FRANK HERBERT’S DUNE (2000)

June 21, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged 2000s, bluray, dune, Frank Herbert, Sci Fi, scifi | Leave a comment

FRANK HERBERT’S DUNE (2000)

The Australian Bluray release of Dune (2000)

David Lynch’s version of Dune had one massive problem: its length. The business of movies has changed so much and when Lynch’s film was released, the idea of a series of films made as a continuing narrative was rare. Sure the Godfather flicks and Stars Wars were exceptions, but the idea of a The Hobbit/ Harry Potter/ Dune (2021)/ MCU mega series didn’t seem to exist, so Lynch’s was more like the plot synopsis on the back of a novel rather than a full adaption of the story.

*The first edition of Frank Herbert’s book*

In 2000, we got a TV version of Herbert’s story, divided into three episodes, each of about 90 minutes each. As it was a TV show, it was expected to be episodic with soap opera elements, the story divided with crescendos at the appropriate times to are the viewer keen for the next episode.

To explain this story in full. I shall just ‘borrow’ the plot synopsis from the review of David Lynch’s Dune (1986) reviewed elsewhere in this site:

‘In the far, far, far future, mankind has banned all ‘thinking machines’ (i.e. computers), and mankind has become reliant on two other forms of technology: machines of war and ESP. Mankind has formed its government into something of a feudal system, called the Imperium, and constant push and pulls of territory are always happening, either through diplomacy or all out war.

One planet of particular interest is Arrakis, a desert planet that has a drug called ‘melange’ on it, which prolongs life (something all kings have wanted throughout time) and when excessively taken, can mutate the body and mind, a side-effect being that individuals are able to fold space for rapid space travel.

Behind the scenes of all of humanity’s politics are the Bene Gesserit, a religious order controlling everything, and this is where our story begins…

Yep, this was just the background one requires to understand what comes next… blimey!

Our film tells of the family of House Atriedes, led by Duke Leto (William Hurt), his partner (described as a concubine) Lady Jessica (Saskia Reeves) and their son, Paul (Alec Newman) who have been instructed by the Emperor (Giancarlo Giannini) to travel to the planet of Arrakis to take over the production of the spice, melange, known to extend life and give amazing powers to those who take it.

What Leto does not know is that the Emperor is intending to start a war on Arrakis between House Atriedes and the villainous House Harkonnen, presided over by the in this version, less than horrifying Baron Harkonnen (Ian McNeice) so that he can have him killed as an act of war.

What NO ONE knows is though, is that Paul has powers of his own, hidden deep within him, and his visions of a life on Arrakis become more intense as war looms…’

Obviously, the story remains the same but there is far more explanation due to the total 270 minutes each runtime compared to the Lynch film’s 137 minutes. It gave an opportunity to enter the world of the Weirding Way, a martial art that Lynch replaced with the Weirding Modules in the weapons for expediency of the battles in the short run time. This does show more and even references some of the other books in small scripts ways so it feels more like the beginning of an epic universe which it did become with its further mini serieses. It is a far more palatable story from the narrative point of view, but… and there’s a few big buts.

… and these aren’t the big buts I love, I cannot lie.

First the special effects are exactly what one would expect from a TV show from 25 years ago (as of the date of this reviews writing). I imagine a production with SO many actors within it that was on television would have not dedicated too much of the budget there, and it shows. I’m sure somewhere there is a PlayStation 2 laughing at the quality of the effects. Now considering many if my favourite films are ones with decidedly sub-par effects, it seems to me that the Lynch film was given far more for its budget, double actually, and obviously the 2020s version have had even more thrown at them, which makes the effects look… well, like a TV show, but worse, an early 2000s TV show. Credit where credit is due though, the UV reflective contact lenses on the Fremen look alright.

*Special effects or 5 Flies on Yellow Velvet?*

This leads me to the design. Looking like a combination of Star Wars Episode 1, which makes sense due to the timing of its release and the fashion for sci-fi design at the time, and of the ‘landing party’ scenes in any episode of Star Trek post The Next Generation, nothing looks real, and instead the entire film looks like ‘TV’. The outfits are a combination of medieval heraldry and post 90s comic book costume design and just look terrible. Of particular, Baron Harkonnen’s dress is borderline hilarious, not helped by McNeice’s panto performance.

Thankfully, McNeice’s performance is the only bad one, but it makes any scene with him in it to make the Baron look more like a vaudeville villain instead of a proper threat like the performances from Kenneth McMillian or Stellan Skarsgård in other Dune productions. This cartoonish threat does diminish a lot of the rest of the film and it’s a shame that so much of the show’s delivery of script is sullied by it. Thankfully, the TV show Doc Martin exists so McNeice can make a living outside of holiday times.

*Ian McNeice as either Baron Harkonnen or a rave drug dealer*

I did really want to like this because I do really like the source material, but I just don’t think it is worth revisiting anymore other than as a curio and as seeing how TV would approach something as dense as this. Sadly, the newer films are a far better option as far as design, cast and storytelling, and Lynch’s is better just for its creativity.

