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The
Baby (1973*)/Horrors
Of Malformed Men
(1969/*both MVD/Arrow Blu-rays)/Puppet
Master: The Littlest Reich 4K
(2018/RLJ 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B/B+/B+ Sound: B/B/B+
Extras: B/B/C+ Films: C+/B/C+
Here
are three creepy tales of murder, distortion and mutilation that you
are certain to find disturbing...
Ted
Post's The
Baby
(1973) is a bizarre exploitation film that features a grown man
forced to live a life as an infant child against his own will.
Thanks to his psychotic mother and two sisters, 'Baby' is a prisoner
inside of his own home... an adult man who can't talk, walk very well
on his own, and is consumed with immaturity. Can he escape his
family and become a real grown up man? Thanks to a social worker...
Baby might stand a chance at a new life.
Previously
available on Blu-ray domestically from Severin Films, The
Baby
has a new transfer in this new release from Arrow Video. The
difference between the two isn't very drastic, however, this edition
contains different supplemental material.
The
film stars Ruth Roman, Anjanette Comer, Marianna Hill, Susanne Zenor,
and David Manzy as The Baby.
Presented
in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc, there are two remastered
versions of the film to choose from - either the original 1.33:1 full
frame version or the newly produced 1.78:1 widescreen version. The
audio sounds very nice with an original uncompressed PCM Mono audio
mix, both of which are of a very high standard for the format. The
film looks and sounds great considering its age and the fact that it
was a low budget production to begin with.
Special
Features include...
Brand
new audio commentary by Travis Crawford
Down
Will Come Baby
- a new retrospective with film professor Rebekah McKendry
Tales
from the Crib
- archival audio Interview with director Ted Post (from the Severin
release)
Baby
Talk
- archival audio Interview with Star David Mooney
Theatrical
Trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil
and
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing by Kat
Ellinger
The
Baby
is a weird film that has to be seen to be believed, though it needs
to be said that Director Post was a major, mainstream journeyman
director of the time with credits that include Beneath
The Planet Of The Apes
(1970), Hang
'Em High
(1968), Go
Tell The Spartans
(1978), plenty of classic TV including two episodes of Boris
Karloff's Thriller
and four episodes of Rod Serling's original Twilight
Zone
and and both The
Harrad Experiment
and the Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry film Magnum
Force,
released the same year as this film. That should add to how you
think of this film.
Teruo
Ishii's Horrors
of Malformed Men
(1969) is a bizarre and interesting Japanese horror that is a sort of
spin of The
Island of Dr. Moreau.
Presented here in a new 2K restoration from the good folks at Arrow,
Horrors
is certainly not a film for everyone and features some of the most
bizarre freaks of nature you're likely to see this week.
The
film stars Teruo Yoshida, Yukie Kagawa, and Teruko Yumi.
Based
on the erotic horror author Edogawa Rampo's story, the film centers
around a medical student who is confronted by a evil mad scientist
and his malicious and deformed men. Psychedelic and over-stylized,
the film has a loose narrative that centers around repressed memories
and horrific visions.
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition with a 2.35:1 widescreen
aspect ratio and an Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio with newly
translated (optional) English subtitles. The film looks and sounds
fantastic as this restoration was definitely well needed and
deserved.
Special
Features include...
Two
audio commentaries by Japanese cinema experts Tom Mes and Mark
Schilling
Malformed
Movies:
a new video interview with Toei exploitation movie screenwriter
Masahiro Kakefuda
Malformed
Memories:
Filmmakers Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo the Iron Man) and Minoru
Kawasaki
(The Calamari Wrestler) on the career of director Teruo Ishii
Ishii
in Italia: Ishii and Mark Schilling visit the Far East Film Festival
Image
Gallery
Theatrical
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan
Mumford
and
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing by
Jasper Sharp, Tom Mes and Grady Hendrix.
Finally,
we have the return of Charles Brand's Puppet Master franchise, which
is the darling of independent horror film company Full Moon Pictures,
has been in need of a reboot/ upgrade for some time now. Thanks to
Fangoria Magazine, fans have a nice gory entry in the franchise to
check out - Puppet
Master: The Littlest Reich
(2018) which brings the franchise back to form.
The
film stars Thomas Lennon, Udo Kier, Charlyne Yi, Michael Pare, and
Nelson Franklin.
Edgar
(Lennon) returns to his childhood stomping grounds after a divorce
and finds one of the puppets in his dead brother's bedroom. When a
30th Anniversary celebration of the Toulon Murders sparks a
convention, Edgar decides to sell the doll to make some money... it
doesn't take long for the puppets to reunite at the convention and
all hell breaks loose!
The
Littlest Reich
is presented in 2160p HEVC/H.265, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced
Ultra High Definition image with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1
and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, both of which are a
noticeable upgrade over the also included 1080p Blu-ray disc (with
similar sound and picture specs). There's no doubt that this is the
best shot entry in the franchise, which was renowned for having a low
budget VHS look for previous installments. The colors are nice and
saturated and no noticeable issues.
The
Cast of Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
featurette
Puppets:
From Concept to Creation
featurette
Lightning
Girl Comic: From Sketch to Final
and
a Photo Gallery
While
not overly groundbreaking, Puppet
Master: The Littlest Reich
shows the the franchise still has some life left in it and is worth
checking out if you're a fan of the series.
-
James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/