THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (1979) (Blue Underground Blu-ray Review)

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (1979) 

Label: Blue Underground
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: PG
Duration: 98 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD 5.1, DTS-HD Mono with Optional  English, French, Spanish Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: George McCowan
Cast: Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Barry Morse, John Ireland, Nicholas Campbell, Eddie Benton

The sci-fi future world of The Shape of Things to Come is described in the movie as "the tomorrow after tomorrow" wherein mankind has laid waste to the planet Earth and set-up a new colony on the Moon where we live an enormous domed city known as New Washington. There we are dependant on an anti-radiation drug only produced on the planet Delta Three which is run by the power-mad Emperor Omus (Jack Palance, Jess Franco's Justine), who has grand ideas of becoming the new King of the Cosmos. To that end he has cut-off the supply of the life-saving drug, in addition to launching robutt-piloted kamikaze attacks on New Washington. A team of scientists led by Dr. John Caball (Barry Morse, Space: 1999) launches a mission to destroy the dictator and his menacing robot army, joining him on this life-threatening adventure are the attractive security officer (Carol Lynley, Vigilante) and his son (Nicholas Campbell, of Cronenberg's The Dead Zone) and together they arrive on Delta Three and attempt to thwart the intergalactic tyrant with the aid of their tenacious robot and whole lot of cheesy sci-fi drive-in action.

This science fiction clunker was directed by George McCowan (eco-horror clunker Frogs) and so loosely based on H.G. Wells' visionary novel that I swear his very name threatens to fall of the Blu-ray artwork. In the wake of Star Wars there were wanna-be sci-fi epics coming out of every space wormhole in the cinema but this anemic Canadian entry was among the cheapest and most yawn-inducing of them all, and that is saying something when you put up against a few of those Roger Corman rip-offs, but somehow this has managed to stay right at the bottom of the pile, aging like the rancid turd that it is. 

The saving grace of the movie is the intrinsic schlock-value of such a poor production with low-rent sets made of cardboard and alien-worlds which are about as exotic as rural Canada where the movie was made - there sure are a lot of maple trees on Delta Three! The cast have to speak massive amounts of sci-fi verbal vomit but at least we have Jack Palance nicely chewing-up the scenery as he usually did when working for producer Harry Alan Towers. As the diabolical Emperor Omus Palance does what he can as the purple caped villain, but even his treacherous charms have their limits within the context of such an atrocious affront to science fiction cinema. 

Audio/Video: The sci-fi clunker arrives on Blu-ray from cult favorite Blue Underground who have been on a Harry Alan Towers kick of late, though this is by several parsecs the worst of his movies that I have seen. However, Blue Underground work their HD magic and have struck a new HD master from the original 35mm camera negatives, breathing new life into this schlocky space-movie. The image can be a bit dark and the cinematography has an ugly softness to it, through no fault of the new transfer, this is as good as this slice of sci-fi awfulness will ever look on home video. Audio options include your choice of original DTS-HD mono or surround sound, optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included. 
Extras on the disc include interview with star Nicholas Campbell (14 Mins) and composer Paul Hoffert. Campbell (17 Mins). Campbell is a hoot and seems like a wild man, giving some great insight into the anemic sci-fi movie and its notorious producer Harry Alan Towers. There is also a selection of trailers, TV spots, an image gallery and the entire pressbook for the movie. 

Special Features: 
- Jason's Journey - Interview with Star Nicholas Campbell (14 Mins) HD 
- Symphonies In Space - Interview with Composer Paul Hoffert (17 Mins) HD 
- French Trailer (2 Mins) HD 
- TV Spot (30 Secs) 
- Poster and Still Gallery (3 Mins) HD 
- Pressbook Gallery (2 Mins) HD 

The Shape of Things to Come is an awful sci-fi entry that came out in the wake of Star Wars but feels more like as on-the-cheap version of the TV series Battlestar Galactica by way of the science fiction movie of the fifties. This is a recommend to hardcore collectors of bad science fiction movies, and possibly a hard-sell to anyone else. Sometimes I wonder how Lustig and company choose their HD upgrades, were fans really clamoring for this on Blu-ray? Whatever the process I remain in awe of Blue Underground;s commitment to cult-film preservation. 

BACKCOUNTRY (2015) (Scream Factory)

BACKCOUNTRY (2015)

Label: Scream Factory I IFC Midnight
Release Date: September 1st 2015 
Region Code: A
Duration: 92 Minutes
Rating: R
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1, english DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1) 
Director: Adam MacDonald
Cast: Eric Balfour, Nicholas Campbell, Missy Peregrym, Melanie Mullen,  Alex Roop

Young couple Alex (Jeff Roop) and Jenn (Missy Peregrym) head off to the Canadian backcountry for some backpacking and camping, heading for a trail that has been closed for the season, but Alex is a seasoned camper and ignores the advice of the park ranger who tries to steer him clear of the area. Along the way things begin to go awry, first Alex drops the canoe on his big toe, causing quite an unsightly wound, but he ventures on. 

