DVD Review: Manimal: The Complete Series

Remember Manimal? If you’re around my age, you probably do. It was a short-lived television series in the 1980s about a man who could turn into an animal while retaining his human intelligence. Of course, man technically is an animal, but… well, no matter. It’s a show that comes up in conversation somewhat regularly, and now – perhaps shockingly – the series has been released on DVD, through Shout! Factory. Yes, the complete series is now available for your viewing pleasure. And by complete series, I mean eight episodes. Yup, that’s all they made. For those keeping score, that’s two more than Police Squad got (which came out the previous year).

Manimal stars Simon MacCorkindale as Jonathan Chase, the man who is able to transform himself into animals and uses that ability to fight crime. He is particularly fond of changing into a panther and a hawk, and those transformations were designed and created by Stan Winston. Of course I can’t help but wonder, when turning into an animal, what happens to Jonathan’s clothes and his wallet and the other things in his pockets? And when he turns into a hawk, how is it his bones and organs are able to shrink so much? And if his brain shrinks to that extent, how is he still able to retain his human cognitive abilities? Anyway, the series also stars Melody Anderson as Brooke McKenzie, Michael D. Roberts as Ty, and Reni Santoni as Lt. Rivera. There are some interesting guest stars as well, including Ursula Andress, David Hess and Gloria Stuart. This series is goofy and cheesy, but definitely fun. The new three-disc set contains the eight episodes, as well as bonus material.

“Manimal”

The series opens with a feature-length episode (75 minutes), in which Jonathan Chase uses his powers against arms dealers. Early in the episode we see Jonathan change into a panther in the back seat of a taxi, while telling the driver to keep his eyes on the road. There’s a bit of a creepy 1980s horror feel to it, and at this point we don’t know who this guy is. The nice, long opening sequence includes special effects and stunts. It’s interesting that when he changes back to human, he’s fully dressed. How does that work? This episode stars Ursula Andress as Karen Jade, one of the bad guys, and in one scene she wears a gorgeous full-length red fox coat, and in another a full-length lynx. In another scene, Jonathan turns himself into a house cat and sticks his head into Ursula’s robe. Manimal is no fool. I’d use my powers to do that too, given the chance. He not only can change into animals, but can communicate with them as well. Lions and tigers and… well, no bears, but still… oh my.

This episode stars Glynn Turman as Ty, the only man who is close enough to Jonathan to know his secret. There is actually a flashback to Vietnam, where Jonathan uses his powers to help the two of them escape from a prison camp. During the course of the episode, McKenzie also becomes privy to his secret. There is a cute nod to Jaws at the end of this episode.

“Illusion”

In the second episode, Michael D. Roberts takes over in the role of Ty. Also, a narrated segment is added to the beginning, explaining the basic set-up of the show. This narrated segment would be kept for the remaining episodes. (The narrated sequence includes brief scenes with Jonathan’s father, who also had this ability, and in this footage, his father’s clothes remain on the ground when he turns into a bird. So why doesn’t that happen to Jonathan when he changes?) This episode deals with a magic show gone awry and the problems of diplomatic immunity. It seems to have more humor than the first episode – in the dialogue, and in a squirrel’s reaction shots to Jonathan’s transformation into a hawk. The role of Ty has changed somewhat in that direction as well, feeling much more like a goofy sidekick character. There is also some physical humor. This episode features David Hess in a small role, and also has a Jaws reference.

“Night Of The Scorpion”

On a cruise ship, a man is being interrogated by some criminals who demand to see a special list. The man’s death leads our heroes to believe his daughter might be in trouble. Series creator Glen A. Larson wrote this episode. At one point a sealed envelope reads, “To Be open only in case of my death.” It should read, “To be opened,” of course. Whoops, props people!

“Female Of The Species”

Wolf Girl, a woman raised by wolves, has been captured by humans, and her capture understandably upsets Manimal. Could she be the right gal for him? Well, someone is trying to kill her to keep her identity secret. There’s a cute bit where she scares away two cats to get at their food; for a moment, it seems she’s going to eat the cats, which would have been even better. There is some silliness with Ty dressed as a knight, and at one point Wolf Girl plays with a Skeletor action figure. This episode has a shark, which I always appreciate. But it looks like several different types of sharks are used, all pretending to be the same shark. Well, it’s good the wolves taught Wolf Girl how to swim. Gloria Stuart plays a bag lady in this episode.

