Up first is a new 4K restoration of Venom. No this isn’t the Tom Hardy Marvel anti-hero, this is a 1980s kidnapping creature-feature starring Oliver Reed, Klaus Kinski, Sterling Hayden and more. It’s such an odd combination of kidnapping plot plus creature-feature that the movie works because of it. A maid and chauffer team up with an international terrorist to kidnap the son of a wealthy family, but unfortunately for them, the boy was given the wrong animal at the pet store and there is a poisonous black mamba snake in the house with the kidnappers. The authorities get involved and lock down the street and the kidnappers must deal with the cops and one of the most poisonous snakes on Earth. It’s ridiculous, but the cast takes it just seriously enough to be entertaining. Reed and Kinski are great as bad guys and there’s enough action to hold your attention throughout. Creature-features today are over-the-top ridiculous, but by having it set in a real world experience, it’s way better than it has any right being. The film looks good restored and the 4K comes with multiple commentaries, interviews and more. If you are a fan, this is the best version to own.
Ever watch something so weird you don’t even know if you liked it? That’s Delicatessen. This early 1990s Terry Gilliam type French film gets a new 4K release this week as well. In post-apocalypse France, a delicatessen serves human meat to customers. The owner also runs the apartment complex attached to the butcher shop and if you don’t pay, you’re on the menu. He also places ads looking for help to lure in new victims. The latest person to respond to the ad is a once famous clown looking for work. When he befriends the butcher’s daughter, she tries to save him from being served. There is underground people who want to stop the meat eaters and it’s all bizarre. It looks like a Terry Gilliam flick with odd camera angles and set design. I honestly don’t know if I liked it. It’s weird, but also well made. It’s French so it’s not exactly funny to me, but I get what it’s going for. I’m sure it has a huge cult following so the 4K will be a hit with them. Bonus features include commentary and multiple interviews including one with Terry Gilliam himself.
Sticking with new 4K releases, Brandon Cronenberg’s 2012 Antiviral hits 4K this week too. Even if you don’t know that Brandon is the son of David Cronenberg, if you watch any of his films, especially this one, you can see his father’s influence on him. Antiviral tackles how we adore celebrities and how far that admiration can go. Caleb Landry Jones works for a company that takes viruses from celebrities and injects them into regular people who want to feel connected to their favorite star. The company has an exclusive deal with Hannah Geist and when she becomes sick, Jones’ character is tasked at getting her virus when another employee is arrested for selling company property. Jones is also working black market deals and he becomes sick with the virus as well. I remember seeing it when it first came out, but not since so it was like watching it for the first time. Caleb Landry Jones plays weird characters flawlessly and he’s great in it. I don’t love the film, but I like Cronenberg’s body horror and creepiness factor like his dad. It does say a lot about how we view fame and people are always talking about celebrities and the rumor mill. If you are a fan of the movie, the 4K comes with commentary, a making-of featurette, Cronenberg talking about the restoration and he also does commentary on deleted scenes.
Don’t Torture a Duckling also comes out on 4K and is also another film I simply don’t love as much as others. I watched it years back for the first time when it hit Blu-ray, but I hadn’t seen it since so I popped in the new restored 4K to remember it. It’s considered Lucio Fulci’s greatest film, but the ending bothers me. If you aren’t familiar with the movie it’s about kids dying in a small town. At first they blame a woman they believe to be a witch. More bodies start dropping and more people become suspects. They eventually tell who did it and again, I don’t love who it is. I know it’s a beloved flick and I like other Fulci films, but this one just doesn’t do it for me. It’s beautifully shot and made and there is one absolutely drop dead gorgeous actress in it, but it’ll be a while before I watch it again. If you are a fan and there are many, the 4K comes with commentary, tons of interviews and more.
Next we have the Shaw Brothers double feature The Daredevils and Ode to Gallantry. These were fun and if you are fan of Shaw Brothers or Golden Harvest flicks of the 1970s and 80s you’ll enjoy them too. The Daredevils is a revenge flick about the son of a murdered family wanting revenge on the military type who murdered his father. He escapes and finds some old friends. They are a group of acrobatic daredevils who do martial arts and tricks on the streets for money. When he seeks out his revenge and is killed, they put together a plan to avenge their fallen friend. It has some great 70s kung-fu and acrobat fighting. Second is Ode to Gallantry about mistaken identity. A man named Mongrel is mistaken for a man wanted for rape. The parents believe Mongrel is their son as do others in various clans. He insists he’s not the man and unfortunately he gets involved in all of it when he grabs a pancake with the Black Iron Token hidden inside it. A kung-fu master must grant him a wish, but Mongrel wants nothing because he is a simple man. The mistaken identity sends him on a series of adventures and the truth of his life. Famed director Chang Cheh helmed both movies and both star Venom Mob members. I had fun with both flicks with The Daredevils being more of the straight forward drama and Ode to Gallantry having some comedic elements.
Last we have another double header, Mary and Max and Memoir of a Snail. Both are stop-motion animated flicks and I was expecting fun, light hearted family movies ala Laika. They are definitely not for kids. They are from Adam Elliot, an Australian stop-motion animator and are adult oriented biographical type pieces. Mary and Max is about a young Australian girl with no friends and a birthmark on her forehead. She randomly picks a name in the phone book and sends him a letter. He is Max, a Jewish man in New York. Through the decades they continue their letter friendship through their highs and lows. It sounds sweet, but it’s very dark with Max having mental issues and eating problems and Mary being severely picked on and having family issues. Memoir of a Snail is about Grace, a young Australian girl with a cleft lip and her twin brother Gilbert. Their mother is dead and their father is a paraplegic alcoholic. Her brother defends her from bullies and she collects snails. Unfortunately their father dies and the twins are separated in foster homes. Gilbert writes letters saying he will eventually find Grace. The decades are cruel to both with Gilbert being hurt for being gay and Grace marrying a terrible man. It might be even darker than Mary and Max. There is nudity, adult humor and words and much more so make sure the kiddos don’t see these. I love stop-motion so I enjoyed the animation in them, but I definitely wasn’t expecting adult storylines!
The Nerds Templar 