“Unfinished Song” is a film that I’ve personally been looking forward too, since first hearing about it. What interested me about the film was the cast. Terence Stamp has been one of those actors that I always enjoy seeing. Whether in small roles like “Star Wars: Episode One” or major roles like “Get Smart” or my personal favorite “The Limey”, he feels like a welcome presence to any film. That’s what drew me into this film. It also helped that this has a very good supporting cast including Gemma Arterton (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters), Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) and Vanessa Redgrave (Howards End).

The film is about grumpy old man (Terrance Stamp), who lives life through a routine. One day his wife (Vanessa Redgrave) wants him to get out more and experience life. She take him to her a singing group that is led by a charismatic young woman (Gemma Arterton). He begins to form an unlikely friendship with this woman, which leads him to his discovery of music, which gives him reason to live and try and reconnect with the ones that matter to him most.

Going into this film, I was expecting to like this film given the cast. Was I ever disappointing at the end result. It wasn’t the cast fault, as they made it watchable. It was mostly the screenplay and the direction to some extent.

Paul Andrew Williams’ direction for the most part was alright. He does a great job with the way that he directs the main performances. Williams does a very good job making sure that the cast made their characters interesting. He does that very well, by making the main cast had good chemistry. It made some of the scenes work. The thing that I didn’t like about his direction was the fact the felt lagging at times. I don’t if it was this screenplay but there were a couple of scenes with the singing that made me lose interest. It felt like the scene were going a little long especially in the beginning. Thankfully, the performances were good enough to save this film from becoming a boring film.

Williams’ screenplay was subpar at best. He does a good job with the way that he handles the character development. It helped saved the story, once it got away from focusing solely on the comedic and singing aspects of the film and became focused on the main characters. I was interested with the characters, as this was an interesting story. You see how the main character changes during the course of the film. It made the main character interesting. Too bad, that it has elements that hurt the flow of the film.

There were two problem that I had with this screenplay, the film didn’t need the narration from Arterton’s character in the beginning and end of the film. It felt like the film was more about her than Stamp’s character, which is what the film is supposed to be about. It felt a little puzzling to me because this is his story not hers. The other problem that I had was that I didn’t like the fact that some of the comedic and singing scenes in the beginning felt too long. It slowed the story and the comedic scene didn’t feel funny. Thankfully the film tries to move away that and make about the characters, as it recovers in the second half to end strongly.

DVD Extras:
Sadly, there isn’t many extras on this DVD. The DVD only has deleted scenes and outtakes. It would’ve been nice to see a commentary track or a behind the scenes featurette here, as I would’ve liked some insight to how this film was made.

Final Summary:
Sadly, this film had a lot of potential coming in. This had a good cast that kept me entertained. But with direction that lagged at times and scenes went too long. Thankfully, the film’s recovers, but “Unfinished Song” at the end of the day felt like an unfinished film.

Review Rating: Two and a Half Stars
DVD Extras: One Star

I usually never review TV movies on this site. But when I heard that PBS was doing a documentary on the great Mel Brooks for their “American Masters” program, it perked my interest almost immediately because I’m a fan of his work and I also consider him as the last great comedic director. That’s what drew me to “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise”.

Brooks has been in the show business for over sixty years. From his day as a writer of Sid Ceaser’s “Your Show of Shows” to his most notable films “The Producers”, “Blazing Saddles”, “Young Frankenstien” and “Spaceballs”, everything is highlighted in this documentary. It also feature interviews from Brooks, Mathew Broderick, Cloris Leachman, Carl Reiner and others that have appeared in his films and productions over the years.

It was a good thing that I was interested in watching “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise”, as this was a very good documentary that focused on the career of Mel Brooks.
One of the reason that I liked this was the fact that it had a raw feel to it. Director Robert Trachtenberg does very good job making sure that you’re not sitting there and watching the camera not stay still for eighty four minutes. The camera movements helped the time go by. Also, he and his director of photography dis a very job making sure it has a raw feel to it during the interviews. It helped drown some of the boring aspects that you see in a regular documentary has when it’s shot with a single camera.

The documentary also focuses on his body of work. It does a very good job covering his whole career from time that he wrote on Sid Ceasar’s show “Your Show of Shows” to the Broadway version of one of his famous films “The Producers”. There were some very good stories about his films and his hit play from some the actors involved in his productions like Bill Pullman (Spaceballs), Richard Lewis (Robin Hood: Men in Tights), Carl Reiner, Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein) and others. It also does a good job going into Mel Brooks. Whether about his personal life or the end of his film career, there were some interesting things that you never knew about him. The film also does a good job with the way it handles the archival footage from various things that Brooks was a part of over the years to old interview footage of the late Gene Wilder talking about Mel Brooks. It made the film feel complete to me.

DVD Extras:

The DVD only features an additional seventeen minute of deleted scenes. It features interviews from Brooks, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner and more. It was a nice addition, as it gave you more interesting stories of Brooks that weren’t featured in the film.. It’s worth checking out, after you watch this film.

Final Summary:

This is a must see, if you’re a fan of Mel Brooks. It’s a very good and interesting look at one of the masters of comedy.

Review Rating: Four Stars

DVD Extras: Two Stars

“Madrid 1987” is a film that caught my radar, when seeing the film’s trailer. It looked interesting, but what sold it for me was that it was an official selection of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. As an independent film lover, I had to check this film out since I do enjoy most films that come out of Sundance.

The film takes on a hot summer afternoon in Spain, where and feared and respected old reporter meets a young female journalism student. His intensions are voluptuous, while hers are unknown. By some strange event, they are both locked in a bathroom naked without any escape. Now removed from the outside world, the two are pitted in a duel that involves age, intellect, ambition and experience, as they wait for someone to unlock the door.

“Madrid 1987” is one of those films that isn’t for everyone. It deals with a subject matter that might turn off some people and the fact it’s one of those films that only features two character talking for ninety plus minutes. With that said, I thought that this was a pretty good film.

One of the reason that this was a very good film was the direction. Writer/director David Trueba does a very good job making the film entertaining considering that it mostly involves two characters stuck in a contained space. What makes it entertaining was the fact that everything felt raw. From the lack of background music to the way the film was shot, it felt like it had a realistic tone to it. That’s one of the reasons why everything felt realistic. The other thing that makes it feel that way was the performances. Trueba does a very good job in the way that he directs the lead performances. From the expressions to the way that some of the dialogue was delivered, it was able to keep you’re interested in these characters. Both Jose Sacristan and Maria Valverde did a very good job keeping the film moving, as that’s a hard thing to do in a film that basically features only two characters for the entire time.

Trueba’s screenplay was also one of the film’s highlights. One of the things that he does well is writing some interesting dialogue. The dialogue in the film was very key to keeping the flow of the film moving. In a film like this, you need to come up for with cleaver dialogue with some emotion to keep the story moving. This film does a very good job, as there wasn’t a boring moment throughout. The other thing that I liked about this screenplay that it doesn’t shy away from anything. This film deals with a lot of things like age, politics, sex and insecurity. Through that, the screenplay does a good job not rushing or over doing these things to the point of it becoming boring or the characters wouldn’t be interesting enough. That what made the story something different from what I’m accustomed to seeing for the big studios.

