R.I.P. Prince

by in Prince, R.I.P., Uncategorized and tagged , , , | 2 Comments

For music fans, today is another dark day, just like the many we have had this year, as many great musicians pass, all before their time.

It was with a heavy heart that I woke this morning to read that master of funk and pop legend Prince has passed away.

  
I have always loved Prince’s music, and he is relevant to us here at The To Watch Pile as not only has his music, according to IMDB, appeared in 166 various movies and video games and TV shows, he also won an Oscar for the soundtrack to the film he also starred in as ‘the Kid’, Purple Rain.

  
More to the TWP’s scope though, was his music inspired by the best Batman film, Tim Burton’s Batman.

  
Rest in peace, Prince, and thanks for the music. It’s not only Doves that will be crying today.

Glass Doll Films Release Schedule

by in Dead Kids, Glass Doll Films, Releases and tagged , , | 1 Comment

  
Australian newcomers Glass Doll Films have burst onto the scene with some really cool local releases of films like Eaten Alive, Dead Kids (reviewed here at The To Watch Pile a few weeks ago), The Centrefold Girls, Bonnie’s Kids and Christmas Evil all on bluray.

Monday 18th April 2016 will see another exciting release in store: cult classic Class of ’84… One of my personal favourites from the VHS age!

  
They have some amazing future releases as well: Ghoulies is coming out in July…

  
…and August will see a double threat release of Ghoulies II and Neon Maniacs!!

   
 
Cult movie fans will be stoked for those releases, and no doubt more amazing releases will be forthcoming!!

Glass Doll Films online store can be found at http://glassdollfilms.bigcartel.com . Make sure you get behind another great local Australian company trying to make our DVD and bluray collections great! 

The Visit (2015) Review

by in 10s, M. Night Shyamalan, The Visit and tagged , , | Leave a comment

One from the to watch pile…
The Visit (2015)

   
Film: There are two things in modern horror of which I am not a great fan. The first is the so-called ‘found footage’ style of filmmaking. Whilst I appreciate the intention of making films that try to make one believe that they are a part of the universe in which the film exists, I don’t actually appreciate filmmakers using that as an excuse for first person filmmaking, which I find to be amateurish and distracting… Even if that is supposed to be the objective.

The second great unlikable is post-Sixth Sense films by M. Night Shyamalan. I mean no disrespect to the director, but after the stunning debut of The Sixth Sense, I feel he has never again reached those heights, and whilst his films look beautiful and have competent acting throughout, the stories have never thrilled me, and let’s face it, the crux of making cinema is telling a story. If you don’t have a ‘good’ story to tell, you have nothing.

Somehow though, and I suspect pan-dimensional travel, these two much maligned ideals have come together in a film which I totally enjoyed. To be honest, I watched this expecting to be able to do a ‘I hate this film so much’ review, but can’t, as I loved the damned thing!!

  
The Visit tells the story of teenage amateur filmmaker Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her younger brother, try-hard rapper Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) who are visiting their grandparents, from the mother’s (Kathryn Hahn) side, for the first time. The reason the kids have never met their grandparents is her mother is estranged from them after having a serious argument over her boyfriend whom they disapproved of her marrying, and she has never spoken with them since.

The marriage didn’t last however, and after the two kids were born he left, so it wasn’t long before the children began enquiring about their grandparents. Mum agrees to let them go visit on their own, and so our intrepid youngsters decide to make a documentary about meeting their grandparents for the first time.

  
This is where out ‘first person’ styled filmmaking comes in as the entire story is done from the point of view of the two cameras the children are using to film their documentary about meeting their estranged grandparents.

So the kids arrive in the small town and finally get to meet their Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) and all feel an immediate affinity for each other and the kids are informed of only one rule: bedtime is 9.30pm.

Over the course of the next few days, and through the production of their documentary, the kids find that maybe their grandparents aren’t quite the nice and normal old folk that they seem to be, and things steadily get stranger… Especially after 9.30pm…

Quite simply, this film is brilliant. Shyamalan has perfectly cast the movie with actors that you may recognise, but they certainly aren’t big name stars. DeJonge and Oxenbould play the kids with just the right amount of ‘kidness’ in their wide-eyed view of the world but still with that touch of maturity that teens have. Oxenbould’s attempts at rapping are as perfect as they are as embarrassing from a 13 years old claiming to want a future as a rapper. 

