SCARS OF DRACULA (1970) (Scream Factory Blu-ray review)

SCARS OF DRACULA (1970) 

Label: Scream Factory 
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 95 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono with Optional english Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) & (1.85:1) 
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Cast: Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Christopher Matthews, Patrick Troughton, Michael Gwynn, Michael Ripper, Wendy Hamilton, Anouska Hempel, Delia Lindsay, 

Hammer horror Scars of Dracula (1970) opens with a shaky looking bat flying into the window of a hidden room located high up on a castle wall, where it drools a bit of blood onto the remains of what turns out to be of the bloodsucker Dracula (Christoper Lee, Lord of the Rings. The reconstituted vampire wastes no time draining a local girl, inspiring the locals to storm the castle and set fire to it. Failing to kill the vampire they return to the village, only to discover that Dracula has sent his bats to murder every woman and child in town during their absence. 

After these events we follow a young man named Paul (Christopher Matthews, Scream And Scream Again) who is fleeing a false rape charge, after jumping out of window into a passing stagecoach he winds up at the castle, falling victim to the vampire and his creepy assistant Klove (Patrick Troughton, The Gorgon). Eventually Paul's older brother Simon (Dennis Waterman, Fright) and and his fiance Sarah (Jenny Hanley, The Flesh and Blood Show) travel to the castle in search of his brother along with a doomed local priest (Michael Gwynn, The Deadly Bees) and much Hammer horror ensues. 

This entry often critiqued as being a lesser Hammer entry that was cheaply made and for not tying into the previous films, but I still get a kick out this entry. Christopher Lee still knocks it out of the park as usual, though I do think it's strange that his Dracula brandished a knife and a sword as a weapon throughout the film, stabbing one of his vampire bride's to death after she betrays him in one scene, and then torturing his servant Klove fire-heated cutlass in another!

The film borrows also quite a bit from Bram Stoker's source novel this time around, we get a variation on the Jonathan Harker story here, and there's a cool scene of Lee's bloodsucker crawling along the exterior walls of the castle which I don't think happened before or after in a Hammer vampire film. The film is stylishly directed by Roy Ward Baker (The Vault of Horror) who imbues the film with more violence and grue than we'd seen before in a hammer film, including a dismemberment scene with Klove disposing of body parts into a vat of acid!     

Audio/Video: Scars of Dracula (1970) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory in 1080p HD, offering both 1.66:1 and 1.85:1 widescreen. There's a appreciable level of fine film grain throughout, colors are nicely saturated with pleasing black levels, this is another winner from the distributor who have done great work with these Hammer horror titles.

Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono track with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is nicely crisp and clean, with the score from James Bernard (The Quatermass Xperimant) having some nice life in the mix. 

The single-disc release arrives in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of artwork featuring an original vintage illustrated movie poster image, the reverse side featuring a scene from the film, the disc itself also featuring an excerpt the same illustrated artwork.  

Extras include the excellent vintage audio commentary with Star Christopher Lee And Director Roy Ward Baker, Moderated By Hammer Film Historian Marcus Hearn, that appeared on the Anchor Bay DVD, plus a new commentary with Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr And Film Historian Randall Larson, who have regularly been appearing on these Sctram Factory Hammer releases, and again they do a bang-up job. 

We also get the 18-min 'Blood Rites: Inside Scars Of Dracula' with Kevin Lyons, Jonathan Rigby, Alan Barnes, John J. Johnston and actress Jenny Hanley from the UK Blu-ray release. the disc s buttoned-up with a 2-min double-bill trailer with Horror of Frankenstein, plus a 10-min gallery of vintage posters, various format home video releases, stills, lobby cards and print ads. 

Special Features: 
- Presented In Two Aspect Ratios – 1.66:1 And 1.85:1
- NEW Audio Commentary With Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr And Film Historian Randall Larson
- Blood Rites: Inside Scars Of Dracula (18 min) 
- Audio Commentary With Star Christopher Lee And Director Roy Ward Baker, Moderated By Hammer Film Historian Marcus Hearn
- Theatrical Trailers (5 min) 
- Still Gallery (10 min) 

Scars of Dracula (1970) is ripe for reappraisal, I found it rather striking, and while some of the side characters needlessly get a bit too much of the spotlight the film is still wildly entertaining and features Christopher Lee in top bloodsucking form with a mesmerizing performance in a film with a surprising amount of viscera. 