“High Stakes”

This episode opens with Jonathan and Ty are the race track, which got me to wondering if Manimal would enjoy having men ride him if he changed into a horse. Anyway, there is some mischief at the horse races. Who’d have thought there’d be anything underhanded happening in the gambling world? By the way, in this episode Jonathan does mention that people are animals too. There are a lot of humorous scenes in this one, like the shot of him as a panther looking through some files. Also, there is a really cute scene where Jonathan and McKenzie discuss the various cover stories they could use. McKenzie says, “I’ll be a blind woman and you can be my seeing-eye dog,” to which Jonathan responds, “No, I’d rather be a lion and you can be my lunch.” There is some fun sexual tension and innuendo between the two of them. Later, Jonathan does turn into a horse, and a woman rides him. When she hits him with her riding crop, it seems like he’s enjoying it.

“Scrimshaw”

Jonathan, McKenzie and a twelve-year-old boy (who is oddly their traveling companion) rescue a seal and find a skeleton grasping a piece of scrimshaw. This leads to Manimal employing some kind of accent, so we’re all in trouble. At one point, Jonathan is pushed out of a plane, but falls slowly enough that he’s able to change into a bird. He also turns into a snake, but the close-up shot of it shows the snake in a very different terrain than where Jonathan had been standing. Anne Ramsey (The Goonies, Throw Momma From The Train) has a small role in this episode.

“Breath Of The Dragon”

It’s Ty’s birthday, and they have his surprise party at a Chinese restaurant, where the mark of the dragon is left on the door. The owner’s son has joined the gang responsible for the mark. The leader of the gang tells his followers, “There are only two classes in this society – those who dominate, and those who submit.” Hey, what about those of us who like to switch? Later, his gang beats up an old station wagon, and Jonathan displays his martial arts skills.

One note: Ten minutes into this episode, the narrated segment replayed and the episode started over. The disc didn’t skip back to the beginning, but rather had an extra ten minutes, the first ten minutes twice. A strange defect. It might just be my copy, but I thought I should mention it.

“Night Of The Beast”

This is kind of a ridiculous episode, even for this series, but it features Robert Englund (though listed as “Robert England” in the opening credits) as a villain, a year before he’d play a much more famous villain in A Nightmare On Elm Street. Ty is caught following a suspect, but says, “You know, a lot of people mistake me for Billy Dee Williams.” And at one point the heroes say, “At least it’s not raining,” which is sadly followed by a downpour. I like the moment where McKenzie picks up a rat and asks it questions, assuming it is Jonathan transformed.

Special Features

The DVD contains some bonus material, including Man To Animal: An Interview With Glen A. Larson, in which he talks about the series – about the concept, about how the first episode went up against Dallas, about the cast (including the change to Michael D. Roberts after the pilot), the special effects, the animals used, and so on. This is approximately eighteen minutes.

The DVD also contains concept and production notes (in the concept notes, it says, “‘Manimal’ asks the audience to somewhat suspend belief” – whoops!), cast biographies, photo galleries and a trailer for the Automan series.

Manimal: The Complete Series was released on DVD on November 10, 2015 through Shout! Factory.

DVD Review: Matt Shepard Is A Friend Of Mine

I think most people are aware of the story of Matthew Shepard’s death, that horrible hate crime that truly did shock and anger the country in 1998, but few of us know that much about his life. His friend, filmmaker Michele Josue, in her documentary Matt Shepard Is A Friend Of Mine, changes that. Much of the film is a celebration of his life, with interviews with his parents and many of his friends. This project is in part a personal portrait of friendship, with Michele Josue including herself in the film. It opens with her introducing herself: “My name is Michele Josue, and Matt Shepard was a friend of mine.” She continues: “Even though so much time has passed since Matt died, it’s still painful when I think of my friend. I feel guilt for not being there, confusion about what happened, and anger about what they did to him. I miss my friend, and I’m not ready to let him go. And that’s why I’m making this film.”

Josue then steps back and allows other friends and family to help paint the portrait of this young man. And there are some sweet anecdotes, like that when he was little he’d write poems and leave them in neighbors’ mailboxes (as well some pretty rocks after learning it was illegal to leave mail without postage stamps). Judy Shepard tells us that she began to suspect her son might be gay when he was approximately eight years old, as he loved to dress as Dolly Parton for Halloween. In addition to the interviews, the film includes old photos, letters, journals, and even some home footage shot by his younger brother when they were kids.

