Nubia: Queen of the Amazons #3 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

The third issue of Nubia: Queen of the Amazons is perhaps the weakest of the series so far, as we get little development of the character, and more of a focus on fighting in an issue that's dominated by action scenes.

Nubia has been one of the more interesting characters in the Wonder Woman mythos since the light reboot of Infinite Frontier, and readers have gotten to see the character grow and grow over the months to the point where she is not just a worthy queen for all of her people, but possibly the best one that they've ever had. But she's also been made much more human along the way too; and this has been a high-point of this particular title.

However, the character revelations of the previous two issues are forced to take a back-seat as fighting takes over. I know that action is one of the chief draws for super hero comics, and that no series can ever escape it, but after two issues where Nubia and her journey, along with her discovery of her past, have been the focus, it feels like a bit of a step backwards this issue as the combat is what's given the most time.

Because of this, I found this to be the weakest issue in the series, and was left trying to get through the fight scenes hoping for more interesting stuff to come along.

Whilst there's nothing wrong with this issue, it did leave me feeling slightly bored at times, and hoping for more to happen. With this being the penultimate issue it feels like a lot of important time was lost here, and that this space could have been given over to more interesting stuff. With only the one issue left, it feels like perhaps the series is going to have to rush a little in order to wrap everything up.

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The Classified Dossier: Sherlock Holmes and MR Hyde by Christian Klaver - Book Review

 

'1903. A darkness has descended on London. A series of grisly murders are uncovered, trophies taken, bodies arranged and soon there are whispers of Jack the Ripper's return.

'A new client arrives at Baker Street seeking Sherlock Holmes's help: Dr Jekyll claims his friend has been wrongfully accused of the hideous crimes, a friend called Mr Edward Hyde, whose very existence relies on a potion administered by the doctor himself.

'But the case becomes more complicated, more unsettling than simply proving Mr Hyde's innocence - for Holmes and Watson unearth beastly transformations, a killer who moves unseen, a secret organisation and then find a traitor in their midst....'

The first entry in The Classified Dossier series introduced the world of the supernatural to Victorian era London, shattering the way that scientifically minded detectives Sherlock Holmes and John Watson looked at the world. Suddenly the things that you've only ever heard about in stories were real; and they were making their presence known.

Sadly, Watson's wife, Mary, was transformed into a vampire and was eventually killed. And whilst Watson underwent the same transformation, he managed to retain his humanity and refused to become a killer. Working alongside Count Dracula, and his wife Mina, the detective duo were able to end a plot to infest London with vampires under the direction of a now vampiric Moriarty.

Since then, relative peace has returned to the city, and Holmes and Watson have returned to their normal lives as much as they were able. However, when gruesome killings that mirror those of the unsolved Ripper case begin to happen across London once more, the two of them are dragged into another unusual case. An eminent scientist named Jekyll comes to the two of them, asking for help to clear the name of his friend, Mr Hyde, who has been accused of the murder. Jekyll transforms into Hyde using a potion of his own creation, and the two detectives learn more about the case. 

It appears that the person performing these crimes may be of supernatural origin, able to vanish from sight. And when they begin to investigate, with the assistance of Dracula and Mina, a masked individual with enhanced strength and agility attacks them. It soon becomes apparent that there are multiple, powered, individuals at work, and that Holmes and Watson will be facing their most dangerous case yet.

As I've said in previous reviews of books with this kind of setting, I've got something of a soft spot for Victorian era stories. Something about the atmosphere and the setting just really appeals to me; and this series sits squarely in the centre of the kind of things I love as it draws in multiple other literary characters and genres to create an amazingly fun shared universe where you can have Sherlock Holmes, Count Dracula, and Mr Hyde sitting in the same room together discussing ways in which to combat a Cthulian cult. It's a bit schlocky and silly, but it's oh so much fun.

Klaver's previous entry in this series did a lot of world building, and spent a good portion of the first part of the book introducing the supernatural and fantastical elements and making them work with a grounded character like Holmes. The transformation of Watson, and his ordeal of having to overcome the horrors of what he now was, were a big part of that book too. And whilst all of that was wonderful to read, it's stuff that you don't really need in a second volume; and as such, Sherlock Holmes and Mr Hyde feels a lot quicker paced, and more filled with action.

