Witch | No, it’s not that one! But a tangled Elizabethan-era horror

In a small English town in 1575, a book of spells and a magical elixir set in motion a chain of events over four days that might help blacksmith William (Ryan Spong) save his wife Twyla (Sarah Alexandra) when she is set to trial accused of witchcraft.

Dark forces are at work and have something to do with bearded stranger Thomas (Russell Shaw) and a blood-splattered young woman, Johanna Fletcher (Mims Burton), who has just butchered her parents in the middle of the night. Add a witchfinder judge (Daniel Jordan), who is determined to cleanse the town of sin, and a sword-wielding investigating marshall (Fabrizio Santino), and the stage is set for an Elizabethan-era horror adventure.

As a fan of classic witchy folk horror fare like Witchfinder General (1968) and Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) and even the exploitation riffs Mark of the Devil (1970) and The Bloody Judge (1970), I was hoping this might follow in their footsteps. But unfortunately, it doesn’t.

Yes, the sets (at Foti Studios, Hungary), lighting, photography, and special effects are well-staged, but the make-up and hair, as well as nicely turned-out period costumes, make the good-looking young cast come off looking like Love Islanders playing dress-up. Where’s the dirt, grime and mud that would evoke the era its set in?

While the cast avail themselves well in their respective roles (Russell Shaw’s Thomas is very Gandalf meets Falstaff), the screenplay is all over the shop. You have to get to around the 48-minute mark to find out what it’s all about – which is totally tangled, involving the underworld (a la Orpheus and Eurydice), multiple worlds (I think) and time travel (which Catweazle did way better). Then you have to sit through the beginning at the end again.

While those ideas look great on paper, they don’t work here. And it’s made even more confusing by a modern-day scene during the end credits. Maybe a few more drafts by multi-tasking filmmakers Craig Hinde (Frankenstein’s Creature) and Marc Zammit (Homeless Ashes) might have helped iron out these problems before getting their cameras rolling.

Witch is out on digital platforms from 29 April from 101 Films. If you do plan to watch it, check out the tavern scene at the 25-minute mark, when the boom comes into frame. While snacking on your fried chicken and downing ale, raise a toast to the gaffe three times.

The Cat and the Canary (1927) | Paul Leni’s ‘old dark house’ silent classic beautifully restored in 4K

From Eureka Entertainment comes the 1927 Universal Pictures silent mystery melodrama The Cat and the Canary, presented for the first time on Blu-ray from a terrific 4K restoration as part of the Masters of Cinema series.

German-born director Paul Leni is one of the most influential figures in the early history of German and American cinema, and his film adaptation of John Willard’s 1922 black-comedy play, The Cat and the Canary, created the blueprint for the ‘old dark house’ formula and Universal’s horror cycle in the 1930s and 1940s. This new release joins Eureka’s stable of Leni silents that include Waxworks (1924), The Man Who Laughs (1928) and his final feature before his untimely death, The Last Warning (1928).

Twenty years after his death, the surviving relatives of the wealthy Cyrus West await the reading of his will by his lawyer, Roger Crosby (Tully Marshall), in his decrepit Xanadu-style mansion that’s overseen by his loyal housekeeper, Mammy Pleasant (Martha Mattox).

Among them are West’s sister Susan (Flora Finch) and her niece Cecily (Gertrude Astor), his three nephews: Harry (Arthur Edmund Carewe), Charlie (Forrest Stanley) and Paul Jones (Creighton Hale), and niece Annabelle (Laura La Plante) – who ends up getting everything but on the condition that she is judged to be legally sane.

Throw in a valuable necklace, a moth in a safe, and an escaped murderer called the Cat, and the stage is set for a night of mystery and mayhem, secret passages and suitable suspects, and all manner of things that go bump in the night.

The Cat and the Canary is a cornerstone of horror cinema, and this 4K restoration is an absolute must-see to see why.

