Reviews

What an amazing film , the use of the cinematography and the landscapes, the acting and a commendable plot make this a must see .

I also admired the way the director used animal hunter and prey film alongside what is happening to the protagonist of the piece.

Oddest thing is that my mum remembered the 'baking' scene and it has stayed with her all this time she saw it on British T.V 38 years ago !! I too thought this to be quite grueling for the films vintage and the fact it was released from one of the major mainstream distributors makes it surprising too.

The new DVD release has done this complete justice but would one expect anything less from the 'Rolls Royce' of DVD distributors. I read on here a comment about the exorbitant price tag but would comment that it deserves it.

So much care has been taken using the best print and the most complete version possible. There is also a fascinating commentary to listen too if you have the time and other worthwhile extras.

This I feel has 'forgotten classic' invisibly etched on every frame.

A must see and must have.

Cronenbergs' visual interpretation on middle class breakdown and venereal chaos starts with a cosy montage of 'Starliner' interior shots. 'Starliner' flats promise all the mod cons, a slice of urban utopia for the upwardly mobile. What it fails too stipulate that it also houses a parasite that takes over the major organs, replicates them and becomes an aphrodisiac for transfer purposes. Throughout the duration of this movie the viewers journey is made most uneasy, as the film progresses ,what starts off as 'bland suburbia' becomes a nightmare of sexual medical horrors and well executed mildly gory sequences .

Three minutes into the movie we see the fatherly Dr. Hobbs and his teenage, lolita-esque, mistress Annabelle engaged in a frenzied argument. The girl is finally murdered by strangulation, cut down the middle and has acid poured into the fleshy cavity. When all is done Dr.Hobbs takes a scalpel to his throat. This is pretty powerful stuff to start the movie, from then on you are most intrigued and have been captivated for the rest of the film.

It's later revealed that Annabelle was the 'Typhoid Mary' of 'Starliner' infecting a suitable number of men with the parasites for breeding and evolution. Dr.Hobbs is also revealed to be one of the culprits for creating the creatures.

The claustrophobic, clinical environment gives Cronenberg wide enough scope to explore the tenants lives to find suburbia isn't that 'cosy', we are faced with desperate individuals that eventually and most morbidly become liberated through the parasite. The arrival of the parasite into this culture only seems to accelerate what deviances are already simmering away under the surface.

The whole film has an icy vein running through it; it is not only environment but also character contribution. An example of this can be witnessed in Dr. Saint Lucs' cool ignorance of pixie - like Nurse Forsyth, despite it is obvious she is in love with him.

Thankfully Cronenberg shows directorial restraint in some of the gruesome episodes of the movie. Steeles' vaginal attack is 'tastefully' achieved but because the way it is filmed makes it seem much more powerful, amazing what your imagination does when filling in the blanks!

Despite the lack of the red stuff, it doesn't mean the film is short of gruelling and unsettling surprises. Elderly people and children become violently sexual zombies could still be quite a shocker with viewing audiences today, especially in such hyper-sensitive times we are living in.

The most well executed pieces of the story were the directors 'stabs' at the middle classes and their safe little world, in their safe little piece of suburbia ; slowly decay and disintegrate before our very eyes and in a macabre way one might feel delightfully sinful.

Check this movie out if you have the odd 2 hours to kill, a little dated but recent viewing suggests it can still pack a powerful punch.

Version; R2 approx.83 minutes (uncut)

After the sordid delights of 'SS Camp 5 - Womans' Hell' and the bleakly disturbing 'Womans' Camp 119', Bruno Mattei says farewell Nazis and, plumps instead, for a bunch of jailbirds for his next 'women incarcerated' chunk of sleaze.

It is unfortunate I didn't have a copy of 'Blade Violent' to compare this with, this film used the same cast,same sets and virtually same plot. A plus point is that I can review this purely on single merit. On a whole this is a fairly average entry in the Women In Prison genre, featuring three scream queens Gemser, Stoppi and De Selle taking the main roles. Unfortunately these stalwarts of sin cannot save this movie from being a little mundane. The movie tells the tale of our intrepid reporter Emanuelle (Gemser)undercover in a female penitentiary as an inmate. Her task is to report on the corruptive and inhumane practices within the prison/penal system. Eventually we are thrust into the unsavoury W.I.P world where beatings are regularly brandished out by deadpan officers with bad hair, sapphic shennanigans are occurring regularly by the suitably looking 'rough' females and there is of course the obligatory humiliation, mental and physical.

