ANTHROPOPHAGOUS - Severin Films Blu-ray Review

Italy/1980
Directed By: Joe D'Amato
Written By: George Eastman, Joe D'Amato
Starring: Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Serena Grandi
Color/90 Minutes/Not Rated
Region Free
Release Date: September 25, 2018


The Film
ANTHROPOPHAGUS is an infamous horror film from Italian director Joe D'Amato who is responsible for some of the sleaziest and most shocking horror films to come out of Italy. The story centers around a group of vacationers who find themselves trapped on a small Italian island that has been seemingly abandoned and all of the buildings left empty. They qiuckly discover that a disfigured monster of a man has been terrorizing the island and surrounding waters and eating his victims to stay alive.

Joe D'Amato and George Eastman (Luigi Montefiori) co-wrote this pretty straight forward horror film that works because the gore sequences are linked together by an atmosphere of uneasy dread and seclusion for the group trying to find a way off the island without becoming the grim reaper's lunch. Pacing was a bit of an issue for me on my first viewing of the movie but as the years have gone by and I've subsequently seen the film several times that issue has really gone by the wayside for me. I have no issue with the pacing and think there's plenty of action throughout the movie, giving us enough to wrap around the two huge hitting gore scenes that will always pop up in discussion of the film. The acting is on par for Italian horror of this era but the inclusion of a young Serena Grandi playing a blind girl, surviving in the shadows of this island until she's found by the main group adds an interesting dynamic to the group and she also proves a capable counterpart to Tisa Farrow and Saverio Vallone.

ANTHROPOPHAGUS is a pretty straight forward horror film that relies on its signature kills and gore for a reaction and it works as nearly forty years after its release the gore moments are still shocking and very well done and George Eastman is still a horrifying sight. It may not be a work of art but it is one of the most notable Video Nasties and for good reason.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films delivers ANTHROPOPHAGUS on to Blu-ray for its US high definition debut with a new 2K scan from the original 16mm negative. Previously available on DVD in the US and on Blu-ray from 88 Films in the UK, Severin's new release outshines them all. The picture is sharper than any previous release with a rich and natural color palette. Detail is strong and beautifully displays the gruesome special effects, monster makeup and finer textures around the abandoned island.

The film is presented in either English or Italian in a 2.0 DTS HD Master Audio mix, each with optional English subtitles and closed captioning. The audio quality is quite clear and free of any distortions or background noise. It may not be the most dynamic mix but it's properly mixed and sounds as it should.

The Extras
-"Don't Fear The Man-Eater" - An interview with George Eastman
-"The Man Who Killed  The Anthropophagous" - An interview with star Saverio Vallone
-"Cannibal Frenzy" - An interview with special effects artist Pietro Tenoglio
-"Brother and Sister In Editing" - Interview with Bruno Micheli
-"Inside Zora's Mouth" - Interview with actress Zora Kerova
-Trailer Selection

The Bottom Line
Thanks to Severin Films ANTHROPOPHAGUS finally has a release good enough to match its reputation of a gory classic of the Video Nasty era.

ANTHROPOPHAGUS is available HERE

VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON (Severin Films Blu-ray Review)

Italy/1982
Directed By: Bruno Mattei
Written By: Ambrogio Malteni, Claudio Fragasso
Starring: Laura Gemser, Gabriele Tinti, Maria Romano
Color/99 Minutes/Not Rated
Region Free
Release Date: May 8, 2018

The Film
I love women-in-prison films and I love the Emanuelle films. Laura Gemser is a goddess and a legend of exploitation film. Add in that Bruno Mattei signature flair for trash and we have a winner.

Larua Gemser stars yet again as Emanuelle, a character she would portray well over a dozen times either officially or unofficially in her career, a reporter who has taken it upon herself to get the inside scoop on a prison notorious for abuse, torture and corruption but quickly becomes subjected to the sexual and physical abuses. After a nasty encounter with a horde of rats while in solitary confinement Emanuelle and the prison's doctor (Gabriele Tinti) begin to fall for each other with each confiding in the other. We learn that the doctor has been forced to work at the prison as a result of being convicted for murdering his wife when he euthanized her to end her suffering from cancer. The duo make a pact  to escape and expose the prison for all of its wrongdoings but the head warden (Lorraine De Salle) has no plans to let that happen.

Bruno Mattei has made some of the sleaziest and cheesiest exploitation and horror films to ever come out of Italy but there's nothing cheesy about VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON. The film does feature some properly placed and timed comedy but it's very lightly sprinkled in on an otherwise cold and extremely unwelcoming stint in prison hell. From the sexual degradation to rape and big, biting rats this prison offers nothing in the way of fun, not even for a gay man in the men's section of the facility. This character offers up something a bit unexpected and definitely a character to sympathize with but his character's full circle is an interesting one as he is usually victimized by meaner and badder men but when the men turn their attention to a woman putting on a show for them from her cell's window he takes offense and is upset that he's no longer the center of their attention. This turns into a cruel beating before the guards break it up. This character shows the darkest side of prison but how it can be personally rationalized as a yearning for attention and companionship in even the most despicable conditions.

