THE DEVIL'S CANDY (2015) (Blu-ray Review)

THE DEVIL'S CANDY (2015)

Label: Scream Factory/IFC Midnight

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 80 Minutes 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1) 

Director: Sean Byrne

Cast: Ethan Embry, Kiara Glasco, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Shiri Appleby, Tony Amendola

The Devil's Candy (2015) is the second film from Australian director Dean Byrne, who brought us the indie-horror The Loved Ones (2009), this follow-up pertains to a struggling painter-artists and righteous metal-head named Jesse Hellman (Ethan Embry, Late Phases) who moves into a rural Texas home with his wife Astrid (Shiri Appleby, Curse II: The Bite) and rocking-teen daughter Zooey (Kiara Glasco, Maps To The Stars). They buy the house for a song, with the usual movie trope that someone died in the home. It's implied by the realtor that the deaths were an accident followed by a mournful suicide, but a prologue tells us that there's more to the story, something Devil-ish might be festering in that home. 

They move in and almost immediately Jesse begins hearing voices inside the home, the voice become his artistic muse, as he begins painting nightmarish and demonic looking images, really frightful stuff, kids on fire and screaming in pain, way darker than his usual paintings, so much so that it alarms his wife. He becomes so entranced in the painterly process that he forgets to pick-up Zooey till hours after her school day ends, upsetting her quite a bit and causing a rift between the two, who were previously very tight. 

Not long after the disturbed son of the former occupants arrives on their doorstep, his name is Ray (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Heavy), a troubled individual who hears voices of his own, he tries to friend Zooey but is chased off the property by Jesse who sees him for the threat he is. We see scenes of Ray trying to drown out these negative demonic voices with his Gibson Flying V Guitar with a Marshall amp cranked to ten, which seems to dampen the voices and the impulses they spur, but he always relents and gives into them. We already know he's capable of heinous acts, so we know he could be a very real threat to Zooey, only Jesse and his family are unaware just how much danger they're - until it might be too late. 

We basically have two story lines converging here, we have Ray and Jesse, two men hearing voices, both compelled to act in a certain way, in some way doing the Devil's bidding, or so it seems. At just barely eighty-minutes long things come to a head sooner than later, though the movie is a bit too short to really flesh out the characters a whole bunch, but there's a certain visual shorthand at play, and for the most part I found it enough to keep me plugged in. What a transformation Embry has gone through, I do not recall him being so chiseled, his body is a sinewy, tattooed sculpture of it's own, his bearded face and ragged hair made him almost unrecognizable, looking a bit like a metal Christ, which may or may not have been done with a purpose. I like his character, a family man that he loves his daughter and just happens to be a  metal-head. His daughter and him have some good bonding moments, throwing up devil-horn salutes to each other and rocking out in the car to Metal music, but his new muse threatens to destroy their bond, and it might possibly cost him his daughter's life. 

Pruitt Taylor Vince has played these sort of homicidal weirdos a few times before, he does it well with just a few words and some body language, those darting eyes, trying to fight the influence of what might be a Satanic influence... or is it just mental illness, or mental illness compounded by a satanic influence? Regardless, I love the heavy as fuck death-chord he's riffing on to drown out the voices! Kiara Glasco is great as the teen daughter, she's likable, not annoying, and you can see where she's coming from when she's angry at her father and has a naivety and a strength that comes through without feeling like acting. Shiri Appleby, who plays the straight-person here, as the sensible mom character is the glue that holds the a family unit together, but it's not a very showy performance. 

I do not think the movie completely answers the satanic versus mental-illness question but I like the ambitiousness of it, it's an idea you can chew on for a while and interpret in a few different ways, I'm still not settled on which path I'm following here, I feel it really can be seen in different ways.

The movie is a low-budget production but the tone and atmosphere bleeds through the budget, they don't overstep their limits, and the finale takes pace in an inferno, and everything looks tip-top as far as special effects and fire stunts go, a visually pleasing film, it doesn't ever feel low-rent. The movie is more a satanic psychological thriller than straight-up horror, there's loads of satanic imagery and an overwhelming sense of dread, Byrne did good work with The Devil's Candy, though in a way I wish it were fleshed out a bit more, but then again, how many times have I wished a film were shorter and more to the point?    

