Dagon
(2001/Blu-ray)/The Endless
(2017/DVD/both Umbrella Entertainment Region Free Imports)/Followers
(2017/MVD/SKD DVD)/Future
World (2018/Lionsgate
Blu-ray)/The Gore Gore
Girls (1972/MVD/Arrow
Blu-ray)/A Taste Of Phobia
(2017/Artsploitation DVD)
Picture:
B/C/B-/B+/B-/B- Sound: B/C+/B-/B+/B-/B- Extras: B/D/D/C/B/B
Films: B/C-/C/C-/C+/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Region Free Dagon
Blu-ray and The
Endless
DVD imports are now only available from our friends at Umbrella
Entertainment in Australia, can play on all disc players and can be
ordered from the link below.
Here's
our latest gang of horror thrillers...
Inspired
by a short story by H.P. Lovecraft and from the director of
Re-Animator
and From
Beyond
Stuart Gordon comes the highly underrated Dagon
(2001). Akin to the Cthulhu mythos, Dagon
is a atmospheric and creepy film that definitely captures the tone of
a Lovecraft story as best as one can on film. After years of not
being available in HD, Dagon
is suddenly available on both this new Umbrella 'Beyond Genres'
Collector's Edition and an American release from Vestron/Lionsgate.
While we haven't reviewed the Vestron edition yet, on the surface the
only noticeable difference is the addition of a few extras.
Dagon
stars Ezra Godden, Francisco Rabal, Raquel Merono, Macarena Gomez,
and Brendan Price.
Paul
Mash (Godden), his girlfriend (Merono), and friends get shipwrecked
when their boat crashes into some rocks off the Spanish coast. Paul
goes to a nearby village town to seek help... but is instead abducted
by a group of mutant sea creatures... and finds out that their high
priestess (Godden) has eternal plans for him.
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1
lossless track. As this is the first time the film has been
available on Blu-ray, it is certainly a welcome upgrade from the
standard definition DVD that was available previously.
Special
Features include...
A
Making-of featurette which features some candid B-roll and BTS
footage
Interviews
with Macarena Gomez, Stuart Gordon, Raquel Merono, Ezra Godden
Interviews
from the set: Stuart Gordon, Julkio Fernandez, Raquel Merono, Ezra
Godden, Francisco 'Paco' Rabal
Trailer,
Teaser, TV Spots
Though
perhaps a bit ambitious for its budget and the time in which it was
made (some of the CG digital effects are very dated), Dagon
captures the Lovecraftian spirit and is a bizarre gory, and macabre
little movie that's fun to check out again especially in HD. Let's
hope more Stuart Gordon films find their way onto Blu-ray soon!
Also
trying to
emulate H.P. Lovecraft
is Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's The
Endless
(2017) now also offered by both Umbrella Entertainment, but as a DVD.
We recently reviewed the U.S. Blu-ray release at this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15200/Abominable+(2006/MVD+Blu-ray+w/DVD)/The+En
Well,
though some ideas (mysterious forces, death worship) and designs here
are interesting, the makers get lost in trying to give this meaning,
quiet suspense that never builds up and a storyline that never adds
up or convinced me the tale it is trying to convey. At least they
were trying to be smart and a little ambitious, but it is ultimately
very forgettable. Be very awake and don't operate heavy machinery if
you decide to see it.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is softer than I expected,
though I was only so impressed with the 1080p on the U.S. Blu-ray,
while the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 fares better, but only by so much.
Unlike that Blu-ray, this DVD offers no extras.
A
micro budgeted indie horror flick in the same vein as Defriended
and Paranormal
Activity
is the found footage flick Followers
(2017). The film examines how easy it is to stalk people through the
internet and murder them essentially as it centers around Brook and
Caleb - a couple that loves to post excessively about their personal
lives (This is a real thing btw called a 'social media couple'.
Barf.) and they soon become the target of a murder plot.
The
film stars Amanda Delaney, Justin Maina, Ariel Hines, and Dalia
Kaissi.
When
Caleb and Brook go on a weekending anniversary camping trip and log
offline, two filmmakers decide to stalk them and make a film of their
own on how internet stalking.
The
film is presented in an
anamorphically enhanced
1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
mix. As the film was shot on a shoestring so the quality isn't the
greatest and there doesn't seem to be much color work done here.
This makes the film seem a bit more 'real', however it obviously has
been miraculously edited so it takes away any natural feeling it may
have had.
The
only extras are trailers for other SKD films.
The
film has an interesting idea but is bogged down by bad acting and
being too well crafted to be considered 'raw footage'. Had they not
gone for a full out found footage look and swapped back and forth
between that style and a cinematic narrative it would have been more
interesting.
Future
World
(2018) is a direct-to-video post apocalyptic film and stars James
Franco (who also co-directs), Mila Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Snoop Dogg,
and Suki Waterhouse. The film is a shameless Mad
Max
rip-off and has some elements of other stronger films of the like
too, but doesn't quite achieve the production value or cinematic
craftsmanship that say... George Miller brought to Fury
Road.
