Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

"Satanic Panic" is a film that's all over the place when it really doesn't have to be. Screenwriter Grady Hendrix attempts to blend extreme horror with silly comedy, aiming for a darkly hilarious take on black magic, offering bits of shock and slapstick to help swat down expectations for a simple genre ride. Trouble is, the picture is certainly gross at times, but never funny, flailing whenever it feels the need to be wacky to help settle an audience that might not be so welcoming to a feature that's solely interested in horror. "Satanic Panic" isn't a mess, but it's mostly uninspired, and from casting to one-liners, it falls short of its potential to be a brutal B-movie that's willing to go to some strange places when detailing the ways of a coven on the prowl for their virginal sacrifice. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sold as a breakdance movie in 1985, "Delivery Boys" isn't exactly the next cinematic step after the two "Breakin'" features from 1984. It's a much weirder concoction from writer/director Ken Handler, who's best known as the inspiration for the Ken doll. Perhaps out to make a breezy good time with slick moves and hot music from the era, Handler ends up with something far more laborious instead, joining forces with co-producer Chuck Vincent, an adult film helmer. Merging the electricity of youth and the production vibe of pornography, Handler gets awfully confused with "Delivery Boys," ending up with a sluggish non-comedy filled with amateur actors doing their best to generate a homoerotic vibe for the primarily heterosexual teen horndog subgenre. Where's Turbo and Ozone when you need them? Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Bill (Dick Foran) is in possession of Morgan's Island, but he doesn't know what to do with it. Out with pal Stuff (Fuzzy Knight), Bill saves sailor Tobias (Leo Carrillo) from trouble, with the trio coming into contact with half of a treasure map. Realizing he could make a few bucks selling Morgan's Island has a treasure hunter destination, Bill takes his first group to the dilapidated estate on the property, only to encounter a phantom individual who wants to disrupt any search for buried loot. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Henrietta (Cecilia Loftus) is an old woman who refuses to die. While nearing the end of her life, Henrietta is joined by her family, including Montague (Basil Rathbone), inside her mansion, with the gathered relatives waiting for her expiration to get their hands on their inheritances. When the matriarch is murdered, the money goes to her housekeeper, Abigail (Gale Sondergaard), leaving the family unsettled. Joining the gathering are antique dealers Mr. Penny (Hugh Herbert) and Smith (Broderick Crawford), with the men leading the charge to find out who killed Henrietta. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After surviving a horrible accident where a bus slams into a power line, sideshow performer Dan (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is lucky to be alive, having built up an immunity to electricity due to his specialized act. Brought in for study by Dr. John (Samuel S. Hinds), Dan is soon claimed by Dr. Paul (Lionel Atwill), a mad scientist looking to experiment on Dan's ease with electricity, creating a murderous monster along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As the lead offering on "The Universal Horror Collection: Volume 3," 1939's "Tower of London" has the distinction of not being a horror film. Murders are common in this retelling of Richard, Duke of Gloucester's (Basil Rathbone) merciless rise to power, working with Mord (the great Boris Karloff), his enforcer, to clear the way to royal glory. It's a nightmarish scenario, but director Rowland V. Lee doesn't push the material into a fright zone, more interested in Shakespearian lunges for power and control as Richard works his way through rivals to achieve his lust for the crown. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Originally conceived as a two-part extravaganza from Troma Entertainment, "Return to Nuke 'Em High" was intended to be an all-new blowout screen party from a company that hasn't had one in a long time. Director Lloyd Kaufman was so certain of fan interest, he doubled down on Tromaville chaos, shooting two movies concurrently, aiming to create an epic to top all other Troma epics. Unfortunately, few showed up to the party. "Return to Nuke 'Em High: Vol. 1" was released in 2014, with the cult experience well-received by loyal followers of Troma, but failed to make much of a dent beyond the core audience, who were offered a teaser for a follow-up planned for 2015. The year came and went, as did a few more, but Kaufman couldn't finish the feature, ultimately turning to Kickstarter to help pay for completion. Now five years after "Vol. 1" provided a goopy, gory ride of hyper-violent nonsense, "Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Vol. 2" is finally here, and good heavens, it's not worth the extended wait. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Taking a look at a specific time in the career of Abbott and Costello, Shout Factory brings a whopping 28 films from the comedy duo's time with Universal Pictures to Blu-ray. There's an incredibly wide range of efforts here, starting with Abbott and Costello's screen debut in 1940's "One Night in the Tropics," to their final Universal effort, 1955's "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy." The rest of the collection examines their big hits ("Buck Privates"), strange experiments ("Little Giant"), and iconic forays into genre interests ("Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein"), while the rest of the set showcases all sorts of madcap action and slapstick intensity, pinpointing the genius of the Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and their incredible comfort with formula, trying their very best to deliver a good time for appreciative audiences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Downton Abbey" premiered in 2010, with creator Julian Fellowes attempting to return some old-fashioned class conflict to television, reviving the "Upstairs, Downstairs" formula to explore the world of the elite and those hired to serve them. The ITV series was a smash, inspiring a passionate fanbase and renewing the urgency of PBS programming in America, where the show managed to become a phenomenon. For 52 episodes, Fellowes guided viewers through the ups and down of life on a grand English estate, creating memorable characters and tastefully manipulative drama, relying heavily on refined production values and the sheer charms of the ensemble, who never failed the program. Four years after the series concluded, "Downton Abbey" is back, only now the saga of the Crawley Family has turned to the big screen for a suitable return, challenging Fellowes to pack in a season's worth of mischief, manners, and longing into 122 minutes. He's up for the task, and while "Downton Abbey" isn't a revelation, it remains reliable entertainment, careful to deliver what the faithful expect from the brand name. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2000, "Dora the Explorer" made its debut on Nickelodeon. The show was aimed at preschoolers just getting their bearings with language, with the titular host offering mild look-and-find adventures with help from her monkey pal Boots, various items of survival gear, and Spanish. Perhaps trying to age up the material to reunite with the original generation of viewers, "Dora and the Lost City of Gold" brings the character into her teenager years, replacing simple tasks with more sophisticated adventure puzzles and real-world struggles of acceptance. Dora's pluckiness hasn't been sacrificed in the transition, with star Isabela Moner delivering a pitch-perfect performance as the grown-up version of the animated character, helping to secure the lively, silly spirit constructed by director James Bobin ("The Muppets"), who does an impressive job redefining Dora for older audiences. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After taking a break from cinematic study for quite some time, submarine movies seem to be back in vogue. The underwater war machines offer potential for a more regal sort of national confrontation, allowing filmmakers to detail efforts of strategy and patience instead of serving up fiery conflict, preserving the promise of high drama at stunning depths. Last year there was "Hunter Killer," a popcorn take on naval tensions, with "The Command" (a.k.a. "Kursk") endeavoring to dramatize a true story of unimaginable survival. Director Thomas Vinterberg and screenwriter Robert Rodat ("Saving Private Ryan") step away from pyrotechnics and near-misses to grasp the sheer horror of a 2000 Russian disaster, concentrating on the panic of the moment and concern brewing on land, searching for a way to grasp rising tensions from multiple points of view. "The Command" isn't showy, trying to remain human and procedural as it details a desperate situation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There's a lesson to be learned from "Killers Anonymous." Its marketing boasts the participation of Gary Oldman and Jessica Alba, pushing the stars up front to secure some attention that wouldn't be otherwise afforded to the low-budget endeavor. Predictably, Alba's barely in the effort, while nearly all of Oldman's screentime finds the Oscar-winner in a seated position, looking through binoculars. It's a common deception, especially with B-movies, which need something to lure innocent viewers in, especially fans of the actors hoping to keep up with filmographies. It would be grand if there was something more to "Killers Anonymous" that's worth paying attention to, but director Martin Owen doesn't have a prize for those willing to sit through the picture. He loads up on colored lighting and scattered violence, but the feature is actually a series of audition pieces, not a cohesive thriller, and it's an absolute chore to sit through. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While it deals with feelings of isolation and disillusionment, "The Harvesters" is immediately striking due to its setting, bringing viewers to the world of Afrikaner farmers in South Africa, where cultural pressure and changing times are making it difficult for families in a troubled part of the world. Writer/director Etienne Kallos isn't making a political picture, but he doesn't exactly ignore the cultural strain, which helps the film to tighten its grip as it explores the difficulties facing a young man caught in a troubling position of guardianship while working through his own issues. "The Harvesters" is an unsettling feature at times, but also intensely atmospheric, as Kallos often shows more interest in the cinematic qualities of his endeavor than he does characterization, which grows choppier as the movie unfolds. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1996's "Amityville Dollhouse" isn't interested in coloring outside the lines when it comes to brand name horror. The eight installment of the "Amityville Horror" series, "Dollhouse" returns with a new cursed object and a fresh batch of family members to pick off. After the muted ways of the last picture, "Amityville: A New Generation," the next adventure tries to be a more active nightmare for fans of franchise, serving up wicked possession, dangerous desires, and a demonic showdown to restore some of the madness that was lost in the last round. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For the seventh entry in the "Amityville Horror" saga, the producers are forced to best previous selections for the central cursed object, trying to top a lamp and a clock with a mirror for 1993's "Amityville: A New Generation." The ways of a reflective nightmare are presented a little slower this time around, as director John Murlowski isn't interested in creating a pulse-pounding descent into madness. He goes for a pokier viewing experience, trying to milk suspense out of mirror-based madness while screenwriters Christopher DeFaria and Antonio Toro make moves to connect the material to "Amityville Horror" origins, restoring some of the family shooting panic that's been lost to supernatural threats. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For the sixth descent into "Amityville Horror" happenings, "Amityville 1992: It's About Time" picks up where 1989's "The Evil Escapes" left off, once again returning to a John G. Jones book to explore the power of a cursed object as it's placed inside a seemingly normal household. This time, it's a clock, and the screenplay strives to play with time and personal issues as it cooks up another round of "Amityville Horror" hauntings, which, for this round, are guided by director Tony Randel, who knows a thing or two about nutso scares after his work on "Hellbound: Hellraiser II." Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After dealing with dwindling theatrical revenues, the saga of "The Amityville Horror" turns to television for "Amityville Horror: The Evil Escapes." The 1989 production doesn't have the gory potential of its cinematic predecessors, but writer/director Sandor Stern (who scripted the original 1979 film) supplies an acceptable ride of evil events, electing to transform a haunted house experience into a murderous lamp event, which is as silly as it sounds. Wackiness aside, "The Evil Escapes" is interested in creating some excitement for fans of the franchise, doing relatively well with small-scale frights. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Inching away from the relatively gritty ways of 1989's "Vice Academy," 1993's "Vice Academy Part 3" is basically a Troma Entertainment production, with writer/director Rick Slone preferring more of a schlock approach to his ongoing police series. While broad villainy hasn't been an issue before, Sloane constructs his own ode to comic book cinema with this second sequel, pitting the Joker-style Malathion (a woman sprayed with poisonous chemicals) against Holly (Ginger Lynn) and new addition, Candy (Elizabeth Kaitan). Of course, this is a Sloane production, which doesn't allow for superhero expanse, but he's trying to amuse himself with extremes in antagonism, going cartoon to best support a return trip to this franchise. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Rick Sloane doesn't have to go far when dreaming up a premise for 1990's "Vice Academy Part 2," giving lead characters Holly (Ginger Lynn) and Didi (Linnea Quigley) their first assignment, following the "Police Academy" franchise formula. The ladies go up against the evil vision of Spanish Fly (Marina Benvenga), who's threatening to roofie the L.A. water supply, triggering a battle of wits and tight outfits as Sloane ups the titillation factor for this second round, which actually opens with a promise from Lynn to add some va-voom to production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The director of "Hobgoblins" wants to make his own "Police Academy," coming up with "Vice Academy," which also details the misadventures of cops- in-training, only here such antics are handed a significantly reduced budget and customary Rick Sloane stiffness. The helmer certainly tries to be wacky with the endeavor, but he's mindful of exploitation interests. If he can't win over the audience with laughs, he captures attention with tight outfits, bare skin, and assignments to bust prostitutes and infiltrate the adult film industry. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com