Release Date: July 29th, 2008
Running Time: 113 minutes

The Film

I am a boxing fan to the core. The recent rise of MMA, and subsequent criticism of boxing, has not sat well with me. I’ve given MMA numerous chances to draw me in, but I’ve never been able to get invested in the sport like I am with boxing. Something about the mixing and deterioration of different fighting styles into one, amorphous grapple-fest doesn’t appeal to me. Never Back Down stumbles in its attempt to appeal to both tweens and MMA fans, resulting in a film that doesn’t pack a serious dramatic punch or contain the brutality of a classic like Bloodsport.

The film stars Sean Faris as Jack Tyler, a high school senior who is kicked out of school for fighting and relocates to Orlando, Florida with his family. By the time he arrives at his new school he is already infamous due to his fight being posted on YouTube. This garners him the attention of beauty Baja Miller (Amber Heard), and puts him in the target of school king Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet). Jake is invited to a lavish house party, only to be beaten up and humiliated by Ryan. Pissed off and with revenge on the brain, Jake signs up for martial arts training from a local MMA master named Jean Rocha (Djimon Hounsou). Initially wanting only to obtain the necessary skills to whip Ryan, Jake finds the training to be a way to work out his issues and better himself.

The plot is pretty cookie-cutter. The new kid on the block has to overcome the legendary bully, and maybe get the girl. What were you expecting, Shakespeare? On a positive note, the fight scenes are very well done, especially in this “Extended Beatdown Edition.” The fights contain more brutal sound effects and extended sequences. However, without the bloody, entertaining benefits of a true R rating, the lack of an interesting plot really hurts the film. The dramatic moments are awkward at best, serving only as transitions between the fighting. Never Back Down isn’t a bad film, it just doesn’t offer anything new to the genre other than a focus on MMA.

The DVD

The video is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors and flesh tones are accurate for the most part, though the background can seem oversaturated at times and result in a loss of detail. Grain is minimal and only the occasional compression artifact pops up.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/Spanish subtitles. The only thing that matters here is the fight scenes, and they do not disappoint. Every impact, every blow comes through with incredible, brutal detail. Likewise, the atmospheric crowd effects create an incredible, energetic ambience. This is an aggressive, unforgiving mix during these moments.

The Extras

Commentary is offered by Director Jeff Wadlow, Writer Chris Hauty, and Sean Faris. This isn’t the most intellectual film, so don’t expect a filmmaking lesson. However, there is some decent information about filming fight sequences, as well as some fun anecdotes relating to those scenes

11 Deleted/Extended Scenes are available. I’m not a fan of deleted scenes; they were cut for a reason. These are no exception.

“Mix It Up: Bringing MMA to the Big Screen” is an 8-minute introduction to the world of MMA and the various fighting styles it encompasses.

“Blow-By-Blow: Breaking Down the Fights” is the best featurette on the set, perhaps even more entertaining than the film itself. This offers over 40 minutes of in-depth analysis covering every major fight scene in the film.

“Star Power: Djimon in Training” is a short montage showing Djimon learning different fighting styles.

“The Thrill of the Fight: Choreographing MMA” is a very short piece with the stunt coordinator.

Lastly, “Training the Cast” is a 2-minute EPK piece with interviews from the cast discussing their experiences with MMA.

Final Thoughts

Never Back Down is a predictable, but somewhat entertaining, combat film with some fun moments, but I’d take Bloodsport over it any day of the week.

Release Date: July 29th, 2008
Running Time: 1122 minutes

The Show

This summer has seen a score of quality comic book films: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, and Hellboy 2. Loaded with tons of eye candy special effects and A-list actors, you could argue that 2008 is the year that comic book films came into their own. However, not all comic books can be huge blockbusters. Others serve their purpose better on television. Witchblade: The Complete Series is an impressive adaptation, especially for TV, but encountered some bad situations that plunged it into cancellation and obscurity.

Based of the 1995 comic, the 2001 television series stars Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini, a NYC cop going through a particularly rough spot after both her father and close friend are murdered. Along with her partner Danny (Will Yun Lee), Sara confronts the villain she believes is responsible for the murders. A gunfight ensues in a museum, and an artifact known as “The Witchblade” attaches itself to Sara’s wrist. After a giant explosion Sara wakes up unhurt, and with a whole lot of power. The Witchblade is a weapon that chooses a woman to bear it, bestowing them with superhero-like abilities. Powerful women throughout history have donned the Witchblade, and now it has chosen Sara.