Part of this is because yes, there is more action to it, and the mystery elements take something of a back seat as the characters deal with the hunt for the Ripper. They're not really examining crime scenes in great detail, nor are they solving puzzles. Instead, Holmes gets what he needs from them, and then sets out to catch the killer in the city with the help of his allies. It feels like a more decisive and driven Holmes than some versions, but it's still unmistakably Holmes.

Watson too is changed a fair bit from the version that fans will know, but is still the same kind of man even if he has to drink blood to survive. He's still a bit of a stick in the mud, he's still kind of judgemental, especially towards Hyde. Becoming a vampire didn't really change his outlook on the world a huge amount, and he still thinks and acts like he did before, believing in doing the right thing, being all about etiquette and class. This book challenges some of those assumptions in him, and I think makes him a better person come the end.

Other returning characters include Dracula and Mina, who if you've read the first book you'll know what to expect from them. They're perhaps a bit more relaxed around Watson and Holmes, now that the two men have proven themselves capable and decent allies, but ultimately you're getting more of what you had in the first book; which isn't a bad thing. Ms Winter returns too, and goes from a fleeting presence in the final stages of the first volume into an integral part of the team. She's a great character, and she acts as a decent kind of halfway point between the stuffy Watson and the more gregarious Hyde.

As for Hyde, there have been a lot of different types of Hydes over the years, with anything from a fairly normal man to a slobbering monster, to a cold blooded killer who has on occassion even been the Ripper himself. The face that he's brought into a story that involves the Ripper is a nice touch, and one that feels right for the character. Despite his more brutish appearance he's one of the most likeable and human characters in the book, and he brings some decent energy to proceedings. He challenges Watson in ways he's not normally, and he quite often steals the limelight of most scenes that he's in.

The book does also feature some other characters that fans of literature from this era will be familiar with, but I'm not going to say too much as a lot of the fun is discovering them along the way.

The Classified Dossier: Sherlock Holmes and MR Hyde was a fantastic and enjoyable read, one that I was sad to see end. This is a series that has seriously impressed me so far, and one that I'm hoping can continue on for more volumes. The books have a fair few more colours they can use for the covers after all. Whatever Christian Klaver chooses to do with these characters next, I'm sure it's going to be amazing.

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Superman: Son of Kal-El #14 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

Another month, another chance for me to gush about Superman: Son of Kal-El. I cannot oversell how good this series is every single issue. There hasn't been a single book yet that's been less than a five star read, and this issue is just the same.

With the evil President Bendix set on using his army of mind controlled super beings Superman has had enough, and is launching an all out assault on the captive island state of Gamora. But he's not doing it alone.

This issue sees the stage for the rescue/invasion being set as Lois Lane reveals to the world the corruption of Bendix, and his many crimes, as John prepares his team. John appeals to the Revolutionaries to join the fight, and after a bit of convincing not to kill, they agree to follow Superman into battle. And some of that convincing comes in the form of Damian Wayne, who sneaks on board their hidden submarine and hides in the shadows until the perfect moment to reveal himself because he's perfectly dramatic. Superman is also joined by Dreamer, and Jay, who gets a uniform and Legion flight ring from the Fortress of Solitude vaults, taking on the new code-name Gossamer.

With the team assembled the attack begins, with Jay dropping in from the air, using his abilities to pass through the shield protecting the city, sneaking inside and lowering the defences. As the rest of the forces fight Bendix's people, Jon rejoins his boyfriend, who has just come face to face with his mother; who has been twisted into a monster by Bendix's experiments.

A lot happens in this issue, and it feels like the series has been leading here since it began, and it's super satisfying to get to this point. All of the allies that Jon has assembled feel earned, the stakes feel like they've been building consistently, and it feels so satisfying to finally see Superman lead the fight to the villains door.

Tom Taylor is great here, as always, and we get some lovely character moments scattered throughout that really just reinforce why these are great characters, and he's an amazing writer. 

If you're not reading this series what are you doing? This is one of the best books that DC puts out each month and you need to be reading this!

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Burial – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Burial is a film that had me hooked as soon as I read the description for it: a group of Russian soldiers attempt to transport Hitler’s body out of Germany at the end of World War II, but are ambushed by a group of Nazi werewolves. That’s the kind of blurb that gets you super excited for a movie. However, I’m not sure if it’s an intentional bit of subterfuge or me not reading things closely, but this is not a movie about werewolves or the supernatural at all.

