New Blu-ray Reviews

The Horror of Frankenstein Blu-ray Movie  

Shout Factory | 1970 | 96 min | Rated R | Aug 20, 2019 | Dr. Stephen Larson

On the sudden death of his father, young Victor Frankenstein inherits his title, his castle and his taste for grisly experiments. He hires a grave robber to provide him with material for his hideous work. With the aid of a violent electric storm a monster jolts into life and then escapes to the woods ...

Horror / Dark humor

Smile Blu-ray Movie  

Fun City Editions | 1975 | 113 min | Rated PG | May 25, 2021 | Brian Orndorf

The time has come for the annual Young American Miss Pageant in California. Executive producer Brenda (Barbara Feldon) focuses maniacally on the event, ignoring any complaints. While her husband, Andy (Nicholas Pryor), sulks, choreographer Tommy French (Michael Kidd) looks after the safety of the contestants. With all the girls trying to outdo each other, tension increases as the pageant drags on and the skeptical contestant, Robin (Joan Prather), takes the lead despite her reservations.

Comedy / Coming of age

Drive Blu-ray Movie  

MVD Rewind Collection

MVD Visual | 1997 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 117 min | Rated R | May 11, 2021 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Toby Wong (Mark Dacascos) is on a martial arts mission impossible. With a bio-energy module placed in his chest, Toby's awesome martial arts skills are tuned to a super-human level. The only problem is that Toby doesn't want the power. Now, only an army can stop him, and that's just what's hunting him down. As he makes his escape from an ammo-packing posse of hitmen, Toby needs a hostage, Malik (Kadeem Hardison), to drive him to freedom in Los Angeles, where they meet up with more trouble in the form of a quirky, young seductress (Brittany Murphy) who gets caught up in their action.

Action / Comedy / Thriller / Martial arts

The Cellar Blu-ray Movie  

Slipcover in Original Pressing

Vinegar Syndrome | 1988 | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 86 min | Rated PG-13 | Apr 27, 2021 | Brian Orndorf

A young boy finds an ancient Comanche monster spirit in the basement of his home. His parents don't believe him, so he must kill the monster alone.

Horror

The Sniper Blu-ray Movie    

Indicator Series

Powerhouse Films | 1952 | 88 min | Rated BBFC: 15 | May 17, 2021 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

Filmed in San Francisco, this Stanley Kramer production is one of the earliest studies of a murderous psychopath who kills randomly and without motive, making it almost impossible to track him down. This noir pits the rationalism of law and psychiatry against the irrationality of post-traumatic stress and compulsive homicide.

Crime / Drama

Angel Town Blu-ray Movie  

MVD Rewind Collection

MVD Visual | 1990 | 106 min | Rated R | Sep 25, 2018 | Dr. Svet Atanasov

A graduate student and martial-arts expert rents a room in a house owned by a single mother who lives there with her son. A local street gang is trying to recruit the son, but the new tenant tries to help the boy's mother keep him out of the gang. When they learn of this, they target both the mother and her new tenant.

Action / Drama

Ghost Story Blu-ray Movie    

Nucleus Films | 1974 | 87 min | Rated BBFC: 12 | Oct 28, 2019 | Jeffrey Kauffman

Set in 1920s England, Ghost Story tells of three old public schoolmates who reunite in a country mansion haunted by the spirit of insane former resident Marianne Faithfull. The haunting transports them to a surreal world of demonic dolls, sadistic doctors, incest and murder.

Horror

Big Fish 4K Blu-ray Movie  

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Sony Pictures | 2003 | 125 min | Rated PG-13 | May 04, 2021 | Martin Liebman

Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie.

Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Romance / Imaginary

Livescream Blu-ray Movie  

Film Spawn | 2018 | 70 min | Not rated | Apr 10, 2020 | Martin Liebman

When a popular video game streamer plays a haunted game, he faces deadly consequences for himself and his fans.

Horror

Crown Vic Blu-ray Movie  

Screen Media | 2019 | 110 min | Rated R | Jan 07, 2020 | Martin Liebman

Follows one memorable night in the life of LAPD officer Ray Mandel while hunting two cop killers on the loose.

Action / Crime / Drama

The Art of Self-Defense Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Universal Studios | 2019 | 104 min | Rated R | Oct 15, 2019 | Martin Liebman

A man who is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei, in an effort to learn how to defend himself.

Comedy / Dark humor / Martial arts

Land Blu-ray Movie  

Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Universal Studios | 2021 | 89 min | Rated PG-13 | May 11, 2021 | Martin Liebman

A bereaved woman seeks out a new life, off the grid in Wyoming.

