Blu-ray Review: PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974)

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974) 

Label: Arrow Video 

Region Code : B
Rating: 

Duration: 91 Minutes 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Audio: Stereo LPCM, 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with Optional English SDH Subtitles 
Cast: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, Harold Oblong, George Memmoli, Archie Hann, Jeffrey Comanor
Director: Brian De Palma

Rock n' roll musicals just don't get any more awesome that Brian De Palma's sensational Phantom of the Paradise (1974) starring William Finley as gangly composer Winslow Leach whose life turns upside down when sinister music producer Swan (Paul William) steals his Faustian rock opera without crediting the composer. The naive and composer heads to the producers mansion to confront him when he meets a pretty young singer named Phoenix (Jessica Harper) with a sweet voice and whom he falls for right away. Just moments later Leach is beaten by Swans goons and thrown on the street where he is framed for drug possession. Imprisoned for possession his teeth are extracted and replaced with metal chompers (don't ask why) while Swan continues plans to the pilfered songs to open his new music club the Paradise. When Leach learns that Swan's bubble-gum band the Juicy Fruits have recorded his song he just snaps, enraged he escapes the prison in a ridiculously abridged scene, truly it's hilarious. Once on the outside he promptly breaks into the Swan's record pressing plant to destroy the album before it can see the light of day. While destroying the albums Leach clumsily falls face first into the record press and the LP's grooves are seared in his flesh destroying his face and voice. 

Deformed and desperate Leach throws himself into the river and is presumed dead when his body is not recovered. Very much alive and bent on revenge he gains access to the Paradise where he dons a bird-of-prey styled helmet and haunts the rafters of the club where he causes the death of the Juicy Fruits in a fiery explosion. The smooth Swan somehow convinces Leach to work for him by promising that only Phoenix will sings his songs from now on. Once again the producer betrays him by hiring a new shock-rock singer named Beef played with ridiculous flamboyance by Gerrit Graham who steals every scene, such a great performance as he struts around stage like glammed-out peacock. Once Leach discovers the betrayal he sets out to exact revenge on anyone who attempts to sings his songs other than the beloved Phoenix beginning with a sweet Psycho shower scene tribute involving a plunger! . 

Phantom of the Paradise is super campy rock opera that perfectly over-acted, plus it has a fantastic score by Paul Williams - the songs are truly good. William Finley as the nerdy Leach is a sympathetic character and you want to see him have his revenge against the sleazy producer. He gets a lot across through that one-eyed mask. Paul Williams is fantastic as the pint-sized producer who may just be a Devil incarnate. Jessica Harper is also quite good as the ingenue Phoenix, her voice is surprisingly strong when she belts out a few numbers which sound great. 

Love that De Palma satirizes the crooked music industry scenarios through the filter of Faust and Phantom of the Opera - there's a commentary about artists rights but it's not too on the nose, this is a great satire. De Palma's fingerprints are all over this with his particular wink at the audience and the visual trademarks you've come to expect including extensive use of the split-screen. Visually Phantom of the Paradise is one of my favorite De Palma films, great set pieces scenery and an amazing set of songs. 

A lot of great touches fill the screen, back-up singer auditions quickly turn into orgies, the send-up of corporate rock, the sleaziness of the music industry and a great rock n' roll concert that pre-dates Kiss but has some great shock-rock moments like the band ripping body parts from the audience which they use to stitch together the singer Beef - the concert performance stuff is fantastically entertaining.

Blu-ray: Arrow Video's transfer looks quite nice to my eyes with a natural layer of fine film grain and a fair amount of fine detail, depth  and clarity. Some of the darker scenes seem a tad too dark maybe but the colors pop and contrast is strong. Audio options include a LPCM 2.0 Mono track and a 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio option which replicates the original 4-track stereo presentation. It sounds very nice with the effects, Paul Williams score and dialogue meshing seamlessly. There's also the option to watch the film with an isolated score which spotlights Paul Williams fantastic songs.

