DEAD WEST (DVD Review) - RLJ Entertainment

USA/2016
Directed By: Jeff Ferrell
Written By: Jeff Ferrell
Starring: Brian Sutherland, Megan Karimi-Nasar, Jeffrey Arrington
Color/114 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: February 7, 2017

The Film
A nameless outlaw is driving across the country leaving a trail of blood behind him each time his search for love fails. His journey may come to an end when the brother of one of his victims tracks him down and puts him at gun point.

DEAD WEST is one of a slew of gritty, violent thrillers set in the American west being released these days. Brian Sutherland stars as the lead who changes his name with each new encounter. He's decently threatening and charismatic enough to get the job done. The best performance in the film is that of Roxy, played by Megan Karimi Nasar who plays the lead protagonist and main love interest of Sutherland. She's likable and easy to care about, giving a very sympathetic performance. The rest of the cast is competent except for the entire scene at Sug White's house which is down right awful. It feels like a spoof but they're dead serious about it.

There's not enough to the script to support nearly two hours of a movie and that doesn't include what was inevitably cut from the final product. The plot is thin and frankly the synopsis that the drifter is looking for love is bullshit since he has no intention on giving many of his encounters a chance and disposes of them very quickly. The drifter seems more into killing than he does finding love. It doesn't make him seem more dangerous or maniacal, it just makes the entire film feel like a cheap excuse for murder sequences. Even my favorite part of the film, Semih Tareen's score, became repetitive and overused because of how often it cues in to the drifter's attitude.

DEAD WEST is a well shot thriller with a pair of leads that were let down by a lackluster script. It has its upside but falls well short of what it could have been.

The Audio & Video
RLJ Entertainment gives DEAD WEST a nice looking 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The picture is clean and colorful and black levels are fairly deep. The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix sounds crisp with a steady mix that allows the score to shine without making the dialogue muddy or hard to understand.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with Director Jeff Ferrell, Actor Brian Sutherland, and Composer Semih Tareen
-The Making Of DEAD WEST - A feature length making-of documentary clocking in at over 68 minutes.

The Bottom Line
DEAD WEST is thinly plotted and one note. If you're extremely interested in seeing it I suggest renting it.

DEAD WEST is available HERE

THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (Blu-ray Review) - Vestron Video

UK/1988
Directed By: Ken Russell
Written By: Ken Russell
Starring: Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg
Color/94 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date: January 31, 2017

The Film
When Archaeologist Angus Flint (Peter Capaldi) unearths a strange serpent-like skull while excavating the site of an old convent on the grounds of a bed and breakfast he quickly learns of the tale of the D'Ampton Worm, a mythical snake-god from said to have been slain a thousand years earlier by John D'Ampton, the ancestor of current land owner James D'Ampton (Hugh Grant). The old tale seems to come true when a couple of women go missing and the group discovers that a local woman named Lady Sylvia Marsh is in fact an ancient priestess to the snake-god.

THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM is loosely adapted from the Bram Stoker novel but Ken Russell has greatly changed most of the story and details making for a wildly entertaining, purposely campy mashup of horror, fantasy and comedy. Hugh Grant is quite good as James D'Ampton and he has good chemistry with Peter Capaldi as an odd couple type pair who go about investigating the legend in different ways. Amanda Donohoe is captivating as Lady Sylvia Marsh, giving a sexy and domineering performance of pure evil. From seducing a Boy Scout to turning townspeople in to vampires with a single bite, she is a leather clad vixen that owns her sexuality and strength and the film is better off for having her in it.

Arguably the film's most interesting scenes are after those snake bites from Marsh when they lead to these trippy LSD induced visions of the snake demons, orgies, medieval battles and more bizarre scenes. This is purely Ken Russell being the brilliant director he's been known to be. The hallucinations wouldn't have felt out of place in his masterpiece from 1971 The Devils. Russell seamlessly mixes these elements of horror with very organic and natural comedic moments that never feel out of place and wrap the entire film up in a fantasy film shell. These ingredients make for such a wildly entertaining hour and a half filled with interesting and lovable characters, a giant B-movie monster, and a strong sense of aesthetic. Russell's eye for detail in sets, costumes and props is on full display from the blue body paint serpent scene, to the Victorian mansions decorated floor to ceiling with all sorts of gaudy yet elegant dressing and even massive underground snake/dragon monster look appealing to the eye and not at all corny.

THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM would have benefitted from a slightly larger budget as it would have allowed the film to have a more expansive feeling and allowed for more special effects but THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM is a charming, funny and well made fantasy horror film based in folklore. It has held up to multiple viewings over the years and will remain in rotation for years to come.

The Audio & Video
Vestron Video gives a beautiful HD presentation to this new Blu-ray of THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM. The anarmophic widescreen (1.78:1) transfer looks gorgeous. There is a very tiny bit of speckling otherwise the picture is quite clean and sharp. Colors are beautiful and shine while black levels are handled nicely. Detail levels are strong with surfaces and textures and skin tones are healthy and handled naturally. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mix takes the film's original  audio mix and makes it sound pristine. The track is crisp and has crystal clarity. There's no damage, imperfections or background noise. Levels are mixed nicely so that dialogue and music are complimentary.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with Director Ken Russell
-Audio Commentary with Lisi Russell and Film Historian Matthew Melia
-"Worm Food" - Interview with Special FX Artists Geoffrey Portass, Neil Gorton and Paul Jones
-"Cutting For Ken" - An Interview with Editor Peter Davies
-"Mary Mary" - Interview with Actress Sammi Davis
-Trailers From Hell with Producer Dan Ireland
-Theatrical Trailer
-Still Gallery

The Bottom Line
THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM is an overlooked and underrated piece of 80s horror. I hope this Blu-ray allows the film to be rediscovered and gives this great piece of work from Ken Russell the credit it deserves.

THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM is available HERE

PARENTS (Blu-ray Review) - Vestron Video

USA/1989
Directed By: Bob Balaban
Written By: Christopher Hawthorne
Starring: Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Bryan Madorsky
Color/82 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date: January 31, 2017

The Film
PARENTS is a film set in the idyllic 1950s, a time straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting and the Laemles want nothing more than to blend in and be that picture perfect family with their ten year old son Michael. Unfortunately Michael isn't the All-American boy but rather a very quiet, distant and frankly somewhat odd child. His father (Randy Quaid) is disapproving of the boy, commonly more concerned about the bottle of wine he chooses for dinner than bonding with his son. Their mother is a typical housewife interested in getting a hot meal on the table for her family and babying her son. Michael usually goes to bed early without eating his meat because he knows there's something wrong with his family... they're cannibals.

Bryan Mardosky plays Michael and at first his performance comes across as wooden, stilted and rather bland. I feel that this is all intentional from director Bob Balaban as he is using Mardosky's performance as Michael to show the effects an abusive and overall poor home life can have on a child. I think Michael has become the shell of a healthy child and is very introverted and keeps mainly to himself. PARENTS shows a very twisted version of that 1950's idealism with a family that feasts on human meat without too much in the way of graphic gore or imagery to really make a horror film. He also fits in some dark comedic moments throughout. Don't get it wrong though, PARENTS is a weird movie that does a damn good job at making the viewer feel uncomfortable and squeamish. This is done with gratuitous and repetitious shots of the food that plays such a big role in the film as many scenes revolve around it. The meat seems to get slimier and more and more undercooked every time we see it. It's disgusting.

The film really succeeds because of Randy Quaid and Mary Beth Hurt's performances as Michael's father and mother. Mary Beth Hurt wants nothing more than to live the American dream with a happy family living in Suburbia but is stuck in between her husband who has made the family a house of cannibals and is an abusive man. Without laying a hand on his son he haunts him and broods over him, sitting in dark rooms or in the shadows waiting for Michael to curiously search around to uncover the truth his family hides. Quaid's performance is THE scariest thing of the film. He makes me extremely uncomfortable and is a perfect metaphor for the mask America put on the 1950s hiding the uglier social issues the country faced with a post-war economic boom, paintings of apple pie and a widespread idea of "The American Dream".