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1950) (Olive Signature Blu-ray review)

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1950)  

Label: Olive Signature
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 66 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Roger Corman
Cast: Dick Miller, Bery Convey, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone, Ed Nelson

In Roger Corman's horror-comedy A Bucket of Blood (1959) we have Walter Paisley (Dick Miller, Gremlins) a busboy at the Yellow Door Café, where hep-cat beatnik art-snobs gather to fellate themselves over their beat poetry and artistic endeavors. Walter dreams of being a great artist himself one day, but his lack of actual talent makes him a bit of a joke among the in-crowd. 

One night while trying to free a cat from inside his apartment wall Walter accidentally stabs the feline with a steak-knife, and while he's a bit slow he knows a good opportunity when he sees one. He takes the cats corpse and covers it modeling clay  - with knife still in it - presenting it to the espresso-slurping beatniks at the coffee house who immediately hail his macabre creation as a work of artistic genius! 

Craving further accolades by his new found art-world peers Walter struggles to find a new subject, resorting to murdering people and encasing them in clay, which seems to work just fine. The beatniks love his macabre sculptures, even the girl of his dreams, coffee house hostess Carla (Barboura Morris, The Trip), but things begin to fall apart for the gruesome sculptor when the truth of his morbid sculptures is eventually revealed. 

Roger Corman's film, written by Charles B, Griffith (Death Race 2000), is a fun time, a horror-comedy lampooning of the beatnik culture of the day, wittily written and played deliciously straight this is a satire that still works even today, it taps into something with legs. Character actor Dick Miller (The Howling) didn't get many starring roles, though he had tons of memorable one, and this rare lead was his meatiest lead. The late Miller is wonderful playing the sympathetic yet ultimately villainous
dimwitted hanger-on who wants so bad to be part of the in-crowd, and when he accidentally falls into it's good graces he's willing to do just about anything to stay in favor.   

Audio/Video: A Bucket of Blood *1859) arrives on Blu-ray from Olive Films Signature imprint, framed in 1.85:1 widescreen in 1080p HD. This is sourced from a new 4K scan from unspecified elements, looking absolutely solid, it's a bit darker with deeper blacks, film grain is more present, and contrast is significantly improved throughout. 

Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 with optional English subtitles. Everything sounds crisp and clean, there are no issues with hiss or distortion I could pick-up on, though it does sound it's vintage, there's not a lot of depth but the score from Fred Katz (The Wasp Woman) sounds terrific. 

Last year Olive Films released a bare-bones DVD version of the film, so I was a bit surprised when they announced a new extras-laden special edition of the film to be released on their Signature imprint, not unlike what they did with The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. First up we get an audio commentary from Elijah Dreener, director of the 'That Guy Dick Miller' documentary, who deep dives into the film and the career of Dick Miller, touching on the cast and crew both in front of the camera and behind. Also touching on the filming techniques and all sorts of production trivia. If you're a fan of the film this is the sort of track that is essential viewing. 

We also get a 7-min interview with legendary director Roger Corman speaking about the making of the film, plus a 12-min interview with the late Dick Miller and his Lainie Miller, with the pair recalling how they were married around the time of the film, working with Corman and the history of the Walter Paisley character in his filmography. 

We also get an archival audio interview with screenwriter Charles B. Griffin who speaks about the film and several others he worked on with Roger Corman. There's also a 7-min video essay comparing the original script to the finished film, noting scenes that didn't make the cut. 

A nifty extra is a rare German prologue for the film that runs about 10-min long, a strange bit added on by the German distributor so they could market this s a sequel to House of Wax! There's also a rough-looking silent super-8 digest version of the film that runs about 8-min. Extras on the disc are buttoned-up with a pair of 2-min theatrical trailers, and a 5-min gallery of newly-discovered on-set photography with narration by Elijah Drenner. 

The single-disc release arrives in a clear Blu-ray keepcase with a cool-looking sleeve of artwork, which looks to be a new illustration, though I could not find a credit for the artist. The inside of the wrap features a red-tinted scene from the film with the disc itself featuring a motif borrowed from the new illustration. As part of the Olive Signature series the film also get a slipbox featuring the same artwork, and an 8-page collector's booklet with a new essay on the film from Caelum Vatnsdal, 
author of 'You Don't Know Me, But You Love Me: The Lives Of Dick Miller'. He describes  the film as the sturdy, quieter older brother to Corman's Little Shop of Horrors, which is basically a retread of this film, then going into the myriad of adaptations of the film through the years. The booklet also features stills from the film. 