Extras:

On this collection we have two ‘makings of’: one is the Filmmaker’s Vision and looks at the making of part one, whereas The Production Story is the making of part 2, so I guess part 3 was not worthy! There is also a trailer for the film.

Film:4/10

Extras: 5/10

Rewatchability: 2/10

This Bluray was purchased from an eBay seller.

DUNE (1984)

June 7, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged 80s, arrow video, bluray, dune | Leave a comment

DUNE (1984)

*Arrow Video’s Bluray release of David Lynch’s Dune.*

I became a fan of the Frank Herbert novels of Dune because of this film. Prior to seeing this film the only sci-fi I’d read were comics, and maybe some Star Wars novels, some H. G. Wells or Jules Verne and even more comics as I mainly read crime and mystery novels prior, but this film politely took me into a dark room, sat me down and explained to me that sci-fi concepts can be so much more than just space war, invisible men, submarines, and aliens who can fly and try to help mankind.

Frank Herbert’s Dune was first published as a serial in Analog Science Fiction Magazine in 1963 but was compiled into novel form, released in 1965. It is the first part of an entire series of books set in this universe, and won both the 1966 Nebula Award and Hugo Award.

The story of Dune is incredibly nuanced and has so much involved that a simple plot synopsis is hard to explain with a 20,000 word review which would get a pile of ‘TLDR’ comments so I shall try to simplify it.

In the far, far, far future, mankind has banned all ‘thinking machines’ (i.e. computers), and mankind has become reliant on two other forms of technology: machines of war and ESP. Mankind has formed its government into something of a feudal system, called the Imperium, and constant push and pulls of territory are always happening, either through diplomacy or all out war.

*A spice navigator seeks an audience with the Emperor*

Behind the scenes of all of humanity’s politics are the Bene Gesserit, a religious order controlling everything, and this is where our story begins…

Yep, this was just the background one requires to understand what comes next… blimey!

Our film tells of the family of House Atriedes, led by Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow), his partner (described as a concubine) Lady Jessica (Francesca Annis) and their son, Paul (Kyle MacLachlan) who have been instructed by the Emperor (José Ferrer) to travel to the planet of Arrakis to take over the production of the spice, melange, known to extend life and give amazing powers to those who take it.

What Leto does not know is that the Emperor is intending to start a war on Arrakis between House Atriedes and the villainous House Harkonnen, presided over by the horrifying Baron Harkonnen ( Kenneth McMillan) so that he can have him killed as an act of war.

What NO ONE knows is though, is that Paul has powers of his own, hidden deep within him, and his visions of a life on Arrakis become more intense as war looms…

It’s hard to do a synopsis of this first version of Dune, directed by David Lynch, as it in itself is merely a 2 hour synopsis of a book that goes into far greater detail of the politicking and the war that happens. Lynch’s directorial work here is almost dreamlike, and realistically, like most people who saw it when it was first released, it became a tasting platter for big bold science fiction and turned so many of us onto Frank Herbert’s work.

I love the cast in the film. I feel that almost everyone is amazing in their roles but at a pinch, I must say that I think the Fremen, the people who live on Arrakis, this dry, arid world that appears to be difficult to survive upon, won’t quite look right. As much as I like Everett McGill and Sean Young, I feel they don’t look like people who have survived this weather. I feel they have just emerged from a street in Hollywood.

It’s such an unusual cast as well; a mixture of young and seasoned actors, and even a pop music star in Sting, playing Harkonnen’s nephew Feyd, all are fabulous in their roles and it almost feels at times like an elaborate stage production in its presentation.

*Smoke belching chimneys on House Harkonnen’s home planet*

Speaking of its presentation, the look of the film is the big win for me. Impossibly large spaceships that look torn from gothic architecture. Ships that are sleek and according to physics, would be impossible to fly on any planet with any sorts of atmosphere. Interiors that mix that gothic architecture with art deco, Victorian, maximalist and brutalism, and then also have Industrial Revolution styled smoke and gas belching from bizarre chimneys. Each of these lands match the personality of their families, and even as House Atriedes moves from a water filled world to that of Dune, the entire family structure alters: the change in environment changing them to their very core.

*Ridiculously gigantic architecture in space*

The problem with this film though, is something I stated earlier: it’s a summary. Films adapted from books almost always adjust little portion, both for timing and storytelling issues, and sometimes just because the screenwriter or studio thinks they should put their own stamp upon it – they should not – and the problem Lynch had here was time, and even though it’s a visual feast with a stunning choice of actors, it does suffer for it. The film has so much information in the first third, that the rest of the film speeds by at a speed that doesn’t pause to explain intentions and the ideas of the world.

I have recently been conversing with a friend who saw I was watching this film and he was surprised by how high my Letterboxd score was for it, but he did not grow up with it. He is of a post-Lord of the Rings age where people are prepared to watch almost impossibly long films that are divided up into trilogies, instead of filmmakers having to be creative and working within their time limits. Even look at the Marvel films: these aren’t individual films but are actual comics themselves with their periodical releases. As long as the whiz-bang, Disney-fied action film structure is maintained and there is no opportunity to get bored, or more importantly, craft story, people are happy, which is why cinema is in such a poor state, and why the world is a lesser place without talents like David Lynch in it.

