THE AFTERMATH (1982) (VCI Blu-ray Review)

THE AFTERMATH (1982)

Label: VCI Retro Elite
Region Code: A/1
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English LPCM Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Steve Barkett
Cast: Steve Barkett, Lynne Margulies, Sid Haig, Christopher Barkett, Alfie Martin, Forrest J Ackerman, Jim Danforth

The Aftermath (1982) borrows a page from the Planet of the Apes (1968) with an opening scenes of a trio of astronauts returning to Earth after a mission, we have Newman (Steve Barkett, Empire of thee Dark), Matthews (Larry Latham), and Williams (Jim Danforth). For reasons unknown they've been unable to get a communications signal from NASA during re-entry and end up ditching the ship without guidance somewhere off the coast of California. One of the astronauts dies during re-entry and the other two swim to shore, they're separated at first and our main guy Newman (Steve Barkett) discovers what appear to be sun bathers on the beach off in the distance, only to discover upon closer inspection that they're charred corpses, victims of a nuclear war that has destroyed most human life on the planet. Regrouping with his fellow astronaut they make a campfire for the night and are attacked by a group of survivor mutants, in the morning they awaken to the startling sight of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles which lays in ruins. They astronauts end up taking over a mansion in the Hollywood hills and begin to make the best of a shitty apocalyptic situation.

Along the way they fight more mutant survivors and come to the aid of a woman named Sarah (Lynne Margulies, the girlfriend of late comedian Andy Kaufman) who tells them of a ruthless savage named Cutter, played with vicious enthusiasm by the always awesome (and usually sleazy) Sid Haig (The Devil's Rejects) who along with his band of like-minded cronies roam the area and round up survivors, killing the men and children while raping the women, this is the Hell that Sarah's escaped from. Newman and Sarah strike up a quick relationship, but when tragedy strikes close to home Newman ends up going on a rampage, killing the baddies one by one on one-man killing spree.

The Aftermath is a fun post-apocalyptic movie in a low-budget regional sort of way, a true independent slice of 70's cinema packed with questionable acting, shallow storytelling, and some iffy, lo-fi science fiction/apocalypse elements, offering a plethora of fun matte paintings and miniatures showcasing the obliterated city scapes. Writer/Actor/Director Barkett wrote and directed the film, casting himself as the hero but he's not the most charismatic guy, he's very soft spoken, which both works for and against the film. He does a decent job in the hammy action scenes, most of which are poorly staged and choreographed, but in a fun b-movie sort of way. It's bad guy Sid Haig who steals the show as the villain, a scuzzy raper of women and killer of men and children. To my surprise some of the lo-budget gore and brutal killings were affecting, some of the film's sci-fi elements are laughable, such as the spaceship on a string effects from the opening scenes, but the more post-nuke survivor stuff is actually pretty harrowing, though the over-dramatic voice over narration and myth building is way over-cooked.

The film borrows liberally from The Planet of the Apes and The Last Man on Earth, mixing in some more 70's science fiction stuff and does a lot with very little, but in the wake of Star Wars and Escape from New York this must have looked hokey as Hell. Beloved Forrest J. Ackerman (Famous Monsters of Filmland) as a museum curator, and the recorded voice of Dick Miller (Gremlins) can be heard on a cassette tape in one scene that fills in some of the story of what lead to the apocalypse on Earth. The film is fun but a bit shabby, but you can see this was a labor of love for Steve Barkett and it's that love and indie-spirit that makes this slice of post-nuke cinema so much fun.

Audio/Video: The Aftermath (1982) arrives on a dual-format 2-disc release from VCI Retro Elite, who previously issued the film as MOD DVD-R release, this pressed Blu-ray presents the film from 2017 2K scan of the original 35mm camera negative, and the results are generally pleasing, colors are robust with a surprising amount of clarity and depth, which is great. Black levels are decent but the shadow detail loses definition, and the grain is unevenly managed, looking natural at times but excessively DNR'd in others, but generally I found it acceptable. Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA Mono track, the fidelity is limited, sounding canned at times, boxy dialogue sounds like most of it was dubbed in post-production with out sync sound, so there's a disconnect between the image and sounds, and while I love the score it often drown out any onscreen audio subtlety, optional English subtitles are provided.

