Proud Mary (2018)

A twenty first century action thriller that borrows liberally from movies of previous decades (including the 1970s - a bit), PROUD MARY comes to UK DVD courtesy of Sony.

Mary (Taraji P Henson) is a hit woman working for an organised crime syndicate in Boston. When her latest hit leaves a young boy without a father, she finds herself keeping an eye on the lad and, when he collapses in an alley after being badly beaten, she takes him in. Little does Mary realise that this is only the beginning of how her world is about to radically change. 

The problem with PROUD MARY is that it isn't terrible, but it isn't terribly good, either. Everything about it feels slightly off. The opening music and title sequence suggests we're in for an updated Pam Grier - Jack Hill exploitation picture but sadly no-one involved with this is able to give the movie quite the sass and self-confidence it needs to pull that off. Editing varies between lacklustre (the opening post-credit sequence suffers because of this) and then sudden rapid fire in some dialogue scenes, where it quickly becomes wearing. 

Prominently billed cast members Neal McDonough and Xander Berkeley are hardly in it, and poor old Danny Glover looks as if he's having quite a painful time in any scene where he's not sitting down. 

Better direction would have been an immense help, as PROUD MARY never seems to settle and decide what it wants to be. A big part of the problem is that for much of the running time star Taraji P Henson plays the lead role less as a ruthless and hardened assassin and more like a tired, hungover office employee who has been landed with looking after her younger sister's little boy for the weekend. In fact the movie might actually have worked better if that had actually been the plot. As it is we are left wondering how someone like this has managed to be quite so successful in her chosen profession when even a small child can get into her massive gun cupboard.

The movie also echoes Luc Besson's LEON with an intriguing gender switch, but there's far too much talk and too little in the way of action. Things do get eventually going with a final guns 'n' cars sequence that's quite fun but by then it really is a case of a bit too little a lot too late.

Sony's DVD release comes with three behind the scenes featurettes. 'Mary's World' has interviews with cast and crew, 'The Beginning of the End' details the shooting of the climactic action sequence, and 'If Looks Could Kill' is all about the design of Mary's 'look'.

PROUD MARY is out on UK DVD from 

Sony from 30th July 2018

La Belle et La Bête (1946)

The BFI are bringing out Jean Cocteau's 1946 version of the classic fairy tale on Blu-ray, with a transfer taken from the French 4k (the press release) or possibly even 5k (it says on the screen) restoration from 2013.

I can't imagine there's any need to recap the story of this one - beautiful girl, hairy beast in a castle, she comes to love him but without anyone singing any songs & they live happily ever after. Yet despite the fairy tale nature of the endeavour stills from this film found their way into every book on horror films being published during the 1970s and beyond.

Even watching it now it's hardly surprising. Jean Marais' beast makeup would have been revolutionary for its time (and this with Lon Chaney Jr's THE WOLF MAN only five years old) and one can see how it influenced Roy Ashton to create a similar 'full torso' look for Oliver Reed in Hammer's 1961 CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF. I also wonder how much a certain Paul Naschy took away from it as well.

In fact, coming between arguably the two 'golden ages' of cinematic horror Cocteau's film feels far more 'pre-Hammer' than 'post-Universal' (the monsters had breathed their pre Abbott & Costello last just the year before). The sets were perhaps an influence on what we would later see from Bray studios, and Belle's father's arrival at the castle has a distinct stranger-at-castle-Hammer feel to it as well.

Then of course there are the delicious surrealistic touches. The arms emerging from walls to hold candelabra, an influence on 1960s projects like Nathan Jueran's JACK THE GIANT KILLER and Polanski's REPULSION, or the faces that are literally part of the furniture. 

So if, like me, you're a first time viewer of Cocteau's LA BELLE ET LA BETE, forgive the slight (and understandable) creakiness of a film that's over 70 years old and immerse yourself in some superbly creative storytelling for its time.

Extras on the BFI disc include a commentary track from Sir Christopher Frayling, a 51 minute making of from 2013, six minutes of deleted scenes and audio clips, a 13 minute animated version of Bluebeard from 1938, a trailer, stills and a booklet featuring writing on the film. 

Jean Cocteau's LA BELLE ET LA BETE is out on Blu-ray from the BFI on Monday 6th August 2018

Flesh & Blood (1985)

"Sword 'N' Sleazery"

Paul Verhoeven's first English language film gets an uncut dual format release courtesy of Eureka. So here's a chance for you to see the film Michael Parkinson hated almost as much as Dario Argento's PHENOMENA when he reviewed it on BBC1's Film 85 programme (praise indeed) in all its unedited Blu-ray glory.

