FLESH + BLOOD: Verhoeven Goes West

FLESH + BLOOD (Blu-ray)

1985 / 128 min

From Capelight Pictures

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s uninhibited approach to filmmaking is a huge part of what makes such films as Robocop, Total Recall and Basic Instinct modern classics. On the flipside of the coin, it’s also why Showgirls and Starship Troopers wallow in kooky campiness.

But his penchant for excess was well established back home in the Netherlands years earlier, and it wasn’t until 1985’s Flesh + Blood (his first English language film) that most American audiences were introduced to Verhoeven’s bombastic blend of blood & boinking. It was more of a whimper than a bang at the time, but if not for this one, chances are he would never have been offered Robocop, which would have been a crime.

Flesh + Blood isn’t a great film, but has developed something of a cult following over the years, arguably because of the provocative elements Verhoeven would incorporate much more successfully in his best-known work. For that reason, I suppose it has a certain amount of historical importance. However, it’s often so over-the-top that it plays like a soft-core Monty Python movie.

"There he is...the one who called you Sir Poopy Pants."

Taking place in 1501, longtime Verhoeven collaborator Rutger Hauer plays Martin, the leader of a band of mercenaries hired by feudal lord Arnolfini (Fernando Hilbeck) to take back his castle. But after the siege, Arnolfini reneges on the deal and orders his captain, Hawkwood (Jack Thompson), to vanquish all the mercenaries. Martin and his merry band of murderers vow revenge, which includes kidnapping Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a virgin betrothed to Arnlfini’s son, Steven (Tom Berlinson).

Afterwards, they storm another castle and decide to hold up there, with Martin basically keeping Agnes for himself to do what he pleases (which she appears to enjoy). Meanwhile, Steven is obsessed with finding and killing those who stole his future bride. Grimy, violent and more than a little rapey, Flesh + Blood features lots of sex, blood and debauchery set against a suitably grungy backdrop. However, the emphasis on excess soon becomes rote, especially during the middle act, and exacerbated by characters we neither like nor sympathize with (protagonists and antagonists). 

Still, Flesh + Blood boasts fun, flamboyant performances, and in addition to Hauer and Leigh, the cast features a lot of notable character actors, including Burlison, Thompson, Bruno Kirby, Brion James, Susan Tyrell, Roald Lacey and John Dennis Johnston. All of them appear to share the director’s enthusiasm for the material, which sometimes rivals Showgirls in its camp appeal. Though one of the lesser films on Paul Verhoeven’s resume, it was an important stepping stone to the work that made him an A-list director.  

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEWS - Individual retrospective interviews with director Paul Verhoeven (who’s his usual animated self) and screenwriter Gerard Soeteman.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Paul Verhoeven.

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PROJECT SILENCE: Who Let The Dogs Out?

PROJECT SILENCE (Blu-ray)

2023 / 96 min

From Capelight/Dark Sky Films

Review by Princess Pepper😺

Another hybrid genre film, South Korea’s Project Silence combines elements of disaster, science-fiction and killer critters for a crazy concoction that’s both thrilling and funny, providing you’re open to what it throws at you. 

The government has been experimenting with a batch of dogs, implanting them with chips so they can be programmed to attack whatever target they choose. After the project is abandoned, the dogs are transported in an armored truck to be destroyed. But when there’s a massive multi-car pile-up on a highway bridge, the dogs get loose, led by Echo 9 (E9), the pack’s ‘mother’ since the other dogs were cloned from her. Doctor Yang (Kim Hee-win), the scientist in charge, tries to reign them in, but loses the laptop he uses to control them.

With the bridge threatening to collapse, hundreds of motorists are trapped, including Cha Jung-won (Lee Sun-Kyun, RIP) and his estranged daughter. He’s the chief aide to a presidential hopeful and, for most of the film, kind of a dick. The incident would apparently threaten his boss's election chances, so Che spends a lot of the time on the radio trying to cover it up…even as the dogs are killing people left and right. True to disaster movie tradition, there are subplots featuring secondary characters, the most amusing being opportunistic tow-truck driver Joe Park (Ju Ji-hoon, who steals the every scene he’s in).

Not having exact change can sometimes be tragic.

It’s a ridiculous premise, but I suspect director/co-writer Kim Tae-con knew that long before we come to the same conclusion. When done right, throwing caution to the wind can yield great results. As such, Project Silence is goofy good time in the vein of 2022’s Project Wolf Hunting (though not nearly as gory). Wildly plotted, these dogs certainly have their day, displaying agility, intelligence and indestructibility that only CGI pooches are capable of. Still, the narrative does manage to render E9 somewhat sympathetic. The same can be said for Chu, who eventually emerges from his douchebaggery once he learns the particulars of the experiment.

None of Project Silence comes across as remotely plausible, but it’s one of those genre mash-ups that’s more fun to play along with than scrutinize. Both intentionally and unintentionally humorous, it’s a fast-paced film that boasts wild action scenes, engaging characters and good overall performances.

Do You Remember STIGMATA?

STIGMATA (Blu-ray)

1999 / 102 min

FROM CAPELIGHT PICTURES

Review by Joey, the Sudden Cat🙀

I watched Stigmata back in the day, but until revisiting it for this Blu-ray review, couldn’t have told you a damn thing about it. There was nothing in the film that resonated enough to make it all that memorable. 25 years later, I felt like I was watching it for the first time.

And you know what? It still isn’t all that memorable.

Which is not the same as saying it flat-out sucks. Stigmata is competently made, is reasonably well acted and has a premise that, in the right hands, has great horror potential. However, I suspect it was put together by a committee of craftsmen who had no clue about how to make an effective horror film.

The basic plot has atheist hairdresser Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) suffering from the titular ailment, in which the victim bears wounds similar to those inflicted upon Jesus during the crucifixion. They don’t appear all at once, of course, and most of the horror sequences feature Frankie violently receiving these wounds. I’m no filmmaker, but do know that scenes intended to instill terror shouldn’t be shot & cut like a Michael Bay action movie.

Looks like Frankie's gonna do some re-gifting this year.

Vatican investigator Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) is appointed to investigate, while Frankie begins to show the usual signs of possession…not of a demon, but a dead priest whose stolen rosary was given to her. It’s not adequately explained why a clergy’s spirit - no matter how pissed - would subject anyone to pain, possession, levitation and fire just to reveal an ancient document containing the gospel of Jesus himself. Sounds a bit excessive.

But that’s just nitpicking. All the flash, fireworks and hyperactive editing in the world can't mask uninspired storytelling. Stigmata offers nothing we haven’t seen before, in movies or a Nine Inch Nails video. On the plus side, it’s so forgettable that one could revisit it every couple of years and feel like they’re watching a brand new movie.

EXTRA KIBBLES

DIVINE RITES: THE STORY OF STIGMATA - Part making-of featurette, part speculative look at the history of stigmatics.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Rupert Wainwright.

DELETED SCENES

ALTERNATE ENDING

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