DVD Extras:

Sadly, there wasn’t a lot extras on this disc. The disc has a photo gallery of still for the film and trailers for “Madrid 1987” and other Breaking Glass Pictures releases.

It would have been nice to have had interviews with the cast and director of the film. It could’ve explained the filmmaking process of this film, which I was interested in considering that the film only contains two characters and deals with a taboo subject.

Final Summary:

This is one of those films that you should try and seek out, if you like films that focuses on engaging characters and risky subject matter. “Madrid 1987” is an entertaining film with good performances and a screenplay that is different from other dramas of this nature.

Review Rating: Five Stars
DVD Extras: One Star

“Compliance” is one of those films that are inspired by chilling events. It’s something that usually draws some people into a film without hearing any press on it. That wasn’t the case with me. All the positive reviews that this film was getting for its performances are what drew to me to seeing this film for myself.

The film is about a stressed out manager fast food manager (Ann Dowd), who receives a mysterious phone call from a police officer. The officer says that Becky (Dreama Walker), a pretty young blonde has stolen money from one of the customers. The manager is convinced that she’s doing the right thing, by helping the officer no matter how omnipresent and intrusive they become.

Film Review:

“Compliance” is a very disturbing and shocking film. One of the reasons for that was that Craig Zobel’s direction felt raw and hauntingly realistic. Most of that had to with his direction and the way the cinematographer shot the film. There were some scenes in the film, where it was just horrifying to watch because of its realistic feel. It felt like you were watching a horror film without the blood and gore that you would necessarily need to create that effect. It made for some very disturbing sequences.
The other thing that I liked about Zobel’s direction was the way that he handles his cast. The acting in this film was great. I liked the fact that he takes his time to make sure that performances are what they need to be for this to work. Ann Dowd is very good in this film, as the store manager. She does a great job making her character so real to the point that this could actually happen. I’m surprised that there was little talk about her performance during this year’s Oscar season. Besides that performance, the film also has some excellent supporting performances from Dreama Walker and Pat Healy. That is what happens when a good director focuses on the performance aspects to make the characters interesting.

Zobel’s screenplay was just as good as his direction of the film. One of the things that I liked about his screenplay was that there was never a minute without tension throughout the story. Zobel does a very good job in making the subject matter very disturbing. This could have been one of those films, where it could’ve felt like one long phone conversation for over most of the film. Instead, it helps makes the film move at a reasonable pace because of all these disturbing elements. The other thing that I liked about this was that it had an epilogue to the story. Sometimes with films like these, the film would end abruptly. It wasn’t the case here, as Zobel does a very good job including the aftermath of the incident. Without giving anything away, it severed it purpose to the story and psychology of the characters after the fact.

DVD Extras:

The extras start off with “Interview with Director Craig Zobel”. Sadly, this was the longest featurette clocking at ten minutes. This was a good featurette, as Zobel talks about the making the film. From the technical aspects to the subject material, he goes into detail about the filming process. The second featurette is “Behind the Scenes of Compliance” It was a very brief two minute featurette featuring interviews from director Craig Zobel, actress Ann Dowd and actor Pat Healy. It would have been nice to have the interviews of the actors extended, as their thoughts were very brief and didn’t include anything about the filming process. The last featurette is “AXS TV: A Look at Compliance”. It was a very generic featurette that features clips from the “Interview with Director Craig Zobel” featurette. That’s what you typically expect on all of these Magnolia releases. Then, the disc wraps up the film’s theatrical trailer and trailers for other Magnolia releases. With the exception of the Craig Zobel interview, Magnolia Pictures dropped the ball with the extras on this release.

Final Thoughts:
“Compliance” was one of those films that were overlooked when the Academy Awards were announced. The film has a great performance from Ann Dowd and a very disturbing screenplay.
Review Rating: Five Stars
DVD Extras: One Star

When I heard that there were plans for “[REC] 3: Genesis and “[REC] 4 : Apocalypse” were announced, I was so excited for this until I heard that this film was going to break from the format of the first two films. Maybe it was the fact that I’m use to watching each “[REC]” film use the found footage format. Nevertheless, I still was curious about “[REC] 3 Genesis”.

The film is about Clara and Diego (Leticia Dolera, Diego Martin), a newly married couple who are celebrating their first day of marriage. With wedding video photographers, they capture their first moments as husband and wife. Soon the wedding reception turns this joyous occasion into a living nightmare, as a virus starts to infect the reception guests and transforming them into horrific zombies. This forces the couple to into a horrific fight for their lives, as they are separated from each other. Will they find each other and make it out of this horrific ordeal.

One of my fears going into this film was that this was going to be a letdown, considering what I heard about it. The fact that this wasn’t going to be a complete found footage like the other two films had me a little skeptical about the film. It also didn’t help that I noticed on the IMDB boards that fans were not happy with the screenplay or the film in general. Well, I disagree with them, as this was different and more intense than the other two “[REC]” films.

Most of that was Paco Plaza’s direction. One of the things that I liked about it, he does a very good job with the transition of formats. It was a little awkward seeing a [REC] film use the traditional method of direction and storytelling. I liked, the way that he uses the found footage format to set up the characters and the story. It makes all the wedding aspects work, as you become interested in the couple. Plaza also does a very good job switching to tradition formats for the film’s intense action sequences. It made the action sequences work a whole lot better. He also does a very good job with the way that he directs his cast. I thought, the performances were very good. Both Leticia Dolera and Diego Martin both did a very good job as Clara and Koldo. The two had very good chemistry as the newlywed couple, as it made the characters and the dynamic of their relationship work. If the performances didn’t work, then it wouldn’t be as good.

The screenplay written by Plaza and co-writer Luiso Berdejo does a very good job trying to take the franchise in a totally different direction. The screenplay does a very good job focusing on the characters and developing the relationship between the newlyweds. It made you interested in the couple, as they are trying to escape. The writers also did a very good job with more creating more intense sequences. This film and story felt like there was more intensity and more bloody images than the previous entries. It works in the screenwriters favor, because it picks up the pace of the film and you’re invested with what is going on. That’s what makes the film entertaining and makes you forget that you’re expecting a found footage film.

DVD Extras:

Sadly, there aren’t many extras on this disc. The only things on the disc are deleted scenes and outtakes. It would’ve been nice, if they included a behind the scene featurette. You would have at least got something out of the making of the film.

Final Summary:

“[REC] 3: Genesis” is by far the most intense and bloodiest entry in the series. It’s different from the first two films, but it’s the most action packed film in the series with good lead performances from Leticia Dolera, Diego Martin and very directing from Paco Plaza.