The cast of the film is quite good on the whole. Gemser and Tinti turn in their typically solid performance and their real life relationship translates into easy and organic chemistry on screen. They're a duo the audience will genuinely care about and cheer for against the nasty warden, who is brilliantly portrayed by Lorraine De Salle as a true bitch who uses her power for her own gain including drugs and pleasures of the flesh. It's not an easy road to complete with torture and death around every corner and seeing the lovely Laura Gemser covered in nasty rat bites is heart breaking and makes me want to stomp out every dirty sewer rat I ever come across just in case their uncle or cousin was one of the little fuckers that caused such pain and sickness on her but getting to the end proves to be not only entertaining but altogether satisfying.

VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON is packed with corruption, rape, lesbianism, violence and plain old sleaze. Bruno Mattei was at the top of his game with this one and created one of my favorite  women-in-prison films.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films has restored VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON with a new 2K scan from the original interpositive with great results. The Blu-ray has great overall clarity and definition despite some light scratches and speckling. The colors are true to life and vivid when they should be and skin tones are natural and fleshy with no signs of waxiness or excessive DNR. Black levels are properly deep and free of compression or blocking issues. This movie has definitely never looked better on home video.

The film's audio is presented in an English HD mono track that has a bit of background noise but never gets distracting or annoying and otherwise sounds crisp and mixed perfectly so that the dialogue and music compliment each other.

PLEASE NOTE: The screenshots included in this review DO NOT represent the Blu-ray quality and are included only for reference.

The Extras
-"Brawl In Women's Block" - Interview with Co-writers Claudio Fragasso and Rosella Drudi - This half hour interview with the duo covers everything from their rather hilarious meeting at a cinema club to their marriage and time spent working on this film and others including plenty of work with Bruno Mattie. It's a lively, funny and really informative interview giving good background insight into not only this film but their careers and time in the Italian film industry as a whole.

The Bottom Line
You want the bottom line? VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON is one of the nastiest and most entertaining women-in-prison films around and this release is fucking awesome. That's the bottom line.

VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON is available HERE

AXE / KIDNAPPED COED - Severin Films (Blu-ray Review)

USA/1974, 1976
Directed By: Frederick R. Friedel
Written By: Frederick R. Friedel
Starring: Jack Canon, Leslie Rivers, Leslie Lee
Color/142 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date:
Blu-ray/CD

The Films
AXE is the debut film from Frederick R. Friedel and is a classic example of drive-in era exploitation horror. In the film three men are on the run from the law for murdering a man and end up at a secluded farmhouse where a young girl named Lisa lives with her disabled grandfather. The gang decides to stay there where they humiliate the girl and her grandfather until she takes her revenge on the gang.

AXE is a simple idea that is executed quite well. All of Friedel's films were region productions with local actors and locations. The main cast is good enough and Leslie Lee who plays Lisa is unsettling in her role as victim turned killer. Clocking in at under 70 minutes AXE does exacty what it sets out to do without wasting any time or energy. The film has an underlying creepiness to it that our villains play no part in. Lisa and her grandfather are weird enough on their own before we give the girl reason to start offing people. This is highly enjoyable stuff.

With his first feature film under his belt Friedel quickly followed it up with KIDNAPPED COED which feels much bigger in scope and more seasoned. This film which also stars Jack Canon, is a road trip film as a man has kidnapped a wealthy man's college student daughter in an attempt to extort ransom money from him. Their trip is full of perils and pit stops and takes some unexpected turns as the girl falls for her captor as hell falls for her and it isn't the Stockholm Syndrome.

KIDNAPPED COED is great. Not only is it a bigger picture than AXE but it is more polished and more mature. The writing is well rounded with actual character development and a dark sense of humor. It's not a perfect picture as it is still a regional production of an exploitation film in the mid 70s. It's flawed but excels in spite of those flaws and makes its imperfections work for it. I'm a big fan of KIDNAPPED COED.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films have given these two drive-in exploitation classics a loving HD debut. The 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer preserves both films' original aspect ratio and does so with a natural film looking quality. There's a healthy grain structure and little to no digital noise. The picture is sharp and rich with detail. Skin tones are natural and healthy. There's a bit of speckling and debris within the prints as they haven't been totally cleaned up but it keeps the natural 70s drive-in charm while making them shine for the present day. The audio features a 2.0 Dolby Digital mix that is crisp and clear without any major annoyances or background noise. The levels are stable and steady without dropping in or out or spiking in volume. I love what Severin has done with the A/V on this release.