Burial begins in the winter of 1991, as an elderly woman, Anna Marshall (Harriet Walter) watches news that the Soviet Union has officially come to an end. That same night a man breaks into her home, but Anna seems to be prepared for potential break-ins, and knocks the man out with a taser. When he comes to, the burglar finds himself cuffed to a radiator, and Anna tells him that she understands he’s a Neo-Nazi thanks to his tattoos, and asks why he’s there. The man demands Anna tell him the truth of what happened at the end of the war.

Anna obliges, giving us all a flashback to the fall of Berlin, and a young Anna, here called by her birth name, Brana Vasilyeve (Charlotte Vega), who has been ordered to transport a crate to Moscow, where Stalin will receive the contents. Only three of the group knows what’s inside the crate, but it’s clearly implied to be the body of Hitler. Forced to make the journey across country, the small group of soldiers comes under attack from Werewolves. Not supernatural entities, but the very real group of German guerrilla fighters that plagued Soviet soldiers at the end of the war. The Werewolves know what the group are transporting, and become determined to get it back.

Burial is not a horror film, but is a tense historical action thriller, that gives viewers a potential scenario as to what happened to Hitler at the end of the war. There have been many conflicting theories and conspiracies around the death of Adolf Hitler over the years, and whilst there’s strong evidence and eyewitness accounts that the man killed himself, and that his body was burnt in Berlin, there are still some who believe his body was whisked away (as this film depicts), or that his death was staged.

In this film Hitler is very much dead, and there’s never really any mystery around the contents of the box the Soviet soldiers are guarding. The film goes out of its way to try and confirm that it is indeed him, with statements about his dental records having been used to confirm his identity. But that’s not what this film is about. Instead, it becomes a kind of examination of the power of unwavering belief from those who followed the man, as well as the power of propaganda.

Stalin wants the body, both to look his enemy in the eye and know for sure that he is indeed dead, and also because he wants to use it as an object of power. He wants to show the world that Hitler is dead, and it is him and his nation that have the body. It would spur on Stalin’s supporters, and help to show the world that the Soviet Union is a power not to be trifled with. On the other side of this there are the Werewolves, who know all of this, and who want to stop it. But they don’t just want to prevent Stalin having his win, they want to prove to the world that the body is not their Fuhrer, but a fake. They want to use it as evidence that Hitler is still alive, to rally their own side, in some vain, last attempt to try to claw their way back from defeat by the Allied Powers.

And in the middle of it all there is a small group of Soviet soldiers who just want to go home. Brana is one of the only members of the group who actually seems to care about the mission, who takes it seriously and understands the implications of it all, whilst the others just want to celebrate the end of the war and go back to their lives. This worn down and tired group end up having to fight for their lives against enemies that outnumber them, use unconventional tactics, know the land, and fight with a fervour that they can’t match.

The scenes where the two sides clash are brutal, and the film doesn’t shy away from showing the brutality of war, the evil that people are capable of, and the toll that fighting has upon people. The action scenes are competently shot, and whilst they’re never big in scale they keep you invested thanks to the tighter focus on characters, and the grittiness of the blood and gore flying as bullets rip through people keeps it fairly grounded. There are no action heroes in this film, just desperate people fighting as best they can.

The film also features Tom Felton in one of his better roles in a long while as a man who was forced into fighting on the Nazi side in order to save his family, yet lost them anyway. Essentially a target to all sides, a man who has nothing left to live for, he’s given a surprising amount of warmth and sense of hope that is often missing from these kinds of archetypes. He becomes a decent companion to Brana, and makes for a strong secondary protagonist that shows another side to the war and the crimes of the Nazis.

Writer/director Ben Parker does a decent job at crafting an interesting and engaging story with its feet firmly planted within reality. There’s nothing that happens here that couldn’t have happened in our own history. There’s nothing that feels over-the-top or too ridiculous, and this sense of realness works in the film’s favour. Perhaps the only real weakness is that other than one or two of the characters you don’t really get to know anyone, and some of the deaths and interactions have less weight because you don’t really have connections to them. Some more scenes with these characters would have helped with this, but as it stands it’s still a decent movie that will entertain.

