Day
Of The Jackal
(1973*)/Deadman Standing
(2018/Lionsgate DVD)/Death
House (2010/MVD
DVD)/Molly
(2017/Artsploitation Blu-ray)/Wizard
Of Gore (1970/*both MVD
Visual/Arrow Blu-rays)
Picture:
B/B-/B-/B/B Sound: B/B-/B-/B-/B Extras: B/D/C/C+/C+
Films: B/C/D/C+/B
Here's
some of the darker thrillers we've seen lately, though the first one
at least is not exploitation and/or a B movie...
A
highly regarded political thriller, The
Day of the Jackal
(1973), is faithfully based on the bestselling novel by Frederick
Forsyth and centers around a French paramilitary group with their
target set on President Charles de Gaulle. After trying to kill the
President more than once, they decide to send in the Jackal (Edward
Fox), whose well qualified in such areas.
The
film also stars Michael Lonsdale (Munich,
The
Bride Wore Black),
Derek Jacobi (The
Odessa File)
and Cyril Cusack (1984,
Fahrenheit
451)
and cinematography by Jean Tournier (Moonraker).
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
a nice sounding English LPCM 2.0 Mono audio track. The film has been
nicely restored here with colors that bring the print to life like
never before. Watching this film is almost like stepping into a time
capsule, and brings to life a very realistic view of the past.
Having almost a documentary feel throughout, the cinematography is
natural yet very visually pleasing.
Special
Features include...
New
interview with Neil Sinyard, author of Fred
Zinnemann: Films of Character and Conscience
Two
rare archival clips from the film set, including an interview with
Fred Zinnemann
Theatrical
trailer
Original
screenplay by Kenneth Ross (BD-ROM content)
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter
Strain
and
First pressing only: Collector's booklet featuring new writing by
critic Mark Cunliffe and film historian Sheldon Hall.
A
low budget western, Deadman
Standing
(2018), is close to pulling off the cinematic style that it aims to
achieve, but misses the mark with one too many cliches. Starring C.
Thomas Howell and Luke Arnold and based on a true story, centers
around a troubled lawman who befriends a boy dying of tuberculosis
and a scarred (yet pretty) madam of the local brothel (Viva Bianca)
while their town slowly gets taken over by Texas cattlemen.
The
production value is pretty impressive considering the film was made
on the cheap. Most of the acting is a bit over the top and some of
the fake accents don't translate too well here. C. Thomas Howell is
pretty good here but overall it could have been a bit more cinematic
in terms of its lighting and overall look.
Presented
on standard definition anamorphically
enhanced DVD
with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.00:1 and a lossy 5.1 Dolby
Digital audio mix, the film looks as good as it can on the aging
format. While it could obviously be fixed in an HD format, the
colors don't pop as much as they are meant to, but technically the
film is professional looking.
No
extras, with the exception of trailers for other Lionsgate films.
Deadman
Standing
has a decent script, but suffers from mediocre lighting and
cinematography that could be more stylized, and so-so acting from
much of its supporting characters.
Back
in 2010. there was a little movie called The
Expendables
that brought together some of the silver screen's biggest stars for
the ultimate team up movie. The trailers and marketing promised
action fans the stuff that dreams are made of. However, the film
(and its two sequels) ended up being horrendous and soul crushing.
Now it's 2018 and Death
House
comes along... a film that teams up the biggest horror icons of all
time for the ultimate showdown. The possibilities were really
endless as to what this movie could have been... however what it
is... is, by far, the worst film I've seen in the murky year of
2018... the year that also brought us such gems as The
Darkest Minds
and Snake
Outta Compton.
Death
House
stars Kane Hodder (Jason), Sid Haig, Michael Berryman, Danny Trejo,
Dee Wallace, Tony Moran (Michael Myers in Halloween
2),
Barbara Crampton, Bill Moseley, Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp),
Adrienne Barbeau, Tony Todd (Candyman),
Vernon Wells, Lloyd Kaufman, Camille Keaton (I
Spit On Your Grave),
Debbie Rochon and the list goes on! What a waste of talent. The
story was conjured up by the late Gunner Hansen (Leatherface in the
original Texas
Chainsaw Massacre),
but I'm sure what butchered on the page before it graced the screen.
Death
House is a secret prison that holds some of the world's biggest and
baddest killers the world has ever known. When two agents are given
a private tour, the power goes out and the inmates are set loose and
all hell breaks loose. However, this plot isn't easily deciphered,
as the first thirty minutes will have you scratching your head
wondering what's going on before this plot twist comes. The cameos
mostly feel rushed and unmotivated. Lloyd Kaufman is attempting to
be a serious surgeon and fails miserably, Dee Wallace phones it in,
poor Barbara Crampton and Sid Haig try their best... but
unfortunately the material isn't there for them to be effective.
Kane Hodder isn't bad and really deserves a better role in something
that isn't a slasher film... however his character here is pretty
paint by numbers.
