Despite a title which could suggest anything from a big screen version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a film adaptation of Kafka’s most famous short story, a snarling Christopher Lambert on the cover of Metamorphosis leaves us in no doubt that we have a vampire movie on our hands. However, if the Twilight books and movies have taught us anything, it’s that vampires are an unpredictable lot and it’s always touch and go whether any unsuspecting mortal who strays into their territory will end up as lunch or love interest. This uncertainty is at the heart of Metamorphosis’s own identity crisis.

Metamorphosis is a 2007 offering from the Hungarian born Jenö Hodi, who directed, produced and co-wrote the movie as well as having a bit-part credit as the “crater-faced man”. It tells the story of Keith, a young American writer who travels to Hungary to research the legend of seventeenth-century Hungarian noblewoman and reputed serial killer, Elizabeth Báthory. Along for the ride are Keith’s irritating friend, JJ, and JJ’s irritating girlfriend, Kim. Wandering in a graveyard (why not?), the three friends meet an enigmatic and beautiful woman who introduces herself as Elizabeth and accompanies them as they travel to the Báthory castle. She and Keith discuss his research and, notwithstanding some hard-to-miss hints that Elizabeth is a vampire, they fall in love. Then Elizabeth disappears and, as misfortune and danger close in around the friends, they begin to suspect that Elizabeth is the cause.

All of which sounds rather fun—and it is: Metamorphosis delivers an imaginative and watchable story which makes good use of its rural Hungarian locations. Unfortunately, there is something lacking. This is because, like a vampire who can’t decide whether to be sexy or terrifying, Metamorphosis never wholeheartedly commits itself to being either a supernatural romance or a horror movie, but wavers uncertainly between the two. The plodding pace and low gore-quotient are likely to have horror fans checking their watches long before half time. This is particularly true for those who are familiar with the gruesome Báthory legend, which is brushed aside for much of the movie. Meanwhile romance fans will find the rushed love story and the lack of any believable emotional connection between Elizabeth and Keith reduces their enjoyment of the movie.

The movie takes itself a little too seriously at times and includes a few curious moments which may be intended to hint at the nature of the world they have entered or to create a sense of unease or wonder in the viewer. However, their main effect is to puzzle and they almost appear to be mistakes. In one scene, for example, a character smashes a chair and places the wood on the fire, then returns to sit in the same chair, which is now whole. Although the incidental music suggests this is significant, none of the characters seem to notice anything amiss and the incident remains unexplained.

Christopher Lambert’s performance in Metamorphosis has been criticised as hammy, but as the antagonist he brings some much-needed humour and energy to the second half of the movie. Had his character, a newly-created vampire out for revenge, been granted more screen time in the first half of the movie, there would have been a greater sense of danger hanging over the protagonists throughout and Metamorphosis would have been a more balanced and more enjoyable movie.

Metamorphosis is out on Network DVD  on Monday the 3rd of October.

Alison Raouf

Check out the trailer below.

Tokyo Decadence

Written and directed by acclaimed Japanese novelist and film director, Ryu Murakami (the genius mind behind Takashi Miike’s “Audition”), Tokyo Decadence takes the viewer on a journey to the seedy, secretive side of modern Japanese society as seen through the eyes of a young call girl who specializes in sadomasochistic acts of bondage, domination and submission.

Sexually graphic without being gratuitous, brilliant and honest, Tokyo Decadence is an unforgettable film that never shies away from exposing the realities of a world that is devoid of humanity and feeling. Boasting a music score by Academy Award winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Last Emperor) and a brave, subtly sympathetic, soul-baring central performance by Miho Nikaido, it presents a searing, disturbing and extremely graphic indictment of the hypocrisies of excessive materialism and sexual puritanism.

The Cheerleaders

Debbie may have done Dallas, but the girls of Amorosa High are game enough to take on the whole country in The Cheerleaders, a classic 1970s sex comedy where the laughs come thick and fast and the outfits come off even quicker.

For the bold and brassy girls of the cheerleading squad, taking one for their football team comes naturally, so when rivals need to be taken down, there’s only one solution… seduce them into exhaustion.

Now the game girls are on a sex-crazed mission to ride their rivals to victory in the politically incorrect comedy that shocked the world!

From lesbian sports mistresses and square-jawed jocks, no one is safe from the amorous advances of the hottest squad of horny good-time girls in the USA.

Both titles are set for release on Arrowdrom DVD on the 24th of October.

