Cinemaniac Mark

Lot lizards fall prey to a serial killer in CANDY LAND (2022), hitting Blu-ray and DVD on 2/6/23!  Not one for those with tender sensibilities! Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/47VESRC (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

INDIEPIX brings to DVD and streaming a drama about two Italian expats, one young and one old, whose paths cross in Luxembourg. A tale of hopes, dreams, and the unexpected places life takes you. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/42c7u7P (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Director Kinji Fukasaku (BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY, MESSAGE FROM SPACE) brings a blazing tale of cops vs thugs in YAKUZA GRAVEYARD (1976), featuring Tetsuya Watari as a hot-handed cop and Meiko Kaji as the gangster wife object of his obsession! On Blu-ray in a solid transfer with illuminating extras, courtesy of Radiance Films . Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/42ct4ZZ (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Arrow Video dips back into the vault of a major Hollywood studio for a solid and robust release of William Wyler's home invasion classic THE DESPERATE HOURS (1955), starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March, in a gorgeous and crisp black and white transfer. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3HACVzc (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Arrow Video continues their excellent series of boxed sets featuring lesser-known Italian westerns in extras-laded gorgeous transfers with SAVAGE GUNS: FOUR ITALIAN WESTERNS VOL. 3, featuring: I WANT HIM DEAD (1968) EL PURO (1969) WRATH OF THE WIND (1970) FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE (1975) For some reason, I forgot to talk about FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE in this review...oops... Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3Oecovq (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here (minus FOUR OF THE APOCALPYSE....)

Available starting 1/26/24 on Prime Video is the 2023 German thriller TRUNK: LOCKED IN, arguably the best film about a woman held prisoner in a car trunk. Surprisingly well-shot for a drama set in such a confined space, it's a hold-your-breath thriller with unexpected twists and memorable moments. Available streaming on Amazon Prime Video: https://amzn.to/3U9KiFl (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Full Moon Features brings Jess Franco's oddball erotic sci-fi thriller BLUE RITA (1977) to all-region Blu-ray+DVD in a gorgeous transfer with extras. An all-female hit squad, using their bodies as weapons, lure prominent men into captivity and engage in alluring ways and means of making them talk. Totally nutty, super saucy, and must be seen to be disbelieved. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3Och3Or (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

88 Films brings the totally bonkers action/horror/comedy THE BLUE JEAN MONSTER (1991) to Blu-ray in a solid transfer with fun extras, though all you need to know is that a half-dead cop gets electrified and becomes a zombie for justice, needing occasional pick-me-up jolts of electricity to survive. Crazy action, crude comedy, and gross-out moments abound in this mx of DEAD HEAT and CRANK. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3UnEjwT (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

VCI Classic Films brings a rare 1970 caper film to Blu-ray, THE GAMBLERS, starring Don Gordon, Stuart Margolin, and Suzy Kendall, in a breezy tale of grifters looking to hook a whale in Dubrovnik. Gorgeous locations, a fun score and beautiful transfer make this a fun spin. Of special note to Hong Kong film fans is Richard Ng in a supporting role, clean shaven and speaking English. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3SkjYXM (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Synapse Films brings to 4K UHD Blu-ray the 2016 remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis' gore classic BLOOD FEAST, starring Robert Rusler, Caroline Williams, and Sophie Monk. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3HluWWA (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Ooh! Amazon currently has Arrow Video 's THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION, featuring both of American International Pictures' fun early 70s vampire flicks starring Robert Quarry, for half off, less than twenty bucks! https://amzn.to/48UuPwP (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

In theaters in limited release this weekend is the French drama DRIVING MADELINE, starring Line Renaud, Danny Boon and Alice Isaaz, and directed by Christian Carion, the story of a cabbie at the end of his rope who picks up an elderly woman on her way to a nursing home, and finds himself on a journey far more eventful and fulfilling than he expected. Full review:

A film I first saw and didn't like when I was in college, it's interesting to revisit MONDO NEW YORK (1988), a documentary on the underground art and performance scene in NYC, some thirty-odd years later, via the new MVD Entertainment Group Blu-ray, which comes with the CD soundtrack. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3NTdzQL (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Visual Vengeance presents Bret McCormick's 1986 straight to video groovily gruesome THE ABOMINATION on a decked-out Blu-ray! Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3TYnFTY (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Film Masters continues its restorations of Roger and Gene Corman's Film Group releases of the early 60s with this double feature, one a tale of small-town devil worship, the other a comedy involving the Cuban revolution, criminals, and a bug-eyed sea monster. Both look the best they ever have, include fun and illuminating bonus materials (including an extended-by-15-minutes TV version of CREATURE) and sharp transfers. Get your copy now from Amazon at:  https://amzn.to/3TRevbX   (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Nine Mexican directors tell 8 stories of terror in MEXICO BARBARO II (2017), a gruesome and at times goofy horror anthology from south of the border, available on Blu-ray from MVD Entertainment Group on 1/16! Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3RTgTfY (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

A little late on this one, but I wasn't all that thrilled with the recent Holiday horror flick IT'S A WONDERFUL KNIFE, which takes a stab at mashing up SCREAM and that Jimmy Stewart Christmas cassic. Available on Shudder and Amazon VOD at:  https://amzn.to/3RGZPcY (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  The new Indian action film SALAAR PART 1: CEASE FIRE contains over-the-top action and political machinations, and most definitely promises a cease fire-free sequel. Full review below:

  VCI Classic Films releases the British shocker HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM (1959) in a solid "Restored and Uncut" upgrade from their previous DVD editions, with a healthy rogues gallery of extras. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/48xaJbQ (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here: