DVD Review: CHILLER - The Complete Television Series (1995)

CHILLER - The Complete Television Series (1995) 

2-Disc DVD

Label: Synapse Films 
Duration: 265 minutes
Region: Region 1 NTSC
Audio: English Dolby Digital English 2.0 Mono
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Full Frame 
Directors: Lawrence Gordon Clark, Anthony Horowitz, Glenn Chandler 
Cast: Nigel Havers, Martin Clunes, Sophie Ward, Kevin McNally

Synopsis: The television series Chiller was a five episode horror anthology that aired in the UK in 1995. Presented here for the first time in the U.S., these supernatural shockers feature malevolent spirits, a brutal serial killer and a haunted house set in contemporary England. Starring many of Britain’s leading actors like Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire, TV’s Coronation Street), Martin Clunes (UK’s Men Behaving Badly), Sophie Ward (Young Sherlock Holmes) and Kevin McNally (Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean series), this compelling collection will leave you chilled to the bone!

I grew up on a steady diet of American TV anthology series beginning with vintage TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, the fantasy adventures of AMAZING STORIES, MONSTERS, the schlocky TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE,  HBO's EC Comics inspired TALES FROM THE CRYPT right up through to Showtime's MASTERS OF HORROR series. I definitely have a soft spot for the format, it was a treat to dip my toes into what the UK had to offer with the recent release of HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR from the legendary horror studio and now with this, a short-lived five episode horror anthology series broadcast in the UK in 1995 and now on DVD for the first time ever in the US from Synapse Films. Let's check out the episodes...

PROPHECY (52:55) A group teens hold a séance in the basement of a London café for shits and giggles but to their surprise they each receive a prophecy of their own deaths. Five years later, the fatal prophecies begin to come true in a very FINAL DESTINATION sort of way, this one was a good bit of fun, a great season opener with each of the character dying off in fun  and often bloody scenarios. Our main character Franny is trying to get to the bottom of the death curse before her ticket is punched, along the way she takes up with a man named Oliver and realizes that his son Edward is somehow connected to the tragedies. Some nice deaths and suspense here including few vehicular deaths, a grisly elevator ride, and some occult elements including spooky seances. The finale really ratchets up the tensions as the forces good and evil face off, while the script wanders a bit this one was quite entertaining with a strong cast.

TOBY (52:15) When Ray and Louise Knight lose their unborn son Toby in a car accident they are crushed, but when Louise discovers she’s pregnant again things seem to be on the upswing. However, a routine scan reveals she is not actually pregnant, the depression following the miscarriage seems to have spurred a hysterical pregnancy exhibiting all the physical signs of a baby being on the way, it's certainly an oddity, she even goes into labor which produces not a child but blood. Afterwards she is haunted by the incessant cries of a child emanating from her empty nursery, she even begins nursing this ghost child leaving her befuddled husband thinking she's gone nutters, but has she really? This one had some good creepy moments but fell a bit flat following the quite good first episode. 

HERE COMES THE MIRROR MAN (52:44)  This third episode features a newcomer social worker searching for a troubled, young homeless man named Gary who's plagued by a naughty friend named Michael whom may or may not be a demon force, either way he encourages Gary to commit murderous acts, at one point pushing our social worker's predecessor in front of an oncoming truck. This was a nice psychological thriller with strong performances, the ending is telegraphed pretty far in advance of the conclusion and the story is a bit subdued for my tastes but a decent episode nonetheless.

THE MAN WHO DIDN'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS (52:56) When a a professional skeptic of the paranormal moves to the countryside and into a supposed haunted property with his wife and daughter, they find themselves the victims of unexplained events. As a matter of professional integrity the skeptic scoffs at the notion of an actual paranormal explanation and seeks to discover the true culprit but his stubborn quest strains his marital relationship and puts his family in harm's way. Strange happening include maggot infested fowl for dinner, chandeliers falling, doors locking, dead pets and a masked apparition, all dealt with in a very dry and British detachment. There's some great suspenseful elements here but the pace of the story is quite languid, however, a fiery finale nearly makes up for that despite not following up on a bizarre sexual attack that takes place earlier in the episode.