The Extras
-BLOODY BROTHERS - This is the special feature that makes this release special - a 3rd feature film that is a hybrid of both AXE and KIDNAPPED with optional audio commentary by Stephen Thrower
-Audio Commentary on each film with writer/director Frederick R. Friedel, production manager Phil Smoot, and makeup artist Worth Keeter
-"At Last... Total Terror!" - The Amazing True Story of the Making of AXE and KIDNAPPED COED
-"Moose Magic" - The George Newman Shaw and John Willhelm Story
-Stephen Thrower on AXE and KIDNAPPED COED
-Trailers
-TV Spots
-Radio Spots
-CD Soundtrack

The Bottom Line
Severin Films gives us the definitive release of these cult classics along with extensive and heartfelt supplemental material and a soundtrack CD to boot. Highly recommended!

AXE / KIDNAPPED COED is available HERE

April Exploitation/B-movie Challenge 2016 - Days 6 and 7

Cirio H. Santiago is showing up quite a bit early on this month with his wonderfully trashy post-apocalyptic action flicks and THE SISTERHOOD is yet another. This 1988 film adds in a fantasy element to our normal armor and leather clad testosterone fueled battles in the barren wastelands and adds a bit of a feminist angle as well. THE SISTERHOOD features a powerful group of women who all have distinct special abilities from reading minds to being able to shoot laser beams from their eyes. They're small in numbers but legendary amongst the wasteland and quite powerful. THE SISTERHOOD isn't my favorite of the Santiago movies I've watched this month but it's still an absolute blast.

PSYCHOMANIA is a movie I've had my eye on for a while and I finally popped this weird cult horror, undead biker gang movie. Thankfully this movie doesn't get super cheesy with brain eating zombie bikers and makes our undead bikers very normal looking after being resurrected by an old ritual. The gang begins to run amuck and create all sorts of having across the city. PSYCHOMANIA has some great ideas and visuals but it never reaches its full potential. The undead bikers create some havoc but it's short lived and much of their time spent undead is wasted by being snarky and rude instead of really getting down and dirty. I rarely say this but I think this movie could benefit from a remake given the right team behind it. 

I rounded out the night with CONGO. The point of CONGO was to be something I've seen a hundred times and didn't need to give my full attention to while I got some writing done. I have loved this movie since I was a child and continue to love it with each repeat viewing. No, it isn't a good movie but it's cheesy, funny and has those scary white apes. Oh, and Tim Curry. 

Day 7 started with DRIVEN TO SUCCEED a new movie from a local Maryland group called Dire Wit Films. They've done films such as Mutantis, 7th Day, and Isle Of The Damned. Their films frequently have a strong sense of raunchy humor with their tongue planted firmly in their cheek. This is their first straight forward comedy and I nearly turned it off by the 30 minute mark. I found it to be painfully unfunny and it was honestly a chore to sit through. Then something shifted and I found myself enjoying things a bit more. It still wasn't great but it felt like the actors hit their stride in their roles and the writing had a better flow to it. Comedy isn't easy and this ended up being a respectable effort.

The first spaghetti western of the month was next - A LONG RIDE FROM HELL starring Steve Reeves as a man who is hellbent on revenge for being falsely imprisoned with his brother who died while incarcerated. There's plenty of shoot outs and fights and the scenery is nice but there's absolutely nothing that sets A LONG RIDE FROM HELL apart. The score is not memorable and wasn't even notable while watching. Music is a major part of the spaghetti western genre and the emotional drive could have been much more. The scene in the jail was short and only one fleeting scene showed any sort of real hardship and mistreatment. Had the film spent more time in the prison and let the audience get to know the brothers a bit more the film would have meant more and would have had less time to plod around the 2nd act almost aimlessly at times with too much useless side story shit. It's decent but nothing more.

The 70s provided a ton of bigfoot material including THE LEGEND OF BIGFOOT, a 1976 documentary that can be summed up easily. 50% random nature footage, 30% driving around to various regions and hearing about the local bigfoot legends and 20% fake bigfoot footage all narrated by a man that sounds like he's doing a voice over for an old claymation Christmas special. It's boring, really boring.

Today's rundown
The Sisterhood - 6.5/10
Psychomania - 6/10
Congo - 9/10
Driven To Succeed - 5/10
A Long Ride From Hell - 6/10
The Legend Of Bigfoot - 3/10

TURKEY SHOOT (Blu-ray Review) - Severin Films

Australia/1981
Directed By: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Written By: Jon George, Neill D. Hicks
Starring: Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, Michael Craig
Color/93 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: September 22, 2015

The Film
Freedom is obedience. Obedience is work. Work is life. That quote sums up the totalitarian mindset of the politics that drive TURKEY SHOOT. Citizens who don't comply with the corrupt and oppressive law of the land are detained into behavior rehabilitation camps where they're forced into labor, abused mentally, physically and sexually and tortured before they're able to be released back into society. A group of inmates are chosen to be prey for a group of rich people to hunt on the grounds of the camp which leads to one of the most insane thrill rides ever put to celluloid.

