INNOCENT BLOOD (1992) (Warner Archive Blu-ray Review)

INNOCENT BLOOD (1992)

Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 115 Minutes (International Version)
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080P HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: John Landis 
Cast: Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia, Anthony LaPaglia, Don Rickles, Chazz Palminteri, Angela Bassett

I caught Innocent Blood (1992)at the theater in '92 and I loved it - but I think I was in a minority at the time, it didn't go over all that well with the masses as I recall, including my friends. Here we have a bloodsucking comedy about a Parisian vampire who accidentally turns a maniacal Pittsburg mobster into a bloodthirsty vampire when she fails to kill him properly after feasting on his blood. The mobster, Salvatore "Sal the Shark" Macelli, is played by Robert Loggia (Lost Highway), an over-the-top portrayal as a power-crazed mobster, and that was before he was turned into a bloodsucker! The vampiress, played by the pixie-ish Anne Parillaud (La Femme Nikita) is a Dexter-ish sort of femme fatale, she has her own moral code, which prohibits her from drinking the blood of innocents, preferring only the crimson fluid of criminals, which is why she sets her sights on this particular Italian crime family, who are in the midst of a turf war. 

Once turned Macelli realizes the vampiric power he now has, and begins turning his crew into the undead, beginning with his Jewish lawyer Manny, played by comedy legend Don Rickles who is fantastic! He also turns two wiseguys played by future Sopranos stars Tony Sirico and David Proval. Realizing that she's unleashed a monster of the city Marie sets about to stop the ruthless mobster with the help of an undercover cop, Joseph Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia, Empire Records), who has ties to the crime family.  The comedy comes fast and furious in this one, mixed in with some sweet gore and awesome special effects from Steve Johnson (Poltergeist II: The Other Side). There's not a whole lot of fang-action, we get some tearing of flesh and bloodied faces as the vampires feast messily on their victims, and both Rickles and Loggia have visually stunning death scenes, especially Rickles who catches an intense ray of sunshine before going up in flames in sight of a hysterical nurse played by scream queen Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead)! That's a scene I feel is owed some love from Let The Right One In, which has a very similar vamp at a hospital scene, he blows up real nice! Not all the effects and visual trickery hold up though, there's a weird circling camera movement that feels like an ode to Argento's Opera (1987) that takes place in a church, meant to imply Maria can fly (or turn into a bat?) that falls a bit flat, and the red-eyes I loved when I saw it at the cinema doesn't hold up, but that cracked-skin, burning embers effects of the vamps going up in flames is still fantastic stuff. 

Loggia steals the show, at least when Rickles isn't on screen, particularly as the scenery chewing (and bloodsucking) mob boss, with great one liners like "I can hear an angel fart" and "I'm gonna grind you down to blood and screams", loads of great quotes in this one, so good. Parillaud as the pint-sized vamp-vixen is good but not great, her French accent sounds a bit odd when they modulate her voice when she's vamped-out, at one point sounding like Lou Ferrigno, but she does fine, she's very easy on the eyes. The love story with her and LaPaglia is dead on arrival to me, I don't feel the chemistry, but it pays off with a kinky handcuffed sex scene, her tiny body is undeniably sexy, and she bares it a few times. LaPaglia like Parillaud is decent, but he's fairly low-key and straight-laced, overshadowed by the deliciously blood-crazed performance of Robert Loggia, who is just so great. 

The movie is front loaded with director cameos, a bit of a trademark for director Landis, with Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) as a meat man, Dario Argento (Tenebre) as a paramedic, and Frank Oz (The Dark Crystal) as a morgue mortician. Also be on the lookout for special effects master Tom Savini (Day of the Dead) as a photojournalist and the beloved Forest "Famous Monsters of Filmland" Ackerman in a brief cameo. Another fun Landis-ism is the appearance of other movies on TV's throughout the movie, we get clips of people watching Hammer classic Horror of Dracula (1958), Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951), the Harryhausen extravaganza The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms(1951) and Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954), all these clips brought to mind the Landis-produced HBO sitcom Dream On (1990-1996)which was predicated on TV clips. 

This one is criminally underrated, and too often maligned, perhaps owing a bit to the fact that Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula hit theaters the same year, this one sort of waned in its shadow, but this is well worth a revisit, a horror-comedy along the lines of An American Werewolf in Paris, it was even marketed in some foreign market as  A French Vampire in America, against Landis's wishes, but I can see the urge from the marketing department to make that connection to movie goers. 

The mix of mafia crime film and slapstick horror comedy is fun, it doesn't all stick when thrown up against the wall, but most of it sticks without overdoing it, the comedy is fun, the romance is just alright, and the horror is mixed well with the silliness. Landis does not get enough credit as a director these days, but this was a unique and original idea for a vamp flick and he executed it with his usual comedy-deftness, balancing the absurd with the grotesque. 

Audio/Video: Innocent Blood (1992) arrives on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive with a brand new 2017 HD master that looks mighty spiffy. Previously only available in an unattractive pan and scan full frame DVD for Warners we get a nicely opened-up 1.78:1 widescreen presentation revealing left and right information not seen on home video in the U.S. before - it's an eye-opener! Grain is nicely managed, the film has a certain early 90's ugliness to it, a gritty urban patine, but it's all nicely resolved in HD and the reds really pop, plus the black levels are nice and deep. 

