If Movies Rick-Rolled Their Audiences (video)

 

 

Sure, it happens online.

But what if it happened while you were watching a movie for the first time and it was just getting to the good part? 

Talk about a "popcorn-dropping moment."  

Video by Porfle Popnecker. I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

If Movies Rick-Rolled Their Audiences (video)

JASON OF STAR COMMAND: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

 (Originally posted on 11/17/09)

 

There's nothing like a show that's both stupid and cool at the same time to bring out the kid in me. That's the feeling I get watching this boxed set of the entire run of JASON OF STAR COMMAND, a live-action sci-fi series from Filmation that ran for two seasons on Saturday mornings starting in 1978. By that time, I had taken to sleeping in on Saturday mornings instead of jumping out of bed to watch TV. But now, through the magic of DVD, I can catch up on what I missed out on the first time around. 

Originally just one segment of a 90-minute show called "Tarzan and the Super 7", JASON began as a throwback to the old cliffhanger serials like "Flash Gordon" that used to get the kids flocking back to the theater week after week (with hefty doses of STAR WARS, "Star Trek", "Battlestar Galactica", and "Lost In Space" thrown into the mix as well). And like these old serialized adventures, each eleven-minute chapter has a sensational title such as "Attack of the Dragonship" or "Marooned in Time" and is open-ended, with Jason and his good-guy companions facing certain death at the hands of the evil Dragos (who has dubbed himself "Master of the Cosmos") to keep kids in the late 70s eagerly tuning in from one Saturday morning to the next. 

A spin-off of an earlier Filmation production called "Star Academy", and using many of the same sets, models, and costumes, this series centers around the adventures of a secret branch of the Star Academy, located on a city-sized spaceship built on an asteroid, whose job is to protect the galaxy from evildoers like Dragos. Their number-one guy is the brave, adventurous Jason (Craig Littler, who is currently the Gorton's fisherman), described as a "soldier of fortune" even though he isn't one (if he ever made any profit from any of these exploits, they must've been paying him under the table). He's really Han Solo Lite, right down to an almost identical set of threads and insoucient (though properly sanitized) attitude, and since Han is a soldier of fortune then, by golly, I guess Jason is, too. But he's also a true-blue, straight-arrow good guy type who feels right at home spouting lines like: "You overestimate yourself, Dragos. Never, on all the planets of the galaxy, has evil won out over decency and honesty--and freedom." Tell 'im, Jason! 

 The female lead in season one is the button-cute Susan O'Hanlon (PRIVATE PARTS, "All My Children") as Captain Nicole Davidoff, Star Command's leading computer expert. She was replaced in season two by Tamara Dobson (CLEOPATRA JONES) as a super-strong alien named Samantha. Charlie Dell (FIGHT CLUB) plays the brilliant but eccentric science officer, Professor E.J. Parsafoot, who shares comedy-relief duties with a couple of cute droids (of course) named Wiki and Peepo. Season one's "Commander Canarvin" is none other than the redoubtable James "Scotty" Doohan, who then left to do STAR TREK:THE MOTION PICTURE and was replaced in season two by well-known Western actor John Russell (PALE RIDER, THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES) as the stern, blue-skinned Commander Stone. And along the way we see such familiar faces as Julie Newmar, Angelo Rossito, Francine York, and Rosanne Katon in guest roles.  

Dragos, the most rotten guy in the universe and sworn enemy of all that is decent, is portrayed by Sid Haig, best known these days as "Captain Spaulding" from Rob Zombie's HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS. He wears a red and black outfit with black platform boots and a cape, and a silver headpiece that makes him look like he just placed dead last in a Borg costume contest. Haig is the Darth Vader of the series, revelling in his various dastardly schemes with eye-rolling delight and frequently letting loose with his trademark maniacal laugh ("MWAAAH- ha-ha-ha-ha-HAAAAAA!!!") 

Dragos has the ugliest spaceship in screen history, the dreaded Dragonship, which resembles a mechanical bulldog with a papier-mache' dragon head stuck on it, and his enslaved minions look like a bunch of diseased Wookies with really bad hair. Most of his schemes are along the lines of trying to disable Star Command's defense shields and sending it plunging into a sun or something. MWAAAH- ha-ha-ha-ha-HAAAAAA!!! 

The production values would be laughably bad by theatrical standards, but for a Saturday morning kids' series from the 70s they're impressive--cool, even. Much of it consists of STAR WARS-style visual effects done on the cheap, by some of the same technicians, with ingenuity compensating for lack of budget. The model work is good for the most part, and some of the planet sets rival those that Captain Kirk used to wander around in, as do the Star Command interiors. John Beuchler, who went on to make quite a name for himself as a creature-maker as well as a director, populated the series with a multitude of hastily-made but impressive monsters and aliens. 

My favorite aspect of the show, however, is the use of stop-motion animated monsters. I love this stuff, from the Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen classics right down to the jerky dinosaurs from BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN or TV's "Land of the Lost", and JASON features four or five stop-motion animated creatures with a lot of personality. Which, for me, raises the show's appeal to an even higher level. 

