Blu-ray Review: THE UGLY (1997)

THE UGLY

Written & Directed by:  Scott Reynolds

Distributed by:  Unearthed Films / MVD Entertainment

  THE UGLY is one of those films that I had always known about, but have never seen.  I feel like it's not talked about much, which is why I probably never made a point to see it.   After watching this film, I am shocked it is not talked about more often. 

Here is the basic plot synopsis from the Unearthed Films website:

 Confined to a mental institution, disturbed young serial killer Simon (The Rule of Jenny Pen's Paolo Rotondo) is tormented by cruel orderlies and his own personal demons including “The Ugly” which compels him to kill. Now at his request, Dr. Karen Schumaker (The Brokenwood Mysteries’ Rebecca Hobbs) arrives to discover whether Simon is fit to be released back into society. As the terrifying secrets within Simon’s mind are revealed, no one will be left unscathed by the horrors about to be unleashed.

  If you are a fan of serial killer films, this one is a must see.  This is New Zealand's answer to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, and while not on the same level of that film in terms of budget and production values, it's extremely well made and very entertaining.   The acting in this film is very good, especially from the two main stars, Paolo Rotondo who plays the killer (Simon) and from Rebecca Hobbs who plays the Doctor sent to judge whether or not Simon is fit to be released from prison.   They have a great onscreen chemistry.   

 The movie is pretty simple in terms of production and set.   The film pretty much just takes place at the prison Simon is being held at.   Most of the film is the Doctor and Simon talking in an interrogation room.   The doctor is trying to get inside the mind of Simon to figure out why he killed and to figure out if she thinks he will continue to kill if released.    The doctor asks about all his past kills, in which Simon gives us the details.  We are shown flashbacks to each of his kills, so we see the scene he is describing.   Some of these are pretty brutal, and there is a bit of gore.  

 What sets this film apart from all the other Serial Killer films out there, is the addition of this supernatural element.   "The Ugly" is what Simon calls the vision he sees in his head telling him to kill.   It basically a group of what look to be dead people in a living state that torment him until he kills.   Killing is the only way to make "The Ugly" go away,  yet they always come back eventually and he has to kill again to get them to go away.  

 The film does a good job of showing how "The Ugly" started, with a traumatic experience Simon suffered as a child.   I found this very interesting and was glad to find out how "The Ugly" got it's name!

  

  One thing to note about this film was that in all the gore scenes, the blood was black.  It wasn't in black and white as the scene is in full color, but instead of being a crimson red like expected, it's always a dark black color.   I searched around online for an explanation.  Some say that it's black because Simon doesn't view his victims as human.  He sees them more as a machine or entity, and the black is like the oil that makes the machine run.   Another explanation I saw was that it enhanced the film's dream-like, unsettling aesthetic instead of just conventional gore.   Either way it was an interesting choice by the filmmakers.  

  If you haven't seen THE UGLY, I highly recommend it.  If you have the old DVD  (which if memory serves me was an old Blockbuster exclusive),  you'll definitely want to upgrade to this new Blu-ray.  

 THE UGLY is available now from Unearthed Films and contains the following Special Features:

• NEW 4K restoration of the film from the original 35mm interpositive
• NEW Original Theatrical 2.0 Stereo and 4.0 DTS-HD MA Surround
• NEW Commentary with actors Paolo Rotondo and Rebecca Hobbs, moderated by Nathaniel Thompson
• NEW Scott Reynolds short films 'A Game with No Rules' & 'The M1nute'
• NEW 1997 Radio New Zealand Interview with Scott Reynolds
• NEW Isolated Score
• NEW Photo Gallery
• NEW Original Theatrical Trailer
• NEW The Ugly Visual Essay
• NEW Collectable Booklet
• Reversible Cover

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray from Unearthed Films

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray from MVD Entertainment

 

Blu-ray Review: VILLAGE OF DOOM (1983)

 

VILLAGE OF DOOM

Directed by:   Noboru Tanaka

Distributed by:  Unearthed Films / MVD Entertainment

 Unearthed Films is one of my favorite movie companies out there.  Not only do they release and distribute films that normally wouldn't get a release due to their extreme nature, they also produce their own extreme gore films!   Recently, Unearthed Films created a new line of films called Unearthed Classics.  These are older films that they are releasing that have either been long out of print, or maybe even the first time being released in the U.S.!    Today's review is from the Unearthed Classics line, and it is called VILLAGE OF DOOM.    The film is from 1983, and is one I had never heard of before arriving to me for review!  

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

A classic Japanese true crime story, Village of Doom is a chilling reenactment of the infamous Tsuyama Massacre, a revenge killing spree that occurred on the night of 21 May 1938 in the rural village of Kamo near Tsuyama in Okayama Prefecture. Mutsuo Toi, an emotionally distraught 21-year-old man who had been ostracized by his fellow villagers, went on a violent killing spree that took the lives of 30 people, including his own grandmother. Before finally killing himself, Toi visited his revenge upon the village using a shotgun, Japanese sword and axe. It remains the deadliest mass murder spree in Japanese history.

 The film is based on the true story of the Tsuyama Massacre, something I was not familiar with before this film.   Here is a brief description of the massacre from Wikipedia:

The Tsuyama massacre was a revenge spree killing that occurred on the night of 21 May 1938 in the rural village of Kamo close to Tsuyama in Okayama, Empire of Japan. Mutsuo Toi (都井 睦雄, Toi Mutsuo), a 21-year-old man, killed 30 people, including his grandmother, with a Browning shotgun, katana, and axe, and seriously injured three others before killing himself with the shotgun. It is the deadliest shooting by a lone gunman in Japanese history.

