HALLOWEEN: UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT.

It seems that the general consensus amongst horror “journalists” and even some die-hard fans is to scream “blasphemy” at Rob Zombie’s remake of John Carpenter’s classic film HALLOWEEN. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and confess that I rather enjoyed Rob Zombie’s movie, despite its flaws. I know in the past few months, I’ve avoided voicing my opinion during conversations with friends or even here on the Icons site & My Space, because for whatever reason, Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN is always instantly a very heated debate.

Look, I went into the movie theater with very little knowledge or expectations as to what the movie would or should be. I only wanted to be entertained and see a different take on the Michael Myers character, considering how tired I’d grown of lackluster sequels pitting our once scary icon against rappers that learned kung-fu from television. So, now after watching the movie in theaters (rather then the “work print” that all of you went and downloaded) and having watched the new “Unrated Director’s Cut” DVD twice in a row (once to make note of the additions/differences and secondly to listen to Zombie’s commentary track), I think I can confidently say that I really like Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN. And here’s why.

Of all the multiple versions that were floating around on-line or playing at cinema multiplexes, this new “Unrated Director’s Cut” DVD is by far the best and most complete version of the movie. Lots of little things that bothered me on the initial viewing in theaters have been rectified and restored for this definitive cut. It’s as if this DVD gave Rob Zombie the extra time he needed to really finish the movie & deliver his true vision of HALLOWEEN. (If only he wasn’t rushed into that August release date, damn it!)



What’s new? Different? Better? I’m going to assume you’ve already seen the movie, know what it’s about and jump right into answering these questions. There are a lot of subtle additions as opposed to full on “new” scenes here. It might not be noticeable at first glance, but all the additions truly help with the overall flow of the movie, flesh out certain plot points and help make more things clearer through out the duration of the picture. For example, there are a series of short black and white videos that Loomis shoots of young Michael in the asylum explaining his slow descent into madness, and his retreat into the masks he’s becoming overly obsessed with creating. Rather then jump to Michael suddenly not talking anymore, we get to see his frustration, his repeated requests to get out of the sanitarium, and the realization that he’s never, ever getting out of this place that he’s been locked up in, for reasons that even Michael doesn’t fully understand. (Real life killer Ed Gein claimed to “black out” during his murders, and young Michael claims to Loomis to have no recollections of the killings from Halloween night.) The strongest portion of the movie in any of the cut’s has always been the first act of the movie, and in particular all the great interactions between young Michael and Loomis. Granted, I’m not crazy about Michael coming from a white-trash family, but after the 10-minute mark when things pick up, I could care less about some of the opening scene’s dialogue.



One of the most controversial additions/changes is the escape “rape” scene, which has been restored for this version. It’s graphic and for the most part I initially didn’t like it, but I suppose it’s a more realistic method of escape then what was shown in the theatrical cut where Michael becomes super human for a mere moment to break his chains. (Literally.) Interestingly enough, I just didn’t think this kind of thing would happen or would be possible, but Zombie points out in his commentary track that he did in fact read about things like this going on in asylum’s back in the late 70’s. So, knowing that he pulled this tid-bit from truth makes it a bit easier to swallow, and at least continues to follow the logic of realism he was trying to represent with his HALLOWEEN.



I didn’t fully “get” the Linda/Bob murder scenes and what they represented until watching this new cut. I think the reason is - at first, I was so used to how things happened in the original HALLOWEEN that as an audience member, I found myself trying to pick apart when the familiar moments would present themselves. Pushing up Linda/Bob’s deaths in continuity definitely throws the balance off of what you would expect. But it’s a bit more obvious here on a second viewing that both Linda and Bob are just examples of Michael Myers recreating the murder of his sister Judith and her boyfriend from the beginning of the movie, right down to adult Michael following Bob down the stairs the same way he did Judith’s boyfriend 16 years earlier.



I saw the end to the “work print” on You Tube before it was yanked off line and I must admit I really loved it. The theatrical ending was a bit of a mess and I honestly didn’t understand what the hell was going on when I saw it in theaters. Thankfully, it’s slightly re-edited here and far more satisfying then previous incarnations. What the hell happened to Loomis?! Did he die? Was his head crushed? Was it not? Was it ever clear? Well, on this cut, you can see that he’s down but not out. He’s still alive (with a bloody forehead) and he makes one last attempt to grab Michael and stop him from chasing Laurie.



It even appears that there’s an added shot to the very end of the movie of baby Laurie with young Michael, and ending on that image with the knowledge that that baby will grow up to shoot her older brother in the face kind of makes for a really fucked up little family affair here.



It’s all of these subtle additions that really make a world of difference when it comes down to this final version of the film. As it’s own movie, and looking at it as it’s own self contained story about a killer kid who grows up and comes home to reunite with his baby sister, the one and only thing that still binds him to any kind of humanity is in itself an interesting story and what I’d expect to be Rob Zombie’s follow-up movie to THE DEVIL’S REJECTS. This isn’t “the shape” Michael Myers or the “pure evil of two legs” Michael Myers. This is Rob Zombie’s Michael Myers. A real life killer whose story ends with the credits. It’ll be interesting to see how they continue from here, if they choose to. (And considering the movie’s box office haul, a sequel is inevitable.)

Before I go on to the features, I wanted to compliment some of the acting in the flick, since most reviewers are quick to point out their beefs with bits of bad dialogue and performances. Malcolm McDowell was a wonderful Loomis and again, I really loved every scene he had with young Michael. It was definitely a benefit that he didn’t see or mimic Donald Pleasance’s performance and made this version of Loomis his own. Seriously, wasn’t it good to have Loomis in a HALLOWEEN movie again? Surprisingly, I think Sheri Moon Zombie gave a decent performance as Deborah Myers that is far better then anything she’s done previously. Her moments with Michael in the sanitarium in particular are scenes that I like, and she proved herself believable as Michael’s concerned, if not slightly misguided mother. Brad Dourif is just great in everything he does. Doesn’t matter the quality of the flick, you know you can always count on him to deliver something special, and I loved him as Sheriff Brackett. Just look at any of his interactions with McDowell, or in particular the moment when he discovers Annie’s battered body. Solid acting from him, always.

The commentary: Usually the best commentaries are the ones recorded after some time has passed for the filmmaker, so that it’s easier for them to be more objective to their movie and analyze their decisions in retrospect. I’m still amazed how fast the process went for Rob Zombie from the film’s announcement, to the production, to the summer release date and now to this DVD. Despite the sped up time table, he’s still able to offer a very insightful and entertaining commentary, fully aware of the ramifications of his decisions and doing his best to explain more of his intentions for why certain scenes were deleted or moved around or added for this director’s cut. One tid-bit talked about on the commentary was his decision to cut adult Michael Myer’s one line of dialogue, which caused a huge uproar amongst the on-line community after an early script review was posted on Ain’t It Cool News. (“What?! Michael speaks?!”) Well, considering the young Michael Myers spoke in this version, I don’t see what the big fuss was over adult Michael Myers uttering the one word “Boo” once reunited with his baby sister. But alas, while it was filmed, Zombie confesses to cutting it out. If anything, the commentary is interesting just to hear him explain the intentions behind certain moments and how they reflect to the overall story. If you’ve read our interview, he usually has a very intelligent, well thought-out response for any question thrown at him. And he answers a lot of the common criticisms during his commentary track. For example, Zombie defends the film’s excessive bad language saying that when he was in high school, kids much like Daryl Sabara’s Wesley Rhoades said exactly the type of things he says to Michael in the school bathroom. He also offers plenty of humorous anecdotes, such as the fact that Ken Foree was bummed to lose a line from COOL HAND LUKE, which has finally been re-instated into this version. Now, had this director’s cut of the film been the one released in theaters, I wonder if the horror community would have embraced this movie a little differently?