With the second season, the show was plucked from the "Tarzan and the Super 7" line-up and given its own half-hour time slot. While the episodes continue to form a loose overall story arc, individual plotlines are wrapped up in just two or three episodes. Dragos gets a brand new Dragonship, and, thank goodness, it's sorta cool and nowhere near as butt-ugly as the first one. He also gets a whole menagerie of beastly Beuchler-built cronies, and they all maniacally laugh their heads off just like Dragos--I think maybe it's catching. Tamara Dobson fits smoothly into the cast and seems to genuinely enjoy portraying the mysterious Samantha--she and Littler have a good chemistry together--while the fine actor John Russell's no-nonsense demeanor as Commander Stone, who strongly disapproves of Jason's cavalier attitude toward authority, gives the series a welcome and unexpected touch of gravitas. The only drawback is that as Jason and Stone gradually warm up to each other later on, Russell begins to smile more often, which is one of the scariest sights in television history. 

The three-disc set includes both seasons of the show and some nice extras. The highlight is a half-hour documentary called "The Adventures of Jason of Star Command", which features interviews with producer Lou Scheimer (sadly, his partner, Norm Prescott, as well as Tamara Dobson, are no longer with us), stars Craig Littler and Sid Haig, John Beuchler, and others involved with the production. It's packed with interesting anecdotes and information about the show. There's also a six-minute special effects demo reel, a photo gallery, episode scripts in PDF format, an episode guide/trivia booklet, and several trailers for other Filmation DVD sets that bring back a lot of Saturday morning memories. 

I accidentally found an Easter egg. Put in disc 2 and wait for the menu to appear. Hit "stop", then "play." Some leftover interview footage of guest star John Berwick that wasn't used in the documentary, lasting two or three minutes, should then appear. I tried this with the other two discs but no luck. If you should happen to find any more, let me know. And last but not least, three of the episodes contain lively commentary tracks with Scheimer, Littler, and Beuchler, among others. But careful, Mom and Dad--at one point, one of them gets so excited about viewing the old series again that he drops the "F" bomb! OOPS! 

 Scriptwriters include original "Star Trek" vets Samuel A. Peeples ("Where No Man Has Gone Before") and Margaret Armen ("The Paradise Syndrome"). The stories are fast-moving, simple, and often pretty dumb--in a bad-Roddenberry moment, Captain Kidd even pops up in one episode--but they're also a lot of fun, and not nearly as obnoxious as "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (with the despicable "Twiki") or the original "Battlestar Galactica" tended to be. 

Basically a live-action version of the kind of cartoons Filmation is known for (but without the crummy limited animation), JASON OF STAR COMMAND is corny, cheesy pulp sci-fi for kids, pure and simple, but it's done with such a goofy, unabashed earnestness and childlike sense of adventure that I couldn't help enjoying just about every minute of it. 

JASON OF STAR COMMAND: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

HELL HUNTERS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/7/16

 

Interesting Brazilian locations, including Rio de Janeiro's fabled carnival, and some venerable actors doing a little slumming highlight the cheap-but-fun action thriller HELL HUNTERS (1986), now on DVD from Film Chest. 

An aging but lively Stewart Granger seems to be having a good time playing mad scientist Martin Hoffmann, an escaped Nazi (loosely based on Joseph Mengele) living in South America and performing experiments he hopes will result in a serum that will turn people into Hitler-heiling zombies.

Meanwhile, a rag-tag group of armed Nazi hunters headed by Amanda (Maud Adams, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, OCTOPUSSY) keep pursuing Hoffman through the Brazilian jungles.  An early gunfight between the two factions helps kickstart the film.

Amanda even goes so far as to marry Hoffman's nephew so that he'll take her to the ex-Nazi's secret jungle compound, the route to which she records in her diary before she's assassinated by Hoffman's lethal toady El Pasado (Eduardo Conde) in a suspenseful scene that takes place in an airport bathroom.

When Amanda's estranged daughter Ally (Candice Daly) comes to Brazil to attend her mother's funeral, she gets caught up in the search for Hoffman and gets a taste for revenge in which her training in self-defense and target shooting comes in handy.

What follows is a rather lighthearted--as well as lightweight--action flick with some touchy romantic interplay between the skittish Ally and an amorous young Nazi hunter named Tonio (Rômulo Arantes) that yields much amusingly bad dialogue and a softcore sex scene or two. 

Tonio's female partner Nelia (Nelia J. Cozza) is a dark, sassy beauty who likes to leap into the fray right alongside the guys even when the bullets are flying fast and furious. 

During the group's foray up the river toward Hoffman's elusive hideout (one of the production companies mentioned in the credits is called "Heart of Darkness") they pick up a man-mountain named Kong (Russ McCubbin) who adds to the film's comedy-relief quotient as well as ramping up the amount of physical mayhem whenever they confront the bad guys.

The inevitable bullet-riddled climax pays off pretty well for such a modest production, reminding me a bit of the finale of Ted V. Mikels' THE DOLL SQUAD (1973).  Nothing really amazing happens, but like the rest of the film it's well-paced and competently handled by director Ernst R. von Theumer, who also manages a nifty chase scene in and around Rio de Janeiro earlier in the film.

 

Acting is all over the place among the lesser members of the cast although they all seem to be having a good time.  Aside from the jovial Granger, Maud Adams is more appealing to me here than in both her previous Bond appearances.  And speaking of Bond, one-time 007 George Lazenby (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) makes a brief but welcome appearance as one of Hoffman's associates. 

The DVD from Film Chest is in 16x9 widescreen and is "restored in HD from the original 35mm print."  Meaning that the visual quality won't knock your socks off but it looks pretty good for a film of its age and low budget.  No extras. 

There are those, of course, to whom HELL HUNTERS will be well out of their tolerance range for low-budget and hopelessly hokey action flicks.  For me, however, it was a nice bit of good, clean, nostalgic fun. 

