Resident Evil 1-3 Box Set (Resident Evil / Resident Evil 2 - Apocalypse / Resident Evil 3

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Resident Evil

Given that Resident Evil is a Paul Anderson movie based on a computer game which was itself highly derivative (especially of George A Romero and James Cameron films), it's probably unfair to complain that it hasn't got an original idea or moment in its entire running time. In the early 1980s, Italian schlock films such as Zombie Flesh Eaters and Zombie Creeping Flesh tried to cram in as many moments restaged from American originals as possible, strung together by silly characters wandering between monster attacks. This is a much-improved, edited, photographed and directed version of the same gambit.

As amnesiac Milla Jovovich remembers amazing kung fu skills and anti-globalist Eric Mabius mutters about evil corporations, a gang of clichéd soldiers with nary a distinguishing feature between them (except for Michelle Rodriguez as a secondary tough chick) are trapped in an underground scientific compound at the mercy of a tyrannical computer--which manifests as a smug little-girl-o-gram--fending off flesh-eating zombies (though gore fans will be disappointed by the film's need to stay within the limits of the 15 certificate) and CGI mutants, not to mention the ever-popular zombie dogs. It's tolerably action-packed, but zips past its borrowings (Aliens, Cube, Deep Blue Sea) without adding anything that future schlock pictures will want to imitate.

Resident Evil 2 - Apocalypse

2002's popular video-game-derived hit Resident Evil didn't inspire confidence in a sequel, but Resident Evil: Apocalypse defies odds and surpasses expectations. It's a bigger, better, action-packed zombie thriller, and this time Milla Jovovich (as the first film's no-nonsense heroine) is joined by more characters from the popular Capcom video games, including Jill Valentine (played by British hottie Sienna Guillory) and Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr, from 1999's The Mummy). They're armed and ready for a high-calibre encounter with devil dogs, mutant "Lickers," lurching zombies, and the leather-clad monster known only as Nemesis, unleashed by the nefarious Umbrella Corporation responsible for creating the cannibalistic undead horde. Having gained valuable experience as a respected second-unit director on high-profile films like Gladiator and The Bourne Identity, director Alexander Witt elevates this junky material to the level of slick, schlocky entertainment. --Jeff Shannon

Resident Evil 3 - Extinction

Movies based on computer games generally aren't well respected, but just because they aren't high art doesn't mean they can't be highly enjoyable. The only catch is that you need to be a fan of computer games to appreciate them. Resident Evil: Extinction is the third movie in the massively popular Resident Evil franchise, and it's probably the best one yet.

Between Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Extinction, the zombie-creating T-virus has spread far beyond the doomed Raccoon City; now the human race is almost extinct (hence the title). When a convoy of survivors meets up with the genetically-altered Alice, the shadowy Umbrella Corporation does everything in its power to take them down and reclaim her; but Alice isn't giving up without a fight...

Resident Evil: Extinction is part zombie movie, and part post-apocalyptic survival yarn. The big set pieces use CGI that doesn't look anything like reality, but does look very much like a computer game, which is possibly intentional--since this is a sequel to an adaptation, Resident Evil: Extinction does tend to assume a built-in audience which is already familiar with the various quirks of the franchise. If you're a fan of the games, you'll enjoy the various references to game characters and events; if not, you might feel a bit left out. It's not the best entry point to the franchise if you're a complete newcomer, but if you've seen the other films, it's a hell of a lot of fun. -- Sarah Dobbs

Average customer rating:

A little-known sci-fi gem from the 1960s

A Classic

Chosen Survivors/Earth Dies Screaming (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Starring: Willard Parker , Virginia Field , Dennis Price , Thorley Walters , and Vanda Godsell
Director: Terence Fisher , and Sutton Roley
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Science Fiction & Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Categories | DVD | Video
Fantasy & Futuristic | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Categories | DVD | Video
All Horror | Horror | Categories | DVD | Video
Region 1 | Special Features | DVD | Video
DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
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Beast Within/Bat People (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Phantom from 10,000 Leagues/The Beast with a Million Eyes (REGION 1) (NTSC)