Interestingly, his family moved to Saudi Arabia and Matthew went to a boarding school in Switzerland. It was there that the film’s director met him. The two acted together in plays, where they both felt more comfortable. Another friend from that school tells of an awful incident on a school trip in Morocco, where Matthew was robbed and raped. “He wasn’t the same person after,” she tells us. And his mother agrees, “He never really recovered from the attack… He even adopted the posture of a victim.”

Approximately halfway through the film we get to the night of the attack, which is presented in some detail, with interviews with Matt Galloway (the bartender at Fireside, the bar where Matthew met the two men who would murder him), Rob Debree (the Undersheriff), and Reggie Fluty (the Sheriff’s deputy). But what is most heartbreaking is watching Matthew’s parents recount going into the hospital room where he lay comatose. There is also some footage of those insane bigots who protest at funerals.

One of the most interesting interviews is with Father Roger Schmit, who tells Michele (and us): “Maybe his friends, their most important mission is to remind the world to be angry at that. We must not ever heal from that.” Yes, Michele returns to being in front of the camera toward the end, dealing with her own pain. But while this film can be heartbreaking, it’s ultimately heart-warming, with information on the Matthew Shepard Foundation and about hate crime legislation. (By the way, Matthew’s brother is not interviewed, but at the end a title card tells us he works at the Matthew Shepard Foundation.)

Matt Shepard Is A Friend Of Mine was directed by Michele Josue, and was released on DVD on November 3, 2015 through Virgil Films. The DVD contains no special features.

DVD Review: The Saint Seasons 1 & 2

Before he took on his most famous role as James Bond, Roger Moore was Simon Templar in the dramatic series The Saint. For six seasons he played the suave criminal turned detective. Timeless Media Group, a division of Shout! Factory, has now released a ten-disc box set containing all thirty-nine episodes of the first two seasons. These episodes feature appearances by several other actors from the James Bond series, including Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton, Robert Brown, Joseph Furst and Bill Nagy.

It’s an excellent show, each episode like a mini-film. At the beginning of each episode, Simon Templar directly addresses the camera, taking us into his confidence, sometimes even asking our advice, as in the first episode when he asks, “What should I say?” And then someone will mention Simon’s name and a halo appears over Simon’s head, which leads to the opening credits. In the first episode, a husband seemingly accidentally knocks a heavy pot of flowers from the balcony onto his wife. She survives, but he feels guilty, and begins acting strangely, telling lies and getting to know the pretty new neighbor, who herself begins acting oddly. Soon Simon Templar arrives in town, asking about the husband. There are lots of nice little details, like the bedridden wife hiding her glasses under the covers just before her husband enters, then putting them back on again once he leaves.

The show gives us little hints of Simon’s past and his renown. In the second episode a woman recognizes him, calling him “the famous Simon Templar,” and the Italian police allude to his being arrested before, for example. Some things are dropped, like the character of Hoppy, who works for Simon Templar and is something of a nitwit, trying to steal alcohol from him. This character is introduced in the third episode, and then dropped.

“The Arrow Of God” is a particularly good episode, an interesting whodunit. At the beginning of this one, Simon speaks to us against a gossip columnist (and by extension, against all gossip columnists). At one point, Lucy tells Templar that if the columnist steps out of line, he has permission to kill him. “Me? I’m on holiday,” Simon responds. A good example of the sense of humor of the show. This episode features Honor Blackman as Pauline Stone. “The Effete Angler” features Shirley Eaton as Gloria. Both Blackman and Eaton would of course star in Goldfinger. Another example of the humor comes in “The Man Who Was Lucky,” in which a villain says to Templar, “Haven’t I seen you someplace?” and Templar responds, “Sure, I’ve been someplace.”

“The Golden Journey” is a very different type of episode, in which Simon Templar and an aunt set up a test for a woman who is about to marry one of Templar’s closest friends. Erica Rogers plays the woman. And at the beginning of “The Charitable Countess,” Simon Templar says his own name, rather than someone else saying it, before the halo appears above him. This is a delightful episode. Patricia Donahue is wonderful as the countess, and Warren Mitchell is excellent as Marco, the cab driver who helps Simon. (Warren Mitchell would later turn in an incredible performance as Shylock in the BBC’s 1980 production of The Merchant Of Venice.)

In “Starring The Saint,” a producer is planning on making a film based on Simon Templar’s life, and wants Simon to play himself. As a side note, before this television series, there actually had been a series of films about The Saint. This episode features Jackie Collins as April Quest. And Monica Stevenson is excellent as Peggy. Plus, I love this line from an inspector: “I never believe anything about Simon Templar until I’ve proved it three times, and even then I’m always willing to change my mind.”

“The Saint Plays With Fire” is one of the best episodes. It begins with a neo-Nazi rally, and Templar speaks against it directly to us. It’s an excellent episode about Nazism after the war, with some great characters, particularly Lady Valerie, played by Justine Lord. There is an intense scene involving a lighter. Joseph Furst plays Kane Luker in this episode. He also starred in the final episode of the second season, “The Saint Sees It Through,” this time as Ernst, and would later appear in Diamonds Are Forever.

Another episode worth noting is “Luella.” At the beginning, Simon Templar tells us he’s not a bad person. “It’s just that I am not troubled by my wicked thoughts. In fact, I rather enjoy them.” This episode also plays with the halo bit at the beginning, with Roger Moore giving a quick glance upward as if waiting for it to appear. An old friend, now married, arrives in town and wants Simon to show him the night life. There is some silly slapstick elements in this episode. Wildly, this episode has a James Bond reference at the end. A woman refers to Simon Templar as James Bond. Wow, a bit of first-rate prognostication, that is. And then the episode ends by repeating the halo gag from the beginning.

Special Features

This ten-disc set includes commentary tracks on a few key episodes. On the first episode of the series, “The Talented Husband,” there is a commentary track by Roger Moore, executive producer Robert S. Baker and associate producer Johnny Goodman. They discuss the idea of Simon directly addressing the camera and about the music for the series. The commentary is moderated. Those same three people also provide the commentary on “The Saint Plays With Fire,” one of the series’ best episodes. Robert S. Baker was not only executive producer, but also directed that episode. They talk about the real demonstration against fascism, about Joseph Furst and about the fire scene. Roger Moore also speaks briefly about the film of The Saint, and about Robert Brown, who appears in this episode as well as several James Bond films, including The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy and A View To A Kill.

For the “Luella” episode, director Roy Ward Baker and guest star Sue Lloyd provide the commentary track. Both talk about the differences in their names in the credits of episodes (Sue is credited as Susan Lloyd in this episode), and about Roger Moore as a joker on the set. Roy mentions having worked for Alfred Hitchcock.

The Saint Seasons 1 And 2 was released on October 13, 2015 through Timeless Media Group.

DVD Review: The Horror Network

On the DVD case for The Horror Network, it says, “It’s prime time for evil.” And indeed, October is the prime time for horror movies, as we’re getting prepared for the best holiday of the year, Halloween. And what better way to get yourself in the proper holiday spirit than by watching horror movies? The Horror Network is an anthology of five short horror films, each with a creepy, suspenseful tone. As with all anthologies, some films are stronger than others. Usually, an anthology tries to begin and end with its strongest material, but for me, the three films in the middle are the best of this anthology.

3:00 AM

The first film, 3:00 AM, opens with some nice shots of the countryside while we hear a phone conversation between two women, one of whom has been receiving crank calls. Late that night she hears a thumping and gets up to investigate. The film creates a suspenseful atmosphere, with interesting shots and with sound, and a good chunk of it is without any dialogue. The woman is frightened, but we begin to think it might be in her head. (This one does have the traditional false scare of the cat jumping out.) 3:00 AM was written and directed by Lee Matthews, and stars Charlotte Armstrong.

Edward

On a windy night, two guys are inside talking, and soon it becomes clear that one is a psychologist and the other a patient. The patient has stopped taking his medication and has trouble sleeping. He says he doesn’t want to sleep because of his dreams. “When I wake up, I’m not where I’m supposed to be.” In addition to sleepwalking, he has issues with his mother, and he believes there is something deeply wrong with him. He mentions Alice, a girl from his school who was murdered, a murder he might be responsible for. This one is totally creepy, and gets weirder as it goes, and is able to create a whole lot of suspense with mostly just two guys talking. Edward stars Artem Mishin and Nick Frangione, and was written and directed by Joseph Graham.

