Blu-ray Review: Cold Light Of Day

Several years ago I got on kick of reading true crime books, specifically books about serial killers, and one of the books that stuck with me was Brian Masters’ Killing For Company: The Case Of Dennis Nilsen. That book told the story of a man who killed at least a dozen young men and disposed of their remains at his home, burying them under the floor boards, and later, when he had moved to another home, flushing bits of their bodies down the toilet. It was that latter method that led to his crimes’ eventual discovery by a plumber. I found the story fascinating, and of course I wasn’t alone in that. Four years after that book was published, a young filmmaker named Fhiona Louise made Cold Light Of Day based on the case of Dennis Nilsen. It came out in 1989, and it seems not a lot of folks saw it. But now, thanks to Arrow Films, people are getting another chance to view the film. Not only that, they are also getting a chance to hear from the director in one of the Blu-ray release’s two commentary tracks.

The film opens with the killer’s arrest, with almost no dialogue, but rather the sound of a steady pounding, like a storm, like a heart about to explode (perhaps a nod to The Tell-Tale Heart?). That sound is revisited later in the film. A title card tells us: “This film is based on actual events, but not on an account. Names have been changed to protect innocent parties.” They seemed to have also been changed to protect the guilty parties, for Dennis Nilsen is named Jorden March. He is played by Bob Flag, whom you will recall as the face of Big Brother in 1984. As the police inspector begins his interrogation of Jorden March, we then see the killer’s story, presumably as it is being described to the police.

Jorden March seems a quiet, unassuming fellow, but he manages to pick up a handsome, younger man named Joe (Martin Byrne Quinn) at a bar and takes him home to his rather sparsely furnished apartment. After hearing a bit of Joe’s story, Jorden tells him, “You sound totally without redemption, dear boy,” but tells him he can stay with him as long as he needs to. Jorden is also shown helping out an elderly neighbor. He seems kind, if maybe a bit awkward. Of course, we can’t help but wonder if this is exactly how things really happened, since the story is being told to the police. Might he try to make himself seem a better, more sympathetic person? Soon Joe is taking advantage of the situation, of Jorden. Yet Jorden is more upset when Joe announces he’s found a job, for now he is worried that Joe will leave him. And when the first murder occurs, that pounding sound from the opening accompanies the action. It is brutal in its reality, the camera remaining stationary throughout the scene.

Interestingly, there is a flashback to Jorden’s childhood, to the time of his grandfather’s death, a church bell sounding relentlessly, like the pounding of the present. Also, as the story goes on, the film cuts back to the police station with increasing frequency. There are some interesting camera moves, as when Jordan goes to peek in on Joe in the bath. It is like the camera is sneaking in for a look too, the camera being as curious as Jorden is, as curious as we are. There are some unusual shots in this film, actions shown at strange angles, as when Jorden is in the bathroom in the morning, those shots having an unsettling effect. The film also makes interesting use of mirrors, as when Jorden goes to a prostitute. The low-budget, grainy feel adds to that unsettling sensation, and gives the film a gritty and honest look.  The film slowly but surely works its hooks into you and includes several disturbing images that will stay with you.

Special Features

The Blu-ray disc contains plenty of bonus material, including two commentary tracks. The first commentary track is by film historians Dean Brandum and Andrew Nette. Andrew talks about Dennis Nilsen and the actual crimes. At the beginning of the commentary, they indicate that another mystery is Fhiona Louise. “She appears to have just vanished off the face of the earth,” Dean says. They give what details they know of her life. But the second commentary is by Fhiona Louise herself. She talks about her interest in the film’s subject, and about making the promotional short film. She also mentions a sex scene that was cut from the film.

Playing The Victim is an interview with actor Martin Byrne-Quinn, who talks about Cold Light Of Day being his first feature film, and how he got the part. He talks about the process of method acting, the locations, and the scene of his strangulation. This featurette is approximately sixteen minutes. Risky Business is an interview with actor Steve Munroe, who talks about shooting his scene without anyone on the street realizing it, and about how his dialogue isn’t really audible in the final film. In Scenes Of The Crime, director Fhiona Louise revisits the locations of the film. At the bridge location, she explains the film’s title card, “For those too sensitive for this world.” This featurette is approximately twelve and a half minutes. The trailer for the film’s re-release is included.

