Glinda the Good Witch warns Dorothy to never remove her magic ruby slippers.
But in the scene with the talking apple trees, there's a brief moment in which Dorothy is wearing...her regular black shoes.
Don't let the Wicked Witch catch you without those ruby slippers, Dorothy!
I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!
(Originally posted in 2013)
When I was a kid, the annual airing of the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz" on network primetime TV was almost as highly-anticipated a yearly tradition as Halloween or even Christmas. Kids such as myself would scramble to get all their worldly affairs in order and move heaven and earth to make sure they were securely situated in front of a TV set, with no distractions, when that MGM lion roared and Oscar-winning composer Herb Stothart's familiar fanfare blared forth in all its glory.
Of course, we had to watch it right then and there because that was our only chance, and we knew it wouldn't come around for another year. Now, however, you ungrateful young whippersnappers have the luxury of popping in Warner Brothers' snazzy new Blu-Ray 3D/ Blu-Ray/ Digital HD combo set THE WIZARD OF OZ 3D: 75TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION. It even has a pulse-poundin' 3D cover pic and everything!
Reappearing from the earlier 70th Anniversary Edition is a commentary track hosted by Sydney Pollack and featuring Oz historian John Fricke along with archival cast and crew comments, an animated storybook condensation of Baum's original book narrated by Angela Lansbury, a brief biographical sketch of each of the leads (Toto, too!) entitled "We Haven't Really Met Properly", a music and effects track, and a sing-along song menu.
Like "Star Wars", the later watershed film classic that it partially inspired, THE WIZARD OF OZ remains a marvel of thrilling special-effects wizardry and all-around cinematic creativity that no amount of CGI could ever surpass. More importantly, though, it's one of the most engaging, heartfelt, and purely sentimental adventures to ever grace the silver screen. With a simple beauty that still evokes tears of joy in its fans, this beloved classic demonstrates that not only is there "no place like home", but that in each of us lies wisdom, compassion, and courage if we but look for it.
Originally posted on 4/8/12
Fans of L. Frank Baum's celebrated Oz series never know what they're going to get in the way of screen adaptations. They're either bright and whimsical with some deliciously dark touches (like the 1939 classic THE WIZARD OF OZ) or they play up the more bizarre and nightmarish aspects of the books (as in RETURN TO OZ). Or, in the case of THE WITCHES OF OZ (2011), you get a confusing mish-mash of both styles along with various other fantasy and comic book elements.
This rambling saga (originally televised in two parts) starts out with a LORD OF THE RINGS-style prologue which gives the impression that we're in for a more solemn, Hobbity type of myth-fantasy than the chintzy, cartoonish fairytale that follows. I think that may be what writer-director Leigh Scott was partially aiming for here, but aside from the scenes with Lance Henriksen as Uncle Henry and Jeffrey Combs as L. Frank Baum--two actors not known for their lighthearted frivolity--it's just too goofy to take that seriously.
Paulie Rojas' Dorothy is like an even more girly and saccharine version of Marlo Thomas' "That Girl" with traces of Didi Conn and Pee Wee Herman. Wide-eyed and wincingly naive, Dorothy moves from Kansas to New York at the request of gorgeous literary agent Billie Westbrook (Eliza Swenson, who also co-produced and, bless her heart, composed the music) in order to publish her "Oz" stories which were begun by her grandfather "Frank." But Billie turns out to be the Wicked Witch of the West, and Dorothy's Oz fantasies are really repressed memories of actual experiences that the witch wants to mine for information about a certain key to open a certain very powerful book of spells.
Much of the New York stuff is an awkward attempt to mix kid-friendly fantasy with real-world decadence, with references to "ass-kissing" and "sexing it up a little", terms such as "S.O.B.", and Dorothy being both leered at by a cabbie while changing clothes in the backseat and practically raped by a mugger. At times, the effect of this clash of sensibilities is not unlike sipping on a bourbon and Kool-Aid cocktail.
