Actor Earl Holliman holds a special place in the minds and hearts of serious genre fans around the world if for no other reason that he was tapped to star in the pilot episode of Rod Serling's TV Classic The Twilight Zone.  This alone should earn him the honor of being the subject of a Jeopardy question, and yet thankfully there are a few more reasons to celebrate the man and his work today.

For example: in the role of the spacecraft's cook aboard 1956's Forbidden Planet, he was chiefly responsible for securing some swell-tasting hooch from Robbie the Robot on the distant planet of Altair IV.  (And we all know how important hooch can be in space when you're stranded millions of lightyears form home, am I right?)  That, too, is cause for celebration.

But there's even more.

​A rundown of the man's resume on IMDB.com shows that his career also intersected with such properties as Visit To A Small Planet (1960), The Power (1968), The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women, And War (1973), Doberman Patrol (1973), Captain Planet And The Planeteers, and NightMan.  Though it could be argued that he'll likely be best remembered for his role aboard the 1970's police procedural Police Woman (alongside Angie Dickinson), I'm glad that he dabbled outside the lines in the realms of the Fantastic so that I can feature him here.

Our warmest prayers are extended to the family, friends, and fans of Earl Holliman.

May he rest in reace.

-- 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, then read on …)
 
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Lola is trapped. She is trapped in life, work, and now in her older brother, Lou's, house with his unbalanced roommate, Cage. When the city of Los Angeles shuts down for mysterious reasons, a packet of seeds show up on their doorstep, giving birth to an alien plant. What secrets does this plant hold? Will its answers set Lola free? Or will it drive this trio to madness?”
 
From what I understand, Lovecraftian Horror – named after its widely acknowledged creator H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) – is a sub-genre of the main category that deals mostly with unfathomable.  These terrors tend to explore the plight of protagonists who struggle to comprehend the mechanics of a world around them that neither looks nor acts the way ours does.  While these stories might have some of Horror’s usual tropes, I’ve read that their narrative tends to focus more on the abject dreadfulness of the characters’ circumstances and not the usual thrills, chills, and spills.  There’s an otherworldliness to it all – one that defies conventional explanation – and this serves as a focal point when the players come together.
 
That’s about as apt a description as I can give for the substance of Terror Firma (2023), an independent Horror/Fantasy written and directed by Jake Macpherson.  I’ve read some suggestions online that the flick was a bit of a darling on the film festival circuit, and I don’t doubt such assertions: the low-budget approach to heady ideas often garners an extra bit of attention from brainiacs who frequent festivals.  I have found, however, that such acclaim typically doesn’t extend to more mainstream audiences, the kind of folks who pony up a couple of bucks while expecting to understand all of what they see, of which I usually consider myself.  So, yes, I’ll admit that Terror Firma was a bit too elusive for me to give it any enthusiastic praise, but I’ll try to focus in on what worked versus what didn’t as briefly as possible.
 
Lola (played by Faye Tamasa) finds herself without a roof over her head at the exact time martial law is declared in Los Angeles.  Thankfully, her adoptive brother Louis (Burt Thakur) has an extra room he can spare, but this will mean that she’ll also be sharing common space with Cage (Robert Brettenaugh), a potentially violent and self-destructive roommate who isn’t above violating Lola’s personal space if it means he might garner himself some desperate affections in the process.  Together, the three of them hunker down for this unexplained Apocalypse, never thinking of questioning the voices of authority that boom out via loudspeaker from helicopters passing overhead.
 
But on her way to Louis’ home, Lola discovers a glistening black-petaled flower that has grown out of the soil in isolation from other plants.  Not knowing what to make of it – is it natural, is it alien, is it part of the reason our planet has gone into lockdown – she moves along and reaches safety.

At the house, the trio are excited to receive their first shipment of ‘survival supplies’ from the local government – mostly food staples – and Lola is surprised to discover a small unlabeled packet containing berry-like seeds within.  Unsure of what to make of them, she inevitably decides to take one outside, digs a small hole, and plunks it into the earth.  The next morning, they’re all surprised to find that the seed has birthed a small hole, at the bottom of which is a fragrant jelly that both smells and tastes differently to each of them.  Still, the one similarity ingesting it produces is a euphoric high, and such bliss is a welcome distraction from the dead world that has resulted from this quarantine.
 
However, each of them process their respective exhilarations differently, with Louis growing the most enraptured with it.  Eventually, he injects himself with it, and – while it’s never explained – he’s physically transported to another plane of existence, one that somehow resides down the hole from which the transcendental medicine was magically produced.  Both Lola and Cage – who is also growing more and more mesmerized with the experienced ecstasy – can speak to the man by talking into the opening, but is there any means with which to get him back?
 
If you haven’t noticed, then let me assure you bluntly that – ahem – Macpherson never attempts to explain any of how this world works, where it originates from, nor why it has evolved.  Like the mysterious lockdowns, the seed, the jelly, and the states of altered consciousness are little more than screenwriting magic; and it’s probably best that no one look any deeper as answers never come.  Suffice it to say, viewers are given one enigma after another and are expected to just ‘roll with the punches’ across this increasingly confusing landscape.  Eventually, Cage gets – ahem – personal with the hole (yes, pun intended); and the result is another one of those black flowers Lola stumbled across in the opening.  So are we to believe that someone had relations with a hole in the street to set all of this in motion, or could there possibly be a more conventional explanation?  Don’t worry … as we’ve never told.
 
Eventually, Cage crossed the threshold into psychopathy, and he seeks to have Lola all of his own despite his previously established fondness for having sex with the dirt.  The young woman manages to find her own way into this other reality – which essentially amounts to a lot of visual postproduction trickery involving Louis’ house and an even larger hole in the ground – and she figures out the mechanics of transversing between the two worlds, giving her a chance to save her brother from his fate in the ether.  There’s still that whole business with Cage to be resolved, and it’s only some quick thinking by our heroine that ultimately rescues the two of them from their roommate’s homicidal behavior before it’s all too late.
 
As I’ve said (or, at least, strongly suggested), I’m no fan of treading lightly in worlds that make little sense.  I can forgive a bit of narrative trickery here and there, but I’ll always insist that stories are thematically made stronger by giving audiences clear and concise answers even if that requires them to swallow a little bit of sugar alongside that dose of salt.  Terror Firma could’ve been made a better experience is Macpherson and his cast minimally had a single scene that hammered out such details, thus taking the audience with them on this fantastical journey in full knowledge of what was happening in each moment in time.  But because that never happens, the film retains this overwhelming sense that it was all made up in progress, so much so that no character really has a scene that feels fully scripted for effective delivery.  About the time when I thought I had a firm grasp on this altered reality, something else changed – or worse, a seemingly established rule was broken – and I had to do a bit of a reset.  Eventually, I just went with the conceit that “this isn’t meant to be clearly understood,” and I turned off my gray matter … something I never like to do.
 
Despite my shortcomings with the script, I do think that Tamasa handled her role admirably.  In an era wherein alpha females have become the norm and males have been sacrificed on the altar of identity politics, she still struggles to overcome the oppressiveness of isolation, finally securing a family worth fighting for in the last reel.  Brettenaugh, too, manages a level of creep consistently throughout the piece, almost to the point wherein viewers were probably expecting him to pull out a blunt object and just kill anything within arm’s reach whether he was attracted to it or not.  Granted, it ain’t easy to muster up a romantic attraction to a mound of dirt, but even in that circumstance the actor seems entirely at ease with his descent into madness even though Cage believes ‘all is good.’
​

Still, Terror Firma emerges as a hard film to recommend on any level to regular folks.  Film aficionados and/or students might find something with its charm of accomplishing what it does on the smallest scale imaginable (this is clearly shot almost entirely at one location); and, sure, maybe that’s impressive.  But being a character first and story second kinda guy, I had trouble centering on anyone likeable.  Lola is the only person who drew me in, but I kept stumbling over her circumstances: at one point, it seemed like she had fully abandoned the house only then to turn up back there in the next scene, so I may’ve missed something along the way.  While I appreciate Cage’s strangeness, I’d also add that Louis just didn’t have enough to do, making this an uneven watch all around.
 
Terror Firma (2023) was produced by Capture Theory.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at MVD Visual Entertainment.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be pretty good consistently: there’s a good deal of optical effects once Lola and Louis are in this shadow world, and I’m not entirely convinced the best choices were made throughout those sequences.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  The Blu-ray boasts a director’s commentary (a bit light) along with an extended Director’s Cut, some behind-the-scenes galleries, and the theatrical trailer.  It’s a solid assortment.
 
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
 
Though I’m a professed fan of both low-budget and independent genre efforts, I still found it hard to embrace Terror Firma mostly because it posed a lot of interesting questions yet posited no authentic answers.  I’m all for subterranean parallel realities, but minimally they should function off rules that are accessible to the viewership and (maybe even) compel audiences to think about the nature of reality versus “surreality.”  Here, it seems like the ideas are used as little more than a construct to weave a personal drama involving ‘the new normal’ family all against the backdrop of perplexing surroundings (i.e. martial law, dystopia, alternate dimensions, etc.); and, frankly, I needed to know a bit more.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at MVD Visual Entertainment provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Terror Firma (2023) 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
​

One of the reasons I typically avoid Horror’s more mainstream properties is that it’s been my experience to be disappointed the longer the franchise stays afloat.
 
In other words, I’ve seen a good many intellectual properties develop a veneer of predictable schtick as opposed to rewarding long-term fans with even a modest bit of freshness.  The more chapters the seminal Freddy Krueger got, the goofier and goofier his kills had to grow.  The longer Jason Voorhees hung around, the sillier and sillier that flicks grew.  (Jason?  In space?  Really, Hollywood?)  Though each successive picture delving into the mysterious and exhaustive backdrop of the Saw universe’s mythology tried to sustain my interest, the more I wanted it all to end: torture porn has its place, but even that concoction grew tiresome somewhat quickly.  A solid first picture isn’t only a good start: it should be the first chapter in a developing novel, but producers tend to push creators to deliver more of the same, thinking that’s all the viewers require.  I’d argue even meat needs more than just potatoes for every meal … but maybe that’s just me.
 
Because this trend is very real and very much a force within the wider entertainment industry (meaning it also happens in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Comedy franchises, too), I think there are those movers and shakers who bake it directly into their new creations right out of the gate.  If a picture gets made and experiences break-out success, then the demand for a sequel or two is strong enough for a return to the well of inspiration.  At this point, the push is all too often to recapture what fueled Episode One and infuse it into Episode Two.  Forget trying a mildly different direction.  Don’t even think about undoing anything audiences learned in the founding flick.  At best, creatives might add another layer of mystery to the core mythology, but there’s very little room for things like diversity or re-invention.  Part II should function like Part I … or else.
 