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Predator #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I had no idea what Marvel were planning to do with this title when it was announced, I purposely kept away from plot summaries so as to be surprised. When it comes to the Alien books it's a safe bet it's going to be set in the same kind of rough time as the first three films; but with Predator you never know. It could be set in modern day, historically, or even in the distant future. There's no real consistent setting for the franchise. And I was excited to see where this new title might go.

Unfortunately, I began to feel uneasy as soon as I opened the book and it gives you a time-line breakdown that acknowledges the first four movies. I mainly began to worry because The Predator was absolutely awful, and did some terrible things with the mythology, and apparently we're going to be carrying on from that. And it seems like we're incorporating that in the strangest way possible; though I'm left to conclude that from best guesses, as we don't get clear answers here.

I'm talking about the setting. The book takes us into space, where humanity has developed interstellar travel and is exploring and colonising space. And it's happening twenty years from now. Now, we get no explanation for how this is happening, and I'm left to assume as The Predator is being included as canon here it means humanity did some super fast backwards development from the Yautja tech we got in that film.

Whilst I can readily believe humanity using alien tech to leap forward and get a few extra rungs up the ladder it feels ridiculously too soon in this book. I had to go back and check that I hadn't misread the date more than once. 

There are two points in time that we concentrate on here, the first is 2041, where a ship has landed on a distant planet and the humans are busy establishing a small colony. It's here that we get the important backstory for our central character, Theta, and we come back to these events several times over the course of this first issue.

The second time, the present for the book, is 2056. So, in 2041 humanity has already developed space cruisers, is colonising planets, and has functioning AI's to help them. Folks wear cool jumpsuits, and have sci-fi guns. In 2056 the only thing we hear about is of colonies already closing down and moving on, places where you can pick up parts for old ships and gather supplies that have become remote locations with few populating it. 

I know I keep going back to this point, but this all feels way too soon for this kind of stuff. Not only does it feel hard to believe that humanity will have advanced hundreds of years in less than two decades, but that fifteen years later space and colonies are treated like places that have been around forever. It feels like Ed Brisson has created a lived in sci-fi future like the Alien universe, but has set it too soon. If this was 2156 I wouldn't have an issue with it, but this is a time where I'd still be alive and wandering around (fingers crossed I will at least) and that just feels too jarring for me and keeps taking me out of the story.

The story itself is fine, though nothing super special yet. The book begins with two Yautja fighting on an alien planet, with one of the warriors being bested and executed. However, the other pulls off its mask to reveal a human woman, who seems pissed that she just killed the alien hunter. It turns out, this woman, Theta, is hunting Yautja, searching for a very specific one that killed her entire family when she was a girl.

Having forged her own battle armour, complete with bio-mask with dreadlocks attached to it, she's been going through the galaxy trying to learn what she can about the hunters, searching for her target. She's killed at least a dozen of them in her search, but her ship is close to trashed, and she desperately needs supplies. Trying to make her way to a remote supply facility, her ship crashes in the frozen wastes, a hundred miles from her target. 

The introduction is kind of short, and the stuff that happens in the present is simple enough to get us introduced and get us invested in the story, with flashbacks to Theta's childhood trauma getting us invested in the character. There are few action scenes in the issue, and only a few places where we see any Yautja, and it does feel kind of light on that front; so folks hoping that we'll get dropped straight into the action will have to wait a bit it seems. But it's a decent enough start to the story, with some good art and strong visual designs.

Issue one of Predator is fine. And that feels about all I can say for it at this point. Quite often Predator comics work better as completed graphic novels where the whole story is able to be read in one, and Marvel's Alien books felt the same too. Perhaps this will be a decent month to month book, but that's still yet to be seen. As it stands, this was a fine enough comic, though one that I felt had a very serious flaw that dragged the quality down for me.

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Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974) – Limited Edition Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Frankenstein is one of the most adapted stories in modern media, with dozens of different interpretations of the characters appearing across all mediums. He’s even one of the most used characters in Hammer Horror, with Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell being the seventh outing for the series, and the sixth time that Peter Cushing played the role. And now, thanks to Second Sight Films, fans of this iconic series are able to add this film to their collection in a stunning new set.

