American
Nightmares (2018/MVD
DVD)/Brutal
(2018*)/DIS
(2017/*both MVD/Unearthed Blu-ray)/Fifth
Cord (1971**)/Horror
Express
(1972/**both MVD/Arrow Blu-ray)
Picture:
B-/C-/B+/B+/B Sound: B-/C-/B/B/B Extras: C-/C/B/B/B
Films: C/C/C/B/B+
Here's
a wide sampling of horror thrillers, good
and bad...
From
the creators of Tales
From The Hood
comes American
Nightmares
(2018), which is a technology based anthology horror film that works
in some moments and is painfully predictable in others. Starring
Danny Trejo as Mr. Malevolent (who resembles Coffin Joe) whose a
hacker that forces two millennials to watching seven sinister horror
tales.
The
film also features Vivica A. Fox, Ella Arro, Rachel Axelrod, Jay
Mohr, Chris Kattan, Cleo Berry, Gabriel Brown, Yuri Brown, Bradley
Bundlie, and Kate Butler to name a few.
The
seven different short stores are Mates,
The Prosecutor, White Flight, The Samaritan, Hate Radio, The Healer,
and They
Will Be Done.
Presented
in standard definition, anamorphically enhanced on DVD with an
anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a lossy Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix, the film looks and sounds fine for the format.
Compression issues are there, but the overall presentation doesn't
have any noticeable issues outside of its limitations.
The
only extra are trailers for American
Nightmares
and other MVD releases.
American
Nightmares
isn't simply a Z-grade horror picture and nothing too groundbreaking
and at times hilariously over the top.
A
series of gruesome murders are happening in Japan. A psychopath man
kidnaps women, he kills them in the most brutal and vicious way
possible. At the same time a murderess is doing the same thing for
men, honey-trapping men and leaving a trail of dead bodies in her
wake. But when the two meet, what will they do?
In
Takashi Hirose's Brutal
(2018), an
overweight man kidnaps beautiful woman and beats them to death with
his bare hands and raping them to death with knives. A beautiful
woman/black widow seduces men and then kills them for lusting after
her. Both are damaged goods, the man angry for being the social
outcast/loser, the woman tired of being a rape victim. Both of them
are sexually frustrated and have self mutilated their own genitals
(so that nobody else can abuse them), they can no long have normal
relationships instead they express their 'love' with violence and
murder. And when they meet and discover each other they can only
beat and kill each other to the death as they cry over their own
losses.
This
was violent movie, brutality for brutality's sake, it gives insight
to what happens when a man or woman just can't take it anymore and
into the minds of psychopathic killers. Unfortunately this was very
poor copy for a Blu-ray format, the 1080p 2.35 X 1 picture was
unfocused and scratchy, and the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 sound
(stereo?) had static in the background throughout. Even if done on
purpose, which is hard to tell, this is awful. Extras include behind
the scenes, music videos and trailers.
Adrian
Corona's DIS
(2017) is a demonic thriller that is sure to make you feel uneasy
starting with its sexually explicit opening and ending sequences.
Divided into three parts, DIS
is a dark look at sex magick and the mandrake legend and depends more
on visual and auditory cues than a straightforward narrative or
dialogue. This makes the film a short 61 minute journey into a
virtual hell on earth. Interesting and challenging from an artistic
perspective, DIS
isn't necessarily a comfortable or fun watch.
DIS
stars Bill Oberst Jr., Lori Jo Hendrix, Peter Gonzales Falcon, Manuel
Dominguez, and Anne Voitsekhova.
An
ex-solider (Oberst Jr.) takes refuge in a creepy woods and comes
across an unusual vandalized building. Within the building is a
masked demon who takes pleasure in killing in an attempt to feed his
mandrake garden. As the ex-soldier ends up captured, he experiences
an unholy sanctuary for demonic evil and becomes a victim himself.
The
film is presented on 1080p Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 1.85:1 and a nice sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy mix. DIS
is
very nicely shot with plenty of detail on the trees in the woods and
the graffiti on the walls. Even some of the more darkly lit scenes
come across looking fine here.
Special
Features include...