HELL HUNTERS -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE KILLER SHREWS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 10/24/14

 

One of the most well-liked, perhaps even loved, titles in the bad-movie pantheon is a low-budget horror/sci-fi thriller from 1959 called THE KILLER SHREWS.

As I myself pointed out in great detail in an earlier review--intended, admittedly, more for Medved-style cuteness than anything else--there's a lot to poke fun at in this modest effort if you've a mind to.

But even as it gets its share of well-deserved ridicule (especially for the giggle-worthy fact that its mutated shrew creatures are actually dogs wearing monster costumes) and is one of the most popular films to have been given the MST3K treatment, one of the main reasons this tense little flick has such staying power is that in addition to being "so bad it's good", it is also, in many ways, just plain good.

For one thing, it's one of the first movies in which a disparate group of people barricade themselves in a house to defend themselves against an outside menace. As has often been pointed out, the similarities between it and George Romero's 1968 horror classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD indicate that Romero was influenced by the earlier film.

Which gives rise to an even more intriguing thought--did Alfred Hitchcock see THE KILLER SHREWS before coming up with his own barricaded-house thriller THE BIRDS four years later?

The story is pure straightforward pulp novel stuff, with manly cargo boat captain Thorne Sherman serving as a no-nonsense working class hero. When he and first mate "Rook" Griswold (Judge Henry Dupree) deliver supplies to a group of research scientists on a remote island that's about to be hit by a hurricane, he finds he's walked right into danger in the form of wolf-sized, man-eating killer shrews whose teeth drip instantly-lethal venom.

Heading the research group is Dr. Marlowe Craigis (leading Yiddish theater actor and famed director Sidney Lumet's father, Baruch Lumet), a well-meaning scientist wracked by guilt for having unwittingly unleashed such monsters. Among those threatened by them is his own daughter Ann, played by Ingrid Goude who was Miss Sweden of 1956 and, while not a very skilled actress, at least brings a likable earnestness to her performance.

In the role of Dr. Craigis' cowardly assistant Jerry Farrell is Ken Curtis (THE SEARCHERS, THE ALAMO), who would go on to TV superstardom as Festus Haggen on "Gunsmoke." Curtis has a field day playing Jerry as a weaselly lush driven by ambition and burning with jealousy after Ann starts making goo-goo eyes at Captain Thorne, and we can't wait to see the shrews chow down on this insufferable jerk.

Rounding out the cast are executive producer Gordon McLendon as endearingly nerdy scientist Dr. Radford Baines and Alfredo DeSoto as loyal handyman Mario. McLendon and Curtis also co-produced THE GIANT GILA MONSTER that same year, and both films were directed by Ray Kellogg, who co-directed THE GREEN BERETS along with John Wayne. A special effects man as well as director, Kellogg supplies some really nice-looking matte paintings to the shots of Thorne's boat anchored in the island harbor.

While many low-budget horror flicks of the era are technically inept and heavily padded, THE KILLER SHREWS' lean, suspenseful story moves along briskly once the exposition is out of the way. The shrew attacks themselves are often frightening as the revolting creatures relentlessly chew their way through the soft adobe walls of the house in a frantic search for "food."

It helps that the actors seem so thoroughly convinced that the dogs-in-monster-suits menace is real. James Best, known mainly as Rosco P. Coltrane on "The Dukes of Hazzard", somehow fits his own laconic persona into the part of a macho action hero well enough for us to buy into Thorne Sherman as a guy with the brains and brawn to get these people through this seemingly hopeless ordeal.

Meanwhile, some of the dialogue is laughably off-kilter and seems even more amusing as the cast strains to deliver it with utmost seriousness, often while guzzling martinis like they're going out of style. Yet they're able to make us care about these desperate people during the escalating shrew attacks, up to and during one of the most ludicrous (yet somehow riveting) climactic sequences ever seen in a film of this kind. The fact that it's played absolutely straight--as is the entire movie--makes it both exciting and, yes, perversely hilarious.

The DVD from Film Chest is in 4 x 3 full screen with original mono sound. No subtitles or extras. While I don't see much difference in this "digitally restored" version than the ones I already have, the image is quite good despite the usual specks and scratches.

What makes this release stand out for me is that the opening narration is complete, beginning with the line "Those who hunt by night will tell you that the wildest and most vicious of all animals is the tiny shrew." Usually this narration is joined in the middle of the final sentence with the truncated line "...Alaska, and then invading steadily southward...there were reports of a new species...the giant killer shrew!"

Apparently only the longer audio survives since the footage to accompany it seems to consist of the same brief shot seen before, only greatly slowed down until the bolt of lightning that heralds the main title. But it's nice to finally hear the whole thing.

Even if you've already watched the MST3K version of THE KILLER SHREWS, it deserves to be seen on its own terms. (Unlike much of the total crap that Joel, Mike, and the robots have comically endured over the years.) With repeated viewings, the unintentional comedy remains entertaining as ever while the suspense and chills contained in this nifty little monster movie steadily creep their way up your spine.


Read our original "The Killer Shrews" review HERE

DVD street date: November 11

THE KILLER SHREWS -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 10/27/2017

 

Clocking in at 59 minutes and originally released on a double bill with "The Phantom Speaks", Republic's 1945 horror-thriller THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST is a short-but-sweet foray into the supernatural that owes more to that studio's jungle features and serials than to the sort of dark Gothic chills you'd expect from a vampire tale.

