Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

While "Savage Weekend" is often left out of any conversation concerning slasher cinema, it holds a unique position in the subgenre, offering horror entertainment that concerns the killing spree of a disguised killer, with the production dating back to 1976 (the film was ultimately released in 1980). Pieced together before "Halloween" spawned hundreds of imitators, "Savage Weekend" is somewhat ahead of its time, with writer/director David Paulsen managing a deadly journey into rural America, where a pack of sex-crazed adults engage in secretive couplings as a murderer in a clown mask emerges from the shadows. It's not rocket science, but Paulsen doesn't always know what type of movie he's making, caught between bloodletting duty and his interest in nudity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1990's "Lisa" is an attempt to build a thriller based on the desires and fears of a 14-year-old girl. It's pulled off with a certain degree of good taste, with co-writer/director Gary Sherman ("Dead & Buried," "Poltergeist III," "Wanted: Dead or Alive") genuinely interested in creating a three-dimensional character out of the titular teen, and not just another screamy, dim-bulb focal point for the slasher routine. "Lisa" isn't a sustained ride of suspense, but the details do count, with Sherman taking time to develop complex emotions to go along with his scares. It's an interesting movie with a creepy vibe, capturing the lure of troublemaking and the stress of broken family life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Robert Mitchum wasn't necessarily feeling the grandeur of Hollywood while shooting "Young Billy Young," participating in a straightforward western that wasn't exactly going to challenge his dramatic abilities. Reportedly, Mitchum was ready to retire after the feature's release, only to be coaxed back into the limelight with the 1970 David Lean epic, "Ryan's Daughter." While it's true that "Young Billy Young" isn't inventive cinema, it remains quite engaging, thanks in no small part to Mitchum's steely lead performance and nimble way with the effort's chewy dialogue. He's great in a picture that needs his help, carrying the cowboy way for yet another Wild West adventure, with this round of revenge boosted by some credible motivation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Returning to Edgar Allen Poe for creative inspiration, star Vincent Price is once again the best match for the author's reserved intensity. 1969's "The Oblong Box" returns Poe to the screen, this time with a tale of body-switching, voodoo, and sibling guilt, teaming Price with Christopher Lee to goose the horror legends atmosphere. Suspense is teased throughout "The Oblong Box," but never achieved in full, leaving the bulk of the feature to the actors, who do a fine job snapping the effort out of its periodic slumber. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1965's "The Satan Bug" is director John Sturges's follow-up to "The Great Escape," moving from the punishment of World War II to, well, the end of the world. A bio-terror production adapted by James Clavell and Edward Anhalt (from the novel by Ian Stuart), "The Satan Bug" digs into a secret world of deadly viruses and hidden government installations to find a cinematic level of suspense. While poky at times, the picture is successful with an epic tale of investigation and terrifying discovery, with Sturges generating a coolly unnerving doomsday atmosphere that provides adequate motivation for the characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1959's "The Wonderful Country," Robert Mitchum portrays a mercenary caught between the U.S.A. and Mexico, living a conflicted life without a true homeland. Adapted from the best seller by Tom Lea, "The Wonderful Country" plays exactly like a literary creation, with a page-turning tone that emphasizes matters of the heart and soul, not traditional western suspense. The stasis can be taxing at times, with director Robert Parrish ("A Town Called Hell") perhaps too caught up in melodrama to make a suitably engaging feature, missing opportunities to tighten suspense and truly depict the torturous conflict at hand. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Ken Burns was a respected documentarian before he tackled "The Civil War," but when the nine-episode program hit PBS in 1990, it turned him into the only documentarian. While numerous film and television projects have attempted to explore pieces of the Civil War, few have ever tried to wrap their arms around the entire event, leaving such painstaking research and psychological dissection to behemoth literary endeavors. Against all odds, Burns reaches for the brass ring with "The Civil War," embarking on a massive informational and emotional journey of history and intimacy, trying to discover the true face of a nation divided by bitter conflict and soaked in blood. Perhaps it goes without noting that Burns's achievement is landmark television, spawning countless imitators. What's actually true about the show is how efficient and smartly designed it truly is, making the enormity of the War Between the States feel approachable and, at times, achingly human. It's a remarkable directorial accomplishment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Eager to horrify audiences with all new depths of depravity, Troma Entertain reaches, quite intentionally, a specific low point with 2000's "Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV," their final installment in the weirdly enduring franchise. Director/co-writer Lloyd Kaufman throws everything he can into this sequel, working up a sweat to transform the picture into the most offensive movie in the history of the company, swerving wildly as the production makes fun of school shootings, the mentally challenged, lynching, and abortion. Granted, Troma isn't one to play nice, always begging for attention, but there are limits to how much odious behavior one can take from a helmer who can't even conquer basic camera focus issues. At 109 minutes, "Citizen Toxie" feels like it runs an entire decade, with grotesque shenanigans and strident performances losing their appeal after 109 seconds. The Superhero from New Jersey is back for his fourth adventure, but perhaps three of these things were enough. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1955's "Man with the Gun" doesn't waste a moment when establishing the villain of the piece. The brute manages to shoot a barking dog in the opening minutes of the movie, setting an ominous tone for the picture that keeps it on edge. Directed by Richard Wilson ("Invitation to a Gunfighter") and starring Robert Mitchum, "Man with the Gun" never quite tops its harrowing introduction, but it sustains a nervous energy as it explores traditional western formula, periodically interrupted with some real emotion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1974's "Billy Two Hats" is a western that's primarily focused on the evolution of its characters, refusing most genre habits to retain dramatic intensity with three-dimensional personalities. Director Ted Kotcheff has a vision for the picture, sticking close to charged encounters and long stares, braiding hostilities with serene Israeli locations to give the effort considerable cinematic weight. "Billy Two Hats" looks terrific (shot wonderfully by Brian West) and it has all the ambition in the world to be the rare western that's interested in intimate encounters, yet Kotcheff can't find a pace to the feature that rewards time invested, making the movie feel endless when it actually quests to be profound. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the early 1980s, Cannon Films was looking for a fright picture to vary their line-up of genre and exploitation releases. Producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus sought out Pete Walker to concoct a particular horror brew for 1983, pulling the B-movie helmer ("House of Whipcord," "Frightmare," "The Flesh and Blood Show") out of retirement to craft an ode to the scary features of yesteryear, where dark corners and fiendish intentions were the trends of the day. "House of the Long Shadows" is throwback entertainment from Cannon, collecting a rogues' gallery of horror stars, bringing in Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and John Carradine to flavor up a tale of mystery, murder, and mild parody, bringing with them decades of experience and unparalleled professionalism. Walker's lucky to have them, as "House of the Long Shadows" isn't much of a pulse-pounder, with a draggy, expositional mood that dilutes chills and even comedy, with the production often caught stargazing instead of tightening moments of suspense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

By 1996, director John Dahl had developed a reputation for smart, stylish thrillers, guiding such pictures as "Red Rock West" and "The Last Seduction." For his big studio debut, the helmer selected "Unforgettable," a project (scripted by Bill Geddie) that played to his strengths, offering a tale of mystery and violence on a grander budget, opening up the cinematic possibilities of Dahl's vision. Instead of a beautiful marriage of indie films sensibility and monetary opportunity, "Unforgettable," after a decent start, sinks like a stone, quickly resembling hundreds of crudely managed mysteries that always seem to bite off more than they can chew. It's a messy movie, but one that's deceptively competent in its first hour, welcoming viewers into a semi-sci-fi playground of missing memories and near-misses. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1980's "Defiance" is a B-movie that doesn't aspire to be much more than a basic vigilante drama, with New York City its playground as it explores tensions between a neighborhood of decent folks trying to survive against a roving gang of violent thugs. It's not an especially accomplished film, but director John Flynn ("Rolling Thunder," "Lock Up") works hard to create streetwise tension, paying attention to character and motivation to the best of his ability. Not helping the cause is star Jan-Michael Vincent, who sleepwalks through the feature, putting pressure on his charismatic co-stars to deliver some sense of life. Still, the basic ingredients of aggression remain vivid in "Defiance," helping the movie achieve entertainment value that nears campiness, endeavoring to position Vincent as an urban superhero, taking on the scum of the Earth in this obvious "Death Wish" knockoff. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's the children of Italy vs. the Nazis in 1970's "Hornets' Nest," a bizarre war picture that puts star Rock Hudson in command of the "Red Dawn" Wolverines. There's an enormous amount of trauma passing through the feature, but all the deep-seated psychology of premise is pushed aside to become a Men on a Mission effort, trusting in Hudson to bring the brawn while a cast of younger actors scrambles in the background. Unsure if it wants to be the saddest film ever made or the loudest, "Hornets' Nest" only captivates in small doses, especially when the long road to combat hell transforms into a therapy session. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1990's "Hidden Agenda" is a rare film from director Ken Loach that's driven by an almost traditional escalation of suspense. That's not to suggest the picture has been dumbed down in any way, remaining in line with Loach's interests in political and social issues, but it carries a toxic mood that's reminiscent of the conspiracy subgenre of the 1970s, using paranoia as a powerful cinematic weapon. Loach rarely works this conventional, but he wears the focus well, achieving a surprising balance between dramatic tension and community woes as he once again details the volatility of Great Britain. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Smallville" was the canary in a coal mine. The 2001 show about Superman's early years before the suit and cape arrived during the infancy of the superhero cinema explosion as we know it today, with WB execs hoping that a comic book property could thrive on the small screen in a manner that bested similar attempts throughout the years. "Smallville" ended up running for a decade, establishing a youth-demo formula the CW would routinely recycle to kickstart potential new franchises (including failures "Birds of Prey" and "Aquaman"). They found their way back to DC Comics-branded dominance with "Arrow" in 2012, which soon crossed over to the debut of 2014's "The Flash," with producers making sure that everything fans found appealing about the original program is going to be embedded in the new series. While the shows are joined at the hip, "The Flash" works to define its own identity, taking on the challenge of humanizing a hero with super-speed, using comic inspiration to create a community of nuanced supporting characters and a setting dense enough to support 23 episodes. Against all odds, the program manages its minutiae with satisfactory enthusiasm. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1986's "Nightmare Weekend" doesn't even try to make sense. It's a French production directed by Henri Sala (one of his final efforts) that tries to cash-in on mid-'80s horror trends, assembling a mixture of slasher and sci-fi cinema, ornamented with mild aerobics, multiple visits to a video game arcade, and squishy make-up achievements. However, somewhere during the production's journey, an actual story was dismissed, resulting in a feature that merely chases whims, especially ones involving nudity and bloodshed. There's a green-haired puppet and a supercomputer involved in the mayhem as well. Hilariously bizarre but oddly mindful of exploitation basics, "Nightmare Weekend" is riveting mess for B-movie fanatics, especially those who appreciate the value of an endeavor that's holding on for dear life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Drive-in cinema receives another thorough workout in 1976's "Vigilante Force," which submits a combination of fisticuffs, scowling, and limited drama, trying to hand its audience the basics in big screen violence. Directed by George Armitage ("Miami Blues" and the brilliant "Grosse Pointe Blank"), the feature is intended to be a rough-and-ready exploitation movie that wears its production year like a badge of honor, but a few things are lost in translation, finding the finished film missing large portions of motivation and smooth editing as it pares down a bigger picture of corruption and family divide to a more comfortable to-do list of mid-70s intimidation tactics. "Vigilante Force" is certainly diverting work, especially when it winds up the stunt team, setting them loose on busy streets and backlots. Anyone expecting anything more than a loosely defined tale of bare-knuckle brawling and vague sibling rivalry is going to walk away from the feature sorely disappointed. The effort is merely interested in basic thrills. Engaging conflict has not been permitted to cross county lines. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Absorbing influences from plays and novels, legendary director Joseph L. Mankiewicz sets out to create a particularly knotted game of love and allegiance with "The Honey Pot." The 1967 picture is one of his last productions, but it still bears the fingerprints of an invested filmmaker with an interest in razor-sharp banter and unusual motivations, laboring to define a collection of troublesome personalities as they struggle with the devil itself, greed. The feature isn't always an easy sit, but when it comes alive, it does so with tremendously refined performances and a streak of mischief that powers the effort for a great deal of its indulgent run time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Extreme Jukebox" is an Italian production that's positively in love with horror movies. The feature has comedic aspects reminiscent of a Troma production (the effort's U.S. distributor), but screenwriters Alberto Bogo (who also directs) and Andrea Lionetti sample from a wide range of influences, with their passion obvious throughout the 80 minute picture. Ambition gets "Extreme Jukebox" only so far, with genuine production polish lacking as it conducts scary business, finding Bogo a lackluster helmer with limited ideas for fright sequences, while the story itself is a confusing jumble of characters and references that grows tiresome long before the endeavor has a chance to sort itself out. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com