DVD & BLU RAY REVIEWS
Reviews by JAIME PINA
Death Game
Grindhouse Releasing
Sandra Locke appeared on a few network TV series before appearing in this exploitation flick. After her appearance in this she would work on several films with Clint Eastwood and eventually enter into a doomed relationship with him. So fans of hers who have not seen this are in for a big surprise as it is true grindhouse fare with heavy violence and a lot of nudity.
A man in a nice neighborhood (Seymour Cassel) is alone on his birthday as his wife and child are out of town. It is a rainy night and when he gets a knock on the door it turns out to be two young girls who are lost. They ask to use the phone and arrange to be picked up while the man offers them towels. The girls notice his large bathtub and next thing you know the girls are naked and the birthday boy is getting some strange. The ride never comes and the girls never go. It sounds like a letter to Penthouse but then things turn into Manson Family type carnage.
There is plenty of suspense and Locke and co-star Coleen Camp (The Swinging Cheerleaders, Game Of Death) have some very sexy scenes and there is a lot of leg and foot fetishism on display. In addition to being naked Locke and Camp also turn in convincing performances and as they go more and more crazy it becomes nerve wracking waiting for their next atrocity. The music is frightfully inappropriate and the main theme, a sing-along about “dear old dad”, starts to really turn the stomach every time it is repeated as certain issues are revealed during a torture scene. And the ending is a real tripper.
Grindhouse once again shows the great care they are known for with this latest release. The print looks and sounds fantastic with the crazy colors in the living room torture sequence looking sinister. Disc one has the feature plus several commentaries plus a bonus feature called Little Miss Innocence and it deals with a similar theme of two young girls and an older man and the consequences of getting some strange. Disc two contains extras including interviews with director Peter S. Traynor and Coleen Camp hosted by Eli Roth, an audio interview with Sandra Locke, still galleries and more. Also included is a fantastic booklet with photos and background on the film and a great embossed slipcover.
Creature From Black Lake
Synapse Films
This flick is an example of high quality low budget filmmaking. Hated by critics when first released, while not exactly a work of genius the film does what its supposed to by providing the viewer with amusing characters, a mystery and a monster. That’s really all you need to connect with the intended audience. With help from a couple of veteran actors the whole thing comes together and really works.
Two students from Chicago head down to Louisiana where they are looking for any information on the sighting of a “bipedal primate”. A trapper played by Jack Elam (Kiss Me Deadly, Gunfight At The O.K. Corral) has just lost a partner to the creature but when the students start asking questions they are met with silence. And of course, there is the local sheriff who tells the boys that if they keep asking questions they will be asked to leave town. As the duo chase down leads the inevitable showdown occurs and leads to an unexpected and very cool ending.
Directed by Joy Houck, Jr. in a manner that keeps things moving while allowing his star actors Elam and Dub Taylor (Bonnie And Clyde, The Wild Bunch) some time to get the producer’s money out of them. And they are great. Both are reliable character actors and deliver while also being essential to the story. There is not any real gore and the violence is light but the suspense is effective and the flick is fun. And that’s all that matters.
The Synapse Blu-ray looks and sounds fine for a film of its era. It was photographed by Dean Cundey, at the time young and hungry and learning all he could on films like this, The Witch Who Came From The Sea, Ilsa, Harem Keeper Of The Oil Sheiks and The Human Tornado and he would later go on to build a reputation on films like Rock N’ Roll High School and Halloween. He is now known as the cinematographer of hits like Apollo 13 and Jurassic Park. Along with a trailer and commentary by film historians there is a great featurette with Cundey where he discusses cutting his teeth on flicks like this.