CONSTANTINE: THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY (2022)
Label: WBHE
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 76 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Matt Peters, Milo Neuman
Cast: Matt Ryan, Ray Chase, Robin Atkin Downes, Grey DeLisle Griffin, Camilla Luddington
Director: Matt Peters, Milo Neuman
Cast: Matt Ryan, Ray Chase, Robin Atkin Downes, Grey DeLisle Griffin, Camilla Luddington
In the DC Showcase short Constantine: The House of Mysterey Matt Ryan (Constantine, Legends of Tomorrow) reprises his live-action and animated role as John Constantine, the Hellblazer. Following the events of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Constantine has somehow ended up in a Groundhog Day time-loop in the eerie House of Mystery with no recollection of how he got there. There he finds his thought-dead lover Zatanna (Camilla Luddington) alongside friends Jason Blood/Etrigan (Ray Chase), Negaral (Robin Atkin Downes, The Strain) and Chas (Damian O'Hare, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), plus two adolescent children he has with Zatanna. Unfortunately for him this wonderful new reality has a bad habit of transforming into a nightmare as his friends and family transform into flesh-ripping demons in an endless loop of carnage! The R-rated gore and carnage is quite delightful, not sure how true it is to the mythos of John Constantine/Hellblazer, but as a bloody bit of animated mayhem I was quite entertained.
Extras come by way of the three previously released DC Showcase animated shorts; we get the 16-min The Losers which runs about sixteen-minutes, a story about a rag tag group of WWII searching for missing scientist on a South pacific island that is inhabited by dinosaurs. Next up, the 16-min Blue Beetle cartoon that is a delightful throwback to the goofy superhero toons of the 60's and early 70's. This one includes appearances from Captain Atom, The Question, Nightshade and baddie Doctor Spectro. It's super-goofy with a cool retro animation vibe. The last short is the 18-min Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, an adaptation of the Jack Kirby 70'as property about a teenage boy set in a post-apocalyptic future inhabited by waring factions of humanoid animals. Think The Planet of the Apes, Hell Comes to Frogtown by way of Thundarr the Barbarian and you'll know what to expect, its a pretty great short and one I watched several times.
We also get a new featurette; the 16-min DC Showcase: One Story at a Time featurette with producer Rick Morales and directors Matt Peters & Milo Neuman, discussing the origins of the DC Showcase and how it allows creators to explore the deeper-diving DC catalog in a short feature presentation.
Special Features:
- DC Showcase: Kamandi The Last Boy on Earth! (18 min)
- DC Showcase: The Losers (16 min)
- DC Showcase: Blue Beetle (16 min)
- DC Showcase: One Story at a Time (Featurette) with producer Rick Morales and directors Matt Peters & Milo Neuman (16 min)
Screenshots from the WBHE Blu-ray:
