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MY SAMURAI (1992) & SHOWDOWN (1994): A Trash Action Double Feature From MVD Rewind Collection
MVD showers love on forgotten gems
Neither My Samurai or Showdown are particularly great films — but both have heart and represent the pure 1990s independent action cinema spirit… which makes them perfect candidates for MVD Rewind Collection’s high definition love letter treatment. These films are strictly for the devotees. Those who adore action cinema and crave delving deep into the back catalogs, watching the hard work of unknown and undiscovered talents who were trying to break out with a signature film all their own. If you’re the kind of action fan I’m describing, then read on.
My Samurai (1992)
Oddly titled for a film that has a Korean hero and no detectable samurai, My Samurai is a tonally inconsistent showreel film for star Julian Lee. Just about every 1980s action film trope crosses over here into the early 1990s.
Peter (John Kallo) is unhappy about his neglectful workaholic father (Lost’s Terry O’Quinn) and feels forced to take Taekwondo lessons from Master Young Park’s (Lee) school. When he witnesses a gang of dirty cops dumping a body in the alley behind the school and one of the cops ends up dead in a clear self defense situation, Park, Peter, and his father’s executive assistant Deborah (Lynne Hart) end up on the run in a Warriors-like urban hellscape complete roaming gangs of punks and a weird homeless shelter run by Police Academy’s Bubba Smith.
Crooked cops and gangsters (led by Mako) will stop at nothing to kill this kid who witnessed something he shouldn’t have. It’s one of those movies where they commit like a hundred more blatant crimes that would expose them far more than the kid ever could in their attempts to silence the kid. While on the road, Lee will win the heart of the girl and convince both Deborah and Peter about the wonders of Taekwondo.
Ascribing to the school of “more martial arts is better”, My Samurai strings together a whole lot of fight sequences designed to showcase Lee’s prowess. There’s really not much to the film beyond a bunch of fighting, the walk on roles given to the “known” actors, and a barebones plot getting us from one battle to the next. Lee does the wise trainer bit ala Karate Kid, and he’s pretty good at on screen fighting (he was apparently a world champion in real life). But unfortunately he doesn’t have much of a star presence or the acting talent or charisma to really pull off leading man status. And the script really muddies the waters in terms of whether young Peter is the main character or Young Park. Mr. Miyagi totally rules and even got the Oscar nom for best supporting actor… but that was clearly Daniel Larusso’s story. Here Park is kind of the main character but most of the action revolves around his connection to this bratty kid Peter.
There’s enough silliness and colorful flourishes to recommend My Samurai to those who love a good Karate Kid knockoff or a frivolous martial arts romp. Nothing here will blow your mind except perhaps Bubba Smith’s shenanigans.
The Package
MVD absolutely makes these discs worth a purchase by packing them out with bonus content featuring new interviews with the stars and collectible packaging. I love how they treat these C-list forgotten films like royalty.
Showdown (1994)
Shockingly thematically similar to My Samurai, Showdown also exists in the post-Karate Kid landscape as an R-rated version of the coming of age martial arts tournament film. Ken Marks (Kenn Scott) is the new kid at school [that looks 30 years old] who runs afoul of the gang of kids who, he’ll later find out, are part of an evil underground dojo in which high school kids are fighting for money. It’s a crazy scenario, but ex-cop and current school janitor Billy Grant (none other than the legendary fitness guru and B-action icon Billy Blanks) takes it upon himself to train Ken up in martial arts. Soon Ken will be fighting to win the girl (the now very famous Christine Taylor), take down the bully, and save the day. But, the Karate Kid formula gets taken up a notch when it’s discovered that evil dojo master Lee (amazing cinematic villain Patrick Kilpatrick) was involved in the incident that took master Billy off the force, so the good and evil masters must also face off in the ring to get ultimate action cinema satisfaction.
Probably the more satisfying and entertaining of the two films presented here, the tournament element of Showdown allows it to feel a little more iconic than My Samurai. You get training montages and ridiculous high school drama all in the same package. Billy Blanks, bless his soul, really was not a good actor. But he’s got a phenomenal screen presence when fighting and acquits himself very well here. The bonus features reveal star Kenn Scott was desperate to become the next Van Damme and trained hard as such. His physique is almost hilariously pristine for what is supposed to be a newly trained high school kid. But Scott really didn’t have that star power charisma to launch him to a larger career.
Showdown actually feels far glossier and more polished than My Samurai (as directed by Rob Radler of Best Of The Best and Best Of The Best II fame), but still comes nowhere close to the lightning in a bottle that something like The Karate Kid was able to capture. It’s a C-list film inspired by A-list tropes and will totally get your blood pumping if you recognize any of the names or films referenced here or if you, like me, have a very healthy appreciation for the filmography of Billy Blanks.
The Package
Again, MVD Rewind Collection loads their discs with such treasured bonus material as to make purchasing their product easy to recommend. There’s basically a feature length documentary on here… for a movie that just about no one has heard of. It’s glorious action cinema purists would do well to check out for themselves.
And I’m Out.
My Samurai and Showdown are both now available on Blu-ray from MVD Rewind Collection
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Arrow Heads Roundup — YAKUZA LAW, THE GRAND DUEL, TRAPPED ALIVE, THE BIG CLOCK
Four Picks From Arrow Video
Arrow Heads — UK-based Arrow Films has quickly become one of the most exciting and dependable names in home video curation and distribution, creating gorgeous Blu-ray releases with high quality artwork and packaging, and bursting with supplemental content, often of their own creation. From the cult and genre fare of Arrow Video to the artful cinema of Arrow Academy, this column is devoted to their weird and wonderful output.
Our Arrow Heads Roundups trail the actual releases a bit, but that’s because we try to actually view and review as many of these as we can first to provide some meaningful commentary.
Welcome to our Arrow Video Roundup! I’m chronicling some discs that have been out for awhile — admittedly playing a bit of catch-up, but I try to watch as many of Arrow’s releases as I can to weigh in on the movies and not just a cursory look at the discs’ contents. Here are my thoughts on all 4 of Arrow’s domestic releases for May of 2019.
Editor’s Pick — The Grand Duel (1972), aka The Big Showdown
Director: Giancarlo Santi
Clint Eastwood may be the most famous actor associated with spaghetti westerns, but his twice-costar Lee Van Cleef is the one who truly owns the genre, having starred in over a dozen European-produced westerns, including many of the genre’s best and most memorable films, and The Grand Duel (Il grande duello) is among the very best of these.
