Synapse Films recently released a nicely remastered 5-disc set of the Hammer House of Horror, one of the studio’s last efforts to keep the brand alive in horror before the company was shuttered for more than 20 years. The big surprise: HHOH is a fun, pulpy romp through cruel territory, and the final episode closes the series with material that is, for lack of better words, 100% Wrong.
Yes, another installment of CanCon 101, featuring John Huston’s much-maligned tax shelter film Phobia (1980), shot in Toronto, and available nowhere. Also: short Editor’s Blog with nods to EOne’s recent purchase of Alliance Films, and the Canadian film channel Starlight.
Just uploaded is a soundtrack review of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, the latest film by Dead Snow director Tommy Wirkola, which opens January 25. Also up: a podcast interview with Hansel and Gretel composer Atli Örvarsson, and an update on my current short-short film (er, editing exercise), Liquid Puppetry, filmed in Newvicon-o-vision-o-rama, with teasing frame grabs.
Soundtrack reviews of Orbital’s Pusher (Silva Screen) and Ramin Djawadi’s Red Dawn (Sony Classical), plus some thoughts on the recent sale of veteran soundtrack label Varese Sarabande to the Cutting Edge group for $100 million smackadoodles (which is about the same in Canadian smackadoodles).
Quick tally of notable screenings in T.O., including The Bloor’s Doc Soup: Portrait of Wally (with director Q&A) + Cinema Politica: Doctors of the Dark Side (with guest Q&A), and Canada’s Top 10 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Speaking of Canadian cinema heritage (ahem): I’ve uploaded a lengthy review of Alvin Rakoff’s Death Ship (1980), recently released in a crisp Blu-ray special edition by Scorpion Releasing, which somewhat replaces the 2007 Region 2 DVD from Nucleus Films.
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