Horror and Science Fiction can make for a difficult combination, but there's no denying that these two genres can occasionally come together and produce something special.

Now, I've absolutely no way of knowing whether or not lightning will strike for Ash.  According to the press materials I've been supplied this morning, this impressive-looking flick will make its big screen debut for audiences of the popular SXSW Film Festival (March 7 - 15) in Austin, Texas; and maybe -- just maybe -- then we'll all know if it could be the 'next big thing' based solely on the word of mouth.  While I'm not a huge fan of festival traffic, I'm nonetheless tickled pink that more and more and more of them do seem to highlight some very solid adventures set in the realms of the Fantastic.  Given that this time of year tends to find audiences mired in a great amount of mediocre offerings from studios and independents, I'll keep my fingers crossed that this one might be a winner.  The trailer has a solid feel to it, and that should count for something.

Here's the plot summary as provided by our friends at IMDB.com:

"A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events."

Also according to the movie database, the film is directed by White Lotus, the Grammy-nominated artist who apparently has skills beyond just his music.  His IMDB.com profile shows a handful of directing gigs -- small stuff, mostly, but that doesn't mean anything -- and perhaps this might be an impressive feature debut.  It's scripted by Jonni Remmler, a name I'm entirely unfamiliar with and has little information available on the Information Superhighway.  The cast includes Eiza González (2021's Godzilla Vs. Kong, 2024's The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), and Iko Uwais (2017's Beyond Skyline, 2023's The Expendables 4).

As a service, I'm doing the copy-and-paste of the press release provided to me via a distributor relationship.  The trailer will follow.

You know what to do.

As always, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
​

For those of us who watch a lot of schlock, the name of Jim Wynorski rustles up a lot of mixed feelings.
 
Boasting an astonishing library of well over one hundred different titles, the writer, director, and producer has dabbled in everything from Science Fiction to Horror to Fantasy and even Pornography … though I’ve been told that by authentic pornographic standards his efforts are a bit light.  Following in the footsteps of the great B-movie king Roger Corman, Wynorski pushed the boundaries of what audiences expect from these less-than-tentpole features, even turning out some notable small screen parodies that took swipes at projects mainstream viewers embraced.  With that much production under his belt, it should go without saying that not all of it has been perfect; and yet he continues to deliver perfectly well enough to keep folks watching, laughing, celebrating, and promoting (via word-of-mouth) a great deal of what exists in his still growing catalogue.
 
My point in all of this isn’t to admonish the man in any way.  I’ve seen a fair share of his wares; and though I may not exactly give any of them an enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ I’m still convinced that – in some small way – my life is better for having been entertained.  I laugh at a good deal of what he’s done, but it isn’t harmful or hurtful in any estimation.  In some ways, I’m surprised with just what he can get away with: this and that wouldn’t work in a Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, or even Alfred Hitchcock picture, and yet there are moments in his efforts that feel like they very much have been drawn from that same inspiration.  Cheaply?  Sure.  Shamelessly?  Possibly.  Gratuitously?  Who’s to say?  But it’s no less effective.  It works.  It just looks far more affordable.  By community theater standards.
 
This is why I rarely pass up an opportunity to explore yet one more outing of his when they’re offered, so when a distributor ponied up Wynorski’s latest and greatest – 2024’s DinoGator – I just couldn’t say no.  (Yes, I thought about it twice.)  Written by Blake Miller, the Monster movie stars Michael Madsen, Paul Logan, Jesse Bernstein, Lauren Parkinson, and Aaron Groben in key roles; it explores what happens when a mutated reptile – part snake, part alligator – gets loose and terrorizes the backwoods Florida swamps.  A great deal of it is derivative to the point wherein you might think you’ve seen it before … but rest assured that you haven’t seen it done schlocktacularly until you’ve seen it under the Wynorski imprimatur!
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary for discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few minor hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
​

From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A hip rock band films a music video and unknowingly disturbs a cryptic creature.”
 
Sometimes, a little history goes a long way.
 
For example, it might interest some readers to know that DinoGator is, in fact, not a new movie.  Although it’s hitting the DVD and streaming shelves presently in 2025, the truth is that it originally sprang into its fertile existence back in 2015 under the name of CobraGator – a title some might suggest vastly more fitting given the seminal creature’s design – when it aired on the SciFi (aka Syfy) Channel said to have been produced by Roger Corman.  (I have been unable to confirm Corman’s involvement in my research though he is cited on the flick’s IMDB.com page.)  Apparently, the picture was shelved after that broadcast, but I’ve read an online petition was created sometime in 2020 calling for it to be available on home video.
 
Ask and you shall receive … but always remember to be careful what you wish for, folks.
 
While others in the critical community might insist that the film is not up to snuff, there’s always been an audience – perhaps not all that large – for such saccharin and derivative fare.  Though not quite a traditional Monster movie, it borrows a few of the tropes in order to get its feet off the ground … or should that be ‘slithering?’  Though not quite a full-bodied Horror, Miller’s script still falls back on casting a group of young and naïve men and women to chiefly end up as monster chow before the last reel.  And though there’s the hint of some dastardly mad science having taken place to get us where we are when the picture begins, absolutely none of it is seen onscreen so we’ll have to take their word for it as to just how, when, where, and why this hungry beast came into existence.
 
Plus … that deadly science?
 
Well, that occurs offscreen, we’re told.  Long before this story begins.  Such trickery would’ve been cost prohibitive, so it’s covered here in exposition that’s even shockingly economical.
 
Structurally, DinoGator isn’t all that different from Gojira (1954), The Fly (1986), or even Jurassic Park (1993).  All of these features begin under the rubric of ‘science gone awry’ where mankind’s tinkering winds up instigating the potential for the end to life as we know it, only then to have our heroes big and small spending the better part of 90-minutes running from it before, ultimately, vanquishing the foe in the climax.  That’s the formula, and it works nearly every time it’s applied.  So, yes, all of that happens here.  Make no mistake: Wynorski knows full well what cloth he’s spinning in his magic-making machine.  The biggest difference here – aside from the vastly different production budgets – is that there are no current marquee heavyweights in the cast, so audiences have to make do with some relative unknowns or thereabouts.
​

Backwoods geneticist Layton (played by Michael Madsen) is the resident megalomaniac who’s privately introduced the feared DinoGator into the food chain only to have his stuttering (autistic?) son Wyatt (Bryan Clark) let the massive Snakezilla loose apparently in their own backyard.  (It’s horribly unclear.  There was a shock collar involved.  Wyatt took it off for reasons unexplained.  And here we are.)  Hoping to bring it back alive, Layton contracts sweaty bodybuilder and local hunting/boating tour guide Jake Dixon (Paul Logan) to brave the sunny swamps in search of the behemoth.  But – damn it all! – a bunch of scantily-clad and rebellious rock’n’rollers filming their latest music video in the wild manage to gum up the works when they wind up adding themselves to the monster’s menu … and Dino’s gotta eat!
 
