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 12 and 13

The pace has slowed down as real life has taken over some of my time along with the Orioles being on TV which has taken time away from movies. Luckily for the movies (not so much for my fandom of the O's) their pitching has been lackluster so I need to take a couple days break from actually watching the games before I get into angry fan mode way too early in the season. The last 2 days saw three films watched and none were particularly special, though all had their moments.

First was ROLLING VENGEANCE, a late 80s rape/revenge romp that is neither as raw or satisfying as films such as Last House On The Left or I Spit On Your Grave. The drunk asshole rednecks that run a local scummy bar kill the family members of the truck drivers that deliver to them and then rape the girlfriend of the younger driver. After being acquitted of the crimes enough is enough and a giant fire spewing monster truck with implements of death such as giant rotating spikes is built and revenge is had by running over just about anything that gets in the way. ROLLING VENGEANCE is a fun little piece of cheese but for crimes as cold blooded and nasty as the ones perpetrated against the innocent the payback is a bit light in tone, even if it results in the death of those responsible.

Nazisploitation made its first appearance of the challenge with RED NIGHTS OF THE GESTAPO and I was quickly reminded of just how long and drawn out much of this genre feels. In this film a group of German industrialists seek to go behind Hitler's back and sign a peace treaty with England but when the SS gets wind of it they enact a plan to stop them by sending in various women to exploit their sexual desires and weaknesses. Most of the movie is spent watching some attractive women strut around half dressed (or less) and various Nazi officials talk. There's a bit of action here and there but nothing much and though there were some really attractive set pieces (and ladies, duh!) RED NIGHTS is pretty boring.

And finally came THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS 2. Yes, the sequel. The sequel to a movie I never saw. I wanted to see it, I just haven't gotten around to it. I don't think I missed out on anything in this movie having not seen the first. I'll be doing a full review of the Blu-ray so I will leave my feelings on the film to that review which should be posted tomorrow.

Today's Rundown
Rolling Vengeance - 5.5/10
Red Night Of The Gestapo - 4/10
The Man With The Irons Fists 2 - 5/10

Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2015 - Days 10 and 11

First up was ROADSIDE, a horror thriller that is being released on DVD on April 14. I just did a review of that disc so I'll let that post speak for itself. You can check it out here.

Next up was a double feature from the fine folks at Vinegar Syndrome - LITTLE MISS INNOCENCE and TEENAGE SEDUCTRESS. LMI featured a pair of teenage hitchhikers who made their way to Hollywood and shack up with a rich older man. They party the night away and end up screwing. When he asks them to leave, being nice enough to provide cab fare and hotel money, they blackmail the man and we find out their sexually driven evil intentions- to see if it's possible to fuck a man to death! LITTLE MISS INNOCENCE is a fun piece of sexploitation that gets a bit raunchy and even a bit comical at times. It moves quick enough and has enough of the goods to keep viewers entertained and engaged.

TEENAGE SEDUCTRESS features a young woman who moves to a small town to track down her estranged father who is a famed writer. When she finds him she keeps her identity a secret and becomes friends with him, even being hired to be his secretary. Their relationship grows closer until she gets him to sleep with her and drops the bombshell that we waited the entire movie for. TEENAGE SEDUCTRESS has pretty good acting and all things considered is a good piece of sexploitation, and a fine partner to LMI (both films were directed by Chris Warfield) but its pacing hurts the film. It runs 14 minutes longer than LMI and I feel like a run time closer to 75 or even 80 minutes would have made it a more streamlined and tight affair.

Finally the days closed with INVADERS FROM MARS, the 1986 Tobe Hooper sci-fi/horror cheese fest. I love this movie and seeing the new Blu-ray from Scream Factory may have me appreciating a bit more. The sets, costumes and effects are all gorgeous. I had forgotten how much of this movie takes place on the spaceship which has a fantastic design. I also forgot how big of a role James Karen plays which is a great decision in movies such as this as he hams it up the perfect amount. Fun fun fun!

