The Grim Cellar

1960, US, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

B&W, Running Time: 109 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, RB, Universal; Video: 1.85:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS MA

There’s almost certainly nobody out there who hasn’t already seen this seminal piece of work from one of the field’s most acknowledged and fascinating directors, but just on the off chance I’ll explain the early stages of plot very briefly and without spoilers: an otherwise reasonable woman spontaneously steals a large sum of money from her estate agent employer and heads out to California to meet up with her boyfriend. Being confronted by a cop on the way who can smell something wrong she exchanges her car to divert attention away from herself. After a couple of days driving the exhausted woman is caught in a storm at night and leaves the highway to stop at a lonely motel. Here she meets the manager Norman Bates, a reserved and possibly deep young man who is ruled over by a psychologically deteriorating mother. He looks after the outlaw but soon there is a brutal murder committed on the premises that Norman feels obliged to clear up after and essentially cover up for. It would seem that the owners of the motel hide a disturbing past that collides with the unfortunate arrival of a young woman who has seen the error of her ways, possibly a little too late.

There is extensive analysis of this film elsewhere on the web and in literature so I’ll cover my own opinion with as much brevity as I can. Psycho is almost the grandfather of the slasher film, preceding Halloween (the official birth of the sub-genre) by around eighteen years. Of course there is not the explicit violence on display that would become a staple of the slasher film (especially up into the contemporary era) and there is significantly more of an emphasis on character examination than in even the best that said genre has to offer, but identification marks are present that would mutate over the next few years to become things like, dare I say it, I Know What You Did Last Summer… Anthony Perkins alerted the world to his presence as Norman Bates, a character who exhibits nervousness and a neurotic tendency to hide things, traits that are carried out by Perkins almost too convincingly. Indeed after many viewings the character is incredibly intriguing to watch during some of the long dialogue sequences between him and several of the other people that come by the hotel during the course of the story. Generally I think the other actors do a really good job too, though the side is let down slightly by the iron-jawed boyfriend hero played by John Gavin, a guy who could have contributed to any fifties sci-fi movie quite nicely. The film is shot appropriately in a noir style that elevates the contrast between dark and light and maintains the moodiness while the distinguishing score by Bernard Herrmann is frequently unnerving, and often seems to ape the sound of a knife being quickly driven the through the air… This man made his debut with Citizen Kane; if ever there was an explosive way to begin one’s career that was probably it, but for me he cemented his talents with the likes of Psycho and Cape Fear a couple of years later. With a daring exploration of psychopathic mental breakdown and the manifestation of Hitchcock’s morbid sense of humour combined with a cinematic brutality that was at that point almost unheard of, Psycho deconstructed boundaries in film and remains a powerful viewing experience to this day.

Universal have released Hitchcock’s film to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, and they seem to have knocked the ball out of the park! There is no comparison between this Blu-ray Disc and its former appearance on DVD - the image on BD is sharp and almost always vivid with non-intrusive grain. Blacks are deep with general greyscales maintained at balanced levels. If ever anyone thinks that old films can’t look good enough to warrant a Blu-ray release then they need to see a comparison between this Universal disc and the DVDs before it - it’s glorious to watch, and a testament to the fact that Blu-ray represents what films should look. This is how I imagine it might have looked when originally seen in cinemas and stamps on anything previous formats have had to offer. Sound is thoughtfully provided in two options: the original hiss-free mono track, and a careful recreation of the soundtrack in surround. The latter is actually very good, keeping dialogue to the front centre whilst opening the music up across the whole field (embellishing its impact), and spreading effects where most appropriate (the storm that Janet Leigh finds herself in is a good example of this, with rain surrounding the viewer). Of course there will always be purists who don’t agree with this kind of modernisation of an old movie’s soundtrack, but nobody can complain with the presence of both options. The film is accompanied by a plethora of extras, including commentary, documentaries, analyses, and an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents based on a Roald Dahl novel. This is a truly brilliant disc from Universal and an example of how to do it right - film fans should have this in their collection. It also happens to be an example of why Blu-ray is the film lover’s dream - it gives us the movie in a manner that surely can’t be bettered on any medium, imitating its source as closely as can be desired (i.e. any greater resolution is surely only going to give us more grain?). I bought the limited edition tin and this attractive steel box is preferable over the standard case in appearance/feel, and because it contains a booklet with further information/images from the production.

2009, US/Canada, Directed by George A Romero

Colour, Running Time: 90 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, RB, Optimum; Video: 2.39:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS HD MA

Several days after the dead begin to walk a long running feud on a secluded island results in stubborn rogue Seamus being banished because of his relentless, apathetic drive to despatch all of the island’s wandering corpses, despite objections from family members who refuse to accept that their loved ones are ‘gone’. A few weeks later, back on the mainland, a military man (Alan Van Sprang, playing the same character as that in Diary of the Dead) and his small team of devotees go AWOL and decide the only way to escape the ensuing mayhem is to find an island which they can claim for themselves. Heading out to the harbour after seeing an internet broadcast by Seamus they run into a virtual ambush that sees them the victors. Somehow Seamus survives the body count and manages to beguile and tag along with the team of soldiers as they head out to Seamus’ home island by ferry. There they run head-on back into the same feud that Seamus is still effectively integral to, now somewhat mutated by the fact that half of the populace are currently dead and walking around in a threatening manner…