Audio/Video: The Devil's Candy (2015) arrives on Blu-ray through the Scream Factory/IFC Midnight distribution team-up, looking solid in 1080p HD framed in 2.40:1 the film is crisp and vibrant, colors are nicely saturated, though this is a mostly subdued looking film, lots of brown. Black levels are deep and inky, and skin tones look accurate. Audio comes by way of either English language DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo or 5.1 Surround, the surround mix is solid, not a lot of spacial showing-off, but occasionally we get some surround activity in the rears and the music sounds brilliant, right from the opening featuring Metallica's version of Diamond Head's  "Am I Evil". This is a very metal-centric soundtrack with prime cuts from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera and Queens of the Stone Age, plus score from SunO))), if you're a dyed-in-the-wool metal fan this soundtrack will get you pumped. Optional English Subtitles are provided.

Extras include an insightful commentary from Bryne, a behind-the-scenes special effects featurette, a Goya music video, gallery, the theatrical trailer, and an 11-minute short film by Byrne featuring a teen couple trying to get some nookie on a tennis court only to have it ruined by some evil. Onto the packaging, he single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keep case with a sleeve of reversible artwork, including a cool illustration marred by no less than four review quotes - but still pretty cool. 

Special Features: 

- Audio Commentary with Director Sean Byrne

- Behind-The-Scenes: Visual Effects (3 min) HD 

- Short Film: Advantage Satan (11 min) 

- Music Video: Goya “Backfire”(6 min) 

- Art Gallery  (3 min) HD 

- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) HD 

- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork 

The Devils Candy (2015) is a solid follow-up to to The Loved Ones (2009), taught and brisk slice of satanic cinema with very good performances across the board. If you're unsure about a blind buy this one is currently streaming on Netflix - but I'm here to say it's worth a buy! 

Official Trailer for IFC Midnight's THE DEVIL'S CANDY

Synopsis: A not-so-average family wrestles with Satan in a house from hell in this heavy metal-charged shocker from the director of The Loved Ones. Diehard metalhead and struggling artist Jesse (Ethan Embry) moves with his wife (Shiri Appleby) and daughter (Kiara Glasco) to a middle-of-nowhere Texas town, unaware that the new house they got for an unbelievable deal comes with a grisly history. Disturbing demonic goings-on culminate with the appearance of Ray (The Walking Dead’s Pruitt Taylor Vince). He’s the home’s former resident, and he’s here to do the Devil’s bidding. The cranked-to-eleven soundtrack blasts Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, and a thunderous original score by doom rock legends Sunn O))).

DISTURBING BEHAVIOR (1998) (Blu-ray Review)

DISTURBING BEHAVIOR (1998) 

Label: Scream Factory

Release Date: March 22nd 2016 
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1, 2Stereo .0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: David Nutter
Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Ethan Embry, Katharine Isabelle, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Steve Railsback, James Marsden, William Sadler

Synopsis: In the halls of Cradle Bay High School, something sinister is happening… something dark… something disturbing. Sure, the "Blue Ribbons" – the clique that's at the top of the food chain at Cradle Bay – appear perfect in every way. But underneath their clean-cut, well-mannered facades lurks a shocking secret – one that a group of Cradle Bay High's outsiders and rebels must uncover in order to save their school, their town... and their own lives.

Not sure why but I always thought this movie was an erotic thriller of some sort along the lines of Wild Things so I just never made time to watch it, but since it landed on my doorstep I decided to give it a watch. I am pleased to see that I was wrong about what sort of movie this is,  what it is is a teen sci-fi thriller not too dissimilar from something akin to The Faculty, wherein teens at the local school begin to change is dramatic way, assimilating to a certain preppie way of thinking, but the origins this time out are not alien in nature, but this turns out to be a decent '90s teen riff on something along the lines of The Stepford Wives, as burnouts are transformed into straight-a student who go a little nuts when they get turned on. 


