Connect with us

Home Video

[Blu-ray Review] Something Sinister is Happening in ‘The Woods’

Published

on

In reviews past, I’ve mentioned how I’m pretty scared of the woods. At worst there’s a giant bear or some type of demon creature just wandering around out there waiting to eat me up. At best there’s no bear and no demon creature but instead lots of spiders. Honestly, neither sounds like a winning proposition as far as I’m concerned. This is all relevant because Olive Films recently released Lucky McKee’s The Woods on Blu-ray and I finally got to watch it. And guess what? It scared me because as I’ve been saying the woods are a scary place!

The film opens with Heather (Agnes Bruckner) being taken to an isolated all-girl school that is located in a very secluded, wooded area. We can instantly tell that Heather is a bit of a rebel. Her mother, Alice (Emma Campbell), is all for taking her to this school to straighten her out and get her on the right track. Her father, Joe (Bruce Campbell), doesn’t say a word during this scene. You get the feeling that he doesn’t really want to leave her there, but he kind of understands the purpose. It’s actually kind of amazing how much Bruce Campbell is able to get across in these opening moments despite not saying a word. Well done, Bruce.

At the school Heather is immediately picked on because she’s an outsider and seems a tad weird. The majority of this bullying is dished out by Samantha (Rachel Nicholas). Samantha is your typical female bully, going out of her way to make life hell for anyone she dislikes. Despite being picked on, Heather does eventually make one friend in the form of Marcy (Lauren Birkell), one of the more socially awkward girls in the school. Because both girls are outsiders it’s only natural that they share a bond.

Having a friend in the school doesn’t make things any easier for Heather, however. One day things are going especially bad for Heather and after arriving late to class she is sent to the office of the school’s dean, Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson). Heather explains to Ms. Traverse that this school just isn’t for her so she’d like to call her mom to go home. Ms. Traverse allows her to do so, but what Heather hears on the other line is not what she’s expecting. Alice appears to be having some sort of dinner party and can’t be bothered by Heather. This is actually a pretty heartbreaking scene as Heather breaks down, realizing she is actually one her own.

I think this is where the film succeeds the most. The supernatural stuff that comes a little later is great and all, but that feeling of isolation is much worse and more terrifying. Heather was a troubled child, probably acting out for attention, but her parents sent her to a private school to set her straight. She likely felt alone even when she was at home, but now she’s at this school and literally alone. To make matters worse it’s in the middle of some creepy woods. Oh and then there still is that whole supernatural mess to deal with later.

At night Heather begins to have weird dreams. She can’t quite tell if they’re more than that, but she can sense something sinister about the school. Eventually, students begin to disappear and Heather fears she may be next. And this is when the woods really come into play. Long, stretching tree limbs and roots come in through the windows of the school and wrap the girls up as they sleep. Thinking about it creeps me out. I do not want to be cuddled by a tree.

This is the third film of McKee’s that I’ve seen (The Woman, All Cheerleaders Die) and just like the previous two he demonstrates a great skill at directing strong, female performances. Heather and Ms. Traverse are two completely different characters, yet each one is strong in their own right. While horror, in general, is the genre I consider to be the front runner in these type of roles for women, McKee may be the best director across any genre at offering these types of roles for women. What’s great is they’re not just strong from the get-go, a lot of times they go through hell, Heather certainly does, but each still manages to rise up and have at least one kick-ass moment. Even Ms. Taverse, who is the villain, is pretty badass.

A nice little touch is how Bruce Campbell’s character is portrayed. At the beginning of the film he seems a bit downtrodden, and almost pushed around by Alice. Like I mentioned he says nothing. Yet you can sense there’s something more and then in second half of the movie we see it. He rushes to the school to save Heather. The best part is the little nods we get, however. He looks through a tool shed searching for a weapon and gets attacked by trees. Nicely done, McKee, nicely done indeed.

The Woods is now available on Blu-ray from Olive Films. It’s a bare-bones release, so nothing in the way of special features, but that’s not a deal breaker. The film looks and sounds great and at the end of the day that’s what you want.

Chris Coffel is originally from Phoenix, AZ and now resides in Portland, OR. He once scored 26 goals in a game of FIFA. He likes the Phoenix Suns, Paul Simon and 'The 'Burbs.' Oh and cats. He also likes cats.

Home Video

‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

Published

on

Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

Continue Reading