ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX (Blu-ray Review) - Blue Underground

Italy/1983
Directed By: Enzo G. Castellari
Written By: Tito Carpi, Enzo G. Castellari
Starring: Mark Gregory,
Color/89 Minutes/R
Region FREE
Release Date: June 30, 2015

The Film
A corporate mega power has decided to redevelop the Bronx which has long been declared "no man's land" and a lost cause. Relocation efforts to send residents to "lovely New Mexico" has resulted in hold outs from lifelong residents and the gangs that run the territory. The relocation efforts have turned into death squads being sent in to eliminate any hold outs which starts a war as the remaining gang members and residents have armed themselves and are ready to kill for their right to stay.

The sequel to 1990: The Bronx Warriors was shot a mere 18 months after the success of the first film and ramps up the action quite a bit. What the original gave us in terms of creative characters and eye catching and attention grabbing costumes and set pieces on top of plenty of action takes a more is more attitude for the violence and it pays off. Trash and various survivors from the first film are back to take on the faceless, silver clad, flame thrower wielding death squad goons and there's almost non stop fights, shoot outs and explosions.

ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX also seems to be a bit gorier than its predecessor. This isn't Fulci level horror gore but there are some effects going on in terms of blood and burns. The acting again is hit or miss and our handsome muscular lead from 1990 is now a jacket wearing leader here as he lost most of his muscle mass between shoots much to the chagrin of director Enzo Castellari.

Where 1990: The Bronx Warriors shows its obvious influences, ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX takes those influences and just blows them to hell. I really can't sum up how fucking fun this movie is. There are multiple moments where vehicles are blown up with only one or two gunshots from a long distance. It's that attitude that drives the entire movie. Enzo Castellari isn't worried about keeping things grounded, and we shouldn't care that things are far from grounded. The more is more attitude really works in making ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX an immensely entertaining film.

The Audio & Video
This is how it should be done! Blue Underground's 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer has a wonderfully vibrant color palette. The colors are bright and beautiful while the overall picture quality has a great crispness and sharpness. Skin tones are natural without any waxiness. The English audio track is a DTS-HDMA mono track with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. This audio track is crystal clear and is free of any background noise or damages such as crackling or popping.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with Enzo G. Castellari
-Enzo G. Castellari and Fabrizio De Angelis In Conversation Part 3 of 3 - the fantastic conversation continues and concludes with more great stories. A complete joy to watch these two friends and collaborators reconnect.
-"The Hunt For Trash" - Interview with BRONX WARRIORS superfan Lance Manley - This featurette documents Manley's search for Mark Gregory who starred as Trash in the Bronx Warrior films and dropped out of the public eye in 1989. Pretty fascinating stuff.
-Theatrical trailers
-Poster and stills gallery
-DVD copy of the film

The Bottom Line
I've seen ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX numerous times and have loved it since my first viewing of it on a shoddy Vipco import from the UK years ago. I don't think I've ever had more fun watching it than I did this time getting to see it in beautiful HD in all of its glory. It is long overdue to become a cult classic.

ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX is available HERE

TIME LAPSE (DVD Review) - XLRator Media

USA/2014
Directed By: Bradley King
Written By: Bradley King, BP Cooper
Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Matt O'Leary, George Finn
Color/104 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: June 16, 2015

The Film
Three friends living together discover their neighbor across the way has discovered the ability to time travel with a camera that takes pictures 24 hours into the future. The group does what most people would do and use it for personal gain and wealth but quickly find out that trying to change the outcome that the photos predict will lead to their demise. Unfortunately their relationships are twisted and torn with each new photo.

Director Bradley King makes his debut feature film with TIME LAPSE that he also co-wrote and he's made a name for himself already and he should be on your future radar if he can continue to make films of this quality. King's direction isn't super flashy, really nothing about TIME LAPSE is but every element of the movie is rock solid. There's enough suspense and action in the script to keep you glued to the screen in anticipation of the twists and turns the story will take which there are plenty.

Don't think that this is a piece of M. Night's out of left field style shit that has become so cliched over the years. The turns this story take all fit within the confines of the boundaries this story creates and make perfect sense. The rather small cast are damn good, particularly our main trio. There are a couple of plot holes that you will question but I find them to be minor and don't take too much away from the film.

Imperfect but quite good especially when considering this movie probably had a small budget and that it was the first feature film made by its director. TIME LAPSE is tightly knit and fast paced science fiction thriller with virtually no wasted time that deserves to be seen.

