The Name of the Rose - Limited Edition Dual 4K UHD/Blu-ray Review

 

Before a few weeks ago my only knowledge of Italian author and philosopher Umberto Eco was his essay Ur-Fascism, which outlined fourteen core tenets of fascism that help to not only define the ideological movements that fall under the fascistic umbrella, therefore helping you to identify and fight against them. His work on this topic is hugely important, and work that I respect; so I was somewhat surprised when I was offered the chance to review a medieval murder mystery film based upon a novel by the same man. Of course, I leapt at the chance, not only because of Eco and the general concept of a mystery solving monk, but because the central cast of The Name of the Rose is quite exceptional.

The Name of the Rose transports the audience back in time to northern Italy in 1327, where Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and his young novice, Adso of Melk (Christian Slater), are travelling to a remote Benedictine abbey where a church conference is soon to be held; with representatives from various branches of the church, and the Vatican itself, will be arriving. Upon arrival at the abbey William is surprised to learn that one of the illuminators appears to have recently committed suicide, having thrown himself from the abbey walls to the rocks below. William, who has a history in investigations for the church, is given permission to look into the death by the Abbot (Michael Lonsdale).

As William and Adso begin to look into the mysterious death they encounter a number of unusual figures throughout the abbey, including a strange hunchback named Salvatore (Ron Perlman), the blind monk Jorge de Burgos (Feodor Chaliapin Jr.) who hates laughter, the stern librarian Malachia (Volker Prechtel), the self flagellating library assistant Berengar (Michael Habeck), and a young peasant girl (Valentina Vargas) who doesn't speak but snuck into the abbey to trade sex for food. When more bodies begin to appear around the abbey it becomes clear that the first death wasn't a suicide, and that a larger plot is at work inside the abbey walls. As William tries to get to the bottom of the mystery he's hampered by the arrival of an old colleague of his, Bernado Gui (F. Murray Abraham), a member of the Inquisition. 

Whilst The Name of the Rose features a formula that's somewhat reminiscent of many murder mystery novels (someone who's not law enforcement but a skilled investigator coming to a remote location filled with a colourful cast of suspects to investigate and solve some crime before an authority figure arrives) its setting and the reasons behind the events of the film feel so unique and unusual that it sets this film apart from many others in the genre. Due in large part to popular literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple, most historic mystery stories take place roughly within the last 150 years, and so going back several hundred years, to a time that most viewers have few references for outside of things like Robin Hood stories or perhaps Braveheart immediately puts the viewer on a back foot.

This is only continued by almost all of the characters (and all of the speaking roles) being monks, cardinals, and members of the Inquisition. The Abbey is a world unto itself, isolated from the 'dregs' of society by thick walls as these 'men of god' set themselves apart from the poor, consuming in isolation as they literally toss their waste down the hill so that those outside their walls can survive off the scraps they leave behind. It feels alien, and this feeling is enhanced by director Jean-Jacques Annauld's decision to cast actors with unusual, often ugly faces for the roles of the various monks, as viewers spend half their time marvelling at the striking appearances of the actors. These unusual faces, most of which are old, rugged, and worn with time, only helps to set the Abbey apart as somewhere different to the world outside, the world from which the much more conventionally attractive William and Adso come from. 

It's strange to think that The Name of the Rose was met with an uncertain production with the casting of its lead, as most moviegoers now will see Sean Connery's name as something of a draw. However, The Name of the Rose was produced at a time when Connery was in something of a 'slump', where he was struggling to really set himself apart from his time as James Bond, and when his inclusion in the project quite literally led to outrage from Umberto Eco, and for Columbia Pictures to back out of the project. Despite this, Connery manages to make William of Baskerville into a likable character, one who's genuine warmth and care for others comes through in his performance, setting him apart from the other more experienced monks featured in the film. He becomes the one decent, moral beacon that the young Adso is able to look up to, a man who's unwilling to allow an injustice to continue on, even if it puts his own life at risk. The scene in which William recounts his past work with the Inquisition, and the way in which it haunts him to that day is one of the best in the film. 

Whilst The Name of the Rose helped Connery to get out of a slump in his career it also helped to boost two actors early on in their careers who would go on to huge success, Christian Slater and Ron Perlman. Both Slater and Perlman had been in a movie before The Name of the Rose, but it was here, in this film, that they were really given the chance to shine. Slater's Adso is a young novice completely unsure of himself, full of nerves and questions, and Slater brings this to life wonderfully; perhaps in part because he himself felt somewhat similar being thrust into a film on the other side of the world, surrounded by much older, more accomplished actors. Despite this, Slater holds his own and delivers a decent performance, one that at times feels like it's filled with the folly of youth (believing he's in love after sleeping with a girl one time being a prime example), yet also with a hope for a better world than the one the older men around him can see.

Perlman's performance is, in contrast, completely different. As has become something of a staple for Perlman, he's acting under heavy make-up, having to act through a fake hunchback, a piggish nose, and a set of make toothless gums in his mouth. Despite the hinderances of this make-up, Perlman delivers one of the most impressive performances in the film. Salvatore suffers not just from physical ailments, but mental ones too, and has difficulty not just staying on subject when he talks, but also sticking to one language. Salvatore skips through English, French, German, Italian, and Latin between words. In the special features Perlman talks about how he made the decision to do this, and went out of his way to get multiple language copies of the book, and write out and memorise Salvatore's dialogue using random words from each language. Despite jumping through these languages Perlman is able to make Salvatore feel compelling, showcasing the humanity in a man who the society at the time would have pushed as a monster. It's not hard to see why Perlman would go on to secure the work that he did following his performance here, in what might be one of the most impressive pieces in his filmography.

It's hard to talk about The Name of the Rose and not mention F. Murray Abraham, who plays the villainous Bernado Gui. Introduced more than an hour into the film, Abraham quickly becomes an imposing presence, the grandeur and power that he commands radiating from him almost immediately. There is some behind the scenes talk about Abraham and his behaviour during the making of The Name of the Rose that seem to bleed through into his performance somewhat. According to cast and crew, Abraham, who had just won an Oscar for his performance in Amadeus, came to the production with a sense of superiority, of believing himself to be of higher calibre than the rest of the cast. If this is true it certainly seems to help with his performance as Gui, a character who radiates arrogance, self importance, and ruthlessness. Despite him only being in the film a short while, and having nothing to do with the larger murder mystery plot, he dominates the role of antagonist so well that you're happier to see his character earn his comeuppance than the person who's been killing monks the entire movie.

Alongside an impressive cast is the film's stunning production details. The largest set built in Europe since 1962's Cleopatra, the film boasts an stunning monastery set that you would believe to be a physical location if you weren't aware it had been created just for the movie. The production team do an impressive job at crafting a film that feels period accurate, even if they miss some details here or there. I'm sure that there'll be some expert historian who can look at The Name of the Rose and find something wrong, but as a layperson it at least feels impressively authentic, and as if a ton of time and care went into crafting a film that evokes the period in which it was set.

Alongside the film the new Second Sight release features a host of extras, including a brand new audio commentary with film critic and journalist James Marsh, and another with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud, both of which offer interesting insight into the making of the film. There are several new interviews with key members of the cast and crew, including Annauld, Christian Slater, Ron Perlman, and Writer Andrew Birkin. There's also an older making-of that features interviews and behind the scenes from the time the film was made. The Limited Edition version of the movie also comes with a slipcase featuring new artwork, as well as some art cards, and a book featuring new essays and writing about the film.

The Name of the Rose is an unusual piece, part murder mystery, part critique of the church, part historical drama, it's hard to pin down exactly what it is. Despite this, it ends up being a fairly compelling piece, largely due to the quality acting on display here from its central cast, as well as some stand out performances from the eclectic group of supporting actors. Whilst The Name of the Rose might not be to everyone's tastes, it is an interesting piece of cinema, one that showcases some stand out early career performances, as well as the beginning of the return of Sean Connery, something that will lead to an era in which he gives some of his best performances. A worthwhile addition to anyone's shelf, particularly those who want something a little different.

The Name of the Rose is available now on Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Second Sight Films.

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Dead Man's Shoes - Limited Edition Blu-ray Review

Whilst I had seen Paddy Considine in a few smaller roles it wasn't until House of the Dragon and his absolutely stellar performance as King Viserys Targaryen that I really started to take notice of him. The level of warmth and kindness he brought to a role that needed such a depth of humanity to avoid becoming at times monstrous was something that he had in spades, injecting every scene he was in with subtle, endearing performances that should have won him awards. One of his earliest roles, a film that has gone on to achieve cult status in the two decades since it was releases, is 2004's British crime thriller Dead Man's Shoes, which has just received a new Limited Edition Blu-ray release from Second Sight Films.

Dead Man's Shoes follows the story of Richard (Paddy Considine), a paratrooper who's returned home to his small Derbyshire town of Matlock. This is not a happy homecoming, however, as Richard has come back to take revenge on a small group of low level criminals and thugs who tormented his younger brother Anthony (Toby Kebbell) into taking his life. Richard spends a day stalking various members of the group, watching them from a distance, before breaking into each of their homes that first night, leaving behind evidence that he was there as a warning that he could get to them at any time. As the gang of drug dealers and thugs try to come up with a plan for dealing with the vengeful Richard he starts to pick them off one by one, and they quickly realise that despite their numbers there's little they can do to stop a man out to avenge his family.

The plot for Dead Man's Shoes isn't a complicated one, which considering how quickly the film was made and for the tiny budget it had it's not all that surprising. It's a very by the numbers plot, someone wants revenge and starts killing the bad guys. What makes Dead Man's Shoes stand out from dozens of other films that have the exact same set up is in how brutally depressing it is in how it goes about things, and just how very real and human it feels. 

One of the things that I think British cinema is able to do that American movies just can't touch is making something that feels so real and gritty that you sometimes forget that you're watching fiction and you just feel the movie. Dead Man's Shoes is a dull, grimy looking film, one that rarely has any strong colours, that shows real, rundown locations, and features actors that look like they walked in off the street. There's no glossiness to it, no handsome stars that look like they stepped out of a fashion show, not fancy camerawork or big stunts; and the result is a film that you feel like you could live in, which just makes the brutality of the film hit all the harder.

Richard is out for blood, and when the violence happens is sudden, short, and shocking. There's one scene that's filled with blood as Richard takes someone out with an axe and we see the aftermath, but for the most part there's little in terms of gore and violence. People die after getting stabbed a single time, Richard kills someone with a hard punch to the face, there's no action, and might be one of the most accurate films I think I've seen for showcasing just how fragile a human life can be.

Whilst the violence of Richards revenge is brutal, it's nowhere near as shocking as the reason for it. Scattered throughout the film are grainy black and white scenes that show what happened to Richard's brother Anthony. A young man with learning disabilities, Anthony thinks he's been taken in by the group, seen as one of the gang, little realising that he's there for them to mock him, to be their plaything. As the flashbacks progress we see things turn more sinister, as he's forced to take drugs, beaten, raped, and eventually tortured and abused into taking his own life. These scenes often come after Richard has killed one of Anthony's tormentors, and I don't know if the intent is to remind you why its a good thing why Richard is killing them, but instead it just makes you feel sick. These scenes tell you that violence and torment only beget more violence and torment. Any high you may feel at seeing bad people get what's coming to them is torn away as you watch what Anthony went through.

The scenes with Anthony's torment are for myself the worst to watch in the film. They're too brutal, too realistic. Not everyone will have been in a situation where they've been treated like that, or seen it happen to others, but I think that these scenes will be shockingly familiar to a lot of people, and they certainly reminded me of some awful moments from my childhood. This brutality is deliberate, and in some of the behind the scenes features on the movie Writer/Director Shane Meadows talks about his own youth, of growing up around skinhead neo-Nazis and the violence that he saw first hand. It's clear that these events had a profound effect on him, and it certainly feels like Dead Man's Shoes is him in some way excising some of those demons onto film, recreating that violence.