After Danny is shot in front of Sara, the Witchblade shows its true power, transforming into a gauntlet/sword that is capable of deflecting bullets. With all those close to her dead, and possessing an ancient artifact of unspeakable power, Sara is at a loss. Then along comes Kenneth Irons (Anthony Cistaro), a man who has a wealth of knowledge and seems more than willing to help, but in reality has his own plans for the Witchblade.

The first season plays out well, exploring Sara’s development as well as the mythology of the Witchblade as it assists her in fighting crime and other nasty things that go bump in the night. The season is very much like a normal cop procedural, except with the supernatural twist of the Witchblade. Unfortunately, the second season is a mess. The show runners weren’t aware they were going to have a second season until the last minute, so what did they decide to do? They rebooted the series! Sara uses the Witchblade to reverse time to when Danny was shot, only this time she saves his life. Sara doesn’t really remember any of the first season, and the resulting alternate time line is far more focused on a crime-of-the-week than building any real mythology. Everything that made the series unique and interesting is lost; even the actors seem tired with the redundancy.

Witchblade was a cop show for people who hated cop shows. It offered a unique twist that opened up the world to mystical storylines while retaining the feel of a gritty, NYPD Blue type show. Who knows where the series would have gone, but with an upcoming feature film, you can be assured that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Witchblade.

The 7-disc set contains all 23 episodes from the series as well as the TV movie: “Witchblade,” “Parallax,” “Conundrum,” “Diplopia,” “Sacrifice,” “Legion,” “Maelstrom,” “Periculum,” “Thanatopsis,” “Apprehension,” “Convergence,” “Transcendence,” “Emergence,” “Destiny,” “Agape,” “Consectatio,” “Static,” “Nailed,” “Lagrimas,” “Hierophant,” “Veritas,” “Parabolic,” “Palindrome,” and “Ubique.”

The Discs

The video is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. While the level of detail is generally decent, the rest of the image leaves something to be desired. The overall picture is soft and plagued with grain. The colors are also washed out and lack any substantial vibrancy. Overall it just feels like a dulled viewing experience.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with English subtitles. This is a standard TV track: clean and balanced, but completely plain. Some basic front channel separation livens things up, but it still sounds like you are watching a regular broadcast.

The Extras

“Gabriel’s Philosophical Insights” are offered on ten episodes and consist of short clips with the character Gabriel discussing topics that are relevant to those episodes.

“Wielding the Blade” is a 7-minute featurette with interviews from the crew discussing the infamous blade and its design.

“Bringing the Blade to Life” is a 12-minute promotional piece on adapting the comic to the screen, and also serves as a general overview to the characters and mythology.

Lastly, Casting Sessions are offered for: Anthony Cistaro, David Chokachi, Yancy Butler, Eric Etabari, and Will Yun Lee.

Final Thoughts

Witchblade: The Complete Series is an uneven experience. Half of the series shows tons of promise, while the other half pitters off. Not that impressive technically, I’d recommend renting it first before shelling out cash for the 7-disc set.

Release Date: July 22nd, 2008
Running Time: 101 minutes

The Film

Independent horror is very sporadic in quality. Some films are simply excellent (Hatchet), while a gaggle of others are absolute wastes of time. Independent horror used to be a way for filmmakers to make a gnarly film at little cost and gain recognition. Today it seems like most horror films are lacking in quality due to being unoriginal or impassionate. However, every once in a while I’ll read about a niche horror film and get excited, hoping it will be the rare diamond in the horror rough. Despite the heavy praise featured on the jacket, I found The Last Winter to be a very disappointing “horror” film, and far from “one of the scariest movies of the year” as one critic lauded.

The film takes place in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska at an oil drilling base set up to determine how to drill in the area. Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman) returns from corporate to find two new members of the crew: environment engineers sent to make sure the company adheres to environmental restrictions. Hoffman (James LeGros), and his hardcore environmentalist attitude, really bothers Ed, not to mention the fact that he is sleeping with Ed’s ex, Abby (Connie Britton).
Hoffman begins to notice very odd changes in the weather, as well as a certain maliciousness in the wind he has never seen before. Likewise, a younger crew member named Max becomes more and more aloof and distracted, to the point where he wanders off in a stupor and freezes to death. As more members of the crew become emotionally unstable, Hoffman believes that sour gas leaking in the area is the source of their problems, and advises that everyone leave immediately.

