Scanners - Blu-Ray Review

 

Scanners is one of those movies where even if you've never seen it you've heard about it, and likely you've seen a clip of it. We all know which clip, that very specific scene that's been used to sell people on the film since even before it came out; the head explosion. Perhaps one of the most famous shock moments in film history, it made Scanners into a film that is being remembered decades later, and helped to secure it's writer and director David Cronenberg as a creative with a unique vision. Like a lot of people, I'd seen that particular scene in Scanners, and it was about all I knew about the movie, and it's not been until Second Sight's new Blu-ray release that I've finally had a chance to watch this classic piece of cinema.

Scanners tells the story about a special group of people, people with psychic powers who have been labelled as Scanners. The Scanners are little known to the public, and it seems that the private military corporation ConSec are the only ones really aware of their existence; though ConSec are slowly starting to reveal the existence of Scanners as a product that people can purchase in order to increase security. However, there's also an underground resistance of Scanners, led by the cruel Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside), who want to recruit all of the Scanners to their side to revolt against humanity.

In order to combat Revok, Doctor Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan), the man who discovered the existence of Scanners and developed a drug that allows them to block out their powers, finds and recruits Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack), a homeless Scanner whose powers have forced him to live on the fringes of society. With help from Ruth, Vale learns to control his abilities, and agrees to help find and stop Revok, who's killing any Scanner who refuses to side with him. 

Scanners is a fairly simple plot, and is more of a mixture of corporate espionage thriller and science fiction than horror; though it's hard to deny that the film employs plenty of body horror in its depiction of the Scanners destructive abilities. Having only known about the infamous head explosion scene I was surprised to find that this moment happened early in the movie, within the first ten minutes, but that it was not indicative of the movie as a whole. Scanners is instead a relatively slow burn of a film, one that seems more focused on how Vale learns to deal with the new reality that he's not crazy, and that he is one of a select group with unique powers. 

The movie is fairly bleak at times, and the cold Canadian winter in which it was filmed in seems to bleed into the tone of the film at times, and you can feel the cold encroaching into the fabric of the film itself. It blends well with the general tone of people being forced to live on the fringes of the rest of humanity, people who have been haunted by their abilities, people who are lonely and hurt, people who are angry at the world around them. Whilst the setting of the early 80's feels very much of it's time the themes of the film still feel very relevant, especially in a time where we as a society still have marginalised groups who are targeted simply for being 'different' from the majority. I think that Scanners as a film, and the Scanners of the film, will be something that people from marginalised groups will connect with even now; even if that was not an original intent of Cronenberg. 

Whilst much of the films content was something of a surprise for me, being a much slower and more introspective kind of story than I was expecting, when the time comes for things to get gory it very much feels like a Cronenberg film. There are some moments in the story when the Scanners use their powers to harm and kill others, and it would have been easy to make these moments feel subtle, such as having someone collapse with some blood running from their nose and saying that a Scanner gave them an aneurism or something like that. However, Cronenberg makes the Scanners feel incredibly visceral and destructive when using their powers, and rather than being able to surgically strike on their opponents they act more like a sledgehammer.

The film's conclusion illustrates this perfectly, and the extra features on the disc go into this in greater detail, revealing both how the gory effects were created, but also that much of what is seen in these final moments were additional shots and reshoots as the first ending was considered a little too tame. The effects used in this scene are shocking, due in part to the film having gone so long without something so brutal, and both Scanners who are locked in psychic battle have bursting veins, spouting blood, exploding eyes, and sudden combustion to contend with. It's this final, brutal moment that reminds the viewer that this is a Cronenberg film, and will leave you feeling both shocked and uncomfortable. 

The new release features a 4K restoration of the movie, and it's looks fantastic. Having seen clips of the head explosion over the years I was used to seeing Scanners as grainy, almost grimy in its visual presentation, but Second Sight have outdone themselves in how good the film looks. Everything is crisp and sharp, the colours are bold, and effects work is even more impressive now that it can be seen in even greater detail. I love seeing these older films, which have mostly been shown in lower quality over the decades, given new life on Blu-ray where it feels like seeing it as it was truly intended to be seen, and those familiar with the movie will surely love being able to pour over every tiny detail like never before.

The new release comes with a pair of audio commentaries, one of which is brand new to this edition. The newest of these features Caelum Vatnsdal, author of They Came From Within: A history of Canadian Cinema, and is able to use his expertise to talk about the production of the movie and the impact that it would go on to have. The second commentary has film studies professor William Beard, who does a similar job to Vatnsdal, offering stories and information about the film. Whilst some people prefer to have no commentary if the people who worked on the movies aren't available to take part Second Sight seem to go out of their way to find well informed people who can at least offer decent insight into the films they're talking about, and the commentaries on offer here are educational, and for folks who know little about Scanners but want to learn more they offer a decent way of doing so. 

Alongside the commentaries there are also a number of interviews with cast and crew, including Stephen Lack, Michael Ironside, Lawrence Dane, Mark Irwin, and Howard Shore. The interviews vary in length and quality depending on what it is you're hoping to get out of them. Lack, for example, comes across as very different to Ironside, despite them being the two leads in the film. Ironside goes into detail on what it was like to film, telling some amusing stories and coming across as incredibly charming, whilst Lack, who is more an artist than an actor, feels a little removed from Scanners, and comes across as less happy about his involvement in the film. There's about two and a half hours of interviews in total, spread across several cast and crew, so even if one isn't to your liking there will be some that entertain.

The new release was a great introduction to Scanners for me, and for fans of the film it certainly seems to be a great new release. The picture and sound quality are great, and make the film feel fresh and new. The extra features aren't incredibly varied, but it seems like Second Sight went out of their way to include what they could, and it means there's plenty to watch even after the film is done. Whether you're a long time fan of the film, or a newcomer like myself who's been hooked ever since seeing that head pop, this makes for a great watch.

