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REVIEWS & PREVIEWS TV, DVDs and games to enjoy from the comfort of your sofa DVD PREVIEW OUTPOST III: RISE OF THE SPETSNAZ Entertainment One, Mon 31 Mar
‘It’s not like we invented Nazi zombies, but we were the first of the new batch,’ explains Kieran Parker, director of Outpost III, with pride. ‘It came from mixing things like Alien with Where Eagles Dare. What we liked about it was that it’s obviously tongue-in-cheek with a little sprinkling of reality.’ Outpost is now Scotland’s most successful horror franchise, and in this third instalment Bryan
Larkin plays the hulking leader of a squad of Russian special forces who find themselves up against undead fascists. The opening sequence was shot in Yorkshire but the rest was filmed in Scotland. It’s also Parker’s debut directing gig. ‘Steve [Barker], who’d done the first two films, wasn’t interested so it was a very natural progression as the first seed of the idea came from my head. I’d produced the first two films with my wife Arabella [Page Croft], so I knew the world inside out.’
Parker and Croft are obviously incredibly passionate about film, as they put their own livelihood on the line to fund the first Outpost in 2007. ‘We were first-time filmmakers and nobody will hand out money to first-time filmmakers. It’s very tough,’ adds Parker. ‘We didn’t want to sit and wait or have to sell the rights, but decided we wanted to make this movie by hook or by crook. So we mortgaged the house, developed it and financed it ourselves.’
It was a brave move, and thankfully one that paid off, and their company Black Camel Pictures has since produced Legacy: Black Ops (starring Idris Elba) and a certain Proclaimers musical. ‘Arabella saw Sunshine on Leith on stage in Glasgow and the place was a riot. She said, “We have to make a movie of this,” and we eventually secured the rights as we were prepping for Outpost III.” (Henry Northmore)
VIDEOGAME STRIDER (Capcom) PC/PSN/XBL ●●●●● TV MAMMON More4, Fri 28 Mar, 9pm ●●●●●
uncomfortable viewing. ‘I’m a vegetarian, and to kill an animal for a film would be unspeakable,’ says Kotcheff. ‘I was very, very anxious about how we were going to do that, because this is the climax of the film where we see the lead actor really hit rock bottom. I used a few tricks, but a lot of it is pure documentary footage and some of it was so horrific I couldn’t use it.’ Now in his 80s, Kotcheff is still working, most recently as executive producer (and occasional director) on crime procedural Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, while his varied filmography includes everything from seminal action movie (and Rambo’s first screen appearance) First Blood to gross-out comedy Weekend at Bernie’s. ‘I started in live television back in ’52 at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, so I did an hour-long play every three weeks. One week I’d do drama, the next week a comedy, the next a thriller, the next an action piece so it was a continual variety of subjects, and I think that carried into my filmic life.’
Wake in Fright (Eureka!) is released on DVD and Blu-ray, Mon 31 Mar.
Back in 1990, owners of the Sega Mega Drive were wowed by the top quality port of classic arcade game Strider. A 2D platformer, in much the same vein as Castlevania or Mega Man, it was a massive hit, yet Capcom have virtually ignored the cyber ninja since. Now, Strider Hiryu is back, armed with his trusty laser sword. Dropping straight into the thick of the action in a neo-futuristic Soviet city, at first you’ll feel rather exposed, having to stock up on multiple health bonuses as you slice your way through an army of robo-soldiers. You soon beef up with multiple weapon and special move upgrades. Hiryu is particularly agile, clinging to virtually any surface, encouraging exploration to dig out all those extras.
This reboot bolsters the core appeal of
the original with superior graphics, smooth, responsive controls, and more content than you could cram onto a Mega Drive cartridge. Old fans will thrill at the nods to the past – including boss battles against techno-dragons and mech- gorillas – while newcomers should savour the high-speed action even when not viewed through the rosy tint of nostalgia. (Henry Northmore)
It was probably only a matter of time. Those clever Danes and Swedes may have dominated the recent Nordic TV explosion towards these shores, but now Norway is giving it its best shot. The seemingly acclaimed Mammon is a sibling drama against the backdrop of financial scandal and newspaper journalists with their moral compasses set to haywire.
The six-part show’s focus is Peter Verås
(Jon Øigarden), an investigative reporter whose brother appears to be caught up in a multinational fraud. Within an episode and a half, two people have blown their brains out right in front of Verås, as he gets closer to the truth behind the escalating crisis. Gloomy as the Oslo night sky, Verås makes
Sarah Lund seem like Miranda Hart (joie de vivre-wise) and the sheer lack of general likeability on display makes Mammon a turgid watch compared to Borgen, The Bridge et al. Perhaps things will improve as the series progresses, but the opening credits that attempt to tell a story rather than simply set a mood will become ever more annoying as the weeks go by. (Brian Donaldson)
20 Mar–17 Apr 2014 THE LIST 31