Balancing out all of the violence in the film is the almost docile performance of Paddy Considine as Richard. Rather than displaying his anger as explosive loudness, Considine plays Richard with an eerie kind of calm. He's quiet, deliberate, often gentle up until the moment when he needs to kill. There's an early scene in which the leader of the gang, Sonny (Gary Stretch) tries to get Richard to leave before the killing starts, and the way that Richard talks to him like he's chatting to someone down the shops makes him so much more sinister than if he was angry. His calmness projects a level of confidence on Richard that feels earned, and that makes his eventual breakdown at the end of the film all the more tragic. 

Alongside Considine I want to mention the performance of Kebbell as Anthony. Despite not being alive during the course of the film we get to know Anthony through both the flashback scenes, and via Richard, who spends time talking to an imaginary version of Anthony. The imaginary Anthony is probably supposed to be a big reveal, but it felt very obvious from the start of the film that only Richard acknowledges him, and that he's not really there, and I'm glad that the film never makes a big dramatic scene in which it's revealed that Richard is talking to himself, instead being treated like something that the audience should have worked out by that point. Whilst these moments with Anthony are brief, and mostly told through Richard's memory of what his brother was like, Anthony is given real humanity throughout. You can't help but see the goodness in him, can't help but see how easy it would be for him to fall in with a bad crowd and be taken advantage of. Kebbell talks candidly about his worries about playing the role respectfully, of not being exploitative, and I think he does a good job in not making a mockery of the character and instead playing him with great pathos.

The Second Sight release comes with a decent amount of special features to accompany the movie. There's three full audio commentaries, two of which are brand new for this release. These feature Director Shane Meadows, Producer Mark Herbert, Paddy Considine, and film experts Jon Towlson and Andrew Graves. Across the three commentaries you're covered for every aspect of the film's production, as well as discussions about the impact of the film and it's place in British cinema, so if you're the kind of person who loves learning about movies they'll tick those boxes for you. There are also several interviews, including brand new ones with Shane Meadows and Mark Herbert, Toby Kebbell, and Gary Stretch. Deleted and extended scenes, as well as an alternate ending are included, alongside In Shane's Shoes, an archival behind the scenes feature that goes into Shane Meadows history with violence in his youth and his journey to making Dead Man's Shoes. The short 30 minute movie Northern Soul, which features cast from Dead Man's Shoes, and a music video round out the disc.

Having not seen Dead Man's Shoes before, but having heard of it, I was glad to be given the chance to not only experience it, but to be able to dive into the behind the scenes of the film and have the chance to understand it better thanks to this new release. Whilst the film isn't a long one, the trio of commentaries, interviews, and other extras make this feel like a release that's absolutely worth the money, and one that any fan of the movie will want to experience. 

Dead Man's Shoes is available now on Limited Edition Blu-ray from Second Sight Films.

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Filming The Odyssey: Inside the Making of Christopher Nolan's Modern Epic by James Mottram - Book Review

 

I've loved myth and legend since I was a kid, growing up watching films like Clash of the Titans or Jason and the Argonauts, films which cemented an interest in the stories, characters, and monsters of ancient Greece. Despite this love I never really found the time to read through Homer's classic story over the years, having not been taught it in school, and my spare reading time often taken up by new books that I've picked up to review. Being able to experience a truly 'classic' tale such as The Odyssey was something that had been put on the backburner for so long I'd all but given up on doing so.

But then the trailer for Christopher Nolan's film adaptation hit the internet, and that desire was reignited in me, that childhood appreciated of gods and monsters, of heroes fighting against impossible odds. I lucked out that my partner had managed to win some free tickets to see the film on opening night, and so I got to see The Odyssey as my first IMAX experience and was blown away by how this story was brought to life in a way that felt not wholly realistic and grounded, yet never went so far into the fantastical that it felt more like a superhero film. I thought that Nolan managed to create a version of myth that had a sense of realism to it that made you believe that it could be possible.

With one of the most celebrated filmmakers of our time adapting one of the oldest stories ever written, in a format that had never been used for a full narrative feature film, it was hardly surprising that there would be a wealth of conversations around the film. Whilst there has been a lot of ridiculous talk around the movie (Black people existing and a trans man playing a character he wasn't actually playing being chief complains from internet weirdos), and some more well reasoned but arguably badly delivered criticism of this particular version over the book translations, I've seen very little talk about the film in terms of how it was made beyond people hyping up or complaining about the IMAX format.

If, like myself, you love to learn more about the making of movies and the art that goes into the behind the scenes processes, you'll probably want to check out a copy of Filming The Odyssey: Inside the Making of Christopher Nolan's Modern Epic a huge hardback book filled to the brim with gorgeous behind the scenes photographs, and detailed descriptions on how the movie made the leap from the page to the big screen.

The book opens with an introduction from Odysseus himself, Matt Damon. Damon's introduction to the book is fairly brief, but he uses his time to really hammer home the point that The Odyssey is one of the most impressive films he's ever worked on due to the sheer scale of it. He describes it as the toughest film he's ever made, one where every location and scene were gruelling, where the people in front of and behind the camera were pushing themselves to the limit not simply for money but for the sheer love of making movies and the desire to create one of the best films they ever could.

This sentiment is something that's reflected throughout the rest of the book. The Odyssey isn't just a book adaptation, it's a group of artists and craftspeople coming together to try and create something special, something of a scale and grandeur that's not often seen on the cinema screen. In many ways, seeing the level of craftsmanship put into the film, the dedication and skill, The Odyssey reminds me a great deal of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy; another book adaptation that was believed to be impossible to pull off with any degree of success. And like The Lord of the Rings, I think it's fair to say that The Odyssey is going to be a film that people discuss passionately for decades.

The book is split into decent sized chapters, each of which deals with a particular aspect of the creation of the movie, from discussing the challenges of having to adapt the source material, to discussing why each actor was picked and how they saw each of the characters roles in the story, to the various filming locations, and how they managed to piece together the final product. Each of these chapters gives a fairly deep and cohesive dive into their topics, cramming as much information in as it can whilst managing to not make itself too dry or tedious to read. If handled poorly this book could have taken away a little of the magic of the movie, or it could have been written in such a way that you'd end up bored of it; but instead James Mottram manages to not only keep me interested throughout, but makes the book hard to put down as I just wanted to keep on learning more. 

