A trio of pre-Halloween treats features demons, the paranormal and frightening predators from the deep in the best of Blu-ray horror movie releases.
Clown (Anchor Bay Home Entertainment, Rated R, 100 minutes, 2.40:1 aspect ratio, $26.99) — Before tackling the latest reboot of the Spider-Man movie franchise, director Jon Watts took a low-budgeted look at the evil traditions of circus performers that have managed to entertain and terrify humans for centuries.
His bizarre cinematic tale of woe is now on Blu-ray with a story about a father (Andy Powers) wearing a clown costume unearthed in a mysterious chest for his son’s birthday only to find that he can’t remove the nose, wig or costume.
Now permanently attaching to his body, it begins to drive him monstrously insane, taking his wife, child and a small town into his darkness.
Well, that’s a pretty creepy creature feature, but it’s more suited as an extended “Night Gallery” episode than a full-length movie. The plot wears a bit thin at first with some cheap jump scares but really intrigues by revealing the origin of a demon named a cloyne, who devours children.
Horror fans will especially enjoy the grotesque moments with enough gags delivered in the tradition of Jeff Goldblum as “The Fly” as the dad spirals into a hellish transformation.
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Best extras: Viewers only get a much-too-short, 6-minute featurette highlighted by an interview with producer and horror maestro Eli Roth. Some of the cast and crew also pipe on the weird and sometimes gory production, but the segment feels incomplete especially considering that we never hear from the director.
The Shallows (Sony Home Entertainment, Rated PG-13, $29.98, 87 minutes, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, $24.98) — A medical student (Blake Lively) finds a secluded beach in Mexico for her dream surfing session that turns into a test of survival against a human-eating villain in this thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
Well, I kept waiting for the John Williams’ theme to kick in to no avail while watching its Blu-ray debut in an inevitable comparison to the greatest shark film of all time.
However, this “Jaws” confrontation is not an all out war and more thrives on its isolation of one injured woman trying to exist on the water while a great white stalks her and, more importantly, blocks her roughly 200 foot path back to the shore
I would argue the director introduced the finned menace way too early in the action with more opportunity to build upon the film’s frightening intention. Although, Miss Lively’s gutsy performance carries the movie beautifully throughout, especially during the attacks.
The digital transfer thrills through some devilishly suspenseful escape moments, plenty of spectacular waves and underwater photography captured by cinematographer Flavio Labiano and the chance to watch the Miss Lively’s gorgeous form in high definition.
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Best extras: A welcomed selection of extras offers three deleted scenes and four featurettes, totaling about 30 minutes of viewing. My favorite includes a 7-minute look at how to build a scary digital shark including interviews from the effects crew.
Also, viewers get an almost 8-minute dose of reality about sharks with long-distance swimmer and attack survivor Steven Robles discussing his encounter as well as shark expert Chris Lowe explaining specifically what might cause a shark to bite a human and how to fend off an attack.
The Wailing (Well Go USA Entertainment, not rated, $29.98, 156 minutes, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, $24.98) — A father’s quest to cure his daughter from a deadly sickness leads to an unholy discovery in a South Korean supernatural thriller now on Blu-ray.
The intriguing film directed by Na Hong-jin finds a local police force befuddled after citizens of the mountainous village of Gokseong suddenly begin turning violent and killing family members.
Bumbling Sgt. Jong-gu (Do Won Kwak) investigates the potential plague that ultimately infects his daughter and causes him to frantically hunt down a mysterious male visitor who may be the cause of the horrors.
The officer will eventually need help from a shaman, priest and band of vigilantes to confront the gentleman, attempt to save his offspring and unravel the mystery.
Thankfully, devoid of jump scares but delivering enough gory, intense moments to satiate the horror connoisseur, this long-form effort clocks in at over 2.5 hours, never bores and features some stunning views of the Korean countryside.
It’s a welcomed slow burn to the genre, and the director takes great care in building up the terror, often at the cost of plot logic. I’ll briefly refer to why this mystery man, once found, was never just arrested and formally interrogated.
Nonetheless, the film’s ultimate path takes viewer down the stylized paranormal suspense road of the “Exorcist” as it bubbles to its ghoulish conclusion.
By the way, a word of warning to non-Korean-speaking viewers, the movie has subtitles, so reading is required to fully appreciate the full horror unfolding.
Best extras: Considering how intense and masterful of a film we have here, the bonus content disappointingly pales in comparison.
Viewers only get a 2-minute promotional featurette and a 5-minute overview of the 180-day production shoot with actors and crew seriously patting each other on the back over creating a masterpiece under Mr. Na’s tutelage.
It makes the Blu-ray release of “The Wailing” a rental or on-demand-only option.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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