Special Features: 
- “Creation Is. All Else is Not” – Roger Corman on A Bucket of Blood (8 min) 
- “Call Me Paisley” – Dick and Lainie Miller on A Bucket of Blood (12 min) 
- Audio commentary by Elijah Drenner, director of That Guy Dick Miller
- Archival audio interview with screenwriter Charles B. Griffith (20 min) 
- “Bits of Bucket” – Visual essay comparing the original script to the finished film (7 min) 
- 8-Page Collector's Booklet with Essay by Caelum Vatnsdal, author of You Don't Know Me, But You Love Me: The Lives of Dick Miller
- Rare Prologue from German Release (10 min) 
- Super 8 “digest” version (8 min) 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- German Theatrical Trailer (2 min) 
- Gallery of newly-discovered on-set photography (5 min) 

A Bucket of Blood (1959) is a fun lampooning of beatnik culture, starring the beloved character actor Dick Miller in his only starring role, which immediately makes this a must-own for me. I love that we finally have a version of the film on Blu-ray that is dripping with cool extras with some sweet packaging, this is on par with Olive Signature's excellent release of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, so get it before it gone. 

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THE EPITAPH VOL. 21 - SUPERGIRL: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON (2019) - FOREVER KNIGHT: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1991-1996)- TRUE BELIEVER (1989) - THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (2017) - GOODBYE PARADISE (1983) - THE SHADOW (1994) - UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (2017)

THE EPITAPH - VOL. 21
Brief Remembrances of the Recently Released 

SUPERGIRL: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON (2019) - FOREVER KNIGHT: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1991-1996)- TRUE BELIEVER (1989) - THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (2017) - GOODBYE PARADISE (1983) - THE SHADOW (1994) - UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (2017)

SUPERGIRL: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON 
Warner Bros.  

While I could never get into Arrow I've been with CW's Supergirl from the beginning, which is not to say I love it always but I dig it enough to keep tuning in week to week. This season's best storyline involved the introduction of arch villain Lex Luthor as portrayed by John Crier (Sixteen Candles)! He's clearly having a lot of fun chewing it up  here, and in my opinion is the best Lex we've seen yet, not too grandiose but driven by more than shady real estate dealings at least! On the downside I am not a fan of all the alien politics happening on the show, while I am left-leaning myself I don't need the left-leaning real-world shadings they've pepper this show with from the begining. Something I loved but I wanted more of was the continuing story of Red Daughter, the evil Supergirl whom we got a peek of in the final episode of season three. She gets a decent multi-faceted story-line this season, though I was a bit disappointed with the wrap-up of that arc of the season. We also get a bit too much of Agent Liberty and Manchester Black, both of whom I had my fill of by the end of the season. Meanwhile, Lena Luthor continues to be an exciting element of the series for me, a smart, powerful but flawed woman caught between doing good and being bad, I hope she gets more meat in the season five story line, eventually they're gonna have to deal with Lena and the subject of Supergirl's secret identity. And lastly, if i am being honest, if they could just write-off James Olson I would be alright with that, his storyline just bores me to tears, his superhero alter-ego is lame and his on again off again romance with Luthor fizzled long ago, be done with it! Quibbles aside, overall this was a decent season with some cool elements that kept me tuning in all season long, and it finished strong, which is more than I could say about the previous season. The 4-disc Blu-ray set from WB features the same shared extras that we saw on the recent releases of The Flash and Arrow, including all three of the Elsewhere cross-over episodes, some deleted scenes and a gag reel, plus a digital copy of the season in HD.

FOREVER KNIGHT: THE COMPLETE SERIES 
Mill Creek Entertainment 

When I was in highschool I watched a lot of Forever Knight on late-night TV, the story of Toronto-based  Detective Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies, Trilogy of Terror II), who is secretly an 800-year-old vampire who after centuries of draining humans of their blood is trying to reconcile his past by doing good in the world, like working the night beat to solve crimes. With the help of a local medical examiner Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher, The Border), whom he has revealed himself to, he is trying to bring back his humanity through experimentation and weaning him off blood, while the ancient vampire who turned him originally, Lucien LaCroix (Niegl Bennett, The Shape of Water) tries to pull him back to the dark side of vampire life. I watched the first two seasons back in the day and was pretty into it, but I sort of drifted away from the show when Knight's original cop partner Detective Donald Schanke (John Kepelos, The Breakfast Club) who was killed off in the third season. He was the comedic relief of the show and I missed his chemistry with Davies. Finishing up the third season now with this set I was rather disappointed with how it wrapped up open ended, very weak and not fulfilling in the least. I was also struck some thirty years later how cheap the show looks in hindsight, appearing to have been shot on video, which always made shows look cheap. Limitations and waning interest in the final season do hurt it a bit, but I'll tell you what, I still got a wave of 90's nostalgia watching it, Geraint Wyn Davies was a fine leading man for the series, and Niegl Bennett made for a solid villain, so if you're curious don't be afraid to sink your fangs into this set. One of my favorite parts of the show were the flashbacks to various points in Knight's 800-year-long life, which really gave the show some soul. The 12-disc DVD set arrives from Mill Creek Entertainment in the original 1.33:1 broadcast aspect ratio with Dolby Digital audio, no extras and no subtitles for this one though. Not a huge fan of how the discs are packaged dual-sided cardboard slips but I dig the thick slip-box they're housed in, with the exception of the flimsy flip top, but for the price I cannot really complain all that much, you can currently pick this series up in it's entirety for about forty-bucks.