The classic tale of vengeance and justice pits roving lawman Clayton (Van Cleef) against the Saxon brothers, whose criminal clan rules the town that bears their name. In Clayton’s custody — and an unlikely alliance — is escaped convict Philip Vermeer, who served in prison for murdering the Saxon’s patriarch. For Clayton knows that Vermeer is innocent, and furthermore threatens to expose the identity of the real killer.
While fairly serious in tone, the movie has some moments of levity and charm as well as carnage, for a pleasing mix. The gorgeous melancholy music by Luis Bacalov is among the great spaghetti western scores, with themes instantly recognizable to anyone who has seen Kill Bill.
Arrow’s comprehensive presentation includes both Italian and English versions of titles and audio, with both translated subtitles and “dubtitles” which can be accessed in any combination. Plus a TON of supplemental materials (a mix of English and Italian language sources).
The film was previously released on Blu-ray by Mill Creek, we’ve posted screen comparisons analysis of the two editions. (Spoiler alert: Arrow wins)
https://cinapse.co/blu-ray-screen-comparisons-the-grand-duel-4c9c696e05b
- New 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative
- Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits
- Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack, and subtitles for the English soundtrack
- New audio commentary by film critic & historian Stephen Prince
- An Unconventional Western, a newly filmed interview with director Giancarlo Santi
- The Last of the Great Westerns, a newly filmed interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
- Cowboy by Chance, an interview with the actor Alberto Dentice aka Peter O’Brien
- Out of the Box, a newly filmed interview with producer Ettore Rosboch
- The Day of the Big Showdown, a newly filmed interview with assistant director Harald Buggenig
- Saxon City Showdown, a newly filmed video appreciation by the academic Austin Fisher
- Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
- Extensive image gallery featuring stills, posters, lobby cards and home video sleeves, drawn from the Mike Siegel Archive and other collections
- Packaging: Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin, FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kevin Grant and original reviews
Buy it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/31dMHPZ
The Big Clock
Director: John Farrow
Ray Milland and Charles Laughton star in this moody noir thriller about a successful publishing executive, George Stroud (Milland) who is slowly being crushed by his lucrative but overwhelming job, and his awful boss Earl Janoth (Laughton), the company’s pissy, domineering owner. So consuming is his work that his relationship with his family is strained; he still owes his wife her honeymoon, years overdue. Office troubles, and a last-chance vacation to placate his family, take a back seat to bigger concerns when Janoth murders his mistress and blames a mystery visitor, seen exiting her apartment earlier, as the killer — that visitor was Stroud. And as Janoth’s key project manager, he becomes the head of a company-wide investigation (“no police”) tasked to use any and every available resource to uncover the identity of… himself.
The Big Clock takes its name from the centerpiece of the publishing office that serves as the setting, but also signifies the race against time as the effort to find the mystery man closes in on its target. Stroud must avoid witnesses, prove his innocence, and try to save his marriage while leading the manhunt for his own arrest. It’s a very taut, high stakes thriller with smart storytelling and a thrilling conclusion. Very solid.
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- New audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin
- Turning Back the Clock, a newly filmed analysis of the film by the critic and chief executive of Film London, Adrian Wootton
- A Difficult Actor, a newly filmed appreciation of Charles Laughton by Simon Callow
- Rare hour-long 1948 radio dramatization of The Big Clock by the Lux Radio Theatre, starring Ray Milland
- Original theatrical trailer
- Gallery of original stills and promotional materials
- Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options, FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Christina Newland
Buy it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2OQieF5
Yakuza Law
Director: Teruo Ishii
An odd little film, Yakuza Law is a triptych of tales about justice and betrayal in the world of organized crime, highlighting the code that governs the Japanese gangsters — honor among thieves. The key aspect of the anthology’s format is that the three tales each take place in distinct eras: Edo (feudal), Taisho (early 20th Century), and Showa (the film’s modern setting). Each tale sets up a short story about a character’s situation that goes sideways, and the aftermath. Together, they chronicle a fictional history of Yakuza justice.
It’s crazy violent. The different time frames allow for a variety of ways for characters to get maimed or killed: swordplay with geysers of blood, eye gouging, branding by hot irons, burial in wet cement, getting dragged by a helicopter, or being squished in car as it’s cubed by an industrial car crusher — just to name a few. Even the opening titles take place across a montage of brutality.
- Original lossless mono Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles
- New audio commentary by author and critic Jasper Sharp
- Erotic-Grotesque and Genre Hopping: Teruo Ishii Speaks, a rare vintage interview with the elusive director on his varied career, newly edited for this release
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips, FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Tom Mes
Buy it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/35tdyuO
Trapped Alive, aka Forever Mine
Director: Leszek Burzynski
A pair of Christmas partiers thinks they’re in trouble when they find themselves driving through mountainous terrain in a winter storm, but these ladies’ problems have barely begun. They’re carjacked by some escaped convicts on the lam, and the whole group makes a wrong turn and find themselves plunged into an old mine. They soon find they aren’t alone — someone or something is stalking them.
Trapped Alive is a bizarre little low budget subterranean slasher which gets pretty weird. It’s got a nice sense of claustrophobia and goes to some weird places with its oddball characters, an unlikely burgeoning romance, and taking regular opportunities to undress the film’s three lady characters. Old school character actor Cameron Mitchell provides the film’s most recognizable face as the concerned father of one of the girls.
Ultimately it’s not great, nor even particularly good. But I actually found the disc’s special features fascinating, more interesting than the film itself. Besides a half-hour making-of retrospective that will appeal to fans, there’s a really terrific interview with effects artist Hank Carlson who describes being a monster kid stalking and begging to join the local movie studio making Trapped Alive. He eventually succeeded, going on to become a career effects man with work on many films including some well-known pictures like Army of Darkness, Mindwarp, and Super Mario Bros. Another charming feature is a full 22-episode of local interest newscast “Upper Michigan Tonight” going behind the scenes of Trapped Alive (then operating under the alternate title Forever Mine). Being professionally produced for broadcast, it’s a higher quality behind the scenes than would normally exist for an older low-budget film, and helps provide a unique perspective on things.
- Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative
- Brand new audio commentary with director Leszek Burzynski
- Brand new audio commentary with special effects artist Hank Carlson and horror writer Josh Hadley
- Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
- There’s EVIL Underground… — brand new making-of documentary featuring interviews with director Leszek Burzynski, cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, production manager Alexandra Reed and actors Alex Kubik and Sullivan Hester
- Upper Michigan Tonight — 1988 television documentary on Windsor Lake Studios, featuring footage from behind the scenes of Trapped Alive and contemporary interviews with director Leszek Burzynski, producer Christopher Webster and production designer Brian Savegar
- Leszek Burzynski: The Early Years — the Trapped Alive director discusses his early forays into genre movie-making
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourn, FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Zack Carlson
Buy it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VGlqoc
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
If you enjoy reading Cinapse, purchasing items through our affiliate links can tip us with a small commission at no additional cost to you.Except where noted, all 16:9 screen images in this review are direct captures from the disc(s) in question with no editing applied, but may have compression or resizing inherent to file formats and Medium’s image system. All package photography was taken by the reviewer.
https://cinapse.co/blu-ray-screen-comparisons-the-grand-duel-4c9c696e05b
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Trick or Treat 2019: Two Cents Gets a Taste of HORROR NOIRE
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
The history of race in American horror is similar to the history of race in all of America: long, complicated, and frequently shameful.
For years black voices were marginalized, black audiences ignored, and black performers either disregarded entirely or shunted to the side in disposable, stereotypical roles. The persistent cliche in horror for decades has been that it always the one black character who gets killed off first, or who ends up sacrificing themselves to save the white protagonist.
Horror Noire seeks to not only speak to this inequality, but to demonstrate how black artists have been a consistent, persistent part of American horror cinema for as long as movies have been made. Inspired by the book of the same title by Robin R. Means Coleman and directed by Xavier Burgin, Horror Noire follows the story of African-American horror cinema from independent auteur Spencer Williams to the landmark performances by Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead and Ganja & Hess, through to the slasher boom and into present day where the likes of Jordan Peele are re-shaping horror in their own image.
Peele shows up to lend his own perspective on the genre, as do luminaries like Keith David (The Thing), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead), Tony Todd (Candyman), Rachel True (The Craft), Ernest R. Dickerson (director of Demon Knight), Rusty Cundieff (director of Tales from the Hood), and many more.
We’ve never done a documentary for our Trick’r’Treat series before, but this film seemed too important, too insightful, to go unrecognized. So get ready to add a bunch of movies to your watchlist, as we take a tour of Horror Noire.
Next Week’s Pick:
There are many movies we could have chosen to do in this series. But there’s only one movie in which Nic Cage battles biker-demons who are wearing knife-dildos.
I mean…we assume.
Mandy is now streaming on Shudder.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
Chris Chipman:
“We’re allowed to buy a ticket and yell at the screen but we’re never going to get that representation.” This quote from Jordan Peele in the latter moments of Horror Noire really resonated with me. I expected to be informed and entertained by this documentary: the folks involved and the films discussed guaranteed that. What I didn’t expect was how moving the whole experience was going to be.
Great documentaries succeed on whether they make you feel alienated or accepted by the subject matter. Not being black myself and only really coming at horror from my societal and racial perspective, there was a real chance that this movie may not have connected with me. I am pleased to report this is not the case with Horror Noire.
Horror Noire is a great documentary about film and its impact and influence on society. It is also a very important time capsule showing how film was used a method of propaganda to implant damaging stereotypes about the black community that are still ingrained today. The documentary then goes on to show how progressive black filmmakers looking for a voice utilized the exploitation and blacksploitation genres, which were the main culprits in spreading these damaging stereotypes, to fight for inclusion for black filmmakers and actors. Films like Blacula that should have just been silly stereotype-ridden propaganda films instead were mold-breaking films that operated under the radar and helped black artists be seen.
The film is an absolute treat and is equally as entertaining as it is informative and important. Check it out ASAP.
Verdict: TREAT (@TheChippa)
The subgenre of “documentaries about horror movies” is something of a mixed bag. For every Document of the Dead or Never Sleep Again, there are many more in the style of the (frankly overrated) Terror in the Aisles — a glorified greatest hits reel of horror sequences and effects shots lacking any historical perspective or analysis. Thankfully, Horror Noire is one of those few horror docs that digs deep the social, cultural, and industrial relevance of its subjects. The talking head segments are a who’s who of African American critics, scholars, performers, and filmmakers who they discuss black representation in horror from the silent era to the present day. It’s smart, informative, and surprisingly fun despite the often weighty subject matter. And bless whoever decided to let Keith David and Ken Foree hang out together, because from beginning to end their interactions are delightful. If you are at all interested in film history and/or the horror genre, this documentary is essential viewing.
(Editor’s Note: Trey wrote a full review of this film over at Cinepunx earlier this year.)
Verdict: TREAT (@T_Lawson)
Austin Wilden:
As a kid the idea of watching something scary on purpose was absolutely alien. I avoided horror for the most part until relatively recently because of that. Most of my knowledge about horror came from how it would be referenced in the pieces of pop culture I did enjoy, which would usually have a comedic bent. Things like the annual The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror or The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy would be the lens horror references would be filtered through that I could find enjoyment in. One thing I caught repeated references to in shows like this would be Blacula, a name so on-the-nose in its absurdity that wherever it came from must have been comedic itself. The things making that reference would reinforce that idea, whether it was Homer Simpson watching a blaxploitation horror marathon and describing it as “funkay” or the recurring version of Dracula on Billy and Mandy, a black jive-talking senior citizen in a retirement home for Universal Monsters. Being a white kid with a disinterest in horror meant I never dug deeper about where these references came from.
When the collected black actors, filmmakers and critics of Horror Noire got to discussing the time period of blaxploitation filmmaking, showing clips of the more stereotypical films of that reflected the idea those parodies got across that a resigned anticipation came into my head for Blacula. That quickly turned into excitement as soon as they started discussing and showing clips of it. Seeing Blacula’s director, William Crain, discuss the movie gave me an appreciation for it and a desire to see it I never expected.
That energy stuck with me throughout every detail of Horror Noire’s look at the ups and downs of black representation in horror cinema. These creative people who clearly love what they do talking about how the movies they’ve seen or made have impacted their lives is a passion I found invigorating for every minute of the documentary. To look beyond assumptions and jokes towards some horror movies I want to track down and watch as soon as possible.
Verdict: TREAT (@WC_Wit)
The Team
I’m not sure exactly what to say about this documentary that isn’t simply “it’s really good”. It is a good look at the history of horror from a black perspective, reminding folks how important black people and black culture have been to horror.
