Debug (2014)

The latest spin on the hoary old chestnut of Hapless Indviduals Pitted Against Superior Intelligence - In Space!, is actor-turned director David Hewlett's DEBUG, which is getting a UK DVD release by Signature Entertainment. It's a Canadian shot low budget affair with gleaming interiors thanks to crisp photography from Gavin Smith. How much you'll enjoy it will probably depend on how many versions of this story you've seen before.

In deep space six naughty young computer programmers convicted of cyber-crimes have to debug a great big spaceship as punishment for what they have done. What they don't realise is that the ship's own intelligence has become far greater than they were expecting, and that it has no intention of being switched off. By exploiting each of the programmers' weaknesses (and that of the security guard with them) it bumps them off until there are only a couple left, leading to the predictable showdown.

DEBUG starts off threatening to become a confuse-fest of SHOCKWAVE DARKSIDE proportions. There's a scene-setting caption. Then each of the characters is introduced by a blink and you'll miss it computer readout of who they are and what their crimes were, but if you really want to read it you'll have to hit the pause button. After that it settles down and becomes a haunted house in space picture. The characters are constructed of the thinnest cardboard, and their demises are all the less affecting for their unlikeabilty. While it looks good, DEBUG can't compete with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for a rogue computer gone wild. I'm sure it's not trying to. The problem is it can't compete with BLAKE'S 7 in terms of acting and character development either, and by the end the viewer is left with a mental list of productions that have dealt with the subject matter so much better.

Signature's DVD is bit like the film itself, in that it looks great but is bare bones, with a lack of extras that would have been welcome to flesh out the package. 

Signature are releasing David Hewlett's DEBUG on Region 2 DVD on 3rd November 2014

The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre (2013)

Another complete unknown for the DVD player here at HMC.      

         Occasionally these movies are under-rated classics, most have something worth taking note of, and sadly a few turn out to be awful rubbish. THE SPANISH CHAINSAW MASSACRE is not rubbish, but it is completely and utterly mental and will best suit those with very short attention spans and the capacity to deal with overwhelming amounts of extremely silly hardcore gore. And terrible acting. And lots of shouting. And possibly the worst subtitle translations I have ever come across (see below for examples).

The Metal Cocks are the fattest, stupidest, fartiest heavy metal band in Spain and quite possibly the world. En route to a gig in Galicia  organised by their shouty, overacting and quite possibly dubbed record promoter, they break down in the village of ‘Gutierrez’s town’. The villagers have some strange traditions including cooking naked and dressing up as clowns to torture people to death in front of giggling schoolchildren. They are awaiting the return of the town's saint, the history of whom they attempt to explain in a garbled widescreen black and white flashback that made no sense to me. One by one the stupid band members end up mutilated and killed, after which the film just stops.

Mercifully brief at 53 minutes (and the credits at the end run for at least five of those), and filmed on a budget of 3000 Euros, the original title of THE SPANISH CHAINSAW MASSACRE was CARNIVOROS. Its UK DVD release is apparently the first anywhere in the world, and has been cut by 32 seconds by the BBFC. It's difficult to know how to describe it, but the movie has a John Waters - HG Lewis vibe with the kind of homemade feel of grotty British filth efforts like THE PERV PARLOUR and PERVIRELLA. What everyone lacks in skill here they more than make up for with enthusiasm, and if you like your horror over the top, silly and played for laughs you could do worse than watch this one. The subtitles are translated so badly that they provide an extra level of hilarity all their own. THE SPANISH CHAINSAW MASSACRE is surprisingly better made than some of the worst we've had on here (WEREWOLF RISING, BLOODY HOMECOMING) but that wouldn't be difficult. I will freely admit that at ten minutes in I was crying with laughter but by the end I had had quite enough.

88 Films have release THE SPANISH CHAINSAW MASSACRE with no extras, a jolly cover and a catchpenny title. I can't think of much else to say other than it's probably best in enjoyed in good company and followed by something better.