The only audio option on the disc is an English language DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo track and it does the job; crisp and clean, nicely balanced with some good stereo separation, the music scores from Ira Newborn (Mallrats) sounds great, plus songs selections from Frank Sinatra, Cole Porter, Prince and the New Power Generation and the Rhythm Syndicate. Optional English subtitles are provided. 

Warner Archive are not known for their newly produced extras, and true to form there are none here, we get only the trailer for the DVD, but there's is something new, this is the longer international cut (115 min) version of the film with over two minutes of never-before-released-in-the U.S. footage, it doesn't add up to a whole lot honestly, a few seconds here and there, some dialogue, a bit more of a burning Loggia at the end, but it's great to have this Landis comedy in widescreen HD and uncut!   

Special Features:
- Theatrical Trailer (HD)

Finally at long last Innocent Blood (1992) gets a proper widescreen HD release from Warner archive, they even sweeten the deal with a longer international cut we've never had in the U.S.. Sure, I would have loved a John Landis commentary or an interview, the guys is always a veritable treasure trove of Hollywood insight, but I am pleased as punch just to have this sweet looking widescreen HD version of the film on Blu-ray! It doesn't mix the comedy and horror as well as An American Werewolf in London, but then again, so few do, and that's a Hell of a benchmark, even for the same director.

 

QUEEN OF BLOOD (2014) (Blu-ray Review)

QUEEN OF BLOOD (2014)

Label: Intervision Picture Corp
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 77 Minutes
Audio: English LPCM Stereo 2.0 
Video: 1080i HD Widescreen (1.77:1) 
Director: Chris Alexander
Cast: Shauna Henry, Henry Nivek Ogre, Carrie Gemmel, David Goodfellow 

Synopsis: From writer/director/composer Chris Alexander – the editor-in-chief of Fangoria – comes the ‘spiritual sequel’ to his acclaimed debut feature. Shauna Henry returns as the vampire Irina, now reborn to silently roam a lush countryside quenching her thirst for human blood. But rather than follow standard horror narratives, Alexander instead subverts the genre to explore a crimson-soaked fever dream influenced by the ‘70s EuroHorror of Jess Franco and Jean Rollin. Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy and REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA co-stars in this “haunting and visionary” (Cinema Axis) shocker featuring costumes by Alex Kavanagh (the SAW franchise, LAND OF THE DEAD) and FX work from Paul Jones (SILENT HILL, the RESIDENT EVIL films) for an opus of the undead unlike any you’ve ever seen.

A lot of what I said about Alexander's debut film Blood for Irina (2013) holds true for the sequel/prequel Queen of Blood (2014) which again stars Shauna Henry as the ageless vampire Irina. A lyrical tale of vampirism paying homage to the cinematic aesthetic I would compare to Jess Franco and Jean Rollin with a touch of Werner Herzog. Seemingly a prequel to the first movie, this one plays during the American pioneer days, at the start of the movie Irina emerges from the dirty waters of a river at the feet of a woodsman, drained and weakened she is taken back to his rustic home where he begins to mold her into his ideal version of a woman seen in a picture, someone he seems to have lost... that is until she drains him of his blood. I don't think this happened in Blood for Irina, but this time out Irina drains blood not with a set of pronounced fangs but from her fingertips which she sinks into the flesh of those she feeds upon, who seem mesmerized by her, almost offering themselves willingly to her blood lust, which I liked quite a bit. From here she wanders the wooded countryside draining those she happens upon, all the while a degenerate vampire hunter played by Skinny Puppy's Ogre is on her trail, leaving behind him his own body count. 

The images move across the screen with a nice lyricism about them, evoking a combination of a nature documentary punctuated by some occasional bloodletting and onscreen violence, with evocative electronic score that threatened to put me to sleep more than once, which is a bit of a problem when you think about, sure I love me some atmospheric images, but when it's putting you to sleep, there's something missing, some visceral element which would tether me to the story and keep me enthralled, but it's just not there for me. Being low-budget there's are limitations to the cinematography, the exterior shots of nature and wooded areas, which play a huge part in the movie, look great but are inconsistent. There's a palpable sense of artiness and pretentiousness in the way it plays out without the benefit of dialogue, I can appreciate it for the artiness and craft, but this one is not for me. 

The disc from Intervision marks their first foray in Blu-ray, my player displays this is 1080/60fps, not 1080/24fps, so I don't think we're getting full 1080P HD here, which may have something to do with the format the movie was shot on. The English LPCM Stereo 2.0 sounds fine, exporting effects and the score with a nice crispness, as with Blood For Irina this is a wonderful atmospheric score from Alexander and Carrie Gemmel. 

Onto the extras we have a lively commentary from Alexander who doesn't seem to take a breath for the duration of the movie, it's the kind of commentary that touches on the influences, the concept and the execution of making a micro-budgeted movie, and serves to demystify the process, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I also recommend checking out his commentary on the Arrow Video disc of Contamination, good stuff. Additionally we have a brief video introduction for the movie, some gore outtakes, alternate endings, trailer, and a Q and A with the cast and crew at the Toronto Premiere. A nice bonus is that Alexander's debut film Blood For Irina is included on the disc, making this an arty blood-sucking double-feature, which is a nice value-add. 

