THE X TRILOGY and My Cinephile Friend

THE X TRILOGY Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)

2022 & 2024 / 312 min (3 movies)

A24 Films

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

I have a cinephile friend who’s really into these movies. We aren’t so close that we regularly exchange gifts during the holidays. But if we were, I’d consider gifting him this nicely packaged Blu-ray boxed set of Ti West’s entire trilogy, even if he already has physical copies of them.

Ultimately, I think it’s releases like The X Trilogy that'll continue keeping physical media alive for those who still treasure it…such as yours truly and obviously you, since you’re reading this. For us, movies aren’t simply disposable entertainment to be consumed and discarded with the click of a remote. The ones we hold near and dear to our hearts are meant to be revisited and appreciated whenever we wish, now matter how much time passes. They’re meant to be proudly displayed on the shelves of our own personal libraries, even if nobody else we know actually cares about such things. 

Collector’s Editions are especially neat because nothing signifies one’s love for a particular movie or franchise like a big boxed set with great new artwork and physical supplements you simply can’t get digitally. That being said, The X Trilogy is obviously intended for people like my cinephile friend. The three films in this collection feature the exactly same Blu-ray transfers as earlier editions, and with the exception of new audio commentaries for each, there are no new bonus features.

Still, this is a really cool set. The outer box is as thick and sturdy as a hardcover book, with a transparent slipcover baring the titles and credits. The discs themselves are stored in a gatefold digipak, and along with it is a 64 page booklet loaded with great artwork inspired by the films (Maxxxine, in particular), as well as stills, concept art, storyboards, costume sketches, faux posters and an essay by Jon Dieringer. The overall package also set features interesting cover art.

Mia steps on a Lego.

As for the movies themselves…while I’m not quite as enamored with them as my cinephile friend, this is still a pretty great trio of horror films, each with their own unique aesthetic and tone (befitting the decades when they take place). The first film, X, is an obvious homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (at least visually), which has a group of young people renting a remote cabin to make a porno, but the old couple who own the place turn out to be murderous psychopaths. Loaded with sex and over-the-top violence, it’s well directed for a slasher film and features a star making performance from Mia Goth as Maxine (she also plays Pearl, the primary antagonist).

While X is a better than average slab of exploitation, Pearl is the trilogy’s highpoint. Trading in cheap & nasty thrills for disturbing psychological horror, this one is actually a prequel with Goth returning to play a younger version of the title character. Once again, director Ti West wears his influences proudly, this time drawing visual inspiration from the likes of The Wizard of Oz and other colorful classics of Hollywood's so-called golden era. With gorgeous production design & cinematography to offset an increasingly malevolent tone - and some extreme gore - this one is damn near a masterpiece. Goth is magnificent and probably should've gotten an Oscar nomination.

A direct sequel to the first film, Maxxxine isn’t quite as compelling, but is certainly a lot of gonzo, gory fun. With 1980s LA as the setting, Maxine (Goth) is a porn star trying to break into mainstream films. However, she’s also being stalked by someone who knows of her past. Concurrently, the notorious serial killer, the Night Stalker, is loose in the city, who may or may not be the same person terrorizing Maxine. There ain’t much subtly here, but the cast and performances are good, as are the spectacularly violent death scenes.

Is this version of The X Trilogy essential? Not really, but since when has that ever dissuaded a collector from sticking a set like this on their shelf? Consider it more of a great looking souvenir for people like my cinephile friend, who will certainly find this to be a worthy addition to his collection.

EXTRA KIBBLES

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET

X

FEATURETTES - That X Factor is a making-of featurette; “The Farmer’s Daughters” is the amusing faux-movie of the porno the group was shooting in the film (minus the porn, of course); Pearl Make-Up Timelapse is a visual of the process turning Mia Goth into the monstrous antagonist.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director of photography Eliot Rockett & production designer Tom Hammock.

TRAILER

PEARL

FEATURETTES - Coming Out of Her Shell: The Making of Pearl; Time After Time focuses on the film’s production design.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director of photography Eliot Rockett & production designer Tom Hammock.

TRAILER

MAXXXINE

FEATURETTES - The Belly of the Beast is a making-of featurette with interviews with most of the main cast; XXX Marks the Spot; Hollywood is a Killer focuses on the nasty special effects; Q&A with Director Ti West; Deep Dive with Composer Tyler Bates.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By production designer Jason Kisvarday & set decorator Kelsi Ephraim.

2 TRAILERS

CATNIP REVIEWS: Sorcerer 4K, The Tale of Oiwa's Ghost & More

Snack-sized opinions from the frisky folks at Free Kittens...

