Brian Keene's latest work, A GATHERING OF CROWS is easily one of his best and most violent tales. A fan favorite character, Levi Stoltfuz returns to once again battle beings from beyond this world.
The novel opens with five crows descending on Brinkley Springs West Virginia. Just outside of town they flutter to the ground and take a human form. They have come to Brinkley Springs to feed and by the time morning comes this entire town will be dead.
With this rather subtle opening what to me is easily Keene's most vicious novel takes off. Literally within the the first 20 pages this sucker has cranked up and is blowing off the page like a major hurricane.
Once the blood-letting starts it is a literal tidal wave of carnage. Some of the most brutal, disturbing, AWESOME kills ever put to the page. Keene really puts it to us this time with a very graphic, non stop assault of gore.
A very complex tale evolves that ends up rooted in actual historic events. Keene, in the way that only he can, once again quickly weaves a brilliant tale with a whole cast of characters that within mere moments you feel like you've known for years. I really don't know how he manages to so quickly involve you in these characters lives but he does.
In as few words as possible the novel tells the tale of this town that becomes completely blocked off from the world. The power is cut, the phones are out and some type of invisible "soul trap" has been placed over the area. No one gets in, no one gets out. The five creatures have descended on the town with only one objective. Kill everything and eat their souls. LeviStoltfuz, who long time Keene readers will remember from GHOST WALK, just happens to be passing through town. He's decided to spend the night at the town Bed and Breakfast and is in his room resting when the screaming starts. He's an ex-Amish fighter of all things strange. He quickly gets a handle on the situation and becomes the only thing standing in the way of this towns complete obliteration.
A GATHERING OF CROWS is a fast paced, often times disturbing but always entertaining roller coaster ride that hints at the goods, pokes around at the goods and then rips the lid off the goods and heaves them in you face.
Wow, to say that A GATHERING OF CROWS is a must read is not even coming close to explaining how important it is that you get this book and read it. Quite possibly the best book I've read so far this year it is not "must read" it is "read it or you're a damn fool".
Keene is most definitely well on his way to developing Levi as franchise character. I can easily see him not only make appearence after appearance on the printed page but he could also make an awesome film or TV character.
Think Jack Ryan but with a beard and plain black hat. Don't know who Jack Ryan is? Never mind then.
There is nothing to not like about his book. Great intelligent story line, blood and guts out the wazoo and some evil, nasty bad guys that you won't soon forget.
A GATHERING OF CROWS is available now and you should already be in your car on your way to get it.
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I know, this film isn't horror but know what? Some times I actually do watch something other then blood an guts. Not very often mind you but it does happen.
If I am going to watch a non horror film there is a good chance that it will either be a Kevin Smith or a Bruce Willis flick. Big fan of both so naturally when COP OUT got released, I was all over that. It's kind of odd watching Smith make a more main stream, studio action film. He's acted in a couple of studio films but I'm thinking this is the first time he's attempted to make a "conventional" film.
COP OUT is a great first shot.
Teaming Willis with Traci Morgan is nothing short of genius. Morgan is just completely insane. His comedy style isn't for everyone but he plays off Willis so well that they truly do come off as a potential new comedy team. I can see these two making a whole series of these films, I know I would watch.
The story line is nothing to write home about. Not that the story really matters. All this is required is a reason for Willis and Morgan to be on the street hunting for something. Just put the two of them together in a car and let them loose. Really no other indgrediants are required. Oh wait, yes there is one more. Kevin Smith.
I'm a huge fan of pretty much everything he has ever done, yes even JERSEY GIRL. I find he writes with a real working mans edge. He knows what it's like to be trying to carve a life out in this messed up world we all find ourselves attempting to make it through and he finds a way to convey it all on the screen.
Anyway, back to story. The premise is simple. Willis and Morgan are a couple of cops who always seem to find a way to be in trouble. As a result of yet another wild caper they find themselves suspended and Willis is just about to pay for his daughters uber-expensive wedding. Of course, no worky, no money so he decides to sell off one of his prize possessions, an ultra rare baseball card that is sure to bring in more than enough to make sure his little girl gets the dream wedding she's planned.
