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. 

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.