PHANTASM: Remastered (Blu-Ray/DVD Combo)

Phantasm- The delusion of a distorted mind. A phantom. A spirit. A Ghost. A great movie after all these years. 'Phantasm: Remastered' is the new 4K restoration of the 1978 cult classic directed by Don Coscarelli. It tells the story of a young boy named Mike, who begins to investigate the mysterious happenings at Morningside Cemetery and discovers a horror beyond this world. The film has been interpreted in multiple ways, as it was designed. Don Coscarelli wanted the film and the sequels that would follow to feel like nightmares, where all is never quite right no matter how real things may seem and the worst nightmares are the ones where you question your own reality. These are the heaviest themes with 'Phantasm' along with discussions of family, feeling lost and having lost, and abandonment and overcoming the worst of the worst.

 These complexities are what raises 'Phantasm' well above the rest of the drive-in fare in the late 70's along with some of the most imaginative and unique film techniques both now and then. Coscarelli was only 19 years old at the time of filming and to see this much artistic genius from such a young director is hardly seen anymore and its a real shame to say the least. The sequels would continue the bizarre storyline of The Tall Man and his pursuit of young Mike and while those films are quite entertaining in their own right, nothing can beat the original. 'Phantasm' is like no other film and even today young filmmakers (including J.J. Abrams) are inspired by the film and once you pop it in, you'll understand why.

'Phantasm: Remastered' has been restored to 4K quality from the original film print thanks to director J.J. Abrams and his production studio BAD ROBOT. They have outdone themselves and then some, as this is the best the film has ever looked. The crisp and brightness of everything really enhances the mood and atmosphere. The sets, such as the infamous Mausoleum are even better looking and more creepy with the high-def upgrade. The set comes both on Blu-Ray and DVD and even in the standard definition you get a great upgrade from the original Anchor Bay set that's been keeping us from enjoying the film for so many years now. In other words, this looks amazing for a film from 1978. Sound quality is a standard 5.1 Dolby Digital transfer that's definitely better than the original releases but nothing too spectacular, but still they did some hard work here.

Special Features are sadly the only thing really lacking here from the previous release. Anchor Bay's DVD contained an audio commentary along with a couple of documentaries and some nice little bits such as a VHS advert for 'Fangoria' Magazine starring The Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm. Here, Well-Go USA has given us some of the better extras from the earlier set such as the commentary, but it still would have been nice to see something new or at least carry over all the original extras to the set. Perhaps when the box set releases next year they'll surprise me with something new.

'Phantasm' is still a powerful, creepy, and amazingly well done film for the budget and limited resources the young director had. It blows away newer productions in its imagination and its horror and should not be missed. 'Remastered' is a great release for those who have been dying for Anchor Bay to do it, though it's definitely missing some bits and pieces there that would have been nice. 'Phantasm: RaVager' the fifth film in the franchise is also available from Well-Go USA and also a great watch. Be sure to check back for that review.


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The Initiation (1984) Blu-Ray Review

 'The Initiation' was first released in 1984 and stars Vera Miles (Psycho), Clu Gulager (Return of the Living Dead), and Daphne Zuniga and now comes to you from the good folks at Arrow Video. The film follows young sorority pledge Kelly, who's been plagued with frequent nightmares. She and her fellow pledges are locked up in her father's department store for the night and one by one are stalked and killed by a mysterious figure while a young graduate student attempts to unravel the mysteries behind Kelly and her past. Oddly enough, the movie 'Chopping Mall' seems like it should have had this premise.

While in most ways the film is your typical slasher fare, 'The Initiation' manages to throw some curveballs here and there, along with some excellent performances by Daphne Zuniga and Vera Miles. The film does try to really make its final payoff feel earned and worthwhile rather than set up a cast of red herrings and then pick someone out of the blue to be the killer. The film is unique in a 'Sleepaway Camp' kind of way and while 'Initiation' will likely never be as well known as that film, this one is by far the better film in my opinion. The film has strong visuals, great acting, the right amount of fun and cheese, and some really brutal kills for the genre. Where the film could have been improved is in some of the characters either good or bad. I really wanted to know some of these people better, either because they were too generic and obnoxious, or they show something about themselves I loved but then they fall back into slasher territory at the wrong time. Overall though, I was genuinely surprised by how much I really enjoyed 'The Initiation' and its up there in the slasher flick pantheon, for whatever that's worth. I say even without this Blu-Ray, still give it a watch.