During the first hour or so, Dorothy orients herself to big-city life and acquires a love interest--LOTR's Billy Boyd as funny-Scottish flake "Nick Chopper"--while Billie and her cohorts scheme to get the key from her. With her flowing black hair, knockout bod, and what could only be described as a serious "legs" thing, Eliza Swenson owns the role and gives us an idea of what the '39 film might have been like if they'd gone ahead and cast Gale Sondergaard as the Witch instead of Margaret Hamilton (although Hamilton's likeness and acting style are closely imitated whenever Billie witches out). The now-MILFy Mia Sara of FERRIS BUELLER fame is a hoot as Billie's wickedly cute but not-too-smart toady Princess Langwidere, who collects heads to wear the way other women collect shoes.
The story is at its best when it maintains a consistent tone for awhile, such as in the extended Kansas sequence that comes about halfway. Here, we learn some interesting surprises about Dorothy's past as the film quits being tinny and insipid for awhile and comes closest to having an actual heart. There's a recreation of Dorothy's journey to Oz inside the cyclone which, aside from proving that the '39 film's effects are still better than crappy CGI, finally lets us see the Wicked Witch of the East get crushed by that house while she and a Valkyrie-like Glinda the Good Witch (Noel Thurman) are trading magical destructo beams like a couple of Marvel superheroines.
A lot happens during the chaotic final hour when the Wicked Witch unleashes her evil minions, including some Flying Gorillas and, oddly, Lewis Carroll's Jabberwock, in an all-out war on New York City. Some of it marginally cool, with the rest of the familiar Oz characters such as Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man losing their human fascades and regaining their true personas in order to engage the forces of evil in battle.
Much of it, however, is just frenetic, confusing, and, finally, long-winded--especially when Dorothy attempts to "Oprah Winfrey" the Wicked Witch into turning away from the dark side. Some of the more slapdash battle footage look
s like outtakes from a bad superhero flick like Shaqille O'Neal's STEEL, with the Tin Man resembling a cross between a robot and the original Iron Man. There's even some mild gore as one of Princess Langwidere's interchangable heads explodes and another gets run over by a truck, and one mano-a-mano encounter ends, strangely enough, with a beheading that recalls the knife-to-the-chest scene in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN!
Christopher Lloyd plays the Wizard like he's doing dinner theater for an easy-to-please audience, while Lance Henriksen's Uncle Henry comes across like an anvil on a trampoline. Top honors go to Swenson and Sara for their wickedly winsome witches, along with Sasha Jackson as one of Princess Langwidere's alter egos. Sean Astin and Ethan Embry earn a few laughs as the diminutive Muckadoos, ordered by Langwidere to bedevil Dorothy but more interested in raiding her refrigerator. Billy Boyd is at his "I'm Scottish!" cutest here--whether or not that's a good thing is up to you.
The DVD from Image Entertainment is in 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and subtitles in English and Spanish. Extras consist of a trailer and a trailer-length "behind the scenes" featurette.
While somewhat fun to watch if you can manage to settle into its goofball vibe, THE WITCHES OF OZ is "magical" in a curdled, insincere sort of way that makes it too distasteful for kids and too sickly-sweet for adults. Oz fans who have to watch everything Oz-related will probably have to watch this, but there's a snowball's chance in Hell of it making a dent in their undying affection for a certain Judy Garland vehicle.
Originally posted on 5/31/18
THE STEAM ENGINES OF OZ (Cinedigm, 2018) is one of those dystopian Oz tales in which L. Frank Baum's wonderful fairytale land has gone to pot and needs someone to restore the magic.
And much like writer-director Sean Patrick O'Reilly's HOWARD LOVECRAFT AND THE FROZEN KINGDOM, it's also one of those modestly-rendered digital cartoons that will probably look decidedly low-tech to someone who's more used to lush, polished Disney and Pixar product. (Although, ironically, it would've looked amazingly cutting-edge back in the "dawn of CGI" days of the 80s.)
As such, the character/background design and execution are of uneven quality throughout, with the underground and city sequences looking the best and the forest/battle scenes often having a somewhat unfinished look. Not surprisingly, the film's steampunk angle is one of its most appealing elements.
