EDEN LAKE -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 1/7/09

 

There's a grand tradition of movies in which happy-go-lucky city folk venture into some rural setting and wind up being terrorized by psychotic locals. Most of these movies, unfortunately, aren't nearly as good as, say, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE or DELIVERANCE, and the formula more often than not results in just another inept, forgettable piece of cinematic flotsam with people running around in the woods screaming for an hour-and-a-half.

Not so, however, in the case of EDEN LAKE (2008), one of the most harrowing, painfully suspenseful, and relentlessly downbeat horror thrillers I've ever seen.

It's a pretty simple set-up: Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve (Michael Fassbender) drive to the country to camp out on the shore of a beautiful, secluded lake, where Steve plans to pick just the right moment to whip out an engagement ring and pop the question.

But their romantic sunbathing reverie is marred by a motley group of punk teens who blast their boom box, ogle the bikini-clad Jenny, and allow their scary-looking Rottweiler to menace her while Steve is taking a dip.

Well, Steve, of course, must do his "guy duty" and confront the surly bunch. Led by the older and considerably meaner Brett (Jack O'Connell), the kids steal Steve's land rover and go for a joyride. When Steve tries to wrestle the keys away from them, Brett's beloved dog is accidentally killed, which sparks Brett into a murderous rage.

Steve and Jenny are forced to flee for their lives, but fate conspires against them at every turn, and they both end up tortured and brutalized beyond anything they could have imagined.

When EDEN LAKE was over, I felt as though I'd just awoken from an extremely vivid and disturbing nightmare. Everything that could possibly go wrong for Steve and Jenny does go wrong as they descend quickly and inexorably into hell. Much of the film is hard to watch--not because it's especially gory, but because the situations are so intense and realistic.

When Steve is captured and bound with barbed wire and Brett bullies the others into taking turns slashing him with knives and box cutters, it's effective on a realistic level because the violence isn't being committed by monsters like Leatherface or over-the-top caricatures of inbred hillbillies. These are just ordinary kids--on bicycles no less--giving in to their darkest impulses in a way that happens far too often in real life, stripping the story of the usual comforting veneer of fantasy that has us laughing along with Rob Zombie's cartoonish maniacs or wondering what cool method of execution Jason will use on his next faceless victim.

Jenny fares no better as she finds herself lost in the woods with no way to call for help and little chance of escape. Naturally, a metal spike goes through her foot at one point and she spends a lot of time crawling through mud and slime, reduced to the level of a terrified animal.

One scene in which she locks herself in a shack with the injured Steve and tries desperately to tend to his grievous wounds, unable to stop the gouts of blood pouring from deep cuts, is difficult to endure simply because of the crushing sadness and despair that it evokes. And because the killers are still closing in and there's nothing she can do about it.

It gets worse. Eventually EDEN LAKE begins to resemble a twisted version of THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS with its nonstop series of horrors heaped one right after the other upon the hapless couple. Some instances, such as Jenny being forced to hide in a filthy dumpster and emerging with a coating of the most rancid slime imaginable, took me out of the movie for a bit as I thought, "Sheesh, what next?" But these moments actually help the film, serving to give us a breather from all the tension before sucking us right back in and ramping up the suspense again.

The cast does a good job of selling it all. Kelly Reilly (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) is outstanding and entirely believable as sweet-tempered preschool teacher Jenny, while Michael Fassbender (300, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) is likable as Steve even when he isn't leaving well enough alone. All of the teen castmembers are good, especially Jack O'Connell as the monstrous Brett.

First-time director James Watkins does a very surehanded job working from his own screenplay and the cinematography is way above average. David Julyan, who has scored films such as MEMENTO, THE DESCENT, and OUTLAW, avoids horror cliches and emphasizes the emotional devastation of the lead characters instead. This is especially true in the final minutes, when the last grimly-ironic pieces fall into place with a sickening thud and the music becomes heartbreakingly mournful.

It's in this last act that the hopelessness running through the rest of the story is finally driven home in the most downbeat manner possible. You won't often see a scene this powerful and bleak. The situation is so nightmarishly awful that violence and gore are no longer even necessary here--by this time, writer-director Watkins has so thoroughly woven a web of tragedy and despair that we're left stunned and haunted by it all, which is his intention.

In 2.35:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital sound, the DVD looks and sounds good. Extras consist of a brief "making of" featurette and a trailer.

A highly-effective and skillfully manipulative piece of filmmaking, EDEN LAKE effortlessly rises above most other films of its ilk. It's hardly the usual horror flick that relies on shock cuts to make you jump or clever gore effects to make you say "Cool!" Instead, it batters the viewer with nonstop dread and ultimately becomes a deeply depressing experience. I was relieved when it was over, as though I'd finally woken up from the nightmare, but I still can't get it out of my mind.

EDEN LAKE -- DVD Review by Porfle

FEAST II: SLOPPY SECONDS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 10/7/08

 

I didn't see FEAST, but that doesn't matter because FEAST II (2008) just picks up where the first one left off and plunges ahead with more reckless abandon than Rosie O'Donnell fighting over the last Ring-Ding. And I haven't had this much fun watching a gore-drenched, insanely irreverent, and just plain demented horror comedy since FROM DUSK TILL DAWN.

We quickly pick up enough info to know that in the first film, a remote desert bar was attacked by horrendous man-eating monsters. A cycle dyke named Harley Mom was killed by a sleazy guy named Bozo. The bartender (Clu Gulager) and a ditzy chick named Honey Pie (Jenny Wade) survived. And when Harley Mom's twin sister Biker Queen (Diane Goldner again) shows up at the start of this movie, she grabs the bartender and motors toward the nearest town seething with a lust for revenge against Bozo.

