Gamera vs. Barugon – Monster Mondays

Posted on November 15, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter
Watch Gamera vs. Barugon | Prime Video

After the success of the first Gamera film a sequel was rushed into production, with a higher budget. The film was made and released in less than 5 months after the original was released. The story is set 6 months after the end of the first film with Gamera flying to Mars, only to collide into a meteor and return back to Earth. He attacks a dam and then disappears for the next forty or so minutes. The plot then moves to three friends who are travelling to New Guinea to retrieve an opal, believed to be worth millions.

When they get the opal, one of them is bitten by a scorpion, dying moments later. Onodera uses this as an opportunity to steal the opal for himself, blowing up the cave, leaving him to believe that both of his ‘friends’ are dead. On route back to Japan he leaves the opal in front of an infra red light, that he was using to heal his foot after an injury on the journey. Unknown to him, the opal is an egg and the light forces Barugon to hatch.

Barugon is the opposite of Gamera. While the giant turtle from the first film breathes fire and can fly, Barugon breathes ice, and crawls around on all fours. At point’s it is very clearly a man in a suit on all fours just wandering around, but that’s part of the charm. The other thing that sets them apart is that Barugon can just randomly launch a rainbow laser from the spines on his back. It can destroy pretty much anything, even himself. Gamera’s name may be in the title, but it may as well not be. He’s barely in the film. He appears in the opening scene, disappears, comes back to fight Barugon, losses and spends a long time frozen, before coming back at the final moment to stop Barugon and fly away.

I quite liked this film, it’s got a much more serious tone than the first one, mainly focusing on the human element of the story. Onodera is a good villain, he’s completely corrupted by the idea of wealth. The other characters are interesting as well. I do think there is a lot of talking in this one, that just isn’t needed. It’s 100 minutes, which is just too long for a monster film, in my opinion. It still has some great effects, and when the monsters are on screen it’s always entertaining. I really liked Barugon just smacking Gamera down with his tail.

Gamera vs. Barugon (1966) - IMDb
Barugon using his rainbow laser after freezing everything around him.

In the end I also felt for Barugon. He’s killed in a pretty brutal way. After having his rainbow laser reflected back at him, Gamera comes in bites his neck and drowns him at the same time. It’s violent and bloody. Even though it’s just a rubber suit, it did look very sad and I felt for it as it died. It was a lot darker than the first film.

This one was also shot in full colour, thanks to a higher budget. It was strange to see such a leap in visuals from the first one, considering it was only released a few months later. As far as monster movies go, it’s really good. It takes itself really seriously which really pays off. The human characters are well developed and the monsters look awesome. What more could I ask for?

Next time on Monster Mondays: Gamera vs. Gyaos

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Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat – A Very Charming Comedy/Horror Vampire Western – Vestron Collector’s Series Blu-ray Review

Posted on November 14, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Anthony Hickox

Writers: John Burgess and Anthony Hickox

Starring: David Carradine, Bruce Campbell, Morgan Brittany, Jim Metzler, Maxwell Caulfield, Deborah Foreman, M. Emmet Walsh, John Ireland, and Dana Ashbrook

Rating: ★★★★

There are more vampire stories and films than anyone could ever watch in a lifetime, so many are made each year and it’s no surprise that good ones get looked over all the time. Vestron Collector’s Series is adding Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat to their ever-expanding range of cult classics, and it’s a real treat for vampire fans. It’s a horror/comedy with a dash of western thrown in on top.

Count Jozek Mardulak (David Carradine) has led his vampire colony to seek a peaceful and domesticated life in the remote desert town of Purgatory. They live on artificial blood and the town has a veneer of human life, so any tourists won’t suspect anything. Their artificial blood facility isn’t working the way it should, so they call in the designer, David Harrison (Jim Metzler). At the same time a revolt is starting, with some vampires who want to return to the old ways. David and his family visit the quant town but end up in the middle of an uprising.

Any fan of vampire stories should make this a priority as soon as possible. It’s incredibly funny, with bizarre oddball jokes flying around from the opening moment. Everything about the film is utterly charming. Just the idea that vampires would choose to live in a desert town, where they are forced to wear sunscreen is perfect. There’s a human-style diner where they pretend to eat food, not realising that it’s mouldy.

The characters are all great, especially Robert Van Helsing (Bruce Campbell), a decendent of the legendary Abraham Van Helsing from Dracula. He doesn’t exactly live up to his family’s reputation, but it’s always fun when he’s on screen. David Harrison also has one of the funnier running jokes, where he doesn’t seem to know his youngest daughter, Juliet. He hesitates when he introduces her, as if he’s trying to remember her name, and is surprised to find she is obsessed with horror. Her bedroom at home is filled with horror posters and dolls, but he just hasn’t ever noticed. The joke is taken even further because there’s a chance, he isn’t her real father.

