DVD Roundup - Mutant Monsters!
DVD Roundup - Mutant Monsters!
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Just in case you haven't gotten enough of mutant monsters from our two most-recent full reviews of upcoming horror DVDs — one if by land via Hyenas, and one if by sea through Dinocroc — take a quick bite from the fare below:
Chawz: In this Korean import, a young police officer gets more than he bargained for when he put in for a transfer and finds himself smack-dab in the deadly domain of a beastly boar that craves human blood. Played for laughs, not everyone is in on the joke that's loaded with whacky Asian-flavored humor — there's lots of slapstick with the pork-chomps — but for those who are not new to the genre, Chawz is entertaining enough.
Beauty and the Beast: In yet another retelling of the classic bestiality fairytale, Estella Warren (who made another creature feature with icky undertones some ten years ago, and that was the Planet of the Apes remake) plays kissy-face with a brooding troll played by Victor Parascos. While there is more blood and gore than one might expect based upon the source material, that still doesn't qualify this as a proper horror film. The only horrifying things are the bad wigs, high school play level acting, and the piss-poor pacing.
Mongolian Death Worm: Director Steven R. Monroe's previous film to this was the semi-successful remake of I Spit On Your Grave (by "successful" I mean, it did what it set out to do… it didn't necessarily make money or please most viewers). Now he's back with a cheapie monster movie about a giant worm starring Sean Patrick Flannery. Need I say more? I suppose. OK, Flannery plays a treasure-hunter and tomb-raider who, while in (guess where?) Mongolia, stirs up a nest of giant, angry death worms. Teaming up with Victoria Pratt (playing a doctor without borders… or a personality), Flannery takes on not only the monsters, but some shadowy thugs and shady government types. Yawn.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson