STACK #155 Sep 2017

DVD&BD REVIEWS

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What are you hungry for? RAW

There is a Hell. This is worse. THE VOID

Format:

Release Date: 20/09/17

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Release Date: 30/08/17

Euro-horror isn’t afraid to tackle taboos with unflinching gusto, and writer-director Julia Ducournau’s stylish arthouse cannibal film is an appetising feast of coming- of-age themes and Cronenbergian body horror. A reserved first-year veterinary student (Garance Marillier) undergoes a frightening transformation following a hazing ritual that involves animal blood ( Carrie -style) and consuming a raw rabbit kidney. It’s the latter that proves problematic – she’s a strict vegetarian and a taste of forbidden flesh soon develops into a hunger for human

After a police officer (Aaron Poole) rescues an injured man from the side of a country road, he finds himself trapped in a hospital of horrors where the resident doctor has opened a gateway to a hellish dimension, patients are turning into tentacled monsters, and a sinister cult prevents anyone from leaving... alive. Combining the cosmic dread of H.P. Lovecraft with the slimy transformations of The Thing, this ambitious Canadian horror flick arrives with a lot of positive buzz attached, and mostly delivers the goods. Featuring

meat. Despite its grisly subject and several squirm-inducing set pieces, Raw is not an overly gruesome film by French standards. The shock tactics are mere condiments to a haunting rites-of-passage story that’s as much about fitting in and family ties as it is about cannibalism. SH

practical creature and gore effects (directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski are also makeup FX artists), striking visuals, and a big nod to Lucio Fulci, fans of '80s horror like Hellraiser and From Beyond will really appreciate The Void 's old school approach. SH

GOON: LAST OF THE ENFORCERS

MY PET DINOSAUR

THE PROMISE

WAKEFIELD

Release Date: 13/09/17 Format:

Release Date: 06/09/17 Format:

Release Date: 20/09/17 Format:

Release Date: 06/09/17 Format:

This is ostensibly an ice hockey movie, that is also a sequel. Rest assured you don't have to know anything about ice hockey, or the original, to derive pleasure from the mayhem masquerading as Canada's favourite sport. Seann William Scott is the hard man of his team but one too many hits, plus a bub on the way, means he has to put his career in deep freeze. When he sees the heart and soul of his team torn out by a rival, Scott is compelled to skill up with former arch nemesis Liev Schreiber, to have one shot at redemption. If you're after a goofball comedy with plenty of punches to go with the punchlines, you won't be skating on thin ice here. AC

This homegrown creature feature comes courtesy of Matt Drummond, a visual FX specialist who cut his teeth on award- winning prehistoric docos, where megafauna come to life. Here, Drummond showcases his chops by placing a cute little dino in the fictional suburb of Brightwood, a quaint town with all the trappings of Spielberg's America (but in reality Lithgow, NSW). The 'saur grew from some slimey stuff and its unlikely carers are two youngsters (Jordan Dulieu and Annabel Wolfe) who seek to hide their prehistoric pet from older authority figures who might seek to do it harm. Family viewing in the tradition of E.T. , Pete's Dragon and The Iron Giant . AC

On the eve of World War I there were two million Armenians in the crumbling Ottoman Empire, and by 1922 less than a quarter remained. The genocide of the Armenian people is something that, to this day, many remain blissfully ignorant of – the Turkish government has still not taken responsibility. The Promise sets out to change that, bringing this shameful chapter in the country’s history to light and sweetening the bitter tale with a love triangle involving Christian Bale’s American journalist, Charlotte Le Bon’s beautiful tutor Ana, and Oscar Isaac’s Armenian medical student. As heavy as it sounds, but important. AC

"I never left my family, I left myself". Such is the premise of this Bryan Cranston vehicle, where again, with extraordinary verve, he plays an everyman who makes an extraordinary turn. In this case, after a tough day, a psychological compulsion drives him to hole up in his attic where he watches wife Jennifer Garner and his twin daughters react to his extended disappearance. It's not just abdication of family duties, Cranston goes full feral, living off dumpsters all the while observing the deep impact of his behaviour. Is he loathsome of himself, his family or humanity? It's a compelling mystery and a powerful drama, driven by strong performances all round. AC

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SEPTEMBER 2017

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