Tagged: DVD
Fessenden’s ‘Beneath’ Will Make You Fear…The Catfish?!
What’s there to be afraid of in a little lake out in the woods? Beavers? Muskies? Snapping Turtles maybe? Well “Beneath”, which was just released on dvd this last week brings some horror to the little fresh water lakes of the United States! I really enjoyed this little creature feature directed by Larry Fessenden, it’s got a lot more going on that just a vicious fish. The story revolves around a group of recent high school graduates as they head off for a night to camp and party down on some land one of their families have access to. It seems from the start there’s more than meets the eye a foot as it’s clear one of the teenagers has some sort of knowledge that the lake they are headed to has something beneath the surface that’s to be feared.
So we end up with six teens in a rowboat headed across the a small lake in the middle of the woods. The trip across turns into a fight for survival, not only from a vicious man sized fresh water fish but also against each other. That’s where the film gets really interesting, after their boat is damaged and begins sinking it seems it’s everyone for themselves. I enjoyed this also because it’s setting reminded me a lot of places where I grew up in Wisconsin in the north woods and would spend summers. This ones got a few nice twists and turns too and makes you question just how you might deal with something similar.
The monster was also well done, with no CG, which helped make this little film feel all that much more real. The fish actually looked like something that might even possibly exist in some small lake in the middle of nowhere. Like some kinda freak giant catfish or something. Using digital effects here may have really ruined the mood and realism of the situation. The fish actually moves and acts like a real fish, it’s not lightning fast it’s just a giant fresh water fish! So props to Fessenden for keeping it old school while also keeping the atmosphere nice and creepy. Something he’s a master of. So check this out, it may not be the next Jaws, but it feels all too real in the same way!
‘Shout! Factory’ Rules My 80’s VHS Nostalgia!!
There are movies way back from when I was a kid that I never thought would see the light of day on dvd. I’ve fond memories of going to the video store (back in the 1980’s when everything was VHS or Beta!) on the weekend and picking out movies with my friends on our parents video store cards. Mostly what I remember most are the amazing VHS box cover art from the 1980’s and how excited I was to get back home and watch the movies! We had to be sneaky around our parents because a lot of these movies they would’ve never allowed us to watch. It’s funny to, looking back because most of these movies we were sneaking around with were incredibly cheezy horror, action or sci-fi flicks that most people today think are nothing more than laughable cinema. To us though that shit was fully legit!
So years have passed and many of those flicks have been forgotten right? WRONG!! Thanks to Shout! Factory we are getting a LOT of those classic movies released now on DVD! I recently had some extra money to blow and found two movies I’d thought would remain on VHS only forever. However not only did they have them both on DVD but they also came with three other movies each that I have never seen before, but fondly remember their cover art from back in the 1980’s!! First up is one of my faves as kid, The Eliminators!
This movie was featured a couple times at our Bad Movie Nights we have here in Pdx and it delivers the goods above and beyond every damn time! If you are looking for the ultimate movie to get wasted with your friends and laugh (and love at the same time) this is IT!
The DVD of this one also includes three other movies which I have never seen, “Arena” from 1989, America 3000 from 1986 & The Time Guardian from 1989. So for a mere $9.99 you’ve got quite an exciting quadruple feature!!
Second I found that they released “The Dungeonmaster” from 1985 which was also one of my all time favorite movies as a kid. Being eleven years old and seeing this one for the first time back then was a real treat. The movie is downright ridiculous but it’s jammed to the brim with stop motion monsters, puppets, animatronics, crazy action, adventure, Richard Moll in a cloak & a rock and roll battle against the heavy metal band W.A.S.P.!
This one should really be viewed as a double feature with Eliminators but the DVD also features 3 other flicks two of which I have never seen before! “Cellar Dweller” from 1988 which is a pretty cool little monster flick, “Catacombs” and “Contamination 7” from 1993. So if you love those old video store movies of the 1980’s as much as I do but don’t have a VHS player or access to these on video do yourself a favor and spend some time exploring the Shout! Factory website!
“Curse of Chucky” is the Ultimate Franchise Sequel!
I saw “Curse of Chucky” last night, the sixth installment to the franchise and the second BEST movie of the series! I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this one, except that it was reffered to as some what of a reboot and that it was going to bring back a more frightening version of ol’ Chuck than the last two movies which to be quite honest I wasn’t much of a fan of. Really for me the first two are the only ones I’d ever, up to this point, I have any desire of watching again at all. That being said I was fairly certain I’d be in some way disappointed here with Chucky in 2013. I really couldn’t have been more wrong, as ‘Curse’ not only delivered the goods but exceeded my expectations and packed a punch full of surprises to boot!