NUMBER SIX (53:15) The series finale is a pretty great atmospheric chiller with occult elements that opens with a fog-laden chase through the woods, right away you know your in for a treat - this was my favorite episode of the lot.A small Yorkshire town is plagued by a child killer whom has taken the lives of five children from the area, the deaths seem to be connected to an ancient Druidic area of the woods nearby. A young boy at school is haunted by dreams of spooky schoolmates telling him to "play with us" and indeed there are some strange goings on at the schoolyard. Meanwhile the boys father, a cop, and sets  about to solve the mystery before his son falls victim. This one had some nice red herrings,   suspense and loads of atmosphere plus a haunting finale, good stuff. 

DVD: Unfortunately there are no special features or cool episode introductions like we saw with the HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR release, those were very cool and contextualized each episode and something similar here would have been appreciated. The menu is very basic, you get a play all option or an episode index that features the episode title and air date.

All five episodes are presented in their original British broadcast versions and in the original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The image is here is pretty grainy, somewhat murky and even a bit noisy, the series was shot on 16mm and transferred to video, it's not the most pleasing video you will see but it's quite serviceable. The English language Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 audio is also decent, a bit muted at times, but quite listenable and easily discerned.

Verdict: After Synapse's fantastic HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR release I was primed for more UK TV horror anthologies but I found this one rather dry, some decent bits of suspense and mystery but lacking overall the thrills and exploitation of the Hammer series. CHILLER is not too shabby, fans of Brit TV suspense and mystery might find more to love than myself but for me nothing here screams for a re-watch despite some enjoyment first time around. 2.5 Outta 5 

  

DVD Review: IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN (1971)

IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN (1971)

aka: Assault; The Creepers; Satan's Playthings; or Tower of Terror  

Label: VCI Entertainment 

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Dration: 91 Minutes

Rating: R

Video: 16x9 Widescreen (1.85:1)

Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 and Enhanced 5.1 Surround 

Cast: Suzy Kendall, Frank Finlay, Freddie Jones, James Laurenson, Lesley-Anne Down, James Cosmo

Director: Sidney Hayers

Tagline: Don't Go Down in the Woods today...

Synopsis: In this slickly made thriller, a 16-year-old girl is brutally assaulted and raped in the woods near her London school. Struck dumb by her experience, she remains so until a second girl is murdered. The school art teacher (Suzy Kendall) claims to have seen the killer -- who looks like Satan himself -- and she decides to set him a trap with herself as bait. A British flavored giallo, and a ripping good whodunit!

The Film: In the Devil's Playground (1971) begins at the end of a school day as the kids are dismissed for the day, a young teen in a white blouse and pink skirt with knee high stockings cuts through the forest nearby. Listening to her transistor radio she walks carefree along earthen path. What she does not realize is that she's being observed from off the path by someone stalking her every move.When the attacker makes himself known she flees in terror and we get a pretty decent chase scene. Near an electrical tower she is caught, partially stripped and raped - she's left in a semi-catatonic state unable to identify the perp who's face is never revealed. The attack is violent but the film does not hang over it, the film instead chooses a close-up of the young woman's muffled suffering. This is perhaps the first clue that what we're in for here is more aligned with a police procedural whodunit than a stylish and violent Giallo along the lines of Dario Argento's Deep Red (1975) or Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), the sexualized violence is tame and the cinematography is very workmanlike, not dissimilar to a made-for-TV production. Likewise the score is obnoxiously 70's television oriented and took me right out of the moment, really ghastly stuff.