Unfortunately, that town is crawling with the same monsters and it's about half past dinnertime. Biker Queen rolls in with her gang of hot-bad cycle chicks who soon find themselves holed up in a garage with the motliest assortment of characters this side of FREAKS. People are ripped apart, disembowled, eaten alive, shot full of holes, smashed with ball-peen hammers, impaled through the head by pipes, and slowly melted by internal monster juices. Human and monster bodily fluids fly. A cat is raped. A midget is shot out of a catapult. And aside from all that, some of what happens is really over the top.

FEAST II is probably one of the few horror films you'll ever see in which Mexican midget wrestling is integral to the plot. It's also, as far as I know, the first sequel to a "Project: Greenlight" flick. Director John Gulager lets his imagination go wild and gives us a picture that snaps, crackles, pops, and bleeds all over the place, with the help of Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan's cartoonishly splat-stick screenplay. With his dad Clu (one of my all-time favorite actors), brother Tom (memorable as the cowardly "Greg Swank"), wife Diane Goldner, and infant nephew Clu, Junior on board, it's truly a dysfunctional family affair.

The talented cast is so large that I can't list everyone, but Carl Anthony Payne is hilarious as Slasher, a used car dealer who "slashes" prices, and so are Hanna Putnam as his wife "Secrets" (who's having an affair with fellow car salesman Greg Swank), Jenny Wade as Honey Pie, and little people Martin Klebba and Juan Longoria García as Thunder and Lightning, the midget wrestlers who also run the town's key shop, which figures importantly in the plot.

Special mention must go not only to Goldner as the macho bike-dyke Biker Queen, but also to her crew of gorgeous cycle chix who, in grand exploitation style, end up stark naked before the movie's over because their clothes are somehow required in the construction of the midget catapult. And the fact that I was able to write that sentence just now is one of the reasons I like this movie so much.

The budget isn't huge here but the director and his crew make the most of both their resources and their location, the small town of Plain Dealing, Louisiana. The monster suits are great and the gore effects well executed. Yes, I noticed the use of green screen in several of the rooftop scenes, but it's tolerable. The showstopper has got to be the dissection scene, in which Greg Swank thinks they can learn more about the creatures by examining a dead specimen's inner workings. This results in one of the most horrendously gross sequences I've ever witnessed, in which the dead monster manages to drench everyone in the room with gallons of vile bodily fluids of all varieties, to which they all respond by vomiting their guts out. It's practically indescribable, but it's also screamingly funny.

The DVD is widescreen with Dolby sound and English and Spanish subtitles. Extras include an intimate cast and crew commentary and two fun featurettes entitled "Scared Half to Death Twice: The Making of Feast II" and "Meet the Gulagers."

Nothing is sacred in FEAST II: SLOPPY SECONDS, and many viewers will be offended. Some scenes, in fact, may have certain viewers ripping the DVD out of the player, stomping on it, smashing it to pieces, and setting it on fire. Others, however, will simply laugh with glee, sing "That's Entertainment!", and enjoy every minute of it. The abrupt ending, unfortunately, leaves us hanging until the inevitable third film in the trilogy. In my mind, I'm already there.

FEAST II: SLOPPY SECONDS -- DVD Review by Porfle

PULSE 3 -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/19/08

 

I missed the first installment in what is now the PULSE trilogy, but I did catch the second one and found it entertaining enough to look forward to part three. And here it is-- PULSE 3 (2008), the final segment in the saga of a global apocalypse that occurs when a freak technological discovery opens up a portal between the world of the living and the dark, terrifying dimension of the dead.

The last movie ended with a newly-orphaned little girl named Justine (Karley Scott Collins) boarding a bus which would take her to an isolated refugee colony in West Texas, far from any visual communications devices or internet connections through which the soul-sucking ghosts enter our world. Now seventeen and chafing from the confines of her near-primitive lifestyle, Justine (the winsome Brittany Renee Finamore) runs away from her foster parents and heads for Houston after discovering a working laptop computer and making friends with an unseen IM buddy named Adam.

After barely surviving a harrowing encounter with a lonesome cotton farmer along the way, Justine reaches the ruined city to find it inhabited only by baleful ghosts. Her search for Adam leads her right into the clutches of an old acquaintance from the previous film, The Man With A Plan (Todd Giebenhain). Holed up in his red-lined loft (the color red repels the ghosts), this psychotic yet highly-intelligent wacko has been developing a plan to foil the spirit invasion in conjunction with the military. The main drawback is that his plan involves lots of nuclear weapons. Locked in a red room with a captive ghost, Justine must find a way to escape and make contact with Adam--if he's even still alive.

PULSE 3 never builds up much of a head of steam and isn't quite the finale I'd expected, but it's still an entertaining and well-made grade B horror flick. Like the previous film, much of it is done with green-screen, both in exterior and interior shots, which might prove distracting or even off-putting for some viewers. Still, the photography is good and the film is technically superior to a lot of equally low-budget efforts I've seen. Director Joel Soisson's script offers an intriguing mystery concerning Adam's character, along with several imaginative vignettes along the way.

First off is the cool opening sequence which shows college student Adam (Rider Strong) carrying on a long-distance romance with an Egyptian girl named Salwa (Noureen DeWulf) via several monitor screens situated in the various rooms of their respective apartments. They chat, watch movies, have dinner together--everything short of actual physical contact. When the spirit invasion begins, Adam must witness Salwa's demise through her cell phone camera as she wanders onto a fire escape in a trancelike daze and jumps off.

My favorite sequence is when Justine, tired from her long journey toward Houston, spends a night with the lonesome cotton farmer, Wilkie (Thomas Merdis in a very good performance). At first she fears that the outwardly-nice but sorta creepy Wilkie may try to make sexual advances toward her, but his true intentions are even more terrifying and result in the film's goriest and most disturbing segment. Also quite entertaining is Justine's encounter with The Man With A Plan in his gadget-filled loft, which was filmed in an abandoned YMCA's indoor running track. Todd Giebenhain's performance is a hoot as he paces around the track, manically spouting reams of dialogue about his plan for wiping out the ghosts using the EMP from several airborn nuclear blasts.

