ABOMINABLE (2006) (MVD rewind Blu-ray Review)

ABOMINABLE (2006) 

Label: MVD Rewind
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: R
Duration: 94 Minutes 
Audio: English 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Ryan Schifrin
Cast: Matt McCoy, Jeffrey Combs, Paul Gleason, Rex Linn, Haley Joel, Phil Morris, Dee Wallace Stone, Tiffany Shepis, Lance Henriksen 

Bigfoot films have been around for a long while now, from The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972) right up to the found-footage Willow Creek (2013), unfortunately there haven't been a ton of really great ones, and while I'm not gonna say this one is a classic slice of Sasquatch-cinema as a millennial creature feature it's a fun watch. Like a lot of films it can be summed up thusly, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window by way of... this time it's by way of The Legend of Boggy Creek, and to that end we have the wheelchair bound Preston Roger (Matt McCoy, L.A. Confidential) returning to his mountain home after a stay at the asylum following a tragic mountain climbing accident that claimed the life of his wife. The traumatic event not only robbed him of his wife but also the use of his legs, leaving him with deep mental scars. He's accompanied on this return home by a home care giver named Otis(Christien Tinsley), who for a health care professional is bit of a jerk towards his ward right from the very beginning, treating him like a child and  generally being dismissive of the man.

While holed up in his home Preston has nlot muc h else to do other than spy out his window with a pair binoculars, noticing that next door a gaggle of young women have arrived for a weekend, it's a bachelorette party. We have the bride-to-be Karen (Ashley Hartman) and her friends Michelle (Natalie Compagno), C.J. (Karin Anna Cheung), Tracy (Tiffany Shepis, Night of the Demons), and Amanda (Haley Joel). There a fun bunch, and not too annoying, plus we have scream queen Tiffany Shepis is kind enough to drop her clothes during a shower scene, so you can check that off the list of things you want from a low-budget horror movie, we have nudity. 

A third group come by way of a trio of locals, the oxygen tank sucking gas station clerk Buddy (Jeffery Combs, Re-Animator), rancher Billy Hoss (Rex Linn, C.S.I.: Miami) and big game hunter Ziegler (Lance Henriksen, Pumpkinbead) who all gather around a campfire in the nearby woods exchanging stories about the legendary wild-man creature said to be roaming the local forests. During an earlier pre-credit sequence we witness rancher Billy Hoss and his wife (Dee Wallace, The Howling) have their own encounter with the bigfoot, it slaughtering their horse before killing their golden retriever and stomping around their house scaring them out of their wits. 

With these three parties set-up the bigfoot menace can begin proper with some typical plotting and monster movie mayhem, Preston begins to take notice of the creature as it stalks around the girls place next door, eventually nabbing one of the girls while she's outside on her phone and taking her back to it's cave for a snack, which is  where the hunter Ziegler discovers her still alive, almost throws up at the gruesome sight of her abdomen having been torn open, before having his own scary encounter with the sasquatch. The beast then returns to Preston's neighbors home for some more bigfoot thrills, with poor Preston as a helpless witness the carnage happening next door. When he reports what's happening to his nurse Otis the caregiver figures him for a loon and pays no mind, forcing Preston to take matters into his own hands, sedating Otis and trying to alert the local cops, but as the bigfoot has knocked down the telephone lines he send an email to the cops, but even they think he's lost his mind.

The kills are fun with some decent practical gore, when the beast finally makes it's way into the girls house he grabs a girl through a window and pulls her out in such a way that she gets folded-up like a human lawn chair, and another girl is pulled though a floor when the bigfoot punches a hole through the ceiling to get at her. It's entertaining but also very silly, the cat and mouse game with the girls trying to hide from the Bigfoot throughout the house only needed the Benny Hill theme song to accompany it, but the best kill is reserved for dipshit Otis who gets his face chewed off.  

I liked steely eyed Matt McCoy in the Jimmy Stewart role, he has a passing similarity to the Hitchcock star and is likable enough, he gives this b-movie some good presence, but not everyone in the film is as good, the acting is spotty at best, when the girl gets pulled through the floor by the Sasquatch it looks like she's smiling the whole time, it's not surprising that of all the actresses here only Tiffany Shepis had any sort of career post 2007 that I could find. Shortcomings aside the film fun, Henriksen and Combs scenes together with Rex Linn around the campfire shooting the shit are fun, and Paul Gleason from Breakfast Club shows up as a skeptical sheriff (with a "don't mess with the bull" coffee cup). 