There were some parts of the filmmaking that I'd become aware of thanks to the internet, such as the fact that the cyclops was a practical puppet on location so as to have real interactive lighting and something for the cast to act against, but seeing how that was done, getting to see the photos of what might be the most impressive puppet I've ever seen share space with Matt Damon and the crew really hammers home how impressive The Odyssey's creation was. The same can be said for the part of the book that goes into the special effects work for the scenes involving Circe and what might be some of the best body horror I've seen in a movie. The make-up effects the actors wore, and the practical puppets that allowed Samantha Morton to actually shove her arm down it's throat, it was amazing to see how such a visceral and disturbing moment came to be.

There's so much that I could talk about thanks to this book, the scenes in Iceland where the journey into the underworld was created, getting a better look at the monstrous Scylla, the construction of the iconic Trojan Horse, the Laestrygonian giants and the moving forest. These scenes from the film that were so beautifully presented on film, so enrapturing that they could have been an entire film unto themselves get time to breathe thanks to this book; and I think that the next time that I see The Odyssey I will be looking at it with a whole new level of appreciation.

With home releases of movies receiving fewer and fewer special features that go into the making of the films (gone are the days of several hours of extras) this book might be the best way to really explore how The Odyssey came to be. And even if the eventual home release versions of the film do include these details Filming The Odyssey is still a fantastically gorgeous book, one that almost demands you to pick it up and leaf through the pages, just marvelling at the beautiful photographs inside. A perfect purchase for anyone who loved the movie.

Filming The Odyssey: Inside the Making of Christopher Nolan's Modern Epic is available now from Titan Books.

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The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw - Book Review

 

'The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told when she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.

'But there’s more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa’s class. Only Alessa and a group of her classmates escape the carnage. Trapped in the school’s library, they must offer a human sacrifice every night, or else the faculty will break down the door and kill everyone. Can they band together and survive, or will the faculty eat its fill?'

Dark academia has been a popular genre for the last several years, with readers happily sitting down with book all about the romantic, sometimes slightly gothic stylings of some old seat of learning filled to the brim with knowledge, romance, and sometimes mystery. I can see why it's a popular setting, as someone who likes Gothic literature throwing in a scholarly setting feels like a decent fit, especially for people who either yearn for a time of their life they missed out on, or wish they could return to. Cassandra Khaw's The Library at Hellebore, however, adds a disgustingly twisted new angle to dark academia my making a body horror tale that will make your skin crawl before you're through the first dozen pages.

The Library at Hellebore takes readers to a world where magic exists. This isn't a different world to ours, however, as here magic suddenly sprang into the world a century before the events of the book, with a world very much like our own suddenly reeling from the forced acceptance of ghosts, witches, monsters, and creatures once believed to be myth. Despite this sudden shock, the world adapted. People who display magical abilities are taught how to use them, in order to maintain a well managed and working society if nothing else. 

Alessa Li, however, falls into a special group, people with powers so destructive that they endanger not just the people around them, but the very world itself. These world ending threats are either enrolled in, or kinapped to, specialist schools and institutes where they can be given much more intense training, and kept away from the rest of society. Alessa had been on the run ever since she used her power to rip her sexually abusive father to pieces, living on the streets, until the morning she woke up inside the walls of the Hellebore Technical Institute, as much a prisoner as a student. Whilst Alessa spends her time at Hellebore getting to know some of the other students, learning what she can in order to try and facilitate an escape, nothing could prepare her for what happens at graduation day.

The day that the Hellebore students long awaited, the day that would see them leave the Institute, finally comes, and all that it brings for them is death. The faculty transform before their very eyes, becoming a horrific mass of limbs and flesh that consume and kill any student they can find. Now Alessa and several other students find themselves barricaded inside the library, the teachers on the other side of the door. These powerful, unstable students will have to figure out a way to band together if they're going to make it out of Hellebore alive.

The Library at Hellebore feels less like what I would expect from dark academia, and more like David Cronenbergs spin on the genre. From the twisted, fleshy mass that was once to faculty, to the meat puppet security, the students gutted whilst still alive so that their organs can be examined, and even the girl who rips her body to pieces to transform into an awful spider creature, there's very few parts of the book where the reader isn't assaulted by some kind twisted imagery. If you're faint of heart, or don't enjoy fairly graphic descriptions of gore and injury detail then this might not be the best book for you to read, as Khaw pushes the boundary between horror and disgust multiple times.

The narrative is as twisted as the violence, with the events of the book alternating between two time periods as we follow Alessa when she first arrives at Hellebore, learning more about the school and making friends with several of the other students, as well as seeing the events that unfold on graduation day. The changes in time certainly helps to keep things flowing well, and means that all of the action and horror of graduation day isn't all towards the back end of the book, allowing for the more normal scenes to act as moments for the reader to catch their breath amidst the awful events.

That being said, I think that the switching narrative made it a bit of a struggle for me to fully connect with the characters in the book. I never felt like I'd managed to fully understand any of them, their development felt somewhat light, and they came across as more caricatures than fully fleshed out characters with multiple dimensions. This might just be me, and other readers may get along with it better, but I was just unable to really click with anyone, and thus found it hard to get invested in their survival.

If you enjoy the aesthetic of dark academia, but want a bit more bite to it then The Library at Hellebore might just be up your alley. And, if you've never tried the dark academia genre before but love body and cosmic horror this could act as a great introduction to a lot of the tropes of the genre.

The Library at Hellebore is available now from Titan Books.

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Chum - Film Review

 

Animal attack movies are a popular genre, one that often plays into the primal fears that humans have of the natural world around us. We might be the most intelligent animal (in our own way), and the best at using tools to exploit the world around us, but we're far from the fastest, toughest, or most dangerous if we came face to face with many of the other inhabitants of the planet. Films that strip humans of our advantages and put them at the mercy of the natural world remind us just how fragile we are, and how brutal nature can be. The more popular films in this genre can vary wildly in tone and style, from the incredibly serious and well made Jaws to the absolutely ridiculous and schlocky Snakes on a Plane. Chum, the latest entry in the shark attack genre, fails to be either, and ends up delivering a movie that's at best completely forgettable, and at worse insulting in its quality.