Hannibal Lector has by today been so over exposed on film that I dread to hear the news of Anthony Hopkins once again reprising his signature role. Manhunter is finally out on Blu-Ray and it does indeed feature our favorite cannibal doctor but this is way before the somewhat camp depiction of the later Silence of the Lambs. Dr Lector first came into existence in the Thomas Harris penned Red Dragon which was adapted for the screen by Michael Mann and re-named Manhunter.

The action genre was heavily influenced by Michael Mann in the 1980’s via classic TV cop shows like Miami Vice and Crime Story and films such as Thief and Manhunter. Starring William Petersen as FBI profiler Will Graham he is asked by the bureau to come out of retirement to hopefully crack the recent Tooth Fairy slayings. Graham delves deep into the mind of the killer by attempting to mimic his thought leading him into dark and menacing territory. Manhunter remains a kinetic action masterpiece that if anything simply gets better with age.

Great directors are always discussed as having a signature style and for any fan of Michael Mann all his best moves are on show here. The use of the color tints especially blue is heavily evident as is the concept of the ocean as being cleansing or removed. The soundtrack dominates and informs the entire film and its use has become a template for any and every cop show you can currently name. Michael Mann also likes to keep favor with actors and here you see Petersen (small role in Thief), Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford (also in Thief and Crime Story) and Stephen Lang as Freddy Lounds (also in Crime Story). Brian Cox was asked to audition for the role of Lector and based his performance on Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel. Let me warn any un-initiated right

now his turn is wildly different to the now legendary Hopkins performance. He doesn’t reside is a dank gothic dungeon (why would anyone) and stays well away from the mild histrionics of tales involving fava beans. His performance is menacingly measured and his overall lack of screen time always leaves me desperate for more.

Manhunter is an ultra sleek and very disturbing psycho thriller that may be somewhat commonplace by today but this is groundbreaking stuff. Profiling and all this CSI stuff is now on every single channel at some point during a twenty four hour spell by this wasn’t that case in the 1980’s. The cop genre at that point was still super cops like TJ Hooker and Chips who worked the beat and tracked down the bad guys. Manhunter led the way for the narrative to delve much deeper into actual investigating and made it exciting and vibrant. The majority of the film is very talky with short bursts of violence punctuating the actual investigating, the aspect that is the guts of the narrative.

Special mention must go to the epic Tom Noonan as Francis Dollarhyde (the Tooth Fairy) who actually combines some sympathy with extreme terror. His immense stature and character driven face allow the audience to ultimately be terrified as his true nature and transformation into the red dragon becomes apparent. The cast as a whole are superb with the double act of Petersen and Farina leaning far more on reality than the usual buddy cop nonsense.

Twelve months prior to the release of Manhunter William Friedkin (oddly enough Friedkin himself was considered for the role of Lector) had produced the now cult classic To Live and Die in LA. Also starring Peterson (his performance actually won him the part of Graham) both these films have massively influenced the police investigation genre. Their refusal to deal with the usual narrative clichés and concentrate on a far harsher and more honest depiction of the job has by today become the norm. This is one of the key factors that allow Manhunter to retain its original power as it bypasses all the usual dialogue and scenarios and simply concentrates on a far deeper and darker narrative.

The optimum Blu-Ray release is much appreciated as the quality of the print is clean and allows the signature look of Michael Mann to flourish. The amazing cinematography by the legendary Dante Spinotti has never looked as vibrant making it a must in itself.  If I was to complain about anything it would be the working print included on a previous USA release, being missing from this.Granted that print is worse than VHS quality but for annoying fans like myself it’s still essential to any definitive release. The Director’s Cut is included and for the uninitiated it’s a fascinating look at what the film could have been. The ending is very different and goes far deeper into the broken psyche of Graham. The commentary is also included and Mann makes for a fascinating listen and like Verhoeven has a perfect memory of production.  But for the minor quibble its long overdue to have a Blu-Ray release of this absolute cult classic.

Manhunter grossed less than its overall budget on original release in the 1980’s but has thankfully by today become the absolute classic it is. Anyone coming to this film for the first time may find themselves saying it’s just like CSI or any other of those TV shows. The fact remains that Manhunter was a game changer for the genre it just took a few years for its groundbreaking approach to seep through into the mainstream. Manhunter is a film that I have loved for over fifteen years having first seen it in my mid twenties. Multiple viewings simply enhance its brilliance and this Blu-Ray is a must simply for the visuals if nothing else.

Aled Ll Jones

Manhunter is now out on Blu-Ray courtesy of Optimum, check out the trailer below for a taste of its brilliance.