  
The real highlight of the film is the performances of Nana and Pop Pop: at no time do you really know what’s going on with them, and the quirkiness of their nighttime shenanigans will freak you the HELL out, that’s for sure!

The story has an air of creepiness that pervades every element, which is extraordinarily clever as you really don’t know why, but again it comes from the fantastic performances by all involved. The grandparents AREN’T quite right… Or are they? Are the kids that are over analysing their behaviour, or is this just the way old people behave?

Unlike most Shyamalan’s films, the ending doesn’t come as a plot twist that will have you shocked, but instead is a natural progression of the story that makes perfect sense and doesn’t just seemingly come out of nowhere.

The device of the kids filming never becomes a distraction as there is always story being told, and the kids are engaging enough that you enjoy them on screen. Plus we all know know that hand held recording has come along way since the Blair Witch Project days!

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and really can’t recommend it highly enough… Even to those who have been bitten twice by ‘found footage’ and Shyamalan films.

  
Score: ****1/2

Format: A perfect looking region B bluray with no flaws, this film runs for 94 minutes and is presented in1.85:1 with a DTS-HD Master audio 5.1 soundtrack.

Score: *****

Extras: 

  
The Making of The Visit isn’t really a ‘making of’, but more a series of quotes from Shyamalan about why smaller movies are better, and how having a large budget corrupts filmmaking. It almost feels like he’s trying to convince us of why he has no A-Listers in the film, but I’m not sure why? Suffice it to say, none of the cast are interviewed and it’s really a vanity piece.

Deleted Scenes is a series of 10 short deleted scenes that wouldn’t have really added much to the film other than time, though a couple of them were a little creepy.

Alternate Ending is just that. It’s an interesting and heartfelt epilogue that may or may not have fitted the film; I can’t decide. It is a well acted piece though, and gives the underused Hahn an opportunity to really shine.

Becca’s Photos is a slideshow of picture the character has taken during her visit with her grandparents. I detest the waste of space on a moving image format of still images.

This bluray also comes with a digital ‘Ultraviolet’ download.

Score: **  

WISIA: I do like this movie but I am not sure if it has real repeat view value. Like of a lot these sorts of films though, upon a single rewatch, you do see some performance subtleties that mean something completely different after you have seen a film to the end.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

by in 10s, J.J. Abrams, Star Wars and tagged , , , | 2 Comments

One from the re watch pile…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

  
Film: I am an unabashed fan of George Lucas’ creation. I was lucky enough to go to a preview as a child, taken by a friend of my mother’s. From day one I was totally in love with the Star Wars universe and very quickly my DC Megos and Micronauts were pushed to the side as my life was taken over by the phenomenon. (Well, occasionally Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker would team up against the villainy of Acroyear, but that’s another story). All through primary and high school, my obsession grew and I had comics, books, toys, shirts… You name it.

My love affair with Star Wars continued through the much maligned prequels, and honestly, I was NOT one of the ones who was a critic of them. Were they flawed, of course, just like many films, but even I, through my rose-coloured glasses, could see that if the saga was to continue, Lucas needed to let go of the apron strings and let his creation grow outside of the confines of his scope.

Thankfully, and I mean this sincerely, Disney took Star Wars off Lucas’ hands, and I say that because they are the only company with the access and capital to continue the franchise. Not to mention with their ownership of Marvel comics, Star Wars will end up back where it belongs when in an illustrated platform.

  
Disney have basically decided to flick all of Lucas’s ‘expanded universe’ and restart the entire concept using only the 6 movies as cannon, which means the universe is now as limitless as the world ‘universe’ would suggest.

So what did they do with their freedom? 

  
Cynical me would describe the synopsis like this: Secret plans are hidden in a droid which is then abandoned on a desert planet only to be found by a youngster who ends up on a ship owned by Han Solo and is taken to a rebel base and assists in a mission which will halt the expanse of the bad guys evil empire.