Onto the special features we have a few extras from a French Blu-ray carried over by way of a 50-minute documentary featuring interviews with director Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, the late star William Finley, star and composer Paul Williams, co-stars Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham among others. Truly a feast for fans of the film and Brian de Palma's the cast and crew peel of anecdotes about the making of the film. Graham conducts some of his interview in French and he seems like a wonderful weirdo while Finley speaks about nearly having his head crushed for real in the record pressing scene. Also carried over are an archival interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton and a short segment of William Finley adverting a Phantom of the Paradise action figure!

Exclusive to Arrow's disc is a 70-minute interview with actor Paul Williams conducted by director Guillermo de Toro with the musician/actor discussing his career, being offered the role of Winslow and working with de Palma plus his own addiction and recovery. The two jovially discuss the songs and lyrics of the film and del Toro's fan boy enthusiasm is infectious. 

Stacking the deck even further Arrow add nearly 14 minutes of alternate takes and bloopers including complete alternate takes of Jessica Harper belting out a tune and Beef's shower scene. We also get an 11-minute feature documenting the Swan Song Fiasco. Just before the release of the film one Led Zeppelin's manager created Swan Song Records and threatened litigation of all references to Winslow's Swan Song Production company were not removed, further fueling the debacle one of Zep's managers at the time was previously the manager for a band called Stone the Crows whose singer was electrocuted onstage and was the actual inspiration for Beef's death in the film, apparently he swore a vendetta against the production and was horrified his friends death was fodder for a comic moment. The featurette chronicles the many changes that had to made to the final film to mask the Swan Song logo  that is very prominent, a lot of masking and super imposing  images, there are some great comparison shots utilizing unused production footage with the final version. 

The extras are finished-up with original trailers, radio spots and a still gallery plus a reversible sleeve of artwork and a collector's booklet with new writing on the film by Michael Blyth and Ari Kahan. This is a pretty damn definitive document of the film, a must-own for fans of the film. Here in the US Scream Factory are slated for a release later this year, it would be hard to imagine a release that can top Arrow's deluxe edition but looking forward to it just the same. Keep in mind that Arrow's Blu-ray s region-B locked and you will need a region-free Blu-ray player to watch it.

Special Features:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, available in the UK for the first time!
- Uncompressed Stereo PCM / 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio options
- Isolated Music and Effects soundtrack
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- Paradise Regained: A 50-minute documentary on the making of the film featuring director Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, the late star William Finley, star and composer Paul Williams, co-stars Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham and more! (50:13)
- All new 72-minute interview with Paul Williams by Guillermo del Toro (72:22)
- The Swan Song Fiasco: A new video piece exploring the changes made to the film in post-production (11:25)
- Archive interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton (9:38)
- William Finley on the Phantom doll! (0:35)
- Paradise Lost and Found: Alternate takes and bloopers from the cutting room floor (13:39)
- Original Trailers (3:28)
- Radio Spots (2:28)
- Gallery of rare stills including behind-the-scenes images by photographer Randy Black
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Red Dress
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth and an exploration of the film’s troubled marketing history by Ari Kahan, curator of SwanArchives.org, illustrated with original stills and promotional material.

Verdict: Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is a true cult-classic and one a lot of folks just aren't aware of, it deserves a wider audience. A hugely entertaining retelling of Faust with elements of the Phantom of the Opera infused with a satirical take on 70's corporate rock - this musical rock n' roll fantasy holds-up exquisitely and Arrow's presentation is gorgeous. 4 Outta 5 

DVD Review: ANGRY NAZI ZOMBIES (2013)

ANGRY NAZI ZOMBIES (2013)

Label: Revolver Entertainment

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Duration: 89 Minutes 

Rating: Unrated 

Audio: English Dolby digital 2.0 

Video: Anamorphic Widescreen
Director: James Eaves Pat Higgins Alan Ronald
Cast: Tina Barnes, Paul Kelleher, Cy Henty

They say you shouldn't  judge a book by it's cover and perhaps the same can be said for movies but I was prepared to hate this one from the get-go. We have some uber generic DVD artwork, an uninspired title and yet another Nazi-zombies mash-up. The sub-genre has been around for decades with Shock Waves (1976), Zombie Lake (1981) and Treasure of the Living Dead (1982) but since the Norwegian import Dead Snow (2006) there seems to have been a massive (and mostly generic) resurgence of this particular brand of undead cinema. Upon close inspection my curiosity was peaked a bit when I discovered this is actually an anthology films comprised of three vignettes that occur during World War 2, oddly only one of the stories has an actual zombie Nazi which a bit misleading but I guess if gets your foot in the door. 