Ed isn’t having it. He thinks Hoffman is poisoning the crew with his rhetoric. However, as more horrible events take place, even Ed is forced to believe that something is off. After a small plane crashes into their base, Ed and Hoffman must search for help in the stark Alaskan wilderness before they all succumb to whatever is happening.

If that sounds vague, it’s because the film never nails down what is really happening. Over an hour into the movie I still had no clue exactly what I was supposed to be afraid of. Was it just nature? Is there a creature out there? The film lacks an identity, and loses a lot of its impact due to this. Freak weather is only creepy for so long. I found myself waiting for it to get suspenseful, waiting for a great moment, but it never came. Instead I was pelted with heavy-handed environmentalist issues that lacked any subtlety. To top it all off, the film felt entirely amateurish with “scary” camera angles and other artsy moments that fell flat.

I was frustrated after watching The Last Winter because there was so much promise. The Alaskan setting was terrifying, and a lot of focus was put on this mysterious box covering an old oil well valve, but the idea was never paid off in any way. The film also took a creature turn, but even that didn’t make much sense. In short, I felt that The Last Winter tried to be too many things at once, and wasn’t very good at any of them.

The DVD

The video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. It’s not the prettiest transfer out there. Heavy film grain and some compression artifacts are a constant problem. Also, the outdoor scenes appear to suffer from white crush, with much of the detail being drowned out in total white blobs. I have to imagine there was at least some detail in the Alaskan scenery, not just pure, uniform white throughout.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/Spanish subtitles. Dialogue sounded soft at times compared to the rest of the elements, but some decent surround effects were used, particularly to display the ominous wind.

The Extras

Commentary is offered with Director/Co-Writer Larry Fessenden. He feels very strongly about his work and takes the time to explain many of his creative and stylistic choices.

A feature-length documentary “Making of The Last Winter” is offered that also includes Deleted Scenes and an interview with Director Larry Fessenden. I find that documentaries on independent films are far more interesting and passionate that studio-produced ones. This is no exception. I may not like the film, but this is a well put together documentary.

Final Thoughts

The Last Winter didn’t click with me. Perhaps I had the wrong expectations, but this eco-thriller did not connect with me at all.

Release Date: July 15th, 2008
Running Time: 89 minutes

The Film

I am officially tired of Asian ghost “horror” films, and more specifically, American remakes of those films. The genre has been force fed to us since The Ring, the first major commercially successful one, and ironically, the high point. Shutter: Unrated isn’t necessarily a bad film, the market has just been oversaturated with Asian horror to the point where it no longer holds the same creepy impact it once had.

The film stars Joshua Jackson and Rachel Taylor as Benjamin and Jane Shaw. The newlyweds head to Japan to both celebrate their honeymoon, and for a photography job that Ben landed. The trip starts off on the wrong foot when Jane hits a woman on a back road, but the body cannot be found. This event, coupled with Ben’s job, cuts the honeymoon short and leaves Jane isolated with her guilty thoughts in a strange land. Jane soon develops a roll of film and notices an odd light in the pictures. Ben sees the same flares in pictures he is taking for his job. Ben’s assistant informs him about the concept of “spirit pictures,” photographs that show the ghosts of angry souls that still haunt the world. They investigate further, and soon begin to have visions of the very same girl that they hit. As the instances become more unsettling, and ultimately dangerous, Ben and Jane must uncover the truth about the girl before they become victims to the spirit’s rage.

The idea of spirit photography is interesting enough, but the film explores it in far too mundane a fashion. I’ve seen enough of these films to know that flashing images and loud music cues aren’t scary—just startling. All of the “scare” moments seem very repetitive in nature, and rob the film of any true forward momentum. Maybe I am too closed-minded for Asian horror these days, but the film just didn’t scare me, and thus failed as a horror experience.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 1.85:1, 1080p HD transfer. This is another example that proves Fox knows what they are doing with the format. Minor film grain and some black crush in the darkest areas were the only negative aspects I noticed. The colors are natural, the level of detail is noteworthy in the foreground and background, and the transfer is free of compression artifacts.

The audio is offered in English DTS HD Master Lossless Audio 5.1 Surround Sound, as well as French/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/Spanish/Cantonese/Korean/Mandarin subtitles. The surround speakers are used well to accentuate the creepy mood and build atmosphere. The positioning of the audio is also very realistic and accurate. Dialogue is balanced in the overall mix as well. It’s not the best I have heard, but certainly exceeded my expectations.

