Dawn of the Dead (1978) – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Zombies are a big business, with hundreds of films, video games, TV shows, and comics all including the shuffling (and occasionally running) undead. Despite the prevalence of zombies in pop culture today, and some would say over-saturation of the creatures, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would deny that George A. Romero is still the undisputed king of the zombie genre, and the man who made the creatures what they are today.

Whilst some of the later films in the series would be less well received, the early films are still considered some of the best in horror, and cinema in general. The new limited edition release of Dawn of the Dead from Second Sight Films presents one of these amazing movies in what might be the best package yet.

The film follows a group of survivors following a mysterious phenomena that has swept through the United States, resulting in the dead coming back to life as walking corpses that seek to eat the flesh of the still living. Three weeks into this event we find Peter (Ken Foree), Stephen (David Emge), Fran (Gaylen Ross), and Roger (Scott H. Reiniger), four survivors who come together in a plan to try to flee from the carnage that’s overwhelming Philedelphia. Together the four of them find their way to a local shopping mall that they decide to make their home. Blocking the entrances and killing the zombies within, they make the mall habitable and settle in to ride out the crisis. But things don’t quite go as they planned…

There have been a lot of releases and editions for Dawn of the Dead – it is after all one of the most beloved horror films of all time – so what makes this edition stand out amongst the competitors? Well, for starters it’s been given a new 4K scan, and the film has been given a restoration, meaning that this is easily one of the best looking versions of it that you’ll see. With so many older films being transferred to DVD and Blu-ray, it can be easy to find some where they’ve just been put onto new formats with little care given to the quality, and there are Blu-rays out there that look barely above VHS quality. This edition has been given the time and care it deserves to make it jump out on the screen, and it definitely shows.

Not only has the film been given a lovely restoration, but it’s also packed with extras. The set comes with seven discs in total, as well as some extra treats like a 160 page booklet filled with essays, and the novelisation of the film. The first disc has the original theatrical cut of the film, as well as two audio commentaries, including one with director George A. Romero, special effects artist and horror legend Tom Savini, and actress Christine Forrest; who is also married to Romero. The second disc has the extended ‘Cannes’ cut of the film, along with a commentary from producer Richard P. Rubinstein. Disc three has the third version of the movie, the Argento Cut, which is slightly shorter than the theatrical edition, but also comes with a cast commentary.

If you’re still hungry for more after watching all those versions and listening to the multiple commentaries, the fourth disc comes packed with a host of special features and behind the scenes extras, including several new documentaries and interviews. One of these new special features, ‘Memories of Monroeville’, follows Michael Gornick, Tom Savini, Tom Dubensky, and Taso Stavrakis as they return to the mall where the film was shot, and share memories and behind the scenes stories about the production. The disc also includes two documentary films, including Document of the Dead, which followed Romero during the production of the film, and even comes with an extended cut and commentary too. The final three discs are audio CDs packed with music and soundtracks from the film.

I don’t think it’s too big a stretch to say that this is easily the definitive set of Dawn of the Dead, and is a must have for any fan of the franchise, horror nerd, or movie lover in general. An absolutely stand out set.

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Stage Mother - Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Stage Mother is the story of a mother dealing with the loss of her son, whilst also discovering acceptance and love of the LGBTQ+ community, and finding a fresh new start in life.

Maybelline Metcalf (Jacki Weaver) is a Texan housewife and conservative church choir director whose life is suddenly altered when she receives a phone call telling her that her son Rickey (Eldon Thiele) has died. Having not seen her son in ten years after he came out as gay, Maybelline insists on travelling to San Francisco to attend his funeral, against the wished of her homophobic husband.

Once in San Francisco she discovers that Rickey owns a drag club, Pandora’s Box, and that she has since inherited it. She also comes to meet a number of his friends, including his neighbour Sienna (Lucy Liu) who named her son after him, and his partner Nathan (Adrian Grenier), who is now looking at losing his home and his business as he inherited nothing from Rickey, who refused to marry Nathan until his mother accepted him and came to his wedding. Feeling guilt over having not been able to reconcile with her son, and not wanting to see Nathan and Rickey’s other friends suffer and lose out, Maybelline decides to stay in San Francisco for a while and try to turn around the failing club.

