Anchor Bay Entertainment is proud to announce the release of the revenge horror film, "I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE 3." Directed by R.D. Braunstein, the third installment of the controversial cult series will be released in select theaters and EST October 9, 2015 before heading to DVD, Blu-ray and Video On-Demand October 20, 2015. Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) is still tormented by the brutal sexual assault she endured years ago ("I Spit on Your Grave" 2010). She’s changed identities and cities, reluctantly joining a support group where she begins to piece together a new life. But when her new friend’s murderer goes free and the tales of serial rapists haunt her, Jennifer will hunt down the men responsible and do what the system won’t... make them pay for their crimes in the most horrific ways imaginable. Only this time, no jury may be able to save her. Jennifer Landon (“The Young and the Restless”), Doug McKeon ("On Golden Pond") and Gabriel Hogan (“Heartland”) co-star in this unforgiving, unmerciful and uncut new chapter of one of the most notorious franchises in movie history.
Anchor Bay Entertainment released "I Spit on Your Grave" in 2010 and "I Spit On Your Grave 2" in 2013 to critical acclaim. Based on Meir Zarchi’s 1978 version, the franchise has gained the respect of both mainstream and genre critics. This latest installment is a continuation of the 2010 film's story-line.
Released by:Starz / Anchor Bay Release Date: September 1, 2015 Production Year: 2014 Region Code: A Running Time: 1:25:06 Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Video: 1080p (1.78:1 Aspect Ratio) Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
THE FILM - [3 / 5]:
Spring Ball, 1984. Adrienne (Kendra Timmins, "Midnight Sun", "Wingin' It"), a straight-A student, joins her quarterback crush Sean (Justin Kelly, "Maps To The Stars", "Big Muddy") and some friends in sneaking out of their high school dance for some unsupervised mayhem. The teens' party plans hit a snag when they run out of gas on a deserted road. They head out on foot and discover a rundown farmhouse where they hope to find help, but instead find themselves at the mercy of Junior Joad (Mark Wiebe, "Sweet Karma"), a cannibal killer from an urban legend. After the brutal murder of one of their friends, the group’s quest for help becomes one of survival. Will anyone survive the night?
While I enjoyed the film overall, there was room for improvement. The biggest mark against the film is that I found it to be overly dark. I can appreciate films that take place at night. But often the film is a little too dark in that you can't get a good look at what is happening. Now, that could be on purpose to hide poor special effects, but the effects we are able to see, look good. So it just made me feel like I was missing out on some good shots. Also, seeing as the film is supposed to feel like an 80's slasher, there was a total lack of nudity. Not to sound like a pervert, but 80's slashers were, for the most part, known to feature at least one young lady flashing her goods. I'm sure that will garnish the film some negative remarks from a number of fans. One other bad thing is while the characters in slashers are normally expendable, they should be somewhat memorable. I think that with a little better dialogue and some of the characters names used more often, it could have helped that issue. My favorite thing about the film is that they nailed the feel of the 80's pretty good with their use of music, clothing and hair. There are even a few 80's staples like a boombox, rotary telephone and a Rubik's Cube that make an appearance. The filmmakers do a fair job of adding in the stereotypical characters like the jocks, pot head, good girl, bad girls and even a clueless parent. "Lost After Dark" features a fine cast. It is nice to watch a film like this that has some quality actors. I don't recall anyone standing out, in a bad way. They really did a good job casting the film. It was nice to see Robert Patrick and Rick Rosenthal among the cast, even in smaller roles. I thought the practical effects use in the film looked pretty good. The small amount of humor in the film was used to good effect. Be sure to watch for a short post credits sequence following the film.
AUDIO - [4 / 5]:
The Blu-ray comes with one audio option in the form of a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. I found the audio quality on the Blu-ray to be excellent. The film makes some good use of surround speakers in key situations. I thought that there was a nice balance of dialogue, sound effects and score. I did not encounter any problems with the audio such as drop outs, pops or hissing. Also included on the "Lost After Dark" Blu-ray are English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
VIDEO - [4 / 5]:
"Lost After Dark" comes to Blu-ray thanks to Starz/Anchor Bay. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The Blu-ray looks terrific. I did like the somewhat muted or faded look of colors used, as they give the film an aged look, which is what they intended. Viewers will notice some added effects such as scratches, white specks and even a "missing reel" in the film. If you are familiar with "Planet Terror," you have an idea what to expect. However the techniques used in this film do not occur anywhere near as often. They just pop up with the same frequency as some older horror films. Black levels looked pretty good. Skin tones have a nice, natural appearance. I did not notice any issues with the picture in the form of edge enhancement or other video artifacts.
SPECIAL FEATURES: [0 / 5]
Unfortunately, the Blu-ray does not come with any bonus materials. IN CONCLUSION: A decent enough attempt at being a throwback to the 80's. Slasher fans should find enough things in the film to satisfy most of their basic needs. Notice I did not say all of them. The video does feature excellent audio and video quality. So that is a big plus. It's a shame there are no special features included. I would advise most people to watch the film via VOD, rental, etc. rather than purchasing. However if you are a die hard slasher fan, I think you will be okay blind buying this Blu-ray since currently, it can be purchased for a reasonable price.