PARENTS is well made and has aged just as well. It is a movie that never quite clicked with me until this viewing but I get it now and I think if you go in expecting a strange horror film that relies more on characters and relationships rather than shocks and gore you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The Audio & Video
Spine #7 in the Vestron Collector's Series looks and sounds quite good. The 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer has a nice overall picture quality with strong detail throughout. From the textures in clothing to the nasty, slimy quality to the meat at every meal there is good attention to finer details. Colors are vibrant and natural. There are small sections of the film that have a softer look than the rest of the film but these are vastly in the minority of scenes. The audio is handled with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mix that sounds excellent. It's a crisp and clear mix with stable levels and a quality mix. There's no damage or background noise. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with Director Bob Balaban and Producer Bonnie Palef
-Isolated Score And Audio Interview with Composer Jonathan Elias
-"Leftovers To Be" - Interview with Screenwriter Christopher Hawthorne
-Mother's Day" - Interview with Mary Beth Hurt
-Inside Out" - Interview with Director Of Photography Robin Vidgeon
-Vintage Tastes - Interview with Decorative Consultant Yolando Cuomo
-Theatrical Trailer
-Radio Spots
-Still Gallery

The Bottom Line
PARENTS is a film that has aged extremely well and is deserving of this stellar release from Vestron. I consider this the definitive edition of a film that deserves to be re-discovered in HD.

PARENTS is available HERE

WOLF HOUSE (Wild Eye Releasing) DVD Review

USA/2016
Directed By: Matt D. Lord
Written By: Ken Cosentino, Elizabeth Houlihan
Starring: Jessica Bell, Ken Cosentino, Marcus Ganci-Rotella
Color/70 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: January 17, 2017

The Film
A group of friends cabin getaway is shaken up when one of them shoots a wild animal they believe is Sasquatch. The group decides to bring the animal home in hopes to discover what it really is and potentially become rich from their finding. Unfortunately an old Native American warning to respect the forest comes true and the wolflike beast wakes up and begins stalking the house while dangerous native spirits haunt the house.

WOLF HOUSE is a found footage film made on a shoestring budget. IMDB reports an estimated budget of $5,000 and that is incredibly low even for the found footage genre. There will be obvious drawbacks with such a tight budget but I think director Matt Lord did create a passable film from that. The film only has two locations, the cabin and its surrounding forest and the house. These locations allow the movie to get by with minimal set design so the movie isn't the most visually striking piece of horror you've seen lately but it gets by.  The cast helps with this as they are competent and while not being Oscar caliber they don't drop the ball and become something you'd see in a Tommy Wiseau film.

The thing that may really turn viewers off is the wolf creature which is obviously a man in rather cheap suit walking around on all fours. In scenes where it is more exposed it's obviously cheap but they do keep it largely covered for the majority of the movie which helps. The monster could have been done with cheap and gaudy CGI but the filmmakers decided to go the practical route and I respect that. I'm a lover of rubber suit monster flicks and I find this to be in that vein. It doesn't really help it look any better but they went for it and made it work.


WOLF HOUSE isn't a game changer, or even a film I'd call "good" but it was more entertaining than The Bye Bye Man which was a major release horror film and frankly it's probably better made as well.

The Audio & Video

The anamorphic widescreen transfer from Wild Eye Releasing looks as good as you'd expect from such a low budget production these days. HD cameras certainly help and the picture quality here is pretty solid. Colors are natural while black levels are fairly deep and don't suffer much from blocking or compression. The image is clean and pleasing to the eye. The English audio is crisp and clear with a decent mixing job. There's no damage or background noise to speak of.

