Dragonfly (Widescreen)

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"Belief gets us there," explains nun Linda Hunt to grieving widower Kevin Costner, an emergency room doctor whose ordered world is startled by "messages" from his dead wife. She's talking about the journey from life to death, but it describes the doctor's road from fact to faith equally well as he puzzles out the otherworldly events of his life. Costner's mourning comes off less lost and sad than simply emotionless and inert, but he finds good support from Kathy Bates as his sassy neighbor. Her appearances, along with a few startling horror-movie-type shocks, energize a film otherwise shrouded in loss, grief, and the hushed mood of supernatural spookiness. It's like a fusing of Ghost, The Sixth Sense, and The Mothman Prophecies, a New Age melodrama in a sentimental key that works through a rather contrived mystic mystery to a glowing climax. This is less a ghost story than a modern twist on the old-fashioned miracle. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Believing is not necessarily enough.......2007-09-05

An amazing thriller that goes against any kind of logic. Everything is wrong, resolutely wrong. A pregnant woman, a doctor mind you, decides to take a bunch of kids to the jungle deep in Venezuela on an adventurous sabbatical. An accident throws the school bus down into a river. No survivors. The husband, another doctor, is then the victim of visions, hallucinations, seizures of some kind that he very quickly interprets as signs from her trying to speak to him from where she is. He believes and thus is led to going back to where she died and to the village of Indians living at the foot of the waterfall where she met her fate. I won't reveal the end. The film is not interesting because of the thrilling suspense, nor because of the rather sentimental ending. It is interesting because of the way it describes the reactions of normal people in front of something, or someone that does not satisfy their expectations of what they call sanity. Anything or anyone that looks suspiciously insane in our society is at once rejected, becomes suspicious, and is supposed to be pushed aside into some kind of social sabbatical, or even worse is hassled by the guardians of normality in our social order, i.e. priests, and cops, and doctors. The point is that the story that supports this fact is so hectic and farfetched that it gets the true fact down the chute along with the unbelievable elements in the story. Believing is essential, provided what is believed is believable. Otherwise the film becomes pure entertainment, and it is too somber to be pure entertainment.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Great movie!.......2007-07-16

I can't say enough good things about this movie. Kevin Costner is outstanding in this role. It's a great story from beginning to end with a beautiful message. A truly intense believable thriller! I have watched this movie several times and still look forward to seeing it again. Highly recommended!

Pleasant love story.......2007-06-21

First, I do have to say I like Kevin Costner is just about any movie, but this brought out a very gentle side of Costner.
The movie is part spiritual, mystery, thriller, romance and love. It is definitely, "what would and how far would you go to unearth a mystery and give your love and life for the one you were meant to be with."
I really like the movie-I own the movie (B)

Shadyac, take it from me and TLC, don't go chasing waterfalls........2007-05-19

The concept of death surrounds me recently. Not that friends and/or family or passing away, but with the films and television programs that I have been watching recently, it seems to be a common occurrence. I am in the middle of viewing full seasons of "The 4400" which deals with the death of some to cause a "ripple effect" that would heal the world, "Monk" - which in each episode someone dies and it is up to Shalhoub to solve the mystery of the dead person, and surprisingly I am trying to figure out "Lost", which is teetering on the exploration of the possible death/purgatory of its central characters. So, with all this "death" surrounding me, why not pick up a film that may give me a chuckle (due to the director's prior comedic turns) as well as give me a new insight on the unknown explanation of the death phenomenon. One would hope that this would be the case with "Dragonfly", but upon a second viewing - as well as the voice of director Shadyac informing us that he didn't enjoy the final cut of this film - it was only discovered that Kevin Costner cannot paint us a picture of death - nor should we ever ask him to.

To be utterly up front with anyone reading this review, I am not going to paint a pretty picture of what I witnessed with this outing. There was nothing, I repeat, nothing of value with this film that tried to blend the teary eye of Costner with that of "The Sixth Sense". First time drama director Shadyac (who would be better known as the founder of "Ace Ventura"), cannot seem to grasp this film as he continually combines cliché elements from other films, random occurrences that never quite link us to the ending, and a complete waste of actual talent. He has the blocks to build the story, but instead he just tosses them into a waterfall hoping that they will land upright. Was this a supernatural thriller, was it a romantic drama, or was it just another venue for Kevin Costner to attempt to apply his "leading man" status to? For me, I couldn't quite see where Shadyac was going or what genre he was interacting with. The trouble begins with the story, of which couples with soul-mates, dragonflies, and coming back from the dead, as well as what a popular majority thinks. Listening to the commentary, Shadyac explains that his cut of the film wasn't as received as the final cut because too many people knew the ending prior to it happening. In my eyes - that is worthwhile if the story continues to attract us - but in "Dragonfly" that is not the case. The story is trite and quite dull, leading to an ending that surprises mainly because you don't care any further. Joe Darrow lost his wife, cannot cope even months later, and begins to think that she is contacting him from the dead - but for what reason? If you weren't pulled in by my synopsis, then I do not suggest viewing this film because in 22 words, I have probably told you everything.

The acting is atrocious, possibly the worst roles created for two very talented actors. I am speaking of both Costner and that unknown talent that normally reverberates from Kathy Bates, but seemed to be missing this time. Perhaps it is the tone, the vague symbolism, or just the fact that these two needed paychecks that soured this film, but instances were not connecting. By the big "surprise" at the end, we are either so tired of the events or have (in my case) forgotten them, that there is no "gasp" or shock, merely just excitement to have a finale to this horrid broadcast. Shadyac has talent as a director, I even find myself laughing at "Bruce Almighty", but drama is not his cup of tea. This film was too dark without any signs of light, which can be a good thing for skilled directors, but not for first-time Shadyac. He needed a blend of comic with the eerie unknown, which would have offset the disaster this train was headed towards. Costner couldn't carry Shadyac's work, and became murky and muddled through the middle. He had no central focus, so we - as audience members - didn't know who he was. Was he crazy or just in love? How come we never saw his love for his wife? Unanswered questions that Shadyac and Costner never allowed anyone to answer.