In true nihilist fashion, DinoGator makes only as much sense as it absolutely has to – which isn’t much – existing chiefly to give its trio of lovely young ladies – Roni (Lauren Parkinson), Aubrey (Savannah Goldstein), and Izzie (Grace Roubidoux) – an excuse to hoot, holler, and hell-raise whilst rewarding the audience with a fair amount of PG-rated skin.   They’re even given a leading man – Nathan (Jesse Bernstein), a med school dropout who apparently prefers piloting a pontoon boat instead of performing surgeries – to fawn over in the downtime between Dino-munches.  Predictably, Nate proves he’s up to the task: when the chips are down, he emerges packing heat, shooting first (poorly), and asking questions later.  Hell, in true Hollywood style, he might find his way out of this glorified mess with a lifelong squeeze in the process.
 
In the end, Wynorski proves minimally he knows what he’s doing, churning out one more passable Saturday Night cable experience that’ll win no awards but go down easily with a case of beer and pizza.  Madsen and Logan are capable screen chewers, but the script truly wastes their masculine talents with silly deadpans, sappy dialogue, and senseless attempts to maybe – maybe – craft a winning retort.  None of the ladies are Academy Award caliber here either, though they look impressive in tight shirts and cut-offs when properly photographed to maximum effect.  And that underwhelming CGI?  Well, you’ve come a long way, baby, but daddy says you might be better appreciated back by audiences back in the Stone Age.
 
DinoGator (2024) was produced by Vision Films.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive and Vision Films.  As for the technical specifications?  Well … while I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights and sounds to be reasonable solid here and there.  These aren’t – ahem – barn-burning special effects (and it shows), but they have the requisite charm to produce a chuckle even if none was intended.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  Well, alas, you’ll come up empty on that score as the disc boasts nothing.  Sad … but it happens.
 
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary DVD of DinoGator (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ 
​

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“In 1961, divorced Catholic couple Dom and Catherine Spages' life is upended when their teenage daughter Alice is suspected of her younger sister Karen's brutal murder during her First Holy Communion and a series of stabbings follow.”
 
Historically, Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) most definitely courted a great degree of controversy across several fronts.
 
For starters, writer/director Alfred Sole was lucky to have even gotten the picture made.  In the wake of his first effort – an adult film under the name of Deep Sleep (1972) – the storyteller found himself on the receiving end of legal and financial woes when the pornographic feature was pulled from theaters over obscenity issues.  From what I understand, he produced and shot the effort entirely without the required permits and such; and the resulting blowback – including the threat of imprisonment – put him in some compromising positions when he realized he wanted to work in film as a professional career.
 
Secondly, Alice dabbled a bit too closely and personally into the fictional affairs of the Catholic Church.  While its story – that of a serial killer linked to a parish and its practitioners – was understandably bloody, critics and audiences alike didn’t take kindly to the depiction of faith and some associated iconography.  Wikipedia.org reports that the film was seized and prohibited from theatrical exhibition in the United Kingdom with some nations even going so far as to declare the picture anti-Catholic.  Add to this fact that Sole’s distributors kept coming and going as a consequence of these problems and one might agree that it’s surprising that Alice ever saw the light of day!
 
Well, the truth is that it did, albeit under a handful of different names, slightly diverse cuts, and at different times.  In spite of the troubled road to screens big and small, Alice survived, and the end result is a story not so much about indicting institutionalized faith as it is a tale wherein its small cast of characters are all flawed equally regardless of their age, gender, or convictions.  Frankly, there isn’t a saint anywhere among them – not even the men and women of the cloth – and it shows.  That’s the territory firmly staked out by Sole and his co-scripter Rosemary Ritvo in every version available, and the narrative works well on that level.
​

After her marriage falls apart and her husband moves along, Catherine Spages (played by Linda Miller) finds solace in the embrace of her surviving family and her local church.  Daughters Alice (Paula E. Sheppard) and Karen (Brooke Shields) remain at her side, though it grows somewhat obvious that Cathy might not have turned out to be the best mother she could be as the emotional aftermath of her broken nuptials has increased the strain of serving as the head of the household.  To her benefit, she’s found some welcome support from the earnest Father Tom (Rudolph Willrich), who seems to have fostered a kind relationship with Karen, seemingly preferred the younger daughter over the slightly older Alice.  As Karen is about to receive her first communion, he seems equally proud to have shared in her upbringing as any parent would.
 
While imparting the joy of uniting with others around a shared faith, Alice (as a film) simultaneously explores the dissolution of the nuclear family in these early scenes.  Cathy and her sister Annie (Jane Lowry) share parenting responsibilities in the Spages’ home; and just as Father Tom appears to have issues with Alice, so does the aunt.  The two spar pettily over the completion of household chores; and about the time that it looks as if their relationship has only been combative Sole’s story also suggests that both Cathy and Annie might have had a rough ride through their own upbringing.  Clearly, not all is copacetic with the Spages’ women – both generations – and one needn’t be a professional therapist to predict that further turmoil is on the horizon.
 
It's in the holy confines of the church – that sacred sanctuary for all – in the midst of the scheduled ceremony that the unthinkable happens: while the other children are receiving their blessing, young Karen is strangled to death in the anteroom and stuffed into a small hutch where her raincoated attacker then sets her body on fire.  Once Alice is found in possession of her sister’s missing veil, all eyes turn on her as the guilty culprit.
 
And why wouldn’t they?
 
At home, she’s grown increasingly difficult and argumentative, acting out against her mother and their creepy landlord, Mr. Alphonso (Alphonso DeNoble).  Not even the return of her father Dominic (Niles McMaster) seems to bring her any peace of mind, though she seems to find some small comfort in knowing that he’s pledged to stay around until Karen’s murder is solved.  Still, on the cusp of turning into a woman, Cathy’s begun menstruating.  Her body has begun going through the biological, hormonal changes.  Her metamorphosis is seen as a gateway toward even greater treachery.  Once she fails the police-required polygraph, she’s ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation; and the doctor believes the young woman is displaying classic borderline psychotic behaviors.
​

In the style of Psychological Horror, a good deal of this is clever misdirection.  That’s the beauty of exploring storytelling that has layers to it: you never quite know what you have until you reach the big finish, and – even then – you might question the diagnosis.  Sole’s tale pivots to Drama and Mystery as much as it is a true chiller, but the auteur keeps his list of suspects reasonably small until, ultimately, you know what you know.  Surprisingly, he doesn’t make you wait until the last reel, though when the last frame does arrive the audience might find themselves rethinking precisely how they got to that point.  This construction allows the film to truly blossom – much as young Alice is doing – in its second half: it’s vastly more than the sum of its pieces, and, aesthetically, it about as close to Italian Giallo that perhaps has ever been made on this side of the pond.
 
There’s a great deal to enjoy for those meeting Alice for the first time.  The family moments are occasionally cryptic and quite tense as not one but two sets of sisters turn on one another.  Sheppard’s work here is quite good considering she was little more than a teenager: she reportedly turned nineteen while shooting the picture.  To her credit, she manages an odd degree of charged eroticism whilst terrorizing the downstairs landlord, and her ability to command attention elevates even those moments when the audience remains uncertain as to her character’s motivation.  For such a breakout performance, it’s surprising that she has only two credits on her professional resume.
 
