BLU-RAY REVIEW: V/H/S/BEYOND (2024)

V/H/S/BEYOND

Directed by:   Jordan Downey / Jay Cheel / Christian Long / Justin Long / Justin Martinez / Virat Pal / Kate Siegel

Distributed by:  Acorn Media International /AMC

  If you are a fan of the V/H/S film series, or just horror anthology films in general, you will definitely want to do yourself  a favor and check out the newest entry in the V/H/S series.   This new film is the 7th installment of the V/H/S series, and I am happy to say by the looks of this one, this film series it still going strong!

 

 Like the previous V/H/S films, this one is made up of a series of short films, all directed by different film directors.  Here is a bit about each one and my thoughts on each. 

 The first short is called STORK, and was directed by Jordan Downey.  It tells the story of a group of police sent to a house to investigate a string of baby disappearances.   This was an amazing short film to start the anthology with and delivered non stop action and horror.  I wasn't sure what to expect once the group of police made there way inside the house, but what I got was a first person view of a true haunted house.   The use of the police body cam to give us a first person view really put the viewer directly into the action on screen.   One after one the police are attacked by zombies of some sort, and when they find a meteor that crashed through the roof of the house, they realize these are not your ordinary zombies!   They are alien zombies!  Top that off with a huge alien stork like creature and I think you've found your baby snatcher!   Watch this one with the lights off and sound turned up, this one is truly horrifying and much gorier than I was expecting.   Kudos to Mr. Downey on this one!

  The second short is is called DREAM GIRL, which is about a huge Bollywood star that is not what she seems to be.   While she is beautiful on the outside, when her true inside is revealed, she is not so pretty any more.   What you think is a beautiful women is actually a machine of some sort, who goes on a killing spree and vomits acid on her victims.   As with the other entries in the V/H/S series, the first person perspective (this time through a cameraman filming behind the scenes shots of the Bollywood film being made) really puts you in the action as you try to escape rom this killer creature that is on the loose! 

  I didn't think anything would be able to top the first short film, but director Justin Martinez delivers what I believe to be the best short film of this anthology.   LIVE AND LET DIE is about a group of friends that go on a sky diving trip for one of their birthdays.  While in the plane about to make their jump, they encounter a UFO that causes their plane to crash into it, sending the friends out into the open as they are falling to the earth, including a few unlucky ones whos parachute was ripped off during the crash.   The friends land in an orange orchard and quickly realize there are other beings on the ground in the orchard hunting them down.   This film had great effects and some great gore and was truly terrifying!

 

  The final film in the anthology is FUR BABIES, directed by Christian and Justin Long.   This story is about a group of animal rights activist who go undercover because they have suspicions that a doggy day care center is not an innocent as it appears.   It turns out they are correct, and end up finding a house of horror in the basement of the doggy day care center, complete with human experiments where the lady that runs the day care is keeping humans in cages and literally turning them into dogs!

 All 4 short films are intertwined together in what is supposed to be documentary about aliens and abductions.  The documentary (titled ABDUCTION/ADDUCTION) and some found footage they show (titled STOWAWAY) act as short films themselves.  This movie was a nice mash up of horror and Science Fiction and was an extremely entertaining addition to the V/H/S series.  While with most anthologies I usually like one or two of the segments, while others were bad and felt like "filler", V/H/S/BEYOND is thankfully not like that at all.   Each segment held it's own and it's hard to decide which ones I liked the most.   I felt like they all had their unique qualities and were equally horrifying and entertaining.   