TRUE BELIEVER (1989) 
Mill Creek Entertainment 

Late-80's courtroom drama True Beleiever starring stars James Woods (Videodrome) as a former hippie turned activist lawyer fighting the war on drugs. he takes on a younger lawyer, by way of a very young Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) who encourages his boss to re-open a gang related murder conviction, reigniting the activist fire within Woods hippie-lawyer character. I really found this one to be a by-the-numbers yawner, I couldn't get into it, making this the bad apple in the bunch of this week's capsule reviews. The film arrives on Blu-ray as part of MCE's Retro-VHS series of Blu-ray with a slipcover and a wrap with different artwork. The 1080p HD image is a bit rough looking with compression issues and some dirt n' grit throughout, but at least it includes a solid enough DTS-HD MA 2.0 audio track.
If you're a fan of Woods and/or Downey, and have a predilection for courtroom dramas this might be worth a watch but for me it was a one and done. 

THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE (2017) 
Umbrella Entertainment

The 2002 documentary 'Lost in La Mancha' documented director Terry Gilliam (Brazil) and his seemingly cursed production of the film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, then starring Johnny Depp. it was a film that fell apart due to production and natural disasters, plus some human drama, it was a film that many thought would never see the light of day. Somewhat beyond belief Gilliam regrouped years later and finished his passion project with a new cast, this time starring Adam Driver (The Dead Don't Die) as Toby, a director on location is Spain filming a commercial. While there he experiences some trouble of his own after slipping it to his bosses wife and setting a village on fire, finding himself on the run through the Spanish countryside where he is reunited with the cast of a student film he made in the area a decade earlier, a film called 'The Man who Killed Don Quixote', starring a local shoe cobbler named Javier (Jonathan Pryce, Something Wicked This Way Comes). He discovers that in the years since he shot his student film that the old man has lived with the delusion that he is the actual Don Quixote. Meanwhile Toby also reconnects with the local teen girl Angelica (Joana Riberio) who also appeared in the student film, and she has since followed her dreams of Hollywood stardom, but instead finds herself the possession of wealthy Russian who treats her cruelly. The film follows Toby's journey with Angelica and Javier, finding himself falling into the old man's delusions, becoming the Sancho to his deranged Quixote, on a mission of chivalry and danger. It's a gorgeous and sprawling tale, mixing attractive visuals and fantastical dreamscapes to form an epic, poignant and ultimately strange film. The 2.35:1 widescreen framed DVD from Australian distributor Umbrella is region-free (NTSC format) but is bare-bones with no extras or subtitle options, but the anamorphic image looks solid throughout. If you're a fan of Gilliam fantastical tales, or just an adventurous movie-goer, this comes highly recommended.

GOODBYE PARADISE (1983) 
Umbrella Entertainment

Also coming from Umbrella is this Aussie-centric neo-noir starring Ray Barrett as a cop turned tell-all author, but his book detailing local political corruption book is cancelled by the publisher following an outcry from wary local politicians. To pay the bills he takes on a private investigator job tracking down the missing daughter of a wealthy politician. Along the way he gets mixed up in a political coup, a cult leader, and an attempt on his life, all wrapped up in a uniquely Australian veneer that has plenty of noir-charm. I love Ray Barrett's colorfully comedic, narration over this one, with colorful dialogue like "I had a mouth like an Ayotollah's armpit and a pressing need for a drink...". Prior to this release from Umbrella I'd never even heard of this 80's Oz-noir, so hats of to the Aussie distributor for giving this gem of a film a new lease on life. Umbrella have released this as part of their 'Ozpoitation Classics' line-up, the film arrive on DVD in cropped fullframe, I am assuming this was shot in widescreen and that this are the only available elements for the film, and it looks alright for what it is. There's no start-up menu on the disc but after the main feature there's a half-hour interview with the director speaking about his career.

THE SHADOW (1994) 
Umbrella Entertainment

Directed by Russell Mulcahy (Razorback) the 90's pulp superhero film The Shadow (1994) is set in '20's era New York City, and stars Alec Baldwin (Beetlejuice) whom by day is a smug playboy in New York City, but by night dons the cape and hat and fights crime (sounds familiar) with the supernatural ability to cloud the minds of his enemies, which allows him to seemingly disappear and influence the thoughts of his enemies. The Shadow's also comes armed with a pair of twin nickle-plated .45's, and worse yet, a creepy maniacal laugh that unnerves criminals. I think Baldwin is pretty great here, he suits the role just fine, and his character  finally meets a villain more his caliber by way of an ancient descendant of Genghis Khan, who is also versed in the mystical arts, leading to a city wide conflict with the fate of the city hanging in the balance. Some of the early '90s digital effects have dated poorly but the film is still a ton of fun and doesn't rely too heavily on the digital stuff, with some great make-up effects, set pieces and art deco aesthetic. The film has a strong supporting cast including the lovely Penelope Ann Miller (Big Top Pee-wee) as a mind-reading love interest, and Sir Ian Mckellan (Apt Pupil) as a scientist who has invented a deadly 
who finds himself caught up n the battle of good vs. evil. Umbrella give the film a solid-looking 1080p HD presentation with an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix that highlights the tasty Jerry Goldsmith (Gremlins) score. Sadly no extras on this region-free release, but still a solid no-frills presentation. 

UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (2017) 
Umbrella Entertainment

Director David Robert Mitchell's follow-up to cult-hit It Follows (2014) is the L.A. neo-noir head trip Under The Silver Lake (2017), which follows the dizzying descent into conspiracy and  corruption by a seemingly aimless L.A. slacker named Sam (Andrew Garfield, The Amazing Spider-Man). Following the (sort of) disappearance of a young woman in his apartment building the young man is compelled to follow a breadcrumb trail of conspiracy and hidden messages that take him on a wild ride through East L.A. where he will encounter the conspiracy obsessed editor of an underground comic zine, dog killers, an owl-faced urban legend, the homeless king of L.A., a prostitution ring of out of work indie actresses, a Illuminati songwriter responsible for every hit song for the past fifty years, from Elvis to Smells Like Teen Spirit! It's a wild wide dripping with paranoia, at times feeling like Roman Polanski's Chinatown on a bad acid trip, but slathered in Hitchockian vibes. It's sort of a hot mess of a film but I've watched this thing three times this week and I cannot get enough of it, I'm obsessed with it - this is my new Donnie Darko! The enigmatic film lands on region-free DVD from Umbrella Entertainment with an attractive looking 2.35:1 widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1,  with no extras and no subtitles.

THE DEAD DON'T DIE (2019) (Blu-ray Review)

THE DEAD DON'T DIE (2019) 

Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 104 Minutes 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0, Latin American Spanish DTS Digital Surround 5.1 with Optional english Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Cast: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Selena Gomez and Tom Waits

Anyone coming into The Dead Don't Die (2019) expecting a standard issue zom-com is in for a sad bit of disappointment I'm afraid, but for fans of Jim Jarmusch's deadpan comedies filtered through the Romero-verse of the undead this is amusing stuff in my opinion. Opening in the rural village of 

Centerville we have Chief of Police Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray, Ghostbusters) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman) driving through the local cemetery seeking the local eccentric Hermit Bob (singer/songwriter Tom Waits, Mystery Men) who keeps an off-the-grid encampment in the nearby woods. Hermit Bob is suspected of stealing chickens from a local farmer, the MAGA-hat wearing Trump supporter Frank Miller (Steve Buscemi, The Big Lebowski), who steals the show here. How the chief handles this encounter, even after the hermit fires a gun in his direction, is very low-key, establishing the idiosyncratic ways of this film and it's characters and how they will handle the soon-to-bee zombie apocalypse. 

We get lots of small town characters, we have nice guy Hank (Danny Glover, Predator 2), a local comic shop proprietor Bobby (Caleb Landry Jones, Welcome the Stranger), Chloë Sevigny (Gummo) as a female deputy, indie-stalwart Larry Fessenden (Habit) as a pet-friendly motel manager, and pop-singer Selena Gomez as a hipster travelling through town with a couple of friends. Most bizarrely of all is Tilda Swinton (Orlando) as an oddball Scottish undertaker who runs the local mortuary, with an interests in both Buddhism, swordplay and alien encounters.