A year after the death of his brother teen Steve Clark (James Marsden, X-Men) and his family move to the island community of Cradle Bay, a nice place with a good school, the sort of place where the usual clicks apply. Case in point we have the "Blue Ribbons", a group of A-students who are popular, the usual array of jocks and pom-pom shakers who look down and frown upon the alternative culture kids at school. If you're a stoner, burnout or grunge-afflicted teen you are cannon-fodder for the true blue bullies who love to give the alternative kids a lot of grief, These burnouts and waste-oids are the ones that new-kid Steve finds himself hanging with, namely a trio of losers named Strick (Nick Stahl, Sin City), U.V. (Chad E. Donella, The Final Destination), and Rachel Wagner (Katie Holmes, The Ice Storm). Stahl is pretty great as the would-be leader of the misfits teens, his character offers a memorable monologue as he gives Steve a verbal tour of the class system at the school. His sidekick U.V. is slightly less memorable, but a young Katie Holmes gives off some serious sexual heat as the bad girl, I've never thought much of Holmes but damn if she didn't stir me up a bit, but those stoner-grunge girls of the '90s always did it for me. Also notable is the appearance of a pre Ginger Snaps (2000) Katharine Isabelle as the younger sister of Marsden's character.


I have always heard this movie described as an extended version of an X-Files episode and that's not too far removed from the truth, shot up North in the Land of Maple Syrup the film shares an aesthetic that was popular on TV and in teen movies of the time, plus director David Nutter was a veteran of the X-Files himself having directed several episodes. The science fiction element comes by way of the school psychologist, Dr. Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood, Steve from Cincinnati) who runs the Blue Ribbon program at the school, a program that somehow turns burnouts into icy A-student preppies overnight, and with that revelation things begins to smell rotten in the village of Cradle Bay. Dr. Caldicott  is surgically molding the Cradle Bay teens into perfect students, but aside from the usual teen-asshole behavior one might associate with the over privileged and elite the students begin succumb to homicidal tendencies when they become aroused by the opposite sex. The fat that an aroused teen is a dangerous things is certainly no shocker, but these horny kids take it a bit too far, though the gore is kept in the shadows, there's not much here for a gore hound.

Disturbing Behavior holds up pretty swell for a late-nineties teen thriller, helped by a strong cast of young Hollywood hopefuls who have since gone onto varying degrees of success, spearheaded by a young James Marsden, someone I like but don't think he ever landed the right role, at least not the one that would propel him to stardom. I don't exactly love his turn as Cyclops in Bryan Singer's X-Men movies, but I do sort of love him in The Box. This might be my favorite Nick Stahl Role, too. Well-written and funny, but neutered to a degree when the movie studio took the film away from director Nutter and re-edited it, but his performance shines through the hackneyed edit. Holmes as the dark teen cutey makes for a good love interest, she doesn't get a lot to chew on but her top-shelf talent shines through just the same. The movie also has appearances from William Sadler (Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight) as a school janitor, the village idiot who is aware of the dark side if Cradle Bay and is doing something about it, and keep an eye out for Steve Railsback (Lifeforce) as the local sheriff who turns a blind eye to the carnage the Blue Bloods inflict on the burnout teens, his role doesn't add up to much, but it is always a blast to see Railsback onscreen, even in a nothing role.

Disturbing Behavior arrived on Blu-ray from Scream Factory in the original 1.85 aspect ratio with a new 1080p HD transfer looking pretty good all the way around, it is not the most skin-pore porn high definition image but it is decently clear with some modest depth and the skin tones look accurate It comes with choice of English language DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 and Surround 5.1 with some good atmospheric use of the surrounds, the '90s alternative-rock soundtrack . Special features include an audio commentary from director David Nutter, a half-hour of deleted scenes and the original theatrical trailer for the movie.

Special Features
- Audio Commentary By Director David Nutter
- Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending with Optional Director Commentary (25 Mins) 
- Theatrical Trailer (3 Mins) 

If you enjoyed the teen sci-fi thriller The Faculty there's bound to be something here for you to love, a fun if slightly stilted teen riff on The Stepford Wives with some good sci-fi thrills wrapped-up inside a clever script with a very nineties-centric soundtrack highlighted by the inclusion of Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta", which was a song you could escape on '90s alternative radio. The movie is horribly dated by the ninetis fashions and music, but just as I am nostalgic for '80s horror there are probably a lot of '90s horror fans who love this movie more than I ever could, but this was still a fun watch and the new Blu-ray from Scream Factory is sure to please fans of the movie, and maybe win over a few newcomers. 2.5/5