After the attack the young ladies of the academy are warned not to walk alone for fear of another attack but a girl named Susan unwisely cuts through the forest and pays for her ignorance when she is attacked and raped. When the school's art teacher Julia West (Suzi Kendall, Torso) realizes that young Susan is not among the group of girls she's driving home she is told that she went through the wood. Alarmed by the thought of harm coming to the girl she drives hurriedly down the forest path hoping to catch up with her but loses control of the car on a muddy stretch and spins out of control stopping askew in the road. Steadying herself and about to drive off she catches a glimpse of someone in the brake lights through the rear window illuminated by the red glow of her tail lights, someone whom looks strikingly like Old Scratch himself, Satan, it's a great effect and nicely framed. The figure quickly disappears from sight and she realizes that he was huddled over the body of young Susan who's been strangled to death.

As the typically incompetent authorities investigate they find it hard to swallow that Satan is the culprit and instead focus on more Earthbound suspects including an obnoxious crime scene reporter (Freddie Jones, Dune), Greg Lomax (James Laurenson, The Monster Club) a psychologist and the pervy husband of the school's strict head mistress - yup, there's a full arsenal of red herrings but it's not hard to figure out who the culprit is.

The Giallo elements are pretty weak, we get a unseen killer stalking young women adorned in the traditional black-leather gloves but none of the sexy style we get from an Argento, Fulci or Martino. When the killer's identity is revealed it's not a surprise, his identity having long been broadcast several times over thus the mystery of the whodunit is altogether lost. Slightly redeeming this entry is a snappy finale that starts with the use of an experimental drug called "Pentothal" meant to bring the first catatonic victim out of her dumb struck state, it's very solid and goes a long way toward redeeming the film with a "shocking" reveal followed by a close quarter struggle culminating at the scene of the original attack and ending with someone set afire in a crackle of high voltage electricity - it's fun stuff but not enough to fully redeem a film that starts in really fine fashion but labors to keep one's attention and in the end, despite a punchy finale, is an exercise in whodunit mediocrity.

The acting is pretty solid throughout, particularly Suzy Kendal who herself is no stranger to the Giallo having appeared in both Sergio Martino's Torso (1973) and Dario Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) among many others. There's not a rotter in the bunch, but it's just dull in a dry, very stuffy British sorta way which might have had a lot to do with my lack of interest in the film. What I loved was pretty much anything shot in the forest which was well-shot, great atmosphere and creepy - particularly the numerous woodland chase scene with plenty of creepy POV shots.

DVD: VCI Entertainment presents In the Devil's Garden on DVD for the first time in the US with an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) transfer. It's sourced from a clean print but I wanna say this is a PAL to NTSC conversion with some of the tell-tale video jitters, the image is soft, murky and colors are muted. We get two audio options, a English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix and enhanced 5.1 Surround Sound. The audio is a bit boxy with no depth to it and that awful score isn't helped by the poor fidelity either. The menu is a simple static menu and there are no bonus features on the disc.

Verdict: In the Devils Garden has some of the elements of a black-gloved Giallo but at it's heart is more of a straight whodunit and lacks the sleaze and style of an Argento, Martino or Fulci. As a thriller it's mildly successful but as a Giallo this is disappointing, maybe I am just a perv but I wanted a bit more sleaze with my blacked-gloved shenanigans, it almost went there but pulled back against it's darker nature much to my dismay. 2.5 Outta 5

Blu-ray Review: THE RED HOUSE (1947)

THE RED HOUSE (1947)
Blu-ray + DVD Combo

Label: HD Cinema Classics
Region: 0 NTSC [DVD] Region-FREE [Blu-ray]
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 100 mins
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Video: Fullscreen (1.33:1) 
Director: Delmer Daves
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Judith Anderson, Julie London, Lon McCallister, Allene Roberts
Tagline: You Dare Not Even Guess The Strange Love Story pf The Red House

Pete Morgan (Edward G. Robinson, The Strangers) and his sister Ellen (Judith Anderson, Hitchcock's Rebecca) live on an isolated farm on the outskirts of a small town just on the edge of a dark and allegedly haunted forest. There they've quietly raised their adopted teen daughter Meg (Allene Roberts, TV's Dragnet) since she was abandoned by her parents years ago. Things around the farm are pretty quiet until Meg's friend Nath (Lon McCallister) comes on as a hired hand at the farm assist the aging and one-legged Pete. Meg's teen hormones kick-in and she falls in love with Nath much to the dismay of his smoking-hot girlfriend Tibby (Julie London, Night of the Quarter Moon) who in turn gives her affections to a brooding young man named Teller (Rory Calhoun, Motel Hell).