Queer cinema can be a tricky area; there are so many films that centre on LGBTQ+ people that turn out to be films that try to send a message that being queer is wrong, or that living ‘the lifestyle’ will result in a person suffering or dying, that it can be hard to find a really good, uplifting one. Yes, some of these films are amazing and moving, like Philadelphia or Boys Don’t Cry, but they often leave you feeling sad, and can paint a very depressing picture of life as part of the queer community. At first glance you might think that Stage Mother would be walking a similar path – after all, it does open with a gay man and a drag queen literally dying on stage – but this is a film that seems to have a lot of love for the LGBTQ+ community, and wants to show people how much joy, love, and hope that it has.

Maybelline is a definite outsider to this community, a woman whose only experience with the community is a son she hasn’t seen in a decade, who her husband wants to pretend doesn’t exist anymore. Suddenly she’s thrown into a world where she’s meeting a man who’s essentially her son-in-law, gay drag acts, and trans women. But despite having no experience interacting with people like this before she doesn’t judge, she doesn’t mock, or turn away. She sees them as people, real people with feelings and accepts them for who they are. She was never able to tell her son that she loved him, that she accepted him for who he was and adored the man he grew up to be, so she pours those feelings into the people at the club. She not only teaches them to be better singers and performers, but she reaches out to them and gives them the very real help that they need.

There are a few scenes in this film that really hit hard, that I think will make any member of the queer community pause for a moment because that pain of losing family and friends is something we’ve all experienced to some degree or another. Even if your family accepted you, there will have been times where you ran through scenarios where they would disown you, where you’d lose them. So many queer people have experienced that fear, and some have had to live that reality too. These moments in the film made me cry, but not always for bad reasons. There are characters that Maybelline helps who get that acceptance, who get reunited with family who’ve turned away from them. She makes parents see that they can still love their children even if they didn’t turn out the way they though, and that’s a powerful message of hope.

Stage Mother not only represents the queer community in content, but also in its cast, with some great gay actors and drag queens taking part in the project, including Oscar Moreno, Jackie Beat, and Allister MacDonald. It also features an openly trans character, Cherry Poppins, played by real life trans woman Mya Taylor, who starred in the critically acclaimed Tangerine in 2015. It might not seem like much, but including gay and trans actors in these roles is a hugely important thing, especially in an industry that still hires cis men to play trans women.

The film doesn’t pull its punches with the hurt that can sometimes come with being a part of the queer community, but it also shows that it is a community, that love and strength can be found within it. It has a wonderful message, presented in a heartfelt and moving story full of laughs and fun moments. It’s a film that surprised me with how great is was, and whilst I was crying at the end, it was for some really good reasons.

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Bone Harvest by James Brogden - Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

'Struggling with the effects of early-onset dementia, Dennie Keeling now leads a quiet life. Her husband is dead, her children are grown, and her best friend, Sarah, was convicted of murdering her abusive husband. After Sarah's tragic death in prison, Dennie has found solace in her allotment, and all she wants is to be left to tend it in peace. Life remains quiet for twelve years, until three strangers take on a nearby plot and Dennie starts to notice unnatural things. Shadowy figures prowl at night; plants flower well before their time. And then Sarah appears, bringing dire warnings and vanishing after daubing symbols on the walls in Dennie's own blood. Dennie soon realises that she is face to face with an ancient evil - but with her dementia steadily growing worse, who is going to believe her?'

Bone Harvest tells the story of retiree Dennie Keeling, a woman suffering with the affects of early dementia, and her life working on her allotment. A sweet and kindly woman, Dennie is the hero of the book, a hero who is forced to step up and fight against otherworldly horrors as a bizarre and deadly cult begins to form when two new members join the allotment.