Audio/Video: Abominable (2006) arrives on a 2-disc dual-format release from MVD Rewind with a new 2K transfer from the original camera negative, in the intro the director speaks about how the film never was mastered in HD back during it's initial release, so this is the first time they've gone back to the negative, and in fact had to re-edit the entire film, though its stated that they used the old DVD as a reference for the edits and that they are identical, but did re-do some minor CGI elements including the eyes of the Bigfoot (as noted in the screenshots), and also re-doing the opening and ending credits sequences. The results are excellent, the image is more defined and crisp, and while it's still a cheap-looking film it's easy to appreciate the improved clarity and deeper blacks. There's also been some new color correction, adding a blue tint to the dusk and night scenes. If you look at the screenshot of the 2006 DVD and the new 2018 Blu-ray you can see the framing is slightly different and the 2006 releases was stretched.

TOP: 2006 ANCHOR BAY DVD

BOTTOM: 2018 MVD REWIND BLU-RAY 

Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 and stereo track,  both are a solid track with some good atmospheric uses of the surrounds, the Lalo Schifrin score and animal/bigfoot sounds come through with some decent depth, optional English Subtitles are included. 

Looking at extras we get all the stuff from the 2006 Anchor Bay DVD including a vintage making of doc, an audio commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes, galley, storyboards, and the director's USC student film "Shadows", all presented in standard definition. We also get some new stuff, that being an informative 8-minute introduction to the film by the director, and the 16-minute short film “Basil and Mobius: No Rest For The Wicked”, a fin occult-heist film starring Zachari Levi (TV's Chuck), Ray Park (Stars Wars: The Phantom Menace),  Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) and Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood), both of these new extras are presented in HD. Also included is the original DVD version of the film, for the sake of comparison the difference in video quality is mighty significant. The DVD that accompanies this set features the same extras and feature except for the 2006 DVD version of the film which is exclusive to the Blu-ray disc. 

The 2-disc release comes housed in a clear dual-tray Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original key art by Drew Struzan, a gorgeous illustration that harkens back to vintage movie posters. The discs themselves are basic white backgrounds with black logo-ed lettering, par for the course for MVD Rewind. This release also comes with a limited edition slipcover with the same Drew Struzan art featuring the usual worn look with video store-type stickers on the slipcover and the spine is numbered, this being number seven in the MVD Rewind Collection. Also included is a mini fold-out poster with the same key art as the sleeve and slipcover.  

Special Features: 
- Brand-New 2K High-Definition transfer from the original camera negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of the main feature
- 5.1 Surround Audio (Uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Audio Commentary with writer/director Ryan Schifrin, Actors Matt McCoy and Jeffrey Combs
- Intro with director Ryan Schifrin (9 min) HD 
- 'Back to Genre: Making ABOMINABLE' featurette (37 min) SD 
- Deleted and Extended Scenes (6 min) SD 
- Outtakes and Bloopers (4 min) SD 
- “Shadows” Director Ryan Schifrin's USC Student Film (8 min) SD
- “Basil and Mobius: No Rest For The Wicked” Short film written and directed by Ryan - - Schifrin featuring a score by legendary composer Lalo Schifrin and starring Zachari Levi, Ray Park,  Malcolm McDowell and Kane Hodder (16 min) HD 
- The original 2005 version of “Abominable” (Blu-ray only) (94 mins) SD
- Poster and Still Gallery (4 min) 
- Storyboard Gallery (3 min) 
- Collectible Mini Fold-Out Poster
MVD Rewind Trailers: Abominable - Trailer 1 (1 min), Abominable - Trailer 2 (2 min), Return of the Swamp Thing (1 min), Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (2 min), Savannah Smiles (3 min), D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage, Black Eagle (2 min) 

As a Bigfoot film Abominable (20016) might be in the top third - the bar is set pretty low for these things, it's an entertaining creature feature with some decent kills, fun cameos, and a man in a Bigfoot suit that looks pretty darn good in my opinion. Not all the tension-ratcheting scenes work though and the film is heavily padded, so it definitely has it's ups and downs, but if you have a cinematic Sasquatch-itch this will probably scratch that itch for a bit. MVD Rewind's new Blu-ray/DVD combo looks and sounds way better than the previous home video releases, if you're thinking of upgrading this is well worth it, with new and old extras and great MVD Rewind collector packaging this is a tasty treat, glad to see them revisiting this millennial horror film, I don't think this one is as well known as it should be so I hope it finds more of an audience this time around. 