To add to my disgust was the filming overall of this movie. Just as I was confused as to the real ending to the film, I am sure that those involved were equally as confused. We move, rather quickly, from children seeing the dead, to dragonflies, to white water rafting, all the way back to some native tribe in South America. It just seemed like we were jumping rather quickly, but in the wrong direction. Without giving it away, I had forgotten the main element to the ending when we got to it because we were muddled with so many other un-needed moments that the ending just seemed watered down and dull. Honestly, I was bored with this movie because it lead us down one path, somehow jumped to another, and tried to make it back to that original path that was already lost and forgotten. The music didn't match with the actions or emotions of the characters, the hints were hidden and expected, there was no moment of self-discovery. There wasn't a scene in the film where I suddenly went, "oh, I get it" -- and that is sad. "Dragonfly" had the potential, I just felt that Shadyac was behind the wheel of a vehicle that he couldn't control, and as you listen to the commentary, you can sense (and at times hear) that he didn't want to be behind the wheel at all.

"Dragonfly" is a pointless corporate film driven to bring in more money while capitalizing on the income produced by "The Sixth Sense". There are borrowed elements that Shadyac cannot control as well as actors that walk through their scenes wondering when the paycheck will arrive at their doorstep. This is the worst film to see Kathy Bates perform, and Costner continues to dig himself a bigger hole. As you listen to the commentary, this film underwent quite a bit of changes due to viewer issues and response, which I think is the worst way to edit a film. Shadyac has no problems saying that he edited this wrong, and that he didn't like "x" scene, and that he felt this was completely amateurish - which only helps solidify a inner feeling of disappointment with the film. He selflessly promotes "Bruce Almighty" during this film, which drove the nail further into the already built "Dragonfly" coffin. I do not suggest this film to anyone unless you like your water from the tap, meaning that if you don't mind drinking muddled, tainted, and possibly poisoned liquid - than "Dragonfly" will be the film for you. It was that bad.

Shadyac, take it from me and TLC, don't go chasing waterfalls.

Grade: * out of *****

Dragonfly.......2007-05-08

Very good movie. Most interesting as it starts as sorta very sad when the doctor loses his wife while she was on a missionary trip. Couple of weird and a little scary movie until the end which is a heartfelt surprise. The doctor (Kevin Costner) wins something most beautiful. It's definately worth watching.

Average customer rating:

Believing is not necessarily enough
Great movie!
Pleasant love story
Shadyac, take it from me and TLC, don't go chasing waterfalls.
Dragonfly

Dragonfly (Fullscreen)
Starring: Kevin Costner , Susanna Thompson , Joe Morton , Ron Rifkin , and Kathy Bates
Director: Tom Shadyac
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000687EY
Release Date: 2002-07-30

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Customer Reviews:

Believing is not necessarily enough.......2007-09-05

Great movie!.......2007-07-16

Pleasant love story.......2007-06-21

Shadyac, take it from me and TLC, don't go chasing waterfalls........2007-05-19

Dragonfly.......2007-05-08

Average customer rating:

At least it's amusing . . .
"Rosalie's always been a little strange..."
Just a warning
BOOOORRRRIIIINNNNG!
A decent zombie movie

The Child
Starring: Laurel Barnett , Rosalie Cole , Frank Janson , Richard Hanners , and Ruth Ballan
Director: Robert Voskanian
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005NG03
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Description

Because 11-year-old Rosalie has "always been strange," her ornery father hires lovely Alicianne to be Rosalie's governess in their big, gloomy house. Of course, what no one understands is that darling little Rosalie possesses strange psychic powers, which she uses to make objects move - and a scarecrow come to life. Worse, she spends the nights in a nearby cemetery playing with her ...uh..."friends." Rosalie also blames daddy and the neighbors for the death of her mentally-ill mommy, so she sends her cemetery pals out to kill, starting with the little old lady next door whose face they rip off. As Rosalie and her zombies escalate their attacks, Alicianne and Len, Rosalie's older brother, flee for their lives and hole up in a claustrophobic shack as the graveyard ghouls stage a full-scale assault.

Bonus feature:
Zombie mania continues as a mad doctor mixes science and voodoo to turn the natives of a remote tropical island into an army of crusty-faced, bug-eyed monsters in Del Tenney's horror romp, I Eat Your Skin (1964, 79 min.); Trailers for this and Harry Novak's Axe, Behind Closed Doors, Booby Trap, Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks, Kidnapped Coed, The Mad Butcher, The Toy Box and Toys are Not for Children; 2 Creepy Kids Short Subjects: Life is hell when you're The Outsider, and life is hell continues with The ABC of Baby Sitting; Horrorama Radio-Spot Rarities; Gallery of Horror Drive-In Exploitation Art.

Customer Reviews:

At least it's amusing . . ........2007-07-30

Ultimately silly, especially because of the over-the-top acting by Rosalie (her name also happens to be Rosalie in real life), this film quite doesn't hit the mark. If anything, I found Rosalie, both the actress and the character, amusing; her acting style (if there is any) and her deliverance is hilarious. The actress Laurel Barnett is the only notable one here -- she seems genuine as a whole, although at the end she wore on my nerves with her endless screaming and lack of action. The only thing I really like about Something Weird videos is the jam-packed Special Features. If anything, get the movie for this reason alone.