The Extras

The disc is loaded with special features, some of which are intriguing, others not so much.

Commentary is offered with Production Executive Alex Sundell, Screenwriter Luke Dawson, and Rachael Taylor. I was surprised to hear how coherent and structured this track was, with all of the participants providing legitimately interesting comments about the production.

“A Ghost in the Lens” is an 8-minute featurette that looks at Japanese ghost folklore, and compares it with that of the west.

“A Cultural Divide” is a 9-minute piece documenting the cast and crew’s experience filming in Japan and how that helped the overall production.

“The Director: Masayuki Ochiai” (9 minutes) and “A Conversation with Luke Dawson” (5 minutes) are interview featurettes with the director and screenwriter.

“Create Your Own Phantom Photo” (4 minutes) shows how Photoshop can be used to make fake ghost pictures.

“The Hunt for the Haunt” is a generic, 2-minute text piece with ghost hunting “tips.”

“History of Spirit Photography” is a 5-minute featurette on exactly that—the history of capturing ghosts on film.

“In Character with Joshua Jackson” is a 2-minute EPK interview.

The “Japanese Spirit Photography Videos” section runs 17 minutes and is a collection of “ghosts” caught on tape or film.

27 minutes of Deleted/Alternate scenes don’t show anything that would have changed the outcome of the movie. Lastly, an Alternate Ending is offered as well.

Final Thoughts

Shutters: Unrated isn’t nearly as bad as some other ghost films that have come out recently, it is just too tepid for its own good. Fans of Asian horror may get a kick or two out of it, but personally, I need a break from the genre.

Release Date: July 15h, 2008
Running Time: 83 minutes

The Film

I’m not opposed to family films, I just wish filmmakers would place more trust in the intelligence of the audience. Too often do these films rely on lame sight gags and over-the-top situations that try to force laughs from people. Big is favored over clever. College Road Trip misses the mark by forcing itself into a rating, and audience, that doesn’t fit the core material of the story.

The film stars Martin Lawrence as police chief, and overprotective father, James Porter. His daughter Melanie (Raven Symone) is ready for college, and he is dead set on her going to Northwestern University because it’s close to home so he can keep a watchful eye on her. Unbeknownst to James, Melanie has gotten herself an interview at Georgetown, 700 miles away, for their pre-law program. Melanie was planning on hitching a ride with her friends to Georgetown, but James is so taken aback upon learning the news that he decides to drive Melanie himself, in hopes to convince her to go to Northwestern along the way. To further complicate things, Melanie’s younger brother Trey (Eshaya Draper) stows away in the van with his pet pig! What ensues is a pretty standard family comedy of errors. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong, whether it is the GPS malfunctioning, having to endure a hideously upbeat father/daughter combo, or unexpectedly crashing various events.

College Road Trip isn’t awful, it is just another example of a wholly unoriginal, rehashed family film. All of the gags and misunderstandings are stock and tired. It fails to be genuinely funny, and is instead content to bring out a chuckle every now and again. This really should have been a PG-13, or even an R-rated film. The main character is a late teenager looking at colleges; how is that in any way family film material? I think there was a missed opportunity for a coming-of-age story, much in the vein of American Pie, that could have really appealed to high school students.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 2.40:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. This is a very strong transfer, featuring deep blacks, bold colors, and spot-on flesh tones. Plenty of detail is visible in both the foreground and background. The only very minor problem I noticed was some occasional edge enhancement.

The audio is offered in English PCM (48kHz / 24-bit) 5.1 Surround Sound as well as English/French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. The track is consistently solid, but not overly dynamic in any way. Most of the audio comes from the front channel, with the rears occasionally being used for ambient effects or to fill the soundstage with music. Everything is balanced and clear so you can’t really expect or ask for much more than that with a comedy film.

The Extras

Two commentary tracks are offered. The first is with Director Roger Kumble and Raven Symone. They work together well and have a lot to say about the production. The second track, featuring writers Emi Mochizuki and Carrie Evans, is far less informative and not worth listening to.

The “Double Dutch Bus” music video with Raven and Donny Osmond is offered, as well as the 4-minute making-of featurette “On the Set: ‘Double Dutch Bus.’”

