Stephen David Brooks Invites Audiences Into FLYTRAP

FLYTRAP (2015) 

Available Now on Amazon Instant Video
Available August 23rd on iTunes and Vudu
                                                        
"A hint of Kubrick, a soupçon of Tarkovsky, all expertly mixed into an intoxicating cocktail by master barman and writer/director Stephen's very own intriguing brand of dark humour and clever writing. All extremely well lit, shot and acted - 
Jeremy Crutchley and the rest of the cast are brilliant." 
-- International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema London

My Man Productions has announced the rollout release of Stephen David Brooks' Flytrap on Digital HD.  Following an impressive year on the international film festival circuit, Flytrap is now streaming on Amazon Instant Video and Google Play.  It will be available to rent or own starting August 23rd on iTunes, Vudu and more.

Order Flytrap on Amazon Instant
Preorder Flytrap on iTunes

Since its debut on the film festival circuit, Flytrap has consistently won acclaim and awards around the world.  Among the awards won are Best Non-European Indie Feature at the European Independent Film Festival in France, Best Low Budget Feature at Worldfest Houston, Special Jury Prize at the Chelsea Film Festival as well as Best Feature, Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Blechman) and Best Ensemble at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.

Jeremy Crutchley ("Salem", "Black Sails") centers the film as a stranger in a strange land held at the whims of peculiar housemates Ina-Alice Kopp (Big Gay Love), Jonah Blechman (This Boy's Life, Another Gay Movie), Gabrielle Stone (Cut!) and Jason Duplissea ("Parks and Recreation").

On the day he arrives in the U.S. to teach at UCLA, paranoia roots itself into James Pond, a reserved English astronomer, who is seduced and quickly trapped in a suburban Los Angeles house by the mysterious and alluring Mary Ann and her equally bizarre housemates.  Are these people in a doomsday cult?  What do they want?  Are they even human?  This psychological, sci-fi thriller hybrid unfolds as James attempts to escape his freakishly foreign captors.  Even if he could escape, would the world believe his crazy story?



Flytrap Trailer from Stephen David Brooks on Vimeo.

Uncork’d Entertainment acquires the heavily-anticipated DOOMED! THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROGER CORMAN’S THE FANTASTIC FOUR

DOOMED! THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROGER CORMAN’S THE FANTASTIC FOUR

Highly-anticipated documentary DOMED! THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROGER CORMAN’S THE FANTASTIC FOUR, from writer-director Marty Langford, will be distributed in the US and Canada by Uncork’d Entertainment. 

Chronicling the history of Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four (1994), DOOMED! features never before seen footage from the production as well as new on-camera interviews with cast and crew including Mr. Corman, Jay Underwood, Michael Bailey Smith, Joseph Culp, Alex Hyde-White and Rebecca Staab.
Langford says DOOMED! was “courted by a number of distributors and he had the luxury of choice.  But once Keith at Uncork’d explained his company’s vision and strategy for our film, we realized that he was obviously the right one. He’s a terrific guy, a great distributor, and partner that we’re lucky to have.”
Uncork’d Entertainment President Keith Leopard says he’s excited to be releasing the definitive account of the never-released movie production and its Fantastic background.

“The average moviegoer doesn’t know that, ten years before releasing Tim Story’s version, Roger Corman was asked to produce a Fantastic Four movie. Unbeknownst to cast and crew, the film was never going to be released though – and for a variety of reasons. Doomed! is such a compelling documentary - and not just for comic book movies but anyone intrigued by the ins and outs of Hollywood and business. In short, it’s a Fantastic movie.”

Leopard’s enthusiasm for the film won producer Mark Sikes over.

"The reason Marty and I chose Uncork'd was Keith's passion for the film. He had a great reputation, but what really impressed us was how passionate he was about the film. We could tell he really liked the film and we knew we needed someone who understood it wasn't your typical documentary."

Uncork'd Entertainment will release DOOMED! THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROGER CORMAN’S THE FANTASTIC FOUR on VOD 10/11 and DVD on 12/20.