Onto the extra VCI carryover the extras from the 1997 laser disc release, these include fifteen minutes of interviews with winter/actor/direct Steve Barkett, his son Chris Barkett and daughter Laura - both of who appear in the film, plus composer John Morgan, producer Fred Olen Ray, and screenwriter Stanley Livingston. There's also still images with notations, offering plenty of great behind-the-scenes images of the special effects work featured in the film, plus there's a prop tour video. These extras ported over from the laser disc play as one 15-min extra and are not viewable separate from each other.

Onto he new stuff, we get a trailer for the film, plus the 21-min short film Night Caller (19723) a student film also starring actor Steve Barkett and directed by Dan Gilbert. It's a great short film with atmosphere, loved the shocker ending on this one. We also get a nine minute Empire of the Dark (1990) Promo, also directed and starring Steve Barkett, a film about an inter-dimensional satanic cult, which is also slated for a forthcoming Blu-ray release, according to another lengthy text scroll.

The 2-disc dual-format release comes housed in a standard 2-tray Blu-ray keepcase with a two-sided sleeve of artwork, the a-side featuring the traditional artwork for the film, which is also excerpted for the disc art, the b-side fearing notes on the film regarding the transfer and special features, also directing you to various websites for more info about Steve Barkett. Not the most enthralling of liner notes, mostly replicating the text scrolls from the disc extras. This is the first extra with a rather long text scroll intro, which is a bit dated. The disc also presents the original John Morgan score in lossless LPCM 2.0 audio (also with a text intro), it's a wonderfully dramatic score.

Special Features:
- Original Laserdisc Extras (15 min) HD
- The Aftermath Trailer (3 min) HD
- Nightcaller (21 min) HD
- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (LPCM 2.0, 23 Tracks) )
- Empire of the Dark Promo (9 min)HD
- The Past 20 Years of Steve Barkett (3 min)
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director/Actor Steve Barkett and Chris Barkett

The Aftermath (1982) is a fun, albeit hokey, post-apocalyptic nugget, released in '82 but filmed in the late 70'sit doesn't feel like an 80's movie. If you're a fan of trashy lo-fi post-apocalyptic films (A Boy and His Dog, Omega Man) this one should be on your radar. The new Blu-ray from VCI looks and sounds quite nice, it's not perfect but it's the best the film has ever looked on home video and the extras should please fans of the film.

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS (2005) (Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray Review)

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS (2005) 

Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: MA 15+
Duration: 111 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Surround 6.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080P HD Widescreen (1.77:1) 
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Ken Fore, Priscilla Barnes, Geoff Lewis, Leslie Easterbrook,  Danny Trejo, Diamond Dallas Page, William Forsythe,  

Synopsis: From the twisted mind of acclaimed musician and Director Rob Zombie, comes The Devil's Rejects - a nerve-shredding violent road trip through the weirdest parts of American and the darkest corners of your mind. This grisly tale of mayhem reunites the homicidal members of the Firefly Family as they go on a rampage of senseless slaughter, pursued by a pair of sadistic bounty hunters and an outlaw sheriff hell bent on revenge. When they finally meet, prepare yourself for one of the most depraved and terrifying showdowns you'll ever see. 

Following the events of House of a 1000 Corpses (2003) the sequel opens with Texas Sheriff John Quincey Wydell (William Forsythe, Raising Arizona) and a squad of heavily-armed officers descending on the ranch home of the Firefly family, he comes breathing fire and damnation, but the Firefly's are prepared, donning cast-iron armor and well-armed themselves. In the ensuing firefight Mother Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook, Police Academy)is captured and Otis (Bill Mosley, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) and Baby (Shari Moon Zombie, Lords of Salem) escape through sewers tunnels, flagging down a passing car and killing the driver (Mary Woronov, Hell Hole) then hiting the road, eventually meeting up with the nightmare clown Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig, Foxy Brown), who take up refuge in a dirt bag hotel, kidnapping and terrorizing a family of travelling country musicians, headed-up by Roy (Geoffrey Lewis, Salem's Lot) and his wife Gloria (Priscilla Barnes, the three-nipped gypsy from Mallrats!) whom they humiliate, denigrate and straight-up kill after putting them through the wringer, peeling the face off one of the band members, before wearing his face, in scene lifted from TCM2. 