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The Brood - Blu-ray Review

 

The work of David Cronenberg has always been something that I've found interesting, even if it's not something I've gone out of my way to watch much of. I remember catching Rabid late one night as a teen and being intensely fascinated by it, to the point where it's been twenty years since I've seen it but there are parts of the movie that are burned into my memory and easier to recall that films I saw this year. I only caught parts of Videodrome, but again, I remember it intensely. And his version of The Fly is a film that I'd absolutely recommend to those looking into body horror movie. His work seems to have a way of getting under the skin, often relying on making the viewer uncomfortable rather than outright afraid. The Brood is a film that I'd always heard whispers of but had never seen, as such when I was offered the chance to watch the new Blu-ray release from Second Sight I jumped at the chance.

The Brood begins in a way that almost feels designed to confuse and unsettle the viewer, in a scene where two men in simple clothing that resembles karate gi sit opposite each other on stage as a crowd watches on. One of the men, Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) berates the other, talking to him as if he's his father, insulting his calm nature, calling him a girl, yelling about treating him like a little girl instead of a man, to the point where the other man breaks down sobbing before ripping his shirt open to reveal welts and wounds across his torso. Then the demonstration ends to applause from the crowd. It's not immediately clear exactly what we've just seen, is it perhaps some kind of play, or is there something more going on? This question is how the film immediately hooks you, draws you in as you find yourself wanting answers. Luckily it doesn't hold back for long, and we learn that Raglan is actually a psychotherapist, and we just watched him performing his radical therapy on a patient. 

This is the instigating factor of the movie, Raglan and his bizarre treatment. We meet Frank Carveth (Art Hindle), a young man whose family is being fractured by Raglan's treatment. His wife, Nola (Samantha Eggar) is a patient of Raglans, dealing with trauma from her abusive childhood, and her isolation at Raglan's facility has strained the marriage so far that divorce looms on the horizon, with their daughter Candice (Cindy Hinds) suffering the most. We follow the Carveth family as terrible events begin to happen around them. It begins when Nola's mother is attacked and brutally beaten to death in her home, with Candice in the other room, by an unseen assailant who appears to be some strange, small person.

As Frank tries to keep his daughter safe and well more bizarre incidents happen around them, with people who have wronged Nola, or who she's simply angry at, coming into the crossfire. It appears that Raglan's strange treatment is having an extreme effect on Nola, one that could threaten the lives of anyone she deems to be a threat to her.

The Brood is a strange movie, one that's hard to pin down as being about one particular thing. There are parts of the film that seem to be criticising psychotherapy, especially as Oliver Reed's character is the reason for all of the ill that happens in the movie, with his techniques leaving people traumatised, deformed, or even dead. You can also look at The Brood as film about motherhood, and the raw power of the female body and its ability to produce life. Nola's 'children' are a fascinating outcome of Raglan's treatment that are little explained in the film beyond Nola's anger and rage literally manifesting itself out of her body. The fact that the monster children are born from prepressed rage and trauma, and that they go on to destroy other people, may even be seen as a commentary on how destructive and self destructive these emotions can be if not dealt with in a healthy way.

The film doesn't give clear answers, and for some that is likely to be somewhat frustrating; but for myself it hits the same notes that made Cronenberg's other works stick with me so hard. It doesn't hold your hand and walk you through everything, it instead presents you with the horrific scenario and walks away, leaving you to try to come to terms with it on your own. And this is why Cronenberg is so good at getting to people, and creates art that will be long remembered.

The performances in The Brood are pretty decent, and Oliver Reed, an actor notorious for being out of control when the cameras aren't rolling, Dominates every scene he's in. From the opening moments of the movie, where he's picking his patient apart with both calm and calculated words and booming insults he becomes the actor to watch, as he delivers a wonderfully subtle performance. The standout has to be Samantha Eggar as Nola, who spends most of the film in a hazy, dream-like state as she relives her past trauma and seems to be unable to understand what's happening around her. It's the final act of the film, however, where we see her come to life in frightening ways. With one scene Eggar creates a performance that will stick with you long after the film has ended, and it's easy to see why people still talk about the ending of The Brood more than forty years later.

The audio and video quality of the Blu-ray restoration is superb, and the film looks incredibly crisp and clear throughout, with strong colours and a sharpness of detail that previous incarnations seemed to have lacked. Alongside the new presentation of the movie there's a whole host of extra features. The film comes with two audio commentaries, the first features film writer and journalist Martyn Conterio and author and critic Kat Ellinger, whilst the other has William Beard going solo. Both commentaries are entertaining, and offer additional insights into the film, and the work of those involved. The two commentaries have different styles to them too, with one being much more conversational and relaxed as the two commentators bounce off each other.

As well as the commentaries there are a fair few interviews with cast and crew, including cast members Art Hindle, Cindy Hinds, and Robert A. Silverman, the executive producer Pierre David, cinematographer Mark Irwin, composer Howard Shore, and an archival interview with David Cronenberg himself. The interviews vary in length, but together offer over an hour of extra features that give some insights into the film. There's also a small video essay from Leigh Singer to round things out too.

All together, the new Blu-ray offers a great way to experience The Brood, whether you're a long time fan of the movie, or if you're discovering it for the very first time. Second Sight seem to have put a great deal of effort into giving viewers the best version of the film they can, and it looks fantastic on screen; and for those who want even more content the extra features justify diving into them. The Brood is a movie that begs the audience to question what they're watching, and presents you with some disturbing scenes that will be hard to forget.