When a film production has to literally toss the first 15 pages of its script due to losing a chunk of its funding it usually spells doom for that movie. TURKEY SHOOT overcame that obstacle. While it may not have had the grand scale director Brian Trenchard-Smith originally envisioned, he rolled with the punches and decided to shift the tone to what he described as a "Lucio Fulci splatter film". I wouldn't argue that with him. The film definitely makes its feelings and points known with social commentary but the reason this movie was a financial success is because it is violent, gory, action packed and just a bit sleazy.

Combining genres such as horror, action and the women in prison genre, TURKEY SHOOT is classic exploitation that all fans need to see. The acting is competent from a script that is a bit campy but not without its message. The direction and photography also get the job done. There's nothing super flashy in the directing or camera work but it's never distractingly bad either.

It's no surprise that TURKEY SHOOT, released as Escape 2000 in the USA, was heavily cut by the Australian censors - Exploding bodies, machetes to skulls, toes being eaten, circus freaks, explosions, male and female nudity, blood and guts rule the film. Audiences may not have gotten all the goods in theaters back in 1981, but Severin Films makes sure we get it all in the glory of HD.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films delivers TURKEY SHOOT on Blu-ray with a beautiful anamorphic widescreen transfer that has a light but natural grain structure giving the disc a very film like feel. Detail is strong in textures and surfaces, from the metal of a crossbow to concrete block torture devices. Colors are warm and natural and skin tones are fleshy without being waxy. There's no signs of excessive digital noise reduction or edge enhancement. The 2.0 English soundtrack isn't flashy or boisterous but it gets the job done nicely with a properly mixed HD presentation that is free of any damage such as popping or crackling and has no issues with background noise.

The Extras
-"The Ozploitation Renaissance" - 26 minute featurette with interviews on the Australian film market during the 70s and 80s
-"Turkey Shoot: Blood & Thunder Memories" 23 minute featurette with interviews of several cast members
-Audio commentary with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
-Interview with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
-"Not Quite Hollywood" extended interviews with: Brian Trenchard-Smith, Antony I. Ginnane, Steve Railsback, Lynda Stoner, Roger Ward, Gus Mercurio, and Bob McCarron - 77 minutes worth of interview footage filmed for the 2008 documentary from Mark Hartley
-Alternate "Escape 2000" title sequence
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
Severin Films is Blu-ray. Blu-ray is TURKEY SHOOT. TURKEY SHOOT is awesome.

TURKEY SHOOT is available HERE

LOST SOUL: The Doomed Journey Of Richard Stanley's The Island Of Dr. Moreau (Blu-ray Review) - Severin Films

USA/2014
Directed By: David Gregory
Starring: Richard Stanley, Fairuza Balk, Hugh Dickson
Color/100 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date:

The Film
In 1995 Richard Stanley was an and up and coming horror director with two successful films (Hardware, Dust Devil) under his belt when he got the opportunity to helm his dream project - an adaptation of The Island Of Doctor Moreau. The film was to be an epic, and production was a much larger scale than any production he had worked on previously including starring roles from Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer. Unfortunately just days into the production Stanley's plan began to unravel and quickly became one of the most infamous film production disasters in history.

Featuring interviews with Richard Stanley, co-star Fairuza Balk, and numerous production members and executives LOST SOUL digs deep into the story behind this doomed production which turned into something quite different than Stanley's original vision. We learn of everything from Richard Stanley being removed from the project to his disappearance and just why Marlon Brando wears an ice bucket hat in the film that eventually got made.

LOST SOUL leaves no stone left unturned and immediately pushes you deep into the circus world that was the production of The Island Of Dr. Moreau. With each passing anecdote from the set, or the hotel, or the jungles of Australia that surrounded the cast and crew you bear witness to a drug fueled frenzy of huge egos, strange personalities and ample paychecks while wasting away under the sun. This major motion picture turned into a carnival of insanity and debauchery filled with human/animal hybrids, midgets and Brando.

This documentary chronicles the single most interesting film production story of all time. While it would have been interesting to see Richard Stanley's vision come to life we instead get what could be considered an opus of film production documentaries. And a damn entertaining one at that.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films delivers a gorgeous looking Blu-ray chock full of beautiful sit down interviews in pristine high definition and heaps of behind the scenes footage from the production that doesn't look as sharp and pretty but has clearly been upgraded to HD. The English audio is handled with a 2.0 Dolby Digital track that sounds crisp and clear. There's no damage to the audio track or any sort of background noise. A stellar A/V job overall.

The Extras
-Outtakes - extended interviews including a largely extended segment with Richard Stanley
-Graham Humphreys Concept Art Gallery w/ commentary by Richard Stanley
-Archive interview with John Frankenheimer
-"Barbara Steele Recalls Moreau" audio interview
-The Beast Of Morbido featurette
-The Hunt For The Compound featurette
-Boar Man Diary featurette
-Trailer

NOTE: A 3 Disc Blu-ray set is available which includes an expanded selection of special features such as a recently discovered German adaptation of Moreau from 1921, and a reading of the story by Richard Stanley and more.

The Bottom Line
One day yet we may get to see a version of Richard Stanley's vision come to life but until then (and who am I kidding, even after then) LOST SOUL is a critical piece of film documenting the strangest, wildest and perhaps biggest failure of a film production of all time.

