U.S. DVD Release
August, a priest who has been away on missionary work, returns home upon hearing of the death of his sister Christina from a drug overdose. His plan is to take in his sister’s young daughter Mia and raise her. His reason for this, aside from the fact that she is his niece, is that Christina was also known as Princess, and Princess was an incredibly popular porn star who chose to raise her daughter in the brothel that she worked and lived. August had tried before to take his sister away from this life, yet this was to no avail.
Now he plans to get Mia as far away from this world as possible. Initially though he wants the company that produces the porn his sister starred in to be taken off Continue reading »
DVD Release
Climb into the mind of a lunatic and stay for a while. Jan (Alice) Svankmajer will take you there and drop you off in this relentless test of judgment and sanity. Borrowing heavily from two tales by Edgar Allan Poe, the master of the macabre, Lunacy just might make you a bit uncomfortable. The first half, based on Poe’s The Premature Burial, introduces us to the grieving lunatic and the mad man determined to help him. It delves into the most beautiful scene of blasphemy, which will be indelibly branded in your memories. The second half is based on Poe’s The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether. Chickens run wild, meat has a mind of it’s own and the patients enjoy their freedom within the walls of an asylum. But alas, our lead lunatic learns of Continue reading »
DVD Release
Unable to bear a child of her own, the desire to parent becomes an obsession for Bozenka Horak. Everywhere she looks she sees mothers and children, which only adds to her torment. While clearing some newly acquired land, her husband Karel digs up a small stump that resembles a baby; he cleans it up and presents it to Bozenka and so becomes Otik. Apparently her passion somehow transfers to the hunk of wood to give it life. If you’re familiar with Jan Svankmajer’s work, you’ll know of his fixation with food and eating; Little Otik is no exception. This little guy steps up to the plate with an insatiable appetite that soon has the authorities making inquires about all the missing people. The stop motion animation of Otik is creepy as hell Continue reading »
DVD Release
This is not the children’s story, but rather a nightmarish vision that borrowed the theme of a well known tale. A fly gets trapped in the clockwork of an artificial insemination factory, causing the “Super-Seed” machine to malfunction. The fly doesn’t make it, but the result of its poor flight plan is the birth of Tom Thumb. A mixture of stop motion animation, live action and an obscure imagination guide you through the birth, kidnapping and escape of this little adventurer as he fights his way back to his dear papa. This little gem should keep your attention, as there are plenty of interesting characters and always some sort of creepy crawly making its way across the screen. There is very little dialog but the few lines there are, are sure to generate a chuckle.
DVD Release
It all starts in the Museum Of Dangerous Books And Papers, with a kidnapping and the theft of an ancient scroll. Our hero, a sentient, metal head with the ability to screw itself into various robotic bodies, is called upon by Abe Lincoln to assist with this crisis. The mission at hand churns up some personal history for Screw-On Head and gives us some insight to all the characters involved. In turn we realize that this is no ordinary mission, but a personal vendetta for the hero. In just 22 minutes you’ll experience encounters with a werewolf, a vampire, a zombie, cannibals, a crowned monkey and a dead dog on wheels. The art style is remarkable and will be easily recognized by fans of Mike (Hellboy) Mignola. Short but decadently sweet, this animation packs one hell of a punch and the one-liners are sure to leave you smiling.
DVD Release
While cleaning the tank at a sewage treatment plant, a worker fishes out an unidentifiable fleshy monstrosity. Martin, the shift leader, knowing there’s a market for strange biological specimens, sells it to an agent that deals with the collectors of these oddities. While the rival collectors argue over ownership of this most recent acquisition, the deformed human abominations come to life and escape; the war is on. The characters will have you laughing, drooling (Sheila, played by Jacqueline Lovell is half naked throughout) and smacking your forehead. The freak puppets are remarkably well done and quite disturbing; you may even catch Continue reading »
DVD Release
Four friends venture into the mountains for an afternoon picnic, only to discover that evil forces have been unleashed by the reading of an ancient book. Told in flashback style by a traumatized member of the party, Equinox borrows heavily from the tales of H.P. Lovecraft and radiates a 50’s giant monster movie feel. Striking similarities with cult classic The Evil Dead, will have it’s fans wondering if this is mere coincidence or if Sam (Evil Dead) Raimi was familiar with this little semi-precious gem. This frugal budget camp-fest has lots of impressive stop-motion animated monsters, creepy close-ups of some less than savory characters and bad, yet Continue reading »
El Super Snore
El Superbeasto is an all-around charming, debonair, successful masked Mexican wrestler on the prowl for better film roles, more money and the next best piece of ass that walks past. When the ultimate piece of ass (voiced by Rosario Dawson) is kidnapped by the evil Dr. Satan for a sinister marriage ritual, Superbeasto must join forces with his smoking hot sister, her horny robot companion and a little old man with large testicles in order to save her.
Zombie’s animated homage to the cartoon sleaze of the 70s and 80s finally sees the light of day and it’s easy to understand why this over-budgeted, under-scripted cult cinema monster mash took so damn long to hit shelves… Continue reading »
OOP DVD
Dumbland (2002)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Subversive Cinema / 2006
Directed by David Lynch
Written by David Lynch
Cast: Animated (voice of David Lynch)
Review by James Garfield
A series of eight brief anecdotes involving a stupid macho jerk and his family: The Neighbor, The Treadmill, The Doctor, A Friend Visits, Get Continue reading »
DVD Release
The Planet Express team return, this time Leela takes up arms with an outlaw Feminist group in order to save a strange, living rock from being demolished by Amy Wong’s father Leo. After a near fatal accident, Fry develops the ability to hear people’s thoughts which makes him the prime candidate for savior of a lost alien race. A secret society will stop at nothing to ensure Fry’s success, even at the expense of Leela, Fry and Bender’s friendships.
The fourth film in and they’re already sucking? What the hell. Honestly, everything you’ve come to expect is here:
Fry is a dunce, Bender makes hilarious Continue reading »
