast has talent but a weak script and a screenplay, ironically written by Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson, who star in the film, makes the movie more of a chore than an entertaining experience for the viewer failed any talent the cast has. Not only did this movie let me down, it let itself down.

The Audio &amp Video
XLRator Media releases THE MULE on Blu-ray under their Macabre line with an attractive looking disc. The anamorphic widescreen transfer has nice sharpness while colors are vivid. Detail level is good along and there's no edge enhancement or DNR. The English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is crisp and the mix is on point. Clarity is good as there's no background noise or damage to the track.

The Extras
-Deleted scenes
-4 Featurettes including "Who. What. Where. When.", "Ego", "Ticking Time Bomb", and "1983 America's Cup"

The Bottom Line
THE MULE had potential to be an entertaining dark comedy but the few attempts at comedy fall flat and the rest is just a bore. The best part about this disc are the special features.

THE MULE is available HERE