The Quiet

The Quiet begins with a child whispering, “I’m going to love you forever and ever, as much as I possibly can,” with a shot of a doll. Dolls are inherently creepy, so right away we’re sort of put on edge. A girl is riding on a bus with other kids. She is nearly deaf, and takes out her hearing aid so as to not hear the other girls, who are teasing her. Soon she is out, walking along a country road by herself, where she keeps seeing the same blue van. And she loses her hearing aid. Like the woman in the first film, she is frightened when there is possibly no reason to be. But childhood is like that. And the film does a great job of showing us the world through her eyes, and through her ears. There is a really nice look to this film, and a good performance by the girl. The Quiet stars Jenni-Lea Finch, and was directed by Lee Matthews.

Merry Little Christmas

Merry Little Christmas is the most graphic of all the films in this anthology, and it too builds a delightfully creepy and unsettling atmosphere. On a Saturday night, Miguel leaves his girlfriend to visit his cousin Cristina and his aunt Lola, and immediately we sense something is wrong in that home. Miguel is worried about Cristina, but the film doesn’t provide us with all the information right away. Then in flashback there is a really horrifying scene of domestic abuse, observed by a young Cristina. And from there, things get more frightening. Merry Little Christmas stars Macarena Gómez, Blanca Rivera and Jan Cornet, and was written and directed by Manuel Marin.

The Deviant One

The Deviant One is the only film of the group to be presented in black and white. It shows a man strangling another man, then taking him to bed. There is no dialogue, but plenty of biblical quotations on title cards throughout. This one is the least effective for me, but the shot in the bathtub is cool. The Deviant One stars Brian Dorton and Brad Anderson, and was directed by Brad Dorton and Douglas Conner.

Special Features

The DVD includes an extended version of The Deviant One, this one with dialogue. But the dialogue certainly does not improve things. Here is part of the conversation at the beginning:

“Do you live around here?”

“I do, yes, actually.”

“You want to come in for a drink?”

“Sure.”

And then when they go inside, the first guy asks, “Water okay?” The version is without the biblical passages. Oddly, the bathtub scene isn’t in it, but a slightly extended version of that scene is included at the end.

The special features also include an image gallery and the trailer.

The Horror Network is scheduled to be released on DVD on October 27, 2015 through Wild Eye Releasing.

Blu-ray Review: Alleluia

Based on the true story of the Lonely Hearts Killers (the same couple that inspired the 1969 film The Honeymoon Killers, the 1996 film Profundo Carmesi, and the 2006 film Lonely Hearts), Alleluia is an excellent film about love, loneliness, jealousy and obsession. And though we’ve seen this story before, here it is told in such a way that it feels fresh and real and immediate. This films brings us (and keeps us) very close to the two main characters.

Alleluia has a creepy opening. We see a woman, Gloria, giving a sponge bath to a naked man. It takes a moment before we realize the man is dead. And then she looks directly at the camera, directly at us. It’s brief, but long enough to be unsettling. The film is divided into four sections, each about a certain woman, though Gloria is key in all sections, not just the first which bears her name. Gloria is a single mother who is looking at men’s profiles online with a friend, the friend urging her to contact one of them. The camera remains on the women’s faces, never cutting away to the computer screen, which is great. This is a movie that really knows that its characters are what is important, and the camera rarely strays from them.

We are then introduced to Michel, the man that Gloria has contacted, who is practicing what he’ll say in the mirror. He has a photo of Gloria attached to the mirror, which is a bit creepy considering they haven’t yet had their first date. But soon he lights candles for a ritual, saying, “Let Gloria succumb to my charms,” which is much eerier. And on the date, he says just what he’s rehearsed. Gloria takes him home that night, and in the morning when she’s called to work, she leaves her young daughter in his care, a demonstration of her trust, or perhaps her foolishness. But it is for her a demonstration of her love, for she has completely fallen for this man. Even after learning that he’d lied to her, and that he makes his living by seducing women, she wants to stay with him, even to help him. Michel suffers from migraines, and it partly feels as if Gloria is eager to finally care for a living man rather than for the dead. She looks so happy, and he is clearly intrigued. “I’ve never felt so good in my life,” Gloria tells her friend, before basically abandoning her daughter to her.