“Raven’s Video Diary” is a 10-minute featurette mix of a promotional footage and footage shot by Raven on set. For an EPK piece it is nice to have the personal touch by Raven, but you still won’t learn much here.

10 Deleted Scenes run 13-minutes and have optional commentary by Kumble. An Alternate Beginning and two Alternate Endings are available as well.

A 3-minute Gag Reel and Previews round out the special features.

Final Thoughts

College Road Trip is aimed at a very specific audience: families with young kids. It is an odd choice considering the age of the main character in the film. Still, there are far worse ways to entertain your children for 83 minutes.

Release Date: July 15th, 2008
Running Time: 94 minutes

The Film

The dance film: it has evolved over the decades into the hyper-stylized, MTV generation hip-hop frenzy that is its current embodiment. Say what you will about the films, but they always seem to speak to a large youth demographic, and thus continue to make money and be churned out in rapid succession. Step Up 2: The Streets is more of the same, and may be a sign that dance films are once again heading into an inevitable recession.

The film focuses on a character named Andie (Briana Evigan), a talented street dancer and troublemaker who only has one chance to avoid being shipped off to relatives in Texas—making it into the elite Maryland School of the Arts. Despite her street dancing style not being a perfect fit at the more classically focused school, she is given a chance based on her talent and potential. Overcoming the initial struggle of transition, Andie soon befriends various outcasts from the school, including Chase (Robert Hoffman) and Moose (Adam G. Sevani). Chase also has in interest in street dancing and has wanted to form a MSA crew for some time in order to compete in the annual tournament known as “The Streets.” Since Andie’s old crew, particularly lead dancer Tuck (Black Thomas) isn’t down with her new school and friends, Andie goes along with Chase’s plan and forms a crew in order to teach a lesson to her former crew in The Streets. All of this happens while Andie finds love and grows as a person because, as you know from these films, dancing can solve all your problems. OK, that’s a little harsh, but you get the point: Andie goes through all the stock plot points that are staples to the genre.

Step Up 2: The Streets is like every other dance movie that has come other, whether it is Save The Last Dance or You Got Served. The problem is that so many of these films have been made in the past few years that if you don’t offer anything new, the whole experience winds up feeling stale. Frankly, I felt that the dancing was far better choreographed and filmed in You Got Served. There is one salsa sequence that is the best moment in the film, yet it is tonally different from all the other dancing. It is great to see the actors perform some a slick, classic dance, but at the same time the entire appeal to the film is the hip-hop dancing, making it feel somewhat disjointed.

With a stock plot and characters, and nothing groundbreaking in the dance numbers, Step Up 2: The Streets is just another standard entry in the genre instead of being a fresh, new experience.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. This isn’t one of the better transfers I have been, but it isn’t terrible either. The film retains a deliberate level of grittiness and looks a bit washed out, so it isn’t the sharpest looking transfer out there. Black levels are unfortunately inconsistent and a few instances of edge enhancement caught my eye. On the positive side, there are no compression artifacts and it does have a much higher level of detail than standard definition.

The audio is offered in English PCM 5.1 Surround Sound as well as English/French/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. The hip-hop music sounds phenomenal, with a constant thumping bass that will leave you vibrating after the film is over. However, I feel they missed a great opportunity to immerse the viewer in the atmosphere. Ambient effects do exist, but with this type of film they could have been bolstered to create a realistic sense of the pulsating energy present during the dance sequences. Lastly, the dialogue is balanced for the most part, but can occasionally get drowned out by the music.

The Extras

“Thru Fresh Eyes” is a 12-minute making-of piece with interviews from the cast and crew discussing dance and how the film came together.

“Outlaws of Hip Hop – Meet the ‘411’” is a 5-minute look at the real life underground dance group.

8 Deleted Scenes runs 22 minutes and include the full versions of two dance sequences only briefly seen in the film.

6 Music Videos are offered that total 23 minutes: “Low” by Flo Rida, “Killa” by Cherish, “Hypnotized” by Plies, “Ching-a-ling” by Missy Elliot, “Let It Go” by Brit and Alex, and the Blooper video “Is It You?”

Finally, a 2-minute video prank with Robert Hoffman is offered, as well as Easter Eggs and Previews.

Final Thoughts

Step Up 2: The Streets is full of the high-octane, charged dance sequences the genre is known for, but I didn’t feel like it brought anything revolutionary to the table. An average technical transfer and tepid special features don’t help either. Even if you are a fan of dance films, you may want to rent this one first.

