Cold
War Creatures: Four Films From Sam Katzman
(1955 - 1957/Creature
With The Atom Brain,
The
Werewolf,
The
Zombies Of Mora Tau,
Giant
Claw/MVD/Arrow
Blu-ray Box)/Flashback
(Blu-ray*)/Hitman's
Wife's Bodyguard
(Blu-ray w/DVD)/Midnight
In The Switchgrass
(Blu-ray*)/Profile
(2018/Universal Blu-ray)/Room
9
(DVD/*all 2021/Lionsgate)
Picture:
B/B+/B+ & B-/B+/B+/B Sound: B/B+/B+ & B-/B+/B+/B
Extras: B/C/C+/C/D/C- Films: B/C/C+/C+/C-/D
Wild
and crazy monster and horror films await you in this group of new
releases...
We
start with
an awesome genre film set from Arrow Video includes four films from
genre film producer Sam Katzman and include Creature
with the Atom Brain
(1955), The
Werewolf
(1956), The
Zombies of Mora Tau
(1957), and The
Giant Claw
(1957). All of these are the so called Cold
War Creatures,
and interesting products of their time, which was the height of the
cold war.
If
you're a fan of B-movie monsters then you will want to check out this
highly detailed box set from Arrow that is packed full of goodies.
In Creature
with the Atom Brain,
a new race of supermen are created and bodies start going missing at
the morgue... only to re-emerge inhuman! The
Giant Claw
sees a giant bird attacking the skies, whilst The
Werewolf
and Zombies
of Mora Tau
are fun in a B movie kind of way.
The
films star Morris Ankrum, S. John Launer, Jeff Morrow, Richard
Denning, Gregg Palmer, and Steven Ritch. Directors include Fred F.
Sears and Edward L. Cahn.
Cold
War Creatures
presents these restored and remastered films in 1080p high definition
on Blu-ray disc in black and white, with original widescreen aspect
ratios of 1.78:1 / 1.85:1 and audio mixes in English PCM Mono 1.0.
The films also look fantastic here and are this release certainly
bests previous versions that have been released. We recently covered
an Umbrella release of The
Werewolf
/ The
Giant Claw
which shared this same scan, but that is an Australia-only release.
Special
Features and other goodies within this set include:
Fully
illustrated 60-page collector's book featuring extensive new writing
by Laura Drazin Boyes, Neil Mitchell, Barry Forshaw, Jon Towlson and
Jackson Cooper
80-page
collector's art book featuring reproduction stills and artwork from
each film and new writing by historian and critic Stephen R. Basset
2
double-sided posters featuring newly commissioned artwork by Matt
Griffin
Reversible
sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork for each
film by Matt Griffin
DISC
1 - CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN
Brand-new
introduction by historian and critic Kim Newman
Brand-new
audio commentary by critic Russell Dyball
Sam
Katzman: Before and Beyond the Cold War Creatures,
a brand-new feature-length illustrated presentation on the life,
career and films of Sam Katzman by historian and critic Stephen R.
Bissette
Condensed
Super 8mm digest version of Creature
with the Atom Brain,
produced for home movie viewing
Theatrical
Trailer / Image Gallery
DISC
2 - THE WEREWOLF
Brand-new
introduction by critic Kim Newman
Brand-new
audio commentary by critic Lee Gambin
Beyond
Window Dressing,
a brand-new visual essay exploring the oft-overlooked role of women
in the films of Sam Katzman by historian and critic Alexandra
Heller-Nicholas
Condensed
Super 8mm home movie version of The
Werewolf,
produced for home cinema viewing
Theatrical
Trailer/Image Gallery
DISC
3 - THE ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU
Brand-new
introduction by critic Kim Newman
Brand-new
audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger
Atomic
Terror: Genre in Transformation,
a brand-new visual essay exploring the intersection of mythical
horror creatures and the rational world of science in the films of
Sam Katzman by critic Josh Hurtado.
Theatrical
Trailer
Image
Gallery
DISC
4 - THE GIANT CLAW
Brand-new
introduction by critic Kim Newman
Brand-new
audio commentary by critics Emma Westwood and Cerise Howard
Family
Endangered!,
a brand-new visual essay examining the theme of Cold War paranoia in
Sam Katzman monster movies, by critic Mike White
Condensed
Super 8mm version of The
Giant Claw,
produced for home movie viewing
and
Theatrical Trailer / Image Gallery
This
is a beautiful and fun box set from Arrow that isn't to be missed by
B-movie and genre fans alike!
A
decent psychological drug thriller, Flashback
(2021), centers on a young man named Fred (Dylan O'Brien, Maze
Runner
franchise) who deals with an early life crisis as his mother is
slowly dying, his relationship is on the rocks, and he's about to
start a new job. One day, he takes a turn down an alley and runs
into a drug addicted homeless man in an alley. His encounter makes
him have flashbacks to when he was a teenager and hooked on a drug
called Mercury. During that time he was in love with a girl (played
by the underrated actress Maika Monroe who was in The
Guest
(2014) and It
Follows)
who doing drugs with them, yet can't seem to remember what happened
to her. He can't find any trace of her online, and even after
meeting up with a couple old friends from that time, can barely
remember anything from the time either since they were all druggies.
Slowly, the memories start to come to light and we begin to remember
what happened to this woman and why she has disappeared.
The
film also stars Hannah Gross, Keir Gilchrist, Amanda Brugel, and
Emory Cohen.
Flashback
is presented in 1080p high definition with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and a
widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and an audio mix in lossless
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix. The film is shot very
cinematically and has a very good soundtrack as well. There's a lot
of weird effects that make the viewer feel like they are on drugs at
some point with blurry movement and music that makes you sound
seasick at times.