Review Rating: Five Stars
DVD Extras: One Star

Resident Evil: Damnation
Year: 2012
Director: Makoto Kamiya
Stars: Courtenay Taylor, Matthew Mercer and Robin Sachs
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 101 Mins

“Resident Evil: Damnation” is the second CGI film in the “Resident Evil” series. The film is about U.S special agent Leon S. Kennedy, who sneaks into eastern European country in the middle of a conflict between the government and rebels. When the U.S. withdraws, the agent stays behind to verify rumors that Bio Organic Weapons exist. Now Leon must find way to end the tragedies that the violence and the bio organic weapons have caused, before everything gets out of control.

Film Review:

Going into this film, I thought that “Resident Evil: Damnation” would be like the live action films of the series. The live action films come off more as thrill rides with crazy set pieces that make check your brain at the door. This film was different from all those, as this CGI film is anything but a thrill ride.

Director Makoto Kamiya does a very good job making the film feel dark and scary at times. One of things that he does well was the fact that everything had a dark tone to it. Whether it’s the dark background that he has his animators work on to the intense and scary action, Kamiya effectively stays true to the video game roots and doesn’t try to imitate the live action films with all of its campy action. It makes the film feel scary and grabs your attention. I also liked how he was able to execute the film’s dark tone through the performances. Whether it’s the movement of the characters to the vocals of the characters, I never got the sense that this film was going to turn into one of the live action films with crazy action and no story.

Shotaro Suga’s screenplay was also better than the live action films. One of the things that he does very well, he develops the characters and situation that they’re caught in. He effectively does that, by making the story dark. It was done very well, as you never got a sense of hope. Part of that was the way that the story had various twists and turns. It was truly different and a change of pace from the live action films. It made me wish, the live action films were like this. The other thing that Suga does well, he’s able to make most of the action scenes feel scary. He builds the film tension through the dark tone and the main character’s dilemma. It makes you interested in the story, instead of feeling like you’re there for the thrill ride. It also help makes the action and the twists more effective to you the viewer.

DVD Extras:

The first feature on the DVD is “The Making of Resident Evil: Damnation - The DNA of Damnation”. The featurette goes into the technical aspects of the film. From filming to all of the technical CGI stuff, the filmmakers go into those aspects of the film’s production. Overall, this was a good featurette. After that, the next featurette called “Las Plagas: Oraganiams of War”. It’s pretty much a short film that severs as background information about the virus, which is the one of the main focal points of the film. After that, the disc wraps up with a Gag Reel and Trailers for a couple of upcoming games including the next “Resident Evil” video game. This was probably the best that you’re going to get with this release.

Final Summary:

It was very nice to actually see a true horror film in the “Resident Evil” universe. “Resident Evil: Damnation” is filled with creepy moments and turns that keep you interested throughout. Truly worth your time, if you’re a fan of the live action films or the video game series.

Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars.
Dvd Extras: Two Stars

Have you ever seen a movie and wondered how it was pitched or what the Initial production meetings looked like? In the case of South of Heaven, I can see it as clear as day. This probably didn’t happen, but it’s my review, so I get to imagine it the way I want to, dammit. Imagine if you will a bird’s eye view of a table in the middle of a room dimly lit by a single naked light bulb above the table. Half empty whiskey bottles litter the table, and cigarettes smolder in ashtrays. As we pull in to see people sitting around the table, the sounds of arguing grow louder. One man says, “We should make a comic book movie!” Another retorts, “No, we should make a neo-noir crime flick.” Yet another interjects, “I say we make a western!” Someone else pipes up “But I want to make a black comedy.” We cut to a POV shot from the head of the table as everyone continues to argue, talking at once. Over the din of the spirited discussion, someone clears their throat. Everyone falls silent and looks toward the camera. A man sits back in a chair, his features hidden in the shadows. “Gentlemen…” he says as he leans forward, revealing writer/director J.L. Vara, “…why don’t we just make them all?” One of the other men looks panicked and says “But we only have the money to make one movie!” An extreme close up of Vara’s mouth reveals a sly grin crossing his lips as he says “I know.”

Synopsis: When Roy Coop finished his stint in the Navy, he only had two things on his mind: seeing his brother Dale, and writing the great American novel. What he gets, however, is the homecoming from Hell! A pair of violent vaudevillians (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE’s Jon Gries, and Thomas Jay Ryan) mistake Roy for his brother, looking to collect on a debt he didn’t know he owed. Eight fingers later, Roy is burnt to a crisp, forged by fire into a new man. Roy is dead. Nobody is born. Now it’s Nobody’s turn to have his wicked revenge, and to save his brother before it’s too late. Wrapped in bandages and ready for blood, Nobody is determined to kill those that get in his way, even the murdering masochist named Mad Dog Mantee (Shea Whigham, MACHETE and HBO’s BOARDWALK EMPIRE). Dodging bullets and dodging dames, Nobody meets the nasty ne’er-do-wells Lily (Diora Baird, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING) and Veronica (Elina Lowensohn, SCHINDLER’S LIST). In this wonderful neo-film-noir, violence and vengeance are sure to meet in a little town they call… South of Heaven.

There are three things that make South of Heaven something special. The first one, which will reach out and grab you immediately, is the visual style. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like a comic/noir/western/euro/kids book. One of the major factors that played in to the great look of the film is that it was shot on 35mm film. It has a warm, textured, film look that is so much better than digital. The main reason the flick has such a unique look, however, is that everything is manufactured on set and in camera. There is no CGI and no green screen. It’s all painted backdrops and rear projection and practical effects. The colors are vibrant, and the animated sequences are great. The comic book look reminded me a bit of Dick Tracy. The lush palate serves as a nice counter point to the sometimes very dark, violent story.

The set design deserves special mention. The house we spend the first portion of the film in is gorgeous. It has a black and white motif, bringing the noir aspects to mind, but strangely Lina Romay would not look out of place at all lounging around naked on that set in a 70’s Jess Franco Eurosleaze film. There are no actual exteriors in the film, all of the outside shots are shot on a sound stage. The painted desert (pun intended) backdrop to the outdoor shots at Mad Dog’s hideout and the town of South of Heaven smacks of the Loony Tunes desert populated by Wiley Coyote and the Roadrunner. The interiors of the cabin where most of the action in the second half takes place would look equally at home in a horror flick as it would a western. These sets never look realistic, lending the movie a dreamlike quality that makes it truly unique. It kinda feels like someone painted bold watercolors in a coloring book and set a demented little movie in it.

The second thing, and the one that absolutely blew me away in this movie is the acting. The casting is perfect, particularly the centerpiece of the movie, Shea Wigham. Holy shit he is amazing in this flick. I mean, this is award worthy acting. I was only previously familiar with him from Boardwalk Empire. No, I haven’t seen Wristcutters, yes I know I should, and no you’re not the first person to tell me that, so give it a rest. Anyway, he positively owns the screen every moment he is on it. Mark my words, once Shea breaks into the upper echelon of the acting business where he belongs, this will be that early indie gem of his that people go back, discover, rave about, and try to claim that they saw it and recognized his talent “before the mainstream did”; so catch this flick now before the hipsters discover it in a couple of years.