So then the remaining sections of the film are each named after a woman that Michel seduces, while Gloria poses as his sister. But how long can she possibly be able to watch her man with other women? Her obsession with him borders on madness, to the point of seeing the world outside of the two of them as being dangerous, populated by people who have stopped dreaming, as she says at one point, while standing over the naked corpse of a woman. Gloria is at times like a child, throwing tantrums and so on. She’s also entertained like one, as Michel delights her by making faces for her. But we know she’s much more dangerous than a cranky child.

I love how this film is shot, with lots of close-ups, letting faces do much of the work of conveying the story and the character’s emotions. Plus, because it keeps us so close to Gloria and Michel, we’re never able to get too comfortable. We’re not allowed that distance from which we could more objectively view them, at least not for long. Alleluia is an intelligent, creepy, horror/drama, with excellent performances by Lola Dueñas as Gloria and Laurent Lucas as Michel.

Special Features

This disc contains quite a lot of bonus material, including a commentary track by director Fabrice du Welz. And in case you’re wondering, yes, it’s in English, and at the beginning he apologizes for what he calls his “bad English.” Interestingly, he talks about commentary tracks themselves, saying he feels they’re not necessary. He talks about the real story of the lonely hearts killers, and about two of the earlier films based on that story. He also talks about shooting on film versus video, about the score and the cast. This track was recorded for Music Box Films.

It’s Wonderful When You’re In Love is a short film from director Fabrice du Welz, about a sad, odd, disturbed woman who is alone at home, putting up balloons for her own birthday. She’s hired a man to help her celebrate, but then gets upset when he insists on getting paid. And she may not be the weirdest character in this film. I love the twisted sense of humor in this film. The moment during dinner when she laughs is perfect. This director seems to have a soft spot for lonely, homicidal women.

The disc also contains an episode of Home Cinema hosted by Fabrice du Welz, in which he talks with director Jaco Van Dormael about The Brand New Testament and his earlier work. A section of this episode also deals with Alleluia, with interviews with Lola Dueñas, Fabrice du Welz and Laurent Lucas.

Shooting Alleluia offers a behind-the-scenes look at the film, with interviews with Fabrice du Welz and Laurent Lucas. This is approximately ten and a half minutes. There are also seventeen minutes of deleted scenes, and interviews with cast members Lola Dueñas, Laurent Lucas and Helena Noguerra, as well as with production designer Manu de Meulemeester. The special features also include the film’s trailer.

There is also a booklet with information on the real couple, as well as an interview with Fabrice du Welz and several photos.

Alleluia was directed by Fabrice du Welz, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 6, 2015 through Doppelganger Releasing. The film is presented in its original French, with English subtitles.

DVD Review: A Plague So Pleasant

Zombies sure are popular these days. That seems due in large part to The Walking Dead, a series that even my girlfriend (who says she hates horror films) enjoys. There are also zombie walks, where people dress up as zombies and… well… walk. And now there are zombie trains as well, where passengers ride through a zombie apocalypse and can even choose to become zombies en route. Why not? And as for zombie films, writers and directors are still finding new and interesting places to take this horror subgenre. Look at A Plague So Pleasant for a prime example of what wonderful new work can be done in the zombie realm.

This film is set a year after the zombie apocalypse, when zombies have become a simple fact of life for those who survived. It has an odd opening, a static shot of a kitchen table, upon which sits a gallon of milk and an empty glass. Soon Todd (Max Moody) enters frame and sits down, facing us. But when he speaks, we hear another man off screen answer. And since Todd looks directly into the camera, we immediately share this unseen man’s perspective. It’s an interesting way to establish that perspective, and align us with Clay (David Chandler). The scene itself is humorous, with Todd asking Clay if his sister Mia is available. And it contains a slightly subtle hint as to what’s taken place, as Clay tells Todd, “Ever since she lost Mom and Dad and Gerry, she’s been so… She needs somebody right now.” And when Clay opens the door to head to work, he sees zombies milling about in the front yard. He walks right past them.