Deleted Scenes/Alternate Ending: Several of the deleted scenes offer good stuff with actors like Daniel Roebuck, Gary Grossman (Bachelor Party!), Ezra Buzzington, Adrienne Barbeau, and more of Udu Kier, Clint Howard and Tom Towles. Rob Zombie explains why these clips were deleted, and rightfully so, most don’t exactly fit into the flow of the film, but alas, it’s fantastic to see them here on the DVD. Roebuck and Grossman’s interaction is a humorous bit from the Rabbit In The Red bar where Deborah Myers works. And Ezra Buzzington pops up as the caretaker on the deleted scenes, while in the actual movie, it’s Sid Haig in a welcome addition to the director’s cut. Also neat is Adrienne Barbeau’s brief argument with McDowell at the adoption agency where Loomis is attempting to discover the parents of Laurie Strode.



There’s an alternate first meeting between Loomis and Brackett that takes place in the graveyard and is shot in one long, impressive take. (A testament to McDowell and Dourif’s acting!) The alternate ending I mentioned earlier in this review is here for all to see. If it had been used, it would’ve cut a good 10 minutes out of the movie’s running time, and now with the director’s cut’s tighter ending, it’s more obvious that Laurie finishes her character arc at a more satisfactory spot then she would have had it ended with this alternate version.



Bloopers: Here’s where you can watch a lot of McDowell in all his wackiness, cracking crazy jokes and forcing his co-stars to burst into fits of laughter. Referring to Michael as a “right nutter” to Sheri Moon is cute. Quite frankly, I question if Mister McDowell was drinking on the job here or what! Regardless, the DVD features a rather entertaining 10-minute blooper reel and is certainly one of the disc’s highlights. (People really need to use McDowell for more comedy stuff.)



The Many Masks Of Michael Myers: This featurette talks to Rob Zombie about the importance of the Myers masks, and features interview segments with FX artist Wayne Toth, who goes into detail about his decisions for the designs behind Michael’s many masks, and in particular the re-creation of the famous white mask. Interesting enough is that although there were several “white” masks made for the shoot, they all featured the same exact expression, which is a testament to the acting job that Tyler Mane pulled off as the adult Michael Myers.



Re-Imagining HALLOWEEN: This is a lengthy featurette covering the entire making of process for the film and is broken up into 3 sub-featurettes – “From Camera To Screen”, “The Production Design” and “The Makeup FX, Props and Wardrobe”. Highlight of this section of the DVD has to be the FX portion, which shows how a lot of the film’s gory bits were pulled off.



Meet The Cast: A featurette that focuses on Rob Zombie’s casting decisions and introduces us to some of the film’s veteran actors such as Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Brad Dourif as well as Scout-Taylor Compton and more. Considering how neat it was for Zombie to reveal each new cast member via his My Space page, this is a fun, little featurette focusing on why each actor was perfect for their respective roles.

Casting Sessions: Fairly self-explanatory. We’re treated to a series of auditions in this featuette section. I always find it interesting to see actor’s audition tapes, because it’s often hard to imagine anyone else in their roles once you see these.



Also, the theatrical trailer is included, but not the original teaser that played before GRINDHOUSE back in April of 2007. (I actually prefer the teaser trailer to the theatrical one!)

Overall, this DVD and “director’s cut” made me completely re-evaluate Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN, and while most people either loved it or hated it, this DVD is definitely worth every penny for its content and features. I think once some time passes, a lot of horror fans and critics will go back and really re-evaluate this movie differently and hopefully not be as judgmental as they initially were. Highly recommended. –Robg.

Posted by Rob G at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

THE EVIL DEAD: ULTIMATE EDITION.

Damn you, Anchor Bay! I’m sure at least several of you devoted readers out there can relate to me for owning multiple editions of all 3 EVIL DEAD films. (Come on! How could any self-respecting EVIL DEAD fan not add the “Book Of The Dead” edition to their collections!) Well, I was ready to draw the line with this new “ULTIMATE” edition release…

…

Then I saw it on the shelves at the store in this bitchin’ package and it was on sale. So naturally, I couldn’t resist!

So, why should you quadruple dip THE EVIL DEAD DVD?

Well, the “ULTIMATE” tag on the front of the box isn’t just a clever ploy. This really is the most extensive and comprehensive edition of Sam Raimi’s debut film ever put out on DVD. I’m sure by now, all of you are well aware of the plot of the EVIL DEAD films, and probably own plenty of merchandise, weather it be posters or T-Shirts sporting Bruce Campbell’s visage as the lead bumbling Deadite-slayer Ash Williams. So, let’s cut right to the features –

The packaging – Oddly enough, my buddy Steve was complaining a few weeks ago how he’s never picked up any of the EVIL DEAD DVD’s because they never feature the original poster image that he remembers from early video releases as the front cover. Sure enough, the image he speaks of IS the cover to this new 3 disc set. Once you unfold the package, you’re treated to multiple covers from various incarnations of the EVIL DEAD releases through out the years, as well as a fold out double-sided poster. So far, so good!



Disc One features the Widescreen edition of the film and the commentary track by Writer/Director Sam Raimi and Producer Rob Tapert exported over from all other previous editions of THE EVIL DEAD. New to the box is the 54 minute featurette “One By One We Will Take You: The Untold Sage Of THE EVIL DEAD”. This is the first featurette to feature all 3 lovely ladies of the EVIL DEAD, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly talking candidly about their experiences on THE EVIL DEAD in retrospect, as well as their recent adventures on the convention circuit. FX artist Tom Sullivan, and producer Rob Tapert make for wonderful additions to the featurette as well. (Sadly, Bruce isn’t here, but is featured prominently on the DVD’s 3rd disc of bonus features. And no Raimi at all, which is always a bummer.) There’s plenty of vintage bits of footage and photographs from the original EVIL DEAD, and everyone from Joe Bob Briggs to Edgar Wright to Eli Roth pop up to offer their 2 cents. (Must Eli Roth appear in EVERY new featurette about a horror classic?! Well, I never did realize how big an influence THE EVIL DEAD was on CABIN FEVER, so I guess it’s OK in this case.) Raimi and Tapert’s friend David Goodman and Josh Becker (Second Unit director and lighting) offer plenty of insight into Raimi’s humble beginnings, and overall, this featurette already pushes this edition above the quality of previous editions.



Disc Two is the only disc in the set that features nothing new from previous editions. Instead, it’s the Full Frame version of the film (which is apparently the way the movie was original filmed!) along with the Bruce Campbell commentary from previous releases. Also on this disc is “THE EVIL DEAD: Treasures From The Cutting Room Floor” which is a series of deleted scenes and unused raw footage. This isn’t your average deleted scenes feature though. While it’s neat to see some long lost footage in this way, without commentary or a neat polish, it’s a tad… boring? Good for one view though and glad it’s included.



Disc Three however is where all the gold is. Finally, we’re treated to the documentary that the Ladies Of THE EVIL DEAD have been working on for the last couple of years titled “Life After Death: The Ladies Of THE EVIL DEAD”. In the first of multiple featurettes that make up the doc, the ladies talk about how they reunited, and discovered the huge fanbase of the film that they never knew existed. From there, they went on to attend a reunion screening and eventually form a little partnership to hit the convention circuit together under the banner of “The Ladies of The Evil Dead”.



Highlights include the ladies meeting rocker Alice Cooper, a big EVIL DEAD fan! As well as a bit with Ted Raimi at the end of this featurette, (always hilarious and playful) which had me laughing out loud. Also great to see here is snippets from THE EVIL DEAD reading on stage at Chicago’s first annual Flashback Weekend, where the original cast members acted out portions of THE EVIL DEAD script live! I was there for this! So it was a treat to re-experience it, even if it is in snippets and edited as part of the featurette.



The Ladies Of THE EVIL DEAD Meet Bruce Campbell is a candid conversation with the ladies and Bruce sitting together and talking about the beginnings of THE EVIL DEAD, dating back to the WITHIN THE WOODS shorts that Ellen and Bruce were both in from their high school days. As always, Bruce is engaging, funny, yet always offering honest insight into how they accomplished everything they had to to get the film done!



Unconventional is a 20 minute featurette specifically about the convention experience with the Ladies, Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi and Scotty (Hal Delrich) sitting in a round table discussion. As always, everyone offers unique stories, but Campbell and Ted Raimi steal the show with their usual tomfoolery.



