DAHMER (2002) - RETALIATION (2017) - THE DEAD ONES (2019) - GHOST SHIP (2002) - THE LADY KILLS (1971) - PERVERTISSIMA (1972) - GAME OF DEATH (2020)
COLLECTOR'S EDITION BLU-RAY
Label: MVD Marquee Collection
Special Features:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the main feature from a brand new 4K HD master struck from the original camera negative supervised by director David Jacobson presented for the first time in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
- Audio commentary by director David Jacobson and actors Jeremy Renner and Artel Kayaru
- Making of Featurette (16 min)
- Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
- Story Boards
- Red Band Trailer (2 min)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
Special Features:
THE DEAD ONES (2019)
BLU-RAY
Label: Artsploitation Films
THE LADY KILLS (1971) & PERVERTISSIMA (1972)
DOUBLE-FEATURE BLU-RAY
Special Features:
- Brand new 2K transfers from film negative
- Who is Jean Louis Van Belle? - documentary (30 min)
- Introductions to each film from Writer Christophe Bier
- Mondo Macabro Trailer Reel
Honestly Cleopatra Entertainment have not put out anything I have been in love with yet, but this is the closest they've come to something I adore. A fun, nihilistic killer-game flick that's absolutely drenched in blood and gore. It all begins with seven absolutely annoying twenty-somethings gathered at a house where they imbibe in drugs, booze and sex. When things get a bit dull they pull out a vintage board game called Game of Death, they set it up and place their fingers on the game device as directed, and are surprised when the game pricks their fingers and blood is drawn, and then things get weird. The 8-bit digital on the game display indicates that the players must go on a kill-spree, kill or be killed, or their heads will explode. Of course this all seems like silliness, but after the game is abandoned that's exactly what begins to happen, heads start exploding like overripe blood-filled zits. This kicks into gear a madcap kill spree with the 20-somethings teaming-up and turning against each other in a desperate attempt to stay alive. What ensues is a madcap bit of comic-horror that is so dang bloody with heads exploding and entrails flying, these shitty young folks doing shitty things right up to the blood-splashed finale. There's not a lot of depth or character to anything happening here but the killer-game idea is super-cool and the independent feature is well-made with cool visuals, mostly practical gore effects, animation interludes and retro 8-bit graphics. It's a shame this colorful and gore-filled film did not get a Blu-ray. I do hope it sees an HD release at some point with a more substantive set of extras. This is my favorite release from Cleopatra Entertainment, there's not even a close second.
Special Features:
Label: MVD Marquee Collection
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: R
Duration: 102 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 LPCM with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: David Jacobson
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Bruce Davison, Artel Kayàru, Matt Newton
True crime film Dahmer (2002) stars Jeremy Renner (The Avengers) as the cannibal serial-killer who went on to consume the bodies of seventeen young men in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, finally being caught in the summer of '91 when I was still in highschool. I remember the news starting to seep out about the still shockingly horrendous murders committed by Dahmer, it was gruesomely fascinating stuff. This telling of the story falls somewhere between the hyperbole and the actual historical fact of the matter, with a timeline that moves around a bit exploring various time in Dahmer's life. Renner's portrayal is still solid, a young man struggling with his homosexuality desires, his earliest kill of a friend, and how he later frequented gay clubs to feed his homosexual desires,drugging gay men to have sex with their unconscious bodies, and later luring men to his apartment where he drugged them, lobotomizing them with a drill bit. It's gruesome content to be sure but this film is more concerned with tackling the psychological aspects of the story rather than glorifying the gore and extreme nature of the man's horrendous acts, there's not any cannibalism or display, there's no penis-munching, but it's still quite a disturbing watch. Anchored by Renner's quietly intense turns as the twisted killer. the film doesn't paint a sympathetic portrait of Dahmer but it does try to get to the underpinning of why he did what he did. Look for a appearance from Bruce Davidson (Willard) as Dahmer's father who struggles to understand his strange son, he comes off as a well-meaning disciplinarian while at the same time a bit clueless about the depth of his son's depravity. The film debuts on Blu-ray with a new 4K scan of the OCN, plus archival extras including a commentary with Renner and the director, a making-of featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, storyboard and still galleries, trailers, plus a slipcover with the same artwork as the wrap. This gets a definite recommend for true crime horror fans or those fascinated by the macabre nature of serial killers.