The Audio & Video
XLRator Media gives TIME LAPSE a nice 16x9 widescreen transfer with good clarity and sharpness for standard DVD. A Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix handles the English audio that is crisp and damage free. There's no problem at all with the levels as dialogue and soundtrack compliment each other nicely.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with Bradley King and BP Cooper
-"Filmmaking 101" audio commentary with Bradley King and BP Cooper
-Behind the scenes featurette (22 minutes)
-Deleted scenes

The Bottom Line
TIME LAPSE is proof that a good script and direction and performances that hold up the quality of that script are enough for a good movie and this movie has that. Recommended.

TIME LAPSE is available HERE

1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS (Blu-ray Review) - Blue Underground

Italy/1982
Directed By: Enzo G. Castellari
Written By: Dardano Sacchetti, Elisa Livia Briganti, Enzo G. Castellari
Starring: Mark Gregory, Vic Morrow, Fred Williamson
Color/92 Minutes/R
Region FREE
Release Date: June 30, 2015

The Film
The years is 1990 and the Bronx has been delcared a lost cause, no man's land. The only inhabitants are various gangs that fight for territory over the borough. When the daughter of a corrupt mega power in Manhattan runs away and joins Trash and his gang The Riders he sends in a mercenary and killing squads to retrieve his daughter and wage war on the gangs that have joined forces to fight back against their oppressors.

1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS is a glorious piece of trashy action in the vein of Escape From New York and The Warriors but ramps up the violence ten fold and stands toe to toe with those classic films in terms of memorable characters. Mark Gregory's Trash, Fred Williamson's The Ogre and George Eastman's Golem are all quite colorful and classic. Vic Morrow is perfectly maniacal in the role of Hammer, the main mercenary.

Acting can be a bit hammy from time to time but it doesn't detract from the film at all in my opinion. This is a world built in the decaying slums that the rest of America has written off and the acting being a bit rough around the edges just adds to that world. What isn't rough around the edges is Castellari's direction, the man is an action film master. From fight fights and shootouts to flamethrower massacres 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS rollerskates (quite literally) around its clubhouses, subterranean hideouts and dramatic costumes with flair and elegance while remaining gritty and wild.

It's funny to me that a film such as this one may be viewed as a ripoff of certain other classic films that are certainly deserving of their status as classics but I would prefer to back to the "ripoff" time and time again. I have probably seen 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS more than a half dozen times and I keep coming back for more because it is a movie steeped in coolness. The sets, the actual Bronx locations, the characters, the score, they're all wrapped up into this little package with a ribbon tied around them by Enzo Castellari's direction that pulls it together into a brilliant package of trashy action.

The Audio & Video
Blue Underground is going to serve 25 to life because they killed it. This Blu-ray looks and sounds as good as looks and sound can look and sound. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is pretty much pristine. A gorgeously sharp picture quality is the base for vivid colors, a natural grain structure free of DNR or edge enhancement and fleshy, healthy skin tones. The English audio (optional English, French and Spanish subtitles) is handled with a DTS-HD Master Audio mono track that takes the original audio recording and makes it sound as beautifully crisp and clear as posisble. There's no damage or background noise so this is purely the prime example of how this film should sound.

The Extras
-Audio commentary by director/co-writer Enzo G. Castellari
-Enzo G. Castellari and Fabrizio De Angelis In Conversation Part 1 of 3 - a 14 minute conversation between the director and producer who have a lively and extremely entertaining and informative talk remembering their time spent making movies together including on 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS
-"Sourcing The Weaponry" - Enzo G. Castellari visits the Italian Weapons Rental House of Paolo Ricci - 12 minutes of Castellari and Ricci acting like two kids in a toy store sharing stories of making movies together and playing with all of the prop knives and guns.
-"Adventures In The Bronx" - Interview with actor/stuntman Massimo Vanni
-Theatrical trailers
-Poster and stills gallery
-DVD copy of the film

The Bottom Line
I love movies like this and this one is damn near the top of the mountain. When I heard Blue Underground was putting this one out on Blu-ray my excitement climbed with each passing day until I was able finally to view the disc and there was not a single moment of disappointment. From the technical side of the disc, to the great selection of special features this is not only essential viewing, it is a must buy.

1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS is available HERE

HEAD CASES: SERIAL KILLERS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2013
Directed By: Anthony Spadaccini
Written By: Anthony Spadaccini, Mark Cray, Derek Rushlow
Starring: Paul McCloskey, Brinke Stevens, Mark Cray
Color/109 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: May 19, 2015

The Film
Between 1979 and 2007 Wayne Montgomery committed 41 murders, making sure to document each and every one. Now his legacy is being carried on by proteges and copycats who are just as nasty as their inspiration.