At The Drive-In is a short featurette with the whole crew on stage prior to a screening of EVIL DEAD. While it’s fun, a chunk of it is them giving free DVD’s to audience members. More entertaining is the half hour Reunion Panel featurette from the Flashback Weekend Convention.



Rounding off the final disc’s features are Trailers, make-up test footage, TV spots, still galleries and posters/memorabilia galleries. These galleries are great and offer some never before seen photographs submitted by both Ellen Sandweiss and Tom Sullivan from their personal collections.



Only thing missing from here is Bruce Campbell’s short film FANALYSIS, which was a bonus feature on the previous “Book Of The Dead” edition, but quite frankly, that didn’t deal specifically with THE EVIL DEAD, so it’s absence here isn’t really that big a deal. Quite frankly, I was sick of re-buying multiple editions of THE EVIL DEAD and HALLOWEEN and HELLRAISER. But this package really does deliver and if you can find it on sale somewhere, then it’s a no-brainer. You really must own it. –Robg.

Posted by Rob G at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

MANEATER.

Ok. Let me ask YOU guys what you would think of this DVD? I get a screener DVD in the mail for a movie titled MANEATER from the (ironically enough) “Maneater Series” from Genius Entertainment. It features an angry looking tiger on the front cover with blood in his teeth… and it stars… Gary Busey.

Don’t get me wrong! I love, love, LOVE Gary Busey. THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY and SILVER BULLET are two of my personal all-time faves! But the last thing I saw Busey in was Full Moon’s THE GINGERDEAD MAN and Charles Band spent a year on the road confessing at conventions that Busey would insist on doing every single one of his lines separately!? So, immediately I’m wondering a number of things. How many days did Busey actually show up to be the featured star of MANEATER? And this front cover drawing is actually… impressive! It’s not a lame photoshop job, so… is the tiger really bad CGI? And if so, how bad?! I couldn’t resist. I threw it on immediately.

A quick google search later confirmed that this was actually a SCI-FI Channel debut. And despite everything I’ve just mentioned… this movie ain’t bad!

The production value is far higher then what you’re used to seeing from SCI-I Channel stuff, the acting is actually decent, Busey is IN the movie for the majority of it, and they use a real freakin’ tiger! No CGI whatsoever!

Ok, let’s talk plot. The film centers on 12 foot Bengal tiger that’s inhabiting the Appalachian Mountains and it’s neighboring county. Busey plays Sheriff Grady, who’s convinced there’s a problem of epic proportions brewing in his little town when several members of the community turn up mauled and in pieces in the woods. Rather then cancel the upcoming town fare, the mayor wants to keep things quiet and proceed with the festivities. We also meet a young boy named Roy who lives in a trailer in the woods with his religious fanatical mother, and who makes up imaginary animals to play with. (I know. It is scary! Especially fanatically religious mothers!) He’s the only one that sometimes crosses paths with the tiger, yet seems not see it as a threat. Halfway through the movie, we’re introduced to the most welcome addition, Colonel Jim Graham (played by Ian D. Clark), a British hunter who’s rolled into town to take out the tiger. (And sling fun dialogue back and forth with Busey, including his usual entrance greeting “Cheer-i-o!”

Is this plot sounding familiar yet? Yes, this is pretty much JAWS with a tiger and in the woods rather then the water. But at least this movie follows the simple logistic rules that made JAWS so effective. We rarely see the tiger. (And when we do, it IS an actual tiger.) The attacks are quick and usually from the perspective of the beast. And while it’s not gory, we mostly get to see the aftermath of most of the attacks which are grisly. It’s enough to keep us interested in what will happen next. And hell, Busey, crazy as he is, is actually decent in this! Between him and Ian D. Clark, I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. (Love British folk!)

Bottom line, this isn’t new, original or even great. But it’s really good, and the type of movie that I’d catch somewhere in the middle on TV and watch through until the end. It was engaging enough that it held my attention the entire time (which isn’t always the case with movies of this sort!), and I stuck with it in one sitting. Mike C would love this. So, I recommend it. (To him and you fiends!)

No features on this disc besides trailers for more features from the “Maneater” DVD series, including some spider movie with Lance Henriksen! I actually just got that one for review too, so it’s next in my queue! –Robg.

Buy it on Amazon.com!

Posted by Rob G at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Them!
Them! Them! It's Them!

In my recent review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I commented on how that film transcended the sci-fi genre. Two years earlier, another film managed to pull off the same feat, and in doing so became the granddaddy of all giant bug movies.

As Them starts off, two police officers find a mute girl wandering through the desert. When the police investigate further, they find the girl's family slaughtered and their mobile home torn to shreds. What seems like a simple homicide becomes something much worse, for the small desert community and the entire planet. Enter the stars of Them. Long before the age of computer technology, when real artistry was vital to making effects look real, the special effects team at Warner Brothers created a number of giant ants that look real. Instead of cheaping out and having footage of actual ants blown up and tagged onto scenes with people, the creative forces at hand made giant ants to scale. Legs, heads, antennae all move in realistic fashion, and provide some very scary moments. And the sound they make used to haunt me in my nightmares.

As the scientists of the world gather to destroy the threat to humanity, they reveal its source: atomic energy, run rampant through nuclear testing in the deserts of America. As with so many of the sci-fi movies of this period, Them makes a social commentary on the dangers of splitting the atom; but unlike so many others, Them never treats the movie or the monsters with disdain. Sure, the acting may be a little overwrought, but not nearly on the scale of most movies of this sort. Nothing in the film ever detracts from the message it carries. Even taken just on a story level, Them delivers the goods.

Unfortunately, as Warner Bros is prone to do with its back catalogue, the studio provides little in the way of extras. A montage of scenes of the ants in production and in operation is intriguing, but it's short and without sound. There's a text feature on the history of giant bug flicks that's mildly interesting. The disc also includes the theatrical trailer. Throw in some cast filmographies, and that's about it. For a film so powerful and influential, the disc really deserves a commentary and documentary. A shame.

Them is one of those films that works today, more than 50 years after it was made. As with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, it transcends its genre and provides some genuine scares. Don't let the cheesy cover deceive you. This is the gold standard for films of its type. And the ants still look terrifying.

--Phil Fasso

EXTERMINATE HORROR CRITIC POVERTY--BUY THIS AT AMAZON.COM!

Posted by Phil at 01:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Look at your neighbor. He looks exactly the same as he did yesterday. He has all the thoughts and memories of living next door to you that he should have. He acts pretty much the same as he normally would. But something's wrong. Something's missing. At first you dismiss it. But it nags at you. The thought creeps in, and it won't leave: maybe this isn't your neighbor at all. Maybe this is something far more sinister that only looks like your neighbor. It's a scary thought, one that has haunted me since I first saw Invasion of the Body Snatchers as a boy.

The movie starts off with a man raving that he's not insane. Usually, this would be a clear sign that he is indeed insane. But Dr. Miles Bennell has a tale to tell, and at its end, he may just prove himself of sound mind after all. The movie heads into an extended flashback that shows Miles returning from a business trip. When he almost runs down a neighborhood boy, the child tells Miles that his parents aren't really his parents. Cases such as this are popping up all over the little Californian town of Santa Mira, and Miles starts to get suspicious. His psychiatrist friend tells him it's some sort of mass hysteria; but when a body shows up the house of Miles' friends, it appears that there might be more truth to the boy's story.

The whole concept of Body Snatchers has always chilled my spine. The thought of something absorbing not only my body, but my essence, taking everything I am and imitating me, genuinely scares me. Even worse, how could I look at anybody else in my town and know it was really him? Director Don Siegel makes brilliant use of this, through the small community where everybody knows everybody else. Santa Mira could be any of a thousand intimate neighborhoods in the United States. As the film progresses, however, and Siegel torques up the tension, the real question becomes: do we really know anybody? It was only many years later, when I read some criticism on the film, that I realized the movie had great political implications: made at the height of the Cold War, is the film a rally against Communism, or a harsh critique of those who blindly followed Senator Joseph McCarthy in his rabid anti-Communism? Siegel leaves it so the film can play both ways. Taken in either vein, it certainly must have terrified those who saw it in its initial run, some 50 years back.

