KL Studio Classics, the main sub-label under the Kino Lorber home video brand, doesn't get the praise the "cooler" boutique labels garner, but it's every bit as deserving.
Their 4K scans and remasters maintain a high level of quality and consistency these days, and their titles run the gamut from beloved classics and past hits to hidden gems and obscure examples of cinematic weirdness.
We're heading into the spooky season, so I wanted to highlight some of their recent horror-centric offerings. Some of these have gotten the 4K treatment, often with HDR and Dolby Vision, while others are just new to home video, but all of them have something to offer fans.
Ships and people continue to disappear while sailing through the Bermuda Triangle, and one man is about to discover why. Blair (Michael Caine) is a journalist investigating the mystery, but he falls in too deep while visiting the area with his pre-teen son and soon discovers the truth. Pirates. It's pirates! Can you believe it's pirates?!
Pardon the phrasing, but I'm on something of a metaphorical island in my love for 1980's The Island. Michael Ritchie's much-maligned genre film seems to have very few fans, but it's been a favorite of mine for decades. Part of the appeal is the father/son story being told here, as Blair loses his son to the pirates who convert him to their worldview, and then he has to fight his way back to him. It works for me!
Ritchie's best known for his comedies (Fletch, The Bad News Bears), but he has a taste for darkness that he rarely lets see the light. (There's basically this and the incredibly grim but fantastic Prime Cut.) From the gory opening ax kills to the abundance of carnage that follows, this is a bloody ride pitting a civilized man against a cult of god-fearing savages. It's a compelling, convincing, and highly entertaining B-movie, and the father/son element adds a rich character drama into the mix.
It's an action-forward tale of survival, as Caine's dogged reporter finds himself embedded in a human nightmare, populated by vicious killers with backwards mentalities. They're killing people, abducting children to keep their community alive, and fighting for a violently unmaintainable lifestyle. The pirate ensemble, led by the always great David Warner, is an eclectic bunch, and we're given some engaging personality before the terror and death toll climb from skirmishes to a full-on assault on a U.S. Navy cruiser. Ignore the haters, this is a fun, thrilling adventure and a damn good time.
KL Studio's new 4K scan features an HDR/Dolby Vision master, and it is gorgeous. Detail and clarity are wildly improved over past releases, blacks are deep as the ocean, and colors are bold and bright as wide shots of nature contrast the earth tones of the pirate community. Ritchie shoots an attractive film with moments both small and big, and it's all captured with an eye for beautiful clarity.
The discs are light on extras and include only two new commentary tracks. Film historian Mike Leeder talks about the film's action sequences while agreeing that it's a better movie than most people suggest. The second track features film historian Howard S. Berger talking about the film's story and production. Both are engaging and informative listens.
It's New Year's Eve, and a bunch of college kids are celebrating with a chartered train trip so they can ride into the new year in style. Unfortunately for them, there's a stowaway with a score to settle, and soon the co-eds are getting their tickets punched at the sharp end of a blade. There's a suspect for every train car, and only Alana (Jamie Lee Curtis) stands a chance of staying alive and unmasking the killer.
1980's Terror Train is a classic slasher by reputation, and while it's rife with issues -- tedium among them -- the movie still delivers just enough fun and mystery to make it stand the test of time. Director Roger Spottiswoode makes his debut here, and it's a far cry from the studio films he'd ultimately be known for, like Turner & Hooch and Tomorrow Never Dies. He crafts an entertaining enough whodunnit that even has us suspecting David Copperfield, so that has to count for something.
Curtis is obviously the big draw here, as she was in the midst of an unprecedented run of horror films -- her first five features were Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night, Terror Train, and Road Games. They collectively lock her in as one of the all-time great "final girls," and she becomes the driving force here en route to an admittedly underwhelming ending.
As mentioned, the train is filled with red herrings, despite most of them seeming like they should be discounted due solely on the editing. We cut between characters in different parts of the train, including the masked killer as he stalks his next victim, even as we see suspects going about their business. The film still wants you to believe they could be the killer, but pay attention and the truth will reveal itself before the killer actually does.
Terror Train has always been a dark, shadowy film, seeing as it's set at night on a moving train, and the result is a movie low on attractive visuals. That holds mostly true with the new HDR10 master. The blacks are denser and deeper, but some detail still gets lost in the shadows. Even with the darkness and the expected haze of a 70-shot film, this is still arguably an improvement over previous releases.