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell begins in an unnamed city, where a grave-robber (played by Patrick Troughton) digs up a corpse and delivers it to a young doctor, Simon Helder (Shane Briant) who’s been collecting body parts in an attempt to emulate the works of Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing). When Helder’s home is raided, however, he is arrested and sent to the same insane asylum that Frankenstein was sent to years before.

Arriving at the asylum, Helder is told that Frankenstein died years before, but is shocked when he comes face to face with the facility’s doctor, Doctor Karl Victor, and sees that it is none other than Frankenstein. Helder learns that Frankenstein discovered some dark secret of the asylum’s director, and used it to force the man to help fake his death and appoint him as the head doctor. Helder begins to work with his idol, and when he discovers that Frankenstein has been continuing his experiments, assists in helping to create a new monster.

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell was not just the final Frankenstein film for Hammer, but one of the last horror films produced by Hammer in the later days of the 1970s. Despite this being the end of an era of sorts you can feel the sense of history around this film, in particular in the performance given by Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein, a role that he’d embodied many times before to great acclaim. He instantly becomes the most important, most powerful figure in any room he’s in, and commands the attention not just of the characters, but the audience as well. And whilst the other actors do decent enough jobs, with some great performances scattered throughout, Cushing is by far the main draw.

Shane Briant makes a decent foil for Cushing’s Frankenstein, and you can see how the studio were prepping him to become the next generation going forward. Despite knowing that Hammer didn’t do much after this film, at the time the studio were planning to keep going, and hoped to revitalise certain properties with new lead actors. Briant’s Helder was one of these, and despite this film telling a decently contained story you can really see how this is designed to be the first chapter of something more. Helder goes on a journey whereby he sees the mistakes of Frankenstein, where he sees how dangerous that path is, yet doesn’t get off it. It’s easy to see how perhaps more of his story was yet to come, and how perhaps he believed he would be able to emulate the professor but avoid his mistakes.

The rest of the cast are made up from strong British actors who were regulars in film and television at the time. The first person we see on screen is the body snatcher, played by Patrick Troughton who’d have been well known for his role in Doctor Who by this time. The asylum is also populated by faces that long time Hammer viewers will recognise from other films, as well as Bernard Lee, who was well known for playing M in the James Bond series. The result is a film that’s populated with familiar faces who are able to bring strong, memorable performances to roles with limited time on screen.

The film’s titular monster is played well by long time creature and suit actor Dave Prowse, who would work alongside Cushing again a few years later in Star Wars, where he would play Darth Vader. Whilst Prowse would be praised for bringing Vader to life years later, his work here will probably be little remembered, due in large part to the poor quality of the creature make-up, which look more ape-like than human.

As this film was from the latter years of Hammer, there’s also an increased amount of gore on show here, with blood pouring out of wounds, real brains being pulled out of skulls, and a pretty gory end for the titular monster. If you’re used to the earlier days of the studio, where they were under stricter censorship rules, you might be surprised by some of the moments in this film, and whilst it is pretty bloody at times it’s never gratuitous, and helps to add to the Gothic feel of the film.

This new edition comes with a load of special features that are sure to interest fans. There’s a pair of commentaries for the film, one with film academic Kat Ellinger, and another with the films actors Shane Briant and Madeline Smith, alongside film historian Marcus Hearn. There are also behind the scenes documentaries that include interviews with the actors and crew, a feature that takes a look at the musical score, and one that documents the career of director Terence Fisher.

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell isn’t your average Frankenstein movie; it tries to do some new and interesting things, in part because it’s the seventh film in a series. Because of this it ends up being more interesting that people would give it credit for, with an intense and entertaining performance from Cushing in the title role. Even if you haven’t seen the other parts of this series, this film is sure to keep you entertained throughout.

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Dark Crisis: World Without The Justice League - Green Lantern #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I think that this might be the weakest entry in the Dark Crisis titled books so far, and I feel bad in saying that as I absolutely love Green Lantern and wanted this to be something really good. Sadly, compared to the previous issue, it feels kind of flat and strange.

So, the first story here deals with John Stewart, and the ideal world that he finds himself in thanks to Pariah's machinations. We meet a John who is the leader of the Corps, who has taken on the role of the Guardians and has remade the Corps in a new image, giving a bunch of other heroes GL powers. Over the course of the story we learn that a great darkness swept through the universe, did some terrible things, killed a lot of people, and that in order to hide the Central Power Battery from it John made it a living, sentient being that believes it's John's dead sister.