HEAD CASES is a raw horror film. The production is a pseudo documentary focusing on some of the most brutal serial killers the nation has seen. The script is competent without being anything super original, it handles the subject matter with enough skill that we don't ever really question it. The direction is perhaps the strongest point for the film, which gives the film a natural rawness that is hard to create. There are scenes in this movie that make you feel like you're watching an actual killing.

That rawness can be lost at times with some poor acting. Former 80s scream queen Brinke Stevens is probably the biggest offender of the bad acting and unfortunately she plays a rather large role in the film. Eventually you get used to it and are able to get beyond it and it doesn't drag the film down too much.

HEAD CASES manages to overcome its shortcomings in some acting and running too long to be a successful piece of serial killer horror that manages to be truly disturbing at times and offer what I feel can be looked at as an honest look into what a fucked up mind can do.

The Audio & Video
The DVD from Wild Eye Releasing has a nice anamorphic widescreen transfer. The more recent footage has good clarity and definition while the footage that is meant to be older has a genuine aged look to the older low end camcorder footage but the DVD keeps things very much watchable. Audio is handled with a stereo track which is clear and crisp with no hissing, popping or other noise.

The Extras
-Two audio commentary tracks featuring the director and cast and crew members
-Theatrical trailer
-DVD trailer
-Deleted scenes
-Extended scenes

The Bottom Line
Is this film perfect? No. Does it succeed at what it set out to do? Yes. Recommended.

HEAD CASES: SERIAL KILLERS OF THE DELAWARE VALLEY is available HERE

THE LAZARUS EFFECT (Blu-ray Review) - Fox

USA/2015
Directed By: David Gelb
Written By: Luke Dawson, Jeremy Slater
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Donald Glover
Color/83 Minutes/PG-13
Region A
Release Date: June 16, 2015

The Film
A group of medical researchers has developed a serum that will extend the amount of time a doctor has to revive a patient after death, hopefully without any adverse side affects or implications to the patient. An accident during a test leaves one of the members electrocuted and without a pulse so the group makes the decision to use the serum on her to attempt to revive her and what wakes up isn't the same person they knew.

THE LAZARUS EFFECT features a capable main cast that are all quite good and likable. The ability to connect with these characters makes the film that much more personal. The film's horror elements come from both a realistic medical and a bit more of a post-mortem "pseudo reality" which I found elevated the film above the standard demonic possession type movie I was prepared for.

The trailers for THE LAZARUS EFFECT didn't play up the medial or moment of death angle that the movie takes from what I remember and I think it sells the film a little short. The film raises interesting theories about the human brain and what happens at the moment of death and put it into a horror film that is unfortunately held back by its PG-13 rating. I have no doubt that this film would have been more successful and a better horror film overall had they been able to go farther and more extreme with the horror elements.

The audience deserved to be completely blasted by disturbing images of the moment of death instead of the poorly rendered CGI visions we received (which managed to still almost work). The medical side of things could have been nastier and more exploitative for our fallen protagonist as bringing her back was sort of a life or death scenario and certainly ended up being that way.

THE LAZARUS EFFECT isn't bad. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would from the trailers and TV spots but it left me wanting more from it. This is a watered down version of a good movie that is lurking in there somewhere and it's a shame we didn't get to see the full unadulterated product.

The Audio Video
If there's one thing we weren't cheated on it was the Blu-ray presentation from Fox. The 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio is flawless with a sharp presentation, beautiful skin tones and not a hint of DNR or edge enhancement. The picture is crisp and I couldn't ask for nicer. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is a 5.1 surround mix that is bold and boisterous when it needs to be. The mix is spot on and crystal clear. There's no damage or background noise to mention. A really well done job on the A/V side of things.

The Extras
-"Creating The Fear: The Making of THE LAZARUS EFFECT" - a behind the scenes featurette that runs about 15 minutes
-"Playing God: The Moral Dilemma" - another featurette looking at one of the questions the film asks
-Deleted and extended scenes
-Theatrical trailer

The Bottom Line
While I'm disappointed that this film didn't give me more of what it had I have to admit that it surprised me by not being terrible. The film holds itself back and the PG-13 rating doesn't help but THE LAZARUS EFFECT is worth a watch for less jaded fans and fans of recent fare such as Insidious and Sinister.

THE LAZARUS EFFECT is available HERE

BURYING THE EX (2015)

USA/2015
Directed By: Joe Dante
Written By: Alan Trezza
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Ashely Greene, Alexandria Daddario

What do you get when you take a painfully dry lead, a pair of gorgeous women as his love interest, a dark comedy horror script and some cheap effects? You get BURYING THE EX, of course.

