In the body of the email Put in you name and address
Then answer this question :
What is your favorite FAMILY FRIENDLY Science Fiction Film ?
That’s all you need to do.
Only One Entry Per Person .
Include your name and mailing address so winners can be notified and their prize mailed.
DEADLINE is March 25 ,2021 . Winners will be notified and their prizes sent out shortly thereafter .
(update- 3.27. 2021-contest over -winners have been notified .This contest is over .Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine
Only one entry per person. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. You must be at least 18 to enter. You must live in the United States or Canada. All prizes are awarded “as is.” Prizes are nontransferable and cannot be exchanged. No substitute prize will be awarded to a winner who declines to accept a prize. Three(3) winners will be selected randomly.
Please allow 4-8 weeks to receive the prize.
(update- 3.27. 2021-contest over -winners have been notified .This contest is over .Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine
Life on earth is desolate after a brutal intergalactic war, brightened only by a dangerous, high-flying sport … but no one knows that at each match, four gifted humans are fighting furiously to ensure the survival of humankind in the action-packed, sci-fi thriller COSMOBALL, from Well Go USA Entertainment. Top-notch visual effects result in a breathtaking, family-friendly sci-fi film from Director Dzhanik Fayziev (The Turkish Gambit, August Eighth). COSMOBALL stars Evgeniy Mironov (Spacewalk, The Lenin Factor, Space Dogs), Evgeniy Romantsov (Petropolis, Nu), Viktoriya Agalakova (The Bride, Mermaid: The Lake of the Dead, Rasputin), Maria Lisovaya (Guests) and newcomer Ivan Ivanovich in the post-apocalyptic superhero “space opera.”
Synopsis:
COSMOBALL, directed by Dzhanik Fayziev (The Turkish Gambit, August Eighth), takes place after an intergalactic battle that destroys Earth’s moon and causes worldwide devastation, leaving the human race desolate and clinging to survival. The film follows four athletes with the rare ability to teleport, which makes them the only humans capable of playing “cosmoball,” a dangerous sport requiring unimaginable speed, reflexes, and courage. While the rest of the world religiously scans the sky to catch the high-flying tournaments, no one suspects that with each match, they are actually witnessing four young humans fighting furiously to ensure the survival of humankind.
Country of Origin: Russia . (English Dub ).
COSMOBALLhas a runtime of approximately 115 minutes and is not rated. The Blu Ray is in Audio: DTS HDMA 5.1 / Stereo
Well Go USA Entertainment has once again given SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE a few more Blu Rays for another contest ! UPDATE- CONTEST IS OVER FEB 5,2021 .Winners have been notified and prizes going out next week!
Congratulations to our winners
R. Cole
S. Rieux
Our third winner Name withheld by Request
the new mind-bending Sci-Fi Action Thriller :
SYNCHRONIC
When New Orleans paramedics and longtime best friends Steve (Anthony Mackie, AVENGERS : ENDGAME) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan, FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY ) are called to a series of bizarre, gruesome accidents, they chalk it up to the mysterious new party drug found at the scene. But after Dennis s oldest daughter suddenly disappears, Steve stumbles upon a terrifying truth about the supposed psychedelic that will challenge everything he knows about reality and the flow of time itself.
Language: English Subtitle: English SDH
BONUS FEATURES: Commentary with Directors and Producer Making of Previsualization VFX Breakdown Deleted Scene Alternate Ending Trailers
“Twisted, Trippy Trips Through Time” –The New York Times
“a unique, sci-fi-tinged drama with supernatural elements rooted in real-world stakes and emotion.” –The Chicago Tribune
“an inventive time-travel thriller” –Daily Herald
The title was released on DVD and BLU RAY on January 26,2021 , and WELL GO US ENTERTAINMENT has given SCARLET three BLU RAY copies for a drawing . (update contest ended and winners notified )
In the body of the email Put in you name and address
Then answer this question :
What is your favorite Cerebral Science Fiction Film ?
That’s all you need to do.
Only One Entry Per Person .
Include your name and mailing address so winners can be notified and their prize mailed.
DEADLINE is FEBRUARY 5 ,2021 . Entries received after that date will not be counted.
(UPDATE CONTEST IS OVER AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED)
Winners will be drawn randomly and then notified FEBRUARY 5,2021 , with their prizes sent out soon after .(UPDATE WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THIS CONTEST IS OVER)
Only one entry per person. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. You must be at least 18 to enter. You must live in the United States or Canada. All prizes are awarded “as is.” Prizes are nontransferable and cannot be exchanged. No substitute prize will be awarded to a winner who declines to accept a prize. Three(3) winners will be selected randomly.
Please allow 4-8 weeks to receive the prize.
(UPDATE- CONTEST IS OVER ,WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED .Feb 5,2021)
Well Go USA Entertainment MAX CLOUD contest is now over.1.26.2021.No More entries .Winners are being notified and prizes are being sent to them .Follow SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE for upcoming contests, reviews and articles ).
This time, we are having a drawing for the new Sci-Fi Action Comedy Adventure Thriller :
MAX CLOUD
update :01/26/2021 contest is over . No More entries . Winners have been notified .
A combination of JUMANJI and THE LAST STARFIGHTER, MAX CLOUD is about when a video-game enthusiast, Sarah, is transported into her favorite game, she finds herself on an intergalactic prison, home to the most dangerous villains in the galaxy. The only way to escape the game is to complete it.
Teaming up with space hero, Max Cloud (Adkins), Sarah battles the terrifying planet while her best friend, Cowboy, controls the game from her bedroom in Brooklyn. Sit down, plug in, and get ready for a sci-fi adventure like no other.
The title will be released on DVD and BLU RAY on January 19,2021 , but WELL GO US ENTERTAINMENT has given SCARLET three BLU RAY copies for a drawing .
Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1 MPAA rating : NR Director : Martin Owen Media Format : Dolby, Widescreen, Surround Sound Run time : 1 hour and 29 minutes Release date : January 19, 2021 Actors : Scott Adkins, Tommy Flanagan, John Hannah, Lashana Lynch Language : English (DTS 5.1) Studio : Well Go Usa Number of discs : 1 2K Blu Ray Region ‘A’ Optional English Subtitles
11.26.2021 – update -CONTEST IS NOW OVER – NO MORE ENTRIES. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES ARE GOING OUT. Thank you. Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine for future contests, reviews, articles.
In the body of the email Put in you name and address
Then answer this question :
What is you Science Fiction Comedy or Fantasy Comedy film ?
That’s all you need to do.
Only One Entry Per Person .
Include your name and mailing address so winners can be notified and their prize mailed.
DEADLINE is January 26 ,2021 . Entries received after that date will not be counted.
