HAMMER VOLUME ONE: FEAR WARNING! (Indicator Blu-ray Review)

HAMMER VOLUME ONE: FEAR WARNING! (1963-965) 

Four classics from Hammer, each presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Whether it's a mad man brandishing a welding torch, a mythical monster who's looks can kill, an ancient royal with diabolical powers, or a mad woman wielding a pair of scissors, this set has something to unease everybody. Containing a wealth of new and exclusive extra features – including title-specific documentaries, cast and crew interviews, expert appreciations, introductions and more – this stunning Blu-ray-only Limited Edition box set is published in a horribly limited, numbered edition of 6,000 units.

MANIAC (1963)

Label: Powerhouse Films/Indicator Series
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration:
Audio: English PCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Michael Carreras
Cast: Liliana Brusse, Nadia Gray, Kerwin Mathews

Hammer's black and white thriller Maniac (1963) is set in the South of France, opening with a young woman named Annette (Liliane Brousse) accepting a ride home from school from a landscaper, who drives her to a remote area and rapes her. When the girl's father discovers this he kidnaps the man and tortures/murders the rapist with an acetylene torch. In the aftermath the father is sent away to the asylum for the criminally insane, but is regarded as something of a local hero for his act of vengeance. 

Enter into the picture an American painter named Geoffrey Farrell (Kerwin Mathews, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf) who ends up at a small hotel run by the young girl's step mother Eve Beynat (Nadia Gray, La Dolce Vita). Geoffrey initially is charmed by the teen aged Annette, but the flirtation is frowned upon by Eve, who intercedes and before you know it Geoffrey and Eve are involved in a passionate physical relationship, which was weird, moving on from the daughter to mother happened real quick. Eve involves her new love in a plot to free her homicidal husband from the asylum, and what transpires from there is a twisty, sexed-up thriller that I could not have predicted the outcome of, this thing has several hairpin turns that will absolutely disorient you with it's labyrinthine of deceit!

Audio/Video: Maniac (1963) arrives on Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films as part of their Indicator Series, framed in the scope widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio. The wide lensed black and white cinematography looks great, capturing the coastal French location nicely with a good looking grain structure, fine detail is plentiful and the contrast and shadow detail is very pleasing. Audio comes by way of a clean and crisp English LPCM Mono 1.0 track, dialogue and the jazzy score from Stanley Black (The Flesh and the Fiends) sound terrific, optional English subtitles.  

Onto the extras we have a 11-min retrospective with  cultural historian John J. Johnson and author Jonathan Rigby, plus a Hammer's Women feature with horror film expert Lindsay Anne who gives an appreciation of star Nadia Gray. Focus Puller Trevor Wrenn and Clapper Loader Ray Andrew show up for a recollection of working on the film, including working in the asbestos mines for the final scenes, and how the clapper boy had the youthful foolishness to walk up to the director and suggest how the film should end - and they used it! There's also some discussion of the lively after-hours entertainment during the shoot. Additionally we get the theatrical trailer, a gallery of on-set images, and a collector's booklet with new essay by writer Kim Newman, 1978 interview extract with director Michael Cerreras from House of Hammer magazine, memoir extract from writer/producer Jimmy Sangeter's memoir, contemporary reviews, historic articles, and full film credits.

Special Features: 
- White-Hot Terror: Inside ‘Maniac’ (11 min) HD
- Hammer’s Women: Nadia Gray (2017): horror film expert Lindsay Anne Hallam looks at the fascinating life and work of the Romanian stage and screen actor (8 min) HD
- Focus Puller Trevor Wrenn and Clapper Loader Ray Andrew on ‘Maniac’ (2017): original crew members share their memories of working on the film (5 min) HD
- Trailer (2 min) HD
- Original Promotional Material (1 min) HD
- On Set Photography (1 min) HD
- Exclusive booklets with new essay by writer Kim Newman, 1978 interview extract with director Michael cerreras from House of Hammer magazine, memoir extract from writer/producer Jimmy Sangeter's memoir, contemporary reviews, historic articles, and full film credits.

FANATIC (1965)

Label: Powerhouse Films/Indicator Series
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Cert. 15 
Duration: 95 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Silvio Narizzano
Cast: Tallulah Bankhead, Stephanie Powers, Yootha Joyce, Peter Vaughn, Donald Sutherland

Hammer's first color film was this matriarchal nightmare, also known as Die! Die! My Darling! in the U.S., starring Tallulah Bankhead (Lifeboat)as religious zealot Mrs. Trefoile, a decrepit woman who is visited upon one day by Patricia Carroll (Stephanie Powers, Experiment in Terror) - the one time fiance of her now dead son, he having apparently perished in a fatal car accident. Bankhead is channeling Bettie Davis in a hag-horror role chewing-up the scenery with maniacal lunacy, blaming Patricia for taking her son away from her, chastising her for wearing the devil's color (red), and wearing lipstick. When she finds out that Patricia plans to marry another man she locks her away in a room, hoping to make her repent, to purify her and mend her wicked ways. Mrs. Trefoile is assisted in her religious zealotry by a husband/wife servant duo, the lecherous Harry (Peter Vaughn, Straw Dogs) and dutiful Anna (Yootha Joyce, Fragment of Fear), plus a dim-witted gardener played by a very young, and under utilized, Donald Sutherland (Invasion of the Body Snatchers). 

This was such a fun movie, very campy in a later-era Bettie Davis/Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? sort of way, with the wicked old woman starving poor Patricia, along the way while her servant Anna regularly lays hands upon her, even stabbing her at one point with a pair of scissors, providing some of that precious, patented red-paint Hammer blood. If you love campy hag-horror this one has it in spades as the puritanical lunatic attempts to brainwash/purify the 60's-era liberated young woman. 

Audio/Video: Fanatic (1963) arrives on Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films as part of their Indicator series, presented in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1). The image is crisp and clean, the source looks fantastic, colors are rich and textured, there's some nice use of Mario Bava-esque lighting in some attic scenes that absolutely glow/pop-off the screen. Grain is nicely managed and fine detail is abundant, with only some minor white speckling to note as far as blemishes. Audio comes by way of an English LPCM 1.0 Mono track, it's well-balanced, the dialogue and Gothic score from Wilfred Josephs (The Deadly Bees) comes through naturally without any distortion, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Extras include a 14-min retrospective with cultural historian John J. Johnson and author Jonathan Rigby, another Hammer's Women focusing on Tallulah Bankhead with Kat Ellinger, and oh boy did she lead a wild and unapologetic life! There's also an appreciation of composer Wilfred Josephs, and both continuity supervisor Renée Glynne and second assistant director Stuart Black recall the making of Fanatic, plus the option to watch the film with the alternate Die! Die! My Darling! US title sequence, original theatrical trailer, image gallery and a booklet. 

Special Features: 
- House of Horror: Inside ‘Fanatic’ (14 min) HD
- Hammer’s Women: Tallulah Bankhead (2017): Kat Ellinger explores the life and work of the inimitable star of stage and screen (9 min) HD 
- David Huckvale on Wilfred Josephs (2017): an appreciation of the composer’s work by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde (14 min) HD
- Fanatical Detail (2017): continuity supervisor Renée Glynne and second assistant director Stuart Black recall the making of Fanatic (9 min) HD
- Matthew Lombardo on Tallulah Bankhead and ‘Fanatic’ (2017): the acclaimed playwright discusses his play Looped and his fascination with Tallulah Bankhead (7 min) HD
- Die! Die! My Darling!: alternative presentation of Fanatic with the US title sequence 
- Original Trailer (3 min) HD
- Image gallery (60 images) HD 
- Exclusive booklet with new essay by Josephine Botting, curator at the BFI National Archive, 1977 interview with director Silvio Narizzano, Starlog interview with writer Richard Matheson on Fanatic, actress Stephanie Powers on Looped, Fanatic  and Tallulah Bankhead, and contemporary reviews, historic articles, full film credits, and notes about the A/V presentation

GORGON (1964)

Label: Powerhouse Films / Indicator Series
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Cert. 15 
Duration: 83 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM Mono 1.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66) 
Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco, Barbara Shelley, Michael Goddliffe, Patrick Troughton