ASIN: B000RXVNCE
Release Date: 2007-09-11

Customer Reviews:

A little-known sci-fi gem from the 1960s.......2007-10-27

The Earth Dies Screaming is one of Terence Fisher's least well-known and most underrated movies. An atmospheric piece of apocalyptic science fiction (with a bit of cold war paranoia thrown in), it's a cheap, short second feature that overcomes its (very) limited budget to endure as a hidden gem of 1960s' British cinema. Featuring an eerie score by Elizabeth Lutyens and a strong performance of shifty menace from the great Dennis Price (A Canterbury Tale, Kind Hearts and Coronets), this tale of robotic alien invaders was filmed in the Surrey village of Shere, which has recently been invaded by a different kind of menace; tourists, who now apparently flock there after it was used as a location for the recent Cameron Diaz/Jude Law rom-com The Holiday.

Whilst it's nice to see Terence Fisher's 1964 B-movie find it's way onto DVD (albeit Region 1 only), it's certainly fulfilling its original function in that it's making up the lesser half of a double bill, in this case with a movie called Chosen Survivors, a film with a vaguely similar plot, but one which nonetheless originated in a different country and decade than the Fisher film. Considering other double bills in this collection include well-paired duos like Devils of Darkness (1963) and Witchcraft (1964), a better pick for a co-feature here would surely have been another of the lesser-known British sci-fi films of the 1960s, something like John Gilling's The Night Caller (1965) or Alan Bridges' Invasion (1966). In any case, I hope that The Earth Dies Screaming eventually sees the light of day as a Region 2 release in some form.

A Classic.......2007-10-25

The Earth Dies Screaming is a UK low budget Horror Classic.

If you are in the mood for a bit of fun then search this one out. It combines aliens, a quaint old english village, and zombies..... Who could ask for more in a film that lasts just over an hour.

Customer Reviews:

A surprisingly tame lesbian vampire film.......2004-02-21

Seduction Cinema puts out a lot of bad films alongside a good handful of pretty darn entertaining films; it's usually either all or nothing with these guys. Mistress of Seduction doesn't fit the bill, really; this film falls flat early on and stays there. The story certainly afforded the filmmakers a golden opportunity to give us fans what we want, but all we got was a whole lot of not much. Alysabeth Clements stars as Vamparina, a centuries-old vampire who has been tracking down the soul who killed her father long, long ago (her father was supposedly Count Dracula himself according to the movie summaries I've seen, but nothing in the movie really pointed me to such a conclusion). Clements is not really my idea of beautiful, but she does do a little sizzling of the screen with that vampiress attire of hers and that smoldering red hair. With the help of her latest lesbian victim, she finally discovers the location of her hated nemesis John (who doesn't even know what he did in his past life). As it happens, John's sister is also a lesbian, so there are all sorts of sexual goings-on taking place on both sides of the storyline. Unfortunately, all of these little girl-girl get-togethers are exceedingly boring; nothing happens beyond some kissing and heavy petting, and you won't find any complete nudity in this movie. I only emphasize this point because the same cannot be said of the vast majority of Seduction Cinema movies.

On a more positive note, the filmmakers did at least emphasize the horror aspect of the whole vampire thing this time around. It's true they played weird noises that sounded like someone crunching into dry cereal every time a vampire sank her teeth into someone's jugular, but it's also true that we actually do get to see blood and just a tiny, tiny amount of gore here. Little good can be said of the acting; I thought Alysabeth Clements was pretty good as Vamparina, but the other actors and actresses brought very little to their roles. In one scene, two buddies are having a heated argument, yet both of them look bored to death throughout the scene.

If you are a fan of vampire films, especially lesbian vampire films, Mistress of Seduction does have a little bit to offer you. If you are only interested in the types of sexual escapades frequently featured in other Seduction Cinema films, though, you may find little more than disappointment here.

UK DVD:

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