Why So Blu?

Tony (DVD Review)

We’re gonna keep it going full steam – as Revolver Entertainment has graced us with another feature of the creepy-thriller-horror variety in Tony. In some circles you can call him Tony: London Serial Killer, because that’s exactly what this bloke is. It’s pretty astounding how many horror films get past me at any given time considering I’m a horror film enthusiast. I guess that saying of “so many horror films, so little time” does ring true in my case. Well, fear not, as I’ve come equipped with some more coverage on Tony. Let’s have us a spot of tea, shall we? 

 

Film

Tony is the story of a chap named Tony who is a loner, lives in squalor, is unemployed and cannot get employed, and is severely addicted to action films…on VHS. When Tony gets pushed to the limits by some unsavory characters – Tony reacts with deadly force. See, Tony is a serial killer. He kills on impulse, but he is also driven to it by outside elements. He leads a very unremarkable life where everyone gives him crap for just being a simple bloke.

Tony is weird in the sense that we are actually made to care about him fully realizing that he is a serial killer. He’s our antagonist and our protagonist all rolled up into a psychotic ball. He also sports a ridiculous mustache and his teeth are kind of rotten. But still, you feel sorry for the guy in general. Once his evil is unleashed, that’s when you have to step back. The violence inflicted on those that have done him wrong, or not, is swift and extremely brutal and realistic.

Director, and first time feature filmmaker, Gerard Johnson has crafted a dirty and somewhat murky film that doesn’t take place in the flashy city as it does down in the sketchy part of town. Junkies, prostitutes, and more litter the streets of Tony’s world, but we are just the fly on the wall.

This is one of those hard to categorize type of films, because the good guy is actually the bad guy. This may or may not bother some people. It left me neutral at the end, so I’m in neither camp of loved it or hated it. Tony is an obvious low budget effort, but is a well made film in that regard. Gerard Johnson has crafted a bleak little thriller-horror feature that should satisfy the curious.

If you want more information about Tony then please visit the Tony website at: http://www.tonythemovie.com/usa/index.php

Video

Tony is presented in 480p (upconverted to 1080p), 16X9 – 1.85:1 widescreen. Ya gotta love the weather over in merry ‘ol England. Skies are dark and gloomy, but work to enhance the film’s dark subject matter. The transfer, for a DVD, comes off as slick, but muted. Everyone appears a bit on the pasty side (I did say there were junkies lingering around), and since Tony rarely ever gets out, he’s a bit on the pasty side too. The DVD transfer handles it well. Black levels are handled with precision, banding is not present, and contrast levels are kept in check. Tony looks pretty good on DVD.

Audio

Tony is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 kbps. Here’s another strong soundtrack for such a quiet film. Dialogue is nice and clear and the surround channels get a nice boost without messing up the front stage. During scenes at the clubs or when music is played, the left and right channels are extremely aggressive, and bump really nicely. I noticed that some of the music driven scenes had no LFE even though there was bass present. It was active during the film itself, but not during moments where you would think that LFE would be used. For such a quiet movie, this 5.1 track does the job nicely.

Special Features 

There are no extensive special features on the Tony DVD, but the three features that are included are great. There’s a short film called Mug which follows the journey of a mugger and then we have the short film Tony which is the basis of the feature film Tony. Again, Peter Ferdinando plays Tony. We round out the supplements with a feature film commentary with director Gerard Johnson, producer Dan McCulloch, and actor Peter Ferdinando.

• Feature Commentary From Gerard Johnson, Peter Ferdinando, and Dan McCulloch
• Two Short Films By Gerard Johnson Tony (2005) and Mug (2004)

 

Final Thoughts

Tony is more of a quiet thriller that explodes into horror once the killing begins. Peter Ferdinando does a great job at bringing this poor excuse of a man to life. Gerard Johnson is a very capable writer-director and I applaud his efforts. I could have given the film a bit of a higher grade, but the ending left me feeling kind of empty, but not due to it being a bad film. It’s not. Maybe I had a problem with Tony being portrayed as an “anti-hero?” I don’t know what else to think, but when I do, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, check it out for yourselves and see what Tony is all about.

 

 

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