Uncork’d Entertainment’s recent releases include the theatrically released documentary JANEY MAKES A PLAY, Lou Simon’s horror-thriller ALL GIRLS WEEKEND, RESTORATION and A HAUNTING IN CAWDOR. The distrib’s upcoming releases include FEED THE DEVIL, released in August, John Fallon’s anticipated thriller THE SHELTER, and SPAGHETTIMAN, released theatrically in the Fall.

JACK THE RIPPER RETURNS IN RAZORS ON DVD AND VOD OCTOBER 18

RAZORS (2016) 

Breaking Glass Pictures will release RAZORS, the first installment in a new horror franchise, on DVD and On Demand this October. Staring Kelby Keenan, Josh Myers (Antisocial), and the late Kan Bonfils (Skyfall, Batman Begins), RAZORS follows a group of young writers who come face-to-face with the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper in the modern world. RAZORS will be available on DVD and On Demand on October 18, 2016.

Synopsis:
While attending an intensive writing workshop held in a crumbing Victorian building, young writer Ruth Walker is challenged to write the ultimate horror movie by enigmatic screenwriting guru, Professor Richard Wise. But what are his motives? What secrets are hidden inside the ancient building? And are the knives Ruth has discovered really those used by notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper?

Ruth was told that the box of knives must never be opened, but the box goes missing and the killings begin. As the ghost of a young Victorian girl haunts Ruth and her fellow screenwriters, the Ripper of legend rises to renew his murderous spree. As bodies begin to pile up, it appears that everyone trapped in the building has a connection to the original mystery….

“The legend of Jack the Ripper is the stuff of nightmares”, says Rich Wolff, CEO of Breaking Glass. “RAZORS is a great introduction to a new horror franchise.”

Starting October 18, RAZORS will be available to buy/rent on the following platforms: iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play, Xbox, Playstation, Vudu, Direct TV and On Demand through your local cable provider.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) (Blu-ray Review)

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) 

Label: Scream Factory 
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 115 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Philip Kaufman
Cast: Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum, Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Art Hindle, Brooke Adams

Synopsis: One by one, the residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves. As the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers, Matthew (Sutherland) and Elizabeth (Adams), uncover the horrifying truth: Mysterious pods are cloning humans — and destroying the originals! The unworldly invasion grows stronger with each passing minute, hurling Matthew and Elizabeth into a desperate race to save not only their own lives, but the future of the entire human race.

I first watched the sci-fi horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) on late night cable TV in the early eighties during a sleepover at a friend's house. As was typical of these nights he had fallen asleep on the couch and I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning watching scary stuff till I couldn't keep my eyes ope. This is how I first watched  Phillip Kaufman's phenomenal and eerie remake, which was the second movie adaptation of a novel by author Jack Finney, the first adaptation came out in 1958 and starred Kevin McCarthy, who makes a great cameo in this film.  

Kaufman's movie opens on a barren planet somewhere in the cosmos, a planet soley inhabited by gelatinous creatures which leave the surface of the planet and make their way through space to our lovely planet Earth, where they rain down upon the city San Francisco. There they take root in the local flora and sprout pretty pink flower blossoms which are attractive to the indigenous people. San Francisco Health Department employee Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) picks one of these blossoms and takes it home where she places it in a glass of water on her nightstand hoping it will take root, which it does but not in the way she intended. Overnight the flower sprouts a pod while she sleeps, which clones and replaces her husband Geoffrey (Art Hindle, Black Christmas) with an emotionless clone. Unaware of the sinister happening she awakens in the morning and is startled by the transformation of her formerly loving partner, who suddenly treats her coldly and acts rather strangely. 

She confides her worry in her friend and co-worker Matthew (Donald Sutherland, Don't Look Now) who advises her to seek the advice of his celebrity psychiatrist friend Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek). Kibner is a psychiatrist of the "tell me how you REALLY feel" variety, and while at the party Elizabeth overhears a hysterical woman who tells Kibner that her husband is not really her husband, which perfectly captures how she feels about Geoffrey. Kibner calms the woman and advises Elizabeth that her feelings of detachment are merely her inner yearning to leave Geoffrey. 

The movie does a phenomenal job of creating a sort of big city paranoia from the very beginning, everyone seems to be staring and observing, it creates a palpable sense of dread and deep-rooted paranoia. Our first good look at a pod cloning a human takes place at a bath house run by Matthew's friend, a struggling writer named Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum, The Fly) and his wife Nancy (Veronica Cartwright, Alien). While Jack takes a nap a pod begins to clone him, however, he wakes up before it can finish and his wife discovers the not completely formed body, horrified and at a loss to explain what they've discovered they call Mathew who arrives to investigate. He brings with him Kibner and the group surmise that San Francisco is amidst an alien-invasion of some sort. 

The dread and paranoia of this one is dripping right off the screen, it gets under your skin and stays there right on through to the shocker of an ending, which as a kid watching it for the first time was a serious gut-punch, this was maybe my first downer of an ending and it made me feel small and helpless and haunted me for days. 

Kaufman crafted an intensely dread-filled movie with the help of screenwriter W.D. Richter who did great work re positioning the story from rural California to the metropolis of San Francisco, plus the cinematography from Michael Chapman (Hardcore) is awesome, capturing the sprawling city and bathing the paranoia in swathes of shadow and light, this is a gorgeous movie, one enhanced by some fantastic special effects, some of which are quite horrific, a scene of pods attempting to clone Mathew in his backyard is grotesque stuff. 

The cast is uniformly excellent beginning with Brooke Adams and Donald Sutherland who are the heart of the movie, while romance is not a high priority the two convey an affection for each other that drives their characters. Additionally Goldblum and Cartwight are fantastic in their limited roles, Cartwright is always fun in these small tasty roles, her wide-eyed wonder and terror are conveyed nicely, and Goldblum does good work at the struggling writer with a serious distaste for Nimoy's psychiatrist character. Nimoy's character is about as cold-blooded as his Star Trek character Spock, espousing 70's era psycho-babble with a cold detachment that is tone-perfect. Art Hindle plays an alien clone with a cold detachment that somehow manages to come across as more sinister than flat, which isn't easy. Everyone does good work, conveying the sense of unease, helplessness and paranoia that drives the movie.  

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) arrives on Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory with a brand new 2K scan of the interpositive, color reproduction and shadow detail are rich and deep, skin tones look warm and natural and there is some nice depth and clarity to the image along with some impressive fine detail. The new 2K scan looks awesome, the new color timing is impressive and does appear a bit different from the MGM Blu-ray from a few years back, looking a bit warmer in tone to my eyes.. Audio options on the disc come by way of English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 or DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1, both are rich and nicely balanced, and the eerie and unusual score from Denny Zeitlin comes through with some real vibrancy. 

Extras on the disc include all the bonus material from the MGM Blu-ray which were pretty substantial to begin with, highlighted by the Re-Visitors from Outer Space: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod documentary which features interviews with Director Philip Kaufman, Screenwriter W.D. Richter, Director Of Photography Michael Chapman And Actors Donald Sutherland And Veronica Cartwright. This also includes a great audio commentary from director Phillip Kaufman, plus featurettes about the sound design, special effects and cinematography of the movie. 

Onto the new stuff exclusive to Scream Factory's Collector's Edition we have a new audio commentary track from Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman, who has done some commentaries for Scream Factory before, notably on Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) and The Dunwich Horror (1970). The track is loaded with facts and trivia about the original '58 film and the production and behind-the-scenes of this version of the story, it can sound a bit too scripted at times but there's no denying that this one is loaded with some great info. 

Scream Factory also have new interviews with stars Art Hindle and Brooke Adams, screenwriter W.D. Richter and composer Denny Zeitlin, which are all fantastic watches. The nine-minute interview with Adams covers the audition, her non-familiarity with the original, working with the cast and crew, and she even demonstrates her wobbly-eyes from the movie. Art Hindle gets a 25 minute interview covering a lot of his career, this was more in-depth than I would have anticipated, also covering is work with Bob Clark and David Cronenberg. Composer Denny Zeitlin speaks about how he scored the movie, his approach combining the organic and electronic elements and confirming the participation of Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead on one notable scene. Screenwriter W.D. Richter speaks about adapting the story, moving it from a rural area to San Francisco.  Scream Factory have not only upgraded the image of the movie with a new 2K scan but they've also upgraded the extras, this is a fantastic release from Scream Factory, which comes with a sleeve of reversible artwork and a slipcover. 