However when I pack the cynical me away into a space freighter and send it into the other end of the Galaxy, the Rabid Fan Boy of yesteryear is back… And I begin LOVING it!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens starts with resistance fighter Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) collecting some intelligence from the planet Jakku. When they are suddenly attacked by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and a task force from the First Order, he hides the information is his droid BB-8 and sends him away.

Poe is captured and the droid finds itself in the hands of Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger abandoned on the planet who very soon teams up with a disenchanted First Order stormtrooper who has gone AWOL named Finn (John Boyega).

  
The pair of them quickly find themselves on an adventure together which involves them meeting up with with Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and many other familiar faces in The Resistance as they use the information held within the droid to find the one thing that may bring peace back to the galaxy.

I saw this film twice on the big screen, and honestly, I think I went in with a ‘No Lucas, No good’ attitude that coloured my opinion. The second time though I became enamoured by the new worlds that writer (and director of The Empire Strikes Back) Lawrence Kasdan and director J. J. Abrams presented us with, and I appreciated the fact that by making a film that emulated a story we are all familiar with it was easier for a new generation to understand whilst providing a vibrant fresh young cast that the current generation can identify with. The story overall has moments of great adventure carried with a lot of heart and a decent whack of humour too.

That same young cast are excellent. The trilogy of Ridley, Boyega and Isaac are as good as that of Fisher, Hamill and Ford and I am sure that cosplayers will be dressing like them in no time. That’s not to diminish the oldies either, as they reprise their roles with the same aplomb as they did over 30 years ago.

  
The villains are truly evil too. Driver plays Ren a selfish confused child perfectly, and his counterpart Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) plays the role of a disapproving older sibling, both vying for affection from their father figure, and commander of the First Order, Snoke (a CGI character character performed by Andy Serkis).

Speaking of which, the effects are truly a site to behold and I was totally in the film the whole time. I must admit to loving the fact that most of the vehicle battles took place within a planetary atmosphere, so just like when I was a kid with my Star Wars toys, a new generation will be able to play out their battles on the ground. 

The creature effects are spectacular too, and a fine combination of CGI and practical effects. SPFX nerds will go nuts.

As indicated, I have to admit the first time I watched the film I was fairly non-plussed. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the film, but I wasn’t excited by it, and as a rabid Star Wars fan, that’s what I wanted. The second time though, I was right into it, and enjoyed it like I should have. Maybe I was apprehensive by the change of Disney controlling it, but now, I’m back in the co-pilot seat ready to fly another mission. Basically, these films ‘feel’ more like ‘proper’ Star Wars than the prequels as there is a comforting familiarity in it.

Score: ****

Format: This review was done on the Australian bluray which is region free. The feature runs for 138 minutes and is presented in an epically pristine 2.40:1 presentation with an immaculate 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, and from Disney’s most precious product, I’d expect no less.

Score: *****

Extras: A dedicated extras disc with heaps and heaps…

  
Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey is a really cool documentary divided into 4 chapters looking at the entire process of the film, starting with Lucas’ handover to Disney going all the way to the actual production, showing many parts of the process. Seriously, movie makers have amazing military minds when it comes to organisation and I am constantly astonished by them, and maybe, wish I were one of them. The real cool thing about all 4 chapters is that all these new people working on Star Wars now have been fans since they were kids, and give it the reverence it deserves.

The Story Awakens: The Table Read isn’t so much the actual table read, but the cast and crew’s reflection of the reading. I hope on a future release, the full reading gets played. 

Crafting Creatures takes us to the creation of the physical creature effects. One of those cool docos for effects nerds.

Building BB-8 is exactly what it sounds like. The production and puppeteering of the incredible PRACTICAL effect of BB-8.

Blueprint Of A Battle: The Snow Fight looks at the sets, choreography and performance taken to produce the final lightsaber battle in the snow.

ILM: The Visual Magic of the Force is to CGI what the Crafting Creatures doco was to physical effects. That same nerd reflex kicks in if your interest is in CGI.

John Williams: The Seventh Symphony discusses one of my favourite aspects of film, and John Williams scores ARE Star Wars: this extra celebrates his contributions.