The first story from director Jim Eaves (Bane) Medal of Horror features a young British soldier George (David Wayman) on a suicide mission to rescue the daughter of a superior officer from a Nazi temptress named Jezebel (Tina Barnes). There's a bit of a back story about why the young George - who's just a typing clerk - was chosen for the mission, apparently George is quite a Lothario with the ladies. The segment starts off a bit meandering with a surprisingly steamy bit of burlesque then pretty much straight into our soldier infiltrating enemy territory on his quest and encountering some Nazi opposition with a decent chase through the forest. Then suddenly a zombified Red Baron arrives and kung fu battles an undead Japanese pilot. This bit is so out of left field and ridiculous - the sudden shift in tone was unexpected and awkward. The film climaxes with the expected face-off with Jezebel and a mechanized Nazi menace which is a very decent pay-off and turns out to be the best part of this particular story. The tone is uneven but I enjoyed this one quite a bit and I thought Tina Barnes was fantastic as the Nazi vixen - we needed more of her!

The second and best entry is Harriet's War from director Alan Ronald. Paranormal investigator Harriet Price (Lara Lemon) arrives in a sleepy little village to investigate a series of strange deaths wherein the victims bodies have had swastikas carved into their flesh. This one reminded me a bit of Sleepy Hollow as her character utilizes steam punk technology to sleuth the mystery aided by a young constable while getting the stink-eye from the local clergymen. Lara Lemon is pretty great as the paranormal investigator, definitely want to see more of this young woman in the future, quite captivating. Enjoyed the rural setting and characters village plus some neat supernatural elements, a lot of fun.

The final and least favorable entry is director Pat Higgins' Devils of the Blitz.wherein three members of a family seeking shelter from Nazi blitzkrieg are terrorized by pint-sized flesh eating demons. The family are comprised of a young woman named Ruth, her mother and a grandfather who are arguing about the recent actions of Rith's brother who is a deserter from the armed forces. Tensions are high and Grandpa is a bit of a douche, there's a lot of angsty turmoil between the three who must at the same time contend with the pint-sized monsters in the basement. The problem with this one are the creature effects which are quite awful and glimpsed only briefly, the cast however is quite good and turn in some layered performances.

The title and artwork are purposefully exploitative and misleading to a point but Angry Nazi Zombies is worth a rental or Netflix watch. The performances are strong throughout and the micro-budgeted tales do pack some punch with some decently executed ideas. The execution is not perfect but the cast is strong and the production values are decent and it's way better that suffering through any of the Deadtime Stories entries or (gulp) Creepshow III. 2.5 Outta 5

Blu-ray Review: THE STUFF (1985)

THE STUFF (1985) 

Label: Arrow Video 

Region Code: B

Rating: 15 Certificate 

Duration: 87 Minutes 

Audio: Original English PCM 1.0 Mono with Optional English SDH Subtitles 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Cast: Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, Danny Aiello, Paul Sorvino, Scott Bloom
Director: Larry Cohen
Tagline: Are you eating it …or is it eating you?

When a miner stumbles upon sweet gooey white substance bubbling-up from the Earth what else can he do but slap a pretty sticker on it and market the creamy treat for mass consumption? Labelled The Stuff the sweet treat fast becomes America's newest taste-sensation surpassing even ice cream in sales. Alarmed frozen-treat moguls band together to employ industrial saboteur David "Mo" Ruthaford (Michael Moriarty, Q the Winged Serpent) to discover just what the secret ingredient is so they can steal it for themselves and make the world safe for ice cream.

Yup, it's just as silly as it sounds but it's a smartly written satire and deftly executed by writer/director Larry Cohen who really sparked on a great concept. Throughout you can find send-ups of classic science fiction films like The Blob (1958) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) mixed with some delicious moments of humor. Actor Michael Moriarty is a bit an eccentric person and never more so than when he teamed-up with filmmaker Larry Cohen, always over-the-top but never less than pitch-perfect in my opinion. Mo's quest for answers begin with a corrupt former employee named Mr. Vickers (Danny Aiello, Jacob's Ladder) of the FDA who approved the Stuff. The strange encounter with Vickers and his menacing doberman pincer tip Mo off to the fact that something weird is happening. Turns out the Stuff is a actually a body-snatching parasite that transforms people into Stuff craving zombie drones.

