"Gueros" is a collection of little ideas rolled up into a road movie structure, emerging as an impish creation from co-writer/director Alonso Ruizpalacious, who's ultimately creating a feature about Mexico that's aware of Mexican cinema clichés. There's a lot to take in with the picture, which gleefully bounces around various tonalities to preserve surprise for viewers, but as scattershot as the effort is, it miraculously stays together thanks to a great deal of wit, timing, and audio/visual experimentation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Who knew there was such a demand for "Class of Nuke 'Em High" sequels? Troma Entertainment, never a film studio to let anything die a peaceful death, returns to the world of mutant madness with 1994's "Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, The Bad and the Subhumanoid." Making a final push to make this premise profitable, Troma waters down their traditional serving of pure excess, trying to find a narrative path that welcomes B-movie chaos and dramatic interests, going so far as to use a William Shakespeare play ("The Comedy of Errors") for inspiration. It's an ambitious move, and one that manages to find a sense of stability to the franchise, but nothing in the Troma universe remains still for long. "The Good, The Bad and the Subhumanoid" quickly degenerates into noisy bits of comedy and horror, while a host of storytelling choices render the picture tiring, especially with a run time that's a good 30 minutes longer than it needs to be. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There are unavoidable expectations in place when sitting down to watch a movie titled "Pro-Wrestlers vs. Zombies." Obviously, material like this isn't looking for respectability, but basic functionality is always welcome. Writer/director Cody Knotts looks to summon a mood of horror and sports entertainment with his picture, hiring some well-known wrestlers to appear in a no-budget genre film that's largely shot inside an abandoned prison and in the deep woods. The helmer depends on established personalities to lead the way, along with a healthy dose of gore, keeping the feature regular with bursts of violence and meaty, troubled acting. What "Pro-Wrestlers vs. Zombies" is missing is fun, with Knotts overseeing a depressing vibe of survival and vaguely defined evil, managing to fatigue the effort long before it has a chance to truly kick back and enjoy its ridiculousness. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A farce doesn't have to be friendly, but there should be some degree of likability to help encourage viewer engagement. Non-stop mean-spiritedness committed by selfish, bellowing characters isn't exactly a welcome mat for outsiders, with 1990's "Madhouse" a prime example of comic lunacy souring at the moment of impact. Imagined as a wily, mischievous journey with pushy houseguests, the feature marches right towards absurdity, with writer/director Tom Ropelewski mistaking noise for timing. The picture is certainly jam-packed with incident, and performances work up a sweat as they try to communicate the simplest of reactions with flailing body parts and wide eyes. However, laughs are missing from the movie, which is so caught up in maintaining a madcap tone, it doesn't make room for any considered punchlines. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Canadian production "Tu Dors Nicole" presents a journey into the painful early moments of adulthood, tracking the titular character (played by Julianne Cote) as she experiences the slow death of juvenile comfort, pushed out into a world she wants little to do with. Instead of mounting a valentine to ennui, writer/director Stephane Lafleur finds a slightly quirkier edge to "Tu Dors Nicole," paying attention to the comedic possibilities of the material along with its stinging, immensely relatable realities in connection to the last summer of a post-college life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1980's "Demonoid" is about a severed hand that kills. For some, the review ends there, scratching a B-movie sweet spot that promises exquisite horror and camp. The feature isn't completely unleashed, but writer/director Alfredo Zacarias certainly strives to give viewers a sufficiently berserk ride, filling the feature with violence, action, and the central image of a roving hand on the hunt for fresh victims. As bottom-shelf insanity, "Demonoid" is tremendously entertaining and bluntly bizarre, with Zacarias orchestrating a chase picture that touches on marital unrest, spiritual challenges, and Satanic omnipresence, while star Samantha Eggar classes up the joint with a semi-committed performance, selling the oddity of an unstoppable hand and its determination to possess all those who come into contact with it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The plot of "Frightmare" (also known as "The Horror Star") is so delicious, so ripe with potential, it's almost enough to carry the feature on its own. A loving tribute to horror cinema, with all its shadowy encounters and ghoulish events, the effort has its heart in the right place, cooking up a premise that places die-hard fans in the middle of their very own scary movie. It's a long night of survival for a group of dim college students, yet the nightmare never finds a particularly gripping momentum, with writer/director Norman Thaddeus Vane so involved in creating atmosphere, he forgets to sustain tension throughout the feature. "Frightmare" is terrifically shot and the lead performance from screen veteran Ferdy Mayne is appropriately grandiose, but the production needs a little more air in its tires, often found slogging along with genre elements that demand a more animated execution. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Returning to WWII for inspiration, "Home Fires" is the latest ITV series to take advantage of the wartime setting, although this program is about the road to conflict, identifying the tension building in rural England as the area prepares for the inevitable. For this tale, an adaptation of the book "Jambusters" (oh, how I wish that title was kept) by Julie Summers, the focus is on the female, tracking the development of a local Women's Institute and the varied lives of its troubled members. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"The Widower" is a limited ITV series (spread out over three episodes) based on the case of Malcolm Webster, who orchestrated a murder and prolonged embezzlement schemes while living a seemingly average life as a nurse and loving husband/boyfriend to various women. It's true crime without salacious details, electing to charge ahead with a sense of the macabre, capturing prolonged insanity and bizarre turns of crime and punishment with wonderful performances and a sure pace. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com