The Brood is available on both Limited Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Second Sight from the 31st March 2025.

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Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga - Ant-Man: The Art of the Movie - Book Review

 

For comic book fans there was a slight mistake when the first Avengers movie hit the screens, the founding members weren't quite right. Yes, the film included the Hulk, who is often forgotten as an original member, and they made the main villain Loki, but they forgot three fifths of the original team, Ant-Man and the Wasp. It wasn't until after the second Avengers film, Avengers: Age of Ultron, that moviegoers would get to see these classic heroes on the big screen after something of a tumultuous production.

Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga - Ant-Man: The Art of the Movie takes a look at some of the behind the scenes of the making of a film that was considered something of a big risk for the studio, as their smallest character prepared to take the world by storm. Ant-Man is a character with a very complex, and sometimes unsavoury, history in the comics, and the book opens with a brief introduction to Hank Pym and the others to wear the helmet. It's pretty brief, as if the book covered the history of Ant-Man in any real depth the book would have to be a lot bigger, but it provides readers with a decent grounding if their only experience with the character is the movies.

The first chapter covers Ant-Man himself and the designs for the suit. As with previous books in the series the suit designs are some of the best stuff, and it's interesting to see the process the team went through to get the perfect look. A lot of the suits seem to be going along the same design path, sticking pretty close to what we ended up with, but after looking through what's on display here it really does feel like the movie got the design just right, as most of the ones in the book just feel a little bit off. This is especially obvious when it comes to the helmet designs, and there are several where the team tried a more insect-like look, which sounds like it should work, but it ends up making the character a bit too alien and unsettling at times.

©2025 MARVEL

After this chapter the book spends a great deal of time going over the design process for one of the most important aspects of Ant-Man, shrinking. The book showcases just how much thought and planning had to go into these sequences, and we're treated to a lot of storyboards as well as concept art that illustrates how each and every step had to be carefully laid out and considered. It highlights how important getting this aspect of the film right was, as if it hadn't have been handled so well it's easy for these kind of effects to veer into the schlocky. 

One of the biggest departures from the comics that the film made was making Yellowjacket into a different character, rather than one of the identities that Ant-Man would take on. This worked to the films benefit, as it was a character that came with a connection to the protagonists, but allowed the studio the freedom to make something new. The chapter that covers the villain has some of the best designs in the book, and some of the rejected Yellowjacket looks end up being my favourite versions of the character. There are several that go a bit too insect-like, that make the suit very sinister, and I love them. The villain is the character where veering too far into the inhuman works, and there's more than one design in here that I wished we could have had on the big screen. 

One of the biggest sections of the book is given over to the smallest characters, the ants. Something that I love about the first Ant-Man that I feel was a little lacking in his other film appearances was how much he used ants in his missions. The film included several different species of ants, who would have various tasks, and whilst it was a fun inclusion the film didn't always give you much time to really take in Scott's tiny allies. The book spends a lot of time showcasing the ants and all of the equipment they get to play with. There are various designs for the saddles they wear, as well as winches, cameras, fuel tanks, lasers, solar panels, and more. It's genuinely delightful to see all of the tiny devices strapped to the ants and it makes you appreciate how much work goes into making a concept like an ant with a radar dish on its back feel like something that could actually happen.

©2025 MARVEL

There are a couple of pages towards the back of the book for the Wasp, a character who only appears briefly in the film via flashbacks. It felt like a shame that an important character like Janet Van Dyne was relegated to little more than a cameo in the film, and whilst she gets several pages here it also feels a bit the same. What makes it feel even more of a shame is the rejected suit designs showcased here are perhaps some of the best in the entire MCU. There's one look in particular, which has her in a flared jacket that evokes the classic red skirt look from the comics, along with shoulder pads and a pointed helmet that feels like the perfect modernisation of her 60's look.

The last portion of the book spends a lot of time going over the battles in the movie, with two page splashes of Ant-Man and Yellowjacket fighting through giant environments, and breakdowns of how Ant-Man deals with security guards. It's decent enough, but a good portion of it is just a single image spread over two pages, with the occasional paragraph of text going into further detail on occasion. This leads me to my biggest issue with this book, and this series, that sometimes it feels like there is a lot of the book that's simply designed to be looked at with little else. This might sound like an odd complaint for an art book, but I like to learn more about the films alongside looking at the art. I want to know about the process, why certain designs were rejected, why certain designs were approved, and this book doesn't go into things to that depth. 

Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga - Ant-Man: The Art of the Movie provides a look into the behind the scenes of the film with some fabulous art that will make you appreciate the film a little bit more. There are some tiny details you'll never have noticed before that you'll be noticing next time you watch it, and you'll likely be seeing the big, flashy moments in a whole new way. If you want to learn more about the behind the scenes in a whole, however, you might find certain parts of the book a little lacking, but for those wanting to lose themselves in the visuals of Ant-Man this makes for a great addition to your library.

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Don't Turn Out The Lights - Film Review

 

Don't Turn Out The Lights has a very recognisable premise, a group of young friends go on a trip across country and get into a situation that leads them into terrible danger. It's pretty formulaic, to the point where most of the things I saw in the trailer before watching the movie felt kind of predictable, the group of archetype teens, the spooky forest, the unhelpful and aggressive country folk, it wasn't until the trailer showed a scene with an interesting supernatural bent to it that I realised the movie was more than just another Hills Have Eyes or Wrong Turn type movie. And this is perhaps the biggest problem with Don't Turn Out The Lights it's fairly stuck in horror cliches that whenever it tries to do something interesting it doesn't really have the room to fully realise it.