I constantly criticise people for allowing movie companies to manipulate their nostalgia with remakes and sequels, and my score below reflects more my nostalgia for this film than its actual quantity or accuracy of translation from the book, but I stand by that score regardless.

Extras:

There are two audio commentaries, one by Paul M. Sammon, author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner and former studio executive, amongst other roles in cinema production, and another by Mike White, from The Projection Booth Podcast. Between these two commentaries you don’t just get a good look at the production of the film, but a history of the De Laurentiis family, and Hollywood itself. Both fascinating!

Impressions of Dune is a 2003 retrospective on the making of the film, with input from MacLachlan, De Laurentiis, Freddie Francis (cinematographer) and Antony Gibbs (editor), Harlan Ellison (author) and David Anson (film critic).

Designing Dune talks about David Lynch and Tony Masters (Production designer) and the collaborative process they went through to achieve the look of the film.

Dune FX looks, obviously at the special effects of the film and what an effort it was to create a movie with so much necessary effects on a budget.

Dune Models and Miniatures is a piece I’m interested in as in addition to doing this glorious website, I also make and paint models. Some amazing builds for sure!!

Dune Costumes as you would expect, looks at the magnificent outfits created for the film which are still impressive today.

Deleted Scenes with an Introduction by Raffaella de Laurentiis has ten deleted scens and also talks about the mythical Director’s cut that was supposed to go for 4 hours.

Destination Dune is a hype feature from the 80s gearing people up to the release of Dune.

There is a bunch of Trailers and TV Spots and a series of Image Galleries, which normally I would criticise, but in this case there are various production designer and poster art involved as well just just behind the scenes claptrap. These image galleries are done as a slide show.

Film: 8/10

Extras: 10/10

Rewatchability: 10/10

This Arrow Video release Bluray was purchased from Metal Movies.

Coming next month…

May 28, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile | Leave a comment

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)

May 24, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged 80s, bluray, Friday the 13th, horror, jason voorhees | Leave a comment

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)

I have suddenly realised how hard it is to continue to discuss a series of films that has gone on as long as the Friday films did without repeating oneself. I will endeavour to do so.

The Friday the 13th films are staples of the horror diet, along with Halloweens, A Nightmare on Elm Sts and even Saws and The Conjurings (even though I don’t rate any of the films in The Conjuring universe, I appreciate how important they are in the horror genre) and you can almost guarantee that any horror fan with have seen one of each of the franchise, and even may like at least one as well.

Friday the 13th Part 3 was a victim of the success of the first two films though they needed a gimmick. Unfortunately, it was decided to make a 3D film rather than to make a film with a good story. For me this is an immediate drawback as I detest 3D films, mainly due to my eyesight not being fantastic and preferring not to wearing the stupid glasses, and in that preference, having to watch a film in 2D where the actors spend the whole time stick things into the camera lens to give the 3D fans something to gawk at.

Friday the 13th Part 3 was written by Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson and was directed by Steve Miner, who also directed Part 2, and takes place the day after the events from Friday Part 2… so I guess this is ACTUALLY a Saturday the 14th film…

Anyway, the story tells of Chris (Dana Kimmell) who is returning to her family’s country home after an absence of two years due to some trauma she encountered… which will get revealed later!

She is joined by a bunch of friends as support, but they are also secretly joined on her property by a biker gang that friends Shelley (Larry Zerner) and Vera (Catherine Parks) accidentally cross when getting some groceries for the weekend. Her country love interest, Rick (Paul Kratka) also meets up with them.

The problem is, though, that Jason Voorhees, fresh off the massacre at Camp Crystal Lake, is still hunting through the woods for more prey, and when he comes across the farmhouse, he’s ready to create more carnage.

The story is so generic it’s almost parody, but this film does have the honour of being the film that gave Jason his iconic hockey mask look, which no doubt has made the owners of the licence millions of merchandising cash over the years, not to mention the NHL-affiliated companies probably scored some extra sales as well with sports gear.

*Jason’s takes a helping hand from Ali (Nick Savage)*

Unfortunately I actually don’t rate this Friday very high because of all the distracting 3D rubbish. I means it’s an 80s slasher so high production values and academy award winning acting are less a priority over boobies and blood, and the story really isn’t any worse or better than any other slasher, but the fact the film almost comes to a complete halt every time someone wants to poke something at the camera. What makes it worse is that this Bluray doesn’t have a 3D option so it’s literally just a 2D version of a 3D film.

I still rewatch it regularly, but only as the pathway to part 4.

*The menu screen to the Australian Bluray*

Extras:

Fresh Cuts: 3D Terror looks at the reasons why they decided to go 3D with this film, with various comments from Peter Bracke, the author of Crystal Lake Memories and people who worked on the film. With the Crystal Lake Memories doco and book being such a definitive guide to the series, a twelve minute peek is barely scratching the surface.

Legacy of the Mask is about the look of Jason Voorhees, and how it evolved over the film series, including the origins of the infamous hockey mask.

Slasher Films: Going for the Jugular has a bunch of movie industry people discussing the key ingredients for a slasher film.

Lost Tales of Camp Blood Parts 2 and 3 is a couple of amateurish ‘further tales’ of Jason. Skip this junk.