For those not in the know, this is Romero’s sixth official zombie movie, following fairly hot on the heals of Diary of the Dead (and paying cool homage to that movie at one point), which itself trailed the fairly popular Land of the Dead. Despite this being a Romero production, written and directed by the man who gave us several genuine classics decades ago, I find this very difficult to consider as part of the official ‘Dead’ series, and the same goes for its aforementioned predecessors too. Almost in similar fashion to how Star Wars fans think of George Lucas’s prequels, these last three films of Romero’s are just not in the same class as the originals (which I only watched about a week ago, for approximately the eleventh time over the years). Land of the Dead I really wanted to like at the time, and gave it the benefit of the doubt by watching it several times over the coming years thinking that perhaps mine was a premature reaction akin to that which Day of the Dead received from a large portion of the fan base twenty years before. I finally gave up trying to like it, and I’m sorry to say I’m not even going to give Survival… the same opportunity. The script is of comparable quality as Land of the Dead (i.e. functional but out of touch and displaying the need to point everything out to a patronised audience) and Romero has clearly lost his feel for extracting superb performances from relatively unknown actors. This new film is mundane in almost every way - it doesn’t look better than much else at the moment, there are very few original ideas in here, and the gore is nice but we saw all this before (and whilst I’m not a ‘CG-knocker’ like many film lovers out there, the man does appear to be utilising computer graphics for the bloody bits a bit too often - is Tom Savini not available anymore?). I came away from the film thinking, what was the point? It’s all just okay: if Romero’s series were being made for TV I could understand - Survival… gives the impression of having a storyline that’s written for such a series rather than having what should be a monumental impact. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t consider this to be a bad film in any sense, but it has no right to be filed alongside Dawn of the Dead (I’m even loathe to mention the first three films in the same review) and could have been shot by any number of very average directors. Some of the poster art and Blu-ray/DVD covers for this film have been pretty cool, but really that’s the only cool thing about it.  Taking the lead from earlier films, there is further indication of an evolutionary aspect whereby some of the islanders have the idea that they can retrain the corpses to eat animals rather than humans - possibly suggesting that ultimately they will turn into us in some form or another, and also resulting in the film’s goriest sequence. Other than that, this seed of an idea doesn’t really go anywhere useful.  Romero tries to suggest he’s in touch with the times by, for example, having the youth who tags along claiming that PCs are out of date as he produces an iPod (or something of the kind) but it just doesn’t wash. Perhaps the storyline suggests that people aren’t willing to get along with their neighbours and that less than amicable situations can lead to ongoing disagreements that can eventually result in death (and beyond in this case); perhaps also Romero relies too much on his now infamous ‘social commentaries’ these days rather than simply trying to make a great film.

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This very ordinary movie is matched by an even more ordinary disc from Optimum - whilst the audio and visual reproduction of this digitally shot movie is very nice in HD, there is absolutely zilch in way of extras. A highly unusual move nowadays and the sceptic may have suspected a better release at some point down the road, a notion confirmed by the recent news that there is going to be an ‘Ultimate Undead Edition’ released by Magnolia in the US by the end of August - this will feature a commentary, documentary, intro by Romero, and a short spin-off film. Despite that, the fairly priced Optimum disc will have to suffice until something better is announced for the UK, though I’m more disappointed by the fact that, in an age of chilling movies like Triangle, the downright disturbing Martyrs, or even the rocking remake of Dawn of the Dead, Romero’s sluggish dead-fest just doesn’t cut it.

1977, US, Directed by John Boorman

Colour, Running Time: 113 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R2, Warner; Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic, Audio: DD Mono

Four years after the supposed exorcism of the demon possessing a young girl by the name of Regan, Father Lamont is assigned to investigate the event to determine whether the priest that was killed at the time was legitimate in his actions. Lamont attends a centre for children with difficulties where Regan is being helped overcome her trauma by Dr Tuskin, a woman who is pioneering the use of a ‘synchroniser’ device that permits a hypnotist to view the same memories as their hypnotised subject. With Lamont present Tuskin takes Regan back to the event of 1973, at which point Tuskin begins to experience irregular heart palpitations that threaten her life. Believing he knows what’s going on Lamont steps in to ‘pull out’ Lamont from Regan’s regressed memory. It becomes a disturbance to him to realise that a demon called Pazuzu is still attempting to break through into the physical world using Regan’s unwitting mind, body and soul.

The infamous first film was an international success of course, something that was bound to result in a follow up sooner or later. Utilising different writers and director on this project would inevitably produce a different film altogether, and that proved not to be in its favour either. Exorcist II straddles a thick line between being a potentially scary and intelligent movie, possibly in a similar fashion to The Omen a year before it, and being a ridiculous hamfest that can’t get enough right. Too often it falls into the latter category. Richard Burton was brought in to play Father Lament, and lament we should have because his performance here is an over-the-top joke most of the time. Not helped by some of the lines he’s forced to deliver. This is a perfect example of someone attempting to be deadly serious throughout but coming across as a complete prat instead - Patrick Troughton would have (and did) do the same thing with far more potent results. Burton’s hard-edged voice suited something like Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds but here seems at odds with the rest of the cast. Linda Blair returns as Regan natch, now several years older and several times as hot! Her desires to become a critically relevant actress were sadly never to be - she went on to star in the rape-revenge exploitation flick Savage Streets, and average supernatural non-frighteners such as Hell Night and Witchcraft (aka Witchery) but, whilst still vocationally active, I’m sure her career is done no favours by roles in the likes of The Blair Bitch Project! Anyway, she’s functional here though at least is pleasing to look at - one of the few plus points in Exorcist II. What is both compelling and utterly potty is Regan’s possessed equivalent, a poignant creation in The Exorcist to be transformed here into a weirdo fancy dress failure that misses the mark, although not by much. With perhaps a more perceptive director behind the reins (John Boorman was never meant to shoot horror pictures), this film could have perhaps hit a few more of its many targets. One area where its ambition is evident but ultimately not fully realised is a brief exploration of science/religion debates where Lament’s theistic beliefs clash with Tuskin’s resolute attitude towards pragmatic explanation of everything. There are a few other pseudo-intellectual contributions to the script, alas not enough to save the project overall. Similarly there are moments in the African sequences that are quite good in their elaboration of a strange world (I particularly like the idea that one spiritual place has to be reached by climbing between two frightening looking cliffs, the drop below like something out of a nightmare). So, whilst the content itself is not complete rubbish, the execution largely is. Despite this, a shambles was not nearly enough to kill off such a lucrative and notorious franchise as there were several more instalments (the third chapter itself not being bad at all actually) that were to be unleashed on to those wishing to commit self harm.

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Warner’s UK DVD is presented with an anamorphic image containing plenty of SD detail, albeit one lacking contrast (that can be fixed to an extent with one’s AV equipment). Alongside this is a functional mono track with an absence of real impact. There is (as bonus material) an alternative opening segment that wasn’t used for the main feature, and basically has Richard Burton narrating what brings him to his present circumstances, with some shots from the original film to outline this. The theatrical trailer is worth a watch because it’s completely off its head - manic disco music accompanies almost the entire story edited into its two minute timeslot. The film should have killed the series dead, as the first one was the only excellent one of the lot. However, whilst The Exorcist remains a landmark piece of cinema, part 2 is notable for all the wrong reasons unfortunately.