Back into the realm of Gothic Hammer horror
we have The Gorgon (1964) directed by Hammer veteran Terence Fisher (Dracula: Prince of Darkness) and set in the German village of Vandorf in 1910. We have a series of unsolved murders in the village, each occurring on the night of a full moon. Paul Heitz (Richard Pasco, Rasputin: The Mad Monk) arrives in the village after his younger brother is found dead, his body strangely turned to stone. Meanwhile Dr. Namaroff (horror great Peter Cushing, Corruption) is falsifying the death certificates to obscure the truth behind the strange deaths. Heitz calls in friend Professor Karl Meister (the other horror great Christopher Lee, Horror Express) to help him get to the bottom of things. Meanwhile Heitz begins to form a romantic relationship with nurse Carla (Barbara Shelley, Village of the Damned) and discovers that the spirit of a fabled snake-haired Gorgon sister may be haunting the nearby castle ruins. The Gorgon is laced with vintage Gothic fashion and set dressing, dripping with atmosphere and creepiness, but all is nearly undone when the final scene reveals the snake-haired Megaera. which to be nice I will say is a bit on the cheap side, but thankfully it doesn't undo the movie, this is good stuff and worth a watch! 

Audio/Video: The Gorgon (1964) arrives on Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films as part of their Indicator series, presented in 1080p HD widescreen (1.66:1). I own this on a double-feature Blu-ray from Mill Creek, and I am here to tell you this wipes the floor with that release. We have more image information, the colors are more saturated and warmer, the grain is better resolved and fine detail and clarity are improved.  As where ill Creek went with their usual lossy audio Indicator gives us a more robust English LPCM Mono 1.0 track with optional English subtitles.

Again Powerhouse/Indicator go all out with the extra, beginning with a commentary from Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger, an appreciation of Barbara Shelley by Patricia MacCormack, an appreciation of the film by actor and filmmaker Matthew Holness, a trailer, promotional images, and the 1977 comic-strip adaptation from House of Hammer magazine, plus the retrospective with cultural historian John J. Johnson and author Jonathan Rigby. We also get a booklet with new essay by writer Marcus Hearn, 1977 Hammer magazine interview with director Terrence Fisher and Barbara Shelley, 2010 interview extracts from interview with Barbara Shelley, contemporary reviews, historic articles, and full film credits.

Special Features: 
- Heart of Stone - Inside The Gorgon (14 min) HD
- The Gorgon Audio Commentary with Daughters of Darkness Podcast co-hosts Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger 
- The Gorgon introduction by actor and filmmaker Matthew Holness (15 min) HD
- Hammer’s Women – Patricia MacCormack on Barbara Shelley (9 min)
- Trailer (3 min) HD
- Promotional Material (2 min) HD
- The Gorgon Comic Strip Adaptation (37 Panels) HD
- Exclusive booklets with new essay by writer Marcus Hearn, 1977 Hammer magazine interview with director Terrence Fisher and Barbara Shelley, 2010 interview extracts from interview with Barbara Shelley, contemporary reviews, historic articles, and full film credits.

THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1964) 

Label: Powerhouse Films/Indicator Series
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Cert. 15 
Duration: 80 Minutes 
Audio: English LPCM Mono 1.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Michael Carreras
Cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco, Barbara Shelley, Michael Goodliffe, Patrick Troughton

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) has a pretty typical set-up for a mummy movie, an American showman Alexander King (Fred Clark, Sunset Boulevard) unearths a tomb of a disgraced Pharaoh. He plans to take it on the road as a way to print money, he steadfastly refuses to allow the discovery to be whisked away to some dusty old museum, and he makes a few enemies because of his entrepreneurial ways. As expected they open the sarcophagus at some point and the mummified Pharaoh is nowhere to be found, but soon those who have done wrong by the ancient Pharaoh are found dead and the lurching creature starts making quite a mess of things. 


I didn't find this to be the most pulse pounding of the Hammer entries on this set, it's a pale bandage-wrapped shadow of the Terrence Fisher classic The Mummy (1959) starring Christopher Lee, who was by far a more threatening mass of moldy bandages, it doesn't help that the bandaged bundle here is portrayed by a lumbering stuntman and not an actor, but this one has some opulent Egyptian set pieces, the Pharaoh's tomb looks fantastic, but this is still a bit on the slow side, thank goodness for Freddie King who does a fantastic job as the fast-talking PT Barnum type American Showman.

