Cybergeddon (DVD Review) - ARC Entertainment

USA, Canada/2012
Directed By: Diego Velasco
Written By: Miles Chapman
Starring: Missy Peregrym, Kick Gurry, Manny Montana
Color/89 Minutes/PG-13
Region 1
Release Date: March 18, 2014

The Film
A year after FBI agent Chloe Jocelyn arrested one of the world's most notorious hackers she has been framed with Cyber Terrorism. After escaping lockup and performing the world's most attractive public bathroom makeover using only a razor blade and some hair color (I'm not totally sure but I think a minor haircut and going from brunette to an auburn color wouldn't be enough of a change to fool anyone) she hooks up with old friends to find out the truth and clear her name. It soon becomes clear that the hacker she put away is behind the frame job and is intending on bringing down the world's economy. It's up to Chloe, her hacker friend, and her partner/lover to expose the sinister plan.

CYBERGEDDON was originally a webseries with the episodes edited together on this DVD to form a feature film. It certainly feels episodic, it is perfectly clear where each episode would begin and end and learning that it was in fact a webseries after watching the film I am not at all surprised. CYBERGEDDON is a surprisingly big project for a webseries, feeling much larger than the budget I suspect it had. Missy Peregrym plays Chloe and is uneven in her performance. She ranges from an barely believable hardass FBI agent to a totally believable whiny momma's girl when talking to her mother. Her sidekick is the comedic relief, a hacker named Rabbit (Kick Gurry) who works out of a van. He is easily the high point of the film and is quite funny. Aside from that the writing comes across as choppy thanks to the format switch, editing and camerawork are jumpy and shaky and would make someone like Michael Bay proud and someone that enjoys good editing and cinematography, sick. I want to give CYBERGEDDON a bit of leeway as it was only a webseries and I'm sure it worked better in that format but what I saw was presented as a feature length film and it is far from great.

The Audio & Video
ARC Entertainment brings CYBERGEDDON to DVD with a 16x9 widescreen transfer that preserves the original aspect ratio of it's web series format. The transfer looks good, as it should being that it is a newer production with digital photography. There is a 5.1 Dolby Digital track to handle the audio and it too is good. A real solid A/V job overall. 

The Extras
The only extra is a trailer.

The Bottom Line
If you're into hacking or films about cyber terrorism this movie will be an enjoyable watch.

CYBERGEDDON is available HERE

Frightmare (Blu-ray Review) - Kino Redemption

England/1974
Directed By: Pete Walker
Written By: David McGillivray
Starring: Sheila Keith, Rupert Davies, Deborah Fairfax
Color and B&W/86 Minutes/Rated R
Region A
Release Date: March 18, 2014

The Film
Dorothy Yates and her husband Edmund are freed from a mental institution after years of treatment after she committed acts murder and cannibalism. Now Dorothy has guests visit their isolated farm home for tarot card readings. Their eldest daughter Jackie also visits hoping to keep her mother sane with the help of her father. Jackie has to deal with her younger sister Debbie who hangs around a biker gang and is generally a nasty brat of an adolescent. Jackie keeps their parents a secret from Debbie, fearing the relationship will be toxic. Unfortunately for Debbie, and her father who is in the middle of a disastrous mess, Jackie is well aware of her mother and they both despise Debbie for keeping them apart.

FRIGHTMARE is a brilliant psychological slow burn from the underrated genre director Pete Walker. Sheila Keith is wonderful as the disturbed mother as is her on-screen husband Rupert Davies who is lost in the mix of a family torn apart by broken minds. Walker's direction is tight, and the story is far from just pure psychological horror as it features some rather nasty murder scenes. If you've never seen FRIGHTMARE you're doing yourself a disservice as it is one of the best horror films to come out of the UK in the 1970s and it gets better with with each viewing.

The Audio & Video
What can I really say about this Blu-ray besides "YES!"? Kino Redemption has delivered a stunning looking and sounding disc. I dare say it is a near perfect presentation. The 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is gorgeous, with strong detail, lifelike skin tones, vivid but natural colors and no edge enhancement or DNR. The soundtrack is pristine with no background noise, crackling or popping. The mix is spot on and I doubt this will ever sound better on home video. It is weird to smile during a film such as FRIGHTMARE but when you first experience this disc you will be ear to ear.

The Extras
There are several special features on the disc including:

-Audio commentary with Pete Walker and DP Peter Jessop conducted by Steve Chiball, author of "Making Mischief: The Cult Films Of Pete Walker"
-"For The Sake Of Cannibalism" - An interview with Pete Walker by Elijah Drenner
-"Sheila Keith: A Nice Old Lady?" - A profile on the late actress featuring interviews with former collaborators
-Original theatrical trailer

The Bottom Line
This release isn't a FRIGHTMARE or even a nightmare, it is much closer to a dream come true. From the film that has always been excellent, to the new HD transfer that is the definitive home video presentation of the film, this is a must own.

FRIGHTMARE is available HERE

Sadie / The Seductress Peekarama Double Feature (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1980, 1981
Directed By: Bob Chinn
Written By: Bob Chinn
Starring: Chris Cassidy, Lee Carroll, Lisa De Leeuw
Color/154 Minutes/Rated X
Region FREE
Release Date: March 11, 2014

The Films
In the first film of this Bob Chinn double feature, SADIE is a beautiful prostitute living in Borneo during the Vietnam War. She pleases soldiers and locals alike until an uptight bible touting American senator arrives with his family and can't stand the harlot she is. He is hellbent on changing her ways. His new found project in SADIE leaves no time for attention to his own attractive daughter who has decided to give in to all of her urges and begins fucking a local man and falling in love with him. It's a cumming of age type story for everyone! That is, except the senator. SADIE is well written and directed, has some fun sex scenes and is a rather entertaining porno.

THE SEDUCTRESS features a man blackmailing wealthy people into having affairs and secretly takes photographs of it. His devious plans are to get rich, but how and why? Well watch and you'll find out! And you'll also see lots of sex, a woman shoot heroin and a man who goes on and on about how the 2 women he fucked loved his "weenie". Yes folks, THE SEDUCTRESS is trashy and funny. "You either jacked off with 100 grit sand paper or you slept with two women!"

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome has done a very nice job with the restoration and transfer work for this double feature. Both films feature a clean print with very minimal dirt or scratches. Colors are lively and overall image quality is strong in both anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) transfers. The audio is just as good with clean tracks, almost no background noise in the mono tracks.

The Extras
There is a trailer for each film

The Bottom Line
A pair of incredibly interesting and entertaining smut films that are different than anything you've probably seen lately. Recommended!

SADIE / THE SEDUCTRESS Peekarama Double Feature is available HERE

Necronos: Tower Of Doom (DVD Review) - Troma

Germany/2010
Directed By: Marc Rohnstock
Written By: Marc Rohnstock
Starring: Manoush, Timo Fuchs, Mario Zimmerschitt
Color/127 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: March 11, 2014

The Film
NECRONOS is one of Satan's highest demon minions and has been sent to Earth to create an army of the undead called Berzerkers. Berzerkers can only be made with certain hard to find ingredients, mainly human body parts. In order to get these ingredients NECRONOS uses his henchmen Goran to kidnap and torture them along with a witch to locate "The Chosen One" - A virgin witch. Once all of these goals are completed Satan's army of the undead can run amok on Earth and turn it into a living hell.

NECRONOS is pure splatter horror. Shot on video, artistic value is low and gore and nudity value is off the charts. Made in the spirit of German splatter king Olaf Ittenbach, Marc Rohnstock gives him a run for his money with some of the nastiest gore pieces in recent memory. Acting is rough, as you would probably expect from this low budget film but if we're being honest we aren't watching something like NECRONOS for the acting or script. No, we are watching it to see blood fly and bodies ripped apart. And NECRONOS provides that in spades. It isn't art, but it is pretty fantastic cheap fun.

The Audio & Video
Troma has released NECRONOS on DVD for it's North American debut. The DVD features a window boxed transfer which is unfortunate. Video quality is so-so, the low budget photography looks cheap and has compression issues at times but it's not too terribly bad. There is a single Dolby Digital 2.0 German track with optional English subtitles. The track gets the job done fine and is free of any disturbances. 

The Extras
Bonus features for NECRONOS include:
-A pair of trailers
-Behind the scenes still gallery
-Assorted trailers for other Troma releases

The Bottom Line
Splatter fans rejoice, you have another grail for your collection. Not a splatter fan? Move along and keep your breakfast in your stomach.

NECRONOS is available HERE

The Altar Of Lust / Angel On Fire Peekarama Double Feature (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1971, 1974
Directed By: Roberta Findlay
Written By: Roberta Findlay
Starring: Erotica Lantern, Darby Lloyd Rains, Jamie Gillis
Color/155 Minutes/Rated X
Region FREE
Release Date: March 11, 2014

The Films
Roberta Findlay may ring a bell in your head and you may not know why right off hand. At least that is what it was for me. I know the name. I know I've seen films from her but I'd be damned if I could think of what she had done. Well this double feature from her (and the subsequent Google search) makes sure she's a name I won't forget what projects she's attached to anytime soon.

The first film of the set is THE ALTAR OF LUST, a trip through a woman's sexual psyche from a Psychiatrist's couch. Our patient explains her sexual experiences that have lead to her lesbianism and her desire to once again be straight. From being raped by her stepfather to finding her lover cheating on her and subsequently making love to the woman to some "unorthodox" treatment from her doctor, she may just overcome that damn lesbianism yet! Although she seems to be having quite a good time with other women...

If ANGEL ON FIRE teaches us anything it is that angels are sluts, so if Heaven is real it is probably pretty cool. In this film a nasty chauvinistic man dumps his pregant girlfriend and is hit by a bus and killed shortly after. Upon making it to the afterlife he is informed that before he's allowed full admittance to eternal paradise he will be sent back to Earth as a woman to find out just how he treated them. His punishment will only be over once he falls in love with the same type of man he was. Of course he doesn't get sent back to Earth before he gets some action from a more than willing angel.

Perhaps better known for her horror and exploitation films of the 80s such as Tenement and Blood Sisters Roberta Findlay definitely learned her craft a decade earlier with these pornos. Both films are great, trashy in ways but creative in others. ANGEL ON FIRE is the better of the two films as the sex is better, the story is ridiculous and the girls are more attractive.  Both films work well for this double feature and it will make for an enjoyable midnight viewing party.

The Audio & Video
Another double feature from Vinegar Syndrome and another excellent job as far as restoration and presentation goes. Both films are presented in their original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an anmorphic widescreen transfer. Colors are vibrant and lively and flesh tones are natural. There is limited print damage throughout ALTAR and some mostly speckling and light scratching in ANGEL making it clear that these films have been kept in good shape. The audio track is a simple Mono one as the films were originally exhibited but they get the job done nicely. There is no background noise, hissing, crackling or any other hiccups in the audio. A damn fine job by Vinegar Syndrome.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
It is nothing new at this point that a Vinegar Syndrome gets the stamp of approval. The love and care they show with restoring these almost forgotten about pieces of adult film history deserves an award.

THE ALTAR OF LUST / ANGEL ON FIRE Peekarama Double Feature is available HERE

Contracted (DVD Review) - IFC

USA/2013
Directed By: Eric England
Written By: Eric England
Starring: Najarra Townsend, Caroline Williams, Matt Mercer
Color/84 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: March 18, 2014

The Film
Samantha is a beautiful girl with a troubled past including heavy drug use. She has recently moved back in with her mother who is a bit overly religious for their own good. While partying at her friend Alice's house one night Samantha gets drugged and ends up having sex with a random dude. The next morning Samantha wakes up with a killer hangover and bloodstained all around her panties. Samantha's sickness grows worse and worse with rashes, bloodshot eyes, vomiting blood, fingernails falling off and plenty more. The sickness is eating away at her mentally as well, her relationship with her girlfriend is falling apart, her friendship with Alice is succumbing to her own paranoia and her mother, who only wants to help can't do anything. I guess that's what happens when you get raped by a man who recently fucked a biohazard corpse.

CONTRACTED is a stomach churning piece of body-horror that channels classic David Cronenberg. Najarra Townsend plays the troubled and sick Samantha with grace and successfully carries the film as the script required. Caroline Williams is solid as the religiously oppressive mother with good intentions. I was afraid Williams would overact or be too cheesy but she is good. In fact just about the entire cast is good. The character of Kate, Samantha's girlfriend is written to be overbearing and almost cartoonish. It doesn't hurt the overall product though. The makeup done on Samantha as she gets sicker and sicker looks very natural and well done, adding to the gag inducing nature of the film. At its heart CONTRACTED is a film about Samantha and her relationships, set in a body-horror film. The ending sets up a situation that could make for a very entertaining sequel, or had the movie been paced quicker an exciting 2nd and 3rd act. Horror fans should check out CONTRACTED but not on a full stomach... you'll be mopping up the mess.

The Audio & Video
A strong looking disc from IFC. The colors and flesh tones all appear to be natural, even in their sickly state. Clarity is very strong even for a DVD. I didn't notice any issues with the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer at all. As for the sound, a 5.1 Dolby Digital track handles the dialogue and pounding soundtrack more than capably and again I found nothing wrong with the track. A job well done. 

The Extras
-Audio commentary with writer/director Eric England, editor Josh Ethier, cinematographer Mike Testin, and composer Kevin Riepl
-Audio commentary with director and cast
-"Making Of" featurette
-Najarra Townsend audition tape
-Animated Pitch
-Behind The Scenes Promo
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
A solid body-horror film that will gross out anyone even with the strongest stomach due to its realistic sick factor. Wear you condoms kids.

CONTRACTED is available HERE

2 Little Monsters (DVD Review) - VCI Entertainment

USA/2012
Directed By: David Schmoeller
Written By: David Schmoeller
Starring: Charles Cantrell, Ryan LeBoeuf, Danny Countess
Color/107 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: April 1, 2014

The Film
At the age of 10 James and his ringleader friend Carl skip school to go shoplift some video games from the mall. Instead, Carl gets the idea to kidnap a small child and when they realize they have no way of getting rid of the kid without being identified they murder toddler in cold blood with a pipe. Having spent the last 8 years incarcerated in Juvenile Detention the pair has been pardoned, given a second chance to make something of their lives. Given new names, and false pasts to live off of they're split up and set up with positive living situations to protect them from the sensationalist media that is determined to discover their new identities and expose them.

James is quiet, remorseful and fully aware of his notorious status. He quickly enrolls in a local college, and befriends his new neighbor, presumably the first girl he's ever been close to. Carl has a much more difficult time adapting to life outside prison walls. Carl violates his parole by calling James and his foster home, trying desperately to get James to break as he has. He also contacts his mother, in the films most tense scene, asking her to tell him that she loves him while playing Russian Roulette. Carl has fully succumb to the monster inside of him and he wants to bring down his accomplice who is trying to make the most of the second chance given to him.

Director David Schmoeller is best known to horror fans as the director of Puppet Master and the underrated Tourist Trap. He brings his experience with previous successes and has another success here with this thriller that not only looks at the minds of two killers but the sensationalist media that preys on these situations.

The Audio & Video
VCI Entertainment brings 2 LITTLE MONSTERS into your home on DVD with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation that is a largely a success aside from a few moments of compression issues. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track is just as good, handling its fairly standard duties with ease.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with David Schmoeller and producer May May Luong
-Audio Commentary with stars Charles Cantrell and Ryan LeBoeuf
-Behind The Scenes Featurette
-"Ten Years Before" Featurette
-Audition Footage
-Deleted Scenes
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
David Schmoeller will forever be linked with Full Moon Pictures for the movies he has made for them and those that were distributed by them but there's nothing remotely cheesy or fun here. 2 LITTLE MONSTERS takes a deplorable act and turns it into an eye opening look at how our society sensationalizes them to the extreme with our own preconceived opinions on those involved.

2 LITTLE MONSTERS is available HERE