The zombie origins come by way of large scale shale oil fracking that has seemingly caused their Earth to spin of it's axis in addition to some strange lunar vibes, with the undead rising from their graves and causing some carnage around town. Things start off small with a pair of unfortunate waitresses at the local diner being torn apart by some coffee drinking zombies, these initial undead are played by Sarah Driver (Stranger Than Paradise) and proto-punk rocker Iggy Pop (Coffee & Cigarettes). The zombie designs 5look very Romero-esque, but with a bit of a twist when, film's protagonists decapitate the undead instead of gore we get wisps of black smoke, which I thought was a cool but unfortunately gore-sapping invention. The film is really light on the bloodier aspects of a zombie film, choosing instead to lean heavy on deadpan humor. 

The comedy is off-kilter which is not unusual for director Jarmusch, there's a strange breaking of the fourth wall with the characters referencing the film their in and it's director, plus we get recurring motifs like the omnipresent title song "The Dead Don't Die" by country singer Sturgill Simpson, and lines of repeated dialogue like Officer Peterson constantly saying "this isn't going to end well", and indeed it doesn't,  along with the various characters commenting on the same horrific scene by saying "What the heck was it, a wild animal? Several wild animals?". It's not laugh out loud funny as comedies go but I did find it quite amusing, which is about my summation of the film as whole, not a great zombie film but an amusing excursion into the undead with Jarmusch in the driver's seat, helped along by a fun cast who deliver offbeat and deadpan humor throughout.  

Audio/Video: The Dead Don't Die arrives on Blu-ray+DVD Combo from Universal in 1080p HD Widescreen framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. The digitally shot film looks strong on Blu-ray, everything is crisp, nicely detailed and with good looking color reproduction and saturation. Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. It's a solid mix with some nice atmospheric use of the surrounds throughout.

Extras are rather slim for this one, just three very brief featurettes that really don't add up to much, though we do get a Movie Anywhere digital copy of the film. The single disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keecase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster design. The accompanying

slipcover features the same artwork with embossed lettering and features on both the spine and front cover, which is cool. 

Special Features:

- Bill Murray: Zombie Hunting Action Star – Bill Murray discusses his fear of being typecast as an action hero (1 min) 

- Behind-the-Scenes of The Dead Don’t Die – A collection of behind the scenes moments from the set of The Dead Don’t Die (3 min) 

- Stick Together –  Jim Jarmusch’s frequent collaborators talk about his filmmaking style, and what makes The Dead Don’t Die stand out from other zombie films (5 min) 

The Dead Don't Die (2019) is a bit of a letdown if you're looking for a straight-up undead film and what that usually entails, but if you dig Jarmusch's deadpan-style comedies there's a lot here to love with it being wrapped in the trappings of a Romero-style undead film, that if not absolutely funny I at least found very amusing. 

JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES (1998) (Scream Factory Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review)

JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES (1998)

Label: Scream Factory

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 108 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 & 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell, Tim Guinee

This Western action-horror hybrid is about as close as director John Carpenter ever got to making a traditional Western film, set in the sun-fried New Mexico desert we have a Vatican-sponsored vampire kill-squad lead by the bad-ass Jack Crow (James Woods, Videodrome) who at the start of the film is launching an assault on an abandoned house they suspect hosts a nest of bloodsuckers. Armed with cool leather jackets, high caliber guns, modified crossbows and spears they lay siege to the house uncovering the nest, dragging the vampires into the sunlight where they burst into flames. Clearing the house of vampires they do not find the Master vampire, which Crow notes is odd. That night the team blows off steam at the Sun God roadside hotel, drinking lots of booze and enjoying the local prostitutes. During the celebration the master vampire shows up - which I guess shouldn't be that much of a surprise to these seasoned vamp-killers, right? - and massacres nearly everyone in the place, announcing himself by thrusting his hand through one of the vamp-killers chest and then ripping him in half! It's a gory blood-soaked encounter, the only survivors being Crow, his right-hand man Tony (Daniel Baldwin, Trees Lounge), and a prostitute named Katrina (Sheryl Lee, Twin Peaks) who has been bitten on her inner thigh by the vampire! 

Fleeing the scene of the slaughter Crow decides to keep Katrina close as the psychic-link that victims have with master vampires might prove useful in locating the bloodsucker for some much needed revenge. Crow leaves Tony and a tied-up Katrina at a hotel and regroups with his Vatican handler Cardinal Alba (Maximillian Schell, Disney's The Black Hole) who teams Crow with a new priest, Father Guiteau (Tim Guinee, Blade), since the previous one was killed in the hotel massacre. It's during this meeting the Cardinal informs him that this strangely strong and powerful master vampire that attacked them is none other than Valek, the first vampire created 600-years ago, which leads to a cool little origin story involving an exorcism gone wrong, one of several cool lore-flourishes here. We also learn that Valek has been searching for an ancient relic called the Black Cross of Berziers, which could potentially give him the ability to walk in daylight.