 V/H/S/BEYOND is available now on DVD and BLU-RAY and contains the following Special Features:

*  Pre-visuals on LIVE AND LET DIE

*  Libby Letlow FUR BABIES audition tape

*  Stowaway set timelapse

*  Do you want a selfie? - The Making of DREAM GIRL

*  Behind the Scenes of STORK with IGN

*  Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery of LIVE AND LET DIE, DREAM GIRL, STORK, and STOWAWAY

 

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to purchase the BLU-RAY

Book Review: FASCINATION: THE CELLULOID DREAMS OF JEAN ROLLIN by David Hinds

 

FASCINATION:  THE CELLULOID DREAMS OF JEAN ROLLIN

Written by:  David Hinds

Published by:  Headpress Books

  If you are a fan of sleazy cinema, especially Vampire films, you probably know the name Jean Rollin.  This European director made his first short film in 1958 at the age of 20 years old, and directed films up until his death in 2010, with his 52nd and final film, Le Masque de la Meduse (The Mask Of Medusa).  I have seen quite a few of his films, but I had no idea he directed so many!   I probably won't have a chance to watch them all, but I can at least read about Rollin and all his films in this awesome reference book from Headpress Books.   

 FASCINATION:  THE CELLULOID DREAMS OF JEAN ROLLIN by David Hinds in a remarkably in-depth look into the career of Jean Rollin.  Here is a description of the book from the Headpress website:

  May 1968. Paris is awash with violence and public unrest. In a small cinema, where a surreal film is showing, another riot is taking place. Here, the enraged audience smashes up the auditorium, tear out the seats, and chase the film’s director onto the street. This is the premiere of Jean Rollin’s feature debut, The Rape of the Vampire.

An outsider of French cinema, Rollin’s films are unique and dreamlike. They offer tales of mystery and nostalgia, obsolescence and seductive female vampires with a thirst for blood and sex. It is a cinema at once strange, evocative and deeply personal.

Funding his own projects, Rollin defiantly made the films he wanted to make and in so doing created a fantastique genre unlike any other. The Nude Vampire, The Living Dead Girl and The Grapes of Death are among those films now celebrated as the work of an auteur, one who confounds preconceived notions of ‘Eurotrash’ cinema.
This book is devoted to the director and all his work, across all genres, including a nascent French hardcore pornographic film industry. Written with full co-operation from Jean Rollin, shortly before his death in 2010, it contains exclusive interviews and archive material.

 This book is one of my new favorites to add to my film book collection.  It starts off as a biography, including events that shaped his visions for his films, before changing over to a reference book and providing essays and descriptions about each of Rollin's films.    Nothing is left uncovered in this book.  It discusses all his more well known films, along with his lesser known ones, and films he directed under a couple of different names!  It also covers his foray into hardcore pornography films in the mid to late 70's, and then finishes up with info on his short films and some unfinished projects he had in the works.   The book also contains an in-depth interview the author did with Rollin at his Paris apartment back in 2005, as well as a bibliography (I didn't even know Rollins was an author himself until reading this book), and a filmography of all his films. 

 The real meat of this book is the essay section of each of his most well known films.   These are 6-7 page essays and descriptions of each film, full of great information and behind the scenes info on anything from funding issues to trouble with some of the actors and actresses.   Hinds really leaves nothing to the imagination and gives you more info than you probably ever thought you needed on these films.   

  A couple more things I have to mention is the actual book design itself.   It's not an oversized book like a lot of film books are.  It's just a tad bigger than a trade paperback, so it travels well.   It would be great for a plane or bus ride, although you might get some funny looks due to the awesome cover art!    The book also contains hundreds of pictures throughout the book from all of Rollin's films.  All the pics of the film scenes and poster art are very interesting. 

 If you are a fan of European horror cinema, and especially of Jean Rollin, this is a must have book to add to your collection!

CLICK HERE to purchase the book from Headpress Books

4K Ultra HD Review: ALICE, SWEET ALICE (1976)

 ALICE, SWEET ALICE

Directed by:  Alfred Sole

Distributed by:  Arrow Video / MVD Entertainment

 I love an old classic horror film.  I love slasher films.  I really love old classic slasher films that I have never seen before.   That's right, I am confessing that I call myself a horror movie buff, but I have never seen the 1976 film, ALICE, SWEET ALICE.   I have heard of it forever, but for some reason just had never sat down to watch it.  Well, that changed now with Arrow Video's new 4K UHD edition that just came out this week! 