Special Features: 
- Gore Gaffes (3 Mins) 
- Directing Ogre (5 Min) 
- Nivek Ogre Introduction (1 Min) 
- Alternate Ending #1 (3 Mins) 
- Alternate Ending #2 (3 Mins) 
- Trailer (1 Mins) 
- Audio Commentary with Director Chris Alexander 
- Cast Q and A from the Toronto Premiere (23 Mins) HD 
- BONUS FILM: Blood for Irina (69 Mins) 

As with Blood For Irina (2013) I think Alexander is making exactly the sort of movie he wants to make, an expressionist slice of vampire cinema loaded with some gorgeous low-budget cinematography, but this is just not own cup o' tea. I always preferred the sleazier side of Franco to Rollin and this is way more Rollin than Franco, a little too art house and not enough Eurosleaze for my own tastes. 2/5 

Blu-ray Review: COUNTESS DRACULA (1971)

COUNTESS DRACULA (1971) 

Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack

Label: Synapse Films

Region Code: A/1

Rating: PG

Duration: 93 Minutes
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Director: Peter Sasdy
Cast: Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Sandor Eles, Maurice Denhem, Lesley-Anne Down, Patience Collier

COUNTESS DRACULA (1971) stars the voluptuous Ingrid Pitt (THE VAMPIRE LOVERS) as 17th century Hungarian Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy, based on the true story of Elizabeth Báthory. The Countess is a cruel and withered old woman who has just recently been widowed. While punishing her chambermaid for drawing too hot of a bath she discovers that the blood of the virgin girl temporarily rejuvenates her to her former gorgeous self - and Ingrid Pitt is most definitely a gorgeous woman - when she's not layered in warty old age make-up that is.

To continue to enjoy the age-defying benefits of virgin's blood the Countess conspires with her former lover Captain Dobi (Nigel Green, ZULU) and her nanny (Patience Collier) to procure young virgins. To conceal the truth of her youthful appearance she assumes the identity of her own daughter to carry on a love affair with the younger Lt. Imre Toth (Sandor Elès).

Only Grand Master Fabio (Maurice Denham) the resident scholar seems to take notice of the fact that the Countess and her daughter of never in the same place at the same time, it's only when the demand for more virgin blood gets a bit out of control that it draws the attention the local authorities and things start to crumble for the Countess and her conspirators with jealousy and torn loyalties.

We have many of the Hammer Horror tropes are on display here with the Gothic Pinewood Studios back lot locations and the plunging necklines and heaving bosoms you'd come to expect. The story itself is a bit on the slow side and the deliberate pace doesn't necessarily build up to the most exciting of finales but it does have a certain charm... Ingrid Pitt in all her voluptuous beauty in 1080p. Based on the legend of the blood thirsty Elizabeth Bathory we don't see any fang-baring here but we do get a fair amount of bosom-baring so sit back and enjoy this vintage slice of Hammer Horror on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray: This is the last of the announced Hammer horrors from Synapse Films and it's a winner - way to cap of the series. The remastered image looks quite nice with a fair amount of crispness and fine detail. Colors are robust and skin tones are natural in appearance. It's a bit on the grainy side but I do love a pure grain-present presentation over a smeared plasticine scrubbed image. Audio wise we get a very pure DTS-HD Master Audio comes through strong and the score from composer Harry Robertson (TWINS OF EVIL) sounds quite nice even if it's not the most memorable score.

Special features are a bit on the light side compared to the other Hammer entries from Synapse. We begin with an audio commentary with actress Ingrid Pitt, director Peter Sasdy, screenwriter Jeremy Paul and author Jonathan Sothcott. It's a bit dry and appears to have been recorded separately and stitched together so it feels somewhat disjointed. Director Peter Sasdy gets the bulk of the spotlight here with the others chiming in from time to time, there's not a lot of Ingrid Pitt throughout but her moments peppered throughout are quite nice. 

There's also a 11-minute featurette Immortal Countess: The Cinematic Life of Ingrid Pitt with a brief overview of her early life and film career and legacy. We also get a vintage audio interview with Pitt, a theatrical trailer and a more risque reversible sleeve of artwork. It's a bit saddening that this is the last of the Hammer titles from Synapse, let's hope they announce a few more in the near future because they've done a fantastic job.

Special Features:
- Audio commentary with actress Ingrid Pitt, director Peter Sasdy, screenwriter Jeremy Paul and author Jonathan Sothcott
- Immortal Countess: The Cinematic Life of Ingrid Pitt – Featurette (10:47)
- Archival Audio Interview with Ingrid Pitt (8:30)
- Still Gallery (7:10)
- Theatrical Trailer (3:06)
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork

Verdict: This recent spate of Hammer Horror on Blu-ray has me excited and while COUNTESS DRACULA (1971) may be my least favored of the Synapse Hammer Blu-rays it is a top-notch transfer with some very decent extras and is a pleasing watch thanks in no small part to the unearthly charm of the voluptuous Ingrid Pitt. Not as visceral as Peter Sasdy's other film from the same year HANDS OF THE RIPPER (1971) or as delightfully weird as VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972) but this one deserves a space on your Hammer Horror shelf.  (3 Outta 5) 

Blu-ray Review: THIRST (1979)

THIRST (1979) 

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 93 Minutes

Audio: Englsih Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Rod Hardy 

Cast: Chantal Cantouri, David Hemmings, Henry Silva, Max Phipps

Thirst (1979) starts off with a deceptive bit of a Hammer-esque Gothic horror before revealing itself as post-modern vampire tale with a twist. An attractive young woman Kate (Chantal Contouri, Snapshot) is home with her cat one day and feeling a bit strange when she is suddenly abducted by a cult known as The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood are a cult of wealthy eccentrics who whisk her away to their secluded island colony and reveal that she is a descendant of the infamous mass murderer Elizabeth Bathory.

