Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

Interpretations of the Dracula story usually attempt a mixture of violence and romance, playing up the tragedy of a monster who loves hard but must kill to survive. Regality isn't successfully captured in 1973's "Count Dracula's Great Love," but director Javier Aguirre makes a game attempt to celebrate familiar elements of the tale while endeavoring to pull off a few new tricks to keep viewers interested. While talky, "Count Dracula's Great Love" is an appealing take on bloodsucking and resurrection, emerging as a Spanish twist on Hammer Films and their legacy of gothic, tightly budgeted chillers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Daughter of Dracula" knows exactly what to give its target audience, opening with a few minutes of film that focuses solely on a woman taking a bath. Leave to director Jess Franco to find the exploitation in any situation, but, thankfully, 1972's "Daughter of Dracula" doesn't really aspire to be anything more than cheap titillation, periodically interrupted by a murder mystery that touches on supernatural events and surveys deceptive participants. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Neon Bull" is the second film I've seen this year from director Gabriel Mascaro ("August Winds" was recently issued on Blu-ray), and it appears he's already settled on a style, favoring stories that permit him screentime to take in settings and character behavior, gently pushing away any interest in drama. Mascaro is obviously gifted, but not inclusionary, keeping viewers at arm's length, serving them a feast for the eyes, but unable to find passion that would elevate his work to the feeling of soulful vibration he's clearly pursuing. Read the rest a Blu-ray.com

The 1970s was a gold mine for sci-fi/horror hybrids that played into the darkening sky ambiance of a nation experiencing a never-ending war and political deception. Paranoia was mixed with doomsday, permitting filmmakers to address world ills on a grand scale, delivering warning signs while still playing into genre demands for suspense and terror. "Chosen Survivors" is a prime example of apocalyptic concern, but instead of depicting the end of the world above ground, it plunges 1000 feet below, taking inspiration from other claustrophobic chillers. Director Sutton Roley and screenwriters H.B. Cross and Joe Reb Moffly have a terrific idea here, putting human behavior under the microscope as strangers are forced to rely on one another, building a new dawn as the world outside burns to the ground. And yet, "Chosen Survivors" doesn't end up a psychological study. It's a bat attack movie, setting aside provocative ideas on the status of humanity to focus on the wrath of flying mammals wiggling their way through tight spaces on the hunt for human blood. Read the rest a Blu-ray.com

World War II action heads into the open sea in 1957's "The Enemy Below," an adaptation of a best-selling novel by Denys Rayner, and directed by respected actor Dick Powell. While the production captures the intensity of conflict between a U.S. destroyer and a German U-boat, it plays up psychological warfare, using a battle of strategy and experience to generate most of its thrills. Powell has an eye for extravaganza, but he's better with characterization, making sure to dazzle viewers while preserving motivations, creating a more satisfying WWII movie that remains invested in the lives of enemies. Read the rest a Blu-ray.com

For an adult movie, 1984's "China and Silk" would much rather be a cop drama, having more fun on the prowl with police than in the bedroom with eager partners. Likely inspired by drug smuggling television escapism of the day, "China and Silk" has only a tentative interest in sexual relations, showing more enthusiasm for procedural steps and stakeouts, weirdly cooling the obvious appeal of the picture. Read the rest a Blu-ray.com

1964's "The Earth Dies Screaming" is fascinating in the way it uses silence as its primary weapon. It takes about eight minutes before the first line is uttered in the picture, with director Terence Fisher preferring to observe the end of the world through action, studying various horrors and the introduction of the lead character, an apocalypse survivor played by Willard Parker. "The Earth Dies Screaming" eventually gives in to traditional character interplay, but for a moment, it bravely trusts in pure visual storytelling, which is a refreshing way to commence this spare thriller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

