Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

2023's "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" was a micro-budgeted production that managed to capture headlines due to its use of author A.A. Milne's beloved characters, transferring gentle personalities into the realm of slasher cinema. The idea of the feature went viral, inspiring ticket-buyers to see what writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield was going to do with his button-pushing concept. And then viewers were confronted with the punishing reality of Frake-Waterfield's amateur filmmaking skills and lack of imagination, turning "Blood and Honey" into one of the worst movies of the year. Alas, money was made, and Frake-Waterfield is right back with "Blood and Honey 2," which does next to nothing to improve on the viewing experience. In reality, things are just as awful in the sequel, which should be boosted by the power of hindsight and newfound budgetary might, but it mostly remains an excruciatingly dull, dreadfully acted, and poorly written follow-up that's really no different than what came before. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1973's "Hollywood 90028" (a.k.a. "Twisted Throats" and "Hollywood Hillside Strangler") is caught between its exploitation interests and its artful intent. It's an odd one from director Christina Hornisher, who doesn't seem particularly interested in making a serial killer story, aiming to avoid the grim details of horror while she inspects a different tale of a man who can't control his rage issues around women. "Hollywood 90028" isn't really a crime story, showing more confidence as a mood piece with great views of Los Angeles in the 1970s. Hornisher works with her locations to generate some atmosphere, while her tale hits a few beats of salaciousness before it returns to mildly engaging relationship woes and assorted professional and personal points of pressure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Mike Mendez made his filmmaking debut with 1996's "Killers," aiming to cash in on the world of tabloid crime and the success of "Natural Born Killers" with an offering of tremendous violence. He drowned the endeavor in visual overkill and lousy performances, but his love for genre entertainment remained unsullied, returning to worlds of horror and comedy with 2000's "The Convent" (there was a 1997 compilation picture, "Bimbo Movie Bash," but I doubt Mendez wants to discuss that one). A blend of slapstick and 1985's "Demons," "The Convent" tries very hard to be big fun with gory events, and screenwriter Chaton Anderson is gunning to make something approachable with the broadest of broad characters and general goofiness when the story isn't focused on the destruction of humans and monsters. Mendez plays into visual trends of the day, striving to create nightmare visuals for a feature that's not committed to being scary. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2018, writer/director Tilman Singer received the career boost of a lifetime when his thesis film, "Luz," was picked up for distribution. It was a small- scale brain-bleeder with some effective scenes, but it clearly lacked dramatic meat, becoming more appreciable for its style and mood. Singer returns with "Cuckoo," and he's a little more prepared to deliver a full story for viewers, at least ones willing to follow along with the overall strangeness and initial stillness of the endeavor. Much like "Luz," "Cuckoo" is a bit out there and in no hurry to get where it's going, but the destination is intriguing, and Tillman does well with atmosphere, providing a few artfully crafted freak-out sequences. He also has a cast invested in exploring physical and mental distress, with actress Hunter Schafer going full-body with her depiction of a young character experiencing a complete dismantling of her reality. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If one squints hard enough, there's kinda, sorta a "Friday the 13th" sequel happening in "In a Violent Nature." Writer/director Chris Nash (who contributed to 2014's "ABCs of Death 2") certainly isn't pursuing a fan film with the project, which follows, quite simply, a masked killer made of unstoppable magic looking to seek revenge on a collection of young people who've dared to spoil the lasting memory of his mother. Sounds pretty Jason Voorhees-y, but Nash hopes to put his own stamp on slasher cinema with the picture, which isn't a slam-bang offering of suspense, but something very stripped down and hostile…when it wants to be. "In a Violent Nature" is not for the impatient, as Nash presents a slow-burn study of a Movie Maniac's menace, delivering a feature that takes its time with nearly everything it offers. It's almost a test of endurance during travel sequences, as the helmer looks to subvert the subgenre and also deliver hugely with acts of barbarity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In a case of amazing timing, 1996's "Killers" is being issued on Blu-ray for the very first time just as interest in the world of Lyle and Erik Menendez is at a high once again. Co-writers Dave Larsen and Mike Mendez (who also makes his directorial debut with the feature) look to use what was once fresh headline news to inspire their own tale of violence highlighting two murderous brothers following up the killing of their predatory parents with additional carnage. Mendez attempts to make a stylish understanding of menace with the endeavor, clearly pulling from the worlds of Michael Mann and Oliver Stone with this study of media stardom and domestic confrontations. It's a valiant effort to launch crazy, vicious B-movie entertainment, but boy howdy, "Killers" doesn't work. It derails in spectacular fashion after a passable opening 15 minutes, with Mendez obviously struggling with editorial and storytelling issues as he tries to piece together something mildly topical that gradually descends into more horror happenings. The execution of this picture is all wrong. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Eight Eyes" is one of the first films produced by Vinegar Syndrome. The company has been specializing in bringing obscure pictures to Blu-ray and UHD for over a decade now, typically focusing on grungy, hyperviolent exploitation cinema that would otherwise be forgotten. Their support for "Eight Eyes" makes sense, as co-writer/director/editor Austin Jennings is out to create a mean B-movie that's filled with rough locations and menacing characters, sold with plenty of gory events. All kinds of hostility and hopelessness is present in the endeavor, but Jennings comes up short when crafting an engrossing journey into doom, with much of the feature lacking a sharper sense of threat, generating an uneventful viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One surprise of the 2021 film year was "Till Death." A macabre survival thriller, the picture offered star Megan Fox a chance to carry a movie, and director S.K. Dale found a way to make that daunting prospect somewhat appealing, pulling a reasonable performance out of the habitually stiff actress. The feature wasn't stunning, but it worked, especially with nasty business. Fox and Dale reteam for "Subservience," which trades the simplicity of endurance and escape for the world of artificial intelligence, detailing the battle of a father trying to work with his new robotic housekeeper. Once again, there's nothing special about the production, but Dale manages to find opportunities to keep the low-budget offering passably engaging, blending real-world fears and the ways of an erotic thriller from the 1990s. "Subservience" opens with promise, and while the ending is a letdown, the endeavor still hits some seductive and threatening beats that carry the viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The depths of loneliness and the power of friendship are explored in "Robot Dreams." It's an animated offering from writer/director Pablo Berger ("Blancanieves," "Abracadabra"), who creates a feature of visual communication, eliminating dialogue to play with pure expression as he details the seriocomic ways of a friendship between a robot and the dog who's purchased him to help lift his spirits. "Robot Dreams" is an unexpected viewing experience, with Berger willing to explore the sometimes sad side of life and relationships, and he also delivers many laughs as he observes two characters handling separate adventures into the unknown. It's an odd endeavor, but it remains emotionally engaging and superbly animated, with a sharp sense of character movement and location, as Berger returns to New York City in the 1980s to help backdrop this adventure of the mind and celebration of cheese snacks. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1999's "Office Space" is largely considered the gold standard for workplace comedies. It's a sharp, goofy, hilarious feature, with writer/director Mike Judge finding ways to lampoon office culture while also making it feel painfully real, giving viewers an unusual viewing experience with many memorable scenes. There's another pointed take on 9-5 drudgery, with 1997's "Clockwatchers" also exploring the humiliations and oddities of employment, offering a darkly comedic understanding of the personalities that populate such daily responsibilities and hierarchy. Co-writer/director Jill Sprecher doesn't have Judge's impishness, but she retains an understanding of day job misery, concocting a slightly strange but knowing portrait of bonding and mental illness with "Clockwatchers." It's not huge on laughs, but the details of the writing and the performances are excellent, with Sprecher landing a lot of uncomfortable truths about relationships and behavior along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Backdraft" was one of the biggest hits of 1991, and deservedly so. Director Ron Howard captured the intensity of firefighting while developing a crime story, working hard to humanize all of his characters during the tale. The picture was an impressive achievement, but weirdly didn't trigger many copycats. Fast-forward to 1997, and director Johnnie To tries to replicate the formula for "Lifeline," which examines the heartbreak and heroism of firefighters working in Hong Kong. To doesn't have a Hollywood budget or technical assistance, but he manages to achieve a sense of danger with the endeavor, which is frequently engaged in moments of potential peril. The helmer can't quite conquer odd pacing and surging melodrama, but "Lifeline" is a decent offering of special effects and performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2019's "Corpus Christi" was a marvelous feature from director Jan Komasa, helping to bring the Polish filmmaker to global audiences with his assured work on the constantly surprising endeavor. 2011's "Suicide Room" is an earlier effort from the helmer, and it shares some similar storytelling interests in the transformation of people who are stuck in a troubling situation, tracking their development as choices are made and confusion begins to set in. Exploring the world of online connections and teen isolation, "Suicide Room" has issues with editing and tone, but it inspects a fascinating aspect of adolescent life, with critical years of emotional development targeted by social media influence. The depiction here is from a different era of online engagement, but the idea remains relevant in this dark picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Longlegs" is the fourth film from Osgood Perkins (son of actor Anthony Perkins), and it remains firmly in line with the rest of his oeuvre, including his last endeavor, 2020's "Gretel & Hansel." Osgood has a very specific way of making movies, and he's not in the mood to deviate from his obsessions, with his latest another descent into slow-burn horror with careful compositions, aiming to generate a nightmare visually without much of a story to back up what's meant to be creeping intensity. "Longlegs" is more of the same from Perkins, with this odyssey into evil not dense enough to overwhelm audiences, finding the screenplay offering limited darkness and lukewarm mystery before it eventually reveals itself, and what's here is…a bit goofy. It's also the rare picture that doesn't benefit from the presence of Nicolas Cage, who appears in a small role, bringing his usual eccentricity with him, and it manages to make something that's desperate to disturb into something that's hard to take seriously, finding Perkins in no hurry to restrain what's become expected broadness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1936's "Reefer Madness" is generally considered the gold standard of anti-drug exploitation films, with its melodrama and behavioral extremity helping the picture work past its serious intent to become an unintentional comedy classic. 