Packed with inventive camerawork (by Gilbert Warrenton) – including what must be the first use of ‘point-of-view’ handheld shots – and lighting (the shadow effects are still far superior to Coppola’s attempts to ape them in 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula); it features scenes (drawn from the original stage play as well as Mary Roberts Rhinehart’s 1920 play The Bat) that have become iconic horror tropes – including a taloned hand snatching Mr Crosby into a secret passage and the West necklace from Annabelle while she sleeps – and imitated in all manner of ‘old dark house’ creepers, including three Vincent Price films: The Bat (1959), House on Haunted Hill (1959) and House of the Long Shadows (1983).

This new restoration release is truly stunning, revealing so much detail not seen before – why, you can even see the pores and bad teeth of lawyer Crosby in fine detail (if you so wish) – and benefits greatly from the evocative tinting and Robert Israel’s impressive score. It also boasts a fabulous cast of silent greats – my favourites being Flora Finch as the horrid Aunt Susan and Martha Mattox as the creepy Mammy Pleasant. Best viewed on the biggest screen you have at home.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited edition (2000) O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys (ED: brilliant as always – the highlight being that mansion)
• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K digital restoration of the original negatives supplied by MoMA
• DTS-HD MA 5.1 score by Robert Israel; compiled, synchronised and edited by Gillian B. Anderson, based on music cue sheets compiled and issued for the original 1927 release
• Two audio commentaries: Stephen Jones and Kim Newman & Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (ED: Each has their individual merits, but it’s everyone’s enthusiasm for the film that’s the reason to listen to them both: although I do have a fondness for Jonathan’s love of delving into the lives and careers of the supporting cast)
• Mysteries Mean Dark Corners: video essay by David Cairns & Fiona Watson (ED: Informative and entertaining, but suffers from sound level problems between the different voices)
• Pamela Hutchinson on The Cat and the Canary: an interview with writer and film critic (ED: Well researched)
• Phuong Le on The Cat and the Canary: an interview with the film critic (ED: This one was a bit of a chore to sit through – sorry. It needed some editing or maybe some inserts)
• A Very Eccentric Man & Yeah, a Cat!: extracts from John Willard’s original play (ED: Not sure why we need this?)
• Lucky Strike: Paul Leni gives a full-throated endorsement to the cigarette product that got him through filming The Cat and the Canary (ED: A neat idea animating this vintage press ad)
• Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Richard Combs, Craig Ian Mann, and Imogen Sara Smith (ED: Not included with this review copy)

The Podcast on Nightmare Park | Panic in Year Zero! (1962) and Looker (1981)

Welcome to Episode 13 of The Podcast on Nightmare Park. First up, Peter presents the American International Picture’s 1962 survival sci-fi Panic in Year Zero! directed by and starring Ray Milland, then David offers up Michael Crichton’s 1981 deepfake sci-fi thriller Looker, starring Albert Finney (yes, him again).

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The Panther Women (1967) and The Bat Woman (1968) | René Cardona’s luchadoras adventures on Blu-ray

Indicator in the UK continues its excellent releases of classic Mexican films with 1967’s The Panther Women and 1968’s The Bat Woman in Limited Edition Blu-ray editions that are packed with some knockout special features.

First up, The Panther Women (AKA Las Mujeres Panteras) – the fourth of six luchadoras (wrestling women) films from prolific Mexican filmmaker René Cardona and producer Guillermo Calderón.

Elizabeth Campbell reprises her role for a fourth time as wrestler Golden Rubí, here teamed up with Ariadne Welter (1957’s El Vampiro) as Loreta Venus as they try to protect a family being targeted by a satanic cult headed up by Satanasa (María Douglas), and her Panther Women (Eda Lorna and Tongolele).

Satanasa plans to resurrect their Elohim, and only a Druid’s sword stands in their way – oh and our luchadoras, some investigating detectives, and a masked hero called Angel (Gerardo Zepeda).

Boasting atmospheric noirish monochrome photography and a plot that evokes Val Lewton’s Cat People (1940), The Panther Women is a fun Saturday afternoon fantasy filler featuring all the typical luchador tropes. It works best when the Panther women are on screen.

