CUTTING CLASS (1989) UHD Blu-ray Review

CUTTING CLASS (1989) d. Rospo Pallenberg (USA)

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Welcome to Episode #9 of THE STACK!

Tonight, we'll take a look at the late-to-the-party slasher, Cutting Class, best-known today for its inclusion of a certain future Hollywood superstar named Brad Pitt, now available from MVD as part of their 4K Laserdisc Rewind Collection. In addition to Mr. Pitt, the film also stars Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather), Donovan Leitch (The Blob), Roddy McDowall (Fright Night), and Martin Mull.

AUDITION (1999) Blu-ray Review

Audition (1999) d. Takashi Miike (Japan/S. Korea) (115 min)

After seven years of mourning and encouraged by his teenage son to find a new wife, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) seeks the advice of a business colleague (Jun Kunimura) within the film company they work for. Together, they hit upon the perfect plan: Staging an audition for actresses, ostensibly for a new feature project, but in reality hoping to find the new ideal woman to share Aoyama’s life. While interviewing a series of candidates, the lonely widower becomes enchanted by Asami (Eihi Shiina), a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. The two seem to instantly fall for each other, but things take a very dark and twisted turn (or three) as we discover Asami isn't all she seems to be...

THE BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION (2018) DVD review

Before we dive into the reviews proper, we pause now for a little background information, courtesy of Phil Hardy’s Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction:

“Just before his death in 1969, Karloff acted in scenes for four films by Mexican producer Enrique Vergara. According to Jack Hill, the production circumstances of these pictures were disastrous. Karloff had rejected the four scripts sent to him by Vergara, and Hill, who shared the services of Karloff’s lawyer, was asked to rewrite them. Karloff then agreed to do them provided all scenes involving him would be shot in Hollywood because it was exceedingly painful for him to move about. The scenes were shot [by Hill] in 1968. Shortly afterwards, Karloff died, but so did Vergara.

“All the remaining scenes were shot later in Mexico without Hill’s knowledge and the finished products, released in 1971, bore little relation to the scripts Hill had used to do the Karloff scenes. Apparently American International tried to buy the shots with Karloff in order to make other films with them, but the legal and copyright problems due to Vergara’s death made this impracticable. This Mexican episode put a sad end on Karloff’s long and distinguished career. Some credits list Juan Ibañez as being responsible for the scenes added after Karloff’s death, but since many of these credits contain pseudonyms, it may be an injustice to include his name as director.”

So, there you go.

"That was very well said, young man..."

THE GLASS COFFIN (2016) DVD review

The Glass Coffin (2016) d. Zubillaga, Haritz (Spain) (1st viewing) 77 min

On her way to receive a lifetime achievement award, acclaimed actress Amanda (Paola Bontempi) finds herself rerouted into a world of humiliation and pain when her limousine is commandeered by a stranger, one with an axe to grind and the means (and desire) to wield it. The cavernous luxury vehicle, the epitome of opulence and privilege, is transformed into the world’s most posh rolling torture chamber, as the increasingly desperate thespian attempts to reason with the disembodied voice (conveyed, appropriately enough, through a voice modulator akin to Saw’s “I want to play a game.”) transmitting through the multitude of widescreen TV screens, as well as the masked chauffeur ready to obey his master’s cruel commands.

LYCAN (2017) DVD review

Lycan (2017) d. Land, Bev (USA) (1st viewing) 98 min

Six high schoolers in Talbot County, GA, assigned to “rediscover a moment in history” for a class project, head off into the woods in search of a local legend about a werewolf. Set in 1986 (presumably to eliminate the presence of cell phones and the internet) and populated with attractive young people who occasionally take their clothes off, it’s clear that writer/director Land knows his target audience. The cinematography and sound design are proficient enough for a presumably humble budget, and there are a couple of snazzy horror moments (the shot of a girl being spirited away from her tent is both simple and shocking, and there’s an interesting twist heading into the third act) even as the clichés run fast and furious.

MASSACRE GUN, BLIND WOMAN'S CURSE, DAY OF ANGER Blu-ray Reviews

Having devoted a full review to the lone full-on horror outing in the mix – the supremely tawdry and sleazy witch-hunting epic Mark of the Devil – the focus for this installment will be the remainder of Arrow Video’first wave of U.S. releases, an eclectic grouping of the black-and-white Japanese crime thriller Massacre Gun, that same country’s half Samurai gang/half ghost revenge yarn Blind Woman’s Curse, and the Lee Van Cleef spaghetti western Day of Anger. Released by MVD Entertainment Group, each marks out a very distinct corner, both aesthetically and narratively – the kind of exotic buffet courageous cineastes hunger for and revel in discovering.