leases (no doubt befitting its obscure status). In- stead we get two trailers, the customary collector’s booklet written by the ever-dependable Calum Waddell and a concise mini-documentary on the Italian exorcist genre featuring insights from direc- tor Luigi Cozzi (Contamination), screenwriter Anto- nio Tentori (A Cat in the Brain) and genre critic Paolo Zelati. Essential viewing for Eurohorror connoisseurs,
this welcome release should assist in bringing Dal- lamano some small measure of overdue recogni- tion.
MICHAEL DOYLE Murdered She Was
AMERICAN NIGHTMARE (1983) DVD Starring Lawrence Day, Lenore Zann and Michael Ironside
Directed by Don McBrearty Written by John Sheppard, John Gault and Steven Blake Scorpion Releasing
Taking viewers on a whirlwind tour of Toronto’s
’80s-era porno theatres, back-alley strip bars and drug-soaked slum apartments in search of a killer targeting sex trade workers, American Nightmare is a whodunit that would make Angela Lansbury choke on her tea. The depressing Canuxploitation entry is one of the most offbeat and sleazy horror films you’re likely to see, yet underneath all the seedy trap- pings, it’s fairly tame, mostly using its lurid plot to dress up a pedestrian thriller with some nudity and kink. The film begins as Eric
(Lawrence Day) arrives in the big city to track down his sis- ter, Isabelle (Alexandra Paul), who has been missing for sev- eral days. Ironically, their father (Tom Harvey), the corporate mogul behind a charity sup- porting underprivileged chil- dren, has lost interest in helping his own kids, and his neglect has taken a toll. After chatting up Is- abelle’s transvestite neighbour, Eric discovers that his sister was a stripper who slid into prostitution to support her drug habit. It appears that this sordid existence may have led her directly into the clutches of a shadowy serial killer stalking the streets for emotionally damaged women. Detective Skylar (Michael Ironside, in an impressive early role) is on the case, but Eric knows that only he can get the necessary inside information from Isabelle’s former strip-club compatriots to crack the case. Giallo comparisons are often thrown around
when discussing American Nightmare – most likely because of the film’s unseen, black-gloved suspect – but that label doesn’t seem right. The deaths in American Nightmare are few and far between, and the film is just plain old ugly and unpleasant, less interested in creating a memorable style or mood than it is in pounding home some disheartening truths about a society where every emotional trans-
Queen of the Damned
action is also a monetary one. Don McBrearty cap- tures the story’s aggressive subjugation of women with the unflinching eye of a documentary film- maker, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch, even with a dis- tracting amount of female flesh and ersatz Times Square back- drops. Chock full of noticeable Toronto-
area landmarks and featuring an early producing credit for The Wiz- ard of Gore himself, Ray Sagar, American Nightmare is neither from the United States nor liable to give you bad dreams – it’s only a guaranteed feel-bad time for slasher aficionados and mystery buffs alike.
PAUL CORUPE Fangs For Nuthin’!
QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (2002) Blu-ray Starring Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau and Aaliyah
Directed by Michael Rymer Written by Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni Warner Brothers
Let’s just say you don’t fall asleep within the first
ten minutes of Queen of the Damned, and out of some masochistic curiosity, you manage to sit through this film all the way. Don’t be surprised if the aftertaste of cheap latex and late-’90s new rock leaves you wishing for that 100 minutes of your life back. The film is loosely based on Anne Rice’s second
and third Vampire Chronicles novels, although the script is sometimes so bare that it’s hard to see how the character of Lestat the vampire is tied to the version Tom Cruise portrayed in the first adap-
tation, 1994’s Interview with the Vampire. Here, Lestat (Stuart Townsend: League of Ex-
traordinary Gentlemen) returns from decades of slumber after being roused by a Nu Metal band. Lestat joins them as their lead singer, goes public about his vampirism and his flashy image garners the band fame and popularity. This pisses off the other vampires of the world who wish to remain hidden; how- ever, it also grabs the attention of Akasha (the late R&B singer Aaliyah), an ancient vampire who has been in hibernation and is now set on seducing Lestat, making him her king and ulti- mately eating everyone who stands in their way. It’s difficult to view this as a sequel to Interview
with the Vampirewhen the film makes you feel like you’re being held hostage at a Korn concert. The actors seem to have a hard time staying awake, and other than one or two disappointing fight scenes and a series of over-produced set designs, the whole thing becomes downright tortuous to sit through after about 45 minutes. The Blu-ray edition comes with remastered
audio and is packed with loads of extra features (director’s commentary, Lestat music videos, gag reel, deleted scenes and full concert reels), as well as a tribute to Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash before the film’s release. But no amount of extra footage can save something that was (in the words of Anne Rice herself) “a doomed project” to begin with.
JESSA SOBCZUK R E I S S U E S 41 RM
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