The Blu-ray also includes the original short film that was used to raise funding for the feature. As with the feature, it stars Bob Flag and Martin Byrne-Quinn. A lot of the dialogue seems to be the same, but in this short film, Jorden uses a belt rather than a necktie to strangle his victim. The short also includes a bit of voiceover narration. Two other short films are included on this disc, Metropolis Apocalypse and Sleepwalker, both directed by Jon Jacobs and featuring Fhinoa Louise as an actor.

Cold Light Of Day was directed by Fhiona Louise, and this special limited edition Blu-ray disc was released on October 27, 2020 through Arrow Films.

Blu-ray Review: Daughters Of Darkness

I have long been intrigued by the Elizabeth Bathory story. She was a Hungarian countess who murdered between two hundred and eight hundred young women (the accounts vary), possibly believing that bathing in their blood would halt the aging process. When she was finally arrested, she was confined in her castle, bricked into a room. Obviously, her story is perfect fodder for a horror film adaptation, and several have been made. One of the best, and my personal favorite, is Daughters Of Darkness, which was directed by Harry Kümel and released in 1971. The film stars Delphine Seyrig, Danielle Ouimet, John Karlen, Andrea Rau. It has now received a deluxe treatment by Blue Underground, released as a three-disc limited edition set, including a 4K Ultra HD disc, a Blu-ray disc and a CD of the soundtrack. I’ve seen this movie several times, and on this new Blu-ray release it looks absolutely fantastic.

Elizabeth Bathory was a contemporary of William Shakespeare, but this film takes place in modern times, the idea being that she has managed to live all these years, that the blood not only kept her looking young, but made her immortal. It is an unusual sort of vampire story. The action opens on a train, where newlyweds Stefan (John Karlen, whom you know from his work on Cagney & Lacey) and Valerie (Danielle Ouimet) are making love. They jokingly profess that they do not love each other, a nice, playful touch. And before long we wonder if there might not be at least a bit of truth in that. The train has stopped in the middle of nowhere because another train has gone off the tracks. Stefan and Valerie are not in any immediate danger, but there is still a sense of foreboding. And we hear of Stefan’s mother, who it seems will be displeased by news of the sudden marriage. It’s actually an excellent opening scene.

Soon they arrive at their hotel, where, it being off season, there are no other guests. The atmosphere is excellent, with something mysterious, something eerie, but something you can’t quite put your finger on. Valerie urges Stefan to call his mother, and Stefan asks the hotel desk clerk to announce there was no reply at the house, increasing the air of mystery. And that is established before the entrance of Elizabeth Bathory (Delphine Seyrig, whom you know from Last Year At Marienbad and The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie) and her sexy servant, Ilona (Andrea Rau). The desk clerk recognizes Elizabeth from her visit forty years earlier, when he was a young bell boy, and is shocked to find she has not aged at all. “My mother, perhaps,” Elizabeth says, but is clearly not concerned whether he believes her or not, which is wonderful. And when she spies Stefan and Valerie, Elizabeth remarks, “Look, how perfect they are,” an excellent moment, for we know their fate will be tied to hers before they are even aware of her.

I love the style of this film. It is beautifully shot. Even that wide shot of the dining room where Stefan and Valerie are the only customers is excellent. There is also a fantastic sequence where Stefan and Valerie are relaxing on a boat, as an ambulance rushes to a crime scene on the road next to them. There are also interesting relationships, like that between Elizabeth and Ilona (Ilona tells her early on, “I wish I could die”), as well as that between Stefan and Valerie. Valerie is frightened by Stefan’s reaction to the crime scene they stumble upon, that he seems pleased to see a dead girl. “We’re getting to know each other,” he tells her. We get a stronger sense of Stefan during that great shot of Elizabeth standing at the back of his chair as Stefan recounts what he knows of the Countess Bathory. As he speaks of the legend of the countess keeping young girls chained up for their blood, Elizabeth’s fingers lightly stroke his shoulder. She is lost in memory, a sort of ecstasy. And he seems to share that ecstasy, becoming aroused as he describes the horrors he has read about. It is sexy and haunting. The film has so many great moments like this one. And Stefan seems even more interesting when we meet his “mother.” We begin to wonder just who presents the greater danger to Valerie – the Countess or Stefan.

