For William Castle buffs, Mill Creek recently offered you the chance to witness some of his best films in the five movie set on DVD. And they have also released these titles in double bills on Blu-Ray. William Castle movie are already fun and novel horror films with some fine gimmicks, watching them in bunches pairs provides a fun experience altogether. William Castle was a one of a kind director and showman and this is a neat collection for horror fanatics. There’s “13 Ghosts” from 1960 starring Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, and Rosemary DeCamp respectively.
Category Archives: Collector’s Den
Hardcore Henry (2016) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
All I have to say is thank goodness “Hardcore Henry” bombed, even after its unique publicity campaign. I’d really hate to have five other movies out there in theaters trying to copy this wretched movie’s formula. “Hardcore Henry” isn’t even really a movie, as it has no narrative, zero characterization, and is essentially just a series of cut scenes from a video game meant to evoke the fantasies of fourteen year old boys with rage issues. The plot, I use the term loosely, feels like a concept for an NES game in 1991, where LJN saw “Robocop” and decided to create their own clone. “Hardcore Henry” is essentially like watching someone play a video game.
At first it’s a novelty then it becomes incredibly monotonous. Even with director Ilya Naishuller putting our hero through the wringer as he pulls out people’s intestines, battles a flame throwing assassin, and watches soldiers bounce from grenade explosions, I was bored by it all. It’s not so much that the movie is so fast and relentlessly loud, but it’s too fast to the point where the running, chasing, fighting and explosions become so repetitive. I eventually began to grow so accustomed to exploding heads, and bodies being thrown off buildings, that I was wishing for one moment where characters would sit down and explain something, or discuss a bit of exposition that didn’t sound like video game instructions.
To make the events so dull and miserable, character Henry conveniently has no voice, making him easily the most paper thin action hero in movie history. Without a personality, emotions, a voice, or even occasional glimpses at his face and reactions, all we’re left with is a stale attempt to turn the viewer in to some sort of avatar for an action hero who is indestructible and blowing people up left and right without consequence. It doesn’t help that the movie seems to realize it has no story of substance and leans heavily on long drawn out action and weak moments of suspense. The further Henry flees from the super secret cyborg making organization led by the albino psychic mutant guy, the less sense the movie makes.
We all know the minute we see the group of undead cyborgs that Henry will have to fight them all at the same time to get to the final boss of the movie, so why should we even care about why they were invented, and what threats they serve? “Hardcore Henry” is a miserable, and tedious gimmick that feels like cut scenes from a stale Sega CD beat em up game, spliced together to form a limp cinematic experience. It’s a cheap, shallow gimmick that I’m glad failed, and it’s one I hope never catches on.
The Blu-Ray release comes with a Digital Copy. We’re given four deleted scenes emphasizing Henry’s battles, and a twelve minute fan chat with supporting actor Sharlto Copley and Writer/Director Ilya Naishuller, both of whom answer fan questions. Finally there are two audio commentaries. There’s one with Director and Producer Ilya Naishuller who covers the movie in very fine detail including the pacing, visual effects and much more. The second audio commentary features Director and Producer Ilya Naishuller and Star and Executive Producer Sharlto Copley, both of whom cover the same line of insight and details from the first commentary, with Copley adding his own interplay.
Sing Street (2016) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
Very few films can manage to understand how music is a very important aspect of life and can sometimes drive us and move us in to aspirations, inspiration, and love. The other great music film released in 2016 was “Everybody Wants Some!!” While Linklater explored how music is the soundtrack of our lives, John Carney’s masterpiece “Sing Street” is about how music can launch us in to realms we never knew were there. Music can open up doors and allow us to see things about ourselves that are incredible, and sometimes very ugly. A beautiful amalgam of “Almost Famous,” and “Say Anything,” with a hint of “Once,” John Carney is again at his top conveying a musical drama centered on more impoverished characters.
Carney sets his film in the middle of 1985 in Dublin where our trio of protagonists is obsessed with music. For them music seems to be the only salvation in the drudgery that is their everyday lives. Conor is a teen approaching high school who manages to ignore his parents’ dying marriage and the failure of role models like his big brother and father with music. When we first see him he’s playing his guitar in his room attempting to tune out his mother and father arguing with one another, and then uses their rage to fuel his creativity. He reaches an epiphany when his older brother Conor helps him realize that music is what’s keeping the world in motion, as music videos cover the general stratosphere of local television.