Deleted Scenes shows six deleted scenes, and they must have only been taken out for timing, because I can’t see any reason why they were removed, in actual fact, I demand a restored version right now!

Force for Change informs us of an initiative based around Star Wars fandom where donations can be made to charity via our combined love of the force. Learn more at http://www.forceforchange.com .

I will have to also give the producers of the disc credit as the note about ‘commentaries by cast and crew not reflecting the corporation’ is shown once, under the ‘Info’ listing in the extras, instead of being a disturbing 30 second beginning of every extra.

The edition I have reviewed is a very sexy steelbook edition, which also comes with a digital download of the film, and a few inserts advertising various Star Wars consumables.

  
Score: *****

WISIA: Over and above any initial criticisms or smarminess I may have had towards this film, it’s Star Wars, and either I or my family or friends are going to trundle it out, just like the other 6, whenever we don’t know want to watch, and the excitement level and affection will constantly be present.

Intruders aka Shut In (2015) Review

by in 10s, Adam Schindler, Intruders and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

One from the to watch pile…
Intruders (2015)

  

Film: Today is the day that I have to admit to the crime that separates a movie connoisseur from a horror movie hoarder. The thing that separates the highbrow champagne film critic from the lowbrow, beer skulling scumbag who is looking for the next film that he can cringe at whilst someone cops a claw hammer to the head.

Occasionally, I buy movies based on the picture on the cover. Even worse, this cover wasn’t a cool Roger Corman 80s schlock flick… It’s a modern, post-millennium, photoshopped cover.

Yes, I am hanging my head in shame.

I found this cover evocative though, and in my defence, like most ‘good’ items used to promote a film, it has very little to do with the story.

This film is the first feature film for director Adam Schindler, who is previously known for writing the 2013 horror film Delivery, and is written by T.J. Cimfel and David White, who previously worked together on V/H/S/ Viral.

This film is also known by the far better title ‘Shut In’ which certainly is more in tune with the story rather than the less interesting, and easily confused with the Clive Owen pic ‘Intruders’. I just don’t get why movies with good names get them changed when released in different countries/ regions.

  

Intruders tells the story of Anna Rook (Beth Reisgraf), an agoraphobic who has been taking care of her sick brother, Conrad (Timothy T. McKinney), who is suffering with pancreatic cancer. Her only real contact with the outside world are their lawyer, Charlotte (Leticia Jimenez) and a homecare meal delivery man, Dan (Rory Culkan). 

Tragically, her brother dies and due to her psychological disorder, she is unable to attend his funeral, and she hides inside from the outside world. Unfortunately for Rose, staying at home on a day she was supposed to be out was plain old bad luck, as a gang of three decide to rob the house as they have heard of money hidden within.  

What these intruders don’t realise is that Anna and her brother have a secret that they keep in the basement, and for their own good, it would be better if they stayed out…

Essentially the film is a combination of seventies home invasion films with Home Alone, but in this film, Kevin McAllister is replaced with a sexy, blonde female 20-something year old, and maybe, if I were the type to be a spoilerer, I’d suggest their to be just a drop of Saw.

I really liked this movie, and considering I knew nothing about it, was very pleasantly surprised. The intruders were great in their different levels of menace, though they may have watched Panic Room for inspiration, and Reisgraf’s performance remained delicate as her character reacted to misfortunes placed in her lap, even when it caused her to become aggressive  

Rory Culkan, on the other hand was the unfortunate exception. He plays his role like an actor playing an unpleasant, sarcastic nerd from an 80s teen comedy, but who has the memory of a goldfish and has to read his lines off a large piece of cardboard held up by an assistant director. I’d say this is an example of nepotism running rife in Hollywood, but how much pull older brother McCauley Culkan has I imagine would be dubious.