In a way that sort of brought to mind the cult-classic TV series The Prisoner (1967) the cult attempt to brainwash her into accepting her legacy and to acquire a taste for human blood neither of which she's very keen on accepting. The film strays from the traditional vamp mythos as the Brotherhood are presented not as supernatural entities but a superior race whom ritually drink human blood. They harvest blood from brainwashed donors known affectionately as "blood cows" which are routinely milked of their life essence not unlike a dairy farm,  complete with filtration and pasteurization to remove unwanted traces of drugs, antibiotics and disease. 

Young Kate proves
surprisingly resistant to the cult's conditioning process and the sinister Mrs. Barker (Shirley Cameron), with the super creepy Cheshire grin, resorts to a using an experimental psychotropic approach which sends Kate teetering on the brink of insanity. Her performance here brought to mind Catherine Deneuve's in Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965) as she quickly descends into a nightmarish spiral of dreamlike encounters leading up to her partaking in a bizarre bloodsucking cult ritual.

The film has a top notch cast beginning with Chantal Contouri who is just fantastic as the emotionally distraught lead, such a convincing and sympathetic performance. The Brotherhood is embodied by the creepy Mrs. Baker (Cameron), the slightly more benign Dr. Gauss (Henry Silva, Ghost Dog) and Dr. Fraser played by Eurocult superstar David Hemmings (Dario Argento's Deep Red) who is a more compassionate character and seems to have a soft spot for Kate. In the background you might notice Robert Thompson who most remember from the Aussie shocker Patrick (1978) in a mostly silent performance. 

The look and aesthetic of the film could be described as slightly art house with a twist of the Aussie new wave featuring some cinematography by Vincent Morton (Long Weekend) who captures the gorgeous locations on film. Such an attractively shot and edited production which manages to sustain a creepy atmosphere without resorting to scene after scene of gore and cheap scares. It just creeps up on you and is peppered with just a few unnerving scenes that work exquisitely, the blood shower scene comes to immediately to mind.

Blu-ray: Severin have created a brand-new HD transfer of the film from the original camera negative framed in it's original scope aspect ratio and it's quite nice. Colors are vibrant and nicely saturated with a fair amount of detail, depth and clarity to the image. Notably there's a distinct amber hue to the color timing that drew my attention but that's a nitpick, overall the image is top notch. As with their Patrick Blu-ray Severin have opted for a Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio track without benefit of subtitles. The track is decent but if only just to augment Brian May's fantastic score I wish we had an uncompressed audio option. 

The special features are ported over from the previous DVD edition including a decent audio commentary with Director Rod Hardy and legendary Aussie  producer Antony I. Ginnane plus an isolated score option that showcases Brian May's atmospheric soundtrack. We also have a few TV spots and the theatrical trailer. Definitely not a greatest selection of extras, and it's a bummer we have no new content, but the 1080p upgrade (at least the video) is very nice. 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Rod Hardy and Producer Antony I. Ginnane
- Isolated music score by Brian May
- Theatrical Trailer (1:38)
- TV Spots (1:17) 

Verdict: Thirst (1979) is an underrated slice of post modern bloodsucking cinema infused with surreal weirdness and science fiction elements that should please fans of on non-traditional vamp tales such as George A. Romero's Martin (1977) and Guillermo del Toro's Cronos (1993). The Severin Blu-ray looks quite nice and should be an easy upgrade for fans of the Aussie classic. 3 Outta 5 

DVD Review: SANGUIVOROUS (2009)

SANGUIVOROUS (2009) 

Label: Tidepoint Pictures
Duration: 56 Minutes
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Video: 16:9 Widescreen 

Director: Naoki Yoshimoto
Cast: Ayumi Kakizawa, Masaya Adachi, Mutsuko Yoshinaga, Ko Murobushi

Synopsis: It incorporates a physical acting style that draws heavily from butoh, a form of Japanese dance. A young woman suffering strange hallucinations and physical ailments discovers that she is the descendant of an ancient line of European vampires, and she and her boyfriend are soon captured by older vampires and drawn into the darkness.

Sanguivorous (2009) really comes off as a weird, otherworldly bit of arthouse creepiness and for good reason, it originally toured with a live music accompaniment as more of a a multi-media art piece than a slice of cinema, so true to it's avant-garde roots it's a bit hard to digest. The story is very skeletal so there's not a lot to latch onto other than the creepy imagery and strange atmosphere, which it captures very nicely but I just could not commit to it, even at just 56 minutes in length it bored me. 

