Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

Vittorio Rambaldi, son of famous special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi (who designed the creature for "E.T."), makes his directorial debut with 1988's "Primal Rage," getting some help from dear old dad when it comes to creating horror happenings for the picture. Scripted by "Harry Kirkpatrick" (reportedly Umberto Lenzi and James Justice), the feature submits the scourge of an infectious event on a Florida college campus, putting characters in danger as the bitten transform into vicious monsters. It's an easy lay-up premise for Rambaldi, who deals with panicky people, villainous creeps, and plenty of bloodshed, but inexperience and lack of budgetary might throttle the fun factor of the endeavor. "Primal Rage" is amusing, with plenty of unintentional laughs, and when it finds its groove as a freak-out experience, it connects as intended. However, this is an Italian production trying to make an American movie, and clunkiness is present in a major way, leaving it up to viewers to decide if such goofiness is appealing or infuriating. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1983's "The Devonsville Terror" is a story of witchcraft and punishment that evokes the Salem witch trials, with co-writer/director Ulli Lommel questing to find the horror in suspicion and punishment. However, Lommel doesn't have access to Massachusetts, settling for rural Wisconsin instead, which provides the battleground in this war between sexes, as the writing gradually turns proposed spookiness into an examination of weaponized masculinity set loose inside a small town filled with hostile and tormented characters. "The Devonsville Terror" is bizarre, which always helps the endeavor, with Lommel stumbling through the feature, hitting a few high points of gore and unintentional comedy while trying to sell a half-baked tale of brewing evil and revenge. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1981's "Babe" is a little more than the average adult entertainment title. There's some creative ambition to the work, with screenwriter Rick Marx striving to bring a classic comedy structure to the '80s endeavor, merging a semi-broad take on wild happenings involving money, sex, and scheming. Working with a little extra budgetary power and a game cast who seem to understand the spirit of the movie, director John Christopher does a capable job bringing most of his ideas to life, cooking up devious plans and prickly personalities in the heart of New York City. "Babe" largely connects as an offering of semi-screwball happenings and heated encounters, held together with a tight pace and amusing turns of plot, rising above usual production efforts associated with X-rated features. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It was a video game that few wanted to make, released for a new console, and debuted two years after the movie it was meant to be a tie-in for was released. The future of "GoldenEye" wasn't clear when it finally reached the public in 1997, but with Nintendo's seal of approval and work completed by the respected company Rare, the title gradually turned into a hit. And then it became an obsession for many, growing in reputation over the years as more players were pulled into its world of James Bond action and first-person shooter activity. "GoldenEra" is a documentary covering the development and legacy of the game, with director Drew Roller putting the pieces of labor and fandom together to paint a portrait of a revolutionary title that slipped through the system almost unnoticed before it changed everything. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1998's "Bio-Zombie" takes viewers into the Hong Kong "shopping arcade" culture of the decade, where merchants of debatable reputation sold whatever they could to make a living, including the murky legal world of video compact disc releases. An exploration of the VCD industry, which favored the sale of bootlegged movies and pornography, is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the picture, with co-writer/director Wilson Yip creating an evocative understanding of daily business and the atmosphere of such mall activity, giving viewers a glimpse into this strange way of life. And there's a zombie feature included here as well, with Yip looking to pay tribute to beloved genre highlights with a frenzied take on the spread of the undead. He certainly has enthusiasm for gruesome encounters, but not much of a game plan when it comes to story and character, offering a one- note understanding of obnoxious characters dealing with an unbelievable situation of survival, and he takes his time to reach his offering of ultraviolence, making for a somewhat tedious sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With 1983's "Let's Get Physical," co-writer/star Hyapatia Lee works to utilize her fame in the adult industry, taking a possessory credit on the feature, making it perfectly clear that she's the alpha on this production. She co-scripts with husband Bud Lee, and director Bob Chinn has the unenviable tasked of bringing this saga of ballet and marriage to the screen, and with little budget to work with. Lee remains committed to the cause, giving herself plenty of screentime and a juicy part, and her dedication to the soap opera mood of the film is laudable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The world of bodybuilding, or at least a tiny corner of it, is the focus of 1983's "Body Girls," with director Bob Chinn trying to bring out a sillier side to gym tensions and competition nerves with a wackier adult film that doesn't deviate from its intended tone. Star Hyapatia Lee