Chum begins with a couple having a romantic evening in a small cove somewhere in the Mediterranean, soaking up their love for each other. When the woman goes for a swim whilst her husband goes to grab some more drinks disaster strikes when she's attacked by a shark and ripped to pieces. Cut to five years later and we join Tina (Alice Eve) and her new husband Tom (Eric Michael Cole) as they celebrate their luxurious resort wedding with friends and family. However, it soon becomes clear that there's trouble in paradise as they spend their wedding night apart and argue with each other first thing in the morning the next day. But we've got little time to explore this marriage that's falling apart less than a day in as their friends drag the two of them out onto a boat to celebrate and drink out on the ocean.

Despite Tina being unable to swim (an important plot point that vanishes towards the end of the film), the two of them agree and the group piles onto a party boat and heads out to sea. As the trip goes on the friends begin to realise that Tina and Tom are having trouble; but before they can try to help their friends patch things up their boat is attacked by a great white shark, their captain gets knocked overboard and loses a leg, Tina ends up in the ocean, and the engine catches fire. As chaos ensues and the shark bears down to kill the group is rescued by Roy (Jim Klock), the husband from the opening scene who's spent the last five years trying to become Quint from Jaws.

Roy saves the group before their boat explodes (though no one bothered to bring the injured captain along with them), and they think that they've found safety. As they settle onto Roy's boat, waiting for him to bring them back to shore they all begin to pass out, having been drugged by their rescuer. When they wake up they learn that Roy is hunting the shark that attacked them, and that he's found the only bait that will work at attracting it is human blood. Now the friend group must contend with a crazed captor who's feeding them to the shark one by one in his desperate attempt to kill the animal that took his wife's life.

The concept of Chum isn't on the surface (no water pun intended) a bad one. I realised part way through watching Chum why I thought it sounded somewhat familiar is that it's pretty much the plot for last year's Dangerous Animals; though Chum lacks any real creative chops to stand apart, and ends up feeling something like a cheap knock-off.

A large part of this goes to the script and acting. Despite having the recognisable Alice Eve attached to the film Chum feels like it's made with first-time or low budget stars. Dialogue is stiff and clunky, and no one is able to really delivery it well. From the attempt at a deep and dark narration from Roy at the very beginning 'The sea takes what it wants and leave the rest for us to pick up the pieces. But I am not the sea. I am a man. And a man does not forget.' to the wedding speech in the very next scene that feels like nothing but cringe, to the friend group that talks to each other like they learned to act from watching porno films, there's not a single line in Chum that didn't come across like it was being delivered by someone just having learned how to talk. 

I wasn't expecting high level acting from a film such as this, but when what's supposed to be the triumphant moment of 'Let's kill this son of a bitch' as the survivors take down Roy makes you roll your eyes at how bad it sounds you know that there's a problem. Though my favourite line of the film was when one of the captured friends says they've not seen the shore for hours, yet the shore has been present large in the background the whole time, and is literally behind them as they say it. That moment actually managed to get a genuine laugh out of me, though I suspect it wasn't the intention.

Worse than the bad script and laughable acting, however, is the film's visual effects. CGI in cheap horror films is never going to be good, and I didn't go into Chum expecting any, but I noticed throughout the film that there was a surprising lack of consistency to the shark effects, as well as the blood when characters were attacked. In years gone by this could have been chalked up to bad visual effects artists, but today it's more often a sign of something more insidious, AI. The film doesn't credit any visual effects artists, which is absolutely shocking on its own. It does however credit Tunnel Post, a company that states that it uses AI in it's effects work and filmmaking. 

And thus any amount of credit or good will that Chum may have somehow had goes out the window as it joins the sadly ever increasing ranks of films that are turning to AI effects and artwork to create their finished product. If your film cannot exist without the use of AI don't make your movie. AI is theft, it's destructive towards the environment, it takes wages away from actual workers, and if this film is any example, it's not even being made to crate anything worthwhile. Chum is a bad film, even before the AI generated shark rears its crappy looking head. Chum isn't any kind of masterpiece that's going to change the world so the use of AI can be overlooked, it's a bad film that I would find shocking to learn actually entertained anyone. With AI being used in the effects department I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the bad script also made use of AI in it's creation as it would explain how bad it is.

Chum could have been a fun, schlocky film that managed to entertain despite a low budget and bad acting. As it is, Chum is dull and uninspired. The acting feels phoned in, the script is shaky, it relies on AI to deliver a terrible product, and honestly, the choice of having the one Black actor be the first of the group to be used as bait, locked in a cage by a murderous white man felt both racist and sexist too. If you're desperate for a shark attack movie and you've literally seen every other one made you could watch Chum, but even then I'd still advise going and rewatching something better instead.

Chum is available on digital download from 17th August 2026.

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Affairs of State by Calvin James - Book Review

 

'In this sweeping story of high-stakes romance and cut-throat politics amongst the stars, dashing junior supply officer Levar Boylan finds himself unceremoniously pulled from the front lines to serve as a diplomat for abruptly arranged peace talks with the Empire. All because he once dated an Imperial baroness.

'Levar gets more than he bargained for when his former lover, Astrid, is revealed as the reigning Demon Emperor and despite the years, the war, and their difference in rank, their mutual attraction still burns bright.

'The re-ignited relationship with the towering, horned Emperor threatens to drown the lovelorn soldier in a whirlpool of conflicting agendas. Levar's superiors suspect his loyalty is waning, while Astrid hopes he will abandon the defeated Commonwealth to become an Imperial noble. As sinister schemes bubble to the surface, Levar must dodge assassins, outfox kidnappers, and battle militant insurgency to save his country, his love, and his life.'

Most of my life I would say I'm not into romance stories, I think because everyday life never really appealed to me as a setting, and so many romance stories felt too normal and boring to really satisfy me. Over the last year or two, however, I've been finding more and more romance stories set in fantasy or science fiction settings and have been questioning if perhaps I never really disliked the genre so much as people being unwilling to try fun things with it. Affairs of State by Calvin James continues in this trend of finding new and captivating romance stories, this time following a war weary soldier who's forced to confront the long lost love of his life who's now the Emperor in charge of the demon nation that's trying to wipe out his people.