Now, these evil forces have come to Earth looking for the battery, and John has to come out of retirement in order to stop it; which he does with relative ease. Although he does this after more than a thousand GL's die fighting it. With the evil defeated John heads back into his retirement.

Yeah, this felt like it made little sense to me. We know that these worlds are supposed to be the heroes ideals, their perfect existences. And John has made a world where thousands have died, where his friends and allies die by the hundreds until he comes along and fixes things without breaking a sweat, and where he's made a fake sister and is living a lie. This feels less like a perfect word and more like a twisted nightmare.

Why is this not a world where he lives in peace without being dragged back out to fight again? Why isn't his wife alive again with him? Why did his sister still die and have be come back as a fake magical copy rather than just never having died? Why does John seem depressed and hard put upon even in his dream world? It just made no sense to me. It doesn't feel like this is the dream that the John Stewart I've seen over the decades would want. 

Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm holding on to a version of the character that is gone now and this permanently depressed and constantly tormented John is what we get now. I hope not though, as I found this kind of depressing, and was really let down by it.

The second story, thankfully, was much more interesting. We follow Kendra as she searches for a lost temple deep in the jungle where she hopes to find a magical artefact that's said to rob those who drink it of immortality. Having lived through countless lifetimes, she's had enough of being reincarnated again and again, and wants this life to be her final life.

Drinking from the artefact, she feels the magic leave her, and knows that this is now her final life. But she's quickly attacked by skeletons and has to fight for that life. All this whilst Pariah watches from the shadows whilst cackling like a villain.

So, not much really happens in this story, it's pretty quick; but it does at least give us an insight into Hawkgirl that was definitely lacking in the first story. We see a bit of what makes her tick, we get to understand the kind of things she desires, and get to understand what would drive her to find a way to stop coming back to life. So whilst not much happens here from a narrative point it does develop the character a lot. The costume that she wears in this story is also really cool, and makes for an interesting new look for her.

Overall, this issue felt kind of weak, with one story that I think I kind of hated, and another that was interesting, but where not much actually happened. Hopefully the other entries in this series will provide us better stories and better looks into the League's new worlds.

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The Mummy (1959) – Limited Edition Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

If you mention the film The Mummy there’s a good chance people will think of the 1999 version, or perhaps the black and white Universal Horror original. And whilst these are both great versions of the film, and the 1932 version did inform the Brendan Fraser film quite a bit, there is another version that was not only hugely popular, but helped shape other versions that came after it: the 1959 Hammer Horror film. And thanks to some great visuals, a strong script, and some superb casting, this is a movie you won’t want to miss out on.

Coming on the heels of Hammer’s other Universal Horror remakes, Dracula, and Frankenstein, The Mummy was not a remake of the Universal original as the name would suggest, but more of an amalgamation of the next two films in the series – The Mummy’s Hand and The Mummy’s Tomb. This new Hammer version took story and characters from these two movies and mashed them together to make one new, more streamlined version that actually worked well as its own feature film.

The Mummy tells the story of archaeologist John Banning (Peter Cushing), who has travelled to Egypt with his father and uncle in 1895 in order to find the lost tomb of Princess Ananka; a figure whose final resting place has been thought lost to time. When the expedition finds the tomb they are warned not to enter by Mehemet Bey (George Pastell), but the group ignores his pleas. Being laid up with a broken leg, John is unable to be there when his father and uncle enter the tomb for the first time, unsealing it after more than three thousand years. Whilst inside, something happens to his father that leaves him a nervous wreck, resulting in him having to be institutionalised.

Three years later, back in England, John has recovered from his injury, but his father has not. When a couple of local men are tasked with transporting some Egyptian relics to a newly occupied home near the Bannings they end up in an accident and lose the large case into the swamp; though this doesn’t seem to bother their employer, Mehemet Bey. Bey reads from an ancient scroll, and the living mummy Kharis (Christoper Lee) rises from the swamp and begins its mission to kill the men who entered Ananka’s tomb three years before.

