THE AWAKENING – Cinefantastique

Laserblast 4-18.2: Netflix Purge, Star Trek and The Awakening on Blu-ray

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Steve Biodrowski

Also: THE FRANKENSTEIN THEORY and more HELMLOCK GROVE

Take another tour of horror, fantasy, and science fiction on home video with this week’s edition of the Cinefantastique Laserblast Podcast. Lawrence French, Dan Persons, and Steve Biodrowski explore the over-hyped “purge” of classic titles from Netflix; review the new Blu-ray releases of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, STAR TREK: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, and STAR TREK GENERATIONS; analyze THE FRANKENSTEIN THEORY; and explore the ghostly goodies on THE AWAKENING’s Blu-ray disc. And of course, there is the usual weekly rundown of all that is new on store shelves and on demand.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tuesday, May 7 Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Home Video Releases

MAMA on DVD and on Blu-ray plus DVD plus UltraViolet from Universal Studios. Bonus features:

In-depth look at effects – BD Exclusive
Deleted scenes with commentary from Andy and Barbara Muschietti
Original short subject with intro by Guillermo Del Toro
Birth of Mama – featurette about expanding short subject
Commentary by Andy and Barbara Muschietti

FRINGE: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON on DVD and Blu-ray from Warner Home Video.

Hollywood Hits 4-Movie Collection on DVD from Mill Creek Entertianment, including four classic/cult titles from Columbia Pictures (that is, distributed by Columbia, not necessarily produced – resulting in an eclectic mix from the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s):

RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE with Bela Lugosi
REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN with Peter Cushing
MR. SARDOICUS with Guy Rolfe
THE BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN with Strother Martin

Blu-ray Steelbooks (new steel collectible casing for previously available discs):

V FOR VENDETTA
THE MATRIX 10TH ANNIVERSARY (obvious anachronism)
LORDS OF THE RINGS trilogy
BOOK OF ELI

ROGER CORMAN CULT CLASSICS – SCI-FI CLASSICS TRIPLE FEATURE EMBOSSED SLIM TIN with these three titles:

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS
WAR OF THE SATELLITES
NOT OF THIS EARTH

All titles available in the Cinefantastique Online Store, powered by Amazon.
[serialposts]

THE APPARITION & THE AWAKENING: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 3:34

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Dan Persons

I've Got a Radar Detector and I'm Not Afraid to Use It: Modern technology provides scant protection for Ashley Greene in THE APPARITION.

All these shades and poltergeists invading suburbia, moving the furniture and scaring the children and snatching souls from still-living bodies and otherwise causing all kinds of ruckus, sure, it’s inconvenient for the residents, but what about the real estate agents? Why doesn’t anybody think of them? What’s to come of their commissions, what about the property values? It’s not fair, I tells ya.
Nevertheless, one week after PARANORMAN took a more light-hearted, but still pretty scary, look at the situation, it’s back to the ‘burbs for THE APPARITION, in which a young couple (Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan) find that their brand-new home comes with an unannounced, unwelcome, and quite ill-mannered guest. The Cinefantastique Online team of Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons get together to discuss the film and whether its pseudo-scientific trappings, wrapped in a narrative that borrows liberally from a variety of sources that range all the way from POLTERGEIST to RINGU, can whomp up some legitimate chills.
Then, Steve takes a look at THE AWAKENING, the recently released period tale of a psychic debunker, and finds some interesting contrasts to THE APPARITION. Plus: Steve delivers his capsule reviews of THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN and ROBOT and FRANK; Dan discusses a couple of worthwhile home video releases; and what’s coming to theaters in the next week.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

[serialposts]

THE AWAKENING limited release

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Steve Biodrowski

Cohen Media Group gives a limited U.S. release to this 2011 British horror film about an author who debunks claims of the supernatural. Rebecca Hall plays the skeptical Florence Cathcart, who is called upon by teacher Robert Malory (Dominic West) to investigate the alleged ghost of a student haunting his school.
The script by Stephen Volk and director Nick Murphy has some parallels with HAUNTED, has some parallels with HAUNTED, the 1995 based on James Herbert’s novel, which also featured a professional debunker investigating a supernatural claim that could turn out to be true.
Screenwriter Volk should be a familiar name to genre buffs, thanks to his prolific credits, dating back to the 1980s: Ken Russell’s GOTHIC, William Friedkin’s THE GUARDIAN, and THE KISS.
THE AWAKENING opened in Britain and other territories late last year.
U.S. Release date: August 17, 2012

Masters of Science Fiction: "The Awakening" – TV Review

Posted on August 12, 2007 by Steve Biodrowski

Terry O'Quinn in Judging from “The Awakening” (August 11, 2007), ABC’s new televisions series MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION is THE OUTER LIMITS by another name. There is a similar approach in terms of using science-fiction premises to address current social or political issues, and like the like the ’90s version of TOL (less so the ’60s original), MOSF feels free to push its sci-fi set-up into religious territory, with slightly embarrassing results, marring an otherwise interesting episode. Continue reading “Masters of Science Fiction: "The Awakening" – TV Review” →