DVD: Cabin Fever 2 - Spring Fever (dir: Ti West, 2009)

"Something is wrong. Something is very wrong."

In spite of its general narrative link to Eli Roth's original movie and a brief flashback that earns Rider Strong top-billing, Cabin Fever 2 is nowhere near in the same league as its predecessor, which wasn't exactly high art in itself but at least looked and felt like a movie. Here we are in real bargain-basement direct-to-DVD territory, which makes the American Pie Presents... series look polished. The opening pre-credits sequence of the belatedly-released Cabin Fever 2 immediately sets the low tone of this movie; what it does not quite prepare you for is how the rest of the running time is painful to the point of being almost unwatchable. It seems to be aiming for an Evil Dead/cartoon-like quality, but instead the attempts at comedy are miserable, the dialogue is appallingly written (and delivered), the sound mix is uneven, the general level of prevailing hysteria is forced and at no point does anything in the film convince. Every character is a caricature, with performances which are mostly very poor. The gore stunts do show ambition for the meagre budget, but these alone cannot make a decent movie. Some DVD sequels (e.g. Wrong Turn 2) work within their budget effectively and show some ambition, and whilst enthusiasm is to be applauded, sadly Cabin Fever 2 did not work for me.

FILM: The Crazies (dir: Breck Eisner, 2010)

"Well, this may be the exception."

Two of the problems with being a fan of the horror genre are that you have to be incredibly forgiving of frequent glaring weaknesses in films, and that great horror movies are hugely outnumbered by at best workman-like dross. The 2010 version of The Crazies, however, is one of those rare American horror movies which comes along occasionally that is intelligent, convincing and does not pander to the low-brow teenage market at any point. With an almost complete focus on the townsfolk of Ogden Marsh and the military presence reduced to short and utterly brutal appearances in this version, the always-reliable Radha Mitchell and the excellent Timothy Olyphant make for a consistently compelling pair of leads, with a wonderful supporting performance from Joe Anderson as the Deputy Sheriff. Even though the general scenario of 'infected town isolated and destroyed' has become over-familiar over recent decades, The Crazies is uncompromising, relentless and hits the ground running. Conventional horror settings such as the mortuary and a barn full of farm implements are given a fresh, kinetic yet controlled spin here, and Eisner directs with real vision by using space and framing to great effect throughout. The lean and taut script also thankfully resists the temptation of giving characters throwaway one-liners (although there are plenty of opportunities) in reactions to events, which is the downfall of so many American horrors. The adventurous and beautifully-designed soundscape is also a treat. The second half does veer towards Idiot Plot occasionally, and there is an underlying sense of inevitability of the fate of the characters, but overall The Crazies is an excellently-constructed, consistently engaging and worthy film, which does something rare in watching American horror: it actually makes you feel for the characters.

FILM: The Wolfman (dir: Joe Johnston, 2010)

"I admire your noble intentions. You think you can save him...but you can't."

There is a very fine line between restrained and dull, and unfortunately the 2010 take on The Wolfman frequently veers towards the latter. The tortuous route this film took to get to the screen may be best evidenced in the unevenness of its realisation, with modern-day visual and aural styles competing with reverence to the period and the source material, often making the film look like Sleepy Hollow directed in the style of Blade. Universal's relatively extravagant budget for this version of one of the late-entry efforts in the studio's original horror cycle gives rise to rich set design and strong location work. Unlike Hammer's brightly-hued colour reboots of the Universal horror catalogue in the late 1950s/early 1960s, here the colour palette is flat and drained to almost black-and-white for the most part. Whilst neither particularly scary or horrific, The Wolfman plays as solid if rather unengaging drama. The underused Hugo Weaving lifts the piece as a wryly written Inspector Abbeline, whilst leads Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt convey objective earnestness rather than emotion. The limited and moderate transformation scenes lack the true human horror and pain seen in Rick Baker's similarly-orchestrated set pieces in An American Werewolf In London, but thankfully the CGI creations here are not of the poor quality seen in that film's Paris-set sequel. A modern-day credible reinvention of the werewolf legend may be possible (although Wes Craven's Cursed didn't quite hit the mark), but as a period-set piece, The Wolfman adds little to what has already been seen, resulting in a handsomely-mounted but ultimately rather pointless re-make.

