DVD Review: SALVAGE (2010)

New on DVD this week is SALVAGE, from Revolver Entertainment. The film is the debut feature film of director Lawrence Gough. Here is the basic plot from the film's official website:

Christmas Eve, and the residents of a quiet British cul-de-sac are suddenly plunged into a world of violence, terror and paranoia when a group of heavily armed military personnel storm their road ordering them at gunpoint to retreat inside their homes.
Unsure if this is the sign of a terrorist attack, or something much worse, one local mother finds it in herself to desperately fight to save her estranged daughter stranded across the street. However, with growing dread, the residents soon discover that the threat is more monstrous than any of them could possibly imagine, and survival is no longer a guarantee.

If there is one word I can use to describe this film, it is "intense". This film grabs you from the very beginning and doesn't let go. The acting is solid, and the sets and effects look much bigger than I expect the budget actually was. As told in the plot above, the movie's main focus is on the mother and daughter. The daughter, Jodi, goes to stay with her mom for a few weeks, and we get the idea that they have never been too close for some reason. When she gets to her moms house, her and her mom, Beth, immediately have a huge fight, and Jodi goes across the street to a neighbor's house to get away. Soon after this, all hell breaks loose. Helicopters fly over and all the sudden this quiet neighborhood is overrun with what look to be S.W.A.T. or military personnel. Everyone is told to stay in their homes, but no one is told why. Those that try to stand up to the authorities quickly get knocked down..or worse. The characters are afraid, but it is strange because they don't know what they are supposed to be afraid of, and neither do we as the viewers. We do learn later on that an ocean liner container has washed up on shore, and the 3 locals who went to open the container (most likely with the thought of looting it), are found dead not too far from the container. What we don't find out was what was in the container.

So, we have a lot of stuff going on in this film. Beth fighting with her daughter and trying to get to her to make sure she is safe, Beth and the neighbors battling with the military personal, and finally, Beth battling with whatever it is that the military personnel are there to protect the citizens from. I will let you be the judge of exactly what that is, though.

I would highly recommend this film. Click below to check out the trailer and purchase the DVD!

CLICK HERE to visit the films official website and watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Revolver Entertainment

DVD Review: MUM & DAD (2008)

I recently watched a great film from the U.K. called MUM & DAD. The film was written and directed by Steven Sheil and is being distributed by Revolver Entertainment. It is a pretty disturbing film with lots of surreal images and situations. The basic plot is a "Mum and Dad" who have two "adopted" kids, Birdie and Elbie, that work at the airport. Apparently, their job is to "recruit" new kids to come join Mum and Dad's happy little family. The newest victim is Lena, she is tricked into going home with Birdie and Elbie one night after missing her bus home. Once she is in the house, Mum and Dad don't plan on letting her leave. They keep Lena drugged for a few days and continue to do so, keeping Lena prisoner in the house. Mum and Dad make the kids do some very vile things. This is the definition of a dysfunctional family...in fact, that term is not even strong enough to describe this family. There is a lot of weird and disturbing stuff that goes on with this family, but one of the worst is when Lena discovers a 3rd child of this family. A mentally ill girl locked up in the attic who looks to have been fed just enough to keep her alive. She is called a "Spastic thing" by her brother Elbie, and the family is ashamed of her and keeps her locked up in the attic at all times. She is brought down only in the final part of the movie, when it is Christmas morning. I wont spoil what happens, but I will say that Elbie apparently has been holding back some strong feelings of remorse and sadness for the girl, and deals with it in his own unique way...freeing her forever from the state that she was in.

This movie is hard to describe, but it is definitely worth seeing. It is not the typical watered down horror films we get in the U.S. most of the time. This is a gritty, violent, shocking film that you will not forget long after viewing it. MUM & DAD is a must see for all fans of the Horror genre. The DVD is out now in an "Extreme Unrated Edition" and can be purchased directly from Revolver Entertainment!

CLICK HERE to watch a trailer for MUM & DAD and to purchase the DVD!
CLICK HERE to visit the official website for MUM & DAD

CLICK HERE to visit the website for Revolver Entertainment