Instead I want to highlight the thing about the film I most enjoyed: the interactions between Keith David and Ken Foree. These two genre veterans hanging out and chatting is a thing of beauty. I could watch these two legends rapping for hours on end. This is a great watch and the segments with David and Foree are next level entertaining.Verdict: TREAT (@thepaintedman)
I think the best thing that can be said about Horror Noire is that it’s inspired me to watch a whole bunch of movies I might never have watched, or have been meaning to watch but never gotten around to. I’ve already sat down with Ganja & Hess and have plans to check out Blacula and Tales from the Hood before the month is out. With energy and humor, director Xavier Burgin explores the highs and lows of the black experience with the horror genre, and how that experience is inextricable from the black experience with America itself. This kind of fare could be informative but dry, yet it is not. Much of that credit must go to the incredible cast of talking heads who show up to illustrate these points. As others have pointed out, Foree and David are the obvious highlights, a double-act that I could watch for literal hours. By the time they started singing “Monster Mash”, I just about died from sheer joy. But everyone is great, celebrating both the high and lowbrow means by which African-Americans have expressed their voices in a genre (and country) that has been so hostile to them for so long.
Great stuff, and we can only hope that through the success of guys like Peele, even more voices will be heard. Maybe someday this team can revisit the subject and examine just how much has changed. Or not.
Verdict: TREAT (@TheTrueBrendanF)
I was super hyped for Horror Noire, and yet it did no disappoint me in the slightest. In viewing the film, I fully expected to be educated, edified, inspired, and maybe scolded a little, by a who’s who of amazing black filmmakers, actors, and historians. What I did not expect was to be brought to tears listening as they expressed their struggles, personal experiences, yearning for validation and representation, mutual love and appreciation for each other’s work, and joy for victories like Get Out.
Like any great film documentary, I left with a shortlist of movies added to, or elevated on, my watchlist. Also, someone please greenlight a buddy franchise with Ken Foree and Keith David. Make it happen!
Horror Noire isn’t just a solid documentary or social critique. Nor is it a glorified DVD bonus feature or “dumped to streaming” like so many middling Netflix movies. It’s a fascinating and eminently watchable work of great passion and insight, one of the best and most most vital films of the year, and one of my favorite film documentaries, period.
Verdict: TREAT (@Austin Vashaw)
The Unanimous Verdict:
Trick: 0
Treat: 6
Further reading:
Horror-Noire Writer and Producer Ashlee Blackwell is a friend of Cinapse and has even contributed some articles for us. We encourage you to check out her incredible writings on Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and Poltergeist, in addition to her own incredible site focusing on black women in horror, Graveyard Shift Sisters!
https://cinapse.co/the-empowered-female-in-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-4-the-dream-master-5f41eb973dd1https://cinapse.co/the-empowered-female-in-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-4-the-dream-master-5f41eb973dd1
Next week’s pick (Mandy):
https://cinapse.co/the-empowered-female-in-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-4-the-dream-master-5f41eb973dd1
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Blu-ray Screen Comparisons: THE GRAND DUEL
Arrow Video release compared to Mill Creek’s 2012 Disc
This article contains several comparisons contrasting Mill Creek Entertainment’s 2012 Blu-ray transfer with the Arrow’s newer version. The frames aren’t necessarily exact matches, but should give a solid indication of the visual differences.
Earlier this year Arrow Video released The Grand Duel onto Blu-ray with a new restoration 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative, packed with new special features. One of the great spaghetti Westerns, it stars Lee Van Cleef as a roving sheriff on a mysterious mission of justice.
It was previously released on Blu-ray in a single-disc double-feature edition with Keoma (previously covered), from Mill Creek Entertainment.
That disc was a tremendous value, but featured noisy older transfers with plenty of room for improvement.
As comparisons go, this one is pretty straightforward. Arrow’s image is clearly superior, with fine grain, a much more varied color palette, and a “larger” view capturing more of the frame on all sides.
Top: Old Mill Creek / Middle: Arrow [English] / Bottom: Arrow [Italian] The first comparison above is sort of an anomaly, comparing the title cards. Mill Creek’s version employed digitally redone titles which are quite crisp looking. Arrow’s disc includes both English (“The Big Showdown”) and Italian (“Il Grande Duello”) versions.
The Italian titles are from a notably softer source, but this segment is “spliced in”. After this sequence, both versions of the film on Arrow’s disc revert to the same restored picture until the end credits (when the Italian version goes soft again).
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow 
Top: Old Mill Creek // Bottom: New Arrow
Disc Specifications (as provided by Arrow):
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- New 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative
- High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
- Uncompressed mono 1.0 LPCM audio
- Original English and Italian soundtracks, titles and credits
- Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
- New audio commentary by film critic, historian and theorist Stephen Prince
- An Unconventional Western, a newly filmed interview with director Giancarlo Santi
- The Last of the Great Westerns, a newly filmed interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
- Cowboy by Chance, an interview with the actor Alberto Dentice AKA Peter O’Brien
- Out of the Box, a newly filmed interview with producer Ettore Rosboch
- The Day of the Big Showdown, a newly filmed interview with assistant director Harald Buggenig
- Saxon City Showdown, a newly filmed video appreciation by the academic Austin Fisher
- Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
- Extensive image gallery featuring stills, posters, lobby cards and home video sleeves, drawn from the Mike Siegel Archive and other collections
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kevin Grant and original reviews
A/V Out.
Get it at Amazon:
If you enjoy reading Cinapse, purchasing items through our affiliate links can tip us with a small commission at no additional cost to you.The Grand Duel [Arrow Video Blu-ray]: https://amzn.to/2oAV7Ui
Except where noted, all 16:9 screen images in this review are direct captures from the disc(s) in question with no editing applied, but may have compression or resizing inherent to file formats and Medium’s image system. All package photography was taken by the reviewer.
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LIGHT OF MY LIFE: An Intimate Drama That’s Also Y: THE LAST MAN in Reverse
A father and daughter navigate a hellscape
Children Of Men. The Road. A Quiet Place. Leave No Trace. All of these films come to mind and heavily influence writer/director/star Casey Affleck’s post-apocalyptic drama Light Of My Life. Fortunately, the 2019 film holds up well in comparison to those staggering achievements in cinema, while not quite equalling them.
We open with Rag (Ann led to Raggedy Ann led to Rag) and Dad during story time in a tent in the middle of nowhere. Dad (Casey Affleck) struggles to tell a story that will please his increasingly smart and self aware daughter. Rag (Anna Pniowsky, impressing in her first screen performance) refuses to let the story be about her, and senses when Dad’s thin metaphors really are stories about her. She also calls him out when a story that was supposed to be about a female character just ends up being about a male character instead. It’s a long and claustrophobic sequence never leaving the interior of the small tent. It’s our introduction to the only two major characters in this high concept, intimate tale of the apocalypse.