The film is a weird one, it corrals you into rooting for the demented firefly clan in a weird way, the twisted killers on the run from he lawman who becomes just a deranged as the trio of killers, Forsythe as Sheriff is haunted by the death of his brother George (Tom Towles, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), when he snaps he murders Mother Firefly in her jail cell, and to see Easterbrook at Mother Firefly is demented, she capably the shoes of Karen Black (Burn Offerings) who portrayed the matriarch in the first film! Unhinged and out for revenge Wydell hires a pair of underworld bounty hunters named Rondo (Danny Trejo, From Dusk Till Dawn) and Snapper (Diamond Dallas Page) to track down the trio of killers, leading up to a fiery inferno at the Firefly ranch. 

Along the way we have a cast of side characters including Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) as a whore mongering lowlife, Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes), 80's porn star Ginger Lynn (New Wave Hookers) and Elizabeth Daily (Better Off Dead) as whores, and both are lunatics, plus P.J. Soles (Carrie) as a woman victimized by Captain Spaulding, who also lays a head trip on her terrified son! 

As where House of a 1000 Corpses was a surreal, nightmare-fueled version of Tobe Hooper's TCM2, The Devil's Rejects is more gritty and realistic, visually more stripped down and akin to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) in tone, I really dig the seedy aesthetic of it. The Firefly trio are great, Haig is fantastic as Spaulding, lots of great lines, and both Baby and Otis are toned down a bit from the previous film, there's a certain evil-gleefulness to their awfulness, played as a dark comedy with plenty of nerve-shredding exploitation and violence. 

Audio/Video: The Devil's Rejects (2005) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment framed in 1080p HD widescreen (1.77:1). The visuals are going for that 70's washed-out patina, the whites burn bright, and the overall image is gritty and dirty,  everything appears authentic to the original presentation without digital artifacts or other compression issues. The only audio option on the disc is a healthy sounding English DTS-HD MA Surround 6.1 track and it sounds great, the dialogue and effects are crisp and clean, well-balanced, and the 70's Southern rock soundtrack notably opening with Allman Brothers Band "Midnight Rider" and closing with Lynard Skynyrd's "Free Bird", with tasty selections from James Gang, Joe Walsh, Three Dog Night and a memorable rendition of "Satan's Got to Get Along Without Me" by Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. All the music sounds great, including a score by Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy). Optional English subtitles are provided, though they are not indicated on the box. 

Onto the extras we get all the extras from the 2-disc Director's Cut DVD except for the two audio commentaries and the 144-minute making of doc, which is a shame, as far as extras go that 2-disc DVD is still the definite edition, with the Lionsgate Blu-ray only carrying over the commentaries and deleted scenes, but this Blu-ray from is solid, I just wish we had a 2-disc Blu-ray release with both the theatrical and director's cut versions, the director and cast commentaries and the making of doc. 

The single-disc Blu-ray release comes housed in the usual over-sized 15mm spine Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring new artwork by Umbrella staff artist/designer Simon Sherry, the reverse side features a variant of the same artwork minus the rating label, the disc featuring an excerpt from the artwork, that when seated in the Blu-ray cases lines up perfectly with the reverse artwork on the b-side.  Not the biggest fan of the new illustration, I sort of wish we had the original artwork on the flip, not that the illustration is bad but for me it  doesn't capture the essence of the movie, and I am a huge fan of the original DVD release artwork. 

Special Features: 
- Bloody Stand-up (02:17)
- Matthew McGrory Tribute (01:59)
- Buck Owens: Satan's Got to Get Along Without Me (01:52)
- "Mary the Monkey Girl" Commercial  (1 min) 
- Captain Spaulding's Xmas Commercial (1 min) 
- Otis' Home Movies (1 min)
- Deleted Scenes (13 min) 
- Blooper Reel (6 min)
- Make-up Test (13 min)
- The Morris Green Show (13 min)

The Devils Rejects (20015) is a blood-soaked road movie, transforming the demented Firefly clan from the heinous over-the-top sicko clan of House of a 1000 Corpses to not just heinous killers, but anti-heroes of a sort, it's grim, gritty and not unfunny, playing and looking very much like a slice of vintage 70's exploitation. This is still my favorite Rob Zombie film to date, and it only gets better with age.   