The supporting cast is phenomenal too. The brothers Nee are good as the brothers Coop. Jon Gries and Thomas Jay Ryan are hilarious as a pair of Vaudevillian villains. I mean hilarious. I would love to see them as recurring characters in other movies. The beautiful Diora Baird (Night of the Demons remake, Stan Helsing, etc.) gives the best performance of her career, and Elina Lowensohn is pitch perfect as the classic film fatale vamp. I was ecstatic to see Joe Unger, best known as Tinker from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, show up. He’s always a welcome addition. Hell, we even get a cameo from none other than George “The Animal” Steele.
The third thing is the screenplay. As good as J.L. Vara is as a director, I think his true gift is his writing. His script is almost as much of the star of this flick as Whigham is. The dialog is simply genius. It’s on par with any dialog Quentin Tarantino or Kevin Smith has ever written. I know that’s a heavy statement, but it’s true. At times it almost seems to have been written for the stage. There’s one speech that Mad Dog gives about a dancing chicken that is absolutely one of the best soliloquies I’ve seen in a movie since…well, ever. Like I said, the actors do a bang up job, but a significant amount of the credit for the success of the characters has to go to the masterful writing.

There are a couple of missteps in the flick, though. Some of the makeup, particularly the prosthetics in the early attacks on Nothing, look great. Some of the makeup, however, looks terrible. I can understand that possibly being a budgetary issue, but I’ve seen better burned faces done with stuff from Party City. Near the end of the movie there’s a section where Mad Dog leaves Dale and Lily alone in the cabin for a while, and these scenes drag, causing some real pacing issues. Cutting them by a couple of minutes would have helped immensely. Then again, Mad Dog is such a great character and Whigham is such a great actor that maybe it’s just his abrupt absence that these scenes suffer from. There was also one directorial choice I didn’t dig. There are references to 80’s music spread throughout the movie. Early on in South of Heaven there is a stylized instrumental version of a song by The Cure used. From there on, I was listening to the score and trying to catch other songs. The problem is, there aren’t any as far as the score goes. The characters sing the other songs. I found it distracting to play name that tune with the score without there being a payoff. I would have used the Cure song later in the flick, but maybe that’s just me.

As usual, Synapse gives us a nice DVD package. We’ve got a nice transfer of the movie. I can’t speak for the Blu-ray, but the DVD preserves the great look of the 35mm film. As far as the special features, we’ve got not one, not two, but THREE commentaries; one with the filmmakers, one with the cast, and one with some critics. We also get three of Vara’s short films; Miserable Orphan, Azole Dkmuntch, and A Boy And His Fetus. They’re all entertaining on their own and show the progression towards the skill he would show in the feature.

Random Thought: There’s one scene that, when I saw it, I wondered if it was an homage to a 1978 flick that I love called Blue Sunshine. On the commentary, Vara confirms that it was. I like him even more now.

I go back and forth from wondering what these guys could have done with a budget and being glad they didn’t have one. Half of me would love to see what these filmmakers and their stylistic sensibilities would have done with a couple million dollars. However, I think a lot of the film’s look that I enjoyed so much was a product of the inventiveness and ingenuity that comes with having to stretch $4000 enough to make a whole movie. Yes, I said $4,000. No, I didn’t forget any zeroes.

South of Heaven is exactly what I’m looking for when I pop in a no budget indie flick; something that can’t afford to show me what Hollywood can, so instead they show me something I’ve never seen before, which I would rather see any day. To call South of Heaven quirky would be like calling Gary Busey slightly eccentric, but it doesn’t try to get along on that quality alone. It’s well made and amazingly written. What I wanna know is how something like this takes four years to get distribution (it was made in 2008) but crap like Chernobyl Diaries goes from idea to screen in a year. In other words, this flick is a clear illustration of what’s right with indie filmmaking today and what’s wrong with Hollywood.

One and a half severed thumbs up. Nathan says check it out. Ok, I was a good boy and resisted all during the review, but I can’t hold it back anymore… Before you see the light, you must diiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!

Richard Connell’s story The Most Dangerous Game, originally published in 1924, has been adapted for the silver screen many, many times. In almost every version, at least one character spends some time hiding in the bushes. I dare say, however, that there has never been an adaptation that can match the sheer amount of bush in Jess Franco’s Countess Perverse. When I got a copy of a Jess (Jesus) Franco flick that I had never seen before to review, I knew that there was just one proper place to watch it, at Jimmy’s Backyard Drive-in. There’s nothing like getting together in the great outdoors with a bunch of fully soused movie geeks and scumbags (aka some of the Dear God No! cast and crew) over copious booze and smoked meat and watching the exploitation master do his thing, and Jesus certainly did his thing here. Countess Perverse certainly does not disappoint.

Synopsis: Really? You want a story synopsis in a Jess Franco movie? Well, ok, here it goes. Bob and Moira find a naked woman on the beach, who tells them a wild story about how she was shipwrecked on an island where she ended up at the house of Countess Ivana and Count Zabor. They took her in, fed her mysterious meat, seduced her, and then tried to kill and cook her. Some hospitality, huh? Well, it just so happens that Bob and Moira are employed by said Countess to bring her new victims/fresh meat, so they send our castaway back. Then innocent little Sylvia, played by Franco’s favorite muse Lina Romay, arrives on the scene. Three-way fun ensues, along with a little tension in the form of a love triangle. The couple takes their new plaything/guest to meet the Countess. At dinner Lina gets to sample the “wild game,” and later the Countess “samples” Lina’s wild game so to speak. I know wild game might be an awkward euphemism, but it’s fitting since she did have to trek through a jungle to find it. Anyway, later Lina stumbles across the Count and Countess about to butcher the body of the poor gal from the opening scene, and she discovers why she was brought to the island. You see, The Countess likes to hunt human prey, and it’s Lina season. They throw her out into the countryside in her birthday suit and the Countess, not quite as naked (she wears a necklace, belly chain, and quiver of arrows), sets out to kill her. Will this deadly game end with Sylvia evading Ivana’s arrows and gaining her freedom, or will she be eaten my the countess…um… again?

Truth be told, this isn’t so much a version of The Most Dangerous Game as it is a cross between that story and some of Marquis de Sade’s work, which Franco would return to throughout his career. Bob and Moira play the part of the libertines who take in and corrupt Stlvia a-la Justine or Philosophie dans le Boudoir. Despite being a mashup of two classic sources, the story is fairly thin as expected; but it’s plenty to drive 78 minutes of sleazy fun. You weren’t really expecting some deep exploration of the human condition, were you? Besides, they have to leave room for all of the sex. If you’ve ever seen a Jess Franco movie before, or even if you’re just marginally familiar with the sleaze auteur, then you know what you’re going to be getting with this one. While he would make sleazier flicks (Bare Breasted Countess, Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, various actual porn movies), the sex and nudity is front and center here. An interesting debate could be made out of whether the sex scenes are there to fill the holes in the plot or if the plot is just there for the purpose of stringing together the sex scenes.