Our protagonists live in a world in which women caught some kind of plague, and they’re all gone. All except Rag and rumors. Naturally Dad has become consumed by his role as protector and provider. It’s all he lives for, never allowing himself a moment’s reprieve. Never taking any risks that might endanger Rag, even if it means isolation and lack of small comforts. Rag is dressed like a boy and keeps her hair short. The pair has all kinds of signals, contingency plans, and predetermined escape routes for everywhere they go. But it’s been years since the plague, and Rag is becoming a young woman. Puberty isn’t far off, and Dad really doesn’t have a long term plan for navigating this ravaged and woman-less world. His consumption with protecting Rag at any cost is veering into obsession and he’s losing sight of their humanity.
Light Of My Life is incredibly meditative in its pacing, bordering on languid. What little does happen, plot-wise, in the first half of the film simply establishes the world they’re navigating and gives us lots of insight into our leads, their dynamic together, and even glimpses into a time before the plague when Elisabeth Moss (Mom) was still there.
Many will dismiss Light Of My Life outright due to sexual harassment claims against Affleck. I certainly begrudge no one if this is the choice they make. Some may scoff at Affleck attempting to tell a story that deals so directly with female identity, gender dynamics, and parenthood in light of the claims against him. In that regard, I’d say this is also their right. I’ve found Affleck to be a remarkable screen talent and find the allegations against him troubling, but also found myself very drawn to the premise of this intimate film.
Ultimately Light Of My Life uses the apocalypse as somewhat of a metaphor for parenting, as well as for letting our girls grow up and come into their own despite our instincts to shelter and protect them. As a father of a young daughter myself, I couldn’t help but empathize deeply with our characters’ plight and get extremely emotionally invested in their journey. Dad makes incredible sacrifices to raise his daughter, and proves his unending devotion to her time and again. But this isn’t a movie about a heroic and selfless father. It’s about a young woman coming of age in a world that wants to eat her alive and commodify her. Pniowsky proves an excellent performer and gives Oscar-winner Affleck a run for his money. Rag is a well-realized and complex young woman and Affleck’s screenplay gives plenty of room for our leads to achieve dimensionality even if it’s ultimately the performances that really sell the characters. Rag’s child-like purity keeps her dad sane, but it’s her increasing maturity and ability to lead the way that will provide their only hope of salvation.
There’s danger and brutality in Light Of My Life, but it’s nigh impossible to consider this a thriller. It’s quiet, slight, and very character-focused. The film has an extremely small cast and was likely inexpensive, though also likely remained very challenging to create. It’s not perfect. There’s an enormous amount of time spent with Rag and Dad’s storytime. Some of that stuff probably wasn’t as subtle as Affleck may have hoped it would be, and it went on very long. I also found myself occasionally really disliking the look of the film and couldn’t quite tell if it was due to choices in cinematography and framing, or if it was that digital and cheap look that sometimes comes across in home video experiences.
In the end, I found it to be a powerful viewing experience. There’s no question there’s some subjectivity involved here as thoughts of my own beautiful and whip-smart little daughter crashed into my psyche. I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d do if I were Dad. Would I even be strong enough to survive as far as they have when we meet them? Would I make some of the same mistakes Dad is making? Would my love for my daughter stand up to the crushing weight of a world gone wrong?
And yet the simplicity of the tale and the high concept it’s nestled in do offer it up in comparison to other great high concept apocalypse and/or father-daughter films, and it often does not match the greatness of them. Even the comic book epic Y: The Last Man, a gender-reversed scenario that closely mirrors this story, feels more grand in scope and successful in execution. The very recent father-daughter drama Leave No Trace, or even Mickey And The Bear both feel more akin to this film than its apocalyptic counterparts. But even if Light Of My Life doesn’t cohere as strongly as those films do, there’s a lot of richness to be found here.
Those who choose not to engage in Affleck’s work would do well to seek out some of the films I’ve compared Light Of My Life to. Each are fantastic in their own ways. If the concept of this film intrigues you, however, I’d recommend giving it a shot. There’s some real depth of emotion and powerful human lessons explored.
The Package
Light Of My Life has absolutely no bonus content whatsoever, though it’s exciting that it did get a high definition home video release. I recommend the film but this experience could likely be undertaken via a digital download or eventual streaming service and the Blu-ray purchase probably isn’t necessary for most curious seekers.
And I’m Out.
Light Of My Life is now available on Digital and On Demand and available on Blu-ray & DVD October 8th from Paramount
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KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS: A Comedy Classic about Chopping Down the Family Tree [Blu Review]
![KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS: A Comedy Classic about Chopping Down the Family Tree [Blu Review]](https://i0.wp.com/cinapse.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/17hkdO5CJyRgcIJ7QiEdyEQ.jpeg?resize=1140%2C742&ssl=1)
Alec Guinness’ hilarious eight-character/victim performance finds new life on Kino’s new release
As a longtime devotee of Star Wars and a newfound admirer of Bridge Over the River Kwai, I was eager to check out a first-time viewing of Alec Guinness’ multi-character performances in Kind Hearts and Coronets. This was my first exposure to Guinness’ Ealing Comedies in general — of which Kino has also recently released The Lavender Hill Mob and The Man in the White Suit alongside this film. I’m glad to say that after Kind Hearts and Coronets, I certainly need to check out the others: Kind Hearts and Coronets is a delightfully dark comedy featuring a king’s ransom of fantastic performances by Guinness as well as leads Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, and Valerie Hobson.
Louis Mazzini is hell-bent on revenge. After Louis’ mother married the Italian Opera singer who fathered him, she was forsaken by her family, the ruling D’Ascoynes of Chalfont, Louis’ mother was subsequently denied her birthright and burial in the family crypt. Now denied the respect and dignity of the woman he loves, Mazzini endeavors to kill off the immediate D’Ascoyne relatives that stand between him and ruling the D’Ascoyne estate.
Guinness is a comedic powerhouse in Kind Hearts and Coronets, infusing his eight members of the D’Ascoyne family with individualized smarmy wit. Surprisingly, though, Dennis Price manages to outperform Guinness as much as he outlives his many incarnations — despite being a heartless serial killer at his core, Price ensures that Louis is endlessly hilariously relatable and charming. No matter how many people he kills, success permanently seems to elude him — a fact exacerbated by the two loves of his life, Sibella (played by a delightfully venomous Joan Greenwood) and Lady Edith (a headstrong, regal Valerie Hobson). The film is rife with endless variations of gallows humor, and writer-director Robert Hamer always knows just how to surprise the viewer with another unexpected and consistently devious plot to off another of Guinness’ characters.
Long regarded as a crown jewel of British comedy and long-absent from video release since the Criterion DVD went out of print, Kind Hearts and Coronets makes a welcome return to shelves. Hopefully it will rightfully claim a place among viewers’ collections without leaving too populous of a body trail in its wake.