Special Features: 
- NEW 2K Scan Of The Interpositive
- NEW Star-Crossed In The Invasion – An Interview With Actress Brooke Adams (9 Mins) HD 
- NEW Leading The Invasion – An Interview With Actor Art Hindle (25 Mins) HD 
- NEW Re-Creating The Invasion – An Interview With Writer W.D. Richter (16 Mins) HD 
- NEW Scoring The Invasion – An Interview With Composer Denny Zeitlin (16 Mins) HD 
- NEW Audio Commentary With Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman
- Audio Commentary By Director Philip Kaufman
- Re-Visitors From Outer Space, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Pod – Including - Interviews With Director Philip Kaufman, Screenwriter W.D. Richter, Director Of Photography Michael Chapman And Actors Donald Sutherland And Veronica Cartwright (16 Mins) HD 
- Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod (5 Mins) HD 
- The Man Behind The Scream: The Sound Effects Pod – An Interview With Ben Burtt And Sound Editor Bonnie Koehler (13 Mins) HD 
- The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod (5 Mins) HD 
- An episode of SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE, "Time Is Just A Place," Based On Jack Finney's Short Story, Directed By Jack Arnold (26 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) HD 
- TV Spots (1 Min) 
- Radio Spots (5 Mins) HD 
- Photo Gallery (76 Images) HD 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is superb slice of science fiction with some seriously horrific moments, the new Scream Factory release is top notch, loaded with bonus content, and worth the upgrade, highly recommended. 

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) (Blu-ray Review)

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) 

Label: Scream Factory 
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 115 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Philip Kaufman
Cast: Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum, Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Art Hindle, Brooke Adams

Synopsis: One by one, the residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves. As the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers, Matthew (Sutherland) and Elizabeth (Adams), uncover the horrifying truth: Mysterious pods are cloning humans — and destroying the originals! The unworldly invasion grows stronger with each passing minute, hurling Matthew and Elizabeth into a desperate race to save not only their own lives, but the future of the entire human race.

I first watched the sci-fi horror classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) on late night cable TV in the early eighties during a sleepover at a friend's house. As was typical of these nights he had fallen asleep on the couch and I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning watching scary stuff till I couldn't keep my eyes ope. This is how I first watched  Phillip Kaufman's phenomenal and eerie remake, which was the second movie adaptation of a novel by author Jack Finney, the first adaptation came out in 1958 and starred Kevin McCarthy, who makes a great cameo in this film.  

Kaufman's movie opens on a barren planet somewhere in the cosmos, a planet soley inhabited by gelatinous creatures which leave the surface of the planet and make their way through space to our lovely planet Earth, where they rain down upon the city San Francisco. There they take root in the local flora and sprout pretty pink flower blossoms which are attractive to the indigenous people. San Francisco Health Department employee Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) picks one of these blossoms and takes it home where she places it in a glass of water on her nightstand hoping it will take root, which it does but not in the way she intended. Overnight the flower sprouts a pod while she sleeps, which clones and replaces her husband Geoffrey (Art Hindle, Black Christmas) with an emotionless clone. Unaware of the sinister happening she awakens in the morning and is startled by the transformation of her formerly loving partner, who suddenly treats her coldly and acts rather strangely. 

She confides her worry in her friend and co-worker Matthew (Donald Sutherland, Don't Look Now) who advises her to seek the advice of his celebrity psychiatrist friend Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek). Kibner is a psychiatrist of the "tell me how you REALLY feel" variety, and while at the party Elizabeth overhears a hysterical woman who tells Kibner that her husband is not really her husband, which perfectly captures how she feels about Geoffrey. Kibner calms the woman and advises Elizabeth that her feelings of detachment are merely her inner yearning to leave Geoffrey. 

The movie does a phenomenal job of creating a sort of big city paranoia from the very beginning, everyone seems to be staring and observing, it creates a palpable sense of dread and deep-rooted paranoia. Our first good look at a pod cloning a human takes place at a bath house run by Matthew's friend, a struggling writer named Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum, The Fly) and his wife Nancy (Veronica Cartwright, Alien). While Jack takes a nap a pod begins to clone him, however, he wakes up before it can finish and his wife discovers the not completely formed body, horrified and at a loss to explain what they've discovered they call Mathew who arrives to investigate. He brings with him Kibner and the group surmise that San Francisco is amidst an alien-invasion of some sort. 