Audio/Video: The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) arrives on Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films as part of their Indicator series, presented in 1080p HD widescreen (2.35:1). As with The Gorgon I own this on a double-feature Blu-ray from Mill Creek, and again Indicator destroy that other version,the colors look renewed when compared to the washed-out US edition, colors are more vivid and robust, side by side this is a striking improvement. Again Indicator go with an English LPCM Mono 1.0 audio track with optional English subtitles. 

Onto the extras we have another look at the film with cultural historian John J. Johnson and author Jonathan Rigby, one of them pointing out an anachronism concerning Turkish delight, plus an appreciation of actress Jeanne Roland by Diabolique magazine’s Kat Ellinger. Actor  Michael McStay shows up for a brief interview, discussing his role as the Pharaoh, how when told to just make up lines of the silent scene he spoke about an upcoming Manchester United match, and how that translated into complaints from deaf members of the audience who read his lips, and nearly faintng when his prosthetic hand was chopped off. Composer Carlo Martelli also appears, discussing others composers music used for the opening credits and the belly dancing scenes, and what he contributed. 

We also get a seven-minute super 8 version of the film, full-frame and silent, very rough looking but a cool addition just the same. Finishing up the disc we have a trailer for the film, an image gallery, and a booklet new essay by Kat Ellinger, contemporary reviews, historic articles, full film credits, and notes about the A/V presentation.  

Special Features: 
- Blood and Bandages: Inside ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (13 min) HD
- Hammer’s Women: Jeanne Roland (2017): Diabolique magazine’s editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger offers an appreciation of the Burmese-born actor’s short career (11 min) HD
- Interview with Michael McStay (2017)- the British film and TV actor looks back at his time working for Hammer (6 min) HD
- The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Super 8 Version: original cut-down home cinema presentation (7 min) HD
- Interview with Composer Carlo Martelli on The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (4 min) HD
- Trailer (3 min) HD
- Image Gallery (131 Images) HD
- Exclusive booklet with new essay by Kat Ellinger, contemporary reviews, historic articles, full film credits, and notes about the A/V presentation

For some reason the Hammer Films releases do not get a ton of love from US distributors, occasionally we get something special, but the majority of the releases are lackluster and bare bones. Thankfully UK distributor Powerhouse Films have stepped-up to the plate with this phenomenal (region-free) 4-disc edition with lavish A/V presentation and a wealth of extras that will take hours to pour through, this is a phenomenal release, highly recommended for Hammer horror fans.  
 

NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008) (Umbrella Blu-ray Review)

NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: 

THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: B
Rating: MA 15+
Duration: 99 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0, Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.77:1) 
Director: Mark Hartley 

Synopsis: Welcome to Not Quite Hollywood, the fast and furious story of OZploitation - an eye-popping celebration of Australian cult films of the '70s and early '80s (including Stone, Mad Max, and Turkey Shoot). Exploding with adrenaline-pumping clips and outrageous anecdotes from a smorgasbord of local and international names (including Quentin Tarantino, Dennis Hopper, Jamie Lee Curits and Barry Humphries) this is the wild, untold story of an era when Aussie cinema showed the world a full-frontal explosion of boobs, pubes, tubes... and even a little kung-fu! 

Mark Hartley's movie-doc Not Quite Hollywood (2008) is a super-charged exploration of Aussie exploitation cinema of the 1970's and 80's, a doc I remember first remember watching in in 2010 with my eyes wide open as I took it all in with pen and paper in hand jotting down the names of films I'd never heard of, but the film's combination of outrageous film clips, adrenalized editing and enthusiastic talking heads put me in stranglehold and threatened to asphyxiate me lest I seek out these action-packed and preposterous movies, and the sooner the better. 

I was aware f Australian cinema before the doc, having grown up on a select few slices of Australian imports like Mad Max (1980), Razorback (1984) and The Marsupials: The Howling III (1987) from plentiful 80's cable airings, but this doc opened my eyes up to a whole other world of outrageous down under cinema, a plethora of amped-up b-movies I'd never before heard of before, like The Man From Hong Kong (1975) and the supernatural shocker Next of Kin (1985). A few years on I'm still not caught up with the original list I scribbled onto a yellow notepad page, which I still have tucked away and well worn inside my wallet. Director Mark Hartley has since gone onto make docs about the Filipino exploitation explosion with Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010) and Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014), in addition to the remake of coma-shocker Patrick (2013), and while I love them all to varying degrees this is hands down, not just my favorite of his films, but my favorite movie doc of any kind of all time, and that's not just hyperbole, I watch it several times year just for fun. 

