The Lost Skeleton Returns Again (2009) + Dark and Stormy Night (2008/Shout!
Factory DVDs)
Picture: B- Sound: B- Extras:
B- Features: Skeleton:
C/Night: B-
Here we have two releases from Shout! Factory, featuring the work of Larry
Blamire. The first being a sequel to 2001’s The Lost Skeleton of
Cadavra, which puts a humorous spin on the atomic-age cycle of films from
the 50’s. Meanwhile, Dark And Stormy Night is a send-up of the old
dark house movies popular throughout the early days of horror cinema, but a
subgenre that was most prolific during the 1930’s.
Unfortunately, while Mr. Blamire seems to have a working knowledge of the films
he is sending up, he fails to put that knowledge into practice. So
while the framework is ably copied from the forebears of these genres, the
experience is dulled by wandering scripts and actors that don’t quite know when
to stop. Fewer antics and more subtlety would have been a better approach
to riffing on these films, as a little slyness would go a long way. Jokes
are often repeated past their breaking point, and instead of coming up with
something new, the filmmakers decide to keep hammering at the same gags you
stopped laughing at an hour ago. The resultant films end up being
underwhelming affairs.
Both features are in widescreen, with Lost Skeleton being presented in
2.35:1, while Dark and Stormy Night has a 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
Were this is another production, the picture quality may have rated just a tad
higher, as it is well lit and fairly crisp. However, since it is intended
to replicate the look of older films, the use of digital just doesn’t do.
Capturing the image this way might have been the wrong approach, as the light
and shadow just don’t come across like they should. Shooting these features
on real black and white film would have provided that right amount of contrast
and rang true to the experience of watching a classic motion picture.
Interestingly, the color portions of Lost Skeleton, as well as the
“colorized” alternate version of Dark and Stormy Night have a very
interesting color palette that gives strong argument for the entirety of these
features to have had their main release in their color versions.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound quality is good, and although a bit clearer
than what we now expect from films of these bygone eras, the filmmakers seem to
have done an excellent job of mimicking the tone of those older
recordings. This is quite the asset in making these believable as lost
films just unearthed from the vault.
For extra features, each film is given a behind the scenes look, as well as a
fairly lively audio commentary that fans will appreciate.
Overall, these films do have their merits, but stop short of being new cult
classics. If you enjoyed The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and have
been hoping to see more of this director’s work, I would recommend these as
they are in much the same vein. For a newcomer, you might be better
served by checking that film out before moving on to these two if you so
choose.
- David Milchick