Because of the sense of nostalgia that surrounds the Hammer productions, and the affection people have for the films, it’s easy to assume that they were huge movies with lavish production values; but in fact they were often the exact opposite. Hammer Horrors were seen as shock value movies, churned out quickly in order to make money and to appeal to horror fanatics and teen audiences. With this in mind, it’s genuinely surprising that The Mummy manages to look as good as it does, with the film boasting some excellent sets and locations that bring the story to life.

Whether it’s the desert of Egypt, the pristine interior of Ananka’s tomb with a creepy green glow, the stately home of the Bannings, or the eerie remote swamp, each location in the film manages to look unique and distinct from the others. You can tell that a great deal of effort went into the production of this particular film; which was something of a surprise considering The Mummy didn’t have the same brand recognition as Frankenstein or Dracula. But that’s part of the joy of Hammer: that each and every one of their films was treated the same, and given the same level of care and attention.

Director Terence Fisher was a name that Hammer fans were already familiar with at the time, having been the man who helmed both The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula, the two films that made Hammer a hit. He would go on to work with Hammer many more times over the years, producing some of the more popular films in their catalogue. Having adapted both Frankenstein and Dracula, and putting a new spin on the stories and characters, Fisher does the same here, and this film takes a step away from the Universal version of the monster, a man with desires and the ability to speak, and makes the creature into a hulking, imposing monster.

A huge part of why this version of the monster worked so well was because of Christopher Lee, who not only played Kharis in flashbacks, but portrayed the creature in his rotten, hulking form too. Despite never saying a word as the mummy, Lee brings a level of intensity and menace to the role just by his physical movement and the looks that he gives with his eyes (the only part of his body that you can actually see). It’s surprising how much Lee is actually able to bring to the role. But he’s also not alone, and is joined by his other Hammer icon, Peter Cushing, who takes on a heroic persona once again as the man Lee is sent to kill. Cushing plays the part well, and fits wonderfully into the aristocratic hero role; a role that does remind slightly of The Hound of the Baskervilles, which came out earlier that same year.

This new Blu-ray release is possibly one of the best presentations of the film yet, with superb visuals that showcase how beautiful the film is. The new set comes with two full length audio commentaries, one from film academic Kelly Robinson who talks us through mummies in film and literature, and another with Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby, who discuss the movie and its place in Hammer history. There are some behind the scenes documentaries that take a look at the film, its production, and its music, complete with interviews with those who worked on the film and knew those who did. The new Limited Edition also comes with a gorgeous sturdy slip-case featuring brand new artwork from horror artist Graham Humphreys, a set of collector’s postcards, and a small book featuring writing and essays about the movie.

The Mummy is a surprisingly good movie, and one that manages to take some past ideas and inject a new spin on them that’s full of energy and character. Thanks to some lavish sets, a rousing score, and some superb acting, it remains charming and entertaining throughout. Whether you’re a long time fan looking for the best version of the film, or experiencing it for the first time, this new edition should absolutely be on your radar.

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Poison Ivy #3 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

Poison Ivy is a strange series. I don't know whether I'm supposed to support Ivy or not.

She's clearly going through some trauma, and she's trying to figure out who she is now that she's been separated from the green and has lost much of her power, and this issue shows that she still has a huge capacity to be a good and decent person, but she's also determined to cause death on a massive scale.

Ivy has always been one of those 'villains' who has to be badly written. She has to be over the top, she had to want to do things that don't make sense and has to go too far because if she was written any other way she'd be a hero. I mean, why wouldn't we support her murdering the CEO of a huge polluting company with vines?

But in this series G. Willow Wilson is managing to make Ivy seem so reasonable, so kind, so decent, yet also horrifying and evil all at the same time. It's easily the most interesting and nuanced interpretation of the character I've ever seen, and I find it so incredibly fascinating and enjoyable. 

In this issue Ivy spends some time staying at a small roadside motel, where she helps the owner to clear a small area behind the building, and plants a new garden. Now, Poison Ivy making a nice little garden might not sound that exciting or entertaining, but it honestly really is. This was one of the best issues of this series so far (a series that has been a consistent 5/5 each issue).

I honestly don't know what's going to be happening with this series next. I have no idea where Ivy is going to go, what she's going to do, and whether or not she's going to go through with her murder plan or not; and that makes this such an interesting and fascinating story. I love it.