True crime film Dahmer (2002) stars Jeremy Renner (The Avengers) as the cannibal serial-killer who went on to consume the bodies of seventeen young men in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, finally being caught in the summer of '91 when I was still in highschool. I remember the news starting to seep out about the still shockingly horrendous murders committed by Dahmer, it was gruesomely fascinating stuff. This telling of the story falls somewhere between the hyperbole and the actual historical fact of the matter, with a timeline that moves around a bit exploring various time in Dahmer's life. Renner's portrayal is still solid, a young man struggling with his homosexuality desires, his earliest kill of a friend, and how he later frequented gay clubs to feed his homosexual desires,drugging gay men to have sex with their unconscious bodies, and later luring men to his apartment where he drugged them, lobotomizing them with a drill bit. It's gruesome content to be sure but this film is more concerned with tackling the psychological aspects of the story rather than glorifying the gore and extreme nature of the man's horrendous acts, there's not any cannibalism or display, there's no penis-munching, but it's still quite a disturbing watch. Anchored by Renner's quietly intense turns as the twisted killer. the film doesn't paint a sympathetic portrait of Dahmer but it does try to get to the underpinning of why he did what he did. Look for a appearance from Bruce Davidson (Willard) as Dahmer's father who struggles to understand his strange son, he comes off as a well-meaning disciplinarian while at the same time a bit clueless about the depth of his son's depravity. The film debuts on Blu-ray with a new 4K scan of the OCN, plus archival extras including a commentary with Renner and the director, a making-of featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, storyboard and still galleries, trailers, plus a slipcover with the same artwork as the wrap. This gets a definite recommend for true crime horror fans or those fascinated by the macabre nature of serial killers.
Special Features:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the main feature from a brand new 4K HD master struck from the original camera negative supervised by director David Jacobson presented for the first time in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
- Audio commentary by director David Jacobson and actors Jeremy Renner and Artel Kayaru
- Making of Featurette (16 min)
- Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
- Story Boards
- Red Band Trailer (2 min)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
RETALIATION (2017)
BLU-RAY + DIGITAL
Label: Lionsgate
Label: Lionsgate
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 96 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080P HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Ludwig and Paul Shammasian
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Janet Montgomery, Charlie Creed-Miles, Anne Reid
Retaliation is a gripping story about a man dealing with the trauma of being raped by a priest when he was twelve years old. Now an adult he works as part of a demolition team tearing down buildings, currently assigned with tearing down the very church where he was raped. This of course stirs up his emotions, his anger further fueled by seeing the priest for the first time in years at the pub he frequents. He begins to think that maybe he should take the trusty hammer he uses to demolition the church building and use it on the priest himself, perhaps demolishing his traumatic past. The trailer for this one made me think that this film was something completely different than what it delivered, and that's okay, it's a deeply unsettling meditation on how this damaged man deals with his childhood trauma, examining how it has affects his self-esteem, his deeply upsetting relationship with his mother, and how he is unable to carry-on a normal relationship with a woman who clearly want to have a meaningful relationship with him, and how he regularly hurts himself to deal with the pain of it all. Bloom gives a powerful turn as the powder-keg of a man who has been ruined by a man of God. The subject matter deems that this is not gonna be a film for everyone, it goes to some surprisingly dark places, but it is well-made and tells a powerful story. The Blu-ray from Lionsgate looks and sounds great in 1080p HD with uncompressed audio, and we get an audio commentary the the co-directors, a making-of featurette, a slipcover and a digital copy of the film.