11.26.2021 – update -CONTEST IS NOW OVER – NO MORE ENTRIES. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED ADND THEIR PRIZES ARE GOING OUT. Thank you. Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine for future contests, reviews, articles.
Winners will be drawn randomly and then notified January 26,2021 , with their prizes sent out soon after .
Only one entry per person. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. You must be at least 18 to enter. You must live in the United States or Canada. All prizes are awarded “as is.” Prizes are nontransferable and cannot be exchanged. No substitute prize will be awarded to a winner who declines to accept a prize. Three(3) winners will be selected randomly.
Please allow 4-8 weeks to receive the prize.
11.26.2021 – update -CONTEST IS NOW OVER – NO MORE ENTRIES. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES ARE GOING OUT. Thank you. Follow Scarlet The Film Magazine for future contests, reviews, articles.
He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection [Blu-ray] Region Free 4 discs. 12 hours and 16 minutes. Color. 7 films (1966-1977) and a brand-new documentary (THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP-THE FILMS OF WILLIAM GREFE produced by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures) plus lots of extras. $99.95 https://www.amazon.com/He-Came-Swamp-William-Collection/dp/B08GVJLKZL
William Grefe does not have the cult following that a lot of independent filmmakers have. Indeed, my knowledge of him was limited to two of his earliest horror films and little else.
This collection from Arrow is a great correction to that for me and other film buffs. In the set are 7 of the director’s works, along with another brilliant full-length documentary by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures on the Grefé’s career.
Seven of his works from the beginning and the end of his career are not included, probably due to rights issues, or perhaps if this set is popular enough, that there will be a second collection?
Drive-in movie theatres have been around since around 1915, but officially began with the first dedicated site for that purpose in Camden, NJ in 1933. In the 1940s, after the way, cars became more of an American way of life, and drive ins began to truly take off. At the same time, the Paramount Act in 1948 caused studios to divest themselves of theatres in a landmark antitrust suit.
This opened the doors for many independents in the 1950s to begin producing films to supply drive ins, as those theatres were looked upon as secondary markets or at least the destination for a film that had run its course financially prior.
American Releasing Corp (which morphed into the more familiar American International Pictures) was one of those that benefitted, aiming for the newly mobile teenage audiences that made drive ins profitable.
Independents would deal with local sub distributors who would handle territories that the country had been broken into. Some of these sub distributors would even make their own ultra-low budget films like the Texas-lensed THE GIANT GILA MONSTER and THE KILLER SHREWS (McLendon-Radio Pictures Distributing Company, both 1959).
In the 1960’s, more maverick filmmakers started to shoot their low budget films around the country, many of them working in Florida. Among the first was H.G. Lewis and his BLOOD FEAST (Box Office Spectaculars, 1963).
William Shatner appeared in Grefe’s IMPULSE(1974)
Another was William Grefé. A Florida native, he began making films in 1963 as well for the local drive- in film circuit. Two racing films (THE CHECKERED FLAG, Motion Picture Investors ,1963 and RACING FEVER, A.A.,1964, the second of which was built around an actual horrible boat accident caught by an amateur photographer) came and went. His third film (and the first in this collection) was a horror film set within the Everglades.
Disc One of this Arrow Blu Ray collection has STING OF DEATH and DEATH CURSE OF TARTU.
STING OF DEATH (Thunderbird,1966)) was an ultra-low budget color (all Grefé’s films were in color, except for THE DEVIL’S SISTER, Thunderbird ,1966) that was intended for the drive-in market. For couples looking for an excuse to make out in the privacy of their cars, this film was a good reason to do so. A humanoid/ jellyfish hybrid (poor Bill Hobart, in a diving outfit slightly altered and a plastic bag over his head which in one scene almost caused him to suffocate to death!) is out killing people in Florida. A group of young people (including Deana Lund, prior to her stint on tv’s LAND OF THE GIANTS, Fox ,1968-70) draw the attention of Egon (John Vella), who is the evil genius who has a machine attached to an actual Portuguese Man of War that allows him to transform into the creature that is killing everyone. Oddly, the film seemed to inspire ZAAT (Clark, 1971) , another Florida lensed man into mutant aquatic monster hybrid film .
Zaat, a STING OF DEATH ripoff?
Needing a second feature, Grefé wrote a quick script, got a team together, and filmed his co-feature in a week.
Deanna Lund
DEATH CURSE OF TARTU (Thunderbird ,1966) was an ultra-low budget color (all Grefé’s films were in color, except for THE DEVIL’S SISTER, Thunderbird ,1966) horror film that got a decent release upon the drive-in circuits, as well as some spots on late night movie channels in syndication. I recall first seeing a black and White picture of Tartu (Bill Hobart, who designed his own makeup, and became one of Grefé’s stock company behind and in front of the camera.) in an early issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS and becoming intrigued by it.
An explorer (Brad Grinter, later to direct Veronica Lake’s sad swan song FLESH FEAST, Viking,1970 & the bizarre killer turkey flick BLOOD FREAK, Sampson ,1972) uncovers a crypt wherein he is confronted by Tartu and killed. A short time later, Sam (Frank Weed, who also handled all the exotic animals that appeared in Grefe’s films) and a group including a Professor, his wife and their students exploring old Indian sites soon are the next to become involved with the Death Curse.
Tartu can transform himself and pops up as various swamp creatures to pick of various members of the party, including a shark (!) before the final showdown. Grefé claimed that he dashed the script out very quickly and it shows. Lots of long passages of nature shots where nothing happens, followed by some brief dialogue then back to padding before something happens for a few seconds. Still, the film had a long life, as director Frank Henenlotter recalled it still playing in the 42nd Street Grindhouses as late as 1976, but how much of receipts reached Grefé is unknown. Actress Mayra Gomez moved to Spain, where she became a bit of staple of Spanish tv in the 1970s.
These two films have quite a cult following, having gotten released on video and DVD by Something Weird video in prints that had gone through the projectors quite a few times, with faded color and scratches.
The Arrow releases have presented the films in such sharpness as to make them look brand new. The colors are vibrant, and the overall pictures are quite sharp. The studio has gone to the original film elements and given us new 2K scans. it is astonishing the care that went into their restoration.
Extras include new intros by the director, as well as running commentaries by Grefe and Henenlotter (the commentaries ported over from the original Something Weird DVD releases). Find out how Neil Sedaka ended up contributing the song “Do the Jellyfish “to STING OF DEATH .
Do the Jellyfish
A new mini doc by filmmaker C Courtney Joyner called BEYOND THE MOVIE-MONSTERS A GO GO! which examines rock n roll monster movies from the 1950s onward, including the AIP Beach Blanket films that added horror stars like Karloff and Price in cameos.
