Death Row (DVD)

...convicts who were serving the death sentence. A crew of student film makers and a group of fugitives…how did they end up at Isla del Roca, and why?


The film makers were interested in the history of the prison and had decided to create a documentary about the place. Before arriving on the island, the crew visited a hospital and interviewed a man who used to be a guard at Isla del Roca. The man agrees to be interviewed and shares ...
...to Grind: The Making of Death Row
*License to Thrill Featurette (Feature showing the thought and process behind the murders in the film)
*Deleted Scenes
*Still Gallery (Series of still photographs taken from film)
*DVD-ROM Screenplay (Screenplay of Death Row by Kevin VanHook and Rick Glassman)



'''Technical Features'''


Feature Running Time: 86 minutes approximately
Special ... more

Released in 2006, ‘Death Row’ was another horror film produced and directed by horror expert Kevin VanHook. Other horror films Kevin VanHook has produced and directed are those such as ‘The Fallen Ones’ (2005) and ‘Voodoo Man’ (2005). You may or may not have heard of these. He has also worked on films such as ‘Miss Congeniality’, ‘Daredevil’ and ‘I Robot’.

“An abandoned prison.
A dark past.
And an evil…
That will not die.”

This brief description on the front cover of the DVD gives you an insight to what the film is about. Drawing the attention of possible viewers. It certainly grabbed my attention and I was intrigued to find out more.

Chapter Selections

1. The interview
2. Opening Titles
3. What’s Going On?
4. Too Late
5. Panic Sets In
6. No Escape
7. Who’s There?
8. On His Last Legs
9. Need A Shower
10. Grim Evidence
11.Last Breath
12. End Credits

The Story

The film is about two very different groups of people who end up at an abandoned, old prison called Isla del Roca which is based on a remote island. Isla del Roca was a prison which held convicts who were serving the death sentence. A crew of student film makers and a group of fugitives…how did they end up at Isla del Roca, and why?

The film makers were interested in the history of the prison and had decided to create a documentary about the place. Before arriving on the island, the crew visited a hospital and interviewed a man who used to be a guard at Isla del Roca. The man agrees to be interviewed and shares his story of how he survived a brutal riot which occurred between both inmates and guards several years ago. Several years ago for no apparent reason a guard decided to shoot one of the inmates which resulted in the other guards going down the same route and shooting the remaining inmates. While this was going on the same guard which started the riot, released all the inmates allowing them to take revenge on whoever got in their way. Meanwhile the man the crew are interviewing ran for his life and tried to find a way out. This was not possible and he ended up locking himself in the gas chamber in order to escape the riot. But it wasn’t as simple as just closing the door which led to safety. Someone managed to grab his leg as he was getting into the chamber causing him to fall. The door wouldn’t close as his legs were in the way. With not being able to move and an axe which was collected before entering the chamber there was no other way to safety other than to hack his own legs off. Even though he survived the riot he had to sacrifice his legs in order to do so. This is the story the crew are led to believe. Is he telling the whole truth I wonder?

After an armed robbery didn’t go according to plan, a group of six fugitives find themselves taking refuge in the supposedly empty prison to lie low from the police for a couple of days. The initial plan was to enter the jewellers, steal the diamonds, leave without harming anyone and without being caught and then split the diamonds six ways. The plan fell to pieces and five people were injured, including one of their own. The group are led to Isla del Roca by the group leader, Marco. Marco is an arrogant guy who couldn’t care less about anyone else but himself. This shows throughout the film. Knowing that the injured member of the group won’t survive the duration at the prison, Marco refuses to drop him off at the hospital so he can be treated. Instead he lets the man suffer in pain. Marco’s decision causes a slight drift between him and the other fugitives, as they don’t see why the injured man couldn’t be taken to hospital.

Both the crew of film makers and the group of fugitives are unaware of each others presence in the prison and unaware what they are getting themselves into. It doesn’t take them long to realise that they are not alone and trapped within the prison grounds. With no means of communication with the outside world, they have to rely on and help each other in order to survive and escape the evil that roam the corridors of Isla del Roca. As they desperately try to find a way out, one by one they are targeted. Targeted and brutally murdered by the ghosts of the victims that were once inmates at the prison.