It's for this very reasoning that Adam Green perhaps built his Hatchet business: he had watched enough Horror – perhaps even studied enough of the thrills, chills, and spills – that he knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and at what point to leave his followers wanting more.  While there’s nothing wrong in doing so, I’d still argue that folks like me – the kind who are more inclined to go elsewhere as opposed to investing in more of the same – aren’t likely to hang around for the long haul.  If we do, then the prospects for our finding increased enjoyment with – ahem – the continuing adventures of Victor Crowley grow dim, even if we show up owed to the same efficiency with which the creator builds his next property.
 
Well … Hatchet II (2010) does end up being more of the same.  For better or worse, Green and his merry band of co-conspirators deliver a Part II that looks an awful lot like Part I.  Hell, it even begins in the closing moments of the first film; so, yes, I think it’s pretty safe to conclude that Part II more of the same.  That’s not a bad thing, but it is what it is.
​

(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:
“Marybeth escapes the clutches of the bayou-butcher Victor Crowley and returns to the swamp with an army of hunters and gunmen, determined to end Crowley's reign of horror once and for all.”
 
Picking up right after the closing moments of Hatchet (2006) was, at best, a risky proposition.
 
Of course, I saw this knowing full well that a good many Horror franchise follows that kinda/sorta seminal rule.  When you leave them wanting more, what better place is there but to begin right there?  The upside is that – as a storyteller – you’re both relying on and expanding the linkage between successive films; the downside is that – in this case – it’s four years later, and those of us who watch closely might notice some of the details have shifted.  As an example, lead actress Danielle Harris – as luminous as she is in the guise of our heroine Marybeth Dunstan – looks a bit more grown-up than she did in Part I.  Gone is that hint of youthfulness that fueled her first foray into the swamp; and – in its place – is a young woman who looks a bit more like she’s taken on the world with some small costs.
 
Again, this isn’t a complaint.  It’s only a critical observation.  As I said, some of us notice these things, and they are a reality that can plague a production whether that be good or bad.  In this case, some might suggest that Marybeth has understandably aged as a consequence of what she experienced from Crowley in that first picture.  I’d be quick to argue that – ahem – that’s not quite how the world outside works, and – whether you like it or not – it can spoil the fictional aesthetic.  Small things like this matter, but I’ll leave that as it is.
 
Sticking true to the oft-practiced development of a Horror franchise, writer/director Green tries to flesh out the folklore a bit.  What we come to learn new from the whole affair is that Victor’s curse – introduced in the previous film – is tied to three young men whose names are now fully known by Reverend Zombie (played by the late Tony Todd).  Believing that since he knows how the torment began he can bring it to a close by affording the adult Crowley the chance to kill those who offended him, the good reverend concocts a scheme to draw the bad men onto a journey into the Louisiana swamp.  The mission also serves to give Marybeth the chance to recover the bodies of her fallen family members, and – lo and (conveniently) behold – her uncle just happens to be one of the aforementioned tormentors.
 
So, yeah, without beating a dead horse, it’s pretty clear that Hatchet II – for all intents and purposes – is little more than a formula piece.  There’s no room for creativity here – unless, of course, you want to talk about a few new creative kills – and it shows from start to finish.
​

As tends to happen with Horror franchise, that may be enough for casual audiences, the kind of folks who show up knowing full well in advance that A, B, and C will happen in order to pave the way for D, E, and F to then take place, and there will be X number of increasingly bloody murders before all Hell breaks loose in the final reel.  Unlike other genres, a great many terrors both function on and rely on this forced reality, meaning that producers no ago learned how to minimally deliver just enough to whet the proper appetites and deliver said feast.  Yes, some find it bland.  Of course, others find it satisfying.  But the point remains: Hatchet II is – at its core – what the entertainment industry does uniquely well at the cineplex.  It is it’s very own good, bad, and ugly all rolled up in a single film.
 
What I can say is that even though the script doesn’t capitalize on his involvement to any great degree, Todd was nothing short of fabulous doing his duplicitous thing once more.  Reverend Zombie – while initially a bit cartoonish – evolves from Hatchet to Hatchet II, and having a proven commodity like Todd in the role was a big plus to this universe.  Mind you: he – like everyone else – makes some really stupid decisions when running up to face evil in the last reel, but those kinds of flaws are intrinsic to Horror.  No one else but Kane Hodder could (and should) ever inhabit the character of Victor Crowley, and he continues to show why he’s considered one of the very best in the business here.  Funnyman Parry Shen is back as well, playing the twin brother to the incarnation who died in Part I; and – if nothing else – he does more of the same, eeking out a bit of comic relief in the first half of the film before suffering a grim fate once crap hits the fan.  While it would’ve been interesting had Green come up with more than a mission of vengeance for the lead actress, Harris hits her marks capably and even rises to the challenge in the closing moments to serve Crowley the gloriously depraved departure that only he so richly deserves.  As I’ve always been a bit smitten with the actress, dare I suggest that I’d follow her anywhere?
 
Also, Hatchet II waits its sweet time to get to the good stuff.
 
Though I rarely complain about such things, the set-up here stretches on much longer than was absolutely necessary, and the poor pacing weakens an otherwise good second half.  There’s a bit of blood and guts in the flick’s preamble, but viewers have to wait a mild, mind-numbing 50 minutes before the real reason we all bought tickets begins.  It isn’t as if everyone and every moment in here was so central much less pivotal to the plot that Green and company couldn’t have spaced a few of their deaths for entertainment’s sake.  Once our big baddie hits his stride, it is a fairly appreciable body count that, ultimately, saves the day … if you can forgive the irony.
​

Now, without spoiling it, I’ve absolutely no idea how one progresses from the closing moments of Hatchet II to the sequel I’m fully aware came about in 2013.  That last shot was – ahem – pretty final, if you ask me, so I’m at a loss to know just how Crowley might’ve been in any shape to continue this franchise.  (Maybe he, too, had an unmentioned twin brother?)  Thankfully, I have the complete collection on DVD, so I will be making my way into that chapter in the foreseeable future.  At this point, I’m just hoping that it wasn’t all a dream …
 
Hatchet II (2010) was produced by ArieScope Pictures and Dark Sky Films.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Dark Sky Films.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights and sounds to be very good from start-to-finish: it’s clear that they had to recreate a few key locations from the first film for the second, and – sigh – some of the magic was lost in the process as the production details aren’t nearly as interesting in this installment.  If you’re looking for special features?  The disc boasts not one but two commentary tracks – one highlighting the more technical process of creating some key sequences – along with the usual assortment of trailers, images, and whatnot.  It’s a solid collection.
 
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
 
Writer/director Adam Green employs an almost clinical efficiency to sticking precisely to his formula for Horror with Hatchet II (2010); and – for what it’s worth – that simple fact is as much as strength as it is a weakness to this follow-up installment.  In other words, it delivers most likely exactly what audiences expect, a reality that can be as frustrating as it is fulfilling.  Would it hurt to throw the watchers a bone (not literally) and introduce some unanticipated twist?  It’s easy to appreciate the workmanship to the whole fiasco; and once this one finds its groove again (after a 50-minute wait) it certainly delivers.  Yet … I feel empty, much like Crowley’s battered and bloodied skull in the closing moments.  Not a good look … for either of us.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Dark Sky Films provided me with a complimentary Steelbook Blu-ray of Hatchet: The Complete Collection 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
​

It’s been called “murderously funny” (The Los Angeles Times), “subversively stylish” (The New York Times) and “a visually stunning achievement” (DVD Talk). Now experience “the most charming post-apocalyptic cannibal comedy ever made” (Starburst) in UHD for the first time ever in North America: From co-writers/directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet (AMÉLIE) & Marc Caro (THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN) and producer Claudie Ossard (BETTY BLUE) comes the “darkly moving and strangely uplifting” (Salon) dystopian fable – nominated for 10 César Awards – about odd jobs and strange neighbors, circus stars and troglodytes, fresh meat and true love. Dominique Pinon (DIVA), Jean-Claude Dreyfus (A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) and Howard Vernon (THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF) star in “a classic from beginning to end” (Little White Lies), now restored in 4K from the original camera negative by StudioCanal under the supervision of Jeunet. The North American UHD Premiere will be released as a 3 Disc Collection with an incredible 6 hours of new and archival Special Features curated exclusively for this edition.


Special Features for DELICATESSEN:
 
Disc 1: UHD:

• Audio Commentary With Co-Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• Trailer

 
Disc 2: BLU-RAY:

• Audio Commentary With Co-Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
• Interview With Co-Directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet And Marc Caro
• Fine Cooked Meats – The Making Of DELICATESSEN
• Copains Comme Cochons – Interview With Co-Director Marc Caro
• The Tale Of 'Terry Gilliam Presents DELICATESSEN' – Interview With Terry Gilliam
• Trailer

 
Disc 3: BLU-RAY:

• Main Course Pieces – A Retrospective
• Take Your Pig – Interview With Actor Jean-Claude Dreyfus
• Archival Interviews With Cast, Crew And Critics
• Jean-Pierre Jeunet Archives
• LE BUNKER DE LA DERNIÈRE RAFALE – Short Film By Jean-Pierre Jeunet And Marc Caro

 
*Exclusive Booklet By Claire Donner Of The Miskatonic Institute Of Horror Studies
 
Feature Specs for DELICATESSEN:
 

• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Runtime: 100 mins
• Audio: French 5.1, French Stereo 
• Subtitles: English
• Region: UHD: A/B/C, Blu-ray Disc 1: A, Blu-ray Disc 2: A/B/C

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Special Features for EATEN ALIVE:
 
UHD:

• Audio Commentary With Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson And Troy Howarth, Author Of Make Them Die Slowly: The Kinetic Cinema Of Umberto Lenzi
• Trailer

 
BLU-RAY:

• Audio Commentary With Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson And Troy Howarth, Author Of Make Them Die Slowly: The Kinetic Cinema Of Umberto Lenzi
• Welcome To The Jungle – Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi
• Deodato Meats Lenzi – An Exclusive Discussion Of Their Cannibal Films
• Me Me Lai Bites Back – Feature Documentary On The Queen Of Cannibal Movies
• The Sect Of The Purification – Interview With Production Designer Antonello Geleng
• Archival Interviews With Actors Ivan Rassimov And Robert Kerman
• 2013 Q&A With Umberto Lenzi From The Festival Of Fantastic Films
• Newly Discovered Alternate Footage
• Trailer

 
*Exclusive Booklet By Claire Donner Of The Miskatonic Institute Of Horror Studies
 
Feature Specs for EATEN ALIVE:
 

• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Runtime: 93 mins
• Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Subtitles: English
• Region: UHD: A/B/C, Blu-ray: A

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Having depicted the zombie apocalypse in HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD, director Bruno Mattei and screenwriters Claudio Fragasso & Rossella Drudi took on a new kind of cataclysm to create “a grotesque, funny and thrilling magnum opus” (Daily Dead) that still must be seen to be believed, especially in UHD: In the year 225 A.B. (After The Bomb), a gang of scavengers discovers a seemingly abandoned city – including sets originally built for ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA – only to become prey for millions of flesh-hungry rats. Ottaviano Dell’Acqua (ZOMBIE 3), Massimo Vanni (ROBOWAR), Gianni Franco (THE WAX MASK) and Geretta Geretta (DEMONS) star – with a classic ‘80s Italian horror score by Luigi Ceccarelli (NOSFERATU IN VENICE) – in “Bruno Mattei’s masterpiece” (Senseless Cinema), now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative for the first time ever, with 3 hours of new & archival Special Features and a Bonus CD of the recently discovered/remastered soundtrack.
 
Special Features for RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR:
 
UHD:

• Trailer

 
BLU-RAY:

• Mad Rats: The Making Of A Cult – Featuring Co-Writer/Uncredited Co-Director Claudio Fragasso; Actors Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Massimo Vanni, Ann-Gisel Glass And Jean-Christophe Brétignière; Composer Luigi Ceccarelli; And Still Photographer Gianni Leacche
• Of Rats And Men – Interview With Director Bruno Mattei
• Richard And The Rats – Interview With Actor Ottaviano Dell’Acqua
• Chocolate And Rats – Interview With Actress Geretta Geretta
• Last Rat Standing – Interview With Actor Gianni Franco
• Rats Dance – Interview With Composer Luigi Ceccarelli
• Bruno And Claudio, I Knew Them Well – Interview With Executive Producer Roberto Di Girolamo
• Bonded By Blood – Retrospective Making-Of For HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD And RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR Featuring Co-Writer/Uncredited Co-Director Claudio Fragasso And Actors Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Franco Garofalo, Margie Newton And Massimo Vanni
• Trailer
• "Under The Black Sky" By Pornographie Exclusive – Severin Produced Music Video With Geretta Geretta

 
*Bonus Disc: Soundtrack CD
 
Feature Specs for RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR:
 

• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Runtime: 97 mins
• Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Subtitles: English
• Region: UHD: A/B/C, Blu-ray: A

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After creating some of the best gialli of the ‘70s, director Sergio Martino (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) entered the cannibal cycle with this “blood and guts gorefest” (Trailers From Hell) that “still packs a punch” (Rock! Shock! Pop!) and is presented in UHD for the first time ever: When a British scientist disappears in the jungles of New Guinea, his wife (Ursula Andress) hires an American anthropologist (Stacy Keach) to lead her deep into a green inferno of graphic violence, steamy nudity and several of the most notorious scenes in the entire genre. Claudio Cassinelli (THE GREAT ALLIGATOR) co-stars in what Daily Grindhouse hails as “ROMANCING THE STONE for deviants,” now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with over 3 hours of Special Features that include a new interview with Martino.
 
Special Features for SLAVE OF THE CANNIBAL GOD:
 
UHD:

• Audio Commentary With Claire Donner Of The Miskatonic Institute Of Horror Studies
• Trailer

 
BLU-RAY:

• Audio Commentary With Claire Donner Of The Miskatonic Institute Of Horror Studies
• In The Jungle – Interview With Director Sergio Martino
• Unabated – Interview With Camera Operator Claudio Morabito
• Adventure Of A Lifetime – Interview With Production Designer Antonello Geleng
• Brothers In Arms – Interview With Antonello Geleng And Special Effects Artist Paolo Ricci
• Dangerous Liaison – Archival Interview With Actor Stacy Keach
• Trailer

 
Feature Specs for SLAVE OF THE CANNIBAL GOD:
 

• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Runtime: 103 mins
• Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Subtitles: English
• Region: UHD: A/B/C, Blu-ray: A 

​

What began as the epic global zombie apocalypse screenplay VIRUS by Claudio Fragasso & Rossella Drudi (SHOCKING DARK, ROBOWAR) became – via the inimitable vision of director Bruno Mattei (CRUEL JAWS, RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR) and a fraction of the original budget – this “gloriously ludicrous” (Confluence of Cult), “compulsively watchable” (Classic-Horror), “infamous zombie-chomp spectacular” (Braineater), now in UHD for the first time in America: When a top-secret biomedical project accidentally unleashes a catastrophic plague, a four-man commando team and a female reporter head into the jungle for an “absolutely insane” (B&S About Movies) experience in gratuitous nudity, grisly stock footage and ravenous hordes of flesh-eating zombies. Margie Newton (THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULES), Franco Garofalo (THE OTHER HELL) and a soundtrack ‘borrowed’ from Goblin star in “a must for all fans of Italian exploitation” (Cinezilla) – also known as VIRUS, NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES and ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH – now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative.
 
Special Features for HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD:
 
UHD:

• Trailer

 
BLU-RAY:

• Go To Hell – Interview With Director Bruno Mattei
• The Beauty And The Zombies – Interview With Actress Margie Newton
• My Big Chance – Interview With Actor Franco Garofalo
• Lt. Mike London Is Back! – Interview With Actor José Gras
• I Will Never Be A Zombie – Interview With Actor Bernard Seray
• My Son Is A Zombie – Interview With Actor Pep Ballester
• Producing The Apocalypse – Interview With Producer José María Cunillés
• Papua New Guinea In Barcelona – Locations Tour With José Gras
• Peter And The Test Tube Babies' "Zombie Creeping Flesh" – Interview With Punk Singer Peter Bywaters
• Trailer

 
*Bonus Disc: Soundtrack CD
 
Feature Specs for HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD:
 

• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Runtime: 100 mins
• Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Subtitles: English
• Region: UHD: A/B/C, Blu-ray: A 

​

For the first film in his unofficial ‘Cannibal Trilogy,’ director Ruggero Deodato (CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK) delivered a depraved adventure that’s been called “well made and meaty” (Malevolent Dark), “gripping and shocking” (Monster Hunter) and “easily the most savage of the entire genre” (Fantastic Movie Musings), presented in UHD for the first time ever in North America: In a jungle hell that has no pity for man, the survivors of a plane crash are hunted by a primitive tribe with a taste for torment. Massimo Foschi (NINE GUESTS FOR A CRIME), Ivan Rassimov (SACRIFICE!) and Me Me Lai (EATEN ALIVE) star in this ultra-graphic gut-muncher – also known as JUNGLE HOLOCAUST, THE LAST SURVIVOR and CANNIBAL – “that raised the bar in terms of extreme gore and nastiness” (The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre), now scanned in 4K from the original negative with over 2½ hours of Special Features and a webstore exclusive Blu-ray disc containing the Alternate U.S. Version of the film.
 
Special Features for LAST CANNIBAL WORLD:
 
Disc 1: UHD: (Uncut Version + Special Features)

• Audio Commentary With Director Ruggero Deodato, Moderated By Freak-O-Rama's Federico Caddeo
• Trailer

 
Disc 2: BLU-RAY: (Uncut Version + Special Features)

• Audio Commentary With Director Ruggero Deodato, Moderated By Freak-O-Rama's Federico Caddeo
• Jungle Fever – Interview With Assistant Director Lamberto Bava
• The Queen Of The Cannibals – Interview With Actress Me Me Lai
• Man Eat Man – Interview With Actor Massimo Foschi
• Archival Interview With Actor Ivan Rassimov
• Trailer
• TV Spot

 
Disc 3: BLU-RAY: (Alternate U.S. Version + Special Feature)

• U.S. Trailer

 
*Exclusive Booklet By Claire Donner Of The Miskatonic Institute Of Horror Studies
 
Feature Specs for LAST CANNIBAL WORLD:
 
UNCUT VERSION:

• Runtime: 93 mins
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

 
ALTERNATE U.S. VERSION:
Runtime: 89 mins
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English Mono
Closed Captions: English SDH
Region: A/B/C 

This 1983 production from writer/director Jess Franco can finally be experienced as one of his most surprising and heartfelt offerings of the decade: It’s summer’s end in the resort city of Benidorm, where seductive foreigners, conniving hustlers, gullible tourists and insatiable celebrities all come together in a barbed confection that’s part sunny comedy, part NASHVILLE-style satire and totally, unmistakably, sexy Franco fun. Jess’ partner/muse Lina Romay (at her most luscious) and production manager/star Antonio Mayans (NIGHT OF OPEN SEX) are joined by a cast of familiar faces from their ‘80s stock company – including Eva León (MANSION OF THE LIVING DEAD), Muriel Montossé (THE INCONFESSABLE ORGIES OF EMMANUELLE), Juan Soler (CRIES OF PLEASURE) and Analía Ivars (BAHIA BLANCA) – in this unexpected delight from “one of the cinema's great individualists” (The Guardian), now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative with over 2 hours of new Special Features.
 
Special Features for THONG GIRLS:
 

• Audio Commentary With Francomania's John Dixon And William Morris
• Jess Franco's Naked City – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco
• In The Land Of Franco Part 11

 
Feature Specs for THONG GIRLS:

• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Runtime: 85 mins
• Audio: Spanish Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C  

​

For far too long, this 1974 shocker directed by Aldo Lado (WHO SAW HER DIE?) has been dismissed as a LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT knockoff. Now it can be experienced as a classic “more intense and disturbing than the film that inspired it” (DVD Talk) in UHD for the first time ever: When two young girls taking a train home for the holidays encounter a pair of sadistic thugs, it will trigger a nightmare of sexual brutality and parental revenge. Flavio Bucci (SUSPIRIA), Irene Miracle (INFERNO), Macha Méril (DEEP RED) and Enrico Maria Salerno (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE) star – with a powerful soundtrack by Ennio Morricone – in this “damn fine film that stands on its own merits” (Screen Anarchy) – also known as LAST STOP ON THE NIGHT TRAIN, THE NEW HOUSE ON THE LEFT, SECOND HOUSE ON THE LEFT, DON’T RIDE ON LATE NIGHT TRAINS, LAST HOUSE PART II and XMAS MASSACRE – scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with over 5 hours of Special Features. 
 
Special Features for NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS:
 
UHD:

• Audio Commentary With Director Aldo Lado, Moderated By Freak-O-Rama's Federico Caddeo
• Audio Commentary With Ultra Violent Magazine's Art Ettinger And Cinema Arcana's Bruce Holecheck
• Trailer

 
BLU-RAY:

• Audio Commentary With Director Aldo Lado, Moderated By Freak-O-Rama's Federico Caddeo
• Audio Commentary With Ultra Violent Magazine's Art Ettinger And Cinema Arcana's Bruce Holecheck
• Hear My Train A-Comin' – Interview With Director Aldo Lado
• The Veiled Lady – Interview With Actress Macha Méril
• Back On The Train – Interview With Actor Gianfranco De Grassi
• Train In Vain – Interview With Actress Irene Miracle
• NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS And Sadean Women: Power, Pleasure And The Subversion Of Morality – Video Essay By Kat Ellinger, Author Of Daughters Of Darkness
• Trailer

 
*Bonus Disc: Soundtrack CD
 
Feature Specs for NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS:
 

• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Runtime: 94 mins
• Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Subtitles: English
• Region: UHD: A/B/C, Blu-ray: A  

​

Special Black Friday Webstore-only exclusives include:
 

• The first ever release of the RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR soundtrack, as well as Morricone’s NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS score and the Goblin’s HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD soundtrack including a bonus track by OG UK punk band Peter & The Test Tube Babies “Zombie Creeping Flesh” among others

 

• Two brand new, epic novelizations by Brad Carter, co-produced by Encyclopocalypse: VIRUS: HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD and RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR. Carter consulted with original screenwriters Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi about their original visions and has penned two ultimate publications in the fine tradition of splatter-filled pulp novels

  
About Severin Films
Severin Films is the foremost independent studio dedicated to rescuing, restoring and releasing the works of Oscar nominees and cult icons alike for Blu-ray, 4K UHD and digital platforms. Founded in 2006, their distribution catalogue includes projects by iconic filmmakers Russ Meyer, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Paul Morrissey, Mike Leigh, Lucio Fulci, Peter Greenaway, Penelope Spheeris, Just Jaeckin, Roman Polanski, Alex de la Iglesia and UK comedy legends The Comic Strip; classics of Blaxploitation, Ozploitation, Sharksploitation and Nunsploitation; groundbreaking Filipino, Indonesian, Spanish and Soviet horror; American drive-in indies, controversial documentaries, renowned UK comedies and the industry’s most formidable collection of Italian gialli, cannibal, zombie, erotic thrillers and ‘80s action hits. Along the way, Severin has elevated the oeuvres of such fringe auteurs as Bruno Mattei, Al Adamson, Andy Milligan, Joe D’Amato, Claudio Fragrasso, Umberto Lenzi, Ray Dennis Steckler and Goya-Award winner – and Severin patron saint – Jess Franco. Severin has also produced the award-winning documentaries BLOOD & FLESH: THE REAL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON; LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU; WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR; TALES OF THE UNCANNY; ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival; MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW; SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and EXORCISMO: THE TRANSGRESSIVE LEGACY OF CLASIFICADA “S.”

Whether the readership likes to admit it or not, I – as a critic – am really an awful lot like them.
 
For example, I’ve always had troubles reviewing episodic television.  Of course, any examination of the Reviews Page within SciFiHistory.Net will clarify that I’ve done it with several programs or I’ve dissected individual installments of some of our collective favorite programs.  However, with shows like HBO’s House Of The Dragon or Disney+’s The Mandalorian, I’ve often pushed back completely or even ‘low balled’ some reviews because I find it exceedingly difficult to effectively determine what I think about any storyline if it’s incomplete.  This new focus on long-form storytelling has been challenging for critics as questions posed in, say, Episode 1 might not get effectively answered until, say, Episode 4, so what are we to make off all these dangling teases in the interim?  This is why I’ve generally been opposed to taking on so many terrific genre shows: unless you can binge a season (or multiple episodes, at least), authentic and impactful commentary is sometimes an uphill battle.
 
Thankfully, not every program under the sun operates this way.  While some do rather obviously try to incorporate ideas over the course of several adventures, the writers’ rooms have gotten better about containing a good deal of the action into specific episodes; and this tactic alleviates some of the concern I expressed above.  Shows like Fox TV’s The X-Files – still a fabulous working example – very cleverly balanced long- and short-form storytelling by having both stand alone hours as well as what fans called ‘mythology arcs’ that gave regular watchers more involved exercises to keep them captivated.  While there have been other shows who’ve experimented in varying degrees, I’d argue that X has so far done it best, and that’s one of the reasons why the Chris Carter enterprise has been such a tough act to follow.
 
Back in 2019, CBS Television debuted Evil, a show that from the first episode clearly had stuff of similar magic that made The X-Files hum.  Created by Michelle King and Robert King, the property introduced audiences to a team of exorcist assessors who went about investigating supernatural occurrences on behalf of the Catholic Church, mainly working to disprove the need for further analysis but sometimes committing the clergy to perform the required rites.  Sadly, it only got a single season on broadcast television as – for reasons expressly tied to the show’s dark subject matter – CBS opted to transition it behind the paywall that (at that time) was known as CBS All Access.  Those of us who caught those early episodes were understandably disappointed as it finally looked like creatives were giving us something thematically similar to The X-Files … if not an almost spiritual counterpart.
 
Despite being shuffled elsewhere, Evil lasted an impressive four seasons.  My subscription to Amazon Prime Video gave me the opportunity to eventually see Seasons Two and Three; and now a new distributor relationship I’ve cultivated with the kind folks at Warner Archive gave me access to the latest DVD release.  As of this morning, I’ve had the good fortune of binging the first nine episodes (out of fourteen); so I wanted to get up some observations about where the whole adventure started as well as where it’s heading (and likely heading) for interested parties.  Simply put, it’s been a doozy of a ride – with some respectable highs and lows – and I strongly encourage genre fans to discover this one while they have the chance.
​

(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 series’ IMDB.com page citation:
“A skeptical psychologist and scientist join a Catholic priest-in-training to investigate the church's backlog of unexplained mysteries, miracles, and demonic possessions.”
 
Back in 2003, ABC Television debuted Miracles, a weekly procedural about an ex-Vatican spiritual detective who disenfranchisement with the Church forced him to leave his job but continue his investigative work on behalf of a shadowy private organization.  Starring Skeet Ulrich in the lead, the program lasted a scant fourteen episodes; and the short-lived series somehow recaptured the weekly magic that made the early seasons of The X-Files appointment televisions.  Granted, the hours had a stronger spiritual theme than those intrepid Special FBI Agents would likely have pursued; but for those of us who showed up wanting only good stories it was a return to form, the likes of which genre fanatics just don’t get often enough.
 
A little over a decade and one-half later, CBS tapped the same creative vein flowing with the blood of Christ when it premiered Evil, giving fans of Miracles a chance to see what the program could’ve become had it been given the chance to grow.  Of course, there are structural differences big enough to keep one program from being sued over plagiarism, and yet I think the foundations are similar enough to warrant my bringing it up today.  Evil stars Katja Herbers in the role of Kristen Bouchard, a humanly flawed psychologist who consults on behalf of the Church cases that may or may not warrant spiritual intervention.  Mike Colter plays Father David Acosta, a modern era priest who has learned to ‘think outside the box’ on matters of demonic possession and other unexplained matters.  Aasif Mandvi rounds out the team in the role of Ben Shakir, a devout non-believer whose scientific expertise is used to establish more Earthly explanations for things that go bump in the night.
 
And – suffice it to say – there have been plenty of things going bump in the night as – with the show’s concluding season – Evil has stretched to an impressive run of 50 episodes, has taken home three awards wins (against 44 nominations), and has done so without ever getting ‘preachy’ despite the fact that the subject matter has invoked the Catholic Church one dozens of occasions.
 
Similar to the aforementioned X-Files, Evil has utilized some long-form ideas to establish an ongoing mythology for the entire run.  In these uniquely troubled times, Evil itself has taken on a corporate visage, operating much like any Fortune 500 company would with respect to establishing profitability, maintaining a mission statement, and even electing of board of trustees to oversee the (snicker snicker) demise of man.  Though we’ve not learned (to date) what the DF company’s letters stand for (“Dark Father”?  “Devil’s Friends”?), we’ve watched the institution’s movers and shakers tie up the commerce of wrecking mortal souls all while trying to instigate the birth of the Antichrist, an event tied directly to one of Kristen’s eggs gone mysteriously missing from clinical storage without her knowledge.  What can I say?  It’s a glum business but somebody’s gotta do it.
​

In a parallel running tract, Evil has also expanded upon ideas involving just how ‘corporatized’ and ‘institutional’ the Church has restructured over the years, responding as they have to various crises and developments in human understanding.  The show’s first and second seasons chiefly used a map of sigils – demonic symbols representing specific unholy entities with a foothold on reality – as a backdrop to several of the team’s investigations: the Vatican’s purpose was to track down and eliminate those affiliated with these individual missions of sin, giving the Church an almost CIA wing that conducted businesses abroad.  Naturally, Father Acosta was conscripted into this secretive organization, an allegiance he eventually confessed to his partners; and the balancing of right versus wrong was the source for a good deal of debate between David, Kristen, and Ben.
 
Yet Evil has gone to great lengths to provide weekly storytelling that very comfortably meshed with its burgeoning mythology.  With a format that understandably could’ve been overrun with simple acts of exorcism, the property has kept those encounters under control, instead seeing the assessors being assigned to evaluate what role belief may or may not have played in a variety of extraordinary circumstances.  From debunking superstitions to evaluating remote viewing on up to the possibility of particle accelerators forcing open the Gates of Hell, Evil has boldly gone where few hourly TV series have gone before; and I’ve been smitten with the show since discovering it five years ago.
 
As for my two cents on its final season?
​

Well, here’s the honest truth as I framed above: I’ve five hours yet to go before I’m willing to pronounce a final verdict as of today, but I wanted to give a kinda/sorta ‘state of the union’ if for no other reason that it’s been so much damn fun.  So while I’ll stop short of discussing where it’s all headed (there are a few obvious signs, along with a few obvious distractions), I still have plenty of reasons to praise these first nine hours.  They contain the kind of thoughtful interplay and signature performances audiences would expect of a quality genre show, and Evil deserves as wide an audience as it could ever earn.  It’s that good, and I hope that – unlike Supernatural, which was dumbed down a bit for palatability – I’m hoping it ends with the opportunity to be continued in whatever format storytellers could explore.  I don’t want my time with these folks to end, though it may for one or two.
 
Because this season has been structured as a narrative swan song, it’s fairly clear that the writers opted to put these characters through some of their most personal cases yet.  Kristen and husband Andy’s relationship intersected in a way that no one saw coming, and he’s been absent for understandable reasons.  A chance encounter with a stream of atoms has opened Ben’s mind to a whole world of possibilities, many of which defy his understanding of rational thought.  David discovered that his ability to ‘see things’ may extend beyond his gift of Biblical understanding, and he’s been forced to come to grip with the darkness that stir mens’ souls in ways he never imagined he would.  The war for the future being waged behind the corporate mask of DF has grown to a feverish pitch as Sheryl Luria (Christine Lahti) and Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson) have thrown down their gauntlets, both maneuvering for control of the company.
 
And, yes, the Antichrist was born … but he may not turn out to be the force of Evil everyone intended for him to be.
 
Still, I’d be remiss in my duties of discussing the show if I failed to mention one of its greatest strengths.
 
Unlike damn near anything in production and mass distribution these days, Evil has benefitted from one of the best ensembles in all of television.  This stretches beyond the work of Herbers, Colter, and Mandvi – each of them handle their work as leads with fabulous nuance – and involves some wonderful talent who might otherwise languish in obscurity.  Actors like Wallace Shawn and Kurt Fuller – familiar character actors who’ve appeared in hundreds of projects combined – are senior(ish) Thespians who get their own respective arcs to play out against the bigger stories; and both deliver winningly.  Lahti is another one I’d never have guessed to step into the role of a weekly procedural and deliver convincing big hits; and – while I haven’t been all that enamored with her storyline – she just keeps showing up, hitting her marks, and doing something special even in the smallest of exchanges.  Lastly, I’ve cherished the work of Andrea Martin all the way back to her days in Canada’s SCTV; the fact that I’m getting to see her decades later still shouldering an incredible weight on her shoulders in a Horror show makes me love her all that much more.  Yet, it can be little more than comic relief at times … but whose hands would you trust more than hers in the role of the learned Sister Andrea?  I’m coming up empty because she’s just that damn good.
​

As I’ve said, I have a few more episodes to go, but mind you I will be back in this space – or perhaps another piece – to do a proper summation.  Evil has been the kind of ride audiences just don’t appreciate enough when we get it, and we’re more inclined to reminisce over it after-the-fact.  That’s a shame because it’s the kind of experience that – back when folks used to talk instead of email or text – this is precisely why we’d gather around the water cooler at work.  Like Twin Peaks.  Like The X-Files.  Like Lost.  That’s the company that Evil keeps, and I hope and pray more folks discover it on their journeys through entertainment.
 
Evil: The Final Season was produced by King Size Productions and CBS Television Studios.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be exceptional across all episodes.  I’ll admit that occasionally there’s been a bit of CGI that – meh – may’ve been undercooked, but it kinda/sorta goes with the tone of the show so it doesn’t spoil anything.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  Alas, the only thing I’ve found thus far are a handful of deleted scenes; but it would’ve been grand if longtime fans had been given something a bit deeper.  Maybe on a complete series collection?
 
Highly Recommended.
 
Though I was a bit turned off by the increasing presence of comedy in the show, Evil: The Final Season still managed to maintain a reliance on stand-alone stories while strategically widening the core mythology throughout this fourth season.  Some of the humor was a bit dark – nothing wrong with that at all – and some of it was a bit goofy in spots, but I’ve seen this happen on like-minded programs when they get a few seasons under their belts.  Debatably, this has been one of the best ensembles in all of television – certainly in the last few years – and it’s a shame that the powers that be opted to bring it to a close.  The world is full of evil – in one guise or another – and I can see this one continuing.  Let’s hope that the Kings – the married couple behind it all – haven’t signed off on a big finish as the franchise could have great legs if continued in perpetuity.  One of the best binges I’ve ever experienced … and that’s saying something.
 
In the interest of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary DVD of Evil: The Final Season 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
​

I wasn’t exactly raised on ghost stories.
 
Oh, like so many of my era, I grew up watching a good deal of thrills, chills, and spills, but the more traditional ghost stories just weren’t really around, unless you wanted them in comic form with mostly comic actors and actresses. Why, it was almost as if ghosts and their usual haunts were forbidden from the youth of my day, leaving such tales the province of more adult audiences than they ever were the young’uns. As I said, you could find plenty of more traditional laughers — the Three Stooges, the Bowery Boys, Abbott and Costello, Tim Conway and Don Knotts, etc., and they’d ape it up on screens big and small for hearty guffaws — and these were the kind of films that were built more on overacting than they were authentic terror of any measure.  It really wasn’t until I got into my teens — the great 1980’s — that Horror storytelling truly expanded in such a way that young and old were welcomed to the cineplexes. Mind you: the adults in the room may not have been elated over sharing space with us, but we came anyway … and we came by the thousands.
 
Furthermore, it wasn’t until the 1990’s — what with the expanse of home video accessibility in the United States — that I ever knew anything about foreign imports in any genre. Occasionally, we’d get some poorly dubbed entries broadcast on syndicated television channels, but for the most part I didn’t get the chance to explore Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or other country’s Horror until the corner Blockbuster Video had them in respectable supply.  Consequently, I don’t consider myself an expert on them in any regard. While I might not be completely unaware of their existence, styles, and trends, I — like many of you — still have plenty to learn about them … and this is why I was hip to check out Arrow Films’ recent collection, J-Horror Rising, an assortment of seven flicks that emerged near the end of the last century, sending audiences on a wild ride into a haunted tomorrow.
 
Next up: 2001’s Inugami.
 
Masato Harada both adapted the novel from Masako Bando and directed the project for the silver screen, a tale involving one small town’s obsessions with some age-old superstitions linked to the women of the Bonomiya family.  Just about the time when audiences are likely to turn away thinking the whole affair is nothing but some misplaced bigotry, some spectral influences begin to emerge, suggesting that there might be a bit of truth to the outdated rumors.  As is often the case when ideas of new and old clash, what ultimately emerges might not be what everyone expects.  The film stars Yûki Amami, Atsuro Watabe, Eugene Harada, Shiho Fujimura, and Kazuhiro Yamaji in big roles.  Still, the really big star here might be some of the most incredible cinematography seen in a theatrical chiller, giving cameraman Jun’ichi Fujisawa something to be proud of. 
 
(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:
“Akira, the young new schoolteacher in town falls for secretive Miki, an older woman who takes care of her family's urn that supposedly holds a forest wolf-spirit, inugami. People soon start disappearing and the town blames Akira.”
 
I’ve often noted when among friends that some of the best practical filmmaking seems to occur more often than not when some director or producer come together with the goal of delivering an adaptation of a popular novel to audiences.  And why shouldn’t that be the case?  Countless millions were enthralled with one unique vision from being captivated by little more than words on a page, so it would only stand to reason that – if a director wanted to give it justice – the resulting cinematic vision should, minimally, be something incredible to look at?  An inferior production might not only lose money for a studio, but it could also besmirch the reputation of a beloved story.  Extra special attention should be expended to get it right.
 
To a big degree, that’s the greatest strength I can cite on behalf of Inugami: the film – in its big and small moments – looks nothing short of fabulous.  Set in a small rural community – the kind of which has residents pushing back against the ugly onslaught of modernity – the tale explores local fact and fantasy as richly and as vividly as I’ve ever seen.  From the deep woods to the quaint houses and even a pivotal rocky cave, there’s an absorbing freshness to it all, so much so it’s understandable to see why Fujisawa took home top honors in the category of ‘Best Cinematography’ from the 2002 Mainichi Film Awards, an annual event founded by one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan.  It’s work clearly deserving of recognition.
 
Now …
 
Where Inugami doesn’t work quite so well is in the film’s entirely laconic pacing.  I think it’s reasonable to argue that – in some instances – it’s perfectly acceptable for some myths to take a bit of time.  What many critics dub the ‘slow burn’ can’t be achieved with quick, flashy editing, and Inugami might be said to ‘take it’s sweet time’ getting to a big finish that is, sadly, more than a bit predictable.  This is one central problem with exploring Folk Horror: once audiences know what the central fantasy is, there’s really no authentic way to hide it any longer, so the director really should get down to brass tacks and make his or her delivery.  Inugami doesn’t, instead utilizing the same slow pace even in the frenzied finale; and I think that winds up weakening the whole affair.
​

At the center of all the hubbub is Miki Bonomiya (played by the luminous Yûki Amami).  Staying tried and true to the family business, Miki maintains an outdated paper-making business that manages to keep its doors open chiefly by the goodness of the Doi family – the town’s wealthy matriarch Katsuko Doi’s (Keiko Awagi) young son, Seiji Doi (Eugene Harada), appears a bit smitten with the papermaker.  In fact, it’s Seiji who introduces the town’s newest schoolteacher – Akira Nutahara (Atsuro Watabe) – to the woman, and he rather innocently sets in motion a series of events that inevitably unlocks the town curse of the Inugami, said to be deities linked to wild dogs.
 
Close watchers might expect at this point for their to be a love triangle forged wherein Miki, Seiji, and Akira are thrown into conflict; but the truth is that Miki has already been sought after and longed for by Takanao (Kazuhiro Yamaji), the presumed town ruffian who has a link to the Bonomiya family that’s been obscured for over a few decades.  I don’t want to spoil it because it plays so central to everything that’s going on here as well as the founding of the curse; but suffice it to say they share a relationship that has fueled a great many literary classics.  To some, it may be nothing all that new, but let’s just say there’s a solid foundation as to why these two never should’ve been – ahem – ‘knocking boots.’
 
In discussing the character of Miki, however, I do have to divulge one of the film’s kinda/sorta tactics that show the central curse in motion: as a result of finding love, our leading lady ages somewhat backwards in time.  When she’s met in her opening scenes, there’s a bit of gray in that head of hair, and she’s somewhat slow-moving and pronounced in what she does.  Once her heart regains its youthful beating over the affections of Akira, the gray slowly vanishes from her head; and she begins to demonstrate the exuberance of someone, respectfully, half her age.  For what’s it worth, both the director and actress should get credit for making all of this work in spite of the fact that – frankly – Miki never looks as old as she’s said to be at her introduction.  She’s clearly a young woman playing an older one in make-up; and, yes, I think that had me questioning this whole town delusion right out of the gate.
 
Director Harada goes to great lengths to establish these characters, their parameters, and their most likely intersections, giving all involved so wonderfully vivid small(ish) scenes and sequences audiences have seen in any family dramas.  The family gets presented as any classical clan does, sitting around the dinner table arguing about the kinds of things families do.  There are even introductions to a few of the somewhat oddball locals – the newspaper delivery girl, a somewhat legendary local hunter, etc. – and it all has a good tone of reverence with occasional wit.  The Bonomiya curse – tied to the female descendants being able to see the lingering spirits trapped in an old clay urn – is introduced and only richens the pot (pun intended), by for those of us who watch closely the seams to some of the magic begin to show as a pivotal character begins to be a bit less than what has been suggested.  (Yes, I’m stepping delicately here in order to preserve some of film’s big twist, something that’s probably not so big as all involved believed it was.)  However, it’s all rendered with incredible production design, and nothing should take away from the work involved in bringing these fantastical inspirations to life.
​

Sadly, the pacing just never quite works that well in the second half.  Revelations are made – along with a few critical lessons learned – and, at this juncture, director Harada should’ve resorted to something a bit less majestic and more utilitarian.  The audience should’ve been speeded somewhat along so that the conclusion structured around a performance of ancestral rites had stronger impact.  (Also, Harada results to some unnecessary black-and-white footage while, thematically, I think it was unnecessary and downright distracting though it didn’t need to be.)  When that doesn’t happen, the event loses the significance we were told it had – in fact, it all turns out to be a bit of a ruse orchestrated by a vengeful Takanao – and I’m left evaluating nothing more than the strengths and weaknesses of not one but two love affairs that went horribly wrong.  In the end, I should’ve cared about what happened … but, instead, I was frankly glad it was all finally over … and was it?
 
With Horror and curses, I guess you never know.
 
Inugami (2001) was produced by Asmik Ace Entertainment and Inugami Production Group.  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 … wowza.  This film just looks flat-out fabulous at all times: though I could nitpick a few of the last big sequences involving the rites festival spiraling out of control, but it’s chump change.  The vast majority of this works – and works wonderfully – so I’ll leave it at that.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  For clarity’s sake, I’m doing the noble copy-and-paste from Arrow’s press release previously published on Blu-ray.com:

• Brand new audio commentary on Inugami by Japanese cinema expert Jonathan Clements
• Dog Days, brand new video interview with Inugami director Masato Harada
• Image gallery

 
Recommended.
 
The problem I have with recommending a venture like Inugami (2001) – something advertised to be a Horror story – is that there’s just so very little Horror in here (or what suffices for Horror), making even a cursory nod a bit ill-advised.  The film as constructed is much closer to a conventional family melodrama with some light supernatural overtones that give it just enough of the usual tropes to make it palatable for casual genre viewers but probably not true aficionados of thrills, chills, and spills.  The spectral elements?  They’re just too light.  Did I enjoy it?  Yes.  It is uneven?  Yes.  Is it worth a viewing?  Well, again, if you like literary adaptations, this one smacks heartily of ‘based on a novel’ consistently, giving it some rather prominent predictability here and there.  It has an audience, but methinks it’s still a somewhat hard sell except for literary junkies.  Love always comes with a cost, and bad love comes at an even higher one.
 
In the interest of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray copy of Inugami (2001) – as part of their J-Horror Rising Limited Edition Blu-ray Collection – 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
​

Because I can, I spend a reasonable amount of cyber-ink talking about films beyond the usual Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
 
Simply put, that’s the beauty of running my own shop.  While I spend clearly the lion’s share of my time amping up the Daily Citation Pages, penning columns about the nature of fandom and its films, and reviewing a great share of flicks associated with the realms of the Fantastic, I – like so many of you – prefer having a bit of variety in my entertainment diet.  As such, I’ll venture outside those lines into occasional critiques of Thrillers, Westerns, Film-Noir and Neo-Noir, and more.  It’s good to do not only because it widens my perspective but also because it challenges me to remain fresh in the ways I evaluate storytelling.  Not everything need have a droid, you know, and I’m glad you’re all still sharing this wild ride with me.
 
Today’s delight: a late 1970’s Political Thriller titled A Dog Called … Vengeance.
 
“Why?” you ask.

1. Because I can.
2. Because this wonderfully ditty drew my attention thanks to the fine folks at Severin Films.

Written (in part) and directed by Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi, it’s the story of a man and a dog thrown together across miles and miles of unforgiving terrain as they endure one of the wildest chases on theatrical record.  Just so you know, the Walt Disney Company – back in the day – made a good number of pictures about dogs and cats heading against all odds across country in order to find their way home (or achieve some other such goal), but this is – most definitely – not a Walt Disney production.  The man and the dog are at odds with one another; and man’s best friend is – if you’ll pardon the expression – understandably out for blood.  Thankfully, there’s a good deal of political commentary woven along the way, so this one both is and isn’t about one immortal chase.  I’d argue that it’s centrally about the refusal of forces to stop until they achieve noble goals; and sometimes that comes at a consequence … like a life-ending bullet.
 
Furthermore, Severin reports that this Vengeance has never been given a proper North American disc release; and it’s somewhat easy to see why.  The film boasts several action and fight sequences that – while not all that bloody or gruesome – suggest that some liberties could’ve been taken in order to get the animal actors to behave in such a fashion.  Thankfully, the flick opens with a title card which states categorically that no harm came to any of the beasts in the making of this story.  Assurances accepted, this dog finally gets its day with this pressing from Severin, and I think it’s definitely worth a glance for those who appreciate a bit of politics in their entertainment diet.
​

(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 political prisoner in a South American dictatorship escapes and is pursued throughout the country by a bloodthirsty dog.”
 
To my surprise, I don’t see a great deal written about director Isasi-Isasmendi or A Dog Called … Vengeance online.  Most of the information dealing with Vengeance clearly comes from the published details from Severin Films (in the build-up to its release), and – for all intents and purposes – Isasi-Isasmendi appears to have been just another cog in the global entertainment machine, albeit working exclusively in the Spanish franchise.  The storyteller’s Wikipedia.org summation is about as bland as one you might stumble across in researching any modestly notable name from the past, so I’m somewhat disappointed that I can’t give the man’s perspective greater depth.
 
However, that doesn’t diminish the efficiency of Vengeance.
 
Aristides Ungria (played by The Exorcist’s Jason Miller) is a political prisoner whose impeccable memory of names, dates, and places makes him a high value target for Central American dictator Leonides Arevalo (Vicente Bañó).  Rather than have the dissident killed, Arevalo keeps his adversaries locked away in the event that their knowledge might be useful to his regime at some point in the future.  But a surprise opportunity develops for Ungria when his prison transport breaks down and nearly topples off the side of a cliff, so the man seizes the rare opportunity and runs for the hills and valleys.
 
It isn’t long before a deadly tracker and his vicious dog – the very one from the title – closes in on Ungria; and the former educator has no other choice but surrender or be mauled for his efforts.  While he’s held captive in the wild, Ungria manages to distract his hunter long enough to accidentally trigger a weapon’s discharge that cuts the man down.  Before he succumbs to his wound, the tracker instructs his faithful canine to kill … and thus the chase begins.
​

And, effectively, that’s really all the set-up that’s required to make for an effective thriller that’s equal parts ‘chase film’ and ‘political commentary.’  No matter how far Ungria makes it on foot or even eventually by auto, you guessed it!  That damned dog isn’t far behind!  Like a shadow, it follows him everywhere, nearly sinking its fangs into the man’s hide on several occasions in its quest to avenge the fall of its master.  Yes, the last reel truly stretches the bounds of credibility when Vengeance manages to cross an entire metropolitan city by scent alone to track Ungria to the exact floor and room within an expansive hotel, but you get the drift.  What matters is the suspense, and – despite a bit a goofiness here and there – what emerges is a reasonably effective thrill ride that deserves some modest approval.
 
From what I’ve read, Vengeance can out only a year or two following the last days of an authentically oppressive regime in Spain; and knowing this one simple fact does elevate the political elements of the picture.  Isasi-Isasmendi punctuates his story with occasional title card inserts with little reminders and/or suggestions of what life was like under such a government, and this theme definitely elevates the dire tone needed for a few key sequences.  Though I’ll admit I didn’t quite understand the particulars of what is happening once Ungria is reunited both with his former love and the leaders of the rebellion, it’s still clear that all involved are risking their lives and futures on a mission of mercy to bring about a revolution.  The fact that Ungria himself is relentlessly pursued by a beast who takes the shape of ‘man’s best friend’ is obviously symbolic of the level of treachery faced by those who only want the best for themselves and their fellow men, women, and children.  Naturally, one has to face a villain with force sufficiently enough to achieve lasting change; and this is why it ultimately takes something stronger than a human being to save the day in the closing moments.  Suffice it to say, this town isn’t big enough for the man and the dog, and neither are willing to go quietly into the night.
 
That said, Vengeance works as a solid thriller on just about every conceivable level.  The cinematography is quite good, and that’s saying something considering how much time is spent in the wild terrain.  It’s hard to make open territory look as compelling as it does in this case, so Isasi-Isasmendi and the technical wizards should be commended.  Furthermore, Vengeance maintains a fairly aggressive pace consistently throughout; while it slows down here and there for the purpose of shifting gears – a curious love tryst insertion appears quite literally out of nowhere and really might be the only awkward and non-essential development in here – the pace pushes forward from one part to the next.  Others might see Ungria’s time in the outback as being a bit bloated, but I thought it all worked quite nicely.
​

If anything, I struggled to really get a hold on the main character, Ungria himself.  Miller does a good enough job conveying what I’d say is a baseline performance; the truth is that the script never quite gives any expansive details on Ungria’s past because – quite frankly – all that matters is that he’s amongst the opposition, and they ‘deserve’ to be imprisoned.  For those of us who appreciate a bit more human drama, it might’ve been nice to get a bit more into the weeds of the man’s life before he was politically incarcerated: as is, the script has some suggestions tying the man’s love almost miraculously to the regime’s military leader, and it felt a bit … erm … too convenient.  A tad more information could’ve easily been inserted into the second half, but that doesn’t happen, and I have to live with suggestions alone.
 
A Dog Called … Vengeance (1977) was produced by Deva Cinematografica.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Severin Films.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert … wowza.  I was honestly a bit flabbergasted how well this one looked with what’s reported to have been a 2K restoration.  Some colors really pop here and there, and the entire production retains a surprising crispness that’s to be commended.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  There’s a trio of shorts examining the director and the film against the backdrop of history: they get a bit chatty here and there, but they’re still very good if you want to spend time understanding those particulars.  I found them a bit light on movie-specific information, but that could be just me.
 
Recommended.
 
As I said above, I find it frequently refreshing to spend time on productions that are a bit outside of what both genre has to offer as well as mainstream flicks, and A Dog Called … Vengeance (1977) really surprisingly stuck on the palate.  It’s a tightly-woven chase film with an undercurrent of politics that goes down easily mostly because you don’t have to think all that much about either of them; in fact, if you do spend too much time evaluating those angles then the magic just doesn’t work as well.  Like I suggested, it’s highly unlikely that in this short a time one dog could find one single man in an urban mecca, so don’t over-analyze the proposition.  Let it flow.  Let it be.  The story will carry you to the finish; and on that level the dog both has its day … and it doesn’t.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Severin Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of A Dog Called … Vengeance (1977) 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:
“A traumatized young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name "Tomie" but is unable to recall where she knows it from.”
 
When is a Horror not a Horror?
 
Well, for starters that would most likely be when it contains literally no authentic Horror of any kind; and that’s my initial reaction to the 90+ minutes I spent with Tomie (1998), one of the most confusing theatrical J-Horrors I’ve had the privilege to encounter.  I do have a vague impression of watching this thing sometime in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s on a U.S. home video release, and yet I can’t say for certain.  I remember some confusion resulting from isn’t mildly labyrinthian plot, and I recognize an actress or two, but methinks I might be blocking it out over the fact that I was likely as befuddled then as I am today.
 
Mind you: it actually took me two times wading through it for the premise to make perfect sense.  I also sat through it a third time – with the audio commentary playing in hopes that I could be properly educated to grasp what all of the fuss was about – and that did help to a small degree.  Though I rarely comment to any great deal on commentaries, I will below because I think what I captured was relevant and might be of value to those thinking about investing in this home video upgrade as a blind buy.  I wouldn’t recommend it, but – as I always say – to each his own.
 