Retaliation is a gripping story about a man dealing with the trauma of being raped by a priest when he was twelve years old. Now an adult he works as part of a demolition team tearing down buildings, currently assigned with tearing down the very church where he was raped. This of course stirs up his emotions, his anger further fueled by seeing the priest for the first time in years at the pub he frequents. He begins to think that maybe he should take the trusty hammer he uses to demolition the church building and use it on the priest himself, perhaps demolishing his traumatic past. The trailer for this one made me think that this film was something completely different than what it delivered, and that's okay, it's a deeply unsettling meditation on how this damaged man deals with his childhood trauma, examining how it has affects his self-esteem, his deeply upsetting relationship with his mother, and how he is unable to carry-on a normal relationship with a woman who clearly want to have a meaningful relationship with him, and how he regularly hurts himself to deal with the pain of it all. Bloom gives a powerful turn as the powder-keg of a man who has been ruined by a man of God. The subject matter deems that this is not gonna be a film for everyone, it goes to some surprisingly dark places, but it is well-made and tells a powerful story. The Blu-ray from Lionsgate looks and sounds great in 1080p HD with uncompressed audio, and we get an audio commentary the the co-directors, a making-of featurette, a slipcover and a digital copy of the film.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Co-Directors Ludwig Shammasian and Paul Shammasian
- Brutality and Honesty: The Making of Retaliation
- Digital Copy
BLU-RAY
Label: Artsploitation Films
Release Date: September 29th, 2020
Duration: 73 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 & 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Duration: 73 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 & 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Jeremy Kasten
Cast: Sarah Rose Harper, Brandon Thane Wilson, Katie Foster, Torey Garza, Clare Kramer, Muse Watson, Amelia Talbot, Michael James Levy, Shannon Cusack, Shane Tunney
In The Dead Ones (2019) from Artsploitation Films we have a bit of a puzzle-film, which begins with four delinquent teens being assigned to clean-up their high school after some sort of incident that has left it in a very poor state. At first it seems like some sort of vandalism has taken place, and perhaps these four are the culprits and this is their punishment, but this is a film that offers a lot more than what it first appears to. It's a bit strange that the teens arrive at the school after sundown, and why has the principle has locked herself into her office? Right from the get-go it has an unsettling vibe, you know something strange is happening, but it takes a bit to even start to put your finger on what it is exactly. Not long after arriving and half-heartedly attempting to clean-up the mess a violent group disguised as The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse - Famine, Pestilence, War and Death - chain the doors and windows of the school, trapping the teens inside and hunting them down one by one. It's a bit of a puzzle film because what starts off a seemingly straightforward highschool slasher film evolves into a time-jumping mystery that is a bit of a mind-bender. This is an interesting spin on the school-shooter scenario, loaded with cool practical effects and some not so cool digital bloodshed. While I found the narrative a bit confusing the first go around, perhaps by design, it does all come together for a nice finish, it's a cool bit of indie horror that tackles a hot-button issue with stylish visuals and a disorienting narrative. The Blu-ray from Artsploitation look and sounds top-notch, plus we get some good extras, including a pair of audio commentaries, a special effects featurette, and a set tour with the production designer.
In The Dead Ones (2019) from Artsploitation Films we have a bit of a puzzle-film, which begins with four delinquent teens being assigned to clean-up their high school after some sort of incident that has left it in a very poor state. At first it seems like some sort of vandalism has taken place, and perhaps these four are the culprits and this is their punishment, but this is a film that offers a lot more than what it first appears to. It's a bit strange that the teens arrive at the school after sundown, and why has the principle has locked herself into her office? Right from the get-go it has an unsettling vibe, you know something strange is happening, but it takes a bit to even start to put your finger on what it is exactly. Not long after arriving and half-heartedly attempting to clean-up the mess a violent group disguised as The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse - Famine, Pestilence, War and Death - chain the doors and windows of the school, trapping the teens inside and hunting them down one by one. It's a bit of a puzzle film because what starts off a seemingly straightforward highschool slasher film evolves into a time-jumping mystery that is a bit of a mind-bender. This is an interesting spin on the school-shooter scenario, loaded with cool practical effects and some not so cool digital bloodshed. While I found the narrative a bit confusing the first go around, perhaps by design, it does all come together for a nice finish, it's a cool bit of indie horror that tackles a hot-button issue with stylish visuals and a disorienting narrative. The Blu-ray from Artsploitation look and sounds top-notch, plus we get some good extras, including a pair of audio commentaries, a special effects featurette, and a set tour with the production designer.