Here is the plot synopsis from the Arrow Films website:

 A young Brooke Shields meets an untimely end in this religious-themed proto slasher par excellence from director Alfred Sole.

 On the day of her first communion, young Karen (Brooke Shields) is savagely murdered by an unknown assailant in a yellow rain mac and creepy translucent mask. But the nightmare is far from over - as the knife-wielding maniac strikes again and again, Karen's bereaved parents are forced to confront the possibility that Karen's wayward sister Alice might be the one behind the mask.

 Bearing influences from the likes of Hitchcock, the then-booming Italian giallo film and more specifically, Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, Alice, Sweet Alice is an absolutely essential - if often overlooked - entry in the canon of 1970s American horror.

 This is a unique film, as it feels like a perfect blend of slasher and giallo films.   It was originally titled COMMUNION, but released theatrically as ALICE, SWEET ALICE.  It was then re-released under the new title, HOLY TERROR to play on the fact that new star Brooke Shields was in the film.   In fact, they even changed the opening credits to give her top billing, even though she was only in the film for about the first 10 minutes!    There is a special feature on this release that shows all three openings on split screen at the same time to compare, which was very interesting. 

 ALICE, SWEET ALICE was more than just a slasher film, as in most slashers you know who is doing the killing.  This movie was a great mystery as well, as we did not know who the killer was until it was reveled.  At least, I didn't figure it until it was reveled, which came as quite a shock to me.  I had a list of 2 or three people I thought it was, but I was very wrong!    

  If you are a fan of Arrow Video, you know that they are one of the best physical media companies around.   They have always been known for great releases with tons of great special features.  This release is no different, and this new 4K UHD version looks and sounds amazing!  It's always so interesting to me that they can make a movie that is almost 50 years old look so crisp and clean, like it was just filmed recently.   If you are fan of slashers, giallos, or just really good murder mysteries, do yourself a favor and check out this new release of ALICE, SWEET ALICE!  

  ALICE, SWEET ALICE is available now from Arrow Video and MVD Entertainment and contains the following special features:

• Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD presentations of three versions via seamless branching: Communion (original), Alice, Sweet Alice (theatrical) and Holy Terror (re-release)
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary with Richard Harland Smith
• Archival audio commentary with co-writer/director Alfred Sole and editor M. Edward Salier
• First Communion: Alfred Sole Remembers Alice, Sweet Alice - director Alfred Sole looks back on his 1976 classic
• Alice on My Mind - a brand new interview with composer Stephen Lawrence
• In the Name of the Father
• brand new interview with actor Niles McMaster
• Sweet Memories: Dante Tomaselli on Alice, Sweet Alice - filmmaker Dante Tomaselli, cousin of Alfred Sole, discusses his longtime connection to the film
• Lost Childhood: The Locations of Alice, Sweet Alice
• a tour of the original Alice, Sweet Alice shooting locations hosted by author Michael Gingold
• Deleted scenes
• Split-screen version comparison
• Trailer and TV Spot
• Image gallery, including the original screenplay
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• Illustrated collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Blyth

CLICK HERE to purchase the 4K UHD Limited Edition set

4K ULTRA HD/BD Review: EVILENKO (2003)

 

EVILENKO

Written & Directed by:  David Grieco

Distributed by:  Unearthed Films / MVD Entertainment

 Serial killer movies are one of my favorite sub-genres of horror.   I love true crime stories, so was pretty intrigued when this one showed up for review.   EVILENKO is based on the book "The Communist That Ate Children" by David Grieco, who also wrote and directed this film.   That book, and this film, were based on the true story of serial killer Andrei Chikatilo.  Here is a bit about him from Wikipedia: 

  Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer nicknamed "the Butcher of Rostov", "the Rostov Ripper", and "the Red Ripper" who sexually assaulted, murdered, and mutilated at least fifty-two women and children between 1978 and 1990 in the Russian SSFR, the Ukranian SSR, and the Uzbek SSR.