As to the religious controversy, it’s easy to see where some may’ve taken issue with Sole’s presentation.  Most of it descends from the depiction of Catholicism and the way sinners process guilt; and I suppose I’d largely agree were it not for the fact that, frankly, no institution in here emerges with looking good.  Mom fails.  Dad fails.  The church fails.  Why, the family unit, the medical community, and even law enforcement seems to be broken, inept, or corrupted in some way in this God forsaken place; and there isn’t a single truly good role model in any of this.  Because Sole and Ritvo seem to be saying something critical about the wider world out there, I guess I’m less inclined to pick nits with God and his flock.
 
In fact, there’s a rundown building in Alice that I believe symbolizes the existence in which all of the elements collide.
 
Though I may’ve missed whatever business resided under this roof, the hints are that it was probably industrial, implying that something – some product, some gadget, some indefinable thing – was likely built there, only that invention is now obsolete.  Social progress made it unnecessary, or someone designed a better one.  Since that original is no longer needed or useful, those craftsmen and women who made it and the place where they gathered to assemble it grew insignificant.  The workers are gone now.  Their building is shuttered.  Yet – interestingly enough – the guard dogs remain as we hear them barking off in some sealed up corner of the warehouse.  Whatever this space once was, it most definitely no longer is.  It’s assuredly been tossed aside and serves no purpose other than to be a dangerous escape where wayward children might now gather and, probably, injure themselves.
 
Here is where Karen and Alice come to play.
​

What was once a place of high function is now an empty edifice, one where you bring whatever danger you wish with you.  Like those institutions that Sole reminds have failed us – the Church, the family, the hospitals, law enforcement, etc. – so, too, have we failed as a civilization.  We leave not only broken people in our wake but also broken places.  The only thing we have to show for our troubles is a big empty warehouse; and that’s the kind of place where kids privately terrorize one another, dogs are left to their own devices, and killers seek to perform their darkest of deeds.
 
If that doesn’t chill you just a bit, then this nugget might: actress Miller actually attempted suicide on set while shooting one of the bigger sequences.  (Sole details this in one of the extras on Arrow’s newly released set.)  Thankfully, she survived in no small part owed to the efforts of a watchful cast and crew; but fans watching the film closely might notice a bandaged wrist on the lady here and there.  That’s because she had to wear it whilst completing production on the film as she was still healing from the breakdown.
 
Alice, Sweet Alice (1974) was produced by Harristown Funding.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Arrow Films.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert … wow.  This film both looks and sounds incredible, said to have been restored to 4K from the original camera negative.  There are a few sequences with some rather obvious grain, but it’s nothing that distracts from the enjoyment of the story.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  Well, that’s Arrow’s specialty, so I’m doing the noble copy-and-paste from their press release previously published on Blu-ray.com:
 
Special Features and Technical Specs:

• Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative
• 4K presentations of three versions via seamless branching: Communion (original), Alice, Sweet Alice (theatrical) and Holy Terror (re-release)
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary with Richard Harland Smith
• Archival audio commentary with co-writer/director Alfred Sole and editor M. Edward Salier
• First Communion: Alfred Sole Remembers Alice, Sweet Alice – director Alfred Sole looks back on his 1976 classic
• Alice on My Mind – a brand-new interview with composer Stephen Lawrence
• In the Name of the Father - brand new interview with actor Niles McMaster
• Sweet Memories: Dante Tomaselli on Alice, Sweet Alice – filmmaker Dante Tomaselli, cousin of Alfred Sole, discusses his longtime connection to the film
• Lost Childhood: The Locations of Alice, Sweet Alice - a tour of the original Alice, Sweet Alice shooting locations hosted by author Michael Gingold
• Deleted scenes
• Split-screen version comparison
• Trailer and TV Spot
• Image gallery, including the original screenplay
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Blyth

 
Once again, as a reviewer I’m only provided an industry copy of the disc, so I cannot speak to the efficacy of any association physical materials listed above.  In those matters, I’ll always remind readers of the old ‘buyer beware’ clause.
 
Highly Recommended.
 
Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) might be a bit dated, but its ideas are still the stuff that likely haunt us in our quietest moments.  Each of us wants to belong somewhere; and – when we cannot or do not – the break leaves a scar that can’t quite heal and continues to itch to the point wherein we’d do anything to – ahem – make it go away.  It’s in this territory that these characters intersect; and it’s here where they seek affirmation that they’re still loved, that they’re still good people, and that they’re still deserving of affection, no matter what they did to get it.  It’s that “what they did to get it” that has body piling up pretty quickly, and there’s little absolution for that.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of Alice, Sweet Alice (1974) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ
​

Purchase your copy of Alice, Sweet Alice right here:

In truth, is there a person alive who hasn’t received a spam email? 
 
Honestly, I get hundreds of them a week.  Though I’ve gone to some lengths to cultivate an online presence, there’s nothing I can do to eliminate the vast mountain of junk in any number of my inboxes over time.  Occasionally out of curiosity I do read one or two more closely, spelling errors and all.  In some ways, it’s much like being a motorist driving slowly past a recent automobile accident: sometimes, you just can’t help but gawk.  It’s interesting to see what scam artists think will convince you that their efforts are authentic (as opposed to the thousands of other messages that went worldwide that day).  Naturally, I (like you) have heard the horror stories – the urban legends – of folks (usually the elderly) who’ve been duped into acting on one or more of these cyberspace messages.  Thankfully, no one near me has suffered, but I keep my eye open on behalf of mankind because it’s the least I could do.
 
2012’s Horror/Thriller 419 tried to put a contemporary spin on the phenomenon.  While I’m guessing a great many folks never even knew the film existed, I snug a copy during the flick’s original home video tour; and I offer up my thoughts below for those of you who might appreciate what a smaller cautionary tale might tell us all.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last three paragraphs for my final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“When a struggling New York actor loses everything in a scam based in South Africa, his two best friends take him to Cape Town to find the scammer with the help of a smooth-talking local. The search begins well, but soon takes a dark turn.”
 
Mike (curiously played by a man named Mike Ivers) is an out-of-work New York actor who met a charming South African “businessman” in a bar and wired him money in hopes of seeing a monumental return on his investment.  As you guessed it (why didn’t Mike?), the entire affair was a scam, and the young man lost over $30,000 in the process.  Ned (filmmaker Ned Thorne) and Scott (Scott Kerns – I’m seeing a pattern here) are his best friends, and, as such, they decide to help him get his life back on track … by agreeing to take him to South Africa in pursuit of the scam artist.
 
Uh … really?
 
Pardon me for sounding more than a touch cynical (I’m good at it, I’m told), but what kinds of friends would want to take a ‘bestie’ halfway around the world to South Africa (of all places) in hopes of righting an internet wrong?  I’ll admit that I find the premise behind the clever fake documentary 419 less than ‘realistic.’  Still, the word of mouth on this one from the film festival circuit was quite good, so I thought it would be worth a spin.  I figured at 84 minutes it couldn’t be all that bad or, if it was, at least it wouldn’t last long.
 
