The Editor (2014)

by - September 19th, 2015 - Blu-ray and DVD

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How does the Blu-ray/DVD Disc stack up? (all ratings out of 10.)
  • Movie4
  • Video8
  • Audio8
  • Extras7
  • Overall6

SYNOPSIS

Rey Ciso (Adam Brooks) was one of the great film editors of his time, his career cut somewhat short due to an accident that took fingers off of his dominant hand. Now he’s stuck cutting cheap exploitation horror flicks, a job that goes completely off the rails when those also working on the current project he’s involved with suddenly end up dead and the detective in charge (Matthew Kennedy) views him as the primary suspect. With bodies piling up one after the other, Rey is forced to put the pieces of the mystery together otherwise he’ll go insane himself, staying one step in front of the murderer growing increasingly difficult as things progress.

CRITIQUE

The Editor (2014)

The Editor (2014)

Italian horror nuts with a passion for Dario Argento and Mario Bava, specifically those who don’t need an explanation as to the definition behind the word “giallo,” will want to give a look at the tongue-in-cheek horror craziness The Editor. Filled with some terrific gore effects, featuring a reasonably strong performance from co-writer/co-director Brooks as the central figure going through psychological Hell as everyone he comes in contact with dies (and dies bloody, VERY bloody), the film is without a doubt an exceedingly well made goof, the filmmakers knowing what they are doing and who it is they are making their parody for.

Yet, even though I’m one of those individuals, I can’t say I ended up liking The Editor all that much. The issue is that the movie is in on the joke, everyone playing things like they’re making Airplane or The Naked Gun. Except, even in those films the cast and crew kept a straight face, never let in on the fact the whole thing was a bit of hogwash. Here, all involved (save Brooks and, to a lesser extent, Paz de la Huerta, who in her own way is doing a fairly solid Leslie Nielsen meets Rita Hayworth impersonation) play to the camera and as such there’s no connection possible between the viewer and all of the carnage.

There are some great deaths, and the obvious bit of homage to the Italian greats, especially to Argento’s Suspiria, Inferno and Deep Red, are inspired. One death, in particular, in the editing suite is just terrifyingly horrific (but in a good way), and even though the character involved was one of the few I honestly liked (and wanted to see more of) that doesn’t mean I still didn’t find the moment itself fairly close to gore-drenched perfection.

Ugh. I just wish it wasn’t so continually silly, so broadly played, so constantly intent on informing me just how full of crap all of this actually is to the point taking any single second of it seriously is a downright impossibility. The group of filmmakers behind The Editor love giallo and it shows, I just wish they made a better movie showcasing that affection, and as impressive as a lot of this might be my inability to connect to it on an emotional level is too gigantic and frustrating a hurdle for me to be able to comfortably overcome.

The Editor (2014)

The Editor (2014)

THE VIDEO

The Editor is presented on a dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray with a MPEG-4 AVC encode and a 2.35:1 1080p transfer.

THE AUDIO

This Blu-ray feature an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack along with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and comes with optional English subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Extras here include:

Audio Commentary with co-director/co-writer/actor Adam Brooks, co-writer/actor Conor Sweeney and co-director/co-writer/actor Matt Kennedy – Fun, informative commentary track with the three primary talents involved with bringing this giallo homage to life digging into multiple aspects of the film’s production and what was required make it happen.

Making Movies Used to be Fun (51:03) – Terrific piece about the filmmakers (calling themselves “Astron-6”) and their creative process; really well done.

Hook Lab Interview (7:49) – It’s hard to tell whether this is a real featurette or a fake one, and I have no idea whatsoever if that’s a good thing or not.

Astron 6 Film Festival Introduction (1:57) – This is a fake short, and amusing as it is it’s over and done with before it has any real chance to truly amuse.

Deleted Scenes – Four of them, none of which are particularly outstanding.

A DVD version of the film is included with this release.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Editor is well made and exceedingly creative, filled with wonderful gore effects giallo aficionados are certain to cheer. I just wish everyone involved wasn’t so eager to shout out to the entire world that they’re in on the joke, and I’m sure I’d have enjoyed the film more if they’d all just have played it straight and without the constant winking. Scream! Factory’s Blu-ray is still strong, and I seriously doubt fans will be anywhere near disappointed.

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