Released by:Starz / Anchor Bay Release Date: August 4, 2015 Production Year: 2015 Region Code: 1 Running Time: 1:31:20 Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Video: 480i (1.78:1 Aspect Ratio) Subtitles: English SHD, Spanish THE FILM: On the hunt for an intriguing news story, small-town news team, Sara (Alexandra Breckenridge, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story), Milo (Chris Marquette, Freddy vs. Jason) and Charlie (Jake McDorman, American Sniper) follow a crew inspecting repossessed houses. Inside a particularly strange house, the news team discovers a box of video tapes inside a locked closet. Sensing a story, they decide to take them back to their studio. From the tapes, they learn that the family who had lived in the house was not pushed out by the banks, but fled the house in fear for their lives. Trying to decode the story, the crew keeps seeing a faceless figure dressed in a dark suit appear in the footage that causes the videotape to scramble. Their fear mounts when this figure, The Operator as he is deemed, starts to appear in their real lives, standing quietly and always watching them. Tortured and terrorized, the three crew members must track down the mystery of The Operator before it's too late. "Always Watching" is based upon the "Marble Hornets" series of videos from Youtube, which were inspired by the story of the "Slenderman."
I am generally not too excited about the thought of watching "found footage" films. The primary reason being that they tend to look like the camera operator was shaking the camera on purpose, mostly to obscure action scenes. However in "Always Watching," the shaky cam syndrome is not too bad. I normally get annoyed easily with that sort of thing and it never bothered me while watching the film, so that says something. I found "Always Watching" to be fairly entertaining. There were several scenes that should keep its viewers on the edge of their seats with anticipation. The Operator is one creepy looking individual. The cast did a nice job in their acting roles especially Alexandra Breckenridge who had several highly emotional scenes.
AUDIO: The DVD includes an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. I thought the sound quality was quite good on the DVD. The audio sounded good throughout the film and the sound effects were very effective in key, shocking moments. Dialogue was easy to understand. I did not encounter any issues with the audio like drop outs, hissing, loud pops and so on. The DVD also includes English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
VIDEO:
"Always Watching" stalks its way on to DVD thanks to Starz/Anchor Bay and Gravitas Ventures. The film is presented in 480i anamorphic widescreen with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. For being a "found footage" film, the video quality looks pretty good. The screen shots included were taken directly from the DVD. The film presented some nice fine detail in close up shots. Colors look good throughout and skin tones looked natural. SPECIAL FEATURES: There are no special features included on the DVD.
IN CONCLUSION:
"Always Watching" might be a polarizing film for fans. I could see there being a lot of love it and hate it groups. The film itself is better than your average horror film. It features a good cast. Unfortunately the DVD did not include any extras. But the video and audio quality is very good. If you happen to enjoy the "found footage" style films, you should really give this one a chance. If you are like me and can take them or leave them, I would suggest giving the film a try because like me, you might be surprised. The film is available via VOD on several sites including Amazon and Youtube.
Released by:Starz / Anchor Bay Release Date: September 10, 2013 Production Year: 2009 Region Code: A Running Time: 1:32:37 Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Video: 1080p (1.78:1 Aspect Ratio) Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
THE FILM:
During a Turkish archaeological dig early last century, an ancient board game said to have entertained demons was unearthed. Now nearly 90 years later, a group of vacationing friends – including a cynic (Danielle Harris of HALLOWEEN), a rich jerk (James Duval of DONNIE DARKO), a slutty starlet (Mircea Monroe of “Hart Of Dixie”), a jock (Nick Menell of FRIDAY THE 13TH) and prudish twin sisters (Electra & Elise Avellan of GRINDHOUSE) – discover the game hidden in an old house on a remote Maine island. And with a roll of the dice, their darkest secrets will unleash all the greed, jealously and lusts of Hell itself. Richard Tyson (BLACK HAWK DOWN) and Robert Patrick (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY) co-star in this gory shocker
"The Black Waters of Echo's Pond" sounds interesting and looks interesting from the trailer. But it's a horror film of average quality. It is still an alright way to spend 90 minutes. The film does have some good cast members like Danielle Harris and Robert Patrick, and some of them get their hands dirty during the film. Speaking of death scenes, some meet their demise in a variety of ways with a fair amount of blood and gore. This film reminds me of a horror version of "Jumanji" with the whole board game aspect.
AUDIO:
This Blu-ray has one option which is a English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track. It does a fair job with the sound effects, dialog and score. I did notice that sometimes the dialog was a bit lower in volume compared to the score or sound effects. Overall the audio is still fine and shouldn't have anyone straining to hear what is being said. There are English SDH as well as Spanish Subtitles included for those that need them.
VIDEO:
"The Black Waters of Echo's Pond" floats its way on to Blu-ray thanks to Starz / Anchor Bay. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. Video quality is good for the most part but there is a definite lack of fine detail. It's not terrible or even bad. But it has a noticeable softer look than you would expect. However, in some well lit, close up shots, fine detail is improved and looks pretty good. Colors vary throughout, sometimes looking a bit flat and other times looking fine. It could be a combination of the lighting and camera used. Either way, again, it is not a huge detriment to the film. Black levels looked fine. Skin tones appeared natural although you may wonder sometimes, but I think it is because they may have filmed using only the lights in the actual scene and did not add extra lighting to brighten everything like some films do. It can make it seem like the lighting is uneven but I think it looks more natural.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Alternate Opening (2:36) - The only extra on this release is an alternate opening scene. It's worth watching at least for the blood and gore.
IN CONCLUSION:
An average film and an average Blu-ray release. Given the amount of time it took for the film to actually get a release after it was completed, a commentary track with the cast or crew could have been interesting. Even a making-of featurette or some interviews would have been nice. But that is the way it goes sometimes. The price on this release has come down a fair amount since its release so you may be able to pick it up cheap if it interests you. I would really only recommend this to those that had seen the film and want to own the Blu-ray or if you are a fan of one or more of the stars. It is not something I revisit often but it is probably the third time I have watched the film. I am a Danielle Harris fan, plus I like the movie just enough to not regret my purchase.