The film begins with a group of high school friends reuniting to celebrate the birthday of one of their group. Slowly gathering in a park where a huge birthday celebration has been set up (balloons, food and drink, and party favours just left out in a public space unsupervised that somehow didn't get messed with), only to find that the party is a front to hide the real celebration, tickets to a weekend long music festival. In order for the group of friends to make it across country in time to actually make the most of the expensive passes is to drive non-stop in an RV so that they can make it there by midnight. The poor planning in not telling your friends they're going on a weekend long trip, and the fact that the transport means they'll miss almost a day of it (with no thought given as to when they'd have to set off back home either), it shows the level of ill planning that this group of stock characters bring to the table.

It also displays one of my big problems with the movie too, that things just happen with little to no thought about the larger impact of those events, and characters are purely reactive, and can often change moment to moment. We see some of this as the group makes their journey, with several scenes of the group chatting, playing games, and getting into inter-personal drama along the way. It's hard to keep track of all of the relationships and personalities, as even though most of the characters fit into broad archetypes the script will have them doing whatever is needed in the moment, having friends turn on each other, and enemies acting like pals, because it helps the scene; with the larger narrative suffering for it somewhat.

After a confrontation with some racist and sexist truck drivers the group end up having to take an unplanned route and head into more remote countryside, eventually getting a bit lost. Stopping at a bar to ask for directions the locals, who all look like 80's biker bar villains, prove to be little help beyond a cryptic and threatening 'turn around'. Not wanting to listen to the mean bar owner, the group continues on their way until their RV mysteriously comes to a stop on a deserted road. This is where the real meat of the movie begins, as strange forces start to plague the group, targeting them one by one.

By the time Don't Turn Out The Lights reaches the point where it feels like it's finally started to do something the film is almost halfway through, and the slow pacing of the first half means that some viewers attention may be somewhat lacking (one of the people I was watching with had pretty much given up by this point). For me, this was when the film finally grabbed me, especially when the supernatural elements began. The creepy voices coming out the forest that sounded like a group of deadites from The Evil Dead was so sudden and surprising that I couldn't help be be drawn into the narrative. However, the film failed to really do much at this point beyond throw several ideas into the mix without really paying them off.

What was happening here, what was the supernatural force targeting the teens, why was it doing what it was doing? These are all questions the film doesn't answer, and it doesn't even really give any hints either. A couple of the characters question if perhaps this is happening everywhere and the world has gone to hell, but they do this with no real reason to do so and no way of proving it. Later they discover a stash of books in the RV on the occult, but nothing comes from this. Towards the end a character is revealed to have a pentagram tattoo, and it's handled in a way that makes you think a big reveal or twist is coming, but again nothing happens. The film keeps teasing like this, giving hints at a possible explanation that could be coming, yet giving the viewer nothing. Even the mysterious forces that plague the teens seem to change from moment to moment, having no set way of doing things that it feels like the creators just didn't want to stick to one thing and wanted to try out as many ideas as possible.

Don't Turn Out The Lights feels like several films all kind of mashed together into one. There's multiple monsters, multiple spooky events, multiple characters, multiple possible explanations, and it all comes together to create this almost half-formed movie. For a film that's almost two hours long it feels like it never really does much with that runtime. I learned that the writer and director is more used to creating comedy, and that this is his first real foray into horror, and you can definitely see that he's still trying to find his feet. Whether it's not really knowing what to do with the various concepts he had, or only wanting to make one horror film so putting all the ideas into one project, Don't Turn Out The Lights comes across more like an ideas showreel than a fully planned out project.

I wanted to like Don't Turn Out The Lights, I think it's important to support smaller projects and embrace lower budget movies over big blockbusters, but in the end I came away from the movie feeling bored, confused, and a little bit tired. With some tighter cuts in the first half of the movie, trimming down the stuff that doesn't really add much to the movie, and with a focus on one or two ideas instead of multiple different ones, and Don't Turn Out The Lights could have been a decent if predictable low budget horror film; as is, it's a movie that may struggle to find an audience. 

Don't Turn Out The Lights is available on digital platforms from 17th March 2025.

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Secret Six #1 - Comic Review

 

Writer: Nicole Maines, Artist: Stephen Segovia, 
Colourist: Rain Beredo, Letterer: Steve Wands

The original run of Secret Six is a comic that I've not read in a long time, but one that I'd very quickly name as one of my all time favourite series. It was so good that even after more than a decade of not having read it I'm still remembering it fondly (which reminds me I should pick up the swanky omnibus at some point); as such, and book that's going to carry that title on is going to have some big shoes to fill. When this new volume was announced the line-up was pretty interesting, featuring some characters who's been on the team before, Black Alice, Catman, and Deadshot, alongside three newbies, Superman (Jon Kent), Dreamer, and Gossamer. The returning characters are some great picks, and I think both Deadshot and Catman feel like must haves for the Secret Six, and the new trio are bringing some interesting baggage with them following the events of Absolute Power.

And Absolute Power is a big influence on this new series, and out of all of the titles launched since that event this one feels like one of the most direct follow-on's. At the end of Absolute Power Amanda Waller was put into Belle Reve prison, her memories of all of the super heroes secrets wiped from her mind thanks to Dreamer. It's here that our story begins, with Jon Kent helping to detain Waller's formerly mind controlled Bizarro II, who's in the process of escaping the prison. It shows that despite the sense of victory that came in Absolute Power there's still a lot to be cleaned up, and a lot of problems remaining. 

This is only highlighted when Jon goes to see his boyfriend Jay, who perhaps lost the most during Absolute Power. Thanks to Waller's machinations Jay's nation was destroyed, and his mother was murdered. As such it's not hard to see why he still holds a lot of trauma, and why he's especially angry for those responsible. Unfortunately, one of those people is Nia, the hero Dreamer, a good friend of Jon's who was blackmailed into working with Waller. Despite saving Jon more than once during the event, and even giving up her life, Jay blames her as much as Waller; which leads to some uncomfortable moments when she appears on their doorstep to tell them that Waller has gone missing. Thus begins their mission to get into Belle Reve to get some answers; a mission that will lead to them being forced to work alongside a trio of criminals.

If you haven't read Absolute Power the first issue of Secret Six is throwing a lot of new information at you, however, Nicole Maines manages to deliver it in very concise, easy to understand pieces throughout the book. We're slowly given what we need as it becomes needed, such as starting with Jon and learning about Waller's actions, before moving on to learn about what happened to Jay. A lot of this is delivered through some handy narration boxes, delivered by Jon, but a lot of it comes up quite naturally in the dialogue; especially when Jon, Nia, and Jay are together. It would have been very easy to bog these moments down in exposition, or to have them become angsty screaming matches, but Maines manages to walk the line between expository and realistic well, and I actually really like the interpersonal moments, even if I think Jay is being too much of a dick to Nia.

This trip relationship is definitely the heart of the book, and it's been interesting to see how it's evolved from the comics leading up to Absolute Power to now. If you've read all of those you can't help but feel bad for Nia, who was forced into an impossible situation and did everything she could to set it right. But, you can absolutely understand why Jay resents her. Poor Jon is the one stuck in the middle, trying to make it work, wanting to support his boyfriend and friend both, which can't be easy for him when he clearly sees Jay's anger as misplaced. I'd seen people talking about this trio several months ago, talking about how it seemed to them that they were being set up to become a polyamorous relationship, and whilst I didn't see that myself it's certainly an interesting dynamic that this could be building towards. I'd be very interested to see this kind of relationship explored more in comics (previous Secret Six titles did this too), and one that starts off more antagonistic would be a neat twist on that. 

The art on the book is really well done, and it was one of the first things that jumped out at me when it was announced alongside Stephen Segovia's cover. I love the designs for the characters, especially Jon and Catman. Jon has gone through a lot of different looks over recent years, which feels in part a response to DC editorial not really knowing what to do with the character. His look here is very different, darker in colour, slightly armoured looking without it being some kind of mech suit, and it just kind of works for me, especially with the darker tone this title's going for. Catman I big for his new cape, particularly the big collar he has. It gives him some bulk, and changes up his shape a little so that he doesn't just look like 'Batman but a cat'. He's got his own thing going on here and I really like it. Rain Beredo's colours also go a long way towards making me really click with the art style too, as I like the moody edge it has, and the shades that have been chosen for the colours.

This series was going to have to be really good for me to consider it worthy of using the title Secret Six, and whilst this is only the first issue I was more than just pleased with what we got, I was massively impressed. I ended the issue ready to jump into the next one, it hooked me in just the right way. I think Nicole Maines has done a terrific job here, and anyone who might try to claim that she's working in comics purely because she played Dreamer on television is going to have to shut up after this issue, as it showcases that she's a superb up and coming comic book writer who's sure to have a fantastic career.

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Running on Karma - Blu-ray Review

 

Whilst I'm no expert on East Asian cinema I've certainly seen a lot more than the average person, and some of my favourite films are ones a lot of people wouldn't have even heard of. As such, when I received a copy of Running on Karma I was surprised to learn that I'd never actually watched a Johnnie To film before, and that this would be my first. In fact, I'd not seen any films produced by the Milkyway Image production company, and was eager to correct that.

Made in 2003, Running on Karma tells the story of Big (Andy Lau), a former Buddhist monk turned bodybuilder and stripper who we meet in the middle of a police raid in Hong Kong, where he's arrested for indecent exposure and being an illegal immigrant. What makes Big even more unusual (if he wasn't unique enough already) is the fact that he has the ability to look at people and see visions of their past lives, granting him the ability to know what's going to happen to them in this life based upon their karma. Big attempts to escape the police raid, literally fleeing through the streets naked, pursued by undercover cop Lee Fung-yee (Cecilia Cheung).

Whilst the raid is happening homicide police are responding to a brutal murder nearby, and discover a killer able to contort himself into tiny spaces. The killer escapes, and the two police chances literally run into each other in the street. As Big is caught and arrested he sees a vision of Lee Fung-yee as a Japanese solider in a former life and understands that it means she may soon die. Despite the authorities trying to deport him, Big sticks around to try and help Lee and prevent her death after seeing her innate kindness.

Running on Karma is something of an odd film, one that I struggled to come to a decision on. On the one hand it's presented as somewhat comedic. Andy Lau is in a muscle suit that makes him look odd and out of proportion half the time, though the suit looks incredibly good at times too. There's also silly scenes, such as when Big has to follow the cops on a bike, but because he's never driven one before he's crashing and trashing the bike constantly. The film also has some supernatural elements, such as Big being able to see karma, but also there's a killer who can get through impossible holes and bends like he's Tooms from The X-Files, and a burglar who crawls on walls like an insect. This gives the film a somewhat ridiculous tone, but it crashes up against moments like police brutality, people being brutally killed, mutilation, and trauma. These tones often change from scene to scene, giving the viewer tonal whiplash more than once across the runtime. 

A film that's trying to mix together Buddhist beliefs, super hero action, comedy, crime thriller, romance, and martial arts might seem so unwieldy that you might think that there's little to keep you engaged, but the central relationship between its two stars was engaging enough that it stopped things from being so boring or silly that I stayed engaged until the end. The two actors have decent chemistry, and it's easy to see how Andy Lau became such a big star of Hong Kong cinema. Even when in a big muscle suit and playing the fool he has charisma that comes through and showcases why he's a leading me. He's charming and you can't help but come to care for Big, despite how silly things may feel.