To my surprise, I was mildly captivated by the tale of three grown men still trying to find themselves by setting out on a curiously well-intentioned but still misguided ‘vision quest.’  Despite promising up “twists and turns up to the very end” in its product packaging, most of 419 is pretty benign if not even a little banal: think three male pals coming together for mankind’s worst road trip E-V-E-R (without any comical escapades), and you get the gist.  Thankfully, it isn’t hard to see Ivers, Thorne, and Kerns as buddies, and – despite some reservations with the basic premise – the strung together plot works mostly because there is no intellectual weight attached to most of this.  It is what it is.  You’ve got three guys.  You’ve got three cameras.  You put it together with a neo-noir-infused crime plot, and you’re modestly entertained as a consequence.
 
As anyone would’ve (or should’ve) expected, things don’t quite go as planned once the men arrive in South Africa, but that’s the stuff of good drama.  And, to be perfectly clear, there is drama in here.  It’s available in small doses, but it’s there.  And it’s surprisingly well played by the talent.
 
Also to provide some clarification, I have read elsewhere on the web that 419 is being billed as one of those semi-popular “found footage films,” and I’d like to correct that misinformation: it isn’t.  419 is a faux documentary.  Yes, it’s assembled from footage that – in some part – has been “found.”  But to call it a “found footage film” is a disservice to “found footage films” as well as 419: this is a character drama – entirely fictional – put together in such a way as to tweak the narrative.  It’s a fine line distinction, but a distinction that should be make.
 
419 [2012] is produced by 120bB Films and Indalo Productions.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been handled by MVD Visual, a division of MVD Entertainment Group.  As for the technical specifications … well, bear in mind that Thorne wants to make you believe this is all a documentary culled together from his available camera work, so one should expect the usual shaky-cam action consistently from start to finish, along with some of the usual unframed shot, loss of focus, and questionable angles.  (Relax, folks, because it’s all intended as part of the charm.)  The sound was mostly solid, though there were a few sequences that came across a bit muddled.  As for special features, the only thing I saw on the menu was deleted scenes, and, at that point, I really wasn’t all that interested in what didn’t make the finished product.
 
Recommended, but …
 
Seriously, there’s nothing groundbreaking here.  Essentially, all 419 really does effectively is provide audiences with yet one more reminder about what everyone says could happen to you if you’re roped into an internet scam, but it’s theatrically escalated to the Nth degree for the purpose of having a more complex story to tell.  Performances are fine; cinematography wasn’t all that inspiring but is tolerable (though the herky-jerky documentary style does get old in the final third); and the story is – well – a bit predictable.  (Don’t believe everything the box art tells you otherwise.)
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at MVD Entertainment Group provided me with a DVD copy of 419 by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ
​

I’ve always been a fan of horror films.
 
As I’ve explained over the years, I think there’s just something about films focusing on our darkest frights that tap into something primal in the audiences who enjoy them.  They scare us.  They delight us.  They examine our fears and phobias.  While there may yet inevitably prove to be some link between cinematic violence and real-world mayhem (it’s arguably as elusive as the link missing between men and apes), I’ve always thought that this is little more than pure escapism for a healthy mind.
 
Over the last several decades, there’s been a great number of Friday The 13th films that have dabbled gorily in such fertile pastures.  Launching that global phenomenon all the way back in 1980, producers, effects people, and screen talent have cashed in on expanding the saga of the bloodthirsty Jason Voorhees; and they will likely always be a time in our collective consciousness that audiences not only know his name but also know full well to run from him.
 
What better way to celebrate the intellectual property’s history than one comprehensive look at where it all began and maybe even what it means?
 
I’ve got just the thing you’re looking for …
 
One of the most surprisingly long-running horror franchises ever gets an equally long-running documentary for those who love this sort of thing … and I do.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last three paragraphs for my final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the product packaging:
“Inspired by the critically acclaimed book, Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History Of Friday The 13th takes viewers behind the mask on an epic journey into the making of the landmark horror franchise – from its humble beginnings in 1980 at a New Jersey summer camp to the blockbuster release of its 2009 ‘reboot.’  Combining hundreds of rare and never-before-seen photographs, film clips, outtakes, archival documents, conceptual art and behind-the-scenes footage.  Featuring interviews with more than 150 cast and crew members spanning all twelve films and the television series …”
 
There’s just a bit more written, but methinks you’ll probably already know whether or not spending the time it takes to wade deep into these waters interests you or not.  So far as this casual fan of the Friday the 13th films is concerned, it’s definitely worth it.  Yes, that means it’s worth 400 minutes; and, yes, you read that right.  400 minutes.  Pop some corn and buckle up.  At times, I’ll concede that the coverage might appear a feel tiresome, but the way good storytellers do all the minutiae ends up coming full circle thematically.  Every discussed little detail here is worth it … but you may not quite know why when you’re in the thick of it.
 
The Friday franchise is always one of those that made perfect business sense. 
 
It’s low-budget, guerilla filmmaking debatably at its least inspired – basically, it’s all just an conscience-free slasher hunting one horny teen after another – and that hasn’t kept it from amassing some impressive box office clout throughout its twelve various flicks.  While dismissed by some for being far too formulaic, I’d argue that the formula has proven profitable to big and small degrees every time it’s been tried.  You don’t last as long as Jason has while losing money, even if a few of the efforts might’ve cut a bit too close to the bone to truly make bank.  I’ve always thought of it as ‘the little horror film that could,’ forever finding some clever way to reinvent itself while remaining true to the recipe combining those universal ingredients: blood, blood, and more blood.
 
Granted, this isn’t meant to imply that all of the Friday flicks are worthwhile films because – on so many levels – several of them are quite dumb.  Jason in New York?  Really, Hollywood?  Jason in space?  C’mon now!  Still, when you least expected it (much like the life and death and life again of never-ending Mr. Voorhees) something reinvigorates the interest of audiences, and then they’re spending another 90-minutes wondering what happened to the last 90 minutes of their lives.
 
After all, such is life … and such is the power of this seminal Horror franchise.
 
Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History Of Friday The 13th (2013) is produced by 1428 Films, Panic Productions, and Hutson Ranch Media.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been handled by the reliable RLJ Entertainment and Image Entertainment.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert: this 400-minute documentary boasts an impressive collection of archival footage, some of which is understandably grainy due to the age and handling of it, but none of it is a distraction to the quality of the piece.  Lastly, the packaging boasts that there is an accompanying commentary track, but I didn’t explore it: the flick itself was feast enough.
 
Highest Recommendation Possible.
 
Horror films have always been a bona fide cultural phenomenon, and what I found most interesting about this massive collection of Crystal Lake Memories is that there are quite possibly as many reasons to explain their popularity as there are fans of this franchise.  While some viewers might think there’s more reflections here than absolutely necessary, I thought it was terrific to have these reminiscences preserved for the integrity of (first) film history and (second) the legion of fans who will hungrily scarf this all up.  Plus … with that many films in a franchise, there’s an awful lot of ground to cover!
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at RLJ Entertainment and Image Entertainment provided me with a Blu ray of Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History Of Friday The 13th by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ
​​

Regular readers of SciFiHistor.Net's MainPage know all too well that I spend a great deal of time and space singing the praise of Arrow Video.  Their eclectic catalogue covers just about anything a fan might desire, including Dramas, Comedies, Horrors, Science Fiction, and Fantasy; and I think it's truly grand that -- as a distributor -- they've taken to the web with their very own streaming platform as well.  If nothing else, then such a campaign just increases the chances for those of us who love a good story have access to finding one; and the potential to establish and increase an audience only continues to expand in the years ahead.  Kudos to all involved.