The power of Body Snatchers rides mainly on the powerful lead performance of Kevin McCarthy. He brings a passion to the role that made me feel for Miles, and through him, the other townsfolk. His romance with old high school girlfriend Becky Driscoll, played with great sensitivity by Dana Wynter, adds levels of depth and becomes the heart of the story; instead of being merely tacked on as in so many science fiction horror movies, it works here. These two are so likeable that it was easy for me to root for them as they began their run to save not only their lives, but the very planet and humanity itself.

An interesting footnote on the movie: in its original form, there was no wraparound with Dr. Miles Bennell, no flashback. The film initially ended with a darker ending. The studio heads intervened, and the ending now sheds more hope for humanity. Both endings work, but I like it better the way it was revised. Which is odd to me, because of my top 6 horror flicks, this is the only one with anything near a happy ending.

I would really love someday to have a 2-disc special edition of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Unfortunately, the Silver Screen Classics edition left me wanting for more. You can watch the film in widescreen 2:35 to 1, or in full screen (why anybody would ever want to cut off about 1/2 of the visuals of a movie is beyond me). There's a few language options, some subtitles and the theatrical trailer. Finally, there's what the back of the box refers to as a "special interview" with Kevin McCarthy. Oh boy, is it special. The interviewer apparently knew nothing about McCarthy or the film, and did very little research. It's like Larry King at his best! I can't endorse the interview, but any candid time with McCarthy is never a bad thing.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers could have been just another cheapjack alien invasion movie of its period. Thankfully, it aspired to be something much greater. A love story wrapped in social commentary driven by one of the most frightening concepts of all time, the film is not only great sci-fi/ horror, but a genuinely excellent film that transcends both genres.

--Phil Fasso

WE TAKE CREDIT CARDS AND YOUR SOUL--SUPPORT ICONS--BUY THIS AT AMAZON.COM

Posted by Phil at 01:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Natural Born Killers - Oliver Stone Collection

If you haven't seen this film...what planet have you been living on? Written as a story by Quentin Tarantino and adapted to the screen by Oliver Stone, Natural Born Killers is several things. Its a love movie, it's a crime and punishment film, it's a horror flick and it's at times...a comedy. The visuals in this movie reflect it's diversity, using all different types of film, colors and effects from one scene to the next, making you feel like the movie, itself, is a trip.

The day Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Malory Knox (Juliette Lewis) met could be recorded in history as the first day of rapture. Reeking havoc on those that cross their paths, Micky and Mallory's love drives them on a rampage of mass murder, Sparing a single person at a time from their infamous bloodbaths. These "lucky" individuals are kept alive only to re-tell the horrific experience. As their chased across the US by an obsessive and sadistic detective, Jack Scagnetti, played by Tom Sizemore, it seems that the law is always one step behind them, until one day a bad trip of mushrooms and a wrong turn lead Micky and Mallory right into the detective's hands. But the two lovers story isn't over yet, after going to jail their cult fallowing continues to grow as the two long to be together again. Then, when an outrageous interview with Mickey is aired live on national television, it sends the whole world over the edge. His influence drives some to murder, thus continuing the pairs love for destruction and vice versa.

This movie just rocks! You can't ask for a better cast! Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downy Jr., Tommy Lee Jones and, an unforgettable, unforgivable role played by Rodney Dangerfield. It's these amazing one-time performances that make this movie so badass. This film doesn't even ask the question "Would you kill for the one you love?" It says "I DO kill for the one I love!"

If you have already seen this movie, I suggest watching it again with the commentary on. Oliver Stone's insight into the film makes this special feature one of the best I've ever seen. From the actual prisoners used in the film to the real rattle snakes in the desert, this look into Natural Born Killers will never cease to surprise you. The deleted scenes include cameos from actors such as Denis Leary, Ashley Judd, Steven Wright and even the Barbarian Brothers...who's deleted scene is not only awesomely disturbing but can still be used if it's ever decided to one day make a sequel, which is mentioned in the commentary. The alternate ending is totally worth checking out and reminds me a bit of Kevin Spaceys speech towards the end of Seven. All in all this is a badass DVD and should be seen by everyone!

Elizabeth Puttkammer

SUPPORT ICONS! BUY THIS AT AMAZON.COM

Posted by Beth at 01:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Starship Troopers

Directed by: Paul Verhoeven

Starring: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey & Neil Patrick Harris

Sci-fi and horror have always gone hand in hand, there’s something about it that just works, alien movies in-particular, but alien bugs?

Having not seen Total Recall in a while, the only comments I could give on director Paul Verhoevens’ previous work would entail a snappy quip about Sharon Stones snatch, so I’ll just cut to the chase.

Starship Troopers is plain and simply a none stop, alien ass kicking, thrill ride. Think Aliens only not so dark and with a pride swelling political overtone to it…Want to know more?

Starship Troopers is set in a future where mans greatest enemy is a race of big ass alien bugs that want nothing more then to kill off the human race.

After graduating from school, Johnny Rico (Caper Van Dien) is worried about losing his girlfriend, Carmen (Denise Richards) who wants to be a space pilot after graduation, so he finds himself enrolled in the Army’s Mobile Infantry, along side Dizzy (the gorgeous Dina Meyer) who has had a major crush on they guy since school.

Realizing that he has made a mistake, Johnny decides he wants out, but things don’t go quite as planned when the Bugs cause an asteroid to be shot through space and towards earth, hitting New York City dead on, killing millions and every last family member of Johnny’s…it’s on, it’s on like Donkey Kong biatch.

Leading up to this review I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t be able to come through, you see there are two ways that you can look at Starship Troopers, you can see it as a fun alien vs. man movie crossed with a coming of age/loss of innocence/boy meets girl kind of movie OR you can look deeper and view it as a highly political little number which takes a Michael Moore-ish look at political propaganda, media misuse, military control, fascism, sexism and any number of other things, it boarders on political parody, reinforced by Paul Verhoevens’ use of several advertisement/news vignettes in the film.

The characters in Starship Troopers are all great, they have their own memorable personalities similar to those in Aliens, the badass, i.e. the take no shit marines.

Johnny and Ace are our Mavrick and Goose (though we could do with more scenes with Ace), Casper does a good job as Johnny, not great but good enough.

The only problem I had was with Denise Richards, whose eyebrows look similar to ‘Former Prime Minister’ John Howard’s’ whose own eyebrows are legendary for being mistaken for caterpillars. Thankfully Dina Meyer was there to erase Richard’s eyebrows from my mind, she plays the strong willed, badass character of Dizzy, not unlike Vasquaz in Aliens.

The one thing you can’t review Starship Troopers without mentioning is the special effects, because damn are there a lot of them.

Watching this again in 2007, it’s damn hard to tell that it was made ten years ago, the effects are amazing, by effects I mean of course the Bugs, if they weren’t a bunch of impossibly big ugly moherfuckers you could swear they were almost real.

The Brain Bug is a sight to behold, I was actually kind of sickened at the sight of the Brain Bug, perhaps it was the oddly sexual body parts that grossed me out.

Other then the Bugs though, there are a couple of shots that can be easily recognized as computer generated, but considering the time in which it was made it’s forgivable.

Starship Troopers is one of those re-watchable movies that doesn’t lose its fun or excitement even after multiple viewing.

3.5 out of 5

HELP FEED THE ICONS STAFF--BUY THIS AT AMAZON.COM. HORROR CRITICS HUNGRY!! NEED CUP 'O NOODLES AND BEER!!!

Posted by Danny Price at 01:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Halloween - Unrated Director's Cut (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

Directed by: Rob Zombie

Starring: Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Danielle Harris, Malcolm McDowell, the entire cast of The Devil’s Rejects

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Michael Myers, on Halloween night that young boy took up a big ass kitchen knife and sliced and diced his own sister before being locked away.