Special Features

This set contains quite a few special features, including three commentary tracks. The first of these is by director Harry Kümel, moderated by David Gregory. Harry mentions the various titles the film has had and the different versions due to censorship. He talks about how each of the actors came to be a part of the cast, and talks about some other actors he admires. He talks a bit about style, the effect of the empty city, and how movies are like dreams. And, yes, he does talk about the idea behind the mother character. The second commentary track is done by actor John Karlen, with journalist David Del Valle. John talks about his experiences during the production of the film, and about his character and his fellow cast members. This is a pretty fun commentary track, and John Karlen is clearly having a good time recalling his moments on this film. There is a good amount of laughter on this track. About the film’s characters, he joyfully says, “We’re all beautifully perverse, wonderfully perverse, and just wonderful human beings at the same time.” The third commentary track is done by Kat Ellinger, author of Devil’s Advocates: Daughters Of Darkness, a book about this film. She is clearly a big fan of the movie, and has quite a lot of knowledge about it, which she shares on this track. She also puts it into the context of other vampire films, as well as other films about Elizabeth Bathory.

In Locations Of Darkness, director Harry Kümel and co-writer Pierre Drouot revisit the Astoria Hotel in Brussels, where they talk about the film, offering some interesting anecdotes. They are adorable as they remember things differently. At the end of this featurette, there is a bit shot at the other hotel used in the film. This featurette is approximately twenty-one and a half minutes. Playing The Victim is an interview with actor Danielle Ouimet, who talks a bit about her first couple of films, in addition to Daughters Of Darkness. She recalls with humor the sex scenes of this film. This featurette is approximately fifteen and a half minutes. Daughter Of Darkness is an interview with actor Andrea Rau, who talks about how her career as an actor began, about certain scenes from Daughters Of Darkness, and about her comfort with nudity.

The special features also include the alternate U.S. main titles sequence, three trailers for the film, four radio spots, and a photo gallery of posters and other promotional materials. There is also a booklet containing photos and a piece written by Michael Gingold, in which he talks about Harry Kümel’s work, including a proposed sequel titled Mothers Of Darkness, which sounds great.

The set’s third disc, as I mentioned, is the film’s soundtrack, approximately fifty minutes of music composed by François De Roubaix, including several bonus tracks. This music can be beautiful and enchanting at times, particularly tracks like “Red Lips” (which was also one of the film’s other titles) and “Valerie, Ilona And Stefan.” There are also more frantic moments, such as at the end of “Ballad In Bruges.” The bonus tracks include “The Bruges Band,” which has a lighter, more fun atmosphere, and cool remixes of “La Nuit Sous La Mer” and “Ilona’s Jazz.” The disc concludes with the song “Vampire.”

Daughters Of Darkness was directed by Harry Kümel, and this limited edition was released on October 27, 2020 through Blue Underground.

Blu-ray Review: The Hills Have Eyes Part II

The best decade for film was, far and away, the 1970s. It was the best for comedy, with Woody Allen’s work and Hal Ashby’s fantastic output. It was the best for crime dramas, with The Godfather, Mean Streets, and The French Connection. It was the best for science fiction, with Star Wars, Fantastic Planet and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. And it was especially the best for horror, with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, The Omen, Jaws, Halloween and The Hills Have Eyes all being released at that time. All of those movies spawned sequels, with Wes Craven waiting until the mid-1980s to revisit the characters of his The Hills Have Eyes. Perhaps he shouldn’t have waited so long, for The Hills Have Eyes Part II, like most sequels, is not nearly as good as the original. However, there are things about it that make it worth seeing. And last year, Arrow Video released a special edition of the film, with bonus material, making it a perfect time to check this one out.

The movie opens with a title card telling us “The following film is based on fact,” and then giving us a brief reminder of the events of the first film. And if you can’t recall all that happened in the first movie, or somehow never saw it, don’t worry, for The Hills Have Eyes Part II periodically includes further reminders in the form of footage from that film. Bobby (Robert Houston), one of the few survivors of the first film, is, understandably, in therapy. He also is part of a racing team, and is nervous because the upcoming race is in the desert, near the spot where the horrors from the first film took place. He feels his team has an edge because he has developed some sort of special formula of gas that will give their bikes extra power. By the way, his team and entourage include some actors you’ll recognize from other projects, including John Laughlin as Hulk (you’ll immediately remember him from Footloose, which was filmed around the same time), Kevin Blair as Roy (you likely know him from Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood), Peter Frechette as Harry (he was in No Small Affair, which came out around that same time), and especially Penny Johnson as Sue (who went on to do some excellent work in the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and 24 and now The Orville). In addition to Robert Houston, Michael Berryman and Janus Blythe also reprise their roles from the original film.

As Bobby’s team is assembling, Bobby is busy reliving scenes from the first movie, and decides he is too shaken and fearful to make it to the race. Yes, Bobby is one of those rare characters in horror movies, making an intelligent decision at the beginning, thereby avoiding the horror altogether. The rest load onto an old school bus and head to the desert without him. Harry, who is driving the bus, is sort of a Neal Cassady character, weaving a tale as he drives, telling the others: “We are approaching the part of the desert where the family of Jupiter held sway. Where the sand ran with fire and blood, and the hills had eyes.” Yes, he actually mentions the title of the film. And why not? Ruby (Janus Blythe), having cleaned up well since the first film and now going by the name of Rachel, is part of the entourage and does her part by remembering scenes from the previous movie. Anyway, they are running late (because none of them remembered about daylight saving time) and so need to take a shortcut on some dirt road to make it in time to register for the race. And we all know what happens to people who stray from the main road in a horror movie. Soon they end up at what seems to be an abandoned ranch, looking for gasoline. And while the guys at first have fun scaring each other, it turns out that there are some real scares awaiting them. Soon it is clear that they’re not going to make it in time for the race.

One by one, these characters are picked off in typical 1980s slasher fashion. And if the music reminds you of Friday The 13th, there is a reason for that. It was done by Harry Manfredini. There are some good scares in this one. I love when that refrigerator door opens behind Cass (Tamara Stafford). And actually, Cass is one of the most interesting and believable characters. The scenes involving her are particularly unsettling and frightening because we don’t get any shots from her perspective, since she is blind. So we are constantly wondering what might lurk just outside of the frame, just as she wonders the same thing. Those shots are especially effective and suspenseful. There are also some ridiculous moments. I love that when Pluto (Michael Berryman) steals one of the bikes, he is concerned enough with his personal safety to steal a helmet too. It makes him a little less scary, though, doesn’t it? But of course the silliest thing in this movie is that even the dog has a flashback to the original film. Yup.

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains some great bonus material, including a documentary titled Blood, Sand, And Fire: The Making Of The Hills Have Eyes Part II. This documentary features interviews with producer Peter Locke, production designer Dominick Bruno, composer Harry Manfredini, unit production manager/first assistant director John Callas, and cast members Michael Berryman and Janus Blythe. They talk about Wes Craven, about shooting at Joshua Tree, where it was terribly cold, and about the lack of funding for the film. Janus Blythe talks about her character’s death. Honestly, when watching, I hadn’t realized she had died. I thought she was just knocked out, and I kept expecting her to come back and save the day. Janus talks a bit about that. And, yes, the dog’s flashback is addressed in these interviews. This documentary is approximately thirty-one minutes.

There is a commentary track done by the folks behind “The Hysteria Continues” podcast. They talk about how the film’s score is quite similar to that of Friday The 13th, to the point where one of them says, “I am wondering if he was maybe using outtakes or even maybe identical cues.” They also talk about how the original The Hills Have Eyes was a big hit on video in the UK, and how that led to this sequel. They also mention that the characters in this movie genuinely like each other, which is unusual and refreshing, and they talk about how the desert is such an great location for a slasher film.

