DVD Review: MCBAIN (1991)

MCBAIN (1991)

Label: ArrowDrome
Release Date: September 19th 2011
Region Code: 0 PAL
Rating: 15 Certificate
Duration: 99 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: James Glickenhaus
Cast: Christopher Walken, Michael Ironside, Maria Conchita Alonso, Victor Argo
Tagline: War is Addictive!

I've said it a few times on the blog that action films were never really my thing. I've always been more of a horror, comedy, thriller and arthouse kinda guy at heart but occasionally a sweaty testosterone fueled action flick would find it's way to my TV screen. More often that not in the guise of an cop-action-comedy or a sci-fi-actioner along the lines of DIE HARD, STARSHIP TROOPERS or THE MATRIX. This may sound slightly pretentious coming from someone who thoroughly enjoys a silly slasher but the action genre always seemed kind of big and dumb to me which is kind of exactly why I dig this early 90's action flick from James Glickenhaus, the director of the revenge-actioner THE EXTERMINATOR. It's an absurdly action-packed flick that's low on brains but chock full o' testosterone and explosions galore.

Much like THE EXTERMINATOR the film opens with a sweet 'Nam sequence. The war in Vietnam has quite literally just ceased and a helicopter of soldiers are being withdrawn from the jungle when they spot a bamboo dome structure they believe to be holding American POW's. Landing nearby they assault the camp in a flurry of knifings, gunfire and explosions and sure enough the dome is a MAD BEYOND BEYOND THUNDERDOME style death arena pitting American POW's against their Viet Cong captors in a fight to the death. As the soldiers move in POW Robert McBain (Christopher Walken, DEAD ZONE) faces off against a brick wall sized VC soldier when his life is saved by US soldier Robertro Santo (Chick Vennera, NIGHT EYES). Santo tears a $100 dollar bill in half and a vow is made that should the two halves of the torn currency ever be reunited that McBain will repay his debt to Santo.

Eighteen years later McBain is a steelworker living in NYC and while throwing back a beer in the neighborhood bar witnesses the now Colombian rebel Santo executed on live television after a failed attempt to overthrow 'El Presidente', a despot Colombian general played by venerable character actor Victor Argo (BAD LIEUTENANT). A few days later Santo's sister Christina (Maria Conchita Alonso, THE RUNNING MAN) makes the pilrimage from Colombia to NYC tracking McBain to the very top of the Brooklyn Bridge where he's welding. Offering him the torn $100 bill she enlists him to help liberate Central America from it's corrupt drug trade fueled dictatorship.

McBain brings his 'Nam aging buds back together to assist with the coup. We have an embittered Detective Gil (T.G. Waites, THE THING), Eastland (Steve James, THE EXTERMINATOR), Dr. Carl Dalton (Jay Patterson, DEATH OF A PRESIDENT) and a reluctant Frank Bruce (Michael Ironside, VISITING HOURS) who has apparently struck it rich post-'Nam offering "What, you miss the smell of napalm in the morning?" to which McBain counters "When I come to see you.. you're sitting in a chair like an old man, staring at the ocean, you having fun yet?".

Bruce refuses to join the coup (though he later joins the fun, of course) but offers the use of a plane which comes with a hefty pricetag. In an attempt to raise the cash the mercs decimate the crew of a low-level narcotics peddler named Papo (Luis Guzman, BOOGIE NIGHTS) who indignantly tells them after they wipe the floor with his gang in a shit-storm of gunfire that "if you guys want money why don't you go after whats his face, John Gambotti, he's got the money, all I got is table drippings" and so they do. They ambush Gambotti (Dick Boccecelli, THE EXTERMINATOR) outside the the Old Homestead restaurant which will be familiar to those who've seen Glickdenhaus's THE EXTERMINATOR as Dick Boccelli again appears as a mafioso suspended from chains, this time from a skyscraper instead of a meat grinder and squeezed for millions to be wired into the mercs account who pose as Israeli agents.

With the cash wired to their account they charter Bruce's turbo-prop private plane and head to Columbia to free the poor and repressed people of that country. At this point all logic and sanity are abandoned as the twin-prop tries to evades two Colombian jet fighters with the help of Bruce's SAT-link briefcase computer. When one of the jet pilots orders the plane to land McBain fires a single shot from a handgun through the cockpit window killing the pilot and crashing the jet. Mind you there's no decompression, the window doesn't shatter and no one is stricken deaf from the close proximity shot. It's outrageously implausible but highly entertaining and so it goes for the remainder of the film as we see one of the most casual rebel coups ever slapped on the silver screen. The Hawaiian shirted mercenaries land unscathed in Bogata during a raging ground war, pose for vacational photos and walk through a hornets nests of gunfire only to walk away unscathed and victorious, 'natch.

