DEEP BLUE SEA 2 (2018) (Blu-ray Review)

DEEP BLUE SEA 2 (2018)

Label: Warner Home Entertainment
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 94 Minutes 
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Darin Scott
Cast: Danielle Savre, Rob Mayes , Michael Beach, Nathan Lynn, Kim Syster, Jeremy Jess Boado 

Synopsis: Deep Blue Sea 2, shark conservationist Dr. Misty Calhoun (Danielle Savre) is invited to consult on a new, top secret project run by pharmaceutical billionaire Carl Durant (Michael Beach). She believes the project, performed at a remote, sea-based facility, focuses on extracting shark antibodies to help work toward cures for human diseases. However, Dr. Calhoun is shocked to learn that the company is using unpredictable bull sharks as its test subjects, and Durant has bio-engineered a shiver of highly intelligent, super-aggressive bull sharks. When science meddles with the time-tested process of nature and nurture, the outcome can be deadly.

I have a real soft spot for Renny Harlin's original Deep Blue Sea (1999), my wife and I were in the ninth month of her difficult pregnancy with our first daughter when I happened upon some advance screening tickets for the original engineered smart-shark action flick, so we took advantage of the free passes and went on down the local cineplex with very low expectations. We were (well, I was anyway) rather surprised how fun the flick turned out to be, the CGI was fairly awful but the b-movie sharksploitation bones of it were fucking-a solid. I wouldn't say I re-watch it every year but it gets some replay every now and again when I feel the need for some cinematic shark-action, so when this straight-to-video sequel was announced I was legit excited at the prospect of a new entry.

Well, now that I've watched it I can say that I was a fool people, this is pretty much a straight-up lifeless remake of Harlin's original with none of the style, writing or chops. Again we have a drug-company billionaire, this time named Carl Durant (Michael Beach, Hell Ride), whom has built a lo-tech shark-pen on the open seas somewhere off the coast of South Africa, he's engineering super-intelligent sharks not to cure Alzheimer's, which was the basis of the original film, but wait for it... this guy has seen The Matrix and The Terminator way too many times, believing that A.I. will soon overtake humans as the most advanced intelligence on Earth, which is why he's engineering these intelligent sharks, to harvest their antibodies to create an intelligence-enhancing elixir to keep us smarter than the machines. No seriously, this is the basis of the film!

The film opens decently enough with a pair of illegal shark poachers catching sharks and slicing off their fins for sale on the black market, but they become fodder for five smart sharks who have escaped there electrified shark pen by digging under it - how smart! After dispatching the poachers the sharks are wrangled-up by shark-wrangler Trent (Rob Mayes, John Dies at the End) who takes them back to the shark-pen, just as the facility is welcoming guests, including shark specialist Dr. Misty Calhoun (Danielle Savre, Boogeyman 2), who has been brought in to consult on the project. Right away she is alarmed that Durant has chosen to utilize bull sharks, which are apparently notoriously unpredictable, but the billionaire attempts to prove her worries wrong by pushing his tech guy into the shark tank. Of course she dives in after him, allowing for the camera to pointlessly zero in on her tight fitting wet clothes when she emerges from the water and linger on her while she changes clothing, but far be it from me to have misgivings about pointless exploitation in an exploitation movie, there are far better reasons to loathe this movie. 

The shit begins to hits the fan when a poorly placed generator - located conveniently right next to some poorly stored fuel drums goes up in flames sending the whole facility into a downward spiral. Then the queen shark "Bella" gives birth to a handful of pint-sized baby shark who infiltrate the facility as it begins sinking, the main sharks never actually makes it into the facility, just the piranha-like offspring who give chase to the assorted human-chum through the flooded hallways, bathed in overpowering colored flood flights. 

It's a lot like the original film just wiped clean of any inspiration, fun and cleverness, pretty bland stuff that sort of infuriated me, this could have been so much dumb fun, but they only got it half right. There are a few fun moments, like the shark peering through one of the portals while Durant discusses their fate, like it's eavesdropping on them, and there's a bit of homage to Samuel L. Jackson's monologue-ing death scene from the first film, but it's all sub-SYFY Channel stuff, sapped of fun. 