CONVERGENCE (2015) (Blu-ray Review)

CONVERGENCE (2015) 

Label: Dark Sky Films
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 99 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Drew Hall
Cast: Clayne Crawford, Ethan Embry, Mykelti Williamson, Gary Grubbs, Chelsea Bruland, Casey Myers, Catalina Soto Aguilar Kind, Alysha Ochse

Convergence is a pretty ambitious thriller that is set in the city of Atlanta in 1999, where we have an off-duty detective named Ben Walls (Clayne Crawford) who is called back on duty after a horrendous bombing at an abortion clinic. While at the crime scene he is caught in a secondary bomb blast, awakening some time later at the hospital, where he discovers he's been surprisingly uninjured by the blast, though he does seem a bit disoriented. His Captain Saul Miller (Mykelti Williamson) is in the room when he wakes up and encourages Walls to stay in bed, but Walls gets dressed an wanders out into the hallway of the hospital ...right away something seems off about the place,  the halls are empty, and there's not a soul in sight. He does happen upon the Southern-voiced Nurse Delilah (Bruland), she has the most striking eyes, and her nurses uniform seems straight out of the 1950s. Ben asks where his friends might be and the nurse directs him to the Chapel, where he eventually finds Miller with a group[ of strangers, who like the nurse seem to be dressed in clothes from a different decade, they're also having a cryptic conversation that doesn't make sense at first. 

As Walls continues to explore the hospital he encounters more odd character, including a security officer named Peter Grayson (Gary Grubbs), who is gunned-down in front of Walls. Shortly after the murder walls runs into Miller who doesn't seem to believe Walls, attributing the incident to trauma from the blast. Turns out there's a menacing EMT named Daniel (Ethan Embry) at the hospital who seems to be a cult-leader with a group of acolytes  willing to kill for him, he refers to himself as the "Hand of God". Embry is a frightening guy, which seemed like an odd turn for the guy whose gone from '90s comedies like Empire Records and Vegas Vacation to pure badassery, appearing in the Incident on and Off a Mountain Road episode of the Masters of Horror TV series, Embry has a lot of range, able to go from aloof to murderous, and he is probably the most striking performance here, which is good, because in all honesty our lead Clayne Crawford as walls is a bit on the bland side.

Wall must contend with not just Daniel's growing legion of murderous followers but also with a mysterious supernatural component by way of shadowy mist figures who appear from time to time, the images of the mysterious mist figures are striking and well composed. I don't think it will spoil too much if I say that there's a point in the movie when a group of amateur paranormal investigators arrive, and I liked very much where it went from there, it was unexpected but effective. The movie juggles elements of both an action-packed crime thriller with more supernatural horror, it's not a perfect marriage but it is potent. This is the kind of movie I struggled to wrap my head around the first go around, it took a subsequent viewing to fully appreciate the scope of it, and I liked that, this is a challenging movie in a good way, it doesn't drop everything in your lap, you have to do some of the thinking for yourself, but in a good way. 

Convergence arrives on Blu-ray from Dark sky Films looking crisp in HD, the 1080p presentation offers a solid A/V presentation, the surround sound mix is strong with some good use of surrounds used for atmospheric effects, nothing too dramatic though. There are a few extras on the disc, we have a brief making of featurette and seventeen-minutes of deleted and extended scenes, in addition to a handful of Dark Sky trailers for One Eyed Girl, Deathgasm, Applesauce and the '80s rocker doc I Am Thor, which I am dying to see. 

Special Features
- Making Of (7 Mins) HD 
- Deleted and Extended Scenes (17 Mins) HD 
- Trailer (2 Mins) HD 
- Dark Sky Films Trailers: Applesauce (2 Mins) HD, One Eyed Girl (2 Mins) HD, I Am Thor (2 Mins) HD, Deathgasm (2 Mins) HD

If you're looking for something not quite horror, something more psychological with some supernatural trappings and some decent action I think Convergence might be just the movie for you. It holds up to a second viewing, revealing things I didn't catch the first time around, this one might make you think a bit about life and what happens after death, and that can't be a bad thing. 3/5