The cast is great with Moriarty leading the charge with assists from a pretty ad exec (Andrea Marcovicci) and a trio of strange cameos from Aiello, Garret Morris (SNL) as an embittered confectioner and Paul Sorvino (Goodfelleas) as a right-wing militia nut. Plus a young kid named Jason (Scott Bloom) who early on realizes that the Stuff is dangerous and must fend off his family who have become drones to the creepy confection. The scenes of his family trying to force the Stuff on him are surreal and nightmarish stuff. The father (Robert Frank Telfin) for some reason particularly made my skin crawl. As with Q the Winged Serpent (1982) it's Moriarty and his odd delivery that own the film (alongside the great effects), a wonderful mix of silliness, satire and some actual scares.

The Stuff (1985) is easily my favorite Larry Cohen entry and a quite a fun send-up of consumerism with some great effects that utilize everything from shaving cream, ice cream and fire retardant foam to bring the Stuff to life onscreen including some vintage stop-motion animation from the late David Allen of Puppet Master fame. Some of it might be a bit dated after 25-years The Stuff holds up to the years very nicely -  a classic 80's b-movie from New World Pictures and the demented mind of Larry Cohen.

Blu-ray: The new HD transfer from Arrow Video is quite pleasing offering up Larry Cohen's in the original widescreen aspect ratio (1.85:1) with a natural  layer of film grain and with it some additional fine detail and improved sharpness. Colors are nicely saturated and there's a surprising amount of depth to the image, quite improvement over the region 1 Anchor Bay DVD. The Original English LPCM Mono audio (with optional English subs) sounds great,it comes through clean, free of distortion and is well-balanced.

Unfortunately we do not get the audio commentary from director Larry Cohen that was found on the now out-of-print Anchor Bay edition (and it's not on the Image DVD either) so don't be in a hurry to trade it just yet. What we do get is a nearly hour long making-of doc featuring interviews with Larry Cohen, producer Paul Kurta, actress Andrea Marcovicci, Steve Neill (mechanical makeup effects) and Kim Newman and it's a fantastic watch, if you love Larry Cohen or just the film it's a treat. We also have  a trailer commentary sourced from the Trailers from Hell site with director Darren Lynn Bousman espousing his love for the film.

The last of the disc extras is the original trailer and while not included with my screener the disc the retail version include a 24-page booklet and a sleeve of reversible artwork. A pretty great 1080p upgrade for my favorite Larry Cohen features, the audio-visual boost is worth the upgrade alone and the hour-long doc is essential. The disc is region-B locked so I encourage you to go region-free if you have not done so already and there's a wealth of decent region-free players on Amazon, just do it. . 

Special Features:
- Can’t Get Enough of The Stuff: Making Larry Cohen’s Classic Creature Feature Documentary(52:10)  
- Introduction and trailer commentary by director and The Stuff fan Darren Bousman (1.48)
- Original Trailer (1:35)
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joel Harley, illustrated with original stills and promotional materials

Verdict: The Stuff (1983) is a great piece of satire with the gooey effects of The Blob (1958) and the paranoia of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) mixed in with Larry Cohen's commentary on consumerism and corporate culture in America. A very high recommend, I just can't get enough of Arrow Video's edition of The Stuff. Now, who do I have to knee-cap to get Larry Cohen's God Told Me To (1976) on Blu-ray? 4 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: THIRST (1979)

THIRST (1979) 

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 93 Minutes

Audio: Englsih Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Rod Hardy 

Cast: Chantal Cantouri, David Hemmings, Henry Silva, Max Phipps

Thirst (1979) starts off with a deceptive bit of a Hammer-esque Gothic horror before revealing itself as post-modern vampire tale with a twist. An attractive young woman Kate (Chantal Contouri, Snapshot) is home with her cat one day and feeling a bit strange when she is suddenly abducted by a cult known as The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood are a cult of wealthy eccentrics who whisk her away to their secluded island colony and reveal that she is a descendant of the infamous mass murderer Elizabeth Bathory.