Despite the silliness, the film takes a pretty sharp turn towards the end, and becomes a very dark affair. Whilst it still can't play things 'normal' and adds some elements that make the ending feel weird and otherworldly, it still manages to have an emotionally impactful conclusion that makes this odd journey feel worthwhile. That being said, the ending is odd, and I can absolutely see it leaving a lot of folks unsatisfied. I think that Running on Karma is a film that people will like certain aspects of, but that most people will come away disliking certain elements as it's a film that seems to be trying the 'throw everything in and see what works' approach.

The new Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment comes with a 1080p HD presentation of the movie that looks very crisp and sharp. There are a lot of films that when they make the leap to HD don't quite hold up as much as you can see the seams as it were, and I half expected that with Running on Karma, especially when it came to the muscle suit. I thought that it would look overly fake in HD, but it actually looks really good in high quality, and doesn't prove as distracting as I was expecting. There's also two audio commentaries for the film that goes into the behind the scenes, the careers of the people both in front and behind the camera, and the way the movie was received and impacted Hong Kong cinema. They're both very informative, and even if you didn't quite gel with the movie itself the commentaries are definitely worth a watch to learn a bit more about the movie.

Alongside the film and the commentary tracks the disc includes a theatrical trailer, and an archive behind the scenes featurette that includes interviews with cast and crew. There's also a new featurette interview with Gary Bettinson, the editor-in-chief of Asia Cinema journal that does into more depth on the film, its stars, and even some of the history of the Milkyway Production company and the people involved with it. Overall, the extras provide a really nice history and background on the film, and those that enjoy learning about cinema will certainly enjoy what's on offer here. 

Running on Karma might be a bit of a weird film, and it's probably not going to be to everyone's tastes, but it makes for some interesting viewing, and the new Masters of Cinema version not only offers a really great quality version of the film, but some cool extra's for film fans, and so is definitely worth looking at for fans of Hong Kong cinema.

Running on Karma is available no Blu-ray now from Eureka Entertainment,

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Die Alone - Film Review

 

The end of the world has always been a ripe premise for fiction, whether that's ancient fairy tales like Ragnarök or the Rapture, or modern stories like The Last of Us or the George A. Romero zombie films, people have always wanted to imagine a scenario of what could come after civilisation as we know it falls. Die Alone is the latest entry in this genre, and whilst you can look at all of it's individual parts and see similar ideas in other places, as a whole it's one of the more interesting and engaging post-apocalypse pieces I've seen in many years.

The film begins with our lead character, Ethan (Douglas Smith) standing on a hilltop, watching the sunset, before putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. From here we're thrown backwards in time to see what led him to this point, entering the story as Ethan wakes up in a crashed car, him memory addled, and his girlfriend Emma (Kimberly-Sue Murray) missing. Ethan can remember Emma, can remember that a strange virus was been sweeping across the world, but has little memory of what led him to this moment, presumably thanks to the car crash he's been through.

Searching for Emma, Ethan comes across the hardened survivor Mae (Carrie-Anne Moss), a woman more than capable of defending herself and others in the new world that Ethan finds himself in. Able to take down hostile people, and with her own isolated home that has its own food garden, fresh water, and the ability to generate electricity, she takes Ethan in and agrees to help him try to find Emma. Unfortunately, it's not just hostile humans that Ethan and Mae have to contend with, as the virus has turned the infected into plant-like zombies.

I'm sure you've just read the words plant-like zombies and your mind has likely gone to make comparisons to The Last of Us, which had a similar concept of people being infected with a variation of the cordyceps fungus; Die Alone isn't just copying that, however, as it's zombies look and feel a lot different. The effects work on the infected in this film has to be one of the first things I talk about as I need to heap praise on it. Whilst we don't see huge numbers of these creatures, those we do see have some of the more interesting and creative designs I've seen on the cinema screen. Some of the infected are covered in moss, some have grass and leaves growing out of them, others seem to almost be transforming into trees, with literal branches coming out of them. It's such a fun and unique feeling design that I always wanted to see more of them, and my main criticism of the movie is that it didn't include more of these monsters; though I'm not going to tell the creators how they should have made their movie.

Die Alone isn't all about zombies, and most of the film doesn't even feature them to be honest. The heart of Die Alone is Ethan's story and his quest to find the woman that he loves. Douglas Smith does a good job at portraying the desperation that Ethan feels in this situation, of wanting desperately to be with Emma in a world that's gone to hell. You get the sense that he's suffering more from not being with her than from his memory loss or broken arm, and it humanises him nicely. Anyone who has a partner they love will be able to connect with Ethan, and can understand how it would drive you crazy to be separated from them, especially in a situation like this.

Carrie-Anne Moss's Mae is a perfect counterpoint to Ethan, and absolutely shines as the joint lead. Initially somewhat intimidating, Mae is clearly well equipped to survive in a world where you've always got to be on guard, and there are moments where she's quite frightening. However, it's also clear that there's a lot of vulnerability to her that shines through in some of the more intimate moments of the film. The two of them fit together nicely as Ethan seems like the sort of person who needs someone to take care of him, and Mae seems so starved of companionship that despite her stony exterior appears to quickly fall into that protector role for the benefit of companionship and company that she's been without.

The film poster also features Frank Grillo quite prominently, and his name is up there with Carrie-Anne Moss and Douglas Smith, but if you come to Die Alone expecting to see a lot of him you might be a bit disappointed, as Grillo is in relatively little of the film. By the time he appeared on screen I'd honestly forgot he was supposed to be in the movie. That being said, whilst his screentime is short he has a big presence and makes the most of his time, and gets to be in some of the more memorable moments of the story.

