MOVIE: A New World Order (aka A Living Dog) (2019)

 

A New World Order (aka A Living Dog) 

Directed by Daniel Raboldt 

Starring Stefan Ebel, Siri Nase 

Hewes Pictures/Nocturnus FIlm 2019 

An unspecified date in the future: Tomasz (Ebel) is part of a troop fighting a legion of mechanical creatures, the A-Mech Mark 8. Created by the Igacho Corporation for the apparent benefit of humankind, these intelligent creatures have turned their attentions to wiping out the entire population and taking over. 

When the soldier next to him meets a nasty end at the hands of the enemy (who are clearly winning this war), Tomasz decides to take the survival option, flees in a VW van and holes up in a remote, abandoned house in the heart of a vast forest. 

It turns out that the house isn’t as abandoned as it looks: Out inspecting a malfunction in his portable forcefield (now there’s a handy gadget), Tomasz gets a full-on whack around the mush from some heavy-duty kit wielded by Lilja (Hase), who is holed up in the woods obsessively tinkering with parts from disassembled A-Mechs when a bound and gagged Tomasz eventually comes around. 

Lilja is Russian, but it’s just as well that the two don’t speak the same language for the A-Mechs pick up on their prey by detecting the sound of their voices. Without the benefit of verbal communication, Tomasz faces the difficult task of demonstrating to a clearly suspicious Lilja that he is not a threat to her, whilst working out how to evade and survive the threat from the A-Mechs.

Meanwhile, Lilja has a bigger plan in mind… 

Lilja (Siri Nase) confronts an A-Mech in A New World Order (aka A Living Dog) (2019)

Originally going by the less prosaic (if possibly more intriguing) title of A Living Dog, the renamed A New World Order comes to UK screens two years after it debuted on the festival circuit. It’s by no means the only film to have its distribution disrupted by global events beyond its control, but I would say this one has been well worth waiting for. 

The creatures are like a more angular cross between the fighting machines of Jeff Wayne’s musical version of War Of The Worlds (1978) and the BBC’s take on John Christopher's The Tripods (1984-85), and they are very impressive on the screen, especially when one considers that A New World Order is a very small independent production, initially supported through a Kickstarter campaign. 

Ebel and Nase do fantastic work in the leads, entirely mute save for one repeated line each – you can totally believe the difficulties with expressing and explaining themselves to each other, and the two get enough of the anguish from their characters’ back-stories across to make for some truly poignant moments without bogging down the film in unnecessary diversions. 

This is demonstrated no better than when we learn that Lilja has suffered a deep personal loss in this war – the bare details we have are enough for us to feel for her. No further explanation is needed. Likewise, a brief flashback to a terrible act by Tomasz as he flees the warzone is enough to make us think a bit more about our view of him. 

Ultimately a tale of (to a certain extent) tragedy and (to a larger degree) redemption, Daniel Raboldt’s film is a textbook exercise in getting one hell of a lot out of very little. It’s tempting to wonder what he could pull off with bigger resources, but the sheer economy of scale works so well in the favour of A New World Order that my selfish side wants to see what else he could pull off with similar restraints. 

In a nutshell, A New World Order is an effective little gem. 

A New World Order is out on UK digital platforms from Reel 2 Reel Films on August 23^rd 2021.

 

FOOTNOTE: Just a point to consider for anyone thinking “Enemy creatures picking up the sound of the human voice? A Quiet Place did that already!” – Work on this film began in 2016, a full two years before A Quiet Place was released.

MOVIE: This Island Earth (1955)

Click image for a larger view

This Island Earth

US 1955, 87m, Universal-International

DVD: Universal Pictures (UK), Cert PG

A top scientist is carried by a remotely controlled plane to a gathering of some of the leading lights in their respective scientific fields. It becomes apparent that their hosts may not be of this world, but are their motives sinister or well intentioned?

Although perhaps less celebrated than their classic horror cycle of the 1930's and 40's, Universal-International (as the studio was known from 1946 to 1963) actually gave the world a second cycle of more sci-fi orientated horrors in the 1950's, mostly with involvement from producer William Alland and/or director Jack Arnold, before the studio distributed Hammer's Dracula in 1958 and the horror landscape shifted back to gothic chills.

The best known films from this boom are probably It Came From Outer Space and Creature From The Black Lagoon. The less championed This Island Earth is a more unusual entry and well worthy of investigation. Unlike its monochrome stablemates, it was shot lavishly in Technicolor and widescreen. It's also quite a thoughtful, philosophical piece, and plays with the audience's perceptions of the day. After several years of being told that mankind's deadliest threat would come from outer space, it must have been quite novel then to find this particular group of visitors actually trying to enlist help to save their race from annihilation in an intergalactic war. Whilst they are not an entirely benevolent bunch, the source motivation for their actions is still a noble one.

Perhaps a tad over-talkative in its earthbound sequences, things really hit the high notes once the action shifts to the aliens' home planet of Metaluna, and there's a real visual feast on display. All garish colours and retro-futuristic decor, it's arguably one of the closest film approximations of the sci-fi comics and magazines of the era. Just about any frame from this portion of the film could be a front cover illustration, and special mention should be made here of the art direction of Alexander Golitzen and Richard H. Riedel.