Affairs of State is set in a distant future, several hundred years from now where humanity has long since left the solar system behind, colonising other worlds. We find the scattered, altered descendants of original humanity separated out into nation states that span multiple star systems, and locked in the middle of a deadly war that is quickly being won by the imposing and vicious Demon Empire. The Demons, a group of transhumans so altered over the centuries that they're closer to their namesake than humanity, halt their unwavering conquest to invite representatives from all of the various states to attend a summit to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the reign of their current Emperor.

Commonwealth solider Levar Boylan is surprised when he's pulled back from the front-line to Commonwealth high command, expecting some kind of court marital. However, his presence is requested due to the fact that he once dated a demon woman during his academy days; though not just because he has first hand experience with demon culture, but because the new Emperor is his former girlfriend, Astrid. Ordered to go along with the Commonwealth delegation, Levar finds himself in a world of court intrigue, secret plots, and unusual etiquette that he has no experience for. And whilst he does his best to try to find a way to help save his country he also finds himself being drawn back into the arms of the woman he loves.

Affairs of State often reads more like a historical novel or a fantasy book, largely due to the tiny details that Calvin James scatters throughout, such as the focus on blades instead of guns as weaponry, balls and galas that feel like they're from the 19th century, and elegant fashion that could have stepped off the page of a history book. The way that James combines these elements with the science fiction, such as sentient hover bikes instead of horses, and ten foot tall demon people, create this wonderful fusion of the familiar and brand new that makes stepping into this universe feel fairly easy to do whilst also leaving a huge amount of room to discover new things.

The book is fairly light on explanations, there's no pages of history that get dumped on the reader during the early chapters so that you get caught up and understand everything; instead readers are allowed to learn things as we go, to get pieces of history here and there that eventually lead to a fuller understanding. I appreciated being able to read the book this way, to learn what certain words meant organically, to find out about the complicated alliances and history between the nations. It made me want to learn more about this universe, to dive deeper into the elements that are only really briefly touched upon here. Whilst I have no idea if this is a world that James intends to visit again or not I hope that we get more books in this setting because it's got so much potential to tell interesting stories; even if they're following new characters or set in new parts of the galaxy.

Whilst the universe itself is rich and full of interesting things to discover the main focus of the novel are our two leads, Levar and Astrid. The book is told from Levar's point of view, and other than overtly queer focused romance stories I can't really remember many books I've read that have chosen to put the man both as the person we follow, but also the physically and socially weaker of the couple. Yes, there's confirmation that at least one of the couple are openly queer in some regard (never expressly stated which), and sexuality doesn't seem to be an issue in the book it is largely a straight presenting romance; but thanks to the dynamics of power and the physical dominance that Astrid has as a demon it does feel like gender roles are being played with to some degree.

Affairs of State also seems to do something a little less common in its portrayal of its core romance by having it as more of a second chance love story where the previous relationship is never shown. Yes, the characters talk about their past, but there are no flashback scenes showing how these two people from vastly different cultures end up falling in love, or how they were torn apart years before the events of the book. Instead, the focus is on whether they can find a way to make their love work when on opposing sides of a war. I largely enjoyed that we were able to skip over the 'will they, won't they?' part of the story and instead got to focus on the more important parts of their relationship and how it plays into the events of the war and the attempts to forge a peace.

Whilst this is a romance story it's also a book that deals with war, and as such there are things that happen that do see our characters put into dangerous situations. I won't say much about the what or why so as to avoid giving away spoilers, but there are enough scenes of humans having to match physical prowess with twelve foot tall demon warriors to keep any action fan happy, and the final third of the book was by far my favourite, and made me want to see more books in this setting that could continue to explore how these cultures engage each other in a violent setting, especially with the demons complex system of honour and strength.

Affairs of State is a fairly long read, though not one that will feel it. I read through a digital copy of the book and never once felt like it was dragging or dipping in quality, and the ending felt like it came along far too soon. However, it was when I picked up my physical copy to come write my review just in case I needed to check details I was surprised to see that the book was almost five hundred pages long. Not once did it feel that long, and Calvin James has managed to create a novel that's absolutely packed to the gills with enjoyable scenes and expansive world building, one that moves at such a wonderful pace that you'll find yourself coming to the end far quicker than you expect. It's a delightful read, one that I was sad to see end and cannot wait to read all over again some day.

Affairs of State is available now from Titan Books.

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Mockbuster - Film Review

 

As long as there have been popular movies there have been knock-off films, movies that make fast, cheap cash-in's on whatever the popular thing is at the time. Over the last few decades, especially with the advent of digital technology, this business has exploded as filmmakers no longer need big budgets or practical effects wizardry to put their vision on screen. One company that has dominated this mockbuster market is The Asylum, an American independent studio who has been making movies since the late 90's, and has been responsible for some of the more prolific mockbusters like Snakes on a Train, Transmorphers, and Paranormal Entity, as well as giant animal movies such as Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus, and the Sharknado series. Somehow The Asylum has made dozens of films, and a lot of people will be aware of at least one of their films even if they've never watched them.

One of the main players at The Asylum says in Mockbuster that 'We make shitty movies for people with bad taste... and alcoholics.' It's perhaps a little unsurprising that a company with this kind of philosophy would be willing to try just about anything on one of their films; and that's what leads us to the documentary film Mockbuster which follows Australian filmmaker Anthony Frith, who's found himself stuck in a fairly boring life of making corporate training videos. However, when Anthony, who's something of a fan of The Asylum movies (hopefully not because he's an alcoholic) emails The Asylum and asks if he can direct one of their films. And of course, they say yes.

What follows is perhaps one of the wildest filmmaking journeys documented onto film as Anthony travels to Los Angeles to meet the studio heads, sign a contract, and get assigned a film... that he has six days to shoot. It turns out The Asylum make movies in the same way that an episode of South Park is made; and if you thought it wild that a 20 minute episode of animation can be knocked out in just a week wait until you see the absolute chaos of an Asylum shoot.

Over the course of Mockbuster we watch as Anthony returns to Australia and attempts to assemble a cast and crew, despite not having a script for the film, and then battles against studio oversight, filming difficulties, and a gruelling time constraint to somehow create something that can be assembled into some degree of a coherent 90 minute movie. 

