Flowers in the Attic (1987)

"Truly Terrible"

Before I get to grips with this review I should probably make it clear that I have not read the V C Andrews source novel even though, back in the early 1980s, you couldn't move in bookshops for the paperback with that die-cut cover and the creepy people staring out from it. No, I haven't read FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, and nor had I seen the film until now. The opportunity was provided to me because Arrow Films are bringing it out on Blu-ray. It's directed by Jeffrey Bloom, who made BLOOD BEACH (1980) a film about a monster that sucks people down into the sand. It's a lot more believable than what we have on show here.

Buffy, Not-Buffy & Giallo Boy Rehearse Their Most Emotive Scene

Victoria Tennant is happily married and has four children - two boys and two girls. The entire family wears a nauseating amount of pastel colours, presumably as some kind of display of how joyful their life is (or perhaps of the fact that they're all on tranquilisers). Admittedly the little boy does look as if he's about to witness the pre-credits murder in Dario Argento's PROFONDO ROSSO but sadly we're in a very different film here. Victoria's husband dies offscreen and she's informed by two mumbling policemen who don't make it very clear to us if he's dead or not, but presumably they do to her.

Full marks for getting the costumes, the sets and the acting to all match

At this point what she should do, English rose of an actress that she is, is move to a lovely old cottage near a railway line where her children can have adventures saving Russian scientists and helping the local stationmaster find love. But that's THE RAILWAY CHILDREN and this very much isn't, so instead off they all tramp to Louise Fletcher's MASSIVE country house where space is at such a premium that all the kids have to sleep in the same bedroom while Victoria goes off to be flogged. Offscreen. Sorry, fladge fans.

It turns out Mum 'sinned' because Dad was also Uncle (whoops!) and therefore the children are Of Satan, or something. Anyway, because of this terrible thing they have to be kept locked in the attic, are deprived of their pastel shades, and instead acquire makeup that's supposed to make them look increasingly drawn and unhappy while Mum is forced to play the piano for her elderly bedridden father. 

Come Back! The film's still on!

I could go on but I won't, because FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC is truly awful. Dull, bland and insipid, when it starts you could be forgiven for thinking you've put on some awful Wednesday afternoon TV movie from the 1980s (complete with terrible voice over) rather than something I remember getting excited about back in the day because Wes Craven was rumoured to be making it. Everything is too brightly lit, the actors playing the kids are dull, some of the dialogue is truly awful, and there's no attempt at creating any gothic atmosphere at all. 

If you do end up watching it, certainly some fun can be derived from thinking what other directors might have done with the material. Wes Craven would have at least given the teenagers some character, Tim Burton of the era could have given us something gorgeously gothic, but my favourite was the idea of keeping the same awful script and getting John Waters to direct with Divine in the Louise Fletcher role and other Dreamlanders playing the kids. 

One dreads to think who John Waters would have had in the bath

By the end of the film, all I could feel was pity for the leads, all of whom deserved, and have done, much better. I felt sorry for Louise Fletcher, whose role mainly demanded her to repeatedly enter the same room, glare, and say "I'm evil, me" in a variety of differing dialogue, none of which helped provide a rounded character. I felt sorry for Victoria Tennant - even being stabbed in the toilet in INSEMINOID must have been more rewarding than being in this. And I felt especially sorry for Kristy Swanson, who must have angered the gods of Hollywood to such an extent that this was her reward for being in the equally awful DEADLY FRIEND the year before.

 Meddling kids!

If, unlike me, you're a fan of FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, you'll be pleased to learn that the disc comes bundled with extras. Kat Ellinger is a fan and gives us a fact-packed commentary that includes contextualising it in terms of its place in 1980s horror. There are new interviews with DP Frank Byers, designer John Muto, actor Jeb Stuart Adams and composer Christopher Young. You also get the original ending that was cut by the studio (with commentary), two versions of the script and the usual trailers and reversible sleeve art. 

FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC is out on Blu-ray from Arrow Films on 

Monday 12th March 2018

Der Todesking (1990)

"Not as Funny as NEKROMANTIK"

       I wonder if its director would agree? The movie Jorg Buttgereit made in between the repulsively gory NEKROMANTIK (1987 & reviewed on here) and the similarly-styled NEKROMANTIK 2 (1991 and also reviewed on here) gets a remarkably lavish and exhaustive presentation on a three-disc set from Arrow.