Fifteen years later Michael Myers broke out and wreaked havoc on the town of Haddonfield, leaving a slew of bodies in his wake.

John Carpenter’s Halloween is still acknowledged as being a suspense filled, full on, ass kicking movie which became a global phenomena, destined for greatness….Rob Zombie’s is not.

Zombie’s so called “Re-imagining” of said horror classic begins more like a Halloween prequel meets Cops with just a hint of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, we see Michael before he becomes notorious, he lives at home with his hot yet rather trashy looking stripper mum (played by the booty-icious Sheri-Moon Zombie), his even hotter and hornier sister, and his foulmouthed, crippled, red-necked, skull-fucking father (Forsyth) so needless to say things are less then ideal for the chubby little psychopath in the making.

Then on Halloween night young Mickey Myers decides he’s had enough and BAM just like that he goes postal on his family’s ass.

Dr. Loomis is put on the case of trying to understand Michael’s state of mind, a better idea would have been for someone to try and understand Zombie’s state of mind!

You see there is no real point in continuing with the movies plot synopsis as from here on in its pretty much your average rehash remake, this is Halloweens biggest failure, and in turn, Zombie’s also. When remaking a straight forwards story like Halloweens it’s a good idea to bring something new to the table, which Zombie only does for the first half of the film, the second half is in turn truncated and much less effective then before.

So sad, too bad, let’s move on, because we have much to talk about.

Of all Halloweens problems, acting is high on the list, some of it is plain, some of it is bad but most of it is just so out of place it takes you out of place.

Scout, who as one of the most central roles is little more then mediocre at best, she sounds more like a whiney little bitch then the strong willed and determined gal we used to know, she resembles nothing of the Laurie Strode character, hell, if she hadn’t been named Laurie she might as well have been victim #12 or someone else forgettable, the same can be said about the other girls (including a P.J Soles wannabe) whom we are given absolutely no reason to care about, it’s called ‘character development’ Rob.

In fact the only character development that takes place is Michaels in the first half, but by the second half what we learn about Michael becomes meaningless when he ceases to be a character.

The only good acting comes from Ken Foree as Joe Grizzly (“I’m Joe Grizzly bitch”) who is an absolute badass, and Danielle Harris, sadly she gets very little screen time but she was great in what she was in, that and she looks fucking great with black hair.

It’s too bad that nobody else came close to being good. And what the fuck is with the endless stream of out of place cameos? It’s like Zombie is trying to distract us from the poor characters and even poorer dialogue, with a game of horror celebrity where’s waldo!

That brings me to yet another point on the ever growing list of reasons why this movie should have never been. There’s no easy way to put it…it sucks!

Some of the stuff that spews from the mouths of the characters sounds like quotes from a movie I’d put in the next write up of Schlock Value, the very worst of it comes from Malcolm McDowell’s rendition of Sam Loomis, it’s so misplaced it’s embarrassing, don’t get me wrong, McDowell isn’t a bad actor I love A Clockwork Orange, but the dialogue written is terrible, that plus it’s over saturated with profanity.

I’m not prudish, but maybe, just maybe, Mr. Zombie should’ve blow the dust of his dictionary when writing this one because there’s not enough bleeps in the world to censor the oh so very naughty words that continuously spew from the mouths of each and ever single character in this god forsaken movie.

Strangely enough I found myself really happy with the ending, I know, I know, shout blasphemer as much as you want, maybe it was that I was so unhappy with the rest of the movie but I loved the bleak ending, in the shot of Scout before she’s tackled by Michael out the window she looks so fucked up and beaten down that it hooked me, the finally scene of her with the gun (I won’t spoil anything for you readers) felt chaotic and shocking, it’s a shame the rest of the movie sucked to bad.

Let’s set things straight, I am a Rob Zombie fan, I was entertained by his rather poor first feature House of 1000 Corpses (boy am I going to get shit for that), and it goes without saying that The Devil’s Rejects kicked some major ass, and I’ve got to respect Zombie because it takes some major balls to take a beloved horror movie like the original Halloween and at least try to make something original, as opposed to some of the appalling remakes that are being pumped out on an almost daily basis by Producers who don’t give a flying fuck about the original, its fan base or even staying true to the original in some way shape or from, they’re just out to make a quick buck or two (*cough* Michael Bay *cough*) so I don’t hate Zombie for making this, it’s just to bad the movie didn’t live up to all that it could have and should have been, Halloween defiantly has a few hits, but for every hit there are two misses.

If this review seems long, it’s because I have had a very hard time reviewing it, I don’t know why, maybe it was because it was such a mediocre movie with nothing special that stood it out from the rest of the horror remakes of the last century.

Zombie didn’t do the original any justice, save for giving us a topless Danielle Harris (ha, ha, guy’s I’m young enough to see that wondrous scene and not thing of a six year old Danielle), but hey, maybe he can still do it with C.H.U.D!!

2 out of 5

HELP SUPPORT ICONS--BUY THIS AT AMAZON.COM!

Posted by Danny Price at 01:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shark Attack 2

Directed by: David Worth

Starring: Thorsten Kaye, Nikita Ager, Daniel Alexander & Danny Keogh

This is a first for me, I’m writing this review whilst sitting in a church, which is rather poetic because (too me) Shark Attack II makes about as much sense as religion.

Sequel by name and theme only, Shark Attack II begin with a disastrous diving expedition when a young woman witnesses her sister turned into lunch by a great white shark which then processed to head to shore. Michael Francisco (Keogh), the owner of Water World, the islands theme park, puts the task of capturing it for his main attraction onto the resident marine-biologist, Dr. Nick Harris (Kaye), but get this….it breaks out!!! OMFG

Cue shark hunt on that big biatch.

I’m not going to beat around the bush, Shark Attack II sucks on a phenomenal level, had Shark Attack III not had a 100 foot ‘fake-as-plastic-tits’ looking shark, then this would have taken its place in Schlock Value.

As a fan of bad movies, and an even bigger fan of monster movies, I've seen a lot of this kind of crap, and there is nothing worse then an average or mediocre bad movie, when it’s neither good nor so-bad-it’s-good, then it’s just plain worthless.

Shark Attack II is just such a movie.

I had seen Shark Attack III before I saw this one so I was well aware of the level of acting I was in for, but if there’s one thing I can say about Shark Attack III’s acting it’s that it was cheesily bad, not so much here, the acting in Shark Attack II it just feels stale and lifeless, nothing funny about it at all.

On a positive note there is an Australian character, sadly he’s little more then a stereotypical cardboard cutout rip-off of Steve Irwin (R.I.P).

So the acting is bad. Who gives a shit, we’re here too see a shark, right?

As with most animal run amok movies it’s the animal that’s the true star.

I wasn’t expecting much, which is a good thing because that’s exactly what I got, a faker then plastic tits mechanical shark and a shit load of stock footage.

During the handful of times when the built shark is shown it looks like a fat, shiny, gray piece of plastic with cut out fins, seriously, it’s one of the stupidest looking things I’ve ever seen!

Shark Attack II is the very definition of a waste of time, despite trying desperately to be Jaws, to the point of actually stealing near entire scene from it, Shark Attack II is no Jaws.

There are better ways to waste 88 minutes then with this forgettable piece of nothing trash.

1.5 out of 5
-Danny Price

SUPPORT ICONS-BUY IT AT AMAZON.COM

Posted by Danny Price at 01:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1408 (Widescreen Edition)

Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom

Starring: John Cusack & Samuel L. Jackson

Ah, the fabled haunted house movie, centuries old and yet still as effective as ever at scaring the living piss out of its audience.

It just so happens that they’re my Achilles heel, I’m a fairly jaded mofo but a total sucker for a good scary movie.

And if their’s one person who knows how to freak you out it’s Stephan King, but let’s face it, the success rate of Stephan King adaptations is oh-so-very far from optimistic. The laundry list of bad adaptations is as long as Pai Mai’s beard, Thinner, The Langoliers or the mother of all bad King adaptations, The Mangler come to mind.