This one once again, helmed by Don Mancini, who wrote all six films (but only directed my two least favorites) brought the story back to basics. I wouldn’t be lying if I said this one felt like a straight up reboot when it started out, but believe me this one’s got more to it than meets the eye. The story starts out relatively simple, handicapped Nica (Fiona Dourif, Brad’s daughter!) lives alone with her mother in an old creepy mansion and receives a strange package in the mail-guess what’s inside? Yep-A Good Guy Doll!!
Shortly thereafter Nica’s mother is found dead and soon the rest of the family arrive to meet up for the funeral and stay the weekend at the old creepy house. Nica’s young niece Alice takes a liking to the Good Guy doll and then as you might guess mayhem ensues. Now that’s about all I really need to tell you plot wise, it’s really best if you don’t know much more than that. What I can tell you is that it’s the perfect film to bring the franchise back to what it’s best known for which is some good scares like only Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) can deliver. This installment brings back the horror that has been missing for so long but neatly serves as the perfect end to the franchise while also opening the door to possibly one more movie?
Now onto what people had been fearing since the preview hit for this a couple months back, that Chucky was going to be CGI in ‘Curse’. Well fear not, he’s still fully done with puppetry and animatronics as Fiona Dourif tried to set the record straight back in July on her twitter page. There are a couple very short sequences that may or may not have been CG animated to some degree, but 99% of the FX you see are hands on puppetry, fake blood, latex, castings, old school 80’s style gore. The proof there lies in the special features which are definitely worth watching. So what we have here is a great direct to dvd release, which I feel should have made the theaters.
Curse of Chucky fully connects to the original 80’s Child’s Play, I’d like to call it the “Rocky Balboa” (meaning Stallone’s last Rocky movie he made in 2006) of the series. If they never made another Chucky or Child’s Play film ever again this one would be the perfect stopping point. But if you stick around til after the credits, for the awesome yet somewhat confusing(?) finale you might agree there could be one more story to tell here! This Halloween Chucky is back on TOP!!
The Wolverine Movie Gets a Second Chance?!
It appears us Wolverine fans might just get exactly what we were hoping for with the upcoming release of “The Wolverine: Unleashed Extended Edition” come November 19th digitally and December 3rd for Blu-Ray Dvd. So what the hell does this really mean? Well the new version of the film boasts an extended, unrated cut that’s “more violent and hardcore than ever before”.
I was mostly a fan of the theatrical cut and was actually hoping for something like this to be announced. Could it be we may actually see blood in a Wolverine movie? A few severed limbs thrown about? Perhaps a glimpse into what an R-Rated Wolverine flick might look like? Could the unrated cut be the holy grail of the onscreen movie Wolverine? My guess is probably not. But it still intrigues me. now what is even more exciting is the addition of the “Alternate Ending” added. I have already read fans betting that they’ll drop the final inner fortress battle sequence and instead have something that fits more with the rest of the movies tone.
The ending/final battle was really my only problem with the movie, aside from say the last 10-15 minutes I loved the movie. It made it hard for me review it, because 90% of the movie was a home run. So what is this alternate ending really all about? I’m willing to bet that we won’t be getting a rid of the giant Silver Samurai robot battle thingy. We’re most likely going to get a sequence after that, where Wolverine stays in Japan with Mariko rather than getting on the plane with Yukio. One that leaves Wolverine more at peace with life for once. I think replacing an expensive final battle sequence would just too much wishful thinking. Either way I’m on board to see if Wolverine is really “unleashed” in this new cut of the film!
‘Curse of Chucky’ Trailer Arrives but What Kind of Chucky are We Getting?
Chucky is back! But is that a good thing? After two ridiculous Chucky flicks can anyone take the little guy seriously anymore? Watch the new trailer to find out! What do you think-does Chucky still have the chops?
Under the Bed: New Old School Monster Mayhem!
I’ve been out doing a ton of cool summer stuff lately and decided to take a break from the blogging for a couple weeks, kind of summer break. It’s tough to find cool shit to write about everyday that’s not just regurgitating stories from Ain’t it Cool or Bleeding Cool and sometimes I feel like adding even more hype to huge Hollywood blockbusters is an uninteresting, uninspired waste of time. I mean what’s Hollywood done for me lately?! So I was waiting until something cool that’s a little more under the radar got me pumped to do a blog again. Well it came in the form of bad ass little flick called “Under the Bed”!