With that bit of knowledge Jack and Tony, along with the new Padre, use Katrina's psychic-link to Valek to track him down to an old Spanish prison for a final showdown complete with Crucifixion, Catholic betrayal, torn loyalties and lots of bloodsucking and bloodshed. 

Vampires has a great Western setting in the arid golden-hued environs of New Mexico that  give it classic cowboy feel, with the hard-living vampire hunters feeling like rebel bounty hunters of yore, but instead of tracking down bandits they're hunting bloodsuckers. Woods is a hoot as the hardened Crow, he didn't get many lead action roles like this one and he's giving it his all as the wisecracking, cigar-chompin' anti-hero, I loved it. Daniel Baldwin does good work here as his second in command, looking a bit swollen as he always does, the guy struggled with addiction during this period, but still pulls off the role with a good amount of Baldwin-family charisma. Poor Sheryl Lee is really put through the wringer here, her character comes off as a bit of a junkie as she spirals towards being a full-on vampire. Her characters is handled roughly by both Baldwin and Woods characters throughout the film, basically a pawn in their end game, it's a bit of thankless role in a way but I totally felt for her character, so she did good work. 

The special effects here done by Greg Nicotero are damn good, the vampires bursting into flames and then the massacre at the motel are a great start to the film, that combined with the western aesthetic, violence and action film bravado makes this a truly entertaining watch.

Audio/Video: John Carpenter's Vampires (1998) arrives on region-A locked Blu-ray from Scream Factory in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen. There's no information about this being a new scan of the film elements, and after comparing it to the previous Blu-ray from Twilight Time this looks near identical to me, and is most definitely the same master licensed from Sony. That fine because the source is in great shape with well-managed film grain, colors are strong and the black levels are solid throughout with excellent shadow detail, no complaints from me whatsoever, a strong and crisp presentation with excellent clarity. 

Audio comes by way of both English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo and 5.1 mixes, mirroring the previous Twilight Time release, plus they carry-over the lossless isolated music score (DTS-HD MA 2.0) highlighting the cool Carpenter score. The surrounds get plenty active during the action stuff, it's a potent and satisfying mix throughout, optional English subtitles are provided. 

Scream Factory carry-over all the extras from the now long Out-Of-Print Twilight Time release, including the candid audio commentary with John Carpenter, a 24-min making of EPK, theatrical trailer and the isolated music score. In keeping with their excellent work on Carpenter's filmography Scream Factory go above and beyond with a wealth of new supplemental material, beginning with a 12-min look back at the film with composer/director John Carpenter, producer Sandy King Carpenter and cinematographer Garry B. Kibbe, the Carpenter's get t the production, scoring the film and the main cast, even touching on the Tommy Lee Wallace directed sequel a bit. Star James Woods shows up for 22-min interview discussing the action starring lead role, and his relationship with Carpenter and the cast, and how Carpenter let him to several takes including letting him ad-lib lines, some of which made the cut and some which didn't. Kind of surprisingly he comes across likable enough, I've always loved him in his film roles, but the guy comes off as a bit of douche on social media and in interviews, probably because I tend not to agree with his political views, so I was a bit surprised how cool he seems here.    

Actor Thomas Ian Griffith who played the vampire Valek discusses landing the role, having to get hair extensions, and how a night out on the town with the stunt team resulted in some of those extension being ripped out. Make-up FX legend Greg Nictoero speaks for about 10-min about creating some the effects on the film, breaking them down, while Tim Guinee who played the Padre speaks about Carpenter flying him onto set in a private jet with a surprising pilot, and a funny fart story. 

Extras are buttoned up with that aforementioned EPk-style vintage making of featurette with cast and crew plus some b-roll footage, a theatrical trailer, several TV spots and an image gallery. This is a nice rounded set of extras, though it's a shame Scream couldn't get an interview with Sheryl Lee for this release, she's the only really notable cast member (sorry Daniel Baldwin) that I was missing. 

The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster artwork plus a new illustration from artists Devon Whitehead, whose work I usually dig, but this one not so much, I think it's a bit too cartoonish, preferring the original artwork this time around. The disc itself also features the new illustration. 

The only extras that the Twilight Time disc offers that this one does not is the 8-page collector's Booklet with new writing on the film from TT staff-writer Julie Kirgo. I am just gonna slip that booklet inside this release before I trade in the TT release, as this Scream Factory Collector's edition renders all previous releases obsolete, including the region-free Indicator release in the UK.