The film opens with an enthusiastic intro from perhaps ozploitation's biggest super-fan, Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), and the rest of the he doc is split into three categories or chapters, first we have "Ockers, Knockers, Pubes and Tubes!" that begins by detailing Australia's history of censorship and how the floodgates of adult cinema opened up with the advent of the R-rating in the 70's, the market immediately saturated with sex comedies, or ocker comedies, like The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) and Alvin Purple (1973), then into my favorite  era, "Comatose Killers and Outback Chillers!", and ending with "High Octane Disasters and King Fu Masters!" with a potent mix of action and high-octane car porn, nobody does car action like the Australians. Harley interviewed over 80 writers, directors, actors, critics including Stacey Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis (Road Games), James Wan (The Conjuring), Brian Trenchard-Smith (BMX Bandits),  Russell Mulcahy (Razorback), Steve Railsback (Turkey Shoot), and so many more, plus it's stuffed with outrageous scenes of gratuitous nudity, over-the-top violence, low-budget gore and weirdness from every category of exploitation cinema, it's a wonderfully affectionate and irreverent document of a wild era of unhinged cinema.

Audio/Video: Not Quite Hollywood (2008) arrives on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment in 1080p HD framed at 1.77:1 widescreen. The image is sharp and clean, quality varies per the subject, the film clips look nicely vivid but fluctuate accordingly to the various sources, the behind-the-scenes clips are of lesser quality, but the new interview segments look great and mostly uniform in appearance. Umbrella have opted for two lossy audio options, we have English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 and Surround 5.1, there are no subtitle options, so some of the thick Aussie accents might hinder interpretation, but I didn't have any issues whatsoever. The audio mixes are well-balanced and bombastic, like the visuals the sound is amped-up and vibrant. 

As to the region code for this release, the disc packaging indicated this is a region-free release but I was unable to play it on either of my Sony Blu-ray players, though it played just fine on my region-free Toshiba player. The single-disc Blu-ray release comes housed in an over-sized 15mm spine Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of artwork featuring the original key art for the release, on the reverse side is a collage of ozploitation cinema images with the the eye-popping chapter titles for the films. The disc also features an excerpt from the same key art as the sleeve. 

Umbrella have loaded this sucker with bonus content, there are over nine-hours - you read that correctly - nine hours of extras! There's an audio commentary with director Mark Hartley, plus ozploitation auteurs Brian Trenchard-Smith, Tony Ginane, John Lamond, Alan Finney, Vincent Monton, Richard Brennan, Grant Page,  Richard Brennan, and researcher Justin King, adding additional onformation about the films, the doc and the era. There's also over an hour of deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary, plus additional interview with producers, directors and Hartley himself. We also get a MIFF ozploitation panel with Antony Ginnane, David Hannay, Brian Trenchard Smith, and Grant Page concerning censorship, plus a startling scene of stuntman Grant Page setting himself on fire on the MIFF red carpet! There's also a selection of vintage mini-docs for the films Inside Alvin Purple, Noon Sunday, and the best of the bunch, the 25-min To Shoot a Mad Dog Documentary with some scenes of an unhinged Dennis Hopper and a rather amazing fire-stunt from Grant Page (again).

On top of all that we have a three-hour plus ozploitation trailer reel, an ozploitation still and poster gallery, the original theatrical trailer, and the original 23-minute pitch promo for the film made when the only interview they had was Quentin Tarantino, combined with video clips and older vintage interviews from Hartley's previous making-of docs. 

Perhaps my favorite of all the extras is an interview with film critic Bob Ellis who rips the ocker comedies from Tim Burstall and the "arthouse" films of Peter Weir nine ways from sideways, he's a verbose character and is hilarious through and through, speaking about his own night's of group sex, STDs, and again really savaging the films of Peter Weir again and again whenever given the opportunity.