Video: Kino presents Kind Hearts and Coronets in an 1080/24p HD master, which appears to have been sourced from the 2011 StudioCanal Blu-ray. Some imperfections and scratches are present, but on the whole this is a vibrant transfer rich in varied grays and blacks. It was once reported on some sites that this edition was to receive the recent 4K restoration released by StudioCanal in the UK, but this doesn’t appear to be the case. However, Kino Lorber looks to be working something out with StudioCanal to clarify this issue.
Audio: Kind Hearts and Coronets is presented in 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio. The track is free of clicks and hiss typical of older films, leaving the film’s poisoned honey dialogue crisp and clear for enjoyment.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary by Film Historian Kat Ellinger: A newly recorded audio commentary by the Diabolique Magazine editor that dives deep into the history of Ealing comedies, Kind Hearts and Coronets’ production history, the troubled life of lead Dennis Price, and an elaboration on the themes that make this serial killer tale so charming and endearing.
Introduction by John Landis: A succinct introduction by the director on the film’s comedic tone and Alec Guiness’ multiple performances.
Those British Faces — Dennis Price: An episode of British TV series Those British Faces profiling Kind Hearts & Coronets’ main lead, from the start of his career in Post-War England to an ignominious end in the 1970s.
Audio Interview with Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe: A half-hour archival audio interview with Kind Hearts and Coronets’ cinematographer, ported over from the Region 2 Vintage Classics DVD.
Alternate American Ending: A version of the film’s conclusion for audiences across the pond, which makes the film’s final wry joke on its protagonist’s fate far more explicit.
Theatrical Trailers: Included are Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Man in the White Suit, and The Captain’s Paradise.
Kind Hearts and Coronets is now available on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
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Trick or Treat 2019: Two Cents Hears the Maddest Story Ever Told, SPIDER BABY!
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
The following are some of the names Spider Baby was released under during its strange, delayed, long roll-out into theaters:
The Liver Eaters
Attack of the Liver Eaters
Cannibal Orgy
The Maddest Story Ever Told!
None of these titles are especially accurate to Jack Hill’s film, but in fairness, it must have been awfully difficult to come up with any title that could encapsulate this particular mad brew.
Spider Baby stars Lon Chaney Jr. as Bruno, the chauffeur and caretaker of the Merrye family, a once esteemed family that has been laid low by a mysterious disease. Known as “Merrye Syndrome”, the illness strikes members of the family around the time they turn ten and causes their minds and bodies to regress to primitive states. Currently, the last generation of the family includes only hateful Elizabeth (Beverly Washburn), silent, savage Ralph (Sid Haig), and Virginia (Jill Banner) the titular “spider baby” whose favorite game involves wrapping strangers up in her nets and then ‘stinging’ them with some carving knives.
Bruno has managed to create a bizarre sort of peace with these doomed, demented children, but that peace is destroyed by the arrival of distant family members, greedy Emily (Carol Ohmart) and bemused Peter (Quinn K. Redeker). Emily is convinced that “Merrye Syndrome” is a hoax meant to cover up a vast inheritance she wishes to snag a piece of for herself.
She’s wrong, but just how wrong won’t become clear until the body count has stacked awfully high.
This berserk Gothic was filmed in 1964 but due to legal issues it was not released until almost 1968. The film languished in obscurity for years, but has steadily amassed something of a following thanks to being the debut solo directorial film from Hill (who went on to direct stuff like Coffy, Foxy Brown, and The Big Doll House), one of Lon Chaney Jr.’s final films (and including arguably his best performance), and introducing the world to the captivating wonder that is Sid Haig’s face.
Haig passed away recently, leaving behind multiple generations of fans who revere him in everything from his dozens of character-actor roles throughout the ‘60s and ’70s (including many of Hill’s films), to his renaissance as the iconic Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s Devil’s Rejects series.
We thought it only fitting to begin this year’s October series with a hat-tip to the big man himself. So join us as we get wrapped up by Spider Baby.
Next Week’s Pick:
Join us next week as we continue the Trick or Treat series with our first ever Halloween-season documentary.
Horror Noire is available to stream on Shudder! And please don’t miss out on any of our other October offerings.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
Chris Chipman:
Wow…Spider Baby sure is…something!
I am a sucker for the films of this era, particularly the horror/sci-fi fare that begin with a fair amount of exposition as to the oddities you are about to see. Spider Baby doesn’t disappoint in this regard, beginning with our “hero” Uncle Peter reading about the condition members of his family suffer where they regress in behavior to that of a child, followed by an animalistic (and cannibalistic) state.
All of this, of course, is just an excuse to have a veritable house of horrors at the Merrye estate. Cannibalistic relatives locked in the basement, Sid Haig in an early and quite amazing physical performance and our “star” the daughter who plays “spider” with her victims by trapping them and cutting them up are just some of the treats that await in this insane asylum of a movie.
What I found most striking, however, was how badly our hero is portrayed. Obvious drunk driving, extremely inappropriate physical encounters with his niece and allowing members of his family to be blown to pieces to eradicate the bad branch of his bloodline are only some of his negative marks on screen. I guess that softens the blow of the Twilight-Zoneish ending, but I feel bad for his poor wife…
Verdict: TREAT (@TheChippa)
The Team
From the opening moments of the theme song, sung by the late great Lon Chaney, you know you’re in for a bizarre treat with Spider Baby. An early Sid Haig role, he shines as one of the deranged Merrye children. Haig was a Jack Hill staple in this era and it’s easy to see why.
Somehow I’d gone through my life up until now without seeing this predecessor and strong influence to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Having seen it, the influence on TCM and other great genre fare is undeniable. It’s a black comedy with horrific moments and legitimate thrills. The characters are extremely interesting and well drawn. In fact, it’s not only an influence to what came after it, but it’s also a significantly better and more enjoyable film than many of them.
I’ll miss Sid, but this is as good a time as any to dive into his early catalog and catch up on why he was considered a genre great long before Tarantino and Zombie brought him back to the scene. This film is a great start for the spooky season and a great way to celebrate a recently deceased legend.
Verdict: TREAT (@thepaintedman)
Everyone who’s invoked Texas Chainsaw as a descendant of this one is bang on the money, but all I could think of while I was watching was that the Merrye family plays like the most demented sect of Addams Family cousins ever captured on film. It’s not just that they live in a big, spooky house filled with freaks and creeps, but the way Hill mines the juxtaposition between the family’s casual acceptance of their bizarre Gothic surroundings with their guests varying degrees of bafflement and disgust. I was a particularly big fan of Redeker as “Cousin Greg”, who responds to each new tidal wave of weirdness with a chipper, “boy, that’s neat!” attitude. Hill keeps his tone varying between horror and comedy, and shows a surprisingly deft hand in balancing the two out.
