Giant
From The Unknown
(1958/Film Detective Blu-ray)/Love
and Monsters 4K
(2020/Paramount 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Six
Days In Roswell
(1999) w/Suckers
(2001/Synapse Blu-ray)/Wolf
Of Snow Hollow
(2020/Warner Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B+ Sound: B+/A-/B+/B+
Extras: C+ Films: B/C+/C/C+
Now
for some new horror releases, including a few restorations....
We'll
start with the B-Movie classic Giant
From The Unknown
(1958) is available on Blu-ray now from The Film Detective in a
stunning new remaster that looks as if the film was shot yesterday.
Featuring makeup from the Universal Monster makeup master Jack
Pierce, Giant
From The Unknown
has some fun movie monster moments with the giant Vargas, and follows
the classic archetypes that fans have come to love! This collectible
Blu-ray disc is definitely one that Monster Kids will want to pick up
and add to their collection!
The
film stars Ed Kemmer, Sally Fraser, and Bob Steele with direction by
Richard E. Cunha.
An
ancient axe wielding creature named Vargas is unearthed from his
centuries worth of slumber and brought back to life! As he
terrorizes a scientific research team, they soon come face to face
with the vicious monster despite being warned by many. Of course,
there's a lot of rock throwing and damsel in distress moments that
make these films so beloved.
Giant
From The Unknown
is presented in a VC-1 Codec in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with a 1.85:1
widescreen aspect ratio and an English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0
Mono lossless mix. The black and white film looks very nice here in
this 4K remaster which is the best this film has ever looked on disc!
Special
Features:
Audio
Commentary with Author/ Historian Tom Weaver and Guests
Audio
Commentary with co-star Gary Crutcher
'YOU'RE
A B-MOVIE STAR, CHARLIE BROWN' - An all-new interview
actor/screenwriter Gary Crutcher
'THE
MAN WITH A BADGE: BOB STEELE IN THE 1950'S' - An all-new interview
with author/film historian C. Courtney Joyner
Still
Gallery
Restoration
trailer
and
a Collector's booklet written by author/historian Tom Weaver
Next,
Love
and Monsters
4K
(2020) is a mix of romantic comedy meets B-movie bug horror and
places us in a future where bugs and earth's little creatures have
grown enormously in size and are now a constant threat. With the lot
of mankind wiped out, humans have resorted to living in various
bunkers in small groups in order to survive. One young man named Joel
(Dylan O'Brien of the Maze
Runner
series), is still hung up on a girl that he was separated from seven
years prior, and decides to finally work up the guts to go and see
her. The only problem is that he's not much of a hunter and around
every corner, there's something that wants to eat him.
The
film also features Michael Rooker, Jessica Henwick, Ellen Hollman,
and Melanie Zanetti. Direction is by Michael Matthews (Five
Fingers for Marseilles).
Love
and Monsters
employs strong feats of digital effects, however, most of them still
look a bit fake even though they are highly detailed. In some
moments, this film reminds me of an updated Ray Harryhausen film
where humans are pitted against giant crab creatures and the like.
However, this can't escape the sappy voice over and overall mediocre
acting from its lead and not enough Michael Rooker! There's some fun
moments to be had throughout the piece, however, but it's mainly a
forgettable popcorn muncher aimed at a teen audience.
Love
and Monsters
has a beautiful presentation here on 4K UHD with a codec of
HEVC/H.265 and a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and an lossless
English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The film looks
fantastic here and is enhanced by Dolby Vision and HDR (High Dynamic
Range), which makes it a very enjoyable watch. The film's effects
are sharper and much more vivid than in the also included 1080p
Blu-ray disc with similar widescreen / audio specs as the 4K UHD that
is also included. The film definitely has a decent budget and feels
like it was a sizable production.
Special
Features:
Deleted
Scenes
Bottom
of the Food Chain: The Cast of Love and Monsters
featurette
and
It's a
Monster's World: Creating a Post Apocalyptic Landscape
featurette
Love
and Monsters
is a cute and flashy Hollywood movie, but ultimately isn't anything
that special that we haven't seen before. Still it's too bad that
the film didn't get a chance to play in theaters due to the
coronavirus pandemic as it could have played well. The 4K UHD
presentation here, however, is nothing to scoff at.
Two
films have been nicely restored to HD and presented here on one
Blu-ray disc: Six
Days in Roswell
(1999) and Suckers
(2001).
In
Six
Days In Roswell,
Director Tim Johnson goes to Roswell, New Mexico during an alien
convention in the town and with star Rich Kronfeld asks the locals
and otherwise why they believe in the alien phenomenon. The film has
some credible interview subjects in the field, but is mostly a
mockumentary starring Kronfeld and is more than a little bit silly.
There are some interesting ideas presented in the film, but it tries
too hard to make fun of the subject and the people that believe in it
instead of really embracing it and taking a scarier or more thrilling
route.
Suckers
is a screwy indie comedy with Lori Loughton (Full
House
alumni recently in the news as of this posting for off-screen
reasons) in a supporting role and makes light of the lives of some
used car salesmen. While they are scummy on the lot they are even
more so in their private lives. The film centers mainly on the art
of the deal and how far some dealers will go to get the cash.
Suckers
also features Joe Yannetty, Jake Johannsen, and Daniel Benzali.
Both
Suckers
and Six
Days in Roswell
are presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with audio mixes in lossless
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo. The
films have been scanned nicely in HD and look great on disc here.
Special
Features:
Audio
Commentaries for both films
Making
of Six Days in Roswell
Deleted
Scenes (Suckers)
Raw
Takes (Suckers)
and
Trailers for both films.
Finally...
Pretty
decent for a recent werewolf movie, The
Wolf of Snow Hollow
(2020) finds its way on disc courtesy of Warner Bros. A small town
falls victim to several vicious killings at the hand of a werewolf.
Skeptical and overwhelmed in his personal life, the town's local
Sheriff attempts to track down and kill the culprit of the murders,
to which he refuses to believe is this supernatural creature. A mix
of horror and comedy, the film is interestingly made but doesn't have
too many lovable characters.
The
film stars Jim Cummings (who also writes and directs), Riki Lindhome,
and the late Robert Forster.
The
Wolf of Snow Hollow
is presented in 1080p Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and a
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and paired with a lossless English
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The film is shot very
nicely, particularly the scenes that feature the werewolf, which do a
good job of showing just enough to make it look realistic.
Special
Features:
The
Story and the Genre
- featurette
The
Impetus
- featurette
Working
with Jim Cummings
- featurette
and
The
Design of the Werewolf
- featurette
There's
some interesting moments in The
Wolf of Snow Hollow
that makes it worth checking out for wolf fans, even if its climax
leaves a little to be desired.
-
James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