Special Features:
- Special Effects Featurette with Jax Smith and Elvis Jones (15 min)
- Set Tour With Production Designer Jeffrey Pratt Gordon (4 min)
- Two Audio Commentaries with Cast, Director, Producer and Crew
GHOST SHIP (2002)
COLLECTOR'S EDITION BLU-RAY
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 91 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widessreen (1.85:1)
Director: Steve Beck
Cast: Julianna Margulies Epps, Gabriel Byrne, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington, Alex Dimitriades, Karl Urban, Emily Browning, Francesca Rettondini, Boris Brkic
I have been enjoying these Dark Caste Entertainment Blu-ray releases from Scream Factory, each of them guilty pleasures that are a bit too slick-looking and a bit too reliant on digital effects, but they star interesting casts and are good big-budgeted b-movie fun. This entry was directed by Steve Beck whose directorial debut was the fun Thirteen Ghosts for Dark Castle, and then he made this flick, and apparently it killed his career because he never directed again! That's not to say that this tale of a haunted ghost ship found by a group of seafaring salvage experts does not have it's moments, but it is a bit of a stinker. Opening with a very promising and ridiculously body count following an intentional mishap with a thin wire whipping across the deck of a luxury liner, bisecting everyone on the dance floor. It's a gruesome and well-directed introduction that when I first saw it left my mouth agape in awe, it makes for a very memorable opening, but then the film never again rises to that level of pulpy delight, and therein lies the issue with the film. We do get a great cast that includes Julianna Margulies (TV's ER), Gabriel Byrne (Hereditary) and Karl Urban (Dredd) in a tiny role, but the phantasmagorical sights thereafter are not particularly fun or frightening. I still had fun watching this big-budget b-grade horror flick, which is notable as it was one of the few productions from Dark Castle or this early 2000's era that was not a remake, but it's just not a very memorable watch, and no one seems to be having much of any fun making it. The new Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory offers fans a solid looking HD presentation with a nice selection of new and archival extras, plus we get a slipcover and a reversible sleeve of artwork featuring a new illustration by artist Joel Robinson.
Special Features:
- NEW This Isn’t Real – An Interview With Actor Isaiah Washington (7 min)
- NEW Dark Castle At Sea – An Interview With Producer Gil Adler (7 min)
- NEW Every Body On Board – An Interview With Makeup Effects Supervisor Jason Baird (7 min)
- NEW Audio Commentary With Director Steve Beck
- Max On Set: Ghost Ship Featurette (15 min)
- Visual Effects Featurette (6 min)
- A Closer Look At The Gore Featurette (6 min)
- Designing The Ghost Ship Featurette (6 min)
- Secrets Of The Antonia Graza Clips (6 min)
- Mudvayne “Not Falling” Music Video (3 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
THE LADY KILLS (1971) & PERVERTISSIMA (1972)
DOUBLE-FEATURE BLU-RAY
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 82 Minutes, 81 Minutes
Audio: French DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Audio: French DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Jean-Louis van Belle
Cast: Carole Lebel, Claude Beauthéac, Paul Descombes, Maelle Pertuzo, Albert Simono, Charles Buhr, Andre Vernier
Mondo Macabro bring us a demented double-feature with a pair of exploitation films from French filmmaker Jean Louis Van Belle, containing both the rape-revenger The Lady Kills (1971) and the mad scientist mondo film Pervertissima (1972). The first flick opens with a brutal rape of a young woman by a group of men as a young woman secretly watches from the confines of a closet. Years later than young woman Francoise (Carole Lebel) tours Europe on a single-minded kill-spree, murdering the men who committed the heinous crime years earlier. It's not the most story-centric slice of exploitation you will ever watch but star Carol Lebel is easy on the eyes as they say and the visuals are cool, accompanied by a psyche-rock score that sets a nice tone. The second half of this double-bill is Pevertissima (1972) wherein another young woman named Françoise (Maelle Pertuzo) has been hired by a tabloid magazine to write a salacious article titled "Love in Paris", a first hand account of the seedier side of Paris. This set-up allows for the nubile young woman to explore first-hand the lesbian saunas, sex clubs, cabarets and strip clubs of the city. Things go from kinky to madcap when her adventures ends with a trip to a medical clinic run by what turns out to be a mad-scientist named Dr. Vilard (Albert Simono), who is determined to build an army of human-skin covered sex-robots in an effort to take over the world! Both of these French exploitation flicks were directed by Jean Louis Van Belle (The Sadist) , who I knew nothing about before I watched this set, but these kinky exploitation films certainly have me craving more of his French-fried exploitation. Both of the films have great looking transfers derived from new 2K scans of the OCN and sound terrific, plus we get a half-hour documentary about the director, an introduction for each film, and a selection of wild Mondo Macabro trailers.