The setting reminds me of Republic's serial PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO but with somewhat richer production values. (Olive Films' DVD of this beautifully-shot black-and-white film looks terrific.) A small village in darkest Africa is beset by a series of murders which, to the superstitious, appear to be the work of a vampire. 

Roy Hendrick (Charles Gordon of SWAMP FIRE, here bearing some resemblance to Buster Crabbe), soon to marry his sweetheart Julie (Peggy Stewart, THE RUNAWAYS, BOBBIE JO AND THE OUTLAW), is having trouble keeping native workers on his rubber plantation as more of them flee the bloodsucking menace.

Julie's father, Dr. Vance (Emmett Vogan, THE MUMMY'S TOMB, THE MUMMY'S GHOST), is, in fact, baffled by the great loss of blood from the victims, which also has the local priest, Father Gilchrist (Grant Withers, FORT APACHE, RIO GRANDE), keeping a crucifix within reach at all times. 

The only local who doesn't seem overly concerned is cucumber-cool club owner, Webb Fallon (John Abbott, perhaps best known to TV fans from Star Trek: "Errand of Mercy" and The Man From UNCLE: "The Birds and the Bees Affair"), whose star attraction is an alluring dancer played by Adele Mara (SANDS OF IWO JIMA).  Fallon's luck on his own gambling tables is almost supernatural in itself, raising the ire of ship captain Jim Barrett (prolific Western actor Roy Barcroft) who accuses him of cheating. 

Barrett attacks him, but one piercing stare from the mysterious Fallon causes the man to back off in fear.  It isn't long before we're pretty sure Fallon is the vampire, a suspicion soon borne out when Roy comes under the mysterious man's mental control.  After that, the ailing Roy seems powerless to stop Fallon as the centuries-old vampire sets his sights on none other than Julie herself as his undead bride.

Gordon and Stewart play the typical romantic couple from a million adventure yarns, but Abbott's interpretation of the bloodsucking fiend of ancient lore is about as low-key and restrained as one could imagine.  In fact, even when he's exercising his insidious mind control over helpless victims or revealing his sinister intentions for the hapless Julie, Fallon barely ruffles a thread of his tailored suit or a hair on his neatly-clipped head. 

He doesn't even sleep in a coffin--a small box of native soil underneath his pillow suffices--and is capable of withstanding daylight in small doses.  And what with the constant native drums in the background (local tribes keep each other informed on local vampiric goings-on) and other familiar tropes of the jungle adventure--safaris, native carriers, huts, spears--the emphasis of the rather literate screenplay by Leigh Brackett (STAR WARS V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) is more upon characterization and a measured suspense than eliciting nightmares.  

Which, indeed, is the modest appeal of THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST, a "horror" tale that feels like an extended serial chapter in which the cliffhangers consist of quietly suspenseful moments rather than action thrills.  (It was helmed by prolific Western director Lesley Selander, responsible for several of the better "Hopalong Cassidy" entries.)  Even the climactic showdown between humans and vampire in a remote jungle temple is a pleasantly told diversion meant simply to entertain us, which it does. 

Order it from Olive Films

Subtitles: English (optional)
Video: 1.33:1 aspect ratio; B&W
Runtime: 59 minutes
Extras: none
Year: 1945

@OliveFilms
https://www.facebook.com/olivefilms/

THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST -- DVD Review by Porfle

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE -- DVD Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 9/13/16

 

You already know whether or not you love the old movie serials.  And if you do, then chances are the words COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE should already have you salivating like a geek incarnation of Pavlov's Dog. 

I know that's how I reacted when I scarfed an eyeload of this new 2-disc DVD from Olive Films, which contains all 12 episodes of the 1953 serial.  That cool cover pic of Cody in his gadget-bedecked leather jacket, quasi-military cap, and Lone Ranger mask just seems to say "You know you love me." 

I call them "episodes" instead of "chapters" because this isn't your usual serial.  In fact, many fans would argue that it isn't a serial at all, being that it consists of 12 half-hour adventures which, while being parts of an overall story arc, each have a beginning, middle, and end without the usual cliffhanger.

Without going into the technical reasons for this, suffice it to say that the series was first shown in theaters in 1953 as a serial, and then showed up two years later as the television series it was intended to be all along.  And while I do miss the nail-biting cliffhanger endings, I got used to the self-contained stories after awhile.

At any rate, this has all the elements I love in serials--a cool hero with both capable and comical sidekicks, a hokey villain with an evil master plan and plenty of goofy, inept henchmen to carry it out, lots of fantasy sci-fi that doesn't make much sense and consistently defies the laws of physics, cheap production values, and a general air of hokiness with plenty of corn. 

The main gist of the story concerns the efforts of a secret government organization to thwart an evil madman who calls himself The Ruler, who wants to conquer Earth so he can use it as a base to take over all the other planets in the solar system.  (The Ruler is played by Gregory Gaye, who can be seen in CASABLANCA as the irate customer whom Rick won't allow into the back room of the casino.)

Our hero, Commando Cody (Judd Holdren), wears a mask to protect his identity and flies around by means of a cool rocket pack on his back.  Not only is he one of those rigidly upstanding paragons of virtue, but with his ever-present mask he even resembles Clayton Moore in both looks and voice.  Which, as a big "Lone Ranger" fan, I found to be a definite plus.

His boss, Commissioner Henderson (Craig Kelly, who appeared in the first two DIRTY HARRY movies), gives him two assistants--loyal but comical Ted Richards (the great character actor William Schallert) and the lovely and capable Joan Gilbert (winsome Aline Towne), who eventually becomes Cody's spaceship co-pilot.  Ted will be replaced after a few episodes by equally comical Dick Preston (Richard Crane, who would go on to star as "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger" the following year.)

Over the course of the show's 12 episodes The Ruler pulls all manner of devious schemes to either enslave the Earth or wipe it out--he never can seem to decide which--and each of these results in as much widespread calamity and destruction that the copious amounts of stock footage can depict.  In his employ are traitorous humans such as Lyle Talbot, Fred Graham, and Lane Bradford, and various aliens played by the likes of Denver Pyle, John Crawford, and Rick Vallin.

Time after time, Earth comes close to destruction via tidal waves, shifting of its axis, blocking out the sun, duplicate suns roasting the planet, deadly storms, a near-miss with our own moon, and meteor attacks.  The latter are repelled by Cody's creation of a cosmic dust barrier around the Earth which makes any foreign object from the sky explode, including enemy space ships not equipped with a special "dispersal beam."

Cody's own spaceship, while primitive by modern SPFX standards, is still very cool.  An impressive full-size mockup was constructed on the Republic Pictures backlot which is seen in conjunction with a fairly large working model suspended by wires.  It's a real step above the wobbly, rinky-dink spaceships of the old "Flash Gordon" serials and is almost always used to good effect. 

Sets range from the usual 50s backdrops to sometimes impressive otherworldly settings where The Ruler carries out his dastardly plans on various planets such as Saturn and Mercury. The costumes are gloriously tacky (The Ruler seems to be wearing his mom's kimono) and the dialogue is both arch and delightfully corny.  Ray guns sound like car horns.  Each episode offers a couple of furious fistfights and several appearances by our main man in flight.

This is accomplished using the same remarkable technique seen in perhaps the greatest serial of all time, 1941's "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" (also from Republic Pictures), with a realistic mannequin suspended on wires combined with nice springboard take-off and landing shots with actor Holdren.  The effect is stunningly good and well worth waiting for in each episode.

The 2-disc DVD from Olive Films is in the original full-screen ratio with mono sound and English subtitles.  No extras.  Picture quality is very good.  

Just as much fun as the title sounds, COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE is one of the most consistently entertaining and well-produced serials I've seen.  It easily transcends the "so bad it's good" quality of many cheaply-produced serials, especially if viewed with the same giddy, childlike enthusiasm with which both kids and adults greeted these films on theater and TV screens back in the 50s.

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE -- DVD Review by Porfle

All The Giant Lobster Scenes From "PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO" (1955) (video)

"Panther Girl of the Kongo" is a 12-chapter serial from Republic Pictures.

Phyllis Coates plays Jean the Panther Girl, an anthropologist in Africa.
Her work is interrupted by the sudden appearance of giant lobster monsters.

The "claw monsters" are created from ordinary crawfish by a crooked scientist...
...who wants to chase the local natives away from his illegal diamond mine.

Jean summons her adventurer friend Larry Sanders (Myron Healy) to help fight the monsters.

The special effects were created by Howard and Theodore Lydecker.

"Panther Girl of the Kongo" was the next-to-last serial produced by Republic.
It used extensive stock footage from their 1941 serial "Jungle Girl."

A 100-minute edit was released to television with the title "The Claw Monsters."

Read our review of the "PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO" serial HERE


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

All The Giant Lobster Scenes From "PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO" (1955) (video)

SOUL ON A STRING -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 9/22/17

 

Beautifully photographed in the Himalayas, the story of Chinese director Yang Zhang's SOUL ON A STRING (2016) is often overwhelmed by the sheer sweep of its sumptuous visuals--the sometimes confusing multi-faceted plot is easy enough to lose as it is. 

But when it focuses on its three or four main characters and their metaphysical journey of enlightenment, the extremely leisurely pace and lack of a conventional storyline ultimately lead the patient viewer to a rather satisfyingly cathartic resolution.

It all starts when Tabei, a reclusive mountain man and inveterate bad boy, kills a deer and discovers a sacred stone in its mouth.  After being killed by a bolt of lightning and then revived by some local monks, Tabei is given the sacred duty of traveling to Palm Print Mountain, the sacred home of the Lotus Master, and delivering the stone to its rightful place.  In doing so, he'll  be given the opportunity to "cleanse his heart" and make amends for his former sins. 

During the long, grueling journey by foot, Tabei acquires two unwanted companions--Chung, a love-starved young woman eager to escape her current circumstances, and Pu, a mute feral boy with apparent psychic abilities.  Though surly and abusive at first, we pretty much know that Tabei will eventually find the two to be a civilizing influence as was the case in THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES when the title character began to amass a surrogate family and, through them, learn to regain his humanity.

The trouble is, Tabei is being stalked not only by thieves who covet the stone but also by two brothers out for revenge after the long-ago killing of their father by Tabei's own father.  Needless to say, the film will have much to say via these characters about pointless quests for revenge and needless violence in general. 

In the meantime, though, Tabei's run-ins with these dogged pursuers will supply the story with one of its main sources of tension as several scenes seem to be leading up to some kind of gunfight or swordplay (Tabei even makes a stop at a retired swordmaker's house a la KILL BILL).

Surprisingly, no such action ever takes place.  SOUL ON A STRING isn't that kind of adventure--it's story for story's sake, not just as a lead-up to periodic bursts of kinetic violence.
 