Originally posted on 12/18/11
THE H.P. LOVECRAFT COLLECTION, VOLUME 4: PICKMAN'S MODEL, conceived and produced by Andrew Migliore for Lurker Films, is part of their continuing effort to bring us the best of the short films based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The previous volumes were entitled "Cool Air", "Rough Magik", and "Out of Mind." Here, Lovecraft's chilling tale "Pickman's Model" is presented in three different interpretations, supplemented by two other short films. Collectively, they add up to a couple of hours of solid entertainment for the Gothic horror fan.
I was unwilling to start another Lovecraft film review with the disclaimer "I've never read any of his stories, but...", so I found a website containing his complete works and gave "Pickman's Model" a read. It's the eerie story of Richard Upton Pickman, a deranged artist whose paintings depict scenes of carnage and depravity so realistic and repellent that he is shunned by the "tea table" art crowd. All except for a man named Thurber, who is morbidly fascinated by Pickman's work and wants to see more. Pickman obliges him by inviting Thurber to the dark, haunted cellar where he does his most gruesome work and showing him exactly from whence springs his malevolent inspiration. Which, as you might guess, turns out to be a rather unsettling experience for the unsuspecting art lover.
It's a very short story told in flashback by Thurber to his friend Eliot after the fact, and any filmization must be augmented by extra dialogue and events. At 43 minutes, the 2000 TV-film "Chilean Gothic", directed by Roberto Harrington from an adaptation by Gilberto Villarroel, is the longest and most altered version on this disc.
Here, the "Thurber" character is a journalist named Gabriel (Rodrigo Sepúlveda) who is investigating the violent death of his friend Anibal, whose last known whereabouts were in the company of the renegade artist Pickman. He interviews Pickman's only friend, an eccentric old professor named Mattotti, and the slovenly caretaker of a crumbling apartment house where Pickman once lived. Both meet a violent end on the same night that Gabriel is lurking through the hidden tunnels beneath the apartment house, where he finds human remains.
Tracking Pickman down to a remote island, he finds him inhabiting a large, shadowy mansion surrounded by paintings and sketches of unimaginable, otherworldly horror. Here, Pickman is played by Renzo Oviedo as a frizzy-haired wild man--the other versions will each interpret him quite differently. Gabriel's confrontation with Pickman leads to an event which is common to each of these films, which is the emergence of some terrifying, unnameable beast from a brick well within the cellar of Pickman's house. This leads to a final revelation for Gabriel which is unique to "Chilean Gothic" and not found in any other version. It comes as a pretty satisfying shock ending.
Sepúlveda and Oviedo are intense in the lead roles and the film unfolds as a scintillating mystery that is well told, with an atmosphere of dread that lets us know things aren't going to end on a happy note. Aside from some shock cuts of Aribal's ravaged body, most of the horror is left to the viewer's imagination, including Pickman's paintings themselves. As Thurber tells his friend Eliot in the short story: "There's no use in my trying to tell you what they were like, because the awful, the blasphemous horror, and the unbelievable loathsomeness and moral foetor came from simple touches quite beyond the power of words to classify." Director Harrington reveals only oblique glimpses of the paintings to give us an idea of their content, with one notable exception: a full-on view of Francisco Goya's horrific "Saturn Devouring His Children", which will also pop up in the Italian version next on the disc.
Producer-director Giovanni Furore's "Pickman's Model" (2003) begins with a young woman answering an ad for a painter's model and ending up as an entree for the creature in Pickman's cellar. Then we veer a bit closer to actual Lovecraft territory as a distraught Howard (Vittorio de Stefano) stumbles into the home of his friend Russel (Alessandro di Lorenzo) one night with a cloth-covered painting and a strange story. The painting is a Pickman original, which piques the interest of art-lover Russel, and the story is similar to Lovecraft's, with Howard and Russel standing in for Thurber and Eliot.
This time, the Pickman that Howard meets at an art exhibition is portrayed by Lorenzo Mori as a twisted, spidery hunchback with a really evil leer. He leads Howard through some creepy old Italian backalleys to a dark, spooky house with stone passageways dripping with water and a cellar with the usual brick well. As before, the content of Pickman's paintings is only hinted at, but this time we get a disturbing impression of them via subliminal flashes of some truly demented photographs--you'll want to go back and do some frame-advancing to get the full effect. At one point, the wooden lid to the well starts to rattle violently, and Pickman grabs a gun and locks Howard out of the room, saying something about "rats." Well, once we hear the blood-chilling racket going on in there, we know it ain't rats--the sound effects alone are enough to give you a large case of the willies.