Some other Franco trademarks show up in this flick. The “Franco zooms” are employed, as well as his tendency to do a lot of static blocking in dialog heavy scenes. Jess made a habit of using a lot of the same actors, and most of this cast will be familiar faces to those familiar with his oeuvre. He always did have a hell of an eye for casting gorgeous women, and it shows here. Of course the late Lina Romay is breathtaking as always. Alice Arno, who plays the countess, has an exotic look that’s quite alluring, and the other ladies are certainly easy on the eyes. On the male side, we’re treated to a creepy performance from Franco regular Howard Vernon. Semi-regular Robert Woods puts in a good turn as Bob, even though we were all screaming obscenities at Bob throughout the flick. Watch it, you’ll understand. That medallion is pretty pimp though.

Another thing Jesus Franco is known for is his ability to choose great locations. The house (known as Xanadu and located on a French island according to the special features) that serves as the exterior of the Countesses abode is absolutely amazing. Architecturally, I have never seen anything like it. I want a house just like that one. Actually, it’s the same building Jess used as Soledad Miranda’s character’s house in She Killed in Ecstasy. The interiors were shot at a neighboring building, including the “red staircase” room that makes quite a few appearances throughout. The combination of these two houses makes it seem as if the interior is much larger than the exterior, lending a bizarre, slightly off kilter quality to the house. The stone staircase leading up to the house from the beach is just straight up awesome. In addition to the house itself, the area around it is stunning to look at. The crystal blue water, the sheer rock cliffs, and the serene beaches look like paradise. This has the added quality of creating a dramatic discrepancy when the killing starts. I cannot say enough about the beauty of the location and the badassery of
the buildings on display in Countess Perverse.

The only thing I didn’t dig about the movie was the fact that there really wasn’t any gore to speak of. There’s a trickle here and there, but it’s surprisingly restrained. I expected at least a decent smattering of the red stuff considering the cannibalism and human hunting elements of the story. While Franco isn’t necessarily known for his gore, he usually didn’t exactly shy away from it either. I never thought I’d say this, but I wish Jess Franco hadn’t lapsed into good taste in this department.

Mondo Macabro has given us a great package in this DVD. When I first got into Franco’s work, it was on who-the-hell-knows-how-many generation bootleg VHS, and they looked like crap. At that time, though, that was the only way to see this stuff. Now, whenever I see a good quality print of a Franco flick, I’m blown away, and this one looks absolutely fantastic. Sometimes when new transfers are done, they go too far trying to clean it up and destroy the look of the film. Not so here. This is a perfect example of how to do a transfer. It retains that film grain and texture, it’s crystal clear, and the lush colors pop. Well done. As far as extras we’ve got some text notes about the film, filmmakers, and cast, a 15 minute interview with Robert Woods, and a 15 minute segment with critic/historian Stephen Thrower which is quite informative. In fact, I think MM should have had this guy do a commentary track. Bravo Mondo Macabro, this is the kind of love us exploitation fans love to see these flicks receive.

While I was writing this review, I did a little experiment. Ihad the movie playing in the background, and I made a point to look at the screen every five minutes or so. Out of a total of 13 times, I was greeted by full frontal nudity on 9 occasions. I’d say that’s a pretty good ratio, and I would expect nothing less from Jess Franco. If you don’t dig Franco, Countess Perverse isn’t going to change your mind. If you love Jess like I do, then Countess Perverse is a must own. I know I said the plot was thin, but honestly, I’ve seen much thinner in the euro-sleaze genre. Between the incredible locations and the nubile (I love that word) flesh, it’s a sumptuous feast for the eyes. Above all, it’s a blast to watch, and Mondo Macabro has given a fine flick the release it deserves. Oh, by the way; you may ask why I sometimes refer to him as Jesus and sometimes Jess. Well, it’s because it’s so much fun to make the statement “Thank you Jesus for all of the tits and ass!”

Two severed thumbs up. Nathan says check it out.

“The Turnpike Killer”
Year: 2012
Directors: Evan Makrogiannis and Brian Weaver
Stars: Bill McLaughin, Edgar Moye, Lyndsey Brown
Studio: New York Horror Film Productions
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 89 Mins.

Film Synopsis:

It’s been a while, since yours truly has done a full independent horror review that hasn’t been released from a major distributor. But once the package for “The Turnpike Killer” came in, I knew that I had to review this film.

The film is about a killer (Bill McLaughin) who has been on a murderous rampage for the last ten years in the city that never sleeps. His murders have been so sadistic that he has been coined as “The Turnpike Killer”. He has been searching all these years for the chosen one, but he thinks he’s closing in on that person. But unknown to him, NYPD Homicide Detective Lloyd (Edgar Moye) is on his trail and closing in on him. “The Turnpike Killer is sure to horrify you one way or the other. The film also features special appearances from Ruby Larocca (The Lost, Porkchop) and Manoush (Barricade).

Film Review:

“The Turnpike Killer” is one of the most shocking horror films that I’ve seen in a long time. Directors Evan Makrogiannis and Brian Weaver do a very good job keeping your interest. One of the reasons is, the way that they handled the direction. I liked how, they kept everything serious. When watching low budget slashers, the violence usually isn’t scary or shocking. It sometimes hurts my experience, when watching a serious horror film. This film is different though. From the tone of the film to the horrifying sequences, Makrogiannis and Weaver did a very good job making me horrified watching the film’s action. It’s very hard to do when watching a film of this nature, because violence in a low budget horror film usually isn’t scary or that shocking. The directors pull it off very well. The other thing that I liked about the direction was the way that the film was shot. It had the feel of an eighties micro budget horror film with a grainy looks and ultra violence. It helped the film achieve what it was set out to do.

The acting here was also very good. I liked how, the directors focused on getting the best performances possible to fit the film’s very dark tone. By doing that, it makes the terror feel real. The other thing that I liked was Bill McLaughlin’s performance. It’s very menacing. He does a very good job making the character, as a person that you would literally fear on the streets. It helped the film work as a whole for me, because if the performance isn’t that way then the film doesn’t work.

Makrogiannis and Weaver’s screenplay does a very good job making you feeling horrified at the film’s action. What makes this screenplay good was the way that they spend time developing the film’s characters. The writers spend time to develop them, so you feel horrified when a character is killed off. It’s needed, because if don’t care about the characters then you’re not interested with the story. The other thing that I liked about the screenplay, the film ends with a surprising twist. It works very well here, as it answered a lot of questions that I had with the main character for the majority of it. When that happens, then you feel like everything in the story makes sense.

DVD Extras:

The first extra on the DVD is the feature length documentary “Donuts and a Double Homicide: The Making of The Turnpike Killer”. I enjoyed this very much. I liked, how this was more than just a documentary on the film. The documentary focuses on the film’s two director’s Evan Makrogiannis and Brian Weaver, from their love of the horror genre to the making of the film. It does a good job keeping your interest. You also get interviews from most of the film’s cast, as they discuss their time on the set of the film and about the film’s subject matter. This is definitely worth a viewing, as this is one of the better behind the scenes featurettes that you’ll see from any independent film that’s currently on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Next on the DVD is a short film called “Devil Moon”, which is directed by Evan Makrogiannis and features appearances from Manoush and Ruby Larocca. It’s very different from “The Turnpike Killer, but still it’s worth a viewing, as deals with werewolf subgenre.

