THE REFLECTING SKIN is a Film of Twisted Brilliance

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to DVD from Film Movement Classics and writer/director Philip Ridley is the stunning classic THE REFLECTING SKIN.

Seth Dove (Jeremy Cooper) is a young man living in 1950s Idaho farmland country with parents Luke (Duncan Fraser) and Ruth (Sheila Moore). The days are long and Seth spends time with friends Eben (Codie Wilbee) and Kim (Evan Hall). Three young boys together sometimes brings about mischief.

One such gathering the boys pull a prank on neighbor lady Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan) and Seth feels momentary guilt. Back at home the young boy deals with a mother who treats him in almost sadistic ways and finds a bit of solace with his father who speaks rarely. Trying to talk with him, Luke introduces his son to the idea of vampires in a book he is reading.

Seth is in trouble about a frog incident and must go to Dolphin to apologize. She tells him a little about herself and in the midst of a joke that he takes wrong decides she is a vampire. Eben goes missing so Seth and Kim decide to sneak into the neighbor’s house to see what she may be hiding. After a fright, he runs home and accidentally finds his friend.

That sets his parents on edge and disaster comes from it with a town that holds a grudge on a past secret. This brings home Seth’s older brother Cameron (Viggo Mortensen) who finds himself taken with Dolphin Blue. Now that his mother is in a state, the boy finds that he needs his brother even more.

But Cameron finds solace with Dolphin and tells her of the bomb experiments he was a part of in the war while Seth peeks in on them both. When he sees that his brother may be getting ill, he is more convinced Dolphin is a vampire killing his brother. More tragedy strikes the town and there are more questions than answers.

In that tragedy Seth believes he has found a way to save his brother from a monster that lives so close to home.

Cooper as the young Seth is absolutely brilliant for a young actor to play this very disturbing role. From the way he spoke to the characters clothing, Cooper made that secondary to his performance. Disturbing is too small a word for Seth yet it was impossible to take my eyes off of him.

Duncan as neighbor Dolphin Blue is beautiful, extraordinary and holds a solemn and strangely peaceful attitude toward her life but will let out a scream with ease. Her handling of Seth is sometimes amusing and its probably there conversation on the rode that amused me the most with its disturbing content.

Mortensen as Cameron is a young man who returns from war only to find that coming home is really the last thing he wanted to do. It is Dolphin that gives him light in a dark place and he embraces it immediately. This is one of Mortensen’s first roles and had I seen this film earlier I would have said then what I believe now and that is he has a presence on screen that is a mixture of tough, charming and painful all rolled into him.

Other cast include David Longworth as Joshua, Robert Koons as Sheriff Ticker, Jason Wolfe as Cadillac Driver, Walt Healy as the Old Man, Sherry Bie as Cassie, and Jeff Walker as Adam Blue.

Celebrating its 17th year in 2019, Film Movement has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide, and last year it had its first Academy Award-nominated film, THEEB. Film Movement’s theatrical distribution strategy has evolved to include promising American independent films, documentaries, and an even stronger slate of foreign art house titles. Noted directors Film Movement brings are Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano and Ettore Scola. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com.

The DVD includes the Bonus Features of Angels & Atom Bombs: The Making of THE REFLECTING SKIN, Commentary with writer/director Philip Ridley and New Essay by Travis Crawford and Heather Hyche.

THE REFLECTING SKIN is a film with so many layers that eventually level into one. There is a strangeness, horror, mystery, intensity, beauty and a draw to go down the road of the story even if something tells us not to. Each character has fears of their own yet survival makes a convenient blinder.

Small towns have big secrets and this place has one that they use to quickly fill in the gap tragedy often leads. It isn’t important whether or not it’s the true; it makes whatever sadness permeates the people easier to serve up with their evening meals. The vampires are secondary to my way of thinking.

A film such as THE REFLECTING SKIN will leave its cinematic mark and I am thrilled to have had the chance to experience it.

In the end – sometimes terrible things happen quite naturally.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Commemorates 20 Years of Slaying in a DVD Box Set

Jeri Jacquin

It has been twenty years since Buffy introduced us to a series that still brings fans to their feet. If you are ready to revisit the gang, well, 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment has put together an amazing boxed set that is going to deserve a special space in your home entertainment library with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER!

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a young girl going about her life as any other teenager would arriving in Sunnydale with her Mom Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). Except for one thing, Buffy isn’t exactly a normal teenager. In fact, she comes from a line of Vampire Slayers who battle the forces of evil. Getting her through it all is her Watcher Giles (Anthony Steward Head) and the Watchers’ Council.