Special Features: 
- Audio Commentary from Ozploitation Auteurs: Brian Trenchard-Smith, Tony Ginane, John Lamond, Alan Finney, Vincent Monton, Richard Brennan, Grant Page,  Richard Brennan, and researcher Justin King.  
- Deleted and Extended Scenes with Optional Director Commentary (76 min)
- The Lost Interview: Chris Lofvenm (15 min) 
- A Word with Bob Ellis (25 min) 
- Quentin Tarantino and Brian Trenchard-Smith Interview (13 min) 
- MIFF Ozploitation panel with Antony Ginnane, David Hannay, Brian Trenchard Smith, Grant Page (19 min) 
- MIFF Red Carpet Footage (1 min) 
- Behind the Scenes Footage from the Crew (34 min) 
- UK Interview with Director Mark Hartley (22 min) 
- The Bazura Project Segment (8 min) 
- The Monthly Conversation (60 min) 
- KCRW The Business  Audio Interview (9 min) 
- Extended Ozploitation Trailer Reel (185 min) 
- John D. Lamond: Confessions of an R-Rated Filmmaker (8 min) 
- Richard Franklin on-set Interviw (7 min) 
- Terry Bourke’s Noon Sunday Reel (11 min) 
- Barry McKenzie: Ogre or Ocker Documentary (53 min) 
- Inside Alvin Purple Documentary (50 min)
- To Shoot a Mad Dog Documentary (25 min) 
- Ozploitation stills and poster Gallery (16 min)
- NQH Production Gallery (11 min)
- NQH Pitch Promos (23 min) 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 min) 

Not Quite Hollywood is a wildly entertaining movie doc, loaded with fascinating stories, eye-popping visuals, and a compendium of mondo movie clips that are arguably more entertaining than the whole of the actual films. Movie docs just don't get any more essential than this, highly recommended.

 

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS (2005) (Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray Review)

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS (2005) 

Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: MA 15+
Duration: 111 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Surround 6.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080P HD Widescreen (1.77:1) 
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Ken Fore, Priscilla Barnes, Geoff Lewis, Leslie Easterbrook,  Danny Trejo, Diamond Dallas Page, William Forsythe,  

Synopsis: From the twisted mind of acclaimed musician and Director Rob Zombie, comes The Devil's Rejects - a nerve-shredding violent road trip through the weirdest parts of American and the darkest corners of your mind. This grisly tale of mayhem reunites the homicidal members of the Firefly Family as they go on a rampage of senseless slaughter, pursued by a pair of sadistic bounty hunters and an outlaw sheriff hell bent on revenge. When they finally meet, prepare yourself for one of the most depraved and terrifying showdowns you'll ever see. 

Following the events of House of a 1000 Corpses (2003) the sequel opens with Texas Sheriff John Quincey Wydell (William Forsythe, Raising Arizona) and a squad of heavily-armed officers descending on the ranch home of the Firefly family, he comes breathing fire and damnation, but the Firefly's are prepared, donning cast-iron armor and well-armed themselves. In the ensuing firefight Mother Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook, Police Academy)is captured and Otis (Bill Mosley, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) and Baby (Shari Moon Zombie, Lords of Salem) escape through sewers tunnels, flagging down a passing car and killing the driver (Mary Woronov, Hell Hole) then hiting the road, eventually meeting up with the nightmare clown Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig, Foxy Brown), who take up refuge in a dirt bag hotel, kidnapping and terrorizing a family of travelling country musicians, headed-up by Roy (Geoffrey Lewis, Salem's Lot) and his wife Gloria (Priscilla Barnes, the three-nipped gypsy from Mallrats!) whom they humiliate, denigrate and straight-up kill after putting them through the wringer, peeling the face off one of the band members, before wearing his face, in scene lifted from TCM2. 

The film is a weird one, it corrals you into rooting for the demented firefly clan in a weird way, the twisted killers on the run from he lawman who becomes just a deranged as the trio of killers, Forsythe as Sheriff is haunted by the death of his brother George (Tom Towles, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), when he snaps he murders Mother Firefly in her jail cell, and to see Easterbrook at Mother Firefly is demented, she capably the shoes of Karen Black (Burn Offerings) who portrayed the matriarch in the first film! Unhinged and out for revenge Wydell hires a pair of underworld bounty hunters named Rondo (Danny Trejo, From Dusk Till Dawn) and Snapper (Diamond Dallas Page) to track down the trio of killers, leading up to a fiery inferno at the Firefly ranch. 

