Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on October 24th, 2011
“l know, it must seem like an eternity, but your eternity is only just beginning. Do you really want to spend it trapped here?”
The woman (Mira Sorvino) arrives at a cabin on a remote island in Oregon. At the cabin waits the ghost (Shane West) standing and staring at the woman as she goes about her daily tasks. She can’t see him, but he subtly makes his presence known. When her boyfriend (Justin Kirk) makes a surprise visit to the island, both the ghost and the woman are put out by his presence. Soon the woman begins behaving irrationally and showing the signs of spiritual oppression and possession. Is this because of the ghost or is there a darker presence in the cabin?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on October 22nd, 2011
By Natasha Samreny
“General, he was stronger than the others. That's why he lasted so long. I don't know why General, but he seems to be getting stronger all the time.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2011
"Now children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin..."
A good ghost story is actually pretty hard to pull off. Unlike a typical slasher or monster movie, ghost stories can't really depend on visual elements to carry the burden. Certainly, there have been those films where apparitions take on some pretty creepy forms, and that can go a long way. The Asian horror market has explored that world often enough. Still, some of the best ghost stories make their impact on what you can't really see. It's the tale and the telling that makes a film like The Others come to life. It's a film that hasn't really gotten the attention or credit it has deserved over the years. Perhaps with Lionsgate's new Blu-ray release of the 2001 film some of that can be corrected.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2011
Just look at the title, A Horrible Way To Die, and I'll bet you pretty much know what you're in for. You could very well be expecting a gore-fest that borders on the torture-porn genre, and you might be preparing yourself for some imaginative and bloody kills. Looking at the title you'd have every reason to believe that's what you were going to get. You might expect it, but that's not really what you're going to get. The title is quite misleading, in fact. Yes, it's a horror tale about a brutal serial killer. No, it's not the kind of film that lingers on mutilated victims or covers the surroundings in blood and guts. Instead, this is a surprisingly good tension boiler with tons of atmosphere and a few clever twists and turns. Your disappointment could turn into a rather pleasant surprise if you give this one a chance.
There are two stories going on here that are heading toward a climactic collision. The first involves incarcerated serial killer Garrick Turrell (Bowen). He's about to be released for bad behavior. Okay, so "released" isn't quite the word I was looking for. He kills a few guards and manages to escape. He attempts to change his appearance, but he can't quite shake the habit of killing people. Habit is exactly the word I'm looking for here. Garrick doesn't appear to kill in some passionate rage. He's actually quite polite and even-tempered, for the most part, except for the ....you know... killing part. He's working his way back home and leaving bodies along the way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on October 16th, 2011
“Rush Week just became Death Week!”
Let me say first off that director Alex Pucci knows something about production values. For a film shot on Super 16mm for a reported budget of around $1 million, Pucci delivered a film that looks and sounds far more expensive. Reportedly attempting to be a homage to the seventies grindhouse slasher/revenge flicks, Pucci’s focus on detail is amazing, even if his seventies period piece comes with a few anachronisms.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on October 15th, 2011
By Natasha Samreny
South of Heaven carried far too much violence and gore for me to look past. Maybe enjoy isn't the best word, but I had a hard time stomaching and therefore appreciating the film fully because of its nature. If you're not a fan of such horror movies, even with beautiful design, cinematography and acting elements, don't watch this.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on October 14th, 2011
“You have the right to remain silent... forever!”
Maniac Cop is a movie that has all the elements of being a cult classic.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on October 13th, 2011
By Natasha Samreny
In a world where people still got land-line phone calls in restaurants and $1 cocktails were considered expensive, Boris Karloff is detective James Lee Wong. Better known as Mr. Wong, the Chinese sleuth is based on author Charles Wiley's mystery series character. In Doomed to Die, Wong works the case of a shipping magnate's mysterious death.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 12th, 2011
Stop me if you've heard any of this before. Peter Jackson directs a horror film that has an expedition going to Skull Island to retrieve a horrific primate. Of course, you might now be expecting a review of Jackson's remake of King Kong. But the primate here is something called a rat monkey, and it only figures into the film's early moments. Long before Jackson achieved household name status by taking us on a journey to Middle Earth, he was a small filmmaker with no less grand designs.
Dead Alive has become one of those cult films that has managed to keep strong legs for many years, long after the director has gone on to far more successful projects. One of the things that has made Peter Jackson as good as he's been even on big-budget films is the fact that he's like a kid in a candy store. He appears to absolutely love making films, and that's certainly evident on the Rings films. But it's also very evident here as well. Jackson demonstrates his love for such greats as Ray Harryhausen with some rather nice stop-motion work here and a few direct nods to the master. The stop-motion effects are quite obvious, but they are also quite fun and entertaining. Dead Alive is a bloody good time...literally.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 7th, 2011
A few years back, Paramount released all eight of the studio’s Friday the 13th films in a so-called “Ultimate Edition.” With cut versions of the films and no 3D, it wasn’t really that ultimate. So here we are again, with another Ultimate Edition (also Limited!) and this time, the package is much more worthy of the name, bringing together all the deluxe versions of the series.
As those deluxe editions have previously been reviewed on this site, I am now going to surrender the floor for a while. The comments below on Part 1 are by Aric Mitchell, and on Parts 2-6 are by Gino Sassani. I’ll come back for 7 and 8.
![The Others [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-others-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![A Horrible Way to Die [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/a-horrible-way-to-die-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Maniac Cop [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/maniac-cop-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Dead Alive [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dead-alive-blu-ray-large.jpg)