It's a nutty, non-sensical action film featuring Christopher Walken is at his most badass Walken-ish delivering deliciously awful dialogue with nuanced pregnant pauses as only he (and William Shatner) can, it's whacky stuff. As where THE EXTERMINATOR took a few narrative shortcuts leaving your mind to fill in the gaps this Glickenhaus action-fest numbs the brain to such a degree that it would prove detrimental should your brain enter into the fray. That said the final third of the film definitely loses some steam despite it's explosive arsenal of badassery.

Sweat 80's Action lady

Glickenhaus and crew filmed the Colombian scenes in the Philippines which I guess would qualify this as a late-era Filipino exploitation film. It was fun to see Walken strut his stuff. Sadly, the usually badass Michael Ironside is atypically subdued, definitely a missed opportunity. The film's worst performance must be from the consummate 80's action-lady Maria Conchita Alonso who really hams it up in an overly dramatic performance as Santo's rebel sister Christina, pure 80's awfulness. MCBAIN is an early 90's film but the cheese is vintage 80's no doubt about it.

DVD: This is one of the first titles from Arrow Video's fledgling ArrowDrome imprint, a budget line of cult horror and exploitation films for the cinema fromage connoisseur. It's presented in anamoprhic 1.85:1 widescreen and the transfer is very good with few instances of print damage, there's good color saturation and decent black levels. The stereo audio track is clear and balanced with the dialogue, score and effects coming through nice and clean, it's not the most dynamic track but handles the film without distortion.   

The ArrowDrome titles are  budget-minded so don't expect a ton of bonus content, the lone extra feature here is Blast 'Em Up: The Making of McBain (13:56) a video interview with director James Glickenhaus who discusses the film's origins, the futility of the war on drugs, working with Walken and how he considers all his films to be comedies of the absurd despite a few moments during the interview when he seems to take the film a bit more seriously that one might expect. The High Rising Productions produced featurette is short but appreciated with clips of the film intercut with the video interview. The ArrowDrome screener I received was a check disc and did not include final the artwork with reversible sleeve or the booklet with writings from Calum Waddell. Nice presentation and a short but sweet feature, not too shabby.  

Special Features:
- Introduction by Director James Glickenhaus
- Reagan Flexes Some Muscle: McBain and the Golden Age of the American Action Film Collector's Booklet by Calum Waddell
- Blast 'Em Up - The Making of McBain (13:56) 16:9


Verdict: I won't lie to you McBAIN is just not a good film, in fact it's pretty bad cinema, a guilty pleasure of an absurd actioner overflowing with nonsensical machismo mayhem. My advice to you is to turn off your brain and board this testosterone fueled twin-prop plane to a napalm fueled fever dream of non-stop action and unintentional hilarity. **1/2 (2.5 outta 5)  

Say CHEESE!

DVD Review: THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE (2010)

THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE (2010)

Distributor: MVD Entertainment Group
Label: Dustin Mills Product
Region Code: 0 NTSC
Rating:Unrated
Duration: 70 mins
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Dustin Mills
Cast: Ethan Holey, Jessica Daiels, Steve Rimpso, Dustin Mills, Bart Flynn, Erica Kisseberth

In Dustin Mills' DIY horror-comedy THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE a
group of five teens receive letters challenging them to spend a night in a creepy old mansion on the edge of town, yeah sure why not, right? At stake is one-million dollars for anyone brave enough to remain in the mansion for the duration of the night. It's a classic horror premise right outta William Castle's THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959). What they don't realize is that mansion is owned by a former Nazi scientist Dr. Wolfgang Wagner (Steve Rimpici) who has bio-engineered a carnivorous creature that he plans to unleash upon 'em as soon as the door closes behind them. That's the very simple set-up to the film, now throw in some kinky Muppet-styled hand puppet fornication, copious amounts of splatter, 400 soldiers battling a Godzilla sized creature and what you get is a splatteriffic horror-comedy that's a great watch.

There's a small cast of fun  characters here which perfectly suit the film's 80's inspired cartoonish carnage and splattery mayhem. Our main character is an Jesse Eisenberg type wimpy kid by the name of Charlie Hawkins (Ethan Holey) who is joined in the scary mansion challenge by his best-friend Gwen, a Brit-punker named Iggy (Bart Flynn), his girlfriend Mona (Erica Kisseberth) and an awesomely pervy horror nerd appropriately named Raimi (Dustin Mills) named of course after EVIL DEAD 2 (1987) director Sam Raimi. It's perhaps a sad reflection upon myself  that Raimi was definitely the character I could most relate to here. Also thrown into the mix is Charlie's ultra-ornery WWII vet Gramps (also voiced by Flynn), he's the second most quotable character after Raimi. Our antagonists are the aforementioned Nazi scientist Dr. Wagner, his evil-penguin sidekick Squiggums and the flesh-crazed toothy creature.