Release Date: July 15th, 2008
Running Time: 88 minutes

The Film

Mental asylums are creepy, that’s fact. The setting has been a horror staple for as long as the genre has existed. Unfortunately, so many films have focused on these that the eerie nature of the facilities has lost its impact on audiences. Insanitarium bypasses a unique plot for something equally as important in the horror genre: an old school bloodbath.

Directed by Jeff Buhler, the film stars Jesse Metcalf as Jack. After his mother died, he was forced to have his sister Lilly (Kiele Sanchez) committed because she began to struggle with mental problems and became a danger to herself. Boy did he choose the wrong asylum. They won’t let Jack see Lilly; they consider her a ward of the state. In order to get close to Lilly, Jack fakes insanity to get committed to the same asylum. Dr. Gianetti (Peter Stormare) is a lunatic rapist who runs the joint and is running experiments on the patients. He has created a new drug called Orpheum that removes people’s personalities and reduces them to their most basic instincts, at which point Dr. Gianetti would be able to rebuild a healthy persona. Only things don’t go that way. All of the patients are exposed to the drug and everyone turns into cannibalistic, raging lunatics! Jack and Lilly must escape the labyrinth-like asylum before their fellow inmates devour them.

Normally a film like Insanitarium wouldn’t appeal to me, but Buhler really nailed a solid mood for the film. The plot and characters aren’t anything special, but he doesn’t wimp out with the gore effects. This is a bloody movie that relishes the fun thrills it provides. With solid acting from some name players and a healthy amount of the red stuff, Insanitarium winds up being a mindless, but damn fun, ride.

The DVD

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. I’m getting far too used to reviewing Blu-ray titles; it is making standard def ones hard to judge. Insanitarium looked fine to me, but honestly, my standards for direct-to-DVD horror aren’t too high. Black levels are genuinely good. The blood is vibrant and clear. Grain is a problem, especially in darker scenes, but it is to be expected. There’s nothing about the transfer that detracts terribly from the experience.

The audio is offered in English/Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, French Dolby Surround, and Thai/Spanish Stereo with English/French/Korean/Spanish/Thai/Cantonese/Portuguese Subtitles. This is an average horror track, employing decent surround effects to up the spookiness. Dialogue, music, and effects are all balanced as well. The atmospheric effects could have been bolstered a bit to enhance the ambiance, but overall the track gets the job done.

The Extras

“Inside the Asylum: Jeff Buhler & Jesse Metcalf” is an 8-minute interview with the director and star giving very general information about working on the film.

“Inside the Asylum: Patients” is another 8-minute featurette that focuses on the acting preparation given to the actors playing the insane patients.

Three Deleted Scenes encompass an unnecessary subplot.

Lastly, Storyboards, Trailers, and a Digital Copy of the film are offered.

Final Thoughts

As far as direct-to-DVD horror films go, Insanitarium is at the top of the list. It would make a perfect late-night rental for a group of horror fans looking to pass the time with some quality B-movie gore.

Release Date: July 8th, 2008
Running Time: 93 minutes

The Film

Poor marketing can really screw a film. When the trailer for The Ruins came out, I had no desire whatsoever to see the film. It seemed like another Turistas, or worse. However, I began to hear from hardcore horror fans that the film was surprisingly shocking and competent. Despite any negative buzz that may have come from the trailer, The Ruins is actually a bold horror film, and certainly not for the squeamish.

The film starts out like you would expect: four college grads are partying in Mexico, enjoying all the culture found in margaritas and pools. Jonathan Tucker stars as Jeff, a med student and the closest thing to the leader of the group. His girlfriend is Amy (Jena Malone), a somewhat whiny girl who is content to soak in the sun. Joining them are Stacy (Laura Ramsey), a fun-loving blonde, and her boyfriend Eric (Shawn Ashmore). At the resort, a German vacationer named Mathias (Joe Anderson) invites the crew to visit some ruins that aren’t on the map. His brother accompanied an archeologist there, and Mathias is looking to meet up with them. Deciding that they need to experience at least some culture before they leave, the group heads out to the ruins.

They arrive at a temple completely covered in a strange plant. Immediately a group of local Mayans surround them, sporting guns and bows and arrows. They kill Mathias’ friend, forcing the group to seek refuge at the top of the temple. The locals set up camp below, determined not to let the kids leave. An accident makes their stranding even worse, and they soon realize that the locals have quarantined them because they touched the plants on the temple. A frantic search for a ringing cell phone inside the temple leads to the realization that the plant is alive—and it wants to kill them all.