88 Films released the catalogue of daft atrocities that is THE SPANISH CHAINSAW MASSACRE on DVD on 22nd September 2014

Graduation Day (1981)

It's GRADUATION DAY!

Coming in the wake of movies such as John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN and Sean Cunningham's FRIDAY THE 13TH (and especially the latter), Herb Freed's GRADUATION DAY was one of many, many films that rode the wave of the success of those ground-breaking slashers. To paraphrase Stefan Jaworzyn writing in an early issue of The Dark Side, the fact that the ground they broke quickly became as fertile as a stretch of the Ho Chi Minh trail after it had been doused with Agent Orange did nothing to stop everyone from churning out a slasher picture with titles that incorporated dates (NEW YEAR'S EVIL, MY BLOODY VALENTINE), don'ts (DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE, DON'T GO IN THE WOODS) and disastrous school events (FINAL EXAM, PROM NIGHT).  

Despite that fact that it's not as well known as some of the bigger studio slashers of the time (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, HE KNOWS YOU’RE ALONE), GRADUATION DAY isn't bad at all, and fans of these movies will no doubt be delighted to learn that it gets crazier as the running time progress.

We open with disco music, school track events, and Christopher George shouting at everyone. He's playing coach George Michaels, but before we can stop to wonder what he does to Bad Boys, where he was Last Christmas, or if anyone has to Wake Him Up Before He Go Gos, in fact even before the titles are barely over, bright young school running hopeful Laura has dropped down dead from a heart attack after winning what turns out to be her last race. Laura's sister Anne (Patch Mackenzie) returns from her stint in the navy to claim her sister's sporting award at the imminent school graduation day, staying with her rampantly alcoholic father and apologetic mother until the event. Meanwhile, members of the track team are being despatched in a number of creative and sometimes rather daft ways, including a flying football with a meat skewer on the end of it. Who is responsible?

Is it Anne? Is it Careless Christopher? Or could it be someone else chasing topless Linnea Quigley through the bushes to a delightfully demented rock and roll song performed by a band composed of goth versions of Kid Creole? I won't give away the ending because you deserve to see it for yourself, but I was extremely pleased at how daft the denouement turned out to be.

88 Films have released GRADUATION DAY on Blu-ray. This is a far better treatment than this or any other grotty early 80s slasher really deserves, and fans should revel in the opportunity to see this film in this pristine presentation. Extras include an insane introduction by Lloyd Kaufman, plus other Troma bits and pieces that those of a more ‘sophisticated’ disposition may find of interest (including a Cannibal Lesbian Hoedown Music Video directed by Kaufman) ported over from a previous Region 1 DVD release.       
        Most impressive of all the bonus bits is a feature length documentary entitled Scream Queens. This consists of as many female stars of horror movies from the 1980s onwards as High Rising Productions could find waxing lyrical on the subject, and was made especially for this 88 Films release. Scream Queens starts off threatening to concentrate on the stars of Fred Olen Ray films and worse, but it quickly settles down to feature a surprising number of actresses, many of whom have interesting contributions to make regarding the phenomenon of which they have all played a part. There’s also a short excellent talking head piece by Julian Kerswell about the making of GRADUATION DAY, lots and lots of trailers for other 88 Films releases, a reversible sleeve and booklet notes.

88 Films’ Blu-ray release of GRADUATION DAY, with its fine transfer of a crazy 1980s slasher film and its wealth of extras, represents a terrific package for fans of exploitation cinema. A lot better than I was expecting and well worth checking out.

88 Films are releasing Herb Freed's GRADUATION DAY on Blu-ray on October 13th 2014

Open Grave (2014)

Now here's a very pleasant surprise.

Occasionally a complete unknown gets popped into the player here at House of Mortal Cinema and exceeds expectations. Admittedly the bar has had to be set rather low on the basis of previous experiences, but still, it's nice to have your faith rewarded every now and then that it isn't a complete waste of time reviewing stuff that's completely unfamiliar.

