STACK May 2016 Issue 139

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MAY

2016

EXTRAS

NEWS

EXTRAS

irector David Cronenberg's early films rank

among his very best, establishing his

fascination with "body horror" that would

become a recurring theme throughout his work during

the 1970s and '80s.

Shivers

(1975) reveals the grisly consequences of

an experiment to create a benign parasite that will

replace human organs. The end result, however, is "a

cross between an aphrodisiac and a venereal disease",

spreading contagion through an island apartment

complex and turning the residents into sex-crazed

zombies. Not only does the film pre-empt the 'rage

virus' movie cycle of later decades, it also features

torso-bursting creatures three years before

Alien

Rabid

(1977) explores similar themes to

Shivers

, only

this time an experimental skin graft technique creates a

vampiric organ in the armpit of patient Rose, played by

adult movie star Marilyn Chambers in her first non-porn

CRONENBERG

COLLECTION

ViaVision release three of the Canadian cult director's films on DVD & Blu-ray.

role. Rose's thirst for blood leaves her victims infected

with a virulent strain of rabies, which quickly turns into a

full blown pandemic that overwhelms Montreal.

The third film in the collection,

The Dead Zone

(1983), is a departure for Cronenberg – an adaptation

of Stephen King's best-seller in which accident victim

Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) awakens from a

five-year coma with the ability to forsee the future.

One of the best King adaptations, as well as featuring

one of Walken's finest performances,

The Dead Zone

is a cracking thriller that's still recognisably Cronenberg

despite the radical shift in tone and subject.

Complementing the release of

The Cronenberg

Collection

are two genre films making their Blu-ray

debut: the

X-Files

-inspired

The Mothman Prophecies

(2002) starring Richard Gere, and the biblical apocalypse

thriller

The Seventh Sign

(1988), in which our salvation

depends on Demi Moore. •

Available May 4

DEEP BLU SEQUELS

ow could there be only one?" asks the

trailer voiceover guy in the promo for

Jaws 2

. He's refrerring to monster

Great White sharks, but the same can be said

of Jaws movies following the runaway success

of Spielberg's 1975 classic, which spawned

three sequels subject to the laws of diminishing

returns. Now

Jaws 2

Jaws 3

and

Jaws:The

Revenge

are coming to Blu-ray for the very first

time.

Jaws 2

is easily the best of the bunch (it

still has Chief Brody), while

Jaws

and

Jaws: The Revenge

("This

time it's personal!") are for

completists only. At the time

of writing it's still unknown

as to whether

Jaws 3

will

be available in 3D, as seen

in cinemas back in 1983.

•

Available June 2

The deleted scenes included on

the Blu-ray of

Star Wars: The

Force Awakens

are cursory

at best (an earlier introduction

to Leia, Kylo Ren searching the

Falcon, a snowspeeder chase with

unfinished FX), but the four-part

documentary

Secrets of the

Force Awakens: A Cinematic

Journey

is excellent. Given the

cast and crew were subject to a

code of silence during production,

it's great to finally hear them

all talk at length about their

characters and the daunting task

of doing justice to the Star Wars

legacy. There's also some vintage

behind-the-scenes footage from

A New Hope

and

Empire

, a brief

tour of the Lucasfilm archive, and

a glimpse of some cool, unused

concept art.

BEST OF BLU-RAY

BONUS FEATURES

They said it.

"It’s one thing

making a record,

but it’s another

thing talking about

it. There’s some

questions I just don’t

know the answers

to... but we've

made all the right

decisions, we feel."

- Chris Cheney, The Living End

• Read the full interview on pages

10–11 of

STACK

Music

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DIGITAL SLR CAMERA

ove live music?

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our fabulous Snapped

competition, starting this

month. Submit your live gig photographs (old or

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•

Head to

stack.net.au

to find out more

EXTRA!