The ghosts themselves aren't employed as effectively here as in the previous film, but there are some unnerving scenes and a few good shock cuts here and there. The filmmakers do a good job of depicting Houston as a ruined, empty city, and the scenes of Justine's shantytown home in the middle of nowhere are equally well designed and atmospheric.

The DVD is in matted widescreen format with good image and sound quality. Special features include a nice, low-key commentary with writer/director Soisson, Producer Mike Leahy, editor Kirk Morri, and star Brittany Finamore, plus a brief making-of featurette and some trailers.

How much you like or dislike PULSE 3 will have a lot to do with your expectations. As the conclusion to a trilogy, it falls far short of its potential and doesn't satisfy the anticipation the second chapter left me with. It's episodic, underpopulated, and sparsely plotted. But as a minor horror flick done by imaginative filmmakers on a low budget, I found it fairly entertaining and fun.

 

PULSE 3 -- DVD Review by Porfle

DEAD IN 3 DAYS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 3/4/09

 

At first, the Austrian horror film DEAD IN 3 DAYS, aka In 3 Tagen bist du tot (2006), seems to have all the makings of yet another forgettable teen slasher flick. But it quickly proves to be a sober, atmospheric murder mystery-thriller with believable characters and a suspenseful story that held my interest till the very end.

A close-knit group of childhood friends celebrating their graduation from school each start getting a text message on their cell phones that reads: "Dead in 3 days." When one of them disappears from a dance, the others report it to the police but aren't taken seriously until his body is found floating in a nearby lake, bound and weighed down by an anchor. Then, when Nina (Sabrina Reiter) is abducted from her home and barely escapes alive from the hooded killer's lair, it becomes clear that the group of friends have been marked for death. So they have three days to figure out who's after them and why.

An early incident in which they run over a small deer on an isolated road and are forced to club the suffering animal to death brings the inferior I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER to mind, but fortunately this merely hints at a more extreme occurrence in their past that binds them together and will soon come back to haunt them. (Which was a relief since I wasn't all that interested in watching a horror movie about a deer avenger.) This establishes a tone of shared guilt that will increase as the story progresses. With the first murder, which is shown in agonizing detail from the victim's point of view, it's clear that no one is safe and that anything can happen.

The teens, thank goodness, are fairly well-developed characters and not just cardboard cutouts. They work at part-time jobs, argue with their parents, have unstable home lives, etc. and aren't always entirely likable. Even when they have sex, it's unexploitive and not simply to get us stoked up for their slaughter by-the-numbers. The fact that we care about them creates genuine tension instead of just the usual build-up to the next jump scare.

That said, this is a pretty scary movie at times, with touches of old-school graphic violence. The "fish tank" scene is well-staged and harkens back to 80s films like HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE and SILENT PARTNER--as soon as Clemens (Michael Steinocher) notices the tank's dangerously sharp edge while filling it with fish, it's pretty obvious that somebody's eventually going to have a bad throat day.

While these instances of gory violence are shocking, they're not really what the movie is about. Ultimately it's the mounting tension and a heavy atmosphere of suspense and dread that drive the story and keep us on the edge of our seats. Directors Andreas Prochaska and Stewart St. John involve the viewer with unique camera angles (especially a good use of overhead and POV shots) and consistently compelling photography. This is a very visual movie, with muted colors--even the daylight scenes have a hazy look--and the deliberate pace gives us time to be immersed in the mood.

Certain dramatic moments are emphasized by switching to slow-motion and/or silence. When the first victim's body is found, there's no dialogue for several minutes, with only the images telling the story and conveying the emotions. It's a reminder of how effective silent movies could be at times, without all the noise and chatter. At other times there's even a Dario Argento-like quality in the use of interiors and exteriors to help build an overall sense of unease. In some shots you might almost think it was Argento's camera lingering over eerie windswept trees or prowling down shadowy hallways. All of this is bound together by a recurring water motif, the reason for which becomes clear at the end.

The DVD is in 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital sound and your choice of English dub or original German soundtrack with subtitles. There are no bonus features.

Once the surviving members of the original group figure out what's going on and who's after them, they decide to sneak away from police protection and take on the killer themselves. Incredibly dumb, yes, but it does lead to a bloody, intense finale that left me with that special glow that comes from having just watched a really good horror movie. For its rich, inventive visual style alone, DEAD IN 3 DAYS is well worth watching.

 

DEAD IN 3 DAYS -- DVD Review by Porfle

APOLLO 18 -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 12/13/11

 

I love a good "found-footage" mockumentary if it's done right, as it was with THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (the grandaddy of FFMs) or the recent ATROCIOUS.  And as an avid fan of the USA space program during the 60s, I was sucked right into APOLLO 18 (2011) from the very start and stayed there till the classic "film running out of the projector" ending. 

The film is supposedly edited together from several hours of classified NASA footage of a secret moon shot which took place after the official "final" moon mission, Apollo 17.  Lt. Col. John Grey (Ryan Robbins) orbits the moon in the command capsule while Commander Nathan Walker (Lloyd Owen) and Captain Benjamin Anderson (Warren Christie) settle onto the lunar surface and start collecting moon rocks.  But first, they have to set up and activate a mysterious device--whose ostensible purpose is to track Soviet missile activity--at the behest of the Department of Defense.



All of this is presented via extremely convincing simulations of the aged, sometimes ragged film footage we've all seen of early NASA missions (along with simulated 8mm home movies of the astronauts and their families), which match almost seamlessly with generous stock footage of the real thing.  Close views of the moon suspended against a black void create an eerie, baleful mood early on and we begin to get a sense of the astronauts' total isolation.  This is heightened when Nate and Ben sit on the moon's surface in their cramped lander, as alone and vulnerable as two people can be, or explore a realistically-rendered lunar landscape strewn with pitch black shadows.