My fave was exotic dancer Tongolele (AKA Yolande Montes, who also appeared in the Boris Karloff Mexican horror, Snake People) and her Lily Munster white streak in her hair. Also, the creature design is really effective. But kudos to Keith J Rainville and his fun, informative audio commentary – as he made watching this film so much more interesting – and I have learnt so much more about these luchadoras films. Now, I want to see them all – both good and bad.

And huge thanks to Viviana García Besné’s Permanencia Voluntaria Film Archive, which has gone great guns to preserve the films made by her great-uncle, producer Guillermo Calderón. Check out all the excellent extras from Indicator (below).

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Cashing in on the 1960s Batman craze, director René Cardona’s Acapulco-set fantasy adventure, The Bat Woman (AKA La Mujer Murciélago), is a groovy Mexicolor highlight among the luchador genre. But it’s time to move over El Santo, Blue Demon and co, as there’s a new masked superheroine in town, and she kicks some serious ass.

Obsessive scientist Dr Eric Williams (Roberto Cañedo) is kidnapping wrestlers in order to extract their pineal glands as part of his nefarious plan to perfect and control his amphibious ‘fish-man’ experiment, Piscis. Time to call in the Bat Woman, AKA wealthy wrestling professional Gloria (Maura Monti), who dons her micro-bikini, mask and cape to help her investigator pals Mario (Héctor Godoy) and Tony (Armando Silvestre) stop the mad doctor and his creature. Cue: underwater fights, karate kicks, and lots of wrestling action!

The Bat Woman is Italian-born Maura Monti’s finest moment on screen (she made 35 films over four years in the late 1960s – including Boris Karloff’s last feature, The Secret Invasion, before retiring and becoming a TV journalist). Not only does she ooze sex appeal in her bikini and boots, she also does all her own stunts and fights (except it’s really noticeable that someone else is in Adam West’s Batman costume in the wrestling sequence), and she’s the main reason to check this out – although I do have a soft spot for the lobster-coloured Creature from the Black Lagoon-inspired Piscis. Another super restoration project from Viviana García Besné’s Permanencia Voluntaria Film Archive, with some super duper extras courtesy of Indicator (check them out below).

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THE PANTHER WOMEN SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K restoration from the original negative
• Original Spanish mono audio
• Audio commentary with the publisher of From Parts Unknown and screenwriter of Los campeones de la lucha libre, Keith J Rainville (2024)
• Let Them Fight! (2024, 15 mins): the Killer Film, el critico enmascarado (the masked critic), lucha libre specialist, and filmmaker behind the Monterrey female wrestlers documentary La femenil, discusses the protagonists of the film, the cine de luchadoras, and the controversial history of Mexican female wrestling
• Cat Fight (2024, 24 mins): academic and Latin American horror specialist Valeria Villegas Lindvall, also known as Morena de Fuego, examines the struggle for empowerment and the subversive representation of the female characters in the film
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English translation subtitles
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Iain Robert Smith, archival essays by Janina Möbius and Ricardo Cárdenas Pérez, an archival interview with Guillermo Calderón, and full film credits

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THE BAT WOMAN SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restoration from the original negative
• Original Spanish mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian and Mexican cinema specialist David Wilt (2024)
• Bat of Nine Lives (2024, 20 mins): Maura Monti, the Bat Woman herself, discusses her life and short but prolific career in Mexican genre cinema
• Adventures in Mexicolour (2024, 21 mins): Mauricio Matamoros Durán, journalist, writer, and indie editor of Belcebú, and formerly DC Comics, examines the position of The Bat Woman within Mexican and international pop and comic-book culture
• Fantastique Creatures (2024, 14 mins): José Luis Ortega Torres, film critic, teacher, and author of the book Mostrología del cine mexicano, explores the monstrous creations of early Mexican genre cinema
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English translation subtitles
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Dolores Tierney, archival essays by Doyle Greene and Andrew Coe, archival interviews with Maura Monti, and full film credits

Mad Props | A nostalgic globe-trotting journey into movie prop collecting

From Oklahoma filmmaker Juan Pablo Reinoso comes the feature documentary Mad Props, which follows Tom Biolchini, an avid film prop collector in Tulsa, as he sets out to answer a fundamental question: ‘Are movie props art?’.