"Rosalie's always been a little strange...".......2006-02-05

If you were a regular at the drive-in in the mid 1960s and throughout the 1970s, you probably weren't a stranger to the films released by Harry Novak through his Box Office International film group, enjoying such wonderfully sleazy exploitation fare as Venus in Furs (1967), Miniskirt Love (1967), The Dirty Mind of Young Sally (1970), and Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman (1975), to name just a few. Another Box Office International release was this independent film, titled simply The Child (1977), also known as Kill and Go Hide. Written by Ralph Lucas (Planet of Dinosaurs) and directed by Robert Voskanian (his first, and last film, to date), the movie features Laurel Barnett (Goodbye, Norma Jean) and Rosalie Cole in her only film appearance. Also appearing is Frank Janson, Richard Hanners, Ruth Ballan, and Slosson Bing Jong (no, I didn't make that name up) in the pivotal role as...the gardener.

The film opens on a dark and foggy night, where we see a girl visiting a cemetery...she's got a basket with a kitty, and it's feeding time at the graveyard (lovely)...next we cut to the daytime, and we see a young woman named Alicianne Del Mar (Barnett) driving down a lonely, country road. Some car trouble forces her to hoof it through some fields, and she meets up with Mrs.Whitfield (Ballan). Turns out Alicianne has been hired by the Nordon family, neighbors of Mrs. Whitfield, to look after Rosalie (Cole), the youngest child and the same girl we saw at the outset of the movie. Alicianne trudges to the Nordon's (who happen to live next to a cemetery), and we get to meet the clan, including the curmudgeonly father Joshua (Janson), the older son Len (Hanners), and finally little Rosalie. As Alicianne settles in, she becomes more and more aware of Rosalie's weirdness, particularly her fondness of going the cemetery at night, supposedly visiting her mother's gravesite. In reality, Rosalie's got some funky mojo powers that include, but aren't limited to, her to talking to the dead. In return for her friendship, they perform certain tasks for Rosalie, who seems to blame everyone for the death of her mother. At the insistence of Alicianne, Rosalie's father decides it's time to start exerting his parental control, telling Rosalie she's not allowed out at night any more, to which she scoffs at the old man, telling him he'll get his...and he does, along with a few others, in gruesome fashion, as Rosalie's `friends' make the scene. Soon after Alicianne learns some horrible truths about creepy girl, she decides to split, but it ain't that easy, as Rosalie's friends seem numerous, determined, and hungry...

This wasn't a great film, but it did have some modest charms, and was pretty indicative of a lot of the cheapie horror films floating around drive-ins in the 1970s. It's a fairly low rent production with some good locations, but falters quite a bit given the weak story, amateurish direction, often miserable acting, and the fact many of the scenes that were supposed to take place at night were obviously shot during the daytime, probably due to a lack of lighting equipment. I suppose it is important to keep in mind most who appeared in this film weren't really professional actors, as this was their one and only time appearing on screen, so heaping criticisms on them would be sort of like shooting fish in a barrel. Barnett wasn't too bad, but her role was lacking...she spend nearly the entire last twenty minutes or so cowering, screaming, and holding her head as the stuff continually hits the fan. As far as the character of Rosalie, I hardly found her scary...normally when `bad seeds' are presented on screen, it is unsettling as we tend to think of children as being relatively innocent, innocuous little scamps, and not minions of evil, bent on destroying whomever gets in their way. Rosalie did seem a nasty, uppity child, but her main trait was just being really annoying. I suppose that's a form of evil, but not one that frightens the pants off me. Acting all obtuse and cackling at inappropriate times doesn't necessarily evoke malevolent intent. As far as Rosalie's abilities went, it was never really detailed exactly what all she could do, how she could do it, or where she derived said abilities from, as all that's offered is that her now deceased mother was unhinged in some manner. The story is slow going for about the first half hour, but things do pick up, especially in the last twenty minutes or so when the movie really gets its zombie freak on...and the zombies didn't look that bad, given the low budget nature of the film, but the blood sure looked funky...I wonder how many bottles of catsup where employed in this production? The direction is sort of all over the place, as Robert Voskanian uses this opportunity to explore all kinds of `creative' shots including up angled shots, down angled shots, close ups, etc. I think the effort was to try and create tension, something he'd seen work in other movies, but that's difficult to do here when the audience is feeling nausea due to motion sickness. I usually appreciate an offbeat musical score, but whoever was cranking on the Polymoog synthesizer should have toned down cacophony of discordant electronic beeps and screeches. It was spooky at times, but grating more often than not...as I said, the film does pick up the pace considerably in the twenty minutes, and features a suitable, and very satisfying ending. If you're a gorehound, you'll probably disappointed with this feature as there's not a whole lot of zombie violence, as whenever someone is devoured by the undead, it always happens off screen, where then shortly afterwards we the result of the attack as the half eaten victim is shown for effect.

The picture quality on this Something Weird Video DVD release, presented in fullscreen (1.33:1), was decent, with some rough spots, indicating whatever element used for the transfer had obviously seen some action. The Dolby Digital audio isn't too bad, but does feature background noise. As far as extras, included is Del Tenney's zombie feature titled I Eat Your Skin (1964), which, as others have mentioned, features a constant `SWV' mark at the bottom right corner as the film plays. Also thrown in is a trailer for The Child, along with those for Axe (1977), Booby Trap (1970), Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974), Kidnapped Coed (1976), The Mad Butcher (1971), The Toy Box (1971), and Toys Are Not for Children (1972), a gallery of horror drive-in exploitation art with horrorama radio-spot rarities, along with two short subjects, the first titled The Outsider (11.43), an instructional film teaching weird kids how to conform with their peers, and the second titled (poorly, I might add) The ABC of Baby Sitting (10:24), another instructional film discussing the booming baby sitting industry, featuring such useful tips like how to avoid being driven home by a drunk parent and proper fridge raiding techniques. All in all, the featured film rates about two stars, but the overall release with the inclusion of the goodies brings it up to three stars.