As corny as a killer plant movie could be, The Ruins has an excellent grasp on the material. The plant is unique, it has a presence, it is smart, and it is never explained. You don’t see the “brain” of the plant. It is everywhere. It tries to get inside you while you sleep. As soon as people die, it claims the bodies for its own. It is an ominous, terrifying force of nature with infinite patience, content to wait for its prey to weaken. This leads to some truly horrific gore scenes, including an amputation with a hunting knife, and literally cutting the plant out of people. The psychological degeneration of the characters is handled much like Bug, but without the ambiguity. These things are happening, and there is no escape.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 2.35:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. I immediately noticed how deep the blacks were—some of the best I have seen on the format. The shades of green in the jungle are fantastic as well, with subtle differences that give it more depth to avoid looking like a giant green blob. Then there is the detail, oh the detail. Gore fans will have something to look forward to. The realistic gore effects come through with a level of detail I haven’t seen in a horror film. There aren’t many scenes that can make me turn away from the screen, but this film had more than one. Lastly, the print is clean and the transfer is free of grain or compression artifacts.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound as well as French/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. Like the video transfer, the audio is awesome. Unbelievable, realistic ambience permeates the entire film. Directional effects are used when appropriate, and are never over the top. The creepy sounds from the plants will give you the chills. The various elements are all balanced in the mix, making for a genuinely frightening auditory experience.

The Extras

Commentary is offered by Director Carter Smith and Editor Jeff Betancourt. Betancourt keeps the conversation on track, throwing lots of poignant questions at Smith. It is a good listen for anyone interested.

“Making The Ruins” is a 14-minute promotional featurette discussing the usual: how the project came together, working with the cast, etc.

“Creeping Death” is a 15-minute look at the effects in the film, specifically the outstanding gore prosthetics. This is easily the best special feature on the set.

“Building the Ruins” is a 6-minute look at the sets used in the film.

Lastly, 5 Deleted Scenes are offered with optional commentary by Smith and Betancourt. There is a sequence removed that would have definitely hurt the tension in the final cut, and is a good example of proper scene deletion.

Final Thoughts

The Ruins is a wild, shocking, squirm-inducing horror film that just happens to feature one of the best transfers the genre has seen. I wholeheartedly recommend the title to any serious horror fan.

Release Date: July 8th, 2008
Running Time: 90 minutes

The Film

Ah, the Sci-Fi channel…where you can always get your late-night, B-movie fix. There is certainly no lack of material in that respect. If there’s a cheesy killer-something-or-other film to be made, Sci-Fi is all over it. Hybrid is a bit of a different effort for Sci-Fi, but ultimately the attempted psychological emphasis and reduced violence stray too far from the tested, and expected, formula.

The film stars Cory Monteith as Aaron Scates, a security dispatcher who lost his sight in an explosion. The military hooks him up with Dr. Andrea Hewlitt (Justine Bateman), a scientist that specializes in research to transplant organs between species. Ready to take her research into the human testing stage, both Dr. Hewlitt and Aaron are delighted when a museum curator named Lydia Armstrong (Tinsel Korey) brings a mortally wounded wolf to the office. Dr. Hewlitt decides to transplant the eyes of the wolf to Aaron, despite Lydia’s objections.

Along with restoring Aaron’s sight, his new wolf eyes also give him the ability to see in the dark. However, side effects begin to present themselves. Aaron begins to develop the instincts, and attitude, of a wolf, which becomes an increasingly dangerous situation. It turns out that Lydia and Aaron have something in common. She decides to take Aaron to a friend of hers for a rite-of-passage in order to balance Aaron’s human and wolf sides. The only problem is that other people have witnessed Aaron’s wild streak, and are hell-bent on destroying him.

Hybrid is far different from what I was expecting with a Sci-Fi channel werewolf movie. It has a slow build up is compounded with a lot of man and nature psychobabble that left me wondering when the slaughter was going to begin. I got so used to these Sci-Fi originals being cheesy blood fests that this new direction threw me off. In my opinion, the psychological or spiritual side of the story isn’t strong enough to be as compelling as a straight body count horror film. Know what you are going into with Hybrid: more talk, less blood.