His journey takes him around the US and across the pond to the UK, to Lyon in France (Musée Cinema et Minature), and to Arezzo in Italy (Theatrum Mundi), where he meets other passionate collectors and museum curators and gets hands-on with their prized artefacts from a host of beloved movie franchises.

At the same time, Biolchini is also hoping to add several items to his rather enviable collection – including the Sports Almanac from Back to the Future: Part II (1985), the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), the volleyball from Cast Away (2000), and (on impulse) the ghost trap from Ghostbusters II (1989).

Being a wealthy, successful lawyer turned banker, Biolchini is lucky to be able to indulge in his passion and afford the eye-watering prices that are the norm today – thanks to auction houses like Stephen Lane’s Propstore in London being at the forefront of creating an industry around these pop culture artefacts that previously would be either stored away or tossed in the bin.

Being a cinephile and memorabilia collector, but only for Vincent Price ephemera (and I have my limits, spending-wise), I got a big buzz over certain pieces, as does Biolchini – but not necessarily the same ones.

There’s one scene where he gets super excited about the pilot’s corpse from Cast Away, but I so coveted the final scene photograph from The Shining (1980) instead. Frankly, I couldn’t give a toss about Cast Away. But that’s the nature of being a film nerd; some films grab us and become embedded in our cultural history. And every prop tells a story, not only the film’s story but also our own.

While the documentary puts charismatic fanboy Biolchini centre stage, we also get to meet other collectors and sellers with their own stories to tell – including Sean Lesponera, who stores his collection in his West Sussex garage, rapper Danny Boy O’Connor, who has turned the house (in Tulsa) used in The Outsiders (1983) into a museum filled with props and costumes, Scream fan Arturo Reyes, and a chap called Alistar ‘Blake’ Cartright, whose after a technical drawing from Blake’s 7, only because he was named after the British sci-fi series.

I also loved the look of delight on the faces of sisters Izzy and Amelia selling Roy Batty’s jacket from Blade Runner (valued at £130,000), which had been lying in their loft for three decades.

Joining Biolchini on part of his journey are genre icons – Robert Englund and Lance Henriksen, actor Mickey Rourke, and creature effects designer Alec Gillis – who share their stories of working with props and agree with Biolchini that these artefacts are indeed works of art.

There’s a lot packed into this 90-minute documentary, and I would gladly have liked to see more of the individual collections – even an entire series. Food for thought, Juan! But I know where I shall be heading next time I’m stateside or in Italy and France.

Mad Props is available to rent or purchase on Prime, Apple, Vudu, Fandango, GooglePlay, and more!

Patrick (1978) and Snapshot (1979) | Two Ozploitation suspense thrillers get a 4K restoration release

Two of my favourite Ozploitation films, Patrick (1978) and Snapshot (1979), have been given a glorious 4K restoration, and Powerhouse Films have gone to town with their boxset releases, which include some marvellous bonus material alongside the UHD and Blu-ray editions. Available now.

First up is Patrick, from director Richard Franklin, starring Susan Penhaligon, Sir Robert Helpmann, Rod Mullinar, Bruce Barry, and Julia Blake and introducing Robert Thompson as the film’s titular protagonist.

Penhaligon plays British nurse, Kathy Jacquard, who takes up a nursing position at a private clinic in Melbourne after leaving her Australian husband, Ed (Mullinar). There, she is charged with looking after Patrick (Thompson), who has been in a comatose state after murdering his parents three years previously. The hospital’s owner, Dr Roget (Helpmann), is keeping Patrick alive as part of an experiment to explore the nature of life and death. But unbeknownst to them all, Patrick has psychokinetic powers and, falling for Kathy, begins a murderous campaign against anyone who comes between them…

Produced by Antony I. Ginnane and written by Everett De Roche (whose first feature screenplay was Long Weekend), Patrick was shot over seven weeks in Sydney and edited over three months before its Australian release in October 1978 (the same time as Long Weekend). While it performed poorly there, Patrick‘s subsequent international release was a huge success. It paved the way for a slew of Ginnane-produced thrillers – including Snapshot (1979) and Harlequin (1980), both directed by Simon Wincer, Thirst (1979) with Rod Hardy at the helm, and Survivor (1981), directed by David Hemmings. It also marked Franklin’s ascent as a director and producer, with Roadgames (1981) and Psycho II (1983) following in Patrick‘s wake.