I'm sure Future
World
sounded good on paper, but the final execution is average at best.
A
boy wanders the desert wasteland in a dark future to find a cure for
his dying Mother (Liu), but along the way is ambushed by a motorcycle
gang lead by a yellow-toothed James Franco, a sexy robot that wants
to be human (Waterhouse), and a drug addicted mad woman (Jovovich).
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 2.35:1 and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the
film looks and sounds great on the Blu-ray format. It features a
barren desert setting for the lot of the film and while it could be
improved in the 4K UHD format if it has the definition, it still
looks fine here. A digital copy is also included.
Special
Features include...
BTS
Featurette
Trailer/Trailers
for other Lionsgate films
Don't
let the decently cut trailer fool you, despite some decent actors
being involved, Future
World
is pretty dull and painful to watch. It should also be noted that
this is NOT to be confused with the hit 1976 film Futureworld,
an underrated sequel to the original hit feature film Westworld
(1973, both reviewed elsewhere on this site) and definitely tied to
the hot new hit HBO TV series.
Arrow
has been releasing and remastering many Herschell Gordon Lewis films
over the past year (many of which are reviewed elsewhere on this
site), but none have been as renowned
as The
Gore Gore Girls
(1972) - a relentless drive-in splatter feast that's a true blast
from the past. Also included is the bonus feature This
Stuff'll Kill Ya!
(1971), which is another 'Hicksploitation film' in the same Lewis
vein as others. Both films are silly exploitation fun but not
particularly 'good' in any real sense of filmmaking. The gore is
primitive and other the top and not all of the female victims are
particularly eye-popping. Still, there's a lot of charm here and
it's fun to look back on these films and enjoy them for what they
are.
Several
Go-Go Girls are the bloody victims of a merciless killer out for
blood in The Gore Gore Girls, and it's up to Private Investigator
Abraham Gentry to solve the case. The best kill is early on in the
movie where a woman gets murdered while blowing a gum ball and then
the Killer dismantles her. This killer doesn't simply just murder
women... he rips their bodies to pieces in the process as part of his
sick games! A fun flashback movie, there's plenty of boobs and gore
to satisfy in this outing. The film stars Frank Kress, Amy Farrell,
and Hedda Lubin.
In
the ridiculous This
Stuff'll Kill Ya!,
a redneck con artist sets himself up as a preacher in a small Deep
South town to run his moonshine distillery and flees when people
start getting suspicious and a federal agent gets hot on this trail.
The film stars Jeffrey Allen, Tim Holt, and Gloria King, to name a
few.
The
films have both been remastered in 1080p high definition with a
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a standard PCM Mono audio
mixes. While the presentation are visually pleasing (though not too
high on detail), the other presentations here are not quite as
impressive as others released by the company likely due to the
condition of materials, with the mono track a bit noisy. Still, this
is likely the best the film can look and it's certainly a step above
previous releases on lesser formats.
Special
Features include...
Introductions
to the films by H.G. Lewis
Audio
commentary on The
Gore Gore Girls
with H.G. Lewis
Audio
commentary on This
Stuff'll Kill Ya!
with camera operator and Lewis biographer Daniel Krogh
Author
Stephen Thrower on The
Gore Gore Girls
Regional
Bloodshed
- filmmakers Joe Swanberg and Spencer Parsons on Lewis' legacy as a
pioneer of regional indie filmmaking
Herschell
Spills His Guts
- H.G. Lewis discusses his career post-Gore Gore Girls and his
further adventures in the world of marketing
This
Stuff'll Kill Ya!
Trailer
and
a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork
by The Twins of Evil
Fourteen
filmmakers from all over the world unite for A
Taste Of Phobia
(2017),
this gross-out anthology film that centers around different phobias
and how they affect the mind. If you're squeamish or don't like
excessive and brutal gore, then this film is definitely NOT for you.
But for those of us that quite enjoy the artistry behind such work,
this is a flick worth checking out for the effects alone.
Some
of the phobias on display here include Caetophobia (fear of hairs),
Henophobia (fear of virgin girls), coprophobia (fear of feces),
mysophobia (fear of being lost), asterophobia (fear of celestial
objects), mageirocophobia (fear of cooking), and oneirophobia (fear
of dreams).
The
film is presented in an anamorphically enhanced standard definition
on DVD with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo track. Nothing too special in terms of
presentation but the sound and presentation looks and sounds as good
as expected for a lower budget.
The
Special Features here are surprisingly good and include...
Behind
the Scenes Featurettes
Interviews
Photo
Gallery
Special
Effects Featurettes
Extra
Episode: Achluophobia
and
a trailer
While
some of the shorts are better than others, this is a cool idea and I
think it turned out pretty good for what it is. It could be
interesting to see this same concept done with some higher profile
filmmakers in tow.
To
order either of the
Umbrella import Blu-ray and/or DVD releases, go to this link for them
and other hard to find releases at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Endless)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