A Plague So Pleasant acknowledges the zombie movies that we’ve all seen, in the voice over narration that Clay delivers during the opening credits. Then he adds: “So when the news reports came in, we were all very well armed. We shot every zombie we saw.” But in an interesting twist, he adds, “When we stopped shooting the zombies, the zombies stopped eating us.” In the world of this film, the zombie apocalypse lasted only twelve hours, and now it’s a felony to shoot a zombie. The film shows us a series of images of zombies in close-ups, as somber music plays, almost like we’re seeing refugees of a war. Plus, all of this is presented in black and white, adding to that feel (while also reminding us a bit of Night Of The Living Dead, and so giving us the sense of beginning the genre over again in a different way). What’s also wonderful about this opening is that it addresses the sort of philosophical and religious questions about death, for in this world no one really dies anymore, but instead everyone wanders forever. And perhaps that’s the most horrible thing of all, worse than death.

The film has an interesting tone, with a quiet and dark humor, implying that both the victims and the survivors of the zombie apocalypse share the same fate, existing in a sort of lifeless world. For example, there is a great scene at Clay’s workplace where he and his co-workers have to sit through a meeting on “Undead Awareness Safety,” with zombies having become as dull a topic as any other that would be brought up at an office meeting. And instead of cemeteries, there are zombie reserves, where you can visit your undead loved ones. As Clay points out, “A tombstone makes it a lot easier to move on.” So when it’s clear to Clay that his sister will never get over Gerry so long as Gerry remains above ground, he returns to the reserve with a gun, intending to kill Gerry so that Mia can get on with her life. And that’s when things suddenly take a drastic turn.

A Plague So Pleasant was written and directed by Benjamin Roberds, and was released on DVD on September 29, 2015 through Wild Eye Releasing. The DVD includes two promotional spots for the film.

DVD Review: The Farewell Party

The Farewell Party is an excellent film dealing with questions of aging, assisted suicide, and the amount of control we have, or should have, over our lives, including how they’ll end. While the subject might sound heavy, the film has a sincere humor at moments, and it is beautifully acted and lovingly shot. Sure, you may be in tears at times, but you’ll also be laughing out loud at other times, as you come to care about this film’s characters.

The movie opens quietly, the camera approaching a man from behind as he makes a phone call. And we see an elderly woman who, with the help of her walker, goes to answer the phone. Then suddenly, a large, echoing voice on the phone calls out the woman’s name, “Zelda.” The woman asks, “God?” And we see both sides of the conversation, as she tells the man she believes to be God that her cancer is back, and the man, who is not God, tells her to be strong, not to give up. He tells her there currently aren’t any vacancies in heaven, and so she should continue her treatments. The man, Yehezkel, a retired inventor, is doing what he can to help her live, while his wife, Levana, lingers behind his chair, clearly supportive.

The film takes place mainly in a retirement home where the residents find they really have to help each other out, that there isn’t much help or understanding coming from outside their small world. The film establishes this by not developing many outside characters, and keeping the perspectives that of the residents of the retirement community. Soon we meet Max, another elderly man being cared for, but clearly suffering. When Yehezkel and Levana go to visit him, Max tells them, “Help me get it over with.” Yana, his wife, wants to help him die, saying, “They’re keeping him alive as though dying is a crime.” While dying might not be a crime, assisting a suicide is, and so they are unsure at first how to proceed, or if they in fact should proceed. Death is obviously on the minds of those who dwell in the retirement community, even on Levana’s mind, as she is intent on passing on one of her recipes to her grown daughter.

Though Levana disapproves, Yehezkel decides to build a suicide machine based on one he sees on the internet, and a small group of friends help Max commit suicide. But then soon another man comes to them, asking for help. The man, Dubek, threatens to turn them in to the authorities if they don’t help him, making him less of a sympathetic character, though of course we understand his desperation.

There are many heart-wrenching moments in this film, like when Levana, who is beginning to suffer from dementia, doesn’t recognize Yehezkel, and keeps repeating that she wants her husband, while he is seated right there beside her. The only weak moment in the movie is the sequence where suddenly many of the characters each sing a portion of a song. This is obviously taken straight out of Magnolia, and it is for that reason that it pulled me out of the story momentarily; also, the sequence wasn’t far enough into the film to have the emotional impact that it did in Magnolia. But other than that, this is an excellent and engaging film.

The Farewell Party was written and directed by Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit, and was released on DVD on September 22, 2015 through First Run Features. The film is presented in its original Hebrew with English subtitles. The DVD contains no special features.