Pete's a pretty sweet man but his pastoral demeanor starts to unravel when Meg and Nath  explore the swampy forests near the farm despite Pete's alarming warnings of superstitions and soul-shattering screams that emanate from a mysterious red house. As teens are prone to do the warnings on serve to peak their curiosity and it seems the further they delve into the woods the deeper Pete's sinks into madness. 

Edward G. Robinson (Key Largo) is truly fantastic as the unraveling Pete whom bit by bit loses his grip on reality leading to tragic and dizzying finale  - he is the stand apart performance here.  A particularly effective scene has Pete careening into a furious rage that sends a table flying across the room injuring his sister when a dark secret is revealed, it's great stuff. Worth mentioning is cinema great Judith Andrews as Pete's tragic sister Ellen and it was a treat to see "Vincent Farmer" himself Rory Calhoun of the nutso 80's slasher  Motel Hell (1980) portraying the rogue who steals the affections of Nath's girl.  Tibby played by the big-eyed beauty Julie London of TV's Emergency is simply smoldering as the sexually aroused Tibby. We also get good performances from Allene Roberts and Lon McCallister as the young lovers but they really pale in shadow of Robinson's unhinged Pete and the conflicted Tibby who really made the film me. 


The film is definitely a slow burn - at 100 minutes in length the thrills don't really kick in till  the final act which ratchets up the tension and insanity. The night scenes in the woods  are creepy and intense with howling winds and strange noises everywhere. When Nath ignores Pete's warning not to enter the woods he is stricken with an unnatural panic returning to the farm terrified, it's great stuff. Bert Glennon's (The House of Wax) attractively lensed cinematography is strikingly lit and gives  this thriller a definite noir feel at times. 

Blu-ray: HD Cinema Classics presents The Red House (1947) with a restored full-frame transfer sourced from original 35mm elements. Like many of HD Cinema Classics's restored public domain films there's been a thick application of digital noise reduction that's not only sucked away the film grain from the image but left it bereft of fine detail leaving in it's place a waxy plasticine image with rampant smearing. On the plus side there's little visible damage but film grain lovers will not exactly rejoice over this one. 


The Blu-ray features English language DTS-HD mono audio with optional Spanish subtitles. This is the first title from HD Cinema Classics to offer a lossless audio option and it's much appreciated despite the limited fidelity of the mono presentation, there's some minor distortions throughout but it's not an unpleasant listen and Mikola Roza's (Ben Hur) theramin-tinged score sounds pretty great, too.


Special features include a pretty dry audio commentary with author William Hare, the signature movie art postcard that are synonymous with HD Cinema Classics titles, a brief before and after restoration demo, trailer for the film and a standard-definition DVD version of the film that carries over the bonus content.


I just can't give the transfer very high marks particularly after seeing recent black and white  classics like Swamp Water (1941) and Fritz Lang's blistering-noir The Big Heat (1953) from Twilight Time label with gorgeous restored 1080p transfers with the film grain and fine detail intact. To play devil's advocate it must be a tough business model restoring these public domain titles that are freely available online and on numerous budget collections.


Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with author William Hare
- Movie Trailer (1:24) 4:3
- Before and After Restoration Demo (1:05)
- Original Movie Art Postcard


Verdict: The Red House (1947) is probably a bit slow but if you have the patience for a slow-burn with an amped-up finale with a satisfying and dizzying conclusion this is a first-rate psychological-thriller with some great noir-styled thrills.  3 outta 5 





Other HD Cinema Classics reviewed on the site, follow the links to read: Zaat, Poor Pretty Eddie, The Terror, Dementia 13

Blu-ray Review: CAT O' NINE TAILS (1971)

THE CAT O' NINE TAILS (1971)

Label: Arrow Video
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: 15 Certificate  
Duration: 111 mins
Audio: LPCM Audio English, LPCM Audio with English subtitles
Video: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1) 1080p
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Catherine Spaak
Tagline: Caught between the truth and a murderer’s hand!

CAT O' NINE TAILS (1971) is Dario Argento's sophomore film following THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE. It's the middle entry in what's known as Argento's "Animal Trilogy", a trio of films with names of animals in the title which is capped off with FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET and share little in common aside from being that oh-so wonderful Italian variation on the classic whodunit called a giallo and Argento's artful eye for the stylish macabre, not unlike John Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy".

The film stars Karl Malden (HOW THE WEST WAS WON), features a score by Ennio Morricone (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY) and is co-written by Italian screenwriting legend Dardana Sacchetti (BAY OF BLOOD). The story revolves around a blind, middle aged man named Arno (Malden) who cares for his young adopted daughter Lori (Cinzia DE Carolis, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS) and bides his time assembling the daily newspaper's crossword puzzle. One evening while walking down the street with Lori he overhears two men discussing blackmail in a car parked on the street outside of a genetics lab which just happens to sit next to Arno's apartment. Pretending to bend over and tie his shoe he asks Lori to observe the men in the car, she's only able to describe one of the men to Arno. Later that night while working on a new puzzle Arno overhears a scuffle outside his window which unbeknownst to him is a crime taking place.

The next day Arno is out on the street when he's accidentally knocked over by a reporter named Carlo (James Franciscus, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES) near the genetics lab and when he asks the reporter what has happened he's informed that the previous evening the night watchmen of the lab was knocked out cold and that someone has broken into the Terzi Institute to perhaps perform some act of industrial espionage. Whatever it is Prof. Terzi (Tino Carraro, WEREWOLF MAN) doesn't seem too keen on assisting the police with their investigation. Soon after the break-in one of the lab's lead scientist Dr. Calabresi (Carl Alighiero, BLADE OF THE RIPPER) is thrown in front of a speeding train pulling into the station during the high profile arrival of a movie starlet, his moment of death is caught on camera and makes the front page news.

The next day Arno's daughter Lori notices the picture of the victim at the train station and recognizes that it's none other than one of the men from the car outside the genetics lab. The two seek out reporter Carlo and the trio set about sleuthing the mystery in classic whodunit fashion as the killer sets out to eliminate those who may be able to finger them as the devious culprit. Red-herrings abound in this atmospheric, slow-burn including the sexy, spoiled daughter of Prof. Terzi, Anna, played by the vivacious French actress/singer Catherine Spaak.

The set-up is your classic murder whodunit but it soon becomes entangled in an improbably array of twists and turns stemming from the strangest chromosomal motivation this side of well, nearly most everything, it's very odd and not one of Argento's better twists in my opinion, it's a head-scratcher for sure and not in a complimentary way.

The cinematography from Erico Menczer lacks the stunning scope and framing of say Storaro (THE BIRD WITH TH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE) or Tovoli (TENEBRE) but it's an early Argento so there's some great Euro 70's style and set decoration courtesy of set designer Carlo Leva. Love those 70's fashions, locations and decors, ornate wall paper and a funky 70's color palates. The kills are not particularly elaborate (mostly strangulation) and are lacking in my opinion but there are some great POV shots, trademark stairwell shots, cool eyeball close-ups and nifty set pieces, a particularly fun departure from life occurs when the villain meets a grisly end screaming down an elevator shaft, his hands torn to pieces grasping at the steel cables.  
 

Perhaps not on par with Argento's finest works but still a very fine giallo that absolutely outshines anything he's done post-OPERA in my estimation. It's a bit of a slow burn, which I rather enjoy, and the kills aren't as intricate as you may have hoped but still an enjoyable whodunit that's wonderfully acted, steeped in atmosphere and masterfully directed.