2003, US, Directed by Len Wiseman

Colour, Running Time: 139 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, RB, EIV; Video: 2.39:1 1080p 24fps, Audio: DTS

A rivalry between werewolves and vampires that began a millennium ago continues into the present day when it becomes apparent to the coven of vampires that a foreboding ‘lycan’ is killing off the bloodsuckers with a small army and a new weapon. Action vampiress Selene notices that the lycans appear to be pursuing what looks like an ordinary human called Michael and sets out to find out what’s going on - it turns out that Michael is blissfully ignorant himself, until it’s revealed that he’s the unwitting carrier of a unique gene that holds the key to a new hybrid species. Developing mutual attraction, Selene becomes the protector of Michael as both species indulge their interest in him for one reason or another, leading to a bloody subterranean showdown between the ancient rivals.

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When the film was released a few years ago Underworld looked like little more than a popcorn foray into gothic/action horror, one the earlier examples of a contemporary generation that manifests itself to this day with the likes of the Twilight films. The (original) story was a little convoluted and hard to follow considering one would go into something like this expecting to temporarily detach the brain from consciousness and the accomplished visuals gave the impression of an emphasis of style over content. Clearly amassing some popularity, the film has spawned a couple of sequels and has probably proved to be quite influential several years later (contribution towards what is now an unnecessary proliferation of vampire TV and cinema). I always thought it was reasonably entertaining candy for the eyes at best, though that opinion has improved a little thanks to repeat viewings, and more so finally seeing it on Blu-ray. The persistently dark visuals do certainly take centre stage, almost stealing the spotlight throughout, however the story has grown on me over the years. Kate Beckinsale had been around as an actress for a while but it was Underworld that granted her a certain degree of appeal to larger numbers of fans - this is mainly because she is utterly gorgeous as Selene, and dressed in a ridiculously tight spandex/leathery suit that would be welcome in most S&M dungeons (as well as the majority of bedrooms). It also had the unfortunate (from her perspective) side effect of pigeonholing the British actress to a degree, resulting in her repeatedly threatening to quit acting but never quite managing. The rest of the cast do an acceptable job of looking like the yuppie Goth outsiders they’re supposed to be. The action sequences are usually accompanied by machine gunfire exploding from all directions and despite promoting mild excitement these scenes do seem to be aimed mostly at the teen crowd. Special effects tend to be very good and include some excellent werewolf transformations amidst the copious body-dropping, although the revelation of the hybrid creature that feels like it should be climactic turns out to give us a less than powerful disappointment of a monster that was built up by the script but has to have its butt saved by a lady. With a film such as this there are going to be shortcomings from anybody’s point of view, but it does create a tangible world of darkness where humans are rarely seen, incorporating characters wrapped up in their own little soap opera in between bouts of blowing each other away with limitless ammunition. The conclusion sets itself up nicely for the sequel that followed three years later.

Having watched this on VHS many full moons ago, followed by DVD on a few occasions since, I actually enjoyed Underworld more on Blu-ray than before, probably due to the noticeable enhancements to the image quality. There are fluctuating grain levels but the detail is improved to a point where individual hairs on Beckinsale’s beautiful head are often quite vivid. There isn’t a great range to the palette, which largely consists of blues and blacks, but I suspect the original cinematography is fairly faithfully reproduced. I was disappointed by the lone inclusion of a non-HD DTS track, meaning that the Blu-ray doesn’t offer much of an upgrade audio-wise. This track is foolishly referred to as ‘Dolby Digital 5.1’ in the menu system and EIV’s ignorance extends to the cover details that claim this is ‘anamorphic widescreen’ - anybody who knows anything about the technical specifications of DVD and Blu-ray knows that this refers to the electronic compression/decompression technique employed on DVDs to provide increased resolution for the benefit of widescreen VDU owners - it has no relevance in Blu-ray terminology (though you’ll still see reviewers erroneously say that Blu-rays are presented in anamorphic widescreen) which delivers a resolution most suitable to widescreen displays by default. The disc also seems to be missing an audio commentary, although the rest of the useful extras are still there alongside the fact that the film is presented in its extended cut. EIV took an age to understand the difference between VHS and DVD, so it’s not a surprise to find them a bit slow taking full advantage of superior Blu-ray technology - for example, the US Sony disc comes with an uncompressed 5.1 PCM track. Despite the fact that the release could be better, Underworld on Blu-ray still beats the DVD with the marked improvement in picture quality, and I found the movie itself highly watchable in high definition.

1972, Spain, Directed by Leon Klimovsky

Colour, Running Time: 83 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R2, Mondo Macabro; Video: Anamorphic 1.66:1, Audio: DD Mono

Somewhere in mid London (subtly hinted at with an opening shot of Big Ben…) a bunch of toffs are enjoying a little party where eminent hunter and host Kosta is showing off his collection of severed animal heads, which are boastful evidence of his bravely murderous exploits in foreign lands. The party is also attended to by Dr Jekyll, a practising doctor who jests about the existence of werewolves upon seeing one of the wolf heads. Kosta pines for his Hungarian homeland, somewhere in Transylvania, and soon arranges a driving trip with his wife Justine (a woman who seems to be loved by all of the main male characters) to visit the village of the hunter’s origin. Upon arrival in the land lost in time they’re warned at a tavern not to stop by the old graveyard where Kosta says his family are buried, and there’s talk of a nearby castle where the owner is a “monster” and also present there is one Ms Bathory… Needless to say the couple do not heed any warnings (he’s not travelled several hundred miles in an old Jag just to be scared off by some crazy villager) and wandering around the graveyard they’re attacked by bandits - known raiders that roam the hills in search of loot and a bit of female flesh. Kosta is brutally murdered in the process but Justine is saved by strapping Waldermar Daninsky who, exercising necessary self defence to the minimum, smashes a bandit’s head in with a heavy boulder. It soon materialises that the reclusive Daninsky has his own problems and each full moon brings about a werewolf transformation that he’s desperate to see the back of. Justine mentions that she knows of a great doctor in London and begs him to come back for treatment. Quickly falling in love with one another (this woman wastes no time clearly) they head off in a rush when they realise the angry villagers have formed a lynch mob and want Daninsky’s blood spread over the castle grounds. Back in London, Jekyll has the crack-headed idea of injecting Daninsky with the serum that his grandfather developed, turning the foreigner into Mr Hyde (as if he didn’t have enough shit on his plate), thereby somehow causing him and the werewolf to battle before an antidote is administered to leave a cured Daninsky… eh?!? They actually go ahead with this insane scheme and soon London is the alternating hunting ground of a nasty Mr Hyde and the bloodthirsty werewolf.