In a way that sort of brought to mind the cult-classic TV series The Prisoner (1967) the cult attempt to brainwash her into accepting her legacy and to acquire a taste for human blood neither of which she's very keen on accepting. The film strays from the traditional vamp mythos as the Brotherhood are presented not as supernatural entities but a superior race whom ritually drink human blood. They harvest blood from brainwashed donors known affectionately as "blood cows" which are routinely milked of their life essence not unlike a dairy farm,  complete with filtration and pasteurization to remove unwanted traces of drugs, antibiotics and disease. 

Young Kate proves
surprisingly resistant to the cult's conditioning process and the sinister Mrs. Barker (Shirley Cameron), with the super creepy Cheshire grin, resorts to a using an experimental psychotropic approach which sends Kate teetering on the brink of insanity. Her performance here brought to mind Catherine Deneuve's in Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965) as she quickly descends into a nightmarish spiral of dreamlike encounters leading up to her partaking in a bizarre bloodsucking cult ritual.

The film has a top notch cast beginning with Chantal Contouri who is just fantastic as the emotionally distraught lead, such a convincing and sympathetic performance. The Brotherhood is embodied by the creepy Mrs. Baker (Cameron), the slightly more benign Dr. Gauss (Henry Silva, Ghost Dog) and Dr. Fraser played by Eurocult superstar David Hemmings (Dario Argento's Deep Red) who is a more compassionate character and seems to have a soft spot for Kate. In the background you might notice Robert Thompson who most remember from the Aussie shocker Patrick (1978) in a mostly silent performance. 

The look and aesthetic of the film could be described as slightly art house with a twist of the Aussie new wave featuring some cinematography by Vincent Morton (Long Weekend) who captures the gorgeous locations on film. Such an attractively shot and edited production which manages to sustain a creepy atmosphere without resorting to scene after scene of gore and cheap scares. It just creeps up on you and is peppered with just a few unnerving scenes that work exquisitely, the blood shower scene comes to immediately to mind.

Blu-ray: Severin have created a brand-new HD transfer of the film from the original camera negative framed in it's original scope aspect ratio and it's quite nice. Colors are vibrant and nicely saturated with a fair amount of detail, depth and clarity to the image. Notably there's a distinct amber hue to the color timing that drew my attention but that's a nitpick, overall the image is top notch. As with their Patrick Blu-ray Severin have opted for a Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio track without benefit of subtitles. The track is decent but if only just to augment Brian May's fantastic score I wish we had an uncompressed audio option. 

The special features are ported over from the previous DVD edition including a decent audio commentary with Director Rod Hardy and legendary Aussie  producer Antony I. Ginnane plus an isolated score option that showcases Brian May's atmospheric soundtrack. We also have a few TV spots and the theatrical trailer. Definitely not a greatest selection of extras, and it's a bummer we have no new content, but the 1080p upgrade (at least the video) is very nice. 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Rod Hardy and Producer Antony I. Ginnane
- Isolated music score by Brian May
- Theatrical Trailer (1:38)
- TV Spots (1:17) 

Verdict: Thirst (1979) is an underrated slice of post modern bloodsucking cinema infused with surreal weirdness and science fiction elements that should please fans of on non-traditional vamp tales such as George A. Romero's Martin (1977) and Guillermo del Toro's Cronos (1993). The Severin Blu-ray looks quite nice and should be an easy upgrade for fans of the Aussie classic. 3 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: IN FEAR (2013)

IN FEAR (2013) 

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Region Code: A

Rating:

Duration: 85 Minutes 

Audio: Dolby TrueHD  5.1with Optional Enflisg Subtitles 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1) 

Cast: Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert, Allen Leech 
Director: Jeremy Lovering

Tom (Iain De Caestecker) and Lucy (Alice Englert) are a young couple en route to a music festival via the back roads of the Irish countryside. They're a sweet young couple, they've not been together very long and are just starting to feel out the relationship and each other. On their way they briefly stop off at a pub for a pint and are each involved in a slight altercations with the locals but soon enough back on the road. 