For me, Patrick reigns supreme within the Ozploitation genre. Franklin crafts his Hitchcockian thriller with meticulous detail, an eye for suspense, and just the right amount of shocks and scares; Brian May’s Bernard Herrmann-esque score is suitably atmospheric, as is Donald McAlpine’s lighting and cinematography, and the special effects are bang on. De Roche also gives us a collection of believable characters, all with their quirks, especially Julia Blake’s hard-as-nails matron, who is frightened of Patrick and Helpman’s ‘mad as a box of frogs’ shrink. Franklin also makes excellent use of the filming location, the 1885 Simmonds Hall mansion in South Yarra, which doubles as the Roget Clinic.

Completists will love the Powerhouse release as it features three versions: the Australian theatrical release (the go-to one for me), the Italian-language version which opts for a score by Dario Argento’s favourite prog-rockers Goblin (the one I’ve longed to see and hear – especially now that English subtitles have been included for the first time – and I’ll be watching this repeatedly now), and the heavily-shortened re-dubbed American cut (I’ll be giving that one a miss thank you!).

The new 4K restoration from the original negative is available both as a Limited Edition 4K UHD with Dolby Vision HDR and as a separate Limited Edition Blu-ray, and the bonus extras (see the full list below) are most welcomed for this huge fan of the film.
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Hot on the heels of Patrick‘s success at Cannes, Tony Ginnane put together his thriller follow-up, 1978’s Snapshot. Everett De Roche wrote the script in a month, and the 21-day shot again took place on location in Melbourne, while directing duties fell to Simon Wincer, who had cut his teeth on the popular Crawford TV cop shows Matlock Police, Division 4 and Homicide.

Once again, Ginnane was able to score success overseas, especially in Norway and in the US, where indie producer Brandon Chase (of Alligator fame) had the foresight to capitalise on the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween, by releasing the film under the title, The Day After Halloween.

Making her first lead in a feature, Australian TV actor Sigrid Thornton (who was known for The Sullivans and Father, Dear Father in Australia in 1978), plays naïve hairdresser Angela, living under the thumb of her domineering mother, who is persuaded by her model friend Madeline (Chantel Contouri) to try glamour modelling.

After posing topless on a beach for a fashion photographer (Hugh Keays-Byrne, AKA Mad Max‘s Toecutter), she is soon on the road to stardom – but not without a cost. Her ex-boyfriend Daryl (Vince Gill, AKA Mad Max‘s Nightrider) keeps following her about in his Mr Whippy ice cream van, and wealthy modelling agency owner Daryl (Robert Bruning) has his eye on seducing her. But who is the real threat to her life?

I have a soft spot for Snapshot, mainly for the fact I’m a big fan of both Sigrid Thornton and Chantel Contori. At the time of the film’s release in Australia (in April 1979), the two actors were well-known to us Aussies for appearing in the period soap The Sullivans – probably the most watched show on telly at the time, and Thornton also had a stint in my favourite sitcom, Father, Dear Father In Australia. Being only 15 in 1979, I remember it was rather risqué to see her naked picture on posters for the film at the time – but it only made me want to see the film (which I did at the drive-ins) even more.

Now, while it doesn’t have Patrick‘s Hitchcockian vibe, Snapshot is a tautly directed thriller – with subtle hints of grimy exploitation. Thornton totally carries the picture, as does Brian May’s lush piano-heavy score and the scope cinematography (by Vincent Monton, who had previously lensed Long Weekend and Newsfront). Revisiting the film again via this new restoration release, I think it still holds up well, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the bonus extras included here – especially Grant Page’s commentary, which is especially poignant as the legendary stuntman died, aged 85, on 14 March, just 11 days before this Powerhouse Films/Indicator release.