The title translates as The Death King and indeed, what we have here is a film about death or rather deaths - one for each day of the week. Thus we are plunged into seven vignettes in which someone is either killed, or kills themselves. None of the segments are uplifting. All of them are shot on grainy 16mm. Quite a few of them appear to have been shot in the same room (or at least the same house). 

       A short way in, there's a spoof on Don Edmonds' tatty old ILSA SHE WOLF OF THE SS (1975) which will probably elicit a variety of reactions from different viewers ranging from a bit of a chuckle to being utterly morally outraged. And to be honest, that's a bit like the film as a whole. Towards the end there's an allusion towards the possible cause of the deaths - a chain letter from the 'Brotherhood of the Seventh Day' that echoes Robert Chambers' classic 'The King in Yellow' in its stylistic intent of driving insane all who come into contact with it. 

For all that I've said above, I don't think the film is entirely about death and madness. It's bookended by a child doing a drawing of the title character (the body of whom, presumably, we see rotting throughout the film), which makes one wonder if this is perhaps the director's comment on the nature of storytelling itself. DER TODESKING is not an easy watch, but if you can get through it you'll probably find yourself thinking about if for quite a while afterwards.

And while you are, you can be getting stuck into Arrow's feast of extras which include a commentary track from the director and co-writer Franz Rodenkirchen, a conversation between the director and Graham Rae at Manchester's Festival of Fantastic Films in 2016, a vintage making of, footage from the 1990 Berlin premiere, Mr Buttgereit's 1992 documentary Corpse Fucking Art, and two short films by producer Manfred O Jelinski.

       All that stuff, plus trailers, stills and more are on Disc 1 (Blu-ray) and Disc 2 (DVD). Disc 3 is a CD of the complete DER TODESKING score. You also get a 60 page book with new writing on the film from Kat Ellinger and Graham Rae and finally, a replica of the Brotherhood of the Seventh Day chain letter if you feel you have the strength to read it. An amazing package for Buttgereit fans. 

Jorg Buttgereit's DER TODESKING is out in a limited 

edition three disc set from Arrow Films on 

Monday 26th February 2018

The Death of Stalin (2017)

"Brilliant Comedy of Terrors"

One of the best films of last year, and quite possibly one of the best satires of all time, Armando Ianucci's THE DEATH OF STALIN gets its UK DVD and Blu-ray release courtesy of Entertainment One.

Moscow 1953. When soviet leader Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) dies following complications from a stroke, the regime is plunged into chaos as the remaining members of his council plot and backstab in their attempts to attain the prime position of power. 

A UK / French / Belgian co-production it's perhaps unsurprising that THE DEATH OF STALIN received an outright ban in Russia two days before it was due to be released. It's certainly the kind of biting satire we might expect from the man behind so much British comedy gold from THE DAY TODAY to THE THICK OF IT and beyond. 

Performances are all excellent from a talented cast of well-known faces including Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin, Simon Russell Beale, Andrea Riseborough, Jeffrey Tambor and Paul Whitehouse. Ianucci wisely avoids getting everyone to speak with Russian accents, and once you get used to Kruschev talking like Mr Pink from RESERVOIR DOGS and Field Marshall Zukov sounding as if he's about to tell everyone that there's 'Trouble at Mill' this approach doesn't feel intrusive at all. 

Those unfamiliar with this particular episode of Russian history should be warned, however. While satire can be humorous, and while THE DEATH OF STALIN has been praised as a comedy, it does have its fair share of torture and murder, especially at the end, so do be prepared - this isn't a film that will leave you chuckling when you turn it off.

It should, however, leave you feeling educated and enlightened. Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s I was familiar with quite a few of the names here but I couldn't have told you the series of events that had led to them becoming so familiar. And that's part of Ianucci's genius. THE DEATH OF STALIN is funny, it is clever, and it's also a very good history lesson. As such, it joins the ranks of brilliant satires like MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN in its effortless presentation of an important episode of world history as easily digestible entertainment. 

Entertainment One's Blu-ray and DVD has a commentary track by the films' writers and director (David Schneider, Ian Martin, Peter Fellowes and Armando Ianucci). You also get cast and crew interviews and deleted scenes.

