The Firelight Shocks DVD Review Section

Anguish Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment Region: 0 NTSC Ratio: 2:35:1 (16x9 enhanced) Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

The film opens by telling the story of a man who is heavily influenced by his domineering mother. She puts him under hypnosis and telepathically commands him to kill and to remove the eyes of his victims. All very strange indeed! But then, just as the story is getting into full swing the camera pans back to reveal an audience in a cinema watching the film that you've just been watching. From here on in, things start getting very bizarre, as there is a killer in the audience who is beginning to re-enact the events on-screen within the theatre confines. At the same time on-screen the killer has entered a cinema. So we have an audience watching a film of an audience watching a film and things just get weirder and weirder. The tension mounts and the killings intensify until the climax which shows the audience run out of the cinema as the audience on-screen run out of the cinema, both escaping the madman. But there is one final twist left to come... This is an exceptional film from Bigas Luna (director of Jamon Jamon) that really delivers the goods. A rare thing these days! Although the plot sounds similar in style to Lamberto Bava's Demons this is in a whole different class. The film is superbly executed with strong acting from Michael Lerner (Barton Fink, Maniac Cop 2) and Zelda Rubinstein (the medium from Poltergeist). The on-screen events flow seamlessly into the 'real' world and creates a genuine air of unease and tension. With slick direction and a clever script this is unmissable. Anchor Bay have done this film full justice with a flawless transfer complimented with a superb 5.1 audio track. If you are looking for something a little different then I would wholeheartedly recommend buying this.

EXTRAS: The only extra is a Spanish theatrical trailer with English subtitles. A bit disappointing really, this film deserved the 'Special Edition' treatment. However, it is still a worthwhile buy. Chris Otter