There is also the trailer for the film.

Film: 3/10

Extras: 5/10

Rewatchability: 5/10

*The town crazy from the previous film was just immediately replaced.*

This Bluray was purchased from JB Hifi

THE HUNT (2020)

May 10, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged 2000s, bluray, gore, horror | Leave a comment

THE HUNT (2020)

*The Australian Bluray release of The Hunt*

If there’s one thing that horror movies have taught me, it’s that hunting humans, ain’t nothing but nothin’. Seriously though, there’s not much I love more than a film that is all about some kind of human hunt… that is after giallo, and slashers… from Turkey Shoot to Battle Royale, and from Countess Perverse to Condemned, I love me a popcorn flick that throws a bunch of perceived lower-caste people being hunted by the upper class, and then seeing them raining down pain and revenge onto the hunters. It’s a blast, usually with a touch of social commentary and always a big pile of tasty tasty violence.

Weirdly, this film didn’t slip by me when it was release on home video in Australia, as I found I had a copy in my possession, but what did happen is it just slipped into my collection without a watch. The Hunt recently appeared on Netflix and I realised that not only did I own but had not watched it, the trailer I saw blew my socks off.

What’s happened next? I dug that disc out and threw it on to enjoy the carnage!

The Hunt was directed by Craig Zobel whose work I previously enjoyed in his quiet post-apocalyptic flick Z for Zachariah which starred a pre-Harley Quinn Margot Robbie and written by Damon Lindelof, co-creator of the Lost TV series, and Nick Cuse who previously has written episodes of Watchmen and the TV series Maniac.

The Hunt find 12 people waking up in a field, gags in their mouths and a large crate in front of them. Upon opening the crate, they find a pig, and weapons…

… HEAPS of weapons…

*Oops. ‘Yoga Pants’ gets lead poisoning*

…and almost immediately, someone from somewhere starts firing at them and very quickly they realise they they are being hunted, but by who? Was their capture random or were they specifically targeted?

Soon we are introduced to our heroine, Crystal (Betty Gilpin from Glow) who doesn’t appear to be like the rest of the prey. She’s gun-smart, aggressive, attentive to detail and prepared to take out anyone and everyone who gets in her way… but can she trust the others who are being hunted… can she trust anyone at all? And what will she do when she finds out who organised this whole hunt?

This film easily had one of my favourite movie posters of all time. It had a bunch of negative, political-charged quotes all over it with, ‘THE MOST TALKED ABOUT FILM OF THE YEAR IS ONE THAT NO ONE’S ACTUALLY SEEN’, reflecting the knee-jerk reaction people have to clickbait internet crap that sometimes reacted to without discovering the full story.

This is where part of the fun is in this film: it’s not putting either the red or the blue in front of each other, but it is presenting extremism at its very worst.

Actually, no. That’s no really true. This film is a fun battle Royale romp that exercises some very subtle choices in regards to whether it’s political or not, and I see it as quite anti-political. Actually, anti-people-who-see-politics in everything. As usual, cinema can be a fun reflection on the real world.

That may be a conscious decision on my part because I preferred to enjoy the film as a black comedy and a violence drenched action film, or it could be that I’m just ignorant.

The lead played by Gilpin is an amazing example of the modern version of an 80s/ 90s action hero. Few words, uncannily superb at various acts of violence, has an understanding of the military and its procedures. Barely speaks, and when she does, it’s an insult laced with swearing – just the way we like our action heroes.

One thing I found really surprising was the amount of named actors in cameo/ bit parts: Emma Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Sturgill Simpson, Amy Madigan, Justin Hartley, just to name a few. So many small parts that all have memorable scenes even though some of them don’t even have names like Emma Roberts’ ‘Yoga Pants’, or Suplee’s ‘Shut the Fuck Up Gary’.

All in all, The Hunt is a roller coaster of violence and comedy, with a slight nod to the current political climate and a touch of Animal Farm by George Orwell, and all this makes for an extraordinarily fun time.

Extras: Only three extras on this disc:

Crafting the Hunt is a little mini-making of where the cast and crew discuss the film with some amusing anecdotes, especially from Gilpin talking about how her and her husband, after reading the script, said it was going to aggravate political-charged people, but they came to the conclusion that they weren’t sure which side.

Death Scene Breakdowns looks at the violence and the gore… the fantastic amounts of violence and gore.

Athena vs Crystal: Hunter or Hunted is a fun exploration of the final fight.

Film: 8/10

Extras: 2/10

Rewatchability: 10/10

This film was purchased from JB Hifi

FALLING DOWN (1993)

April 26, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged 90s, bluray, horror, Michael Douglas | Leave a comment

FALLING DOWN (1993)

*The cover to the Australian release of Falling Down*

Movies are a wonderful thing insomuch that as you change through your life, they hit differently.

I first saw this film in 1993 at the cinemas that were just a short walk from my house. I was in love with two things then; the woman who is still my wife all these years later, and the movies. I’d grown out of comics and toys and video games and I hadn’t yet discovered the joys of writing like I do now.