RUMLEY SET TO ROLL WITH STRANGERS

Red-hot Brit indie filmmaker Simon Rumley is set to helm Stranger, a thriller chase movie located in the heart of rural China. Inspired by Duel the Rumley-penned script is produced by Mark Foligno (The King’s Speech) and Bob Portal (Red White & Blue). Casting begins this week and filming is expected to begin early 2012.

As his much praised psycho-sexual thriller Red White & Blue (distributed by Trinity) opens in the UK this Friday, Rumley reveals that he is also attached to a project that will see a return to the geography that gave Red White & Blue its visual identity.

Set in Texas, The Cherished One is a disturbing and dark thriller about a serial killer who uses his young daughter to entice his victims. Written by Lena Rae, it is produced by Ray and Matt Marshall, of Festivals Films.

Rumley has just completed filming an installment of The ABC’s of Death in Suriname

THE MAN THEY PUSHED TOO FAR.

Notorious at the time of its original 1980 theatrical release for its shockingly real decapitation sequence and other scenes of graphic violence, The Exterminator comes to Blu-ray for the first time in the UK boasting a host of extra features that include an introduction to the film by director by James Glickenhaus (McBain: The Protector) and an audio commentary by the film’s producer,Mark Buntzman (Love Kills; Exterminator 2). Retaining much of its power to shock to this day, this classic vigilante action-thriller stars Robert Ginty (Coming Home), Samantha Eggar (The Astronaut’s Wife; The Phantom; The Brood) and Christopher George (City Of The Living Dead).

John Eastland (Ginty) has been to Vietnam and he’s seen things… things you wouldn’t believe. Having survived a torture ordeal and witnessed the brutal deaths of his friends, he returns home to a tough neighbourhood in New York and his loving family. But when some local thugs take a dislike to his best friend Mike, leaving him paralysed, something snaps in Eastland. Did he fight the Vietcong for this?

Taking the law into his own hands, the former marine sets out to clean the streets of every low-life, good-for-nothing gangbanger, mobster and ghetto ghoul across the city in a savage orgy of vigilante vengeance.

The Exterminator (cert. 18) will be released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video on 7th November 2011.

Special Features
Introduction to the film by director James Glickenhaus; Fire And Slice: Making The Exterminator – an interview with James Glickenhaus; 42nd Street Then And Now – a tour of New York’s former sleaze circuit with director Frank Henenlotter; audio commentary by Mark Buntzman, producer of The Exterminator and writer-director of The Exterminator II, moderated by Calum Waddell; collectors’ booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by critic David Hayles; reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork; double sided fold out artwork poster; original 1.78:1 aspect ratio; original uncompressed LPCM mono audio.

The Peddler is an Argentinean Documentary that introduces the world to the rather phenomenal one man film industry that is Daniel Burmeister. The sixty year old has thus far completed over fifty handcrafted films that simply involve him arriving at a village and asking for only food and lodging in exchange for setting one of his features there. He then utilizes local people, locations and props to bring his simply story to life, before finally premiering the film to the town.

Cinema started as enthusiast simply shooting some action sequences and then showing them to a small group of friends. Essentially Burmeister has rolled cinema back even further than Von Trier attempted with Dogma. His amazing enthusiasm and belief in people’s wonderment with cinema is what drives him to continue his one man crusade.

The documentary follows his film-making exploits in the village of Gould where he produces a one of his set films about a man refusing to pay his bills. The film is essentially a comedy with a fancy wedding thrown in on top as he found that worked on a previous production. The kids and various villagers take central roles with a local taxi driver proving his star potential, involving the use of a wig left in his cab.

The Peddleris a film that is knee deep in the love of cinema and the power it posses to bring people together in a shared experience. The villages visited by Burmeister have nothing but fantastic memories and even help out when they can on other projects. The film concludes with the premiere of the film at the village hall to a packed house. On the day of the premiere Burmeister is once again out doing all his own promotional work with a loudspeaker on his old warhorse of a car.The film captures a man whose view of life can be simply summed up as any challenge is provided so you can conquer it. No matter what the issue he remains’ totally unfazed and simply thinks his way around it. The car he owns continue to break down so he fixes it first with glue and then promises to re-build the entire chassis out of wood. He arrives to shoot the film without an actual camera and just finds out who has a camera he can use in the village and approaches him. This kind of self belief and ingenuity is astounding to watch and made me personally feel utterly inadequate. Life is filled with moments when you sit around and say ‘I would do that but what’s the point’ due to a list of excuses. Daniel Burmeister is a man who thinks the opposite, anything he sets his mind to he will ultimately accomplish no matter what.The Peddler is a wonderfully inspirational tale that unveils one of the true characters of world cinema. Daniel Burmeister is reminiscent of the character in Don Siegel’s Charley Varrick who calls himself the last of the independents. Burmeister is exactly that, a man who lives and operates by his own rules simply looking to entertain people. All the planning done by Hollywood studios is simply non-existent here as his philosophy of getting actual people emotionally involved works. The Peddler is a wondrous treat to everyone who loves the pleasure of films at their simplest of levels, removed from all the histrionics and CGI induced nonsense of modern day Hollywood.