This cool little monster movie is brought to you by director Steven C. Miller who brought us Automaton Transfusion, The excellent Aggression Scale and more recently the Silent Night, Deadly Night remake. I honestly have been looking forward to Under the Bed for a while now and thankfully it delivered the goods. The movie is described as a ‘suburban nightmare’ which rings true, however I see it as a more Dante-esque style “kids in danger” monster movie. It’s basically a tale of two brothers who go to battle with a vicious creature who lives under their bed.
Older brother Neil, comes back to live with his father, his new wife and his younger brother Paulie. After a two year leave of absence trying to deal with the death of his mother and his previous battle with the monster he returns to his small hometown where everyone thinks he’s bat shit crazy and his father is on the verge of a mental breakdown himself. He soon learns that his younger brother Paulie has also been terrorized by the same evil force for the last two years.
The movie takes it’s time to get to the real action, but the movie doesn’t lose steam at any point. It’s well shot, well acted and pretty dang creepy. Once the boys decide to make their stand the movie changes direction drastically and the films third and final act suddenly delivers a heavy dose of unexpected gore-which was a welcome surprise! The monster also looks great and the film is pretty much devoid of CG which gives it a much more organic old school feel which I personally love.
Once the creature appears the film jumps into hyper drive, without giving away too much it seems to have hatched from films like Poltergeist, The Gate & Insidious while still bringing something fresh and new to the suburban horror genre. I will definitely be looking for this on dvd when it’s released and I’m quite sure it will be one of my fave horror films of 2013. Right now you can see it VOD, so if you’re tired of the usual overblown, glittery, hype stuff summer blockbusters maybe it’s time to get back to the basics with a good old fashioned creature feature….
The Top 5 Most Anticipated Monster Movies That Aren’t ‘Pacific Rim’!
Monster movies, why the hell are they so few and far between? I just can’t get enough of a good creature feature. It seems all the hype is around Pacific Rim if you’re a monster fanatic. I’m excited to check that one out, but still it looks a little too Hollywood Blockbustery. A little too slick and videogamey. I’m sure it’ll be fun as hell but there’s only so much glittery CGI a guy can take in one summer!
So I figured I’d see what else was out there that could be promising and a bit more under the radar. So here’s five movies that just might please fans of monster flicks like myself! So in no particular order….
1. Dead Shadows
No idea when this French “End of the World” horror movie is going to be released but I’d bet as we are getting ready for a few big Hollywood “End of the World” movies to hit soon I’ll bet this one isn’t far behind! Still it looks like something that could end up being a lot of fun, though seemingly heavy on the CG. This one has a the awesome old “comet crash brings monsters” vibe to it-check it!
2. Under the Bed
This one looks right up my alley and I’ve already read some pretty good reviews for it. It’s supposed to have a kind of Joe Dante feel to it. To me it’s bringing to mind movies like The Gate and Gremlins, but from what I’ve heard toward the movies third act it amps up the gore with a pretty epic “kids vs. monsters” battle. I mean who doesn’t love seeing kids fight monsters?!
3. Game of Werewolves
This cool looking little Spanish werewolf movie has yet to be released in the United States but it has already got a pretty cool rep building for it. I am a sucker for a fun Werewolf movie and the Underworld franchise just ain’t cutting it! So I have my fingers crossed that this lycan werewolf horror comedy is gonna bring the goods! Supposedly Joe Dante has a new Werewolf film in the works too called “Monster Love” I wish there was a trailer for that one because I’m sure it’ll be awesome!
4. Knights of Badassdom
When the HELL is this thing gonna get released?! It’s been sitting in limbo for long enough and it looks like a delightful Horror comedy. It involves a bunch of LARPERS that accidentally summon and real life demon from an ancient book. They’ll get a shot to try out their real skills in a fight for their life. Lets hope this gets a release date soon becuz it looks like a load of fun!
5. Exists
Why can’t anyone ever make a cool Bigfoot movie? There are a ton of them out there and the best one is STILL Harry and The Hendersons! We came close with ‘Abominable’ back in 2006, which is probably the best killer Bigfoot flick out there, yet still it lacked something. And most recently we got a a few more found footage Sasquatch movies, Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes, Willow Creek & The Woodsman some were decent but none of them left much of a mark. So I am hoping that ‘Exists’ will be worth the wait, simply because it’s an Eduardo Sanchez film. Sanchez is best known for directing the Blair Witch Project so he clearly understands the genre and if you don’t think he can pull of a creature feature then you need to check out his awesome alien flick “Altered”. Expect a trailer soon but in the mean time he gives us the scoop here:
Lastly here’s a call to support “Harbinger Down” a movie in the works by ADI the same people that brought you those magnificent monsters in Tremors amongst others! they’re using all practical effects and using 1982’s The Thing as inspiration, this is exciting!
Compliance: Easily The Most Frustrating Movie of the Year!