One other thing I definitely must point out with this film is that their are several elements within the house that require fairly large leaps of faith to believe that just two people could have set up. It’s difficult to properly explain exactly what I mean here without spoiling massive elements of the film, and I don’t wish to do that, but basically if you can believe the one-man-show aspects of some horrors and thriller antagonists, you should be OK.
I really liked this modern take on the 70s styled home invasion film, with the agoraphobic element thrown in as the first of a couple of twists… Not M. Night Shyamalan styled story-altering twists, just little tweaks. The quiet elements are balanced nicely with with the acts of violence, and fans of budgerigars be warned: this film contains scenes that may cause you to sit in your aviary and rock backwards and forwards for a few hours.
Score: ****

Format: A modern film in the digital format has no excuse for being bad, and this film looks great! The version watched was the Australian region B bluray which runs for 90 minutes and is presented in 2.40:1 letterbox and has a perfect DTS HD 5.1 audio track.

Score: *****

Extras: None.

Score: N/A  

WISIA: I don’t think Intruders is going to make its way to the rewatch pile, even though it was a pretty good movie. Like a magician teaching others his tricks, once you know the secret, the interest diminishes. I will add that some of the dialogue between Anna and Conrad has a different meaning once you have seen the film, so it’s possibly worth one do over just for that.

Majordomo… Major Bummer!

by in R.I.P., Star Wars, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sadly today, Star Wars fans mourn the man who gave voices to the finest of the Rebel fleet, and the worst of the criminal underworld of the Star Wars Universe.

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Erik Bauersfield, voice actor and radio dramatist, passed at his home in Berkeley California, aged 93. He is best known for playing the voice roles of Admiral Akbar…

Akbar

a role he was able to revisit for 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens… and Bib Fortuna…

databank_bibfortuna_01_169_01aef5b7

The thoughts and well wishes of the To Watch Pile are with his family, and surely the universe has gone silent.

Rest In Peace, Mr Bauersfield. Everytime I shout ‘It’s a trap’ it will from now on, be tainted with a touch of sadness and respect.

 

Dead Kids aka Strange Behaviour (1981)

by in 80s, Dead Kids, Glass Doll Films, Michael Laughlin, Strange Behaviour and tagged , , | Leave a comment

One from the rewatch pile…
Dead Kids

Film: Growing up in the VHS era was awesome. To actually have movies that you could play whenever you wanted in your home was a revelation. I loved monsters already, from Famous Monsters, Marvel and DC comics, Saturday afternoon Godzilla flicks and late night creature features, but to be able to watch horror movie whenever I wanted was a revelation.

When I turned 16, I managed to secure a job as the afternoon clerk… I called myself ‘manager’… of a video shop in the NSW suburb of Sylvania. Basically my job was to receive returns from the Saturday night hires as very few actually rented on a Sunday afternoon.

I didn’t see that as my job: I saw it as being paid $30 to watch whatever horror films I wanted to, and during my time there, there were a few films that I always put on in the afternoon: Dawn of the Dead, The Neverdead (aka Phantasm), Dead and Buried and this film, Dead Kids (also called Strange Behaviour by countries who don’t think Dead Kids is the BEST exploitation title ever!)

Dead Kids was filmed in New Zealand, written by William Condon (who is also the first victim in the film) and Michael Laughlin, who also directs. The film was produced by Antony I. Ginnane and John Barnett, but don’t let that or the filming location fool you into thinking this is an ‘Aussie’ film. The film is based in an American country town, and NZ seems to act the part quite well.


Dead Kids tells of police chief John Brady (Michael Murphy) who is dropped into the middle of a series of murders that a small town like his has never seen before. About this time, his son, Peter (Dan Shor) volunteers to take place in a series of behavioural experiments made by a local psychology research institute, associated with the university, but do the two things have anything in common? Many locals have volunteered for these experiments, and maybe research lead Dr Parkinson (Fiona Lewis) has something to hide…


This film has a likeable cast. Dan Shor is charmingly cheeky, his best friend, played by Marc McClure, is a great foil for him, and they seem like real school mates. Shor’s love interest, played by Dey Young is delightfully flirty, and her boss, the mysterious Dr Parkinson, is played by Fiona Lewis with a cool sexuality that is breathtaking. The inclusion of Arthur Dignam is a fun addition too, as is Louise Fletcher as the police chief’s bubbly love interest. The only cast member who seems to be a little out of sorts is Michael Murphy, who is in an apparent state of ‘what the Hell is happening’ through the whole film.

