Rings (2005) (V)

This should have been The Ring Two, 21 December 2005

This is the movie that The Ring Two should have been. It's the story of a group of young people playing a dangerous game with the videotape from The Ring. Each takes a turn watching the tape knowing that another member of the group will bail them out before their seven days are over. But no one appears willing to help out Jake when his experiences prove too frightening for the other members of the group. Jake has to find someone quickly, or he'll die.

Although this short is less than 17 minutes long, it's packed with entertainment and more than a few scares. The whole concept of a group of young people essentially playing Russian Roulette with Samara and tempting their fates seems like a natural progression. A fleshed out feature length movie would have been great. More time could have been spent on Jake's experiences and his frantic efforts to find his savior.

Instead, we got the mess that is The Ring Two.

6/10

The Stepford Life (2001) (V)

The Stepford Wives deserves more than this, 13 November 2005

I just love DVDs with these mini-documentaries. The Stepford Life, however, isn't one of the best. There's just not enough interesting information or stories about the making of the movie and/or the people involved. All three of the actresses spend their interview time saying nothing but glowing things about each other. It's like one giant love-fest. They relate nothing of interest about working with one another. The director, Bryan Forbes, spends most of his screen time slamming the writer, William Goldman. He seems bitter about the whole thing. And the producer, Edgar Scherick, adds even less to the proceedings. A movie as good as The Stepford Wives deserves better than this.

4/10

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy (2005) (V)

Fascinating, 18 October 2005

When there's something I enjoy as much as the Val Lewton movies, I simply cannot get enough information. Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy is a fascinating look at the man and his work. The documentary covers everything from Lewton's arrival in America as a child to his early work for David O. Selznick to the nine horror films he made for RKO. The stories and details of Lewton's life and films are presented through a series of interviews with experts on cinema, directors and screenwriters working today, and Lewton's son. The documentary obviously focuses and spends most of its runtime on the RKO period. The film makes it clear that what I've come to know as the "Lewton Look" was as much a budgetary issue as a conscious decision on his part. The only complaint I have is that it wasn't longer.

9/10

Fresh Meat: The Wounds of 'Wrong Turn' (2003) (V)

Okay, but needs more, 25 August 2005

While every attempt was made to pack this nine minute documentary on the movie Wrong Turn with a lot of different and varied information, it's just too short to be very effective. This type of "behind the scenes" documentary works best with at least a thirty minute run time. Otherwise, too many interesting and informative bits are cut too short. Don't watch this if your expecting an in-depth study of any area of Wrong Turn.

However, what is presented is generally well done. The stories of selecting the director, the inbred hillbilly make-up, and other parts do provide the viewer with a taste of how the movie came to be. The make-up portions were easily my favorite. It was very interesting to see the mountain men without their make-up.

5/10

Suspiria 25th Anniversary (2001) (V)

Very Interesting, 18 August 2005

If you are a fan of the movie Suspiria, you absolutely owe it to yourself to get hold of AB's three disc limited edition. Not only does it include the movie (I believe it's the same transfer used on the single disc edition), the soundtrack and this documentary are part of the package. The documentary is wonderful. Many of those who had a significant role in the making of the movie provide interesting stories about their memories of Suspiria and how it was put together. My favorite parts were the interviews with Cinematographor Luciano Tovoli and star Jessica Harper. Tovoli provides some great background into how the movie was filmed, including the use of Technicolor to get those incredibly vibrant colors for which Suspiria is so famous. As Harper is the only American to appear in the documentary, I found it particularly insightful to hear her impressions of working with Argento and in Italy at such a young age.

If I have one complaint, it's that Suspiria 25th Anniversary is too short. Suspiria is the kind of movie that I could listen to stories about the making of for hours. Instead of 52 minutes, I wish it could have been 152 minutes.

9/10

Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed (1999) (V)

Interesting, 7 August 2005

Universal gave the classic horror fan a real treat with their series of short documentaries. While I don't necessarily think that Mummy Dearest is the best of the bunch, it's informative and entertaining. My only complaint is that not enough time was spent on the sequels to The Mummy. I would have loved to see more on these lesser known films.

Through interviews with film experts and surviving relatives, Mummy Dearest presents some fascinating insights into the making of The Mummy. One of my favorites was the story of the feud between star Zita Johann and director Karl Freund. Good stuff. Another highlight is the interview segments with special effects wizard Rick Baker. His insights into what Karloff went through to be made-up as the mummy are very interesting.

Mummy Dearest, and the other documentaries in the series, are some of the best DVD extras I've seen. Good work Universal!

7/10