Tsukiko Izumisawa (played by Mami Nakamura) is undergoing hypnotic regression therapy in an attempt to uncover some lost memories for her fairly recent past.  As flashes of the past begin to emerge, the young woman realizes that she was a witness to a very dark event – one that involved the gruesome death of a schoolfriend Tomie Kawakami (Miho Kanno) – and her mind has hidden these visions for no specific reason.  However, as her journey widens and she begins to understand what her role in that murder may have been, it becomes clear that something from the past is trying to reconnect in the present; and the bodies begin piling up before she can stop a ghostly presence from within from getting out once more.
​

Being blunt, Tomie – as a movie – is much closer to Psychological Horror than it is authentic Horror with the notable exception of the requisite bloodletting and some gory images here and there.  Those going into the film expecting some of the usual tropes of J-Horror might be hard-pressed to find such similarities, though there are enough light suggestions to probably keep die-hard fans watching.  But as for casual viewers?  Sigh.  Methinks they’re going to be somewhat disappointed as Tomie never truly amounts to a great deal of anything; it’s the kind of story that once you know what’s actually going on there’s no real way to reconcile one’s confusion over how two women – or, say, two identities – could possibly have accomplished all of this without it being noticed by anyone involved earlier.
 
Essentially, the plot involves a bit of broken consciousness: Tsukiko and Tomie are not so different as the audience is initially led to believe.  Come to last reel, there are strong indications that they really should be considered as a single presence – linked from the ethereal world to the physical – but we’re given no plausible explanation as to how or why this worked.  In other words, if I were responsible for some supernatural force being allowed into reality, then wouldn’t my health and wellbeing serve as its life force?  Am I not required to exist in order for it to exist?  If it truly stems from me, then how can it be without me also being?  The film never convinces me that these two are tied together except for the plot’s convenience, so I’m somewhat amiss to understand some of the mechanics required to make all of this work the way it does.
 
Some of my resulting confusion might be tied to the fact that Tsukiko is clearly a flawed central narrator.  (Again, once you know, you know …)  Because I was raised to always question the perspective of the flawed central narrator, I kept wondering how much of what I was seeing from her point of view was trustworthy and what might’ve been ‘just for show.’  In a world wherein recovered memories could and should be subject to further interrogation, how am I to take at face value what she believes she sees was, in fact, seen?  This juxtaposition of the literal and the potentially extraordinary kept me at a loss from accepting nearly anything learned along the way, and I think this chiefly caused a great deal of my confusion.
 
Now, precisely why Tsukiko is getting therapy is never sufficiently explained.  The script from writer/director Ataru Oikawa lacks any meaningful depth whatsoever as most of the men and women in here are little more than a screenwriter’s pawns, milking whatever scenes they’re given until the point that the become the next victim of this spectral slayer whose goal it would seem to be to titillate males until the point wherein they need to act on the seduction only then suffer the wrath of the woman who neither wants to be touched now apparently needs it.  While I’ve read some commentary and criticism online about how this is some bold statement in defense of feminism, I’ll admit to some uncertainty in that domain as it was my impression that Tomie served as both the cause and effect in this, and – if there was a narrative defense – I guess I missed out on the cultural enlightenment.  Taunting men to behave inappropriately seems to be the textual defense; so – again – I’d rather not venture into such waters without a paddle because I saw this tale differently than did so many.
​

My point in discussing the character of Tsukiko’s mental state is that from my limited experience with that field of medicine no one enters into such a psychological invasion treatment without sufficient reasoning.  Something in the sufferer’s life is amiss is some discernible way, and that just doesn’t appear to be the case here.  In fact, it’s almost as if the therapy is the construct around which the screenwriter built the whole journey – without spoiling it, there is only one serious reason and that would be because these two personalities are intrinsically tied together – and, sadly, it feels entirely constructed and not a faithful experience.  When everything – including the eventually police investigations that get wrapped around the whole shebang – is tied to Tsukiko’s rehabilitation efforts, her story ceases to be organic and starts to feel very much like it was built to be this singular flick, lessening the possibility of anything in here seeming true-to-life.
 
What I will say is that – in my perspective – Tomie needed to have a stronger origins story in order for me to accept her as anything greater than some supernatural succubus with a mission bigger and bolder than eradicating mankind.  I say this not to argue that one gender is greater than the other; instead, I think that introducing a spectral entity that allegedly has been around for decades if not centuries might’ve been better served had there been a stronger foundation with which to evaluate whatever life mission she was intended to serve.  Here, it would seem that Tomie has a historical axe to grind with men; and, yet, the script gives a free pass to even the potential for any of its women being either guilty or complicit in affairs of their own.  Even though one of the ladies in here engages in an appropriate relationship, her poor moral choice never quite evokes the same punishment (to a degree); and I’m left with wondering “Why not?”  If it’s because she’s female, then isn’t that just a wrong as decisions made my men because they’re men?
 
From what I’ve read online, Tomie is based on a long-running and popular manga; and I can’t help but wonder how much of an audience’s appreciation of what takes place in the film relies heavily on familiarity with the source material.  In fact, the audio commentary on the disc mentions in several different places how some of the scenes appear tied to ideas and/or sequences that are reminiscent of what was done in print form.  Adapting something that may or may not be intellectually complex is always a risky proposition; and I can’t help but feel like I really missed the point of this whole mildly bloody affair when it all faded to black and the credits rolled.  It’s last scene is indicative of a late-breaking twist … but – ahem – we already knew the fact is established, so what was it supposed to mean other than the fact that despite anyone’s best efforts Tomie survives?
​

Tomie (1998) was produced by Art Port and Daiei Studios.  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, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be quite good across the running time of the picture.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  This is one of those rare occasions where I can fully say that my appreciation for the picture was enhanced – albeit mildly – from watching the extras.  Amber T. provides a somewhat minimalist audio commentary – there’s an awful lot of empty space on here – but she rather effectively bridges the gap between the literary incarnation of the franchise and the films; and the end result is that I found it helpful only up to a point.  A few other newly produced shorts do a respectable deep dive on the film and its central ideas; and yet there’s nothing that truly made me do a full 180 on my impressions above … so consider yourself warned.
 
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
 
Occasionally, Tomie (1998) feels like it was trying to establish a bigger and broader canvas upon which this dark story was meant to take place; but I left the film never quite grasping what it was all about except for a few bloody sequences of bad people making bad decisions that our chief executioner was going to have them pay for.  While that’s all well and good, there’s still a vastness in here that’s muddled and dry, never quite establishing a central voice one could root for in all of this madness.  Lacking that connection, I became bored and almost despondent, and that’s never a good place for a critical mind to be.  Though the film broke ground for an all-new “Horror” franchise, I’m entirely at a loss to see how and why.  A rare misfire of an experience.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with an industry Blu-ray copy of Tomie (1998) 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
​

Back in the late, great 1980’s, I worked in video retail.  In fact, it was one of my first jobs of record.
 
The small chain I was employed by had a handful of locations across one big city in the Midwest, and they – ahem – prided themselves on being one of the first outlets to provide rentals for a rather impressively large volume of – ahem ahem – Adult video titles.  No, these weren’t out on the floor amongst the mainstream inventory, but each location maintained this back room wherein customers could browse the slipcases in privacy, looking for whatever opus explored their respective appetites.  To my surprise, it was a popular attraction for some consumers, and I suspect a good time was had by all.  (Snicker snicker)
 
In any event, I bring this up because one of this chain’s selling points was that employees were encouraged to – ahem again – watch our potential releases so that they could effectively recommended something from our growing catalogue for customers seeking a hot pick.  Rather than push this requirement onto every employee’s shoulders, the recruiter rather smartly sought out a candidate who had such knowledge beforehand, thus keeping the rest of the staff free to concern themselves with more conventional fare.  So I got to know this one faithful associate – we’ll call him ‘Chuck’ to protect his identity – fairly well while working there, and he definitely had some curious video tastes.
 
Now, it just so happens that Chuck was a huge fan of actress, comedienne, and all-around temptress Cassandra Peterson, the lovely lady better known to so many as Elvira.  In fact, her ‘Mistress of the Dark’ personae wasn’t all that old back at the time – it was created in 1981 for what I understand to have been a California television station’s Horror-themed overnight program – but Chuck had seen her live in Las Vegas and had followed her career closely.  He was a rapid fan of her work, loved the lady (snicker snicker) for her personality, and talked about her constantly.  While I wouldn’t call her the man’s obsession, it was still clear that he was smitten with the woman’s charms, and who could blame him?
 
Naturally, Chuck was the kind of employee who recommended 1988’s Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark video release when it hit the store shelves.  I watched it entirely on the strength of his endorsement back then; and though I wasn’t completely won over – comedy is a hard sell for yours truly no matter whose pushing punchlines much less hemlines – I still confessed that Peterson knew exactly what she was doing and did it well.  Only mildly subversive but in a crowd-pleasing sort of fashion, the actress cultivated a dark madame of macabre mayhem that could be appreciated by young(ish) and old alike; and I’m thrilled to revisit this imperfect, offbeat camp classic today compliments of the kind folks at Arrow Films.
​

(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:
“Upon arriving in a small town where Elvira has inherited a rundown mansion, the famous horror host must battle an evil uncle, and townspeople who want her burned at the stake.”
 
As much as I like to laugh – and I do like to laugh – I’m probably one of the harshest critics when it comes to evaluating comedies.  I’ve often written in this space about how humor doesn’t always mesh well with genre releases; and – as a practice – I do tend to keep my coverage of such titles to a minimum.  While there’s nothing wrong with ragging a bit on how some jokes just don’t quite work, I don’t like feeling as if I’m piling on in any respect regarding any project’s shortcomings or deficiencies.  So I do tend to leave that stuff to others who are a bit more generous than I’d be.
 
I realize that isn’t exactly a great place to start my evaluation of Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark – the 1988 theatrical celebration of Peterson’s winning alter ego in a Horror/Comedy send-up on East Coast smalltown dynamics – but I do try to remain true to my readership.  Though this one isn’t the kind of flick I’d probably put in the DVD tray for giggles’ sake, I’ll still confess that I’m fond enough of what the actress does in principle that I manage to have fun watching her … just not exactly for the same reasons every red-blooded American heterosexual male does.  She’s funny.  She’s goofy.  She makes it easy to both laugh at her as she does with her.  Yeah, you might get motion sickness over the number times you’ll be rolling your eyes, but – as they say – it is what it is.
 
Struggling to find her big break, Elvira is hoping and praying that a prime stage gig in Las Vegas will finally raise her professional spirits.  When her manager finally secures some good news, he also has to deliver a bit of the bad: a strip venue is willing to give the ample-bodied vamp a shot up in the lights, but she’s going to have to cough up $50,000 to help sponsor the timeslot or they can’t justify taking a chance on a veritable unknown.  It is the Sin City, after all, and although Elvira has a body perfectly built for sin, profits are still required on the bottom line.
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Lady Luck inevitably smiles on the comely lass when a surprise inheritance from a distant aunt her never forget about her arrives to save the day.  She packs up her only belongings and heads out to Fallwell, Massachusetts – an obvious swipe at the late TV evangelist Jerry Falwell – for a reading of the will.  Once there, she learns that there isn’t exactly big bucks to be had, but there is a spooky mansion that – if dressed up properly – might bring her more than enough cash to chase that Vegas dream.  However, what’s all this fuss about her aunt’s missing old book?
 
So much of Mistress Of The Dark is a throwback to vastly simpler storytelling, the likes of which used to be commonplace in Comedies of the 1930’s and 1940’s.  Reminiscent of vaudeville, the setups and deliveries can be seen coming from miles away, but that doesn’t necessarily reduce the impact of hearing such cunning barbs and quick rejoinders when they’re packaged as boldly as they are with Peterson.  She’s built like a Playboy centerfold, but she wraps it all in tantalizing Gothic charm; and it’s the kind of combination that either works or it doesn’t.  With so little wiggle room, it’s another added plus that – ahem – Peterson is so fetching providing the requisite wiggle.
 
Essentially, the film’s comedy works as an exploration of moral opposites.
 
Those stuffed-shirts old prudes just won’t stand for Elvira’s burgeoning display of butts and boobs, so it’s very easy to see where the jokes are both emerging, succeeding, and failing.  After all, Fallwell has a reputation for moral purity, and the dark lady’s arrival might well be treated as one of the signs of the Biblical Apocalypse for that matter, so it’s only natural that these forces come into collision.  Instinctively, the local youths are captivated with the free-speaking and bodice-busting babe, and all of the resulting mayhem puts the lady understandably on track to be labelled an incarnation of the modern witch who might very well bring about a return to those antics that helped put Salem, Massachusetts in all of the history books.  Wood gets piled, torches get lit, and the town elders rise up to take matters into their own hands, nearly succumbing to their own madness.  Only Elvira’s late-breaking discovery that she, indeed, has a bit of magic up her proverbial sleeve ultimately saves the day.
 
To some degree, I do find it sad that more entertainers haven’t quite latched onto the opening for some broad albeit lazy Comedy to fill the consumers diet.  Though the format is vastly outdated, it’s still the kind of schtick audiences take to her and there; and it’s especially refreshing to know that such double entendre are never quite ‘out of style’ amongst some viewers.  That niche could be filled – and Horror/Comedy hybrids would be the perfect vehicle – and yet we’ve become a society wherein vanity projects like this just don’t happen all that much any longer.  The fact that Elvira remains a force in the business decades later even though her material could’ve been written even decades earlier proves that some needs still aren’t being properly serviced; so here’s hoping such camp never disappears from us culturally.
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That said, Mistress is an uneven attempt, at best, and that’s being flattering on my part.  What plot there is remains mostly an assembly of smaller sketches all very loosely heading in the same general direction – yes, Elvira eventually gets to realize her dreams as do the small cadre of young adult males she surrounds herself with – so kudos to all involved for, at the very least, staying the course.  The film boasts mostly hammy performances all around, and there is a practical effect here and there that works in spite of the fact not an awful lot of money was spent in the process.  Dare I suggest that any other face but Peterson’s would’ve killed Mistress’ prospects?  It’s a match made in Heaven and Hell, and I’ll be ‘in my bunk’ trying to figure out which side was best served in the big finish.
 
Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark (1988) was produced by NBC Productions, New World Pictures, Panacea Entertainment, and Queen B Productions.  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, I found the provided sights-and-sounds to be quite good across the running time of this 90+ minute effort.  Lastly, if you’re looking for Special Features?  The disc boasts three audio commentaries – all interesting but only occasionally chatty, Peterson’s was the most entertaining for me – along with an even better documentary on the making-of and some little tidbits into the limited special effects.  It’s a great collection that should keep fans engaged to the end.
 
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
 
Folks, I consider myself a gentleman, so I’ll stop short of disparaging Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark (1988).  While her obvious schtick just isn’t for me, the lovely Cassandra Peterson still embraces her own share of lunacy well enough to make all of it work even if all of the humor plays out like what ten-year-old boys might think a dirty joke or a sexual innuendo is supposed to be.  She’s really all that works in this mess, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  It is, after all, her picture.  This is all low-brow (not an insult) and mildly titillating (pun most definitely intended), and I suspect those who embrace that kind of farce know what they’re getting in the process.  When your grand finale amounts to – ahem – spinning nipple tassels in opposite directions on the Vegas stage (not complaining) for all to see, then we’ve left Scorsese behind in favor of the confines wherein Russ Meyer might take his shot at Oscar gold.
 
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 Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark (1988) 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
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One of the great challenges in telling any story is knowing for certain when it has ended.
 
Far too many authors and screenwriters have wasted an otherwise winning tale by going on a bit longer than necessary.  For whatever reason, these creatives stake out a position which suggests everything need be wrapped up perfectly with a bow in the grand finale when the truth is the central story – if it is good enough – is functionally all that matters.  The desire to give each character some kind of pivotal closing scene should not be a requirement especially when such scenes really only wander into other concerns; once all of the main points have been addressed, then – simply put – it's time for the maker and the audience to move along to something else.  Sadly, this doesn’t always happen; and great works have been turned into ‘just good enough’ as a consequence.
 
Life isn’t as easy to quantify.  Endings come when we least expect them, and their arrival is truly the catalyst for another whole story to begin.  While there will always be unresolved matters no matter how full one life has been lived, the hope for each and every mortal being should be to attend to that which matters most in those closing days because other business – tangential issues that may’ve seemed important at the time – were never worth the import we sometimes gave them.  Of course, I realize this might be easy advice from someone sitting at the PC plunking on keys in the – ahem – “prime of life,” but the point I’m making here is that messes are far more the norm than is the orderly.  Stuff happens.  It always will.  But such stuff needn’t destroy everything.
 
This is why I found Quarxx’s Pandemonium – a 2023 rumination on what quite literally might immediately follow life into the afterlife – such an interesting experience.  While it both is and isn’t a complete story – and while it both is and isn’t an interconnected anthology exploring a handful of men and women whose existences intersect over a life-ending event – it remains an incredible potpourri of ideas.  Did we die?  How did we die?  How can we be sure we’ve died?  Will we be judged?  Who will do the judging?  Will it be ourselves – who else would know us best – or is it a system that allows for no compassion for the choices we made whatsoever?  Must the universe be so rigid?
 
Anyone whose shared space with us on this journey through our days knows that some rules aren’t made to be broken, and Pandemonium tries to paint a picture of what might be next in store for all of us … whether we like it or not.
 
(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:
“After realizing he has died at the scene of a car crash, Nathan descends into the depths of hell, where he is doomed to experience the pain of tortured souls along the way.”
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Having spent a fair amount of my high school, college, and post-education life involved with theater, I appreciate what a series of good scenes with great dialogue can do for any piece; and this is one of the greatest reasons I’d encourage folks to check out Pandemonium.  Though what emerges from the production is a bit of a mixed bag so far as complete and concise storytelling goes, writer and director Quarxx – a critically acclaimed storyteller whose career suggests a fascination with big ideas – takes the audience on a journey into the depths of several mortal souls.  Along the way, he posits what an afterlife might be life for a few of them, and he even underscores at a few stops that reality on this side of death might be a greater punishment for some.
 
Logically, Pandemonium is a flick that’s difficult to talk about because to do so would utterly spoil a good deal of what makes it tick like a clock.  Like life can do, the film opens looking like it’s going in one direction only then to veer sharply into another … and another … and another.  (I said “like life can do,” and I meant it.)  Two men meet on a mountain highway in the tense moments following a crash.  As they talk, it becomes clear that neither of them did, in fact, survive, as they eventually see their bodies in states of disrepair.  But when apparitions of the Heavenly Gates and a doorway leading elsewhere suddenly appear, they both accept that decisions need to be made; lo and behold, it’s at this point that Quarxx throws another twist into their story, meaning that their Fates might not be so clear-cut after all.
 
The narrative problem with an experiment like Pandemonium – and make no mistake that it ultimately is one big experimental film – is that it takes a reasonably rare path to its finish.  Viewers already know going into a story about the Afterlife that not all questions are likely to be answered, so there’s nothing learned other than the answers to these fateful few featured might ask, and even those reveals are a bit inconclusive.  While a case could be make that all of this is intended to be Nathan’s (played by Hugo Dillon) punishment for a choice he made that doomed his soul, all that does is effectively create a format for which more chapters could follow.  If the point Quarxx is trying to make is that life never ends, then so be it … but must the beyond always be as dour as was existence?  Seems an easy choice to me.
 
Plus … the flick features one of the finest and damn near batsh#t crazy kid’s stories of recent record.  (Sorry, folks, not gonna spoil it because it has multiple levels to what it all means here, but Chapter Two is bonkers … in a great way.)
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Otherwise, audiences will have to make what they will of the whole affair.  Quarxx seems to be leaning in one direction at one point while pushing us toward something a bit different elsewhere, so I’m split on to what he exactly intended to convey.  The director talks heavily about guilt in one of the supplementals on the disc; and I think that’s likely about as valid a central theme running through all of his stylish visuals and weaving plotlines.  Still, if a simple stupid mistake by one of Hell’s slavish executioners can set the vicious cycle in motion all over again, shouldn’t the Devil himself have a better recruiting strategy?
 
Lastly, I think it’s also safe to suggest that Pandemonium – in a fair and impartial universe – should be the kind of project that opens doors for a filmmaker like Quarxx.  While his catalogue isn’t all that large (IMDB.com lists only a handful of stuff, much of it short films), he would be the kind of auteur I as a film scholar would probably seek out and explore more from based entirely on watching this one.  There’s a freshness in here – ironic, especially given the subject matter – and I’d be apt – as I hope are wider audiences – to want to see more from him.  It’s rare for a tale to be both well made and make one think and want more; though Pandemonium isn’t exactly the type of intellectual property around which to build sequels, there’s still a great deal of theatrical magic on display … and I do hope Quarxx continues weaving spells at every opportunity.
 
Pandemonium (2023) was produced by Transgressive Production.  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 … wowza.  I love Quarxx’s command with the visuals throughout this whole production.  It looks great – there is some relatively simple effects work here and there, but it’s still impressive – and it might be one of the best reasons to give this 90-minute yarn a viewing.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  Well, there are a few on here – short vignettes focuses on the production, mostly, but not enough on messaging – and I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more.  They’re good … but, alas, they’re just as incomplete as is this curious journey.
 
Recommended.
 
Pandemonium (2023) is the kind of project that’ll likely frustrate as many folks as it creates fans; and that’s because – in fairness – it really isn’t a completed whole.  It’s a curious assembly of good ideas and some killer small performances hanging loosely by the threads of the interconnected anthology.  Still, those who rally for a bit of experimentation in storytelling should find plenty to enjoy in here even if they’re disenfranchised with the results.  The afterlife being what it is (meaning elusive and controversial), this one still managed to march the battle uphill and say something about the journey; and that’s impressive.
 
In the interest of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Pandemonium (2023) 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 
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