 

NIGHT GAME (1989)

 

NIGHT GAME (1989)

Label: Olive Films

Region: A

Rating: R

Duration: 95 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo 

Video: HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Peter Masterson

Cast: Roy Scheider, Richard Bradford, Lane Smith,Karen Young, Lane Smith, Paul Gleason

Night Game (1989) is a crime-drama with some very minor slasher tendencies and a killer with a novel baseball-themed motivation. We have Roy Scheider (Jaws) playing Detective Mike Seaver, a former minor league baseball player turned copper who is investigating the murders of several young women in and around the Galveston area of Texas. The killer is slashing the throats of young women with some sort of hook implement and leaving condescending notes on their corpses. Spoiler alert, if you have seen the artwork on the Blu-ray just what that hook-type weapon might be will not be a surprise. 

Det. Seaver is an avid fan of the Houston Astros and soon pieces together that the murders are only happening during the Astros night games at the Astrodome and only when they win the game. There are bot too many sports themes slashers out there, in fact the only two that I can think of are Graduation Day (1981) and Night of the Dribbler (1990), and maybe with good reason after watching this one.

Aside from The French Connection (1971) and Jaws (1975) I must say I have never been a fan of Roy Sheider's work for the most part, the guy to me does not have a leading man presence and never was that truer than with Night Game. He seems to be just sleepwalking his way through this one, everyone does. Karen Young (Jaws: The Revenge) plays his much younger fiance Roxy, a short-haired cutie who is kind enough to flash some titty for the film but I must confess that the scenes of intimacy with these two made my skin crawl. The May-December romance is sort of creepy, particularly when you factor in that Seaver dated Roxy's mother in high school...gross, are there any women out there who would marry their mother's high school boyfriend? 

Another issue is the slow pacing of the film and connecting scenes of Seaver sleuthing the murders which go nowhere fast with convoluted detours into his own father's connection with organized crime, some seriously snooze-worthy stuff. Even though the film flirts with the most basic of slasher-esque tendencies the actual stalking scenes have zero atmosphere and and the kills scenes are uninspired and flat. There's a death on the beach, another in a construction area and one that happens in a carnival funhouse of mirrors which had potential but there over so quickly and without any fight from the victims, this is just a lazy film all the way around. 

On the plus side we have some fun side characters throughout the film, the Police Chief played by an aspirin-popping Richard Bradford (The Untouchables) and an appearance from Paul Gleason (Breakfast Club) as the county cop with a distaste for the base ballplayer turned cop, and the always enjoyable Lane Smith (Dark Night of the Scarecrow), unfortunately for the film spotting these cameos are about as exciting it get which does not make for a very interesting viewing experience. 

The Blu-ray from Olive Films looks quite nice, presented with AVC encoded hi-def transfer in the proper widescreen aspect ratio. Grain is nicely managed and does not appear to have been subjected to any heinous digital manipulation, there's a fair amount of fine detail and clarity to the image but this will not be a stunner of an HD presentation by any means. Minor print damage that does crop of throughout but the source material looks to have been in decent shape, colors are strong but the image does feel a little soft at times, skin tones are natural looking and the black levels are good throughout. 

The only audio option on the disc is a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track and it is solid and offers a nice balance of crisp dialogue, effects and the Pino Donaggio score, which is decent but not one of his more memorable efforts. There are no extras on the disc, not even a trailer. 

Night Game (1989) was not my cup of tea, a weak-pulsed late '80s cop-drama with no atmosphere and only a few sub par death scenes. You'd have to be a pretty hardcore Roy Scheider fan to need this one on Blu-ray but here you go, on DVD and Blu-ray for the very first time from the folks at Olive Films. 

Blu-ray Review: MANIAC COP 3: BADGE OF SILENCE (1993)

MANIAC COP 3 - BADGE OF SILENCE  (1993)

Label: Blue Underground

Release Date: November 19th 2013

Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 85 Minutes 

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround EX 2.0, Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 with Optional English SDH Subtitles

Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: William Lustig
Cast: Robert Davi, Caitlin Dulany, Gretchen Becker, Paul Gleason, Doug Savant, Robert Z'DAr
Tagline: The Wrong Arm of the Law Is Back!

In the third and final installment of the Maniac Cop series the Maniac Cop Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar, Beastmaster) is resurrected by a voodoo priest named Houngan (Julius Harris, Super Fly) for nefarious reasons. Now, what exactly those reasons were I could not say at this time, even after just having watched the movie, but trust me and just go with it, through whatever contrived means necessary the Maniac Cop is back on the beat with vengeance!