Now the digital effects in this one aren't too shabby, I'll even say they're better than the effects from the original film, but '99 wasn't a great year for digital effects so that's not saying a whole lot. Intestines spilling from victim chewed in half and a limbless torso sinking into the depth are the highlights, but almost unforgivable is representation of the mini-shark babies, mostly represented by frothing water and air-bubbles accompanied by a screeching sound, none of which makes sense, it's lame how they turned a big dumb killer shark movie into silly piranha flick. Maybe if the writing and acting had been up to par this could have worked, but none of it does, I wasn't entertained, I didn't laugh, I only groaned.

Audio/Video: Deep Blue Sea 2 arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Home Entertainment framed in 1.78:1 widescreen, it starts off nicely with a strong robust image on the open seas but once we go below into the depth of the facility and the scenes are bathed in overwhelming swathes of green, blue and red light it loses fidelity, but the scenes not flooded with colored light fare decently in HD. The English DTS-HD MA 5.1 is mostly relegated to the front with some only occasional use of the rear surround, everything is well-balanced  and crisp, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Warner give the so inclined a few extra to watch, we get a making of featurette which mostly waxes nostalgic about the first (a much better film) film, a kill reel, a gag reel, and five-minutes of deleted scenes. The 2-disc DVD/Blu-ray combo comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork, it also includes a slipcase featuring the same artwork and inside you will find a digital copy redemption code for the film. 

Special Features: 
- Returning to the Deep – The Making of Deep Blue Sea 2 (12 min) HD
- Deep Blue Sea 2: Death by Shark (6 min) HD 
- Deep Blue Silliness (3 min) HD
- Deleted Scenes (5 min) HD 

At just 94-minutes long Deep Blue Sea 2 still manages to overstay it's welcome, a shamelessly limp cash-in on a beloved b-movie that stinks like an overripe chum bucket, this is one to avoid. On the plus side while I was writing this I realized I didn't own the original Deep Blue Sea (1999) on Blu-ray and just bought it on Amazon, so I am looking forward to that.

 

DVD Review: JOHN DIES AT THE END (2012)

JOHN DIES AT THE END (2012) 

Label: Magnet Pictures

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Rating: R

Duration: 99 Minutes

Video: 16:9 widescreen (1.78:1)

Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital with Optional English SDH, Spanish Subtitles
Director: Don Coscarelli 

Cast: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown

Synopsis: It's all about the Soy Sauce, a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John and David, a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs.

What we have here is a bizarre drug-trip sci-fi fantasy horror-comedy from the demented and wonderful mind of Don Coscarelli whom you will all know from the surreal and equally weird Phantasm (1979) series. Coscarelli is an auteur whose directed too few films in my opinion, the man emerges from the ether every so often to titillate our minds with a brand-new vision of oddness, he's like a surreal horror-tinged Terence Malik. At the start of the decade he returned to the spotlight with the deliciously quirky Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) featuring an elder Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead 2) and a black (!) John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis, Do the Right Thing) battling an ass-sucking mummy at a Texas convalescent home, a work adapted from Joe R. Lansdale's novella. Now decade later he comes to us with another movie-adaptation, this time it's David Wong's John Dies at the End (2012) and if you though the King and Kennedy battling a mummy was a bit odd you ain't seen nothing yet!

The film opens with weird pre-credit sequence featuring voice over narration from one of our protagonists, David Wong (Chase Williamson), in the act of beheading a skinhead in a striking snow-covered sequence. David's narration poses an odd philosophical question then we're thrust into a neat opening credit sequence then straight into a cool noir framing device as David relays to skeptical reporter, Arnie Blondestone (Paul Giamatti, Sideways), the strange events that have transpired since he and his best friend, the titular John (Rob Mayes), were exposed to the mind expanding drug known as the Soy Sauce. A side effect of the sauce is the ability to communicate with the dead and travel through time and space into alternate dimensions, and with this the strangeness begins.

The film is peppered with trippy sequences that might not seem outta place in  David Cronenbergs' Naked Lunch (1991) or Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). Odd sights abound from otherworldly insects, slimy over-sized slugs, freezer meat monsters and talking dogs, it's a weird and wondrous trip. The acting is inspired, the two 20-something slacker types who find themselves thrown into the world of spiritual exorcism and inter-dimensional time slipping are quite entertaining and engaging. Paul Giamatti is fantastic as the snarky reporter whose led down the path from skepticism to utter belief, would love to see him do more horror films and from the interviews I've seen he's a horror buff so it wouldn't surprise me a bit.