But once in a blue moon one comes along that isn’t half bad and some even go so far as to be good, think The Shining, Carrie, Christine and now 1408.

After his daughters death, writer/paranormal investigator Mike Enslin (John Cusack) became obsessed with the afterlife, after years of failed searching he no longer believes (yeah I’m quoting parts of the trailer, so what), a postcard from The Dolphin Hotel comes to his mail with the words “Don’t enter 1408” so of course he books a night at The Dolphin and requests Room 1408.

The Hotel Manager, Jerold Olen, (Samuel L. Jackson) informs Mike of the rooms infamous past and the fifty-six deaths that occurred in the room, but after repeated request and attempts to scare Mike from his plans Mike presses onwards and takes his first step into 1408.

Bad shit starts happening, at first things are moved, but then Mike begins to hear things, then see things and before long the room enters full fledged fuck with your mind mode and goes buck wild in an attempt to drive Mike over the edge and into a world of insanity.

1408 is one of those rare movies that affects you in places that few others can get to, it’s not that it’s scary, because in all honesty there isn’t much more in the way of scary then a few very effective jump scares, the way 1408 affects you is in its endless sense of dread that it instills in you.

It has a claustrophobic quality to it in the same vein of Alien and The Descent, that grows on you. When I left the theater after watching 1408 I had this nervous feeling of unease that stuck with me long after I hopped in my car and drove home.

Its effect is achieved simply by being simplistic, it’s one room in which takes place what is essentially a one man movie, which brings me to John Cusack who plays the part of Mike Enslin to a tee, spiraling into insanity quite nicely, though he does borderline on over the top but for the most part he stays solid.

As mentioned earlier, Stephan King adaptations have a high mortality rate if you know what I mean, one possible explanation is that the filmmakers don’t keep the stories essence in mind when doing their adaptation, this is not the case with 1408, it looks, feels and almost smells of King, it’s all there, the manic obsession to detail, the rich and potent mythical world and the all to familiar spiral into a personal hell that has become a staple of many Stephan King stories makes this undeniably king.

SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest slice of negativity that I can dish out is the ending, it’s not that it’s a bad ending, it’s just not a very good one either. Though kind of creepy in its own way it felt somewhat anti-climactic and unfulfilling.

It would have been better if it was more of an ambiguous ending where Mike realizes he’s still stuck in the room and nothing he does will help him, it’d be a downer ending but hey, it worked for Se7en.

END THE SPOILING

1408 is a fresh, tightly packed and nicely paced movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat without the use of excessive violence or gore, proving, in an age where gran-guinol rules over all, that it can still be done, and done well.

4 out of 5

-Danny Price
SUPPORT ICONS-BUY IT AT AMAZON.COM!

Posted by Danny Price at 01:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Blood Shed

Alan Rowe Kelley has written and directed (and stars in) my favorite horror-comedy since Troma's “Terror Firmer”. Working with a troupe of local horror filmmakers, Kelly has made this the kind of campy, rude, punk rock horror film that we haven't seen since heyday of the New York based splatter films of the late 80's. From the opening shots of Alan Rowe Kelly skipping down the side of a road wearing a plaid babydoll dress, toting along a dead squirrel nailed to a board I knew this would be one I could sink my teeth into.

The film concerns the Bullions, a family of retarded, cannibalistic, in-bred nutjobs living in the backwoods of New Jersey (I know I've seen this family at Six Flags). Alan plays the adorably demented Beefteena Bullion, a “Baby Jane” type character (and also very reminiscent of Fanny from “American Gothic”). Along with her kin Butternut (Joshua Nelson), Sno Cakes (Susan Adriensen), Hubcap (Mike Lane) and Papa Elvis (Terry West), the Bullion family commits various crimes against humanity. These include tearing 12 year old boys apart in a game of tug-o-war, holding a journalist (played by Michael Gingold, managing editor of Fangoria Magazine) hostage in a rabbit cage. Take the gross-out, tongue-in-cheek vibe of an early John Waters film mashed up with “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” and you've pretty much nailed the mood of “The Blood Shed”.

However, what separates “The Blood Shed” from the half-past a dozen other movies that have tried the over-the-top horror comedy routine is the real talent behind, and in front of, the camera.

Alan Rowe Kelly never lets this movie fall flat for a moment, and keeps it briskly paced and well-timed for comedy from start to finish. A film like this can and will often exhaust it's audience once the novelty of the humor and the camp wears off, but because the writing is clever, the direction efficient, and the acting excellent it never wears you down.

Well, you know the interesting thing about this movie, and this isn't to knock the people working really hard making independent horror, is that it just moves so well. A lot of these movies we get to see are so boring.

A DVD arrives and half the time I look at the cover and don't even want to watch it, and when I do I have to look at the whole thing in fast-forward. I'm just loved how Alan Rowe Kelley managed to take the tired crazy family premise and actually have fun with it. And he's hilarious in it.

I've seen a few of Josh Nelson's other films, he's a great actor, I've seen him do all different kind of roles over the past few years. I'd never seen Susie act before, but she's got a great energy to her as well, Terry is great, and Mike Lane is just so bizarre in it. I liked how they all went for something different. It adds dimension to the film. There's plenty of scenery chewing, “camp-it-up” moments available for the actors in this film, but they also know how to hold back just enough to make their performances funny, demented but never annoying.

Hillbillies, terrible things happening to children, innocent frogs, journalists, cops, and fashion photographers? Well directed? Well shot? Hell yes, it is. And it's a solidly twisted, gory, retarded good time. I can't wait to see what's next from Alan Rowe Kelly.

The DVD also includes a trailer, actors bios, and great commentary track featuring Kelly, director of photography Bart Mastronardi, actors Catherine O'Sullivan and Jerry Murdoch.

The Blood Shed-BUY IT AMAZON.COM!

Posted by Mike-ons of Fright at 01:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 

This was actually one of the more well thought out Independent movies I have seen in some time. The concept behind the film was well laid out. The acting wasn’t bad nad they managed to find some nice scenery in which to film. It is a shame that the box art for the DVD isn’t a little better laid out, as the lackluster cover will divert some viewers who aren’t familiar with the film.

            The film is set around a college campus and a group of students that are filming their own slasher film. The director of the film has a website and on that site he keeps posting information about the yet starlets, aka students, he is using in the shoot. The problem is, that every time he posts a girl on the site, she ends up dead. That is until the killer comes up against Martha King. She is a student who wanted nothing to do with the film, but ends up challenging the killer over the Internet and in the press thinking that this will make him back off.

            Like a seasoned writer, Kevin Campbell fills his story with twist and turns. There is plenty of misdirection and indications of who the killer is, but in the end he does a masterful job of disguising the culprit. The effects leave a little to be desired; even for a low budget film and the shot selection needs a little work as well. Considering this is only his second film, I think it is quite the achievement.

Posted by Myk at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HATCHET: UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT DVD

If you’ve frequented this or any number of other horror related websites, it’s safe to assume that you’ve heard quite a bit about Adam Green’s directorial debut, HATCHET. For the full details on the movie itself, you can check out our original FIRST LOOK review HERE, but to briefly summarize – HATCHET is about a small group of people that take an ill-fated boat tour into the swamps of Louisiana, only to get stranded and stuck in the remote portion of the woods that also double as the haunting grounds for Victor Crowley, a horribly deformed legend that literally tears anyone apart that crosses his path! Boasting a cast of fun and humorous characters, as well as some imaginative and over-the-top gory kill sequences, HATCHET offers up straight-forward “old school horror”. Now, by “old school”, Green himself points out that his goal was to simply re-capture the fun spirit of the “slasher” films we all collectively grew up on. Think of HATCHET as a FRIDAY THE 13th sequel if the characters were all relatable, hilarious and fleshed out. Add the type of kill sequences that were often cut out of films of that sort, and you’ve got HATCHET. Let’s take a nice, extensive look at what the DVD for HATCHET has to offer!