The special features also include a photo gallery of production stills, poster art and video art. The gallery plays without need of the arrow button, and is set to music from the film. It runs approximately seven minutes. The film’s trailer is also included.

The Hills Have Eyes Part II was written and directed by Wes Craven, and was released on Blu-ray on September 24, 2019 through Arrow Video.

Blu-ray Review: The Cat And The Moon

The Cat And The Moon is a wonderful and endearing and honest film about a high school kid who goes to live in New York while his mother does her stint in rehab. It stars Alex Wolff as Nick, a teenager who is trying to come to grips with the death of his father and the troubles of his mother while finding his own voice in the world. Alex Wolff also wrote, produced and directed the film. Mike Epps plays Cal, a musician who used to work with Nick’s father, and the person with whom Nick stays in New York. Stefania Lavie Owen plays Eliza, the girl that Nick takes an interest in. All three of these actors turn in remarkable performances, each with depth and heart and truth.

When the film opens, Nick is arriving at Cal’s home by way of taxi, and finding that the fare requires every bit of money he has. He then asks the taxi driver if by chance he has any weed. Well, the driver must have helped him out, because soon Nick is on the building’s rooftop getting high and interacting with whoever is passing by on the street below. It is a light moment, a way of trying to make the city his. And at his new school, he smokes pot in the bathroom, which is how he ends up making friends with Seamus (Skyler Gisondo) and Russell (Tommy Nelson), and gets to know Seamus’ girlfriend Eliza (Stefania Lavie Owen). With them, Nick is able to cut loose and enjoy himself. Though things take some serious turns, as when Russell uses a poor choice of words with a drug dealer on the street. And, considering the situation with Nick’s mother, it’s startling when Nick partakes in the mixture of drugs Russell purchased. Though that leads to a wonderfully funny moment when Nick is dancing like a maniac. Eliza asks him, “What happened to you?” Nick replies joyfully, “Drugs.” The entire cast is strong, and all the supporting players have moments to really flesh out their characters, helping to create a completely believable world. Olivia Boreham-Wing is wonderful as Lola, a girl who is interested in Nick, and sometimes just a look she gives Nick says as much as half a page of dialogue. And Russell, who at first seems like he is present primarily for comedy, turns out to have several sides to his character, seen – in addition to the drug-dealing scene – in the moment when he talks about taking piano lessons. But Skyler Gisondo as Seamus is particularly good, even able to accurately and honestly portray a state of inebriation, which is no easy task.

At the heart of this film are Nick’s relationships with both Cal and Eliza, and – most importantly – with himself, his coming to terms with the reality of his parents. Cal has some video footage of Nick’s father in the recording studio, and at one point Nick sits down to watch it, getting a different sense of who his father was, as he sees his father screaming at the technician because the drums are too loud in the mix. There are some truly touching moments in this film, like when Nick’s mother calls him. His reaction is so honest when he hears she’s on the phone, the change in his expression, his tone. Then when he’s on the phone with her, it’s like he becomes the adult in the relationship. We only hear his side of the conversation, but get a sense of what she’s saying from some of his reactions. This scene provides a nice contrast with those early moments when he’s with his friends. The scene where Nick tells Eliza about his father is heartbreakingly honest, both actors giving fantastic performances, and the scene between Nick and Cal when they talk about Nick’s dad is powerful, and actually had me in tears. But don’t worry, for this is not a depressing film. It has too much hope for the future to be so.

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains a photo gallery of production photos. There are ninety-three photos, and they play through without the need of the arrow button on the remote. The film’s trailer is also included.

The Cat And The Moon was directed by Alex Wolff, and was released on Blu-ray on April 14, 2020 through FilmRise and MVD Visual.

Blu-ray Review: Unintended

Unintended is a beautiful and completely engaging film about how a traumatic experience in childhood can affect your adult life, and how people sometimes have to face their pasts before they can have a future. It stars Elizabeth Kail and Nathan Keyes as two adults in their mid-twenties who have a shared past as they struggle to face the present.