The director keeps it fairly simple with a pretty well familiar set 'em up and knock 'em down creature feature/slasher narrative. The unwitting teens arrive at the mansion, meet the mysterious Dr. Wolfgang Wagner and the bio-engineered creature quickly begins slaughtering puppets one by one right from the get-go, it's inspired in it's simplicity. The kills are not only surprisingly bloody but very well executed as puppet massacres go anyway, it's pretty crazy fun stuff.

I love the medium Mills has chosen to work with, it seems a completely novel and gimmicky conceit to use hand puppets set against 3D digital backgrounds and some South Park style animation flashbacks to WWII but it mostly works. The potential for disaster here would seem overwhelming, there are so many shitty DIY horror films and a hand-puppet splatterfest doesn't immediately spring to mind as horror-comedy gold but the film is well-written with some snappy dialogue and well executed right down to some great atmospheric lighting and shadowplay.


Like some of the best 80's horror film's this is deeply infused with a strong comedy element but it's character driven and not too absurd, it's really spot on. Probably not the best parenting decision I've ever made but I watched some of this with my 11 year old and we were both in hysterics, like we were watching The Three Stooges, there's no small amount of fart humor here but it complements the film's sensibilities as well as my own.

The major drawback to the film for me was that I just didn't care for the films main protagonist Charlie, he was very weak character in my opinion and my man Raimi was slighted to early on in the film, I just wanted more of the pervy horror nerd.
 At only 70 minutes the film flies by in a flurry of fuzzy carnage, it's the perfect length, not too short and not long enough to wear out it's welcome. Mills obviously poured his 80's horror loving soul into this project and it oozes awesomeness at every turn.

DVD: THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen and looks mighty good upscaled to 1080p on my screen. Colors are vibrant, black levels are strong and overall it's a very slick looking feature that one wouldn't assume cost $3500 to make. The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track suffices, it's not fantastic or particularly dynamic but it's clean and the dialogue sounds crisp.

The disc's special features include two scrapped ideas for the creature design presented in short video clips, what Mills decided to go with in the end is definitely the right choice for the film. There are also two commentaries, one with the director and another with both director and assistant direct Brandon Salkil. I only listened to the director's commentary thus far but it was quite informative with lots of talk about his love of 80's horror, making the film, the voice actors, creating the puppets and even critiquing the film a bit.

Special Features:
- Scrapped Monster 1 (0:10) 16:9
- Scrapped Monster 2 (0:30) 16:9
- Audio Commentary with Director Dustin Mills
- Audio Commentary with Director Dustin Mills and Assistant Director Brandon Salkil

Verdict: THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE is pure 80's splatter inspired puppet carnage with some fun kaiju elements. If you dig TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, Peter Jackson's MEET THE FEEBLES or Bill Zebub's DOLLA MORTE there's definitely something here for you to enjoy, worth a rental at the very least, recommended.
 

 http://www.puppetmonstermassacre.com/

Blu-ray Review: DEAD MAN (1995)

DEAD MAN (1995)

Label: Echo Bridge Entertainment
Region Code: Region A
Rating: R
Duration: 121 mins
Video: 1080p 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Cast: Johhny Depp, Gary Framer, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott, Euegen Byrd, Mili Aviatal, Crispin Glover, Iggy Pop, Billy Bob Thornton, Jared Harris, Gabriel Byrne, Robert Mitchum, John Hurt, Alfred Molina

In Jim Jarmucsh's black and white acid-western DEAD MAN Johnny Depp (THE NINTH GATE) portrays William Blake, a young accountant from Cleveland who packs his bags and embarks on a journey to start life anew in the Western frontier town of Machine where he has been offered a job at the Dickinson Metal Works. On the train ride from to Machine the soft-handed city rube sticks out like a sore thumb among the Western frontier folk and rugged buffalo hunters who shoot buffalo from the train. The ride gets weirder when the trains soot covered coal shoveler (Crispin Glover, RIVER'S EDGE) enters the car and sits across from Blake offering a cryptic foretelling of doom.

Arriving in Machine young Blake walks into the metal works where he is informed by the business manager (John Hurt, ALIEN) that he's a month late and the position is no longer available. Blake demands to talk with the Mr.  Dickinson (Robert Mitchum, CAPE FEAR) who promptly drives him off the property at the business end of a double-barrel shotgun. With no job prospects and dwindling funds Blake wanders the grim streets of Machine until he comes to a saloon where he makes the acquaintance of young prostitute named Thel (Mili Avital) who take him home to her bed where her jealous ex-lover Charlie (Gabriel Byrne, MILLER'S CROSSING) bursts into the room and fires upon Blake but Thel throws herself in front of the bullet which kills her and strikes Blake in the chest. Blake grabs the woman's gun and kills Charlie, wounded and dazed he escapes through a window and leaves town on the back of a stolen pony. As it turns out Charlie was the son of Mr. Dickinson and the wealthy factory owner places a large bounty on the head of Blake for the murder of his son and even lays the death of Thel on him, too. Three cold-blooded killers are hired to hunt down Blake; Conway Twill (Michael Wincott, CURTAINS) and Johnny "The Kid" Pickett (Eugene Byrd, TV's BONES) and a cannibalistic psychopath named Cole Wilson (Lance Henriksen, ALIENS).

