Reel Reviews - Official Site

A psychological thriller in which Boris Karloff does NOT play a creature of the night?  Say it ain’t so?!  But it’s true.  Isle of the Dead, produced by the legendary Val Lewton, concerns itself with that which haunts Greek nightmares: the Vrykolakas and this female vampire is certainly NOT  ...

Read more: Isle of the Dead: Warner Archive Collection (1945) - Blu-ray Review

In case you missed the now (in)famous twitter thread from back in 2015 written by then mostly unknown waitress/stripper A’Ziah-Monae “Zola” King – who now acts as the film’s producer, you can get yourself caught up on one of the most bizarre weekend road trip stories since the Hoover family ...

Read more: Zola - Blu-ray Review

A cure for a virus has some serious consequences, especially when Dead Space is involved!  It’s big and its bad attitude gives it the upper hand in this . . . remake of a rip-off?!  Yup. There is an interesting cut which happens early in Fred Gallo’s Dead Space, a remake of Roger Corman’s ...

Read more: Dead Space: Limited Edition - Shout! Factory Exclusive (1991)

Madness.  Mayhem.  And, of course, MURDER.  This is what follows the anti-archetype characters of M.  It is a thriller that is meant to unsettle the viewer with its hunt for a serial killer, making it an unforgettable REEL CLASSIC ...

Read more: M: The Criterion Collection (1931) - Blu-ray Review

Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu teams up with Tony-Award winning playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda to bring this year’s most electrifying film to theaters and HBO Max. In the Heights is a beautifully orchestrated celebration of diversity, heritage, and the Latin culture that just might be  ...

Read more: In the Heights - 4K UHD Blu-ray Review

There is an easy but irreverent joke in the title of Elvira’s Haunted Hills.  Figure it out and actually laugh out loud and you will easily enjoy this throwback trope-utilizing flick.  Oh, it’s corny lowbrow horror escapism, complete with secret passageways and family curses, but fans of Elvira aren’t  ...

Read more: Elvira’s Haunted Hills: Collector’s Edition (2001) - Blu-ray Review

The new comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson called The Hustle is an almost identical remake of the 1988 classic comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin - itself a remake of Marlon Brando’s Bedtime Story. I say “almost” because  ...

Read more: Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - Blu-ray Review

What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall during what was certainly the most bizarre elevator pitch in the history of elevator pitches for Luca, the latest churn from Pixar’s ever-productive mill of animated greats. It probably didn’t, but I like to imagine it went something like this ...

Read more: Luca - 4K UHD Blu-ray Review

Suspicions!  Accusations!  It’s all on the screen in this minor film noir classic.  The Suspect arrives on blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber and I, as a fan of Laughton’s performances, couldn’t be happier ...

Read more: The Suspect (1944) - Blu-ray Review

Some 27 years after it’s release, one might be forgiven for forgetting what a game changer Jan de Bont’s Speed was. No scratch that, you should remember! Back in the early 90s, the big muscles, full testosterone action picks from Sly, Arnie, Segal, Van Damme and the like were started  ...

Read more: Speed – 4K UHD Blu-ray Review

“Stop filling your head with all that useless trivia!” Fade to Black lives on the fringes of cinema fanaticism.  This slasher celebrates the gray areas in life, where fantasy and reality come crashing together, as one young cinephile takes matters into his own hands and takes down all ...

Read more: Fade to Black (1980) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive - Blu-Ray Review

One wouldn’t normally equate Cary Grant with a family movie about adoption and the drama which lies therein, but perhaps that’s why Room for One More (also known as The Easy Way) lingers with viewers.  Grant, playing one half of The Roses, never gets time alone as his house is filled  ...

Read more: Room For One More (1952) - Blu-ray Review

Remember that episode of The Big Bang Theory? You know, the one where Sheldon shares his love of Raiders of the Lost Ark with Amy, and after watching it, she blows his mind by attesting that the plot would have been exactly the same without it’s protagonist. I, like Sheldon, was ...

Read more: Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection - 4K Blu-ray Review

Children shouldn’t play with spears.  End of story. There’s something EVIL bubbling just under the soil on this cursed farmland in Texas.  What it is though isn’t exactly too thrilled that this family has arrived.  Just witness the burning of the wooden oil pump  as a young boy ...

Read more: The Cellar (1988) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive - Blu-ray Review

“She’s afraid of the big bad wolf.  Tra la la la laaaaaa.” It Happened One Night remains a phenomenal romantic comedy.  After all these years, this pre-code American film - which was made when being a reporter was idolized and the screwball comedy was only just hitting its stride - still hits all the perfect notes as ...

Read more: It Happened One Night: Criterion Collection (1934) - Blu-ray Review