The DVD

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The transfer isn’t stellar, but for a nothing budget film it is pretty darn good. The level of detail is solid, though it tends to dip in lower lit scenes. Colors and flesh tones are accurate. Grain and the occasional compression artifact do pop up, but not frequently enough to ruin the viewing experience.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. The mix is balanced, though I found the overall volume level a tad soft. The occasional effect pans across the front channels, but for the most part this is a standard, TV-style audio track.

The Extras

The only special feature is a preview for another film.

Final Thoughts

Hybrid is a Sci-fi channel movie, and contains all the positives and negatives that are associated with that fact. Either you are into these films, or you’re not.

Release Date: July 8th, 2008
Running Time: 182 minutes

The Show

After The X-Files went off the air in 2002 there was a noticeable lack of mainstream science-fiction on television. It wasn’t until Lost aired that conspiracy and theory junkies were once again satiated on a grand level. With the upcoming film, audiences are going to get a chance to accompany Mulder and Scully on one final adventure. The X-Files: Revelations may not be the mind-blowing revelation the title suggests, but it is a perfect reminder of just how good the show was.

Airing from 1993 to 2002, The X-Files followed FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigated the “X-Files,” unsolved or strange cases that appear to involve supernatural elements. Mulder represented the true believer, always willing to assume the most outlandish, fantastical theory, while Scully was a woman of science and facts. The classic mismatch led to one of the great partnerships in television history.

The X-Files: Revelations contains 8 episodes spread across two discs.

Disc One:

“Pilot” – Agent Scully is assigned to assist Agent Mulder with the X-Files, marking the beginning of a beautiful friendship and their journey for the truth.

“Beyond the Sea” finds the pair interrogating a psychic prisoner on death row who may hold the key to find some missing people. In a rare switch, Scully is willing to believe in the inmate’s abilities and Mulder is the skeptical one.

“The Host” is a stellar monster episode centering on a mutant causing havoc in a New Jersey sewage treatment plant. This is a perfect representation of the countless “monster-of-the-week” episodes that thrilled audiences around the world.

“Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” finds Mulder and Scully assisted by a supposed clairvoyant in order to hunt a killer. This episode shows the exceptional quality of acting and storytelling that was commonplace on the show.

Disc Two:

“Memento Mori” has Scully dealing with the harsh news of her illness while Mulder and The Lone Gunmen search for a cure.

“The Post-Modern Prometheus” is a black-and-white ‘50s style episode where Mulder and Scully travel to a town harboring dark genetic secrets. This episode is an example of the series’ willingness to try new things, to explore different genres, and to have fun with it.

“Bad Blood” is a humor-based episode where Mulder and Scully each tell their version of a trip to a small town with supposed vampire-related deaths.

Lastly, “Milagro” focuses on a writer that moves in next to Mulder and develops an unhealthy infatuation with Scully that leads them to believe he may be a murder suspect.

As you can tell, almost none of the episodes deal with the larger mythology of the series. Rather, this collection is a complete representation of everything the series was capable of: horror, humor, light-heartedness, all while reintroducing you to the personalities of Mulder and Scully. It may not have shed any light on my understanding of The X-Files in a larger sense, but it certainly got me excited to see the film.

The DVD

The video is presented in 1.33:1 Full Frame for the first five episodes, and 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen for the last batch. The full frame episodes suffer from muted colors and a healthy dose of grain. However, as you continue through the set you will notice a vast improvement in the level of detail as well as the black levels (very important for such a dark show).

The audio is offered English/French/Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo with English/French/Spanish subtitles. It is a standard TV audio track that is well balanced and crisp, but lacks the oomph of modern surround efforts.

The Extras

I was expecting no special features, so the few offered were a pleasant surprise.

A “Series Introduction” (37 seconds) with Producer Frank Spotnitz offers insight into why the episodes were chosen.

Each episode also has an all-new introduction with Spotnitz, Creator Chris Carter, and guests. Again it offers more information as to why they chose the specific episodes for the sets.

“Wondercon Q&A Panel” is a 27-minute session with Spotnitz, Carter, Duchovny, and Anderson. Hardcore fans aren’t likely to learn anything new, but it is great to see the crew back together, and they do answer questions regarding the upcoming film.

Lastly, Trailers are offered for the DVD sets and the new film.

Final Thoughts

If you are a casual fan looking to get a quick refresher course in The X-Files, then this set is perfect. If you already own all 9 seasons on DVD, you can skip this and just watch your favorite episodes.