Trying to start over, Buffy attends Sunnydale High and meets Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan). It doesn’t take long before The Master (Mark Metcalf) becomes a threat wanting to take over Sunnydale through the portal of Hellmouth.

Buffy and the Scooby Gang also deal with the vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) (although I find the name Spike hilarious). The young Slayer also finds love with Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire who has a curse that could put a stake right through their relationship. Devastated by the pain she thinks she has caused, Buffy leaves Sunnydale.

Not for long however as Angel needs her help but that isn’t the only thing that is about to change as Giles is replaced by the Watcher’s Council with Wesley (Alexis Denisof). Buffy isn’t happy with anything they are doing and decides to go it on her own. Of course all of this as Graduation Day approaches and the Mayor (Harry Groener) decides to become a total demon – literally – bringing about one big graduating sending off!

Buffy and Willow decide to attend college in Sunnydale but Xander decides to become a member of the working class. Buffy learns there is a military group called The Initiative below the campus and Spike’s return doesn’t last long. Giving him a little technology boost, Spike becomes one of the Scooby Gang. Buffy meets Riley Finn (Marc Blucas) and they begin dating but all the joy is put on hold when a creature named Adam (George Hertzberg) go after Buffy and The Initiative.

When a Hell God named Glory (Clare Kramer) is on the search for a special key, what comes next hits closer to home, especially when the key is Buffy’s sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). Giles returns because of Buffy’s demands to The Watcher’s Council as Spike comes to terms with his own feelings by leaving. Buffy discovers that Glory has taken Dawn and the only way to get her back is by her own life sacrifice.

But her life isn’t about to be taken without the Scooby Gang coming in to help but Buffy isn’t exactly happy about the return. The crazy continues when Xander after proposing to Anya (Emma Caulfield) is left at the altar, Dawn is lashing out, Willow is addicted to the unusual and now The Trio is trying to kill an already worn out Buffy. When Giles tries to help set everything back to order, Spike loses control and seeks out a demon who will help make him evil again. He wants to hurt Buffy in the worst way and the demon obliges!

When the Turok-Han vampire army is raised, there is a shaking up everywhere. The Watchers’ Council is demolished and Slayers begin seeking refuge with Buffy. Led by Caleb (Nathan Fillion) who is an evil preacher, the Hellmouth bursts with demons. Willow must help to bring power to the Slayers and Angel returns to help as well.

In an epic finale, all the vampires and Hellmouth begin a battle with an ending no one could see coming!

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Bonus Features include **New** Official Buffy Dark Horse Comic Book Featuring Exclusive Cover and Coloring Sheet Inside Packaging as a Gift with Purchase for a Limited Time Only, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete series Season 1-7 along with Special Features Material from Previous Seasons.

Created by Joss Whedon, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER began it’s run in 1997 on The WB. The series would continue until 2003 (and that’s quite a run folks) signing off on UPN.

That didn’t stop the Buffy-ness train from rolling strong as fans continue to celebrate all things BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. The spin off ANGEL is another series created by Joss Whedon giving the dark character time in Los Angeles as a private detective. There would also be cross over appearances because, lets be honest, you can’t keep these two apart for long.

There is also the comics of BUFFY that was taken on by Dark Horse with Whedon writing an eight-issue storyline. There are also BUFFY novels published by Pocket Books with sixty stories in all. If video games are your thing then know that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER has it’s place there as well.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER made lists that included TV Guide, Empire, The Hollywood Reporter, Time, AOL TV and Rolling Stones 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

That means that you get to celebrate Buffy and the Scooby Squad again and again with this frakken cool as hell box set from 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment. There are 39 discs containing 144 episodes and Special Features that are going to blow your mind.

The Comic Book by Dark Horse and the Original Coloring Sheet are extras that are more fun than a vampire slayer admirer should be allowed to have.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is a series that took risks and reached into the farthest parts of our imagination to thrill us each week. Gellar and the amazing cast of characters gave us action, thrills, suspense, mystery and made it all look so very seamless and easy.

Trying to be a normal teen is hard enough but when you are a slayer and evil is pretty much guaranteed to show up on your doorstep, Buffy and the gang gave us their all. This is a group of characters that fans line up to see again and again with no hesitation in their dedication to good storytelling and fantastic characters.

Now, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Commemorates 20 Years of Slaying with one of the best boxed sets I’ve ever seen. This is a marathon waiting to happen like no other and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment does it in style.

In the end – they brought slaying to a whole new level!