The second time I saw this film was on the 29th July 2009. I know that date because I bought it on the day it came out. At that point had three loves: I’d been married over ten years to the same woman, a daughter we shared and still, good old cinema.

Finally I watched it today. Married 30 odd years, adult daughter, and me still writing and loving movies, though now I only work casual after being a retail manager for 30 odd years as I had a stroke during lockdown (unrelated to the vaccine) and can’t really work full time due to a bit of PTSD and a mild learning disorder.

I know, I know: why am I telling all this boring personal crap?well it is relevant to movies hitting differently. When I first saw it, I watching it as a fan of film, a fan of director Joel Schumacher and a fan of Michael Douglas. I didn’t get excited by the politics of the film because basically I am not sure I fully understood them at that age.

The second time I watched it more as a student of film, and looked at the nuances of how it was made and honestly paid little attention to the story but more on performances and mise en scene and all that cool movie stuff that we feel is so important.

Now, I see what it really is: it’s a story about how easily we get chewed up and spat out by society. It’s about how we rarely see how we are seen by others. About how no matter how important you feel you are in a situation, you are not. It’s about how people talk about main character energy, but no one actually has it. In a hundred years, nothing you have done matters, but it’s how you deal with that realisation is the key to your happiness.

Falling Down was written by Ebbe Roe Smith, who also gave us Turner and Hooch, and was directed by Lost Boys director Joel Schumacher, and tells the story of a man we come to know as D-Fens (Michael Douglas) who after sitting in a traffic jam on a hot day, decides to abandon his car and make his way to his estranged ex-wife, Beth’s (Barbara Hershey) house to visit his daughter, Adele (Joey Singer) on her birthday, and the trail of violence he leaves in his wake as he sees so many people in the city seeming trying to stop him.

Falling Down is also about Detective Prendergast (Robert Duvall), a cop who has been convinced by his wife (Tuesday Weld) to retire, even though he clearly doesn’t share her desire, but is willing to comply for her mental health. On his last day though, he is the only one who joins the dots on D-Fens’ rampage, and convinces his former partner, Sandra (Rachel Ticotin) to help him solves the puzzle of who the man is that’s committing all these acts of violence across the city.

I feel this film is about the pressure of a modern lifestyle and the pressures put on us from others around us, and how we make conscious choices as to how we deal with them. I think as a younger man I did sympathise with D-Fens but as I have matured, and I use that term very loosely, I see so much more in this film. I think it’s also about futility as well, as no matter how hard you work, it’s not appreciated in the way you would like to think it does.

The film has so much racism and prejudice stamped all over it and that is certainly a sign of the times it was made, and I hope as a society we have become a little more tolerant. The film cleverly initially identifies D-Fens from a misunderstood man, to vigilante to nutjob quite subtlety that you don’t even immediately become aware that the guy who you were at first thinking ‘yeah, I’m with you brother’ has become psychotic, and as we explore his background, may have always been that way. They even make you doubt your feigning support as you meet an intolerant crackpot who aligns himself with D-Fens, much to his disgust, and he rejects what he has become entirely.

I love all the choices of the actors in this film. I have a theory that every movie’s story is a ‘B’ movie’s story but it’s the choice of actors that elevate it. This is certainly the case here. All the budget would have gone to the quality of actors and the performances, but everyone, from Douglas’ slow descent into psychopathy to Weld’s hysterical wife, nail their performance. Sure they all feel a little cartoonish at times but I think Schumacher’s direction sometimes borders on that.

Another thing I do really like about this film, and it’s something that was brought to my attention in a book about Psychos and Madmen in film (it may have been by John McCarthy, I can’t quite remember) is that most films like this already have the psycho in full flight, revelling in their psychopathy. In this film, we see the last straw leave the antagonists mind, and through the course of the film you find that while you have sympathy FOR him, you don’t sympathise WITH him, something that I didn’t necessarily understand at all previously. Seeing the slow devolution is am impressive feat in the story, direction and performance.

Weirdly, I used to like this film a whole lot more, but it resonates so different with me at my current stage of life, so it’s dropped of maybe a whole point. Is that because it rings true or because I’m in a different place politically? I guess that’s something for me to work out.

… it’s certainly evidence of what a wonderful thing cinema is, as I always thought.

*The menu screen to the Australian bluay*

Extras: Not many extras on this disc, but the directors commentary by Schumacher, Smith, Douglas, editor Paul Hirsch and others is fascinating, as is the interview with Douglas about the character of D-Fens and the different obstacles the film had to overcome to get to the cinema.

There is also a trailer.

Film: 6/10

Extras: 6/10

Rewatchability: 4/10

*A madman with a gym bag of guns is not healthy.*

This Bluray was purchased from JB Hifi

Digital Retribution: NOW ON YOUTUBE

April 14, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile | Leave a comment

You read that headline right!

Digital Retribution now has a YouTube channel with original content ranging from hauls to unboxings, commentary and top 6’s, all presented by your truly, J.R., direct from the Digital Retribution country estate.

There is two video of hauls already up so you are behind on your viewing! Click the link below, like and subscribe to the channel!

https://youtube.com/@digitalretributionaus

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2

April 12, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged bluray, Friday the 13th, horror, Slasher | Leave a comment

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2

*The cover of the Australian Bluray release*

The franchise that takes a licking and still keeps on ticking.