COFFY (1973)

COFFY (1973) 

Label: Olive Films
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 90 Minutes
Audio: Englsih DTS-HD 2.0 Mono
Video: HD Widescreen (1:85:1)
Director: Jack Hill

Cast: Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig, Barry Cahill, Lee de Broux

Jack Hill's Coffy (1973) features Pam Grier in what I think is her fiercest role EVER as the vigilante Nurse "Coffy" Coffin. Coffy is a woman out for revenge against the low life dope pushers who hooked her younger sister on heroin. At the start of the film we witness Coffy posing as a drug addict looking to score a fix from a drug pusher in exchange for some strange. Once he lets his guard down in the bedroom she whips out a sawed-off shotgun and blows a hole through his face at point black range, before forcing his dealer friend to overdose on heroin. Coffy pulls no punches right from the start and it just doesn't let up, this one is a wild and seedy revenger.

Soon after we meet Coffy's boyfriend Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw), a supporter of the black community with political aspirations, but he keeps company with the drug kingpin Vitroni (Allan Arbus) and a pimp named King George (Robert DoQui), so he;s not exactly what he seems at first. Og course, when this comes to light it does not wash well with Coffy's one-woman vendetta against the drug pushing scum who she holds responsible for her sister's addiction.

We're introduced to an upstanding cop whom at one time dated a younger Coffy, unwilling to accept bribes from the mob he is beaten into a coma. Afterward Coffy once again resumes her vigilante brand of justice, this time posing as a Jamaican hooker to get close to the operations of King George, which leads to a violent confrontation with the green-eyed whores who become jealous of the attention the pimp pays her. At a party hosted by Vitroni Coffy is attacked by five of the whores and the ensuing cat fight is a bunch of fun, with Coffy coming out on top after tearing off their blouses and bating their breasts - which you just gotta love. During the altercation we discover that Coffy stashes razorblades inside her Afro, and when one of the women grab a clutch of her hair she ends up with deep lacerations on her hands, how can you not love this stuff?

Mob boss Vitroni is played by the tiny Allan Arbus who I am most familiar with as Dr. Sidney Freedman from the television series M*A*S*H, it was a blast to see him here as the white drug lord with a taste for Coffy, but as one of the many deliciously awful taglines for the film read, "They call her 'Coffy' and she'll cream you!". Despite being caught by Vitroni she manages to cast doubt on the loyalty of King George and Vitroni sends his goons, one played by the impossibly young looking Sid Haig, to kill the double-crossing pimp. The men put a noose around his neck and drag him behind a car at high speed, the racist connotations and the manner of death are unsettling.  

The film ends with Coffy confronting the corrupt Brunswick who just a few scenes earlier gave his blessing to have her killed, at the wrong end of Coffy's sawed-off shotgun he tries to sweet talk his way out it only to be foiled when a nude white-woman emerges from his bedroom, and Coffy just ain't gonna put up with that sort of shit, nope. 

Director Jack Hill (Spider-Baby, The Big Bird Cage) is a fantastic exploitation director and his multiple team-ups with Grier are among his best movies. Grier has never appeared more bad ass and gorgeous on screen than she does in Coffy. This is my favorite blaxploitation movie bar none, bolstered by copious amounts of naked women, this gritty revenger still packs quite a punch!

Coffy arrives on Blu-ray in North America from Olive Films in the original widescreen aspect ratio (1.85:1) with a very nice HD transfer. There's a nice layer of film grain that has not been scrubbed to death, looking very natural.  The 70's fashions and decor have some nice fine detail about them, plus improved clarity and depth. Colors are vibrant and black levels are pretty damn decent. The English DTS-HD Mono audio sounds good, well-balanced and free of distortion. The score by Roy Ayers features some great theme song and lyrics, several dedicated to Coffy herself with  my favorite being King George's theme. No subtitles are provided. 