The rich cinematography here is nice after the grainy visuals of the Chilean effort, and Lorenzo Mori's scuttling, sinister Pickman is delightfully loathesome. The story builds nicely to an ending that explicity follows the one in the short story, right down to a shot of the cellar creature itself. It's still a bit less than our imaginations are capable of conjuring up, but the set-up and pay-off for the twist ending are well-handled.
Next comes my favorite of the bunch, Texas director Cathy Welch's 1981 college thesis film "Pickman's Model." The low-budget black and white photography makes it look like something out of the 60s--in fact, the dark, moody atmosphere and nightmarish locations give it the same oppressive aura that hung so heavily over Francis Ford Coppola's DEMENTIA 13 and Herk Harvey's CARNIVAL OF SOULS. This time we finally get an actual Thurber, although his friends call him "Bill" (Mac Williams), and he's relating his strange story to his gal-pal Ellen (Nancy Griffith), which is pretty close to "Eliot."
Bill and Ellen are members of an art club that consists mainly of straight-laced conservatives with little appreciation for the ghastly canvases of the eccentric Pickman (the director's brother, Marc Mahan). As Bill enthusiastically tells Ellen, "Pickman dredges up our darkest fantasies...the ancient terrors in our collective subconscious," while she cautions him, "There's a trick to being fascinated with the perverse without becoming perverse yourself."
Marc Mahan portrays Pickman as a man with a deceptively bland yet somehow ominous appearance which masks the keenly decadent and ultimately dangerous intellect within. When he is expelled from the art club, Bill goes with him, intent on finishing his manuscript about Great Painters He Has Known with a special section on Pickman. He gets invited to the man's house for a look at some of his latest works, and after proving his worthiness, is then taken to Pickman's super-secret studio where he does his really undiluted and downright freaky stuff.
Deep in the heart of old Boston, a richly-historical setting haunted by the ghosts of the past and resonating with leftover evil from the days of the Salem witch trials, Pickman's crumbling old mansion is a nightmare-inducing spook house. The well in the cellar, which in the other versions of the story is simply a generic doorway to Hell, is here directly related to the Salem witchcraft days in that it is a doorway to the underground passageways that were said to allow the witches and other creatures of the night to secretly commune with one another, and which may still contain something best left alone. Pickman himself is part of that lineage--as he tells Bill, his four-time great-grandmother was hanged as a witch under the stern gaze of none other than Cotton Mather.
Bill becomes increasingly disturbed by Pickman's paintings as we finally get to see some of them as described in Lovecraft's short story. The renderings are crude but interesting, especially a portrait of a Puritan family in quiet prayer. They're all bent in solemn communion with God except for the little boy, who is leering at the viewer with anything but pure thoughts. Other paintings show victims being attacked and devoured by strange canine-human hybrids in graveyards and subways. One of them, which depicts one of these beasts killing a boy, is brought startlingly to life in a shocking makeup-effects shot that is cheap but effective. But most disturbing to Bill is the fact that Pickman's paintings are starting to dredge up primal fears within him that seem to be connected to past experiences that his memory has suppressed.
The sequence in which the unknown creature begins to emerge from the well is handled better here than in any of the other versions. Bill is locked out and must listen to the blood-curdling noises behind the door until finally Pickman emerges. There's something different about him now--he's hairier, his hands and face are twisted, and his teeth are sharper--in other words, he's beginning to resemble one of those creatures in his paintings. At that point, Bill suddenly remembers something he had to do somewhere else, and gets his hindquarters out of there.
Lovecraft's story ends with the main character revealing that he swiped a photograph that was pinned to one of Pickman's canvases and stuffed it in his pocket. Pickman always took photographs from which to better render the background details for his paintings--or so he said. In the short story, as in this and the Italian film version, a final revelation concerning Pickman's photographs supplies the twist ending. But here, there's an added sequence that pushes Cathy Welch's interpretation of the story even further into horror film territory and gives it a chilling ending that's right out of your worst nightmares. Which is just one of the reasons I consider this film to be the highlight of the collection.