A man wakes up in a mass open grave filled with corpses. He has no idea how he got there or why. A girl who either refuses to speak, or is unable to, helps him climb out. He wanders with her through a forest until they come to a house. The people within have no memory of how or why they are there either.

I'd like to say a lot more but I'm going to stop there because to continue would be to spoil what develops into an extremely satisfying horror movie. OPEN GRAVE is obviously low budget, with only a few actors and relying mainly on location filming. What's great about it is that it's been made by people who actually know what they are doing. The script is clever and keeps you guessing up until the end, the direction (by Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego) is refreshingly free of wobble-cam, and while the film-makers could have gone down the found footage route they don't, which is something to be praised in itself. Acting is fine all round as well, and I'm not afraid to admit that by the end I was rather choked up. If OPEN GRAVE had been shown at FrightFest it would easily have made my top five.

Signature's DVD is bare bones. There's a 5.1 stereo surround option but no extras or commentary track. But get it anyway. OPEN GRAVE might just be one of the best horror films you're going to see this year. It proves that any genre (or subgenre, but I'm not telling you which) can be given a fresh spin with a little talent, dedication and care. Well done to everyone - highly recommended.

Signature Entertainment are releasing OPEN GRAVE on DVD on 13th October 2014

Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)

One of those movies that truly deserves to be called a 'cult film', Stephen Chiodo's KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE arrives on UK Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Arrow Films, in a transfer that allows the picture's vivid colours to leap right off the screen and either dazzle you or give you an appalling headache depending on your sensibilities.

A large, circus tent-shaped spaceship lands close to the sort of small American movie town designed for frat house comedies where breaking wind would probably be considered a bit too highbrow. The ship / tent is the vessel of an alien race whose members resemble circus clowns of all kinds of horrible varieties. It soon turns out they've come to earth to stock their larder with human victims and intend to use various clowny methods to do it. Will our heroes be able to save the day or will the giant stompy thing that turns up at the end splat them (and the human race) into oblivion?

For some reason I never saw KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE when it came out, and Arrow's Blu-ray is therefore my first encounter with it. Coming from the Chiodo Brothers, I had assumed it would be similar to CRITTERS, the New Line picture about hairy little aliens that they had contributed effects for two years previously. In fact, they couldn't be more different. Whereas CRITTERS feels like an old-fashioned monster movie with wit, style and a good heart, KILLER KLOWNS is more like what might happen if someone whose sole job was making garish Saturday morning television for the under-fives was given a drug to make them extra hyper-active and then told to go and make a horror film. 
        There's very little plot in KILLER KLOWNS but a lot of bright colours, overacting, and ludicrous methods of despatch that all involve some aspect of clown culture. Shadow puppets, clown cars, custard pies, ventriloquism and others all serve to cause the demise of various characters. The inside of the Klowns' spaceship is a riot of dayglo colours and the Klowns themselves are bizarre enough to be weird without ever actually being that scary.

I know there's a lot of love out there for KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE but I'm sorry to have to admit that I find myself unable to add to it. It's possible that whether or not you enjoy this film will depend on how much you find clowns funny and / or scary. Sadly the clown has always been one form of entertainment that has never worked for me in any shape or form, which is probably why I didn't get on with the film at all. I'm a big fan of silly films, (I loved THE TOXIC AVENGER) but this one was too much even for me. I seem to have found my limit.

If you ARE a fan, however, Arrow's new transfer is the disc for you. The colours do indeed leap off the screen, and have such a vibrancy and intensity you'll feel as if you yourself have been locked in a room surrounded by soft brightly coloured bouncy objects for 86 minutes.

The version reviewed was the DVD so one would presume the Blu-ray looks even more sparkling. As usual Arrow comes through with a wealth of extras. The original stereo 2.0 audio track is preserved with uncompressed PCM on the Blu. There's a commentary track by the Chiodo brothers, a twenty minute Making Of, and separate interviews with stars Grant Cramer and Suzanne Snyder, visual effects supervisor Gene Warren Jr, composer John Massari, and creature fabricator Dwight Roberts. There are also deleted scenes, bloopers, auditions, and a couple of featurettes showcasing the work of the Chiodo brothers. Add in a trailer, image gallery, reversible sleeve and a booklet and it all adds up to the ultimate cult film package for one of the ultimate cult films.

