DVD Reviews

Hells Bells, Liddell!!! Seriously, just promise me that if you are ever working around heavy machinery and you happen to drop some pills on a MOVING conveyer belt that you will just let the damn machine grind that shit up.  Because, in The Mangler, one worker does ...

When it comes to concert films, there are few things better than the teaming of Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia) and David Byrne.  Stop Making Sense, the title coming from a lyric inside the Talking Heads’ song “Girlfriend is Better”, is a concert  ...

"You're not from around here, are you?" For many of us, it is the scene when the alien arrives on earth as a baby that freaked us out the most.  It was for me.  Sure, the explosion in the woods as the alien vehicle “lands” was pretty freaking cool but, truly, that scene where ...

The steady beat.  The blistering horns.  That powerful theme of James Bernard’s pierces the walls of this cemetery; it is majestic even.  It sounds like a procession as the camera marches us toward the tomb of Dracula.  And then, because we’d not have it any other way  ...

Directed by Terence Fisher, Dracula, Prince of Darkness is Hammer Films' first sequel to 1958's Horror of Dracula to feature the return of Christopher Lee as the Count (who was absent from 1960's Brides of Dracula).  It also marks a sort of crossroads  ...

The past is never dead.  Paraphrased from William Faulkner, this line is directly stated in the absolutely gut-wrenching brutality that is Combat Shock.  Written and directed by Buddy Giovinazzo, this intense film follows one Vietnam veteran as he, a one time prisoner of  ...

Chicago is a very beautiful city.  From the inspiring architecture to the sports teams, a thriving cultural history – whether being celebrated in seasonal bursts or by the rousing cuisine – absolutely thrives within its city limits.  Even the boarded-up ghetto areas offer a beauty  ...

When Italians do American-styled action flicks, they usually hit the stereotypes AND the action a hell of a lot harder than we do.  Thought First Blood was a tough watch, especially when the entire town gets blown the hell up?  Think again.  Because Blastfighter, directed  ...

“I was born in a house with the television always on…” David Byrne, the lead singer of Talking Heads, has directed only one feature film . . . so far.  And his movie, True Stories, begins on the open road.  It is a dirt road that divides two agriculture areas.  A girl is on the ...

They walk! They talk!  They bite the head off of E.T.  They even shoot tiny spikes from their pelts!  The Critters movies, last scene on VHS and crummy DVD releases, returns and they, with brand new 2K scans from the original film elements, look better than ever before!   ...

Ever heard of the absolute suck-fest known as The Phantom Menace?  Yeah, well this similarly titled movie is much, much better.  The Phantom Empire, which features two nubile young cave "bunnies" wrestling with each other as its climax, is not unlike reading  ...

Finally, the real truth about the walking dead can be told (and sold) to the masses.  Boils and Ghouls, I bring you the blood-curdling classic known as Zombie!  The eye violence!  The zombie wrestling with the shark!  The suspense!  The WTF moments!  The rotting zombies!  And  ...

Forget about the search for water.  This time out in the cinematic wastelands , the general public simply wants topless women in skintight leather shorts!  And, financed by producer Roger Corman, Wheels of Fire aims to please ...

Thank God for Black and Decker!  Start laughing now because, with those words, one member of Force: Five, a "team" of martial arts experts (a term I use loosely here . . . even though this film is comprised of sports stars) assembled to rescue a senator’s daughter from a ...

Get your Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster glasses ready!  The drinking is about to commence with the release of this heralded (and still quite funny) six-episode television series on blu-ray!  As a manual, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which has come in handy many ...

Nasty girls in bunny suits!  Who needs ‘em?  Certainly not Tom (Bruce Watson).  Deciding early on that bosoms should always be well-covered, this strange dude goes on a one-man rampage in a seedy part of Los Angeles and delivers one savage attack after another ...

Classic Who.  The Beeb.  Blu-ray.  Newly remastered.  Need I say anymore? Because the new decade needed a new Doctor.  The changing of the guard – Tom Baker will always be MY Doctor – was inevitable, I suppose, for a long-running program ...

How does the song go?  "Let the bodies hit the . . . BBQ grill?"  Because, yep, that's what happens in this seriously demented flick.  Are the steaks done already?!  Ready. Fire. Aim.  This Nail Gun Massacre has been reloaded ...

“Miss Nicholson . . . at 12:10am the hand became alive. . .” If ever those words are uttered around me when staring at a dismembered arm, you bet my ass is headed for the door . . . even if it is the icy breath of the North Pole ...

If it wasn’t for the over-the-top acting of Charles Fleisher (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and Priscilla Barnes (Three’s Company), then The Backlot Murders, a satire of the horror genre, would be a total waste of your time.  But there’s a trick to  ...

Renée Zellweger.  Matthew McConaughey.  A bizarre chainsaw wielding family.  Leatherface.  The Illuminati.  Wait, wait, wait.  WHAT!? We were warned.  We didn’t listen.  This movie was always going to come out on Blu-ray and now, after months of preparation, the end ...

. . . but still no Munchie Strikes Back. Scream Factory resumes their Double Feature blu-ray efforts with the super campy creature feature double attack of Munchies (from 1987) and Munchie (from 1992).  Hide the candy!  This twofer offers two cult films, operating like ...

Director William Lustig (Maniac Cop), the current CEO of Blue Underground, has FINALLY gotten around to giving his own cult classic the deluxe treatment.  It’s about damn time, too.  This film, grisly and grim, is quite the achievement when it comes to low budget  ...

Want to watch a really young Brad Pitt (fresh from his Pringles commercial) nearly take out a toddler in his Mustang?  Or watch an overweight gym teacher get impaled on a trampoline by an American flag (still on the flag pole)?  Then this is the slasher for you!  ...

You keep right on telling yourself there’s nothing wrong with Susan.  The glowing green eyes.  The high-pitched siren whenever she’s ‘”lit” and ready to go.  And then there is that mausoleum that is at the center of her family’s curse.  Strange things indeed are all up in this  ...

Hung upside down.  Swinging from the rafters of a barn.  It's a hell of a way to go.  Especially when stripped of your clothing.  The killer running loose here - with a stocking over his face - is seriously messed up.  ...

The wizarding world is alive and well thanks to this throwback kid’s flick from director Eli Roth.  You might recognize the name.  Roth is auteur behind the Hostel series, Knock Knock, and Green Inferno.  He’s a horror film guru, thanks to his “love it or leave it” attitude...

There won’t be a soul left standing when our kids turn on us.  One touch is all it takes.  A single hug from one of these contaminated heathens and “BLAMMO!” your face turns to mush, splotchy with burn marks and red welts.  Receive a hug and you die.  That’s the price  ...

Director Dante Tomaselli is a master at painting striking pictures with which we can lose our minds to.  His films are often dressed in heavy themes of Catholicism and, due to his own nightmares as a child, are damn impactful with striking visuals and downright spooky  ...

Spread your beautiful wings and fly away!  Or, at the very least, make a run for it at the zoo while the orderlies aren’t looking. Brothers and sisters of the Cinematic Cult, The Fifth Floor has arrived on blu-ray courtesy of...