This time out Cordell is preoccupied with NYPD Officer Kate Sullivan (Gretchen Becker) who has earned the nickname "Maniac Kate" from fellow police officers for her brutality against the vermin on the street, one night while responding to a robbery in progress she arrives at a pharmacy where a junkie (a fun Robert Earl Haley, Watchmen) is holding a store clerk hostage, there's a double cross and in the aftermath the store clerk is dead with a bullet to the barin and Kate lays brain-dead in the hospital.

Two unscrupulous tabloid video journalist capture the entire incident on film but edit in a way to make it appear the Officer Sullivan murdered the clerk in cold-blood, the junkie survives and threatens legal action against the city. Crooked politicians fearing legal action conspire with the attending physicians at the hospital to take Kate off life support, but the Maniac Cop has other plans for Maniac Kate. 

This strange third entry in the Maniac Cop series  brings back Robert Davi (Goonies) as the hard-nosed Det. McKinney who teams-up with an attractive physician Dr. Susan Fowler (Caitlin Dulany, Project X) to probe the accusations against Officer Sullivan, it's a pretty forced romantic angle, ugh. The journalist characters are pretty annoying and when the Maniac Cop catches up to them, in one of the most contrived sequences of the film, their deaths are pretty lame, but we do get some fun kills with Maniac Cop 3, at one point the movie detours into a hospital horror entry along the lines of X-Ray (1983) which is quite a bit of fun. At the hospital Maniac Cop turns one doc's brains to jelly with a pair of defibrillator paddles and another is strapped to a gurney and x-rayed to death It's pretty awesome but the strange thing is that these two docs are played by Paul Gleason (Breakfast Club) and Robert Forster (Jackie Brown), they just show up outta nowhere and are gone just as quickly, strange cameos but pretty awesome. 

Maniac Cop 2 was a pretty fantastic action-horror hybrid and some of what we get here is outstanding but you can definitely tell which sequences were directed by William Lustig and which were directed by producer Joel Soisson, he just doesn't have the action-chops of Lustig but he gives it quite a shot with the crazy police cruiser vs. ambulance car chase at the end of the movie, it's completely fucking nuts and the man-on-fire stunt-work rivals what we saw with Maniac Cop 2. 

Blu-ray: Blue Underground bring Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence comes to 1080p Blu-ray with an AVC encode in it's original widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio with a brand-new 4K High Definition transfer from the original uncensored negative. The hi-def image looks excellent with strong saturated colors, deep blacks and some decent depth and fine detail, a very strong presentation all around. 

The 2-disc edition come with choice of English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound EX and Dolby Surround 2.0. with optional subtitles. The DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 does a great job with the Joel Goldsmith score and effects making effective use of the surrounds, the action sequences particularly benefit from the surround mix, very nice. 

Extras on the set include the excellent Wrong Arm Of The Law - The Making Of MANIAC COP 3 (25:05) featurette featuring director William Lustig, writer Larry Cohen and producer turned director Joel Soisson speaking about the movies troubled production which resulted in Lustig walking off set. It's very candid as the two sides speak about the problematic shoot. Actors Robert Davi, Robert Z’dar, Gretchen Becker, Caitlyn Delany and stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos also chime in throughout the doc, it's a great extra and gives you some interesting insight into just what can go wrong with a small budget production. 

We also get a selection of deleted and extended scenes, a theatrical trailer, a poster and still gallery and the original synopsis for the film from writer Larry Cohen which is quite different than what ended up onscreen. This 2-disc set also comes with a standard-def DVD mirroring the same  extras and with a cool embossed slipcover, it should also be noted that his is the Unrated Version, not he R-rated cut of the film. 


Special Features:
- Wrong Arm Of The Law - The Making Of MANIAC COP 3 (25:05)
- Deleted and Extended Scenes (10:20)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:48)
- Poster and Still Gallery
- Original Synopsis
- Enhanced for D-Box Motion Control Systems

Verdict: Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993) is a pretty ridiculous action-horror hybrid with a weird Bride of Frankenstein subplot, while it's definitely the weakest of the series it's still quite a bit of fun and Blue Underground have done a fantastic job bringing it to Blu-ray. If you can shut your brain off and just enjoy it for the b-movie mess that it is there's some fun to be had. With that said, not a recommend unless you're a huge fan of the series or completest, but this would be a fun Friday night rental with a few brews. Cannot say I would look forward to a continuation of the series but I wouldn't mind if a young, hungry director with vision resurrected Maniac Cop for a new generation of horror fans. 2.5 Outta 5