The horror movie loving Max (Anton Yelchin) lives with his self important vegan hippie girlfriend Evelyn (Ashley Greene) but their rocky relationship comes to an end when Evelyn is killed in an auto accident. Max begins a relationship with fellow horror lover Olivia (Alexandra Daddario) despite Evelyn returning from the dead to come back to Max to fulfill their promise of being together forever. Max tries to hide zombie Evelyn from his new found true love but eventually the skeletons, or in this case zombies, will come out of the closet. 

Joe Dante is no stranger to making some classic horror films such as The Howling and Piranha and some comedy films driven by horror elements like Gremlins and one of my personal favorite films The Burbs. Dante has proven time and again that he can cross genre boundaries and come out on top which leaves me baffled as to why he failed so hard with BURYING THE EX. First thing's first and that is the script- Alan Trezza wrote the script for this film, Trezza wrote the original short film of the same title in 2008. His only other screen credit which is likely his most known effort is a family comedy featuring *NSYNC members Lance Bass and Joey Fatone. Yup, that's who handled this script and it is no surprise that this horror comedy is light on horror and even lighter on laughs. Really, this script has a handful of laughs and the rest isn't even groan inducing bad, it's no reaction at all bad. 

The horror isn't much better. It is lighthearted as intended which is fine but there's only two moments of horror, and they're just "okay". That's the biggest compliment I can muster for them because they're filled with really poor CGI. Ashley Greene is genuinely good as the undead, insufferably self important girlfriend. I wanted so badly to punch her in the face which is more or less the point of her character. Unfortunately Anton Yelchin's performance as Max made me not care at all if he manages to break away from a girl that doesn't respect or care about his interests or dreams. Yelchin comes off as completely disinterested and is a total bore to watch. His living love interest Olivia does well as the edgy but passionate contrast to Greene. The unsung hero of the film may be Max's (half!) brother Travis (Oliver Cooper) who is a pretty big loser but manages to sleep around with plenty of attractive women. In a movie that is driven by (attempts at) comedy Travis is the comedic relief and is usually on point.

The movie plods along in an unfunny manner as we await Max to take care of his undead girlfriend problem and the thing that kept me most interested was the constant horror film references. From the films on Max's TV such as The Gore Gore Girls, to various Hammer and B-movie horror films to a graveyard screening of Night Of The Living Dead and various horror movie posters scattered around, this may as well have been a game of I Spy: Horror Edition. 

That's not a great recommendation for the film- "Go see it for all of the horror references throughout!". No, sadly what would probably be a commendable first directorial effort for a rookie filmmaker is the product of a seasoned veteran who has flourished in this genre and makes a remarkably unremarkable film. Joe Dante, you're better than this. 

DEBUG (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2014
Directed By: David Hewlett
Written By: David Hewlett
Starring: Tenika Davis, Adrian Holmes, Kerr Hewitt
Color/86 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: June 9, 2015

The Film
Six inmates incarcerated for various hacker related crimes are sent to an unmanned spaceship to debug corrupt and rogue programs to make the ship usable once again. While aboard they find an artificial intelligence inside the ship's computer system that is dangerous and uses the hackers own lives and desires against them in violent ways.

DEBUG is an ambitious venture for a low budget film and while I fully support trying to make your film as big and as good as it can be, sometimes you have to know your limitations and make them work for you. DEBUG suffers from weak CGI that looks like it came out of a mid-90s science fiction film that the plot of the film isn't too far from as well. DEBUG feels dated in almost every way and would fit in quite nicely on a video store shelf alongside other cyber horror movies that were popular fare when the internet was first getting hugely popular.

The acting is hit or miss from character to character and the personification of the evil that lurks on the ship is far from menacing. DEBUG's main issue however is simply what I've already stated. It was dated long before it was even made. It's competently made and even features some nicely designed interiors on board the ship but clunky effects and acting that is uneven don't help this one.

The Audio & Video
Ketchup Entertainment's anamorphic widescreen transfer features a sharpness and vividness to both details and overall picture quality. Colors are strong and robust while the English audio is handled through a 5.1 Dolby track which sounds good as well. The dialogue is clear and free of any distracting damage such as crackling or popping.

The Extras
A 19 minute behind-the-scenes featurette is included.

The Bottom Line
DEBUG isn't terrible but both looks and feels like a movie totally out of its era. Recommended only if you're huge into cyber or computer based horror.

DEBUG is available HERE