There's more I'd like to say about Die Alone, but if I did it would likely spoil the viewing experience in some small and significant ways, so all I will say is that the film's story does some stuff that I really loved, and by the time it comes to a close I honestly wanted to go back and watch the whole thing again to see how I'd feel seeing it a second time. And with the film sitting at a very well paced 90 minutes it's not something I'd be against doing as it's not a long film, but does use it's time really well. 

Die Alone might not get much attention thanks to big budget post-apocalypse film and TV, but it's a film that definitely deserves your attention. Whether it's the brilliant performance of Carrie-Anne Moss (who definitely needs to be cast in roles like this again), the intriguing story, or the fantastic effects work on the infected, Die Alone has a ton of positives going for it. Fans of the horror and post-apocalypse genres should definitely give it a watch.

Die Alone will be available on home entertainment from 10th March 2025.

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Green Lantern #20 - Comic Review

 

Writer: Jeremy Adams, Artist: Jack Herbert, 

Colourist: Romulo Fajardo Jr., Letterer: Dave Sharpe

With the launch of Green Lantern Corps things have changed for the main Green Lantern title as Hal's adventures now not only tie into what's happening in the other book, but he's sharing page space with Kyle Rayner as the entire Corps become embroiled in a galaxy spanning adventure. As a long time Green Lantern fan I like this kind of set-up more, and I think we've reached the point where having a singular GL headline a lone book just feels somewhat too small for the universe that has been built up around them. 

Following on from the events of the Fractured Spectrum special, this issue sees Hal dealing with an alien whose connected to the powers of the Red Lanterns, whilst Kyle and his team search for a piece of Source Energy in order to stop the Sorrow Lantern building his own Central Power Battery. Each of these stories takes up a fairly evenly divided portion of the book, though Hal isn't around for a good portion of his events as we spend several pages following Erastus, an alien blacksmith who eventually taps into the power of Rage. Erastus is a decent man, one who works hard, who takes great pride in his skill, but whose work is stolen by the local boss, who refuses to pay Erastus as he agreed to. We also see that Erastus's life partner cares little for him, going out partying when he comes home from work, putting him down, and even going off to sleep with other men. 

After spending this time with Erastus we not only understand why he's driven to anger, but I think that most people would sympathise with him. It would have been easy to have started with Hal coming to Alteon-X to respond to the carnage that Erastus causes, being introduced to him at the same time Hal is, but that would have presented Erastus as little more than an angry monster; a faceless foe for Hal to overcome. By spending this time with him we see the person under the anger, we understand how he came to this point, and it makes you want to see him have a decent outcome rather than him just being stomped by the hero. It's one of the things that I think the original introduction of the Red Lanterns lacked. We would eventually find out more about them and would learn to see them as victims in need of help rather than monsters, such as Bleez being a victim of torture and rape, or the frankly heart breaking origin story for Dex-starr, but these latter provided origin stories always struck me as the writers going back and justifying why you should care for these characters. Here, Adams gives us that reason up front and it makes it much better. 

When Hal enters the story we know Erastus, and as such I wanted Hal to be able to help him the same way that Sinestro was able to help the woman who'd tapped into the emotional spectrum in the first issue of Green Lantern Corps. But Erastus proves to be a quite formidable opponent, and this situation remains unsolved by the end of the issue, meaning that it's likely going to be carried across into the next one. What we do get is entertaining though, and the fight between him and Hal is decent, with Erastus using energy construct versions of his blacksmith hammers, whilst Hal does what he can to wear him down. It's pretty decent, and it's nice to see Hal in a situation where he has to think a little tactically, and where brute force isn't going to be the way out for him.

Whilst all of this is going on Kyle is continuing his mission to find Source Energy, a task that has seen him recruit Conner Kent, and the time travelling thief Odyssey onto a team with him. Their mission has brought them to the Source Wall, where they discover that one of the giant bodies that's part of the wall is actually a carefully hidden temple filled with traps that guard their prize. The fact that Kyle immediately makes the comparison to Indiana Jones (even giving himself the hat and whip) actually made it a bit more enjoyable to me as the book was able to lean into the tropes a little more, and the characters had some fun with the situation. 

This was a decent issue, one that I enjoyed a lot more than the earlier issues of the run where Hal was stuck on Earth. Having the main book be part of a larger story that includes the other GL's is definitely more my thing. I'm still not completely sure about the new villain, the Sorrow Lantern, but I'm definitely interested in learning more and coming to a definitive decision on if I like it or not. I am still quite amused that Hal Jordan cuckolded a man so hard he became a super powered space villain though, it's a hell of an origin story.

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Hellhunters #3 - Comic Review

 

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist: Adam Gorham, 
Colourist: Frank Martin, Letterer: Travis Lanham

The first two issues of Hellhunters have been a very different kind of read than a lot of other current Marvel work. At a time where it feels like the main line is either pushing for MCU synergy, or moving from one big crossover event to the next it's nice to get a book that draws upon existing Marvel lore but is able to do it's own thing in it's own little corner. The fact that it's also a horror book set during World War Two also sets it aside as something a little special. However, the first two issues kind of didn't give readers much more than this, keeping a lot of details back and giving readers cool vibes and awesome set pieces to draw you in. 

Issue three, by contrast, puts a lot of its cards on the table and gives readers some big revelations. For example, this issue we finally get a name for the monsters that our mishmash group of heroes are up against; the Unhallowed. We find out where these creatures came from, and what their plan is, as well as getting another named monster in the form of the new foe Baraphiel, a huge kaiju-sized monster that can swallow people whole. The issue balances lore drops, action, and character development well; particularly with the new team member, Bucky Barnes.