Even with the passing of time and the obvious advances in special effects, there's still much to enjoy in the space battle scenes, flying saucer sequences and space vistas. This Island Earth remains a fun hour-and-a-half, and just the thing for a Saturday morning picture. Sadly, a proposed sequel, Aliens In The Skies was rejected as being too expensive by the then cash-strapped studio...




Original Theatrical Trailer:

COMMERCIAL BREAK: Lyons Maid - Space 1999 Ice Lolly (1976)

At a very small age, I loved Space: 1999, Gerry & Sylvia Anderson's saga of Moonbase Alpha, travelling into deep space.  My Dinky Toys model of the series' Eagle Transporter took one hell of a battering in our back garden, as I attempted to re-enact its landing manoeuvres and test out the springy feet which Dinky had so thoughtfully included. My slight obsession even stretched as far as learning to play the theme tune on my Stylophone.

A family holiday to Blackpool circa 1978 provided an unexpected bonus, as there was an exhibition there of actual models from the series (!), which was like the best thing on earth for me. Unfortunately, my local TV station at the time (Southern Television) decided not to screen series 2 first time around, and I had to wait for a round of repeats to catch those episodes.

So, what to do in the meantime? Well, nothing to do but console myself with the lime-coated, vanilla ice cream and runny-strawberry-goo delight that was the Space: 1999 lolly from Lyons Maid. I could just eat one of these now, actually. The following advertisement will either give you a warm nostalgic glow, or tell you just what frozen sensation you missed.

I still have the very battered Dinky model, by the way, although its lunar pod seems to have gone missing...

MOVIE: Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

US 1978, 115m, United Artists

Blu-Ray: Arrow Films (UK)

Public health department worker Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) is alerted to an increasing number of incidents where people are reporting severe behavioural changes in their loved ones. Some are going so far as to say that they have become different people overnight. When his close friend and colleague Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) reports a similar tale regarding her boyfriend, he becomes genuinely concerned. Are the city's population being replaced and replicated? And, who or what is replacing them?

Anyone even considering a "re-imagining" of a classic should be made to sit down and watch this first. Taking Don Siegel's 1956 adaptation of Jack Finney's novel The Body Snatchers as his template, director Philip Kaufman showed us all exactly how to take a beloved favourite and transport it to another place (geographical, chronological and dimensional) with all of its brilliance intact. For me, he even manages to surpass it, albeit by the very narrowest of margins. The passing years have not diminished its power - Kaufman's vision is well served by an intelligent screen play by WD Richter, superb lead performances, plus sterling support from Leonard Nimoy, Veronica Cartwright and Jeff Goldblum.

Paranoid, stark, unsettling, real edge-of-the-seat stuff, this is a film which will leave you with plenty to think about long after the credits roll. On every level, this Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is a touchstone of the genre just as much as its illustrious predecessor.



Blu-Ray Notes: Well, it's from Arrow Films, so you know it's gonna be good. The only fly in the ointment is a very disappointing 5.1 surround track which renders the opening music as though it's being played on a chewed up cassette. Thankfully, the original Dolby Stereo track sounds incredible and still serves the film perfectly. The cinematography of Michael Chapman is showcased brilliantly by a marvellous transfer from the original interpositive negative. 

There's lots of nice extras both on the disc and in the accompanying booklet. Cast and crew share their memories, Philip Kaufman's commentary from the DVD is thankfully included, and directors Norman J Warren and Ben Wheatley both share some interesting views on the film. 

Comparing this release with MGM's previous DVD is an absolute revelation - an unreservedly recommended purchase. If you can get the lovely steelbook edition, all the better.

Before I look at two more recent adaptations of this tale, here's the original trailer for the 1978 release...

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FOOTNOTE: The Other Versions...

Body Snatchers (1993)

Any adaptation with story/script involvement from both Stuart Gordon and Larry Cohen should have a lot going for it, and transplanting the premise to a military base provides an effective and claustrophobic twist. Certainly not without its moments (there are some very good set pieces), but performances are variable (a small supporting turn from Forest Whittaker is a godsend). Uneven direction from Abel Ferrara does it no favours either - if only Cohen or Gordon had directed it... Well worth a look, though.

The Invasion (2007)

Delayed and plagued with production problems, the end product was one of my biggest cinematic disappointments of the last ten years. I would love to see director Oliver Hirschbiegel's original vision. However, Warner Bros felt it needed beefing up, drafting in the Warchowski Brothers for rewrites and hiring James McTeigue to reshoot virtually the entire final third of the movie and ramp up the action quotient. It looks like a few reels from a completely different film have been grafted on to the end, and undoes all the good work of what has preceded it.

The Invasion is a textbook example of what happens when films are made by a committee using demographics, resulting in a movie which is ultimately more soulless than its alien invaders. A great shame, as the first hour or so is rather good, and Nicole Kidman carries it extremely well. A small role for Veronica Cartwright (of the 1978 version) perhaps indicates what the original director was aiming to emulate.

If I was given to rating films out of 10, The Invasion would get 7.5 for the first hour, then 1 for the remainder.