Devil's Due

USA/2014
Directed By: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Written By: Lindsay Devilin
Starring: Alison Miller, Zach Gilford
Color/89 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date: I don't remember

The Film
A young newlywed couple, Zac and Samantha, takes their honeymoon to the Dominican Republic and on their final night they let their cab driver take them to secluded local spot for a party they'd never forget. The bar has locals and other lucky tourists who have been brought their. The couple awakens in their hotel the next morning not sure exactly what happened the night before but they figure they just partied too hard. Upon their arrival home Samantha discovers she is pregnant. The couple is happy despite not planning on a child yet and plan for the best for their child. Samantha's pregnancy is odd, as she goes through violent streaks, and craves raw meat. The couple also sees strange people in the neighborhood watching their house. On the night of the birth these strangers have taken over the house and won't let Zac near his wife and they get their Satanic ritual baby.

Please excuse me a moment... FUCK THIS PIECE OF SHIT. This movie is beyond boring. It is incredibly uninteresting and wastes a young couple that is actually likeable while on screen together. It isn't possible for this movie to be any more predictable than it already is or more cliched than it already it. You'd have more fun waxing your mother-in-laws back, or poking yourself in the eye or stubbing your toe over and over for the duration of this film. It's excruciatingly bad. There found footage angle does nothing to add to the movie and judging by the fact that we see everything from the point of view of Zac who is recording home videos there should be no fucking way we can see Samantha chow down on raw meat in a grocery store from the vantage point of a security camera. I hate this fucking movie. It's an insult to just about everything on Earth. Except stupid people. I'm sure stupid people will like it.

The Audio & Video
The video looked fine and the audio sounded fine. It is a nice Blu-ray presentation. Consider it a giant dog turd presented in a crystal display case.
 

The Extras
Audio Commentary with the directors and producers
Radio Silence: A Hell Of A Team featurette
Ashes To Ash featurette
The Lost Time featurette
Roommate Alien Prank Goes Bad featurette
Mountain Devil Prank Fails Horribly featurette
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
Director's Photo Album
Sneak Peek

The Bottom Line
Nobody needs to waste their time with this movie. It isn't remotely scary or interesting. If you have any inkling of curiosity to see this movie just stick a fork in an electrical socket and short out your whole house so you can't.

The Real Decameron (DVD Review) - One 7 Movies

Italy/1973
Directed By: Mario Caiano
Written By: Mario Caiano
Starring: Rosalba Neri, Christa Linder, Peter Landers
Color/93 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Film
Sex comedies were a big deal in Italy in the 70s and they were often loosely based on other films as a more sexed up version. THE REAL DECAMERON is an example of that, as it is similarly themed to Pier Paolo Pasolini's Decameron. In this film a group of mischievous and sexually unsatisfied girls, many of them married. They are all looking for some fun even at the objection of the local clergymen or their own husbands. Each girl comes up with a ridiculous plan to get laid by the man she really wants.

THE REAL DECAMERON is an anthology film, as we get each girl's story in sequence, from an almost Rapunzel like girl who's father wants to killer her lover, to another girl faking a haunted house and trying to get the local exorcist to believe it this film has some ridiculous plots and they're all pretty funny. I didn't even mention the girl who was swimming in a lack and loses her virginity to a prawn and has them lay eggs inside of her... Yes, it happens in this film. Most of the girls are attractive and make the film that much more fun to watch if the sex comedy thing wasn't enough for you. THE REAL DECAMERON is worth checking out if you're seeking to find lighter sexploitation fare or are a fan of the sex comedy genre. 

The Audio & Video
 One 7 Movies debuts THE REAL DECAMERON on DVD with a decent looking and sounding effort. The anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) transfer looks good throughout with only a couple instances of the picture becoming overly soft or compressed. It manages to handle darker scenes pretty well and though it is a rather drab film when it comes to art direction, colors look decent and skin tones look natural. The Italian mono track sounds good, with minimal background noise. The English subtitles suffer a bit from a few moments of awkward translation and the constant use of a lower case "l" in place of "i" which annoyed me. It isn't much of a big deal however and I'm pleased with the disc overall.

The Extras
Bare bones. 

The Bottom Line
Sexploitation and Italian sex comedy film fans will find a lot to enjoy here. It has a genuine sense of humor and a serious sexy side. 

THE REAL DECAMERON is available HERE

Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature - Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II / Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla (Blu-ray Review) - Sony

Japan/1993, 1994
Directed By: Takao Okawara, Kensho Yamashita
Written By: Wataru Mimura, Hiroshi Kashiwabara
Starring: Masahiro Takashima, Jun Hashizume
Color/216 Minutes/Unrated
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Films

What happens when a baby Godzilla egg is discovered by some explorers with questionable intentions and Rodan and Godzilla both claim it as their own? Well Godzilla and Rodan start fighting of course. And Japan's Self Defense Force has to unleash MechaGodzilla to protect Japan from the giant monsters and their maternal instincts.

GODZILLA vs MECHAGODZILLA II features a few of the more "awww" inducing moments of the entire franchise along with some intense fight sequences between the monsters and robot. MechaGodzilla is absolutely bad ass in this one, even before he turns into Super MechaGodzilla... yeah, wrap your mind around that one. A very entertaining entry.

Not to be outdone, GODZILLA vs SPACEGODZILLA features a government program which attempts to implant a device on Godzilla that will allow them to controll him telepathically to protect Japan. That plan takes a backseat when Godzilla cells carried into space by Biollante and Mothra have formed a new Godzilla creature that has came through a black hole and invades Japan. This new monster, dubbed Spacegodzilla, is a super charged version of Godzilla, with the ability to absorb the Earth's energy through his giant crystals on his shoulders. Spacegodzilla's first victim is Little Godzilla, which pisses off Godzilla and the fight is under way. Japan's backup plan to their telepathy is Moguera, their penguin-like giant robot which has replaced MechaGodzilla. Can the team of Godzilla and Moguera stop Spacegodzilla before he destroys all of Japan and sucks all of Earth's energy from it's core?

WOO BOY! I love this movie. GODZILLA vs SPACEGODZILLA has vicious fight scenes, an original story, and a pretty cool giant robot, that isn't quite as neat at MechaGodzilla, but has his own advantages. The cuteness of Little Godzilla, who has a stare down with Spacegodzilla early on, is overwhelming and because of the beating he takes from the extraterrestrial monster you spend the rest of the movie just cheering for Japan and Godzilla to team up and give him what's coming. It is great to finally get Godzilla as Japan's ally for the first time in several movies in this one.

The Audio & Video
Both of these films have very similar looking transfers from Sony. The prints are mostly clean and in nice condition. Detail levels are an improvement over the DVD versions of the films, with the monster suits looking good. Colors are a bit less muted than the previous double feature but there's still room for improvement on Toho's end. Skin tones look good and it is a sharper image than you could ask for on DVD. The Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD audio tracks sound strong and boisterous. There's no annoying popping or crackling in the background and the optional English subtitles are timed perfectly and translated nicely. 

The Extras
There are original trailers for each film, and Ultraviolet digital copy codes. 

The Bottom Line
These 2-disc Blu-ray sets are easily found for under $15 each and that price they're really a no-brainer for Godzilla fans and cheap enough to take a chance on if you're interested in checking out these movies. These two movies are immensely entertaining and I'm thrilled to own them on Blu-ray.

The Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature is available HERE

Jungle Blue (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1978
Directed By: Carlos Tobalina
Written By: Carlos Tobalina
Starring: Susan Fuentes
Color/79 Minutes/X
Region FREE
Release Date: May 13, 2014

The Film
A group of jungle explorers have a devious plan to find a native tribe that is rich with diamonds and poison the whole tribe to take their riches for themselves. On the way they encounter a jungle man, potentially a son of God, who is quite the stud. He has sex with the women, he hangs out with a gorilla who loves sex and is just a great guy. Is he able to stop the devious plan from going down and save the natives and the innocents  or will he perish with them?