The Unrated/Uncut version of the film: For the few of you that caught this in its theatrical release, rejoice! Every single one of the kill sequences are fully restored here to their complete, bloody glory. Surprisingly, the R cut wasn’t drastically that cut down, but you will notice an extra couple of seconds on each kill that add just a tad more punch, and an nice extra spurt of blood. The most noticeable is the kill in the cemetery, which on top of pulling the arms off of one character, now ends with the same character getting his head smashed against a mausoleum. Ouch! Again, the movie isn’t anything new or groundbreaking for the horror genre, but it never attempts to be. It’s just been so darned long since we’ve HAD a movie like this in theaters. And every time I caught it in theaters, it played fantastically with a full on, rowdy audience. My recommendation is to pick up this DVD, invite over a dozen friends, break out some beers and enjoy. Your thirst for humor, nudity, a monster and gore will be quenched in full.



The Making of HATCHET: Adam Green and his crew have this amazing ability to immediately make you feel like you’re a part of the HATCHET family. Seriously, as soon as you start watching the making-of featurette that leads off the disc’s extras, you can’t help but feel as if Green is one of your old childhood buddies finally getting the chance to make the horror movie he’s been talking about for so long. This featurette covers the whole journey right from the beginning. From the crew’s move to their first ever production office, to Green talking on the phone with Robert Englund for the first time, to the actual production, all aspects on the making of the film are covered and it feels like you’re watching a friend’s personal home videos. He defied a lot of odds just to get the film made, and then once on set, you can sense (and witness) the overall excitement & enthusiasm of everyone involved. (It’s contagious! Even to us, the viewer at home.) You can’t help but smile when Green gets giddy and starts cheering after every take as if he’s at a rock concert. You’ll definitely have a new-found appreciation for the movie the next time you screen it after meeting all the wonderful, genuine people involved in its creation.



Meeting Victor Crowley: We’d heard from several of our interviews with the cast that Kane Hodder (HATCHET’s Victor Crowley) really, really gets into character. So much so that he refused to let anyone see him in the make-up until the cameras were rolling to help capture all of the actor’s initial reactions. Well, we get to see all those stories for ourselves in this featurette via candid on-set footage. And sure enough, Hodder is bundled up like little Flick from A CHRISTMAS STORY as he coordinates stunts. Then he hides out and a mere few moments before Green shouts out “action”, we can hear Hodder yelling, growling and grunting in the background to get into character while the cast nervously pace back & forth awaiting the inevitable appearance of their on-screen killer. At one point, Kane even makes Joleigh Fioreavanti cry from fear of him! And later on, we get to witness Kane pulling practical jokes on everyone in the cast. (There’s one in particular pulled on Mercedes McNab, with a little help from Joel Moore, which is hilarious!) I’m sure it must’ve sucked to be an actor at the mercy of Hodder and Green’s humor, but watching this in retrospect must be as much a blast for the cast as it is for us!



Guts & Gore: Here’s a nice featurette discussing in great details all the kill sequences of the film and how they were executed and pulled off. It starts out with everyone recounting their personal favorite “kills” and even covers the on-going on-set debate weather a gas powered belt-sander could actually be feasible. This is the featurette where John Carl Buechler gets giddy with the gags he was able to let loose for and gives some much-deserved credit to the film's FX crew.



Anatomy Of A Kill: The Anatomy Of A Kill featurette focuses on the creation and execution of one of the films most memorable sequences, the jaw-rip kill. Green starts out by demonstrating how the scene would be shot using a Brittany Spears doll and a KISS action figure (Gene Simmons subbing as Victor Crowley for the purposes of this reenactment). It follows through to Will Barratt in the production offices explaining how they’re going to pull off the shot practically. And then ends with us seeing them film the shot, and put it all together. It’s a swift look at how an idea comes together and becomes a reality.



A Twisted Tale: Ah, the infamous Dee Snider story! If you’ve ever been to one of Adam’s convention appearances or checked out his interviews, he often shares this heart warming story about the friendship he’s developed with his childhood hero Dee Snider over the course of becoming a filmmaker. Here, it’s told in his own words, but with the added bonus of getting Dee’s perspective on the whole relationship. It’s actually quite surprising, because in the same way that Snider was a huge influence and inspiration to Green, it seems that Green also did the same for Snider in these past few years. They now hope to work together in the future. People should get a kick out of this featurette.



Gag Reel: Ah, the first gag reel that literally features gags! Sure, there’s the usual flubs and mess-up’s we’re used to from the typical gag reels, but this also offers Joel Moore attempting to make himself puke numerous times for the sake of his “art”! Check out our interview with Joel where he explains the “vomit story”. (Or just enjoy it in all its glory for yourself here on the DVD!)



Audio Commentary: Commentaries are always hit or miss. Depending on who’s involved and what they feel like opening up about. My favorite commentary of all time is the one on the EVIL DEAD 2 DVD, mainly because Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are joking up a storm, sharing fun tid-bits and making sure to point out every terrible mistake they left in the movie. This is almost on-par with that wonderful commentary track! It starts out with Green and HATCHET’s cinematographer Will Barratt laughing, because in typical HATCHET fashion, the transformer to the building where the commentary was being recorded blew and they lost all power. They explain that thanks to Barratt’s “MacGyver skills”, they’re getting power threw a series of extension chords that Will’s rigged to his car battery. It’s a pretty hilarious way to open a commentary, but also keeps in the spirit that these two will do anything to keep the show going! And after about 15 minutes, they do luck out and get power restored. Shortly after, the pair are joined by stars Joel Moore, Deon Richmond and Tamara Feldman. While the group genuinely seems proud of the film and are having fun recounting various stories about the production, Green can’t help but point out every flub, mistake and cheat that’s on screen, which makes for an honest, candid and educational commentary track.

Added Bonus? Trailers for both HATCHET and Adam Green/Joel Moore’s follow-up film SPIRAL. Judging from the trailer to SPIRAL, it definitely looks more in the vein of a Hitchcockian style thriller. Having two completely different types of horror movies on his resume in the span of the year prove that Green is definitely a filmmaker for us to keep our eyes on.



All in all, look… I love this movie. I love all the features on this disc. And by God, I even enjoyed the commentary. This one is definitely worth buying and deserves to be added to your ever-growing horror DVD library! –Robg.

 

Posted by Rob G at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hostel - Part II (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Unrated

Directed by: Eli Roth

Staring: Lauran German, Bijou Phillips, Heather Matarazzo, Vera Jordaniva, Roger Bart & Richard Bergi

Say what you want about Eli Roth but the man sure as hell knows how to get people talking. He was the new hot shit director with his first feature Cabin Fever, his second step up to the plate was with Hostel, which stirred up a shit load of controversy after its release and now with his sequel to Hostel, Hostel: Part II, he garnered enough infamy for even the UK parliament to try and ban his ass!

Hostel: Part II focuses this time on both a group of four women (German, Philips, Matarazzo and Jordaniva), who have been lured to the infamous hostel with the promise of a spa getaway, as well as a pair of jaded businessmen (Bart and Bergi) who have paid to kill said babes.

The DVD boasts itself to be an ‘Uncut Version with extra footage not seen in cinemas’ but I didn’t have the luck to actually see it in cinemas so I guess that doesn’t make me the best person to judge that statement. That being said, wow is there a lot of blood in this, not only is there liberal amounts of the red stuff but the actual kills themselves are insanely grotesque. Eli’s skills as a director have advances by leaps and bounds since the first Hostel, but that’s for the films review, and this is all about the DVD.

So let’s get into the nitty gritty of this biatch.

Just as the movie itself is packed full of the good stuff, so is the DVD, Eli knows how to please his fans. Just like the first Hostel’s DVD release, Hostel: Part II’s comes with not one or two commentaries but a grand total of three audio commentaries.

The first is with director Eli Roth, executive producer Quentin Tarantino and associate producer/resident brother, Gabriel Roth, the thing I love most about this one is that it’s a bunch of geeks sitting around talking about a movie they made (well, kinda, I think Quentin takes a bit more credit then is due), Quentin is, as usual, full of film references and is funny as hell to listen to.