The six-minute short that follows is a distinct change of pace. Based on a single sentence from an unfinished story by Lovecraft, Holland's "Between The Stars" (1998) features Jos Urbanis as Minnekens, an increasingly self-absorbed office drone whose only pleasure in life is to lie on his back with his head sticking out the window and gaze up the airshaft between the surrounding apartment buildings at a single square of star-bedecked night sky. Another beautifully-shot black and white entry, Djie Han Thung's film is reminiscent of David Lynch's ERASERHEAD in style and content. We really get into this guy's head as he wanders totally detached through his daily life, preoccupied with the facial pores of a chattering coworker or the miniscule white specks in the printed letters of a book. A strangely upbeat ending ties this odd entry off rather neatly.
Finally, we get some primitive, old-school computer animation in the form of Geoffrey D. Clark's adaptation of Lovecraft's "In The Vault", the story of a vile cemetery caretaker named George Birch. This drunken old sot isn't above tossing the dear departed into mismarked graves, robbing them of their valuables, or burying two of them together to save the effort of digging separate holes. When a long freeze makes gravedigging impossible, the bodies are stored together in a vault until the spring thaw. As fate would have it, George gets locked into this vault one night and must figure out a way to escape. But before he does, the meanness and cruelty he has shown to his vault-mates in both life and death comes back to haunt him in a big way.
Clark's rendition of the story is short and simple--more of a childlike fairytale than a horror story--and it comes and goes leaving little lasting impression. So I read the original story to see if there was more to it than that, and sure enough, it's a dark and disturbing tale of terror that could've yielded a much better adaptation than this. As it is, Clark's "In The Vault" is a pleasant diversion, sort of like the cartoon that theaters used to play along with the feature, but it had the potential of being memorably frightening if only the source material had been better utilized.
I'm glad I watched THE H.P. LOVECRAFT COLLECTION, VOLUME 4: PICKMAN'S MODEL, because not only did it prompt me to finally start reading Lovecraft after all these years, but it also provided me with a highly-enjoyable evening's worth of really good Gothic horror. Seeing how a single short story can yield such a mix of wildly-different styles and interpretations makes it consistently interesting. And it's a great example of how mood and atmosphere can be just as effective, and sometimes more so, than a bunch of shock cuts and gore effects.
Originally posted on 6/10/11
The best way I can describe director Dominic Sena's SEASON OF THE WITCH (2011) is that it's too bad to be really good, but too good to be really bad. It's the kind of movie I'd be tempted to give up on after about ten minutes if it weren't so much fun to watch.
Nicolas Cage, an actor I really like even though people seem to enjoy not liking him these days, is pretty much miscast as a badass Christian soldier during the Crusades. But this is probably a good thing, because it wouldn't be quite as much fun watching a more appropriate actor in the part. The closeup of him snapping into battle mode with that silly-looking helmet bobbling on his head is a priceless moment.
After a good old-fashioned witch-hangin' backfires on an unlucky priest, we switch to Cage as Behman and Ron Perlman as his rowdy sidekick Felson, kicking ass during an elaborate montage of battles a la Kurt Russell at the beginning of SOLDIER. One passage resembles a 14th-century beer commercial as Felson, in the midst of carnage, bellows "I'm building up a powerful thirst, my friend!" and the next scene shows them in a pub wallowing in beer and babes.
This expensive-looking CGI kill-a-thon, done in the style of 300 and LORD OF THE RINGS, ends with Behman and Felson deserting after the slaughter of some women and children sours them on battle. They return to England, engaging in some of this film's really bad dialogue along the way:
"We've been walking all day and haven't found a soul."
"Keep your souls. Let me find a chicken."
--only to find the Black Plague in full swing. Captured as deserters, Behman and Felson are offered freedom by a dying cardinal (Christopher Lee, unrecognizable under some heavy disfigurement makeup) if they'll transport a suspected witch to a distant monastery. There, the monks are said to possess a book which can remove her powers and, hopefully, end the plague.