co-scripts with husband Bud Lee, presenting herself with a starring role in a tale of business rivals and stress-relieving activities, offering plenty of sexual encounters, but also an enormous amount of slapstick, making the viewing experience similar to a "Police Academy" sequel at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Rodman Flender found some cult success with 1999's "Idle Hands," which came to life on home video, making contact with stoner crowds happy to see the marriage of wild comedy and gory horror. Flender aims for the same genre cocktail with 2019's "Eat Brains Love," which tries to replicate the "Idle Hands" experience, offering broad antics and extreme violence, with the helmer coming up short once again. There's commitment to the art of physical effects and makeup work, and that's interesting, but the rest of the picture veers into obnoxiousness, mistaking aggressiveness for cleverness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1982's "The Slumber Party Massacre" made a little profit for executive producer Roger Corman, and he's never been one to turn down easy money. 1987's "Slumber Party Massacre II" took some time to reach screens, but it remains interested in the same idea of vulnerable women stalked by a madman with an enormous power drill, eager to terrify all. It's a sequel in some ways, but writer/director Deborah Brock aims to work on her own ideas for the follow-up, turning a slaughterama into a study of nightmares and band practice, playing with reality to best emphasize the craziness of her ideas. It's certainly more of the same, especially in the final act, but "Slumber Party Massacre II" is passably weird for the most part, which is a nice change of pace, and Brock oversees a slightly more active endeavor, learning from the shortcomings of the original effort. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While it's not highly lauded in horror circles, there's something about 1982's "The Slumber Party Massacre" that's kept the film alive and kicking for almost 40 years, enjoying modest cult appreciation. The project began life as a parody, and one written by feminist author Rita Mae Brown, who endeavored to pants the slasher genre with her own take on abusive happenings with young girls and the men who enjoy killing them. Such ambition didn't make its way to the big screen, with Brown's vision soon reworked by director Amy Holden Jones, who ditched satiric interests to make a relatively straightforward chiller for executive producer Roger Corman. Instead of poking fun at horror formula, Jones simply utilizes it to complete her helming debut, laboring to fill a 76-minute-long run time with basic chases and casualties, depending on actor Michael Villella to do his duty at the villain Russ Thorn, who terrorizes a collection of high school girls with an industrial drill. "The Slumber Party Massacre" doesn't offer anything fresh or exciting, with Holden keeping to a tight schedule of panic and expiration, clinging to the obvious symbolism of the drill and its phallic representation. Sadly, the movie doesn't have much in the way of pace or scares, only finding intermittent inspiration when violence does occur, giving Holden something to concentrate on as the rest of the picture flattens when dealing with dull characters, weak banter, and a primary threat who should be featured with more regularity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Massage Parlor Murders" opens with a scene that finds a lowly, frugal john negotiating with a comely working girl for special clothes-removing enhancements to his anticipated rubdown (scored to Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker," natch). The scene has nothing to do with the rest of the picture, yet it's an apt start to the feature, which continues down a path of incoherence and slapdash filmmaking. Right from the start there's sleaze, a general reluctance to spend money, and nudity, which sums up the viewing event extraordinarily well. Exploitation cinema with a side serving of New York City travelogue, "Massage Parlor Murders" isn't much of a movie, but it's a heck of a viewing experience, packing in enough violence, vague confrontations, and clothing-free actors to satisfy those in the mood for gratuitous, no-budget entertainment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Working out his filmmaking interests with shot-on-video productions, writer/director Dave Castiglione dares to go underwater with 2005's "Deep Undead," striving to create an epic mystery about the dangers of the ocean, the corruption of corporations, and the threat of mutant monsters. It's a promising idea handed leaden execution by the helmer, who can't achieve the basics in pace and suspense with the feature, which is represented on the disc in a 2019 "Director's Cut," which adds 20 minutes of footage to a picture that's already 45 minutes too long. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1976's "The Double Exposure of Holly" is an odd offering of adult entertainment. It's not the usual collection of heated encounters, but something of a revenge story featuring an assortment of confused people attempting to make sense out of overwhelming feelings and misplaced passions. There's some narrative momentum to the endeavor during the first act, but director Bob Gill slowly graduates to more experimental-style filmmaking, inserting some abstract adventures and bizarre relationships into what initially appears to be a straightforward study of blackmail. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One doesn't have to be a professional wrestling fan to watch 1998's "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows," but it certainly helps the viewing experience. Writer/director Paul Jay strives to present a history of Bret "The Hitman" Hart and his personal journey to ascend to the top tier of pro- wrestlers and stay there, dealing with the demands of the profession and his boss, World Wrestling Entertainment (then World Wrestling Federation) owner Vince McMahon. There's inherent drama in any tale of physical might and business activity, but "Wrestling with Shadows" has something unique in a major life-changing event for Hart, as Jay runs with the opportunity to generate suspense around a situation known as the "Montreal Screwjob." Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The story of Ted Bundy, serial killer, has commanded many books, movies, articles, and all sorts of news programs, with most offerings chasing after the idea of a "handsome" man capable of inhuman behavior. Every corner of Bundy's life has been explored, but that doesn't stop co-writer/director Matthew Bright, who endeavors to capture the essence of evil in 2002's "Ted Bundy," which chronicles the murderer's quest to destroy women, using charm and psychological tactics to lure his victims into traps. While other media offerings generally seek to grasp the lurid nature of the crimes and spotlight Bundy's battle with insanity, Bright goes the exploitation route, selling the idea of the madman's horrors while making sure to highlight every moment of violence. As with most Bright movies, "Ted Bundy" is crude and wrongheaded, transforming a study of brutality into a surface appreciation of female agony. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Victor Bonacore has a mission with "Thrust," looking to make a throwback endeavor celebrating the ways of "Cinema of Transgression," when young filmmakers pursued attention through hostile features filled with dark comedy and ghastly imagery, working very hard to offend viewers. What he actually has with "Thrust" is an effort that resembles dozens of Troma Entertainment releases, saddled with a low budget, amateur actors, backyard locations, and a dream to make a righteous mess, trusting the power of a feminist perspective to keep the picture together. There's a push made for man-crushing entertainment featuring an epic journey across a post-apocalyptic wasteland, but Bonacore can't get the movie going, and he has no idea how to end it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Sam Raimi is a Michigander who created "The Evil Dead." Tom Chaney is a director from Michigan who would love to be considered a peer to Raimi, fashioning his own version of "Evil Dead"-like happenings with "Frostbiter," which brings viewers to a cabin in the woods for a haunting rooted in unreality. It's a tiny picture shot over many years, and there's something feisty about "Frostbiter" that's appealing, with Chaney overseeing a plan to create a mess of monsters, demons, and survival panic, doing so with some serious DIY energy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

They were known as the "Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling." It was female wrestling presented to the American public in a different way, and the television series "GLOW" (which debuted in 1986) strived to connect worlds of comedy and athleticism, with creator David McLane and director Matt Cimber hoping to create a stir with their blend of outrageousness and silliness, giving birth to specialized entertainment during a pop culture period when pro-wrestling was king. Director Brett Whitcomb ("The Rock-afire Explosion," "Jasper Mall") looks to understand how such an oddball offering of T.V. managed to make an impression on a generation of viewers in 2012's "GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling," with the documentary collecting interviews with the professionals involved in the business. Whitcomb doesn't have a sizable run time (77 minutes), but he has access to many people who put their bodies through hell to make some syndication magic for the masses, covering the four-year-long run of the show and its long list of peculiarities. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With a title like "The Infernal Rapist," one must act cautiously around the film. It's more of a warning than a title, with the 1988 Mexican production working hard to be an ugly movie, examining the corruption of an already corrupt man compelled by dark forces to hurt people in the name of Satan. There's certainly a way to do this kind of exploitation endeavor, but the production (including director Damian Acosta Esparza) isn't attentive to the wily ways of genre happenings, preferring to be more of a blunt instrument aimed at viewers who elect to sit through multiple scenes of sexual violence and occult grisliness. "The Infernal Rapist" initially offers a slightly amusing take on evil events and macabre motivations, but it quickly extinguishes such inspiration, preferring to be sleazy and aggressive instead, which turns the viewing experience into a painful sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1943's "Flesh and Fantasy" is an anthology film, taking a closer look at the ways of obsession with three different tales of strange behaviors and future visions. Director Julien Duvivier has a tremendous cast to help bring these stories to life, and he puts in quite an effort as well, crafting a mostly suspenseful understanding of pained people, offering style and tension to help accentuate strange circumstances the characters find themselves in. "Flesh and Fantasy" is a decent ride for this type of undertaking, always most interesting at its weirdest points. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com