Doug Hobart talks about his experience with running his own spook show in the fascinating THE CURIOUS CASE OF DR. TRABOH: SPOOK SHOW EXTRAORDINAIRE. For those like myself too young to have experienced these, this is a fascinating piece of movie /theatre history and is true ballyhoo (the extras on these discs are all by the film history doc specialists, Daniel Griffith ‘s BALLYHOO MOTION PICTURES, who consistently make some of the best DVD/BLU RAY extras).
Not Dr . Traboh ,but…
Also, on disc one is the some of the original theatrical trailers for STING OF DEATH and DEATH CURSE OF TARTU.
Disc 2 has Grefe’s reaction to the Swinging’ Sixties, THE HOOKED GENERATION (A.A.,1968) and THEPSYCHEDELIC PRIEST (Allied International ,1971).
THE HOOKED GENERATION has three low lifes who want to break into the big time of drug dealing and go full Scarface by killing a bunch of Cubans for their boatload of drugs (it seems while drugs were crimes in Cuba, they had no problem making money off selling them to the Americans), then killing members of the Coast Guard, before having to turn and flee for a final show down between them in the swamps and the police. It is a gritty film with truly unlikeable characters (a rape scene thankfully is not shown).
THE PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST (original title: Electric Shades of Gray) is an interesting film. Grefé on the commentary tells us that producer Stewart (Terry) Merrill wanted to make a film about a priest in the Height Ashbury drug scene. The only problem is he had nothing beyond that idea. Grefé found that it was not a problem, and, with money in hand, began to improvise his film with actor John Darrell (who IMDB seems to feel moved to England and later appeared in several episodes of the Shakespearean series THE WAR OF THE ROSES, BBC 1990-91 !) and mostly a cast pulled off the streets and campuses.
Someone slipped him a Doctor Pepper??
Father John (Darrell) is seen talking to several college students about pot smoking and drugs. They offer him a soda, with him unaware that it is spiked with L.S.D. He goes back to church where he has a bad trip, convincing him to drop out (becoming the embodiment of Timothy Leary’s famous 1966 phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out”). He decides to take a car and travel the open road, wherein he picks up a young hitchhiker who travels awhile with him. He rebukes her admission of love, which is followed by her death. John also witnesses a racial murder perpetrated by some small-town sheriffs, causing John to spiral downwards into harder drugs.
In the final act, he finds his faith again before the end credits crawl, making one think of those religious scare films so “popular “in the 1960s ,70s and 80s. For example: here is a clip from Rock: It’s Your Decision (1982), wherein a young man finds being denied access to rock n’ roll saves him from…. SATAN. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_aHgKWwAy0 .
However, after finishing the film, producer Merrill got into a fight with the distributor, and so the film ended up shelved for decades, until it was saved by Something Weird Video in 2001.
Both films have been remastered from the best elements available and given a 2K scanning. That said, the films could only be improved so much, especially the 16mm PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST.
Extras include
new introductions to each film by the director
Mike Vraney & Lisa Petrucci
Running commentaries by Grefé and Henenlotter wisely carried over from their old Something Weird releases (the late Mike Varney and his wife Lisa Petrucci saved more films from vanishing forever that they deserve a special Oscar for film preservation, though the movies they preserved would not be nominated for Academy Awards, playing instead in grind houses, drive ins and even in porn theatres).
A new mini documentary by film historian Chris Poggiali called BEYOND THE MOVIE: THAT’S DRUGSPLOITATION! that explores films that would be called counterculture.
Another new mini doc, again by Poggiali, called BEYOND THE MOVIE: THE ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP-which gives you the history behind THE PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST.
BEHIND THE SCENES footage from THE HOOKED GENERATION.
A still gallery from THE HOOKED GENERATION.
DISC 3
• THE NAKED ZOO (1971) This was Grefé’s attempt to cash into the WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (WB,1962) style of thriller (also known as “Hag Horror”, a cruel comment about films where aging Stars and Actresses were forced into material they once may have turned up their noses at). This SUNSET BOULEVARD (Paramount ,1950) type film has Rita Hayworth (GILDA, Columbia, 1946) as Mrs. Golden, who is taking care of her wheelchair bound husband (Ford Rainey, a reliable character actor who appeared on television in various series from 1951 up to 2017!). When a young writer Terry Shaw (Steve Oliver, who appeared the following year in WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS, Fanfare,1971) shows up, the love starved woman’s infatuation leads to seductions and murder. The lovely Fay Spain (HERCULES CONQUERS ATLANTIS, SpA Cinematografica,1961, who died way too young from cancer in 1983) adds a bit of sex appeal.
Fay Spain
Poor Hayworth looks older than her 52 years in this film, due no doubt from a lifetime of abuse both mental, physical, emotional, and financial from her husbands, driving her into alcoholism as well as possibly the first stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Indeed, 2 years later, her scenes in WRATH OF GOD (MGM,1972) had to be shot one line at a time.
MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH (Cannon, 1976) -having had a hit with STANLEY (Crown Int, 1972) Grefé wanted to do another nature gone wild film. He had an idea to use a shark as the main creature but at the time, no one would foot the bill for such a film. Then JAWS (Universal,1975) shattered all box office records, and suddenly everyone wanted a film featuring the finned terrors. Grefé obliged with this film.
Richard Jaeckel (who won an Oscar nom for his role in SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION, Universal,1971) is Sonny Stein. During the Vietnam War, he was saved from the enemy by a Mako Shark. Now working as a marine salvager, a shaman gives him a charm to help him have a psychic link between the sharks and himself. Oddly , none of the sharks shown in the film are Mako sharks.
Seeing how people around him treat the sharks, he uses them to extract revenge, including killing an underwater dancer (an attraction totally unique to Florida) when a shark is introduced into her tank.
Also in the film is Harold “Odd Job” Sakata, who had almost really died while filming Grefe’s IMPULSE (Camelot,1974). Here he ends up on the wrong end of a fishhook.
Once again, ARROW gives us a 2K restoration of both films from original film elements. Also new to these releases are brand new audio commentaries by director Grefé.
New intros for each film by Grefé.
An interesting offering is a 92-minute DIRECTOR’S CUT of THE NAKED ZOO, as well as the version released theatrically and altered by the distributors, who added a performance by Canned Heat as well as some nude insert shots, so I guess the Non-Director cut.
A retitled -reissue of THE NAKED ZOO
A new mini doc BEYOND THE MOVIE: THAT’S SHARKSPLOITATION! By film historian Michael Gingold about the spawn of JAWS, including piranhas and alligators.
New to this release: THE AQUAMAID SPEAKS! – An audio interview with Jennifer Bishop, the hapless actress almost bitten by a shark for real in MAKO.
Jennifer Bishop
Another new audio interview: SHARKS, STALKERS, AND SASQUATCH, with Mako writer Robert Morgan, who has spent decades talking about Bigfoot, whom he claims he first saw in 1957.
MAKO-The Super 8 Digest version. For you kiddies, before vcrs, streaming, the internet, this was often the only way to get your hands on a film.
Original trailers
Still and Promo Galleries
DISC 4 WHISKEY MOUNTAIN (1977) is an action thriller film set in the backwoods. A group of young people go into the mountains looking for a stash of old Confederate gear, only to come across a bunch of hillbilly drug dealers who do not take kindly to interlopers. Fast paced with lots of stunts, starring Christopher George (tv’s RAT PATROL, U.A. 1966-68) as well as the indie ecological horror film GRIZZLY (Film Ventures,1976).
THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP: THE FILMS OF WILLIAM GREFE (2016) -this for me was the highlight of the collection. Daniel Griffith, of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, has done this 127-minute tribute to William Grefé, highlighting the take any risk but get it on film style of the filmmaker, and indeed, of many indie cinema makers. This is an extended version of this documentary tribute that had been previously been released in a special two-disc DVD edition (the second disc featured WHISKEY MOUNTAIN).
Interviews with Grefé, and many of the surviving cast and crew of his films, as well as filmmakers like FrankHenenlotter (BASKET CASE, Analysis, 1982) and Fred Olen Ray (THE PHANTOM EMPIRE, American Independent Productions 1988). Besides his own films, Grefé worked as a second unit director on major films shot in Florida like LIVE & LET DIE (U.A.,1973) as well as promotional shorts for various companies. It is a fascinating look at D.I.Y. guerilla filmmaking.
Extras on this disc include
2K restoration of WHISKEY MOUNTAIN from original film elements.
Christopher George
New audio commentary by Grefé on WHISKEY MOUNTAIN.
New intro to WHISKEY MOUNTAIN by Grefé.
THE CROWN JEWELS– A new mini documentary about Crown International, who released several of Grefé’s films, like STANLEY (1972).
ON LOCATION: GREFE IN MIAMI– a new archival tour of various locations used by Grefé.
BACARDI AND COKE BONANZA (1981) a short film shot by Grefé about how-well – Bacardi & Coke go together.
WHISKEY MOUNTAIN trailer.
Bonus Exploitation trailer Gallery.
Each of the discs has reversible disc cover sleeves with original artwork
Collectors Booklet with an interview with the director.
The films not in the collection by the way are for the Grefe completists THE CHECKERED FLAG (1963), RACING FEVER (1964), DEVIL’S SISTERS (1966), WILD REBELS (1967), STANLEY (1972), IMPULSE (1974), THE GODMOTHERS (1975).
UPDATE: 12.08.2020- CONTEST CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES WILL BE SHIPPING OUT SOON. FOLLOW SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE FOR FUTURE CONTESTS AND ARTICLES
UPDATE : 12.9. 2020- CONTEST CLOSED WINNERS HAVE HAD PRIZES MAILED OUT TODAY. Our Prize winners are Shakeia Rieux , Andrew L. Blumetti , and ANONYMOUS .
Well Go USA ENTERTAINMENT is letting us do another contest !
This time, we are having a drawing for Brandon Cronenberg‘s new Sci-Fi Thriller,
POSSESSOR .
Christopher Abbott in Possessor
The title will be released on DVD and BLU RAY on December 8,2020 , but WELL GO US ENTERTAINMENT has given SCARLET three BLU RAY copies for a drawing .
POSSESSOR is a 2020 science fiction psychological horror film written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg. An international co-production of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, the film stars Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Rossif Sutherland, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Using brain-implant technology, corporate assassin Tasya Vos , using brain implant technology m takes control of other people s bodies to execute high-profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.
POSSESSOR -104 minutes Color . Well Go USA Entertainment Language: English with English SDH REGION “A”
Blu Ray Extras BONUS FEATURES: Deleted Scenes Behind the Scenes Trailers
Review “This sleekly executed work is of its time, exhibiting the chilly aesthetic and psychotropic overlay seen in some of the best indie sci-fi/horror films of recent years.” —Hollywood Reporter
“mind-melting visual impact and an elegantly cruel atmosphere” —Screen Daily
“Brandon Cronenberg s ultra-violent thriller is unlike anything you’ ve ever seen before” —SlashFilm
UPDATE: 12.08.2020- CONTEST CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES WILL BE SHIPPING OUT SOON. FOLLOW SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE FOR FUTURE CONTESTS AND ARTICLES
Send an email to ScarletTheFilmMag@yahoo.com
In the subject line write “POSSESSOR Contest“
In the body of the email Put in you name and address
Then answer this question :
What is you Favorite Canadian Horror ,Science Fiction, or/and Mystery Film .
That’s all you need to do.
Only One Entry Per Person .
UPDATE: 12.08.2020- CONTEST CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES WILL BE SHIPPING OUT SOON. FOLLOW SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE FOR FUTURE CONTESTS AND ARTICLES
Include your name and mailing address so winners can be notified and their prize mailed.
DEADLINE is December 7,2020 . Entries received after that date will not be counted.
Winners will be drawn randomly and then notified December 8, 2020, with their prizes sent out soon after .
UPDATE: 12.08.2020- CONTEST CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES WILL BE SHIPPING OUT SOON. FOLLOW SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE FOR FUTURE CONTESTS AND ARTICLES
Only one entry per person. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. You must be at least 18 to enter. You must live in the United States or Canada. All prizes are awarded “as is.” Prizes are nontransferable and cannot be exchanged. No substitute prize will be awarded to a winner who declines to accept a prize. Three(3) winners will be selected randomly.
Please allow 4-8 weeks to receive the prize.
UPDATE: 12.08.2020- CONTEST CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES WILL BE SHIPPING OUT SOON. FOLLOW SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE FOR FUTURE CONTESTS AND ARTICLES
UPDATE: 12.08.2020- CONTEST CLOSED. WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEIR PRIZES WILL BE SHIPPING OUT SOON. FOLLOW SCARLET THE FILM MAGAZINE FOR FUTURE CONTESTS AND ARTICLES
Ray Bradbury often felt his only science fiction story was FAHRENHEIT 451. “I use a scientific idea as a platform to leap into the air and never come back.” Most of his stories were not hard science fiction, but just the launching point for the story that he wished to tell. SILENT RUNNING is quite like that. While filled with wonderful imagery of a future world of spaceships and androids, the story is more an allegory of our relationship with our planet and our need to protect it.
The story of SILENT RUNNING is that in the near future (a voice over tells us that “at the beginning of a new Century” ),Earth has launched all their remaining forests and surviving species into space in the hope of preserving them .
Among the Fleet is the Valley Forge, run by a crew of four with support by various Droids. It seems that they have been in space for quite a while, and boredom has set in among three of the crew. They race around the ship with reckless abandon. The fourth, Freeman Lowell (Free man, sort of on the nose), played by Bruce Dern, is introduced to the audience swimming among what appears to be a forest, but is within one of the domes. He dons a robe, giving him more of a Christ like image as he cuddles a rabbit.
The fleet receives word that they are to destroy the domes and return the space crafts to commercial service.
Lowell snaps and kills his three coworkers, then plunges his ship through the rings of Saturn to make it appear that his ship is lost. He then programs the three remaining droids (whom he names Huey ,Dewey ,and Louie) first to perform surgery on his injured leg and then ,as his isolation sets in, to interact with him in such things as playing cards. Lowell starts feeling the loneliness again and takes to speeding around the station like his former co- workers did, smashing into one of the droids.
The forests also begin to die, and he does not know what he can do to help them. Then, he gets a radio message that the fleet has found his location and are racing to save him.
Realizing that the forests need more light, he rushes about to install lamps to correct this problem. He then jettisons the forest into space and to prevent it being followed, he commits suicide by destroying the Valley Forge with one of the nuclear bombs aboard. The final shot is the forest floating and flourishing in space, cared for by Dewey.
Back in the 1970s, the studios were looking for films that would appeal to young movie goers. EASY RIDER (Columbia 1969) was a film that made oodles of money, and the suits could not figure out why. Their solution was to give up and coming filmmakers a limited budget and see what they could come up with. Warner Brothers gave George Lucas financing to expand his student film ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: THX 1138 4EB into a full length feature.
Universal seemed the most willing to risk money on filmmakers, setting budgets of $1 million dollars and creative control. They even thought that bringing in two of the EASY RIDER actors would guarantee better returns. Dennis Hopper went off in many ways with his money for THE LAST MOVIE (Universal,1971), a financial and critical disaster. Peter Fonda directed a more traditional western, THE HIRED HAND (Universal ,1971) was also a flop, playing in many areas as the bottom half of THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (Universal,1971).
Another young filmmaker who was given a chance to go off and create something for a million dollars was Douglas Trumbull. Trumbull had been instrumental in the mind-boggling visuals and effects seen in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (MGM,1968). After doing some of the effects for Robert Wise’s adaptation of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (Universal,1971)*, Universal was so impressed as to offer him a chance to direct a sci- fi film.
Douglas had the original outline ,which was expanded into a screenplay by Steven Bochco ( later a T.V. industry unto himself ,with such shows as HILLSTREET BLUES (MTM,1981-87)) Deric Washburn (an off- Broadway playwright turned screenwriter), and Michael Cimino (later to co-write with Washburn the classic THE DEER HUNTER ,Universal , 1978, and direct films like the film that sank United Artists, HEAVEN’S GATE ,1980) , Trumbull was able to stretch his budget by film aboard Korean War aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge (LPH-8), which was docked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in Long Beach, California. The domes were filmed on a studio set in an aircraft hangar in Van Nuys, California.
The film was basically a showcase for an actor, and he wisely took a chance on Bruce Dern. The stage trained performer was mostly cast as villains in films, so this was a great change of pace for the actor. The three other visible performers were Cliff Potts (who was a Universal contract player at the time),Ron Rifkin (who is currently a recurring character on LAW & ORDER: SVU ,Universal 1999-present) , and Jess Vint III (Dern recommended him for the role in SILENT RUNNING after seeing his work at an Actors Studio class . Since then Vint has worked as an actor, director, screenwriter for both major studios and indies) .
Two voices heard over the radio belong to Roy Engel (President Grant on the tv series WILD WILD WEST ,CBS,1966-69) and Joseph Campanella, who seemed to appear in every T.V. series during the 1960s and 70s (including playing different characters in IRONSIDE,Universal,1969-75) .
The most brilliant bit of casting was for the four droids. To get away from the man in the suit look, the droids’ design led many to believe that they actual working AI. In fact, the four suits were worn by 4 amputees (Mark Persons, Steven Brown, Cheryl Sparks, and Larry Whisenhunt) with the casings built to accommodate them. That they were able to imbue the blank shells with personality is a credit to the performers inside, Dern, and the director.
The cinematographer Charles F Wheeler had worked a lot with specials effects films (like TORA! TORA! TORA! Fox,1970) and this was one of the first films to use fluorescent lights for a film, since they were filming on an actual aircraft carrier. Wheeler later did similar duties on STAR TREK: THE MOTIONPICTURE (Paramount, 1979).
Another big plus was the music by Peter Schickele (best known for his brilliant comedy albums as P.D.Q. Bach). Indeed, I still own the Green Vinyl Varese Sarabande album.
Joan Baez ,who had worked with Schickele provided two songs to the film’s soundtrack.
The film was released in the U.S. on March 10, 1972 to mixed reviews and disappointing box office. Over the years, the film has gained a well-deserved cult following, due to its various television showings, as well as video and DVD releases.
Concept Art for the Droids
Now, Arrow Video gives us the best presentation of this movie that we have ever seen.
The movie has been given a 2K restoration supervised by Trumbull himself in 1080p Hi Definition. The film is flawless, with beautiful color.
The sound is presented in crisp DTS-HD mono. The effects, music, and dialogue are clear.
The optional white English subtitles are clear and easy to read.
Arrow also packs the release with several extras.
First off, there are TWO commentary tracks.
The first is carried over from the 2002 Universal DVD release, featuring Dern & Trumbull. You can hear their deserved pride in the film and friendly banter as they watch the film .
The second and new to this release track features Kim Newman (the author of the wonderful ANNO DRACULA books) and Barry Forshaw (BRITISH GOTHIC CINEMA book). This track, I must admit, annoyed me quite a bit. Both are knowledgeable on film and literature, but they seem to talk around the subject of the film rather than about it. They also do not seem to regard the film too highly. They seem to miss that the film is more allegory than hard science fiction. One wishes that Arrow had gotten someone with more respect for the film, like Mark Kermode, who lists it as among his favorite movies, and even wrote a book about it.
Also new to this release is an isolated music and sound effect track, for those who do not have the o.s.t. album of Schickele’s score, plus one can see how much the sound effects of forest and mechanics sounds mix to make the film work .
NO TURNING BACK -A short 14-minute featurette with Movie Music historian Jeff Bond discusses the importance of Peter Schickele’s score to the film.
FIRST RUN -Another short featurette examines the script and how it changed with the input of the various writers.
Those Zero Gravity toilets can be tricky….
A Theatrical trailer is included, which makes the film look more like an action sci-fi adventure, plus plugs Joan Baez’ contributions.
A photo gallery is also available .
Other extras carried over from the 2002 DVD are :
THE MAKING OF SILENT RUNNING – A promotional film made to promote the film prior to it’s release , showing the actual Valley Forge , and the behind scenes of making the film, including the robot concepts ,designs and actors working within the molds.