Dennie has been living alone for a number of years, her husband having passed away and her children all grown up, and as such has been pouring all her spare time into her allotment; even sleeping in her shed some nights, much to the annoyance of those running the place. As such, when she begins to suspect that there's something strange with these new members she feels like it's down to her to protect her home away from home, as well as the other people who use the allotments. However, Dennie has been suffering from ill health, and any claims she makes of something unusual going on will only be blamed on her dementia, forcing her to investigate alone. 

When Dennie begins to see the ghost of an old friend, who seems to want to help her in her mission, she must figure out if there are strange forces at work, or if perhaps others might be right, and she may be losing her mind.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Bone Harvest was that James Brogden skipped over some of the sense of mystery that other books would use to hook you. Instead, you get a lot of answers up front, as the first hundred or so pages of the book are given over to Everett and Ardwyn, the books antagonists. We learn who these people are, why they do the things they do, and if there actually is a supernatural being behind everything. Other books wouldn't have done this, they'd have teased these revelations out over the narrative and used the mystery to hook the readers.

Instead of relying on mystery to keep you reading Brogden lets you in on the secrets and uses the horror of the truth to keep you hooked. Instead of thinking 'what bad things might happen?' the reader knows exactly what might happen, and is instead worried about who it might happen to. It also meant that instead of learning things along with the hero like a lot of novels, we're one step ahead in this mystery, and get to see her close calls with danger, or getting nearer to answers. It's a strange position to be in, knowing more than the protagonist, and leads to some frustrating moments where we see her getting so close to the truth but just missing out on her answers.

Another thing that really jumped out at me about the book is just how English it is. The horror is rooted in how ordinary and somewhat boring the narrative is. Dennie lives in a small town that feels very real and recognisable (she at one point talks about getting her doll from Loughborough, a town next to mine). The allotments are such an English institution that you'l find them in most towns around the countryside, and I've spent time in them with my grandparents more than once. I loved how grounded the book felt and how relatable it was. These were people and places that I knew, and I'm sure other readers will find familiar too. This could have very easily been my grandparents and their allotment neighbours as opposed to made up characters. It was really nice to get a horror book that felt so relatable when so many horror stories seem to be set in places around the world rather than rural England.

It was also nice to have a book where the protagonist isn't you're average kind of hero too. Dennie is an older woman, her body isn't as fit as it used to be, and her mind is beginning to suffer thanks to dementia. Things that other characters would be able to do without issue are a struggle for her. Something as simple as sneaking along in the dark to spy on the strange new people at the allotments are a difficulty for her as her joints hurt, she can't move as fast, and has no way to protect herself if she gets caught. It highlighted how things that most people might simply take for granted could be a challenge for others. As a disabled person I love getting to read a protagonist who isn't able-bodied, who has some of the same struggles that I do.

I've got a few James Brogden books on my self but haven't gotten round to reading them yet (the issue with a TBR pile that's hundreds big) but after reading Bone Harvest I'm definitely exited to read more. He's managed to craft an engaging and engrossing tale, one that goes against a lot of horror any mystery conventions by letting the audience in on the secrets, but manages to never feel boring or predictable. Bone Harvest is a book that took my expectations and turned them on its head, and one that's definitely going to stick out in my memory.

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The Cult of Eden by Bill Halpin - Book Tour

'Newlywed Will Battese finds himself homesick and overwhelmed after following his ambitious wife, Shannon, to New York City. When a surprise pregnancy shreds their already meagre budget, Will drops out of college and settles for work at a low-end diner. There, a small act of kindness draws the attention of Victor Degas, a man with an unsettling presence and deformed eyes. Unbeknownst to Will, Degas belongs to an ancient, sophisticated cult known as the Edens and believes Will to be the key to gaining otherworldly power. 

'As the sun sets on Good Friday, Degas orchestrates a home invasion in which Will and his baby boy, Gideon, are kidnapped, leaving Shannon to join forces with an unreliable agent from the Roman Catholic Church. While Will struggles to save other innocents from the Eden parish below the city, Shannon discovers that the cult plans to use her family for an unimaginable demonic ritual, and that the Vatican may let it happen. With no one to trust but themselves, Shannon and Will must fight not only to survive, but to keep their humanity intact.'