1968's "Blonde on a Bum Trip" isn't nearly as entertaining, but it also attempts to explore the dark side of experimentation, with director Raf Mauro trying to ride drug trends of the decade, creating a study of manipulation that turns into a night of murder. Or whatever. The events in the movie aren't terribly clear, which is both a highlight and lowlight of the endeavor, as Mauro is basically forcing a crime story on what appears to be random footage he's collected. Technical finesse isn't welcome to this party, with "Blonde on a Bum Trip" slapdash and goofy. However, there's fun to be had if you're looking for it, as the effort captures the weirdness of the 1960s and its ragtag cinematic pursuits, watching Mauro try to piece together something coherent for a young audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Mothers' Instinct" is a remake of a 2018 French film from director Olivier Masset-Depasse, which was an adaptation of a 2012 novel by author Barabra Abel. Screenwriter Sarah Conradt is tasked with reviving the material for an American remake, and helming duties are handed to Benoit Delhomme. The respected cinematographer ("The Theory of Everything," "The Scent of Green Papaya") makes his directorial debut with "Mothers' Instinct," facing a creative challenge with familiar material to some, trying to refresh a story that's largely dependent on maintaining a level of surprise. There's a lot going on in the feature, which carries the mood of melodrama but slowly turns into something else, and Delhomme has game actresses in Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, who bring a fine level of itchiness to the movie. The talent brings the endeavor to life, maintaining an appealing atmosphere of disturbing behavior as the story goes to strange places, but not always with confidence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There are no deleted scenes in adult film production, only opportunities for new features. Recycling is the general theme of 1979's "The Little Blue Box," which is a blend of new footage trying to build a story around older footage from other cinematic endeavors. What director Don Walters offers here isn't a crude stitch job, but a movie that's decently imagined, finding a reasonably organic way to blend all sorts of lustful encounters, doing so with a winning performance from star Jennifer Welles, who portrays two different characters caught up in the lure of television magic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Annie" mania quickly took over the world in the late 1970s, with the Broadway show becoming a staple of musical theater, capturing viewer hearts with its warm study of family love and kid-sized moxie. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the adult film industry was going to have some interest in working with that kind of publicity. 1977's "Little Orphan Sammy" is more of a play on the original comic strip version of "Annie," with director Don Walters trying to replicate the bold colors and bigness of emotion that's typically found on the page, going wild with the tale of an orphaned man sent out into the world, generally unaware he's in the middle of an evil plot to steal energy secrets. It's the 1930s and the '70s smashed into one strange comedy that almost doesn't have interest in creating carnal activity. "Little Orphan Sammy" is certainly entertaining, with the cast grasping the heightened tone of the material, delivering enthusiastic performances. The feature gets a tad exhausting as it attempts to monitor the action of multiple characters, but the overall anarchy of the endeavor is something to see. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Scripted by Donald E. Westlake, 1987's "The Stepfather" has a classic set-up for suspense, analyzing the ways of a serial killer as he tries to balance delusion with bloodlust while playing the part of a perfect dad. Based on a real case of domestic horror, the feature elects to go more of a Hollywood route, playing into the trends of the decade as slasher business and exploitation bits compete for screen time with a competent psychological chiller. "The Stepfather" has the benefit of being more concerned with human elements than the usual B-movie, helped along by some terrific performances and a sharp sense of escalation from Westlake, who gives director Joseph Ruben (who would go on to refine his genre work on 1991's "Sleeping with the Enemy") plenty of madness to handle as a seemingly idyllic domestic experience worsens for a deranged individual. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The perils of masculinity largely drive the action of 1989's "Hell's Trap," with men making terrible errors in judgment in the name of dominance. Director Pedro Galindo III ("Vacation of Terror II") aims for frights, but he also arranges something of a survival picture, teasing elements of "Rambo" to accompany the slasher film formula. The Mexican production is a low-budget affair, with most of the tale taking place in the woods, and while excitement is limited, the movie has some enthusiasm to offer. "Hell's Trap" is short (76 minutes), which helps, as the general backyard production vibe only connects during a few scenes, though the helmer has some assistance from the cast, with young performers eagerly participating in the tale of human hunting. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1978's "Woman in Love: A Story of Madame Bovary" is a take on the classic 1857 novel by Gustave Flaubert. The source material is used to inspire an adult cinema version of desire and disruption, following the passions of a woman who wants to experience everything as she moves from lover to lover. Director Kemal Horulu tries to turn the endeavor into a classy take on betrayal, employing a large cast and mining some dark emotions as he also tends to the needs of carnal activity. It's a somewhat strange mix of melodrama and heat, but it's varied enough to engage, providing opportunities for the actors to handle conflict and bedroom activity in a semi-consistent feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com