Blake awakens the next day to the sight of an American Indian calling himself Nobody (Gary Farmer, GHOST DOG) performing surgery on his chest wound but he tells Blake that the bullet is too close to his heart and that death is a certainty. Nobody believes that Blake is the reincarnation of the poet William Blake and that he will accompany him to the Pacific Ocean so that he can return his spirit to it's proper place in the spirit world. The Native American outcast acts as Blake's guide to the cleansing waters of the West. The duo amass quite a bodycount in their wake as they encounter many would-be bounty hunters and scoundrels on their path.

The film is certainly a strange beast and has a surreal disconnect that lends an existential quality to Blake's doomed journey through what I would call  purgatory. The setting is pure authentic Western and evokes the scent of sawdust and woodsmoke. The film boasts a stellar supporting actors that includes screen legend Robert Mitchum in his final performance plus a cast of gristle-faced characters whose craggy features drink up Robby Muller's (TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., REPO MAN)  black and white cinematography. There are also notable appearance from rocker Iggy Pop (HARDWARE) as the deranged bible-thumping transvestite leader of a trio of fur traders that includes a pre-SLING BLADE Billy Bob Thornton, and speaking of craggy faces there's also a came from Gibby Haines of the Butthole Surfers, it's quite a cast of characters we have here.

The film operates on several levels ranging from the existential to referential, particularly the the poems of William Blake in much the same way that the Coen Brother's O, BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? mined Ulysses' The Odyssey but I really just enjoy it as a trippy western that tends to defy expectations at every turn. I tend not to read too much into it I just enjoy it but the subtext is there for those of who looking for something deeper.The film was a major disappointment at the box office in '95 when it was released, returning only a ninth of it's budget, apparently 1995 wasn't a great time for a black and white western revival but this is a film that a lot of folks missed the first time around and I say it's well worth a watch whether you be a fan of Depp, Jarmusch or just really awesome Westerns.   

Blu-ray: Echo Bridge's 16x9 enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen AVC encoded HD transfer does the film proper justice. The black and white imagery looks great in 1080p with a nice retention of the film's natural grain structure without the disservice of DNR scrubbing, it looks pretty great. The transfer offers good contrast, decent black levels and fine detail; facial hair, clothing and other textures are nicely resolved. A definite improvement over the previous DVD edition. The DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 sounds quite good, too. Dialogue is crisp and there are no distortions that I could discern plus Neil Young's amazing score soars throughout the film. I will say that a more atmospheric 5.1 surround mix could have gone a long way but what we have here is very nice. Special features are few but are at least present, the previous Miramax titles from Echo Bridge have been mostly bereft of bonus content and this is a most welcome exception. What we get are a selection of standard definition letterboxed deleted scenes and a Neil Young music video featuring in-studio footage of him performing the song with a montage of clips from the film overlayed with Johnny Depp narrating William Blake's poetry. I believe that the only feature not carried over from the previous Miramax edition is a theatrical trailer.

Special Features:
- Deleted Scenes (15:54)
- Neil Young Music Video (3:31)

Verdict: DEAD MAN is a film just not mentioned enough when discussing the careers of Johnny Depp, Jim Jarmusch or just kick ass Westerns in general. The mid-nineties weren't exactly a golden age of cinema so don't let this one sink into obscurity, if you haven't seen it you are missing out on what I would call a must-see, strange and offbeat western that stands aside GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI as one of my favorite Jim Jarmusch films.

DVD Review: SALVAGE (2010)

SALVAGE (2010)

Label: Revolver Entertainment
Region Code: 1 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 76 mins
Video: 16x9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Director: Lawrence Hough
Cast: Neve McIntosh, Shaun Dooley, Linzey Cocker
Tagline: Fear Cannot Be Contained
 
In this British horror-thriller set in a quiet cul-de-sac it's Christmas Eve and a young girl named Jodie (Linzey Cocker) is rather unwilling dropped off at her estranged mother's doorstep by her father. It's not quite a happy homecoming scenario and it's made worse when Jodie lets herself into mum's place only to catch mom Beth (Neve McIntosh) amidst a rather steamy  one-night stand with Kieran (Shaun Dooley, EDEN LAKE) a man she met just the night before. A barely dressed Beth chases after her perturbed daughter into the streets where there's a brief confrontation ending in Jodie tossing her mother's house keys at her quite hard and fleeing to a neighbors home. 