As a service to both them and you, I wanted to pass along some of the information I've received from them regarding their February offerings.  Take a gander at what they've got on tap for next month, and I think that you'll agree their Arrow Player might just be the place to be for enthusiasts of All Things Genre-Related.  While not everything might tickle the fancy, I suspect there's something in here that will ... all you need to do is point and click.

As always, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
​

London, UK - Arrow Video is excited to announce the February 2025 lineup of their subscription-based ARROW platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Enjoy a selection of new titles, from carefully cultivated curations to shorts by new talent. For serious enthusiasts, ARROW offers deep dives into the tastes of filmmakers that changed the way we see the genre.

In a recent profile, the New York Times praised ARROW and noted, "Viewers with a fondness for the esoteric will be hard-pressed to find more quality bang for their streaming buck."

                    New York Times Review of ARROW

The February 2025 lineup leads with A Certain Killer and A Killer’s Key, a pair of classic 1960s Japanese assassin films. Directed by prolific Japanese director Kazuo Mori (Zatoichi at Large), both were made in 1967, and star Raizô Ichikawa (Conflagration) as a former soldier who becomes a hitman for a yakuza gang. Exclusive to ARROW is the new slasher film Killer Graduation, previously released as Departing Seniors in the US.
​
The Seasons include Love Sucks, a selection of vampire vixens for Valentine's Day and Jenn Wexler Selects, a look at the films that inspired the director of The Sacrifice Game and The Ranger.

​ARROW's February calendar kicks off February 7 with a quartet of titles exclusively for subscribers in the United States. Spanning decades and originating around the globe, there's something for everyone. 
​

​Blight (US): One year ago, Logan mysteriously disappears while on a camping trip. Her welcome home party is thrown into chaos with a series of mysterious earthquakes and power outages.  
​

​Graduation is a killer. When his recent clash with his bullies sends high schooler student Javier (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Primo) to the hospital, he wakes up feeling… different. Javier is now plagued by psychic visions - but it’s perfect timing as there's a masked killer on the loose.  With the help of his best friend Bianca (Ireon Roch, Perpetrator), the teens decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to unravel the mystery of this deranged mask killer before the body count rises and the killer strikes again.

Kazuo Mori strikes twice on February 10 with a double bill of Japanese crime!
​

Mockingbird Don't Sing (US): Based on the actual events of one of the most horrific cases of child abuse ever to be documented, this haunting drama tells the tale of a young girl who was locked in a room for over 12 years.

​The Invitation (UK/IRE/US/CAN): In this taut psychological thriller by Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Jennifer's Body), the tension is palpable when Will (Logan Marshall-Green, Upgrade) shows up to his ex-wife Eden and new husband David's dinner party. The pair's tragic past haunts an equally spooky present: Amid Eden's suspicious behavior and her mysterious house guests, Will becomes convinced that his invitation was extended with a hidden agenda.
​

Hobgoblins (UK/IRE/US/CAN): A young security guard must track down diminutive aliens who kill people even as they make their fantasies come true.
​

Ice Cream Man (UK/IRE/US/CAN): Poor Gregory. After being released from the Wishing Well Sanatorium, all he wants to do is make the children happy. So Gregory reopens the old ice cream factory, and all the unappreciative brats are reprocessed into the flavor of the day.

The lineup concludes on February 28 with fantasy creatures, a board meeting, and dance.
​

Caverna (UK/IRE/US/CAN): A cyclops strangles a man and chases a princess through a forest. In a progressive theater workshop outside of Florence, students Giorgia and Lorenzo act out their dreams and childhood traumas, as teacher Alba pushes them to confront their inner myth.  
​

Putney Swope (UK/IRE/US/CAN): The board of directors at a Madison Avenue ad agency must elect a new chairman. In the maneuvering to make sure that enemies don't get votes, all the members accidentally cast their ballot for the board's token black man, Putney Swope.
​

Shake the Dust (UK/IRE/US/CAN): Despite its genesis in the Bronx, Hip-Hop has become a universal language spoken across all cultures. Shake The Dust celebrates this global unity by chronicling three different break dance crews in the slums of Uganda, Yemen and Cambodia where Hip-Hop serves as a saving grace from the drugs, depression and poverty grasping youth. Includes music from Executive Producer Nas and Oscar-winning artist Common. 
​

​ARROW is available in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland on the following Apps/devices: Roku (all Roku sticks, boxes, devices, etc), Apple TV & iOS devices, Samsung TVs, Android TV and mobile devices, Fire TV (all Amazon Fire TV Sticks, boxes, etc), and on all web browsers at https://www.arrow-player.com.

With a slickly designed and user-friendly interface, and an unparalleled roster of quality content from westerns to giallo to Asian cinema, trailers, Midnight Movies, filmmaker picks and much, much more, ARROW is the place to go for the very best in on-demand entertainment.

From Arrow Films, a recognized world-leader in curation and creation, ARROW is a premium platform giving audiences an unparalleled viewing experience across multiple devices, so fans can explore the films and TV shows that the Arrow brand is famous for.

Specially curated by members of the ARROW team, ARROW is home to premium film and TV entertainment, exclusive new premieres, cutting edge cinema, international classics and cult favorites - such as the works of Lars Von Trier, Brian De Palma, Dario Argento, David Cronenberg and Park Chan-wook, and brand-new short films from both new and established filmmakers.

In the coming months, ARROW will be adding Oscar-winning hits, European classics, Asian cinema masterworks, rediscovered Westerns, offbeat gems and much more as part of ARROW’s international strategy to support and celebrate the medium of film.
​
​YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ArrowVideoUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arrowPlayer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Arrow_Player
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo

Back in 2007, I courted a bit of controversy online when I made a suggestion involving the greater state of the SciFi (aka Syfy) Channel.
 
This was a message board (ask your parents, kids), and there were a group of us discussing with some disgust how SciFi’s routine Saturday Night Movies had devolved into a mostly messy assortment of bargain basement direct-to-consumer offerings with garbage storytelling, absolutely ridiculous special effects, and – in the words of others – “washed up” actors and actresses.  (I disagreed most strongly on that last point, as I’ll almost always firmly argue that talent – good, bad, and ugly – always has a place … you just have to find it.)  While everyone else was recommending a total overhaul of the network, I was only mildly consenting that some rework was absolutely necessary.
 
You see, Science Fiction and Fantasy have always been genres rich with sub-bar efforts.  All anyone need do is watch a single episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 to know that genre fans will tune in to almost anything, and that’s because – unlike other swatches of enthusiasts – we’ll laugh at something inferior as entertainment.  This is because long ago we realized that the wider entertainment industry doesn’t take a good deal of what we like seriously; and – as a consequence – we learned not to take ourselves and our movies as seriously, either.  We’ll chuckle at a misstep.  We’ll guffaw when a sequence goes wrong.  And we don’t care who knows.
 