To say this is a mixing pot of a plethora of ideas is a bit of an understatement - characters routinely theorise about what’s going on with unrestrained imagination; one villager reckons that the castle is inhabited by Countess Bathory, an evil witch who, if you catch her eye, will curse you forever in a glance - that’s not how I remember the Bathory legend! There’s also mention of vampires upon revelation that Kosta wants to go back to Transylvania - with everything else going on it’s actually surprising that one didn’t show up. We even get a deformed leper who initially scares the snobby couple from England, later assisting Daninsky with such routine tasks as burying corpses. The settings for each act are similarly chaotic - we go from swinging seventies London to Transylvania, which seems like some medieval world where villagers are clothed in rags and sit in taverns with no electricity. Later on we’re back in modern London and Jekyll’s laboratory where we’re almost plunged into science fiction territory with flashing lights, strange sounds, and a strapped down guinea pig being transformed from one monster to another. Then, once Hyde has been on the move for a while, the streets of London are fog enshrouded and the attempted murder of a drunken bystander results in police whistles as if we’ve gone back a hundred years! All of this makes one shake the cranium in disbelief at times, but it also produces quite an pleasurable, if schizophrenic ride, through genre ideas that were either implemented in a sense of fun, or simply misunderstood by the writers. Having said all that, there are moments of acknowledgeable proficiency as displayed periodically by director Klimovsky in other films: the awakening of Justine in the centuries old castle and her subsequent meandering through the dark corridors by candlelight is exceedingly spooky, and similarly the locations used for Transylvania’s barren landscapes, its graveyard and castle, are incredibly cold and desolate. The windswept, intermittently snowy regions are the perfect backdrop for the half hour dark ages-style segment of the story that takes place there. The score is supplied by Antón García Abril, a composer known for his versatility as he worked in anything from operas to many a good Spanish horror film. His work here is nicely executed and enhances a number of sequences such as the aforementioned castle exploration.

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The main problem for me is Daninsky’s werewolf - despite supposedly being the star of the show, the creature is frustratingly ineffectual here, staggering impotently about as if he didn’t know what to do and lumbering towards victims with a distinct lack of velocity or aggression. The London disco set piece is a consequential lost opportunity - the werewolf appears in the club, panic ensues as everyone scrambles for the exit, and… that’s it! No massacre, no pile of torn up bodies, nothing! I think the problem is a combination of slow editing and Klimovsky’s absent knack for action. Hyde is actually more potent - a sinister individual who at least looks like he might cause violent havoc (and proving this at one point by strangling a prostitute with her own stocking). There’s lots to smile at in the film - I particularly like the way Justine goes off to Transylvania with one man and comes back after the former’s death with another, and nobody seems to bat an eyelid! Whilst not one of the greatest Spanish genre films around, there’s so much going on in Dr Jekyll Versus The Werewolf (or Dr. Jekyll Y El Hombre Lobo) it’s difficult not to find it a little bit endearing, even if it doesn’t really hit all of its copious targets. The wonderful Mondo Macabro rescued it from obscurity albeit in its domestic ‘clothed’ variety - admittedly unfortunate, however, just about all of the other boxes are ticked. Audio is provided as Spanish language (adequately translated with English subtitles), an original 1.66:1 aspect ratio (i.e. slightly window-boxed) is presented with very attractive image quality that stands up admirably to large screen projection, and a few extras include text history of Spanish horror and a twenty minute video interview with Paul Naschy. I believe the DVD is out of print so it does tend to cost a bit to pick it up nowadays - even a couple of years ago I don’t think I could get it for less than ten or eleven pounds. Regardless I consider this a cool disc to have in my collection and another plus for Mondo Macabro.

1986, US, Directed by Fred Dekker

Colour, Running Time: 89 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, RA, Sony; Video: 1.85:1 24fps 1080p, Audio: DTS HD

Distant space: a chase around an alien spacecraft results in the launching of a capsule containing some unexplained test project deep into the cosmos. 1950s, Earth: two lovers see a ‘meteorite’ crash in the nearby woods; the guy goes off to investigate it just in time to witness hundreds of slug-like creatures crawl from the impact site - he never returns. 1980s/the present: a motley pair of college outcasts, Chris and JC, decide to join a fraternity of popular dudes so Chris can impress the new girl of his creams, sorry, dreams: Cindy. The trouble is, their initiation prank involves obtaining a dead body and leaving it outside one of the student buildings. Their adventurous desire to impress brings them to the local science facility as they stumble upon a laboratory where a cadaver appears to be stored in a state of suspended animation. Fooling around with the controls they manage to unlock the chamber and decide this is the body they’ll use for the prank. Much to their shock the corpse opens its eyes - they panic and run, but when the cops arrive at the scene they find the cryogenic study has ‘disappeared’. Meanwhile, outside the girls’ student quarters, Cindy sees a man staggering around by one of the windows; his head explodes and out crawl dozens of slug-like creatures. These things seem to have an attraction for gestating within human or animal brains leaving the host to walk around in virtual living death until the slugs are ready to escape into the outside world to find more hosts and therefore multiply even further…

Approached in a tongue-in-cheek manner the material functions adeptly on several levels, juxtaposing fun and frights while unfolding a well considered story that weaves a surprising number of its own narrative elements together. It’s refusal to take itself overly seriously (indicated, for example, by naming the characters after genre directors that were popular at the time, and still are in some cases…) actually enhances the drama and tension in places. College dorks, Chris and JC, make for an amusing and endearing pair of leads that are easy to identify with for anyone who didn’t exactly fit in with the main dudes during their educational years, although I find Chris’s evolution from total nerd to hero a bit corny and implausible even in the context of this kind of movie. Embedded in the 80s the film might prove nostalgic for anyone who happened to be a teenager during the period. Delivering some of the best lines, Tom Atkins is brilliant as the cynical cop who hides a past that intricately plays an active part in the story. Dekker must have stretched the budget to its limits with the early sequence set on the spacecraft (which lasts a mere couple of minutes) followed by some excellent special FX work later on. Incorporating many elements of genre convention, from the walking dead to exploding heads and alien slugs, and combining them with a fast-paced adventure populated by great characters and some cool set-pieces, you get your money’s worth and Night of the Creeps remains a notable 80s B Movie that’s accumulated cult status over the decades.

