At some point in the past, there was a boom in samurai films (I think. How else do you explain these two films.) First, we had The House Where Evil Dwells, about a horny Japanese Ghost, and the other is Ghost Warrior (I much prefer the “I’m not even trying” name Swordkill,) a film that predates the Oscar bait film Encino Man by about six years. Both films certainly have their fair share of problems, be it a small budget, cheesy acting, or paper-thin plots, but oddly enough, the films still entertain. If anyone happens to be in the mood for a cheese fest, then what better way than with Scream Factory’s Double Feature Blu-ray release.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 88 / 81 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.78:1 / 1.85:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono / DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo
SUBTITLES: English
REGION: A/1
RATING: R
PRODUCTION DATE: 1982 / 1986
RELEASE DATE: Jan 5, 2016
PLOT SUMMARY
A Double Dose Of Samurai Action!
THE HOUSE WHERE EVIL DWELLS
1982 / 1.78:1 / NEW Transfer
A century ago, a samurai brutally murdered his adulterous wife and her lover before taking his own life. Now, the Fletcher family has found what they think is their perfect Japanese home – not knowing it’s the same house where the murders occurred. But as strange events escalate and the ghosts of the dead begin to toy with the living, the Fletchers discover they’ve become unwitting players in a horrible reenactment… one which they may not survive! This chilling ghost story stars Edward Albert (Galaxy Of Terror), Susan George (Straw Dogs) and Doug McClure (Humanoids From The Deep) and is directed by Kevin Connor (Motel Hell).
GHOST WARRIOR (aka SWORDKILL)
1986 / 1:85.1
While exploring a cave, two skiers find the body of a 400-year-old samurai warrior entombed in ice. He is brought to the United States in a hush-hush operation and revived through cryosurgery. Unfortunately, he is then forced to battle for his freedom, dignity and life. This Charles Band production stars Janet Julian (King Of New York, Humongous).
MOVIE
Starting off the review, we have the haunted house flick The House Where Evil Dwells. In this case, the “Evil” in the title is three long dead Japanese people. You see, many years ago, a samurai walked in on his naughty wife hooking up with some other samurai. The husband wouldn’t have any of this and goes on a killing rampage, slicing up his wife and lover. He then proceeds to commit Seppuku. Because some sort of weird nicknack object, that was bought from a witch by the wife (well, I say bought, but really a poke in the eye is what really happened,) this object somehow kept these ghosts trapped in this house. Years later, Ted Fletcher and his wife and daughter move into the same place. Before you can say naughty sex time, the wife is possessed by the cheating ghost and goes to work on hooking up with Ted`s brother. From there, we get a few random scenes of ghosts being annoying, like flipping over bowls or possessing soup (no really). Besides causing oneself to cheat or become extremely efficient at martial arts, these ghosts really aren’t that bad or scary. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind being haunted by an extremely horny hot Japanese Ghost once and a while.
The House Where Evil Dwells can be a little slow at times, and the ghosts really are the worst spirits this side of the afterlife. They don`t do much and the movie never explains why the three of them are acting out together, as clearly, they didn`t seem like the best of friends when they were alive. However, when the ending rolls around and we get a few hilarious, albeit, gnarly scenes, I felt like it was worth the sit-down. Plus, we get a good helping of boobies to saté your tastes.
Next on this Double Feature Blu-ray is Ghost Warrior, about a frozen samurai who is woken up in the present day of 1986. Like a fish out of water, the samurai, known as Yoshimitsu, goes about killing anyone that steps in his way (don’t worry, they are mostly bad guys). One woman, Chris Welles, is chasing after Yoshi to stop him from hurting more people and to keep him out of the hands of the law.
Really, that’s all the movie is about. It’s a story we’ve all seen before and honestly, not much happens. A few people get sliced and diced, but besides that, we have a lot of scenes of Yoshi walking around and looking confused. It’s not a terrible movie as far as terrible movies go, but I feel like the movie would’ve been better off if the samurai was some sort of evil killer who goes on a rampage. On a fun note, though, be sure to catch the easter egg involving The Dungeonmaster.
BLU-RAY
The House Where Evil Dwells and Ghost Warrior are presented on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, and they’ve never looked better. The films have been cleaned up nicely, with no noticeable visual issues or audio problems. The budgets for the films are a bit low, so you have to understand what you’re getting into, but looking at these transfers, Scream Factory did a wonderful job.
The only special features are trailers. Booo!
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- Trailers for each film
VERDICT
Scream Factory may be scraping the bottom of the barrel sometimes with these Double Feature releases, but, this time around, enjoyment can be found, especially in The House Where Evil Dwells. They aren’t the best films and some may find them boring, but overall, if it was found for the right price (let’s say $15), they are worth the purchase.
RATING
 |
| Two zombie brains out of four zombie brains is not bad at all. |