The second commentary is all Eli’s, Eli, just like Quentin, seems to be one of those directors I could listen to talk about movies all day, he doesn’t double dip with the endless production info he spouts.

In the third and final commentary, Eli is joined by the cast members Lauran German, Vera Jordanova and Richard Bergi. Bergi be funny, that’s all you need to know.

‘Hostel: Part II: The Next Level’ is making-of documentary from Eli’s brother, Gabriel Roth, just like the first Hostel’s making-of, ‘The Next Level’ goes through the films entire production, it’s a thorough, candid and highly entertaining documentary, a rarity on DVD’s nowadays.

‘Hostel: Part II: A Legacy of Torture’ is an interesting and in-depth documentary on the history of torture and torture devices, like the discovery channel only not boring or full of animal porn.

Also included on the disc are two short featurettes, one called ‘The Art of KNB Effects’ which, as you’d expect, covers the superb work of Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, everything from cuts and gashes to how to make an edible cock!

‘Production Design’ is a walkthrough and detailed look at the sets, locations and models used in the film.

“The Treatment’ is a 25 minute audio interview with Eli, honestly, after the commentaries and the documentaries, the stuff talked about here feels stale and a bit ‘been there, done that’.

Finishing the disc off is a blooper reel which isn’t half bad and a foursome of rather unexpected trailers, Walking Tall: Lone Justice, Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud (…okay), Vacancy and, get this, Spider-man™ 3, yes that’s right Spider-man trademark 3.

MOVIE: 3.5 out of 5

DVD: 4.5 out of 5

-Danny Price

BUY IT ON AMAZON.COM

Posted by Danny Price at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Editors Note: Reviews from Danny Price will be referring to the Region 4 DVD and the DVD in your region may not have all the special features available in this review. Like 'em? Get a Region-Free DVD player. Worth it!

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE aka Day of the Woman

Special Edition (R4)

Directed by: Meir Zarchi

One of exploitation cinemas greatest achievements, I Spit on your Grave is a disturbing and unrelenting tale of rape, brutality and bloody revenge.

I Spit on your Grave is the story of Jenifer Hill an aspiring writer working on her first novel.

She soon comes to the attention of four sick motherfuckers repeatedly gang raping her, beating her into a bloody pulp and leave her to die, but she doesn’t die, she strikes back, and one by one she gets her revenge.

Despite the endless controversy that surrounds this movie it’s not a bad movie, god knows its damned effective, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so dirty after watching a movie. The rape is gritty and realistic to the point of almost being rape porn or the rape equivalent of snuff.

Exploitation cinema has been getting a shit load of attention in recent years, previously uber-rare movies have found their way to the mainstream thanks to the magic of DVD, Cannibal Holocaust, Thriller: A Cruel Picture, fuck even the Guinea Pig movies have been re-released on DVD.

Until recently I Spit on your Grave was banned in Australia for over 17 years, the lifting of its ban could only mean one thing…a special edition release baby.

Completely uncut? Hmmm…I dunno about that, sure the movie shows some of the most graphic rapes that I’ve ever seen but I’ve seen copies labeled 105 minutes long, and this one only has a 97 minute run time so I’m not sure the advertising bastards behind this one have their cappuccinos made just right.

This ‘Special Edition’ features a magnificent transfer of the film, it’s so clean it’s hard to imagine what it used to look like.

On top of a clean and crisp transfer we get the original Dolby soundtrack and also a new 5.1 channel soundtrack, which kind of seems pointless for a movie that doesn’t have a score and doesn’t have need for surround sound but hey, I’m not complaining.

First up we get two audio commentaries, the first is with the man responsible for this sick piece of sadistic joy, Meir Zarchi, who manages to keep what could have been a dry 97 minutes, interesting, he’s informative and sometimes very amusing despite being hard to understand sometimes (damn you foreign filmmakers).

The second commentary is manned by none other then Joe Bob Briggs, who defends the movie like it’s his own child, not only does he put up a good fight but he’s funny as fuck to listen to.

Next is a slew of advertisement material; three theatrical trailers, three TV spots and three radio spots, some of which are from when the movie was titled Day of the Woman. A poster art and VHS covers gallery is also included, it shows off some of the cool looking cover art from back in the video nasty days and some rare foreign art.

Also included are a number of extremely interesting articles and reviews from back when it was originally released, they’re split into two ‘US & UK Reviews and Articles’ and ‘Australian & NZ Reviews and Articles’, most of the stuff is about the controversy which surround it.

Rounding the disc off is a set of filmographies for the actors (most of whom didn’t work again), there’s also a photo gallery which is made up of mostly production stills but there are one or two behind the scenes pictures, nothing to get too excited about and lastly is an interesting something from Meir Zarchi calls ‘Who is this kid?’ which is about a picture of Meir with an ANZAC soldier (that Australian-New Zealand Army Corps) when he was 4.

And I quote: “…these folk from Downunder were the friendliest and most warm-hearted people that ever walked the face of the earth.”

*Sniff* I think my Aussie pride meter just rose a bit higher.

MOVIE: 4 out of 5

DVD: 3.5 out of 5

-Danny Price

BUY IT ON AMAZON.COM!

Posted by Danny Price at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Night of the Living Dorks

Not as much a horror film as it is a hilarious comedy featuring teenage zombies, Night of the Living Dorks is about three German high school students Philip (Tino Mewes), Konrad (Thomas Schmieder), and Weener (Manuel Cortez) as being three of the biggest losers at Friedrich Nietzsche High. Going along with most cliche' high school comedies, Night of The Living Dorks plot involves Philip, the main character as being madly in love with Uschi, the most beautiful and popular girl in the whole school played by Nadine Germann.
As a desperate attempt to win Uschis affection, Philip goes about recruiting his gothic classmates to perform a voodoo love spell attended by Philip and his friends. When the ceremony goes completely awry the consequences result in the three friends changing into the living dead. Now, with the taste for flesh and the raging hormones of teenage boys, the three won't be forgetting those that have bullied them these past few years and at the same time use their new invincibility to impress the ladies.

You do have the ability to cut out the subtitles and watch this film in English, however the overdubbing is tacky and is on a par with the Original Iron chef. This film is best experienced in it's original language, German. Just turn on the English subtitles. I'd compare this movie to American Pie because of it's likeness in humor but, for me, I give it more credit for having zombies as the lead characters. The title discouraged me at first but it turned out to be a completely entertaining film that made it a "must buy" on my movie list.

Special Features
The deleted and extended scenes aren't much to be watched as the editing for the film was done well and anything left out wouldn't have changed the movie at all. The alternate ending,however, is something worth checking out as its entirely different from the final cut. The funny reel isn't all that funny but this movie can be forgiven for it's lack of special features as the film is about young love, smoking pot and eating your enemies...and it doesn't get much better than that!

BUY IT ON AMAZON.COM

-Elizabeth Puttkammer

Posted by Beth at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fido

This comedy takes on a completely original approach to a funny zombie flick! The story is set in a 1950's town called Willard, where the people who live there have perfect etiquette and live normally as best they can in the wake of the recent "Zombie War". With the technologies provided by Zomcon, a national security company, they have found a way to tame the flesh eaters by using remote control collars. The zombies are forced to work as butlers, servants and other low intelligence jobs such as delivering milk and newspapers. Everyone in the small town of Willard owns at least one zombie and in some cases many. Timmy Robinson (K'Sun Ray) and his mother (Carrie Ann Moss/Matrix's Trinity) and father (Dylan Baker) have just purchased their first zombie,FIDO played by Billy Connolly. At first Mr. Robinson isn't too comfortable with the newly hired help but it doesn't take long for him to realize that now, with a new "person" in the house to help his wife with the dishes and practice baseball with his son, Mr. Robinson can now spend more time with the fellas at the golfing range. But poor Timmy doesn't have any friends in his school or in his neighborhood and with his father ever absent from his world, FIDO becomes Timmys new best friend. Mrs.Robinson, Timmys mother, also begins to develop feelings for FIDO. One afternoon FIDOs collar malfunctions and he once again becomes a flesh hungry monster. Now,thank