There are also some added bonuses to the package. First there’s a VHS copy of the film, which fits the eighties style of horror that is presented here and the film’s poster which is autographed by Ruby Larocca, who is one of the film’s co-stars. Overall, this is a very good package.

Final Summary:

This is worth seeking out for fans of eighties micro budget horror. “The Turnpike Killer” is a horror film that is filled with shocking violence and a twist that you won’t see coming.

To purchase this film, you can visit the film’s official website at: http://www.turnpikekiller.com

Also, the film will be playing at this friday night at the Macabre Film Festival, which takes at the at the Best Weston on 173 Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre, NY. Screening time is 11pm.

Review Rating: Four Stars

DVD Extras: Three and a half stars

“Yellow Submarine”
Year: 1968
Director: George Dunning
Stars: The Beatles, Paul Angelis, and John Clive
Studio: EMI Music / Apple Films
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 90 Mins.

Plot Synopsis:
“Yellow Submarine” is based on a Beatles song that was released in 1966. Two years later, the song would be the basis of a feature film. Forty Six years later, the film is digitally re-mastered and making its DVD re-release.
The film follows The Beatles, as they journey to the land called Pepperland. It’s a place, where music and happiness that is spread across the land. Everything is threatened there, when the Blue Meanies sends an army that is bent on destroying everything that is good. This enters John, Paul, George and Ringo to save Pepperland from theses menaces. Armed with their humor, songs and the yellow submarine, they tackle the evil force and try to save Pepperland from impending doom.

Film Review:
I was kind of surprised that I enjoyed “Yellow Submarine”, considering that I’m not a big fan of The Beatles. One of the reasons that I enjoyed it, the direction was very good. Director George Dunning does a very good job with the way that he handles the direction of the animation. The animation looks very good for a film that was released in the 1960’s. He and his animators did a very good job making the images feel magical. Maybe it was the fact that everything was digital restored. Even with that, the animation looks better from other cartoons that came out during that time period. The other thing that I liked about Dunning’s direction, he does a very good job getting all the vocal performance to fit the film. He does a very good job getting his performances to bring a certain kind of tone to the characters. It makes the characters likable and you’re caught up in this fantasy world.

The screenplay written by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn, and Erich Segal does a very good job making the story work with the music. What I liked about the screenplay, you didn’t needed to be a fan of The Beatles to enjoy this film. The writers do a very good creating a story that is magical that all ages would enjoy. To me, the film needed to have that sort of charm for it to work for me. They did that successfully. The other thing they did well, they placed the music to fit with the film’s story. When you’re using a rock bands album, the placement of the songs is important to the film’s success. The writers do a very good job placing the songs at the right moment to fit with the film’s story. It helps enhance the scenes and the song. That’s what you want, when you’re watching a musical.

DVD Extras:

The first featurette on the DVD is the audio commentary track with production supervisor John Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann. More the most part, this was a good track. I liked how, they were able to talk about the production of the film. From the music to the animation, they go into great detail about how the film was made. The only drawback on this track was there were some dead spots, where the talking stops and you just hear the music. Still, the track is worth a listen.
Next on the DVD, “The Beatles: Mod Odyssey”. This short documentary was created in 1968. It goes into the creation of the film and its characters. Not a bad nostalgic featurette, as it goes into the basis of the film and the behind the scenes of it.

The next featurette was the interviews, which was divided into five chapters without a play all option. It features interviews from Paul Angelis (voice of Ringo and Chief Blue Meanie), John Clive (voice of John), David Livesey (key animator), Millicent McMillan (Heinz Edelmann’s assistant), Jack Stokes (animation director), and Erich Segal (co-writer). Not much information here, as the interviews felt too short and not that interesting. It would have been nice to have a documentary on the film, instead of having five short interviews.

The disc wraps up with storyboard sequences, original pencil drawings, behind the scenes photos and the film’s original trailer.

Final Summary:

I was very surprised, that I had a very good time with this film considering that I’m not a fan of The Beatles. “Yellow Submarine” is filled with great animation and a story that makes sense with music.
Review Rating: Four Stars
DVD Extras: Three Stars.

11-11-11
Year: 2011
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Stars: Timothy Gibbs, Michael Landes, Wendy Glen
Studio: Big Air Studios
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 82 Mins.

Plot Synopsis:

Darren Lynn Bousman has been busy with “The Devil’s Carnival,” which is currently out on a road tour, his remake of Charles Kaufman’s Troma classic “Mother’s Day, “ which came out on Blu-Ray yesterday, and “11-11-11”, which I‘m doing to talk about now. The film recently made its debut on DVD after a limited theatrical release that didn‘t do much business.

The film follows Joseph Crone, who is a famed writer that is going through a personal tragedy of his own. He travels to Spain to reunite with his estranged brother and his father who is dying. While there, he begins to find out that strange things are happening to him. Crone is plagued with strange occurrences every time the clock hit 11:11. He begins to realize that this has a horrible meaning for him and everyone, as the time symbolizes 11-11-11. Is it a warning or the date of the destruction of mankind?

Film Review:

I was somewhat skeptical about this film, because of the fact that it received the dreaded PG-13 rating from the MPAA. That’s usually the kiss of death for a horror film. Given the track record of Darren Lynn Bousman’s past films, however, I was going to give this one a chance. Good thing that I took the chance with this film, as I enjoyed it.

“11-11-11” is a very effective dark and chilling film that will keep you up at night. One of the things that I liked about this film was the way that writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman does a very good job keeping the tone and atmosphere of the film dark. This was very important to the success of this film, because you’re relying on the tone and atmosphere to help make the mythology work. It’s very hard to do, but he makes every scene have a certain gloom and doom feel to it. The other thing Bousman does very well is being able to get the performances to work. The acting was good, as the cast made the characters interesting and made the material move at a good pace without the viewer getting bored. That’s credited to Bousman’s direction, as the performances keep your interest in the story.

Bousman also does a very good job with the way that he wrote the screenplay. Usually when I’m watching some of these films that deal with religious and supernatural elements, I tend to find that the pace of those films slow and boring. I didn’t get that sense at any time with this film or its screenplay. The reason is that some of the film’s scenes had some suspenseful elements that keep your interest in the story. Bousman builds tension and suspense towards some of the film’s climatic scenes. It’s needed to keep you interested with the material and story. All of this leads to a very good payoff that you won‘t see coming.

DVD Extras:

First on the disc is the commentary track with writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman and producer Laura Bousman. This was a very good commentary track. Both Darren Lynn and Laura Bousman don’t hold back on this track. The track goes into the various aspects of the production of the film and the criticism that this film took from various critics. This is definitely worth a look, if you’re a fan of this film.

“The Making of 11-11-11” is the next feature on the disc. This is a very good look at the making of the film, which features interviews from Bousman, various crew members and the main cast. It provides some very interesting stories on how this film was made. From stories behind the scenes to the way that this film was shot, it gives some very interesting facts about the production.