The dread and paranoia of this one is dripping right off the screen, it gets under your skin and stays there right on through to the shocker of an ending, which as a kid watching it for the first time was a serious gut-punch, this was maybe my first downer of an ending and it made me feel small and helpless and haunted me for days. 

Kaufman crafted an intensely dread-filled movie with the help of screenwriter W.D. Richter who did great work re positioning the story from rural California to the metropolis of San Francisco, plus the cinematography from Michael Chapman (Hardcore) is awesome, capturing the sprawling city and bathing the paranoia in swathes of shadow and light, this is a gorgeous movie, one enhanced by some fantastic special effects, some of which are quite horrific, a scene of pods attempting to clone Mathew in his backyard is grotesque stuff. 

The cast is uniformly excellent beginning with Brooke Adams and Donald Sutherland who are the heart of the movie, while romance is not a high priority the two convey an affection for each other that drives their characters. Additionally Goldblum and Cartwight are fantastic in their limited roles, Cartwright is always fun in these small tasty roles, her wide-eyed wonder and terror are conveyed nicely, and Goldblum does good work at the struggling writer with a serious distaste for Nimoy's psychiatrist character. Nimoy's character is about as cold-blooded as his Star Trek character Spock, espousing 70's era psycho-babble with a cold detachment that is tone-perfect. Art Hindle plays an alien clone with a cold detachment that somehow manages to come across as more sinister than flat, which isn't easy. Everyone does good work, conveying the sense of unease, helplessness and paranoia that drives the movie.  

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) arrives on Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory with a brand new 2K scan of the interpositive, color reproduction and shadow detail are rich and deep, skin tones look warm and natural and there is some nice depth and clarity to the image along with some impressive fine detail. The new 2K scan looks awesome, the new color timing is impressive and does appear a bit different from the MGM Blu-ray from a few years back, looking a bit warmer in tone to my eyes.. Audio options on the disc come by way of English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 or DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1, both are rich and nicely balanced, and the eerie and unusual score from Denny Zeitlin comes through with some real vibrancy. 

Extras on the disc include all the bonus material from the MGM Blu-ray which were pretty substantial to begin with, highlighted by the Re-Visitors from Outer Space: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod documentary which features interviews with Director Philip Kaufman, Screenwriter W.D. Richter, Director Of Photography Michael Chapman And Actors Donald Sutherland And Veronica Cartwright. This also includes a great audio commentary from director Phillip Kaufman, plus featurettes about the sound design, special effects and cinematography of the movie. 

Onto the new stuff exclusive to Scream Factory's Collector's Edition we have a new audio commentary track from Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman, who has done some commentaries for Scream Factory before, notably on Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) and The Dunwich Horror (1970). The track is loaded with facts and trivia about the original '58 film and the production and behind-the-scenes of this version of the story, it can sound a bit too scripted at times but there's no denying that this one is loaded with some great info. 

Scream Factory also have new interviews with stars Art Hindle and Brooke Adams, screenwriter W.D. Richter and composer Denny Zeitlin, which are all fantastic watches. The nine-minute interview with Adams covers the audition, her non-familiarity with the original, working with the cast and crew, and she even demonstrates her wobbly-eyes from the movie. Art Hindle gets a 25 minute interview covering a lot of his career, this was more in-depth than I would have anticipated, also covering is work with Bob Clark and David Cronenberg. Composer Denny Zeitlin speaks about how he scored the movie, his approach combining the organic and electronic elements and confirming the participation of Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead on one notable scene. Screenwriter W.D. Richter speaks about adapting the story, moving it from a rural area to San Francisco.  Scream Factory have not only upgraded the image of the movie with a new 2K scan but they've also upgraded the extras, this is a fantastic release from Scream Factory, which comes with a sleeve of reversible artwork and a slipcover. 

