“The Conference” is a Swedish production that brings slasher happenings to a workplace environment. It’s not exactly a novel idea, but director Patrik Eklund has some nastiness and humor to share with the endeavor, which is bloody enough to satisfy horror fans. The picture isn’t a satire, but a more direct pantsing of office politics, playing around with feisty personalities as a group of employees gather for a team-building trip, only to encounter ultraviolence in a camp setting. There’s a masked killer and an assortment of characters who refuse to understand the danger in front of them, but “The Conference” is certainly an entertaining sit, supported by engaged performances, snappy editing, and Eklund’s love of the game, handling the B-movie event with care for bodily harm and scenes of people being hunted. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Imagine if Stephen King wrote “The Outsiders,” with the film adaptation turned into a “Purge” sequel. That’s the general atmosphere of “Dark Harvest,” which is actually based on a 2006 novel by Norman Partridge, with Michael Gilio handling screenwriting duties. It’s a grim story of small-town tradition and mass death, glazed with fantasy elements to downplay everything that doesn’t make sense about the material, and the feature’s direction is handed to David Slade, who once tried to charm moviegoers with dark visions for “Hard Candy” and “30 Days of Night,” burying suspense under style overkill. He returns to unfortunate cinematographic habits here, but “Dark Harvest” is already in trouble by the time Slade lubes up his shaky-cam interests, finding the story itself difficult to buy and performances are mostly unaware of what kind of picture they’re making. It’s a rough viewing experience for the spooky season, and Slade’s general disinterest in securing a decent story or suspense only makes the endeavor harder to endure. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The war between science and religion is the dramatic foundation for “In the Fire,” which takes audiences to the early days of psychology as it develops in a land largely ruled by God’s laws. Co-writer/director Conor Allyn (“No Man’s Land,” “Java Heat”) has a sophisticated idea for the picture, examining the will of a woman devoted to the understanding of the human mind and the mob mentality of faith, with this collision of righteousness promising a heated study of certainty. “In the Fire” doesn’t end up chasing such conflict, with Allyn sticking to a more simplistic understanding of character and contentiousness. Some passion does emerge from performances, but wilder swings of condemnation, along with romantic entanglements, take material that initially feels invested in reality and turns it into a soap opera. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Dangerous Waters” is a forgettable film, but it will be remembered as the feature actor Ray Liotta was working on when he passed away in 2022. He doesn’t have a major part in the picture, showing up in the movie for a single scene, and fans of the star should be aware of this situation, as Liotta is prominently billed in marketing materials, even appearing on the poster. “Dangerous Waters” isn’t exactly boosted by Liotta’s appearance, with the effort largely underwhelming, established as something of a crime thriller before it takes a lengthy detour into a survival story. Guns and bad guys are present in the tale of a young woman facing the fight of her life while stuck on the open water, but director John Barr (“Blood and Money”) can’t tap into a rich sense of suspense, with the endeavor too slack when it comes to pressurized moments of conflict, and his casting isn’t strong enough deliver a more physical understanding of danger. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Emerging as the third feature about exorcisms released in the last year, “The Exorcist: Believer” is meant to be the most significant production of them all. It’s a sequel to the 1973 William Friedkin classic, reconnecting, in some ways, to the story of Chris MacNeil and her daughter, Regan, even managing to bring back actress Ellen Burstyn to reprise her role as the weary mother who’s been to Hell and back. The project is directed by David Gordon Green, a helmer with an iffy oeuvre, but he’s the guy who made Michael Myers headline news again with his popular but poorly conceived “Halloween” revival trilogy. The idea here is to return “The Exorcist” to media domination, but something went wrong along the way, primarily in the execution of this satanic possession story. “Believer” is a frightfully uninspired horror movie and a terrible “Exorcist” film, with Green making an episode of bad television instead of an intensely frightening cinematic offering, unable to match past franchise highs with this misbegotten brand name resurrection. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan has enjoyed a steady career in supporting parts, but she took a chance on herself with 2021’s “Rushed,” providing the screenplay for the movie, which offered her an opportunity to play the lead. And she did so wonderfully, helping to guide an unusual understanding of the mourning process that subverted expectations, making for an interesting sit. Hogan returns with “Shelter in Solitude,” which also presents an unusual view of dramatic interactions, once again creating a script that’s more interested in character than formula, which, for this endeavor, involves a relationship between a prison guard and a man dealing with his final days on death row. Director Vibeke Muasya looks to maintain some emotional intensity to the feature, also tasked with detailing a COVID-19 world, but she’s best with performances, finding Hogan once again greatly impressing with her depth and sensitivity, joined by a terrific cast that makes the little moments hit the hardest. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Television director Chloe Domont makes her feature debut with “Fair Play,” and it’s a doozy at times. It’s a look at a couple experiencing a seismic change in their secret relationship, with these hedge fund firm employees taking a direct shot to their mutual trust and attraction when the balance of power is destroyed, leaving them to deal with a situation both are unprepared for. At its best, “Fair Play” is an unusual slow-burn viewing experience, with its examination of workplace gamesmanship and domestic animosity finding ways to slip under the skin, making for a riveting sit. Domont (who also scripts) offers a sharp understanding of gender tension and she crafts an intense picture up until the last 15 minutes of the movie. Suddenly, the writing shows in the worst way, but a bum ending doesn’t deflate the endeavor, which examines psychological poisoning brilliantly, working right to the core of humiliation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The poster for “Desperation Road” has stars Mel Gibson and Garrett Hedlund holding guns, posed in a way that suggests the feature is an action film, with plenty of violence served up for viewers. It’s a strange way to promote an effort that’s not all that physically active, more interested in human sorrow than blazing weapons. I suppose this is the way of movie marketing, but the picture actually offers a more tender view of characters in pain, struggling to right themselves in a world that’s seemingly working against then. Guns are involved in the plot, but screenwriter Michael Farris Smith (adapting his own 2017 novel) tries to remain with emotions during the run time, studying lasting pain and surprising connections, aiming to make a little mournful Mississippi screen poetry with the endeavor. Director Nadine Crocker has a decent grasp on the material, overseeing a well-acted and periodically powerful study of grief. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For the sixth installment of the anthology series, “V/H/S/85” is actually just like the other pictures, with the producers gathering a small assortment of directors to share their bite-sized visions of screen horror. The last sequel, “V/H/S/99,” couldn’t get out of mediocrity despite some creative highlights, and the new endeavor is only a slight improvement, doing a little better when it comes to shock and situations of survival. Jittery visuals and human suffering returns, dialing back the clock to the 1980s, when video formats were a source of debate and handheld cameras were becoming omnipresent. “V/H/S/85” remains in line with franchise demands, concentrating on characters experiencing a great disruption to their strange lives, with some of the storytellers a bit more invested in pace and screen tension than others, making for an uneven sit with a particularly sluggish conclusion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A case of the cutes threatens to break out at any moment in “She Came to Me,” which is a strange approach to a film that’s mostly about infidelity and legal entanglements. It’s the latest feature from writer/director Rebecca Miller, who’s done good work before (“Personal Velocity: Three Portraits,” “The Ballad of Jack and Rose”), but hasn’t been seen in a while (2015’s “Maggie’s Plan”), with her latest feeling like an opportunity to try some funky tones out while feeling around for dark comedy and deep drama. “She Came to Me” is a handful at times, but Miller’s commitment to character is involving, exploring semi-unwell people hunting for control and opportunities in their sad lives. It’s a fascinating study of ego as well, nicely propped up by the cast, who secure distinct personalities in the haziness of Miller’s screenplay. Wackiness and anguish don’t mix as well as the helmer hopes, and the endeavor is often unsteady, but there are ideas that connect here, making for some interesting conflicts. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There wasn’t much excitement surrounding the release of 2019’s “Pet Sematary,” which offered an updated take on the Stephen King novel, trying to compete with a previous film adaptation from 1989. However, profit is profit, and the feature did small-time business on a minimal budget, inspiring the producers to try and milk the brand name once again, this time going the prequel route with “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines,” which examines the horrors of Ludlow, Maine in the 1960s. The story for the picture is actually part of King’s book, but here, it’s the whole show, with screenwriters Jeff Buhler and Lindsey Anderson Beer (who also directs) on a mission to make something out of this small piece of local history, hoping to resurrect some of the dark “Pet Sematary” magic for another round of small-town violence involving the newly reanimated. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sean McNamara makes a lot of movies, already onscreen this year with last spring’s “On a Wing and a Prayer.” The “Bratz” and “Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite” helmer isn’t one to worry about the fine details of filmmaking, with production speed his primary motivation. This creative approach is easily identified in “Vindicta,” which looks to combine the pressurized experience of being a paramedic in the big city with a horror story about a masked killer looking to destroy anyone involved with the history of a burned building in Seattle. “Vindicta” is a low-budget offering of suspense, and McNamara’s clumsy approach to everything in the endeavor doesn’t inspire a rich ride of genre entertainment. It’s confused work, never quite settling on a cohesive tone as it goes from vocational stress to family woes to blood-spurting bodily destruction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Sean McNamara makes a lot of movies, already onscreen this year with last spring’s “On a Wing and a Prayer.” The “Bratz” and “Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite” helmer isn’t one to worry about the fine details of filmmaking, with production speed his primary motivation. This creative approach is easily identified in “Vindicta,” which looks to combine the pressurized experience of being a paramedic in the big city with a horror story about a masked killer looking to destroy anyone involved with the history of a burned building in Seattle. “Vindicta” is a low-budget offering of suspense, and McNamara’s clumsy approach to everything in the endeavor doesn’t inspire a rich ride of genre entertainment. It’s confused work, never quite settling on a cohesive tone as it goes from vocational stress to family woes to blood-spurting bodily destruction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com