Afraid
(2018/Well Go DVD)/Boris
Karloff Collection (1968,
1971/MVD/VCI DVD Set)/Constantine:
City Of Demons 4K
(2018/DC Comics/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/The
Row (2018/Lionsgate
Blu-ray)/Vault Of
Frankenstein
(2018/Hardcover/Quarto Books)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B-/C-/B+/B+ Sound: D/C+/B+/B+
Extras: D/D/B/C+ Films: D/C/B/C- Book: A
More
goodies in the Horror genre that happen to be released around
Halloween 2018...
From
the Co-Creator of Punk'd
and starring Alanna Masterson (of Walking
Dead
fame) comes Afraid
(2018), which is a terrible found footage film centered around a girl
and her obsessed stalker who attacks her and her boyfriend in a cabin
on a weekend getaway. You can see some of the influence of the
Punk'd
show's style here as it uses the 'hidden camera' as a way to tell its
story. However, Afraid
is so bad that it makes Paranormal
Activity
look like Citizen
Kane...
and I wasn't even a big fan of Paranormal Activity.
Where
to begin with this film? The bottom line with Afraid
is that its very anti-climatic and painfully predictable. Half of
the movie is just Alanna Masterson crying and screaming. The bottom
line? It's just not scary. Who is magically cutting all of this
footage together in the world of this film? It's very amateur and
was probably produced over the course of a weekend.
The
film is presented in anamorphically
enhanced 1.78:1
widescreen with a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital surround mix, both of which
are average for the format. Seeing that most of the movie is found
footage or shot using crappy cameras, this isn't exactly a film that
suffers from compression issues evident in the format.
The
only extra is a Trailer.
I
wouldn't suggest putting anyone through the torture of watching this
movie... unless it was by 'Punking' them (pun intended) into thinking
it was actually going to be good.
Boris
Karloff is one of the greatest horror actors of all time but like
many actors had a few not so great titles in his filmography.
Celebrated here is some of his lesser known (and schlockier) fare in
this new collection of four films from the late '60s-early '70s.
While the presentations here on DVD are nothing too special, this is
still a fun set that's makes for fine viewing during the Halloween
season. The VCI Boris
Karloff Collection
(1968,
1971).
All
of these films are directed by Jack Hill and Juan Ibanez and I rate
them... C+/C /C+/C-.
Dance
of Death
(1968) - Based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, this whodunnit mystery
circles around an ancestral mansion with a psychotic killer in the
mix.
Torture
Zone
(aka Fear
Chamber)
(1968) - This film has a psychotic killer in its core as well... only
this one has a thing for harvesting girl's organs for profit...
Alien
Terror
(aka The
Incredible Invasion)
(1971) - A Mexican horror film where Karloff discovers a powerful
ray gun in the early 1800s. However, an alien species doesn't think
its too good of an idea for mankind to have something so powerful.
Cult
of the Dead
(aka Isle
of the Snake People)
(1971) - A Mad Scientist creates an army of zombies fueled with LSD.
Need I say more?
The
films are all presented in their original 1.37:1 full frame aspect
ratio and paired with a new English Dolby Digital 2.0 mix.
Unfortunately, the transfers aren't very well restored and have a
rather hazy and clunky feel to them. Often times the image will jump
and there's a lack of detail all around on characters and
backgrounds. Granted, these films were probably shot on low grade
film, but there isn't anything too impressive about the presentation
here.
No
extras.
These
are fun Karloff films to look back on if you're a hardcore fan like I
am.
John
Constantine is one of DC Comics most interesting but flawed
characters and has gotten new life in the 2000s in the TV and film
world thanks to a live action TV series (which sadly wasn't renewed
for a second season) and the Keanu Reeves led film from 2005 that was
met with mixed reviews.
Here's
my review of Constantine:
The Complete Series...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15276/Constantine:+The+Complete+Series+(2014+-+201
He's
also a member of Justice
League Dark;
represented by another DC animated film that we reviewed...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14754/Justice+League+Dark+(2017/Limited+Edition+w/C
Constantine
(voiced again by Matt Ryan - the actor who played him in the live
action TV series) refuses to give up and returns in this new R-rated
animated feature, The
City of Demons
(2018), which is much more fun than expected. The
City of Demons
was produced in a dual format - initially as animated shorts, the
first five of which appeared on CW Seed. With a runtime of 90
minutes, the feature-length Constantine:
City of Demons
(2018) film has over an hour of never-before-seen content including
the film's climax.
John
Constantine, a Detective and master of the Occult, faces up against
his arch nemesis Nergaf in the seedy underbelly of L.A., where
hell-ish things are amok. Facing against a decades old mistake and
foes such as Nightmare Nurse, The Queen of Angels, Aztec God
MIctlantercuhtli, and the demon Beroul, Constantine bites off a bit
more than he can chew.