I am unsure whether it is because this is Matteis' first stab at the W.I.P genre (though SS films can't be all that dissimilar surely ?) but I feel the whole movie is rather a tame effort. There a few nasty surprises that borderline on the humourous such as the 'poo punch-up' and a very novel way of bell ringing. The rape sequence, although voyeuristically unsettling to begin with, you gradually find yourself amused as two inmates play pass the parcel with a scantily clad virgin most of this sequence and you wonder in disbelief whether this will end or not.

The direction is well achieved as Mattei uses commendable editing, although the sets are basic, there is still an oppressive decay to the whole affair. Most of Matteis genre films 'Zombie Creeping Flesh','Rats;Night Of Terror','Womens Camp 119' seem to have this vein of industrial atrophy, clinical but chemical and it is this polluted environment that always is the backdrop to some of Matteis' movies making them seem 'nasty'.

Despite sniggering at the dialogue, cringing at the effects and laughing at the dire continuity you always sense a stagnancy that sets the tone from the first frame and lingers throughout until the very last credit. I appreciate Mattei as a director for his grim 'simplicity' and his matter of fact 'I-made-the-films-because-thats-where-the-money-was' attitude. I often think Mattei could've moved onto bigger things but on occasions has been incorrectly underrated.

Buy this to add to the Emanuelle collection, The Mattei collection or WIP Collection that may grace the living room shelf.

VIEWED; UNCUT UNRATED R1 DISC - 99 MINUTES

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear what a load of rubbish this movie was. If you like films where the plot is so threadbare its like an unsewn knitted jumper, if you have the I.Q of an amoeba, if you enjoy nice packaging more than the content this may be your favourite movie. What appears to be a trend of cashing in on such films as the charming Harry Potter and the beautifully visual Lord Of The Rings we have Reign Of Fire. Another trend seems to be studios producing films that are so enthusiastic about their latest computer technology the plot takes a back seat. Lets take an idea, concentrate on visuals, concentrate on technology, concentrate on opium for the masses, concentrate on marketing then , oh, lets get a plot together. Wrong formula, have a story first use wizardry to enhance the story after all who in their right mind would start to build a house starting with the windows or colour scheme- shouldn't you have foundations first ? I am sure the writers of this film used a coffee break to churn out this gruelling cinematic abortion. The director has used some 'pleasent' touches, the contemporary medievalistic feel is amicably achieved. There is also a moment of exciting 'chased through the air by pursuing monsters' direction which was alright, well it stopped me admiring my friends wallpaper and return to concentrating on the film (which was pretty easy to do as we had all worked out the flabby plot, beginning,middle and end within the first 10-15 minutes). Why the hell they didn't stick with the monsters hatching, monsters attack,mankind battles dragons in key cities around the world-theme,is completely beyond me. Perhaps the studio felt this was too complex for the intended audience, which must have been either children or morons. The characters themselves were suitably tepid , Chrisitian Bale (did he wear false teeth in this movie ?)done his testosterone filled hero bit (yawn!) The Dragons incinerating and munching through the last straggling survivors were hilarious, I found it amusing, not because I am especially warped but because I couldn't care less. The dragons themselves were naughty and the CGI used looked, well, um , like Computer Generated Imagery ! This is dire vacuousness at its worst.If we are to believe that mankind used all of his aggressiveness against these critters including nuclear bombs then surely they wouldn't be able to slay and save in 2020 a.d. Oh forgot, perhaps humanity at this stage are so hard core they are immune to radiation sickness, cancers and other genetic nasties caused by nuclear war. At least the Reign Of Fire creators could of tried to make at least some elements of this crud tangible. This however is based on one persons view but I would strongly advised to those who have not sat through this chore, if you like to save time and money - go the pub, go on the net for 100 minutes , go and see long lost relatives anything you like but try to refrain from viewing this abomination. After all its nothing new and to be honest there will no doubt be a few more turkeys just waiting to be rushed, oops made i mean, to hit a local mainstream cinema near you.I bet from reading the summary you were expecting an appraisal, and if you are a fan of the film you may feel let down and cheated with the end result -WELL SO WAS I WITH THIS!