The film’s opening sequences is all set around a gas station in the middle of nowhere, near Purgatory. It’s run by a trio of odd vampires who spend all day sitting on a swing in the shade. It feels like something out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the first person who arrives isn’t warned not to go further, he just gets his head hit off with a clean swing. By the end of the story, the tone has shifted completely into a full-blown western. There’s a massive shoot-out that lasts the whole of the final act, it’s insane and ridiculous in the best way possible. It feels that co-writer and director Anthony Hickox took big inspirations from the classic western films, with the setting, tone and camerawork that captures the vastness and beauty of the desert.

On the new Blu-ray the film looks great. It’s been fully restored and couldn’t look better. There’s also a whole ton of great extras. There’s a commentary track, an interview with Richard Stone, who scored the film. As well as archival interviews with David Carradine and Bruce Campbell. Campbell in particular brings a lot of humour when recalling his memories about the film.

Not enough people talk about Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat. It’s almost been lost to time. Thankfully this new edition will bring it to a whole new legion of vampire fans. It definitely lives up to it’s cult status.  

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat are on Blu-ray 15 November from Lionsgate UK

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09G48T672/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q8Y8HHM2JGD4GK11GAXJ

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The Wraith – A Hidden Gem From the 1980s – Vestron Collector’s Series Blu-ray Review

Posted on November 14, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Mike Marvin

Writer: Mike Marvin

Starring: Charlie Sheen, Matthew Barry, Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid, Clint Howard, and Nick Cassavetes

Rating: ★★★★

Joining the Vestron Collector’s Series is The Wraith an underrated cult classic sci-fi film from the last 1980s. It’s been remastered and bundled with a ton of extras. The film itself is a great treat for any classic sci-fi fan, it has a great cast, a killer soundtrack, and some great car sequences.

Four mysterious orbs fly through the dessert and collide into each other, creating a Dodge Turbo Interceptor. The next day Jake (Charlie Sheen) arrives in the small town of Brooks. He meets Keri (Sherilyn Fenn), who offers to give him directions, until her controlling boyfriend, Packard (Nick Cassavetes) stops her. Jake takes an interest in Packard, finding out what he can about the local gang leader. At the same time Packard’s gang are having run ins with the Dodge Turbo that arrived in the dessert, each race the gang has with the car leaves one of them dead.

When the film first starts, there’s two minor characters driving in a car who run into Packard’s gang. They’re challenged to a race, with the stakes being the car. You’re not quite sure what type of film it is, Packard’s gang is made up of jocks from high school, geeks and what looks like extras from Mad Max. That’s pretty much the tone of the film going forward. It’s a mix of so many other things, but it becomes its own thing. It’s strange and bizarre, and at the same time completing charming. It’s something you can’t help but enjoy.

The racing scenes all look pretty great, you get a feel of the speed of everything, and it has a few tense moments. There are no real surprises, but that doesn’t matter. The actual scenes look better than some of the racing scenes from the Fast & Furious series, that wouldn’t start until almost fifteen years later.

The cast is filled with people who would go on to become big stars in their own rights. Charlie Sheen, who would go on to star in many big hits of the era including Platoon which was released a month later. Sherilyn Fenn would star in Twin Peaks a couple of years after The Wraith. Nick Cassavetes has become a largely successful director of films such as The Notebook and My Sister’s Keeper. It’s always interesting to go back and see something from before people were as successful as they would become. The acting is a little stilted in place, and some of the dialogue feels strange, but it’s still charming.

The soundtrack is also fantastic, featuring many hits from the time from people like Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crüe and Billy Idol. The songs are interwoven into a score from Michael Hoenig and J. Peter Robinson, that almost sounds like something John Carpenter would make. It’s simply a great soundtrack.

The new Blu-ray has some great extra features included. There are two different commentary tracks, a look at the shooting locations and how they look now, interviews with the effects team. The highlight is a behind the scenes interview with writer/director Mike Marvin, who goes into great detail about the making of the film, the inspirations, troubled production and accident that claimed the life of cameraman Bruce Ingram, who the film is also dedicated to.

The Wraith should be more widely known. It’s a really fun film and the new release does it justice. It looks and sounds great. There are a ton of great extras. If you’re into cult films or sci-fi, then this is one to pick up.

 The Wraith on Blu-ray 15 November from Lionsgate UK

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wraith-Vestron-Blu-ray-Charlie-Sheen/dp/B09G3XRYGY/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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Knocking – An Atmospheric and Tense Thriller – Film Review

Posted on November 13, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Frida Kempff

Writer: Emma Broström

Starring: Cecilia Milocco, Krister Kern, Albin Grenholm, Ville Virtanen, and Alexander Salzberger

Rating: ★★★

After being shown, to generally favourable reviews, at various festivals around the world, Knocking is seeing a UK release on digital platforms on Monday. It’s a horror/thriller that deals with paranoia and someone who starts to question their own sanity.