Adventure / Drama / Nature

Karloff at Columbia Blu-ray Movie    

The Black Room / The Man They Could Not Hang / The Man with Nine Lives / Before I Hang / The Devil Commands / The Boogie Man Will Get You | Eureka Classics | Limited Edition

Eureka Entertainment | 1935-1942 | 6 Movies | 400 min | Not rated | May 03, 2021 | Jeffrey Kauffman

One of the most recognisable faces in horror, Boris Karloff (or simply ‘KARLOFF’, as he was often billed) has been described as “to the horror movie what Fred Astaire was to the musical”. Presented here are the six films he made for Columbia Pictures, a collaboration which produced some of Karloff’s finest acting roles

Crime / Horror / Mystery / Sci-Fi / Dark humor

The Black Room Blu-ray Movie    

Eureka Classics

Eureka Entertainment | 1935 | 68 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

When Baron Frederick de Berghman learns that his wife has given birth to twin boys, he refuses to drink a toast to them. He tells his courtiers that there is a prophecy that the younger of the twins -in this case born one minute after the elder- will kill his older brother in the Black Room. As a protective measure, he seals off the room in the hope that the prophecy may not happen. Many years later, Baron Gregor de Berghman pleads with his twin brother Anton to return to the family castle. Anton arrives to find the populace in revolt and there is even an attempt on his life when they mistake him for the Baron. There is no doubt that the Baron is evil and eventually kills Anton in the Black Room and takes his identity. That does no mean the prophecy cannot, or will not, come true...

Crime / Horror

The Man They Could Not Hang Blu-ray Movie    

Eureka Classics

Eureka Entertainment | 1939 | 64 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

Mad Scientist, Dr. Henryk Savaard, is obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. The police are alerted of Savaard's activities by his assistant's girlfriend. Savaard is arrested, convicted and sentenced to hang. He vows revenge on the judge, jury and district attorney. After the hanging, his assistant claims Savaard's body and uses Savaard's technique on it. Savaard is brought back to life. Now he can seek sweet revenge on his prosecutors...

Crime / Horror / Sci-Fi

The Man with Nine Lives Blu-ray Movie    

Eureka Classics

Eureka Entertainment | 1940 | 74 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

Dr. Leon Kravaal develops a potential cure for cancer, which involves freezing the patient. But an experiment goes awry when authorities believe Kravaal has killed a patient. Kravaal freezes the officials, along with himself. Years later, they are discovered and revived in hopes that Kravaal can indeed complete his cure. But human greed and weakness compound to disrupt the project...

Horror / Mystery / Sci-Fi

Before I Hang Blu-ray Movie    

Eureka Classics

Eureka Entertainment | 1940 | 62 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

A physician on death row for a mercy killing is allowed to experiment on a serum using a criminals' blood, but secretly tests it on himself. He gets a pardon, but finds out he's become a Jekyll-&-Hyde...

Crime / Horror / Sci-Fi

The Devil Commands Blu-ray Movie    

Eureka Classics

Eureka Entertainment | 1941 | 64 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

Dr. Julian Blair is engaged in unconventional research on human brain waves when his wife is tragically killed in a freak auto accident. The grief-stricken scientist becomes obsessed with redirecting his work into making contact with the dead and is not deterred by dire warnings from his daughter, his research assistant, or his colleagues that he is delving into forbidden areas of knowledge. He moves his laboratory to an isolated New England mansion where he continues to try to reach out to his dead wife. He is aided by his mentally-challenged servant Karl and abetted by the obsessive Mrs. Walters, a phony medium, who seems to exert a sinister influence over him. When their overly curious housekeeper discovers the truth about their experiments, her death brings the local sheriff in to investigate...

Horror / Sci-Fi

The Boogie Man Will Get You Blu-ray Movie    

Eureka Classics

Eureka Entertainment | 1942 | 67 min | Not rated | No Release Date | Jeffrey Kauffman

Winnie Slade, a young divorcee, buys an old historic house from nutty Professor Billings (Boris Karloff), who lives there with his daffy housekeeper and bizarre neighbors, in order to convert it into a hotel. She allows them to continue to live on the property - unaware that the Professor continues to experiment unsuccessfully on traveling salesmen, the bodies of whom have filled the cellar. They are joined by a variety of eccentric characters including a quack doctor who doubles as the town's sheriff, Winnie's frenetic ex-husband, an oddball choreographer, a punchdrunk traveling salesman, and a lunatic escapee from the Italian army...

Horror / Dark humor

Dirty Dancing 4K Blu-ray Movie  

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Lionsgate Films | 1987 | 100 min | Rated PG-13 | Apr 27, 2021 | Randy Miller III

In the summer of 1963, innocent 17-year-old Baby vacations with her parents at a Catskill's resort. One evening, she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There, she meets Johnny, the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny's pupil in dance and love.

Drama / Music / Romance / Teen / Coming of age