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HORROR SPOTLIGHT: Pumpkinhead, House Of The Dead, Never Cry Werewolf, The Vanguard
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Our Take:
I’m usually pretty excited when Halloween comes around because, not only do I love Halloween, but I always get some exciting horror movie treats on DVD. If this current crop of new releases is any indication, though, it’s going to be a very sad holiday this year.
The best release in the bunch is the new Pumpkinhead: 20th Anniversary Edition from Fox/MGM. As the only film directed by the late, great creature wizard, Stan Winston, Pumpkinhead is a dark, effective creature/horror flick. Lance Henriksen leads the charge in this revenge-driven monster movie, and while a series of crappy sequels have diluted the franchise to straight-to-video drivel, the original film still packs a punch.
The new Anniversary Edition includes a commentary track by co-screenwriter Gary Gerani and creature and FX creators Tom Woodruff, Jr. and Alec Gillis. There is also a terrific six-part documentary that chronicles the making of the film from start to finish and pays tribute to Stan Winston. Wrapping things up are some behind-the-scenes footage and a still gallery, making this a pretty great DVD for a pretty good movie.
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Next up is House of the Dead: Director’s Cut – The Funny Version. I don’t even know how to describe this monstrosity. Basically, director Uwe Boll (also known as The Worst Director On Earth) Mystery Science Theater-s his own movie in the form of pop-up text and picture jokes that appear throughout the film. Of course, the jokes aren’t any funnier than the movie, and all it accomplishes is to point out what an incredibly, awfully horrible movie House of the Dead is. Samllville fans, take note, though: here’s your chance to see a topless Erica Durance. Oh yeah, and a lot of other topless women. Special features include a commentary track, a making-of feature, and a featurette on the topless women of the cast.
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I had high hopes for Never Cry Werewolf. Not only does it feature up-and-coming star Nina Dobrev in the lead role, but it has Kevin Sorbo in a somewhat satirical role as a television hunter who tries to tackle a werewolf. Unfortunately, when a film called Never Cry Werewolf doesn’t know not to take itself seriously, the results are pretty weak. The film tries to be a dark, moody piece (with some occasional humor injected by Sorbo), but its low budget and cheap effects prevent any real sort of tension from developing. Sorbo doesn’t show up until the movie’s half over, and while Dobrev is decent in the lead role, she’s weighted down by a truly terrible supporting cast. This movie could have been a fun werewolf romp, but instead it’s just another bad, cheap horror flick. There are no special features on the DVD.
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Finally, Vanguard is an odd little film that has good points and bad points. This zombie tale has a distinct style that’s clearly inspired by 28 Days Later and features some decent action sequences. The problem with the film is that it’s narrated by the main character in a voice that sounds like Count Dracula with a severe head cold. He’s so monotonous and boring and gravelly that it’s really, really distracting. This could have been a much different movie without that narration, but as it is, it’s such an annoyance that I couldn’t get into the film at all. There are no special features on the DVD.
Pumpkinhead: 20th Anniversary Edition is the only DVD worth picking up in this bunch. The rest of the films may have once had potential, but whatever they did possess is now lost to bad directing, cheap budgets, and poor voice-overs.
Overall Picture:
Movie (Pumpkinhead/House of the Dead): B+/D-
Movie (Werewolf/Vanguard): C-
DVD (Pumpkinhead/ House of the Dead): B/C+
DVD: (Werewolf/Vanguard): C
- Mike Spring
Editor
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