Brick Of Blood (Elite DVD set)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Films: C
Elite Entertainment has simply taken six of their catalog
titles and wrapped them up (literally in cellophane) for a set they have dubbed
Brick Of Blood, which offers those titles at a discount when you buy all
six. The titles are as follows:
Dark Forces (1980) – The second most
interesting title in this blah set stars Robert Powell as a strange male
harlequin/savoir figure who may rally be pure evil. David Hemmings is purposely cast here so the producers can try to
do a supernatural take on his association with Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow
Up (1966, reviewed elsewhere on this site) and Broderick Crawford also
shows up to try to make this seem like legitimate Horror product. The result is too silly, light and
unintentionally dated parts that hurt what little effect the film may have
had. A curio at best, the
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image has moments of good color, but the
picture is above average, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono also shows the
film’s age.
Horror (2002) – See my review for this turkey at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2904/Horror+(2002)
The Incubus (1981) – John Cassavetes and
John Ireland star in this miss about a demon who kills in relation to sex and
dreams. The creature is never
convincing and the idea that it can become a succubus makes that problem much
worse. The anamorphically enhanced 1.85
X 1 image shows the age of the soft print and transfer too much, while the
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is adequate at best.
A trailer is included. This was
towards the end of Cassavetes life and career, followed by the Horror film Tempest. Rosemary’s Baby neither were, but
this had potential. We recently looked
at the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker on DVD, which included one of
the four shows not broadcast since 1975, Demon In Lace. It was about a succubus and is infinitely
scarier, more creepy and smarter than this film, including a more believable
creature. Try that one (and that set
for that matter) instead.
Mutant (1984) – This disaster is only saved form total
bomb status by Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins and some semblance of an attempt of
storytelling. Too bad this drags on
forever and has a stupid monster on all levels. Yawn! The anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image shows the age of the print and transfer too much, with
only some good shots, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is adequate at
best. This was a Dolby A-type analog
release, but the sound is too old. A
trailer is included.
Night Of The Living Dead – Basic THX Edition (1968)
– Yet another edition of the over-released classic, this one is THX-approved
and involved George Romero. Elite
released this basic edition before their expanded Millennium Edition. If you must own it, that version and NOT
this one is the one to have for now, though it has its own performance
problems. Read more about that Millennium
Edition and its sequels elsewhere on this site. You can reach the Millennium Edition review at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2677/Night+Of+The+Living+Dead+-+Mil
Syngenor (1990) – This mess is about a
creature dubbed “synthetic genetic organism” and it is too bad the script was
not a tenth as clever. This bomb is
just an excuse to mix in very badly done Robocop elements with the
already played out elements of the Alien films and blow things up while
grossing out the audience. There are
many extras for a good laugh for all the wrong reasons, but this is a dud. The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image
shows the already tired age of the print and production with ugly shots
throughout, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds and 5.1
mix are lame and shrill.
All added together, this is only for genre obsesses, and
even they could do better. Elite has
better product on the market, but if you must have them, now they’re cheaper.
- Nicholas Sheffo