As the film opens we see a young girl named Lea (Hannah Westerfield) running through a clearing in the woods by herself, everything green and lush around her. Soon she and her friend Jamie are looking down from a cliff at a body of water, where apparently they’ve come before, thinking to jump but never daring to do so until now, her last day before she and her parents move away. Lea says: “Last chance. Tomorrow I’m gone.” Jamie is reluctant, perhaps fearful, but Lea jumps, shouting out for joy as she does, while unknowingly being observed by another boy. We soon get a sense of the girl’s imagination when in her clubhouse she sets up three figurines, including a wood carving of a bear, then sees the real-life versions of the three frolicking together in the field. A little later, when she finally speaks to Bill (Jay Jay Warren), the boy who was watching her, she sees a recent wound on his hand. “My dad cut me with a piece of glass,” he tells her. “By accident?” she asks. And what seemed like the most innocent and idyllic of places in those opening shots now shows its darker side, as Lea catches a glimpse of Bill’s home life, and also comes across a crazy person in the woods. On top of that, she witnesses her parents arguing, and things are beginning to feel out of control for the girl. When she runs back to her clubhouse to retrieve her figurines, she finds that Bill has taken the ladder she needs to get up there. And when she confronts him about it, there is an accident. Then when she finally gets home, she collapses, and it is unclear just what has happened to Bill in the meantime – and, frankly, to her. It is a frightening and unsettling moment.

Now an adult, Lea (Elizabeth Lail) wakes from a nightmare, a man asleep in the bed beside her, his face hidden, his identity unimportant. When she is out in the street, another man tries to grab her. This is a hostile world, this city, in contrast to the town of those opening shots, and we get the sense that her world has been hostile, in one way or another, ever since the incident. It changed her world, whether she realizes it or not. She is nervous, and we learn she has been in therapy and taking medications for a long time. She is also neglecting her work and is on the verge of being evicted. She is a loner, even canceling lunch plans with her father. It seems she has never gotten past that incident, and after collapsing at a pool, her mind takes her back momentarily to that spot in the woods. After waking in a hospital, she accepts an invitation to travel back upstate with her father.

“Not much has changed,” her father says when they arrive in town. And perhaps that is a good thing, for it will more easily allow Lea to face that dark moment from her childhood, a moment that still has a grip on her. And when it all comes back to her in a rush, she starts to confront her past, to piece it all together, with the help of Sam (Sean Cullen). Sam is an interesting character, an adult who had befriended Lea when she was a child and helps her now to discover the truth of what happened back then. He, like her, is a loner, and certainly has a heart and a gentle disposition, but leads a somewhat curious life. Perhaps even more curious is the strange fact that Lea’s father takes her upstate and then basically disappears from the action. But it is Elizabeth Lail’s excellent performance that drives the film and keeps us engaged. She is absolutely phenomenal in this film.

Special Features

The Blu-ray includes a photo gallery of more than a hundred production stills. The gallery plays without the need of pressing the arrow key on the remote. The film’s trailer is also included

Unintended was written and directed by Anja Murmann, and was released on Blu-ray on April 14, 2020 through FilmRise and MVD Visual.

Blu-ray Review: American Rickshaw

American Rickshaw is strange and delightful movie, an action film with a supernatural aspect, starring Mitch Gaylord as a student and rickshaw driver who gets tangled in a murder mystery after being tricked by a stripper into making a secret sex video filmed by the son of a televangelist. Crazy, right? Well, that’s just part of it. There is also an Asian woman with mystical powers who watches over Scott, an evil sculpture stored in a locker, a magical cat, blackmail and child abduction. And, if that’s not enough to get you interested, the movie also stars Donald Pleasence as the preacher, and was directed by Sergio Martino (though using the name Martin Dolman), who brought us such films as Slave Of The Cannibal God, Hands Of Steel and Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key. And it was co-written by Roberto Leoni, who co-wrote the fantastic Santa Sangre. The film has now finally received a proper Blu-ray release, with a 2K restoration from the original negative, and it looks great.