SORCERER (4K/Blu-ray) - William Friedkin’s Sorcerer has been one of my favorite films since I was 13 and first caught it at the Southgate Quad as the bottom half of a double feature. Though initially a critical and box office failure, it’s now widely considered one of Friedkin’s best. Today, the film remains as darkly compelling as ever, and looks & sounds stunning in 4K. If that weren’t enough, this release includes the wonderful 2018 feature-length documentary, Friedkin Uncut. One of the best 4K discs of the year. (Criterion Collection).

THE BIKINI CARWASH COMPANY I & II (Blu-ray) - Before the days of the internet, mom & pop video stores usually had a back room where the porn was kept. Amorous young men still not old enough to venture through those curtains had to settle for stuff like this. The Bikini Carwash Company and its sequel are emblematic of the type of straight-to-video titillation available back then. With a title like that, the emphasis is obviously on boobs over brains. An archaic & cringeworthy product of its time. (MVD Rewind Collection)

THE TALE OF OIWA’S GHOST (Blu-ray) - This 1961 horror film is one of many adaptations of a legendary Japanese ghost story. It involves a sadistic, self-absorbed samurai who decides to off his ailing wife so he can marry into a wealthy family. Sort of confusing at first, a majority of the film is dedicated to establishing its main character as a conniving, hateful bastard. As such, the onscreen cruelty on display is morbidly compelling. The real horror, however, kicks in during the unnerving final act, which can be seen as the precursor to the J-horror phenomenon three decades later. (Radiance Films)

THE DREW CAREY SHOW: THE COMPLETE SERIES (DVD) - Well, it’s almost complete. Four episodes are actually missing, presumably due to rights to the music used in them. Other than that, all nine seasons are here, though I’d argue that the show lost most of its luster after six. Still, those early episodes remain extraordinarily funny, with Carey more than willing to share the spotlight with his equally funny co-stars. There ain’t much in the way of bells & whistles (just a 20 minute featurette), but it’s a must for fans. (Warner Bros)

THE DEMONESS: Dubbed & Dirty

THE DEMONESS (Blu-ray)

2024 / 96 min

From Well Go USA

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat😾

The original English title of this Russian-produced film was Succubus, named for a mythic female demon who gets her power from seducing human male victims. That’s sort-of the gist of the story, too, though this particular demon appears to be happy with men and women, as gobs of female nudity will attest.

In fact, every female character gets naked at one point or another while the men remain more-or-less covered up, even during numerous voyeuristic sex scenes. If boobies, booties and boinking are your thing, you have a kindred spirit in director Serik Berseu. However, The Demoness falls apart as a horror movie - even an erotic one - partially because of the languid pace and an abundance of tired tropes, but mainly the perplexing decision to shoot the damn thing in English.

Too bad, because the basic premise is okay. Four bickering couples arrive at an island retreat to participate in a program that promises to salvage their rotten relationships. But that turns out to be a ruse instigated by the titular creature, which can assume any form in order to do her dirty work (no pun intended) while turning these couples against each other. But aside from an admittedly cool revelation about the main protagonist, The Demoness is mostly skin, sex and jump scares.

When your room has free Netflix.

“But, Josey,” some of you might be saying. “We love skin, sex and jump scares!” 

Hey, that’s great, and far be it from me to question your tastes in horror. However, not only is The Demoness plodding and damn near bloodless, it suffers from a major distraction that repeatedly sucks you right out of the movie: This is a Russian production and a Russian cast, yet it's shot in English, with the actors obviously dubbed to get rid of those pesky accents. The results are awful and it’s entirely possible that some of the cast had minimal understanding of their own lines, which can’t help but affect the performances. I’ve previously seen other Russian productions go this route, but to what end? 

Are subtitles really that big of a chore? A good horror movie is a good horror movie, no matter the language. But since The Demoness is not a good horror movie, the distracting dub just exacerbates the problem. Peepshow qualities notwithstanding, this one’s a hard pass.

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.

TRAILER

KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS and the Bitter Aftertaste

KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS (Blu-ray)

1989 / 97 min

FROM MGM

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Princess Pepper😾

When discussing movies, especially online, I’ve endured countless people jacking their jaws (ad nauseum) about how and why certain older movies “couldn’t be made today,” sometimes contemptuously adding that people these days are too easily offended. And in defending those films, they’ll inevitably argue that those movies need to be viewed in the context of when they were made, when cultural norms and attitudes were different.

Okay, whatever. It doesn’t change the fact that the Asian stereotypes depicted (for laughs) in Sixteen Candles and Breakfast at Tiffany’s are extraordinarily cringey, context be damned. The only difference between those two films and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects is that almost nobody remembers the latter. 

Kinjite was one of Charles Bronson’s last gasps as an action hero and the nadir of his dire Cannon years. If it were anything more than a footnote in his long career, those same jaw-jackers would be citing it as another movie that couldn’t be made today. I’ll go one further and say it shouldn’t have been made in 1989. It was offensive back then, too. 