The two suspended buddies head to the memorabilia shop where the owner is anxiously awaiting them. Willis heads in to close the deal while Morgan takes a cell call outside, of course robbers enter, steal card and take off. This allows for the entrance of Seann William Scott who is great as the thief. The scenes with him and Morgan and Willis are CLASSIC!
You can just tell that when they were filming these scenes there was not a straight face on set. It is some seriously funny stuff.
Like I said, don't put this one in expecting to to watch riveting drama but if you want to smile, chuckle and at times just plain laugh out loud then COP OUT should be your choice.
One of the greatest things about this Blu-ray is the inclusion of something they are calling Maximum Movie Mode. How it works is you engage it and start the film. Throughout the running Smith wanders in and out of screen giving you insight, showing out takes and just adding more general hilarity to the proceedings. I loved MAXIMUM MOVIE MODE.
COP OUT is available now in both Blu and standard DVD. You can purchase this bad boy right now by just CLICKING HERE.
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Re watching all these Corman films from my past has made me remember just how much I loved watching his films in theaters when I was a kid. My last review of the PIRANHA disc sent me back but this release of HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP has really done it.
I had completely forgotten about what a great little film this was.
Full of blood, boobs, a great creature and best yet an actual good story HUMANOIDS might just be the perfect B movie.
As I sat here last night and watched it became clear that this film was a notch above all the other Corman classics. This one was special. Can't quite put my finger on what puts this one a step higher then the rest for me but the whole thing just works. A strong story coupled with really great FX and just the right amount of nudity propels HUMANOIDS into the ranks of must see campy fun.
Once I got through the extreme fun that was the feature there's a whole other great experience waiting in the bonus features. Really enjoyed the "making of" feature. It's hard to believe that the film turned out even half as good as it did once you see the back story. Great stuff. Make sure you give it a watch.
SHOUT! is doing an exceptional job with this collection and HUMANOIDS is probably my favorite of the releases so far. Here's the complete breakdown from SHOUT! on the release:
Two years after the success of Piranha,
Corman and New World Pictures went back to the water and came up with a winner.
Humanoids from the Deep was yet another box office bonanza.
In the sleepy fishing village of Noyo, the fish aren't
biting and that's the problem. The town's faltering economy, dependent
entirely on the fishing industry, has exacerbated ongoing, racially charged
tensions between the local fishermen, who want a cannery to be constructed in
the town, and the Native American population, who most definitely don't.
But something else is biting and worse. A
genetic experiment on salmon has produced a species of aquatic monstrosities
that are half-man and half-fish and constantly on the rampage! The body count
is rising. Men are being mauled to death, but the female victims suffer a far
worse fate: The monsters are mating with them, trying to propagate their
horrific species.
Local fisherman Jim Drake (Doug McClure) and
scientist Susan Drake (Ann Turkel) join forces to investigate the cause of this
insidious invasion, but time is running out. Noyo's annual Salmon Festival is
about to take place on the town's boardwalk, and some uninvited guests are
planning to crash the party in bloodthirsty fashion, culminating in a bloodbath
that pits man against monster.
Amid the film's non stop action and carnage,
however, are also subtle messages about corporate corruption, preservation of
the underwater ecology (years before Greenpeace hit the headlines!), and the
importance of community. If the residents of Noyo are to survive, they will
have to put aside their cultural and political differences and band together.
If not, Noyo is doomed.
Humanoids from the Deep proved to be expectedly
commercial, but also proved unexpectedly controversial. Credited director
Barbara Peters (billed as Barbara Peeters) contended that many of the film's
gorier scenes had been added to the film after principal photography. That may
be true, but some of these scenes are the ones most fondly and fearfully
remembered by the film's legion of followers. Then the MPAA (Motion Picture of
America) threatened to slap the film with an X rating unless some of its more
shocking moments were edited down or eliminated altogether. Nevertheless, these
controversies didn't count where it mattered the most at the box-office, as Humanoids
from the Deep became one of New World Pictures most popular releases up to
that point.