Perhaps the most eye-opening thing about Mockbuster is that it completely changes the way that you'll look at these cheap knock-offs. Yes, they're still terrible quality filled with rambling incoherent scripts, bad acting, and terrible effects, but having now seen how they're made they kind of become miracle projects. No one is going to say they're any kind of high-brow art, or even middle-brow (The Asylum studio heads make it clear they dislike and discourage 'arthouse complexity'), but the fact that even something as mildly entertaining as The Asylum pictures can be made under such gruelling, impossible constraints is something of a testament to the people creating them. And I can't help but wonder just how much more the quality could increase if these creatives were given more time.

This is something that Mockbuster does touch upon when Anthony meets with former Asylum director Rachel Lee Goldenberg, who began her career making Sunday School Musical for The Asylum, but has gone on to win an Emmy, has worked with Hollywood stars such as Will Ferrell, and even worked as a White House liaison. Her example, and words of encouragement to Anthony seem to do little to lift his spirits as he fights to make his film, a loose adaptation of the public domain The Land That Time Forgot, as we see the stress mount over the course of the film. Whilst Anthony is able to salvage some degree of enjoyment out of the experience, on his last say according to his narration, it's clear that his initial statement of 'even a bad movie is better than no movie' may have wavered at times.

Despite the masses of stress and difficulties, including having to fly to the US for a day of reshoots to add entirely new story and characters into the film, Anthony makes his film and comes out the experience happy. The film ends with a screening at his local cinema, packed to the gills with friends and family who come to celebrate his bad film. Mockbuster shows the incredible lows of Anthony's experience, as well as his giddy highs, and it makes for an entertaining movie; more so than the film he actually made for The Asylum. 

Mockbuster is both encouraging people to pursue their dreams, to swing big and take those risks needed to do the things that they've always wanted, yet also acts as something of a warning that doing so won't be easy by any means. It offers an insight into the movies that you scroll past on streaming services or fail to pick up off the supermarket shelf because the terrible title and bad poster art screams 'terrible movie' and how they're made in a way that will probably change how you see them; even if it doesn't encourage you to actually watch them. 

Mockbuster is available now on digital services.

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The Mortuary Assistant - Blu-ray Review

 

Before watching The Mortuary Assistant I was somewhat aware of the game the film was based upon, having seen a couple of clips appear in places such as YouTube shorts and Instagram, usually showing a streamer reacting to some of the jump scare moments. It looked to be a fairly simple yet enjoyable game, one that had a fun concept of the titular mortuary assistant dealing with ghosts and demons whilst working alone at night. With relatively little about the game known to me, and as fairly decent trailer to go off, I was excited to get the chance to see if The Mortuary Assistant film would end up being one of those video game movie adaptations that people would rave about.

The Mortuary Assistant tells the story of Rebecca (Willa Holland), a recovering addict who's been working towards qualifying as a mortician. When we meet her she's being evaluated by a potential new employer, Raymond (Paul Sparks), in his old mortuary facility that's filled with unusual creepy character. We get hints that there might be something a bit more than the usual going on when Raymond stops Rebecca from going down into the basement, something he insists she'll never need to do, before the audience sees some kind of weird naked figure crawling around at the bottom of the stairs acting creepy. After satisfying her new boss that she's got the skills for the job Rebecca is hired. Unfortunately for her, she's barely signed on before she's getting called in late at night to work until dawn.

Things begin to get stranger as the night goes on, first with Rebecca being told to embalm a body before burning it, something she questions the reason for as why would they need to do both? Shortly after Rebecca begins to see a red eyed shadow figure around the building, as well as a few unusual hallucinations. Thinking that perhaps it's just the stress of the new job Rebecca is surprised to awake at home the next day as her sponsor bangs on her door. She claims that Rebecca has relapsed despite Rebecca having no memory of it. Things spiral out of control as Rebecca believes she loses control of herself and kills her sponsor before realising it's all a hallucination. Returning to work, Rebecca is told that a demonic force has latched itself onto her, and that she will need to face the dark forces trying to take her over alone in the mortuary if she has any hope to survive.

The premise of The Mortuary Assistant is fairly simple, push your way through ghostly visions and dangerous encounters with the spirits of the dead in order to find the pieces of the puzzle that you need in order to perform a ritual and save yourself. It definitely sounds like something that's the perfect set-up for a video-game that would encourage you to keep exploring a frightening environment. But when it comes to the film, there's just something missing in The Mortuary Assistant. I think it's that the film doesn't really explain what's happening in any really satisfying way. It's clear that demons are trying to get into Rebecca, but the how and why are barely discussed. How Raymond learned about demons, where he got the fancy demon decoder ring needed to burn them is left unspoken yet is an important piece of the plan to save Rebecca. I understood what the characters were doing, but had very little context or solid world building around it, and so was left feeling somewhat uninterested and bored; sentiments that were shared by the other people I was watching the film with.

The real lack of much plot isn't helped by the film having almost no scares. The film tries to build atmosphere, and whilst it works somewhat to begin with I found that this tension very quickly faded away when things began to get a bit campier. The red eyed shadow entity looked more like a tall Jawa watching Rebecca than some kind of spirit, the sudden eye opening corpses who'd squirm and shift on the table when Rebecca wasn't looking felt over used. And the moments when Rebecca became possessed, complete with yellow eyes, was more cheap Deadite than anything else. And whilst I don't like movies that rely on the over use of jump scares I can't help but think that The Mortuary Assistant really could have used some.

Lacklustre is perhaps the word that I'd have to settle on for The Mortuary Assistant. There was nothing egregiously wrong with it, the acting was competent, the set design was really nice, the script was unoriginal but not terrible, and the effects work was largely good. It just felt like the film lacked any real punch, innovation, or identity of its own. I did question if perhaps this was an issue I was experiencing because I wasn't familiar with the source material, so after the movie I went and checked out some streams of the game on YouTube; and I have to admit these were much more entertaining. Where the films lack of any real depth or explanation felt like a detriment in the game it allowed the player to explore and learn more on their own terms. I came to realise that without some substantial changes to the formula of the game the concept that worked so well in that format just didn't make the translation to film medium. Which is a huge shame.