Highlights for me were a particularly tense seen featuring Carlo getting a close shave from a barber who takes exception to his article implicating that a barber may in fact be the murderous maniac, a white-nuckle care chase through the busy streets Italy and the film's elevator shaft shocker finale, fun stuff. I am reminded in a way of Lucio Fulci, whose later gore-riddled films brought him much notoriety but it is forgotten that he once also directed suspenseful, less visceral film such as THE PSYCHIC and I think Argento's CAT O' NINE TAILS  is similarly lost amidst his oeuvre and it's definitely a film deserving of some respect for the thriller that it is.
 

Blu-ray: The CAT O' NINE TAILS Blu-ray from Arrow Video presents the film in original 16:9 enhanced  aspect ratio (2.35:1) in 1080p HD, the transfer comes from a very nice looking print that is nearly free of print damage. The transfer is a tad bit brighter than my Blue Underground DVD from a few years back and occasionally appears unnaturally bright which may be attributed to some brightness boosting, but not ruinously so. Otherwise, colors look quite good, black levels are fine and the film's fine grain structure is nicely intact. Arrow's 1080p transfer definitely boost the fine detail and facial features and is a welcomed upgrade over my DVD edition.

Panel B

The LPCM mono sounds very nice handling the high and lows with ease, no distortions were noticed on either the English or the Italian track, the latter I only sampled now and again for purpose of this review. It's mono so we don't get a lot of depth but the dialogue, effects and score are all well balanced and sound great, particularly Ennio Morricone's score, which isn't his finest work but the "Lullabye in Blue" is definitely a haunting highlight that opens the film.

As usual Arrow Video and High Rising Productions have come through with a sweet array of bonus content that compliment the film. Dario Argento Remembers The Cat O’ Nine Tails (10:31) features the maestro recalling the film and his distaste for it, stating the film is too American for his taste sand is his least favorite of all his films, obviously this was filmed prior to GIALLO. The Cat O’ Nine Tails in Reflection, an interview with long-time Argento collaborator Luigi Cozzi (16:24) is a nice reflection on Cozzi's friend and collaborator Argento's career plus Giallo mastermind Sergio Martino (TORSO) is featured on Sergio Martino: The Art and Arteries of the Giallo (24:05) as he recounts Argento's contribution to the giallo genre, his style and touches on quite a few of Argento's films, as well as his own masterful giallo entry TORSO. All three the interviews are conducted in Italian with English subtitles and interspersed with clips from the film, trailers and poster art, lastly we get  the Italian language theatrical trailer for the film with English subs


Panel C


The final round of content unfortunately did not accompany my "check disc" but for everyone else you'll be treated to four reversible art options including a sweet new panel from artist Rick Melton whose Arrow covers I'm a huge fan of, great stuff that captures one of the film's most effective scenarios, a two-sided fold out poster and an exclusive collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing by Alan Jones, author of ‘Profondo Argento’. I'm quite a fan of the bonus content that High Rising Productions are creating for the Argento films from Arrow Video, perhaps my only regret is that scream queen Daria Nicolodi is not featured in the film and therefore offers no interview for inclusion on this set which is a loss for all because that woman tells it how it is. It's worth mentioning that there is no commentary track, where's  Calum Waddell, Allan Jones, Kim Newman or Thomas Rostock? Two minor gripes aside there's some really nice supplements here that really point to Arrow Video's and High Rising Production's devotion to the film and the director.

Verdict: Overall a very fine Blu-ray release from Arrow Video that's well worth the upgrade. CAT O' NINE TAILS might not be as stylish as THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE or TENEBRAE but is still a first-rate thriller, a slow burn for sure, that ends with a satisfying conclusion, even if I think the XYY chromosomal motivations are quite absurd. Just a reminder that the disc is region FREE and playable worldwide, even the features are in HD and look great.