Blu-ray & DVD Review Round-Up: IT CAME FROM THE DESERT, THE MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD, THE LODGERS & THE MERCY
This time around: There’s B-movie thrills in It Came From The Desert; things get bloody in Mountain Of The Cannibal God; The Lodgers is an Irish ghost story and Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz go to sea in The Mercy.
DVD Review: It Came From The Desert
It Came From The Desert is rollicking good time. This modern-day B-movie might be based on a forgotten 1980s video game, but this low budget sci-fi adventure deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. Harry Lister Smith, Alex Mills and Vanessa Grasse play teenagers hanging-out at a dirt-bike awards ceremony (what?) in the desert when they discover giant killer ants in an abandoned military installation. Shit gets real.
Director Marko Mäkilaakso keeps things moving along at a swift pace, but this stands-out because the character intention is so good. I’d take this over a dozen Transformer movies any day!
Blu-ray Review: The Mountain Of The Cannibal God
Ursula Andress and Stacy Keach headline this wonderfully ludicrous Italian horror-adventure from director Sergio Martino. This 1978 exploitation flick features some real-life animal mutilation, a lot of very fake human mutilation and some gratuitous nudity.
The Mountain Of The Cannibal God was branded a video nasty in the 1980s, but it’s rollicking good fun and at the very least, it needs to be seen for Stacy Keach’s out-there performance – and his ridiculous toupee.
DVD Review: The Lodgers
Brian O’Malley directs this well-paced ghost tale. Set in Ireland in 1920, The Lodgers sees Bill Milner and Charlotte Vega as a bother and sister who live in a large, empty home. They need to be tucked away in bed before midnight as things go bump in the night when the lights are out.
The Lodgers plays a lot on Irish history, from the famine to the 1916 Rebellion and this makes for an interesting context to set such a tale. It doesn’t quite hit the mark, but O’Malley deserves a lot of points for trying.
Blu-ray Review: The Mercy
Based on a true story, The Mercy sees Colin Firth star as amateur sailor, Donald Crowhurst. He decides to take part in a competition to circumnavigate the globe solo but as soon as he sets-off (well, actually before) he releases that he’s woefully unprepared. Rather than risk his life trying, he decides to lie about his route and then sail back to the finish line once everyone else has completed the competition. Things take a bad turn when each of the other sailors drop out one by one.
Rachel Weisz and Colin Firth offer-up good performances and there’s a lot to recommend in this James Marsh directed film, even if it is a little saccharine.
