This week’s releases include a paradise-turned-nightmare; a challenging love story; a superhero taking on ordinary trials; a conversation with a serial killer; an overdue origin story; a demonic super-spreader; a man slowly disappearing; and a Scottish fiction.
Demons & Demons 2 (Blu-ray)
In Demons, a masked man offers tickets to a horror movie sneak preview at the mysterious Metropol cinema. When a patron is scratched by a prop displayed in the theatre lobby, she transforms into a flesh-ripping demon! One by one, the audience members mutate into horrible creatures hell-bent on destroying the world! Can anyone escape this gory orgy of terror?
In 1986’s sequel, Demons 2, the apocalyptic terror continues. A televised horror film spells doom for the residents of a luxury high-rise apartment, as demons are unleashed through the TV screen at a young woman’s birthday party. As more and more residents are infected and transformed into blood-thirsty demons, a young couple fights to survive as they try to escape Hell on Earth.
Both films were produced by master of horror, Dario Argento, and directed by Lamberto Bava, son of Italian horror master, Mario Bava. Though the stories in both pictures are thin, the first still feels better developed. The parallel occurrences between the movie and the movie-within-the-movie is a great device that enhances the terror. Moreover, it gives an additional layer to the film as the horror unfolds around the screen and they try to counter the potential effects of the movie. As the sequel expands the reach of the spell to television screens, it’s a bit strange to confine the action to one apartment building. Both films narrow their focus to a man and woman, though the endings take slightly different directions. The star of each picture, however, are the make-up and special effects. From pulsing boils to grotesque monster transformations, extending claws to grisly mutilations, they don’t hold anything back in the cringe department.
Special features include: two versions of Demon; commentaries; featurettes; and trailers. (Synapse Films)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (Blu-ray)
Six months after being exposed to a mysterious radiation cloud, suburban everyman Scott Carey (Grant Williams) finds himself becoming smaller . . . and smaller . . . and smaller — until he’s left to fend for himself in a world in which ordinary cats, mousetraps, and spiders pose a mortal threat, all while grappling with a diminishing sense of himself.
Based on Richard Matheson’s science fiction novel, the 1957 film depicts a man who is gradually becoming physically smaller. As everything needed to be accomplished practically, the illusion was skillfully achieved by shooting on sets with oversized furniture, enlarging the size of Scott’s clothes and using trick photography to place him in scenes with other characters. The result is a surprisingly convincing depiction of a man shrinking to such a size as to become potential prey to the average house cat or other typically harmless creatures lurking nearby. His wife does her best to adapt to his condition, but in spite of her efforts, she’s unable to maintain their connection. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the film is its conclusion, which takes an existential lens to Scott’s predicament. The interview with Matheson’s son is also somewhat revealing in terms of the adaptation and the production.
Special features include: commentary featuring genre-film historian Tom Weaver and horror-music expert David Schecter; new program on the film’s special effects by effects experts Craig Barron and Ben Burtt; conversation between filmmaker Joe Dante and comedian and writer Dana Gould; “Auteur on the Campus: Jack Arnold at Universal (Director’s Cut)” (2021); interview from 2016 with Richard Christian Matheson, novelist and screenwriter Richard Matheson’s son; interview from 1983 with director Jack Arnold; 8 mm home-cinema version from 1969; “The Lost Music of The Incredible Shrinking Man”; trailer and teaser narrated by filmmaker Orson Welles; and an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien. (Criterion Collection)
Needle in a Timestack (Blu-ray & Digital copy)
If love is in the form of a circle, what lines would you cross to be with your soulmate? Nick and Janine (Leslie Odom, Jr. and Cynthia Erivo) live in marital bliss, until Janine’s ex-husband (Orlando Bloom) warps time to try to tear them apart using Nick’s college girlfriend (Frieda Pinto). As Nick’s memories and reality disappear, he must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in order to hold onto — or let go of — everything he loves. Can love endure in a future where time is fluid, and all of life may be just an illusion?
The narrative slowly draws viewers into this mysterious future. Without reading the synopsis, some may feel confused by the film’s initial moments. Eventually, a more detailed explanation is provided within the story so audiences can better understand what is occurring and then predict what is to come. It’s a frightening concept to consider anyone (with money) could alter the past and in turn change the present. The possibilities for revenge and resolving regrets are perilously endless with seemingly little oversight. Of course, the more prominent element is meant to be the love story and that bond’s power to traverse time and space to once again be found when lost. While the main focus is meant to be the love element, it’s difficult to embrace in such an uncertain environment.
Special features include: deleted scenes; making-of featurette. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
No Man of God (Blu-ray)
In 1980, Ted Bundy (Luke Kirby) was sentenced to death by electrocution. In the years that followed, he agreed to disclose the details of his crimes, but only to one man. During the early days of the agency’s criminal profiling unit, FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood) met with the incarcerated Bundy in the hopes of understanding the psychology of the serial killer and providing closure for the victim’s families. As Hagmaier delves into Bundy’s dark and twisted mind, a strange and complicated relationship develops that neither man expected. The film is based on actual transcripts of interviews between FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier and the incarcerated Ted Bundy.
