INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES: THE COMPLETE MOVIE COLLECTION (1943-1945). An offshoot of the popular radio series Inner Sanctum (which also led to a string of books as well as a TV show), this film franchise found Universal Pictures committing Lon Chaney Jr. to a run of six quickie “B” flicks that each barely ran over an hour (the longest clocks in at 67 minutes). Production values are kept at a minimum, and five of the six movies offer variations on the same theme: Someone ends up murdered, and the running time is spent determining whether the prime suspect (always Chaney) is the killer or if someone else is to blame. Despite the lurid titles and the presence of horror star Chaney, these aren’t monster movies but instead murder-mysteries made enjoyable by fine casting, interesting plot turns and a plethora of suspects.
Calling Dr. Death (1943) stars Chaney as a doctor whose loathsome wife (Ramsay Ames) is murdered, thereby allowing him to focus on his devoted secretary (Patricia Morison). Weird Woman (1944) centers on the relationship between a college professor (Chaney) and his new bride (Anne Gwynne) — a woman whose upbringing among natives has made her embrace their voodoo rituals — and the evil that’s unleashed through the machinations of his jealous colleague (Evelyn Ankers, Chaney’s leading lady in The Wolf Man). Dead Man’s Eyes (1944) finds Chaney cast as a blind artist who benefits when his elderly benefactor (Edward Fielding), who willed him his eyes, is discovered beaten to death. The Frozen Ghost (1945) focuses on a hypnotist (Chaney) who hides out in a wax museum after convincing himself that he killed a man during one of his stage performances. Strange Confession (1945) casts Chaney as an honorable scientist who’s double-crossed by an unscrupulous boss (J. Carrol Naish) interested only in profit and fame (look for a young Lloyd Bridges as Chaney’s lab assistant). And Pillow of Death (1945) involves Chaney in a tale about a husband whose late wife might be able to identify her assassin through a shady medium named Julian Julian (J. Edward Bromberg).
There are no extras on the DVDs.
Series: ***
Extras: *
JIGOKU (1960). In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock shocked this nation with his ground-breaking Psycho while Michael Powell scandalized his British homeland (and largely killed off his own career) with Peeping Tom. Over in Japan, though, that year’s cinematic cause célèbre was Jigoku, a startling motion picture that’s the forerunner to the atmospheric Asian horror flicks which are currently all the rage (e.g. Ringu, Ju-on). Rarely seen on this side of the globe — as far as I can tell, it didn’t play the United States until 2000 — Jigoku (which translates as Hell, though its English-language title originally was The Sinners of Hell) melds competing religious philosophies with nightmarish visions handed down by Hieronymus Bosch, in the process concocting one of the most vivid depictions of Hades ever presented on film. The first hour of the movie follows nice-guy protagonist Shiro (Shigeru Amachi), whose life decidedly takes a turn for the worst after he and his mysterious friend Tamura (Yoichi Numata) are involved in a hit-and-run that leaves a local punk dead. For the remainder of this 60-minute stretch, Shiro observes with horror as his loved ones are killed off (alternately by accident or design, though Fate ultimately seems to be dictating all the actions) and other acquaintances flaunt their own sinful behavior. Director and cowriter Nobuo Nakagawa’s set-up is methodical and revealing, which offers us a greater emotional investment in the film’s final 40 minutes. By this point, all the characters — even decent ones like Shiro — have gone to hell, where torture is served up 24/7. By today’s standards, let alone those of 1960 cinema, these scenes are astonishingly gruesome, as select sinners are sawed in half, stripped of their flesh and made to drink from pools of “pus wrung from [their] festering carcasses.” If nothing else, Jigoku should at least make viewers reconsider stealing the office stapler, lest their minor offense land them in an inferno as unrelentingly horrific as the one on display here. DVD extras include a making-of documentary, two poster galleries and the theatrical trailer.