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I don’t believe this even received a sell-through release on video in the UK - I purchased the tape in a rental-size box via mail order for £25 around 1992 and was glad I did as I watched it many times since. Following the surprise release of Dekker’s other fan favourite a few years ago, Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps was finally announced for not only DVD but Blu-ray as well - this was amazing news for myself and many other Creeps fans who had waited too long. Finally I could see this film as it was probably projected in theatres back in the 80s, possibly in better quality. The image it goes without saying is not the same as what you’d expect from a slick bug budget film of the last decade or so but looks great as far as the source will allow. There’s plenty of detail and colour to saviour, the original aspect ratio is maintained, and it’s really like seeing the film for the first time. Wonderful! The real surprise is a full-blown DTS Master Audio surround track - it’s limited but comes alive for the music and a plethora of sound effects. Eternal thanks, Sony! The film on the disc is the ‘director’s cut’ which basically ends differently to the theatrical edition and the cut on the original video tape. Not wishing to spoil anything it’s less polished but adds an interesting dimension to the outcome of the story. The original ending is there for your perusal, along with plenty of other extras, making this a fantastic Blu-ray Disc release of a cult sci-fi horror that holds up well 25 years later. However, you‘ll have to import it as, just like in the video days, there‘s no off-the-shelf sign of it in the UK.

2009, US, Directed by Kyle Rankin

Colour, Running Time: 91 minutes

Review Source: Blu-ray, RB, Icon; Image: 1080p 24fps 1.85:1, Audio: DTS HD

The contemporary monster movie can boast much more credibility than its 50s grandparents, thanks to a combination of significantly improved special effects technology and the enhanced sophistication of film-making generally. However, modern films of said genre can also attract accusations referring to a lack of the charm or soul that the hand-crafted creatures of yesteryear would frequently lend to their productions. It’s therefore quite pleasing if a product of the millennium onwards can come along and, er, bite you on the ass to surprise/shock/thrill you. Infestation bears noticeable resemblance to the previous 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist, at least on paper. The obvious difference being, evident from the Blu-ray cover or any marketing material that might catch your eye, is the injection of a large dose of humour - which can work strongly in favour of or against a film, pretty much mostly dependent on who you have watching it. Office boy Cooper is the loser you’ll find milling around most organisations: bit of a joker, part waster, not much of a contributor, but somehow they get on in life anyway. Destined to remain in trouble for one thing or another with his lady boss he’s about to get a telling off which will probably result in his dismissal when everyone including him suddenly blacks out. When he regains consciousness he finds himself wrapped up in a web-like substance, and briskly attacked by some nasty giant beetle-thing of some species. Managing to fend the creepy off he proceeds to wake his similarly oblivious colleagues for confused conversations/arguments about what to do. They quickly realise the whole surrounding locale is in the same situation, and there are hundreds of the giant bugs going about their genocidal business, too many of them in flying swarms. Losing some of the team to that fatal affliction known as death, and gaining a few others they head out on the road towards various relatives of theirs in order to find survivors amongst them and possibly discover what the hell is going on.

As mentioned, there are some similarities to The Mist - a mysterious bug invasion of Earth, a group of survivors thrown together, etc - but the overall feel is quite different. Firstly there is the aforementioned humour, applied quite liberally to Infestation and for the most part working very well to make its creepy crawly world a fun place to be (from an outsider’s perspective!). Secondly, whilst the main bunch in The Mist remain trapped within one location for much of the film’s duration, the survivors here escape from their initial prison in the story’s early stages, essentially turning this into a minor road movie as they move from place to place hoping their relatives are okay while looking for some answers or revenge. Repeatedly coming under threat from roaming or flying bugs there is a persistent edginess to their adventure, and the fundamentally horrible nature of the creatures - beetle-like things expanded to human size - brings genuine gooey tension to these sequences of conflict. I frequently found myself cringing as these lethal insects attempted to despatch as many humans as possible in their evident quest for colonisation. An added dimension to the takeover of Earth becomes apparent when a hybrid insect-human monster is discovered, a bastard juxtaposition that is sinister both conceptually and in its onscreen manifestation. The humour is something that’s likely to divide the enjoyment of viewers but in my opinion it was a suitable updating of the comedy horrors that proliferated during the eighties, with mainman Chris Marquette (Cooper) handling the cool script rather well. Despite the marketing emphasis on the funnier side of the film there are a few moments of mild and touching drama that help to flesh out the characters and rope in our sympathies to a certain extent. A good example of this is Kinsey Packard’s Cindy, a weatherwoman appearing to be a bit of a hottie on the surface, but turning out to be a tragic loner with numerous complexes going on under the bonnet.

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With suitable measures of terror, smiles, and engaging thrills plus drama, Infestation is for me a very successful foray into sci-fi comedy horror, something which I’ll be looking forward to visiting again. The Blu-ray Disc is a great way to experience the film, with consistently bright, chromatic and detailed images embellished by a thumping DTS Master Audio surround track. With most modern films seemingly being shot in a 2.35:1 ratio, it’s also a welcome change to be watching movies in 1.85:1, a ratio that inherently contains more detail on home video due to its close approximation of the 1.78:1 standard (i.e. full HD resolution). Anyway, for those who feel that this film contains ingredients that appeal to them, I recommend picking up this disc pronto.

1973, US, Directed by Paul Harrison

Colour, Running Time: 88 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R1, Geneon; Image: 1.33:1, Audio: DD Mono

Not likely to be confused with Rob Zombie’s contemporary-but-retro violence-fest of similar name, this is a cumbersome early seventies zombie film that exhibits a certain level of TV style amateurishness in its execution. A small group of film-makers are shooting some sort of historical dramatisation in an old house where several homicides took place a century or so before. In his eternal quest for authenticity the director Eric Hartman picks up anything at hand to bring a touch of verisimilitude to his otherwise lacklustre production, and this includes getting the cast members to recite from the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, a tome they fatefully discover lying around the premises. One of the overly enthusiastic actors takes great interest in the book and uses it for a little light bedtime reading, accidentally reciting a rite to raise the dead, which subsequently causes one of the ghouls buried in the graveyard outside to crawl out of his earthly resting place, make his way towards the house and cause bloody havoc.