Today's Rundown
Roadside - 4.5/10
Little Miss Innocence - 6/10
Teenage Seductress - 6/10
Invaders From Mars - 8/10

ROADSIDE (DVD Review) - Image/RLJ

USA/2013
Directed By: Eric England
Written By: Eric England
Starring: Ace Marrero, Katie Stegeman, Jack E. Curenton
Color/81 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: April 14, 2015

The Film
Bickering couple Dan and Mindy are on a road trip to visit family when they're nearly run off the road by a mud covered truck. A few miles down the road Dan has an uncomfortable encounter with the driver of that truck at a gas station but the clerk and the sheriff tell him he's nobody to fear. After fueling up the new challenge is to stay ahead of the oncoming winter storm until they reach a fallen tree limb which Dan tries to clear until a voice from the woods startles him and fires a rifle in his direction. Thus begins the night of terror the couple will have to endure as the man hides behind the tree line with his rifle fixed to Dan and Mindy whenever either one of them tries to make a move.

ROADSIDE  manages to be a minimalist affair and remain effective enough throughout. With freezing temperatures and a madman hiding out of sight that you know will kill you if he wants to the waiting game is one of tension and suspense. Unfortunately his voice is far from intimidating. I found it to be distractingly over produced. It also helps to have sympathetic characters in these types of films, someone for the audience to root for. Both of our victims in this situation are running around behind the others back with other lovers, bicker about stupid shit the entire car ride and just don't seem like people that would end up together. The only good thing about them is their dog, he seems like a cool dude.

As far as the production goes, there's only a couple of locations from the car and abandoned highway to the gas station. It keeps the isolation feeling in our minds at all times. ROADSIDE is competent and from a young director is a solid foundation. There's nothing here to set it apart from dozens upon dozens of other similar films and the twist seems to be thrown in just for the hell of it but it's okay overall.

The Audio & Video
The DVD from Image Entertainment is pretty standard but there's nothing wrong with that. The video looks fine, with dark levels being handled okay and a reasonably sharp picture on the anamorphic widescreen transfer. There's a 5.1 Dolby Digital mix that sounds like a typical surround mix but there's nothing in the way of damage or distractions.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
Standard horror thriller fare that feels fine just getting by but doesn't take the initiative to make the honor roll.

ROADSIDE is available HERE

Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2015 - Days 8 and 9

A bit of classic sci-fi seemed like a good idea to start the 8th day of the challenge so THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE was called to duty. This is a classic example of 1950s sci-fi with a doctor obsessed with developing new transplant techniques. While driving to his secret mountainside lab he wrecks his car and his wife in the process. Finding her severed head, he quickly wraps it up and brings it to the lab and hooks it up to all sorts of wires and machines to keep it alive in hopes of transplanting it to a new body. While the man searches for the perfect body his wife's head plots revenge as she doesn't want to be kept alive in this manner.

THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE plays out conventionally and there isn't a ton of surprises going on but there's a nice surprise when the monster that's kept in the closet is released. Otherwise there's nothing too special but nothing to complain about either.

The next few movies are a trilogy that I've put off for quite a while since buying the boxset a few years back. I figured it was way passed time that I finally checked out the HANZO THE RAZOR trilogy. This mix of samurai action and drama along with the exploitative nature of pinky violence comes together in this rock solid series of films featuring Itami Hanzo played by Shintaro Katsu (Zatoichi) as a rebellious samurai officer who has great disdain for the corruption within his own comrades and the government.

Each film takes Hanzo on a journey to track down a major criminal and along the way he uncovers and takes down some corrupt officials. Each movie is filled with violent sword fights, usually leaving Hanzo at a great disadvantage. Hanzo's skills leave bodies strewn across the floor and blood splattered across the walls. Hanzo's home is full of traps such as spike pits, secret arrows shooting from the walls, spears falling from the ceiling and secret caches of weapons hidden in the walls by his bath tub.