 Arrow Video presents 'The Initiation' in a 1.85.1 1080p source taken from 35mm and restored to 2k quality and for the most part, it's very crisp and nice for a film of such age. At times however, the picture can seem a little inconsistent, jumping from smooth and excellent to blurry and even seemingly out of focus. Whether this was due to the original cinematography or the transfer I cannot be sure of (This was my first and only viewing of the film so far) but you'll get really smooth scenes with perfect contrast, color etc. as seen in the above screen, but then you'll get a scene like the one below that looks blurred. As I said however, for a 1984 picture with little attention and love when first released, Arrow has delivered a very nice presentation here.

The soundtrack included on the disc has a good balance, but nothing that will give your system a workout or anything. Dialogue is crisp and clear, while at the same time the sound effects, jump scenes and chase scenes are not too over the top in their volume levels. Good not great here.

Special Features include an audio commentary by Hysteria Lives! a slasher movie website operated within the UK and features various speakers from the podcast on the site The Hysteria Continues. New interviews have been conducted by Michael 'Slippy' Felsher's Red Shirt Pictures and features writer Charles Pratt Jr, actor Christopher Bradley, and Joy Jones and are a really fun listen. An extended scene is included (no audio) along with the original theatrical trailer for the film.

'The Initiation' was a really fun slasher flick that I wish I caught a long time ago. It's classier and artsy approach, along with some good kills and performances elevate it high on my list. Arrow Video's release is above and beyond the best choice for any fans out there who wish to add this to their collection. Recommended for slasher and horror fans alike.


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Black X-Mas (2006)

'Black X-Mas' (or 'Black Christmas') is directed by Glen Morgan and stars Katie Cassidy, Mary-Elizabeth Winstead, and Andrea Martin. The film is a remake 'in name only' of the classic 1974 Bob Clark film about a mysterious stranger stalking a young sorority house during the Christmas break. When I first went into this film back in 2006, I absolutely loved it. I was 17 years old at the time so you can imagine my judgement back then (I did like 'Hostel' at that point after all). However, that's not to say I have done a complete 180 and now hate 'Black X-Mas', in fact I'm quite amazed after re-watching it how much I felt it held up as a little slasher gem.

It definitely gives you that vibe of the old slashers from the 1980's and thank God for that. I don't know everything about the behind the scenes, but I'm assuming that they did not wish to completely copy the original film and instead going for a splatter film that captures the holiday feel. Just a warning to those who may find it a bit more squeemish than your average horror film, 'Black X-Mas' is surprisingly mean-spirited and brutally gory for a mainstream film, especially for the mid 2000's. The reason I give the warning is due to the majority of violence involving eye gouging and even eating of eyeballs, so yeah just a warning for you.

The story is the same, but different at the same time. You get the basics of the original: A stalker hunting down and killing each young woman or anyone in the way one by one until a showdown however now you get a backstory of the killer and an actual definitive ending and even if both are quite silly and somewhat stupid at points, I do think it fleshes out this particular film for the better. I do always hate it when slasher films have to give a large amount of time to giving motivation to the killer, as we would see a year later with 'Rob Zombie's Halloween'. I don't care what circumstances led to the guy being crazy for the most part, I just want the basics and then he stalks and kills.

The ending I also mentioned as being a mixed bag, however this is a different scenario entirely. The ending to the original film while not outright horrible and it is really effective and creepy, but it's extremely frustrating because the film just ends and I won't spoil it any further for you (you'll have to wait until next week for that review). Here however, you do get a final confrontation between the heroine and Billy and it ends with one of the most epic and ridiculous final shots I've seen in a slasher and I hate to admit it, but I kinda liked it.