Though the context is the development of the behavioural analysis unit, it doesn’t really come into play beyond being the key that opens the door for Hagmaier. The agent appears very skilled in knowing how to interact with people to earn their trust — even someone as smart and cagey as Bundy. However, their conversations serve to highlight Bundy’s cunning and intelligence. He is constantly trying to manipulate those around him, even while feigning friendship or cooperation. Wood’s depiction of the likeable FBI analyst is very convincing, but Kirby unquestionably steals the show with his seemingly sane portrayal of a psychopath. The boxes of cassette recordings hints at the fact that many of their talks are not presented, but there is enough to get a sense of the serial killer who was eventually executed for his horrific offenses. The tone in which Bundy — and, consequently, Kirby — describe the crimes is haunting in its lack of remorse or even real concern for his own fate. If anything, Hagmaier’s visits appear to be a way to pass the time on the way to the chair.
Special features include: making-of featurette. (AMC Networks & RLJE Films)
Old (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital copy)
A family on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly… reducing their entire lives into a single day.
As people have come to expect twists from M. Night Shyamalan’s films, it’s difficult not to watch without simultaneously trying to figure out how the story may end. In spite of some of the picture’s predictability, it is an intriguing thriller that rapidly evolves to still keep viewers creeping towards the edge of the seat. On top of the mystery aging phenomenon, they must also deal with the horrors of the human condition. It’s difficult to determine which is the larger threat or why people are being forced to endure such distressing circumstances. The conclusion isn’t entirely unexpected, though it’s definitely one of the filmmaker’s stranger endings. The cast really commits to their roles, which goes a long way in engaging audiences in this bizarre tale.
Special features include: deleted scenes; “Shyamalan Family Business”; “All the Beach is a Stage”; “Nightmares in Paradise”; and “A Family in the Moment.” (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Ratcatcher (Blu-ray)
Set during Scotland’s national garbage strike of the mid-1970s, the film explores the experiences of a poor adolescent boy as he struggles to reconcile his dreams and his guilt with the abjection that surrounds him.
The film begins with a shock that then has very little bearing on the remainder of the narrative as everyone appears to have bigger fish to fry. The presence of garbage everywhere has an effect on the tone of the film, which is already strange thanks to the peculiar boy at its centre. Even odder is his friendship with a teen girl who has significant issues that she sadly keeps trying to work out with local boys. It’s not necessarily a coming-of-age story as the central boy doesn’t come to be more mature or find himself via these encounters. Instead, the movie is a snapshot of his life in this specific time, following his daily comings and goings, causing trouble and developing an inappropriately intimate relationship with the adolescent neighbour girl. Director Lynn Ramsay’s raw portrayal of his interactions with other kids can cause audiences to cringe or smile, making the otherwise unremarkable story engrossing.
Special features include: interview with Ramsay from 2002 and 2021; interview from 2020 with Küchler; three award-winning short films by Ramsay: Small Deaths (1995), Kill the Day (1996), and Gasman (1997); still gallery; trailer; and essays by film critic Girish Shambu and filmmaker Barry Jenkins. (Criterion Collection)
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins steelbook (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital copy)
Welcomed into an ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage after saving the life of their heir-apparent, Storm Shadow (Andrew Koji), Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) joins the battle against the terrorist group COBRA. Pushing him to the limits, Snake Eyes will become the ultimate ninja warrior. But, when past secrets are revealed, his honour and allegiance will be tested — even if that means losing everything he has been fighting for.
After focusing on the big, blockbuster action aspect of the G.I. Joe franchise, this movie delivers an origin story for two of the most memorable characters. The reverse in dynamics for the two ninjas is one of the most fascinating elements of the film. Snake Eyes had a difficult childhood that puts him on a darker path, while Storm Shadow comes from a tight-knit clan with a higher purpose. The fight choreography is fast-paced, hard-hitting and thrilling to watch as the two trained combatants take on multiple assailants at once and repeatedly out-manoeuvre them. Grounded more in the martial arts genre than an American action film, the movie is an entertaining though routine outing about loyalty and honour in the face of disappointment and other temptations.
Special features include: deleted scenes; “Morning Light: A Weapon with Stories to Tell”; “Enter Snake Eyes”; “A Deadly Ensemble”; and “Arashikage.” (Paramount Home Entertainment)
Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray & Digital copy)
After years of facing super-villains, monsters, and alien invaders intent on wiping out the human race, one of the world’s greatest super heroes (Tyler Hoechlin) and comic books’ most famous journalist (Elizabeth Tulloch) come face to face with one of their greatest challenges ever — dealing with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents!
It’s unusual to see Clark and Lois assuming the roles of the Kents at the farmhouse, but it’s also refreshing to see a hero in a very traditional context. Juggling fatherhood and being a superhero is as difficult as one would expect, particularly when a significant, ongoing threat emerges. Hoechlin and Tulloch have excellent chemistry, making their exchanges enjoyable and generally believable. The extreme differences between their twin sons is clearly designed, but the fact that they still have brotherly moments is surprisingly heartwarming. The season delivers a mix of predictable and unexpected events as Superman faces many challenges for which he could never prepare. Special features include: “Superman: Alien Spirit”; “Superman and Lois Legacy of Hope”; “Never Alone: Heroes and Allies”; and “DC FanDome Panel: Superman & Lois.” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