Oh and did I mention that Hanzo has a giant dick? Yeah, he does. And he works at keeping its strength up because it is a major tool (pun fun) in his arsenal to get women to confess or tell him what he wants to know. There's quite a bit of sexual torture going on in the series and though it all feels a little silly when you really think about it, it still manages to really make these pictures dirty. On top of the sexual torture there's plenty of nudity (duh) and arterial blood sprays that are always fun to see. Add a touch of surrealism and horror in very small doses and HANZO THE RAZOR is a damn fun trilogy.

Last up was SUPERSOUL BROTHER, or the title on screen THE SIX THOUSAND DOLLAR NIGGER. I do love that alternate title as it perfectly sums up what this is- a cheap blaxploitation take on The Six Million Dollar Man. Starring Wildman Steve, Peter Conrad who was the midget in Tobe Hooper's The Funhouse along with roles in both Porky's and Porky's 2, and a whole slew of others who never appeared in another movie, this piece of exploitation sees a homeless man get selected to get picked up, cleaned up, laid and eventually injected with a super power serum all to steal the safe from a jewelry store. The plan goes bad for the doctor and his henchmen when they find out Steve is now bulletproof! SUPERSOUL BROTHER is a lot of fucking fun. It has awful dialogue but the acting actually isn't as bad as you may suspect... yeah it's not good but I've certainly seen worse. This is just a movie to sit back and enjoy for how ridiculous it is. It's funny, trashy and damn fine blaxploitation, and Wildman STeve is so awesome in it. The DVD from Vinegar Syndrome will be out on April 14!

Today's Rundown 
The Brain That Wouldn't Die - 5/10
Sword Of Justice - 7.5/10
The Snare - 8/10
Who's Got The Gold - 7.5/10
Supersoul Brother - 6.5/10

Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2015 - Days 6 and 7

With all of the news about David Lynch leaving the new Twin Peaks production swirling about it made me really want to check out Lynch's animated series, DUMBLAND, so I did that to start day 6. 8 Episodes covering roughly 35 minutes is hardly a feature film but whatever. This series circles around a big bald white trash guy that burps and farts alot. The animation is as crude and basic as it can be and the other characters, including his wife and kid are fucking obnoxious (in a funny way). The series reminded me a bit of Beavis and Butthead in tone and it made me really want to see the show turned into a half hour format with better animation. This isn't Lynch's best work, but it is entertaining and has a touch of his signature absurdity.

The rest of the films that would end day 6 and fully comprise day 7 were all from indie exploitation/horror film maker Cory Udler. Udler has been talked about on this website before as he made a chapter of the Wisconsin based anthology film Hole In The Wall which I raved about last year. I finally decided to check out four of his other movies, the first being MEDIATRIX. Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of this sleazy take on a true story of a religious cult from Wisconsin. Nothing clicked with this movie for me and despite there being a good bit of sexuality I found it to be rather uninteresting.

Day 7 was made of of Udler's INCEST DEATH SQUAD trilogy. I was glad to find that these are a step up from the day's previous movie. These uber low budget horror/hixploitation films revolve around a religious brother and sister who revel in dirty sexuality to go along with their bible tales. Amber, the sister, enjoys getting fucked by out of towners while her brother Jeb reads from the Good Book. Jeb then brutally murders the tourists all in the name of God.

The second film takes place immediately after as Amber is pregnant with the child of her latest lay who escaped the incestuous siblings and returned home. Jeb and Amber take to the road to hunt down the man that has given Amber her "gift". IDS RISING closes the trilogy as we learn more about Amber and Jeb's past and their family and Amber is stuck until she repents her evil life.

The IDS movies are solid productions top to bottom and feature much better acting than movies of this type typically do. There's strong violence and a bit of gore but the subtext and content of the story is what mainly drives the viewer's emotions. There's also plenty of sexiness going on here. A solid exploitation horror trilogy.

Today's Rundown
Dumbland - 6/10
Mediatrix - 3/10
Incest Death Squad - 5.5/10
Incest Death Squad 2 - 5.5/10
IDS Rising - 5.5/10

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