Conor decides to form a band of his own as a means of coping with going to a public school run by his local church. The seams almost come together at once for Conor who begins to come of age through musical expression, all the while falling head over heels for unique beauty and aspiring model Raphina. “Sing Street” brings us through the journey of Conor and his band, as they try to create their own style of music all the while steering through a school that openly promotes conformity and is run by a very abusive head priest. Carney taps in to the magic of the eighties beautifully, revealing how they influence Conor and his friends to concoct their own unique style of music, while doling out the hits from bands like Duran Duran and The Clash.
Everything from the performances, to the narrative, right down to the music is incredible, while Ferdia Walsh-Peelo is pitch perfect as the awkward Conor who begins to blossom the more he embraces his individuality. Despite blunt violent rebuttals from the school bully, and the school’s staff, Conor inspires others to flash their individuality proudly. This helps him cope with the startling realization that failure and lack of fulfillment surround him, and he has to find a way to escape before he’s eventually dragged down in to the slums. Along with Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton is excellent as enigmatic Raphina who becomes Conor’s virtual muse, and Jack Reynor the older brother and mentor to Conor who represents everything he could be, for better and for worse.
John Carney just continues impressing with brilliant, beautiful tributes to the magic of music and how much is represents the language of life. “Sing Street” is an absolute masterpiece. Featured in the release from Anchor Bay is the Digital Copy for consumers. There’s “Making Sing Street” a five minute exploration of the film’s story, how John Carney used his own experiences in the film, and how the film conveys his own wish fulfillment. Writer/Director John Carney & Adam Levine Talk Sing Street is a three minute discussion about the movie mixing music and film together and the realistic depictions of the 80’s. Finally, there is the Cast Auditions, which feature a slew of audition reels from the cast. There’s an introduction from John Carney, and footage featuring Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Mark McKenna, Ben Carolan, and more.
Midnight Movie Madness 50 Movie MegaPack (DVD/Digital)
For movie buffs and collectors looking to gather up some classic schlock and silly horror films, “Mill Creek Entertainment” brings us a 50 Movie MegaPack DVD Set of some their worst and most infamous horror films. Thrown in to the mix, there are some science fiction, juvenile terror movies like “I Accuse My Parents,” and even the George Hamilton starring “Evel Knievel.” Further digging in to the selection of fifty titles, there’s 1944’s “Delinquent Daughters,” the Francis Ford Coppola horror classic “Dementia 13,” the slasher “Driller Killer,” and 1977’s “Drive In Massacre.”
There’s the deliriously bad but hilarious science fiction action film “Future Hunters” starring Robert Patrick, and Bruce Le, William Castle’s fun “House on Haunted Hill,” the early Brandon Lee starring stinker “Laser Mission,” the classic MST3K spoofed “Manos-The Hands of Fate,” the so bad it’s great drug hysteria movie “Reefer Madness,” the goofy science fiction film “Slipstream,” the classic dwarfsploitation movie “The Terror of Tiny Town,” and the Fred Williamson post apocalyptic science fiction film “Warriors of the Wasteland.” All movies come packed in a cardboard box by Mill Creek and in paper sleeves. I have to say I miss the plastic clam cases, but maybe it’s a cost thing.
This year movie collectors might enjoy knowing that Mill Creek Entertainment has taken to the digital world, allowing their consumers to redeem their fifty megapack purchases for digital libraries for their laptops, cell phones, and Ipads. Much like every other home release, the consumers will be given a unique code with their purchase, allowing them to redeem their movie packs in digital form at Mill Creek’s new service Watch.MillCreekEnt.Com where they can watch them, stream them, or download them.
Bad Moon (1996) [Blu-Ray]
Eric Red’s “Bad Moon” is a brutally underrated werewolf movie that, much like “Fright Night,” takes a classic Hitchcock movie and twists it to his own conventions. “Bad Moon” is a take off of “Shadow of a Doubt” where a sister is forced to confront her beloved brother’s evil side and realize that their once picturesque relationship was a complete lie the whole time. “Bad Moon” comes in at a little under eighty minutes, but is a tight and brisk horror thriller that is very well written and directed. Granted it has some of the special effects trappings of the nineties with a somewhat weird werewolf transformation, but at least director Red tries his damndest to show pure evil lurking within the heart of a once good man.