No-one expects the...oh hang on.

A medieval epic made with the kind of laissez-faire approach beloved of Italian horror cinema of the period, the opening caption of FLESH & BLOOD tells us we're in 'Western Europe' in 1501. Rich Arnolfini (Fernando Hilbeck) employs a band of mercenaries to get his captured castle back for him, then refuses to pay up when they do, throwing them out. 

NOT the current meaning of 'Swingers'

A bit miffed by this, their leader Martin (Rutger Hauer) swears revenge and, by sheer coincidence, they end up kidnapping Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the fiancee of Arnolfini's son Steven (Tom Burlinson). Agnes is raped by Martin and forms a bond with him (it's that kind of film). But she's actually in love with Steven and his blow-dried hair. We know this because of their previous scene of romantic banter beneath two hanging rotting corpses (because it's that kind of film).

Monty Python in pursuit

In a bit worthy of Ken Russell, the team end up being 'led' by a statue of St Martin they've found buried in the ground at the instigation of their priest (the very Ken Russell-esque Ronald Lacey). They capture a castle and set up within, but Steven with his improvised Leonardo Da Vinci-style devices has other ideas.

'They dressed me up like this"

A rather odd film, FLESH & BLOOD boasts some gorgeous visuals (Jan De Bont was director of photography) and rousing music from Basil Poledouris. Desperate to present its period setting as vicious and amoral, it suffers from not having a point of view character whose eyes we can witness this through. Rutger Hauer's Martin never comes across as anything other than a bit of an arse. Leigh's character may well be doing what she has to in order to survive, but a lack of depth of characterisation means her reaction to abuse becomes open to interpretation. Perhaps most damaging of all, quite a few scenes are reminiscent of MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL (1975), a film that managed to evoke the filth and desperation of the period better than FLESH & BLOOD does. 

"We shall take the castle armed only with this drum. And a flag."

Eureka's disc comes with a ported over Basil Poledouris interview, a commentary by Paul Verhoeven, a documentary on the director, an interview with screenwriter Gerard Soeteman, a somewhat rambling audio interview with Rutger Hauer and a trailer. The first pressing comes with a booklet and a limited edition slipcase. 

Paul Verhoeven's FLESH & BLOOD is out on dual format from Eureka on Monday 6th August 2018

Cannibal Ferox (1981)

"A Sleazy Kind of Wonderful"

Oh yes indeed. One of the best / worst / of the infamous video nasties (because if you saw it back in the early 1980s it didn't take long to realise why lots and lots of people would think banning this wasn't such a bad idea), CANNIBAL FEROX comes to UK Blu-ray courtesy of Shameless.

Ah, but does it? Those picky individuals who, despite the film being available elsewhere if they really want it, won't be satisfied unless every single frame of a film is restored (and look pristine to boot, mind you, or very, very stern messages will be left on the label's website / facebook page / any forum that hasn't banned them yet) should probably be aware (and to be honest they should be able to guess) that the animal cruelty that seemed to be de rigueur for these sorts of things is still not present. Actually, even that's not strictly true. Anyone not keen on seeing scenes of graphic scenes involving animals should be warned: there's still a fair bit of real animal-on-animal violence as well as the killing of a turtle so it can be cooked.

After the success of Ruggero Deodato's infamous CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, a film I will admit had me on the edge of my seat for much of its running time, the job of creating the ultimate ripoff, the film that would be nastier, grosser, sillier and do away with any concept of subtext, was given to the man responsible for kicking off the whole cannibal sub-genre with THE MAN FROM DEEP RIVER (1972) as well as films with titles like SPASMO, EYEBALL, EATEN ALIVE and NIGHTMARE CITY. Yes, Umberto Lenzi, a man not known for restraint, sensitivity or tact in his horror film executions, was sent off into the jungle with a small cast and crew and some 16mm cameras.

The producers were not to be disappointed.

CANNIBAL FEROX is quite possibly the sleaziest, daftest, grossest cannibal film ever. Which makes it perhaps the ultimate grindhouse film. It exists solely to shock, to titillate, to nauseate, to leave 1980s audiences open-mouthed in a 'I can't believe they just did that' kind of way. It has a music score that is both potty and perfect. It also moves at a clip and has some utterly terrible dialogue. It is a strange and sleazy kind of wonderful.