Death
House
has no plot or enjoyable aspects to it at all. It's equivalent to a
sort of nightmare a horror fan has where he/she is forced to see some
of the industry's most recognizable faces tortured by delivering some
of the worst dialogue imaginable, and a storyline that goes
absolutely nowhere. The digital effects are so bad its laughable
including a digital elevator shaft that is focused on way too
heavily. This makes Skyscraper
look like... Citizen
Kane.
The
film is presented here in standard definition, anamorphically
enhanced 1.78:1
widescreen with a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix on the DVD
format. I believe a Blu-ray version will be released as well,
however, I can't imagine it looking that good though as most of the
film is dark and poorly lit. Some scenes are just straight on green
screen, as if nothing better could be mustered to matte in. This is
an example of a film that had potential but didn't have any passion
behind it to make it fun. The directing and blocking is even
noticeably bad in many many scenes. What happened behind the scenes,
I'm sure, is a movie in and of itself.
Special
Features...
Behind
the Scenes Featurette
Image
Slideshow
and
Interviews with cast and crew
This
film has been in development since 2015 or maybe before, and I'd been
hearing rumors about it coming out, and was anxiously awaiting it. I
even have a few friends that have cameos in it... With so many big
names and a premise that isn't completely terrible, this was a huge
disappointment. When the day comes when a team up movie is good,
I'll be right there watching and waiting, but until then we have to
suffer through more rushed and phoned-in projects like Death
House.
A
post apocalyptic film from The Netherlands, Filmmakers Colinda
Bongers and Thijs Meuwese's Molly
(2017) is a low budget genre romp that's plenty entertaining. It's
clear from frame one what type of film that it is trying to be, but
needs a bigger budget to pull off some of its grander ideas.
A
superhero film of sorts, the film centers around Molly (played nicely
by Julia Batelaan), a young girl with 'super powers' who lives in the
woods alone and fends for herself. Armed with a bow and arrow, the
girl is able to fend off all of the bad guys that come rooting
around. Until one day, she encounters a group of Marauders who
attempt to drug her and make her fight in a mortal kombat style
fighting arena. But when she kills all those guys, and ends up
protecting a child that she finds in the wild, the bad guys come in
droves to take her down...
Molly
also stars Emma de Paauw, Joost Bolt, Annelies Appelhof, Andre
Dongelmans, and Arnost Kraus.
Molly
has some elements of several other genre films, notably the
Logan/Wolverine films and a touch of Hanna
and Mad
Max.
While not necessarily bad, the film doesn't have too great of special
effects when it comes to digital animation, but some of the sets are
pretty impressive and fight choreography not bad. One sequence
that's an anti-gravity scene is particularly well constructed and
nightmarish.
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 1.78:1 and has both lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
and 2.0 Stereo mixes on the disc, both of which come across fine, if
not the lossless sound we expect with HD releases. The score of the
film sounds pretty fun and is appropriate for the fast paced
narrative, and the overall cinematography isn't terrible by any
means. Some of the exterior shots are very stylized and have some
bright yellows that give it an otherworldly vibe.
Special
Features...
Director
Commentary
Making
of Molly
Featurette
and
a Trailer
Molly
is a fun genre film, but could have been even better if it had a
little more budget behind it.
Arrow
has a done a great job this year in remastering many Herschell Gordon
Lewis films and bringing them to Blu-ray, and they round the year out
with what may be the prolific Director's most notorious work: The
Wizard of Gore
(1970).
A
spin on the classic Grand Guignol formula, the film centers around a
bizarre magician's live show where, in front of a live audience, he
commits gruesome acts of brutality. Miraculously, he's able to
control the minds of his audience into seeing these ghastly sights
when in reality they are fabricated. Unwilling to accept this
illusion as fact when the onstage victims end up dead in real life
(in similar fashion as they were killed on stage no less), a TV
hostess and her boyfriend attempt to debunk the magic...
The
cult classic stars Ray Sager, Judy Clear, and Wayne Ratay.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
a remastered original uncompressed English LPCM 2.0 Mono track.
Seeing that this film was made on a shoestring in 1970, the audio
isn't that great and many scenes have dialogue that's muffled and
hard to make out. While I'm sure Arrow did the best they could with
the material, and the image is surprisingly intact, the audio likely
wasn't that good to begin with.
Special
Features include...
Bonus
Feature! 1968's How
to Make a Doll
Feature-length
audio commentary with Herschell Gordon Lewis and Mike Vraney
Montag
Speaks - an interview with Wizard of Gore actor Ray Sager
Stephen
Thrower on The
Wizard of Gore
The
Gore the Merrier
- An interview with Jeremy Kasten, director of the 2007 Wizard
of Gore
remake
The
Incredibly Strange Film Show
- an episode of the cult documentary series focusing on the films of
Herschell Gordon Lewis
Original
theatrical trailer
and
a Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
by Twins of Evil.
-
James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