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with the Director
-Behind The Scenes documentary
-"Making The Monster" featurette
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
I admire what WOLF HOUSE did on a shoe string budget. I have a soft spot for rubber suit monsters and making it work no matter what. The movie leaves a lot to be desired but I did find it to be mildly entertaining.

WOLF HOUSE is available HERE

LAVENDER Press Release Announcement

 SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS AND AMBI GROUP PARTNER FOR RELEASE OF “LAVENDER”

Abbie Cornish, Justin Long and Dermot Mulroney Star in the

DISH Exclusive on February 3, 2017 and In Theaters, VOD on March 3, 2017 

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 26, 2017) – Samuel Goldwyn Films and AMBI Group will partner on the domestic release for the anticipated thriller, “Lavender.”  Directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly (“The Last Exorcism Part II”) who co-wrote the film with Colin Frizzell (“Resident Evil: Apocalypse”), the film stars Abbie Cornish (“Limitless”), Diego Klattenhoff (TV’s “The Blacklist”), Justin Long (“Live Free or Die Hard”) and Dermot Mulroney (“My Best Friend’s Wedding”).

Samuel Goldwyn and AMBI will release the film exclusively on DISH on Feb. 3, 2017 one month before it hits theaters and VOD on March 3, 2017. “Lavender” is the second collaboration between the two companies, which will release the Simon Aboud film, “This Beautiful Fantastic,” on March 10, 2017.

"Abbie Cornish provides a stellar performance in this psychological thriller,” said Melanie Miller, Executive Vice President of Samuel Goldwyn Films.   “With beautiful cinematography and a distinct vision from director Ed Gass-Donnelly, we are proud to distribute “Lavender” in partnership with Ambi Group.” 

In “Lavender,” when a photographer (Abbie Cornish) suffers severe memory loss after a traumatic accident, strange clues amongst her photos suggest she may be responsible for the deaths of family members she never knew she had.  Justin Long plays a psychiatrist who helps her recover lost memories.

Produced by Dave Valleau (“Capote”) and Ed Gass-Donnelly, “Lavender” was executive produced by Andrea Iervolino (“The Merchant of Venice”), Monika Bacardi (“The Humbling”), Tex Antonucci (“The Entitled”), Emily Alden (“Mountain Men”) and Jennifer Levine (“G.B.F.”).

LOVE CAMP 7 (Blu-Ray Review) - Blue Underground

USA/1969
Directed By: Lee Frost
Written By: Bob Cresse
Starring: Bob Cresse, Maria Lease, Kathy Williams
Color/96 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: January 31, 2017
Blu-ray/DVD
Limited Edition

The Film
During WWII two officers of the Women's Army Corps volunteer to go undercover as Jewish prisoners of the SS to infiltrate a Nazi love camp on a rescue mission. Once they arrive they're subjected to beatings, degradations, forced sexual encounters among other tortures that they must try to endure long enough for the Allied Forces to set up their attack on the camp and allow the women to complete their objective and escape with their lives.

Director Lee Frost helps kickstart the Nazisploitation genre that would explode in the 70s with what is perhaps the first sexploitation driven film of the genre. LOVE CAMP 7 is a good example of what to expect from the genre; despicable Nazis, nude women, and various forms of torture. Later films would get sleazier and weirder adding in nastier rape scenes, bestiality and twisted medical experiments as each film tried to outdo the last. Don't sell LOVE CAMP 7 short because it is quite a brutal film that will leave an impression on you and get your blood boiling and ready for the Nazis to get their comeuppance. And that is the driving factor behind these films. We endure, perhaps not completely out of disgust because exploitation films remain entertaining even when they're not the prettiest thing in the world, but we can justify the horrors and atrocities our victims go through to watch them get their revenge.

