Back from the Dead (1997)
By: CJ on October 5, 2006.
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| Dragon Film Entertainment (Germany). Region 2 PAL. 4:3. English DD 2.0. German, English Subtitles. 88 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Craig Godfrey
Starring: Tim Aris, Genevieve Morris, John Xintavelonis, Josephine Lee, Chris Baz, Graham Richards
Screenplay: Craig Godfrey
Music: Tony Francis
Country: Australia |
Utilising the the thinnest of plots, Back
from the Dead concerns a man called Corbet
(Tim Aris) who is a guinea pig for an experiment
into regression under the watchful eye of his girlfriend
(Genevieve Morris) and a professor (John Xintavelonis).
But this is regression with a difference, as it
deals not with re-incarnation, but with travelling
down his ancestral blood-line. As he travels his
time-line he unfortunately chances upon the memories
and experiences of a certain Kavendish, a criminally
insane madman. As the therapy progresses Corbet
finds himself transforming into this maniacal Kavendish.
When the possession is complete, Corbet/Kavendish
begins to cut a bloody trail by gorily murdering
Ruby's mother (Josephine Lee). When Ruby realises
what's happening (and after discovering her dead
mother), she flees Corbet/Kavendish, but he follows
in hot pursuit. A car chase ensues, which ends in
a crash and Ruby is finally able to gruesomely finish
off Corbet/Kavendish by smashing a license plate
into his skull.
During its 88 minutes running
time this insane film takes in cannibalism, a
tapeworm(!), brain-eating, dismemberment, a séance,
a car chase, a stabbing contest, a ghost and hypnosis!
I don't think there's anything that this film
fails to cover! Now this all may sound very interesting
and there's certainly plenty of blood 'n' guts
on display to keep the most ardent gorehound happy,
but it is ultimately a failed attempt at comedy-horror
in the vein of Peter Jackson. Sadly, I left the
film feeling very dissatisfied.
It's obviously no- to low-budget and looks to
be shot straight onto video, but that's no excuse.
If you look at the likes of Combat Shock (aka American Nightmare)
or Bad Taste you'll find fine
examples of low-budget horror and why Back
from the Dead fails to hit the mark.
I hate to knock what was obviously a valiant effort
by all involved, but I'm sorry guys, a bad film
is a bad film whichever way you cut it. Sure,
it's gory to the max, but you need more than that
to involve the audience. However, if it's an inane
gore-fest with Troma sensibilities that you're
looking for, then this is definitely for you!
Just don't expect a masterpiece of horror cinema. |
| Video |
| Considering the source material was obviously
shot-on-video, Dragon have done wonders in presenting
this film on DVD. The image is sharp and is free
from any major defects or noticeable artifacting.
The movie is presented full-frame, but my guess
is that this is the correct ratio. |
| Audio |
| Original mono soundtrack only and doesn't seem
to have been re-mastered to the same quality like
the picture and has quite noticeable background
hiss. Serviceable, but far from perfect. |
| Extra Features |
| There is a complete lack of extras here. It
would have been nice to have known something about
the background and history behind this film. Disappointing. |
| The Verdict |
| It's certainly an oddity, but not one that I would
recommend you go out of your way to seek out. But
if you do, be warned, the humour is in the worst
possible taste which some of you sensitive types
may find offensive. I just couldn't warm to
this film at all, and I'm usually quite entertained
by stuff that is in a Troma vein. This just didn't
cut it for me, though, unfortunately. |
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