The Friday films are a massive part of my love of horror films. Probably the first non-Universal Monsters toy I ever bought would have been a Billikin vinyl model kit of Jason walking down stairs. It didn’t just change the type of model kits I make (I’m currently doing a kit of Betty Page undressing the Creature from the Black Lagoon costume) but it also stopped me from watching Universal and Hammer films, and turned me on to slashers, which in turn turned me onto my real true love, giallo films.

I wasn’t aware of the Friday films when they first came out, but I became a fan when I started hanging out at my local video shop in the early to mid-eighties, a place I eventually worked at, and started making my way through their horror section, and loved them, and have ever since.

Friday the 13th Part 2 is a surprise for two reasons. One, and if I need to place a spoiler alert for a Friday the 13th film, you may have discovered this site by accident, the killer from the first film is definitely dead… there is some extreme injuries the human body can come back from, but decapitation isn’t one of them. The second is the return of Jason, who was the motivation for his mother to kill all the teenagers, and was only seen as a child in a fantasy that Adrienne King’s Alice had after the trauma of seeing all her friends murdered and being pursued herself. This film takes place a short time later and for some reason our new killer, Jason himself, is a fully grown man, even though he died years ago.

Insert ‘what the hell’ emoji here.

I find it hilarious that EVERYONE who worked on the second film will say in various documentaries and extras about the film that they did t know how a sequel could be made. I think that that is hilarious that even the cast and crew shrugged their shoulders and went with it.

Friday the 13th Part 2 was written by Ron Kurz, who would also give us part 3 a year later and the Final Chapter soon after than, and was directed by Steve Miner whose list of directorial efforts are a mile long, but include both genre pieces like Friday the 13th Part 3 and House, but also episodes of The Wonder Years and Dawson’s Creek.

*Everyone loves a little head, but not in the fridge*

Friday the 13th Part 2 starts 2 months after the events of the first film with us revisiting Alice (Adrienne King) who is living alone and suffering with the PTSD (aka flashbacks to the previous film) of what happened to her, when she finds the head of Mrs. Voorhees in her fridge and is promptly dispatched by a very large man.

We flash forward five years later to the Packanack Lake Region Summer Camp Councillor Training Camp, near Camp Crystal Lake, run by Paul (John Furey) and his assistant/ partner Ginny (Amy Steel), and a bunch of youngsters all willing and eager to learn how to become camp councillors.

Paul tells the legend of Camp Crystal Lake, of Jason Voorhees, who drowned there and whose body went missing, and of his mother, Pamela Voorhees who killed a bunch of councillors for revenge against the kids who weren’t watching her son when he drowned, and how they believed Jason survived the drowning and lived in the wood like an animal… what? Ok, anyway…

One night, most of the councillors go into town for a bit of fun, but as the night wears on, those left behind start to get picked off by… something, or someONE!

For me it’s hard to get over the nonsensical mistreatment of the story, but I am prepared to climb over that obstacle to get to the rest of the Friday films which I do love as a whole, and it gave me my beloved Part V which is easily my favourite one. I think if there were more of an explanation of the story other than this massive suspension of disbelief I would like it more, but as a viewer you are just offered ‘the dead kid from the first film is back… we don’t know why, but deal with it.’ It’s one thing for a character like Michael Myers to get shot six times and fall off a balcony and survive but a zombie child stalking the woods for about 30 years and his mother who still grieved for him didn’t know about it seems unbelievable (even for horror) and assumes the viewer won’t care and will swallow anything… which we did, and still do.

There are things I do really like about this film, though. The first is the group of young people who are playing the camp councillors. I found them to be a little more real and less cartoony than the actor played the ones in the first film. I honestly can’t pinpoint exactly what it is but maybe it’s just that they are more likeable. I’m also still surprised to this day that they even has a really charming disabled character killed… when I first saw this film I assumed he would have survived! I think Amy Steel is a great final girl too, and a cinematic crush of mine as a teenager.

**Friday the 13th Part 2: an equal opportunities employer**

The other is the gore gags. They all look great and are inventive. Not only did they do things like double up on the human kebab, but also some of the other bits that made it next level: a blade to the face is one thing, but then a fall down theory odd steps just unlined the non-survivability of the situation.

It’s a Friday film: you know that you will get what’s on the box, and you will love it regardless of its issues. It’s also the start of the Jason era, so I can’t be too harsh on it.

*The menu screen to the Australian Bluray release*

Extras: As I said in my review for the original film, it’s hard to really judge extras on a F13 disc fairly anymore as the doco and book of Crystal Lake Memories collates all the stories and anecdotes together in one place.

Speaking of which…

Inside Crystal Lake Memories is an interview with Peter Bracke who wrote the Crystal Lake

Friday’s Legacy: Horror Conventions looks at horror fans at horror conventions. I’m not really a convention guy so this didn’t really mean anything to me at all. I write so I DON’T have to interact with others.

Lost Tales of Camp Blood Part 1is a short film that was also seen on the disc for the first Friday the 13th Bluray. I didn’t th*ni much of it then and I don’t think much of it now.