Even at less than 90 minutes this film slithers along at a watch-watching pace. Primarily the problem stems from a plot that is too thin for feature length, but it’s not helped by a cast utterly lacking in compelling charisma, and Harrison’s mundane direction (it‘s no surprise this is the only feature he ever helmed). The story staggers from one hopelessly uninteresting scene to another, alternating between the persistently angry Hartman shooting his actors (usually one of them stabbing another), and the actors themselves expressing themselves to each other in embarrassing ways. There are attempts at humour but these are scripted by Harrison and Tom Kelly, who between them seem to have little sense of humour at all, the lines then being uttered by a Z grade cast just about burying any hope that the script might have had in its genesis. A similarly themed film from the same period is Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, and much more successful it is on many levels - viewers would be advised to seek out that one before scraping the bottom of the barrel to exhume this lifeless piece of celluloid. Sam Raimi would also take some of the ideas and do it properly a few years later. Of course, because House of Seven Corpses concentrates on the film within a film concept, it goes without saying that it begins with a mock piece where some woman is performing a black magic ritual only for us to be ‘surprised’ to find it’s all simply being staged for a camera. This is of course a cliché nowadays, but the fact that it’s dragged out to the 7 minute mark in an 88 minute film demonstrates that they were stretching everything out to pad this rotting fingernail. On the plus side, the ghoul that comes to life is quite funky looking but so slow moving that his victims have to clumsily knock themselves out to give him any hope of catching up with them. Therefore any suspense that could have been built up is not only lost through boredom, but is thoroughly banished by the inefficacy of the walking dead man. Had this been made by the Europeans it might have had some charm to see it through, but as it stands it’s mostly a waste of time. One more thing to mention, an elderly John Carradine is present for a few screen minutes to bring some metaphorical weight to the production - it doesn’t work, but if there are Carradine completists out there this film might have a molecular amount of value…

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Having owned an old UK videocassette that originated from the eighties I sold it at a boot sale over 10 years ago. I wonder why - somehow I’d forgotten how boring the film was and later tracked down the Geneon DVD of the film, thinking it may hold something of interest to my more mature outlook. Of course I was mistaken, but at least the disc didn’t cost much. Arriving in a slimline amaray case this is a featureless disc with a rough but bearable 4:3 transfer that needs to be darkened by your AV equipment to hide most of its flaws. It’s also over saturated, however, definition is reasonable and it actually doesn‘t look that bad projected, admittedly following very low expectations. Despite the fact that this is a sub-ordinary DVD release it more than does this film justice… It was also released by Image (in the US) on DVD and VHS at the beginning of the century, something that’s long out of print and occasionally asking an unreasonably high price online - don’t be fooled!

2010, US, Directed by Dean DeBlois/Chris Sanders

Animation, Running Time: 98 minutes

Review Source: IMAX screening; Image: 1.44:1, Digital 3D

The pesky Vikings invaded our land; they slaughtered, brutally raped, and thieved their genetically violent way to our crops, bloodying every English and Scottish native in their Odin-loving path (but am I demanding a Danish political apology…?). Or at least they kindly bludgeoned the dumb Brits that weren’t worth keeping alive anyway. One of them (or two probably) also produced a clumsy outcast son called Hiccup, and it’s primarily Hiccup that the story concerns. His reasonably sized settlement has attracted the unfortunate side effect of having its livestock periodically stolen or burnt to death by marauding dragons and like the beefier warriors of the tribe, Hiccup would be honoured to dismember and wipe out a dragon on his way to becoming a true Viking. If it wasn’t for the fact that he can barely lift up a medium sized broadsword, let alone hit anything with it. Recognising the fact that he’s more of a hindrance than an aid he’s relegated by his oversized adult superiors to assisting blacksmiths and the like, at least until his father - leader of the tribe - can figure out what the hell else to do with him. Not only that but Hiccup fancies one of the teenage Viking girls who herself is enviably training to slay dragons, but she thinks he’s a dork too. So, the solution is to knock off a large reptile - the village will respect him, his dad with about-turn on his way to disowning the little tyke, and he’ll get the sexy chick too.

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In the midst of a huge dragon attack, and the ensuing chaos that this brings with it, Hiccup is determined not just to kill any randomly selected one of the creatures, but to nail the one nasty-ass big boy that nobody has ever slain before - Night Fury, a mysterious monster than mercilessly projects rocket-like fireballs with frightening accuracy, but itself is so fast nobody can quite catch it. Hiccup charges out into the battling crowd and uses a machine launched slingshot aimed at one of these so-called Night Fury beasts, or in the approximate direction at least… and hits! The dragon goes down but amidst the frantic battle nobody actually sees the victory. What they do see, however, is the resulting trouble that Hiccup’s attempts to prove himself have caused, and once again he is demonstrated as a complete imbecile. It’s by serendipitous accident that Hiccup later discovers the Night Fury he brought down, now trapped by the slingshot and injured in the forest. Finally he has his chance to kill a dragon and prove it… but holding a knife over the helpless creature he finds that he’s unable - not only does he let the dragon go but he subsequently finds that the intuitively docile creature responds well to the boy’s benevolent supply of fish food. Thus begins Hiccup’s quest to help ‘Toothless’, as he calls it, over its injuries, the two of them becoming amiable companions in the process.

From renowned studio Dreamworks, How To Train Your Dragon has been released in conventional 2D and the now very popular 3D formats, the latter also rendered at very high resolution for IMAX cinemas. Quickly apparent is the smartly realised nature of lead character Hiccup - brought to life by lovely characterisation that makes the teen tyke quite easy to identify with for the majority of us geeks out here. He is similarly supported by hordes of well crafted Viking characters, from his narrow-minded father Stoick to the consistently amusing gang of wannabe dragon-slayer teens that laugh at Hiccup before coming to think he’s the coolest kid in town just because he tricks them into believing he has mastery over the reptiles. The screenplay is also littered with verbal and visual gags that are well thought through and frequently witty - as with many great animated films, there are so many excellent ideas in this film it’s impossible to pick it all up in one sitting. The story itself is formed on the basis of core concepts that are almost simply family movie staples, and therefore it could have been a generic offering by the end of production, but the crew’s clearly abundant talent and intelligence brought this project to unexpected life. The artists must also have had plenty of fun with putting together ideas for the many different species of dragon, after which the animators have given these species differing personalities seemingly by associating their behavioural patterns with that of domestic animals (and therefore acquiring our sympathy). Continuing the Dreamworks tendency for popularising the Scottish accent, many of the villagers seem inclined to speak in such a manner (despite originating from Scandinavia, but that would probably have resulted in a less endearing effect - a debate for another day perhaps…). Vocal dubbing, thankfully missing the huge horde of big celebrity names most CGI animated films tend to come burdened with nowadays, is generally highly fitting and energetic enough for the lively nature of their digital representations.