Not a pillar of police investigative powers, for sure.

The films direction is beautiful. Laughlin has created a minimalistic look on the panoramic scenes that gives the immediate feeling of the remoteness of the town, but keeps the intimate scenes crowded and claustrophobic.

A special shout out has to go to the dance sequence… Yes, the DANCE sequence that takes place at a party when one of the victims is murdered. A catchy song danced to by a bunch of people dressed in weird TV series costumes… Odd, and brilliant!


It’s not a perfect film, far from it actually!! Flawed dubbing, dubious motives, blood effects that don’t quite go off as well as they should and an ending that really doesn’t hold up under too much scrutiny, but for me it has a charm that may be due to my personal nostalgia for it, but whatever it is, I love it like a brother.

Score: ****

Format: This release is the Australian, region B release from industry newcomer Glass Doll Films, who in their short career have released some genre classics like Eaten Alive and The Centrefold Girls, and are quickly becoming my favourite! This feature runs for 99 minutes and the picture quality of the 2.35:1 image is really clear and vibrant. The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and is of a particularly high quality too.

Score: *****

Extras:


Some pretty cool extras on this disc.

First we have two audio commentaries, one (via Skype, which makes it a little tinny) with Director Michael Laughlin, which seems more like an interview edited into the film rather than an ACTUAL commentary which causes it to be quite sporadic, and the other with co-writer Bill Condon and actors Dan Shor and Dey Young, which is far more animated and fun and funny!

The Effects of Strange Behaviour is an interview with Makes up effects artist Craig Reardon where he discusses how he ended up on and what effects were used in Dead Kids.

A Very Delicious Conversation with Dan Shor is a really awesome interview with Shor where he presents his entire career whist sitting on a bench in New York. It’s a fascinating extra, especially if, like me, you don’t know much about Shor. I must admit to having to watch it twice as I was, for a second, distracted by a squirrel in the background. I’ve never been to New York and didn’t realise that squirrels were SO prevalent.. I mean, you see them always in the movies, but you don’t expect that to necessarily be a real thing.

The disc also has a isolated score track by Tangerine Dream. The score is actually really good, but it is so sparse in the film that you spend several minutes at a time watching people’s mouths moving with no sound between the music pieces.

There is also an interesting booklet, written by John Harrison, which explores the film, that has some great behind the scenes pics.

Score: *****

WISIA: Of course it has rewatchability: I’ve owned this film on every format that it been released upon in Australia!! I love it and Glass Doll have my eternal gratitude for taking so much care of the Australian release.

Rabid (1977) Review

by in 70s, Cinepix, David Cronenberg, Rabid, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

One from the to watch pile…
Rabid

  

Film: Do I think of myself as a fan of the director David Cronenberg? Well, to be honest, I didn’t! Whenever a conversation leads into to Cronenberg territory, the film Videodrome always pops up… And THAT film I am not a fan of, but in the last week or two I have been rewatching some films of his that aren’t Videodrome. These films were eXistenZ, which Cronenberg says it is a reaction to Salman Rushdies’ persecution, his remake of The Fly, which is just amazing, and Naked Lunch, which, whilst it has its problems, I find an intriguing watch. During this rewatch frenzy, fellow To Watch Pile-r Simon (check out his action movie blog explosiveaction.com ) offered me his copies of earlier Cronenberg films, Shivers and Rabid, neither of which I have ever seen. I’m not sure how either passed me by, especially seeing as how I can remember seeing the trailer for Rabid on many films hired on VHS during the 80s.

Rabid is Cronenberg’s second feature film, and has a bit of notoriety as it stars porno actress Marilyn Chambers in the lead role. Now whilst I may have observed the ‘occasional’ pornographic film (and even reviewed things like Sexcula and Debbie Does Dallas for other sites), I haven’t ever, in my cinematic travels, seen Ms. Chambers in anything, and I have to admit I was quite struck by her presence in this: she has a lithe seventies sexiness about her that is quite breathtaking.

I thought the pixie-ish Lynn Lowrey’s appearance in Shivers couldn’t be topped: I was wrong.