Cookieman108

If I learned anything from this film it's that zombies sure hate car horns (they do love eyeballs, though), and actor Richard Hanners does not know how to properly use a hammer...dude, if you choke up on it that much, you'll never get any power out of it...by the way, this feature's worth watching if only to check out the scene where the curmudgeonly father relates, taking an unusual amount of joy in the telling, how a while back, a pack of local boy scouts accidentally poisoned themselves with white oleanders while camping in the area...what a whack-a-doo...

Just a warning.......2004-02-07

I purchased this DVD in order to obtain a relatively clean and sharp copy of I Eat Your Skin. Now, Something Weird has been completely honest in listing this as an "extra" rather than promoting the disc as a "double-feature," because I Eat Your Skin is plagued with a video-produced "SWV" watermark that distractingly appears on the screen during the entire feature.

The print also suffers from damage that eliminates 1-2 minutes of important dialogue, including the intruduction of a character.

BOOOORRRRIIIINNNNG!.......2002-07-18

The main problem I have with exploitation films is that so many of them neglect to exploit. "The Child" ranks right up (or down) there with "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" as a supposed zombie flick where the zombies obviously missed their wake-up call. The film starts out well as little Rosalee enters a cemetery with a Red-Riding-Hoodesque basket on her arm. She kneels before a headstone, reaches inside the basket and produces a darling little kitten. She then nonchalantly hands the mewling kittie over to a gray rotting hand that emerges from the other side of the grave marker. Fortunately, we don't see the kittie get chomped on. Unfortunately, this is the last we'll see of the zombies until the final reel of this dog. Though not too poorly made, this is still one long, dull slog of a feature. As usual, however, SWV's extras are another story entirely. "The ABC's of Babysitting" is a particular high-point in that it advises all young female would-be entrepreneurs to phone the cops at the slightest (and I do mean SLIGHTEST) provocation. Smell smoke? Call the cops! Hear a funny noise? Phone the fuzz! Got a splinter? Make contact wit da man! These boys in blue look like they're about ready to go Inglewood on the babysitter by the end of this short. Funny, funny stuff!

A decent zombie movie.......2002-07-14

The Child is a zombie movie, although not a "great" one. A city-girl returns to the countryside where she grew up to be a nanny for a little girl who has been very awful since her mother died. But as the nanny falls in love with a man working at the house, the girl gets angry. The girl has control of zombies from the nearby cemetary, and she uses them to strike back at everyone around her.
This disk is very good, as well. It contains trailers for many other movies, and it has a "short" movie (which is about 70 minutes, I believe), that also has zombies in it (that movie is older, and there is very little gore, since the zombies are basically used as cheap workers, as in most older zombie movies).
Excluding several scenes, this one is not as graphic as most zombie movies, but still is gory enough that some people may want to avoid it.

Mysterious Forces Beyond: Heaven & Beyond/Death & Paranormal/Psychic Power/We Are Not Alone

Average customer rating:

Mysterious Forces Beyond

Mysterious Forces Beyond: Heaven & Beyond/Death & Paranormal/Psychic Power/We Are Not Alone
Starring: Mysterious Forces Beyond
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008G7J3
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Description

4 DVD SET INCLUDES:

HEAVEN & BEYOND
Miracles: Visions, healing waters, miracles...what are we to make of these compelling and awe inspiring stories?
Angels: Are angels more than just popular religious icons? Do angels actually exist?
Dreams: Can dreams tell us of events before they happen? Are they a sixth sense?

DEATH & PARANORMAL
Near Death Experiences: Your spirit seems to leave your body. Suddenly you're pulled back...you've returned from the dead.
Reincarnation: Are reincarnations creations of active imaginations or are these people actually remembering past lives?
Reunions With The Dead: A longing to reconnect...visit the world beyond with doctors, scientists and people just like you.

PSYCHIC POWER
Psychic Healing: Can the mind's power to heal extend beyond the self and be projected to others?
Psychic Detectives: Strange and remarkable powers help solve crimes that were once thought unsolvable.
Channeling: Is it real phenomenon? Are channelers actually communicating with the dead?

WE ARE NOT ALONE
Hauntings: A woman hovering in an ethereal white mist. Have you just seen a ghost? Or have you been tricked by your own vivid imagination?
Vampires: Few creatures of the night have captured our imagination like vampires, but do they really exist?
Alien Abductions: They come in the night, they take you from your bed. Are stories such as these fact or fiction?

Color/272 min.

Customer Reviews:

Mysterious Forces Beyond.......2004-06-02

Great narration in these interesting stories. Very well put together and for anyone interested in the paranormal and afterlife, this is a must

Average customer rating:

Mysterious Forces Beyond: Psychic Power
Starring: Mysterious Forces Beyond
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008G7BO
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Description

Psychic Healing: Can the mind's power to heal extend beyond the self and be projected to others?

Psychic Detectives: Strange and remarkable powers help solve crimes that were once thought unsolvable.

Channeling: Is it a real phenomenon? Are channelers actually communicating with the dead?

Customer Reviews:

Haunting Southern Gothic.......2002-06-26

Anyone interested in good independent movies should get the DVD of Mark Atkins' Southern Gothic thriller NIGHT ORCHID. It's spooky yet also quite funny, and manages to keep you guessing right up to the surprise ending. The commentary on the DVD, one of the better ones that I've heard, is full of interesting stories and facts about the making of this film.