Aled Ll Jones

The Peddler is out on Network DVD on September the 26th

Check out the Trailer below.

Panic in Needle Park is now essentially a showcase for the young Pacino a year before he became a megastar in The Godfather. Here he plays a charismatic but useless junky and drug dealer called Bobby. Directed by Jerry Schatzberg this would be the first of two films made between him and Pacino in the early 70’s. Based in Needle Park on the upper west side of New York the film utilized authentic location and a verite style of shooting to heighten reality.

Bobby is a small time hustler who basically steals and deals to keep his habit alive. He then meets the highly restless Helen (Kitty Winn) who unfortunately for her takes a shine to him. Slowly she descends into drug addiction alongside Bobby followed by paranoia and betrayal as everything spirals out of control for the couple. By 1971 films such as Midnight Cowboy and Easy Rider had changed the mainstream depiction of drugs for modern audiences. Panic in Needle Park goes for the jugular from the off and shows addiction as the squalid hell it is for the lower classes.

Jerry Schatzberg was nominated at Cannes in 1971 for the Pale d’Or and finally won the top honor two years later with Scarecrow, the second film he made with Pacino. Panic in Needle Park takes an extremely serious view of its subject matter and like the work of Alan Clarke in the UK it takes no prisoners. The total lack of any soundtrack and the use of a verite visual style allows for a highly realistic film. The locations also are very authentic and simply add more to the film that any studio bound film could never have. More recent drug classics such as Trainspotting take a far more stylized approach which allows more distance for the viewer from the harsh reality on show.

The seeds of Pacino’s brilliance can be seen here as he stumbles around from one mini disaster to another, looking to score his next hit. Just as in Serpico he seems made for the streets with his unconventional look and accent something that just fits like a glove. Kitty Winn matches him every step of the way as her ultimate slide into addiction is heartbreaking to endure. She would go on to win the best actress award at Cannes that year for her performance in this film.

The fascinating aspect of this film by today is the actual New York City it captures, which has now all but disappeared. The area caught on camera in the film is by today an ultra rich part of the city and such things as Needle Park are now history. The narrative of the film is very matter of fact which perfectly matched Schatzberg’s shooting style. The birth of verite film-making in documentaries had become popular from the late fifties. Directors such as Schatzberg and Cassavetes then took that style and transferred it to feature films. The editing perfectly matches the film in shadowing the French nouvelle vague without actually interfering with the narrative.

As a social document of a period in New York City history Panic In Needle Park is almost priceless as it truly gets up to its guts in the feel of New York. The clean safe city of today simply didn’t exist in the 70’s and remember this is a full decade before such TV classics as The Equalizer which depicted the city as an urban hell of violence. The fact that the film is made on the front foot provides all its power and meaningful emotion and it’s quite something. The performances are superb and it’s fair to say that this film is still underappreciated on the whole. The seventies provided one classic hit after another for major studios and Panic in Needle Park is a landmark production.

Thanks to Second Sight it’s now available on DVD for the first time in the UK on a decent print. This release also features a couple of nice documentaries and you finally get to see the movie without feeling your watching an age old VHS tape. The Panic in Needle Park is essential stuff that further goes to demonstrate that the 1970’s was indeed a golden age for American mainstream and independent film.

The Panic in Needle Park is now out on DVD

View the trailer below

CAUGHT BETWEEN THE TRUTH AND A MURDERER’S HAND!

The Cat O’ Nine Tails, Dario Argento’s second feature as director, stars James Franciscus (Beneath The Planet Of The Apes; The Valley Of Gwangi), Karl Malden (The Streets Of San Francisco; On The Waterfront; A Streetcar Named Desire) and French actress and singer Catherine Spaak (Hotel; La Ronde; The Easy Life) in a classic Giallo tale that begins when a break in at a genetics lab leads to a spiralling vortex of bloody murder.

Strange circumstances surrounding the crime pique the interest of a journalist and a blind crossword compiler whose sharp ears have overheard talk of blackmail. However, all those assisting the would-be investigators in their crime solving soon begin to regret becoming involved as scientists die in front of speeding trains and photographers are viciously slain, while others fall to their screaming deaths down elevator shafts.