I don’t want to give too much away about the film. If you would like to know more then you might want to purchase or borrow the DVD.

Actors

• Jake Busey (‘The Frighteners’ 1997, ‘Enemy Of The State’ 1998 and ‘Twister’ 1996.)
• Claire Coffee (Featured in TV programmes such as ‘Bones’, ‘Cold Case’ and ‘Life On Mars’.)
• Danny Arroyo (Featured in TV programmes such as ‘Without A Trace’ and ‘ER’.)
• Tony Flores (‘War Of The Worlds’ 2005 and ‘Honor’ 2006.)
• Reynaldo Gallegos (‘Spiderman 3’ 2007, ‘Rambo’ 2008 and ‘Bad Boys 2’ 2003.)
• Jamie Elle Mann (‘War Birds’ 2008 and ‘The 24 Year Old Virgin’ 2003.)
• Nick Principe (‘Honor’ 2006 and ‘The Thirst’ 2006.)
• Russell Richardson (‘Iron Man’ 2008 and ‘Ragdoll’ 1999.)
• Marco Rodriguez (‘Million Dollar Baby’ 2004 and ‘Hamlet 2’ 2008.)
• James Leo Ryan (Featured in TV programmes such as ‘CSI’, ‘Numb3rs’ and ‘Charmed’.)
• Shanna Collins (‘Mean Girls’ 2004, ‘War Of The Worlds’ 2005 and ‘Sublime’ 2007.)
• Stacy Keach (‘Prison Break’ 2005-2007 - TV series, ‘Lone Rider‘ 2008 and ‘Ring Of Death’ 2008.)
• Kyle Schmid (‘The Pacifier’ 2005, ‘A History Of Violence’ 2005 and ‘Smallville’ 2008 - TV series.)
• Danny Trejo (‘Halloween’ 2007, ‘xXx’ 2002 and ‘Anaconda’ 1997.)
• Scott Whyte (‘D2 - The Mighty Duck’ 1994 and the sequel ‘D3’ 1996.)

Special Features

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director - Kevin VanHook
• An Axe to Grind: The Making of Death Row
• License to Thrill Featurette (Feature showing the thought and process behind the murders in the film)
• Deleted Scenes
• Still Gallery (Series of still photographs taken from film)
• DVD-ROM Screenplay (Screenplay of Death Row by Kevin VanHook and Rick Glassman)

Technical Features

Feature Running Time: 86 minutes approximately
Special Features Running Time: 104 minutes approximately
Language: English
Region: 2 (European)
Age Certificate: 18 years and over (Contains strong, bloody violence)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic
Audio Options: Stereo 2.0, Optional 5.1

My Thoughts on The Film

Personally I thought the film was ok. I must admit it wasn’t one of the best horror films I have seen but it wasn’t too awful or bad that I couldn’t watch it from start to finish. It lacked the scare factor along with all the blood and gore. The film has a good story line but I felt that it was dragged out too much. The special effects featured in ‘Death Row’ aren’t anything out of the ordinary or spectacular. The ghosts are faded and have a sort of ‘sand blowing in the wind’ effect to them around the edges. Not very convincing. In my opinion the film didn’t have much of a horror factor about it either, but that may be a different case to other people as everyone has different opinions. I would recommend ‘Death Row’ to the people who don’t like very gruesome or chilling horrors, but for people who like a good gruesome, chilling horror this isn’t the film for you.

Where Can I Find The ‘Death Row’ DVD?

If your interesting in watching ‘Death Row’, then there are a few different ways of getting your hands on a copy of it. And by this I don’t mean an illegal copy.

• Buy online from websites such as Play.com or Amazon.co.uk, or from any other website you may find cheaper. I bought my copy of ‘Death Row’ on Play.com at an extremely low price. Only £2.99! Bargain or what.
• Rent the DVD from Blockbuster, lovefilm.com or any other shop or website that has the renting facility. This option may cost more than buying the actual DVD from new.
• Borrow the DVD off a friend or family.
• Buy from a shop such as Hmv, Tesco etc.
   

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