Similar to the films that would follow, LOVE CAMP 7 has a thin plot that is little more than a silver platter to serve up scenes of torture, nudity and violence. The difference with LOVE CAMP 7 is that it really is a quality production. Lee Frost's direction is solid and at times stylishly gritty, getting right into the face of the brutality. The film largely takes place in only the Commandant's office and the girl's dorm room but Frost makes the film feel bigger than it really is by constantly moving around these two areas and using different angles on them for different scenes. The finale in the Commandant's office is especially well done and makes that particular room feel doubled in size. Frost also benefits from a more than capable cast that bravely puts themselves through embarrassing scenes and moments while giving performances that I never once questioned the validity of. Maria Lease and Kathy Williams are both gold as the undercover officers and get my utmost respect and praise.

If there's a fault in the film it's that the attack on the camp and the escape are low rent and obviously hampered by a small budget. The attack is little more than a few soliders hiding in bushes and firing towards the camera through some barbed wire. We never see anything approaching a big or grandiose battle which would have not only added that extra level of excitement but would have also been another way that Lee Frost made the film look and feel bigger than it really is. Does it hurt the film? Perhaps, but it certainly doesn't make it a failure. Not even close. LOVE CAMP 7 is a really good exploitation film and it's easy to see why other producers and directors took this film and ran with the concept in creating what we think of today when talking about the nazisploitation genre.

The Audio & Video
Blue Underground has given LOVE CAMP 7 a new 4K restoration from the original camera negatives which looks stunning. The 1.66:1 aspect ratio maintains the films original aspect ratio and has incredible detail, highly noticeable in the fabrics of the Nazi uniforms and in other surfaces and textures such as a wooden torture device. Colors are vivid but natural and match the dreary and overcast look and feel to the film. Skin tones are healthy and fleshy which look so good you almost think you can reach out and touch them. The picture has a light film like grain structure that makes it look like a pristine 35mm presentation.

The English audio is presented in a DTS-HD Mono track that is wonderfully crisp and clear with no background noise, distortions, hiccups or other imperfections. It's a simple mix but of the highest quality. There are optional English SDH subtitles and a slew of other language subs as well.

Please note: Screen grabs taken from DVD version of the film and do not represent the Blu-ray quality.

The Extras
-NAZITHON: DECADENCE AND DESTRUCTION - An 80 minute clip show/highlight reel of the nazisploitation genre previously released on DVD by Full Moon.
-Theatrical trailer
-Poster and still gallery
-Booklet featuring "The History of Nazi-Exploitation" by Paolo Zelati

The Bottom Line
Nazisploitation isn't a genre for everyone but LOVE CAMP 7 is exactly how these films should be presented on Blu-ray. I wholeheartedly recommend this release for anyone with even the slightest interest in the film or genre.

LOVE CAMP 7 is available HERE

SLIME CITY/SLIME CITY MASSACRE Double Feature (Blu-ray Review - Camp Motion Pictures)

USA/1988, 2010
Directed By: Greg Lamberson
Written By: Greg Lamberson
Starring: Craig Sabin, Mary Huner, Jennifer Bihl, Kealan Patrick Burke
Color/166 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: December 13, 2016

The Films
The mid 80s to early 90s were a time where melt horror was big. Audiences loved seeing bodies melt into piles of often Day-Glo colored goo and directors loved giving it to us. SLIME CITY is one of those pictures falling smack dab in the middle of the period. Writer/director Greg Lamberson gave us the aptly titled picture in 1988 with the story of Alex who has just moved in to a new apartment building that is filled with strange tenants. His journey to body melt hell begins when he's invited over to a neighbor's place for dinner where they eat blue and green colored Himalayan yogurt and drink a strange green brew. Soon after Alex finds his skin melting off of his body and his face containing grotesque pimples and boils that leak strange colored fluid. His temperment from a normal college student has changed to that of an angry lunatic that will attack anyone at will. The symptoms of this strange yogurt and drink take effect in stages, almost like Jekyll and Hyde and he discovers that an old alchemist who also worked in Voodoo and the occult created this drink and the yogurt in a strange ritual that now leaves Alex in a perpetual state of murderous rage and melting away to nothing.