Director Gonzalo López-Gallego, aided by a cast of actors who are very adept at acting natural and unscripted, recreates the sort of light banter and good-natured antics we used to see from real astronauts when they knew the whole world was watching them.  Knowing that APOLLO 18 is a space horror film, however, and that the DOD doo-dad they've just set up must somehow bode ill, gives us a growing unease as little things begin to happen that alter the casual mood of the mission to one of severe apprehension.  And since the world is unaware of this particular moon shot, these guys are really on their own when they begin to suspect that they've been set up.

López-Gallego uses many clever visual tricks to create a spooky mood or, in some cases, a genuine jump-scare.  An astronaut takes photos in a dark crater until one flash suddenly reveals something terrifying; a seemingly random static shot of the moonscape or LEM interior seems harmless until we think we see movement in the periphery. 

The setting is especially effective because when these guys hear a mysterious noise or spot something moving around, it isn't rats in the woodwork and it sure ain't the wind.  As the unexplained and seemingly impossible events begin to escalate, so does the sense of claustrophobia and paranoia within the astronauts' fragile haven of life support.



I've tried to avoid giving anything away because not knowing is a major part of the fun with this movie.  I will say that Nate and Ben make some gut-wrenching discoveries on the moon (some of them quite queasily horrific) which force them to question everything they believe about the space program in general and their own increasingly doomed mission in particular.  Rarely does a story get to present a situation in which two guys are so utterly screwed, and I was with them all the way--vicariously, thank goodness--until the haunting final images. 

The DVD from Anchor Bay, Dimension, and the Weinsteins is in 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and subtitles in English and Spanish.  Extras include a very informative director and editor commentary, deleted and alternate scenes, and four alternate endings.  The film comes as a Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital combo--this review is for the DVD only. 

As I understand, the majority of reviews for APOLLO 18 have not been favorable, with words such as "boring" and "suspense-free" popping up here and there.  I found the film riveting from beginning to end--it reminds me of the kind of stuff Joseph Stefano used to write back when "The Outer Limits" was in its heyday, an uneasy mix of both "sense of wonder" and hopeless dread.

APOLLO 18 -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE STRANGERS -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 10/14/08

 

Remember that famous shot from the original HALLOWEEN in which Jamie Lee Curtis is standing in a dark doorway, and Michael's masked face slowly materializes behind her?  

THE STRANGERS (2008) wants to extend that same creepy chill for its entire running time, and in large part it succeeds.

After leaving a friend's wedding reception, James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) return to his family's secluded lakefront vacation house late at night, obviously in the midst of a wrenchingly emotional relatonship crisis.

It seems James just popped the question and Kristen responded with the old "I'm just not ready" routine, and now things between them are, to say the least, strained.

 But just as they begin to engage in what promises to be some hot, impulsive makeup sex in the livingroom...there's a knock at the door. Answering it, they find a strange young girl standing in the dark, her face obscured as she says simply: "Is Tamara home?"

This is the point where nothing in the lives of James and Kristen will ever be the same again, and THE STRANGERS begins its grueling descent into sheer terror. It's one of those horror films with a simple storyline riddled with various cliches of the genre, and the main interest comes from seeing how imaginatively the filmmakers tweak these cliches and feed them back to us.

 

A silent intruder, wearing one of those eerily bland masks, keeps entering the frame behind our main characters. Avenues of escape or contact with the outside world are cut off one by one, and cell phones suddenly become unreliable. James says "Wait here" and disappears, leaving Kristen alone. Kristen, of course, eventually falls while running and sprains her ankle.

And there's the old nailbiter that has her cowering in a closet, watching through the slats while the killer slowly searches the room and casts ominous looks in her direction. Even the old hand-grabbing-the-shoulder routine, a staple of 50s B-movies, is shamelessly revived. None of this is a problem for me, though--I like seeing new life breathed into old cliches if it's done well.

With a big-name cast and fine production values at his disposal, first-time writer-director Bryan Bertino has crafted an unusually stylish slasher flick that looks way better than most films of its kind (the cinematography is especially sumptuous during the early scenes) and he knows how to handle the scary stuff.

 Scott Speedman is a strong, sympathetic presence as James, while Liv Tyler not only handles the drama well but also proves to be an excellent screamer. The killers (there are three) are an interesting mix of the familiar and the inexplicably strange--I don't want to describe them in much detail, but the senseless, arbitrary nature of their attack is unsettling. And in addition to an ominous musical score, the sound design is highly effective from that very first hollow knock at the door.

The DVD is 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound; both are very good. In addition to two minor deleted scenes, a featurette entitled "The Elements of Terror" gives us an interesting look at the making of the film. Both the theatrical and unrated versions are included, although there's little discernible difference between the two except for an extra scene near the end which is interesting but contains no added violence. Subtitles are in English, Spanish, and French.

What THE STRANGERS does very well is to isolate its main characters in a nightmarish, hopeless situation and then make us experience every minute of fear and panic with them. There's a high level of suspense throughout, with some scenes almost unbearably tense. And it all leads to a final sequence that is both sad and depressingly inevitable. By no means the feelgood movie of the year, THE STRANGERS gleefully tapdances on whatever fears of home invasion you may have ever entertained.

THE STRANGERS -- DVD Review by Porfle

SCREAM 4 -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 9/25/11

 

I really don't remember all that much about the first three movies in the "SCREAM" franchise except that they were pretty fun and, at times, pretty scary.  Now that I've seen SCREAM 4 (2011), I think that it may be my favorite one in the entire series.  Of course, this may simply be due to the fact that it's the freshest in my mind at the moment, but it's still a whole lot of scary fun.