Beth is definitely a flawed mother character, a lot of their issues stem from Beth abandoning her marriage and daughter to further her career, and the tension between the two is thick with animosity and regret. Beth returns home and dresses a bit more appropriately and attempts to recover her daughter from the neighbors only to have the door shut in her face. Standing in shock outside the door her attention is drawn towards a helicopter overhead just as a neighbor emerges from his home covered in blood and carrying a large knife. Just then Beth is tackled by a military soldier who commands her at gunpoint to return to her home as the neighbor is gunned down after refusing to comply. As the military infiltrate the cul-de-sac Beth is left inside her home with a man she's only just met, near strangers who must come together to deal with an unknown threat that has descended upon the usually quiet neighborhood.

The nature of the threat is unknown at first but the film plays up fears of terrorism, particularly Kieran who's obsessed with the notion that the gunned down neighbor must have been part of a terrorist cell. Adding to the mystery are reports of a shipping container washed ashore in the nearby river Thames that seems to be the epicenter of the carnage that's overtaken the neighborhood. Trapped in the house together the two argue, panic and give in to varying degrees of paranoia and anxiety, it's not over-the-top hysterics and plays quite realistically into what I would assume one would experience during such an event.

As gunshots ring out in the neighborhood the panic worsens as does Beth's concern for her daughter's well being. She sets out to rescue her only to find the neighbor's house in shambles, blood is everywhere but there are no signs of her daughter. Discovering an injured soldier outside the house they bring him inside and are able to piece together what's the military is there to contain and it's far worse than they could have imagined. At the 53 minute mark the tense paranoiac thriller turns into a mutated creature horror fest and while the pace picks up it perhaps loses a bit of it's punch but is still quite a fine film.

SALVAGE is a great case of economical low-budget horror filmmaking, it's tense, atmospheric and nail-bitingly good. The acting is fantastic from start to finish, particularly Dooley and McIntosh, and wisely the creatures are kept mostly in shadow and not over exposed. The film's a nice combination of THE CRAZIES violent infected and terrorist paranoia thriller RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR.

DVD:The disc from Revolver Entertainment presents the film in 16x9 enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen and looks very good with nice black levels and a generally subdued color tone. The DVD boasts an impressively immersive Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track that accents the tension quite well, very good sound design and a tense score. Dialogue sounds crisp and clear, no subtitles are included.

Special features include a commentary track with Director Lawrence Gough plus writer Colin O’Donell, associate producer Alan Pattison and star Shaun Dooley who discuss the genesis of the film from a short subject film to it's development as a feature length production. It's a decent listen if a bit dry at times. There's also nearly 45 minutes of cast and crew interviews and a behind-the-scenes making of featurette. Not too shabby, but don't talk about the short film and not feature it on the DVD, c'mon guys. It had better be on YouTube or the film's website, seriously.

Special Features:
- Behind the Scenes Making Of (10:08) 16:9
- Cast and Crew Interviews (44:34) 16:9
- Commentary from Director Lawrence Gough, writer Colin O’Donell, associate producer Alan Pattison and star Shaun Dooley

Verdict: Having just watched British film TONY (2009) and then straight away watching this it's hard not to reflect upon the great many number of kick ass British horror films in recent years, it's very promising indeed. I'm a bit pist that I somehow managed to miss this one which was actually released last summer on DVD, better late to the party than never right?  Not a hugely original film but very well executed, tense and bloody, well recommended.

www.salvagethefilm.com/

DVD Review: TONY (2009)

TONY (2009)

Label: Revolver Entertainment

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Rating: Unrated

Video: 16:9 Widescreen

Audiio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Director: Gerard Johnson

Cast: Peter Ferdinando, Ricky Grover, George Russo, Frances Pope

Tagline: It's Aways the Quiet Ones

This is a film that will have you second guessing that weird nut on the bus that sits next you that mumbles to himself a bit and occasionally yelps or elicits some other random verbal outburst or perhaps the strange guy that frequents your magazine shop every so often, till now you've suspected they were a bit "off" but mostly harmless otherwise. We have one where I work we call "Fake Business Man", a dapper dressed fellow who carries with him a briefcase at all times, we often wonder what's inside, some say a knife others claim to have seen a lone sleeve of saltines, but it definitely has garnered a legend of it's own not dissimilar to the suite case from PULP FICTION. One day he came in bought a bottle of Peligrino water and crawled on his hands and knees from the register to the end of the counter where he arose stating "I don't think they saw me this time" and then off he went, I doubt he's a serial killer or a threat but after seeing this film I may be a bit more guarded next visit just to play it safe.

Gerard Johnson's feature film debut TONY (2010) follows the exploits of the titular Londoner played by actor Peter Ferdinand.  He's stricken with a severe case of awkwardness, he's gaunt, wears thick glasses, has a bad haircut and a truly awful mustache. His daily routine consists of not much more than feeding his appetite for 80's action films on VHS over a bowl of cereal and beating off to porn on the shitter, sounds like a pretty typical blogger or podcaster if you ask me, trust me, I know. His daily ventures out into the surrounding working class neighborhood is frought with awkward interactions with addicts, prostitutes and drug peddlers. Most pay him no heed but occasionally one ends up back at his place for whatever reason and more often than not they end up cut into tiny pieces, wrapped in newspaper and placed in a blue plastic grocery bags and dropped in the Thames during a nice gingerly stroll.