The blu-ray release of the film is also fairly light when it comes to extra features, having only a short six minute behind the scenes feature that goes a little into the making of the movie. The new release feels more like it's been designed for those who want to watch the movie but don't have a subscription to Shudder's streaming service; so if you're someone who's already seen the movie or has Shudder and wanted to check out the blu-ray for the special features and to learn more about the film this is perhaps not the best investment. However, if you're a fan of the game and haven't yet had the chance to see the film this is probably a release that you're going to want to pick up.

The Mortuary Assistant attempts to capture the fun and frights of the game that it's based upon, and whilst it gets some of the details spot on it felt like it fell short of capturing the magic that has made The Mortuary Assistant a popular game. A movie that fans will want to see, but casual audiences might find a little lacking.

The Mortuary Assistant is available now on blu-ray.

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Strange Pictures: Volume 1 by Uketsu & Kikou Aiba - Blog Tour

 

'From Japan’s breakout horror sensation comes a chilling new manga experience. Strange Pictures is the spine-tingling manga adaptation of Uketsu’s bestselling novel, brought vividly to life by artist Kikou Aiba. Uketsu – the enigmatic masked writer who has become one of Japan’s most talked-about authors – first captivated readers with a novel that sold in the millions. Now, the terror unfolds panel by panel.

'At its core lie nine childlike sketches. A pregnant woman’s doodles on her blog conceal a dire warning. A boy’s simple drawing of his home hides a message no child should know. A murder victim’s final sketch becomes a clue that drags an amateur sleuth into a labyrinth of secrets. Each picture is innocent at first glance ­– yet when pieced together, they reveal a web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches.'

I wasn't aware of Strange Pictures, originally published as a prose novel in Japan in 2022 by surreal YouTuber Uketsu, or its new manga adaptation until I was offered a copy from Titan Manga. After having my interest grabbed by the blurb I went and did a little looking online and thought that it might be something that would interest me due to its surreal, horror, mystery vibes. With only a small part of the original novel adapted into the first manga volume I wasn't sure just how well it would draw me in; but I soon found myself trying to solve the mystery alongside our protagonist, and am now patiently awaiting the next instalment.

Strange Pictures begins by introducing us to Sasaki, a university student who we're introduced to during a lecture about art therapy. The lecturer talks her students, and the readers, through the significance of a drawing made by a ten-year-old girl who was arrested for killing her mother. We have the features of the drawing explained to us, how the smile that was erased and redrawn over and over reveals the girl's feelings of having to pretend to be happy around her abusive mother. The house with no doors tells us that the girl felt trapped in her home, unable to escape the cycles of abuse she was living through. And that the tiny bird sitting in the middle of the spiky, dangerous looking tree tells us that she has an instinct to protect others, showing us that she's not an evil killer, but a girl who killed her abusive mother to protect herself and other people. This lecture isn't just a throw-away scene, but introduces us to some key concepts for the book; that pictures hold hidden meanings, and that in order to understand things fully you'll need to delve deep into them.

Following his lecture Sasaki meets a friend of his, Kurihara, from the uni's paranormal club. Kurihara mentions a strange blog he's discovered, and passes the information on to Saski. That evening Sasaki checks it out, finding what first appears to be a very ordinary blog by a man named Ken who writes about his wife, Yuki, and their life together. After Yuki falls pregnant the young couple of excited for their first child, but some complications through pregnancy puts them through some difficult times. During this period Yuki draws five pictures, pictures that Ken believes shows their child, and their possible future selves. Unfortunately, Yuki dies during childbirth, and shortly after the blog comes to a close after a cryptic post in which Ken mentions how he finally realised what the strange pictures really mean, and how he can't forgive Yuki, but will never stop loving her. 

With Sasaki's interest in the blog piqued he discusses it with Kurihara, who reveals more strangeness within some of the blog entries. Believing that there is more to find within the blog, and knowing that the illustrations Yuki created holds some kind of key, the two of them set out to discover more and get to the bottom of the mystery.

Strange Pictures begins as something of a slow burn story, and I'm not entirely sure at what point I'd become invested in the narrative; something that is reflected in the story itself when Sasaki reads Ken's blog and starts off not thinking much of it but soon realises he's fully invested in the lives of these people he's never met before. The slow set-up works in the books favour, and I like how it gives you the mystery without you really knowing that's what's happening. The slow reveal of the five titular strange pictures definitely has a slightly unsettling edge to it, thanks in part to the somewhat unusual framing and the change in art style, but it's only when Kurihara reveals more that these pictures take on a different feel, becoming much darker.

I won't say much about what the pictures are, or how our protagonists use them to find the next piece of the puzzle, but it's definitely an interesting series of deductions that leads to a chilling twist in the tale. As I have no knowledge of the original story, beyond a small blurb describing it, I don't know if this is the end of Sasaki's part of the story, as the final chapter of the manga introduces a new protagonist and another strange picture with possible sinister implications, but I certainly hope that it's not as whilst a twist in the initial story presented in the blog posts certainly seems to have been presented it by no means feels conclusive or complete. If there is more of this mystery to come, along with the one introduced in the final pages, I'm more than happy to continue reading on and learning more; however, if this isn't the case it would certainly feel somewhat lacking and half finished. 

The art on the book, by Kikou Aiba, feels fairly standard, with nothing about the art seeming to set Strange Pictures apart from other books on the shelf. Characters and environments are drawn cleanly and crisply, with it being easy to tell who everyone is and what's going on in the panels. However, it's when Aiba draws the titular pictures that the book begins to stand out. The art in these pictures has a very different feel to it, with the clean, dark linework replaced by faded, light illustrations, appearing more messily hand drawn, created with pencils and other physical media that gives it a rougher, more tangible feel. Delightfully, Titan Manga sent along art cards of each of the pieces, presenting them in colour, which really emphasised this aesthetic as the grain and shading in the manga changed to show where some parts of the paper had more pressure applied when colouring, creating darker and lighter areas, picking up rough details from the surface beneath the paper in places. These illustrations are so different from what else is in the book that you can't help but find yourself drawn to them in a similar way to Sasaki.

Strange Pictures is one of those manga's where I wished I had the next volume already as just one wasn't enough to satisfy me. I want to find out more, to see just how far this mystery goes and how surreal things will get.

Strange Pictures is available now from Titan Manga.

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