They do encounter one small problem - they're become hopelessly lost in a labyrinthine maze of back roads deep in an overgrown forest. Following the road signs they seem to be going in circles. Frustrations start to manifest as they continually arrive back at the same fork in the road. What at first seemed like just poor navigation starts to seems as though someone is playing cat and mouse with them, toying with them. The who and why are a mystery, they speculate the encounter at the pub with the locals may have something to do with it but they're grasping at straws to make sense of the nightmarish scenario. As darkness descends the wooded roads turn black and the tension between the lovers builds as they become more emotional and paranoid as the gas gauge plunges towards empty. . 

Along the way they meet an injured stranger named Max with a nasty gash on his face, apparently a victim of the same person or group that are toying with Tom and Lucy. He's a local with a familiarity with the roads and together they attempt to navigate their way out of the maze. Max as played by Allen Leach is suspect from the get-go, a dark stranger with unclear motives but dripping with menace and a penchant for playing psychological games with the young lovers, I certainly detected a flavor The Hitcher (1986) once he was introduced. 

The film is shot mostly in and around the couple's car and you do feel the budgetary limitations from time to time but this is a very nicely executed thriller. The young cast is superb, you like this couple and when they argue it feels genuine. The slate-grey backdrop of a rainy weather and dark wooded area are a perfect setting. In Fear is an exercise is tension helped in no small part by an unnerving score and some excellent sound design - there's a lot of  creepy subtle stuff happening in the first half. The final act let me down just a tiny bit as it goes for more of a typical amped-up thriller and loses much of the suspense in addition to a sot quite satisfying conclusion. A few small issues aside first-time director Jeremy Lovering has crafted a gripping indie thriller that does quite a bit with a tiny budget and very familiar material. 2.5 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: PATRICK (1978)

PATRICK (1978)

Label: Severin Films
Region Code: Region 0 PAL
Duration: 96 Minutes
Rating: R

Audio: English Dolby Digital 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.77:1)
Director: Richard Franklin
Cast: Susan Penhaligan, Robert Helpmann, Robert Thompson

The Ozploitation shocker Patrick (1978) is directed by Aussie Richard Franklin whom directed several notable films including the slasher Road Games (1981), one of the more Hitchcockian Psycho sequels and the very underrated children's fantasy-thriller Cloak and Dagger (1984) which is the film that first introduced me to the works of the director. 


Patrick takes place at the Roget Clinic which a bit of convalescent home for the insane. At the start of the film Patrick (Robert Thompson, Thirst) is forced to endure the sounds of his mother and her lover as they have a bit of nasty fun in the tub. This turns out to be just too much for the disturbed young man to bare and he interrupts their fornicating by tossing a space heater into the tub which lands squarely on his mother's back searing her flesh. Her lover tosses the heater out of the tub and Patrick throws it in again electrocuting both with nary any sign of emotion on his face. Now three years later Patrick is a patient at the Roget Clinic in a vegetative state. It's not quite clear why he ended up that way but one can assume psychological trauma from the event. The clinic is staffed by the cantankerous physician Dr. Roget (Robert Helpmann, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and the creepy Matron Cassiday (Julia Blake, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) who have just hired a new nurse named Kathy Jacqaurd (Susan Penhaligon, The Land That Time Forgot) who's new in town and recently separated from her husband Ed (Rod Mullinar, Dead Calm). She's been assigned to room 15 where the coma stricken Patrick is sustained by life support. Right away she is struck by the fact that Patrick's eyes are wide open, they stare intensely off into the distance and it's pretty unnerving stuff. He also reflexively spits on occasion (which I think Tarantino homages in Kill Bill Vol. 1).

As she goes about her routine bathing and caring for him she comes to realize that he is somehow more aware than she at first suspected, things get weird from there beginning with Patrick passing her alarming notes through a nearby typewriter. Patrick develops a crush on the attentive young nurse but when a Dr. (Bruce Berry) hits on her at a after hours party he is nearly drowned by an invisible force dragging him to the bottom of the pool. It seems Patrick is using his newly developed psychokinetic powers to ward off any would be suitors, he's a jealous type. Angered by her interactions with other men Patrick trashes her small apartment which she at first attributes to her estranged husband. Eventually Kathy realizes that Patrick is manipulating her and influencing those she cares for building up to a shocking psychokinesis fueled crescendo that's absolutely fantastic.