LOST SOUL is available HERE

Zombies: The Beginning (DVD Review) - Intervision Picture Corp

Italy/2007
Directed By: Bruno Mattei
Written By: Antonio Tentori, Giovanni Paolucci
Starring: Yvette Yzon, Alvin Anson, Paul Holme
Color/95 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: February 10, 2015

The Film
Picking up right where Island Of The Living Dead left off, ZOMBIES: THE BEGINNING is the story of the lone survivor from the previous film. After being fired from her company after they didn't believe her tales of an uncharted island inhabited by flesh eating zombies the woman joins a monastery, the only place she could find any sort of peace after her horrible experiences have given her awful nightmares each and every night. She is approached by a company to find out the truth of what is really going on on that island. She joins a team of mercenaries armed to the teeth and quickly encounter all sorts of zombies and weird science experiments.

ZOMBIES: THE BEGINNING is a bit slower in starting and tougher to get comfortable with than its predecessor but once the action gets going its even more over the top and bizarre and just plain off the fucking wall than Island is. The medical experiments, the insane ripped off plot devices (and scenes, and stolen footage) just add to the sheer gold plated ridiculousness of the entire package.

This would end up being Bruno Mattei's swan song, his final film, and dammit, there's probably no better way he could have gone out. His legacy is perfectly summed up in this film. His legacy could be summed up nicely by most of his films but I digress... I'm not entirely sure what this movie was supposed to be "the beginning" of but it surely would have been some kind of spectacle if it surpassed this one. If you're at all a fan of schlocky, so bad they're good films or just really fucking like bloody and guts being thrown around you have to see this one.

The Audio & Video
Similar to their transfer of Island Of The Living Dead, Intervision Pictures delivers a nice looking DVD presentation of ZOMBIES: THE BEGINNING. The anamorphic widescreen transfer (1.78:1 aspect ratio) does a good job of showing off the digital photography. Colors look good and the picture is relatively sharp and detailed. This is likely the best this movie will ever look on home video. The English audio track is a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track that sounds crisp and clear with a solid mix. Dialogue is never lost and the score is never overbearing. There's no damage to speak of.

The Extras
-"Zombie Genisys" - featurette with writer Antonio Tentori
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
Another total schlock fest from Bruno Mattei made available uncut for the first time in America from Intervision gets the instant seal of approval. Go get it!

ZOMBIES: THE BEGINNING is available HERE

ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD (DVD Review) - Intervision Picture Corp

Italy/2006
Directed By: Bruno Mattei
Written By: Antonio Tentori, Bruno Mattei, Giovanni Paolucci
Starring: Yvette Yzon, Gaetano Russo, Alvin Anson
Color/97 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: February 10, 2015

The Film
A group of treasure hunters wreck their ship on the coast of an uncharted island. While the mechanic tries to fix the boat (with all of those tools on board he should have no problem!) the rest of the group heads ashore to find food and water and scope out the island. Almost immediately they're attacked by hundreds year old zombies and must begin to fight for their survival. That fight gets a bit more difficult after the boat is overrun by zombies and explodes leaving them totally stranded. Things get stranger and stranger as their time on the island goes on until they set sail on a shoddy raft as their only hope.

ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD is exactly what you'd expect from a Bruno Mattei film. It's pure schlock. The man had no shame throwing 90 minutes of pure cheese, many times cheese that he ripped off from someone else, on the screen. I for one am thankful for this because some of my favorite movies are Bruno Mattei movies. ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD is now among them. In his penultimate film Mattei gives us splatter like hadn't seen out of Italy since the 80s. Blood and guts fly while zombie hordes fill the screen. The special effects are very good for the most part but some of the zombies have really fucking bad makeup. I guess that adds to the experience of watching this movie.

ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD is what it is. A movie to share with likeminded friends who enjoy this type of stuff. There's some legitimately good sequences including a ghost guitar that while random, is a creepy and cool visual. The movie only makes a little bit of sense really, as much as you need it to since some of the zombies are very interactive beyond just wanting to eat the living. It all adds up to an exceptionally entertaining time that will have you laughing while a bit grossed out and certainly smiling ear to ear.

The Audio & Video
Intervision Pictures' anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) transfer looks as good as you'd expect. This film was obviously filmed with digital photography so it lacks the richness and warmth of actual film but colors and details still look good. The various monster designs shine through as well as the substantial blood and gore. The image is clean and stable and for a standard DVD release it looks nice enough. The audio is a standard Dolby stereo track with an English dub from the actors. The track is clean and free of any damage and sounds very good overall.

The Extras
-"Bungle In The Jungle" - featurette featuring interviews with producer and long time friend of Bruno Mattei Giovanni Paolucci and writer Antonio Tentori
-International sales promo
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
If you're into splatterfests and/or schlocky over the top Italian horror romps you'll be doing yourself an injustice to pass over this release. Intervision has given this film its first ever uncut release in America and it's one I highly recommend.


ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD is available HERE

Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part 2 (DVD Review) - Severin Films

UK/2014
Directed By: Jake West
Written By: Jake West
Color/97 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: February 10, 2015

The Film
Jake West follows up his acclaimed 2010 documentary Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape, which documented the 80+ horror and exploitation films that the BBFC cut, edited and outright banned from home video distribution. West is back with the follow up, VIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS an equally entertaining and even more poignant look at the British Board of Film Classification's work during the mid-80s after the initial "scare" of these ostracized films up through 1999 and the overall impact it had on British culture.

DRACONIAN DAYS is packed with interviews from those who lived through the decade plus of abhorrent censorship that is quite difficult to believe happened in a fully developed first-world country as recently as 20 years ago. From film makers, to critics and fans who had their homes raided by police and their property seized as evidence, even to people that worked under the Director of the BBFC, James Ferman, who made it his personal mission to keep the morals of Great Britain safe and secure.

Censorship in the UK became so extreme that any weapon that was outlawed in the country, from ninja throwing stars, to nunchucks and cross bows had to be edited out of films, regardless of their content because of their imitability by children. This means that even the opening scene in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secret Of The Ooze, a PG rated film made for kids of all ages was heavily cut because one of the heroes uses nunchucks to fight some villains. If you've seen the movie you know that the violence on display, especially that with the weapon in question is lighthearted, and comical, far from anything threatening to the minds of the beloved children.

In fact, that is what it seemed to boil down to - Will the purchase and viewing of these films in the home (whether a home has children or not was of no difference) leave the children at risk. The answer, at least to James Ferman, was "yes!". Ferman's power reached a tyrannical breaking point when he suggested that any film that could of questionable content to the youth be banned from private ownership on video and from private home viewing. Again, the question of whether a home had children living there did not matter. This proposal did not care on the purpose of a film or its artistic merit (I'll leave the debate of one film's artistic merit vs another film's for another day). This means that films widely held as classics like The Godfather or Schindler's List would be illegal for an adult to buy and watch in the comforts of their own living room. Luckily Ferman's team realized the wide reaching and frankly damning implications this would have and talked him out of it.

The fact remained however that many horror and exploitation films were just too damned violent, vile and disgusting for anyone to own and view in their uncut nature. Films underwent such heavy censorship that very little if any of the actual horror remained. What was left was some odd minutes of a totally illogical and disjointed group of scenes. Not only was the gory, nudity and violence removed the film itself had been destroyed in many cases. This didn't stop fans from seeking out these video tapes and acquiring them of course. Uncut releases from Germany and other areas of Europe were smuggled through customs and passed their dogs and fans would post ads in fan published magazines and newspapers with lists of what titles they had for sale or trade or their wishlists. The bootleg market boomed at this point and many video rental stores even had secret back rooms for trustworthy customers to get their fix.

This black market boom in illegal video tapes led to police raiding many homes, businesses and trade shows. Anywhere these contraband tapes were being stored, swapped or duplicated was subject to search and seizure. The accounts with this documentary are funny at times with many first hand accounts of collectors having their home raided and the police having no real idea of what they were doing with my personal favorite example being from contributor David Flint, author of "Babylon Blue" when he was raided and some 70 or 80 tapes were seized including some properly certified PG rated kids titles but hardcore porn was skipped over and "Nudie-Cuties" was taken but "Nudie-Cuties 2", which was right next to it on the shelf, was skipped over! 

James Ferman's hold on the BBFC ironically came to an end in 1999 shortly after he lifted the ban on hardcore porn. Yes, dear reader, the ownership and home viewing of pornography was illegal in Great Britain until 1999. In the years since Ferman resigned from his position the majority of the Video Nasties and the dozens upon dozens of titles associated with them have been passed uncut for home video in the UK and have received rather lavish releases on formats ranging from VHS and DVD to high definition Blu-ray.

THE VIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS is a must-see documentary for any horror and exploitation fan as a piece of history for the genres but more importantly it is a work that all artists should view regardless of their medium to show that we'd be damned to let history repeat itself with this type of censorship. Jake West has made an important film that will stand the test of time as an article and example of what once was and hopefully will never be again in the world of censorship and art in the home.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films has released a nice overall set here with an anamorphic widescreen transfer that is sharp and has good color reproduction. The sit down interview footage obviously looks better than footage shot 15-30 years ago but even the older footage still looks fine. There's no damage or dirt with the source material. The English audio is handled through a mono track which is nothing special but it gets the job done with no background noise, popping or crackling. While the audio isn't dynamic it gets the information across perfectly which is what's important.

The Extras
Disc 1
-Fanzine Flashback - A gallery of classic covers from the prominent fanzines of the video nasties era.
-DPP 72: The Final 39 - A still gallery of video cassette covers of 39 of the 72 films that were successfully prosecuted and anyone found with these tapes would be liable for prosecution.
-DPP 82 - A still gallery of the "Section" 3 tapes that were not prosecutable despite being liable for seizure.