Jason Forever sees 4 of the actors who played Jason Voorhees come together to do a Q and A and a Fangoria convention.

Original theatrical trailer is what it says it is.

Film: 6/10

Extras: 5/10

Rewatchability: 10/10

This Bluray was purchased from JB Hifi

PANDEMIC (2016)

March 29, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged bluray, horror, pandemic | 2 Comments

PANDEMIC (2016)

I was going to review this film about 5 years ago, but something happened in the world that seemed to make it a bad idea, and so I decided that in March 2025, 5 years after the World Health Organisation declared a world wide pandemic, that perhaps it was time to review this film, 2016’s Pandemic, directed by John Suits from a script by Dustin T. Benson, which, according to IMDB, is his only cinematic credit.

That’s a red flag, right there!

When I grabbed this movie on Bluray when it was first released, a pandemic seemed to be a science fiction concept from a zombie movie or a 50s science fiction short story from Analog Magazine. I grabbed this film because I have an affection for Rachel Nichols, who I liked in things like the Amityville Horror remake and P2, which is still a surprisingly ok thriller. Any of the goodwill that I had was lost after spending 90 minutes watching this garbage.

What I did not know about this film when I purchased it was that it is a found footage styled film. As it is I’m not a fan of found footage films. I never find it immersive. I think The Blair Witch Product is a terrible waste of time and money wrapped in an extraordinary marketing campaign like nothing that was seen before or since. I don’t believe the fandom of that film would be as high if the accompanying marketing… let’s call it what it was… lies were as well executed and I’m stunned how easily people are OK with bullcrap in a film advertising campaign but if it was a food stuff that told you you would be better looking and more muscular when it did not do those things, most would want their money back.

Pandemic tells of a world after a horrible virus that changes people into the flesh-eating cannibals that at various stages of viral incubation are still able to reason and use tools… actually, I feel like it’s never made entirely clear though there is a description of 5 level of infection so basically the story can make up what type of infected they have depending on what the story needs.

In a compound of uninfected doctors researching a cure, Dr Greer (CSI’s Paul Guilfoyle) assembles a team to rescue some victims who are held up in the city. In this team are Lauren (Rachel Nichols) a New York Doctor working with the CDC, Wheeler (Game of Thrones’ Alfie Allen) the driver, Gunner (Dawn of the Dead (2003) Mekhi Phifer) who acts as the worst security ever and Denise (Missi Pyle from Josie and the Pussycats) the navigator. There are all fitted with protective uniforms that have headcams on them for research purposes, according to Dr Greer, and this is how we get our story.

As you would expect, the mission goes to utter crap and one of the team isn’t who they say they are, and their personal mission may put everyone else in extreme danger…

The first person aspect feels more like the director didn’t know how to set the scene and opted for found footage look for no reason other than utter laziness. It’s NOT immersive. It DOES NOT add to the drama. If anything, it’s distracts from the drama and makes some quality actors look like they are rank amateurs,

Another problem comes from the costume design: you see, when characters spend time talking directly to each other wearing big transparent helmets that are obviously not well ventilated, the screens mist up, and the when light is shined directly onto that mask, the reflection obscures the faces of the actors. This is a another amateurish issue that even the worst of filmmakers who be aware of.

*A zombie from Rec… oh no, sorry, a scene from Pandemic*

Not that this actually matter too much because these four fairly good actors are simply terrible in this film. At no point do I sympathise or empathise with any of them at all. I don’t think I’ve ever been so disinterested in the plight of characters so much in a film.

There is an occasional bit of gore that works well, but it’s not enough, especially considering some of the CGI fire is utter crap!

This film is basically an amateurish pastiche of Hardcore Henry, Doomsday, Rec and 28 Weeks Later that is so confusing at times with the headcams that you can barely tell who is doing what.

Avoid like, well, the plague.

Extras:

The disc starts with trailers for Take Down and The Curse of Sleeping Beauty, and that’s the entirety of the extras. Having said that, both these films look low budget and ridiculous but I’m intrigued by both trailers and am going to seek them out!

Film: 1/10

Extras: 2/10

Rewatchability: 0/10

Purchased from JB Hifi. Still haven’t forgiven them for allowing me to do so.

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

March 15, 2025 by J.R. in To Watch Pile and tagged 80s, bluray, Friday the 13th, horror, jason voorhees | Leave a comment

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

*The Australian Bluray release of the film*

Film: So here’s the thing. I have always tried to make my reviews at minimum 500 words long so that at least there appears to be some kind of substance to my writing, but what does one write about a film that had SO much written about it over the years, not to mention countless YouTube videos and Instagram posts. I basically have two choices: start with a long preamble about what new could be written about a 45 year old horror classic to get to the hundred word mark, or just reflect on my thoughts in the film, and how much it means to me, not just as a singular film, but as a series.

Or I could do both!

As you well know, Friday the 13th was released in 1980, was written by Victor Miller and directed by Sean S. Cunningham and is one of the early slashers that spawned not just hundreds of imitators, but a load of sequels, merchandise, and most of all, horror fans.