One of the film's strongest attributes is its tense and atmospheric pace which I fear may be a bit slow for an audiences whom may not appreciate a slow-burn the way I do. The dialogue is well-written, the acting is great and you just cannot deny that director Richard Franklin is a true Hitchcock devotee with some great homages throughout. Even the late composer Brain May's score recalls Bernard Herman's iconic Hitchcockian themes. The film's special effects are pretty minimal to be sure with just three moments of gore throughout the film. It is a credit to the direction of Richard Franklin that Patrick is an effective a shocker given the limiting nature of the film's comatose protagonist, a first-rate cult-classic.

Blu-ray: As with their recent releases of the Ozploitation cult-classics Thirst (1979) and Dead Kids (1980) Severin have gone back to the original negatives to produce a brand-new HD transfer framed in it's original widescreen (1.77:1) aspect ratio and it's again quite an improvement over my standard-def Australian import from Umbrella Entertainment. There's a nice layer of natural film grain and with it some noticeable fine detail. I would not call this is a crisp presentation but there is a modest amount of depth and clarity lacking previously, colors are strong and the black levels are very nice. 

Unlike the Dead Kids Blu-ray from Severin we do not have an uncompressed audio track and instead  they've opted for an English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono presentation with no subtitle options. Audio is clean and comes through nicely with no discernible distortions, Brian May's score sounds great. 

Special features include an anecdotal commentary with director Richard Frankin filled with references to Hitchcock plus a on-set interview with the late director during the filming of Road Games  (1981). The lone only new feature is actually recycled extended interviews from Mark Hartley's sensational doc Not Quite Hollywood, who directed the Patrick remake. There are just over an hours worth of interviews with Director Richard Franklin, Screenwriter Everett de Roche (Razorback), Producer Antony Ginnane and stars Susan Penhaligon and Rod Mullinar 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary With Director Richard Franklin
- Interviews With Director Richard Franklin, Screenwriter Everett de Roche, Producer Antony Ginnane and Stars Susan Penhaligon and Rod Mullinar (61:01) 
- Vintage TV Interview With Director Richard Franklin (20:25) 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:52) 
- TV Spots
- Easter Egg: Patrick Still Lives Trailer

Verdict: Richard Franklin's Patrick (1978) is a high recommend, the Aussie exploitation classic is a well acted slow-burn and pretty damn creepy, no small feat considering the protagonist is comatose! The concept sounds limiting but trust me this is a great watch and the new transfer looks fantastic, love that these bizarre Aussie b-movie treasures are getting the 1080p upgrades from Severin Films. 3.5 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: DEAD KIDS (1981)

DEAD KIDS (1981) 

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-FREE

Duration: 101 Minutes

Rating: R

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (2.35:1) 

DIrector: Michael Laughlin

Cast: Michael Murphy, Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis, Dey Young, Louise Fletcher, Mark McClure, Scott Brady

When an eerie series of murders occur in a small Midwest town Sheriff Brady (Michael Murphy) suspects that the strange behavior modification experiments going on at Galesburg College might have something to do with it. In fact the sheriff's long suspected that a certain Professor Le Sange (Arthur Dignam) had something to do with his wife's death years earlier. What he doesn't know is that his son Peter (Dan Shor) is earning pocket money volunteering for these very same experiments under the watchful eye of Professor Parkinson (Fiona Lewis, Innerspace), an icy vixen who continues the bizarre teachings of the late Professor Le Sange. La Sange teaches from beyond the grave via archival film as he directs a chicken with an antennae surgically attached to it's head to obey his every command, very weird stuff. 

Before you can say "chicken, raise your right leg"  teens are inexplicably killing each other in a series of grisly murders, sort of grisly anyway. I thought the set-up for each killing was pretty damn decent with some nice atmosphere but the kills are mostly anti-climatic. The worst offender a throat slash minus any actual gore, in its place we get the classic blood on the edge of a knife prop, but I give it props for some nice set-ups.