I first saw NIGHT ORCHID at the New Orleans Film Festival where I had the good fortune to meet the director and some of the cast, including my favorite performer in the movie, Mary Ellen O'Brien, who plays an unforgettably quirky landlady June Mabel. The movie won Best First Feature by a Louisiana artist at the festival.

Twin Swamps.......2002-03-17

Have you ever seen a night orchid? I hadn't until I tuned into this charming indie filmed in central Florida. Neither had Clay Doyle (played by Dale Paris) until he wandered into the thriving metropolis of Ochopee and tuned into the attractive and winsome Sarah Miller (Alyssa Simon). In Clay's case 'tune' has a special meaning; since the age of 7 he has received psychic suggestions about violent events from the past, brought on by inhabiting the space in which they occured. Soon enough the overwhleming question becomes "Who killed Sarah Miller?" If all of this sounds vaguely like 'David Lynch meets Sixth Sense' it is only to give the reader a reference rather than imply a ripoff (besides, 'Night Orchid' was filmed before that more famous film, and for that matter, preceded the worthwhile psychic mystery 'Stir of Echoes' as well).

To be fair, director Mark Atkins acknowledges a debt to Lynch in his feature commentary, which is informative and lively. Various other cast members beam into the commentary via tapes they sent, which is a blessing in disguise since the individual timbre of their recordings helps sort them out. Aside from the commentary there are some token deleted scenes, but these are not extensive.

On a technical level the disc is well-done, though there are a couple of curious drop-outs in the soundtrack during one scene. Since it is music rather than dialogue, nothing informative is lost, but the effect is jolting at first.

Customer Reviews:

"You're too bad even for me.".......2006-06-27

"Inner Sanctum" is a surprisingly entertaining film noir title that begins as a story told by one passenger to another on a train journey. A saucy, bored brunette strikes up a conversation with an elderly man who decides to entertain his fellow passenger by passing the time with a cautionary tale. He tells the story of another train journey, and a passenger--Harold Dunlap--and this story is the heart of the film.

Harold Dunlap (Charles Russell) and his faithless wife squabble as he exits the train to disembark at the small sleep town of Clayburgh. The wife ends up dead, and the husband loads her body back onto the back of the train. As he turns to walk away from the station and the departing train, a local boy, Mike Bennett (Dale Belding) stops him. The boy asks a lot of guileless questions, and Dunlap grasps the notion that while Mike didn't see the murder, as a witness, he can place him at the scene of the crime.

Dunlap intends to leave town, but he's trapped by a flood that destroys the bridges out of town. The town's newspaperman McPhee (Billy House) gives Dunlap a lift and directs him to a boarding house for lodging. Coincidentally, the boarding house is the home of Mike and his over protective mother, and Dunlap realizes it's just a matter of time before Mike hears the news about the dead woman on the train, and connects the events....

At 62 minutes, "Inner Sanctum" directed by Lew Landers is a short film, but it doesn't waste a scene. The film works, mainly due to the characterizations. Dunlap finds himself stuck in the boarding house and while he's the vicious killer, he's also in a sense subject to Mike's actions. Mike--a heavily freckled youth with a gap-toothed grin--is infantilized by his neurotic mother who anticipates 'bad' things happening to the boy at any moment (for example, if he looks out of the window, she tells him not to in case he falls out). Ironically, while Mrs. Bennett agonizes about Mike's well being every moment of his existence, Harold stalks Mike with murderous intent. Another thread of humour is found in Dunlap's enforced stay at the boarding house. The lodgers are all male, but females own and run the house. The widow Bennett thinks her boy needs a father, and Dunlap begins to look like a likely candidate, but that doesn't sit well with Jean Maxwell (Mary Beth Hughes). She's got her eye on Dunlap too, and she throws herself at Dunlap every chance she gets. Full of spicy one-liners, while not exactly tense, the film manages to maintain a degree of entertainment throughout.

This Alpha print is decent--with just a few white round blotches appearing at the top left of the screen--displacedhuman

Taut low budget film noir.......2006-03-11

The Lew Landers directed "Inner Sanctum" is a brief but decent thriller filmed in the film noir style featuring a cast of veritable unknown actors.

The film is a recounting of a story told by a spooky looking clairvoyant type doctor played by Fritz Lieber to a high falooting attractive young woman aboard a train.

The main plot surrounds a gentleman named Harold Dunlap played by Charles Russell. Russell disembarks a train at a dark and deserted railway station in a small town quarreling with his girlfriend. In a violent confrontation he kills the girl and hoists her body back onto the platform of the now departing train. Little does he know that he's been observed by a young kid, Mike, played by a freckle faced, gap toothed Dale Belding who'd been hiding near the station.

Looking for a way out of town Russell is picked up by local newspaperman McFee played by aptly named and rotund Billy House. House informs Russell that due to the flooding of a nearby river, all the access roads out of town are closed. He drops him off at a local boarding house to get a room.

The boarding house is full of a host of odd characters and also an attractive Mary Beth Hughes playing Jean Maxwell, the niece of the landlady, who becomes a Russell love interest. It just so happens that the kid Mike lives there as well. At first Mike doesn't recognize Russell but little by little, he begins to realize that he was the man at the station.

Russell begins to feel the noose tightening around his neck as the flood keeps on delaying his ability to depart and he feels compelled to do harm to the kid to protect his secret. The tension and desperation is nicely built up by director Landers giving the film some definite high points.

"What's the matter with you? Tired of living?".......2006-01-16

Even at 62 minutes this cheapo noir overstayed its welcome by about 30 minutes.