The Cult of Eden is the first part in a new series, 'The Unrisen', but is an easily satisfying and entertaining stand alone novel too.

The book follows several members of the Battese family, as their lives are turned into a nightmare. There's Will, who's moved away from his quiet home town to live with his new wife, Shannon, in New York. Despite hating the big city Will has been trying to make a go of it with Shannon and their new baby boy, Giddeon. Despite being a great chef, Will has had to take a job working in a less than perfect restaurant in order to support his family, but is making enough to help support Shannon's higher paid job.

When Wills father, Richard, little brother Danny, and his grandfather Griff, all leave their old lives behind and decide to travel to the big city to live with Will things begin to look up for the Batrese's. However,when the family's first gathering is attacked by mysterious masked assailants the men are all captured and taken to a strange location, one where a bizarre cult needs them to perform a ritual. Now the family are left fighting for their lives.

The Cult of Eden wasn't what I was expecting from the initial premise. First of all, the book is structured quite differently that I thought it would, skipping between a number of focal characters depending on what chapter you were reading. This was used quite well for a lot of the book, and meant that the reader got to see what was happening during other events, or occasionally got extra insight into things that happened in a previous chapter, now that the focus had shifted. 

However, there were a couple of times where I felt like perhaps the chapters could have been slightly better served by being shifted around in their order, because one would take the tension out of another. For example, one character was left trapped in a room with no apparent way out in the end of one chapter, but then appears at the end of the next characters chapter, revealing that they managed to get out before we see that happen. It's a small niggle, and one that only happens once or twice, but something that I'm hoping Halpin addresses in the next book.

These shifts in character focus also allow for a few surprise moments at certain interludes, where the action shifts away from the main narrative, sometimes giving us more detail into characters that are only really on the periphery for the main narrative, and in another teasing out a mystery that takes the whole book to be revealed, and seems to hint at bigger things to come in the series.

The story also managed to keep me guessing for a lot of it, as it was never clear exactly what was going to be coming next, and whilst I did expect certain things, like the cult to kidnap the family, there were so many twists and turns along the journey that a plot that could have felt like it had been done before was fresh and interesting. These twists were great when it came to the idea of the supernatural being introduced to the narrative too. There were moments where it looked like the cult were actually working with otherworldly forces, yet there was enough doubt about it to make you never sure if this was too fantastical a development to be real. The book does give you a definitive answer by the end, it foes tell you whether or not supernatural forces are real, but I certainly wont be spoiling that in the review other than say that the journey to the answer was a lot of fun.

I think it's probably worth pointing out that there is a lot of violence in the book, and Halpin doesn't shy away from describing some brutal moments in very vivid detail. This might put some people off, but I never felt that it went too far, going into the territory of 'torture porn' or anything like that, and there are definitely a lot worse horror films out there. If you get through the initial attack on the Battese family then you'll be able to get through the book as a whole, so stick with it if you can; but of course, if these parts are a little much for you I completely understand. Horror is not always for everyone, but there is a really good story mixed in with the violence here, one that is worth reading and sticking at.

The book seems to bring a lot of the Battese's story to a close come the end of the book, and whilst there are definitely threads left hanging the book would still be a satisfying read all on its own. but, this is the first part of a series, and as such not everything will be resolved in this book, and you will be left wanting to read the next one. Personally, I'm definitely interested in finding out what happens next, even if the Battese family don't play much of a part in the next instalment. Halpin has managed to craft a world that's interesting and intriguing enough to be able to carry on in new directions and explore new elements and still keep me wanting to read more. I'm certainly looking forward to finding out what happens next.

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My Summer As A Goth – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

My Summer As A Goth is a coming of age story that follows 16-year-old Joey (Natalie Shershow) as she spends the summer vacation with her grandparents following the sudden death of her father, and the journey she takes to self-acceptance and happiness.