What was it about the years 1989 and 1990 and movies concerning unknown threats from the deep blue sea? "The Rift" (also titled "Endless Descent") is a graduate from the genre class, joining fellow chillers "Leviathan," "Lords of the Deep," "The Abyss," "The Evil Below," and "DeepStar Six" in an attempt to find wonders and worries associated with initially unexplained oceanic events hitting a group of disparate, anxious personalities. "The Rift" follows the suspense routine, but it doesn't bring much in the way of cash to pay for visual highlights, emerging as a low-budget effort that tries to do much with very little. Monstrous activity and submarine voyaging are reduced to semi-silliness in the picture, but director J.P. Simon doesn't completely give up, managing to cough up an entertaining horror endeavor that's competently cast and intermittently exciting with lowered expectations, delivering a satisfying but unremarkable "Aliens" knock-off that's big on gore and panic once limited production expanse is established. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Willie Nelson seems built for the genre, but 1982's "Barbarosa" was the singer's first foray into westerns, keeping his braids and bushy beard, while adding six-guns and a horse to complete his character. Directed by Fred Schepisi, the feature uses Nelson well, pairing him with co-star Gary Busey, who adds his own unique energy to the picture, which plays up traditional western touches, mixing outlaw antics with an aborted dissection of myth. "Barbarosa" has its issues, but it also has its kooky leading men and extraordinary atmosphere, finding naturalistic beauty to go along with idiosyncratic actors and a fascinating theme of storytelling that never connects as profoundly as it intends to. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When dealing with a Ted V. Mikels production, one must collect as must patience as possible before a viewing. The cult filmmaker ("The Corpse Grinders," "The Doll Squad") has never been the best judge of pace and dramatics, and 1968's "The Astro-Zombies" has to be one of the worst, most padded pictures of his iffy career. A horror experience mixed with spy games, Mikels likes to keep the effort as elongated as possible, allowing viewers to savor every questionable directorial choice that comes along in this crushingly uneventful movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

On the inaugural season of "The Flash," the program showcased the wrath of the Reverse-Flash, the trials of a superhero life vs. the needs of a human one, and the duplicitous ways of Dr. Harrison. For the follow-up year, producers have decided that what worked once will work again, basically reheating conflicts to help support another go-around with Barry Allen and his struggle as a man capable of achieving speed force while wearing a tight red costume. That's not to suggest "Season 2" is a washout, far from it, but the production isn't prepared to move the narrative forward significantly to inspire a fresh series of challenges and emotional entanglements. "Season 2" plays it safe, spending more time submerging the dialogue and plotting in comic book science than it does establishing an inventive direction for a unique superhero. The mechanics of the show are fine, but staleness isn't avoided, hoping to keep fans happy by regurgitating everything they've seen before. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