The scenery is fantastic, the woodlands are gorgeous and the views are breathtaking along the way, the couple seem to have some underlying issues with each other and as the journey continues they begin to argue and turn against one another, with Jenn rightfully questioning Alex's skills as an outdoorsman along the way. Things turn for the worse when they encounter a strange hiker named Brad (Eric Balfour) who joins them for a fish dinner around the campfire, he has a weird menacing manner about him that threatens to turn into a physical altercation, but soon enough he continues on his own through the darkened woods, leaving the couple to themselves. 

Later that night they begin to hear strange sounds and twigs snapping int the woods, in the morning their supplies have been ransacked, but Alex lays the blame on raccoons, though he knows damn well that he saw a bear track in the area, he chooses not to alarm Jenn about such things, continuing on their journey through the wilderness. Before too long it becomes evident that Alex has no clue where they are or how to return to where they began, and the two really start to lay into each other, especially Jenn who emasculates Alex with a lot of venom, and who can blame her, they're deep in the woods, they have no idea where they are, and a bear is stalking them and things are about to get a lot worse.

Backcountry is a bit of a backwoods slow-burn that it's sweet time to get going, at nearly an hour before it gets a decent boil going, along the way we're feeling out the young couple, seeing the quiet drama between the two, the unease and jealousies, we're also seeing mistakes being made along the way that a seasoned camper wouldn't have made, and if they'd done thing differently perhaps things would have gone a bit differently. Some of these no-brainers include refusing a map of the area, leaving behind an emergency tracking system, and purposefully leaving behind cell phones, plus there's no small amount of male ego at play here, especially the decision to not just turn back at several points. 

While it does take awhile to get the pot boiling once we get to a certain point in the movie things turn harrowing rather quickly with a rather visceral and blood-soaked encounter that leaves one of them in shreds and the other in shock and wounded wandering through the wilderness with a flesh-crazed bear stalking them. The minimal cast is superb with Roop and Peregrym turning in convincing performances, as a young couple in love, as a young couple  at odds with each other and then as a couple terrified beyond belief at the hands of vivacious bear, you buy into it, you feel it. It was great to see Peregrym, who I have not seen since the short-lived TV series Reaper, she makes for a strong character and has quite a set of pipes on her, those scream were nerve shattering. The appearance of Eric Balfour as an Irish-accented hiker was a bit out of nowhere, his presence added some early menace to the movie, creating some needed tension between our main characters, creating an uneasy tone which worked to the movies benefit. 

The effects are pretty minimal in the film, you don't really get any gore for an hour, but the violence is gut-churning once it begins, and though brief you won't soon forget someone clawed to shreds, helpless against a furry force of nature. 

Audio/Video: The Blu-ray from Scream Factory and their partnership with IFC Midnight looks and sounds great, the HD image looks crisp and clean with scene after scene of gorgeous wilderness shots, which might bore some of the horror fans but I loved it. The English DTS-HD MA 7.1 Surround audio sounded great, clean and crisp with a strong surround presence, the sounds of birds and the crackling of the campfire the menacing bear sounds and the terrifying screams of agony - this is a great sound design.. 

Special Features
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Adam MacDonald And Actors Missy Peregrym And Jeff Roop
- Behind-The-Scenes Featurette (17 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) HD 
- Bear Shots (2 Mins) HD 
- Still Gallery (64 Images) 95 Mins) HD 

Extras on the disc beginning with an engaging audio commentary from With Writer/Director Adam MacDonald And Actors Missy Peregrym And Jeff Roop who recall the making of the movie and filling in some anecdotal stories along the way. There's also a behind-the-scenes featurette,  a gruesome gallery of stills and behind the scenes shots, a series of shots using a cat as a stand-in for the bear, a sort of video storyboard of sorts that were used to convey to the bear wrangler what shots they needed for the movie. 

While the structure of the movies feels a bit off, with the slow-build and a visceral punch-to-the-gut, but then it slows down again for a somewhat slow finale that brought to mind the end of Adam Green's Frozen. Backcountry is an effective wilderness survival tale, and to it's credit, the night I watched it I was plagued by nightmares of of a vicious bear attack in my sleep, my wife said I was kicking and screaming in my sleep with torrents of sweat puring off of me, so the movie has got some serious juice to it. 3.5/5