Joey has reached the end of the school year despite the recent death of her father, and being something of a loner who hates hanging out with most of the other students. When her mother has to leave town for a number of weeks, Joey is sent off to stay with her grandparents.

Unlike most movie grandparents, Joey’s are actually quite cool, and try to make sure that Joey is having a good time, whatever it is that she needs that to be. They give her space, encourage her to explore, give her a big wad of cash to have fun with, and try to get her to make some new friends. One of these new friends is Victor (Jack Levis), the grandson of their neighbours.

Joey is instantly drawn to Victor. His goth look grabs her attention, and his brash and forward personality is something that helps to draw her out of her shell. With the help of some of his friends Victor gives Joey a make-over, getting her to embrace her inner goth. At first this is a great thing, and Joey begins to discover a new sense of happiness and freedom that had been eluding her; but over the course of the summer she begins to suspect that Victor might not be the amazing guy she first thought he was.

My Summer As A Goth is a film that instantly intrigued me, in large part because I was curious to see just what it would try to do with its representation of the goth community. In most media goths are either painted as depressed, lonely teens who revel in death and a gloomy aesthetic, or they’re used as the punchlines for jokes. However, this movie really seemed to understand that goths are as varied and interesting as any group of people, and that just because someone wears black clothing and dark make-up doesn’t mean that they’re going to be depressed or sad all the time.

The film embraces the idea that being a goth can be something fun, something that brings people a sense of happiness and joy. The film does use being a goth as a punchline a couple of times, but in subversive ways, by showing that it’s not what people expected. One young goth couple get told they look like ‘a couple of dead honeymooners’, to which they respond with a big grin and a thank you. It’s small jokes like this that make the film really charming; it doesn’t include goth culture just to make fun of it, but embraces it.

Whilst most of the goths in the film are handled really well, and are given pretty well rounded personalities, Victor is a bit of a caricature. He wears clothing that’s very over the top, stark make-up even by goth standards, and his attitudes seem to fall back on some reductive stereotypes. Now, I suspect this is done on purpose, and Victor isn’t the nicest character in the world, and the other goth friends that Joey makes are much nicer in comparison. However, some people might find Victor’s portrayal a bit reductive, or even offensive at times.

Other members of the cast are great however, with Joey’s grandparents being some of the more fun movie grandparents I’ve seen in a while, and people I’d probably enjoy hanging out with. There’s even a fun scene where they take Joey to experience bingo for the first time, at a bingo hall where the host is a drag artist. Not only is this scene fun and subverting of expectations, but it’s handled really well, and whilst there are a few laughs with the drag queen character they’re always with them, and not at them; which is how much of the comedy in this film works, making comedy where people’s differences aren’t a punchline.

The film proved to be a fun and touching coming of age story, one that encourages the idea of self exploration, to try new things and new social circles. If your life is in a rut and you don’t feel like you fit in, maybe it’s because the people you’re surrounding yourself with aren’t the community you need, and perhaps the people that will help to make you happy are out there somewhere.

The story has an uplifting message, and a sense of fun and hope to it that stops it from feeling tired, even if this is the kind of story that we’ve seen before with a goth make-over. I ultimately had a lot of fun with it, and I’m sure that a lot of you will too.

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Just Act Normal: A Pie Comics Collection by John McNamee - Book Review

'This third collection from The Onion and the New Yorker contributor John McNamee features his most absurdly relatable comics on our futile attempts to seem “normal,” and why that’s hilarious.

'Pie Comics began as a college comic strip way back in the mid ’00s, when flip phones roamed the earth. But after a shoulder injury forced cartoonist John McNamee to simplify his drawing style and improvise comics, Pie Comics evolved into the beloved strip it is today!'

Just Act Normal is a very fun book, one that won't take you long to read through, but will definitely act as a good pick-me-up when you do. 

The book isn't a graphic novel, there's no overarching narrative at work here, instead it's small one page stories that are designed to make you laugh. It's this simplicity that really endeared me to this book, coupled with the very easy to understand art style that borders on basic. The style is so simple that I've found myself wondering if I've seen some of John McNamee's work before, shared around on the internet as funny jokes and memes, or if it's just similar to other stuff I've seen before.

