DVD review: Black Past (Video 1989)

Thommy keeps an old mirror, which he has found along with a diary in the attic but he has no idea that he thereby opens the door to hell. Because the house has a dark past and a demon is trapped  within in the mirror and soon after takes of possession Thommys girlfriend. Thommy is not exempt and is plagued by gruesome nightmares. His attempt to destroy the mirror makes everything worse and he begins the transformation into a man-eating demon. Black Past is a early splatterfest from Olaf Ittenbach, he writes, stars, directs, edits, produces and designs the make-up gore fx. It´s hard not to detect that Ittenbach must taken some inspiration from Sam Raimi classic Evil Dead. It´s very obvious that it is a cheap production,  the camerawork, editing and acting are amateurish. The soundtrack is good and helps create some dark atmosphere. The pacing is a little bit slow at the beginning but it gets better. Gorehounds will love Black Past as there is a lot of over the top gore on display. The make-up gore fx, all practical, are amazing especially considering the low budget.
This review is based upon the region 2 release from Njuta Films, it´s uncut and has swedish, danish, norwegian and finnish subtitles.
Rating: 5½ out of 7. Yes, the plot might not be the most original and that dialogue, story, acting are flawed but Black Past promises gruesome gore and sadism and it certainly delievers that. Black Past is recommended viewing for gorehounds.

/JL

DVD review: Sportkill (2007)

Rachel's (Dona Wood) life will never be the same: after being abducted, and forced into the world of high stakes betting, Rachel must decide to play, or be played. Could you inflict pain on another in order to survive? Sportkill is written and directed by Craig McMahon. We get sadism, gore and cruelty but the film is plagued by mediocre acting, bad camera work and editing (it looks cheap even though it according to IMDB had an estimated budget of $ 1, 200 000), the pacing is slower than expected and the film is quickly becomes pretty boring. There is a severe lack of tension, suspense and atmosphere. A non-existing script? For instance Rachel breaks the rules of the game and is buried alive in the so called Labyrinth of horror. Now she needs to find the exit and we get to see her crawling around for half an hour and thus more than a third of the film consist of the Rachel going through a narrow wooden maze. There is little gore which is a bit of a surprise considering the posters, the plot and title. The gore fx are practical fx, there are a few beheadings, cutting of fingers and a few nails in the foot and thigh, and knives used in various parts of the body.
This review is based upon the german region 2 DVD release from NSM, it´s uncut and english audio is available.
Rating: 0½ out of 7. There is little to say about Sportkill, it´s a disappointment, it fails to deliver and is really boring and on top of it all it´s completely inconsequential . No atmosphere, poor performers, zero development of the characters and a completely stupid ending! The scenes in the "Labyrinth of Horror" are sometimes really good but, unfortunately, too long.

/JL

DVD review: Tortura (2008)

Munich, a city full of life .... A young woman crawls her way on a subway platform. Her body is covered with wounds. The horrific story she tells the police seems incredible! In dirty rooms and disused subway tunnels live the outcasts of the human race. There they have built their own little world, far from civilization! Here there is only one rule: survival! Four friends are on the way to a nightclub. On the way home they are attacked by a homeless person and kidnapped! But there is a saying - "One should not play with your food." Tortura is written and directed by Marcel Walz and Michael Effenberger. At first the plot might sound very similar to La Petit Mort which is also directed by Marcel Walz and they certainly have a few things in common. The pacing is good with a running time under 75 minutes, the acting is decent but Martina Schölzhorn and Anna Trageser are to be commended - their suffering and desperate screams look authentic as they suffer at the hands of the sadistic and cruel clan of cannibalistic homeless people. Should not forget to mention Anton Grünbach who is good as the leader of the cannibals. There is sometimes poor sound and weak illumination. The camera work and editing is mostly good but the use of shaky cam now and then is a bit disturbing at times. The setting varies from looking good to a very simple design.
There is of course plenty for the gorehounds but it is not as plentiful as might be expected, this is not a gorefest in the style of Olaf Ittenbach instead the gore supplements the terror and plot. We get some innovative methods of torture and cannibalism. The gore fx, all practical, is decent, some effects are very good and some are less successful as fingers are cut off, skin gets removed and entrails are taken out.
This review is based upon the german region 2 release from X-rated, it´s german language only and is uncut.
Rating: 5½ out of 7. Tortura looks pretty good and it´s obvious that the makers are very ambitious. In my opinion Tortura is a reasonable contribution to the so called torture-porn subgenre (in my mind a ridiculous label invented by critics), forget the Hollywood nonsense film Hostel - Tortura is a lot better and it´s made on a much smaller budget. I look forward to see more from Marcel Walz and Michael Effenberger.

/JL