Mondo Macabro bring us a demented double-feature with a pair of exploitation films from French filmmaker Jean Louis Van Belle, containing both the rape-revenger The Lady Kills (1971) and the mad scientist mondo film Pervertissima (1972). The first flick opens with a brutal rape of a young woman by a group of men as a young woman secretly watches from the confines of a closet. Years later than young woman Francoise (Carole Lebel) tours Europe on a single-minded kill-spree, murdering the men who committed the heinous crime years earlier. It's not the most story-centric slice of exploitation you will ever watch but star Carol Lebel is easy on the eyes as they say and the visuals are cool, accompanied by a psyche-rock score that sets a nice tone. The second half of this double-bill is Pevertissima (1972) wherein another young woman named Françoise (Maelle Pertuzo) has been hired by a tabloid magazine to write a salacious article titled "Love in Paris", a first hand account of the seedier side of Paris. This set-up allows for the nubile young woman to explore first-hand the lesbian saunas, sex clubs, cabarets and strip clubs of the city. Things go from kinky to madcap when her adventures ends with a trip to a medical clinic run by what turns out to be a mad-scientist named Dr. Vilard (Albert Simono), who is determined to build an army of human-skin covered sex-robots in an effort to take over the world! Both of these French exploitation flicks were directed by Jean Louis Van Belle (The Sadist) , who I knew nothing about before I watched this set, but these kinky exploitation films certainly have me craving more of his French-fried exploitation. Both of the films have great looking transfers derived from new 2K scans of the OCN and sound terrific, plus we get a half-hour documentary about the director, an introduction for each film, and a selection of wild Mondo Macabro trailers.
Special Features:
- Brand new 2K transfers from film negative
- Who is Jean Louis Van Belle? - documentary (30 min)
- Introductions to each film from Writer Christophe Bier
- Mondo Macabro Trailer Reel
GAME OF DEATH (2020)
DVD
Label: Cleopatra Entertainment
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 75 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital
Video: Anamoprphic Widescreen
Director: Philip Kalin Haido
Cast: Victoria Diamond, Sam Earle, Emelia Hellman, Catherine Saindon, Erniel Baez Duenas
Honestly Cleopatra Entertainment have not put out anything I have been in love with yet, but this is the closest they've come to something I adore. A fun, nihilistic killer-game flick that's absolutely drenched in blood and gore. It all begins with seven absolutely annoying twenty-somethings gathered at a house where they imbibe in drugs, booze and sex. When things get a bit dull they pull out a vintage board game called Game of Death, they set it up and place their fingers on the game device as directed, and are surprised when the game pricks their fingers and blood is drawn, and then things get weird. The 8-bit digital on the game display indicates that the players must go on a kill-spree, kill or be killed, or their heads will explode. Of course this all seems like silliness, but after the game is abandoned that's exactly what begins to happen, heads start exploding like overripe blood-filled zits. This kicks into gear a madcap kill spree with the 20-somethings teaming-up and turning against each other in a desperate attempt to stay alive. What ensues is a madcap bit of comic-horror that is so dang bloody with heads exploding and entrails flying, these shitty young folks doing shitty things right up to the blood-splashed finale. There's not a lot of depth or character to anything happening here but the killer-game idea is super-cool and the independent feature is well-made with cool visuals, mostly practical gore effects, animation interludes and retro 8-bit graphics. It's a shame this colorful and gore-filled film did not get a Blu-ray. I do hope it sees an HD release at some point with a more substantive set of extras. This is my favorite release from Cleopatra Entertainment, there's not even a close second.
Special Features:
- Slideshow
- Trailers