Disc 2
-Section 3 Films A-L: Trailers for each of the 82 "Section 3" films with lengthy introductions (optional). These introductions are closer to mini commentary tracks than simple intros!

Disc3
-Section 3 Films M-Z: Trailers for each of the 82 "Section 3" films with lengthy introductions (optional). These introductions are closer to mini commentary tracks than simple intros!

The Bottom Line
Every genre of film has a documentary or two that is essential viewing for that genre. THE VIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS is essential viewing for fans of exploitation and horror movies and will make an excellent addition to your collection especially next to Video Nasties: The Essential Guide previously released by Severin.

VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE: PART 2 is available HERE

In The Land Of The Cannibals (DVD Review) - Intervision

Italy/2003
Directed By: Bruno Mattei
Written By: Bruno Mattei, Giovanni Paolucci
Starring: Claudio Morales, Lou Randall, Cindy Jelic Matic
Color/93 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: November 11, 2014

The Film
A team of commandos head into the jungles of Brazil to rescue a politician's daughter who has been kidnapped by a cannibal tribe deep within. This team of hotheaded stereotypes joins up with a couple of locals including a guide and a man that looks to have been a person of a jungle tribe at one time or another. The teams heads in to the jungle armed to the teeth with a prisoner of their own to lead them to the tribe but quickly find that all of the combat training and automatic rifles in the world couldn't prepare them for the horrors found in these jungles.

IN THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS is a modern day piece of sleaze that is straight out of the late 70s/early 80s cannibal film cycle that quickly rose to prominence in Italy. Filmed in the Philippines, Mattei uses his location to his advantage getting some great location shots, despite not really showing anything inherently terrifying about the jungles such as snakes, spiders or other dangerous wildlife until later in the film. The first half of the film not only feels like, but is a cheap retread of Cannibal Holocaust, undoubtedly the king of cannibal exploitation. Ruggero Deodato's classic scenes are ripped off one by one and I counted no less than a half dozen such scenes until I finally gave up and just watched the rest of the movie. I wouldn't say it hurt the film as IN THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS isn't a particularly strong film either way, but it certainly made you realize just how cheap this movie really is.

Bruno Mattei is no stranger to cheap movies. Many of his films have ripped off far more impressive films in one way or another but that doesn't make me less of a fan. It just shows an exploitation filmmaker being exploitative, for better or worse. It almost gives me a laugh thinking about it. IN THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS is pretty action packed however, with plenty of shoot outs, gory cannibal corpses, and all of the classic tropes of the genre you'd expect. Yes, even a snake meets its maker at one point which is a bit upsetting as this isn't the 1970s anymore when it could be argued that it would be a bit more acceptable. I'm not one to get up in arms about the animal cruelty in these types of cannibal horror films and I'll go as far as saying I think watching Cannibal Holocaust with the "Cruelty Free" version is sacrilege but those were different times in different circumstances. I highly doubt the cast of this film ate the snake that was brutalized in this film. If I'm wrong so be it.

Alas, that is the type of film we're dealing with. IN THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS is nothing more than cheap entertainment at its best, a ripoff of better films and the going for the wrong side of exploitation filmmaking but I can't say I didn't enjoy it for what it was- cheap, sleazy and of questionable nature.

The Audio & Video
This movie was shot on decent quality digital cameras that seem to be a bit above typical consumer level cameras of the time but nothing I'd venture to call "professional level" equipment. Intervision Picture Corp. has released the debut DVD in a 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio that seems to be the original filming aspect ratio. The picture has a good sharpness to it taking in to consideration the equipment used along with solid detail levels and color representation. It certainly isn't film but I can't really complain about the PQ too much. The audio track, a 2.0 English dub track as Mattei didn't film with live sound,  which is probably for the best, sounds good with no background noise or audio hiccups (obviously). A live audio track would have meant dealing with all of the distractions present while filming and the Italian film industry classically didn't film with live sound so I think of it as a nice little throwback to the heyday of these cannibal films.

The Extras
A trailer for the film is the lone extra.

The Bottom Line
This cheap ripoff of classic exploitation does hold some value as time wasting entertainment. It provides enough gore and guts to satisfy the appetites of fans of the messy stuff. Recommended for die hard fans of jungle horror.

IN THE LAND OF THE CANNIBALS is available HERE

Bloody Moon (Blu-ray Review) - Severin Films

Spain/1981
Directed By: Jess Franco
Written By: Rayo Casablanca
Starring: Olivia Pascal, Christopher Moosbrugger, Nadja Gerganoff
Color/81 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: July 8, 2014

The Film
Five years ago Miguel, a man with a disfigured face, went on a rampage at a pool party. Raping a woman and killing her in brutal fashion. Having been institutionalized and deemed reformed, Manuel has been released to the care of his sister Manuela who, along with their wheelchair bound mother, run a boarding school for young women. Shortly after opening day the bodies start piling up and Miguel is at the center of the suspicion.