The film is odd right from its opening, when a hand, missing its thumb, opens a locker and puts a creepy-looking little sculpture inside, which then begins to glow. After that, we are introduced to Scott (Mitch Gaylord), a young, handsome rickshaw driver, who gives a ride to an elderly Asian woman in the rain. This is done in slow motion, and is set to some pretty music, giving the scene a magical quality. And of course there is some sort of magic at work; only, we are not aware of that as yet. Months later, Scott receives in the mail a gift from the old woman, though he drops the accompanying letter down the stairwell and doesn’t bother to retrieve it. Could there be some important information in that letter? The gift itself is strange, a green talisman, and if I received something like that, I would want to read the letter to get the explanation. But Scott has other troubles, including a high phone bill because of his roommate, Daniel, and so puts the talisman in a drawer and forgets about it.

After a stripper chooses him from all the other rickshaw drivers (most likely because he’s straight – there are a few gay characters in this film, which is refreshing) and then coaxes him onto a boat with the promise of sex, he finds himself in a fight with Reverend Mortom’s son, who was secretly videotaping the action from behind a mirror. During the tussle, an important key ends up in the water. Scott manages to beat the guy up, but ends up grabbing the wrong videotape. When later that night he returns to retrieve it, he finds that the guy has been murdered. Soon the actual killer is hunting Scott down, believing him to have the key. And of course the police are after him as well. Things soon spiral out of control for Scott, and the only person he can turn to for help is the stripper, Joanna Simpson (Victoria Prouty).

Reverend Mortom (Donald Pleasence) is one of those fire and brimstone types. He tells his followers, “You have made me rich and powerful so that I can show you the glory of God.” Well, the first part of that sentence is accurate, I suppose. But this man clearly has no interest in the glory of God. What he is interested in is retrieving that evil sculpture.

The movie is filled with interesting and unusual moments. And we are reminded that it is the late 1980s when Scott threatens to stab the stripper with a dirty needle, telling her: “I found it in the gutter. I’m sure you’re familiar with AIDS.” Later he asks her, “Can I trust you?” And she replies, “Tie me to the bed.” By the way, when the cops try to get Joanna to proofread her formal statement, and she doesn’t bother, saying “I’m sure it’s just fine,” well, it is not fine. If you look at the statement, you’ll see that her name is wrong. It reads, “Joanna Kimpson.” Also, the world “police” is misspelled. Fortunately, the cops won’t need that statement in court. It’s strange, because on the one hand, this film doesn’t seem to pay attention to details like that, but on the other, it does give us a lot of information with just a line or two, or even the hint of a line, providing important details without hitting us over the head with them. There is very little obnoxious exposition, which makes the movie more believable. American Rickshaw is an action film, a thriller, a horror film, and even a love story. It is more than a bit goofy at times, but totally enjoyable, and it features a pretty fantastic ending.

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains several special features. There is a commentary track by Kat Ellinger (author of All The Colours Of Sergio Martino) and film critic Samm Deighan. Kat mentions that American Rickshaw is one of the films that inspired her to write her book on Sergio Martino. They talk about the director’s work, and about the myriad ways in which this film is unusual. There are also interviews with director Sergio Martino and production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng. Sergio Martino talks about Italian cinema, and how it managed to often be much less expensive than American productions. He also talks about shooting in Miami, and tells a funny anecdote about a change he had to make while shooting a certain scene. Massimo Antonello Geleng talks about his varied career and reveals he’s never seen the film American Rickshaw. Both interviews are conducted in Italian, with English subtitles, and total approximately eighteen and a half minutes.

The special features also include an episode of the podcast The Production Booth, hosted by Mike White, with guests Kat Ellinger and Cullen Gallagher. All three clearly love the film, but talk about some of its troubles, including that the quote at the beginning is falsely attributed to Confucius, and that 1966 is not the Year of the Tiger, a somewhat important plot point in the movie. They also talk about the voyeurism of the film. This feature is audio only, and is approximately sixty-five minutes.

Location: Miami Now And Then is a short piece on the locations, the “now” being 2019 and the “then” being footage from the film itself. This footage is set to instrumental music. There is no narration. It is approximately three minutes. There is also a photo gallery, which plays on its own, so there is no need to hit the arrow button. It features poster art and production stills.

American Rickshaw was directed by Sergio Martino, and was released on Blu-ray on June 23, 2020 through Cauldron Films.