JUNGLE BLUE isn't easily summed up in a review. It isn't some avant garde arthouse film, but the sheer absurdity of it all is almost too much for words. Hell, one of the first things you see is a gorilla getting a blowjob from a woman. Fans of weird cinema need to see JUNGLE BLUE, whether you're a fan of vintage pornos or not, you owe it to yourself to see this. You may even be a better person because of it.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome's transfer on JUNGLE BLUE is quite good. There is a bit of print damage evident in the form of scratches but they're not distracting and otherwise the transfer looks really good. Colors are vibrant and skin tones are natural. There are no compression issues to speak of in the anamorphic 16x9 presentation. The English mono track is mostly free of background noise and sounds very good otherwise. 

The Extras
A theatrical trailer is the lone special feature

The Bottom Line
JUNGLE BLUE is one strange film, in the best possible way. It draws you in and doesn't let go until it is over. You'll laugh, you'll cringe, and you'll wonder just exactly what the fuck it is that you're watching.

JUNGLE BLUE is available HERE

Gila! (DVD Review) - Polyscope Media Group

USA/2012
Directed By: Jim Wynorski
Written By: William Dever, Steve Mitchell, Jim Nielsen, Paul Sinor
Starring: Brian gross, Terrence Knox, Christina DeRosa
Color/93 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: April 22, 2014

The Film
Jim Wynorski might be considered B-Movie royalty. From the incredibly awesome Chopping Mall to Return Of Swamp Thing, he has damn near 100 directing credits to his name. He is no stranger to working with low budget productions and has often turned out an entertaining movie. GILA, a remake of the 1959 so-bad-it's-good cult classic The Giant Gila Monster is quite another story.

The story is simple a giant Gila Monster is on the loose in a rural town and is causing all sorts of havoc which makes a local boy tries to stop the monster when his girlfriend is in danger. That's it, a single sentence synopsis and you probably know exactly the type of movie GILA is. The thing is, these movies can go either way, from dreadful to a ridiculous blast of cheap entertainment. GILA is the former. For whatever reason Wynorski decided it would be a better idea to set this film in the 50s, like the original than present day where they could have saved a few bucks on renting classic hot rods and maybe spent it on some wardrobe (that looks like it came from a 21st century mall anyways) or on rendering the monster better so that it didn't look like a complete mess super imposed on the screen. I mean there is no blending here at all, there is the background, and there is a cartoony monster on top of it. Pick out any of the Syfy channel movies of the last several years and I promise you the CGI is notably better. The acting fucking sucks, the writing fucking sucks and some of the shit the monster does is just unrealistic. I'm speaking mainly of a scene where a freight train rolling full speed rams the monster head on and the monster doesn't budge an inch while the train derails and explodes. The monster isn't even that big, about the size of the train engine... fuck it. I'll just add that this movie is easily 20 minutes too long. Z-grade movies that don't know when to end are the worst and even though this movie is just over an hour and a half it is still too damn long. It drags and drags and sucks and sucks. I'm done. This movie is garbage.

The Audio & Video
The audio and video can be summed up with this - You could have made this movie with your HD Handicam a couple boom mics and even a basic knowledge of CGI. The DVD looks and sounds about as good as it possibly could given the production of the movie.

The Extras
The DVD features a tribute to the original film and a still gallery.

The Bottom Line
Jim Wynorski is more talented than this piece of shit. Skip it and go watch Chopping Mall instead. 

GILA is available HERE

The Lost Empire (DVD Review) - Polyscope Media Group

USA/1985
Directed By: Jim Wynorski
Written By: Jim Wynorski
Starring: Melanie Vincz, Raven De La Croix, Angela Aames
Color/83 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: April 22, 2014

The Film
For as much as I disliked Jim Wynorski's Gila, I think his directorial debut from 1985 is ridiculous B-Movie gold. THE LOST EMPIRE takes the "throw ideas against the wall and see what sticks" idea to the extreme as it appears the wall was covered with super glue because damn near everything stuck. There's a bit of women-in-prison, horror, jungle adventure and more. If you asked me exactly what the hell was going on I couldn't come close to accurately describing it. That is part of the fun with THE LOST EMPIRE, seeing exactly where this movie is going next. THE LOST EMPIRE isn't a good movie from a technical standpoint. It's cheap, has more than a bit of ADD and did I mention it's cheap? This is low budget, and at times it shows. Goddamn it is a fun ride though. 