TONY is a quietly intense portrait of a modern day serial killer, a deeply disturbed individual who appears troubled but is not someone you'd peg as a killer on sight. Tony doesn't set out to kill but instead is looking for that elusive human connection but he's so introverted that he's virtually incapable of interacting with others on any kind of meaningful level and as a result he is easily dismissed and his attempts to make friends just end badly, his particular way of dealing with it just happens to be to simply kill them. As we view Tony's daily routines i feels almost documentary style, it's voyeuristic and creepy, not much happens but when it does it's hair raising. Despite being a psychotic killer he's not a unsympathetic character, unlike nearly all his victims, but he's just so creepy that even low-rent prostitutes shun him, he's the guy in the neighborhood that everyone knows as the weirdo, not even the guy selling bootleg DVD's is willing to carry on a conversation with him. He resorts to consorting with drug addicts whom he scores smack with and takes back to his place, suffocating one with a plastic bag while he's strung out and imprisoning the other and then releasing him, apparently because he was nicer while the other was an asshole. A night out at the gay bar ends with him waking up next to a corpse whom he offers tea to while tucking it all nice and comfy into the bed, perhaps there's some necrophilia implied but it's not explicit. All this goes on under the noses of the neighborhood who seems not to suspect shenanigans despite a constant funky smell emanating from his flat until a young boy goes missing and the boy's father fingers the neighborhood nut as a suspect which puts the police at his front doorstep.

Don't come into the film expecting a gore fest or even a blood bath, while there's a foot in the sink and some entrails being packed into bags and what not this is more a chilling study of a deranged nutcase than a blood n' guts splatterfest. This is worse, this is the weirdo next door to you. 

Despite being a low-budget production the film looks great and was shot on film, not digital, and you can tell. Its gloomy with long languid camera shots, it's fascinating stuff and is anchored by Peter Ferdinand's stunning lead performance, and the film's eerie atmosphere is further complimented by a melancholy score from THE THE.

DVD: The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 surround sound mixes with optional English subtitles as well as a audio description audio track for the vision impaired. Special features include an informative audio commentary from director Gerard Johnson, producer Dan McCullock and actor Peter Ferindando. There are also two short films from the director; MUG (2004) follows the daily routine of a street mugger and it's a depressing bit of film and the short film that preceded the feature film TONY (2005) also starring Ferdinando in the lead role and featuring a few scenes that are fleshed out in the feature length production.

Special Features:

- Feature Commentary from Gerard Johnson, Peter Ferdinando, Dan McCulloch

- TONY (2005) Short Film (14:07) 16:9

- MUG (2004) Short Film (10:45) 4:3 Letterboxed


Verdict: A film that recalls some of the cinema's finest serial killer character studies like HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and MANIAC. I give this a high recommend, it's a skin crawling film that will stay with you for some time afterwards, so watch out for the weirdos and pick this one up ASAP.

http://www.tonythemovie.com/

DVD Review: THE MIDNIGHT HORROR COLLECTION: PUPPET MASTER V.2

THE MIDNIGHT HORROR COLLECTION: PUPPET MASTER V.2
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment

PUPPET MASTER IV (1993)

Rating: R
Duration: 79 mins
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Chandra West, Ash Adams, Gordon Currie, Guy Rolfe
Tagline: When Bad Puppets Turn Good


PUPPET MASTER IV is directed by director Jeff Burr whom a few years earlier directed the much maligned LEATHERFACE: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3 (1990) which I actually quite enjoy but he also directed PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS (1994) which I have no love for so I wasn't sure what to expect when Burr took on the franchise, so let's see what we have here. The film opens in an other dimensional netherworld where we are introduced to a rubbery looking Egyptian demon named Sutekh and his trio of jawas looking minions adorned in robes with glowing red eyes. Sutekh declaring war on those who have stolen his secret of animation, namely Andrew Toulon who we all know died in the first film, but others are carrying on his work. Rick Meyers (Gordon Currie, THE WOODS) is a genius level researcher working for the Phoenix Division of the Omega Project which aims to develop artificial intelligence for presumably military applications. Coincidentally he just so happens to work as the off season curator of the Bodega Bay Inn, Toulon's old stomping grounds and is on the verge discovering Toulon's puppets and life giving elixir. 