  Chikatilo confessed to fifty-six murders; he was tried for fifty-three murders in April 1992. He was convicted and sentenced to death for fifty-two of these murders in October 1992, although the Supreme Court of Russia ruled in 1993 that insufficient evidence existed to prove his guilt in nine of those killings. Chikatilo was executed by gunshot in February 1994

 I had never heard of this serial killer before, and it got me thinking about how many serial killers there have probably been all over the world that we just don't know about here in the states.   We typically just know about all the U.S. serial killers, so it was interesting to hear about one that was completely new to me. 

 Here is a brief synopsis of the film from the Unearthed Films website:

Based on the shocking true story of the former Soviet Union's most notorious serial killer, this riveting, haunting film explores the mind of a true monster; a man who mutilated and devoured more than 50 children. For years, Andrei Evilenko (Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange, Gangster No. 1, TV's "Entourage") eluded the obsessive Detective Lesiev (Marton Csokas, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, xXx, Aeon Flux) and the psychiatric profiler Aron Richter (Ronald Pickup, The Chronicles of Narnia). Spurred on by his rabid fury at the gradual crumbling of his precious Soviet Union, Evilenko is a man who will live, die and kill as a communist. The haunting melodies of composer Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive) and writer-director David Grieco's stark imagination have created a portrait of a serial killer that will resound in the psyches of us all.

  Let me start by saying that EVILENKO will not be for everyone.   It will be triggering for some, especially those that have been in anyway affected by sexual abuse.  As you would expect from a film about a killer that preyed on small children, the film contains some unnerving subject matter. I will say, though, that most all of the killing are done off screen, with the viewer just seeing the aftermath of Evilenko's butcherings.   While Unearthed Films is known for it's more gorier releases,  this one does seem out of place for an Unearthed Films release, but I assume it is just the extreme subject matter that got this one picked up by them. 

 The film is shot well and wonderfully acted, especially by genre legend Malcolm McDowell who plays the title character/killer.   He does a wonderful job in this role, as he does in every role I have ever seen him in.   My one fault with this film is the pacing, as it does feel very slow and drawn out in parts.  The film has a running time of 111 minutes, which could have been trimmed down in my opinion. 

 The new 4K transfer is stunning, and is sure to be a huge leap from any previous release you might have seen. 

EVILENKO will be released on February 25th, but is available now for preorder.  The 4K/BD combo contains the following special features:

• 4K ULTRA HD + BLU-RAY | LIMITED COLLECTOR'S EDITION CONTENTS
• *  NEW 4K restoration of the original camera negative by Unearthed Films
• *  Blu-ray of the feature film and all new extras
• DISC ONE – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
• *  NEW 4K restoration of the original camera negative by Unearthed Films presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in HDR
• *  NEW 2024 Commentary with writer/director David Grieco and actor Malcolm McDowell
• *  DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• *  Optional English SDH Subtitles
• DISC TWO – FEATURE & EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
• *  NEW 4K restoration of the original camera negative by Unearthed Films presented in 1080p HD in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio
• *  NEW 2024 Commentary with writer/director David Grieco and actor Malcolm McDowell
• *  DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• *  Optional English SDH Subtitles
• *  An 81 minute cast and crew interview collection including writer/director David Grieco, actor Malcolm McDowell and composer Angelo Badalamenti
• *  'Evilenko Dossier: Andrei Chikatilo' A 27 minute look at the real-life basis for the character of Evilenko
• *  David Grieco and Malcolm McDowell on 'Evilenko' A 69 Minute interview from 2021
• *  Photo Gallery
• *  Original Trailer

 

CLICK HERE to pre-order the Blu-ray

CLICK HERE to pre-order the 4K HD/BD combo