Weekly DVD Dissection
By Scott Weinberg
October's second Tuesday is just as gore-soaked as the first -- and this week even the sequels are solid. Now there's a nice switch. The surprise of the week has got to be...
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End -- Yep, a direct-to-video horror sequel that's actually more entertaining than most of the theatrical-release horror sequels. (I'm looking directly at you, Hills 2.) First-timer Joe Lynch keeps the energy up and the gore flying pretty fast and furious. Plus, hell, it stars Henry Rollins! Also, the unrated edition DVD is packed with amusing goodies.
28 Weeks Later -- Another sequel that turned out to be a whole lot better than we expected! How often does that happen? The continuation of Danny Boyle's infected apocalypse is surprisingly smart, sick, slick, and disturbing. Unlikely that many fans prefer the sequel over the original, but nor have I heard many complaints about what 'Weeks' had to offer. Not surprisingly, the Fox DVD will come complete with commentaries, featurettes, and assorted what-not.
Black Sheep -- Yeah, the one about the maniacal sheep that kill people in New Zealand. And yes, it's (partially) played for laughs, but there's also a healthy dose of gristle and gore, too. Definitely recommended.
Twilight Zone: The Movie -- I don't love this anthology piece as much as the other horror freaks seem to, but it's great to (finally) get the thing on DVD already. The collaboration between Joe Dante, George Miller, John Landis, and Steven Spielberg arrives with a new transfer but NO extras. Weird.
Rise: Blood Hunter -- Anyone interested in a gender-reversal version of Blade, only with Lucy Liu as the vamp-stalker? Yeah, I didn't either.
And after seeing the movie, I can say 'neither do you.' But hey, it is available in an unrated version, so be sure that's the one you rent -- if you must.
Poltergeist -- The good news: Poltergeist is coming out in a "25th Anniversary Edition!" The bad news: It seems that, for some reason, the extra features got tossed into the garbage at the last minute. The only supplement we're being offered is a 2-part doco on "real life"
ghost-hunters. Very annoying, to be sure, but I buy DVDs for the movies.
So I'm snatching this one up, extras or no.
Night of the Living Dead 3-D -- All I know about this release is A) George Romero had nothing to do with it, B) Sid Haig is in it, and C) I keep hearing how unwatchably awful the flick is.
Also this week: Amusing titles like Hallowed Ground, Holla, Raiders of the Damned, and Splatter Beach. Bargain-hunters should be on the lookout for the "double feature" sets available on Wrong Turn and 28 Days/Weeks Later.
Coming next week:
Robert Rodriguez does John Carpenter, Hilary Swank goes reaping, Kevin Bacon goes invisible (again), David Goyer directs 'Invisible' (the remake), Victor Garcia brings us back to a haunted hill, and another Master of Horror rears his horrible head.