After awhile, I actually found myself hoping that such clashes would be avoided in favor of just getting on with the story, which, after a slow first half, starts to get really engaging.  Tabei's journey becomes much more than just getting from one place to another as he begins to discover the true meaning of life and the importance of things he once overlooked.  His slow-burn love story with his surrogate family also becomes quite engaging after awhile.

Yang Zhang spares no effort to make all of this as gorgeous as his incredible locations will allow, as he shoots in places that would make John Ford green with envy (invocations of Monument Valley abound).  He infuses SOUL ON A STRING with a myriad of visual and thematic references to such genres as Italian and American Westerns, samurai films, and fantasy quests (as in the LORD OF THE RINGS series). 

Bringing the Western feel into focus is the presence of a tall, mysterious man in black who looks like a gunfighter out of a Leone film but turn out to have an altogether different motive for tracking down Tabei. It's part of the film's heavily metaphysical underpinning, one which also includes the jarring juxtaposition of the ancient world with the modern in what makes it seem as though the story takes place on the very edge of some strange rift in time.

The DVD from Film Movement is in 2.35:1 widescreen with 5.1 and 2.0 sound (Tibetan with English subtitles).  As a bonus, there's a compelling short film by Oalid Mouaness, a political parable entitled "The Rifle, the Jackal, the Wolf, and the Boy."

Like a candle slowly burning and getting brighter as it reaches the end, SOUL ON A STRING begins as a pretty but flickering diversion and ends with a richly illuminative glow.  It has the breathtaking locations of a conventional epic, yet amidst that splendid backdrop is a human story that I found haunting and effective.

www.filmmovement.com

SOUL ON A STRING -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE GREAT SILENCE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 Originally posted on 5/12/18

 

In 1968, the same year Italian director Sergio Leone unleashed his western masterpiece ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, his compatriot Sergio Corbucci (DJANGO, NAVAJO JOE) gave us this very different take on the usual "spaghetti western"--THE GREAT SILENCE, aka "Il grande silenzio" (Film Movement Classics).

It's a fascinating change of pace from the usual lurid, bombastic entries in the genre with sweaty men fighting and dying amidst much sound and fury in the blazing heat of the desert.  Corbucci's film takes place in a snowbound setting with dark figures riding their horses over plains of stark white or walking down the streets of a town glazed with frost.

Like the setting, everything's muted in this film, including its hero, The Great Silence (French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, ...AND GOD CREATED WOMAN, Z, IS PARIS BURNING?).  His backstory, seen in familiar flashback form, tells of him having his throat cut as a child by the same bounty hunters who just killed his parents as his father was surrendering to them. 

Silence, with his rapid-fire automatic pistol (the story takes place near the turn of the 20th century), is a hero who's also atypical in that, in addition to having deep feelings, he isn't the stoic, emotionally distant figure we see in Clint Eastwood's self-centered mercenary. In fact, he's a bit of a white knight, avenging women whose men have been murdered by bounty hunters. (Although he's not above charging a fee for his services.)

This time, in another departure from Leone, all of the bounty hunters in the story--namely, sadistic thrill-killer Loco (Klaus Kinski, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE) and his motley cohorts--are the bad guys, preying upon a haggard group of outlaws hiding out in the mountains until word of their amnesty comes through from the government. 

Some decide to give themselves up and are picked off, while the rest will eventually be lured to town only to fall into the bounty hunters' ambush.  It's here, with Silence going up against Loco and his crew as they hold their captives hostage in the saloon, that the film's shocking finale will take place.

But before that, Corbucci lingers upon Silence's increasingly fond relationship with the beautiful widow Pauline (Vonetta McGee) after she pleads with him to avenge her husband's murder by Loco.  Their scenes are thoughtful, contemplative--a respite from the bursts of bloody violence that erupt from time to time.

We also follow the tale of seriocomic sheriff Gideon Burnett, played by Frank Wolff (the ill-fated "Brett McBain" in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST) who is tasked by the governor to solve the bounty hunter problem but finds it quite a handful.  How Loco manages to outwit him as he's being transported in chains to the nearest prison is almost enough for him to earn a smidgeon of our admiration.

More than anyone else, this is Klaus Kinski's film.  In the cheerfully vile Loco he gives us a delightfully low-key villain, and deftly underplays the role.  Loco never heard of "dead or alive"--his pleasure is in luring errant felons into surrendering and then gunning them down with great satisfaction. 

This tendency will reach its peak in the film's final sequence, which suddenly turns into a bloodbath as the story ends on an incredibly nihilistic note.  I was floored by it, and left unsure how I felt about the movie as a whole as the final music of Ennio Morricone's haunting score began to swell.  And I don't know if that's a bad thing or a good thing.

Corbucci filmed two alternate endings (included in the Blu-ray extras), one of which is exactly how I wanted the film to end.  But regardless of all that, THE GREAT SILENCE is a haunting, beautifully-rendered, and very offbeat western that should stay with you for some time after experiencing it. 


Buy it at Film Movement Classics

Tech Specs:
New 2K digital restoration
1.85:1 widescreen
Italian and English soundtracks, English subtitles
Stereo

Extras:
"Cox on Corbucci"--Alex Cox pays tribute to the maestro
"Western, Italian Style"--1968 documentary on the Italian film industry, western style
Two alternate endings
Illustrated booklet with the essay, "Ending the Silence" by Simon Abrams
Original and new trailers

THE GREAT SILENCE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 2/8/13

 

Like so many TV series of its time, the gritty cop drama "Naked City" (ABC-TV, 1958-63) now stands as a showcase not only for established stars working in television, but for the up-and-coming actors trying to break into movies (or at least bigger success on the small screen).  Spotting all these familiar faces is what makes Image Entertainment's 5-disc DVD set NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES especially interesting to watch.