There's an abundance of great small town folk who populate the film and give it a true sense of a community including Peter's best friend Oliver (Marc McClure) who looks quite a bit like tennis great John McEnroe, a gossipy house maid and a love interest for the sheriff in the form of a waitress played by the gum-snapping Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

Ozploitation stuff no matter how absurd usually have a great visual style and Dead Kids does not disappoint, we have some skewed angles and interesting camera movement plus some great use of the New Zealand  scenery which quite perfectly emulate the Midwest setting. As stated before this is stuffed with great atmosphere which is enhanced by the droning Tangerine Dream (Legend) synth score.

Early on the teens attend an awesome costume party with everyone is dressed-up in costumes and pogoing to Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes". The whole scene has Animal House feel to it and ends with a tubby bully named Waldo trying to molest his 13 year-old  date in his car until they're interrupted by a killer wearing a very creepy Tor Johnson Plan 9 from Outer Space mask who stabs Waldo to death and pursues his date through the woods and into a swimming pool before the murder in progress is interrupted by party-goers. This is great stuff and the whole scene is probably the highlight of the film for me. 

I love this one quite a bit, it has so many creepy and what-the-fuck moments that you cannot not at least be partially entertained or horrified. A shot of nude Peter in bathroom carrying on a conversation with his father is a bit strange, that's just not normal. While the films is steeped with atmosphere the pieces of the story don't always fit together neatly and at points it does start to get a bit dull. On top of that many of the kills are sub par despite some nice set-ups. Most of the gore is a let down though we do get a creepy scarecrow cadaver with hollowed-out eyes and a young kid dismembered in the shower, both of these are great The scene that freaked me out as a kid (and still does) is Peter pissing a dark red stream of blood which gave me nightmares as a kid watching this on cable, that's just icky. 

I love the off-kilter exploitation cinema that came out of Australia in  the 70's and 80's and I enjoy Dead Kids (1981) quite a bit even if it doesn't measure up to the classic slashers coming out of America and Canada around the same time but as a psychologically-infused thriller it's a nice slice of entertainment.  

Blu-ray: Severin Films went  straight to the original negative and created a brand new HD transfer of the film framed in it's original widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio and it's a nice upgrade over the 2002 Elite Entertainment DVD. The image is more crisp with finer detail and more saturated colors. The 1080p upgrade is nice but don't expect perfection, sort of an uneven presentation but quite an improvement from the DVD. The English language DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono comes through clean and free of distortion. There's not a lot of depth but it's a decent track and the Tangerine Dream score sounds great, fans of the synth score will enjoy the bonus of an isolated music track. 

Carried over from the previous DVD editions are a fun audio commentary with Co-Writer/Associate Producer Bill Condon and Actors Dan Shor and Dey Young which is never dull and loaded with some great info and anecdotes about the making of the pictures.  There's also a new commentary from Director/Co-Writer Michael Laughlin recorded via Skype which is moderated. It starts off a bit slow but does eventually get rolling along as he speaks about coming into the project, working with Condon and some neat casting anecdotes. 

There's a 20-minute interview with Makeup Effects Artist Craig Reardon who speaks humorously about coming onto the project last minute and the stresses of creating low-budget effects on the set and what worked and what didn't. Finishing up the extras we have the US and international trailer for the film. Missing from this edition are 2 deleted scenes with optional commentary from the previous DVD but it's worth noting that both scenes have been stitched back into the feature for this BD/DVD Combo edition. 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary With Director/Co-Writer Michael Laughlin
- Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Associate Producer Bill Condon and Actors Dan Shor and Dey Young
- Featurette: The Effects Of Strange Behavior – An Interview With Makeup Effects Artist Craig Reardon (20:32)
- US Trailer (1:45)
- International Trailer (3:19) 

Verdict: Better known here in the US as Strange Behavior the under seen Dead Kids (1981) is bit of an odd psychological horror film with some great atmosphere and fun slasher elements that while not perfect is a nifty little creeper. Severin have spruced this one up with a brand new hi-def transfer and new value-added extras. Not a flawless watch by any means but a perfectly entertaining slice of Ozploitation horror. 2.5 outta 5