It's strength is the surreal imagery, particularly a creepy scene featuring Japanese butoh dancer Ko Murobushi who appears as the head vampire in an extended performance sequence showered in blood, it's a very striking image but this slice of experimental vampirism was definitely not for me even though I commend it for trying something different. 1.5 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: DRACULA - PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1965)

DRACULA - PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1965)

Hammer Collector's Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Millennium Entertainment
Region Code: A
Duration: 90 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Optional English SDH and Spanish Subtitles
Video: 1080p widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Kier, Francis Mathews, Suzan Farmer, Charles Tingwell, Thorley Walters

Terrence Fisher's Dracula - Prince of Darkness (1966) starts of quite effectively recapping the final moments of Hammer's Horror of Dracula (1958) featuring vamp hunter Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) ending the the fearsome blood-sucker Dracula (Christopher Lee) who crumbles to dust when exposed to the deadly rays of the sun. Ten years later two vacationing English couples en route to the Carpathian Mountains for adventure and fun are abandoned by their coachmen, who fearing local legends of creepy castle refuses to travel onward, leaving them stranded miles from their destination and in view of the dreaded castle. 

Our two vacationing couples are the argumentative Alan (Charles Tingwell) and Helen (Barbara Shelley) and Alan's younger brother Charles (Francis Mathews) and his wife Diana (Suzan Farmer), the red-headed Helen is quite the complainer, she doesn't seem to enjoy much, and is the most upset by the stranding in the forest. Not wanting to believe in local lore or spend the night roughing it in the spooky forest the foursome accept a ride in a driver less carriage to the castle, bad idea. Once inside they meet a creepy man servant named named Klove (Philip Latham) who oddly seems to have expected them, he offers them dinner and lodging for the night at the behest of his deceased master, the Count Dracula (Christopher Lee), who was renowned for his generosity.

As night sets in Helen becomes increasingly frightened, sure, she's the sour-puss of the bunch but in this instance her companions might later have wished they'd given credence to her unease as things turn quite sinister in this creepy castle. That night while wandering the Castle Alan in incapacitated by Klove and taken to a basement crypt where he's ritually slaughtered, his throat slashed over an open sarcophagus, the Kensington gore flows heavily and as his blood mixes with Dracula's ashes the vamp is resurrected, his hand emerging from the mist to great effect, it's probably the best scene in the entire film and alone is worth the price of admission, fantastic stuff. 

Now it's game on as the remaining guests unaware of the impending danger fall prey to the Count's unnatural charm and lust for blood. Noticeably absent from the story is Peter Cushing's iconic Van Helsing who is only glimpsed in the film's prologue, in his place is an unorthodox, rifle-toting friar named Father Sandor (Andrew Keir), he does quite nicely as the defacto vampire-hunter, bit its no Van Helsing. This is a classic Hammer Horror but overall I just didn't find the characters overly compelling, nor the women quite as captivating as some other Hammer horrors, it was a bit tame for my tastes, preferring the more lurid Hammer entries that came later with Vampire Circus (1971) and Twins of Evil (1971), that said I did enjoy my viewing and fully understand the beloved nature of the film, my preferences just runs a bit more weird. 

A confession, I do not find Christopher Lee's portrayal of Dracula here all that enthralling, a primal, speechless beast with blood-shot eyes who elicits only a few hisses for the duration of the film, there's just not a lot more beyond that for me. The film receives praise in terms of it's Gothic setting and creepy atmosphere but again I found the characters rather weak, it was difficult to throw myself into their plight. Early on I did enjoy the chemistry of our four characters, naysayer Helen particularly, I rather liked the introduction of Klove and the bloody resurrection of Dracula is fantastic, the addition of Father Sandor is welcome but in the end it's just not one of my preferred Hammer entries. The memorable finale recouped much of my waning vigor for the film with the cold, watery death of Count Dracula, it's top notch, but the film itself is a bit too measured to endear itself to me. 

Blu-ray: Dracula - Prince of Darkness (1965) comes to Bluy-ray for the first time in North America with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode in it's original Techniscope (2.35:1) aspect ratio with a it's grain structure nicely intact, not a lot of digital scrubbing here, leaving with it some modest fine detail in textures and facial expressions but not much in the way of depth, it's a rather flt 1080p presentation, but quite a step up from my region 2 Optimum DVD. Colors are strong, greens and red pop nicely, noticeably there's a prevalent green hue to the film, not sure if this is indicative of the theatrical experience but I did not find it distracting, but it's there. The print source is nice, there are still minor scratches and white specs from time to time but they are very minor and not ruinous to the viewing experience. While not the best of the recent Hammer 1080 transfers we've seen of late, notably from Synapse and Shout! Factory imprint Scream Factory, it's a pleasing 1080p upgrade for a beloved Hammer horror classic. 

Oddly, the film does not receive a lossless audio option and Millennium Entertainment have chosen to include only an English language Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track with optional Spanish and English SDH subtitles. Dialogue  score and effects are nicely balanced but are not the crispest one could hope for from the hi-def format. A DTS-HD Master Audio option surely would have benefited Hammer regular James Bernard's atmospheric score with more depth and oomph, definitely a missed opportunity.

Onto the extras we begin with a group commentary from stars Christopher Lee, Suzan Farmer, Francis Mathews and Barbara Shelley, it gets a bit quiet at times but it's an open and honest account of the film and makes for a decent listen for fans of the film and of Hammer Horror. 