SLIME CITY not only fits in with all of the melt horror films of the time but also with countless low budget B-movies set in grimy 1980s era New York City. It is incredibly rough around the edges with a plot that is a bit convoluted and silly leading way to the reason we are tuning in to the film to begin with. Special attention is paid to the special effects work done by Scott Coulter and his work is quite good. The neon slime is the easy part but a crawling brain and man eating stomach orifice were the harder parts and they all look great. Greg Lamberson's direction is solid as he gets competent and believable performances out of his cast, especially the lead Craig Sabin who is able to carry on both the "Jekyll" and the "Hyde" needed from his character, all while being slathered in goo.

SLIME CITY is still rough around those edges and remains an imperfect picture. It rarely strays from the safe confines of the apartment building which is shame because seeing a neon monster melting all over 42nd street would have been something truly amazing. Having said that I still find SLIME CITY to be a successful and wildly entertaining slice of 80s horror.

Apparently the world needed more slime because in 2010 the world was introduced to SLIME CITY MASSACRE which takes place in a derelict city (shot in Buffalo, NY) after a dirty bomb goes off and wipes out most of the population. The survivors are in a post-apocalyptic wasteland trying to find food and clean water. Cory and Alexa find their way in to an old building where two others are living and trying to stay out of the way of the heartless businessman Ronald Crump (funny how the timing of this Blu-ray release and the current state of American politics have matched up) who wants to buy out the entire city and rebuild despite the radiation and health hazards while letting his henchmen lay waste to the survivors occupying the area. The four squatters find a stash of weird alcohol and "unexpirable" Himalayan Yogurt in an area beneath their pad called the Zachary Devon Soup Kitchen and they all proceed to get wasted on the hooch and eat the yogurt. I bet you can guess what begins to happen here.

SLIME CITY MASSACRE is very much the original SLIME CITY but set in a post-apocalytpic world and filled with moments of awful CGI and bad green screen. There is still some of the wonderful practical effects like the original had but there's also quite a bit of poorly rendered digital effects and unfortunately that's what the entire movie feels like - A poorly rendered updated version of the original. SLIME CITY MASSACRE is okay, it's a passable film with some enjoyable moments but it also has some really bad moments such as a scene that you'd see in something like Bum Fights and Lloyd Kaufman's cameo in the beginning. SLIME CITY MASSACRE isn't horrible but it's just okay with more convoluted plot points that are retreads from the first and some corny flashback scenes that we could have done without. It's still a slimy, gooey, entertaining B-movie but it's easily the weaker of the two films.

The Audio & Video
Camp Motion Pictures gives this pair of neon splatter flicks their high definition debut in a pair of anamorphic widescreen transfers. The original film unfortunately doesn't look so fantastic. The image is riddled with digital noise and any sharpness is really dampened because of it. Colors are okay but could certainly use a bit more pop. Detail levels and overall image quality is only a hair of an improvement over the DVD. The audio suffers from some audible hiccups and crackling throughout. Otherwise the audio sounds decent but is definitely not pristine. While the film is definitely watchable  I can't help but feel disappointed that the A/V isn't better.

On the other hand the far more recent production of SLIME CITY MASSACRE looks and sounds quite a bit better as you'd expect. The image is sharp with good detail level. The only downfall in the superior picture quality is that the weak green screen and CGI stand out more but it is a small price to pay. Colors are vibrant and vivid, popping just the right amount. Skin tones are natural and healthy while the audio sounds crisp and clear, a vast improvement over the condition of the first film's track.

The Extras
-2006 Audio Commentary on SLIME CITY
-2016 Audio Commentary on SLIME CITY
-Making Slime featurette
-Slime Heads documentary
-Trailers
-2016 Audio Commentary on SLIME CITY MASSACRE
-Blooper Reel
-Behind-the-scenes featurette
-Interview with composer MARS
-SLIME CITY SURVIVORS webisodes
-Deleted Scenes
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
I'd absolutely love this Blu-ray release if the original SLIME CITY looked better but a pair of fun films, a slew of special features and a very nice looking transfer on the more recent film make this release and easy recommendation.

SLIME CITY double feature is available HERE