DVD Review: CONDEMNED (2015)

CONDEMNED
Directed by  Eli Morgan Gesner
Distributed by RLJ Entertainment

 I watched a movie the other night that I had never heard of before.  I knew nothing about it and had seen no reviews/comments on it in any of my online browsing.  The film is called CONDEMNED and I have a felling the more people start seeing this movie, the more you will begin to hear about it.  Here is the plot synopsis from the RLJ Entertainment website:

  Fed up with her parents’ bickering, poor-little-rich-girl Maya (Dylan Penn) moves in with her boyfriend, who is squatting in an old condemned building on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. With neighbors that are meth heads, junkies and degenerates, this depraved hell hole is even more toxic than it appears: After a virus born from their combined noxious waste and garbage infects the building’s residents, one by one, they succumb to a terrifying pathogen that turns them into bloodthirsty, rampaging killers and transforms their building into a savage slaughterhouse.

  The film is in the same vein as the REC and QUARANTINE films.  It's a claustrophobic nightmare of disease and filth.   While obviously a lower budget film than the ones just mentioned, CONDEMNED managed to entertain me just as much as those bigger budget films did.   While not exactly a zombie film, it has that feel to it as a people get sick and turn into flesh eating creatures. 

  One thing that really stuck out was the use of practical effects in this movie.  In fact, I don't remember seeing any CG at all, but if it was used it was mixed in with the practical effects so well that I didn't notice them.  Practical effects are very rare these days, and they just look so much better overall.  I always appreciate when a movie goes that route over the cheaper, yet inferior, CG effects.

  CONDEMNED kept me entertained the entire running time.  The film was shot well and the acting was great with all involved.  I highly recommend this film to all my horror loving fans.  CONDEMNED is available now on DVD and Blu-ray from RLJ Entertainment and contains the following special features:

*  Cast Interviews and Script Readings
*  Watch in "42nd Street Mode" with a live audience commentary
*  TV's "Entertainment Tonight Canada" On-Set Interview with Dylan Penn


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD or Blu-ray

Blu-ray Review: DEVIL'S KNOT

DEVIL'S KNOT
Directed by Atom Egoyan
Distributed by RLJ/Image Entertainment

  If you have followed the case of The West Memphis Three, then you surely know about the book DEVIL'S KNOT by Mara Leveritt.  That book is one of the best resources about this tragic case.   There have been many films about this case, all of which were documentaries if I recall correctly.  Most well known is the trilogy of PARADISE LOST films produced by HBO.   Atom Egoyan's film DEVIL'S KNOT is based on Leveritt's book, and is the first "Hollywood-ized" version of the WM3 story that I know about.   I was a little leery going in, wondering what a film with a big name actors would do to the WM3 story. Turns out, even though this is a big budget Hollywood film, it was just as informative as any other films or books out there on this subject.    Here is the basic synopsis from the Image Entertainment website:

  Academy Award® winners Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, 2010) and Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, 2005) lead an all-star cast in this gripping, heart-wrenching true story that shocked the nation. May 5, 1993. West Memphis, Arkansas. Three young boys playing in the nearby woods never come home for dinner. In the rush to find and convict the killers, police focus on a trio of teenagers suspected of devil worship. As the mother of one of the murdered boys (Witherspoon) tries to come to grips with this unspeakable tragedy, she is desperate to believe that the killers have been found and will be brought to justice. It is only when an investigator (Firth) reveals that the evidence doesn’t all add up, that the community is forced to face the reality that the true killer might still be out there.

  First off, if you do not know anything about the West Memphis Three case, it a very sad and tragic case to follow.  I highly suggest you Google the subject and read up about it.  It is a truly fascinating case and should anger you at the way our Justice System works sometimes.  Everything started back in 1993 when three 8 year old boys were brutally murdered and the police accused and convicted 3 teenage boys of the crimes, even though they had zero evidence that tied any of them to the murders.
That sparked years of appeals and petitions to "Free the West Memphis Three", as most people could see that the teenage boys convicted of this crime most likely had no involvement in it.

  The film DEVIL'S KNOT gives a very accurate portrayal of all the events that occurred in this case.  The films is brilliantly acted from everyone involved, especially Reese Witherspoon who gives an incredibly touching and emotional performance as one of the Mothers of one of the murdered young boys.   Also, the actors they got to portray the 3 convicted teenagers, or the West Memphis 3, were spot on.  Each one looked remarkably like the real person they were portraying.

  This film is not easy to watch.  In fact, in a couple of places the film brought tears to my eyes.   Being the father of two 8 year old boys probably made this film hit home more than it would to some, but I think anyone and everyone will be effected in some way when they see this film.  The image of when the cops find the boy's bodies is truly heartbreaking, and was extremely well done in terms of looking very realistic.   That was the first scene that really got to me.   There were many other scenes that got to me, some that made me very sad, and then some that made me extremely angry.  You can't help but wonder how the West Memphis police department could do such a horrible job like they did with this case.   Evidence was lost, evidence not taken, etc. Very sad situation for all involved.  You feel for the parents of the murdered little boys, and you can't help but feel for the three teenagers that most likely did not do this crime.  The three convicted teenagers were finally released from prison back in 2011 after entering Alford Pleas, after serving over 18 years of their lives behind bars.

  Weather you know nothing about this case or think you know everything there is to  know, do yourself a favor and watch DEVIL'S KNOT.  While hard to watch due to the subject matter, it is a very well made film and worthy of your attention.

  DEVIL'S KNOT is available now on DVD and Blu-ray from RLJ/Image Entertainment and contains the following Special Features:

*  Deleted Scenes
*  The Making of Devil's Knot
* Getting Into Character:  The Cast of Devil's Knot featurette


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack