Spawn
A biochemical weapons plan in North Korea, an infiltration by the CIA to cease its operation, but it is a trap for Lieutenant Colonel Al Simmons of the US Marines, growing uneasy with the bungled operations arranged by his superior officer which have left civilians dead alongside the targets and now to be silenced permanently, the plan not to destroy the bioweapon but to unleash it on a nearby village as an incubation site for a new disease and to leave Simmons in the flames.
Thrown into Hell, the demonic Malebolgia offers Simmons the role of general of his Hellspawn, returned to Earth five years later to track down CIA director Jason Wynn who betrayed him, a man who has made a deal with the demonic clown Violator to use the refined HEAT-16 agent to dominate the Earth, threatening to unleash it if his demands are not met, Wynn unaware that he has also been double crossed, his death at the hands of the demonic reincarnation of Simmons the trigger which will unleash the plague.
Based on the creation of the writer and artist Todd McFarlane who also served as a producer, Spawn was touted as one of the first major comic book adaptations to feature a black leading character, starring Michael Jai White as Al Simmons and his titular alter-ego, though he is more of a super-antihero and should have held out for better representation as he also largely plays second fiddle in his own movie to Martin Sheen’s scenery chewing as Wynn and the intolerably hyperactive John Leguizamo as the Violator.
Filled with explanatory voiceover from Exorcist III’s Nicol Williamson who serves as Spawn’s guide Cogliostro, though rarely imparting useful information until after the fact, his voice alone can make any rubbish sound magnificent, which is just as well in a script of caricatures and inane dialogue, Wynn and his leather-clad assassin Jessica Priest (Melinda Clarke, pouting as he gives stank face) presented as Evil with no grace or nuance, while Simmon’s widow Wanda (Theresa Randle), now married to his friend Terry Fitzgerald (D B Sweeney), serves no purpose other than to act as motivator or hostage, the improbably named family dog Spaz given a better role.
Originally released in the summer of 1997 as digital effects were beginning to take hold in Hollywood, debut director Mark A Z Dippé leaps blindly on the fast-moving gimmick train and uses them with unrestrained abandon even when practical effects would be simpler, cheaper and produce a better result, Spawn at best looking like a music video (Dippé’s start in the business) and at worst a cheap video game, Hell seeming to be a previz render than anything belonging in a major motion picture, the film crying out for a killer edge but playing to a juvenile demographic.
A screeching dog’s dumpster dinner which doesn’t have the grace to end when the terminally unfunny clown flies, even reading the end titles an unpleasant experience, restored in 4K as both the theatrical and director’s cuts for Arrow from the original camera negatives, their new edition of Spawn carries a new and archive commentary, new interviews with White, Clarke, Sweeney, makeup effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, editor Michael Knue, music supervisor Happy Walters, archive featurettes and a preview of the animated movie.
Spawn will be available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Arrow Films from Monday 6th October
