Plot: What’s it about?
Jake Lowe (Peter Ororati) is not having the best of times in his career right now, and could use a big story like no one’s business. In the field of journalism, you need to keep the good stories coming and Lowe just isn’t keeping up these days. In an effort to break his slump, he travels to investigate a mysterious mining colony and finds much more than he bargained for. He bumps into a large scale underground operation, which might not sound strange for mining, but the company isn’t mining anymore. The crews are now building a massive underground dwelling which almost resembles a smaller city, which could house many people for a long time. The man behind this project is Dr. Peter Crawford (Dennis Hopper), who predicts a comet named Tycus will strike our planet and wipe out most of the population in the process. As such, he has commissioned this underground city be constructed, in an effort to preserve some human beings. When the story breaks though, the masses go insane to become part of those to enter the city and everything becomes pure chaos.
This is of course another in the long line of disaster movies that centers on a comet or asteroid, but I don’t think it should be dismissed as quickly as most of the other clones. Armageddon was a fun movie to watch, but was it great cinema? No, of course not. Deep Impact had an emotional edge and was also fun, but again it wasn’t great cinema. Tycus leans toward the Deep Impact side of the equation, and while this also isn’t an example of cinematic bliss, it is a fun way to spend a couple hours. I’m also interested in new Dennis Hopper films and this might not be his usual brand of film, but he is pretty good here and worth a look. The rest of the cast is decent also, with former soap opera star Finola Hughes stealing her share of the spotlight. The special effects are cool to watch, but are neither that impressive nor up to scale with the movies I listed above. I do however think they look cool, which is more than good enough in this case. If you need one more trip into this genre, then give Tycus a look, I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed in the end.
This film was directed by John Putch, who was given a short shooting schedule (18 days) and from what I can gather, a rather limited budget to work with. So right off the bat Putch is under pressure to complete this film within those guidelines, but he manages to come through in the end. If you compare this to major films, then yes this one will appear lacking in contrast of course. But given the circumstances around this movie, I think Putch did a fine overall turn as director. Putch has some experience behind the camera, but not much as most of his work has come as actor over the years. I would be very interested to see what Putch could do when given a nice budget and some time, as I think he could deliver a terrific movie. If you want to see more of Putch’s films I recommend The Walter Ego, Waiting To Act, The Boy Who Saved Christmas, and This Is My Father. Dennis Hopper (Waterworld, Easy Rider) is always fun to watch and this time proves to be no exception. We don’t often see Dennis as a smart person, but he handles the role without problems. I was also pleased to see Finola Hughes (Aspen Extreme, Soapdish) listed on the cast, as she has some nice charisma and skills. The cast also includes Peter Onorati (Scrooged, Goodfellas), Robert Romanus (Fast Times At Ridgemont High), Chick Vennera (Active Stealth, Final Voyage), and Jessica Knoblauch (Valerie Flake).
Video: How does it look?
Tycus is presented in a full frame transfer, which preserves the original aspect ratio of this film. This is a direct to video release so the image doesn’t measure up to a major motion picture, but I don’t think many complaints will be heard. This looks as good as you’d expect from a straight to video flick, and much better than I anticipated. The print seems clean and I found minimal signs of compression flaws, so the basis for quality is present right away. Colors look bright, flesh tones are natural, and contrast is stark and well balanced. Simply put, this is a fine looking transfer!
Audio: How does it sound?
I was a little surprised to find a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track on this disc, but I am very pleased with the overall outcome. This mix won’t blow you out of your shoes, but it sounds a lot better than the also included 2.0 surround sound, which I expected to be the featured track. The surrounds see some action throughout the film, but the impact scenes harbor the most power and range of course. Outside of those sequences the surrounds calm down somewhat, but you’ll still hear some good subtle use here and there. The music is much better than I expected also, and uses the speakers to emerge in a lush texture here. The dialogue is clean and crisp also, with no volume or separation issues. As I mentioned before, this disc has a 2.0 surround track and it also has English subtitles.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This includes some extensive talent files, the film’s trailer, and a commentary track with director John Putch. He gives a nice overview of this movie was made (fast & cheap) and never has a problem admitting the weaker points of the film. It’s fresh to hear a director admit his flaws and not to try to make everything seem like a work of carefully planned art. This is a nice track and I think those who liked the movie, or even hated it, just give it a spin.