Armando Ianucci's THE DEATH OF STALIN is out on Blu-ray and DVD from eOne on Monday 26th February 2018 and on Digital Download from Monday 19th February 2018. 

Thelma (2017)

"Norwegian Art-House CARRIE"

...or even PATRICK (1978 0r 2013). Yes, director Joachim Trier may be following in the footsteps of Stephen King, Brian de Palma and even Richard Franklin, but here's a distinctly different take on the theme of the 'troubled teen with psychic powers' and it's about to get a UK DVD & Blu-ray release from Thunderbird.

Thelma (Eili Harboe) has just started university. Coming from a closeted, stifling upbringing by overprotective and very religious parents, her new world is enough of a culture shock without the other problems she soon begins to experience.

While studying at the library, Thelma undergoes a violent seizure. After that, very strange things start to happen - people disappear and objects move of their own accord. EEG and brain MRI scanning reveal no physical abnormalities. Could it have anything to do with her having fallen in love with a fellow female student? And is she responsible for what is happening to her or are outside forces at work? Are her parents to blame? Or is she herself  the reason for the way they have brought her up? 

I shall say no more, except that through a number of flashbacks all is revealed in Trier's thoughtful, careful profile of a teenaged girl coming to terms with who and what she is. Despite my comparisons above, don't expect any exploding cars, roasting alive before our very eyes or any overly spectacular melodramatics. THELMA is very much a low-key character study that's no less effective for the way in which the subject matter is handled. The ending will give you something to think about, too. 

Thunderbird's Blu-ray also includes short interviews with director Trier and star Harboe, and several very short featurettes on behind the scenes filming. You also get a trailer reel for the other Joachim Trier movies that Soda / Thunderbird have released. 

Joachim Trier's THELMA is out on UK DVD & Blu-ray from Thunderbird Releasing on Monday 26th February 2018

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Tarkovsky Meets Philip K Dick in Villeneuve's Modern Classic

Denis Villeneuve's stunning, thoughtful, creative sequel to Ridley Scott's original gets a disc release from Sony (4K, Blu-ray, Ltd edition Blu-ray, and DVD) just after coming out on Digital Download and Sky's Buy & Keep Program. 

It's thirty years after the events of BLADE RUNNER. Ryan Gosling is LAPD Officer K (shades of Kafka), a blade runner whose job it is to 'retire' Nexus replicants past their sell-by date. When he disposes of Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista), K discovers a strongbox containing female bones. Scratches on the pelvis suggest the deceased underwent a Caesarian section, but the most interesting thing is that the bones bear a serial number, meaning these are the remains of a replicant. But replicants can't reproduce. Or can they? 

Pursued by agents of megalomaniac replicant manufacturer Nimander Wallace (Jared Leto) and accompanied by his virtual girlfriend Joi (Ana de Armas), K finds himself on a journey to find the child, the truth, and of course, Harrison Ford.

While BLADE RUNNER was very much a film of the 1980s, BLADE RUNNER 2049 confounds expectations somewhat by feeling like an SF film from the  early 1970s, bursting as it is with both creativity and an unrelenting bleakness both in its production design and its philosophy. In fact perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is that it exists at all in the current movie climate. Not that this is 163 minutes (!) of drabness. Roger Deakins has quite deservedly been nominated for an Academy Award for his deliciously varied colour palette that ranges from washed out grey to glowing ochre. 

And yes, BLADE RUNNER 2049 runs for nearly three hours. It doesn't feel like it, though, in fact in ways you may end up wishing it were longer. The film has a most welcome Tarkovskian feel to its gloomy setting and measured, deliberate pacing, and, in the end, it may just be the first Science Fiction Biblical Epic. The promise of a child who will save a race, a villain ordering his minions to 'Bring me the child!' while nonchalantly destroying the 'angels' he has created, sacrifice and salvation all add to a potent mix that needs that kind of running time to play out properly.

       DVD extras include Blade Runner 101, which is six behind the scenes featurettes and three original short films that bridge the two features - 2036, 2048 and 2022. The Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD discs have those and Designing the World of Blade Runner which features interviews with Villeneuve, Ridley Scott, Gosling and Ford. Finally, there's a two-disc limited edition Blu-ray which has all the above, plus 30 more minutes of exclusive featurettes and five art cards. 