SILENT RUNNING BY DOUGLAS TRUMBULL –Trumbull looks back on the film.
DOUGLAS TRUMBULL THEN & NOW –Trumbull examines his career, including his ideas on theme park rides video games, and his Showscan process. Trumbull directed the four-minute film for the BACK TO THEFUTURE ride at the Universal Theme Parks, which he says is how to bring the audiences into the action. It is not mentioned here, but back in 1895, inventor and early effect film maker R.W. Paul had a remarkably similar idea, to be based upon H.G. Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE that had been published the previous year. People would get into an enclosed ride box, where it would be tilted and moved as various projections were shown inside.
DOUGLAS TRUMBULLR.W..Paul’s THE MOTORIST(1906)
A CONVERSATION WITH BRUCE DERN -the actor discusses his role in the film and its importance to his career.
First Pressing Only: An Illustrated collector’s booklet written by Barry Forshaw and Peter Tonguette (PICTURING PETER BOGDANOVICH) .
SILENT RUNNING is a unique film ,whose message of ecological preservation has become more important today, as we have experienced political leaders who have rolled back dozens of hard won protections of our air and water, and we are rushing toward ecological disasters with the world heating up and ice caps melting.
Planet Films UK produced about 5 films between 1951 to 1967 , the first two being gang/crime films(THE SIXMEN,1951 ; THE MARKED ONE,1963) while their last three were horror films (DEVILS OF DARKNESS,1964, being the first of their terror tales .).
The final two were both directed by Terence Fisher ( Why they didn’t hire Fisher for there vampire film is a mystery , both had Peter Cushing ,were set upon an isolated island ,and featured short squat monsters. However that is where the similarity ends.
The monster/creatures in ISLAND OF TERROR ( 1966. Other titles considered earlier being The Night the Silicates Came and The Night the Creatures Came ) were terrifying , being giant cancer cells that drained the bones from victims, leaving an empty flesh husk by way of a tentacle which also sucked the essence from one in a very noisy fashion.
They even divide like cells,(producing what looks like commissary chicken soup goop ), increasing their number.
ISLAND OF TERROR got a release from Universal often co -billed with another Universal British pick up ,THEPROJECTED MAN.
The 1967 film NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT was based upon a 1959 novel that had been adapted in 1960 for ITV television).
ITC play of the week NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT
Even though N.O.T.B.H. had Fisher and Cushing ,as well as Christopher Lee ,Patrick Allen , Sarah Lawson ,and Jane Merrow ,the final result was for the most part a rather tamer affair in comparison with it’s predecessor . The threat here was a form of early global warming, with the creatures raising temperatures upon the island. It had a strong story and a good cast, but investors pulled out as the film began production ,which resulted in creatures which were kept hidden for most of the film . It needed a little more blood and thunder ,such as ISLAND OF TERROR possessed.
It was retitled for US release by a small distribution company ,Maron Films, as ISLAND OF THE BURNINGDAMNED, and paired as the bottom half of a co- bill with GODZILLA’S REVENGE (Toho).
Later for television, it was retitled once again as ISLAND OF THE BURNING DOOMED, so as not to offend sensitive souls.
In March ,1967, another science fiction blob creature appeared on tv for Desilu/Paramount‘s STAR TREK.
Called “The Horta“. the creature appeared in the episode” The Devil In The Dark“. That creature had a corrosive acid it exuded , and dwelt among silicon nodules.
One wonders if it was the interplanetary futuristic off spring of the two creatures from the Planet Films !
ISLAND OF TERROR is currently available on Blu Ray from SHOUT FACTORY,region A only . Odeon Entertainment has released the UK Blu Ray.
NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT is available from Odeon Entertainment in an All Region Blu Ray .
Many years ago, when the late great Boris Karloff passed away in February 2,1969, JimWarren’s and Forrest J Ackerman’s FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND provided two fitting tributes.
One, was issue #56 of FMOF with a beautiful Basil Gogos cover of Karloff as his most famous role.
The other was a paperback by FJA called THE FRANKENSCIENCE MONSTER (Ace,1969, a cover not by Gogos but paperback cover artist Verne Tossey.). At the time,before the ability to google, this was the source for any monster news. Many of us though that Karloff’s final film was a classic of modern cinema, Peter Bogdanovich’s TARGETS (August 1968,Paramount).
However, thanks to Uncle Forry , we found out that 80 plus year old Karloff had signed with producer Luis Enrique Vergara and Azteca Films of Mexico (who in turn had a distribution agreement with Columbia Pictures) for a four-picture deal at a salary of $400,000. The actor could have said no to the projects and easily retired, having a comfortable sum saved up over the years. No one could have blamed him, either, as his lungs were barely functional (due to years of smoking as well as damage from pneumonia he contracted in Italy filming BLACK SABBATH,1963,AIP , leaving him dependent on oxygen tanks to aid his breathing) as well as crippling arthritis that made walking difficult.
Still, as he often said, he wanted to die with his boots on, doing the job he loved if audiences wanted to see him. An example was when he filmed an episode of THE RED SKELTON SHOW (“He Who Steals My Robot Steals Trash” aired September 24,1968, CBS), rather than do the show before the live audience in a wheel chair as rehearsed, he willed himself to walk with the aid of a cane rather than have the people see him so confined.
Thus, the quartet of Mexican horror films were jobs that he readily accepted, feeling fortunate that audiences still wished to see him.
Difficulties for the productions arose when it was discovered that Karloff’s health would not permit him to film in Mexico, and his sequences were shot in a small studio in Santa Monica, California in April/May 1968, while the rest of the films were completed in Mexico, often with a double for the star.
The four films were to be made over a 5-week period, so this extra expense of two crews, duplicating sets, and flying up some of the Mexican cast to work with Karloff must have frayed the already low budgets. Juan Ibáñez directed the Mexican main unit, while cult director Jack Hill (SPIDER BABY,1967, American General) handled the American Karloff unit, as well as contributing to the screenplays.
Hill it seems was hampered because the producer wanted to use an early form of video playback by tying a primitive video camera to the top of the 35mm Mitchells used to film the movie. Jerry Lewis had pioneered the idea and it is now the common practice, but Hill felt that it slowed down his process.
With all these problems somehow the four films were filmed and completed. Karloff did not live to see the release of these films, which seemed to have been held back until 1971 for their limited distributions (Cannon also got around to distribute Karloff’s 1967 Spanish lensed CAULDRON OF BLOOD the same year, which got a wider release in the U.S. than the four Mexican thrillers).
Over the years, the films have been released on various video labels, including MPI and United American budget label, as well as several of the titles getting a DVD release by Fred Olen Ray’s Retromedia label.