Now I always do a plot synopsis at this point of the review and I shall here again, just in case there is that single person who has never seen Friday the 13th though i wonder why you would be here on this mainly horror and cult movie website.

(It has since been pointed out to me that this review, even though it is for a horror classic, is actually 45 years old, and how many films did I watch as a young horror fan that were 45 years old. My answer to that was bloody heaps of them, because 40 odd years before when I first became a horror fan was the 40s, when a shed load of amazing horror and sci-fi came out so there’s no excuse.)

Friday the 13th tells of Alice (Adrienne King) a young woman helping to get a new summer camp open at Crystal Lake, run by her maybe boyfriend Steve (Peter Brouwer), and the other councillors (including Kevin Bacon before he was cured properly).

The final councillor who is supposed to arrive, Annie (Robbie Morgan) has disappeared on her way to the camp though, and we, the viewers, know that she has been murdered by an unidentified assailant who picked her up as she was hitchhiking on her way there.

Steve disappears into town to collect supplies after Annie is a no-show, and very quickly, the workers start getting picked off one by one. As the body count rises, we are left to wonder… who is the murderer? Is it one of the councillors? Could it be Steve? Maybe Ralph (Walt Gorney), the town crazy… who knows?

I can’t express just how important this film is too me. I have so much Friday the 13th stuff in my house: board games, soundtracks on vinyl, action figures of multiple characters, my first Fright Rags tshirt was a Jason one, and the thing that got me interested in vinyl model kits as a teen was a really cool one from the Japanese company Billiken, and then one from Screamin’ soon after.

This is the thing, though: most of that stuff is of Jason Voorhees… and not of the killer in this film. This is it, this is an important film and it launched a whole pile of stuff that i love… but it is not my favourite Friday the 13th film. It is violent and exciting and the cast in it are fine, the soundtrack is amazing and the gore effects are heaps of fun, but its a low budget film and it does show.

Just to clarify I do not thing this film is bad or worthless as it is not, but what it is is the beginning of something that i came to love as a horror fan.

If I am to criticise this holiest of holies in the horror genre, it’s just for a few things. The acting is quite horrible here and there, not all the cast, but a few of them have a very low score in the skill marker for this. That’s ok though, it’s a cheap horror film from the 80s and realistically, we don’t always expect too much and it adds to the charm.

*No matter the horror film, Annie (Robbie Morgan) always dies*

My second criticism is I feel the film occasionally, in my mind anyway, posits itself as being a whodunnit insomuch as I feel like we are supposed to be guessing who the killer is, like an Argento film or even a Hitchcock, but even though we are introduced to a bunch of weird characters in town with Annie, including crazy Carl, and even have a few moments where some of the councillors seem a bit off, like after one of them kills a snake and there is a lingering look at him musing on the creatures execution, when the reveal happens, everyone goes ‘who the hell is this?’ I keep coming back to this and looking for some kind of a clue but either it’s not there or I am simply a freaking idiot.

The latter is infinitely possible.

I have a lot of affection for this film, but if somebody said to me “want to watch a Friday the 13th film? Your choice!’, this would not be my go-to flick. That’s not to say it’s not a horror classic or it deserves to be rewatched regularly either.

Disc: There is a huge bunch of extras on this disc and whilst I appreciate the volume of content, I must admit that any extra on a Friday the 13th film is overshadowed by the amazing Crystal Lake Memories documentary and accompanying book (or vise versa). These extras are good ON THIS DISC but that doco offers so much more behind the scenes stuff that without plumbing that well, its hard to have original stuff.

Theres a decent Commentary by Sean S. Cunningham but its most of the same anecdotes you’ve heard before: hosted by Peter M. Bracke.

Return to Crystal Lake: The Making of Friday the 13th is fine, but as I stated previously, watch Crystal Lake Memories instead.

A Friday the 13th Reunion is a reunion from 2008 at a convention of Tom Savini, Ari Lehman, Victor Miller, Betsy Palmer, Harry Manfredini and Adrienne King. It’s a cute piece but it’s all the anecdotes you’ve heard before.

The Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham is a short interview with Cunningham on his work.

Lost Tales from Camp Blood Part 1 was written and directed by Andrew Ceperley and it’s an amateurish take of the Friday the 13th movies: I have no idea why it’s on here.

The Friday the 13th Chronicles is more of the same with the same anecdotes but was probably of a previous DVD release.

Secrets Galore Behind the Gore is a very Quick Look at the for through the eyes of Cunningham and Savini.

Fresh Cuts: New Tales from Friday the 13th is again, interesting but not a great deal of fresh material.

There’s also a trailer.

*Marcie (JeannineTaylor) axed the wrong question*

Film: 7/10

Extras: 10/10 (with the aforementioned caveat)

Rewatchability: 10/10

This film was reviewed with the Australian Bluray release, purchased from JB Hifi.

Digital Retribution

Horror, sci-fi, action, cult, exploitation, more!

Author Archives: J.R.

FRANK HERBERT’S DUNE (2000)

DUNE (1984)

Coming next month…

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)

THE HUNT (2020)

FALLING DOWN (1993)

Digital Retribution: NOW ON YOUTUBE

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2

PANDEMIC (2016)

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)