It was revealed that Bucky would be part of Hellhunters when the series was teased, but after the first two issues it was almost easy to forget that he was going to be there. The book felt like the kind of thing that could be going on during the time, sure, but it was different enough from the existing Captain America and Bucky WWII stuff that it was hard to see where the two could mesh together. This issue brings the Hellhunters to a US camp, where they try to give the commander a report that will convince him to lend them more support. They're after Captain America if they can have him, but convincing a military general that monsters from myth are taking over the war isn't easy even in the Marvel universe. The team are on their own, and may even lose Nick Fury and Peggy Carter in a week or two too, meaning that they've got little time to finish their mission.

Whilst the people in charge talk strategy, Romero runs across Bucky Barnes, the young teen 'sidekick' of Captain America. Romero, having thought that Bucky was just a publicity stunt, is shocked to learn that he's an actual soldier. I appreciate how the issue really hammers home how messed up it was that Bucky was at war, how he was literally a child soldier, and how it really messed him up even before he became the Winter Soldier. When we first see Bucky here he's crying because Dum Dum Dugan took away his collection of ear trophies he'd taken from dead Nazis. It's incredibly jarring to see this teen crying over his kill trophies having been taken off him that it makes Bucky being there so uncomfortable, to the point where you even have to question what the hell Cap was thinking having Bucky along at all.

That being said, Bucky actually brings some great energy to the team when he finally convinces them to bring him along. He's full of personality, cracking jokes, and trying to bum smokes off Fury, it marks him as very different from the older, more world weary members of the team. Plus, the full page splash of Ghost Rider Romero jumping his Harley whilst Bucky rides on the back, singing, and shooting his gun with a huge smile on his face is such a weird but wonderful moment that it makes you put your objections to Bucky being there aside so that you can just enjoy the silliness. 

Gorham and Martin do a great job with the art this issue, and the just mentioned splash page is one of the best looking parts of the book, and makes for such a striking image that if Marvel don't make it into a poster they're missing a trick. But, this isn't the only good thing about the book, as the art team fill it with amazing moments. The opening page, showing us the Unhallowed, is both beautiful, and evokes the spirit of the supernatural winter that they bring in their wake thanks to the blues and purples that fill the page with ghostly light. The violence and gore are also incredibly well done, with most of the more disgusting moments being implied through clever visuals, rather than turning the book into an off putting splatter-fest. 

Hellhunters has reached its halfway point, and it's a bittersweet thing as it feels like the series has really found it's feet here with the introduction of Bucky. It's sad that there's only going to be a couple more issues, but I can easily see this series being held up as one of the best pieces of both Marvel horror, and it's World War 2 catalogue. 

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Justice League Unlimited #4 - Comic Review

 

Writer: Mark Waid, Artist: Dan Mora, 
Colourist: Tamara Bonvillain, Letterer: Ariana Maher

The best thing about Justice League Unlimited is the huge roster, where Waid is able to use pretty much any hero in the DC Universe; but this issue goes one step further and shows us that no one is safe of being drawn into the action as even a civilian has to step up and help save the world.

In the last issue the terrorist group Inferno lived up to their name by setting the Amazon rainforest on fire, an action that spells doom to the entire world with the global ramifications that its destruction would bring. It also appeared to kill Swamp Thing, taking a powerful force away from our heroes. To help them combat this threat Mr Terrific has to try and find someone else who can do what Swamp Thing can do, and so reaches out to Tefé Holland, the daughter of the first Swamp Thing, Alec Holland, to help bring the rainforest back to life.

It's a pretty action packed issue, one that focuses a lot on the conflict in the amazon, and as such much of what we see has our heroes surrounded by thick smoke and flames, and so whilst there's nothing inherently bad looking about the issue (it is Dan Mora after all) it's not the most engaging looking issue of the series for me. This was only compounded for me with the use of The Green, the psychedelic plant realm that gives Tefé her powers. Things get a bit weird in places, and whilst I didn't hate it it wasn't stuff that I found particularly exciting. 

Outside of the main story, however, was a subplot that was much more my thing. In previous issues we saw that Martian Manhunter left the League after losing control of himself on a mission, something that happened because a number of his psychic powers have been lost since the events of Absolute Power. This issue has Batman find J'onn, in the desert of Egypt. Those expecting Bruce to give J'onn a stern talking to, or to order him to come back to the League will be disappointed, as instead he connects with J'onn on a personal level, understanding that the loss of his powers would be like the loss of a sense, and even says out loud something that I've held as my personal opinion for years, that J'onn is the heart and soul of the League. 

It's a beautiful moment, one that's nicely placed in the middle of the issue to break up the chaos that's going on on the other side of the globe, and helps to give the reader a small break from the frenetic energy that that other story has. When the series started I was unsure how Waid was going to juggle so many different characters and large casts like this, but this issue was a great example of how he does that. Even when things are chaotic, with dozens of heroes, the whole world on the line, and bits that weren't quite my taste, he can still inject these wonderful, small character focused scenes to balance it out and make it a great book.

As mentioned earlier, I wasn't keen on all of the art in the issue, but that's not due to the quality of it. Mora and Bonvillain do an amazing job at bringing everything to life, it's just that I found the scenes in the fire to be a little oppressive (which is probably what they were going for), and I've never been too keen on stuff set in The Green. It's personal taste rather than a critique of the art itself, which is absolutely beautiful.

The slowly unfolding story of Inferno feels like it's reached a key moment here, and whilst not a huge amount happens with them it feels like the League has proven to them that they can stop Inferno, and that this is going to have some repercussions to come. The issue also ends with another reminder of their spy within the League, which we've known about for a while now, and it seems like Waid has a plan for the characters that's yet to be revealed.

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