Arrows Films released KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE on Dual Format Region B Blu-ray & Region 2 DVD (see bottom pic), as well as a Blu-ray Steelbook edition (see top pic) on 15th September 2014

Mark of the Devil (1969)

MARK OF THE DEVIL, Michael Armstrong's often banned, frequently cut witchfinding EuroHorror from 1969 finally makes its way onto UK DVD & Blu-ray uncut courtesy of Arrow Films after cinema screenings around the country at last year's Halloween FrightFest all-nighter. A movie with a troubled production history even before the censors started sharpening their scissors, MARK OF THE DEVIL is one of those film's whose reputation has caused it to be spoken of in the same breath as extreme cinema classics like CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and A SERBIAN FILM.

MARK OF THE DEVIL is not a classic, but then I find it hard to believe it was anyone's intention that it should be considered such. Filmed in the wake of the huge international (and especially European) success of Michael Reeves' infinitely superior WITCHFINDER GENERAL, MARK OF THE DEVIL is nothing more nor less than a rather more violent version than usual of the European knock-off picture, complete with wholly inappropriate music, intermittent acting and dubbing, and a sense of needing to touch all the exploitation bases in order to ensure an audience. Admittedly it does the horror stuff with gusto, but whether that's enough to make you want to watch it is for you to decide.

In period EuroHorrorLand (it's never exactly clear where - or when - we are) the psychotic Albino the Witchfinder (Reggie Nalder) does pretty much what he likes, revelling in torture, sadism, and anything else he fancies perpetrating upon anyone whom he decides is a servant of the devil. Into this jolly environment comes a Proper Witchfinder - Lord Cumberland (Herbert Lom) and his apprentice Christian (Udo Kier with lots of eye liner). Lord Cumberland proposes to get to the bottom of all the witchy activity in the area by even more torture while Christian gets upset because he fancies one of the accused girls. It all ends in a cataclysmic fury of rampant nihilism to rival Reeves' film, but just not as well done.

I can't admit to liking MARK OF THE DEVIL that much. Part of the problem, of course, is that it has WITCHFINDER GENERAL to live up to, which few films can, let alone a German exploitation picture directed by a Brit who then had its producer and co-star come along and change chunks of it. The violence is supremely (and, it has to be said, authentically) nasty, but the rest of the story just isn't up to justifying what we see, with the result that MARK OF THE DEVIL feels less like a satirical invective against the Catholic Church and more like a period version of BLOODSUCKING FREAKS. In the US, Hallmark releasing decided to market the film with a free vomit bag, and you never get the feeling the film deserves to be treated better than that.

Arrow's Blu-ray is uncut and looks splendid - it's another terrific restoration job. There's the choice of the English dub track or German audio with newly translated subtitles. There are quite a few extras as well. Michael Armstrong provides a new commentary track moderated by Calum Waddell. It rambles for a bit at the beginning but eventually gets underway with stories about the production. There's a fun documentary, Mark of the Times, which profiles the 1970s BritHorror film industry with the aid of Kim Newman, Norman J Warren and David McGillivray wearing the same delightful pink suit he had on at FrightFest 2013. The disc details claim this to be feature length but it actually runs for less than an hour. 

         There are numerous interviews. Some, like that with composer Michael Holm, seem to have been recorded for this new release, while others (eg Udo Kier) have been ported over from a previous German version. You also get some out-takes (nothing funny, just random snippets of clapperboards and bits and pieces), a trailer, and a look at the locations used for the movie. Michael Gingold talks about Hallmark releasing in a fun little piece entitled Hallmark of the Devil, although he neglects to tell the story of how Hallmark boss Steve Minasian came up with the idea of the vomit bag for MARK OF THE DEVIL (he had to fly back from the trade screening). There's also a gallery, a reversible sleeve, and a collector's booklet.