After the featurette, the disc wraps up with three and half minutes of deleted scenes.

Final Summary:

I know that this film hasn’t gotten great reviews, but I was surprised that I enjoyed it. “11-11-11” is a very gloomy chamber drama that has a good payoff.

Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars
DVD Extras: Three Stars

Trippin
Year: 2012
Director: Devi Snively
Stars: Zed Wilson, Nicole Buehrer, Heathyr Clift
Studio: Camp Motion Pictures
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 90 Mins.

Plot Synopsis:

“Trippin” is the feature film debut from director Devi Snively. She has directed some very entertaining short films in the past such as “Death in Charge”, “Confederate Zombie Massacre” and ‘Last Seen on Dolores Street.

The film is allegedly based on a true story, where one person survived. It follows six friends, who go on a road trip to an isolated cabin in the woods. There, they planed on spending the time to get high and have sex. But unknown to them, there is a mysterious killer stalking them. Soon, they start disappearing and the remaining survivors must find a way to find the killer, before he strikes again.

Film Review:

“Trippin’” is one entertaining horror comedy. Writer and director Devi Snively does a very good job with the way that she handled the writing and directing. One of the things that makes her direction good, the way that she approaches each scene. I liked, the way that Snively makes the scenes so far out. From the way the film was shot to the very trippy flashback sequence, the scenes felt like they had a purpose. You felt like that you were in a drug induced state than watching your typical slasher film. It helps the film stand out and your not feeling bored considering there isn’t much suspense than your accustomed to. I also liked, the way that Snively directs the cast. She allows her cast to add some personality to their characters, which was definitely needed for this film. You need characters to have personality. If the characters have a bland personality, then your stuck watching a boring film. The other thing that Snively does very well, she makes her cast interested in her screenplay. This was one of those films, where you could tell that the cast was interested and having fun.

Sinively’s also does a very job with the way that she handles the screenplay. What makes her story and screenplay good, the fact that this felt like a different kind of slasher film. Sinively does a very good job making this feel like a Kevin Smith comedy with the way the dialogue was written and the fact that it focuses on characters that you don‘t see in other slasher films. She does that, by adding humor when needed and coming up with an interesting story that makes you forget that your watching a slasher film. Usually you would see a killer chasing characters and blood go all over the screen, but this film doesn’t have that. Instead, this film has characters that are interesting and fully developed. That’s what I normally like to see, when reviewing a film. The other thing that I most liked about this screenplay, the way that this screenplay felt different from other slasher films. Snively doesn’t go the blood and gore route. Instead, she makes this screenplay more about the characters, the dialogue and the predicament they are in. It makes up for the fact that their isn’t any suspense. Still, your in for fun time.

DVD Extras:

First on the DVD is “High Hopes: Trippin’ Behind the Scene”. This felt like your typical behind the scenes featurette that documents the happening during of the making of this film. Sadly, there isn’t much is the way of cast and crew interviews. Next on the DVD is “Welcome to Deviant Pictures”. This featurette goes into the film company’s films and their upcoming projects, while adding a humoristic twist to the proceedings. It’s worth a look. The second disc contains all of Devi Snively short films. This is a very good set of short films. On the disc there is seven short films and behind the scenes of “Confederate Zombie Massacre”. My favorites on the disc include “Death in Charge”, “Confederate Zombie Massacre” “Raven Gets a Life” and “I Spit on Eli Roth”. Definitely check this disc out, if you intent to purchase this film.

Final Summary:

“Trippin'” is very good first feature from director Devi Snively, as she one director to keep you eye on. The film is horror comedy that is fun to watch and will get you stoned.

Film Rating: Four Stars
DVD Extras: Three and a Half Stars.

Beneath the Darkness
Year: 2012
Director: Martin Guigui
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Tony Oller, Aimee Teegarden
Studio: Image Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 96 mins


Plot Synopsis:

There are sometime that you have a feeling that a movie is going to bad, but you still have an interest considering the talent involved. That was the case with “Beneath the Darkness”.

The film follows Mr. Ely (Dennis Quaid), a funeral home director who respected in his hometown but hides a frightening secret. When Travis (Tony Oller) and his high school friends think they see ghost lurking in the top of window of Ely’s home, they decide to investigate by breaking into the house. They find something that is so chilling that it takes a murderous turn and leads them into a fight of survival, as Mr. Ely will do anything to keep his dark secret from coming out.

Film Review:

I knew that I was very skeptical about seeing and reviewing this film. What I found beneath the darkness was a movie that sucked the life out of you. This was one film where I wanted to shut the film off, but couldn’t because I had to be professional.

Everything about “Beneath the Darkness” was horrible. One of the things that made this film so bad, everything moves at a slow pace. Director Martin Guigui doesn’t do a good job making the film’s awful screenplay look mediocre. He brings no life to any of the film’s scenes, which makes the action feel dry and have no suspense to it. That what made this a very hard film to watch. It was like, I was waiting for something to happen and nothing happens until the end of the film. He doesn’t build much suspense with the way he handles those scenes. When you have no suspense, then the film suffers and your stuck with a boring film. The other thing that was so bad, the acting was awful. Guigui doesn’t do anything to make his characters stand out from one another. All these characters here felt flat and uninteresting. He makes no attempt to go against the screenplay and try to give the characters personality, instead they are flat and one dimensional. When you have characters like that, then your being bored. This is a crime, considering that he has actors like Dennis Quiad and Aimee Teegarden and he’s that giving direction that makes them either flat or too over the top. He doesn’t allow their true talents to shine here, which hurts the film.

The screenplay here was just as horrible, as the film’s direction. Screenwriter Bruce Wilkinson creates a screenplay that falls flat on every level. One of the things that I didn’t like about the screenplay, the characters were flat. These were characters had one personality to them. Often when most of your characters have one personality trait to them, it means that the characters are uninteresting and boring to watch. That was definitely the case here, as I was bored watching them. The other major grip with this screenplay was that nothing was fully developed. Case in point, I shouldn’t have to wait until the end of the film or guess to find out, why Quaid’s character is having a mental breakdown. Why wasn’t this done in the beginning of the film. When you have to wait the until the very end to find out why your villain is acting psychotic, then your not going to be interested in the character. He drops no hints, during the course of the film and that really getting me when writing these types of review. I don’t like doing it, but if your not going give me any reasons to this, then its going on rant like this.

DVD Extras:

If you thought the movie was awful, it doesn’t stop with the DVD special features. First, there is a behind the scene featurette that just captures the filming of some the scenes of the film. Sadly, there are no interviews with the cast and crew. With a grand total of four and a half minutes, why bother putting out any special features on this disc. It shows that the filmmakers cared about this, like they cared about putting a decent film together.

Final Summary:

Don’t waste your time with this film like I did. It will make you feel bored and want you to turn the film off. “Beneath the Darkness” is a film that lacks everything you want with a thriller like this. Avoid this as all costs.