Denis Villeneuve's BLADE RUNNER 2049 is out on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Limited edition Blu-ray and DVD on Monday 5th February. It's already available on Digital Download and Sky's Buy & Keep Program

Strangled (2016)

Good, grim, unsensational Hungarian psycho-thriller

After the entertaining KILLS ON WHEELS, Eureka strike again with another well-made, throughly engrossing piece of Hungarian cinema, this one with a decidedly grimmer theme.

Hungary - the mid 1960s. In the small provincial town of Martfu a serial killer is at large, raping, strangling and mutilating young women. The modus operandi seems to be the same as a similar case a few years previously, where the killer was apprehended amidst a media frenzy and sentenced to life imprisonment. Is this a copycat? Or was the wrong man convicted in the first place?

Based on true events, director Arpad Sopsits' film is frequently stylish without ever being sensationalist. The crimes are portrayed brutally, and the police procedural aspects documented dispassionately. Stripped right down, the plot could easily have been the basis for one of the typical flamboyant Italian examples of giallo cinema in the 1970s. If it had been made in England at that time, it would probably have been so sleazy and grim as to have been pretty much unwatchable.

Thankfully, STRANGLED is 21st century and Hungarian, and takes its subject matter seriously while never overdoing the grimness when it isn't necessary. The press release mentions Fritz Lang's M (1931) (couldn't really see that myself) and David Fincher's ZODIAC (now actually that's more like it) and certainly if you're a fan of Fincher's 'docudrama' then STRANGLED may be just the thing for you. 

Extras are pretty much non-existent but don't let that put you off. Eureka are doing valuable work here making some fine examples of modern overseas cinema available to UK audiences and STRANGLED makes another impressive addition to their library of titles. 

Arpad Sopsits' STRANGLED is out on dual format Blu-ray and DVD on Monday 5th February 2018 

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

"Arguably the Best Sherlock Holmes Film Ever Made"

Eureka continues its releasing of Billy Wilder films on UK Blu-ray (hooray!) with his marvellous Sherlock Holmes picture from 1970 starring Robert Stephens as Holmes and Colin Blakely as Watson.

A locked strongbox at a London solicitors contains the Holmes adventures Dr Watson wrote about, but never submitted for publication on account of their delicate nature. First off is the attempts of famous Russian ballerina Madame Petrova (a fairly terrifying Tamara Toumanova) to get Holmes to be the father of her child. Less a 'case' and more an excuse for Clive Revill (as Madame Petrova's manager) to do some entertaining mugging as he and Stephens engage in some of Wilder and I A L Diamond's crackling dialogue, it's perhaps understandable that audience of the period were befuddled as to what the mystery of this story was intended to be (of course, there isn't any).

The second, much lengthier, tale takes the Conan Doyle story A Scandal in Bohemia as its jumping off point, but again things aren't straightforward as Holmes and Watson investigate submarine skullduggery off the coast of Scotland. There should have been other tales but the movie was cut down from its original run time of 200 minutes to the 125 minute print we have now.

A flop on its initial release, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES  is far less about Holmes solving cases and far more about Holmes and Watson the men. As such the lead performances are marvellous. Robert Stephens plays Holmes as brilliant but almost constantly exasperated, with the suggestion of deep emotional scars being to blame, while Blakely plays Watson as a marvellous, down to earth and good-natured rugger bugger of a doctor.

Eureka's Blu-ray transfer is in 1080p. The print looks sparking in places but rather faded, worn and speckled with dots in others. One presumes a restoration of this is not on the cards any time soon. Extras include a new 20 minute interview with Neil Sinyard, plus stuff ported over from previous Region 1 MGM and Kino releases. These include 50 minutes of The Missing Cases - a mixture of audio, script pages, stills and surviving footage, an interview with Christopher Lee (who plays Sherlock's brother Mycroft), an interview with editor Ernest Walter, audio of the deleted epilogue and a trailer. You also get a booklet with new writing on the film from Philip Kemp. 

Billy Wilder's THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is out on UK Blu-ray from Eureka on Monday 22nd January