Introduction
by Director Adrian Corona
Behind
the Scenes
Interview
with Bill Oberst Jr.
Portrait
- A Short Film
Still
Gallery
and
Trailers
DIS
is more a surreal artistic film than an attempt at narrative. It's
one of those 'you either love it or hate it' kind of films. I find
myself somewhere in between. If you like films like VVitch
(which is reviewed elsewhere on this site), then you may find this
sadistic flick worth checking out.
Franco
Nero (the original Django)
stars in The
Fifth Cord
(1971), another Italian giallo to add to Arrow's growing HD library.
The traditional story of a Detective (Nero) whose trying to solve a
case where women keep being murdered and becomes a suspect himself.
Shot beautifully and directed by Luigi Bazzoni, this is a landmark
film that shines brighter than before than to this new HD remaster.
The
film also stars Silvia Monti, Wolfgang Preiss, Ira von Furtstenberg,
Edmund Purdom, Rossella Fulk, and Renato Romano.
The
Fifth Cord
has been remastered in 2K from its original camera negative in this
new presentation exclusive to Arrow. The film is presented in its
original 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and has original lossless
tracks in PCM 1.0 Mono in Italian (with English subtitles) or English
dubs. The cinematography is by Vittorio Storaro (who later went on
to shoot Apocalypse
Now
(among so many others) and win an Oscar), and is very surreal and
effective.
Special
Features include...
New
audio commentary by critic Travis Crawford
Lines
and Shadows,
a new video essay on the film's use of architecture and space by
critic Rachael Nisbet
Whisky
Giallore,
a new video interview with author and critic Michael Mackenzie
Black
Day for Nero,
a new video interview with actor Franco Nero
The
Rhythm Section,
a new video interview with film editor Eugenio Alabiso
Rare,
previously unseen deleted sequence, restored from the original
negative
Original
Italian and English theatrical trailers
Image
gallery
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt
Love
and
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new
writing on the film by Kat Ellinger and Peter Jilmstad
Previously
released on Blu-ray and DVD from Severin Films back in 2011, Spanish
Director Eugneio Martin's Horror
Express
(1972) starring Sir Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing gets a
startling new 2K restoration from the original elements courtesy of
Arrow Video. Previously in the public domain, this film has a very
similar tone to a Hammer production (aside from just having Lee and
Cushing in the leads), and a quite interesting and effective monster.
This is a true horror classic and a film certainly not to be missed
if you haven't seen it.
The
film also stars Telly Savalas, Alberto de Mendoza, Silvia Tortosa,
and Julio Pena.
A
mysterious English anthropologist (Lee) has discovered a frozen
monster in the frozen wastes of Manchuria which he believes may be
the Missing Link. He brings the creature back to Europe aboard a
Trans-Siberian express, but during the trip the monster comes back to
startling life, leaving an interesting mark on each of its victims...
The
film as mentioned is a new 2K restoration and presented on 1080p
Blu-ray disc with its original aspect ratio as 1.66:1 and paired with
an English LPCM Mono mix. Comparable to the previous Severin
release, the transfer is a tad sharper here and overall is a solid
presentation of the film that hasn't shown much age surprisingly.
Special
Features include a few carted over from the Severin release and a few
new featurettes as well. We get...
A
brand new audio commentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Introduction
to the film by film journalist and Horror Express super-fan Chris
Alexander
Murder
on the Trans-Siberian Express
- an interview with director Eugenio Martin
Notes
from the Blacklist
- Horror
Express
producer Bernard Gordon on working in Hollywood during the McCarthy
Era
Telly
and Me
- an interview with composer John Cacavas
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
and
First Pressing Only: Fully-illustrated collector's booklet with new
writing by Adam Scovell
This
is an interesting film that could potentially get remade and still be
pretty cool. This definitely is required viewing for fans of Hammer
and/or Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Of course, this is a great
change from the many decades that only awful video copies existed.
You can read more about the film and the earlier Severin version at
this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11303/Doctor+Blood%E2%80%99s+Coffin+(1961/MGM+L
-
Ricky Chiang (Brutal)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