Sometimes upbeat, sometimes noirish and bleak, "Naked City" is a semi-documentary-style drama (filmed in black and white on real New York locations) that thoughtfully explores human foibles and social issues of the day between occasional bursts of violence such as a blazing shootout or tire-screeching car chase.  Not all of the stories are that interesting--in fact, they sometimes tend to drag or veer toward the maudlin--but at its best, the show can be scintillating and highly involving entertainment.

The first hour-long episode, "Sweet Prince of Delancy Street" (1961), features Robert Morse (HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING) in a manic performance as Richie, a schlub trying to keep his dad (James Dunn) from being arrested for vandalizing the factory he was just fired from and killing a security guard.  In addition to Jan "Madge the Manicurist" Miner and Arny Freeman of THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE, a young Dustin Hoffman also appears in a smaller but ultimately pivotal role as Richie's friend Lester.

This episode (later ranked #93 on TV Guide’s list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time") introduces us to series regulars Paul Burke ("Twelve O'Clock High") as idealistic young police detective Adam Flint, Horace McMahon (ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS) as his world-weary boss Lt. Mike Parker, Harry Bellaver as his easygoing older partner Det. Frank Arcaro, and Nancy Malone as his faithful fiance' Libby Kingston.  The show's main emphasis, however, is usually on the guest characters and their problems, occasionally giving "Naked City" the feel of an anthology show. 

A brief glance at the episode titles such as "Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out With the Bow and Arrow" (with Eddie Albert) reveals how pretentious the series tends to be at times, as does a sample of the opening narration: "In the naked city, a man can search 10,000 side streets all 22,000 days of his life...and never come face-to-face with the stranger within himself." 

It's clearly intended as a showcase for writers and actors to allow free rein to their creativity and either shamelessly give in to excess or--in the case of old pros such as Albert, David Wayne ("The Multiplicity of Herbert Konish"), Claude Rains ("To Walk in Silence"), and Sylvia Sidney ("A Hole in the City")--do exceedingly impressive work.  

Some of the other future stars making early appearances include a wildly overacting William Shatner ("Portrait of a Painter"), Peter Fonda and Martin Sheen ("The Night the Saints Lost Their Halos"), Robert Duvall ("The One Marked Hot Gives Cold", "Hole in the City"), an emotional Dennis Hopper ("Shoes For Vinnie Winford"), Robert Redford ("Tombstone for a Derelict"), Jon Voight ("Alive and Still a Second Lieutenant"), "Jimmy" Caan and Bruce Dern ("Bullets Cost Too Much"), a willowy young Diane Ladd ("Line of Duty"), and Suzanne Pleshette ("The Pedigree Sheet").  Co-starring with Eddie Albert in "Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out With the Bow and Arrow" is a shockingly young-looking "Ronnie" (Christopher) Walken.

Already-familiar faces (at the time) from movies and television include Theodore Bikel, Barry Morse, Jo Van Fleet, Edward Andrews, Telly Savalas, Leslie Nielsen, Nehemiah Persoff, Paul Hartman, Jean Stapleton, Dick York, Johnny Seven, Betty Field, Peter Falk, Myron McCormick, Jack Klugman, Jan Sterling, Richard Conte, Nancy Marchand, Murray Hamilton, Roger C. Carmel, Jack Warden, and Carroll O'Connor.  Two 1958 episodes, "Lady Bug, Lady Bug" and "Line of Duty", take us back to the show's initial half-hour format with original stars John McIntyre and James Franciscus. 

Sharp-eyed viewers will spot the occasional lowly bit player who would later go on to bigger and better things, such as Richard Castellano (THE GODFATHER), Sorrell Booke ("The Dukes of Hazzard"), Joe Silver ("You Light Up My Life"), Sylvia Miles (MIDNIGHT COWBOY), and Doris Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond").

The 5-disc DVD set from Image Entertainment is in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital mono sound.  No subtitles or extras. 

Spotting the then-and-future stars in an older show like this is kind of like birdwatching, only (to me) a lot more fun.  It helps if the show itself is worth watching, which the sometimes gritty, sometimes overly weepy "Naked City" manages to be more often than not.  And as a wallow in old-school classic TV, NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES is pure, unadulterated nostalgia.

NAKED CITY: 20 STAR-FILLED EPISODES -- DVD Review by Porfle

FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC (THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/26/2019
 

Sometimes legendary director Fritz Lang wanted his magnificent visuals to convey an important message (METROPOLIS, THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE, M) and sometimes he just wanted to offer audiences grand escapist entertainment.

The latter goal Lang achieved in spectacular style with the films THE TIGER OF ESCHANAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB, known collectively as FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC (Film Movement Classics, 1959).

A forerunner of more recent two-film narratives such as KILL BILL and IT, this double feature tells the sprawling story of a catastrophic love triangle that develops when German engineer Harald Berger (Paul Hubschmid) is summoned to India by Prince Chandra (Walter Reyer) to oversee the construction of several buildings as well as shoring up some of the crumbling infrastructure of the palace itself.

As fate would have it, a beautiful temple dancer named Seetha (Debra Paget, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS) with whom the prince has fallen madly in love is being transported to the palace in the same caravan as Berger, and when the European valiantly saves her life from an attacking tiger during the trip, she becomes hopelessly smitten with him.  This soon develops into an all-consuming passion that will invoke the jealous prince's white-hot, vengeful wrath.