Joining them on the trip are steadfast priest Debelzaq (Stephen Campbell Moore), brave knight Eckhart (Ulrich Thomsen), Hagamar, a comical con man paroled from the stocks to serve as their guide (Stephen Graham), and Kay (Robert Sheehan), an altar boy who wants to be a knight. Their long, arduous journey is the best and least goofy section of the film, with some interesting dramatic moments arising from the question of whether or not the young woman in the cage is really a witch. Indications are positive as Claire Foy deftly alternates between winsome innocence and witchlike malevolence.
The obligatory "crossing of the rickety rope-bridge over a vast gorge" scene is well-done with some really good SPFX. Later, when a pack of ferocious wolves attack, we get our first taste of bad CGI as they magically morph into even fiercer beasts. But it's when our heroes finally reach the mountaintop monastery and confront the greatest supernatural evil of all that SEASON OF THE WITCH begins to resemble an upscale SyFy Original Movie. Even a rousing battle against a horde of wall-crawling zombie monks can't rescue the film's finale from the cringeworthy CGI used to render its main villain.
Too bad that a fairly entertaining movie with such good production values should go so far off the rails at the end simply because of some hokey, cartoony CGI creature. Especially since the ending as originally filmed (which is contained in the extras menu) was so much more effective before someone had the bright idea of digitally mucking it up.
The DVD from 20th-Century Fox Home Entertainment is in 1.78:1 widescreen with English 5.1 and French 2.0 Dolby Digital sound. Subtitles are in English, French, and Spanish. Extras include deleted scenes, two featurettes, the alternate ending (in which the zombie monks have a more EVIL DEAD quality that I like), and the film's trailer.
Despite the many good moments contained in SEASON OF THE WITCH, some of its dialogue and situations will no doubt provoke a lot of viewers to go into full-out MST3K mode. But as far as I'm concerned, any 14-century action-horror flick with Nick Cage and Ron Perlman as manly knights slashing their way through a succession of witches, zombies, and Godless infidels can't be all bad.
Elizabeth Montgomery is best known for her role as Samantha the suburban witch in the long-running 60s-era television series "Bewitched."
Her then-husband William Asher, who produced and directed many of that show's episodes, also directed most of the original "beach party" movies...
...hence Elizabeth Montgomery's amusing cameo in "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965.)
Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!
Italian horror director Luigi Cozzi wanted to create a tribute to Dario Argento, and in particular Argento's then-unfinished "Three Mothers" trilogy which thus far consisted of SUSPIRIA and INFERNO, when he made the mind-blowing gorefest THE BLACK CAT (Severin Films, 1989).
The fact that the film has nothing to do with either Edgar Allan Poe or black cats (save for the occasional close-up of one) is a good indication of the degree to which Cozzi threw away any semblance of logic or coherence when he re-wrote Argento collaborator Daria Nicolodi's original script to turn it into one of the most feverish, baffling horror films of the 1980s.
The story focuses on actress Anne Ravenna (Florence Guérin) and her director husband Marc (Urbano Barberini), who, along with his co-writer Dan, has envisioned a grand supernatural horror epic based on a medieval witch named Levana (Argento's "Third Mother"), to be played by Anne.
With that basic premise established, Cozzi uses the idea of nightmares within nightmares to keep us guessing whether or not what we're seeing is real.
We see Anne being terrified by nocturnal assaults from the hideous, pus-oozing Levana, and there are numerous alarming instances concerning Anne's baby, his nanny Sara (Luisa Maneri), and various mysterious characters who appear and disappear inside the house (including a seemingly benign spirit named Sybil) but who may or may not be figments of Anne's imagination.
This dreamlike uncertainty gives Cozzi free reign to make the story as wild and unpredictable as he pleases (Cozzi himself has said that this project was his chance to do just the kind of movie he wanted) without worrying about it making any sense or following any restrictive rules of storytelling.
Indeed, we eventually reach a point where trying in vain to follow the plot is forgetten in favor of simply allowing the film's horror, gore, audacious plot twists, and incomprehensible imagery to wash over us in a cheesy, day-glo rush.
All of this is directed in sort of a poor-man's Argento style--the lighting in particular is immediately reminiscent of such films as SUSPIRIA--with elements of the maestro's films included here and there along with a blaring, cringey bad-80s rock score.