The cast here is one of the best in a modern horror film, with some of my favorites including Mary-Elizabeth and I always love seeing Andrea Martin return in anything. The girls for the most part actually don't annoy me and those that do are quickly picked off so you don't have to endure them for long. By far the worst character here is the red-herring boyfriend, who is a complete asshole and they make him so unlikeable that its impossible to not know he isn't the killer (especially when we see the killer escape from the mental institution at the same time this guy is smooching his girl). The killer himself is not the most creative killer, nor are his kills (again it's mostly just eyeball stuff) and for some reason he was yellow because of jaundice (I'm sure those truly afflicted with this disease took offense to making a serial killer deformed in such a way.)

Where the movie's flaws truly lie are in the various misleads and reshoots throughout the film's production. The original theatrical trailer featured sequences that were shot behind the director's back for the sole purpose of the trailer and was not to be found in the final print. Scenes such as a snowblower dragging someone into it with Christmas lights look amazing and to see it not appear in the film is really aggravating. The film's reshoots, whether to include less or more gore, change certain character arcs, or to add three different endings just prove that the studio had little to know faith in Glen Morgan and they should have just let him do what he does and left him alone. The result is some severe cutting around and choppy editing, lost scenes, alternate death scenes for the UK, alternate endings etc. Speaking of the endings, I get 'Scream 4' syndrome from them and think that the Weinsteins just threw shit at the wall. The endings just don't end, they go on forever with the characters being constantly attacked when you just want a breather and in the end you're just too annoyed and tired to care anymore.

'Black X-Mas' has a lot of problems and really isn't a remake, similar to 'House of Wax' earlier that year. However, like 'House of Wax', if you love 80's slasher films then you'll find something to enjoy about it, even if you won't like to admit it. The production troubles caused more problems for the film than it should have but I still get a kick out of it, and it beats the hell out of most films coming out at the time. I'll take this over 'SAW' any day. Check it out for yourself, and remember that Billy's watching you.

INCARNATE (2016)

'Incarnate' stars Aaron Eckhardt as a man who can enter the minds of those demonically possessed and help to exorcise them from the person. He meets his match when a young boy seems to contain the ultimate evil. The film is directed by Brad Peyton, who directed such gems as 'Cats & Dogs 2' and the upcoming video game adaptation 'Rampage' and if 'Incarnate' is any indication of that future release, we aren't going to be having any good times from Mr. Peyton.

Seriously though, is this the best we can do folks? Especially in the wake of the summer hit 'The Conjuring 2' and even FOX television's 'Exorcist' adaptation which show some form of creativity or unique concepts in this tired subgenre but 'Incarnate' is by the numbers, predictable, boring, and full of annoying jump scares. Even with good casting, this film is just insufferable and I have to be honest, I hate the kid in this film and wish he wasn't cast in fifty productions this year. Most will likely know him as the young Bruce Wayne in FOX's 'Gotham' show and even there he's quite obnoxious. I got to deal with this kid twice and both times, he was in something horror and pain related.

Even Eckhardt, who is a great actor in most things is just given nothing here and unlike 'Shut In' with Naomi Watts, he really does not seem to be even trying here. It's 'I, Frankenstein' all over again. This film is what's wrong with horror today. It's full of loud noises that the filmmakers think is what scary and horror is. The film is also full of choppy cuts and fast paced editing, it desperately needs ritalin along with the few teenagers who actually sat through this film with me.

What can I really say about 'Incarnate'? I hated this movie, not just because it's a lazy attempt at horror filmmaking, but it also will likely make its money back and give said laziness a reward it doesn't deserve. I hate what Blumhouse has become, with them starting the 2010 horror boost with 'Insidious' and now they've just become another Lionsgate. If you thought 'Shut In' was bad, just believe me and stay at home instead of seeing 'Incarnate'.

                    
                       (This film gets no stars from me. A first for the site, but rightfully deserved.)

The Thing (1982) (Scream Factory Blu-Ray Review)

John Carpenter's 'The Thing' sadly didn't attain the status it has now for many years. Released a week after Steven Spielberg's 'ET', audiences and critics were turned off by a violent and angry alien attack movie and for many years until home video and now DVD/Blu-Ray the film did little to impress other than those few who saw the diamond in the rough. Now in 2016, Shout! Factory has provided the second Blu-Ray release with a new video/audio transfer and a load of special features, including some old favorites. So is this new release worth the double dip? I say yes, yes, a million times yes.