Along the way we have a cast of side characters including Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) as a whore mongering lowlife, Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes), 80's porn star Ginger Lynn (New Wave Hookers) and Elizabeth Daily (Better Off Dead) as whores, and both are lunatics, plus P.J. Soles (Carrie) as a woman victimized by Captain Spaulding, who also lays a head trip on her terrified son! 

As where House of a 1000 Corpses was a surreal, nightmare-fueled version of Tobe Hooper's TCM2, The Devil's Rejects is more gritty and realistic, visually more stripped down and akin to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) in tone, I really dig the seedy aesthetic of it. The Firefly trio are great, Haig is fantastic as Spaulding, lots of great lines, and both Baby and Otis are toned down a bit from the previous film, there's a certain evil-gleefulness to their awfulness, played as a dark comedy with plenty of nerve-shredding exploitation and violence. 

Audio/Video: The Devil's Rejects (2005) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment framed in 1080p HD widescreen (1.77:1). The visuals are going for that 70's washed-out patina, the whites burn bright, and the overall image is gritty and dirty,  everything appears authentic to the original presentation without digital artifacts or other compression issues. The only audio option on the disc is a healthy sounding English DTS-HD MA Surround 6.1 track and it sounds great, the dialogue and effects are crisp and clean, well-balanced, and the 70's Southern rock soundtrack notably opening with Allman Brothers Band "Midnight Rider" and closing with Lynard Skynyrd's "Free Bird", with tasty selections from James Gang, Joe Walsh, Three Dog Night and a memorable rendition of "Satan's Got to Get Along Without Me" by Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. All the music sounds great, including a score by Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy). Optional English subtitles are provided, though they are not indicated on the box. 

Onto the extras we get all the extras from the 2-disc Director's Cut DVD except for the two audio commentaries and the 144-minute making of doc, which is a shame, as far as extras go that 2-disc DVD is still the definite edition, with the Lionsgate Blu-ray only carrying over the commentaries and deleted scenes, but this Blu-ray from is solid, I just wish we had a 2-disc Blu-ray release with both the theatrical and director's cut versions, the director and cast commentaries and the making of doc. 

The single-disc Blu-ray release comes housed in the usual over-sized 15mm spine Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring new artwork by Umbrella staff artist/designer Simon Sherry, the reverse side features a variant of the same artwork minus the rating label, the disc featuring an excerpt from the artwork, that when seated in the Blu-ray cases lines up perfectly with the reverse artwork on the b-side.  Not the biggest fan of the new illustration, I sort of wish we had the original artwork on the flip, not that the illustration is bad but for me it  doesn't capture the essence of the movie, and I am a huge fan of the original DVD release artwork. 

Special Features: 
- Bloody Stand-up (02:17)
- Matthew McGrory Tribute (01:59)
- Buck Owens: Satan's Got to Get Along Without Me (01:52)
- "Mary the Monkey Girl" Commercial  (1 min) 
- Captain Spaulding's Xmas Commercial (1 min) 
- Otis' Home Movies (1 min)
- Deleted Scenes (13 min) 
- Blooper Reel (6 min)
- Make-up Test (13 min)
- The Morris Green Show (13 min)

The Devils Rejects (20015) is a blood-soaked road movie, transforming the demented Firefly clan from the heinous over-the-top sicko clan of House of a 1000 Corpses to not just heinous killers, but anti-heroes of a sort, it's grim, gritty and not unfunny, playing and looking very much like a slice of vintage 70's exploitation. This is still my favorite Rob Zombie film to date, and it only gets better with age.   

ANNABELLE: CREATION (2017) (Blu-ray Review)

ANNABELLE: CREATION (2017) 

Label: Warner Bros. 

Rating: R

Duration: 109 Minutes

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD compatible), English Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital with Optional English SDH Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2:40:1) 

Director: David F. Sandberg

Cast:  Miranda Otto, Philippa Coulthard, Stephanie Sigman, Anthony LaPaglia, 

While I was not the world's biggest fan of  Annabelle (2014) I certainly did not hate it, it had some rather effective moments and I liked the story just fine, it was a decent studio horror film, very glossy and well shot, Just thought it was a middle-of-the-road. When I heard that Light's Out (2016) director was tapped for the sequel/prequel my interest level immediately increased, sure Light's Out was a teen-friendly frightener but I liked his style and hoped it would spark something with the r-rated prequel. This entry goes back the origin's of the demon doll, back to 1943 when doll maker Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia, Empire Records) and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) lose their adolescent daughter Annabelle (Samara Lee) is a rather horrible roadside accident,very similar to young Cage's demise in Pet Sematary (1989), and with an equally awful, but more delayed outcome. 