Wow… I just finished watching “Compliance” the other night, which was just recently released on DVD. I’ve never seen a more messed up, irritating movie in perhaps my entire life! This movie will make you want to scream, pull your hair out of your head and pick up your television and throw it out the window. Yes I”m not kidding. It’s been a long long time since I’ve seen cinema this frustrating and if you don’t believe me I dare you to watch it. I guarantee you will want to teleport yourself into the tv screen and kick all these peoples asses to the moon.
The premise is incredibly simple, during a busy day at a fast food chicken restaurant a female employee is pulled of the register and taken into the back room by her female boss. Her boss is on the phone with a caller who claims to be a police officer reporting that the employee had stolen money from a purse of a customer there only a couple hours ago. She’s kept in the back room and slowly the “officer” on the phone starts demanding that they do a strip search of her because there aren’t any police in the area at the moment. Her boss reluctantly strip searches her and finds nothing. The demands get more and more outrageous as several other people become involved and follow the man’s demands if only because they are afraid of authority.
This movie goes into some seriously dark places and about mid way through I found myself shouting at the screen. I figured it to be just one stupid ass, yet well acted movie with a ridiculously unbelievable plot. I have to admit I almost turned it off at one point. However what was most shocking is that this movie is based on a real incident. It follows the real incident exactly as it happened in real life which blew my mind that anyone one anywhere could be this stupid and naive. With further investigation similar incidents portrayed in this movie ocurred over 70 times here in the United States. I guess to truly understand how insane this is you really have to see the movie, but be warned it will make you angry, frustrated and kinda sick to your stomach. It will also show you just how fearful and compliant people can be when dealing with people of the law…..
Here is the ABC news coverage of the story, spoilers a plenty…
Aragorn Get’s Life in ‘PRISON’!
The totally awesome and long forgotten “Prison” from 1988 has finally gotten a proper DVD release! This little gem of a movie is a real 80’s treat jam packed with cool effects, gore and some great actors to boot! Viggo “Lord of the Rings” Mortensen stars in this supernatural horror romp as a prisoner ordered to knock down a wall to an execution room where a former convict died for a crime he didn’t commit. Well as you can imagine this releases his angry spirit into a path of pure mayhem throughout the prison walls. Apparently this movie features real ex-cons too adding to it’s “realism”.
It’s been a long time since i have seen this flick but I am sure as hell looking forward to revisiting it! This one was directed by Renny Harlin who is also responsible for movies like ‘Die Hard 2’, ‘Nightmare on Elm St 4: The Dreammaster’, ‘The Adventures of Ford Fairlane’ (uggh remember that one with The Dice Man?) and that terrible prequel from the Exorcist from 2004 just to name a few. But all that aside, check out the trailer and look for it as it was released Feb. 19th on Blu-Ray/DVD via Shout Factory.
Older Movies With Bad CGI! I Call for a Special Effects Do Over!
Ever watch a movie a great movie with terrible CG? Of course you have! I’m not sure about you but they really tend to bother me. Movies that are so good but the CG skills just weren’t up to par and just leave you with an empty feeling inside. There’s tons of movies that fit into this category and as I recently rewatched “The Frighteners”, one of Peter Jackson’s best films, I had an idea. What if Weta were to redo the CG effects in that film? What if they released it as say the ‘Ultimate Edition” or whatever lame new name they could come up with. Imagine how much better that movie would hold up today if the CG was tweaked?
I think a LOT of movies in the 1990’s and even in to the 2000’s sufferered from a case of “not quite ready” CG. Some of those movies were pretty damn good too. Let’s take a movie like “The Mist” which is one of my faves, however the CG in the movie is laughable and when it hit’s the screen I cringe every time. But what if they had a few people touch it up? Or redo it all together? Imagine The Mist with better effects. Would there be an outcry from fans? Would people say “how dare they” like when Lucas added all of his extra bullshit to the original Star Wars trilogy? Or do people hold their terrible CG effects sacred like us old Horror buffs do with the practical old school effects of the 70’s and 80’s? An interesting question I’d like to know the answer to I think.
Hell Lucas could even do over the CG in episodes 1-3! I wouldn’t even make a peep! In fact since he likes adding shit constantly to his old films I say we start a campaign to get him to ad respectable CG to all of those films! Honestly that CG was some of the worst shit I have ever seen. So what do all of you think? Do you stand by the terrible computer generated effects of the earlier years? Do you hold them sacred? Close to your heart? Or would you like to see maybe just how they should have could look today? I mean nothing would have to be re-shot they could simply erase the old. I could be onto something? Or perhaps just crazy…
Universal Dork 