The ending of "Tiger Claws II" promised a more fantasy-based sequel to come, but 2000's "Tiger Claws III" is turned into a superhero story in many ways, with writer/director J. Stephen Maunder taking inspiration from "Superman II" and "Rocky IV" to fashion a new direction for the increasingly confused series. Thankfully, concentration remains on fighting, though "Tiger Claws III" isn't nearly as engaging as the previous two chapters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While the story found its way to a conclusion in 1991's "Tiger Claws," producer/actor Jalal Merhi isn't ready to leave money on the table. Trying to transform a simple action vehicle into a franchise, Merhi returns with 1996's "Tiger Claws II," reuniting with stars Cynthia Rothrock and Bolo Yeung for a second chapter that's more about setting up a second sequel, making some noise while the tale works its way to a cliffhanger conclusion. Merhi's vision is bigger for "Tiger Claws II," but his budget restraints are more pronounced, finding the follow-up wrestling with limited sets and a few poor creative decisions while trying to offer B-movie fans an exciting continuation of the suddenly-a-franchise. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1991's "Tiger Claws" is a Canadian action film directed by Kelly Makin, who was one of the key creative forces involved in The Kids in the Hall, helming "Brain Candy" and "Death Comes to Town." These are unusual ingredients for bruiser cinema, but Makin makes it work, offering a reasonably tight and active martial arts feature that does well with its talent. It's not much of a mystery and acting limitations are obvious, but "Tiger Claws" has energy and a drive to deliver some interesting fight sequences and chases, finding compelling ways to batter bodies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Kinks and murder compete for screen attention in 1974's "Help Me…I'm Possessed," which isn't completely committed to a story of the supernatural or monster happenings, preferring to spend more time with bluntly photographed scenes of suffering. It's an odd one from director Charles Nizet, who aims to use weird science as a way into a creature feature of sorts, with the mystery ghoul depicted as a batch of wet licorice strings coming after innocent and not-so-innocent souls. There's entertainment value in that alone, making one wonder why Nizet works so hard to make his ridiculous story seem important. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1972's "The Night of the Strangler" doesn't feature a single strangulation. There's a drowning, a snake bite, several shootings, and even a Monkee, but nobody is murdered via strangulation. So why the title? A marketing hook is the most likely answer, promising ticket-buyers a chance to watch gruesome acts of death executed by a variety of killers. Sadly, "The Night of the Strangler" isn't a lurid production sliding neatly into grindhouse-style entertainment, but something a bit more static from director Joy N. Houck Jr., who battles inert storytelling while the writing actually touches on some interesting ideas concerning racism. Strangulation fans will have to seek their thrills elsewhere. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1970's "Carnival of Blood" is a maddeningly repetitive, low-budget shocker from director Leonard Kirtman. The helmer has access to select areas of a carnival and a loose idea for a horror movie, trying to present a ghoulish study of mental illness and male rage. However, if there's an idea here for genre entertainment, it's buried under pure padding, with Kirtman working especially hard to get "Carnival of Blood" to 90 minutes, offering viewers the tedium of various real time events. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2007, writer/director Michael Dougherty set out to redefine Halloween horror with "Trick 'r Treat," a clever anthology effort that emphasized eeriness over pounding terror. For his follow-up, the helmer looks to shake up another holiday with "Krampus," a Christmas-set chiller providing scares for the season of giving. Again avoiding cheap thrills, Dougherty creates an entertaining monster mash with the picture, which blends yuletide sensitivities involving dysfunctional families and the wrath of ghoulish creatures. Strangely, the production doesn't aim to create a roller coaster ride of oddity, preferring to step carefully with its genre offerings, leaving the endeavor feeling slack at crucial moments, but it's still satisfying overall. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"National Lampoon's Animal House" was released in July 1978, and went on to become a massive success, delighting audiences with its raunchy sense of humor and nostalgic groove. It was the second highest grossing picture of the year (coming in below "Grease" and above "Jaws 2"), putting National Lampoon in a unique position of power, capable of doing anything they wanted to with their follow-up project. The company had a prime opportunity to showcase their talents, creativity, and abundant supply of mischief. And so they made 1982's "National Lampoon's Movie Madness" (a.k.a. "National Lampoon Goes to the Movies," with this title still included on art in the feature), which is a complete and utter dud, even shelved for over a year while studio executives decided how to deal with a surefire bomb. Whatever audience goodwill developed with "Animal House" was wiped out by "Movie Madness" (and 1982's equally lame, "National Lampoon's Class Reunion"), which is shockingly awful at times, with the end product resembling a production largely fueled by cocaine (this was actually the case) and zero vision for what this oddball collection of non-ideas was supposed to be. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1995, "Outbreak" was rushed into release, hoping to capitalize on growing interest in deadly virus stories. It was a Hollywood production meant to frighten and thrill a mass audience, and it found its way to box office domination, giving viewers a glimpse of body horrors from the comfort of a multiplex seat. 1996's "Ebola Syndrome" isn't nearly as polished or interested in charming outsiders, launching a tale about a horrible man doing horrible things while a horrible virus spreads across the land. Director Herman Yau delivers a big-time mess with the feature, which revels in ugliness, living up to is "Category III" classification with a steady display of contemptible and murderous human behavior, also showing just as much enthusiasm for gore zone visits, going splatter-esque with its vision for bloody encounters. "Ebola Syndrome" is a blunt instrument, but when Yau isn't indulging his taste for screen chaos, he manages to provide a decent detective story at times, keeping things clear enough for recognizable conflicts to materialize, but only for brief amounts of time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Frida Kempff doesn't simply want to revive the Hitchcock experience with "Knocking," though she doesn't turn down any opportunities for suspense. It's a simple premise concerning a woman haunted by unexplained noises in her apartment, but Kempff and writer Emma Brostrom strive to make a meaningful study of trauma and manipulation from a feminine perspective with "Knocking," adding as much subtext as possible without sacrificing the escalating tension of the picture, which is an effective offering of freak-out cinema. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When a small collection of indie filmmakers started making hits in the early 1990s, it created a gold rush for small-time producers hoping to bring oddball projects to the screen. The success of Quentin Tarantino and the Miramax Films team is clearly evident in 1996's "The Grave," with co-writers Josh and Jonas Pate (who also directs) cooking up a twisty, violent, and loquacious thriller that's also greatly influenced by the Coen Brothers and their particular way of bringing low-key insanity to a seemingly simple situation. The Pates pay careful attention to character and language with their endeavor, their first moviemaking opportunity, and that hunger to impress is the most memorable element in an otherwise adequate picture that's almost undone by obvious casting and one too many turns after a decent first act of intriguing introductions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Scooter McCrae has some big ideas to help fill his filmmaking debut, 1994's "Shatter Dead," and he keeps all of them to himself. This is McCrae's take on the zombie genre, only instead of flesh-munching monsters, the undead are basically the same as before, scattered across rural New York like homeless people, trying to live their best life without actually living. It's a concept with promise, but McCrae is too busy trying to impress viewers with his Euro-cinema influences, going abstract with his collection of visuals and scenes. The movie opens with a bewildering moment that has nothing to do with the rest of the endeavor, and "Shatter Dead" doesn't really improve from there. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Censor" brings viewers to a time when the British Board of Film Classification went to war with "Video Nasties," or graphic genre offerings that were subjected to intense scrutiny, edits, and even rejection. Co-writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond has something original and wonderfully specific with this idea, but she's not interested in pursuing the numbing experiences of a censor, aiming to make a horror movie with the premise, which isn't nearly as compelling as a study of a moral high ground and extreme filmmaking content. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com