The next extra is an episode of World of Hammer titled 'Hammer Stars: Christopher Lee' (24:58)  and is a career-spanning retrospective of the Hammer films of Christopher Lee narrated by legendary Brit-drunk and actor Oliver Reed (Burnt Offerings). It's loaded with some great clips from his Hammer Films output  it's lite-fare but quite entertaining. 

Be sure to check out the documentary Back to Black (30:33) which covers the making-of the film with interviews from various authors, film historians and actors and actresses, it's a delight to watch for any fan of Hammer Horror. 

Finishing up the special features are a neat Restoration Comparison (3:56) featuring before and after sequences, a very impressive restoration even if the final image is not exactly flawless. There's a fun restored trailer (0:36), a double bill which played alongside Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), an image gallery featuring stills, behind-the-scenes pics, lobby cards and theatrical posters for the film accompanied by James Bernard's score plus five postcard sized collectible cards featuring images from the film, plus a slipcover for the Blu-ray case replicating the artwork. 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary featuring Christopher Lee, Suzan Farmer, Francis Mathews and Barbara Shelley
- World of Hammer episode 11 "Hammer Stars: Christopher Lee' (24:58) 
- Documentary: Back to Black (30:33) 
- Restoration Comparison (3:56) 
- Restored Double Bill Trailer Dracula - Prince of Darkness / Frankenstein Created Woman (0:36) 
- Stills Gallery (5:45) 
- Exclusive Collectible Cards 

Verdict: It's wonderful to see another beloved Hammer horror find it's way to Blu-ray and with a nice selection of extras, I would encourage any Hammer horror fan to pick this edition up sight unseen, it's good Gothic fun and a damn decent watch, even if it's not a top tier Hammer entry in my opinion it deserves a place  in your movie collection. Definitely looking forward to more Hammer Films on Blu-ray with Quartermass and the Pit, The Plague of the Zombies (1966) and The Devil Rides Out (1968) all coming later this year from Millennium Entertainment! 3.5 Outta 5 

DVD Review: MIDNIGHT SON (2011)

MIDNIGHT SON (2011)

Label: Image Entertainment

Release Date: July 17th 2012

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Rating: Not Rated
Duration: 92 mins
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English, Spanish
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Scott Leberecht
Cast: Zak Kilberg, Maya Parish, Tracey Walter, Arlen Escarpeta, Kevin McCorkle, Jo D. Jonz


Synopsis: Midnight Son (2011) is the story of Jacob, a young man confined to a life of isolation, due to a rare skin disorder that prevents him from being exposed to sunlight. His world opens up when he meets Mary, a local bartender, and falls in love. Tragically, Jacob's actions become increasingly bizarre as he struggles to cope with the effects of his worsening condition. Forced by the disease to drink human blood for sustenance, he must control his increasingly violent tendencies as local law enforcement narrow their focus on him as a suspect in a series of grisly murders.

The Film: The vampire genre like the pale-skinned corpses of its victims has been drained of it's vitality time and time again through the ages and maybe never more so than with the tepid tween juggernaut Twilight and it's sequels.  Fear not though for not unlike like the fanged creatures of the night the genre is resilient and regularly resurrected and unleashed upon the masses with renewed vigor and threat - which brings us to director Scott Leberecht's low-budget vamper Midnight Son. 


This is a quiet sorta thriller that's definitely not of the shock and awe variety, it's more indie and thoughtful but also dark and quite wonderful, too. Zak Kilberg (Zombie Strippers) portrays Jacob a night security guard at an office building where he works alongside a sage custodian (Tracey Walter, Repo Man). Jacob has suffered with a rare skin disorder from a young age that forces him to avoid sunlight - this particular condition may or may not be vampirism - its not really spelled out for you clearly but that's definitely what it feels like. Aside from the sun-aversion he is also super pale and anemic - the worst complexion you've seen in sometime. On top of this he has a growing thirst for blood which early on he procures from a meat market which he keeps in a thermos and sip from a coffee cup.


As the film moves on in its quietly intense sorta way Jacob's symptoms start to worsen and he becomes more and more jaundiced in appearance, the iris of his eyes turn a striking yellow and his blood lust grows more and more insatiable. When the meat market no longer proves sufficient enough supplier he turns to a hospital employee (Jo D. Jonz) who really only complicates things with his less-than-legal  skill set for acquiring blood on-demand.


Along the way Jacob meets and falls in love with a bartender named Mary whom struggles with a her own addiction - cocaine.  The couple each struggle on their own to maintain a normal relationship in the face of  their own increasing demand for their drugs of choice.


I talk about the film having a quiet intensity to it but it is also quite violent at times if short on gore but there's blood aplenty. Where the film excels is as a modern vamp story of a lonely man's struggle to maintain normalcy and indulge in the pursuit of love during a very strange time in his life. There's some great performances here and particularly from Kilberg who nails the loneliness of the character, there's some nice character moments and  pathos that really sucks you in.  