 I always find it so hard to believe that I have gone my whole life never even hearing about some films, especially when they are as good as this one.   I am in tons of horror movie groups on Facebook, and follow lots of horror movie fan accounts on Insta and X, yet somehow this is one that had just slipped by me.   I am not sure how this is not talked about more, because it is definitely worthy of discussion. 

 The film follows a 30ish year old man who lives with his grandmother.  He is a quiet, shy man who is very smart and dreams of being in the military to serve his country.   He is liked by all in his village, but is sometimes taken advantage of by his so called "friends".   This very normal, calm man is instantly changed when he goes to enlist in the military, but is refused due to an illness.   He has been diagnosed with the highly contagious Tuberculosis.   Word spreads quickly around his small town, and he is instantly discriminated against by all the people of his village.  He is also chastised for not serving his country in the military, through no fault of his own.    

 As time passes, this once quiet man get fed up with the way he is treated.   What starts as a minor annoyance grows into pure hatred as the build up of the way he is being treated boils up inside him.   He makes a plan to extract revenge upon his village.   He makes a map and plots out house to house the direction he will go.   He does this in the dead of night, to catch people off guard and while everyone is inside so the streets will be empty for him to navigate without being seen.    This creates some very cool visuals as he straps two flashlights to his head and around his chest, almost giving him the look of some homemade super hero, or I guess in this case, super villian, costume.   Prowling the night in his homemade get up looks very creepy.    He carries out his killing streak using a multitude of weapons including guns, swords, knives, and even an axe. 

 This was an excellent film, and quite topical with todays climate.  Seeing this nice, quiet, young man go from completely normal to a vicious killer was very disturbing.  The movie shows this in such a way that is so realistic, showing the very slow transition, making it so much more realistic and disturbing.   You can see how his transition was created, and you could see the exact exchanges that led to it.  It really makes you think that if we pay more attention to people and how they are treated, maybe we could tell when people are starting to transition to this way of thinking and could stop a something like this from happening in present day.  

I can't recommend VILLAGE OF DOOM enough.   It is a great film that is a must see for all extreme horror fans.   While there is a bit of gore, there is nothing overwhelming, but just the subject matter by itself and the violence our lead takes on innocent people is extreme enough. 

 VILLAGE OF DOOM is available now from Unearthed Films and includes the following Special Features:

• *  Audio commentary by Asian film experts Arne Venema and Mike Leeder
• *  Dark Asia with Megan: Case #57 Japan's Darkest Night, Tsuyama Massacre
• *  Promotional Gallery
• *  Theatrical Trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to purchase the BLU-RAY

Blu-ray Review: THE UNNAMABLE (1988)

THE UNNAMABLE
Directed by Jean-Paul Ouellette
Distributed by Unearthed Films / MVD Entertainment Group

  For years I have had a DVD copy of a film called, THE UNNAMABLE II.   I had never watched it, because I didn't want to see part 2 of something before I had seen part 1.  I assumed I could find the first UNNAMABLE on DVD, but was never able to.  It turns out the first film had never been releases on DVD.  Well, now the search is over and I can add the first film to my collection thanks to the amazing Stephen Biro and Unearthed Films.  Unearthed Films recently bought the rights to THE UNNAMABLE and have released an amazing DVD and Blu-ray of the film with a newly restored 4K transfer. 

  If you are unfamiliar with this film, here is the basic plot synopsis courtesy of the MVD website:

  College students from Miskatonic University who retreat to an early 18th-century mansion for a weekend of lust are stalked by a fatalistic female in this horror film based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft. The demon delights in tearing the limbs off her human victims to carry out a centuries-old family curse.

  This film was released in 1988, and there is no doubt that it is a product of the 80's.   The character's clothing and hair is a dead giveaway.   That's how we looked back then, though, so try to look past the laughable clothing choices of some of these characters.   The story is simple enough, kids are trying to stay in a house that is inhabited by an ancient creature of some sort.  I'm sure it's no surprise to you that the kids meet their demise, one at a time.   There are some gruesome kills and some amazing gore in this film, all by practical effects.   The monster is not really seen until towards the very end of the film, but when it is revealed, it is well worth the wait.   I have no clue what this creature is supposed to be, but it look like it's part goat with it's hooved feet and fur!  

 Unearthed Films has done an amazing job with this release.  The picture quality is very clear and I have to comment on the beautiful slip case cover art!   I have no idea who did that cover art, but it is truly amazing!    Now, I do have to mention one issue I found with this release, and that is the 5.1 DTS-HD Surround Sound has a glitch where the sound effects are doubled.  So basically it sounds like an echo after every sound effect.  This was super annoying, but switching to the original 2.0 Mono soundtrack fixed the issue and it was fine after doing that.   It's a very minor issue, but definitely worthy of a mention.   

 This is a must see in my opinion, especially if you are a fan of  H.P. Lovecraft and films inspired by his stories.

 THE UNNAMABLE is available now on DVD & Blu-ray from Unearthed Classics and MVD Entertainment and includes the following Special Features:

*  4K Scan with color correction and restoration from the original negative.
*  5.1 DTS-HD Surround Sound, 2.0 PCM
*  Video Interview with actors Charles Klausmeyer & Mark Kinsey Stephenson
*  Video Interview with actor Eben Ham
*  Video Interview with actress Laura Albert
*  Video Interview with Mark Parra
*  Video Interviews with R. Christopher Biggs special makeup effects artist & make up artist Camille Calvet
*  Audio Commentary with Charles Klausmeyer, Mark Stephenson, Laura Albert, Eben Ham, Camille Calvet, R. Christopher Biggs
*  Photo Gallery
*  Trailers

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