Wes Craven (LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, THE HILLS HAVE EYES) directs with his usual sure hand, and most of the surviving cast are back along with several key crewmembers, giving this new installment the feeling of a genuine homecoming.  Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, the series' perennial "final girl", also returns home to the town of Woodsboro to promote a book she's written about her experiences, setting off a whole new series of bloody murders by the most recent psycho (or psychos) to don the Ghostface mask.

Things start off with a bang as a pretitles scare-a-thon teases us with a string of movie-within-a-movie fakeouts (complete with the usual surprise guest stars) before ending with an actual double-murder.  This gets Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and his wife Gale Weathers-Riley (Courtney Cox) back into their old form as bumbling cop and abrasive newshound.  Sidney, meanwhile, is staying with relatives Kate Roberts (Mary McDonnell) and teenaged cousin Jill (Emma Roberts), who becomes Ghostface's new main target.
 

SCREAM creator Kevin Williamson's script deftly balances generous amounts of humor with several well-crafted suspense sequences that create sustained tension before erupting into panic, screaming, and death.  The fact that the killer could be anyone--Jill's stalkerish ex-boyfriend Trevor (Nico Tortorella), Dewey's smitten deputy Judy (a lovable Marley Shelton), or even the school's resident Cinema Club nerds Robbie and Charlie (Eric Knudsen, Rory Culkin)--keeps us guessing as sudden attack can come anytime or anywhere.  The fact that everyone in town is aware of what's going on, and practically know that they're in a horror movie, gives the whole thing a fun, edgy Halloween feeling.

The first SCREAM established the series' self-referential attitude (an influence still being felt in slasher-flick land) and this sequel continues that coy wink-wink stuff to the point of being aware of its own self-awareness.  Robbie and Charlie reintroduce "the rules" that dictate basic slasher film behavior during a Cinema Club meeting, but it turns out that they've changed with the times and are less rigid and predictable--hinting that anything can happen here as well.  Still, when Sidney's flaky press agent finds herself alone in a dark parking garage at night, and when two cops guarding Sidney's house start talking about how cops guarding houses in movies always get killed, we know exactly what's going to happen and the movie knows we know.

The two film geeks also make some funny-but-true comments about "shriekquels" and "scream-makes" while observing that "the unexpected is the new cliche'."  Horror film fans should appreciate all this while also noting the ton of references to classic genre titles throughout the movie.  Even Hayden Panettiere's petite good-girl character Kirby (one of the few who eluded my suspicion during the movie) reels off trivia about yesterday's splatter flicks like a true-blue gorehound.

Admittedly, the first half of SCREAM 4 was breezy and enjoyable but not all that noteworthy, and I found myself thinking it would be yet another case of a sequel too far.  Things begin to pick up, however, as the mystery deepens and Ghostface's attacks get more brazen and hair-raisingly suspenseful.  The final act is riveting, containing a pretty startling reveal and lots of action that kept me on the edge of my seat during both the first climax and the surprising epilogue. 

The DVD from Anchor Bay and Dimension Films is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and subtitles in English and Spanish.  Extras include a ten-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted and alternate scenes (including an alternate opening and extended ending), a gag reel, and a chummy commentary with Wes Craven, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, and (via telephone) Neve Campbell.

I thought the third film would be the last word in the series and was, in fact, stretching the premise a bit thin.  But SCREAM 4 is a solid, satisfying, entertaining new chapter, one of the best films of its kind I've seen in years.  Is it the saga's final capper, or will Craven and Williamson scream again?

SCREAM 4 -- DVD Review by Porfle

Anchor Bay and Dimension Films present "SCREAM 4" on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and DVD October 4th

ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT AND DIMENSION FILMS PRESENT THE NEWEST INSTALLMENT IN THE ACCLAIMED HORROR FRANCHISE "SCREAM 4" ON BLU-RAY™/DVD COMBO PACK AND DVD

Directed By Wes Craven And Starring David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Shenae Grimes, Lucy Hale And More, Scream 4 Heads To Retail On October 4th

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Anchor Bay Entertainment and Dimension Films announced today that the Blu-ray™/DVD Combo Pack and DVD release of the latest installment in the acclaimed horror franchise, SCREAM 4, is heading to retail on October 4, 2011.  Directed by the incomparable Wes Craven, SCREAM 4 features an ensemble cast that includes the film’s original cast plus new stars – David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Rory Culkin, Marielle Jaffe, Mary McDonnell, Marley Shelton, Nico Tortorella, Lucy Hale, Shenae Grimes, Aimee Teegarden, and Brittany Robertson.  SCREAM 4 is available for an SRP of $39.99 for the Blu-ray™/DVD Combo Pack (which includes a Blu-ray™, a DVD, and a code for the Digital eCopy) and $29.98 for the standard definition DVD.

Here’s what the critics have to say about SCREAM 4: “Pure genius.” (Richard Roeper, RichardRoeper.com)  “The Best ‘Scream’ since the original!  Funny, clever and scary as hell.” (Dan Jewel, Life & Style Weekly)  “Full of surprises!” (Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald)

Directed by suspense master and director of the first trilogy, Wes Craven, SCREAM 4 is the newest installment in the acclaimed franchise that ushered in a new wave of horror in the 1990s.  In SCREAM 4, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour.  There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courteney Cox), who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts).  Unfortunately Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghost Face, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends (Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin) and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.

The SCREAM 4 Blu-ray™/DVD Combo Pack and DVD bonus features include a “The Making of Scream 4” featurette; an Alternate Opening; an Extended Ending; Deleted and Extended Scenes; and a Gag Reel.  Note: Special features are subject to change.  