Like Olive's Foxy Brown Blu-ray this is a bare bones disc, which is unfortunate, but they do come through with a very nice A/V presentation that will not disappoint fans of the movie. Coffy is one bad ass and violent movie loaded with more nudity and sex than the average blaxpoitation film of the era, which is a huge bonus, in my opinion. Coffy and Foxy Brown make for a fun soul-cinema double-feature with this one being the more violent and grittier entry, which is  probably why I prefer it to the follow-up, but only by a thin margin. 4/5

FOXY BROWN (1974) (Olive Films Blu-ray Review)

FOXY BROWN (1974)

Label: Olive Films
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 92 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Cast: Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Sid Haig, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Kathryn Loder
Director: Jack Hill

I must confess that pre-Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997) I knew very little about the 70's Blaxploitation era of cinema, having only the most vague knowledge of Richard Roundtree's Shaft (1971) film and very little else. I had not even heard of the director Jack Hill at that point. However, after taking in Pam Grier's return to prominence starring role in Jackie Brown and the many Tarantino interviews that accompanied the film I went straight to Foxy Brown (1974) to see what this '70's exploitation classic was all about, and it was a pretty fantastic watch from the get-go, definitely a slice of some bad ass soul cinema.

In reality director Jack Hill initially set out to film a sequel to the successful Pam Grier vehicle Coffy (1973), also on Blu-ray from Olive Films on June 9th, but when distributor American International Pictures opted not to go the sequel route he re-purposed the ebony revenger and gave us Grier as the smoking-hot, street-smart Foxy Brown who kicks major amounts of corrupt white ass when her DEA boyfriend is gunned down by an heroin dealing escort service run by the villainous Steve Elias (Peter Brown) and the deliciously evil Miss Katherine (Kathryn Loder, The Big Doll House).

Foxy's fuck-up brother Link (TVs Antonio 'Huggy Bear' Fargas) is a coke dealing delinquent and when his debt with Miss Katherine comes due he wins her favor by revealing the whereabouts of Foxy's DEA boyfriend resulting in his murder. Double-crossed Link ends up dead at the business end of a shotgun while his coked-up girlfriend gets her throat slit. The murder of both her lover and fuck-up brother sends Foxy off the deep end and into full-on revenge mode. Foxy sets out to infiltrate the whorehouse as would-be whore decked out in a few sweet seventies styles that are tight in all the right places, Grier is a stunning woman and those skintight outfits are very complimentary to her ass arsenal of kicking curves. Link at one point says Foxy is a "whole lotta woman" and he ain't lying, she's definitely an eyeful!

Foxy enlists the help of a vigilante group to reap her revenge but when they shake things up for the whore mongering heroin dealers get wise to Foxy's true identity and she winds up tied to a bed with heroin needle jabbed in her arm. Miss Katherine's diabolical scheme is to get Foxy hooked on smack and then pimp her out before sending her off to a slave-farm in Haiti - but you just know Foxy Brown ain't going out like that.

Jack Hill regular Sid Haig (The Big Bird Cage) arrives on scene as a pervy pilot in the service of the drug cartel, it's great to see him with Grier onscreen, there's an undeniable chemistry and they're quite a duo, even if the couplings short lived. Foxy Brown has a fun cast of seedy characters, including Antonio Fargas as Foxy's wise-cracking brother who cannot stay out of trouble, every one of his scenes is a winner, he cracked me up. Kathryn Loder's is fantastic as the villainous baddie plays well and Brown's portrayal of Elias is perfect, love it when he gets his comeuppance, a dong-slicing shocker that is long overdue.

Foxy Brown is an entertaining actioner chock full of 70's kitsch, black on white revenge, memorable bad ass dialogue and a sweet villainous duo, definitely one of my favorite of the 70's Blaxploitation movies, though admittedly there's a lot I have yet to see. If you dig the seventies exploitation films and you're not familiar with director Jack Hill's Coffy (1973) or his string of Filipino exploitation women-in-prison films you need to check 'em out right away.