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PATRICK LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
• New 4K restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films
• Three presentations of the film: the Australian theatrical version (113 mins), the US theatrical cut (97 mins), and the Italian-language version (102 mins)
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with director Richard Franklin and screenwriter Everett De Roche (2002)
• On-set Interview with Richard Franklin (1978, 10 mins) conducted by film critic Ivan Hutchinson
• On-stage Interview with Richard Franklin (2001, 9 mins): previously unseen interview in which the director discusses Patrick and its unofficial Italian sequel, 1980’s Patrick Still Lives
• A Coffee Break with Antony I. Ginnane (2009, 18 mins): the film producer revisits Patrick
• ‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interviews (2008, 62 mins): extensive outtakes from Mark Hartley’s documentary featuring Franklin, Ginnane, De Roche, and actors Susan Penhaligon and Rod Mullinar
• Shock Tactics (2024, 27 mins): an in-depth appreciation by Australian cinema specialist Stephen Morgan
• Original theatrical trailers and TV spots
• French title sequence comparison
• Image galleries: promotional and publicity material and behind-the-scenes
• New and improved English subtitles and newly translated English subtitles
• 80-page book with a new essay by Alan Miller, exclusive extracts from Richard Franklin and Antony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs, archival interviews with Everett De Roche and special-effects supervisor Conrad Rothmann, and full film credits

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SNAPSHOT LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD SPECIAL FEATURES
• New 4K HDR restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films of the theatrical cut (93 mins)
• World Premiere 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Extended director’s cut, incorporating the best-surviving standard-definition materials (105 mins) ED NOTE: The ratio is different here and takes a while to get used to – but it is interesting to see what was originally trimmed out.
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary on the theatrical cut with director Simon Wincer, producer Antony I Ginnane, actor Sigrid Thornton, and cinematographer Vincent Monton, moderated by Mark Hartley (2017)
• Audio commentary on the director’s cut with Ginnane and film critic/archivist Jaimie Leonarder (2018)
• Audio commentary on the director’s cut with Ginnane and horror hostess Katarina Leigh Waters (2012)
• Producing ‘Snapshot’ (2017, 28 mins): Ginnane traces the film’s journey from page to screen
• ‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interviews (2008, 40 mins): Outtakes from Mark Hartley’s documentary, featuring Thornton, Wincer, Ginnane, Monton, writer Everett De Roche, assistant director Tom Burstall, and actor Lynda Stoner
• Archival audio interview with Simon Wincer (1979, 17 mins)
• Special effects sequence audio commentary with stuntman Grant Page (2008, 2 mins)
• The Trans-Pacific Mode (2024, 10 mins): appreciation by Stephen Morgan
• The Day After Halloween: alternative opening title sequence
• Original theatrical trailers
• TV spots
• Image galleries
• New and improved English subtitles
• 80-page book with a new essay by Ian Barr, extract from producer Antony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs, archival interviews with Wincer, De Roche, and composer Brian May, and film credits

The Podcast on Nightmare Park | Fade to Black (1980) and Wolfen (1981)

Welcome to Episode 12 of The Podcast on Nightmare Park, where David Read and Peter Fuller take a look back at the 1980 Hollywood horror Fade to Black, starring Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away) and the 1981 crime horror Wolfen, starring Albert Finney. 

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Possessor | Brandon Cronenberg’s searing sci-fi gets the Second Sight 4K UHD & Blu-ray special treatment

Having previously been released on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK by Signature Films, writer-director Brandon Cronenberg’s second feature, 2020’s Possessor, gets the limited edition UHD and Blu-ray box-set release from Second Sight Films from Monday, 18 March, along with individual releases for the different formats as well.

Possessor tracks corporate assassin Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough), who hacks into people’s bodies to execute high-level targets using brain implant technology. Intelligent and extremely violent, it’s a mind-bending sci-fi puzzle with a very dark heart.  

