Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Vengeance

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Vengeance

    Click image for larger version

Name:	vengeance.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	9.2 KB
ID:	383393
    Released by: BCI
    Released on: 07/09/08
    Director: Preaw Sirisuwan
    Cast: Andy Tungkaprasert, Chalad Na Songkhla, Chirapat Wongpaisanlux, Nuttanan Juntarawet
    Year: 2006

    The Movie:

    A nutty mix of Thai culture and good ol' American monster movie making, Vengeance is a pretty nifty blend of live action and low quality CGI that's infectious in its obvious enthusiasm and willingness to go off in strange directions for no apparent reason other than that it looks cool.

    The movie follows young police officer named Wut and a few co-workers who team up with local man who works as a guide in a remote area of Thailand and his daughter to track down a man named Naso and his gang who have just escaped from prison and are hiding out in the nearby forest. What neither Naso nor the cop on his trail realize is that there's more to this forest than just trees, dirt, and squirrels - here there be monsters and magical curses and all manner of related oddball plot devices.

    Complicating matters further is the fact that Nasar's father was killed by the cops father years ago, meaning these two really don't like one another very much. The further everyone heads into the woods the stranger things get as the physical realm gives way to the mystical and spirits and monsters begin to wreak havoc for them, killing everyone off one at a time while the two opposing sides try to outdo one another…

    Killer wasps, freaky lizard creatures, a really hokey looking CGI snake mix well with a few exciting knife fights, a couple of decent gore scenes and some intense jungle chase action to make for a movie that maybe won't stimulate your brain so much but that'll certainly work as a fun time killer. The cast all look great and play their parts well and the movie moves along at a very quick pace, never wasting a minute. In fact, you could easily make the argument that the movie moves too quickly as there isn't much in the way of character development and the story is pretty thin, but regardless, there's enough magical monster silliness and good guy versus bad guy tension to make it work. The character development that we do get is pretty ham-fisted and more than a little melodramatic but in the context of the world where all of this takes place, it doesn't hurt the picture much.

    That CGI snake though… wow. We're talking first generation Playstation graphics here, it looks so bad and considering that it's supposed to be one of the focal points of the film, well, it does hurt things a bit. That said, if you don't have a problem with the goofy serpent and can dig a fun jungle based cops and robbers action fest, Vengeance is a good time. Suck back a few cold Coors 16oz'rs and chow down on some pizza and soak this one in properly.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    Aside from some murkiness to the black levels in a couple of scenes, this is a clean and colorful transfer with strong sharpness and a great level of detail. There are moments where the CGI looks weak but this isn't a flaw in the encoding, rather, it's the fault of bad CGI. Regardless, the colors really pop in some scenes and the skin tones look nice and realistic throughout. There aren't any obvious problems with mpeg compression artifacts or edge enhancement and all in all, the movie looks pretty good here.

    The primary audio mix is a Thai language uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround Sound mix which offers optional subtitles in English, though an optional English 2.0 Surround dubbed track is also included. The mix is pretty strong overall and it makes good use of the rear surround channels during the action scenes. Bass is strong but could have been stronger in spots while dialogue stays clean and clear. The levels are fine and the subtitles are easy to read and free of any obvious typos.

    The extras on the release, all of which are presented in standard definition, are in Thai with English subtitles. The supplements start off with a brief interview with the film's producer who speaks about what the filmmaker's were after with their attempts here and why he likes the film. Aside from that, there's a really bad music video, a trailer for the feature, some animated menus and chapter selection.
    The Final Word:
    Vengeance may be sappy and melodramatic as all get out but that doesn't make it any less entertaining. It intentionally pulls on your heart strings in spots and at times it's a little on the corny side but it's also ripe with some really enjoyable scenes of action, adventure and horror which makes for good entertainment. BCI's disc falls short in the extra features department but it looks and sounds quite good and you can't argue with the price point.
      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: April 30th, 2024.
      Director: Lee Frost
      Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
      Year: 1969
      Purchase From Amazon

      Hot Spur – Movie Review:

      Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
    • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Mondo Macabro
      Released on: April 9th, 2024.
      Director: Max Pecas
      Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
      Year: 1985
      Purchase From Amazon

      Death Squad – Movie Review:

      Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Blue Underground
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Jess Franco
      Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
      Year: 1970
      Purchase From Amazon

      Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

      Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
    • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Saul Bass
      Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
      Year: 1974
      Purchase From Amazon

      Phase IV – Movie Review:

      Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    Working...
    X