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PAST MIDNIGHT (Blu-ray) - This one has kind of an interesting history, in that the original screenplay underwent significant (and uncredited) rewrites by none other than Quentin Tarantino (before anyone knew who he was). While you can kinda see his unique touches here and there, this is mostly the kind of direct-to-video thriller that shared shelf space with lots of similar ones back in the day. Rutger Hauer, playing somewhat against type, is Ben, a parolee who just spent 15 years in prison for murdering his wife. However, his case worker, Laura (Natasha Richardson), becomes increasingly convinced of his innocence. She also ends up falling in love with him, despite warnings from friends that this is a bad idea. In more ways than one, as it turns out. Past Midnight is a sporadically entertaining but ultimately unremarkable mystery-thriller that gets a bit of a boost from its two leads (though both have obviously done far better work before and since) and a few steamy love scenes. More or less forgotten after all the Blockbuster stores closed up shop, the film is no lost classic, but certainly fitting for inclusion in Alliance Entertainment’s ongoing Retro VHS series. (1991/100 min/Alliance Entertainment).
KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼
MUTANT GENESIS (DVD) - Maybe you’re like me and consider Terminator Salvation to be the worst film in the franchise. Now imagine a much cheaper film that appears to be primarily inspired by that one…with a little Transformers thrown in for bad measure. Mutant Genesis is a shamelessly derivative Chinese knock-off that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future after a malevolent AI has decided to wipe out all of humankind. A small band of resistance soldiers, as well as an enigmatic female asskicker, decide to fight back. But a complete lack of originality is the least of this movie’s problems. Not only do the hyper-edited action sequences defy all sense of plausibility, they’re largely rendered with laughable CGI that wouldn’t have passed muster 30 years ago. And amid all this largely cartoony pew-pew-pew action is a charming scene where a robot hangs a pregnant woman and yanks the dying baby from her womb. What the hell? While even rip-offs can be fun in the right hands, this one makes your typical mockbuster from Asylum look like the work of James Cameron. (2024/95 min/Cleopatra Entertainment).
KITTY CONSENSUS: 😺
EVIL DEAD (Blu-ray) - In 2013, Fede Alvarez’ Evil Dead joined a very short list of horror remakes that managed to top the original, and I’m assuming it’s being reissued to coincide with the release of the franchise’s most recent entry, Evil Dead Burn. A decade-and-change later, this film still plays like the kind of movie Sam Raimi would have made back in 1981 if he had the financial resources of a major studio at his disposal. The plot’s more-or-less the same…several twenty-somethings venture to a cabin in the woods and one of them comes across the Book of the Dead, which raises unholy demons if one were to foolishly recite the words. Of course, someone does. Once the mayhem begins, we’re too busy fastening our seatbelts to care about any character’s well-being, which is ultimately Evil Dead’s greatest virtue. It may not always be scary, but it moves at a lightning pace, a virtual symphony of truly disturbing, visceral scenes, thrown at us so unrelentingly that it becomes more of a thrill-ride than an actual movie. Onscreen carnage aside, Evil Dead is simply better than the film which inspired it…better direction, better FX, better dialogue & much better performances (even though the characters are still pretty bland). In addition to a few bonus features, this reissue includes both the theatrical and unrated versions. . (2013/97 min/Sony).
KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼😼😼
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