The worst equipped team in the history of Italian anthropology set off into the Amazon rainforest with only a crate of White Horse whiskey and a red polka-dot neckerchief to get them through. Oh, and a jeep that gets driven straight into a pond so they have to walk. The team, consists of PhD student Gloria Davis (Lorraine de Selle), beefcake fashion victim Rudy (Danilo Mattei) and Elizabeth Berkeley's character from SHOWGIRLS (Zora Kerova). 

Traipsing through the jungle after their pond-vehicular interface they meet up with limping Joe (Walter Lucchini) and his friend Mike (Giovanni Lombardo Radice). Mike seems to be having some terrible allergic reaction to the jungle because he has to keep using his Vicks Sinex nasal inhaler. He and Joe claim they've been attacked by cannibals but in fact it was they who attacked a village and tortured some of the inhabitants when Mike overdosed on his nasal medication. 

Our motley team of hopeless wanderers find themselves back at the very same village where they decide to stay because that's exactly what should happen in a film like this. Cue returning natives and lots of gory revenge stuff.

There's a little note at the start of Shameless's transfer that tells us they have done their best with their 2K scan to make Lenzi's grainy 16mm film look the way it was intended. Seeing as nobody involved probably cared how it looked as long as people paid to see it, we do get a pretty good, grainy transfer that evokes the feel of watching this in a more upmarket grindhouse cinema with a projector that has a decent bulb, making the jungle locations look like the kind of place nobody would ever want to visit for a holiday.  As I said above, bits of animal stuff have been removed, and the action around them slowed a little to make up for it, meaning you can't go by the running time of this one if you're a completist.

Extras include a new interview with the late director. If you've seen any previous interviews with him (NIGHTMARE CITY comes to mind) you'll know what you're in for. If not, be prepared for a certain skewed take on his own work. There's also a new interview with star Giovanni Lombardo Radice. Again, if you've seen him interviewed about this film before you'll be prepared. If not - be prepared!

Sadly we don't get the infamous Lenzi / Radice commentary tracks offered on region 1 / A discs that offer widely differing accounts of the production. But you do get a photo gallery and a free customised vomit bag in the package. There's also one of those restoration comparisons to show you just how much Shameless have cleaned this one up, if that's a phrase one can sensibly use with a film like this.

The sleazy kind of wonderful that is Umberto Lenzi's CANNIBAL FEROX is out on UK Blu-ray from Shameless on Monday 30th July 2018

The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971)

It's time for yet more early 1970s Italian shenanigans courtesy of director Sergio Martino, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, composer Bruno Nicolai and a host of other familiar names as Arrow brings us THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL on Blu-ray.

Another one of those films where presumably the cast and crew voted as to where they fancied a trip, this time we kick off in London. Lisa Baumer (Evelyn Stewart) receives the news that her husband has died in a plane crash. He has a massive life insurance policy which she has to go to Athens (more essential travel) to collect. 

Soon the bodies are piling up as various people try to get their hands on the insurance money. Private detective Peter Lynch (George Hilton) and reporter Cleo Dupont (Anita Strindberg) team up to find out who the killer might be while avoiding becoming victims themselves. 

With a bunch of guest turns from actors familiar to those of us who love Euro exploitation (Janine Raynaud, Luis Barboo, Alberto de Mendoza, Luigi Pistilli) THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL almost seems to be trying extra hard compared to Martino's other gialli like THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS WARDH (1971) or YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM & ONLY I HAVE THE KEY (1972). Maybe it's because those movies' leading lady lady, Edwige Fenech, is missing this time round (she was pregnant). 

For whatever reason SCORPION'S TAIL is less a random bonkers giallo and more a carefully constructed crime thriller that relies more on its complex plotting than just having naked ladies killed with a straight razor.

Arrow present the film in a new 2K restoration with lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks. Extras include new interviews with George Hilton and Sergio Martino, and Ernesto Gastaldi provides a commentary track in Italian with English subtitles. You also get an analysis of Martino's films by Mikel J Koven and a video essay from Troy Howarth. Finally a trailer and reversible sleeve art complete the package. Unless of course you get the first pressing in which case there's also a booklet featuring new writing on the film by Rachael Nisbet and Howard Hughes, plus an Anita Strindberg biography by Peter Jilmstad.

Sergio Martino's THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL is out on Blu-ray from Arrow Films on Monday 18th July 2018

The First Purge (2018)

        So there I was bemoaning the lack of political subtext in modern popular horror while simultaneously mourning the seemingly lost art of exploitation showmanship when what should come along but this, the fourth in James DeMonaco's series of films that started with THE PURGE back in 2013.

