Devil's
Workshop (2022/Lionsgate
Blu-ray)/Face Of The Devil
(2014/DVD*)/Lust
(2007/DVD*)/Magnificent
Warriors (1987/88
Films*/Blu-ray/*all MVD)/Roh
(2019/Film Movement DVD)/Straight
To VHS (2021/IndiePix
DVD)
Picture:
B+/B-/B-/B/B-/B- Sound: B- (Devil: B+) Extras:
D/D/C/B/C/C- Films: C-/C+/C+/C+/C+/C
Here's
a new group of B-movie genre films, including a curio with a big star
who is an Oscar nominee....
The
Devil's Workshop
(2022) is
a mean spirited horror/ drama that stars Radha Mitchell, Timothy
Granaderos, and Emile Hirsch. Centering on a struggling actor
(Granaderos) whose trying to beat out a fellow actor (Hirsch) for the
role of a demonologist in a movie. Desperate to nail his audition,
he shadows a real-life demonologist (Mitchell) for the weekend at her
secluded home, where she dives into his past and breaks him down in a
satanic ritual. Mitchell is pretty creepy in the film, which is a
different sort of role for her to play. The climactic scene
(SPOILER) sees Radha as a demon in full body make-up, which is pretty
well done, however, the digital fire effects that follow are a bit
rough and drawn out to an obnoxious degree.
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an
MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a lossless,
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The film has a
music video feel at moments in its transitions where it randomly cuts
to fast moving images set to hip hop music. Perhaps in an attempt to
make the film flashier, but instead makes it feel a bit disjointed.
For
reasons unknown, the film employs a sound effect from Jurassic
Park for the opening title card. Not sure how they got away with
this as the sound of the T-Rex roaring is pretty iconic and has
nothing to do with the film otherwise. Guess they just thought it
sounded cool.
The
only extra is a trailer.
The
Devil's Workshop has some moments, but all in all feels a bit
disjointed and angry.
Frank
Perez-Garland's supernatural horror Face Of The Devil (2014)
lands on disc stateside from MVD. A Peruvian supernatural horror
film, young city-goers go to the Peruvian Amazon where they encounter
the Tunche, a supernatural demon that kills them off one by one. Not
terrible for a lower budgeted film, there are some interesting
filmmaking moments and the unusual setting makes it worth checking
out for horror fans.
The
film stars Vania Accinelli, Sergio Gjurinovic, and Vanessa Saba.
Face
of the Devil is presented in anamorphically
enhanced standard definition DVD with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 1.78:1 and a lossy Dolby Digital Spanish 5.1 surround mix
with English subtitles. The presentation isn't bad for the aging DVD
format and would be nice to see on Blu-ray.
The
only extra are trailers.
Lust
(2017) is
a silly Norwegian gore-film with huge plot holes and a lot of
predictable moments. A famous crime writer (Magdalena From Delis,
who does a pretty good job in the role all things considered) gets
attacked in her home when a hand grabs her by the ankle whilst she's
leaving bed. She's unable to shake the trauma of this stalker, who
keeps sending her videos of her sleeping and out in public and
freaking her out.
Eventually,
she even gets a very disturbing video of sexual assault whilst she
was sleeping. Instead of being smart about things and going to the
authorities, she ends up consumed by the terror and eventually
becomes a psycho killer herself. Not even her psychiatrist can help
her! What the film is trying to say I'm not really sure. I guess
that she is just plan crazy as the ending makes little to no sense.
The
film also stars Severin Eskeland, Jimmi Salomonsen, and Fredrik
Skavlan.
Lust
is presented in anamorphically
enhanced, standard definition on DVD with a 2.35:1 widescreen
aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital audio mix. The film is
shot on video and mainly takes place in a home. The style is
professional and looks and sounds pretty decent considering the
budget and resources they likely had. Compression is evident due to
the format.
Special
Features:
Trailer
Stills
Behind
The Scenes featurette
and
Behind The Scenes: SFX.
David
Chung's Magnificent
Warriors (1987) is a
martial arts import from decades ago that was also part of a cycle of
films anxious to imitate Raiders
Of The Lost Ark (1981)
and (though not here) its Temple
Of Doom (1984) sequel.