Special mention has to be made of Lon Chaney Jr., delivering what I found to be easily his best performance. Chaney was always a weak-link in the classic Universal Monster movies, cast because of his name and clearly beaten down and aggravated by this fact. At a very rough-looking 60 or so, he was pretty near the finish line by the time he did this one and time had worked his face into a hangdog expression of infinite sorrow. But there’s a warmth and playfulness to Chaney in this film that wasn’t always present in his other work, and the result is that you can’t help but feel invested in poor Bruno and the doomed children he’s dedicated himself to protecting.
Verdict: TREAT (@TheTrueBrendanF)
Spider Baby is actually a film I’ve kind of avoided for a long time. I’ve always taken an interest in seeing it, especially as a fan of Jack Hill, but I’ve always been repulsed by its aesthetic.
As I’ve found is usually the case when I feel that way about classic horror movies (The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left) the film is actually much tamer and more palatable than what I’ve worked it up to be in my mind. In the case of the demented but gore-free Spider-Baby, it’s much more of a manic oddball comedy than a straight-up horror film,and its touted madness ends up being a ton of fun. As others have noted, it’s a more intense cousin of The Addams Family, and certainly a stylistic progenitor to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which stripped the comedic tone and emphasized the lurid nastiness.
It’s also a delight as a meeting of generations — one of the last films for horror regular Lon Chaney Jr., but one of the first for both Sid Haig and director Jack Hill, who would go on to make many genre pictures both individually and together. In his later career, Haig would similarly take up that horror veteran mantle and collaborate with new blood Rob Zombie and his crew. Haig is a legend, and I’m glad to have finally caught him in one of his earliest and oddest roles.
Verdict: TREAT (@Austin Vashaw)
The Verdict:
Trick: 0
Treat: 4Unanimous verdict: TREAT!
Next week’s pick:
https://www.shudder.com/movies/watch/horror-noire-a-history-of-black-horror/4548652
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THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL: It’s the Simple Pleasures
A great idea executed solidly
The cop is after the devil.
The devil (a serial killer) randomly attacks the wrong man — the gangster.
The gangster and the cop begrudgingly team up to catch the devil.
It really is that simple.
And while begrudging team ups between cops and gangsters really aren’t untrodden territory in the action-thriller-crime cinema landscape, it does feel fresh to throw the serial killer into the mix, not to mention handing the starring role over to Don Lee (aka Ma Dong-seok).
Coming from relative newcomer, writer-director Won-Tae Lee, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil feels like a pretty confident Korean crime film, and earns the buzz it has been receiving. Our titular cop, Tae-suk Jung, is played by the handsome and swagger-filled actor Mu-yeol Kim. This performance puts him on the map for me, though he’s appeared in smaller roles in a couple of films I was familiar with. He’s the archetypal young, upstart detective here… eager to break the case, unwilling to listen to his nakedly corrupt police chief, and most importantly: certain that they’ve got a serial killer case on their hands even when no one else will give his theory the time of day. Kim plays the role with just the right balance of disdain for both authority and gangsters, as well as the skills to back up his cocksure attitude.
Ma Dong-seok has cemented a somewhat legendary status in Korean cinema in an extraordinarily brief amount of time. It was just 2016 when he broke out with his star-making supporting performance in international smash hit Train To Busan. Since then he’s become a hot property and a leading man to watch out for. He fits into the role of gangster boss Dong-soo Jang effortlessly here. Much cooler-headed than his cop counterpart, Don Lee’s swagger is just as pronounced, just older, wiser, and on the other side of the law. When word gets out that he’s been attacked on the street by a “civilian”, he must catch the attacker and mete out street justice in order to save face.
Since our cop’s co-workers won’t believe his serial killer theory, and since our gangster needs the cop’s intel, a shaky and twisty alliance is born. 2010’s I Saw The Devil showed us that a rip-roaring Korean film could be crafted out of a life and death standoff between a cop and a serial killer, and this film simply adds another ingredient into that mix. Dissimilar in tone, however, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is much more concerned with fun and entertainment, where I Saw The Devil digs down deep into the depths of the human psyche. On that note, I do feel like serial killer K (Sung-kyu Kim) lays a distant third fiddle here. He’s more of a foil or a Mcguffin than a fully fleshed out character. Kim plays him suitably creepily, but his motivations and psychology are pretty surface level. This feels a little insufficient here in 2019 when we’ve got the brilliance of Mindhunters to compare against.
The hook here — the interplay between our three leads and the twists, action, and humor that can be wrung from it- is the end all and be all of The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil. It’s designed to entertain you, and it does a great job at that. Don Lee strides through this thing with the calm demeanor of a tough guy who could beat you to death with an angry glance. The constant male posturing and moralizing of Kim’s cop character interplays wonderfully with Lee’s confident gangster, and the race between them to find and take down K is never not exciting. Fans of Korean crime cinema will almost certainly have a blast with this title and both new(-ish) talent Won-Tae Lee and star Mu-yeol Kim are put on my radar with this film as well. Check this out at your earliest convenience, and don’t let the competition get there first.
The Package
Fairly bare bones in terms of bonus features, there are probably a combined total of 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes, character profiles, and trailers. It’s a good-looking movie, however, so the high definition release is very appreciated. You’ll need to make the call yourself if you’d want to take the plunge to buy this one versus stream or rent it, but I’ll be pleased to keep this one in my collection as a highly re-watchable ride.
And I’m Out
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is now available on Blu-ray and Digital from Well Go USA
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Announcing Two Cents Film Club’s Selections for Trick or Treat 2019!
This year’s edition of our annual Halloween series may be our wildest yet!
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
Announcing our full lineup for Two Cents Film Club’s annual TRICK OR TREAT Halloween series!
It’s our favorite time of the year here at Two Cents! Every October we try to top ourselves in curating a diverse series of spooky picks both new and old, from cult classics and major favorites to deep cuts from dark corners, and invite our readers to join in on the fun!
Would you like to be a guest in our film club column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word reviews on the selections to twocents(at)cinapse.co!
Week 1: SPIDER BABY (1968)
First up, in memoriam of the great Sid Haig who passed away on September 21, is Jack Hill’s bizarre cult classic, “the maddest story ever told”, Spider Baby! Streaming on Amazon Prime and free (ad supported) on Tubi.