“Bad Moon” stars Mariel Hemingway as a tough as nails lawyer and single mother Janet. She lives alone with her son Brett and his over protective German Shepherd Thor. Thor is an especially close guardian of his two owners who is smarter than an average watch dog and seems to know much more than any dog on planet Earth. After Janet re-connects with her long lost brother Ted, she and her son Brett, along with Thor visit him to learn he’s kind of falling apart and isolated after his travels. Before they reunited, Ted was attacked in Nepal by a vicious monster that wounded him before he murdered it in self defense. After local hikers begin turning up dead, Ted moves in with his sister Janet and soon he begins forming an adversarial relationship with their guard dog Thor.
Despite Ted’s best efforts to remain secretive and cryptic with his sister and nephew, Thor is very suspicious of Ted and begins lurking in his trailer and following him around. This prompts Ted to try and devise a new way to be rid of Thor, before he helps Janet and Brett find out his ultimate secret as a werewolf. Michael Pare is a wonderful villain, who begins the narrative as charming and very well meaning, but begins to sour gradually as he realizes Thor isn’t just a passive family pet. The performances all around are fantastic, especially by dog performer Primo, who plays the protective guardian Thor. Thor is a remarkable guard for his family who looks for ways to warn them, as Ted becomes increasingly dangerous and comes to the realization that the only way he can protect himself is by eliminating Janet and Brett from his life.
Michael Pare does a damn good job as villainous Ted, working hard to convey a sense of rotted humanity within him, doing the work until Red reveals the werewolf in the light, and then the bang up special effects complete the transformation. Considering the budget and period, the special effects and monster of “Bad Moon” still looks incredible in motion and Red’s strong direction matched with the excellent editing offer up a wonderful climax you’ll have a difficult time being sucked in to. It’s a shame “Bad Moon” gets looked over in the annals of great werewolf movies as Eric Red provides a thrilling, exciting, and creepy horror movie soaked in a simple family drama.
The Blu-Ray release from Scream Factory comes with the theatrical edit and director’s cut of “Bad Moon.” The difference is a mere thirty seconds, where there’s slightly more gore and nudity in the prologue, while director Red trims down the digital transformation in the climax. The Director’s Cut comes with an audio commentary with director Eric Red alone, who provides an informative session here. He discusses everything from the screenplay, casting, and effects work, right down to cutting most of the digital transformation. The Theatrical Edit comes with an audio commentary with cast member Michael Pare, director Eric Red and John Fallon of Arrow in the Head.
It’s an okay commentary with Pare and Red being the highlight. Both cuts come with “Nature of the Beast: The Making of ‘Bad Moon’” a thirty five minute informative look at the making of the film, with interviews from the cast and crew, and how Eric Red became involved with the film itself. There’s the unrated opening sequence, clocking in at six minute, which establishes the location and gives Ted’s girlfriend a little more exposition before the sex scene. There’s the Transformation Sequence Storyboards, The Storyboards for the climactic fight between Thor and Werewolf Ted, Storyboards for Ted and Thor staring each other down, and finally the original trailer for “Bad Moon.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016): Ultimate Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
From the man who gave us such rousing successes as “Sucker Punch” comes a new vision of Batman and Superman that’s pitch black, violent, and painfully stupid. Zack Snyder is a man with so much admiration for Alan Moore and Frank Miller, he spends the majority of “Batman v Superman” ripping them off wholesale. Snyder’s film is such a botched job he works in reverse, and takes the time out to deconstruct his vision of the iconic superheroes we haven’t even gotten to know yet. But hey, at least we get to see Bruce Wayne’s parents murdered in an alleyway once again. To make matters worse, the film is long, overstuffed, and painfully boring.
Slasher: Season One [Blu-Ray]
When last we saw Katie McGrath, she was suffering a cruel and unnecessary death in “Jurassic World,” and has now entered the sub-genre of the slasher film. A skosh more entertaining and engrossing than “Scream,” Chiller TV’s “Slasher” is a very entertaining, and tense slasher film that mixes in elements of a murder mystery in the process. I had no expectations for “Slasher,” and surely enough it won me over after two episodes, working within the confines of the slasher sub-genre, while also side stepping some of the more common clichés here and there. Much like “Scream,” main character Sarah comes from a small town where everyone has skeletons in their closets.