Special
Features include:
Deleted
Scenes
Director's
Commentary
and
Trailer
Flashback
is a weird film in that it's a sort of romance story, but a
commentary on drugs too and how quickly one can succumb to a path of
becoming a junkie or stay on track. If you like trippy drugged out
movies with addiction commentaries then this may be one for you to
watch.
Ryan
Reynolds plays up his comedic presence (out of a Deadpool costume
sadly) In The
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
(2021,) an action sequel that reunites him with Samuel L. Jackson
after hit 2017 film The
Hitman's Bodyguard.
There are a few other pretty famous faces in the film too with
Morgan Freeman, Salma Hayek, and Antonio Banderas. For those of you
familiar with Desperado
and Robert Rodriguez's El
Mariachi Trilogy,
it's a fun casting choice to see Hayek and Banderas together onscreen
again, only this time instead of being husband and wife, they are
enemies. It did kind of make me yearn for another El
Mariachi
movie in that sense. That casting tidbit aside, Hitman's
Wife's Bodyguard
is pure action / comedy silliness and doesn't hold back from being a
popcorn munching romp from frame one.
While
both very different people, they are highly efficient at murder.
Daius (Jackson) and Michael Bryce (Reynolds) get into another crazy
caper when they cross paths with Darius' wife (Hayek) and stuck in
the midst of a global takeover plot with Banderas at the helm.
The
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
is presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and a
widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and paired with nice sounding audio
mixes in lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown, both 48kHz,
24-bit) sound. This mix is quite nice and the same on the 4K UHD
version of the film, which we sadly aren't covering here. While the
image isn't as defined as that version, the sound mix is the same.
There's also a standard definition DVD of the film, which lacks even
more definition. All in all though for the format they are top of
the line.
Special
Features:
Ryan,
Sam, Salma: One F'd Up Family
Featurette
Gone
Soft: The New Michael Bryce
Featurette
Hitman's
Wife's Bodyguard: #stuntlife
Featurette
On
the Set of Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
Featurette
Gag
Reel and Theatrical Trailers
If
you like loud silly Hollywood action comedies with a big cast and
lots of bullets flying, then The
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
will sure to entertain.
Megan
Fox, Bruce Willis, and Emile Hirsh star in Midnight
in the Switchgrass
(2021). The crime drama is pretty well made and has some strong
performances in it. The film has a pretty real feel to it as if it
could actually happen or has happened. The story follows an FBI
agent and a Florida State Officer who team up to solve some missing
murders involving young women. Lukas Haas (Mars
Attacks)
is an actor you don't see too much of nowadays but who plays the
killer and does a decent job at it. Overall, I'd say that Midnight
in the Switchgrass
isn't necessarily bad, but more like nothing too original that hasn't
been done before.
The
film also features Machine Gun Kelly, Sistine Stallone, and Jackie
Cruz. The film is directed by Randall Emmett, who has directed a
bunch of other Bruce Willis starring movies in recent years such as
Hard
Kill,
Survive
the Night,
Out of
Death,
10
Minutes Gone,
and Trauma
Center.
Midnight
in the Switchgrass
is presented in 1080p high definition with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and a
widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossless English DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 mix, both of which are of the norm for the format.
The movie is nicely shot, color-corrected and there aren't any
visible flaws in the presentation.
Special
Features: Director's Commentary and a Trailer.
Timur
Bekmambetov is an interesting genre filmmaker even if he may have a
few interesting efforts such as Abraham
Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,
Nightwatch
and the once popular Angelina Jolie film, Wanted.
In Profile
(2018), we get sucked into a computer and see everything and we would
if we were on a fly on the wall between a woman and a man. This
concept gets really tiresome after a few moments, but Timur sticks to
his guns and makes us prisoners inside a computer for the full
runtime in what is pegged 'Screenlife' format.
The
film stars Valene Kane, Morgan Watkin, and Christine Adams.
In
the film, a British journalist in her quest to bait and expose a
terrorist recruiter through social media. However, she ends up
getting in over her head and may become the very thing she originally
sought to expose.
Profile
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and a lossless,
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix. The film looks and sounds
fine on the Blu-ray format and due to the nature of the film doesn't
really leave one wanting to see it in a higher format.
No
extras.
Profile
tries to put its audience inside a computer as a fly on the wall, and
while this concept may have been okay for a short, it just gets so
boring after a while in a feature.
Last
and least, making an independent horror film isn't easy, but usually
if you have a big name or two attached then you might get the
interest of some horror movie fans. In the case of Room
9
(2021), they cast a few lower end horror icons such as Michael
Berryman (The
Hills Have Eyes),
Kane Hodder (Jason from Friday
the 13th
films 7 through 10), and the underrated actress Scout Taylor Compton
(Rob Zombie's Halloween
films) in an attempt to spice up the film. Unfortunately, none of
these actors have much to work with here and the result is an editing
nightmare and a story that makes hardly any sense. I can usually be
forgiving for low budget horror, but there isn't much of anything you
can take away from this steaming pile. It's just... bad.
The
story of the film centers on a black couple who were brutally slain
in a small hotel in the late 1970s, and now decades later the bloody
ritual killings have begun again. A masked killer tortures and
murders people in the name of this forgotten crime. A young woman
named Star (Compton) is haunted by horrific visions that could be
tied to these killings... That's about all I could pull out of this
plot-wise.
Room
9 is
presented in standard definition, anamorphically enhanced DVD with a
1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy English Dolby Digital 5.1
sound, both of which are the standard for the format. Lionsgate did
what it could with what it had to work with, but this low budget film
was shot on a lower-grade digital camera with some video noise
evident at times. It kind of works for the kind of movie this is
though.
The
only special feature is a trailer.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