Looking as good as many of them and about as good as any of them (I
thought most just did not work and were way too late to the Jones
party) and has a female lead, which is progressive versus all the
male-lead imitators and female lead films that were disappointments
at the time (Supergirl)
or disasters (Sheena).
The
twist here in this film set in 1938 during WWII, the female heroine
is an ace fighter pilot for China fighting invading Japanese
Imperialists and best of all, is played by Michele Yeoh!
Yes,
this was when they kept giving her last names that were allegedly
easier for audiences in the states and English-speaking countries to
'relate' to, but even here as was the case in all her early films,
the camera loves her and she is a star. Nothing like an action star
(including one of the most underrated of the Bond Gals) who can
actually act!
So
we do get comedy here with some good fight scenes and even when the
budget limits show, none of the effects are bad digital effects and
the outdoor cinematography is consistently good. Unfortunately, it
is much of what we have seen before, but unlike the other raiders
imitators, this can harken back to the huge old hit silent Perils
Of Penelope
serials at times and is worth a look if you like this kind of film
and Yeoh herself. I won't spoil any surprises, but it has the pace
expected for the genre and the supporting actors are just fine.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is from a new
2K scan of the 35mm full color camera and like the Indiana Jones
films and (surprisingly, its many imitators) was shot with real
anamorphic Panavision lenses. It looks good, has some fine color,
better definition and detail than you might expect and even some demo
shots, so be prepared to be a little surprised.
The
PCM 2.0 Mono sounds as good as it can for its age, though by this
time, almost all major Hollywood films were being issued in older
A-type Dolby Stereo, the lesser imitator Ultra Stereo or even (like
the Indiana Jones films) offering 6-track sound on 70mm blow-up
prints. Dolby even introduced its most advanced analog system this
very year, SR (aka Spectral Recording) starting with the original
Robocop.
In all that, it sounds fine. A lesser PCM 2.0 Mono English dub is
included.
Extras
include a full color poster, reversible cover and nicely
illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and great
illustrations, while the disc adds a stills gallery, several
trailers, original U.S. opening, a feature
length audio commentary track with
Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng and separate vintage interviews with
Michelle Yeoh and Tung Wai.
Roh
(2019,
also known as Soul)
is an interesting Malaysian Malay-language horror film from Film
Movement that's worth checking out. The film centers on a strange
young girl encounters a mother and her two children who live in a
forest full of evil spirits. They encounter a young girl who warns
them of incoming death. Soon, the evil of the forest engulfs them
and things get pretty wild and deadly. Effective filmmaking and an
interesting folk horror tale.
The
film stars Farah Ahmad, Mhia Farhana, Harith Haziq, Namron, June
Lojong, and Putri Qaseh. The film is directed by Emir Ezwan.
Roh
is presented in an anamorphically
enhanced, standard definition DVD with a 1.85:1 widescreen
aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 Malaysian sound mix with
English subtitles. Compression is evident due to the aging format's
limitations and maybe the budget.
Special
Feature is a making of featurette.
Finally,
a fun fan documentary of a lost cult film that turns into a feature
of its own, Straight
to VHS
(2021) explores Act
of Violence Upon a Young Journalist,
a 1988 Uruguayan cult film shot on VHS and created by a enigmatic
filmmaker Manuel Lamas. This documentary film by director Emilio
Silva Torres dives deep into the mysterious movie's making as he
attempts to track down the makers and ends of becoming a part of the
film himself. The result is kinda silly but an interesting way to
make a sequel nonetheless.
The
film stars Alfonso Tort, Manuel Lamas, Rozana Blanco, Agustin
Ferrando, and Martin Buscaglia.
Straight
to VHS is presented in an
anamorphically enhanced, standard definition on DVD with a
full frame aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio mix. The
film bounces between nicely shot modern day footage and VHS footage
from the film and so there is a contrast between the the two styles.
I'm not sure if DVD was the best format to release the film since
it's trying to show this, but here we are anyway. Compression is
evident due to the format.
Special
Features:
The
original film with subtitles
Trailer
for this film and other titles from the video company.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Warriors) and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