Movie: ***
Extras: ** 1/2
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (2006). The so-called “culture of spin” gets taken for its own spin in this lacerating adaptation of Christopher Buckley’s 1994 novel. Even with a too-brief running time of 92 minutes, the movie manages to pack in all manner of material both saucy and dicey, yet when the smoke clears, what’s most visible is the emergence of Aaron Eckhart as a major talent. He’s terrific as Nick Naylor, who excels as the chief spokesman for the tobacco industry even though he realizes he’s despised by a significant part of the population. Nick earns the admiration of Big Tobacco’s Big Daddy (Robert Duvall), but he has his hands full bonding with his own son (Cameron Bright), who adores his dad but often asks tough questions about his profession. Writer-director Jason Reitman keeps the laughs flying during the first half, then slows down enough to lay the groundwork for a satisfying conclusion. Admittedly, some will see these final scenes as a cop-out, a reluctance to go for the jugular. All I see is Nick Naylor still doing what he does best: blowing smoke up the backside of a populace seduced by the wafting words that absolve it of personal responsibility. DVD extras include audio commentary by Reitman, Eckhart and co-star David Koechner, a making-of featurette, 15 minutes of deleted scenes, an interview with key players excerpted from The Charlie Rose Show, and poster and storyboard galleries.
Movie: ***1/2
Extras: ***
THE WILD (2006). While it’d be easy to dismiss The Wild as a rip-off of Madagascar, it would also be inaccurate. Taking production schedules and release dates into account, both films were obviously being produced at roughly the same time, leading one to suspect that both might have had their genesis in the same dog-eared screenplay (expect lawsuits to emerge any day now). But comparisons to the fine Madagascar aren’t necessary to point out the myriad shortcomings of The Wild, which manages to be abysmal on its own terms. Considering that at least 80 percent of today’s animated features condescend toward children by assuming they’re all too mentally challenged to digest anything of substance, it’s no surprise that this movie comes along to serve as the exclamation point on this sorry development. Fast-paced is one thing — Bugs Bunny and crew all but turned it into an art form — but this ADD-affected movie seems to have been made by mentally stunted adults after they’ve popped a dozen uppers and downed two dozen cups of coffee. The CGI animation is impressively lifelike — it recalls the Tyrell Corporation’s slogan in Blade Runner, “More human than human” (or in this case, more animal than animal) — though it begs the recurring question as to why we would want our animated movies to not look like animated movies. Everything else about this toxic toon is intolerable, especially the sidekicks who accompany Samson the lion (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland) as he leaves the comforts of the New York Zoo to search for his wayward son in a faraway jungle. Nigel the koala (Eddie Izzard) rates a special mention, emerging as the most loathsome animated character since Martin Short’s insufferable robot B.E.N. in Treasure Planet. DVD extras include five deleted scenes, an Everlife music video, and (groan) a short piece on Nigel.
Movie: *
Extras: *1/2
X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (2006). The third (and final?) film in the X-Men movie series is easily the weakest, so of course it went on to become the biggest moneymaker of the three. The 2000 hit X-Men, which introduced Marvel’s band of mutant outsiders to a wider audience and helped spearhead the current boom in superhero flicks, appealed to fans of the comic book but also offered comfort to anyone who could tap into its obvious symbolic gestures (most equating the fantasy-world ostracism of mutants with the real-world shunning of homosexuals). Director Bryan Singer returned with 2003’s X2, and, bucking the trend, managed to make a follow-up that matched its predecessor. Alas, Singer fled the series to helm Superman Returns, and Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour duo) and his scripters proved to be shaky replacements. While Ratner knows his way around an action sequence (the climactic skirmish is a doozy), neither he nor the writers are able to tap into the mythology of the source material, cynically killing off key characters and mangling important storylines. Yet it’s a testament to the durability of the original comic created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby that the movie survives this hostile takeover: There are plenty of boneheaded decisions plaguing this fast-paced chapter, yet there’s also enough of merit to earn it a modest passing grade. DVD extras include audio commentary by Ratner and scripters Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn, a separate commentary by producers Avi Arad, Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, 10 minutes of deleted scenes and alternate endings, and trailers.
Movie: **1/2
Extras: **
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2006.