Film Review: One Star
Dvd Extras: One Star

“Track 29” is one of the strangest movies I’ve seen in a long time, but that’s probably because I am not all that familiar with the work of director Nicolas Roeg. This is only the second movie of his I have seen, the last being “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” and it helps to understand his filmmaking method before watching his work. Roeg’s movies are known for their kaleidoscope of images which are typically presented out of chronological order, and it’s left up to the viewer to make sense out of all the craziness they have just witnessed. Learning this helped me understand “Track 29” better as it is one of those WTF movies that are all over the place.

This movie came out in 1988, and its DVD release coincides with Gary Oldman’s first ever Oscar nomination for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Here he stars as a British orphan named Martin who has arrived in America to look for his mother. Upon meeting bored housewife Linda Henry (Roeg’s then-wife Theresa Russell), Martin is convinced it is her and tries to form the bond he has forever longed to have. But as the story continues on, we wonder if Martin is real or if he’s really just a figment of Linda’s imagination as his arrival coincides with her remembering the child she gave up for adoption years before.

The real pleasure of watching “Track 29” today is to witness Oldman at his manic best as he is a firecracker always on the verge of going off. The actor did this movie not long after he received critical raves for “Sid & Nancy” and “Prick Up Your Ears,” and watching all three movies together makes one wonder where he gets all this crazy energy from. Putting this in comparison to the more subdued work he does today as George Smiley or Commissioner Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” movies makes one realize how amazingly far his range as an actor goes. This makes you appreciate his work all the more.

Theresa Russell, who remains one of cinema’s most underrated actresses, is equally good as Linda even as she looks to be going over the top from scene to scene. Throughout “Track 29,” Russell gives her role a strong conviction as she comes to grips with a traumatic moment in her life and her passionless marriage which has gotten to where she knows exactly what will come out of her husband’s mouth before he says it. Actors can look utterly ridiculous when they fall into the trap of playing the clichéd drunk or just running the gamut of emotions, but Russell holds your focus from beginning to end even as she appears on the verge of self-parody. She has always been one to take risks with each role she takes on, and this one is no exception.

Among the other actors to be found in “Track 29” is Christopher Lloyd who plays a role I never thought I’d see him in: the boring husband. From his roles in “Back To The Future” and “Star Trek III: The Search For Spock” among things, I’ve come to see Lloyd as anything but boring. But here he is appropriately bland as he takes more interest in his toy train set which collectors of such things will be slobbering over once they see what he’s put together than he does in his wife’s problems. Whether his character of Dr. Henry Henry (a rather unfortunate name) is having an affair with Nurse Stein (Sandra Bernhard) or making a passionate speech to thee obsessive train car collectors of North Carolina, Lloyd inhabits this character fully and reminds you of how great an actor he can be.

Other excellent performances to be found in “Track 29” come from Colleen Camp as Linda’s friend Arlanda who reacts to her problems with utter bafflement, Sandra Bernhard who gets to indulge gleefully in her character’s brand of S&M, and the great Seymour Cassel as Henry’s boss Dr. Bernard Fairmont who reacts to his colleague’s bizarre behaviors with disdain and utter hilarity.

Roeg gives this movie many unforgettable images which come to illustrate the missing passion and meaning in these characters’ lives as well as the sheer violence that hides just below the surface. Watching it reminded me of “Revolutionary Road” and how Kate Winslet’s character was ever so desperate to escape the suffocating atmosphere of suburbia, but this story is given a more surrealistic quality as Oldman’s character descends into the mindset of a child who when let loose destroys things without a care in the world. Everything seems to act as an allusion Linda’s unconscious desire to destroy the world she inhabits as it becomes the only way in which she can escape it.

Image Entertainment released this DVD version of “Track 29” recently, and this is the best it has probably ever looked. As for extras and special features, this disc is frustratingly scant in those departments. It would have been nice to have a commentary track or at least some interviews with the director and cast to see how they went about making this bizarre motion picture and what their reactions were to it. The only real extras to speak of are a couple of trailers which precede the movie, and they are for the cult classic “Withnail & I,” Neil Jordan’s “Mona Lisa,” and “The Long Good Friday” starring Bob Hoskins. Coincidentally, these are three movies that I should have seen already.

Despite the lack of special features however, “Track 29” is definitely worth a rental for fans of Oldman and to see him at his most emotionally unhinged in a role. It’s not a great movie that reaches the heights of Roeg’s other works like “Walkabout,” but it’s definitely for those who love films that defy conventional film narration. Lord knows we need movies like that once in a while as things can’t stay the same forever.

* * * out of * * * *

Chop
Year: 2011
Director: Trent Haaga
Stars: Billy Bakshi, Timothy Muskatell, Elina Madison
Studio: Bloody Disgusting Selects
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 84 Mins

Plot Synopsis:

Bloody Disgusting Selects  has been one of the bright spots for horror in 2011. They wrap up a very good first year with the horror/comedy “Chop, which is directed by cult film actor Trent Haaga.

The film follows Lance Reed, an innocent man who’s car brakes down in the middle of nowhere. He meets a stranger that gives him a ride, but the stranger has plans for him. The stranger is seeking vengeance for something that happened in the past, by making Lance confront his past and making him suffer in the process. As Lance begins to lose various body parts, his past begins to haunt him. The only way out for Lance is to remember what he did to the stranger before losing all of his body parts.  

Film Review:

“Chop” is another really good horror film from Bloody Disgusting Selects. One of the things that makes this film entertaining was Trent Haaga’s direction. What makes his direction very good, the fact that he allows the film to move at a fast pace. He does that, by taking a stylish approach with the material. It allows the film to move at a good pace, while not being bogged down with boring and uninteresting scenes. The scenes were not repetitive and it allows you focus on the two main characters.  It also helped that Haaga comes from an acting background, because he does a great job getting the performances that he needs to make the back and forth between Lance and the stranger interesting and grabs your attention. That was important, as the two are on screen together for most of the film. Haaga also does a very good job getting each of the main character’s quirks down. By doing that, it makes the main characters interesting and pays off especially towards the end of the film.

The film’s screenplay was ironically not written by Haaga. It was written by Adam Minarovich, who played the abusive husband Ed on the first season of “The Walking Dead” and also has a small role in this film as one of the detectives. This was a very good screenplay, as it keeps you guessing on the extent of the relationship between Lance and the stranger. One of the things that I liked about it, he slowly develops the back-story of Lance during the course of the film. It allows you to keep guessing to the relationship between the two main characters. The other thing that I liked about this, the fact that the dark humor works well. It provides a few laughs, but importantly sets up the main character, as an oddball of a character. That helps especially that most of the action takes place in one room. Overall, a very good story to go along with good direction.

DVD Extras:

Sadly there isn’t much in the way of extras. First, you have four minutes of outtakes, then a couple of deleted and extended scenes. That’s it, as this disc is lacking an audio commentary track and/or a behind the scenes featurette.

Final Summary:

Fans of Trent Haaga will definitely enjoy this film. “Chop” is a very entertaining film that has shocking moments, while keeping your interest with a very good story throughout. My only complaint with this disc, it lacked behind the scenes extras.

Film Review: Five Stars
DVD Extras: One Star