Even more surprising is that the film received
good reviews. Although he called it fast, occasionally hilarious gutter
trash, esteemed film critic Leonard Maltin also awarded it three out of four
stars!
This release of Humanoids from the Deep will
truly be something spectacular. This version has never been seen before in the
United States, as it was taken from the inter-positive from the uncut
international version in high definition.
The cast of Humanoids from the Deepis
headed by genre favorite Doug McClure (Warlords of Atlantis, The Land That
Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot), Golden Globe
nominee Ann Turkel (The Cassandra Crossing, 99 and 44/100% Dead) and
Emmy Awardnominee Vic Morrow (Blackboard Jungle, The Bad News
Bears, 1990: The Bronx Warriors).
Future Oscarwinner Rob Bottin again
provided the film's spectacular and spectacularly gory special effects,
including a climactic birth scene that rivals the one in the original Alien!
The film’s menacing and foreboding score was composed by James Horner (Titanic,
Aliens, A Beautiful Mind), himself the future recipient of two Academy
Awards. Production assistant Gale Anne Hurd would go on to become
one of the most successful female producers in Hollywood history, with such
blockbusters as The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon and Terminator 2:
Judgment Day to her credit.
HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP SPECIAL
EDITION BLU-RAY AND DVD FEATURES INCLUDE:
New high-definition transfer of the Uncut international version
presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1)
Never-before-seen deleted scenes
Trailer, TV and radio spots
Leonard Maltin's interviews with Roger Corman on the making of the
film
The Making of Humanoids From
The Deep, featuring new interviews with composer James Horner, second
unit/assistant director James Sbardellati, editor Mark Goldblatt and more!
New World trailers
Seriously, this is a must own title. HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP came out on Aug. 3rd so you should be able to find it anywhere horror DVD's are sold or you can CLICK HERE and go pick it up directly from SHOUT!
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There are child actors who grow up to look
exactly the same as they did when they were children (think Corey Feldman), and
there are child actors who look nothing
like they did when they were younger. Jerry O'Connell falls into the
latter category. Now thirty-six years-old, he's virtually unrecognizable
and light-years removed from his role as the whining and under confident Vern
Tessio in Rob Reiner's STAND BY ME twenty-five years ago. In
PIRANHA 3D, a mindless end-of-summer film of the highest order, O'Connell plays
Derrick Jones, the booze-drinking, coke-snorting producer behind a "Wild
Wild Girls" video series.
Riley Steele, Kelly Brook and Jerry O'Connell
Jones will do anything to get his money shot,
including putting others into harm's way, something he does with reckless
abandon. In an effort to get the best locations, he enlists the help of
Jake Forester (Steven R. McQueen of the CW's "The Vampire Diaries")
who has boarded Derek's yacht with Kelly (Jessica Szohr of the CW's "Gossip
Girl") and two of Derek's models (Kelly Brook and Digital Playground
contract girl Riley Steele). Jake is supposed to be babysitting his
younger brother and sister, but the promise of T & A and a paying gig
outweighs familial responsibility; he pays his siblings off to lie to his
mother (Elizabeth Shue) who also is the town sheriff. Kids will be kids,
and after venturing out into their small boat the little ones end up stranded
on an island surrounded by piranha-infested waters. It's now up to their
older brother to save them.
Not too far away is a congregation of drunken
Spring Breakers having their fair share of fun in the sun, oblivious to the
danger beneath them. Girls in bikinis and less abound in an MTV Spring
Break-like atmosphere (look fast to catch porn star Ashlynn Brooke gyrating on
the boat). All the swimming attracts the piranhas like a magnet, which
sets in motion a bloodbath that reminds one of the gorefest that ends Peter
Jackson's DEAD ALIVE.
As the film's resident underwater creature
expert, Christopher Lloyd does his impression of his own Dr. Emmett Brown from
BACK TO THE FUTURE and although he's good, it would have been funnier to have
had Richard Dreyfuss reprise his Matt Hooper role from JAWS in these scenes
(which he does at the beginning with a rendition of "Show Me the Way to Go
Home" prior to meeting a violent demise). Of course, the real stars
of this film are the titular CGI creatures that do a number on just about
everyone - babes in bikinis are not off-limits. Greg Nicotero and his team
provide great effects, as always.