The previous movie, THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR (2016) offered, along with the expected catalogue of brutal slayings and biting satire, some elements of hope and optimism at its finale. Where else for its writer to go, then, (Gerard McMurray replaces Mr DeMonaco as director this time around) than back to the beginning to show us how the annual twelve hour period of legal murder in an America of the future came to be?

During a period of political and economic strife not dissimilar to that occurring currently, both Republican and Democrat parties are beaten in elections by the New Founding Fathers who propose a radical experiment to provide people with an outlet for their rage, whilst also facilitating the widespread killing of large numbers of poor people the financially strapped government is far too in debt to support.

Slightly mad behavioural scientist Marisa Tomei (exuding the brittle sexiness of a Bond villainess with her bleach-blonde hair and jet black trouser suit) comes up with the idea of using New York's Staten Island as a test site, offering anyone who wishes to 'participate' $5000 for their trouble. If they survive the night, of course. The fact that the area is mainly home to low income ethnic minority families is, of course, the whole point.

Whereas THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR bounced along with a kind of BRONX WARRIORS Enzo G Castellari-like sense of exploitation fun, THE FIRST PURGE feels like a more serious beast altogether. But then, we are living in different, and far more worrying, times than even two years ago. That's not to say THE FIRST PURGE isn't entertaining - the tower block climax feels like a cross between Gareth Evans' 2011 THE RAID and the bit at the start of George A Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD where the SWAT team start killing everyone in the tenement building. 

Gerard McMurray's style is more downbeat and action-orientated than James DeMonaco's and some of the scenes of empty streets just before the purge is due to start evoke a pleasing John Carpenter vibe (and composer Kevin Lax gives us some nice synth lines to go along with it).

How does THE FIRST PURGE compare with the others in the series? Well, the first three films felt more like a bit of nonsensical speculative, satirical fun. THE FIRST PURGE feels more political, and far more no-nonsense, in its attempt to get its message across. Is that because of the film itself or the times we're living in? Oh, and releasing it on the fourth of July is a masterstroke. Well done Universal. 

THE FIRST PURGE is out in cinemas (in both the UK & the USA in case you were wondering) from today, Wednesday 4th July 2018

The Lodgers (2017)

One of the best horror films from last year's festival circuit gets a UK DVD release courtesy of Thunderbird.

Rural Ireland in the 1920s. Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) are fraternal twins who live in a remote, crumbling mansion. They share the house with things unseen, who have imposed three rules on them: that they must never open the doors to strangers, that they must never leave each other completely alone, and that they must be in their bedrooms by midnight. 

On their eighteenth birthday their world changes with the arrival in the nearby village of Sean (Eugene Simon) a war veteran, who sparks a sexual awakening in Rachel. What he doesn't realise is that Rachel and her brother are the latest to suffer a curse that is ultimately going to impact on him as well. 

A fine gothic ghost story with a terrific sense of atmosphere, THE LODGERS benefits from excellent performances, beautiful and often clever photography, an intelligent script (by David Turpin) and assured direction by Brian O'Malley, who admits in the extras his ambition had always been to film a gothic ghost story.

THE LODGERS received its UK premiere at Abertoir last November, & Mrs Probert & I were lucky enough to get the director on his own afterwards for a lengthy chat. Mr O'Malley proved to be an extremely affable and knowledgeable individual who cited Jack Clayton's THE INNOCENTS (1961), Alejandro Amenabar's THE OTHERS (2001) and J A Bayona's THE ORPHANAGE (2007) as influences on his own picture. 

The director meets House of Mortal Cinema & Mrs House of Mortal Cinema

He also explained that both he and screenwriter David Turpin had wanted to write a ghost story set in that period that boasted a female lead, as so many of the stories from that period by writers such as M R James always featured men. He also told me the prosthetic limb we see in the movie was authentic for the time and that yes, all of those marvellous widescreen compositions we see in the picture were deliberately constructed to look like classical paintings. It was a delight to talk to someone so enthusiastic for the ghost story genre and I'll be interested to see what Brian O'Malley does next. 

Thunderbird's disc also contains a 22 minute making of, deleted scenes and a trailer. THE LODGERS is well worth a watch if you're a fan of subtle, understated but deliciously creative ghost stories. 

Brian O'Malley's THE LODGERS is out on DVD from Thunderbird Releasing on Monday 25th June 2018