Molly (Cecilia Milocco) is released from a psychiatric ward, where she had been since a tragic incident, and has moved into an apartment to restart her life. Things don’t go quite to plan when she starts to hear a repetitive knocking each night. It sounds like it’s coming from the floor above, but none of the neighbours seem to hear it. She starts to suspect that there’s someone in need of help, but no one will listen, not even the police. Since no one will believe her, Molly is forced to investigate this alone.

The premise is very familiar to a lot of other films from Rear Window to Blow Out. The film focuses in on one character who believes something is happening that no one else can see. Straight away, with Molly’s past, you’re not completely sure if you can believe her as a narrator, it’s entirely possible that everything is happening in her head, but director Frida Kempff does a great job at creating a tense and disturbing atmosphere to keep you engaged while the plot unfolds.

Cecilia Milocco does a great job at carrying the film, being on camera for almost every single second of the run time. You can feel her paranoia and fear as she tries to help the person knocking. She believes they are using morse code to try and communicate, but she can’t quite understand. At one point she hears crying through the vents in her bathroom, but when she says hello, no one replies. It’s a strong performance and without it, the whole thing would fall apart.

While the atmosphere is excellent and the central performance is great, there are some pretty big flaws in the film. It’s a very slow paced plot, with not much escalation in what’s happening until towards the end. Even though it’s only eighty minutes long, it feels a lot longer. Not much really happens for the first hour, other than knocking and no one believing. On top of that, Molly has her phone in her hand quite often, why doesn’t she just record the knocking so the police will believe her, or better yet, record the crying she hears in the bathroom. At least she could prove to herself that she’s not insane.

Plot holes aside, it’s still an interesting thriller. It’s not very original, but it’s engaging enough that you want to find out the truth of what’s really happening. The ending is also great and feels very satisfying when you get there.  

Signature Entertainment presents Knocking on Digital Platforms 15th November

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Cry Macho – A Reflective Film on Legacy and Life – Film Review

Posted on November 13, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter
Cry Macho (2021) - IMDb

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writers: Nick Schenk and N. Richard Nash

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam, Eduardo Minett, Natalia Traven, Fernanda Urrejola, and Horacio Gracia Rojas

Rating: ★★★½

Back in 1988, Clint Eastwood was offered the lead role in the adaptation of N. Richard Nash’s novel, Cry Macho. At that point he turned it down, choosing to make another Dirty Harry sequel. It’s ben over thirty years, many failed productions, and Cry Macho has finally been released with Clint Eastwood in the leading role and director’s chair.

Mike Milo (Clint Eastwood) was forced to retire from being a rodeo star due to an accident that caused a back injury, on top of that he lost his wife and child in a car accident. The person who got him through everything, his former boss Howard Polk (Dwight Yoakam), asks him to pay back the favour. What he wants in return is for Mike to travel into Mexico and bring back Howard’s son, who he hasn’t seen in years. Reluctantly Mike travels to Mexico, finds Howard’s son and starts to bring him back home, while avoiding the police and the friends of Howard’s ex-partner.

It’s been around sixty years since Clint Eastwood made a name for himself playing cowboys on TV and in films. It’s a genre that he’s returned to many times throughout his career and it’s very fitting that he returns to it again, in what would be a fitting swan song for the legendary actor and director. This is a reflective film that tackles the themes of getting older, legacy, and wisdom. There’s a moment where Clint Eastwood tells Rafo (Eduardo Minett), who he has been sent to bring back, that being ‘macho’ is just people pretending they have ‘grit’ and in the end that’s all they’re left with, being macho is overrated.

Most of the film takes place in a little town that Mike and Rafo get stuck in on the way to the border. Their first car is stolen, their second breaks down. Without any alternatives they stay in the town, helping the local ranch, before continuing their journey. It’s through these scenes that the film really finds its heart. Mike and Rafo end up becoming friends with the local café owner, and it’s through the character’s interactions that the film really thrives.

Clint Eastwood is a great director, who’s varied work is always of a high standard. Cry Macho is no exception to this rule. It does take a little while to really hook you, but once it does the time flies by. When the ending does roll around, with a fitting and happy ending for the aged cowboy, it doesn’t feel like you’re been sitting there for the full runtime, the credits appearing is genuinely shocking, not just because of how quickly it’s gone by but also because you feel that there’s something missing. Not everything is resolved, which is typical of life, but it does end on a note where it feels like there’s more of the story to tell. It’s not setting up a sequel but leaves you with questions to fill your mind on the way home.

With Cry Macho Clint Eastwood proves that being in his 90s hasn’t dwindled his ability of making a good film, both behind and in front of the camera. While the film’s ending isn’t completely satisfying, it’s still captivating while it lasts.

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