The early 1980's saw a resurgence of 3D film
fare when movies like COMIN' AT YA!, PARASITE, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III,
TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS, SPACE HUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE,
JAWS 3-D, and AMITYVILLE 3-D all attempted to revitalize the 3D gimmick with
less-than stellar results.
COMIN' AT YA! (1981)
PARASITE (1982)
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III (1982)
TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS (1983)
SPACE HUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE (1983)
JAWS 3-D (1983)
AMITYVILLE 3-D (1983)
The Real 3-D works well here, though it is not
on a par with AVATAR, as that film's 3-D process was more costly.The 3-D is obviously the main draw to seeing
it in the theatre.The suspenseful
moments can been seen from the shore by any genre fan familiar with the tricks
of the trade, and the film uses the barest bones of a plot to set the action in
motion, but it benefits from a campy attitude - besides, how can you take
seriously a movie where a piranha bites off a penis and spits it back out into
the audience (dare I say penis-in-cheek?)
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It never ceases to amaze me that how just a few bucks in the right hands can lead to very special things. I just watched a screener of GROWTH, knew nothing at all about it when I put it in the player so I went into this one completely cold.
I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. It's a parasite infestation flick. Like SLITHER only with a much less comedic take. While the story is strong I did find the rather cartoonish CGI to be a distraction. I am rarely a fan of the completely computer generated stuff and a film with this kind of outcome is exactly the reason why.
That alone though isn't enough to tell you to stay away from this one. If you can work past the fact that the creatures look so hokey the rest of this one is actually a winner. Well directed, well written and well acted GROWTH is a testament to the fact that money alone isn't, nor should it be the main ingredient in any project.
The story is actually quite impressive. A rather daunting undertaking. It goes like this:
n 1989, a breakthrough in advanced parasitic research on Cuttyhunk
Island, gave scientists a jump in human evolution. Initial tests proved
promising as subjects were experiencing heightened physical and mental
strength and awareness. But, something in the experiment went horribly
wrong and the island mysteriously lost three quarters of its population.
Jamie Akerman fled the outbreak, which took her mothers life, twenty
years ago. She now returns with her boyfriend and step brother, to sell
the family property. There, they uncover the key to Jamie's disturbing
past, and the horrifying secrets long suppressed by the town leader,
Larkin. Now, a new strain of parasite has emerged, and threatens the
island once again. Jamie struggles to survive and escape the obsessive
pursuit of the local islanders who know that she has inherited more than
she could ever have imagined.
That synopsis was courtesy of the IMDB. They summed it up better then I ever could.
Like I said, a pretty hefty undertaking and for the most part director Gabriel Cowan pulls it off, he really does. Working mostly with a cast of unknowns ( I think I only say a face or two in the film that I recognized) Cowan manages to build very likable, sympithietic characters that by the end of the first third of the film you actually care about what might happen to them. The complicated backstory is laid out via an old tape that is found while cleaning up the property for sale. The families rather ugly truth is revealed but a little too late as one of the kids gets them nasty little bugs inside him and all hell breaks loose.
Unfortunately that's also about the point that the CGI really kicks into gear and things get a little bit silly. While the idea of what they are trying to do is impressive I don't think they had quite enough money to pull the effects off correctly and for me it ruins the film. I think I would have rather seen less FX but having what we did see be impressive physical stuff. Spent the same money just on a little stuff that looked great as opposed to a lot of stuff that looks bad.
Overall though GROWTH delivers and other than the groan-able FX moments I found the film to be smart, well paced and well worth my time.
Go ahead and give it a spin, just be aware that those SyFy movie of the week moments are coming and I think you'll be just fine.
GROWTH is hitting DVD on Sept. 7th from Anchor Bay. They always do a great job on their releases and there is no reason to believe that this disc will be any different.
I don't have special feature info for you. I haven't received final review product yet but as soon as I do I will update this review with all that info.
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