Arrow Films are releasing Michael Armstrong's MARK OF THE DEVIL on dual format Region A & B Blu-ray and Region 1 & 2 DVD on 29th September 2014

Night of the Comet (1984)

For a short while in the early 1980s, movies dealing with the theme of survival post-apocalypse became so plentiful as to form a subgenre all their own. This was in part due to the political climate of the time (if you weren't there believe me, the potential imminence of nuclear devastation was actually pretty terrifying), but mainly because of the huge financial success of movies like MAD MAX (everywhere but the United States) and MAD MAX 2 aka THE ROAD WARRIOR (retitled in the US - you've probably guessed why). 

          Suddenly post apocalypse movies were in, with everything from movies with the worthiest of intentions (Barry Hines' THREADS) to simple money earners (virtually everything else) being churned out everywhere (unsurprisingly, Italy made quite a few). However, while almost all of these portrayed a nihilistic future of broken societies, gang warfare, and ridiculous hair, only one grabbed the last of these three essential elements, cast two personable young actresses as the leads, and ended up with quite possibly the most good-natured post-apocalypse movie ever made, if not the only good natured apocalypse movie ever made.

        Whereas MAD MAX 2 suggested we would be living in a wasteland ruled by petrol-obsessed muscle men dressed in bondage gear, and THREADS predicted we'd all be too busy throwing up from radiation poisoning to do anything other than tend our burned-beyond-recognition loved ones and have mutant babies, NIGHT OF THE COMET suggested that in the wake of worldwide disaster all you really might want to do is shop and listen to Cyndi Lauper covers.

It's the early 1980s in a world where video games consist of little more than blips and pixels, film is still something you run through a projector when it's not on quarter inch videotape, and if your hair isn't as big as your shoulder pads you're just not styling it right. It's a place where everyone wears leg warmers - especially lady scientists who work in underground bunkers, and where even the radioactive mutants have the right kind of sunglasses. When a series of DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS-like cosmic flares turns most of the population of Los Angeles to dust, eighteen year old Regina (Catherine Mary Stewart) and her younger sister Sam (Kelli Maroney) find themselves having to fight off zombie mutants while still finding time to shop at their favourite department stores. Meanwhile in evil scientist land, Geoffrey Lewis, Mary Woronov and others are trying to find a cure but instead are draining healthy people of their blood to keep themselves going. Soon Regina and Sam are on their hit list, and with Robert Beltran busy dressing up as Father Christmas the girls realise they're going to have to save the day.

It's completely unfair, but still rather fun, to compare Thom Eberhardt's NIGHT OF THE COMET with THREADS, if only because they were made the same year on different sides of the Atlantic, and that they illustrate nicely the tremendous gulf there was between the kind of television I grew up watching in the 1970s and 1980s and the eternally optimistic, upbeat way in which I imagined Americans of my age must view life. I'm not saying either was right or wrong because neither is, but in the relentlessly depressing atmosphere that was much of what counted for British television and cinema of that period, movies like NIGHT OF THE COMET were a breath a fresh air.

And they still are. NIGHT OF THE COMET remains a bouncy, silly, good natured SF film with a witty script and enough nods for genre fans (including its casting) that's it's almost impossible not to like.

Arrow's Blu-ray transfer is their usual excellent job, and there are plenty of extras as well. These include no less than three commentary tracks - one with writer-director Thom Eberhardt, a second with stars Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney and third with production designer John Muto. There are brief interviews with the two female leads in 'Valley Girls at the End of the World' and it's good to see both have fond memories of the project. Mary Woronov is her usual delightfully off-kilter self in her interview 'End of the World Blues' and in 'The Last Man on Earth' Robert Beltran talks about turning his leading role down several times before finally accepting it. There's also an interview with makeup artist David B Miller, a theatrical trailer, and the usual Arrow reversible sleeve and booklet. A very pleasant package for a very pleasant film.

Arrow Films released Thom Eberhardt's NIGHT OF THE COMET on Region B Blu-ray on 22nd September 2014