Special Features:

- Audio Commentary with Director Scott Leberecht and Stars Zak Kilberg, Maya Parish and Jo D. Jonz

- Interview with Zak Kilberg (4:43), Maya Parish (5:02)), Jo D. Jonz (5:02), Scott Leberecht (17:47) and Lyn Moncrieg (8:09)) 

- Three Deleted Scenes ((1:58) 16:9 

- Trailer (2:27) 16:9


Verdict:  This gets off to a slow start but if your looking for a vampire flick with a new take on things that doesn't bleed rote familiarity director Scott Leberecht's Midnight Son may be just what you're looking for. The film shares a kinship with films off-kilter but awesome tales of vampirism like George A. Romero's Martin (1976) and Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark (1987) - if that strikes you as a good thing this is an easy recommend. 3 outta 5 

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Blu-ray Review: TWINS OF EVIL (1971)

TWINS OF EVIL (1971) 
Blu-ray + DVD Combo 

Label: Synapse Films
Region: Region A
Duration: 87 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono 
Director: John Hough
Cast: Peter Cushing, Damien Thomas, Dennis Price, David Warbeck, Madeleine Collinson, Mary Collinson
Tagline: Which is the Virgin? Which is the Vampire? 


Synopsis: Two beautiful orphaned identical twins, Maria and Frieda Gellhorn (Playboy centerfold models Mary and Madeleine Collinson), move to the village of Karnstein to live with their uncle Gustav Weil (played by Hammer horror favorite, Peter Cushing), a fanatical puritan and leader of the local witch-hunting “Brotherhood.” The village Count (Damien Thomas, Never Let Me Go), an evil man who secretly practices Satanism, uses black magic and transforms into a vampire. Unhappy with her new life, Frieda seeks escape and tragically falls under the spell of the Count. Now overcome with an insatiable hunger for human blood, Frieda has to hide her secret from her sister, and escape her uncle’s killing grasp!

The Film: Twins of Evil (1971) is Hammer's third and final entry in a series of films known as the Karnstein trilogy following The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Lust for a Vampire (1971)  and in it village elder Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing, Shock Waves) is the stern and rather unpleasant leader of a fanatical group of witch-hunters called The Brotherhood. Cushing's portrayal of the witchfinder is differentiated from Vincent Price's depiction of Mathew Hopkins in the film The Witchfinder General (1968) in that he truly and sincerely believes he's doing the Lord's work while Price's character was merely profiteering from other's misery in the most reprehensible way. The true tragedy is that while these busty innocents burn there is actually a devil among them - Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas)  looms over the village from his castle where he engages in wicked orgies and Satanic rituals but The Brotherhood dare not touch him for he is under the protection of the Emperor, the monarchies weren't really down with religious fanaticism... so let's burn some busty blondes instead, right? Right! The decadent Count Karnstein comes from a long lineage of sadistic evil-doers and and his depraved aristocratic lifestyle leaves him yearning for a taste of true-evil but he surrounds himself with wannabe cultists and so he grows bored and deeply unsatisfied, that is until one-night when he offers up a human sacrifice conjuring the long dead Coutness Mircalla (Katya Wayeth, Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange), a true beauty who fornicates with the Count and in the process gives us a nice tidbit of eroticism as she simulates a hand-job with a candlestick - it's a nice touch, way to go Hammer. Oh yeah, and she transforms him into a vampire - that's important to know.

It's right about then that Weil's newly orphaned identical twin nieces Maria (Mary Collinson) and Frida (MadelineCollinson) arrive in the village of  Karnstein and quickly discover what a strict and religious man their Uncle Weil truly is - he's definitely no fun. His puritanical persecution of the voluptuous beauties pushes them away and none more so than kinky Frieda who is quite obviously the more deviant of the duo with a keen interest in the darker side of what life has to offer.  It's not long before freaky Frieda falls under the spell of the Count after overhearing tales of wild orgies and his wicked ways. She steals away in the dark of night to his castle swearing her sister to secrecy, she's a pretty typical teen. Maria, the more virginal of the twins, takes a liking to a much nicer young man, a schoolteacher named Anton Hoffer (David Warbeck, Lucio Fulci's The Beyond) who studies superstitions and believes in witchcraft and vampirism. Weil not surprisingly doesn't approve of Anton's interest in the occult but when Freida falls victim to Karnstein's vampirism becoming a bloodsucker and killing one of The Brotherhood the two men join forces and lead The Brotherhood on a bloody assault of Karnstein's castle.

The film was shot on many of the sets used for Hammer's Vampire Circus so it definitely has that Hammer familiarity to it. The outdoor scenes shot in Oxhead Park are outstanding, particularly an early night scene wherein The Brotherhood capture and burn a suspected witch - the nighttime woods laden with fog are quite eerie and wonderfully Gothic, the film is drenched with loads of tense atmosphere.


As with the preceding films in the Karnstein trilogy it's saturated with overt and lurid sexuality though perhaps not as much vampire lesbianism as one might expect from a film featuring Playboy Playmate twins, there's just a brief titillating moment that passes far too quick. Fear not though, this is an early 70's Hammer endeavor from the production duo of Harry Fine and Michael Style so there's plenty of blood, breasts and other exploitative elements on display. It's lurid but definitely not to such great heights (or lows) as the aforementioned Vampire Circus which reviled us with elements of pedophilia and the murder of small children but it's pretty great nonetheless. 