Horror goddess Caroline Munro (Cozzi's STARCRASH, MANIAC, CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER) is on hand to give her fans an eyefull as Dan's seductive wife Nora, who may or may not be having an affair with Marc and who may or may not be in league with Levana, who may or may not exist.
The Blu-ray from Severin Films has been transfered in 2K from pristine vault elements for the first time ever. Audio is English mono. Bonus features consist of an interview with Luigi Cozzi and Caroline Munro ("Cat On The Brain") and the film's trailer. The film was originally released in Italy as "Demons 6."
As giddily unhinged as Cozzi's PAGANINI HORROR but with even more freaky, nightmarish imagery (such as evil embryos floating in space via willfully bad SPFX and Levana at her most hideous puking her guts out all over a screaming Anne), THE BLACK CAT flaunts its vintage-cheese production values and revels in being just about the nuttiest Argento tribute (with some Fulci thrown into the mix) that you could ever expect to subject your senses to.
Buy it at Severin Films
Epic Pictures Presents
"THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW"
Screening in Limited Theaters Friday, October 2, 2020
Available on VOD + Digital Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Against the autumnal palette of harvest season in 1973, THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW explores the disturbed bond between Audrey, an enigmatic young woman, and Agatha, her domineering ‘mother’, who live secretly as occultists on the outskirts of a remote Protestant village.
As the community is besieged by a pestilence of unknown origin: children, fields, and livestock begin to die — yet the Earnshaw farm remains strangely unaffected. As mass hysteria sets in the village, the townsfolk commence accusations against Audrey and Agatha of witchcraft.
Capturing a perfect mixture of religious paranoia and folklore horror, Thomas Robert Lee’s THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW is a haunting and unflinching tale of vengeance.
THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW celebrated its world premiere at Fantasia Fest 2020, coming out with raving reviews. The film will be releasing in limited theaters on Friday, October 2, 2020 and will be available on major VOD/Digital platforms beginning Tuesday, October 6, 2020.
"I wanted to tell a story about legacy, and to specifically explore it within the context of a folk horror narrative,” says writer/director Thomas Robert Lee. “The community grows increasingly desperate as their given circumstances grow dire. In reality, the pandemic appears to have amplified hatred and xenophobia, or at least the voices of those spewing hate speech. Obviously there is a world of difference between my screenplay and the very real ramifications of the pandemic, but the similarities, however surface-level they may be, have certainly been on my mind these past months.”
THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW is written and directed by Thomas Robert Lee. Produced by Gianna Isabella and executive produced by Lee, Marie-Claude Poulin, James Mahoney, Bill Marks, Divya Shahani, George Mihalka, Susan Curran, Patrick Ewald, and Shaked Berenson. Cinematography by Nick Thomas. Edited by Ben Lee Allen. Music by Thilo Schaller and Bryan Buss. A Gate 67 Films Production.
Starring: Catherine Walker, Jared Abrahamson, Hannah Emily Anderson, Geraldine O’Rawe, Don McKellar, Sean McGinley, and introducing Jessica Reynolds as Audrey Earnshaw
RT: 94min | Not Yet Rated
Genre: Horror | Canada
Facebook: facebook.com/TheCurseOfAudreyEarnshaw
Twitter: twitter.com/Audrey_Earnshaw
Instagram: instagram.com/TheCurseOfAudreyEarnshaw
THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW will be available on VOD/Digital
Tuesday, October 6, 2020:
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About Epic Pictures
Since the foundation of the company in 2007, CEO Patrick Ewald has grown Epic Pictures into an independent content studio with the mission of delivering the best-in-class genre entertainment “for fans, by fans.” Epic Pictures produces, finances, and distributes approximately twenty-thirty independent genre films a year. In 2013, the company established Epic Pictures Releasing which is its US focused distribution division. In 2017, Epic Pictures acquired the world’s most popular horror website, Dread Central, and launched its unique horror label, Dread, followed by its AVOD channel, DreadTV. In 2019, Epic Pictures started the horror gaming site, DreadXP, with a focus on editorial, reviews, podcasts, and original streaming content. In 2020, DreadXP began a video game publishing division with the launch of The Dread X Collection, an anthology of horror games in collaboration with some of the most innovative developers in the independent gaming space. https://epic-pictures.com/