Audio/Video: Foxy Brown (1974) makes it's American HD debut on Blu-ray from Olive Films, the 1080p widescreen (1.85;1) transfer is quite nice, sourced from a print in fantastic condition, the colors are vivid, contrast is sharp and there's a nice layer of film grain. The English surround sound audio is good, the dialogue, effects and the sweet 70's score are crisp, clean and free of any distortion. Willie Hutch's funk-soul score benefits the most from the HD audio upgrade, though I do which they offered the original mono audio as an option for the purists.

Unfortunately there are zero extras on the disc, if you crave commentaries and interviews you should check out the Region B Blu-ray from Arrow Video in the UK which is stuffed with goodies including a commentary from director Jack Hill and interviews with Sid Haid, Fred Williamson, Austin Stoker and Rosanne Katon. If you just want the film straight-up with no frills this Olive Films disc has a solid AV presentation that should suit your needs.

Foxy Brown (1974) is an essential slice of 70's soul cinema starring Pam Grier as the stunning and lethal Foxy Brown. It make for an entertaining Afro-centric actioner that's loaded with vintage fashions and gritty urban action, fun stuff and a definite recommend. 

Blu-ray Review: FOXY BROWN (1974)

FOXY BROWN (1974)

Label: Arrow Video

Region Code: B

Rating: 18 Certificate 

Duration: 91 Minutes 

Audio: English LPCM with Optional English SDH Subtitles

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Cast: Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Sid Haig, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown, Kathryn Loder
Director: Jack Hill
Tagline: She's the meanest chick in town!

I must confess that pre-Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997) I knew very little about the 70's Blaxploitation era of cinema, having only the most vague knowledge of Richard Roundtree's Shaft (1971) film and it's sequels I had not even heard of director Jack Hill at that point.  However, after taking in Pam Grier's return to prominence starring role in Jackie Brown and the many Tarantino interviews that accompanied the film I went straight to Foxy Brown (1974) to see what this Jack Hill 70's exploitation classic was all about, and it was a pretty fantastic watch from the get-go. 

In reality director Jack Hill initially set out to film a sequel to the successful Pam Grier vehicle Coffy (1973) but when distributor American International Pictures opted not to go the sequel route re-purposed the ebony revenger and gave us Grier as the smoking-hot, street-smart Foxy Brown who kicks  major amounts of corrupt white ass when her DEA boyfriend is gunned down by an heroin dealing escort service run by villainous lovers Steve Elias (Peter Brown) and Miss Katherine (Kathryn Loder, The Big Doll House). 

Street Smart and Lethal!

It turns out that Foxy's very own dip shit brother Link (TV's Antonio 'Huggy Bear' Fargas) is a coke dealing delinquent and when his debt with Miss Katherine comes due he wins her favor by revealing the whereabouts of Foxy's DEA boyfriend resulting in his murder. Double-crossed Link ends up dead at the business end of a shotgun at the hands of Elias, while his coked-up girlfriend gets her throat slit. The murder of both her lover and fuck-up brother sends Foxy off the deep end and into full-on revenge mode. Foxy sets out to infiltrate the whores-den as a prostitute decked out in some super sweet 70's outfits that are tight in all the right places if you know what I mean - WOW - Grier is a stunning women here with a knockout physique and those skintight outfits are superbly revealing. Link at one point says Foxy is a "whole lotta woman" and he ain't lying, she's definitely an eyeful! 

Oh, Foxy Foxy! 

Foxy enlists the help of a vigilante group to reap her revenge but when they successfully start to shake things up for the whore mongering heroin dealers they get smart and catch onto Foxy's true identity. Now captured Foxy winds up tied to a bed with heroin needle jabbed in her arm.  Miss Katherine's diabolical scheme is to get Foxy hooked on smack and then pimp her out before sending her off to a slave-farm in Haiti - but you just know Foxy Brown ain't going out like that, not a chance!

Jack Hill regular Sid Haig (The Big Bird Cage) arrives on scene as a pervy pilot in the service of the drug cartel, it's great to see him with Grier onscreen, there's an undeniable chemistry and they make for quite a duo, even if the couplings short lived. The casting of the film is awesome, Antonio Fargas of TV's Starsky and Hutch as Foxy's wise-cracking brother is quite entertaining. Kathryn Loder's weird, sexed-up baddie plays well and Brown's Elias is perfect, love his comeuppance, a dong-slicing shocker and the way it's carried through is quite wonderful.