Ultimately, I don't think it matters if I have seen his work before or not, as the book completely stands on its own thanks to each comic being its own thing. There are some that feature the same characters across a number of strips, like the depressed goth, but even these don't need to be read in any kind of order or with continuity in mind. 

The humour here is very silly, and at times it's even downright bizarre, but even when some could argue that the jokes were stupid, they still made me laugh because of the amount of charm put into them, and the delivery that McNamee manages to get into simplistic panels.

If you're looking for a fun book that's inoffensive, will make you smile, and will take up an hour or two this book will definitely tick those boxes for you.

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The Bride With White Hair – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Bride With White Hair is the latest Hong Kong cinema release from Eureka Entertainment, and joins an ever expanding catalogue of entertaining wuxia films.

The story follows Cho Yat-Hamg (Leslie Cheung), who was raised to be a chivalrous swordsman by the leaders of a Wudang Scet. Over the years we see that Cho is something of a maverick, often getting into trouble for acting out and doing what he sees as right. One of these misadventures sees him being chased by a pack of wolves, before he’s saved by a mysterious young girl.

Years later, Cho is tasked with leading a coalition of warriors from the eight martial arts sects against an evil demon cult that is spreading through the lands. However, Cho soon discovers that one of the powerful warriors within the cult, Lie Ni-Chang (Bridgette Lin), is the girl who saved him from wolves years before, and who has been in his heart ever since. Fleeing the battle together, these two opposing warriors declare their love for each other and decide to leave their old lives behind to be together; but fate would seem to have other plans for them.

The Bride With White Hair is one of the later Hong-Kong wuxia movies that I’ve seen, having been made in 1993, but it still has a lot in common with many of the other films in the genre; so much in fact that I was surprised to learn that the film was from the 90s, it feeling much more like a production from at least a decade before. A lot of this has to do with the look of the film.

It has some great production values at times, and some of the sets are huge constructions, but I’m struggling to think of any scenes in the movie that were set at daytime. The fact that most of the film, if not all of it, is set at night definitely changes the look and feel of the movie, and many of the scenes are dark and oppressive. I’m sure that this was done as a deliberate choice to add to the downbeat feel of the film, but it also makes it feel like the production is somewhat limited, that perhaps some of it was set at night so that flaws or lack of budget could be hidden in the darkness.

A lot of the drabness of the locations are offset with the brightness of costume and characters, particularly those members of the evil Mo cult that plays host to the conjoined villains Gei Mou-Seung (Francis Ng and Elaine Lui). The scenes with the cult are filled with bright costumes, half naked dancing, Africanised props, and wild orgies. These scenes definitely stand out from amongst the more down to earth and historically accurate parts of the movie, especially as the dual nature of the villain is shrouded in secrecy for a good portion of the film, leaving the audience to try to figure out what it is they’re seeing.

Overall, however, the film has a somewhat dour tone to it, and left me feeling somewhat deflated due to the decision of director Ronny Yu to break away from the traditional happy ending narrative, and take a leaf out of Romeo and Juliet‘s book of having love lead to tragedy. Despite this, the film is still hugely interesting, and kept me entertained throughout.

Along with this new 4k restoration the new Blu-ray release also comes with a pair of audio commentaries, one with director Ronny Lu, and another with Asian film expert Frank Djeng, both of which offer some great insight into the making of the film, and its place in cinema and the impact that it had. There are also a number of interviews included, if you’re still left wanting to learn more about the film.

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Lake Michigan Monster – Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Lake Michigan Monster follows the adventures of Captain Seafield (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) as he gathers together a group of unlikely misfits to help him to track down and kill the mysterious sea monster that killed his father on the shore of Lake Michigan.

From the title I was expecting something a little cheesy, something that didn’t take itself too seriously, but Lake Michigan Monster doesn’t actually seem to take anything seriously, and suffers because of this. The plot, what little there is, follows a strange ‘sea captain’ Seafield, played by the film’s writer and director, as he seeks revenge against a monster that murdered his father.