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The Thing (1982) – Throwback 40

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

1982’s The Thing is often cited as one of the best works of film writer and director John Carpenter, and this is a statement that I believe you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone disagrees with. Thanks to its striking location, its feeling of severe isolation, themes of paranoia and shocking body horror, The Thing has many aspects that have helped maintain its position as one of the best horror films of all time. But The Thing is more than that, it’s also one of the best book to film adaptations that’s ever been put to the screen.

The Thing started life as a short story by American science fiction author John W. Campbell Jr. in 1938, under the title ‘Who Goes There?’. The story centred on a group of America scientists stationed in the Antarctic, who discover an alien spaceship buried in the ice for more than twenty million years. Discovering a frozen creature near the ship, the alien life-form thaws out, and then begins infecting the base staff one by one, leading to a situation where no one knows who to trust.

‘Who Goes There?’ proved to be a popular story thanks to the frightening nature of the narrative, and was adapted into a feature film in 1951, The Thing From Another World. Whilst this adaptation would use certain elements, such as the Antarctic location and the alien from another world, much of the story was changed, and the end result bore little resemblance to the short story.

Decades later, in the mid 1970s, when producers at Universal Pictures wanted to revitalise the project, young director John Carpenter was approached to direct following the breakdown of other directors; such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Tobe Hooper. Whilst initially reluctant to get involved, Carpenter was attracted to the project thanks to the original short story, which included many elements of horror that he found appealing. After some back and forth on various scripts, Carpenter finally agreed to helm the project, and production on The Thing began in 1981, with the majority of filming being done on refrigerated sets in Los Angeles.

The Thing, which followed the original story a lot closer, sees the peace shattered at a remote US research station in Antarctica when men from the nearby Norwegian research station arrive, attempting to shoot a dog. The men are stopped, and killed, and the dog is taken in by the Americans. Travelling to the Norwegian station looking for answers, the US team are shocked to find the place in ruins, and no signs of survivors. What they do find, however, is much more shocking, as they learn that the Norwegian team discovered an alien craft frozen in the ice – as well as its inhabitant.

Bringing the frozen remains back to their own base, the team learn some frightening things about the life form when it seems to come back to life. Not only will the cold not kill it, but if it is able to gain access to other living things it can infect them and convert them, perfectly mimicking any life form it comes across. With the possibility that anyone on the base could have already been turned into one of these things, the team try to figure out a way of detecting the alien creature, whilst also ensuring that none of it escapes to the rest of the world.

The Thing went through something of a rocky production, with a number of issues that plagued it across its time. There were issues with budget, with Carpenter having to push for more money constantly, particularly in regards to the special effects and monster budget. A number of sequences were scaled back to save money, or removed entirely, and whilst filming in frozen locations in Alaska a bus containing cast and crew nearly went off a cliff, and camera lenses froze and broke on more than one occasion.

After filming, the project faced further issues in the edit, and more than one ending was filmed when test audiences disliked the open ended, almost nihilistic tone of the film’s end. Test audiences were unsure what to think about the movie, and Carpenter went back and forth with the studio on different possible endings, including one where Kurt Russell‘s character is seen rescued and confirmed not to be infected, but it was ultimately decided that the more ambiguous ending served the project better.

The Thing was released in the summer of 1982, but faced some tough opposition as a number of other science fiction films squared off against it in the box office. Not only did the film have to compete with special effects extravaganza Tron, it also went up against Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and the family oriented smash-hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The Thing did not do well, and struggled to make much over its budget, and whilst it was by no means a loss for the studio it failed to become a financial hit, and was treated poorly by critics at the time. The film received negative reviews across most publications, was decried as being overly gory and compared unfavourably to the other science fiction films on offer at the time, particularly for its more nihilistic and negative tone.

Over the years, however, and thanks in large part to home release, The Thing began to receive a cult following, and was soon reevaluated, being seen as one of the better examples of both the science fiction and horror genres. The film ended up being praised for the very things it was initially put down for, with its bleak tone, opened ended conclusion, and sense of hopelessness appealing to audiences, even going on to inspire a prequel film, a novelisation, comic sequels and spin-offs, and a video game.

Whilst The Thing was underappreciated in its time it has become a high point in horror cinema, helping to cement the career of its director, and becoming one of the best film adaptations of all time.

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