For those who don't know the tale, 'The Thing' has a group of researchers in Antarctica who discover a hostile alien life form who has the ability to assimilate the form of other humans in an effort to trick and protect itself from danger. This naturally leads to paranoia, violence, and terror in the snow ridden wilderness where there is no one to help and nowhere to hide. The film was released in 1982 but has a timeless feel to it. Other than some primitive technology or out of date clothing, the film's environment holds up due to its plainness and in this film's case, that's not a bad thing.

The cast is fantastic as well, with Kurt Russel in one of my favorite roles he's done for Carpenter. His 'give no shits' attitude suits him and from the opening scene with him and the computer chess, he hooks you in as a great character. The rest are good as well, though for many you do not get nearly as much time as you could in other films to develop them, you get a good sense of what they all provide for this facility and they provide humanity, humor, and sympathy throughout the run time. The special effects by Rob Bottin (The Howling) is still to this day the best in the business you could possibly provide. Nothing feels dated here, you believe that every gory, slimy creature on screen is truly alive and its a cliche to say at this point, but they really don't make them like this anymore if the 2011 prequel/remake is anything to go by you just can't recapture this film's awesome effects. Does the film have flaws? Yes it does, as most films usually have. The film is quite slow to take off, even for a John Carpenter film and modern audiences may feel cheated and bored before the titular 'Thing' even reveals itself. The film also suffers the opposite with a rushed ending in my opinion though to be fair, this may have been due to production troubles as shown in the special features. Still though, one wishes the film could have ended on a more satisfactory tone than what we ultimately get. 'The Thing' is still a great film after all these years and one of my top ten favorite Carpenter films.

The video quality has been remastered and differs greatly from the past Universal single disc release. The film looks brighter and crisper than the previous High Def picture and the contrast is enhanced slightly as well, giving us a better outline of blacks and colors. The film's darker moments seen in previous releases are now clear as day and the special effects in said shots stand out even more, bringing a big positive to this release. Overall, I love the picture here and it's far superior to the Universal release.

Audio on this release was subject to controversy leading to a delayed release but as far as I know, the issue has been resolved and the 4.1 and 5.1 channels both sound great. Though truth be told, I find little differences between the two, they are improvements from previous versions of the film. It's not going to blow you away or anything, this is a rather quiet film after all but the audio quality satisfies this reviewer.

Special Features include all previous features transferred over including Three Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, Radio Spots, and Audio Commentary with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. The good people at Shout! have given us a treasure trove of new material on a whole disc in itself with this collector's edition release including several new documentaries and featurettes while keeping the excellent 'Terror Takes Shape' from the previous DVD/Blu-Ray release. You also get a new Audio Commentary with Cinematographer Dean Cundey, The Network TV version of the film in its entirety, new interviews, and some archival documentaries from the time of the film's original release. This is a packed Blu-Ray collection folks and well worth the price alone. These are some amazing special features and once again Shout! has really outdone themselves this time.


While 'THE THING' is already an excellent film, this new release has given the film and its fans the treatment they deserve. From the upgraded quality to the vast amount of special features, this is a double dip well worth owning.


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Final Destination 2 (2003)

Death comes again in 'Final Destination 2' but you all know the plot, especially if you're clicking on a horror review site such as this. This time around, the premonition of young Kimberly (A.J. Cook) prevents a horrific pile up (and in my opinion the best opening accident of the franchise) and death now comes for those she saved. She must rely on these strangers as they try to protect each other and prevent more horrific fatalities. From here on out, I really can't criticize one sequel without doing them all in some aspects for they will now have a more specific formula than even the most basic slasher flick. Premonition, accident prevention, deaths come one by one, some kind of specific gimmick prevents certain characters from seeing the pearly gates. This series gets pretty basic, but I think that's the charm of them. Like Jason or Freddy, the 'Destination' films are entertaining and you know exactly what you're getting into and when it's over, you can go about your life. It's very much a rollercoaster or any other amusement park ride and these reasons are why I can't really hate on these films as much as a lot of other people seem to do.