VCI has now for the first time put all four films together in an affordable (less than the cost of some single DVD releases) two-disc collection.
The four titles in the collection are
(Disc One)
DANCE OF DEATH (aka HOUSE OF EVIL, SERENADA MACABRA)
TORTURE ZONE (edited version of FEAR CHAMBER)
(Disc Two)
ALIEN TERROR (filmed as THE INCREDIBLE INVASION, Invasión siniestra)
CULT OF THE DEAD (edited version of ISLE OF THE SNAKE PEOPLE, La muerte vivente)
It is a shame that they did not seek out the Retromedia or Elite release of FEAR CHAMBER, as both of those are in the original aspect ratio with sharp picture and color quality, as well as extras such as an audio commentary by Jack Hill and a deleted scene.MPI’s TORTURE ZONE is an edited version of this film ,so all of the nudity Is eliminated .
Only TORTURE ZONE was set in present day, with the rest set at around the turn of the 20th Century. ALIEN TERROR was supposedly the last one filmed, and the only one NOT starring Julissa, giving actress German actress Christa Linder a chance.
The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound for the films is clear with no noticeable loss in quality of dialogue or the sound effects.
There are no extras to the discs, but again, to get these four films together at such a low price, one should not expect any special edition treatment.
While we would all like to get the best possible and most complete versions, certain films have limited audiences and the profitability is to say the least, narrow.
One wonders, for example, if VCI had gone out of their way to get new prints, cleaned up and loaded with extras, would fans shell out $29.95 for each of these films?
DANCE OF DEATH -this film is perhaps the most traditional horror film, with obvious influences of the Roger Corman Poe films. The film even claims to be based upon a Poe story, though none that I am familiar with.original Spanish language credit
Wealthy toymaker Matthais Morteval (Karloff) summons his family to his mansion to discuss how his estate will be divided. Recent murders in the nearby hills has a macabre touch, wherein the victims have had their eyes removed makes Matthais suspect that a member of his family is the killer.
Karloff has an ancestral portrait that looks exactly like him (these old families have strong genes), and Karloff gets to play huge pipe organ. Matthais supposedly suffers a fatal heart attack half way into the film, and shortly thereafter, one by one his greedy relations die. Keeping with the Corman Poe- like feel, the film ends with a huge fire, as Matthais, obviously not dead, plays his final concerto as the walls burn around him. It is quite amazing that the octogenarian actor is working so close to such huge plumes of flames, controlled or not .
Karloff perhaps passed away before being able to loop dialogue, or the final lines were an afterthought , but they are not his voice.
People who dismiss the Karloff Mexican quartet of films have obviously not seen them, as DANCE OF DEATH was quite entertaining.
TORTURE ZONE – (which in the original titles also claimed to be Poe inspired, though I would say more Lovecraft, like Karloff’s own DIE, MONSTER DIE! 1965 ,A.I.P. ). This one is a bit of a mess, no two ways about it. Psychedelic zooms & colors, and jump cut edits do not make this film any more interesting, and indeed, show how little sense the plot has. A living rock is discovered within the depths of the earth. Scientist Karl Mantell (Karloff), who spends much of this film either sitting behind his office desk or behind a lab computer table, discovers that the creature feeds on the blood of young women, particularly those who are frightened. Naturally, our loveable scientist and his staff create a fear chamber to terrorize young women who come seeking employment. The rock (no, no that one) starts to grow tentacles, and only then does Mantell seek to stop it.
Mantell is supposed to be a kindly scientist, but his actions here are in opposition to that appearance. Still, at least, Karloff gets to survive to the end credits. The topless scenes that are edited out of this print were probably shot later, added to try and keep audience attention. Probably one of Karloff’s worst movies, though, as always, he is worth watching. .
Karloff tries to blow up all prints of FEAR CHAMBER .
ALIEN TERROR– Another period piece, this one is another science fiction/horror hybrid. In an 1890s European country, Professor John Mayer (Karloff) is working on a new power source, when a lab accident sends a pulse off into space, attracting the attention of an alien spaceship passing by. The alien comes across a Jack the Ripper style killer and takes over his body. More killings continue as the alien tries to get to the professor’s invention and destroy it. Mayer uses his invention to defeat the killer, and later, when the alien hops into his niece, he uses the machine again to drive it from her. Mayer lets the machine destroy itself and, in the process, burns down his home.
The final shot of the surviving cast members watching the house burn has an obvious Karloff stand in facing away from the camera with hair that looks like it was streaked with shoe polish.
A confusing picture, as if two different scripts were dropped into a blender, yet it held one’s interest and it tried to be original. As mentioned, this was Karloff’s last work in a motion picture.
An alien Spaceship, lit and designed to look like a Dario Argento sequence !
CULT OF THE DEAD – On the island of Korbai, Carl Van Molder (Karloff) is a major plantation owner. A police captain comes to Korbai to try and bring order when it is discovered that voodoo is rampant. This is a much more entertaining film than Karloff’s earlier film VOODOO ISLAND (1957, U.A.), which was one of the only roles I felt the great actor seemed to walk through.
In this film, Karloff seems fully invested in the part and brings his great screen presence to each scene. The voodoo scenes are well staged, though once again at the end of the film, a voice not Karloff’s is used for the line: “I’m dying! “followed by some sputtering coughs. The picture ends with a big explosion as the hero and heroine escape with their lives. This too was an entertaining piece of cinema fluff and does not deserve all the scorn heaped upon it.
To sum up, two of the films (DANCE OF DEATH and CULT OF THE DEAD) I would say are quite entertaining, a third (ALIEN TERROR) is just odd enough to hold your interest with a feeling of “WTF?” throughout and only one (TORTURE ZONE) is close to a complete disaster. Karloff is always giving his all in each work, and for that alone these are well worth seeing.
Are the prints the best? No. However, unless some deep pocket cinema collector seeks out original negatives, gives them a 2 K scan and restores them, and licenses the Elite and Retromedia commentaries, this VCI set will be the best way of getting affordable copies of these final films by the Master of Horror, Boris Karloff.
Recommended for – Karloff completists. Fans of Mexican Horror. Cult films lovers.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 16,2018 . NO MORE ENTRIES. CONTEST HAS ENDED. WE HAVE A WINNER.
CONGRATULATIONS: MICHAEL MARTIN at a APO address. His prize will be sent to him shortly . Big thanks to UNIVERSAL HOME ENTERTAINMENT.
Enter for a chance to win a freeBlu-Ray /DVD of UNIVERSAL HOME ENTERTAINMENT‘s newest entry into the successful action sci fi series , DEATH RACE: BEYOND ANARCHY .
Danny Trejo, Danny Glover , Zach McGowan , Fred Koehler , Christine Marzano .