Special Features:

- NEW Time to Kill Some Vampires – an interview with composer/director John Carpenter, producer Sandy King Carpenter and cinematographer Garry B. Kibbe (12 min) HD 

- NEW Jack the Slayer – an interview with actor James Woods (22 min) HD 

- NEW The First Vampire – an interview with actor Thomas Ian Griffith (10 min) HD 

- NEW Raising the Stakes – an interview with special effects artist Greg Nicotero (10 min) HD 

- NEW Padre – an interview with actor Tim Guinee (13 min) 

- Audio Commentary by composer/director John Carpenter

- Isolated Score

- Vintage Making of Featurette (6 min) 

- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) 

- TV Spots (3 min) 

- Still Gallery (6 min) HD 

I never really understood the distaste for this particular John Carpenter film, it's a solidly entertaining genre mash-up that still holds-up for me, probably more so now then when I first saw it in the cinema in the late-90's. That said, I think it's been slowly winning over fans since arriving on home video. I'd kind of compare this to Dario Argento's Opera (1987) in that it's the last truly excellent film in Carpenter's filmography, coming right before Ghosts of Mars. This Collector's Edition from Scream Factory is hands-down the definitive version of the film on home video, arriving with a wealth of archival and exclusive new extras that make this an easy recommend for both fans and newcomers.  

THE WITCHES (1990) (Warner Archive Blu-ray review)

THE WITCHES (1990)

Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: PG
Duration: 92 Minutes
Audio: English DTS HD-MA 2.0 English with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Cast: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling Rowan Atkinson, Jasen Fisher, Charlie Potter, Anne Lambton  

Based on the same titled children's book by author Roald Dahl (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory), directed by Nicolas Roeg (Don't Look Now) and produced by Jim Henson Productions (The Dark Crystal) comes The Witches (1990), a nightmare inducing slice of kiddie-terror that even though I was already in my teens when it was released still got under my skin with it's creepiness.

Orphaned at 9 years-old we have little Luke Eveshim (Jasen Fisher, Hook) living with his cigar-smoking granny Helga (Mai Zetterling), who fills her grandson's head full of tales of evil witches who want to see all the children of the world suffer. Following an illness the pair find themselves vacationing at a resort hotel in Norway which is also hosting an annual meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, an organization run by Miss Eva Ernst (Anjelica Huston, The Royal Tenenbaums). 

It turns out that the organization is really a cover-up for a coven of witches who are plotting to turn all the children of the world into mice! Now young Luke and his granny Helga must match wits with the coven of witches, plus an uptight hotel manager Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson, Rat Race), tp prevent the coven from enacting their diabolical plan. Complicating matters is that poor Luke and a glutenous vacationing kid named Bruno become the first victims of the witches rodent-riddled plan, and end up facing-off against the witches in their rodent form! 

The Witches is a fun and frightening kiddie-horror entry, it's the rare PG film that can inspire nightmares with it's delicious blend of magic, fantasy and fright, featuring children being transformed into little mice. The transformations themselves are actually quite grotesque looking with various stages of latex applications, the young victims emitting a ominous green vapor during the change. The designs of the witches when they are revealed are absolutely hideous 
creations, and none more so than the Grand High Witch played with an appropriate amount of campiness and witchy venom by the wonderful Anjelica Houston with her long witchy schnoz and talon like fingers that I still find frightfully fun. 

Apparently author Roald Dahl kind of hated the final film and how nightmarish it was, not to mention altering the original ending of his book, with director Nicolas Roeg himself trimming some stuff he deemed too damn scary for the kids. The finished film was far from a safe film though, the movie still has plenty of that kinder-trauma factor that still packs a punch to this day, making this essential viewing for bad parents like myself who want to introduce their young kids to lifetime-lasting nightmare inducing PG cinema. 

Audio/Video: The 90's kinder-trauma classic The Witches (1990) arrives on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive with a new 2019 2K scan framed in 1.85:1 widescreen in 1080p HD. The velvety fine grain looks wonderful throughout with solid blacks and pleasing contrast. The colors look fantastic, particularly the eds, purples and greens seen throughout the film, it captures the surreal fantasy vibe of the film. It's great to see this movie looking so wonderful on home video, hopefully it will go onto terrify kids for years to come with this upgraded presentation. 

Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track with optional English subtitles. A crisp and well-balanced track throughout, the score from  Stanley Myers also sounds great in the mix. WAC don't offer any new extras for this release but we do at least get the HD theatrical trailer for the film. 

Special Features:
 - Theatrical Trailer (1 min) 

The Witches (1990) gets a stunning looking Blu-ray from the Warner Archive, a release that will guarantee this kiddie-horror classic will continue to haunt kid's nightmares for years to come, as well as pleasing long-time fans with it's gorgeous A/V presentation.