As a lifelong Bronson fan, it was sad to witness his descent into exploitative mediocrity during the 80s, repeatedly putting his career in the hands of a director (J. Lee Thompson) who stopped giving a damn years earlier. But even by their severely tempered standards, Kinjite is a bottom dweller. Not because the film is poorly made. From a technical standpoint, it’s efficiently directed and Bronson actually looks like he’s trying. However, the sleazy approach to its subject matter and repellent attitude toward the Japanese - mostly through it’s protagonist - overshadows everything.

Guess who just stabbed his own palm.

Bronson plays Crowe, a dedicated L.A. cop obsessed with nailing a sex trafficker, Duke (Juan Fernandez), who preys on young girls. He’s also very protective of his 15-year-old daughter, Rita (Amy Hathaway), who’s starting to blossom, as demonstrated in a really creepy scene where she’s lovingly photographed dripping wet after just winning a swim meet. Concurrently, Hiroshi Hada (James Pax) is a Japanese businessman with weird sexual appetites, which includes groping Rita on a city bus. Afterwards, Crowe declares his hatred of all Japanese people, most vividly during an angry, racist tirade on a public street.

When Hada’s own daughter is taken and turned into a prostitute, Crowe is on the case, unaware Hada’s the one who assaulted Rita. But other than a moment when Rita recognizes Hada but says nothing, these storylines don’t intersect, meaning the entire bus incident feels like an excuse to present the supposed Japanese conceit that groping young girls in public is okay because Asian women prefer to be silently humiliated rather than speak out. And tellingly, one major character faces no consequences for his deviant behavior. 

Elsewhere, there isn’t any actual sex in the film - and very little nudity - but it frequently objectifies young girls in scenes obviously created to titillate. Child trafficking is a worthy subject for crime thriller, but not with such a cavalier approach as this. And really, there’s no real purpose behind the entire Japanese portion of the story other than to suggest the culture objectifies young women. Sure, Crowe has a change-of-heart regarding his own racism, but unlike Walt Kowalski’s epiphany in Gran Torino, it feels superficially tacked-on. Even if viewed in the context of when it was made, Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects leaves a bitter aftertaste.

THE MUMMY AND THE CURSE OF THE JACKALS: Come For The Camp, Stay For The Backstory

THE MUMMY AND THE CURSE OF THE JACKALS (Blu-ray)

1969 / 81 min

FROM SEVERIN FILMS

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Beastie😼

This is another one of those releases where the bonus features are far more interesting and entertaining than the movie itself.

Not that the bar was set too high, because The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals is a forgotten, jaw-droppingly bad horror quickie from the 1960s. It’s about archaeologist David Eisley, who’s not only obsessed with resurrecting a dead Egyptian princess, Akana, he’s cursed with becoming a vicious werewolf every night (but looking more like the winner of an ugly dog contest).

Akana reawakens, as does her fat mummified pharaoh, sporting oven mitts for hands. While she takes in the Las Vegas nightlife, both the mummy and werewolf wreak havoc on the strip as bemused tourists look on…obviously unaware they’ve just become extras in a B-movie. Aside from the monsters fighting each other in servitude to Akana, there’s not much else to the plot, which seems to have been created on-the-fly. Elsewhere, good ol’ John Carradine shows up to collect a paycheck and easily outperform the rest of the dull cast (which probably wasn’t all that difficult).

"You're supposed to do that outside!"

Obviously, The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals is comedy gold for bad movie aficionados, who’ll get a kick out of its shipshod production values, Munsters-like music and overall goofiness. However, the story behind it is genuinely fascinating. Though it arguably doesn’t even qualify as a cult film, Severin Films has provided a bounty of wonderful supplements with the same care as a Criterion release. It turns out that director Oliver Drake had a long, prolific B-movie career dating back to the silent era, despite not being all that good at his job. He mostly did westerns, but also some horror and soft core flicks (with a example of the latter included here). 

Additionally, the short-lived production company that released the film, Vega International, is showcased in a featurette that explores its entire history and everything they ever produced. So while The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals is hardly a lost classic - even by B-movie standards - the backstory behind it is well worth checking out.

EXTRA KIBBLES

THE VEGA INTERNATIONAL STORY - Author Stephen Thrower discusses the history of this short-lived B-movie production company.

COWBOYS, MUMMIES AND OLIVER DRAKE - Film historian C. Courtney Joyner discusses the long career of director Oliver Drake.

INVESTING IN THE JACKAL - A brief segment in which Gerry Gassel talks about his parents’ involvement in the film.

ANGELICA, THE YOUNG VIXEN - From 1974, this is an hour-long soft core sex film. Old, poor quality image, but plenty of boobs & bumping of uglies.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - This is actually a commentary for Angelica, the Young Vixen by Joe Rubin (of Vinegar Syndrome) and exploitation researcher Shawn Langrick.