The 4K disc includes two new commentary tracks. First up is one featuring Canuxploitation.com's Paul Corupe, an expert in Canadian-produced genre fare, who's joined by Jason Pichonsky to discuss the film, the cast and crew, and the film's legacy. Next up is a track featuring film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, who cover some of the same ground while also sharing new, engaging details. The Blu-ray disc also includes two archival interviews, one with Spottiswoode and one with screenwriter Judith Roscoe.
Martha (Maren Jensen) and her husband live on a farm alongside the religious commune that Jim called home for his formative years. He's left that world behind, though, and is expecting a child with his wife. He's murdered one night, and Martha's friends soon arrive to help console her through the trauma of what they think was an accident. The killer isn't done, though, and soon the fields are running with blood.
Wes Craven's best known for kicking off two huge horror franchises with A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, but he's responsible for more than a few other horror films, too. 1981's Deadly Blessing is one that's not talked about all that often, and that's understandable. Still, even with its messiness, it's a solid enough little slasher with a thick slathering of anti-religious observations.
Sharon Stone is the big name here, albeit well before she became a star, but the draw is a combination of kills, cult condemnation, and the mighty Ernest Borgnine. He's rocking a killer Hittite beard, and he's full of the same piss and hellfire that he showcased in The Devil's Rain. He's a lot of fun and pairs well with the madness.
Craven's distaste for organized religion, from the worldwide ones to the cult-like groups like the one here, is well-documented, and this is the film that probably hits that beat the hardest. It's something of a real-world horror playing out alongside the slasher elements. Minor supernatural shifts unfold here and there, but it's a slasher through and through. The ending is a combination of whiff and misdirect, but it works well enough for a minor chiller.
Kino's new release features a new HDR/Dolby Vision master, and while not as strong as The Island above, the result is still a solid upgrade from past versions. The pastoral landscape is captured with a colorful, hazy look with sharp details in the closeups and characters. Dark scenes in the barn feel more inviting as well.
The 4K disc includes two commentary tracks, one new and one archival. The new one features film historians Troy Howarth and Eugenio Ercolani talking about the production and its reception. The older track features Craven himself moderated by Sean Clark, and fans will appreciate the filmmaker's observations on his intentions and execution. The Blu-ray disc also includes four archival interviews with actors Michael Berryman and Susan Buckner, designer John Naulin, and writers Glenn M. Benest and Matthew Barr.
A famed composer is executed for the murder of his wife in the 1940s. Nearly half a century later, a young woman (Emma Thompson) stricken both mute and with amnesia, lands on a private eye's (Kenneth Branagh) doorstep. Can they solve the mystery of what connects her to the dead composer before history is doomed to repeat itself?
From one slasher with a slight supernatural bent to another (kind of) that goes full-on with its brand of paranormal weirdness. Kenneth Branagh's Dead Again is incredibly fun. It's a mystery unafraid to get a little wacky in its turns and reveals, and Branagh matches that silliness beat for beat with sweeping camerawork and some big choices. Do they all work? Well, they definitely won't for some viewers, but I think it's a bonkers blast.
Branagh and Thompson both do great work, especially as things get goofy, and they ensure we're willing to ride along with them right on through to the wonderfully over the top ending. The supporting cast is also having an infectiously good time, including Andy Garcia, Derek Jacobi, and Robin Williams. They're all here for the campy melodrama that never neglects the need for thrills.
Kino's new 4K scan features both HDR and Dolby Vision, and it all works to enhance the film's already appealing visuals. From Los Angeles' cityscape to flashbacks in stark black and white to its various set pieces, the film is an eye-catching thriller that's never looked better. Extras are limited to two archival commentary tracks from 2000. The first features the man himself, director and star Kenneth Branagh. The second finds insights and recollections from writer Scott Frank and producer Lindsay Doran.
It's not easy making movies, and that's especially true when your budget and talent pool are fairly limited. Even worse, though, is when making your movie accidentally causes corpses to rise from their graves to devour the living. Oops.
There's an entire subgenre of films about indie film crews struggling to make a movie, and some of them are horror movies. One of the earliest is this early 70s drive-in favorite, The House of Seven Corpses. The story itself is familiar enough to genre fans these days, but some unique aspects exist here, namely in the great use of Salt Lake City locations.
The historic nature of the film's central setting affords it some striking interior shots of architecture that lends itself equally to beauty and fear. Satanic symbols and recitations add to the atmosphere, and soon unspeakable threats are hunting our hapless film crew and cast. The results might not build into anything classic or memorable, but there's enough fun to be had here to justify an 88-minute watch.