Some guy mad at his girlfriend stabs her to death at a train station and dumps her body on an outgoing train. He tries to leave town but he can't because the roads washed out. With nowhere to go he stays at a boarding house but a young boy who lives there thinks the stranger looks like a man he saw at the train station earlier. Now he's gotta shut this kid up before people get wise.

It might sound good but it ain't. The acting is passable but the script feels like it was slapped together over lunch. Also the Alpha Video DVD is sorry with a sucky picture and a low humming sound.

Heed the warning:Do not get off the train!.......2005-10-23

Don't pass up this masterpiece of a classic thriller! Filled with suspense . Buy it you won't be disappointed. I also recommend "Nightmare Alley" also a wonderful movie filled with suspense and mystery!

"You're pretty awful! You're even too bad for me!".......2005-08-03

This review is for the DVD released by Alpha Video in 2004.

The story starts out on a train where an elderly eccentric man and a young woman strike up a conversation. Soon it becomes obvious that this man has an uncanny knack for predicting the future and warns the young woman not to exit the train at the next stop. What this has to do with the plot isn't obvious at first but the story suddenly switches to a man named Harold Dunlap (Charles Russell) who is being chased by a woman in front of a train station and the woman attempts to stab the him, but is thwarted by the Dunlap and she ends up getting stabbed either by accident or self-defense - its not at all obvious. Dunlap puts the dead woman on the back balcony of a passenger car as it rides away. He then realizes that a young boy saw him put something large on the back of the train. Later due to a serious flood, Dunlap is trapped in that local rural town and is forced to stay at a small hotel where the young boy happens to be living. But Dunlap also meets an attractive and worldly young woman named Jean Maxwell (Mary Beth Hughes) who immediately shows some interest in Dunlap. Of course Dunlap's goal is to avoid being recognized by the boy and being connected to the death of the woman he put on the train.

This is clearly a low budget movie with a virtually unknown cast. The acting was actually pretty good with each of the locals adding some humor to the plot but the story seemed to get bogged down until Jean and Harold start confronting each other about their lives. Even though Harold is preoccupied with his tenuous situation, Jean senses that Harold has something to hide and reassures him by saying, "All of my life I've been attracted to the wrong kind of guy". But later as things start to unravel, Harold uses some very poor judgment in handling his situation and Jean discovers this and tells him, "You're pretty awful! You're even too bad for me!" - which a zinger of a line for this movie! So to summarize, the movie has its merits, especially the chemistry between Harold and Jean, and has a nice twist at the end, and since this is a low priced DVD, I would rather recommend the movie than discourage people from viewing it, especially if you are a fan of the classic film noir.

As for the DVD quality, as is the case with many of Alpha's releases, it's essentially an un-restored, non-enhanced transfer from a film with some intermittent wear. The picture lacks sharpness and contrast one expects from a DVD and the sound is fair. But if you are a little forgiving about the picture quality, you should be able to follow the story without any problems or major distractions.

Movie: B-

DVD Quality: C

Average customer rating:

A Reprinting?

Tokyo Babylon
Starring: Tokyo Babylon
Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00067RF0A
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Description

Shinji is a rising executive, and those who oppose him become victims of his psychic powers! Will a young pscyhic save the day-or become his next victim?

Customer Reviews:

A Reprinting?.......2005-09-15

Having recently purchased this item, this item appears to be exactly the same as the "other dvd" of this same title? (Which has excellent, informative reviews if you do a search on Amazon.)

I won't bother with a dvd review here; the reviewers on the other dvd's page captured its essence perfectly.

Needless to say, this OVA has an excellent few side-stories to the manga. However, as far as I can tell, the only difference between the two dvds is the color of the cover.

Average customer rating:

Suck-tastic...
Great, even if you don't know anything about the games
Better than most mediocre fighting games to animes

Psychic Force
Starring: Psychic Force
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Sci-Fi Action | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00005Y6Z2
Release Date: 2002-03-19

Description

Rapid changes in the new century have brought forth a dangerous power capable of good or evil. Harnessing the psychic abilities of its residents, the government has turned its most gifted citizens into New Age guinea pigs, drained of their essence and discarded after serving their purpose. Loaded with action-packed excitement, startling cutting edge visuals, and memorable characters, "Psychic Force" propels you into a dynamic and exciting new world where one human's mind in the wrong hands can be explosive. Witness this new classic of anime that's sweeping up sci-fi fans in its rich mixture of stunning visual action and tense storytelling!

Customer Reviews:

Suck-tastic..........2007-05-07

Honestly, I don't know that I was watching the same 2-part OVA as the others. 'Cause the one I watched was really only so-so... It seems this wasn't really what one might call a "complete" release. In my opinion anyway. The ending was cryptic and didn't really EXPLAIN anything, it just basically ENDED, with no exposition or anything.

I'll grant there were one or two okay fight scenes. However, several of them used re-used animation sequences that detracted from the viewing experience for me. And one fighting scene that looked like it was GOING TO BE GOOD (IE, it was just getting started) got cut off after only a minute or less. What gives? I thought this was supposed to be an action anime, and they cut short what could be a great fight scene?

Honestly, I can't give this anything over an 'average' rating. If you want a good anime for relatively cheap, try Spriggan, or Wrath of Ninja, or Green Legend Ran (despite Green Legend's lack of menu or features, the anime itself I think is a bit better in terms of story and action). I'd avoid Psychic Force if given another chance at it. I only paid $5 used. I think that was generous, honestly...

Great, even if you don't know anything about the games.......2003-07-11

First off, this is the OVA series for Psychic Force, one of the greatest fighting games ever made.

The animation in this is superb, especially for a movie made five years ago. The detail on some of the costumes (Especially Keith's) is very good. The effects on their attacks is also well animated (Especially for Keith, and yes, I do like him much). The character design is also great, and Wong is one of my favorite villains of all time (Next to Sephiroth from FFVII).

The English voice acting is absolutely HORRIBLE. Even if you normally watch anime dubbed, I still recommend watching it subbed. Watching it subbed also has better music. In the dubbed version, the Keith v.s Burn music is a dinky xylophone music, while the subbed version has a very bassy techno music. Plus, Wong's English voice acting is HORRENDOUS!

All in all, this DVD is definitly more than worth the price.

Better than most mediocre fighting games to animes.......2002-04-04

Psychic Force 2010 was a little unknown fighting game that came out for the Playstation five or so years ago. Although the graphics were a little less impressive than most fighters, it offered an interesting take on the fighting arena(you fought in a psychic "square") as well as characters with intriguing elemental powers and storylines that attempted to go beyond the "avenging his dead father" motives. Unfortunetly, little of that fighting concept makes it to the movie, however, it does succeed in rising above most game to anime movies.

Anyone who is familiar with fighting games and anime knows that the games don't translate so well when animated( The original Street Fighter movie is just one of many examples). Part of that reason is because that there is too many characters that are merely crammed in for screen time. Psychic Force did not offer a populated cast until the second game, so characters that made it onscreen, although they may have not been given much background information, managed to pull off an effective presence rather than being there for the sake of being animated.

In the year 2010, and army known as Noah rises up led by the mysterious man known as Wong. This army strives to build a Utopia for Psychicers(whom have been oppressed by human ignorance) which have abilities beyond those of normal humans. News of the new leader of this army, Keith Evans, reaches the ears of Burn Griffith who was his former friend who has been searching for him for three years. Why has Keith joined the ranks of Noah, and what are Wong's true motives? Is Keith really willing to sacrifice human lives to build his Utopia?

This is a character driven anime which focuses on the relationship between Keith and Burn. Burn was looking for Keith in the Psychic Force game and this movie shows how the two of them came about to meet. Those who adored Keith in the game may want to leave all their conceptions about him behind, what you are presented with is a much more childish and almost effeminite Keith. The relationship borders on almost embarrasing fluff, however this takes this anime in a bold step toward adding plot in a fighting game movie.

The few battles that make it to the screen are well executed, although the animators should have refrained from using stills and reusing frames. The animation is fluid, with nice colorization and shadows that accent the creative character designs. This DVD also comes packaged with fun extras, including a small cosplay contest, not to mention a catchy theme song sung by the talented Tomakazu Seki.

Description

After her snobby schoolmates accidentally send her into a coma, poor little Kathy has only one way to get even--with her mind! Eva, another schoolgirl, falls under the spell of Kathy's vengeful psyche, which is capable of horrible destruction using telekinesis and even killer snails to do her bidding. Soon the hallways at St. Mary's School are filled with screaming, and there's no way to escape. In the tradition of Carrie, this psychic shocker from legendary Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci, the man behind such outrageous cult favorites as The Beyond and Zombie, is filled with the visual style and gruesome madness his fans have come to expect. Available for the first time in America, this eerie look at the dark side of adolescence proves that girls might be made of sugar and spice, but they're not always nice!

Customer Reviews:

Fulci falls on his face with this .......2007-05-12

No figure in the horror film genre is as divisive as Lucio Fulci. After watching his films, viewers tend to move into one of two camps. One side hails Fulci as a master of terror, a man who upped the gore quotient in his films while creating wonderfully atmospheric pictures. For these people, Fulci is up there with the likes of Dario Argento as one of the best Italian horror directors. The other camp sneers at these claims, pointing to the plodding pace of his films, the use of extreme gore to camouflage plot holes, and the director's inability to draw good performances out of his cast as evidence of mediocrity. Initially, I enjoyed Fulci's films, specifically "Zombie," "City of the Living Dead," and "The New York Ripper" because I did not know any better. When I came on the scene, you went to Fulci to feed your gore cravings. What a difference a few years exploring the genre makes! While I will not go so far as to remove Lucio from my play list, I have seen enough of his films to realize he is not a cinematic genius. He is at best a competent director, at worst an abysmal one, and there are plenty of examples of bad filmmaking in this director's filmography. Come on down, "Aenigma"!

And yes, I've used this introduction for nearly every Fulci review I've done.

"Aenigma" arrived near the end of Fulci's storied film career. Anyone who knows anything about Uncle Lucio knows what this means. Yep, that's right. He's clearly running out of steam. What we have with "Aenigma" is a "Carrie" knock off with little in the way of gory carnage or real scares. Unlike "City of the Living Dead," "The Beyond," or "Zombie," this movie simply won't do much for the diehard gore fan. Here's the story. Kathy (Milijana Zirojevic) ranks near the bottom of the social scale at St. Mary's College in Boston. A constant litany of cruel jokes, smarmy wisecracks, and sneers from her classmates virtually assures us that she'll seek bloody revenge against her tormentors. Sure enough, that's exactly what happens after a particularly vicious prank leads to an accident that leaves Kathy in a coma at the hospital. How can Kathy seek vengeance when she's supine in a hospital bed with lots of wires running from her head to cheesy, beeping machines? That's a good question. An excellent question, in fact, even though it isn't one I'm especially interested in answering. Why should I? Fulci sure as heck didn't care about explaining this clunker to the audience.

Anyway, it turns out that Kathy has somehow gained the ability to take over the mind of another girl, Eva Gordon (Lara Naszinsky), and send her into St. Mary's as a sort of Charles Bronson with [...]. Eva befriends all of the girls involved in Kathy's accident, as well as the beefy gym instructor Fred Vernon (Riccardo Acerbi), a man whose own guilt in the accident Fulci clearly establishes earlier. Eva acts sort of tarty, claiming that her goal at St. Mary's involves sucking face with as many boys as possible. She's also a troublemaker in other areas, drawing the wrath of the administration. What happens next? Blah, blah, blah. The girls start noticing weird things about Eva, little facts that don't match up with things she said earlier. Blah, blah, blah. Fred Vernon perishes in an extremely humorous manner. Blah, blah, blah. Who's that weird maid? I'll bet she's important to the plot! Blah, blah, blah. Look! Death by slugs! Blah, blah, blah. Look! Jared Martin paying the rent as Dr. Robert Anderson! Blah, blah, blah. Tom Cruise? What in the heck? Blah, blah, blah. If you haven't picked up on the sarcasm, I found "Aenigma" to be...well...pretty darn blah.

It isn't difficult to see where Fulci went wrong with this movie. Pretty much everything fails on nearly every level. A lack of serious gore effects we've come to know and love from Uncle Lucio effectively kills the film. Sure, the slug scene works well, and a couple of lame decapitations certainly spices things up here and there, but it's all rather restrained and surprisingly banal. A dream sequence promises carnage but doesn't really deliver the goods. It's sad, really, that Fulci would go to all this trouble to make a horror movie and then fail to ratchet up the grue. You're known for buckets of blood, man, so c'mon and DELIVER! Other elements of the film fail as well, especially the eardrum bursting, bad 1980s pseudo pop songs popping up all over the place. Watching the movie is like being stuck in an elevator for ninety minutes. And what's up with the Slavic actors and actresses in this thing? I'm looking at the names of people involved in this mess and I'm not sure whether I'm reading a cast list or reading roll call for a class at Kosovo Community College. All right, enough with the wisecracking. In short, "Aenigma" is a waste of time and space.

Image Entertainment released "Aenigma" on DVD over here in the states, and I have to say it's a very sad affair. Not as sad as the movie, mind you, but sad nonetheless considering "Aenigma" is a Fulci flick. The picture and audio quality aren't that good at all, I thought. Then there's the lack of extras on the disc. I'm the first person to say that I would NOT want to listen to a commentary track or sit through some long featurette explaining every aspect of this film's production, but Fulci fans do deserve something more than a bare bones presentation. Fulci completists will certainly want to pick up a copy of the disc. For casual viewers and uncommitted Lucio lovers, I would recommend going the rental route. "Aenigma" really isn't worth spending more than a couple of bucks at the local brick and mortar video store.

aenigma.......2002-07-05

i've seen a lot of lucio fulci's films and this is easily one of the worst! might be cause he does have a lot of great films but this one just gets ridiculous halfway through the movie. maybe worth a rent but definitely not a buy. stick to movies like City of the living dead, the beyond, new york ripper and other great italian films. this one's not very entertaining and does slow down in parts. only recommend if you are a very big lucio fan

Confusing and derivative.......2002-01-15

One of Fulci's lesser efforts, Aenigma is a blatant [copy] of so many other films, it's hard to count them all. Set in a school, it involves a misunderstood loner called Kathy who is cruelly taunted by her classmates, but takes revenge by means of psychic powers. So far, so "Carrie". But here, the cruel prank puts the victim into a coma, and it's from here that she wreaks havoc, which echoes "Patrick". She somehow manages to possess another student, who goes through the school leaving a trail of destruction and death on Kathy's behalf. Sounds great for Fulci fans, but don't hold your breath. The various revenge murders are all very unimpressive and often ridiculous, including a death by being scared of a museum and death by being confronted with a boyfriend's corpse! What's wrong with these people!? The film has no highlights of gore whatsoever, which is a major shortcoming in a Fulci film. Even it's set piece murder, a "death by snails" sequence will probably leave you laughing (how exactly do snails manage to overpower someone??). This, along with the film's title, makes me think that Fulci is actually trying to emulate Argento's far superior "Phenomeona". The film is generally pretty confusing, as Kathy's power, and her hold over the possessed girl are never properly explained. The acting is awful, the lead character (the possessed student) wanders around looking totally bored, so you won't really care about any of the characters. It's also ugly and dull to look at, even though Fulci tries to ape Argento yet again by bathing many shots in lurid coloured lighting, mostly a tiresome bright blue, but it just doesn't add up to anything coherent. Even Fulci completists could rest easy without ever watching this one.
A real stinker.

Pretty Good.......2001-12-05

An innocent girl gets a date with the boy she likes- only to find it was a joke. An accident sends her into a coma. The people responsible go to a girl's school, where a girl is possessed to take revenge on the perpetrators. The ending just kinda leaves you hanging. A pretty decent horror flick, but this is mainly for diehard Lucio Fulci fans. The story is a spinoff on Carrie in that it is a revenge film, but otherwise has no resemblance. However, it lacks the excessive gore that charcterise his most poular works: Zombie, Gates of Hell, The Beyond, House by the Cemetery, and New York Ripper. Still worth a look though.

Completely overpriced!.......2001-10-02

The movie itself would have deserved between 3 and 4 stars.
It is a fairly well directed version of the "Carrie" story.
Its blue tone and setting in a girl's boarding school are
reminiscent of Dario Argento's "Phenomena". It features some
macabre and bizarre deaths in the Fulci style.

Image's release is, unfortunately, rather meager ....
On the positive side, there is the transfer. Apart from occasional variations in color, it is sharp and colorful.
The first disappointment is the sound. Only a poor, monaural
english track is featured. No subtitles at all. This is
complemented by the total absence of bonus material. There are not even any interesting liner notes. ....

If "Aenigma" is the last item missing in your Fulci collection,
you may wish to go for this release, otherwise I recommend you
to check out some of the more interesting releases of Fulci
titles.

DVD:

DVD

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