Twelve years later the still grief-stricken parents invite Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) and six young girls into their home following the closing of an orphanage. One of the orphans, Janice (Talitha Bateman), is afflicted with crippling polio, often left on her own while the others play outside she discovers a doll that's been kept hidden away in a locked room, the closet where it is kept is wallpapered in bible pages - which should have been some sort of deterrent, but she secretly begins playing with the doll she is unwittingly seduced by a demon. The demonic influence grows stronger everyday, until Janice becomes full-on possessed - after the doll literally vomits evil into her mouth! Her best friend Linda (Lulu Wilson, Ouija: Origin of Evil) sees the change in her friend, the growing darkness surrounding her, but her warnings to the adults falling on deaf ears, until she mentions the doll to Mr. Mullins, but by that point it might be too late for everyone.  

This one has a great cast, I especially enjoyed LaPaglia's turn as the quiet but kind father. The 1950s era and set design are well done and the movie is attractively shot. The story is creepy and builds well, there's a some mystery about it and the film builds some tension and minor character development, but nothing too deep, but just enough to draw you into the world. There are also some nods to the extended Conjuring universe, we get a brief nod to The Nun from The Conjuring 2 (and it's upcoming solo film) and this one ties directly into the first film with an extended epilogue sequence. 

The horror special effects are a bit slim but creepy; there's the spooky visage of young girl Annabelle which turns evil when she turns around at one point which startled me, the eerie bed-ridden Mrs. Mullins with a face partially obscured by a porcelain mask, a black-skinned demon, and a scene of fingers being bent backwards to a bone-snapping degree during an impromptu exorcism, it's fun stuff but it's not a bloodbath, the Conjuring universe movie aren't that sort of series, so don't come into this one expecting gore, just some good atmosphere and effective studio horror scares.  

Audio/Video: Annabelle: Creation arrives on 2-disc DVD/BD from Warner Bros. framed in 1080p HD widescreen (2:40:1),  the image is vivid and the clarity is fantastic, the black levels are deep and inky, which is good because this is bathed in shadows and darkness throughout. This period set film has a very earthy/rustic color palette, it's been color saturated to a degree, but looks wonderful in-motion, a wonderfully robust visual presentation. Audio on the disc comes by way of powerful and fun surround presentation that has a funhouse sort of mix that was very pleasing, the score from Benjamin Wallfisch (Light's Out, It) comes through strong and atmospherically, enhanced by the surround mix. 

Onto he extras we get an audio commentary from David F. Sandberg, plus a 42-min feature of raw footage from the shoot, a fly-on-the-wall perspective of what exactly a director does on-set. There are also two short films directed by Sandberg and starring his wife Lotta Losten, who also starred in his Light's Out (2013) short film, featuring at least one flourish which ended up in Annabelle: Creation. There are also deleted scenes with commentary, and a featurette about The Conjuring Universe. 

This 2-disc DVD/Blu-ray release comes in a standard Blu-ray keepcase housed in an embossed slipcover with the same artwork, the disc themselves are black with silver lettering, there;s no artwork on the discs. The DVD and Blu-rays discs feature the same main feature and extras, and there's a digital download code for an HD version of the film.  

Special Features:
- The Conjuring Universe (5 min) HD 
- Horror Shorts: Attic Panic and Coffer
- Director’s Commentary
- Directing Annabelle (42 min) HD 
- Deleted Scenes Featurette (12 min) HD 
- Coffer: Short Film(3 min) HD
- Attic Panic: Short Film (3 min) HD 

Annabelle: Creation (2017) is a glossy studio horror entry, this isn't some indie shocker, but it manages to create some decent atmosphere and dread, the scares are well executed, and even though it goes down a few familiar paths I liked this one a bit more than the first, this is a sequel that surpasses the original, not by a large margin, but it makes for an entertaining watch.