Learn more about SCREAM 4 at: www.scream-4.com. 
                                                      
SCREAM 4 BLU-RAY™/DVD COMBO PACK
(Includes Blu-ray™ + DVD + Digital eCopy)
Street date:                   October 4, 2011
Pre-book:                    September 7, 2011
Catalog #:                    BD23263
UPC:                           0 1313 23263-9 9 80
Run time:                     111 Minutes
Rating:                         Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking.
SRP:                            $39.99
Format:                        Widescreen
Audio:                          5.1 DTSHD-MA                                 

SCREAM 4 DVD
Street date:                  October 4, 2011
Pre-book:                    September 7, 2011
Catalog #:                    WC23258
UPC:                           0 1313 23258-9 7 80
Run time:                     111 Minutes
Rating:                         Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking.
SRP:                            $29.98
Format:                        Widescreen
Audio:                          5.1 Dolby Digital


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Anchor Bay and Dimension Films present "SCREAM 4" on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and DVD October 4th

HURRICANE SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

Neither an overly sappy heart-tugger nor an exercise in slick hiphop cinema, HURRICANE SEASON (2009) is just a good old-fashioned inspirational sports story about some underdogs who overcame adversity with the help of a dedicated coach. Based on a true story, the film does credit to its subject by treating it in a restrained and realistic fashion.

The always watchable Forest Whitaker plays Al Collins, a highly-respected basketball coach at John Ehret High in New Orleans. The hopes that he and his team have for a winning season are dashed by Hurricane Katrina, which ravages the school and profoundly disrupts their lives. Fighting to keep the team together, Collins recruits players from rival schools that have shut down and offers former championship-winning Coach Simmons (Isaiah Washington, "Grey's Anatomy", GHOST SHIP), now unemployed, a job as his assistant. With heated rivalries erupting within the newly-formed team, Collins must find a way to inspire them to work as a unified force with the potential to overcome the odds and go to the state finals.

Refreshingly free of the usual contrived situations and hokey interpersonal conflicts, HURRICANE SEASON explores its premise in a thoughtful manner that remains believable throughout. The devastation of the hurricane is well-conveyed without trying to turn the sequence into a mini-disaster flick, and we see its overwhelming effect on the characters in ways that we can empathize with and relate to.

The conflicts between the players are similarly realistic and non-sensationalized, with even the most troublesome members of the team given understandable motivations for their actions. Particularly effective is Robbie Jones ("One Tree Hill") as Brian, whose tendency to showboat at the expense of the team is due to the unreasonable demands placed on him by his father (Courtney B. Vance, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER). Coach Collins is also allowed to be human and sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him. His homelife with wife Dayna (Taraji P. Henson, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON) and daughter Alana (China Anne McClain) is sensitively portrayed as they pick up the pieces after the storm and forge ahead.

Director Tim Story handles the court action in a way that makes it exciting without jazzing it up with a lot of slow-motion and other cinematic tricks, and it's always convincing and down-to-earth even during the inevitable "fist in the air" moments. This carries over to the dramatic scenes as well, where he gives his actors room to emote while keeping them reined in at the same time. The script by Robert Eisele gives us characters and situations that are lacking the cartoonishness and superficiality which is so often seen in films of this kind.

As Coach Collins, Forest Whitaker does his usual excellent job, giving a low-key performance that only goes into overdrive when it's right for the character, and he gets able support from Vance and Washington. Taraji P. Henson and China Anne McClain are appealing as his wife and daughter. All of the young actors playing the Ehret High Patriots are good, including (the no longer "Li'l") Bow Wow, and Li'l Wayne is funny as a neighborhood hustler who thinks he can clean up by betting against the Patriots. Unfortunately, the awesome Bonnie Hunt is pretty much wasted as the school principle, in a role that seems to have ended up mostly on the cutting room floor.

The DVD from Vivendi and Dimension is in widescreen with English 5.1 sound and English and Spanish subtitles. Extras consist of 24 deleted scenes (over 30 minutes) which are worth watching and include some of that missing Bonnie Hunt footage. Also, hang on during the closing credits and you'll get to see a clip of the real Al Collins and his team.

I've seen "inspirational" basketball movies that were so maudlin and inept that they either made me sick to my stomach or made me hate basketball, or both. (And then there's ROCK THE PAINT, which made me hate movies.) Here, the Ehret High Patriots' struggle to make it to that fateful final game is played out in a straightforward, believable way and is all the more effective for it. HURRICANE SEASON wants us to feel good, but it doesn't rub our noses in it.

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HURRICANE SEASON -- DVD review by porfle

Chiller Hit Arrives On DVD March 3rd From The Weinstein Company And Genius Products, Under the Dimension Extreme Label

This is one text message no one wants to receive!

On a quiet lakeside, a celebratory gathering of recent graduates grows grim as each of them receives an eerie text message: "In 3 days you’re dead." The gang assumes it’s a joke at first, but no one is laughing when members of the group begin to turn up dead. As the body count rises and the slayings become more and more vicious, a mysterious clue leading to the killer’s identity is discovered...but time is running out. 72 hours and counting!
With its sequel already in production, DEAD IN 3 DAYS is "a slick, well-shot and engaging slasher" (Bloody-disgusting.com) and its "finale is genuinely thrilling" (Variety).

Synopsis:
A peaceful lake community is terrorized when a close-knit group of friends becomes the target of a mysterious deranged killer. Triggered by an ominous text message sent to each of their cell phones, one-by-one the friends are killed by the stalker.

Basics
Price: $19.97
Street Date: March 3, 2009
Rating: R

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Chiller Hit Arrives On DVD March 3rd From The Weinstein Company And Genius Products, Under the Dimension Extreme Label

"FEAST III: THE HAPPY FINISH" Chomps Its Way to DVD

THEY’RE NOT LEAVING TILL THEY GET DESSERT!

The Flesh-Hungry Creatures Are Back In The Shockingly Gruesome Feast Series Finale Debuting On DVD February 17 From The Weinstein Company And Genius Products

SANTA MONICA, CA – The gore-fest continues in the third installment of director John Gulager’s blood-curdling FEAST series when the hotly anticipatedFEAST III: THE HAPPY FINISH arrives on DVD February 17 from Genius Products and The Weinstein Company under the Dimension Extreme label. From the writers of Feast, Feast II and Saw IV and V, terror takes a frightening turn when the viscous attacks continue in the dark and deadly FEAST III: The Happy Finish.

Picking up moments after the end of FEAST II, the survivors are saved by Shot Bus Gus, a mysterious prophet who has the uncanny ability to control the beasts. Leading the survivors through the sewers into the big city, the group learns from the prophet that the beasts originated from a place called "The Hive." Armed with this new information and a renewed interest in living, the motley crew of strangers decide to fight back and destroy the beasts once and for all.

Featuring intense and disturbing performances from horror vixen Jenny Wade (No Reservations, Feast), Martin Klebba (Feast II, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End), Clu Gulager (Feast) and Craig Henningsen ("The Slammer"), the un-godly monsters continue on their path of death and destruction in the third chapter of the FEAST series, based on the original"Project Greenlight"–winning film FEAST. FEAST III: THE HAPPY FINISH DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.97.
Synopsis
The survivors fight for their lives, trying to get away from the nasty flesh-eating monsters that have taken over their town.

Special Features
A Look Back At John Gulager
Commentary By Director John Gulager, Writers Patrick Melon
Feast Trailers

Basics
Price: $19.97
Street Date: February 17, 2009
Catalog Number: 81782
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Runtime: 80 minutes
Languages: English Dolby 5.1
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Closed Captioned

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"FEAST III: THE HAPPY FINISH" Chomps Its Way to DVD

SOUL MEN -- DVD review by porfle

Some comedies just make you laugh, which is great. But others, like SOUL MEN (2008), are so delightful that they not only make you laugh, but they make you feel so good that you can hardly sit still while you're watching it.

Director Malcolm Lee has a lot to do with that, because he knows how to get the most out of both funny dialogue scenes and flat-out slapstick, along with the more emotional stuff--all of which is perfectly balanced here. Writers Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone have a lot to do with it, too, because they've put together a story with plenty of heart that'll have you feeling for the characters even as you're laughing at them. But most of all, what makes this movie tick is the perfect chemistry between its stars, Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac, who make a terrific comedy team. These guys are just downright funny together.

They play Louis and Floyd, former backup singers who are reunited for a tribute performance after the death of their one-time lead singer Marcus Hooks (John Legend). Louis is on parole for bank robbery and is living in a dump, while Floyd, after handing over a successful car-washing business to his son, has been put out to pasture in a boring retirement community. While driving cross-country from California to the Apollo Theater in New York, the erstwhile friends hone their long-dormant singing skills at various small venues along the way, while trying to work out the personal issues that drove them apart years before.

Thus, much of SOUL MEN is a rollicking road movie with plenty of funny stuff going on before Louis and Floyd make it to the Apollo. My favorite is a stopover in Amarillo, Texas, where they perform in a honky tonk with a country-western band backing them up. It's a joyous moment, with Louis going out onto the dance floor to join the audience in a line dance as the two musical sensibilities mesh. That night a Viagra-stoked Floyd ends up in a hilarious sexual encounter with Jennifer Coolidge (the "MILF" from AMERICAN PIE) in which he learns the meaning of the term "velveteen rub."

Later, they stop off at the house of Odetta, the woman who came between them all those years ago, only to find that she's passed on and that her daughter Cleo now lives there, and one of them just may be her father. Sharon Leal is very good as Cleo, but even better is Affion Crockett as her no-account boyfriend Lester, a really bad aspiring rapper who makes the mistake of getting on Louis and Floyd's bad side. Lester's the funniest character and has the best line in the whole movie. Lying in the street after the guys have thwarted his attempt to kill them by hitting him with their car, he whines: "Let me kill you one time at least, man!"

The great Isaac Hayes appears as himself in a couple of scenes. Millie Jackson does a brief cameo, and 70s porn fans will be happy to see the venerable Vanessa del Rio in an amusing bit as one of Floyd's retirement community conquests. Also adding to the funny is Adam Herschman as a nerdy record company intern who's been charged with making sure Louis and Floyd get to the show on time, which becomes increasingly difficult after they land in jail.

As you might guess, there's a lot of great soul music in this movie. Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac do their own vocals and they're not bad. The soundtrack includes songs by Booker T. and the MGs, Albert King, the Bar Kays, and Earth, Wind, and Fire, with a gorgeous new version of Isaac Hayes' "Never Can Say Goodbye" over the closing credits. Stanley Clarke performs the incidental music for the film.

The DVD is 2.35:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital sound. The commentary track by director Lee and writers Ramsey and Stone is outstanding. Extras include a trailer and several brief featurettes: "The Soul Men: Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson", "The Cast of Soul Men", "Director Malcolm D. Lee", "A Tribute to Bernie Mac", "A Tribute to Isaac Hayes", "Boogie Ain't Nuttin': Behind-The-Scenes", and "Bernie Mac at the Apollo."

The latter is a fond look at Bernie doing some impromptu standup for the extras between takes during the Apollo scenes (which were actually filmed in the Strand Theater in Shreveport, Louisiana). He loved to entertain and always gave props to the fans for his success, who in turn clearly loved the guy. The closing credits also contain a moving tribute to both Bernie and Isaac Hayes, and the film is dedicated to them. The fact that they're both gone gives a bittersweet tinge to the feelgood ending of SOUL MEN, but it's nice to know that they left on such a high note.

SOUL MEN -- DVD review by porfle

KING OF THE HILL -- DVD review by porfle

More survival-of-the-fittest backwoods suspense a la DELIVERANCE comes our way with the Spanish thriller KING OF THE HILL, aka EL RAY DE LA MONTANA (2007). Having just watched the thoroughly gripping EDEN LAKE, also on the Dimension Extreme label, I was all set for more of the same. But as this one unfolded, I just kept getting less and less.