Sutekh sends his forth a trio of Gremlin-like creatures called Totems to the Earthly plane which are controlled by his jawa-esque minions, each delivered in a wooden case to the three researchers involved with the project, Dr. Piper (Stacie Randall, GHOULIES IV), Dr. Baker (Felton Perry, ROBOCOP) and Rick at the Bodega Bay Inn. Dr. Piper is the first unlucky recipient of the deadly package and is terrorized by the Totem in a manner that specifically recalled the Zulu fetish doll segment of TRILOGY OF TERROR and then of CAT'S EYE when the creature sucks the life from her mouth and eyes with wispy ARMY OF DARKNESS opening credit style animations, not original but pretty entertaining at least.

Similarly Dr. Baker received a Totem and meets a grisly end meanwhile back at the Inn Rick spends his time playing laser tag with two experimental pint-sized robots in an attempt to gauge and encourage them to react autonomously, to transcend their programming an exhibit true A.I. His war-games are interrupted when his girlfriend Susan (Chandra West, THE SALTON SEA) shows up with her red-haired psychic friend Lauren (Teresa Hill, BIO-DOME) in tow alongside her moussed-up 80's asshole boyfriend Cameron (Ash Adams, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) who as it turns out is a former colleague of Rick's as well as a current member of the Phoenix Division, he's previously unaware that Rick is the lead researcher on the very project he works for.
 

After dinner that night Lauren notices the puppet Blade which Rick has previously discovered at the Inn, she stares at the puppet intensely, definitely getting a psychic vibe from the still secretly animated puppet. Later that night the group discover Toulon's trunk and open it despite Lauren's protests. Inside they find Toulon's journals, the remaining puppets Six-Shooter, Jester, Tunneler and Pinhead plus the animating serum. Reading through the journals they decide to attempt to reanimate the puppets, and do so successfully. Both researchers quickly realize that the serum could prove to be the key to A.I. and Cameron immediately begins to devise a plan steal the serum and take credit for the discover. He and Lauren use a mystical wiiji board of sorts found in Toulon's drunk to reach out to the spirit of former puppet master but instead open a gate to the netherworld summoning two Totems. Not long after the third Totem is mysteriously delivered at the Inn's doorstep and it's game on as the four battle for their lives against the creatures with the help of the puppets who in the grand Frankenstein tradition bring to life one of Toulon's unfinished creations, the new puppet Decapitator!
 

I rather enjoyed this installment of the franchise which kind of reads like a reboot of the series with the addition of the demonic Sutekh and his minions, it's all fun stuff and the more occult elements reminded me a bit of BEASTMASTER. The spirit of Toulon (Guy Rolfe, DOLLS) appears to both the Puppets and Rick throughout the film, often morphing with the head of Decapitator, that I didn't enjoy quite so much. The puppet animations this time around weren't on par with a few of the earlier films but there are some very cool action sequences involving the puppets working together to destroy the Totems including a lassoing and electrocution of a creature, the tag team of Six-Shooter and Pinhead holding down one of the creatures while Tunneler burrows into it's chest cavity, and the awakening of the Decapitator who exchanges his silver featureless head for a electron discharging sci-fi ensemble which he uses to destroy the final minion.

The fourth installment of the franchise is good cheesy fun with some decent low-budget effects work and decent acting and while it's not a great film I found it passably entertaining, fun and steeped in the now familiar Full Moon atmosphere that I seem to have an affinity for.

PUPPET MASTER V: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1994)
Rating: R
Duration: 82 mins
Director: Jeff Burr
Cast: Chandra West, Ash Adams, Ian Oglivy, Guy Rolfe
Tagline: Puppets Vs. An All New Evil!

The fifth film in the series is also directed by Jeff Burr and was filmed back-to-back with it's predecessor taking place immediately following the events of PM4 as we find Rick charged with the murders of Cameron, Dr. Piper and Dr. Baker. The cops obviously balk when he lays the blame on pint-sized killer creatures and h prospects look grim until he is bailed of jail out by the Director of the Phoenix Project, Dr. Jennings (Ian Oglivy, WITCHFINDER GENERAL). Ricks spills the beans about the events of the previous night to Jennings who is only slightly more believing of the story and much like Cameron from the previous film he hatches a scheme to acquire the puppets with the help of three hired thugs.


When Jennings and the thugs search the Inn for the puppets  they are attacked not only by the puppets but by Sutekh in the form of another more powerful Totem. The thugs falls easy prey to the demon and puppets and when Rick and Suzy make their way back to the hotel they find themselves aligned with Jennings in a battle with the Totem Sutekh who proves to be a more formidable  adversary than his minions. The humans are again aided by Blade, Six Shooter, Tunneler Pinhead, and Jester plus a surprise appearance from Torch who was conspicuously absent the last film.