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The visual design of this film is striking, and this is 100% embellished by the IMAX digital projection. So vivid are the colours and sharp are the details, it’s almost more refined than looking at something in reality (though a good seating position is paramount here). The addition of a third dimension is highly effective and enhances the many action and flight sequences, as well as everything else. In fact it was this that early on prevented me from thinking much about the plot or people within it - so incredible are the three dimensional visuals they’re initially a distraction. It certainly absorbs your attention. Aside from this significant presentational bonus (albeit a bonus that one has to pay for!), I’d like to think that HTTYD is genuinely a thoroughly exciting, amusing and intelligent film, despite some underlying fundamental elements that are a bit too common these days, and its makes for a robust movie experience.

2010, US, Directed by Breck Eisner

Colour, Running Time: 101 minutes

Review Source: Cinema screening; Image: 2.35:1, Super 35

It’s certainly easy to become cynical when perusing what’s worth expiring some time with at the cinema these days - out of the three films I’ve seen at the cinema this year two have been remakes, and just about everybody who’s into movies seems to be bored to death with the whole remake bandwagon. It’s also easy to become cynical about one of the iconic horror directors to have shaped the genre quite a few of us still love: George Romero. Not only does he seem unable to direct anything worth a rotting toenail anymore, but anything that he did direct that was any good seems to have been remade by someone else, generally with fine results (conveniently disregarding the Day of the Dead wastrel as well as the recent ‘3D’ attempt to update Night…) - Dawn of the Dead was very impressive, Night of the Living Dead (1990) wasn’t actually a bad movie, in fact quite enjoyable (directed by Tom Savini, it seems to have been all but forgotten about), and now there is The Crazies, which surprised me by not only providing a suitably good time, but actually managing to drag me to the edge of my proverbial seat at several points. So this suggests that people remaking Romero movies are mostly doing a better job than he is directing his own films nowadays…

Romero’s version of The Crazies was a very low budget early seventies affair, shot on 16mm with not too much in way of resources to draw upon (compared to ‘big‘ movies). It stubbornly refused to be held back by these limitations, however, and proved to be a kinetic, exciting, smartly scripted and acted offering that also presented a frightening concept as a bonus: a military viral weapon is accidentally unleashed into the water system of a small town, forcing them to cordon off the perimeter as its denizens fall prey to a disease that causes death or homicidal insanity. The aggressive tactics of the army to contain the outbreak were pretty scary, and Romero displayed the raw talent for presenting spiralling chaos in the wake of an uncontrollable nightmare that would take full blossom in the delectable Dawn of the Dead a few years later. The main idea in the remake is the same, but this one spends a lot less time focussing on militaristic interaction and debating of moral dilemmas (one of the original’s strengths), and more time trailing a small group of people attempting to survive a microcosmic apocalypse. In this sense it’s actually closer in feel to Dawn…, along with several other films I love for similar reasons, for example Zombie Creeping Flesh and Nightmare City. There is also some contemporary influence from 28 Weeks Later in the containment camps set up by the army. As the protagonists are pulled into the nightmare they eventually manage to escape to the road in a desperate attempt to head for the next town. Along the way there are several crossings with either the army or the wandering mad (now, unsurprisingly in the wake of what‘s a bit too popular these days, actually resembling running corpses more so than just crazy people). There are some clichés that bring things down a notch, for example the now extremely predictable scenario whereby an assailant is about to knock off one of the main characters when suddenly one of the heroes or heroines blows away the threat from behind - almost unforgivably this happens not once but twice. In addition I felt there are issues with the nature of the biologically induced insanity adopted for the ’crazies’ themselves - there are points when I feel it’s a little too contrived in its attempt to create homicidal shock moments. But on the whole there are enough positive factors to fully outweigh any problems.

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The film is very adeptly acted out and the set pieces are for the most part exceptionally well handled by the director of Sahara. One area of note here is the prolonged car wash sequence, which has its funny moments, but mostly is very damn frightening and with a great payoff too. Radha Mitchell, in ‘danger’ of getting herself a Scream Queen tag with the likes of Pitch Black, Silent Hill, Rogue and this movie under her belt, is as always a welcome and attractive presence throughout, but equally welcome is her character’s husband and survival partner Timothy Olyphant, who seems really suited to this role and actually a likeable protagonist (too many main characters nowadays just seem to irritate the viewer into wishing them serious harm - surely not intentional!?). I also noted that the film had a fantastic appearance, combining naturalistic colours with a brightness that gave it an overall vibrancy. Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre has previously also bestowed the likes of the Hills Have Eyes (remake!) and Haute Tension (Switchblade Romance) with very bold looks. The score itself is persistently brooding with periodic arousal into a bouncier, more dynamic rhythm when onscreen action requires it - again I think that this works very much in the film’s favour. Finally, I rather liked the story’s closing few minutes too - a good ending in my opinion is something that makes or breaks the viewer’s desire to revisit a film, and this remake is something I’d consider buying on Blu-ray when it arrives.

So, after departing the cinema having enjoyed 90% or more of what I’d witnessed it momentarily crossed my mind that if remakes can at least occasionally result in a gratifying couple of hours then perhaps the phenomenon isn’t such a terrible curse?

2010, UK/US, Directed by Joe Johnston

Colour, Running Time: 102 minutes

Review Source: Cinema screening; Image: 1.85:1, Super 35

Responding to the unexpected disappearance of his brother, stage actor Lawrence Talbot returns from America to (Victorian) England to pay familial respects and find out what happened. At the old family estate Lawrence is reunited with his apathetic father, both of them still haunted by the horrible death of their mother/wife when Lawrence was a toddler. After Lawrence befriends his brother’s fiancée in the woe of their mutual concern, he heads out one night (against his father’s ominous advice) to a passing gypsy camp to investigate an amulet that may have some relevance to his brother’s case. His enquiries are suddenly cut short when the camp is attacked by a swift and indiscriminate beast - panicking victims are torn apart amidst spiralling chaos prompting Talbot to pull out his rifle to take pot shots at the creature. Getting a little too ambitious for his own good he’s attacked himself, saved from a near fatal wound by another armed man, and a subsequent amateur operation to seal the torn flesh. Recovering at the estate from the attack, Lawrence attracts the somewhat hostile attention of the local police inspector, but this is the least of his problems when it becomes apparent at the next full moon that he has become infected by a werewolf, himself now a carrier of the curse.