BLOODY MOON isn't much in the way of art. No, Jess Franco had nothing of the sort on his mind with this slasher film that even tries its hand at adding in some qualities of the giallo film. This is purely a horror film with slicing and dicing on the brain. There are a couple of elaborate gore set pieces, the biggest and best also being the most memorable part of the film involves a giant stone mill saw. There's also plenty of sleaze here with an entire incestuous subplot. BLOODY MOON is a simple film that is trashy, gory and fun and stands up to repeated viewings.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films has done a great job restoring BLOODY MOON for Blu-ray. The video quality is quite good with natural colors and an overall strong picture quality. There's little in the way of dirt or debris. The English mono HD audio track sounds good as well. There's no background noise and the mix is spot on. Levels are steady and don't jump.

The Extras
-Franco Moon - an interview with director Jess Franco
-Theatrical trailer

The Bottom Line
Franco's take on the slasher film is entertaining and trashy. Exactly what you'd expect from the Spanish-French director making a body count film. Gory and trashy. This disc is definitely worth a look.

BLOODY MOON is available HERE

Bloody Birthday (Blu-ray Review) - Severin Films

USA/1981
Directed By: Ed Hunt
Written By: Ed Hunt, Berry Pearson, Julie Brown
Starring: Lori Lethin, Melinda Cordell,
Color/85 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: July 8, 2014

The Film
Three kids are born in the same hospital just minutes apart during a planetary eclipse of the sun. Ten years later these kids have grown up in the same neighborhood as best friends and are growing into manipulative, maniacal little shits. Their bad behavior quickly turns murderous as they start dispatching of anyone they feel inclined to kill. Another neighborhood boy and his older sister who is into astrology begin to catch on to the pattern of violence destroying their neighborhood and the older sister realizes they may be missing their conscience as a result of the astrological even they were born under so that they feel no remorse.

BLOODY BIRTHDAY was born at the start of the slasher film craze which makes it a bit less gory than many films that would follow it in subsequent years but that doesn't make it any less mean spirited and violent. Shootings, poisonings, arrows, and bludgeonings are just some of the ways that these little pre-teen brats kill. The little girl who is the leader of the group looks plain evil, and really the entire cast of kids and Lori Lethin are excellent. Hell the movie even features a pre-MTV Julie Brown. BLOODY BIRTHDAY may not be regarded as a "top tier" slasher film like Friday The 13th but it is still a breezy hour and a half of entertaining horror that gets better every time I watch it.

The Audio & Video
Severin Films gives Bloody Birthday a rather nice looking HD presentation. The 16x9 transfer is pretty clean, with just a bit of speckling and a few scratches. Colors are warm and vivid while skin tones are natural and healthy. The audio track is good as well. It is crisp and well mixed with no background noise.

The Extras
-"Don't Eat That Cake": Video interview with star Lori Lethin
-Audio interview with director Ed Hunt
-"A Brief History of Slasher Films" featurette

The Bottom Line
BLOODY BIRTHDAY isn't the best or most notable slasher film of the 1980s but it is a damn entertaining film about some bastard kids and stands the test of time from the glory days of the slasher. 

BLOODY BIRTHDAY is available HERE

The Baby (Blu-ray Review) - Severin Films

USA/1973
Directed By: Ted Post
Written By: Abe Polsky
Starring: Anjanette Comer, Ruth Roman, Marianne Hill
Color/84 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: July 8, 2014

The Film
Anjanette Comer stars as a social worker who looks in on the case of the Wadsworth family. Mrs Wadsworth and her three grown daughters look after Baby, their adult infant. Baby has the capabilities of a child about a year old and is pretty much well taken care of by his family but the social worker suspects foul play and that Baby's condition is due to years of negative reinforcement. When the social worker starts prying a bit too much, the Wadsworth family invites her to Baby's birthday party and plans on a way to get rid of her for good. The family is caught completely off guard when their plan backfires in the most unimaginable way possible.

Called "one of the most bizarre films to come out of Hollywood in the 1970s" by DVD-Drive-In, I'd be willing to go a step further and say it is one of the most bizarre Hollywood films ever. THE BABY bathes and breathes in it's weirdness. THE BABY is more than weird it is a well made film. From Ted Post's excellent A-list direction to the great casting and performances from the entire cast, THE BABY manages to be a piece of exploitation from Hollywood that works in just about every way.


The Audio & Video
Severin Films has given THE BABY it's Blu-ray debut with a beautiful, film-like transfer. Detail level is high and the print is in great condition with minor speckling and scratching. Colors are natural and very warm. The English mono track is free of background noise and pretty clear but is nothing exceptional.

The Extras
-"Tales From The Crib": Audio interview with director Ted Post
-"Baby Talk": Audio interview with David Mooney
-Theatrical trailer

The Bottom Line
THE BABY is a totally bizarre film. It draws you in from the opening moments and you won't be able to look away until the credits roll. THE BABY is something you need to see.

THE BABY is available HERE