Well, back in 2007, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez realized that the realms of the Fantastic needed a bit of a reminder of the fact; so – as part of Quentin’s Grindhouse project – they delivered us a little something-something called Planet Terror.  The film was a throwback to the storytelling sensibilities of the 1970’s and early 80’s, and it featured a crew of motley survivors who’d stop at nothing to survive a zombie outbreak set in motion by the always evil military industrial complex.  Unlike a great many of the films that inspired Terror, this outing actually spent a bit of extra cash on the production; and the results looked about as good as anything a true genre fan might hope for.
 
Anyway, I argued that this kind of goofy over-the-top mythmaking was exactly what Saturday Night on the SciFi/Syfy Channel should look like.  Sure, it was campy.  Yes, it was derivative.  But a celebration of schlock is always warmly welcomed by our side of the aisle; and – to a degree – I think that’s what brought so many Sharknados to life, as well.  While I would’ve liked for the producers to have spent a few more dollars on them, the results show that if you give audiences something worth staying home for over the weekend then they’ll do it … and a good time can be had by all.
 
I can’t say for certain that the makers of Clone Cops (2024) would necessarily agree.  I don’t know them, so I don’t like making assumptions of this sort which I personally cannot back up in this space.  Based on their reasonably low budget loony SciFi/Comedy’s similarities to such celebrated rubbish, I think they might.  It’s another one of those perfectly imperfect features that should go down nicely with folks who appreciate a bit of unbridled goofiness in their entertainment diet; and maybe – just maybe – they’ll aim for even higher hijinks in the years ahead.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A gang of outlaws defend their hideout until they discover a shocking secret about who they are and what they're up against. Now it's a race against time as they look for a way to escape certain doom at the hands of the Clone Cops.”
​

For those of you unawares, the Keystone Cops were a theatrical phenomenon in the early days of motion pictures.  Though their various screen adventures have probably been forgotten by most who cover entertainment online in this modern era, I’ll do my part of a self-proclaimed archivist of All Things Genre and mention their existence today because – whether screenwriters Phillip Cordell and Danny Dones either know or agree – that brand of farcical merriment is alive and well in 2024’s Clone Cops.  Why, you might even see the inspiration in the title alone!
 
Now, screen farce isn’t for everyone.
 
As I’ve often written about in this space as well, Comedy is an extremely controversial force when it’s applied to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror because opinions vary widely, and what you find funny isn’t necessarily what others find funny.  There’s a delicate balancing act to making Comedy work in genre – much less getting it embraced by wider audiences – and I’ve seen it fail more often than it’s ever succeeded.  Perhaps the greatest purveyors of it in the past half-century were Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Pat Proft: their names are associated with some of the last true farces of the silver screen, including Airplane! (1980), The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad! (1988), and Hot Shots! (1991).  Of course, there are others, but I think it’s safe to say that their films in particular truly cast their watchful eye at anything and everything they could lampoon, and audiences responded in kind.
 
It's into this fertile territory that flicks like Clone Cops descend.  While it arguably lacks the same level of intensity and suffers from a bit of lukewarm presentation here and there, Cordell and Dones (who also directs) maintain a consistent vision across the entire piece; and I think that fact alone should help open doors for more of such inspired schtick if the Comedy gods are watching.
 
In the near future, society at large has been reduced to couch potatoes who sit at their screens absorbing the highest rated show ever, Crimetime 360.  Essentially, this is a parade of non-stop violence of good clones battling bad clones in a match-up of brain and brawn with the hope that bloodshed will be bonkers.  One lucky viewer – Cameron (played by Schyler Tillett) – wins a contest to join the ‘bad guys’ in their latest death match though he’s promised by the corporate sponsor – NefariCorp – that he cannot be harmed in the crossfire as all clones have been programmed to avoid shooting him.  Well, let’s never forget that the road to Hell is paved with an endless path of the best intentions!
​

Once inserted into the action, Cameron goes by the name Kinder.  Though he’s initially welcomed as a confidante, the band of rebels – Fera (Quinnlan Ashe), Porter (Laura Holloway), Brick (Ted Welsh), and Cipher (Allison Shrum) – soon notice that he does not appear to be in nearly as much jeopardy as they are, and they suspect something is afoot.  Before the big finish, however, they’ll all be comrades in arms, pledged to protect one another even after Kinder is forced to spill the existential beans informing them that not only are they not real but also they’re little more than expendable pawns in NefariCorp’s Truman Show all crafted for maximum ratings.
 
Of course, this summation might give Clone Cops a bit more credit than it’s ultimately owed.  While such big ideas are the foundation for a great many Science Fiction films dramatically, it’s all concocted so fast and loosely here because what matters most is laughter.  The humor, performances, and special effects are all understandably cheesy: this is a low budget affair that revels in its frivolity, and it shows.  Instead of working against that grain, the cast and crew embrace it, hoping that their unabashed willingness to force it all down our throats with a thousand grains of salt is enough … and it will be for those who appreciate farce for what it is.
 
Dones and Cordell, thankfully, are no fools; and what they steal, they shamelessly steal from the best.  Like RoboCop (1987) made great satiric use of running corporate adverts and inserts across a good portion of its running time, Clone Cops maximizes similar messaging in smaller, more affordable doses.  (And don’t blink or you might miss the film’s obvious homage to Paul Verhoeven’s ‘Kuato’ from 1990’s Total Recall.)  While I’ll argue that everything in here – from the acting, staging, cinematography, editing, and sequences – could’ve benefitted from a bit more time in the oven, what emerges still works.  I generally appreciate a bit more polish even on such independent efforts, but there’s no denying all involved probably had a good time throwing this one into gear when they did.
 
Clone Cops (2024) was produced by HiPhi Productions.  According to the press materials I was provided, the film is set for VOD release across the U.S. – along with a limited theatrical run in Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville – on January 31, 2025.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I found most of the sights-and-sounds to be solid: it may be a defect tied to the streaming portal, but – for what it’s worth – the sound mix was incredibly low in volume.  I had to crank this one up to 100 on my laptop and the portal, and – even then – I had to turn on the Closed Captioning in order to get all of the lines.  That’s a miss, and I hope it can be corrected.  As I viewed this one entirely via streaming, there were no special features under consideration.
 
Recommended.
 
Again, even Star Trek’s Commander Data said that “humor is a difficult concept,” and that remains true decades later.  Clone Cops may not be the perfect punch line, but for those of us who do appreciate the effort it will play for a few laughs.  Yes, it has some limitations – most of which were drawn by the budget – but there’s a beating heart pounding (if not spurting blood) somewhere within all of this acting and images, and I can feel its pulse.  Such high spirits deserve a bit of airing out every now and then if for no other reason than it reminds us high-minded and good-natured human beings not to take ourselves so seriously.  Somewhere, there’s a clone waiting to fill our shoes.  If we don’t laugh now, then the clone will be doing it for us in the future.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at HiPhi Productions provided me with complimentary streaming access to Clone Cops (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ
​

As one who follows a good deal of entertainment announcements, I can assure you that Presence benefitted from a good deal of advance publicity chitchat across the Information Superhighway.
 