Rick and the puppets toil to resurrect the Decapitator who once again is called upon to assist them against the powerful Sutekh. The film again features an appearance by the spirit of Toulon plus the psychic Lauren who lies comatose in a hospital bed after the events of PM4 but who's spirit somehow inhabits a computer this time around. Again, the Toulon elements of the film and the rather lame possessed computer bits were the film's weakest aspects. Somehow the film still manages to offer cheese-tastic entertainment to a degree but I found this entry less enjoyable than the last by some margin, and the quality of the puppeteering and animation is proportionately worse as well though the final battle is pretty cool. It was nice to see Gordon Currie back as the new puppet master and the addition of Ian Oglivy as the evil Dr. Jennings but only a recommend to Puppet Master die-hards. What was meant to be the last film in the series while offering some thrills definitely feels like a series on it's last leg.  

CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER (1998)
Rating: R
Duration: 78 mins
Director: Victoroa Sloan
Cast: George Peck Emily Harrison
Tagline: The Human Experiment


You just can't keep a good puppet down, though Charles Band retired the franchise with PM5 the series was resurrected four years later with CURSE OF THE PUPPET MASTER. This time out director Jeff Burr does not return to helm the film but David DeCoteau who directed my favorite entry in the series, PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE (1991), does, though it should be noted he chose to use his directorial pseudonym Victoria Sloan on the film, perhaps a reflection of how he felt about the final result. Also not returning is puppet master Rick Meyers and there's no mention of what has become of him. The defacto puppet master this time out is Dr. Magrew (George Peck, DEATHTRAP) who runs a puppet sideshow of sorts called The House of Marvels. He's also experimenting with transferring the soul of a human into puppets trying to replicate the autonomy of the puppets he purchased at an auction years earlier; Six Shooter, Jester. Tunneler, Pinhead, Blade and Leech Woman who is back despite having been killed off in PM2 and Blowtorch and Decapitator are nowhere to be found.

His daughter Jane (Emily Harrison, DANGEROUS INTENTIONS) is home from college and a trip to the local gas station with her father introduces them both to the gentle giant Robert "Tank" Winsley (Josh Green, PEARL HARBOR) who has a talent for creating ornate wood carvings. Dr. Magrew enlists Robert to work for him, carving intricate pieces of wood, for what he hopes to be a living animated puppet. Upon arrival at The House of Marvel's Robert is introduced to the puppets, he's mystified by how they are "alive" and Magrew tells him that the secret to animating the the inanimate is to put a soul into it. Not so coincidentally Magrew's previous assistant Matt has mysteriously disappeared drawing the attention of the Sherriff Garvey (Robert Donovan, MURDERCYCLE) and Deputy Wayburn (Jason-Shane Scott, DEADLAND) who pay the doc a visit after Matt's worried mother files a missing person's report. Magrew attempts to replicate Toulon's creations have thus far been unsuccessful and it seems that his previous assistant Matt may have been an unwitting victim.

His first night at the house Robert has a nightmare that his legs have been replaced by carved wooden appendages, it's a very effective visual and perhaps a bit of a nod to Pinocchio as well. Jane and Robert develop a romantic relationship which upsets her father, at first it's not clear if it's because the young man is a bit dim witted or if he has ulterior motives, but it's not a mystery for too much longer when he sends Jane of a fool's errand to keep her occupied while he attempts to place Robert's soul inside a robotic puppet. Unfortunately for him the puppets, who are inherently good, turn on him when they realize he's hurt Robert whom they've bonded with.

Unfortunately the puppets take second billing to the mad scientist storyline and the puppet animation is at an all time low, probably owing to the absence of longtime PM effects man David Allen.  The film is too much a departure from the series for my tastes and is defintely the weakest of the six up to this point, not surprising given that PM5 four years previously was already running on fumes. It occurred to me that the film has a strong resemblance to SSSSSSS (1973) a film featuring a scientist who operates a snake-themed roadside attraction and is diabolically perfecting a serpent-human hybrid and whose daughter is romantically entangled with his doomed assistant, sounds familiar, no?

DVD: All three film are presented in 4x3 fullframe with Dolby Digital stereo audio with no subtitle options. It's a single flipper disc DVD with pt.4  on side one and pts. 5,6 on side two. Not a grand presentation, in fact it's perhaps only slightly better than VHS quality with rampant video artifacting and noise coupled with the fact that there are no special features to be found for any of the films, it's a bare bones disc.

Verdict: So, these are not great films, duh, but they are definitely entertaining in a b-movie schlocky sorta way so I do give this a recommend to PUPPET MASTER and Full Moon enthusiasts, for you guys this is gonna be awesomely nostalgic trip. Some of these films haven't been easy to find in recent years outside of the out-of-print Puppet Master boxset and now you can pick-up the first six films on two discs for a little over $10 at WalMart and that's just very cool plus I would imagine at some point we'll see THE MIDNIGHT COLLECTION: PUPPET MASTER V.3 from Echo Bridge Entertainment collecting PUPPET MASTER RETRO, PUPPET MASTER: THE LEGACY and PUPPETS MASTER VS. DEMONIC TOYS, another win for fans of the series.