Peter Cushing is a legend among legends and the star of countless horror classics and his performance is a coldly intense and blistering, I think it's a standout even among his oeuvre. Damian Thomas as the evil Count Karnstein turns in a decent performance but I just wasn't feeling it, not to constantly compare this film to Vampire Circus but Robert Tayman's perverse-bloodsucker Count Mitterhaus runs circles around Karnstein. Thomas is a bit goofy at times I must admit his fanged facial expression elicited more than a few a laughs, it's not fatal to the film but it detracted a few points. The Collinson Twins are are gorgeous from head to toe, voluptuous brunette beauties who were very easy on the eyes.


There's some nice carnage up on the screen to, the blood flows deep red and quite freely. Of course we get a few nice burnings at the stake, each one staged quite nicely, a machete to the head, fire applied to the eye, a shocking decapitation and an axe flung into someones spine - pretty great stuff.

Blu-ray: Hammer's Vampire Circus was Synapse's initial Blu-ray offering and it was quite a presentation, probably my favorite Blu-ray of that year. With Twins of Evil I would say they've raised the bar even from that high watermark. The film looks quite brilliant in 1080p high definition presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 widescreen sourced from a very nice print. There are a few rough moments particularly during some noisy nighttime scenes but overall this is a stunner with a nice layer of natural film grain and with beautifully resolved fine details and texture. The colors are appropriately vibrant and black levels are consistently strong. The English language DTS-HD mono audio track sounds great, too. It's a mono track so we don't get any dynamic range or use of the surrounds but the audio is crisp and the dialogue rings through clear.


The audio and visual presentation is sweet let us look into the wealth of special features beginning with a feature length documentary The Flesh and the Fury: X-Posing Twins of Evil (1hr 24 mins) is nearly as long as the feature itself, a fantastic retrospective exploring the origins of the film's story in Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla (1872) - a story that pre-dates Bram Stoker's Dracula by some 25 years. While discussing the Carmilla aspects of the film there's some dramatic re-enactment video footage accompanying the story, fun stuff. There's a ton of cinematic adaptations of the story from Joseph Dreyer's Vampyr (1932) on through to Blood and Roses (1960), Terror in the Crypt (1964) and Roy Ward Baker's The Vampire Lovers (1970) starring Ingrid Pitt. There's plenty of involvement from director John Hough too who openly discusses many facets of the film and it's origins, it's great stuff. There's also plenty of Hammer facts, trivia and critique from authors, critics and film historians Kim Newman, Joe Dante, Tim Lucas, Eric Hoffman, Ted Newsom - all quite enriching and not just about this film specifically of Hammer in general, particularly 70's Hammer and the sexploitation direction they were headed. Everything you could want to know about Twins of Evil and this particular era of Hammer is here for your enjoyment and nicely put into context. If the feature alone weren't enough this fantastic documentary is worth the price of admission alone.

The next feature is The Props that Hammer Built: The Kinsey Collection (23:28) featuring a guided tour of Hammer historian Wayne Kinsey's private collection of Hammer memorabilia which begins with a saddening story of Pinewood Studios tossing many of Hammer's props in the trash-bin, ugh. Kinsey shows us a model castle that was retrieved from the bin by a technician working on the lot at the time, the castle was used in the films Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)  and The Gorgon (1964) - truly  sweet piece of Hammer history. We also get to see bats used in Kiss of the Vampire (1963) and Brides of Dracula (1960) . An eyeball prop from Frankenstein and the Monsters from Hell (1973) and a few others including a prized jacket and books from Peter Cushings own collection. Kinsey's a bit dry honestly but the props and the story behind each one is pretty awesome.


On top of these features we also get a Motion Still Gallery (14:01) with tons f production and promotional stills and artwork not to mention a bunch of sexploitation promo shots of the Collinson Twins - sweet stuff. There's a US Trailer (2:31) plus a Double Bill Trailer (2:31) with Hands of the Ripper (1971) a selection of TV Spots (1:10) and an odd musical  Deleted Scene (1:09) that's more a curiosity than unburied treasure. There's also a DTS-HD MA mono Isolated Music and Effects Track highlighting Harry Robertson's dramatic score of the film. This is a Blu-ray/DVD combo but it should be noted that not all of the special features are carried over on the DVD.


Special Features:
- THE FLESH AND THE FURY: X-POSING TWINS OF EVIL (84 mins.) 16:9
An all-new, feature-length documentary exploring Hammer's infamous 'Karnstein' trilogy from the origin of Carmilla, to the making of TWINS OF EVIL! Featuring exclusive interviews with director John Hough, star Damien Thomas, cult film director Joe Dante, Video Watchdog editor Tim Lucas, and more!
- THE PROPS THAT HAMMER BUILT: THE KINSEY COLLECTION  (23:28) 16:9
- Motion Still Gallery* (14:01)
- Deleted Scene* (1:09) 16:9
- Original Theatrical Trailer* (2:31) 4:3
- Double Feature Trailer (2:31) 4:3
- TV Spots* (1:10) 4:3
- Isolated Music and Effects Track 
* (Blu-ray Exclusive)


Verdict: Twins of Evil (1971) gets an easy recommend from me - this is essential stuff. It's not quite the lurid shocker that Vampire Circus (1972) was but it's fantastic just the same. Synapse Films have done right by Hammer with a gorgeous presentation and a wealth of bonus content - the feature-length documentary is just as essential as the film itself. Yet another superb presentation from Synapse - and there's more Hammer on the way from 'em too with The Complete Hammer House of Horror 5-DVD Collector's Edition. 
4 Outta 5