First up, the name of Steven Soderbergh isn’t one strongly associated with genre outings.  While it’s safe to say that the man has had a few, he’s far more well regarded as the purveyor of what might be considered more adult-geared productions.  (Sorry, folks, but it’s true that Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror do get marketed far more for teenagers than do perhaps any other form.)  In fact, a good deal of the buzz surrounding Presence dealt with the anticipation that here was an accomplished, highbrow intellect and what kind of story would’ve drawn him to the ‘other side of the tracks?’
 
Second, the film had an advertising hook that promised audiences they were going to see something other than what had come before: here was a ghost story that was going to be spun from the point-of-view of the spectral entity and not the usual suspects.  That little nugget also arguably lit a few well-placed fires on what remained of message boards, the Twittersphere, and YouTube.com.  Why, how was this possible?  What, pray tell, could this look like?  The fact that people were anticipating a fresh take on the old tropes also boded well for the cast and crew, so kudos to the promoters who knew what angle to push.
 
Lastly, the motion picture was going to be released in the United States in January 2025.  Those of you who don’t follow such metrics may’ve missed this, but January – for film projects, anyway – isn’t exactly the cat’s meow.  It’s often been said that theatrical garbage hits screens in January, mostly because audiences aren’t thinking about going to the movies at that time of year; so, studios feel it’s the best time to unload something a bit out of the norm, hoping they just might buck the trend and make back a few bucks.  This may not be a selling point – certainly not as much as the previous two – but it’s still worth weighing in the grand equation.
 
Well, Presence is finally here.  I’ve seen it.  While it likely won’t become the sensation producers believed it could be (for a variety of reasons), I’ll argue that it still deserves a bit of attention from those of us who like something off the beaten track.  Frankly, I saw it as much a mystery as I did a ghost story – FYI: it’s not frightening in the least regard, though there is a jump scare or two – and the end result remains about as good storytelling as I’ve ever encountered in a genuine fright.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A family becomes convinced they are not alone after moving into their new home in the suburbs.”
​

Horror movies succeed because they manage to scare the Hell out of audiences while still allowing them to remain safe in that little bubble of the entertainment experience.  Unlike the characters they see running across the silver screen, these patrons – nestled between one another and their popcorn, soda, and snacks – are never truly in any peril; and yet they get to howl along with their fellow audience members at each and every dark turn the players make along the way.  It’s the vicarious encounter of running for one’s life; and the best films of this caliber are rewarded with respectable acclaim.
 
As directed by Steven Soderbergh, Presence (2024) isn’t frightening in what I’d dub any mainstream way, placing its scares more in a cerebral context.  Rebekah (played by Lucy Liu), Chris (Chris Sullivan) and their teenage children – Tyler (Eddy Maday) and Chloe (Callina Liang) – are in the market for a new home; though we’ll learn of the exact reasons why as the tale develops, it ties to the family’s need to start over after Chloe was involved in some unspecific event which lead to the death of a childhood friend.  (Every parent’s nightmare, I’m told, involves drugs; and, yes, they factor prominently into this story in more ways than one.)  The narrative point here is that this ‘great American family’ has been through some rough emotional stuff – there are ample hints at greater possible scandal involving Rebekah’s finances – and they’re displayed as fractured from the outset.
 
This becomes particularly relevant to the central premise because – as anyone who has read into the wider phenomenon of ghosts knows – souls are said to be bound to a certain time and place in our realm because they have some unfinished business on Earth.  They, too, are spirits broken from the task of merely living; and a weighty responsibility remains on their shoulders to accomplish some tasks, right some wrong, and only then are they rewarded with sleeping in that blissful light.  Casting an entire family with similar restraints immediately challenges viewers to watch them even more closely – pay attention to what they say and what they do – in order to ascertain more specifics that could be important to the plot if for no other reason that we’re less likely to learn anything of substance from the ghost.
 
So by positioning these characters as ones to watch, Soderbergh and company serve up the classic misdirection that goes hand-in-hand with spinning a good mystery, of which Presence arguable becomes with several puzzles.  What did Rebekah do?  Has Chris forgiven her?  Should he forgive her?  Why are these siblings constantly at odds with one another?  Is it just the usual ‘family stuff,’ or is it something much deeper?  Why does it look like Rebekah has more love for Tyler than she does Chloe?  Why has Chris surrendered so much of the responsibilities to serving as the head of the household?  Though these questions (and a few more) are introduced quite early, they continue to posit themselves in increasingly curious ways as Presence wears on: why, even this spirit seems to want to understand these people with all of their strengths and weaknesses, so the construct is balanced exceptionally between our world and the visible nether.
 
Essentially, what we learn is what we’ve also been told about spooks, that being they’re drawn to the young, the fragile, and the innocent: this ghost spends most of its time watching Chloe.  It watches her from the corner of the open closet.  It follows her from room to room.  Quietly, it even stacks her schoolbooks on the corner of her dresser whilst she’s taking a quick shower.  And it seems to have no particular care over the fact that, apparently, Chloe senses its very presence.  In fact, it seems to feed off her attention.  Naturally, we wonder, “Why might that be?”
​

Because of the way our minds are wired, we – the audience – plug in these answers in much the same way that these characters do.  Having lost a dear friend to a drug overdose, Chloe initially believes that’s exactly who is crying out to her from the other side.  Soderbergh and Koepp are particularly smart about allowing that plot point to simmer as long as they do because it’s certainly of merit when such a distraction matters: the proof is, regardless, a very dark yet related twist … one I’ll not be a fool to spoil.
 
As a film, Presence likely won’t go down well with those who watch them casually.
 
Honestly, it’s a bit clunky in at the set-up, and the pacing could’ve been improved as these opening vignettes – introducing the place, getting to meet the characters, etc. – wear on for a bit.  In fact, it really isn’t until around the 15-minute mark (or so) that Soderbergh makes it perfectly clear that it’s a Horror movie; and – even then – it really isn’t until around 30-minutes in that anything remotely frightening happens.  If you showed up for the ghost, then you’ve really missed the whole point that you – the audience – are it.  You’re watching this from the spirit’s eyes.  As such, it does take a bit of getting used to, both in playing the part of the voyeur and realizing there’s a bit of distortion in lensing and the occasionally herky-jerky bits common to found footage films.  It never gets in the way, but it does take a bit of acclimation.
 
The truth is that you don’t get to be as highly an acclaimed director like Soderbergh by following rules, and I honestly suspect that might be what ultimately drew the storyteller to Koepp’s mostly quiet script: while some might argue that it sticks the landing the way a spectral whodunnit should, it also mildly reinvents the wheel when it comes to delivering what audiences might come to expect from such a yarn.  It has no ‘big moments,’ but there are reveals that are necessary on the road to understanding.  Its ultimate payoff comes in the form of Liu’s heart wrenching closing observation – along with the only look at who this ghost was – and everyone waiting for a twist may’ve guessed this one was coming if (A) they were paying attention when it mattered and (B) they remain open to the reality that both life’s and death’s possibilities are truly endless.
 
Presence transcends the formulaic even though it must embrace the predictable in small ways – to establish its genre-required bona fides – but then goes surpasses them by delivering a finale worth thinking about.  Not everyone will be happy once all is known.  Some might even feel a bit cheated.  But the answer inarguably confirms the challenge posed by a loving father to a loving son in the heat of a family argument.  That much is certain.
 