Kicking off, all-guns-blazing, a young woman in a blue tracksuit viciously stabs to death a prominent lawyer during a corporate function. It’s just another day at the office for Vos, Trematon’s No.1 assassin. But something’s amiss, as the host was able to stop Vos from using the required retrieval method: suicide. 

Vos’ handler, Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh), worries that with each new host’s body she inhabits, Vos is becoming detached from her own identity. She believes that only by being free of all human attachments can she excel in her job and take her place at the top of the table. And that includes destroying any remnants of feeling she may have for her estranged husband, Micheal (Rossif Sutherland) and son, Ira.  

Her latest assignment puts her to the test. Vos agrees to take a hit on John Parse (Sean Bean), the CEO of a data-mining corporation that Trematon wants control of, and his daughter Ava (Tuppence Middleton) via Ava’s fiancé, Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott). Again, the assignment goes awry as Colin damages the implant, which leaves Vos’ consciousness stuck and the now fugitive from justice Colin experiencing fragmented memories of her life. What follows is an internal battle of wills.

In drawing on his own struggles with identity, Cronenberg has created a scenario that is deeply personal and uses the sci-fi construct for some fascinating psychological explorations – ‘Is it possible to maintain a sense of self, and what is that?’; while the graphic violence on display could be read as the kind of cathartic release for Cronenberg (SPOILER: Sean Bean’s eye-gorging, teeth-spitting demise is especially squirm-worthy). 

When I first saw Possessor, my head hurt trying to work out what and who was who. But repeated viewings (plus the new and archival extras on this new release) really help in appreciating Cronenberg’s vision. I also love his alternate reality world, part-retro, part-futuristic, highly stylised, and minimal: it’s every inch his creation. And those yellow, blue and red filters just scream Roger Corman, Mario Bava and Dario Argento. 

HERE’S WHAT YOU GET… 

• Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
• UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR approved by Director Brandon Cronenberg and Director of Photography Karim Hussain
• New audio commentary by Brandon Cronenberg, Producer Rob Cotterill, Karim Hussain and Special Effects Artist Dan Martin
• This Unfamiliar Life: New interview with Brandon Cronenberg
• Inside the Machine: New interview with Karim Hussain
• Feel the Real: New interview with Rob Cotterill
• Disassociating from Mind and Body: Zoë Rose Smith on Possessor
• Camera Test Footage
• FX Show and Tell with Dan Martin
• Archive featurette: A Heightened World – A Look at Possessor
• Archive featurette: Identity Crisis – Bringing Possessor to Life
• Archive featurette: The Joy of Practical – The Effects of Possessor
• Deleted Scenes
• Short Film: Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You
• Trailer
• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Marko Manev
• 120-page book featuring behind-the-scenes gallery, script-to-screen comparisons, new essays by Stacey Abbott, Anton Bitel, Jon Towlson and Heather Wixson
• 6 collectors’ art cards 

Nightmares in a Damaged Brain | The sleazy 1981 slasher gets the Severin Films Special Edition treatment on 4K UHD and Blu-ray

Reviled, controversial, misunderstood – the 1981 American indie slasher Nightmares in a Damaged Brain gets an overhaul with this Special Edition from Severin Films, featuring a never-been-seen-before restored version and a slew of brand-spanking new special features. 

Incarcerated in a New York City psychiatric institution for many years over the murder of a Brooklyn family, George Tatum (Baird Stafford) – who has schizophrenia, mild amnesia, homicidal, dream fixation and seizures – flees an experimental drug programme after experiencing flashbacks to childhood trauma and sets on on a five-day trail of carnage from the peep shows of 42nd Street to Cocoa Beach, Florida where he hunts down his ex-wife, Susan, a struggling single mother of two daughters and a prankster son, CJ (CJ Temper).

Can anyone stop psycho George?

Written and directed by Romano Scavolini, an Italian filmmaker specialising in independent projects, the American-produced Nightmares doesn’t shy from wearing its genre inspirations on its bloody sleeves. There’s a lot of John Carpenter’s Halloween bubbling under the grimy surface (the babysitter trope is a biggie), but it’s not a rip-off. There’s also a bit of Black Christmas (1974) and The Shining (1980) lurking about.

