seeps into her open window as a cloud of mist à la Chaney, Jr.’s SON OF DRACULA, until the girl expires and becomes one of the Undead who, like bats, apparently don’t need eyes to see. In an in- triguingly perverse moment, Dracula coaxes his new convert to awaken from inside her coffin, warning that “It hurts to breathe again, but only for a moment.” Sadly, all good things must come to end. A Van Helsing-like detective of the “European Po- lice Authority” (John Wengraf) soon arrives to thwart Dracula’s motives, asking a lot of questions with the aid of a black-suited FBI man, and even driving a stake into Jennie’s heart (a gimmicky, gory color insert shot was usu- ally removed from television prints, but is present here on the DVD); however, it is Rachel and her boyfriend—hip youth rather than the old and wizened—who ultimately square off against the vampire lord inside his musty torch-lit hideaway at that most recognizable of B-movie locales, Bronson Caves.
Much of the film’s effective- ness rests on the shoulders of Francis Lederer (TERROR IS A MAN), whose authentically Eu- ropean voice and mannerisms lend some impressive credibil- ity to the Dracula role. Unfortu- nately, the plot often borders on the ludicrous—the success of Dracula’s plan depends on this family being dim enough to ac- cept his never being around during daylight hours as some form of Eastern-European ec- centricity—and the atmosphere is inconsistent, undermined by unconvincing day-for-night photography in pivotal se- quences. Composer Gerald Fried, whose musical backing to THE VAMPIRE was so exciting, seems considerably less in- spired in this case, pulverizing us repeatedly with fortissimo
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statements of that ancient funerary plainsong, the Dies Irae. In an unintentionally hu- morous moment, Dracula ma- terializes before a victim, and his confused, darting eyes seem to be searching the room not for fresh sustenance but for Fried’s conspicuous orchestra. Fans will be ecstatic over the sharp, anamorphic transfers, letterboxed to the films’ 1.85:1 theatrical ratios. Though re-re- leased to drive-ins with ghoulish green tints, both films are pre- sented here in their more taste- ful B&W guises. In each case, the viewer has a choice of the origi- nal mono soundtrack or a 2- channel stereo remix, the latter sounding slightly more reverber- ant and less burdened with hiss. Disappointingly, though not sur- prisingly, no extra features could be dreamed up by the disc pro- ducers, not even a customary “Fun Fact” for the back of the box.
SAW III:
DIRECTOR’S CUT 2006, Lionsgate, DD-5.1/DTS- 6.1/MA/16:9/LB/ST/+, $26.95, 119m 58s, DVD-1
SAW IV: UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT 2007, Lionsgate, DD-5.1/MA/ 16:9/LB/ST/+, $29.95, 94m 53s, DVD-1
By Shane M. Dallmann
While SAW III was seen as the conclusion of the series by origi- nal creators Leigh Whannell and James Wan, its box-office popu- larity did little to convince Lionsgate to rethink their pre- announced plans for a fourth entry. Nor did the fact that SAW III had made its home video de- but in an “unrated” edition with extra footage (unlike the first two, which had to wait for the treatment) prevent an all-new
two-disc Director’s Cut edition from making its debut as a herald for SAW IV.
As I opined in my original re-
view [VW 129:27], an extended running time wasn’t something that SAW III particularly needed; nevertheless, this reworking (which adds approximately 5m to the previous “Unrated” release) provides some additional high- lights for the faithful: in addition to the expected extra gore, we get a look at Amanda (Shawnee Smith) at work on her initial “Jig- saw” trap (breaking the rules in the process), along with various other character moments. Also exclusive to the Director’s Cut is the option of 6.1 DTS-ES audio, as well as three new audio com- mentaries (that’s six recorded for this film alone). Director Darren Lynn Bousman (who helmed ev- ery entry save for the original) is joined by actor J. Larose (Victim #1) for one such chat—but if it signifies that the well was running dry, far more interesting is an original “Villains Commentary” in which Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith annotate the goings-on while occasionally lapsing into their “Jigsaw” (John Kramer) and “Amanda” personas. Finally, writer Leigh Whannell (who ap- pears as Adam in the first and third films) takes the solo plunge—announcing along the way that this is his farewell to the series (as a writer, anyway—he and Wan continue to hold execu- tive producer credits) and that anything that happens from here on out is not his responsibility! Disc Two offers the usual supplements: a “Jigsaw” driven trivia game, a music video (by Hydrovibe) and a “Choose the Death” option in which each on- screen demise leads to a spe- cial-effects primer. There’s also a look at the “torture” make-up effects, and “Filmmaker Faves” enables one to choose amongst
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