FILM: Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief (dir: Chris Columbus, 2010)

"You're half-donkey?"

Harry Potter meets TV's Supernatural. The Percy Jackson movie is undemanding but entertaining, with lightweight dialogue and surprisingly full-on action sequences. Of course, it is NOTHING like Harry Potter (title character with unhappy life goes to a 'school' for 'special' children, with an older professor/mentor, different 'houses' for the students, goofy male and plucky female sidekicks, a blond-haired adversary....) We are in assured hands with fantasy/Harry Potter-experienced director Chris Columbus marshalling the generally pleasing special effects (Hades - the place and the character - being particularly impressive). A solid adult cast includes Uma Thurman reprising her Poison Ivy villainy as Medusa, Pierce Brosnan as a centaur (!) and Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd and Steve Coogan chewing the CGI-scenery with relish as lead gods in their brief screen time. The film rattles along and covers a number of locations to good effect, but occasionally script logic is sacrificed for pace (in particular, Percy's lack of grief at the 'loss' of his mother seems very strange). Christophe Beck provides an appropriately rousing score for this good-natured romp which tries its best to please throughout its two-hour run-time. As Percy Jackson, Logan Lerman proves reasonably competent in the lead role, but if Sony insist on inflicting Spiderman - The Acne Years upon us, on this evidence rumoured front-runner Lerman may prove to be an insipid Peter Parker.

DVD: Tranformers - Revenge Of The Fallen (dir: Michael Bay, 2009)

"You deserve better than this."

First, the good news: the second Transformers movie does not seem anywhere near as confusing or visually overwhelming on second viewing as it did in cinemas last Summer. It does remain clear, however, that the two-year turnaround to get a movie of this scale into cinemas relatively quickly was insufficient to iron out some of its deficiencies. The first half has a laughably over-serious and quite dull tone, particularly when compared to the self-effacing fun of Summer 2009's other big toy-inspired movie, G.I. JOE: The Rise Of COBRA. In the movie's second half, the storylining careers around wildly like a possessed toddler, with an increasingly irritating habit of pausing occasionally to try to explain what on earth is going on and barely succeeding. All of the lead (human) characters have very little to do except to move from one location to the next, and the introduction of Sam's college room-mate provides us with one of the most annoying characters of recent times. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is clearly written for eight-year-old boys, as evidenced by the crass dialogue and humour, leaving very little for everyone else in the audience apart from some astounding (but very inconsistent quality) CGI and some impressive sound design. The casual sexism, homophobia and racism (even the French are on the receiving end for some bizarre reason) demonstrates a lack of responsibility for its young target audience. A major problem is the long running time; it almost feels like whole seasons have changed since you started watching it. Of course the big set-pieces are impressively delivered on a huge scale, and the level of detail achieved together with some complicated 'camera' moves within shots featuring the giant robots and other visual effects are to be applauded. Michael Bay promises a smaller-scale third outing for the franchise (which we will believe when we see it), but that is to completely miss the point of the main weakness of Revenge Of The Fallen: the robots may provide the spectacle, but the humans provide the heart, and that focus is what will be needed to make the third Transformers movie a more satisfying experience.

DVD: Watchmen (dir: Zack Snyder, 2009)

"There's no need for violence!"

Every frame of Watchmen the movie is lovingly crafted, from the detailed design to the frequently prowling camera and adventurous shots which draw in the viewer at every opportunity. The narrative structure uses the long running time to unfold in a consistently fascinating way, revealing insights and adding depth to an impressive range of story threads and characters. At turns, Watchmen is graphically visceral, poetic and challenging, staying within the confines of comic-book conventions without ever sacrificing a true filmic sensibility. The mythical alternate-timeline is carefully created through visual and sound concepts and sustained effectively throughout. The ensemble cast is superb, and even Matthew Goode's sightly underplayed Ozymandius does not detract from the film as a whole. A wonderfully eclectic soundtrack provides spot-on support and entertainment as the movie shifts through the decades. On DVD as in the cinema, the emotional tone of the movie is cool and technical, yet it retains the capacity to shock and surprise when required. Watchmen was never going to be a box-office blockbuster, so its moderate financial success is a great testament to its lack of compromise to the source material and its audience, and it seems a great shame that another movie venture into the world of Watchmen seems unlikely at this point.