Taking the plot of Universal’s classic 1941 monster movie The Wolf Man and mirroring it fairly respectfully, this remake injects a dose of contemporary violence and shock cutting to bring it in line with the expectations common with today’s audiences. However, to suggest those are the only elements that make this worth watching is something of an injustice. The film doesn’t exactly appeal to the most commercial of sensibilities: firstly, it is largely a slow moving exploration of the denizens of an almost fairy tale world, with sombre pacing periodically punctuated by brutal and quite exciting action. And secondly, the design of the titular creature is something of a throwback to an era I had long considered dead - quite brave and at odds with the genre’s cinematic context of today. In fact, the creature isn’t too far removed from that of the original film, aside from the much needed enhancements to special effects, make-up, and its ability to stride at a much greater speed (thereby multiplying its threat tenfold). Taking up the reins of the consistently forlorn Lawrence Talbot is Benicio Del Toro: apart from possessing a melancholy appearance surprisingly akin to that of Lon Chaney Jnr. (the star of the 1941 movie), the actor brings a distinctive quality to the role, maintaining an air of solemn believability throughout and contributing quite skilfully to the tragic nature of the character - he demonstrates an amazing look and presence. One cannot help but feel a twinge of disturbed sorrow during his utterly miserable incarceration and torture at the asylum following his arrest (don’t fret too much - this act concludes with a beautiful payoff!). Strong acting remains a staple of the production for its not-excessive duration, a particular favourite performance of mine arriving in the form of persistently odd Hugo Weaving as the sharp minded inspector. All of this brings verisimilitude to the more complex (than the original) characterisations and relationships established throughout the story, and whilst it is overall quite faithful to its source there are one or two twists along the way to keep things interesting for fans such as myself who know the original movie reasonably well. And enormous appreciation must go to werewolf aficionado Rick Baker and the special effects team (CGI or otherwise) for creating what must be amongst the most effective transformation sequences either side of the perennial stunning experience that is An American Werewolf in London.

The strong gothic backdrop to the scenario is embellished by delightfully crafted compositions of near achromatic cinematography, something I wouldn’t have anticipated from a director as seemingly nondescript as Johnston. The screening I attended was unforgivably marred by a slight but perceivable out-of-focus projection so I’m looking forward to watching this again properly on Blu-ray (due to be released containing both the theatrical and notably longer extended cuts). The Wolfman was unfortunately plagued by a troubled production so it’s pleasing to find a gloomy, morbid, violent, and bewilderingly traditional horror story that may not please those accustomed to more conventional modern cinema but will tap some of the right nerves for a few.

1967, West Germany, Directed by Harold Reinl

Colour, Running Time: 80 minutes

Review Source: Download; Image: Letterbox 1.66:1, Audio: Mono

Beginning the tale a century or so ago, we along with a group of angry villagers witness the sentencing and quartering of an evil count found guilty of brutal crimes against humanity. Jumping forward a few years an eminent scholar called Roger is on his way to an ancient castle to learn more about his family history. Stopping off at a village within the vicinity he discovers a certain degree of hostility whenever the castle is mentioned but pushes on with his trip regardless. On his long coach ride to the mysterious destination he rescues a nubile young female and her servant from travelling marauders and together they all continue their journey through the forest. Passing through morbidly decorated woodland their coach driver is brought to his own demise, bringing about an awareness of ubiquitous death in the air. Arriving at the castle nonetheless it soon becomes apparent that the corpse-like keeper of the place is working towards the resurrection of the count who was horrifically executed so long ago, and the guests at the castle are just the materials he needs to conclude his experiments with immortality.

Masquerading in parts (including YouTube) under the rather misleading title of The Torture Chamber of Dr Sadism (boasting even more misleading poster art!) this Euro chiller from the sixties is much more appealing under its Castle of the Walking Dead moniker, however the German title (Die Schlangengrube und Das Pendel) more so reflects the opening credit knod towards Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum, probable influence being derived from the moderate success of Roger Corman’s Poe cycle of the period. The story itself was of course already adapted effectively by Corman at the beginning of the same decade with Barbara Steele and Vincent Price in lead roles, and a respectable job it was in terms of cinema at least. Here the Germans brought their own interpretation of proceedings and whilst there are elements that couldn’t be considered entirely original even back then, certain sequences have been realised imaginatively to produce unique imagery: the prime example of this is the prolonged coach ride through the woods, with corpses hanging from the trees amidst an artistically lit environment - quite exquisite in a ghoulish sort of way. Christopher Lee appears on screen for fairly short periods, playing Count Regula (errr, okay), the man who is executed and later brought back to life in an attempt to grasp at immortality. His presence is striking as usual, made more impressive by deathly make-up and an omnipresent expression of sombreness. The characters spend most of the last half of the story occupying the castle of Roger’s (Lex Barker) destination, and a glorious gothic delight it is; full of traps, dark passages, walls made of skulls, and inhospitable rooms, it’s the sort of place I’d love to explore. Also standing in the movie’s favour is an aesthetically pleasant approach to cinematography generally (marred by occasionally clumsy editing), giving birth to some striking landscape shots as well as accentuating the claustrophobic interiors. Finally we have the Kraut contribution to the Euro babe: Karin Dor! Wow, I wish she had been a bit more widely used in these kinds of gothic chillers: a voluptuous, elegant, and effortlessly beautiful scream queen that grants bonus points to the film’s visual appeal. The film is a little let down by its old fashioned English dubbing (though Lee definitely provides his own voice), and a slowly paced final act (in fact, the whole outing is quite leisurely), however there is plenty to recommend it to the fan of European macabre cinema.

This is one of those films that has never been treated particularly respectfully on home video, with transfers ranging from fullscreen to widescreen with generally lacklustre picture quality and often footage missing. Presumably it’s a so-called ‘public domain’ title as I watched it in its entirety on YouTube and whilst I’m not in favour of free downloading of movies it does give the serious collector the opportunity to specimen titles which might ordinarily be avoided. In my case I’d been looking forward to watching this film ever since reading about it in the monolithic Aurum Horror Encyclopaedia so many years ago, and it didn’t let me down. I’d certainly like to buy a restored version of the movie should it ever appear, though it does seem unlikely given its present status. At least the presentation online was 1.66:1, with picture quality approximating something between VHS and DVD, with audio clear enough. If you’re interested in a DVD it’s available stateside from low-end labels such as KEF Films and Thrill Kill, whilst Image Entertainment (now in administration unfortunately) once put out their own disc. I’m personally waiting - probably in vain - for a worthwhile restoration.