The film certainly goes to some unexpected places and is rich with surreal humor and strange scenarios including a menacing flying mustache, Dave communicating with the deceased through a bratwurstr, a doorknob that turns into a cock, and a pretty young woman crumbling into a pile of snakes - there's a lot to absorb here and I don't think a singular viewing is gonna allow you to take it all in. Watched it twice just today and caught a lot I'd missed the first time around, which is not to say the film doesn't make for a cohesive viewing just that it's richly layered and there a lot to appreciate, even more so on repeat viewings. As odd as it is the film moves along at a great pace, Coscarelli keeps the momentum moving forward with great dialogue and visuals that are a feast for the eyes.

The film is peppered with cameos from cult movie legends including Angus Scrimm, the Tall man from the Phantasm series, as a Father Shellnut, and Doug Jones (Hellboy) appears as the inter-dimensional enigma Roger North. I kept thinking if you threw a pencil-thin mustache on Jones he would be John Waters' twin. Even Clancy Brown (Pet Semetary 2) gets in on the action with a brief but integral role as TV psychic Marconi. Glynn Turman (Gremlins) appears as Detective Appleton whom picks up quickly on the strange events happening in his town and sets out to shut down the increasingly fantastic occurrences by whatever mean necessary, even if it means committing a few felonies along the way. 

Where the film ends up might not satisfy everyone, you definitely get the feeling that there's more to this story and certainly there is, there ds a sequel novel. While I have not read the source material the interviews with Don Coscarelli and Paul Giamatti all indicate that some of the original scope had to be trimmed out, regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed John Dies at the End and would love to see Coscarelli direct a sequel!

Something I love, loved, LOVED about the film were the practical effects work done under the guidance of Robert Kurtzman (Evil Dead 2, The Hidden), pretty cool stuff from the rod puppet insects, fearsome slugs, and the freezer-meat creature, the stuff was a throwback to the 80's practical effects, it's great stuff. Some of the digital effects were of the Syfy Channel variety, the worst offense happening during the end credit sequence as our duo are reluctantly recruited for yet another inter-dimensional crusade, but the practical effects are fantastic and far out way and digital shortcomings.

DVD: The disc from Magnet Releasing comes well-equipped with a wealth of extras including an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes and interviews. The commentary is a lively affair, Coscarelli is always a blast and his cohorts keep it going strong for the duration of the film. The featurettes are fairly short but interesting, particularly Creature Corps: The Effects of Soy Sauce (8:36) with effects supervisor Kurtzman walking us through some behind-the-scenes effects work, we see set-ups for a bunch of effects seen in the film, good stuff. My only beef with Magnet's DVD is the awful artwork, the theatrical one sheet was amazing and what we get here is just uninspired photo shop, if I came across the film at Walmart I would assume this was a piece of Syfy dreck and pass it by and that would be a shame.

Special Features:

- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Don Coscarelli, Producer Brad Baruh, Actors Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes

- 7 Deleted Scenes (9:38) 

- Getting Sauced: The Making of John Dies at the End (6:45) 

- Creature Corps: The Effects of Soy Sauce (8:36) 

- Casting Sessions (7:13) 

- Fangoria Interview with Paul Giamatti (9:50)

- 2 Trailers (4:57) 

- Books by David Wong with Promotional Trailer (1:13) 
- Magnolia Trailers: The Sorcerer and the White Snake, Sushi Girl, Storage 24, ABC's of Death (7:04)

Verdict: So, can these two college dropouts stop the inter-dimensional invasion by a Lovecraftian creature? Well, like the adverts say "Don't spoil the ending" and I won't but it's worth noting that this is the sort of film that you just can't spoil. Whenever Don Coscarelli crafts a new film I will always be there to enjoy it, you never know what you'll get and this one went places I didn't expect, an acid-soaked decent into the surreal and bizarre loaded with off kilter humor and some decent splatteriffic effects including a brief but enjoyable gore strewn animated sequence. Weird, wacky and inspired, John Dies at the End, watch it, damn entertaining. 4 Outta 5 

Main Menu Screen 

The fantastic retro-panted One Sheet!