  
Rabid tells the story of Hart (Frank Moore) and his girlfriend Rose (Marilyn Chambers) who are involved in a terrible motorcycle accident which sees Hart with a few superficial wounds, but has Rose severely injured after being stuck under the burning motorcycle. 

He wounds are quite catastrophic and she is picked up your the ambulance associated with the local plastic surgery clinic run by Doctor Keloid (Howard Ryshpan), who is an innovator of a type of surgery which involved the manipulation of human tissue so it can be used to assimilate any tissue it may be combined with.

Unfortunately for Rose, it does some thing else to her. She becomes a vampire, of sorts, who doesn’t turn her prey into vampires, but instead infects them with a form of rabies, which there can then spread through their bite.

Soon. Of course, the virus quickly spreads…

  
Simply, this movie is amazing. It is thematically similar to Shivers in its story of a spreading virus, but it is different enough for that not to even matter. All of Cronenberg’s themes of change and bodily transformation are present and clearly in embryo. 

The film is well performed by all the actors, and it clearly has a higher budget then that of Shivers. Special effects and make up legend Joe Blasco had his work cut out for him with the effects in this film, and Rose’s vampiric ways are nothing short of disturbing!

This is definitely a must see, and it will certainly change your opinion of the originality of a lot of the post millennial pandemic films and zombie virus films we have seen since. 

Score: *****

Format: As I stated earlier, I was lucky enough to get this film as one of the UK’s Arrow Video’s bluray steelbooks, which of course means it is Region 2. The feature runs for 91 minutes, and is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, with a mono audio. At first I didn’t appreciate just how excellent the image is, until I watched the trailer, an extra on this disc, and saw just how well it had been cleaned up in comparison

Score: *****

Extras:

This disc has a bunch of pretty cool extras. 

  
Two different commentaries, one with Cronenberg, which he articulates every aspect of the film production and one with William Beard, author of The Artist As Monster: The Films of David Cronenberg. This second commentary explores not just this film, but many of Cronenberg’s work. Beard clearly has a deep and thorough understanding of Cronenberg.

Four interviews with Cronenberg, producer Ivan Reitman, co-producer Don Carmody and special effects artist Joe Blasco. These interviews are all fascinating a really present an interesting picture of how the film was made though for my liking, Blasco’s was a little short.

There are two documentaries: The Directors: David Cronenberg is a 60 minute episode of a series from 1999 that focused on various directors and their processes and people who worked for them. Obviously this one focuses on Cronenberg and interviews the man himself, and Holly Hunter, Peter Weller, Marilyn Chambers, Michael Ironside and others, and is a full exploration of his career up to eXistenZ. Raw, Rough and Rabid takes a look at the production Canadian company Cinepix, who released Rabid and is a fascinating look at the Canadian film business of the time.

The trailer is also one here as a special feature, and you don’t realise just how beautiful the film looks until you see just how ordinary is the video quality of the trailer. There is also a promotional gallery of various materials used to advertise the film.

This set also features a DVD presentation of the film, in standard definition as opposed to the bluray’s 1080p and a booklet containing several articles: Plastic Surgery Disaster: Rabid, The October Crisis and the Pathological Body Politic by Kier-La Janisse, A Biologically Correct Vampiress by David Cronenberg and An Interview With Marilyn Chambers by Calum Waddell, not to mention the films credits and several notes about the transfer. These are all interesting and essential reads for the Cronenberg fan.

  
Score: *****

WISIA: A resounding ‘Hell yeah’ from this lowly critic on the rewatchability of this pic. I just finished writing this review and I am thinking about watching it again now!

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) review.

by in 10s, Nightmare on Elm Street, Platinum Dunes, Remake | 1 Comment

One from the rewatch pile…
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Film: For a brief period, the film company Platinum Dunes were a classic horror remake machine, giving us remakes of A Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Friday the 13th, and guess what? I really dug them! Honestly, I prefer the remake to TCM as it doesn’t contain the character ‘Franklin’ (as soon as I hear his annoying voice in the original, my brain shuts down and I have trouble enjoying any scene with him in it) and with F13, I just think of it as another sequel with a bit of an origin re-telling in it.