Special Features: 
- NEW 2K Scan Of The Interpositive
- NEW Star-Crossed In The Invasion – An Interview With Actress Brooke Adams (9 Mins) HD 
- NEW Leading The Invasion – An Interview With Actor Art Hindle (25 Mins) HD 
- NEW Re-Creating The Invasion – An Interview With Writer W.D. Richter (16 Mins) HD 
- NEW Scoring The Invasion – An Interview With Composer Denny Zeitlin (16 Mins) HD 
- NEW Audio Commentary With Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman
- Audio Commentary By Director Philip Kaufman
- Re-Visitors From Outer Space, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Pod – Including - Interviews With Director Philip Kaufman, Screenwriter W.D. Richter, Director Of Photography Michael Chapman And Actors Donald Sutherland And Veronica Cartwright (16 Mins) HD 
- Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod (5 Mins) HD 
- The Man Behind The Scream: The Sound Effects Pod – An Interview With Ben Burtt And Sound Editor Bonnie Koehler (13 Mins) HD 
- The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod (5 Mins) HD 
- An episode of SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE, "Time Is Just A Place," Based On Jack Finney's Short Story, Directed By Jack Arnold (26 Mins) HD 
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) HD 
- TV Spots (1 Min) 
- Radio Spots (5 Mins) HD 
- Photo Gallery (76 Images) HD 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is superb slice of science fiction with some seriously horrific moments, the new Scream Factory release is top notch and worth the upgrade. Definitely a movie that holds up to repeat viewings and worth owning on Blu-ray, highly recommended. 

THE PERFECT HUSBAND (2014) (Blu-ray Review)

THE PERFECT HUSBAND (2014) 

Label: Artsploitation Films
Rating: Unrated 

Region Code: A
Duration: 85 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional english Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD WIdescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Lucas Pavetto
Cast: Gabriella Wright, Bret Roberts, Carl Wharton, Tania Bambaci, Daniel Vivian, Philippe Reinhardt

Synopsis: This terrifying psychological horror film follows Viola (Gabriella Wright) and Nicola (Bret Roberts) as they try to reconcile after an unexpected termination of pregnancy puts a strain on their marriage. They decide to spend a weekend in a family cottage in the woods but what was supposed to be a romantic weekend suddenly turns into a deadly nightmare as seething suspicions, maddening paranoia and blind rage explodes around them. A bloody, unsettling thriller from Italian horror filmmaker Lucas Pavetto.

Caring husband Nicola (Bret Roberts) arranges for a romantic weekend trip to a secluded family cabin in the woods with his wife Viola (Gabriella Wright) who is recovering after the loss of their child during child birth. The tragedy has shaken the relationship to the core and Nicola hopes the trip will bring them closer, but things from uneasy to deadly once they arrive at the cabin.

The film starts off as a slow burn that begins in low-gear and takes a while to get a proper  head of steam about it, the filmmaker establishes that the relationship is not in the best place, that Nicola is a jealous guy, that Viola is somewhat secretive, we glimpse certain strange happenings from the past as the movie is peppered with short flashbacks. Things take a turn for the worse when Viola has an accident in the woods while she is alone. She is found unconscious by a forest ranger who takes her back to his cabin, once she comes to and is able to tell him where she came from he returns her to Nicola. At this point things go from shaky to seeing some serious cracks in the relationship, Nicola is overcome by jealousy which comes to a head over dinner when he accuses Viola of infidelity, not only accusing her of sleeping with the ranger but also questioning her about something he saw while spying on her back in the city. Viola manages to calm things down a few degrees over dinner and afterward they head for the bedroom where Nicola handcuffs his wife to the bed for some kinky good times, bad idea. With Viola handcuffed to the bed and helpless Nicola goes off the deep-end, again accusing her of infidelity and beating her savagely. as things begin to turn bloody the final third of the movie kicks into high-gear with the severing of some digits

Viola manages to escape when Nicola leaves the room for a moment, freeing herself she runs into the darkness of the woods with her murderous minded husband not too far behind her. The first sign is what appears to be a homeless man living in a camper in the woods, Viola seeks protection from the stranger who instead opts to bend her over the hood of his car and rape her, which he does until Nicola comes up behind him and cuts him down with an ax.