Amidst a backdrop of splendiferous Indian locations and incredibly opulent sets, photographed in sumptuous color with rich production values, this steamy melodrama is soap opera of the highest order mixed with scintillating political intrigue (the prince's brother and former brother-in-law are plotting against him) and irresistible "boys' adventure"-style action involving swordfights, man-eating tigers, mysterious underground passages, and other fun stuff.

While some have compared these films to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, viewers expecting non-stop thrills will be disappointed. Instead, we're allowed to settle in  for a stately paced parade of visual treats (I haven't seen such regal eye-candy since the "Sissi" films with Romy Schneider) charged with constant tension and suspense and punctuated here and there with action sequences that have a Rudyard Kipling flavor.

The tension increases as Prince Chandra's suspicions toward his intended bride Seetha and the European stranger are eventually made evident, bringing out the arrogant, petulant worst in him.  When Berger finds it necessary to escape Chandra's wrath, he finds himself lost in the catacombs beneath the palace where he encounters a colony of lepers banished to the underground.

We're also introduced to Chandra's compound of deadly caged tigers into which, at one point, Berger is tossed with nothing but a spear with which to defend himself. Here, Lang's attention to gilt-edged realism falters a bit when a lunging tiger is noticeably fake (as is a monster-sized cobra in the second film) but I found such shortcomings easily forgivable in view of the scene's entertainment value.

Performances are earnest, with Debra Paget a standout not only for her talent but also thanks to her incredible beauty and sex appeal. Her temple dance in this film is a highlight of sheer sensuality (to be surpassed in the sequel) while her acting adds depth to a very sympathetic character.  Reyer, on the other hand, ably conveys the prince's incredible arrogance, selfishness, and cruelty. (A young Luciana Paluzzi appears all-too-briefly as Seetha's loyal servant.)

Finally, the two forbidden lovers make a desperate escape attempt, with the prince's soldiers doggedly pursuing them from the steamy jungles to the parched, wind-seared desert.  It's there that the dashing European engineer and the beautiful Indian temple dancer meet their apparent doom as part one of Lang's Indian epic, THE TIGER OF ESCHANAPUR, ends in classic cliffhanger style.

The second installment in Fritz Lang's sprawling two-part saga of Indian intrigue and forbidden romance, THE INDIAN TOMB, picks up right where its predecessor THE TIGER OF ESCHANAPUR left off. This time German engineer Harald Berger's sister Irene (Sabine Bethmann) and her husband Walter (Claus Holm), who is also Harald's associate, have come searching for him.

They're told that Harald went missing during a tiger hunt, but become increasingly suspicious of the prince and his motives. This is especially true when Chandra orders Walter to design a tomb for his wife Seetha, in which she is to be imprisoned on their wedding day. When Walter balks at creating what is in essence an execution chamber, Chandra threatens him and his wife.

Political tensions grow to a boiling point as Chandra's brother Prince Ramigani (René Deltgen), passed over for the throne and eager to amend that oversight, plots against him with the help of the prince's former brother-in-law who also despises him. Even the temple priests grow angry toward Chandra when he persists in his desire to marry Seetha (and then execute her) after she is discovered still alive in the desert.

This second film's highlight comes when Seetha performs a cobra dance in the temple which is meant to decide whether the gods wish her to live or die.  In a costume that's the very definition of "less is more" (it makes a string bikini look like a parka) the incredibly gorgeous and physically fit Debra Paget's dance number is, to put it mildly, memorable, despite the very fake-looking cobra which menaces her character throughout.

Suspense builds as Berger's sister and her husband bravely plot to locate where he's being held prisoner beneath the palace and free him.  The story, which has been rather sedately paced up till now, really picks up steam with Irene's encounter with the frenzied band of lepers and Berger's desperate escape from bondage just as he's about to be executed in his cell.

There's swordplay and other violent clashes when Ramigani's armed rebellion against Chandra kicks into gear, and Lang finally shows us why we keep seeing all that dynamite stored in the passages underneath the palace, leading to a flood populated by hungry alligators.

The 2-disc Blu-ray from Film Movement Classics is an exquisite 4K digital restoration of both classic films with an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and mono sound. Each film features a verbose commentary by film historian David Kalat. Bonuses also include the making-of documentary "The Indian Epic" and the video essay "Debra Paget, For Example" by Mark Rappaport, as well as trailers and an enclosed illustrated booklet with an in-depth essay by film scholar Tom Gunning.

One thing's for sure, when this story finally comes to a head, it pays off in all sorts of fun ways.  Viewers who stick it out through both installments of FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC not only get to enjoy some of the screen's most dazzling opulence and eye-pleasing production values, but also a romantic, exotic action-adventure ending on a satisfying note that makes it all wonderfully worthwhile.


Buy it at Film Movement.com


THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR
NEW 4K DIGITAL RESTORATION
Film Movement Classics
1959
101 Minutes
Country: Germany, France, Italy
Language: German w/ English subtitles
Classics, Romance, Thriller
Not Rated
Blu-ray
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1   
Sound: Mono   

THE INDIAN TOMB
NEW 4K DIGITAL RESTORATION
Film Movement Classics
1959
102 Minutes
Country: Germany, France, Italy
Language: German w/ English subtitles
Romance, Thriller, Classics
Not Rated
Blu-ray
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1   
Sound: Mono

Here's the poster of the American theatrical release in which the two films were edited into one:

 

FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC (THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

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