This happened only six feet from the shore of Lake Michigan, and no one will believe that a monster was involved. As such, he hires three ‘experts’ to help him. There’s his weapons expert Sean Shaughnessy (Eric West), who is only ever referred to by their full name; sonar specialist Nedge Pepsi (Beulah Peters); and former N.A.V.Y. officer Dick Flynn (Daniel Long); and that’s not the Navy, that’s the Nautical Athletes and adVenture Yunit. This brief break down of the main characters should show the level of humour this film is steeped in.

The scenes barely have any content to them, and instead fill the run time with jokes that barely count as jokes, instead relying on people saying or doing the stupidest things in hopes that it will get a laugh. When asked how big the monster is Seafield pulls out a toy lion, then a toy tiger, then throws away the tiger and confirms its as big as a lion – and I guess this is supposed to be funny? These poor and unfunny jokes get used more than once, with the apparent act of referring to their own jokes meant to cash in on the laughs that just weren’t there to begin with.

Bad jokes would have been one thing, but when the plot and characters are so thin on the ground, seem to make no sense at all, and rely on this wacky humour to drive things forward, the film quickly overstays its welcome. After about the first fifteen minutes I was left not only bored, but regularly checking the time hoping that we were near the end.

If I was watching the film for entertainment purposes I would have turned it off, and as such I’m not really sure that I could recommend it to anyone. I’m sure there are some people out there who will enjoy this level of comedy, who think fart jokes are the peak of humour (and I don’t mean jokes where people pass wind, but someone randomly saying the word ‘fart’ to get a laugh), but this is probably going to be quite a niche audience.

The Blu-ray comes with a number of special features, including three commentaries, one of which where those talking are apparently drunk, in case slogging through the film once isn’t enough torture for you. There’s also a trio of interviews from a few different film festivals where Lake Michigan Monster was shown, as well as the entire first season of Ryland Brickson Cole Tews’ web series L.I.P.S., which despite only being about twenty minutes long I switched off after three and a half because it was even less fun to watch than the main film.

I’m sure that there will be people who would love this film, but if you’ve never experienced Ryland Brickson Cole Tews’ comedy before, and aren’t already a fan of his I wouldn’t recommend giving this film a go, as you could be left extremely disappointed, especially when Arrow Video have so many other, better movies on offer than this one.

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Marvel Action: Avengers #2.2 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

I’d almost forgotten that there was a second run of Marvel Action: Avengers books being published, as the first issue in this run came out way back in March – which, as it’s 2020, feels like it was a few years ago at least. Luckily, this book doesn’t rely much on readers remembering the previous issue, and instead stands on its own as a fun, solo adventure.

Like the previous issue, this one deals with one of the members of the Avengers as they take a day off from hero work to unwind. This issue focuses on everyone’s favourite member of the Greatest Generation, Captain America. Never one to idly spend time doing nothing, Cap decides to spend his day at a local school, where he wants to talk about the benefits of being a hero for Career Day.

Being the fastidious man he is, Cap comes prepared with lesson plans, and handouts for the children; but his plans are quickly thrown out when he finds out he’ll be spending the morning with the Kindergarten class with another hero, Squirrel Girl. Together, these two very different heroes try their best to keep the kids entertained, but things take a strange turn when one of the elderly teachers turns out to be the retired villain Paste Pot Pete, who’s determined to show he’s still ‘got it’ by taking down the star spangled man.

This second wave of Marvel Action: Avengers books, written by Katie Cook, is definitely the more fun of the two. It doesn’t rely on real levels of threat to challenge our beloved, costumed heroes, but instead feels a lot more like the comics being produced in the Golden Age, where they were wacky adventures aimed at kids. As such, the book has a level of charm and enjoyment that tends to be lacking in the more adult-focused hero books, and is comparable to the campy fun you’d get from shows like Batman ’66 or Batman: Brave and the Bold.