It soon becomes clear that the killer is on to the investigative duo and will do anything to protect his identity in this surreal and nightmarish thriller from one of the acknowledged masters of Italian horror.

The Cat O’ Nine Tails (cert. 15) will be released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video on 26th September 2011. Special Features include: brand new High Definition transfer of the film in its original 2.35:1 (16×9) aspect ratio; Dario Argento Remembers The Cat O’ Nine Tails; The Cat O’ Nine Tails In Reflection – an interview with long-time Argento collaborator Luigi Cozzi; Sergio Martino: The Art And Arteries of the Giallo; four sleeve art options with original and newly commissioned artwork; two-sided fold out poster; exclusive collectors’ booklet featuring brand new writing by Alan Jones, author of “Profondo Argento”; English and Italian mono (with English subtitles) audio options.

As If I’m Not There is a highly disturbing and emotionally draining experience set during the Bosnian War during the 1990’s. The film follows a young female teacher named Samira as she takes a job in a remote village. Sadly the war is just beginning and soon Serbian troops arrive in the village and things get extremely difficult from there on out.

Director Juanita Wilson is originally from Ireland and has based the film on actual true stories revealed during the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. The film follows Samira as she and all the women are removed from the village and taken to a forced labor camp of sorts. The men are simply executed at the village and the woman are taken to a camp and divided: the older women being made to work and the young ones used as sex slaves. The actual action is slow and extremely controlled throughout and the use of dialogue and soundtrack are kept to an absolute minimum for the first half of the film.

Chest-tightening dread is experienced while watching the young girls being taken away to a house adjoining the camp as one is sure in the knowledge that at some point during the film Samira and the audience must bear witness to the atrocities that lie within. Samira’s turn comes soon enough and the film turns from being menacing into outright horrific once she is forced to experience what the others have already been subject to. The sequence that follows is the emotional heart of the film and goes to explain the title. What follows is rape and then degradation on such a truly demoralizing scale that Samira is forced to disconnect and simply become a spectator as she is subjugated. The audience is forced to experience a lack of humanity that is sadly all too real.

The second half of the film delves into the nature of human survival as Samira chooses to sleep with the camp commandant thus ensuring she isn’t raped and beaten anymore. Liberation cones in the end but Samira is left with an aftermath in the shape of pregnancy. After begging to have it removed she is ultimately forced to face up to the nightmare of having a child that will remind her of her horrifying experience at the camp. The film, though, chooses to finish on a note of emotional hope as mother and child are united.

As If I’m Not There is not for the fainthearted and it is a remarkable feature debut for director Juanita Wilson. Recalling such works as Larisa Shepitko’s The Ascent this is a painfully raw account of human atrocities not that far removed from today. The direction is wonderfully understated as Wilson allows the horrifying events to take centre stage. The cast are all wonderfully restrained and simply add to the inevitable horror that you know is coming from the moment the soldiers arrive at the village.

The emotional core of the film comes when Samira starts to sleep with the camp commander and we learn that, like him, she is a survivor. As painful as this revelation is, it’s clear from the records of the Jewish holocaust such as those by Primo Levi, some people are built to survive. Her degradation may be almost impossible to endure but her spirit cannot be broken and she will live beyond this horror.

As If I’m Not There is a testament to the true power of the human spirit over anything that can be thrown at it. The journey is long, dark and painful but the end emotional revelation is hugely life affirming even for people who have never seen this kind of horror. Not for the fainthearted or anyone upset by the true horror of humanity. As If I’m Not There will stay with you long after your viewing experience and you’ll be thankful that most probably what you’ve just seen will never happen to you or your family. Horror is a genre currently experiencing an epic revival but when it come to true horror that you cannot shake look no further than As If I’m Not There.

Aled Ll Jones

As If I’m Not There is out on DVD via Element Pictures on the 26th of September

Last week Shameless appealed the BBFC’s decision to cut House on the Edge of the Park by 80 seconds. In a landmark victory, the BBFC have agreed to waive 37 seconds of these cuts to the sex scene between Alex and Lisa which had previously been cut due to the questionability of whether or not Lisa is enjoying her ordeal. As we are all readily aware, scenes of this nature have been cut and those cuts upheld by the BBFC in the past so to have them waived is a landmark moment not only for Shameless, but also for the history of UK censorship.

Shameless would like to thank its fans for the show of support regarding this issue.

House on the Edge of the Park will be available on DVD from 31 October. More details on special features (including those dedicated to the film’s censorship history) will be announced soon.