It’s very much its own beast, albeit done on a shoestring. The actors are barely actors; the crew stood in for some of the character roles, and that’s the actual town sheriff that appears in the film’s closing scenes. He also gets my favourite line in the movie, ‘Did you do that CJ?’

The practical gore effects are pretty ropey but surprisingly effective (and no, Tom Savini wasn’t involved, as he explains in the extras). Gorehounds will particularly like the film’s money shot when we flashback to an axe-wielding young George (Scott Praetorius). I particularly enjoyed the grimy 42nd Street scenes, which have a Taxi Driver feel. Look out for 1981’s Charlie Chan and the Curse of Dragon Queen and Fade to Black on one of the cinema marquees. And the big confrontation between George (wearing what looks like a Sid Haig mask, but is, in fact, a Don Post Studios ‘Shiek’ mask) and CJ is well executed.

Scanned from the inter-negative and various foreign print sources to create the most complete version ever assembled, Nightmares looks and sounds terrific and makes much more sense than another edit I saw (currently showing on Prime in the UK). 

Severin’s release also includes a wealth of bonus material. I thoroughly enjoyed both audio commentaries, but producer William Paul’s one (recorded in 2015) is a hoot. He is brutally honest about the film (slow moving), the money men (‘bastards’), one of the child actors (‘troublesome’) and working in Florida (a ‘redneck’ ‘shithole’). And I loved that he recognised Cocoa Beach as the hometown of Jeannie and Tony in TV’s I Dream of Jeannie. 

Also a must-see on this release is Sarah Appleton’s documentary, Damaged: The Very British Obscenity of David Hamilton-Grant, which explores the life, ‘death’ and ‘resurrection’ of the notorious Soho porn merchant and pioneer of sex education films, whose downfall came in 1984 when he became the only British film distributor to be handed a jail sentence for going against the British censor and releasing the so-called ‘Video Nasty’, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, without the required cuts (some 48 seconds).

Narrated by Jack Davenport and featuring insights and contributions from a host of people who either knew Hamilton-Grant or know their stuff about 1970s/1980s British sex comedies, including screenwriter/producer David McGillivray (Doing Rude Things), former glamour model/actress Fiona Richmond and writers Vic Pratt and Kate Egan, this is a fascinating insight into the enigmatic man of mystery who evaded the law in four countries, became embroiled in a Cypriot love triangle, and may or may not have faked his own death.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Disc 1: UHD
• Audio commentary With Star Baird Stafford and Special Effects Assistant Cleve Hall, moderated By Lee Christian and David DeCoteau
• Audio Commentary With Producer William Paul
• Trailers

Disc 2: Blu-ray
• Damaged: The Very British Obscenity of David Hamilton-Grant (documentary)
• Audio commentary With Star Baird Stafford and Special Effects Assistant Cleve Hall, moderated By Lee Christian and David DeCoteau
• Audio commentary With Producer William Paul
• Kill Thy Father And Thy Mother – Interview With Director Romano Scavolini (71 mins)
• Dreaming Up A Nightmare – Featuring Former President Of 21st Century Distribution Arthur Schweitzer, Actor/Unit Production Manager Mik Cribben, Production Supervisor Simon Nuchtern, Florida Producer/Special Effects Artist William Milling, Uncredited Editor Jim Markovic and Archival Interviews With Actor Baird Stafford and Special Effects Artists Edward French and Cleve Hall
• The Nightmare Of NIGHTMARE – Interview with Erroneously Credited Special Effects Director Tom Savini
• Deleted Scenes
• Still Gallery
• Trailers

The Podcast on Nightmare Park | Don’t Torture a Ducking (1972) and Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (1981)

Check out David Read and Peter Fuller’s musings on Lucio Fulci’s 1972 Italian Giallo Don’t Torture a Duckling and the 1981 American psychological slasher Nightmares in a Damaged Brain.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW