Upcoming Home Video and DVD Releases

By: John Thonen
Date: Tuesday, April 04, 2000

Late March, just after St. Patrick's Day, came the regrettable release of the 5th entry in one of the worst film series of all time, Trimark Home Video's, Leprechaun 5: In The Hood. So much for the luck of the Irish. Unlike most series, not a single one of the Leprechaun films is worth watching, and this latest offering--which pairs little person Warwick (Willow) Davis with little talent, Ice-T-- is no exception. The plot, which seems to ignore any Leprechaun entry since the theatrically released original (and Lord, do I wish I could do the same) involves would-be rappers who run afoul of the title's tiny, evil creature. Pretty much the same storyline as last month's Full Moon release, Rag Doll. I don't know who ripped off who here, but if you have to watch one of them, go for the enjoyable Rag Doll.

A recent DTV release worth a look is Escape Velocity, not to be confused with Velocity Trap, or Charlie Sheen's Terminal Velocity for that matter. This one is another outer space variation on Dead Calm, a concept already mined in New Horizon's Circuit Breaker, but this time around, it's not too bad. This deep-space-set tale offers a pair of space-sailing scientists who rescue a star-stranded soul who turns out to be a psychotic escaped military convict. Enlivening the mix is the scientist's frustrated teenage daughter, a nearby sun in supernova, some pretty nice CGI effects and a decent amount of suspense. Well worth a rental, but be sure you didn't already see it on the Sci Fi Channel a few months ago.

With the start of Y2K well behind us, films revolving around that once foreboding date change are starting to look a little passé. Take for example, a recent one that finds a muscle-bound outsider, with a vaguely Germanic accent, doing battle with the forces of Satan--all on the eve of the Year 2000--with the fate of all mankind hanging in the balance. Yep, End of Days hits video and DVD on April 18, from Universal. But the plot above isn't a description of Big Arnie's first horror film (though not his first horrible film); it's the storyline of Minion, a 1998 Dolph Lundgren title that, rather oddly for a $12-million production, recently premiered on the USA cable network. Lundgren plays a priest, (now stop laughing) who is a member of the secret Knights of Templar, entrusted with the safekeeping of a key that can unleash Satan himself from his imprisonment behind a big wooden door.


Amazingly, this plays better than it sounds, and even sports a couple of nice sequences. While it's far from a good film, it's more enjoyable than End of Days. The real question is why has this sat on the shelf for two years, only to first be seen on cable TV? Could it be that producers Kushner-Locke were paid to put their film in cold storage, so as not to steal the thunder from Schwarzenegger's opus to Y2K inanity. Before you scoff, remember that the $10-million Talos: The Mummy was farmed out to home video last year to avoid competition with Universal's The Mummy. My advice: if you passed on End of Days in the theater, do the same on video. Minion's DTV release is certain to be soon. I hate to say it's the best of the two, but it's definitely the least bad between them.

A moderately better choice for your mid-month (4/18) rental dollars would be William Malone's remake of House on Haunted Hill, from Warner Home Video. The cast alone makes this one watchable. The following week (4/25) video independents Leo Films and York Entertainment, respectively, unveil the comedy/horror tale Deadlock and the Indiana Jones-inspired Forgotten City, which features the generally reliable Robert (T-2) Patrick and Fred (Tremors) Ward. That same day, video stores will be putting out dozens of copies of last year's most unexplainable hit, Stuart Little. I love family films as much as the next guy with young kids, but how can audiences ignore the wonderful Iron Giant and then embrace something this lame? Kids aren't this dumb. It has to be their parents.

April will also see the release of indie Nightstar Production's The Blair Witch Rejects, which follows The Hair Witch Project and Erotic Witch Project on to home video, but precedes The Bare Witch Project. I personally didn't find The Blair Witch Project frightening, but the more of these spoofs it inspires, the scarier it seems to become.

Fight Club, one of last year bestand most overlooked and underratefilms, will hit video store shelves 4/25. If you haven't already seen it, you'll have to watch it to understand why it belongs in this column. That same day, Fortress 2: Re-Entry arrives in the DTV marketplace. This heretofore-unknown sequel to Stuart Gordon's enjoyable 1993 original, again toplines DTV regular Christopher Lambert. Fandom hopes to have a review, and possible interview with Lambert, in the near future. But until then, we'll share the news that this follow-up opens with Lambert's John Brennick and his family still on the run from a totalitarian future government, following their escape from the underground prison that supplied the title of the first film. This time out, Bennick is captured and incarcerated in a prison orbiting some 26,000 miles above the Earth. Directed by sequel specialist Geoff Murphy (Under Siege 2, Young Guns 2), this $10-million dollar production might just be a DTV sleeper.

DVD

Most new video releases are garnering DVD release at the same time, but a number of older films are also hitting the shelves, often with special features. A great DVD mid-April rental bet of this type is 1987's sci-fi action tale The Hidden, with commentary from director Jack Sholder. Or, DVD fans could save their money for New horizon's DVD release of the three Carnosaur films. Though I can't imagine why. With DVD software sales projected to surpass those of VHS sales as early as 2003, many of you will obviously be adding a DVD player to your home entertainment shelves. Since this column won't be back until 5/4, I'd like to issue a DVD warning. May 2 will find the DVD release of DreamWorks SKG's The Haunting: Special Limited Edition, and yes, we're talking about the Jan DeBont version. No solid word yet on what makes it so special, but the extra feature I'd like to most see it come with is a bulk eraser.

A more worthwhile early May release is Kevin Smith's enjoyably tasteless religious satire, Dogma, from Columbia/Tri Star. Those not strictly interested in recent release titles can also find some fun with Anchor Bay's DVD releases of the early (1953) Hammer sci-fi tale, Four-Sided Triangle (4/18), an intelligent tale about a pair of scientists who create a double of the woman they both love. Another early (1957) Hammer goodie becomes available on DVD the same day, the highly imaginative The Abominable Snowman, a Nigel Neale tale featuring the unlikely pairing of Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker. A pair of Dario Argento's best round out Anchor Bay's April DVD releases on 4/25, with the highly recommended Deep Red along with Inferno, a lesser, but still worthy, follow-up to Argento's masterwork, Suspiria. May 2 will also see the DVD release of Being John Malkovich, with a likely to be interesting commentary from director Spike Jonze.