They're really stupid, yes and death seems to have a lot of rules for being such a omnipotent being but damn that guy getting killed by a pane of glass shoots adrenaline into your brain and gets you going for more. And speaking of the death scenes, '2' may have the best of the bunch, or at least enough to have the majority in any top 10 list. A nice mix of practical and cgi effects make these stand out well, with my personal favorite being the flying barbed wire fence gag. If you read my review of the original movie, you may have noticed that I had some more philisophical or meaningful aspects to discuss, sadly this is not the case with 'Final Destination 2' nor any of the sequels that would follow. It's simply a cheap thrill, cash grab movie that's meant to have its time in the sun for the weekend, then quietly bow out and there's nothing wrong with that but for those who are looking for something more, you aren't finding it with this franchise sorry.

Even most 'Friday' or 'Nightmare' films have some good characters, or some aspect to them that keep them higher up, however here you really are just here to see people die and little else. I recommend it for fans of the first film, as I think it's the best sequel but everybody else can do better.

TRIVIA:

-Clear from the original film returns here and is first seen in an mental institution. The set used was the same from 2002's 'Halloween Resurrection'.

-The character Tim was 9 years old in the original script, however New Line feared backlash and aged him up to 15. Killing full grown adults are okay though...

-Devon Sawa, who portrayed Alex in the original film was set to return here, however disputes over his contract led to his absence and a really lame and insulting off-screen death (brick fell on his head.)

-One character has refrigerator magnets which spell out 'HEY E'. His death is predicted by these when the 'H' falls off and spells 'EYE'.

Final Destination (2000) REVIEW

Back in the late 90's the horror genre had gotten a slight revival with Wes Craven's 'Scream', however things were starting to become stale at a faster pace than before, with rip off after rip off spinning off the press. Jeffery Riddick and Glen Morgan, two screenwriters then wrote a concept script for the 'X-Files' TV show and 'Final Destination' would be born. Now here we are sixteen years later with four sequels with a possible reboot on the way but how does the original hold up? I think for those who may have seen the sequels first, it will likely disappoint. This film was more about the suspense and the eerie supernatural elements rather than the blood rushing over the top 'Mouse Trap' kill scenes that we would see in later entries.

For those who are unfamiliar with the series, a group of young teens escape an early death after witnessing a premonition of a horrific accident, in this film's case a plane crash. They believe themselves lucky, until death starts coming for them with a vengeance. The film had a unique style to it that even at the time separated it from other teen horror films of the time. It's dark atmosphere really keeps your attention. From the moment the film begins, you get a sense of looming horror at every turn, something many films now don't even attempt. Most films slowly ease you in, but 'Final Destination' lets you know right away something isn't right about this world and it's not going to let up anytime soon.

The cast is more believable here too, with Ali Larter standing out and even Sean William Scott does really well here when most would consider him just a goofball. While I said this film is much more toned down, that's not to say there isn't some horrific stuff here. I won't spoil any here, but I must say two specific ones stand out and even made John Denver music scary, a similar effect would come later with 'Insidious'. The film does have its flaws however, with most stemming from genre tropes and general mistakes. The franchise has a coroner character played by Tony Todd in every film, and while I really have no issue with Mr. Todd and he's definitely creepy, he serves no purpose other than a cameo/exposition dump on the characters and that's it. These scenes in all of the films really slow it to a crawl when they could have easily discovered the supernatural motives themselves.

I also think that for a film with a very clever and new idea for its time it reduces almost every character to a mere body count tally when we should feel more for them than we do. One scene deals with a father confronting the main character Alex when his son is taken by Death. This should have been a very deep emotional scene where we feel for the father and understand his blame, but since we didn't really get to know the deceased that well, we just brush it off like another slasher victim. The scene in the photo above as well suffers from this problem and while the scene is very over the top I still wished to have known this character a little better.

So overall, I say that I still enjoyed 'Final Destination' after all these years. It holds up well as a serious, dark thriller with a great story but I now can see the many holes through the rose colored glasses and know it's a flawed film. However, with some of the most generic, bland and recycled films in the genre since 2000, I'd say those flaws are easy to ignore so check it out if you have yet to do so, and check out the whole franchise if you liked it.