Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

1980's "Alligator" is a little late to the party, but it remains a direct riff on the monster success of 1975's "Jaws," contributing another natural world menace to help jolt audiences still interested in this particular danger zone. Director Lewis Teague ("The Jewel of the Nile," "Cujo") is no Steven Spielberg, but he has John Sayles, a respected screenwriter who attempts to bring something different to the challenges of a reptile rampage endeavor, working to give material that's usually so simple some degree of character complication. The effort is noticeable, offering "Alligator" something more to work with during the long stretches of stillness that occur between stalk-and-kill sequences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Release during the heyday of exploitation entertainment, 1976's "Lipstick" attempted to bring something a little different to theaters. It's a tale about a sexual assault and the psychological fallout from such a devastating experience, and the script by David Rayfiel strives to use such a heinous act of violation to inspire a sincere discussion of the legal system and the way it favors aggressors, putting the weight of responsibility on victims. This take is certainly most welcome, and the picture is mostly interested in courtroom events as a case of violence is torn to shreds by practiced legal minds. However, the production can't help itself, and instead of following through on the cruelty of the legal system to best disturb viewers, "Lipstick" goes the B-movie route, offering a blunt sense of justice for a complex situation of shame and fear. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Surf Nazis Must Die." That's one amazing title. It basically promises a prime exploitation event with the weirdest of screen elements. The 1987 endeavor most certainly does not live up to those expectations, and while the feature does contain Surf Nazis, and many of them most certainly die, most of the picture is devoted to the painful ways of pure filler. Director Peter George and screenwriter Jon Ayre have an idea to update B-movie entertainment with their vision of revenge and tasty waves, but they refuse to do anything with it. Watching "Surf Nazis Must Die" is an exercise in frustration, as the film basically farts around for 66 minutes while vague conflicts and extended scenes of nothingness unfold, waiting for the moment to unleash its concept of maternal fury. And even that is a drag. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1967's "The Unknown Man of Shandigor" is an incredibly strange take on the spy genre, with director Jean-Louis Roy harnessing the avant-garde power of the 1960s to examine the ways of the Cold War world. He merges elements of James Bond, "Dr. Strangelove," and New Wave efforts to generate an impressive study of danger involving an unhinged character who's discovered a "Canceler" formula, capable of disrupting atomic weapons. Naturally, world powers want to possess this information, inspiring various enemies to hunt for the prize, and Roy is ready to provide a wild ride of filmmaking imagination. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1996's "Sinistre" (R.I.P. spell check) ultimately arrives at a horror destination, dealing with spooky incidents and menace from beyond, but it commences as a sort of "Reservoir Dogs" riff highlighting bad guys dealing with big mistakes. Director Ronnie Sortor more interested in criminal activity at first, which gives "Sinistre" a bit more severity as a shot-on-video endeavor. However, it doesn't take long before genre demands take over the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

People love "The Walking Dead." The comic book series and the long-running television series has done its part in bringing back a love of horror that involves a plague of zombies. The undead are big business, and the subgenre has inspired co-writers Manuel Urbaneck and Jan Bohlenschmidt to conjure their own backyard battlefield with slumping, growling enemies. It's the end of the world (yet again) in "Live or Let Die," which attempts to deliver gory, ugly violence while dealing with the same old business involving decaying enemies. Urbaneck and Bohlenschmidt have their fandom, and that's about it in this production, which doesn't bring anything new to the table, and often plays like a student production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

If Lars Von Trier made "Groundhog Day," it would probably resemble much of "Koko-Di Koko-Da." It's a story about grief, focusing on the loss of a child, but writer/director Johannes Nyholm doesn't approach the topic head-on. He plays with ideas on suffering and communication blockage between a pained couple, using a time loop premise to generate a horror film to help keep viewers in a state of suspense while the writing explores emotional damage from a unique perspective. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2014's "The Midnight Swim" is a found footage production (or "POV cinema," as some like to refer to it these days) that tries to present more dramatic interests while still dealing with genre interests in the supernatural. Writer/director Sarah Adina Smith aims to move away from the norm when it comes to expectations for a chiller, eager to connect with audiences on a more emotional level, especially when handling a growing situation of unrest concerning three half-sisters and their shared interest in their late mother's life and strange death. "The Midnight Swim" isn't big on suspense, and that it tries to be unsettling at all seems like a misguided creative choice, as Smith has much more success with lived-in relationship issues. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1989's "Fortress of Amerikkka" initially presents itself as a considered understanding of divisiveness and American values, offering an introduction that details the central crisis between those who choose to live in the country and those who seek to control it under the guise of patriotism. There's a moment when the feature seems like a prescient look at the world we live in today, offering a brutal but accurate understanding of armed wackos and the hyper-masculine, Rambo-loving world they live in. Alas, this is a Troma Entertainment production, so hope for a nuanced understanding of militia activity and thinking isn't a priority. To loosely quote T'Challa, Troma "don't do that here." Instead of a blistering critique of American life, writer/director Eric Louzil ("Bikini Beach Race," "Class of Nuke 'Em High Part II: Subhumanoid Meltdown") is out to make an exploitation movie filled with dim-witted characters, loud gunplay, and topless women. That's the basic shape of "Fortress of Amerikkka," which vacillates between graphic, mean-spirited violence and goofball antics with broad performances. There's some entertainment value in the absurdity of Louzil's screenplay, but the endeavor falls short of its potential, missing a chance to give Troma a real politicized offering to help them break free of their low-budget formula. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It wasn't exactly a blockbuster, but 1981's "Quest for Fire" became a major hit against all odds. It offered a serious take on prehistoric adventuring, with director Jean-Jacques Annaud pushing to challenge audiences with a film that was rich with atmosphere and passed on English dialogue, laboring to immerse viewers into this world of danger and mystery. It wasn't exact science, but it provided a few dramatic jolts, and "Quest for Fire" was a strange enough offering to encourage ticket-buyers to take a chance on a rare storytelling leap of faith. The feature made money, inspiring others to attempt to recreate such an epic viewing experience, but on a much lower budget and without the polish of a refined helmer. 1983's "Master of the World" steps up as part of a new wave of "stone age" offerings, with the Italian production attempting to recreate the appeal of Annaud's endeavor. Writer/director Alberto Cavallone gets a bit gruesome with his version of early man rampaging, but there's a certain spark of insanity to the effort, which earnestly attempts to deliver event film majesty while dealing with B-movie interests. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1989's "Girlfriend from Hell" is a high camp take on multiple genres. Writer/director Daniel Peterson has a list of tones and acts of exaggeration he wants to cover, concocting a tale about a battle between good and evil that's being waged in the middle of a birthday party. There's religion, horror, action, comedy, and some sci-fi. Sex and violence are present, along with wildly broad performances. It's a bit of John Waters and a dash of Mel Brooks, but mostly remains an oddball collection of ideas in search of some level of restraint. "Girlfriend from Hell" doesn't become the romp Peterson envisions, but it certainly tries to be, presenting a hyperactive (at times) assortment of bigness that seems tailor-made to entertain attendees at high school drama department parties. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Making her feature-length directorial debut, Amalia Ulman presents "El Planeta," which is a vaguely biographical study of a young woman's experiences with love, life, and family while spending time in Spain. Also scripting the movie, Ulman doesn't reach for the stars with the endeavor, which remains small in scale and compellingly intimate, sharing acting duties with her real-life mother, Ale Ulman. "El Planeta" is something of a comedy, with touches of drama, landing somewhere between playful and lived-in, and it remains impressive work from Ulman, who offers assured work with the picture, establishing herself as a talent to watch. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1982's "The Slumber Party Massacre" has a cult following, but it's never been celebrated as a shining example of the slasher subgenre. It enjoyed popularity on home video (can't beat that title) and spawned a few sequels, but it failed to become an iconic offering of horror, mostly due to the limited artistic reach of the original movie. And now there's a remake, or a reimagining, with writer Suzanne Keilly ("Leprechaun Returns") working to bring fresh perspective to an old premise, turning the tables on the male gaze with "Slumber Party Massacre," which tries to provide a more female- centric take on the first film, which was already celebrated for delivering a smattering of feminist ideas. Unfortunately, the SyFy Original do-over is also decidedly comedic, with director Danishka Esterhazy ("The Banana Splits Movie") turning a horror concept into high camp, playing most of the picture as silliness, which instantly eliminates any potential fear factor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The world of nudie-cuties is highlighted in 1964's "The Monster of Camp Sunshine" (full title: "The Monster of Camp Sunshine or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Nature"), which provides the thinnest of plots to help reach its creative goal: the display of naked bodies. Added to the mix is a subplot concerning the eponymous threat, which introduces a horror element to a picture that's largely about getting female characters out of their clothes. It's a strange combo of easygoing nudism and madman terror, but that very oddness is what makes "The Monster of Camp Sunshine" a passably compelling sit, offering elements of the unexpected as a more pronounced mission of titillation is pursued. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Lynn Ramsay's "Morvern Callar" isn't a story of a young woman's mourning period, nor is it a tale of the pain that remains when a loved one dies. The film is more impressionistic than that, using environments and silent atmosphere to piece together a journey of self for the eponymous character as she evolves from a meek girlfriend and minimum-wage slave to a woman finding a life of her own. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The 1980s supplied a weird range of teen entertainment, with the adventures of aggressively undersexed adolescents in the first half of the decade eventually replaced by slightly more meaningful offerings of emotional connection. The John Hughes-ing of material certainly made things more interesting for the subgenre, but 1987's "Summer School" is quite content to be a comedy with a slightly old-fashioned approach to funny business and characterizations. Director Carl Reiner was in his sixties when he helmed the feature, working to bring his sense of humor and timing to juvenile entertainment, offering a sunny day approach to the ways of unfocused students and the gym teacher assigned to smarten them up during the high school off-season. "Summer School" has its struggles in the editorial department, but the brightness of the endeavor is quite appealing, as Reiner simply aims for humor and performance with the production, bringing in a capable cast and a lively script by Jeff Franklin (who would go on to create "Full House") to make a reasonably good-natured distraction for the summer moviegoing season. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1988's "Dead Heat" is a film that wants to be many things to many audiences, putting director Mark Goldblatt (the celebrated editor of "The Terminator," making his helming debut) in a difficult position of juggling tonality. It's a buddy cop story that involves elements of horror and sci-fi, also taking time to launch a few action sequences, striving to be a celebration of cinematic possibility as many genres are visited. Goldblatt doesn't have a major budget to pull off a few of the wilder ideas included in Terry Black's screenplay, but the general nutso atmosphere of the picture is enough to get it past the finish line. Goldblatt invests in monsters, body horror, and gun play, working to keep "Dead Heat" exciting enough to help distract from its storytelling and thespian shortcomings, and he's mostly successful with screen energy, creating an appealing mess of ideas and moods in search of a more defined dramatic approach. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Everything changed for Troma Entertainment in 1984, with the release of "The Toxic Avenger" providing the company with a hit they could call their own, leading the way to a new direction in low-budget exploitation moviemaking, featuring strange monsters, gross-out comedy, and a whole lot of noise. Before Toxie, there was Troma Entertainment, creators of "sexy comedies," trying to make a small fortune with nudity-laden endeavors that cranked up wackiness to best attract ticket-buyers. 1983's "The First Turn-On" appears like a calculated move from Troma to ride the wave of teen horndog cinema, blending summer camp shenanigans with Penthouse Letter fantasies, looking to reach adolescent audiences without the use of slapstick comedy from the 1930s. It's not a creative leap forward for the company, but "The First Turn-On" is almost a complete idea from co-directors Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, and that's an impressive achievement for the duo. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Everything changed for Troma Entertainment in 1984, with the release of "The Toxic Avenger" providing the company with a hit they could call their own, leading the way to a new direction in low-budget exploitation moviemaking, featuring strange monsters, gross-out comedy, and a whole lot of noise. Before Toxie, there was Troma Entertainment, creators of "sexy comedies," trying to make a small fortune with nudity-laden endeavors that cranked up wackiness to best attract ticket-buyers. 1982's "Stuck on You" at least makes some effort to be about something more than a random assortment of jokes, taking on the world of palimony suits, recalling the decline of a relationship that was seemingly doomed from the start, with co- directors Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz laboring to blend legal world woes with a time-traveling tale. And there's plenty of time devoted to Troma's love of the absurd. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Everything changed for Troma Entertainment in 1984, with the release of "The Toxic Avenger" providing the company with a hit they could call their own, leading the way to a new direction in low-budget exploitation moviemaking, featuring strange monsters, gross-out comedy, and a whole lot of noise. Before Toxie, there was Troma Entertainment, creators of "sexy comedies," trying to make a small fortune with nudity-laden endeavors that cranked up wackiness to best attract ticket-buyers. For 1981's "Waitress," co-writer/directors Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman bring their scattergun creative approach to the world of restaurants and desperate women, trying to capture restless New York City energy for this take on chasing dreams and avoiding extreme kitchen messes. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com