Deadline: Oct 3
Week 2: HORROR NOIRE (2019)
Our second pick is our FIRST EVER Trick or Treat documentary selection, the celebrated Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, exploring black voices in horror cinema! Streaming on Shudder.
Deadline: October 10
Week 3: MANDY (2018)
Then it’s time to RAGE WITH CAGE and PANAVISION WITH PANOS COSMATOS. We’re watching Mandy! Available streaming on Shudder.
Deadline: October 17
Week 4: LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
What do you get when you mix a classic Victorian tale by Bram Stoker with the outrageous style of Ken Russell? We keep the surreal weirdness going with our fourth Trick or Treat pick, The Lair of the White Worm! Available streaming on Amazon Prime.
Deadline: October 24
Week 5: THE GATE
Finally, we’ll cap things off with a sure crowd-pleaser, the most fun you’ll ever have accidentally opening up a portal to hell — The Gate! Streaming on Amazon Prime and free (ad supported) on Tubi.
Deadline: October 31
The best part of Two Cents Film Club is that YOU are invited! Just watch the films (any or all of them!) and send us your “2¢” — a review under 201 words — with a verdict of TRICK or TREAT, at twocents@cinapse.co, by Thursday of each week!
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Fantastic Fest: THE VAST OF NIGHT is Spellbinding Sound-Driven Sci-Fi
Director Andrew Patterson forgoes sci-fi spectacle for captivating communal campfire stories in a remarkable debut
To me, one of the most magical hours in Pop Culture history is Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. For a brief moment, radio audiences across the country were plunged into a world where science fiction crossed into reality, a world of terrifying and wondrous possibilities. It’s been decades since that broadcast, and radio’s given way to film and TV. Both media have the power to depict what radio could only describe — and modern sci-fi spectacles have also attempted an occasional sense of gritty realism. But one can’t help but think something was lost in the transition from radio to film: a sense of imagination that creators entrusted their audiences to have, one that allowed their stories to take deeper emotional root. Director Andrew Patterson’s debut feature, The Vast of Night, attempts to bridge that divide, creating a realistic sci-fi film rooted in the past that places as much (if not more) of an emphasis on its soundscape than its visuals. It’s a Sorkin walk-and-talk through a Bogdanovich-ian small town on game night as much as it is a Close Encounters gaze into the unknown. The result is one of the most immersive moviegoing experiences I’ve had this year, let alone at Fantastic Fest, and it’s one I eagerly await sharing with friends and family.
Pitched as a TV episode of Twilight Zone knockoff Paradox Theater, The Vast of Night follows radio host Everett and switchboard operator Fay as they investigate the source of a mysterious signal across the local airwaves while the rest of their small town congregates for the night’s big high school basketball game. Their investigation doesn’t go the expected Stranger Things route of exposing local conspiracies or comically conspicuous infiltrations of military bases. Rather, much of Fay and Everett’s work is spent listening: to the faint flickers of electronic signals, to phone calls of something in the sky heading for town, to the stories of those who have witnessed their potentially extraterrestrial visitors firsthand. Each story, though, brings Fay and Everett that much closer to the prospect of seeing something out of this world, infusing the grounded, ordinary world of The Vast of Night with a remarkable sense of excitement and immediacy.
The film rarely leaves the side of Fay and Everett, played by Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz as small town high school versions of His Girl Friday’s Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Everett’s the local newbie DJ working the graveyard shift at radio station WOTW (I see what you did there, Patterson). Fay works the night shift at the town switchboard, and has a burgeoning interest in radio reporting that leads her to turn to Everett as a mentor. Most of The Vast of Night’s endearing moments are spent away from the plot to look at the bubbling chemistry between the two; Fay’s admiration of Everett’s radio-gab prowess fueling his own slick confidence, and both see careers in radio as their ticket out of their stuck-in-time small town. Much like the fast-talking adolescent sleuths in fellow Fantastic Fest attendee Rian Johnson’s debut film Brick, Fay and Everett are kids eager to prove their mettle by taking on the impossible, solving larger-than-life mysteries out of the watchful eye of adults. The two are immediately captivating on screen, especially thanks to screenwriting duo James Montague and Craig W. Sanger’s whip-crack hard-boiled dialogue. Between Fay’s wide-eyed enthusiasm and Everett’s effortless coolness, The Vast of Night’s script infuses the repetitive, detailed tics of small-town gossip with the overlapping verbal chaos of Aaron Sorkin or Howard Hawks.
At the same time, though, Montague and Sanger’s script knows precisely when its characters need to shut up and listen, plunging themselves and their unseen audience into a silence that’s mined by sound designer David Rosenblad for aural gold. The Vast of Night frequently invites us to lean in and listen, to heighten our listening senses and experience the real-time immediacy of the characters. We search the vacant airwaves, searching for a sign, any sign, of something lurking out there in the dark — a patience that is frequently rewarded in interesting ways.
The best moments of The Vast of Night unite its love of dialogue and storytelling with its sound design ambitions, creating moments that harken back to the rapt attention given to Orson Welles’ chaos-inducing broadcast. Great writing allows imaginary characters to convince you of impossible things; in its most audacious moments, The Vast of Night uses either long, static takes or even removing visuals entirely so that the audience has no choice but to listen to the characters tell their stories. The dialogue completely draws you into a world of shadowy government intrigue, class and racial tension, and how these otherworldly visitors’ visits work — all without leaving the room the characters are in. Plunged in the darkness of the theater, we’re swallowed up by the surrounding voices in the dark, our imaginations painting a far more detailed picture than the biggest CGI wonder could ever depict. It’s a communal ghost story expertly told.
But don’t worry — The Vast of Night contains its own visual flairs, too. There’s moments where, propelled by the immediacy of the dialogue, the camera takes off like a rocket through this small town. M.I. Litten-Menz’s camera explores the nooks and crannies left abandoned as everyone gathers for the big game, savoring each of the period details constructed by Production Designer Adam Dietrich and Art Director Jonathan Rudak. Frantic, fast-paced editing by Junius Tully has a knack for maintaining the film’s exciting tone as well as an unexpected comedic timing.
While the Fantastic Fest entries by established auteurs like Bong Joon-Ho and Robert Eggers may top the final lists of those who attend (as they did mine), films like The Vast of Night are the ones I end up remembering and revisiting most. It’s a sci-fi story electrifyingly told, one that seeks unexpected and innovative ways of sparking a wonder in its audience that may have grown dormant after exposure to endless big-budget franchises.
The Vast of Night had its Texas Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2019. Amazon Studios will release the film theatrically in 2020.