A young guy named Quim (Leonardo Sbaraglia) is driving cross-country toward what he hopes will be a reconciliaton with his ex-girlfriend. After an impromptu sexual encounter with the pretty young Bea (María Valverde) in a gas station restroom, Quim discovers that she has stolen his wallet.

Spotting her car later on, he turns off the main road and gives chase, quickly getting hopelessly lost. When he catches up with her, they both suddenly find themselves the targets of one or more unseen snipers who seem intent on shooting them full of holes, and end up running for their lives through the woods as their hunters relentlessly pursue them.

The direction and photography are simple but effective, as is the script which is light on plot and exposition and concentrates mainly on plunging us into one suspense scene after another. The downside to this is that we really don't care much about Quim and Bea as characters. Thus, the first part of the film is fairly absorbing in a superficial way while our emotional involvement is pretty much zippo. Quim turns out to be such a self-centered whiner that it's hard to empathize with him (although to be honest, I'd probably be the same way in a similar situation). Bea fares a bit better, overcoming our initial distaste for her by displaying some bravery and actually saving Quim's sorry hide a couple of times. Still, we hardly get to know her. The actors, meanwhile, do their best with the roles.

All of this becomes moot about three-quarters of the way through, when the identity of the killers is revealed and we suddenly begin to see the rest of the story from their point of view. Who and what they are, and why they're doing what they're doing, is intended to be a mind-boggling twist, but instead it's simply another example of what lately seems to be a trend in this sort of story. At any rate, this shift in the film's POV interrupts the build-up of suspense and henceforth we simply observe the killers on the prowl. Some of this is done in first-person-shooter style, which is meant to suggest that these trigger-happy sociopaths have honed their killer instincts and shooting skills with the help of those mind-warping videogames.

KING OF THE HILL tries to get us back on the edge of our seats with a final cat-and-mouse confrontation in a deserted village, but by this time it's pretty much a slow fizzle. The killers are no longer mysterious, the protagonist is no longer someone I'm really all that concerned about, and what is meant to be a morally complex, emotionally-charged "meaningful" climax simply left me thinking, "Is that it?" The way in which the final moments are shot and performed, it's clear that director Gonzalo López-Gallego means to leave us stunned with emotion. Instead, I was disappointed and unmoved.

Presented in matted widescreen format with Dolby Digital sound, the DVD features both the original Spanish soundtrack and a dubbed English version, with Spanish and English subtitles. There are no extras.

Dimension Extreme has been putting out some pretty entertaining stuff lately, but for me, KING OF THE HILL is a letdown. It isn't even "extreme", since most of the violence consists of some squib hits and, in one scene, a rather nasty broken leg. It's pretty tame in all other respects, too, and with the exception of some tense moments and one somewhat memorable death scene, it fails to deliver anything more gripping or meaningful than your average TV-movie. To be fair, however, I must add that several reviewers have practically swooned over this film--in fact, I seem to be one of the few who didn't. So either I just didn't get it, or it just didn't get me.

KING OF THE HILL -- DVD review by porfle

"EDEN LAKE" -- Chilling And Brutal Horror Dives In Onto DVD 1/6/09

THEY WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL. INSTEAD THEY FOUND…EDEN LAKE.

Two adults are plunged into a nightmare where children have the upper hand when the provocative and suspenseful thriller EDEN LAKE debuts on DVD January 6 from Genius Products and The Weinstein Company’s Dimension Extreme label. Starring Kelly Reilly (Mrs. Henderson Presents) and Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Bastards), EDEN LAKE is an unsettling thrill-ride and directorial debut from James Watkins (producer of the upcoming The Descent: Part 2).
Schoolteacher Jenny and her boyfriend Steve escape for a romantic weekend in a water-filled quarry surrounded by woods and hidden in the English countryside. Their peaceful stay is cut short by a gang of obnoxious teenagers, which leads to a confrontation and a shockingly violent attack. The EDEN LAKE DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.97.

"EDEN LAKE" -- Chilling And Brutal Horror Dives In Onto DVD 1/6/09

"PULSE 3" -- Technological Terror Returns To Wreak Havoc On DVD December 23rd

SOME FREQUENCIES WERE MEANT TO REMAIN UNFOUND

From The Weinstein Company And Genius Products Under The Dimension Extreme Label

SANTA MONICA, CA – In a world now void of the deadly electronics that once nearly destroyed it, the horrifying nightmare is about to begin again as PULSE 3 signals its way onto DVD December 23rd under the Dimension Extreme label from Genius Products and The Weinstein Company. From director Joel Soisson (Pulse 2), the pulsating supernatural fright-fest stars Rider Strong (Cabin Fever) and Brittany Finamore (Silent Night, Deadly Night) as Justine.

A sequel to the fan favorite film Pulse, PULSE 3 takes place seven years after the phantom invasion, and the survivors on Earth have settled into a primitive lifestyle completely void of technology. That is, until sixteen year-old Justine is lured into the city where her curiosity gets the best of her as she unwillingly unleashes the deadliest digital invasion yet. ThePULSE 3 DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.97.

Synopsis
In a desperate and grave world, Justine is a sixteen year-old girl rebelling against the drab, post-apocalyptic world left behind. When she finds a working laptop, she curiously turns on the forbidden machine and unleashes a deadly nightmare.

Bonus Materials:
Pulse 3 Behind-The-Scenes Featurette
Commentary By Writer/Director Joel Soisson, Producer Mike Leahy, Ac tress Brittany Finamore and Editor Kirk Morri

Basics:
Price: $19.97
Street Date: December 23, 2008
Catalog Number: 81701
Rating: R
Language: English Dolby 5.1
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Closed Captioned

"PULSE 3" -- Technological Terror Returns To Wreak Havoc On DVD December 23rd