He pummeled bad guys and slayed paying audiences in "Dolemite," became a god of fury in "The Human Tornado," and battled Satan in "Petey Wheatstraw." But all it took was a healthy dose of sincerity to help bring star Rudy Ray Moore to his knees, at least professionally. Setting aside goofball antics for a moment, Moore turns his attention to the plight of the inner city in "Disco Godfather," which is dressed up in bedazzled jumpsuits, but really hopes to share with the audience a sobering look at the epidemic of PCP. Sure, some of Moore's cinematic interests are represented here, including half-speed martial arts, but the majority of the film is devoted to the evils of drugs and the fight to free those hopelessly addicted to angel dust. "Disco Godfather" basically promises one viewing experience and delivers another, which would normally be a clever switcheroo. However, this one gets away from Moore in a hurry, who unwisely restrains himself to fit the real-world hero tone. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Evils of the Night" is co-writer/director Mardi Rustam's attempt to make a slasher film featuring teenage victims. Only here, there's a pronounced sci-fi element, and Rustam's depiction of adolescence appears to have originated from a magazine article on the demographic, basically paring down juvenile antics into two categories: having sex and not having sex. Oh sure, there are aliens and porn stars running around the movie, and the 1985 release is soaked in trends from era, keeping up with the competition as synth stings accompany bloodshed and bare breasts. Rustam may have a grander vision for the effort, but "Evils of the Night" is quite ridiculous in every way, which makes it an incredibly amusing bottom-shelf title that satisfies most requirements for sleaze and stupidity. There's just something appealing about space vampires and hornball kids relaxing at a local lake. This isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it's charmingly absurd. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For his fifth directorial endeavor, Gene Wilder remains true to his slapstick-loving soul, co-scripting a tribute to the wonders of radio and the special mood of horror-comedies with 1986's "Haunted Honeymoon," reuniting with wife Gilda Radner in this, her final movie. Wilder has all the right intentions with this broad creation, but his timing is slightly off, trying to arrange silly set-pieces with interesting special effects and a game cast, but the writing isn't as strong as it needs to be, often settling for simple charms when the genre is capable of producing so much more. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After working with Mel Brooks on "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein," the spirit of silliness rubbed off on actor Gene Wilder. Taking on directorial and screenwriting duties, Wilder offers his own slapstick creation with 1975's "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother," which takes on the legacy of the master detective, though with a decidedly more cartoon approach. Broad to a point of clowning, Wilder gives it his all, laboring to land all types of gags as he takes his Brooks-branded training and tries to make it his own. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1948's "Road House" gives the love triangle routine a solid kick to the face, delivering a noir-ish vibe to romantic unrest that eventually transforms into actual physical threat. It's a bold display of hostilities starring Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, and Richard Widmark, and a movie that, after introductions are made, escalates convincingly, with director Jean Negulesco ("Daddy Long Legs") generating an engrossing sense of danger and betrayal punctuated with musical performances to sell the festive atmosphere of the titular location. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I've seen my share of horror movies over the years, but few of them have decided to open with a montage of kitten play in a field to backdrop the main titles. Losing any hope for threat right away, 1972's "Beware! The Blob" establishes a goofball tone from the start, finding director Larry Hagman refusing to take the picture seriously, trying to deliver a more lighthearted chiller that still delivers plenty of the oozing titular menace. The approach doesn't work for "Beware! The Blob," which emerges as a painfully slack continuation (following the 1958 cult classic) without frights or laughs, representing more of an experiment from Hagman, who may have been trying to make history's most meandering sequel. Save for a few amusing attack sequences, he's largely successful, managing to transform a surefire premise of gooey doom into a tremendous test of patience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Taboo" has developed a reputation as one of the more beloved adult films around, with the 1980 movie presenting a potentially nightmarish plot that involves incest with a campy attitude and waves of melodrama to help temper any ickiness. That "Taboo" could stand the test of time in today's everything-extreme world of pornography is a testament to its charms and its almost friendly treatment of a sexual relationship between a mother and her son. Don't get me wrong, it's a ridiculous picture, but director Kirdy Stevens and writer Helene Terrie put effort into the production, working to build a passable motivation for these characters and their forbidden love. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A 2014 production, "Mai-Chan's Daily Life" is an adaptation of a manga first published in 2003. Detailing fantasy, sadism, and submission, the material doesn't lend itself to a cinematic inspection, but that isn't about to stop writer/director Sato Sade from trying. Armed with a commercial-grade camera, willing actresses, and a plan to work out sexual fetishes, the helmer aims to make his take on "Mai-Chan's Daily Life" as repellent as humanly possible, determined to bring most of the manga's extremity to the screen, for as cheaply as possible. It's backyard filmmaking at its worst. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Drive-in cinema receives a thorough workout in 1979's "Cheerleaders' Wild Weekend" (titled "The Great American Girl Robbery" on the Blu-ray), which blends all types of exploitation interests to come up with a bizarre mix of titillation and violence. Director Jeff Werner shows more skill with sleaze than tone, struggling to find a balance between the movie's commitment to exposed skin and its caper-style plotting, which involves a radical organization kidnapping three cheerleading squads on their way to a competition. There are guns, breasts, escape attempts, and money exchanges, and yet the whole thing feels oddly inert. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com