The
film earns its R-rating with some rather grotesque imagery of Hell
and some of its citizens, not to mention some of the language and
overall dark content. A character like Constantine lends himself
well to the animated format with its surreal characters and
backgrounds that would be pretty expensive if it were produced live
action.
The
animated film is presented here in 2160p HEVC/H.265, HDR (10; Ultra
HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image, a widescreen aspect
ratio of 1.78:1 and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix.
This is definitely a step up in presentation as opposed to other WB
DC 4Ks that I've reviewed in the past (namely Gotham
at Gaslight).
In this release, there's a tad more detail in the colors and
textures than the other included 1080p Blu-ray version of the film,
which has similar widescreen and sound specs. The animation has a
nice style to it and is similar to that of Batman:
The Animated Series.
A
digital copy is also included.
Special
Features (as explained by the press release):
The
Sorcerer's Occultist - Understanding John Constantine
- An exciting examination of the powers and abilities used by DC's
working-class occult detective, John Constantine.
Constantine:
City of Demons WonderCon Panel 2018 - Storytellers join City of
Demons' star Matt Ryan at this year's WonderCon for an inside look at
Constantine's latest adventure.
and
The
Sorcerer's Occultist
- Understanding John Constantine
This
standalone Constantine animated film is a treat for fans and pretty
close to its source material. I would definitely recommend checking
it out if you enjoyed the TV series or the film.
Sorority
Horror Film The
Row
(2018) is about as cookie cutter as a slasher film can get. Similar
in tone to Valentine,
Urban
Legends,
and Scream,
the film centers around a series of gruesome murders that happen at a
sorority house and its up to Randy Couture to solve the mystery.
What
at first was thought to be a hazing to induct new members, it's soon
apparent that this vicious killer has plans to make his victims into
'dolls' upon their demise and cutting off different body parts each
time. But who could this killer be?
The
Row
stars Lala Kent, Mia Rose Frampton, Sarah McDaniel, Dylan Sprayberry,
and Lexi Atkins.
Lionsgate
always does a great job with their Blu-ray presentations and this is
no exception. The film is presented in its original 1.78:1 widescreen
aspect ratio and a nice sounding English 5.1 DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) lossless mix. The details on the characters are impeccable
and the film is shot pretty nice on the digital HD format.
A
digital copy is also included.
Special
Features include...
Director's
Commentary
Behind
the Scenes Featurette
and
an HD Trailer
While
the film has more beautiful women than you can shake a stick at,
unfortunately that's about the most it has going for it. The plot
isn't too original, acting isn't the best, the gore isn't over the
top enough, and it becomes way so reliant on its police procedural
angle that at some parts I had to remind myself that it wasn't an
episode of CSI.
Frankenstein
is one of the most iconic characters in horror history and we now get
a full overview of his history with this beautiful new book - The
Vault of Frankenstein
(2018) which is written by Paul Ruditis. A must have for
Franken-Fans the world over!
Spanning
the 200 year lifespan of the character, the book dives in deep with
the beginnings of the Monster's creation with the story by Mary
Shelley, various plays, and then the various cinematic incarnations
everything from the silent film to Boris Karloff to Hammer Films
(specifically Christopher Lee's interpretation) and up to present
day.
The
book even highlights the many films over the past few decades that
are based on the Frankenstein character, both directly and
indirectly, which I found interesting. Characters such as Lurch from
The
Addams Family.
Each page of the book is beautiful and highly detailed with poster
reproductions and nice stills from the films.
Of
course for Universal, Frankenstein was also played by Lon Chaney Jr.,
Bela Lugosi, and Glenn Strange. In later years the monster was
portrayed different by Robert DeNiro in Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein
(1994) and in the 2000s more outlandish interpretations as seen in
the films Van
Helsing
(2004) and I,
Frankenstein
(2014).
The
primary focus is on the most famous incarnation of the character
which is obviously the Karloff version and his Bride. Attention is
magnified on other appearances of the monster as well that aren't
strictly cinematic: in theater, cartoons (such as The
Nightmare Before Christmas
and Frankenweenie),
cereal boxes (Franken-berries), toys, and interpretations that aren't
horror related and spoofs such as Young
Frankenstein.
Even Famous Monsters of Filmland and Forrest J. Ackerman are
mentioned!
The
book also contains as a bonus replica memorabilia in a nice
envelope-shaped back cover slip:
The
Bride of Frankenstein movie poster
Pages
from Mary Shelley's original manuscript of Frankenstein; or, The
Modern Prometheus
Photo
of Boris Karloff on the set of Universal's Frankenstein
Playbill
for Presumption; or The Fate of Frankenstein, the first stage
adaptation of Frankenstein
and
a Frankenstein movie poster
Just
in time for the Halloween season, I highly recommend this book to
classic monster fans or to anyone who is fond of this character and
wants to dive deep.
-
James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