The villain for this book, Paste Pot Pete, is played like one of those joke villains from the comics your grandparents would read, where they never tried to hurt anyone, and challenged heroes just to prove that they could, rather than being part of any larger scheme. This is why the villain here decides to take on Cap and Squirrel Girl: to prove that the older villains are better than the evil ‘Super’ villains of today, that a man with a tacky costume that shoots glittery glue at people might be silly, but they’re still capable. It’s great how Pete is never played as a ‘bad guy’, but instead treated as a man trying to recapture his glory days, and the heroes see this and treat him kindly because of it. It shows the nice side of being a hero, that sometimes it’s about showing compassion as much as it is throwing a punch.

I’m sure there’ll be some among you who read this issue and feel let down, hoping for big superhero action but left disappointed by a campy adventure. But there are dozens of comics designed for you published every month; this is something aimed at a very different audience, one that often gets overlooked, and this book gives them something great to sink their teeth into.

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Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle returns readers to the fiery planet of Mustafar, where Darth Vader’s imposing castle still looms over the beleaguered native people, even after the fall of the Galactic Empire at the Battle of Endor, and the death of the dreaded Dark Lord himself.

Written by veteran Star Wars author Cavan Scott, the book manages to pack a load of stories and art styles into its pages. The first of these stories takes readers back in time to the events of Revenge of the Sith, where recently fallen Anakin Skywalker comes to Mustafar for the first time.

The story follows Kakan, a young Mustafarian who’s dreamt of seeing a Jedi his entire life. Having grown up on stories of these amazing force users and protectors of the innocent, he’s thrilled when rumour reaches him of a Jedi on his planet. Running to the lava mines, he finally gets to see one of these legendary warriors, before realising this is no guardian of the Light. The fallen Anakin chases the child deep into the mines, desperate to eliminate him so there are no witnesses. However, deep in the mines Anakin is exposed to the hallucinogenic toxins in the mists, and is driven further to the dark side because of it.

This story might be pretty short, but it’s one of the ones that I enjoyed most in this collection, mostly because it adds more to events we’re already familiar with. Instead of Anakin having come to Mustafar to kill the Separatist leaders and just waiting for Obi-Wan to come he’s an active force, and the mental torture he goes through when confronted by the twisted, demonic shades of his former Jedi friends adds more weight to his fall to the dark side, and makes it feel more justified. It’s also great to see these twisted versions of heroes like Plo Koon, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ahsoka Tano.

The rest of the issue jumps forwards more than two decades, to the time of the fall of the Galactic Empire. Just following the Battle of Endor, and the death of Vader, some of the locals are discussing the fact that the castle still stands, and two of them take it upon themselves to infiltrate the castle, and use detonators to destroy it from the inside. During this adventure we get three more stories, as they’re warned against going into the castle, hear a tale of Vader’s cruelty, and try to scare each other with tales of dark side sorcery. Each of these stories is tackled by different artists, and makes them instantly jump out from the main story that’s being used as a framing device.

One of these stories reveals more of the backstory of Vanee, the dark cloaked attendant to Vader seen briefly in Rogue One, as well as several other Star Wars comics, though it being a secondhand tale means that this story might not be entirely true, but merely conjecture. Either way, it offers some fascinating insight into the origin of the character,m and ties into the first story in the book.

There’s also a story that sees a young Twi’lek girl being sent to retrieve a special crystal by a mysterious cloaked figure with powers that’s definitely Palpatine, as well as a story where a scientist tries to double cross Vader. The book is packed with small stories and vignettes that add more to the vast chronicles of the horrors that the Sith lords have committed, and helps to make the star wars universe feel a little more lived in, and shows that Vader and his master were always doing something, always working on one scheme or another.

Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle manages to pack in a lot of content, and give insight into characters fans will be familiar with, as well as introducing some new and scary ideas into the lore. It even manages to set the stage for a potentially very exciting new story to come in Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader’s Castle, which could have some huge implications for the ever expanding Star Wars universe. A great one-shot that offers good value for money.

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