By Rob Hunter
Plus 9 More New Releases to Watch This Week on Blu-ray/DVD!
Welcome to this week in home video! Click the title to buy a Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon and help support FSR in the process!
Pick of the Week
Death Line [Blue Underground]
Why see it? Even if director Gary Sherman wasn’t already a keeper thanks to the genre gem that is Dead & Buried, this earlier effort would seal the deal. There’s horror here in the form of some frightening underground sequences and imagery, but it’s far from the blood feast the film’s alternate art promises under the title Raw Meat. That’s not a bad thing though as the horror is paired with black comedy and a sharp commentary on people’s indifference and lack of awareness for those around them. Donald Pleasence is terrifically droll, and Christopher Lee has a fun but brief appearance as well. Blue Underground’s new Blu-ray offers up a sharp picture and some enlightening new extras, and if you’re like me you will immediately flip around the reversible cover art.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: 2K restoration, commentary, interviews]
The Best
The Autopsy of Jane Doe [Scream Factory]
Why see it? One of last year’s best horror films comes home, and genre fans shouldn’t hesitate in picking it up for the first of many watches. Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch are terrific as the pair who see their family business take a hit when the corpse on their slab begins revealing a terrible litany of secrets. Director Andre Ovredal builds immense atmosphere with only a few characters and a single location, and the scares become merciless in their frequency and intensity. It’s a rare horror film where we care about the characters, and that attachment leads to increased tension and fear. Turn out the lights, turn up the volume, and settle in for a modern gem.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: None]
Running on Empty [Warner Archive]
Why see it? River Phoenix gives a strongly touching performance here as a young man forced to choose between family and a real life of his own. The supporting cast is equally affecting with turns from Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti, and Martha Plimpton, and they all work to find real humanity amid the narrative. Director Sidney Lumet delivers another masterful look at crime and morality, this time with an innocent standing front and center, and it’s no less powerful for it.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: None]
Trespass [Shout Select]
Why see it? Bill Paxton and William Sadler play the firemen while folks like Ice-T and Ice Cube portray the gangsters, and they all bring an abundance of charisma to their various sides of the conflict. The action is exciting and often suspenseful, and Ry Cooder’s score brings it further to life. Walter Hill appears to have left his glory days behind him, but happily he’s left a mountain of fantastic cinema for us to continue watching and celebrate on Blu-ray. Shout Select’s new Blu gathers some new interviews to accompany the film, and while it hasn’t been remastered it’s still a title worth owning.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Interviews, featurettes, music video, deleted scenes]
The Rest
CHiPs
Why see it? Dax Shepard is an amiable guy, and the urge to enjoy this feature he wrote, directed, and stars in is strong, but it’s not enough to carry you through its too frequently unfunny and obvious gags. There are a small handful of laughs though, and combined with some solid action beats (and the presence of Michael Pena, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Adam Brody) the result is a mediocrity that fills time if nothing else.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Featurettes, deleted scenes]
Déjà Vu
Why see it? This mid 80s thriller isn’t quite your typical Cannon Films release as it eschews gratuitous action exploits for a more lush and romantic atmosphere. It feels at times like a low-key Dead Again — or I guess the decade later release of Dead Again feels like an amped-up Déjà Vu — as the events of the past begin to play a role in the present for the dual characters. This is a perfectly serviceable film, and while the beats are familiar and often sedate there’s enough here for fans (particularly of Jaclyn Smith) to enjoy.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: None]
Power Rangers
Why see it? If you love the series you’ll probably enjoy this, and if you aren’t a fan of the show then this won’t covert you. That’s the common wisdom anyway, but what surprises about this feature is that it’s actually more entertaining than you’d expect. It’s not good exactly, but there’s fun to be had as the characters come together and first start discovering their new abilities and purpose. It becomes a loud, messy stinker once they actually become Power Rangers though as the film essentially becomes a slightly higher-budgeted take on the show’s endless battle scenes.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Deleted scenes, outtakes, featurettes, commentaries]
The Savage Innocents
Why see it? Nicholas Ray in the director’s chair is all the reason you need to check out this adventure film from 1960, and he delivers some terrific scenery along the way. The issues though, at least through the lens of hindsight, are numerous. Anthony Quinn made up like an Eskimo is strike number one, the literal treatment of women as objects is strike two, and the real killing of at least one polar bear is strike three. Even if you’re okay with all of that the appearance of a young Peter O’Toole — dubbed! — is sure to disappoint. The film’s ultimately less interested in grand adventure than in interpersonal relationships.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: None]
The Unholy [Vestron Video]
Why see it? This 80s horror thriller doesn’t waste any time before jumping right in with the sacrilege, T&A, and gooey gore, and similar beats appear sporadically throughout. The problem with the film is that the down time between those sequences are pretty dull. Between the endless exposition and the dimly-lit locales it’s slow-going between the money shots. Genre fans will want to want to give it a watch. It was touch and go for a while there, but happily Vestron Video has returned with another collector’s edition release of a past genre title, and they’ve once again loaded it with new extras.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentary, interview, featurettes, original ending]
Victims!
Why see it? This is a sleazy af little movie. The film opens with a handful of seemingly random assaults and murders before settling in for the plot proper involving two murderous robbers who cross paths with four friends in the desert. Rape, humiliation, and death follow before the movie twists the knife even further by subjecting the survivors to legal ramifications. It’s got a mean streak to it. Olive Films’ collaboration with Slasher//Video continues to find micro-budget genre efforts from the early 80s to bring back to life, but unlike most other boutique labels they add new extras without cleaning up the presentation. As such this is a pick-up for real fans only because most newcomers to the low budget genre fold won’t be all that forgiving towards the video/audio here.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentary, interview]
Also out this week:
The Angry Red Planet [Scream Factory], Berlin Syndrome, Dirty Dancing, Doberman Cop [Arrow Video], The Evictors [Scream Factory], The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake [Scream Factory], Grey Lady, Heli, Life of Significant Soil, The Lodger [Criterion Collection], Money, Never Sleep Alone [Vinegar Syndrome], Nurse Sherri [Vinegar Syndrome], Straw Dogs [Criterion Collection], T2 Trainspotting, A Touch of Genie [Vinegar Syndrome]
The article Forget Minding the Gap, It’s the Cannibals You Need to Watch Out For In ‘Death Line’ appeared first on Film School Rejects.
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