Foxy Brown is an entertaining actioner chock full of 70's kitsch, black on white revenge, memorable dialogue and a sweet villainous duo, definitely one of my favorite of the 70's Blaxploitation classics, though admittedly there's a lot I have yet to see. If you're not familiar with director Jack Hill's Spider Baby! (1968), Coffy (1973) or his Filipino exploitation women-in-prison films you need to check 'em out! 
    

Main Menu

Blu-ray: Jack Hill's Foxy Brown (1974) makes it's hi-def debut on Blu-ray from the UK's Arrow Video, it's region-b locked so if you have not gone region-FREE yet you definitely should, if not you are missing out on some great edition of beloved genre favorites from Arrow, Second Sight, Umbrella Entertainment and Shameless Screen Entertainment! The 1080p widescreen (1.85;1) transfer is wonderful, sourced from a very fine print the colors are vivid, contrast is sharp and there's a nice layer of film grain intact - there's nothing to complain about here, it's a solid image with some nice fine detail, a very nice remastering of the film and an attractive visual presentation. 

The English LPCM  audio track is very solid as well. Dialogue, effects and score sound come through clean and free of snap, crackle and pops while Willie Hutch's score probably benefits the most, it's a nice score if not super remarkable, it's pretty standard for the genre in my opinion, not anywhere near Curtis Mayfield's iconic scoring of Gordon Parks Jr.'s Super Fy (1972). 

On to the bonus content we have the audio commentary by director Jack Hill from the previous DVD edition, he's very honest in his appreciation of the film, stating his distaste for the 007-esque title sequence and his belief that Coffy (1973) was a superior film. We have three excellent featurettes from High Rising Productions beginning with From Black and White to Blaxploitation (19:52) featuring actor Sid Haig speaking at length about friendship with Jack Hill beginning with working on his short-subject student film The Host and his first feature length project, the cult-classic Spider Baby! (1968), the Filipino exploitation stuff, being enamored with Grier from the start and some fun anecdotes. Haig is always an entertaining figure, I could listen to him for hours, for more of him on-camera I recommend Arrow's Spider-Baby Blu-ray which features some great extras with Haig including a commentary and Mark Hartley's Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010), fantastic watches. 

Reversible Artwork

Up next is Back to Black (25:06) featuring interviews with legendary actors Fred “The Hammer” Williamson (Black Caesar) and Austin Stoker (Sheba Baby, Assault on Precinct 13), alongside Rosanne Katon (Ebony, Ivory, and Jade) and film scholar Howard S. Berger whom each speak about the beginning of and the legacy of  genre. Williamson is great as always, quite a presence and the discussion from all are quite thoughtful and introspective. 

The last of the featurettes is A Not So Minor Influence (18:57) with Bob Minor, the first African-American member of the Stuntman’s Association, whom played a member of the Black Panther-esque vigilante group named "Oscar" in the film. He speaks about breaking into the business, being hired by Jack Hill to help make Grier into an "action queen", the various stunts in the film, Grier's stunt double Jadie David and his favorite scene. 

Also on the disc are an image gallery and a Jack Hill Trailer Reel featuring Spider Baby! (1968), Pit Stop (1969), The Big Doll House (1971), The Big Bird Cage (1972), Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974), Switchblade Sisters (1975) and Sorceress (1982). This is a fantastic edition from Arrow Video, good to see the UK love for Jack Hill with Blu-rays of this film and Spider Baby, hope to see more Arrow Blaxploitation titles very soon. 

Limited Edition Steelbook Edition

I was sent a screener sans packaging so I cannot comment on the non-disc extras but should you purchase the retail version, and I highly recommend you do, there's a reversible sleeve of artwork featuring newly commissioned artwork by The Red Dress and a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Josiah Howard, author of Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide, a new interview with Pam Grier by Jack Hill biographer Calum Waddell, illustrated with original archive stills and posters. Also available is a limited edition steelbook version of the film with the same features, this is a very sweet edition with over-an-hour of new featurettes, it's been a great year from Arrow Video and outstanding special edition releases.