Highly Recommended.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that I’m beholden to no one for this review of Presence (2024) as I bought and paid for my very own ticket during the feature’s U.S. theatrical run.

-- EZ
​

Good morning, gentle readers, and welcome to the world wide premiere date of Star Trek: Section 31 from Paramount Pictures, CBS Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, and Secret Hideout.  No, I've not seen the flick -- me and mine apparently doesn't 'fit the bill' to be an official media outlet so far as the suits are at Paramount and more -- so this is most definitely not a review.  I'm merely putting up a post to remind readers of the film's launch as well as to give a bit of greater commentary on the State of Trek as it pertains to this development.

In short: Ugh.

Reviews have come in over the Information Superhighway based entirely on the fact that the feature's actual premiere was two days ago.  A great many entertainment and fan sites are already piling on what looks like yet one more unmitigated cinematic disaster to the once revered Roddenberry legacy.  I've no desire to do that: mind you, I'm no fan of anything that's come out since Trek moved behind the pay wall, but I've not seen enough of it to feel my voice on those matters would be any more authentic than someone not watching.  I can say -- of what I've watched -- only Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' first season came close to being entertaining ... but, as I said, I'll leave that for what it is.

​Because I do like to talk about entertainment more from a historical perspective, I do have something I'd like to put out there this morning.

You see, a student of history will tell you that Paramount has long seen Star Trek as a Golden Goose when it comes to truly cracking some amazing financial rewards.  All the way back in the mid-1970's, in fact, the studio believed they could use the continuing adventures of the Starship Enterprise to launch their own network.  Indeed, Star Trek: Phase Two was originally scheduled to be the 'next generation' of adventure; and this was actively on the drawing boards back in the 70's.

What happened?

Well, a little something-something called Star Wars truly changed the face of entertainment as we know it.  George Lucas' space western showed that audiences were willing to go boldly where no one had gone before on the silver screen, and Phase Two went through a few other phases before eventually churning out 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  I don't talk about that much in this space because -- sigh -- so many Trekkies, Trekkers, and general Trek enthusiasts don't think it was that great of an experience (I disagree, as I still fervently love the production), so I won't go more into that.  All I'm really doing here is trying to set a bit of context, so deal with it.

In the mid 1980's, Trek was increasingly popular, so Paramount decided that perhaps going back to television would be a good idea.  Instead of pushing their own brand-new network, it was ultimately decided that they'd pursue TV syndication as a way of honoring those smaller broadcast outlets that truly were with Trek from the beginning (once the original show was cancelled, you found it all over the dial on such stations).  Star Trek: The Next Generation was born, and there we are.

But Paramount couldn't give up that idea of having their own television network; and in the 1990's they finally put their money where their mouth was -- Star Trek: Voyager wasn't exactly a barn-burner (so far as I'm concerned), but it was interesting occasionally to see just how those Federation values might work in a distant part of the universe where morality was a bit different.  Personally, I thought it failed to achieve anything worthwhile -- in fact, I've often suggested that Syfy's Farscape is the show Voyager should've been -- but, again, the suits knew what they wanted.  Unsurprisingly, UPN -- that beloved network they so long sought -- died perhaps not even a decade later, ultimately disappearing from the broadcast landscape.

​For all intents and purposes, Paramount+ -- in my humble opinion -- eventually emerged to pick up that baton and run with it.  The studio contracted Robert Kurtzman to bring Trek both into the future and behind a paywall as beancounters once more believed those dollar signs they dreamed about could be achieved.  While the suits have continued to throw money at the problem, none of what they've purchased has, ultimately, gotten any better ... and that pretty much sums up where we are today ... what with Star Trek: Section 31 appearing like the next travesty to happen to the franchise many of us believed would take us into the future.

I can remember back in the days of message boards getting into some heated exchanges with a great many fans.  You see, many of us had ideas that we thought might invigorate Trek: we could see throughout Voyager's run and well into Star Trek: Enterprise that the I.P. was struggling; and each of us had different takes on why it had fallen into such disrepute.  For me, it just didn't have compelling characters -- certainly not after The Next Generation -- and there was no significant impetus to follow anyone into the Final Frontier in any other iteration.  (Don't get me wrong: I liked a lot of the players on Deep Space Nine, but I never felt it congealed the way it should have.)  A good franchise creates characters you want to stay with, and that just wasn't happening ... but a few of us had a suggestion.

What I promoted way back then was that Paramount kinda/sorta recraft the TV universe around The Next Generation.  These characters had proven their popularity with fandom; and these stars could be put to good use if they were now somewhat broken up and re-assigned to Deep Space Nine and Voyager (for all intents and purposes).  Mind you: there was plenty of opportunity for crossovers (Voyager would have to be back home in the Alpha Quadrant, yes, in order for this to work) if these shows were to continue beyond their televised format, and that's what I wanted.  I wanted some TNG telefilms.  I wanted some DS9 telefilms.  I wanted some Voyager telefilms.  But what was missing would be key characters, and I thought that could happen if, say, Picard moved along, Riker moved along, and others moved along into these other spinoffs.  

Now, I'm not gonna re-litigate all of what I thought could've been a winning formula today.  That's not the purpose that I came here, frankly, so you can rest easy with this being my only look back into the past.  My point is that -- interestingly enough -- that idea many of us thought could help Trek into the future -- namely, the telefilm-style product -- is finally finding life a few decades after some of us in fandom felt it was a formula worth exploring.  Granted, Section 31 -- in its current shape -- doesn't look like a recipe for success, but that might be owed to the fact that Kurtzman and his company really don't look all that interested in making Trek for fans as much as they do making money for themselves.

As always, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
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Oh, Jurassic Park ... what have you wrought?!?!

Just as John Hammond warned us about the dangers of messing with dinosaur genetics, did no one think about the inevitable spinoffs and knockoffs that would result from a single blockbuster movie?  Such dreams became a reality when on this day in 1995 (in Turkey) Carnosaur 2 -- yes, there was an original as well -- enjoyed its first broadcast on television.  Yes, I think I've seen this one -- caught it back in the day on home video and don't recall being all that impressed -- but I'll leave it at that as the memory is a bit clouded.  I can remember thinking that some of the footage was simply re-used from the first installment (IMDB.com's Trivia Page for the flick confirms that); and that's always a disappointment when it happens so obviously.  Still, those things happen quite often in the low budget worlds crafted by genre producer Roger Corman.

​Interestingly enough, the film's dinosaurs weren't rendered in CGI: these were life-sized robotic puppets (well, as life-sized as the budget would allow), and it's probably likely that that fact alone caused its own share of issues for the storytellers.  Directed by Louis Morneau from a story by Michael Palmer, the monster movie starred John Savage, Cliff De Young, Don Stroud, Rick Dean, and Ryan Thomas Johnson in prominent roles.

Furthermore, IMDB.com indicates that Carnosaur 2 was originally slated for a theatrical run.  (There's no indication of which country or anything further.)  Apparently, that never happen, and this thing was rushed into the secondary market of home video and television as a consequences.  Were we robbed?  Well, an aggregate audience score under 4.0 on IMDB.com indicates maybe not so much.

In any event, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY you Jurassic critters of Carnosaur 2!  You don't look a day over 30 years young!

As always, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ
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