A Nightmare on Elm Street though, is a different kettle of fish. In the TCM and F13 films, Leatherface and Jason are like forces of nature, with very little characterisation but Freddy Krueger, and Robert Englund’s portrayal of him, is how a classic villainous characterisation should be done.

Realistically, anyone could, and did, play the roles of Jason and Leatherface (and Michael Myers for that matter) but Freddy Krueger and Robert Englund are each other’s alter ego. So how does one go about recasting someone like that?

Answer: you can’t.

The task was assigned to Jackie Earle Healey, who brilliantly played Rorschach in Watchmen, and had this been a new IP, a new franchise, he would have been brilliant/ scary/ menacing/ outstanding, but instead, his Freddy was a poor emulation of what Englund had permanently stamped on the character… No, stamps can be washed away: tattooed! Healey did try to make it his own, but the switching between cooing peadophile and dream demon sat weirdly. Also, making him say ‘the boyfriend’ line from the original immediately discounted any attempts at originality.


So, the story… I mean, you should know it, but let’s move on.

Several years ago the parents on the children of Elm Street suspected the gardener at the local preschool, Fred Krueger, and rather than go to the police, they decided to hunt him down, and kill him. Several years later, these same kids, now teens, are being haunted, and killed by his spirit in their dreams, and two of the survivors, Nancy (Rooney Mara) and Quentin (Kyle Gallner) decide to investigate the mystery of who or what is Fred Krueger… But the first thing they find is maybe their parents were wrong about him….

 


Now here is another issue with this film. About halfway through, the concept of Freddy NOT being a child murderer, and instead is screaming for vengeance of a wrong dealt him makes the film seem like it’s going to go somewhere completely different, but very quickly it ends up back at the same territory as the original. If it have had have chutzpah to go with that idea, it would have separated itself from the original and made viewers almost side with Freddy in his vengeance.

Instead they chickened out and that brief moment of glory was washed away.

The film does have some nice cinematography in it though, and Mara is pretty good too, though her pairing with Gallner, who has basically played the same angry teenaged victim for his entire career never sat well.


The attempt to make Freddy’s make up more like a real burn victim falls flat and is uninteresting, and in combination with the below average CGI (the scissors to the neck sequence is particularly terrible) it all makes for a pretty poor experience.

To sum up: a catastrophic wast of time. Avoid.

Score: 1/2

Format: This film was reviewed on the Australian blu-ray, though I cannot confirm if it is region B locked. The feature runs at 95 mins, and features a spectacular DTS Master Audio 5.1 score which really is deep and clear. The image is presented in 2.40:1 and is as crisp as you would expect a modern film, short on digital in a digital format. This release also came with a Bluray, DVD and digital copy of the film, so the nightmare continues on every format.


Score: *****

Extras: I love my films to have heaps of extras, and this one actually does, and they are interesting but my cynicism can’t take too much of what the filmmakers say too seriously.

Freddy Reborn: This is an incredibly amusing featurette as it clearly shows that the filmakers didn’t know the character of Freddy Krueger as well as the fanbase does. The only person that really seems to get the gravity of remaking something like ANOES is Jackie Earl Healey, though he does also relish the idea of being the ‘new’ Freddy. It really felt like a bunch of people trying to convince the rest of us that this is good idea. It’s not.

WB Maniacal Movie Mode: This is one of those in-feature extras where as you watch the movie, a window opens up and shows interviews and behind the scenes stuff. It’s a clever way to convey these elements without using interstitial of featurettes.

Focus Points: This extra is actually seven 3 minute shorts that breakdown individual parts of the creation of this film, and includes Makeup Makes The Character, Micronaps, The Hat, Practical Fire, The Sweater, The Glove and The Victims.

Additional Footage: This is two sequences removed from the film for pacing, and an alternate ending. Be thankful these scenes aren’t in there as it makes the film longer.

Score: *** 1/2

WISIA: Is it worth watching again? Put it this way, the only reason I am watching it for the second time is for you, my dear reader, and hopefully I’ll never need to watch it again. It is a travesty of the highest order.