Blu-ray Special Features:
- Audio commentary with director Jack Hill
- From Black and White to Blaxploitation – Actor Sid Haig speaks about his long and influential friendship with Jack Hill (19:52)
- A Not So Minor Influence – An Interview with Bob Minor, the first African-American member of the Stuntman’s Association, and co-star of Foxy Brown (18:57)
- Back to Black – Legendary actors Fred “The Hammer” Williamson (Black Caesar) and Austin Stoker (Sheba Baby, Assault on Precinct 13), alongside Rosanne Katon (Ebony, Ivory, and Jade) and film scholar Howard S. Berger speak about the enduring popularity of the Blaxploitation film (25:06)
- Photo gallery of behind-the-scenes and publicity images
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Trailer Reel – Trailers for all the major works by Jack Hill including Foxy Brown, Coffy and Switchblade Sisters

Verdict: Foxy Brown (1974) is an essential slice of seedy 70's cinema. Pam Grier's stunning and her street smart and lethal alter ego Foxy Brown make for an entertaining Afro-centric actioner that's loaded with kitschy 70's fashions and gritty urban action, fun stuff and a definite recommend. 3.5 Outta 5 

DVD Review: The Haunted Casino (2007)

THE HAUNTED CASINO (2007)
Full Moon Features

RATING: Unrated
RUN TIME: 80 Min.
DIRECTOR: Charles Band
CAST: Sid Haig (Roy), Michael Berryman (Gil), Robin Sydney (J.J.), Scott White (Mathew), Kristyn Green (Paige), Wes Armstrong (Jimbo), Lily Rains (Emily), Jessica Morris (Melissa), Bob Rumncock (Sam), Kavan Reece (Skeeter)
TAGLINE: Sheer Terror! Bet On It!

SYNOPSIS: After inheriting the casino from his dead uncle, Matthew Dragna (Scott White),  his girl friend J.J (Robin Sydeny) and a group of friends take a road trip to the outskirts of Las Vegas where they find the run-down Mysteria Casino . But the trip takes a frightening turn when the kids discover that the casino is haunted by the ghost of Vegas mobster Roy "The Word" Donahue (Sid Haig) and his goon Gil Wachetta (Michael Berryman), looking to settle an old score. Matthew and J.J. must fight for their very souls as the ghost seek their gruesome vengeance, and in the vein of "The Shining, this horrifying tale builds to a bloody and surprising climax. (from fullmooondirect.com)

FILM: The Haunted Casino is a pretty straight-forward ghost story right out of the 1950's. Matt is a young guy who's inherited a casino from his uncle and he a group of annoying friends arrive on scene with intentions of restoring the place to its original glory. The film is fairly slow paced after some initial gory ghost action right up front. The problem is that Matt and his friends are truly a bunch of unlikeable caricatures of 20-somethings and it's not until the 40 minute mark that Sid Haig (Spiderbaby) and Michael Berryman (Hills Have Eyes) mercifully appear as the vengeful mobster spirits Roy and Gil that the film finally picks up a bit. We get a lot of tiresome exposition as the group separates and wander around the casino and are killed off one at a time by several casino-themed spirits including a sexy slot machine spirit, vengeful roulette wheel dealer and a cheating black jack dealer. The slot-machine spirit was definitely the highlight of the flick for me, good stuff, but it's one and done - that's all we get! So, the deaths are nothing special and pretty cheesy t'boot, but hey this is a Full Moon film, right? Seeing genre legends Haig and Barryman together on screen was fun even if the movie is no classic. This is one of those $500k Full Moon Features and despite this fact the feature looked good and suitably eerie.

DVD: The Haunted Casino from Full Moon Features is presented in non-anamorphic  widescreen with 2.0 stereo audio. The bonus features include the fun Making of The Haunted Casino and an assortment of Full Moon trailers. Be forewarned that this DVD is a re-packaging of Dead Man's Hand - Casino of the Damned so don't double-dip you Full Moon fanatics out there.

VERDICT: The Shining this film is not but it is a spirited lil' b-movie and was a fun watch if not overly impressive. Seeing Haig and Berryman together was a lot of fun and the effects while cheese-tastic were not without their charm. **1/2 (2.5 out of 5 stars)