The movie definitely started off slow but this final third is a delirious frenzy of brutal bloodlust and psychological terror with one heck of a big twist, one that might not sit well with all audiences as I do not feel it is necessarily earned. At face value The Perfect Husband is a brutal, gory and nightmarish watch with a stellar performance from Gabriella Wright as the troubled woman in peril, though I did struggle a bit when they flipped the switch and turned this one on it's head,

The Perfect Husband (2014) arrives on Blu-ray from Artsploitation Films in the original scope aspect ratio (2.35:1) looking very nice in HD, the cinematography is strong and stylish, the night scenes are lit very nicely, and the shots are composed with some serious craft. The disc only offers a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio track, there is no lossless audio option. The track sounds good with a nice balance for the most part, the dialogue seemed a bit low in the mix at times but otherwise it does the job, an optional English subtitle track is included. 

Extras on the disc include the original 38-minute short film made back on 2011, a 24-minute making of featurette and the usual selection of Artsploitation trailers.

Special Features:
- Il Marito Perfectto (short film) (38 Mins)
- The Perfect Husband Behind-the-Scenes (24 Mins)
- Artsploitation Trailers (6 Mins) 

The Perfect Husband (2014) is a solid watch with elements of backwoods horror and psychological terror thrown into the mix, it made for a solid watch, but that twist might have some viewers throwing their hands up in protest, but if you can accept it there is some solid horror to be had. 

BASKET CASE 3: THE PROGENY (1991) (Blu-ray Review)

BASKET CASE 3: THE PROGENY (1991)

Label: Synapse Films
Region: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 90 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Cast: Kevin Van Hentenryck, Gil Roper, Denise Coop, Annie Ross
Director: Frank Henenlotter

Synopsis : He’s back. He’s bad. And he’s a dad! Belial, everyone’s favorite beast-in-a-basket, is back in this sensational third film in the wildly macabre horror series. After being separated again from his conjoined twin brother Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck), Belial finds out he’s going to be a deformed daddy! Mrs. Belial (“Eve”, played by Denise Coop) delivers a litter of bouncing baby monsters, but the blessed event turns into a nightmarish ordeal when the police kidnap the little critters. They should know it’s not safe to anger Belial! Attacking the cops in a climactic, gory rampage, everyone’s favorite mutant mauler stops at nothing to get his newborns back!

The Time Square Freak Twins, Duane and Belial Bradley, are back in this third and weird final entry in Frank Henelotter's cult trilogy. We find that demented Duane has been placed in a proper padded room following the events of the second film. Sprung from the loony bin by the endearing Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) the twins along with Granny's band of "unique individuals" board a bus and drive south to the home of Uncle Hal where Belial's pregnant girlfriend Eve can safely give birth to their offspring away from the prying eyes of the normies who wish them harm.

Basket Case 3 is a campy freak-fest of fun that tosses out the more straight-up horror element of the first film and dives head-first into the realm of demented comedy and for the most part it works. Thanks to the mad genius of special effects make-up artist Gabriel Bartalos we get tons of low-budget freaks onscreen, not unlie what I imagine a campy version of Clive Barker's Nightbreed (1990) would have been like. There are loads of memorable rubber faced creations on display like Mackerel Head and Moon Face, this one is a cheapie but a goodie. If you're a fan of gore it is here onscreen but it is offset by Henelotter's particular brand of twisted humor, if you're familiar with Frankenhooker (1990) you will find yourself in familiar territory with this one.  

Highlights include a nutty, over-the-top birthing scene, the freaks assaulting the the local jail in an effort to free Duane and an unexpected Aliens (1986) homage with Belial in a mechanical exoskeleton suit, and gobs of bloody gore-infused comedy. 

Audio/Video: Basket Case 3: The Progeny arrives on Blu-ray with an HD upgrade framed in the original widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio looking spiffy and vibrant. Colors are strong and black levels are nicely shaded with some good clarity and a surprising amount of fine detail. Overall this is a nice improvement over their DVD from a few years back. The English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo audio track is well balanced with clear dialogue, score and effects. As with the DVD the only extra on the disc is a trailer for the film, unfortunately there is no commentary track from Frank Henenlotter which would have been outstanding, the man is always an entertaining listen and that is a missed opportunity/ . 

Basket Case 3 is a weird and quirky entry in the cult-series that features a great cast of rubber-faced freaks with all the camp infused violence that we've come to expect from Frank Henenlotter. If you're a fan of the movie this new HD presentation from Synapse Films is worth the upgrade.