Synapse released the film to high-definition Blu-ray over a decade ago, and that picture was a noticeable step up from previous editions. The move to 4K from Kino (via their Kino Cult sub-label) raises the bar even higher, with a richly colorful picture and some deep, inviting shadows. The source material wasn't exactly great, but even with those limitations, the end result is an appealing glimpse into the past.
Extras include a new commentary track with film historians David Del Valle and David DeCoteau, and an archival track with associate producer Gary Kent. Both offer some fun details on this independent production, the wrangling of its name stars, and what went into filming in a Mormon-heavy city. Also included are an archival interview with John Carradine and a segment from Demon Dave and Joe's Savage Tracks.
Kino also released plenty of genre titles straight to Blu-ray over the past few months, and we'll start with a look at 1989's Matinee -- a title that was switched to Midnight Matinee later to avoid direct confusion with Joe Dante's 1993 gem.
A vicious murder mars a small town's horror film festival and no killer is caught, but life goes on, and years later the decision is made to bring the fest back. Whoops! A killer has returned along with it, and soon employees and patrons are being targeted by a psychotic killer basking in the glow of the silver screen.
This Canadian chiller never quite found its audience -- blame its lack of blood/gore and smart marketing -- but the new Blu-ray from Kino Cult should hopefully change that. It's a fun, stylish little Canadian gem that delivers a compelling mystery and some attractively shot visuals. Fans of The X-Files will also enjoy seeing some familiar faces, and if you're like me, you'll also smile and point when a poster for 1988's Pin appears onscreen.
Kino's new Blu features a single extra, but it's a good one for fans. Film historians Paul Corupe and Jason Pichonsky talk about the film's production and place in Canadian genre history.
A young couple and their pilot land a small plane near a small town and discover that all is not well. The people are acting as if they're sleepwalking through their days, and an invisible bubble is covering the town preventing anyone from leaving its confine. What... or who is causing this madness?!
There's no doubt that 1966's The Bubble is, in some small way at least, an inspiration for Stephen King's Under the Dome. If true, King at least took the time to beef up the story and include a satisfying ending, and that's something that can't be said of this film. It's ultimately a bit dull, and the non-ending doesn't do it any favors.
On the bright side for fans, Kino's new Blu-ray delivers an attractive, colorful picture highlighting the film's otherworldly feel and atmosphere. The release also includes a new restoration of the film's extended 3-D version and presents it here in both 3-D and 2-D. Extras include a partial commentary by film historians Matt Rovner and Mike Ballew, some demonstration footage regarding the film's 3-D process, and a short radio play from director Arch Oboler called "Lights Out."
The universe is vast, and two scientists think they've found a way to let people travel through both its geometric confines and even time itself. They're close, but when one of them is murdered, it comes clear that someone -- or something -- doesn't want this discovery confirmed.
Like the film above, Unearthly Stranger is a low-budget sci-fi film that feels akin to an episode of The Twilight Zone. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we're once again trapped in a feature that struggles to sustain its running time. It's a shame as the black & white photography looks good and is matched by some compelling performances, but the story sort of slogs along until its (thankfully satisfying) ending.
The b&w picture is sharply rendered in high definition via Kino's new Blu-ray, and that adds to the feeling that Rod Serling is just around the corner. Extras include two new commentary tracks. Film historian Gary Gerani talks about the film's placement in the UK's sci-fi film industry while film journalists Max Evry and Bryan Reesman explore the cast, crew, and production.
Sometimes you're just minding your business, digging up graves to rob, and instead find a beautiful young woman who's actually a centuries old vampire. We've all been there. Angelique (Maryam D'Abo) is surprised to find herself in Mexico City, but her stress deepens when an equally ancient vampire comes looking for a new bride. Good thing there's also a nice doctor trying to woo her on the side.
1989's Nightlife is a harmless little slice of comedic horror that was made for TV and then rarely spoken of again. It's not necessarily good, but it's also not all that bad. It just... is, and sometimes that's enough. We get some genuine humor alongside some generic vampire lore, and Ben Cross as the big bad is always good, semi-serious fun.
Kino's Blu-ray won't knock anyone's socks off picture-wise as the film's made-for-TV aesthetic is evident throughout. As with the film itself, it's fine. Extras are limited to two commentary tracks. One features Amanda Reyes whose knowledge of the wide world of TV movies is unparalleled, and the other pairs film historians David Del Valle and Peter Sawyer for an engaging track about the film's production and various talents.