No guards, no rules, no track, no fear- only the DEATH RACE .
Extras on the disc include
*Inside The Anarchy
*Time Served: Lists & Goldberg
*On The Streets of DEATH RACE; BEYOND ANARCHY
*Feature Commentary w/Director/Co-writer Michael Paul and star Zach McGowan
UPDATE: OCTOBER 16,2018 . NO MORE ENTRIES. CONTEST HAS ENDED. WE HAVE A WINNER.
CONGRATULATIONS: MICHAEL MARTIN at a APO address. His prize will be sent to him shortly .
To enter :
send an email to scarletthefilmmag@yahoo.com
In the heading put : DEATH RACE BEYOND ANARCHY CONTEST
In the body of the letter , answer this question :
What is the BEST futuristic car film ?
Please add your name and address with your entry so we can notify you if you
win .
The winner will be chosen at random on October 15th, 2018 .
UPDATE: OCTOBER 16,2018 . NO MORE ENTRIES. CONTEST HAS ENDED. WE HAVE A WINNER.
CONGRATULATIONS: MICHAEL MARTIN at a APO address. His prize will be sent to him shortly .
DEATH RACE BEYOND ANARCHY
Special features
Includes a digital copy of Death Race: Beyond Anarchy – Unrated Version (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.)
Inside the Anarchy
Time Served: Lists & Goldberg
On the Streets of Death Race: Beyond Anarchy
Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Don Michael Paul and Star Zach McGowan
Product details
Actors: Zach McGowan, Danny Glover, Frederick Koehler, Christine Marzano, Danny Trejo
Directors: Don Michael Paul
Writers: Don Michael Paul, Tony Giglio
Producers: Mike Elliott, Greg Holstein
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
Subtitles: French, Spanish
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 2
Rated:
NR
Not Rated
Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: October 2, 2018
Run Time: 111 minutes
Imagine if you will Bub from Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD (1985, U.F.D.) were fully cognizant of his situation, and able to have a full conversation about it (MY DINNER WITH BUB? ). Throw in a bit of 21 DAYS LATER (2002, Fox) and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect from PATIENT ZERO.
Filmed in 2015 by Screen Gems, it sadly sat on a shelf until now. Why? Screen Gems opened the abysmal ULTRAVIOLET (2006) wide, and that was nowhere near as good as PATIENT ZERO.
In 2013, Mike Le’s script for PATIENT ZERO was called “the Most Liked “unmade script of the year in the annual Black List poll. A bidding war between several studios took place, with Screen Gems winning the rights to make a feature of the script. Matt Le had prior only worked on a few reality shows and later some forgotten thrillers like AMNESIAC (2014, XLrator) (get it? forgotten? Amnesiac?) and DARK SUMMER (2015, IFC). The frenzy was no doubt due to Paramount’s mega zombie blockbuster WORLD WAR Z that came out that year.
Director Stefan Ruzowitzky had directed the German horror thriller AUTOPSY (Sony,2000) and won the 2007 foreign language Oscar for his film THE COUNTERFEITERS (released in the US by Sony)and so there a bit of buzz around his second English language film (his first ,ALL THE QUEENS’S MEN ,2001,Sony,starred Matt LeBlanc & Eddie Izzard ,was a fun little film that came & went).
Adding to the buzz was the casting of Matt Smith (popular from DOCTOR WHO, portraying the character from 2010-13, with a guest appearance in 2014, BBC) and Natalie Dormer (GAME OF THRONES, appearing from 2012 to 2016 in the HBO series) and Stanley Tucci (Oscar nominated for THE LOVELY BONES ,2009, Dreamworks).
The majority of the film was shot in a massive set at Shepperton Studios that was built to resemble an underground military missle silo built into caverns.
In the near future, a new pandemic has broken out, driving people into a bloodthirsty rage. The world is so caught off guard by how quickly this spreads that a large group of survivors, men, women and children, take refuge in said underground military bunkers. There, they work frantically to try and seek some sort of cure, and if they can, discover Patient Zero, the first of the infected (Odd Doctor Who trivia (Matt Smith’s first full episode as the Doctor, “The Eleventh Hour”, he spent a good bit of time looking for PRISONER zero. Back to the review.).
Morgan (Matt Smith, sporting a Midwestern accent) has been bitten but unlike many, has not turned into one of the rampaging creatures (referred to as “the infected”). Instead, he can communicate with the transformed in their own language (that this is never explored in more detail made me wonder if the film had been drastically cut down) as well as using music to set off the murderous victims of the plague.
Then one day, they bring in The Professor (Stanley Tucci), who not only is unaffected by the music, but also speaks in a calm clear manner. However, we also feel that underneath his demeanor is this seething rage, waiting to get out, and tear out the throats of all around.
The scenes between Smith and Tucci work wonderfully well, as if in a zombie film version of the Clarice /Hannibal Lector scenes from SILENCE OF THE LAMB (1991, Orion).
Scientist Dr Rose (Natalie Dormer) is trying to get Morgan to hurry up while trying to placate Col. Knox (Clive Standen, star of the recent NBC Universal series TAKEN (2017-18) based upon Luc Bresson’s films) whose attitude is shoot them all let god sort it out.
Morgan also wants to find a cure, not only for himself but also his wife Janet (model /actress Agyness Deyn). Can they before the bunker is overrun by the ever increasing infected? Plus, watch out for those damn raging rats!!!
I don’t understand the general dismissal of this film. The cast is good, and the production values are decent.
The accent that Matt Smith uses is a bit jarring, and since most of the cast is British, why didn’t they just set the story in the U.K.?
Also, as I mentioned, there are a lot of very interesting ideas brought up but then never fully developed in the finish film, making me feel that there was some drastic editing to the movie.
However, once Stanley Tucci shows up, PATIENT ZERO hums along quite nicely, with the exchanges between Morgan and The Professor holding our attention. The idea that the disease is merely releasing the rage contained in all of us is a good one and adds a bit of brains to the usual zombie fare.
I don’t think you will be disappointed if you watch this film without comparing it to films like DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978, UFD). It is a nice variation to the apocalyptic zombie film, with some novel additions.
I do hope that a Blu Ray with commentary track is in its future, as I would love to hear about the behind the scenes of PATIENT ZERO.
Currently, director Ruzowitzky is working on The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which is based on Bram Stoker‘s Dracula . I look forward to his new additions to genre films.
Check out PATIENT ZERO.
–Kevin G Shinnick
ZOMBIES
Apocalypse
Matt Smith
Natalie Dormer
Stanley Tucci
original Spanish language credit
Then one day, they bring in The Professor (Stanley Tucci), who not only is unaffected by the music, but also speaks in a calm clear manner. However, we also feel that underneath his demeanor is this seething rage, waiting to get out, and tear out the throats of all around. 
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