The Audio & Video
THE LOST EMPIRE is brought to DVD by Polyscope Media Group, and looks decent. The widescreen transfer is slightly windowboxed. Colors look good but not great. Overall the transfer shows the films slight age and budgetary constraints but isn't terrible by any means. The audio track is just as simple, but is mixed well and gets the job done. 

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with Jim Wynorski
-Still gallery
-Isolated 

The Bottom Line
If you fancy yourself a B-movie connoisseur you need to see THE LOST EMPIRE and once you see it you'll realize your shelf feels empty without it.

THE LOST EMPIRE is available HERE

Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature - Godzilla vs King Ghidorah / Godzilla And Mothra: Battle For Earth (Blu-ray Ray Review) - Sony

Japan/1991, 1992
Directed By: Kazuki Omori, Takao Okawara
Written By: Kazuki Omori
Starring: Kosuke Toyohara, Tetsuya Bessho
Color/203 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Films

After a bit of box office disappointment from 1989's Godzilla vs Biollante, Toho decided to bring back and old favorite for Godzilla to fight. And after an annoying time travel plot involving WWII and a dinosaur, and people from the future called Futurians, fight he does as King Ghidorah is summoned to destroy Japan and prevent it from becoming the world's richest nation the dominant super power.

GODZILLA vs KING GHIDORAH has one of my least favorite plots in the series, the World War II moments do nothing at all for me and the futuristic time travel aspect just gets too "busy". That said, there is some fucking awesome action between the two monsters including a spot that would be the catalyst to the creation of Mecha-King Ghidorah. The fight scenes are long and brutal and definitely make up for a story that I don't really enjoy too much. It is interesting to note that this film won a Japanese Academy Award for special effects.

A meteor crashes into the ocean and wakes up Godzilla. Some explorers find Mothra's egg in an ancient cave and are told by the Cosmos that ancient civilizations tried to control the Earth's climate and Earth created Battra also known as The Black Mothra. When Battra became uncontrollable and began destroying Earth Mothra came to Earth's aid and waged war with Battra. Both sides retreated for many years. It is now feared that Battra has awoken as well. The Japanese military tries to stop Battra but can't and Mothra's egg hatches opening the door to a 3 way fight between Mothra, Battra and Godzilla. It isn't until Mothra saves Battra from Godzilla that the giant insects team up, and we learn of Battra's true destiny, protecting Earth from a catastrophic meteor set to hit Earth several years later.

GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: BATTLE FOR EARTH has some fantastic fight scenes ranging from alongside a big Ferris Wheel to and underwater battle in the Ocean. We get multiple stages of Mothra fighting, from a larvae to the beautiful winged protector. The story is a good way of introducing a new monster to the mix and giving him an instant history to make the fights have a bit of natural drama to them.

The Audio & Video
Sony is releasing four of these double features encompassing the Heisei and Millennium series. This first double feature has 2 blu-rays, one for each film, and things get off to a bit of a rocky start. KING GHIDORAH's 16x9 widescreen transfer could be much better, to put it simply. At its best it look okay with improved detail levels, and its worst it looks no better than DVD quality. Sony had to work with what Toho gave them, and it wasn't anything special. The audio fares better, with the original Japanese track sounding pretty crisp and clear with DTS-HD master audio. Optional English subtitles are very well done, timed nicely and read well.

BATTLE FOR EARTH is an improvement in the video department. Colors are still overly muted but seem a bit more lively, while detail is definitely stronger and the overall image quality is sharper here. This isn't reference quality but it is a definite upgrade over the DVD. Audio fares as well here as it did in the first feature on the set with the same technical specs.

The Extras
There is a theatrical trailer and Ultraviolet digital codes for each film. 

The Bottom Line
I can't say it is a home run but it is worth the cost of admission and is at the very least and upgrade from the DVD. There's plenty of great fight scenes here to have you smiling ear to ear.

The Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature is available HERE