Welcome to Home Again, where each and every Tuesday I’ll be running down some of the best genre releases coming to home media.
All info is from the excellent Blu-ray.com. This isn’t every genre release, just the ones I find interesting. For the full list, follow that link.
It’s that time of year, Phantomaniacs – when all of the big companies get in on the spooky act that our favorites like Shout Factory and Arrow maintain all year long! Halloweeny Blu-rays and 4Ks should be coming out a furious pace for the next few weeks, so be sure to check in every single Tuesday to see what’s coming!
10/11
Nekromantix: 3 Decades of Darkle – Cleopatra – If you need spooky music to go with the spooky season – and who doesn’t? – then you are probably already familiar with the psychobilly stylings of Nekromantix. Years ago I discovered their song “Trick or Treat” while putting together my Halloween playlist and was delighted to find that at the time they had six whole albums of rockin’, spooky goodness.
Now, with three more albums in the can, Cleopatra records is releasing this live retrospective and concert film. This set includes a CD, Blu-ray, and DVD of an anniversary show recorded in Santa Ana.
10/15
Scarface Gold Edition 4K (1983) – Universal Studios – This movie is so much more than just, “Say hello to my little friend”.
Al Pacino as Tony Montana is so captivating that he doesn’t even really need a little friend. This guy could have sat down and read a phone book and been just a riveting. Fortunately he does a whole lot more than that and I think it’s kind of unfortunate that this movie has, to certain extent, become something of a pop culture touchstone and nothing more. It’s probably the greatest crime masterpiece ever filmed, but because of the glitz and style associated with the era in which it takes place it doesn’t seem to get the same respect as Goodfellas or The Godfather.
I think that Scarface is also hurt a bit by the fact that many seem to view it as aspirational rather than cautionary, and the negative public perception that has resulted.
Whatever the case, this Brian De Palma classic deserves to be seen in glorious 4K.
Universal is also releasing a limited edition version that includes a pound of cocaine and an AK-47.
HA! Just kidding! It comes with a little “The World is Yours” statue.
Hellboy 15th Anniversary Edition 4K (2004) – Sony Pictures – I haven’t seen the new Hellboy yet, so I’m not going to make any snarky comments about how this is the “good” Hellboy. But this is definitely “a” good Hellboy.
The Omen Collection (1976-2006) – Shout Factory – These are without a doubt notable, creepy films, but this franchise has never really grabbed me. To be honest, I’m not sure I ever watched the third and fourth entries in the original series. I only watched the remake because I like Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber.
I’m sure this will be a great set for fans of the series, as Shout Factory always delivers must-have editions of genre films.
Häxan (1922) – Criterion – If you’re in the mood for something weird, creepy, and effed-up that will linger in the back of your mind for the rest of the spooky season, then check out Häxan.
While artistically impressive, the silent film is full of disturbing, nightmarish imagery depicting a sort of history of witchcraft. Much of the weirdness of the film simply comes from the sensibilities of the era. But the horrifying core is that humans are being unthinkably cruel and abusive to other humans.
This is a new 2K digital restoration that includes a new arrangement of the music from the 1922 Danish premiere, an audio commentary from 2001, a version of the film narrated by William S. Burroughs with a jazz soundtrack, and more.
Crawl (2019) – Paramount Pictures – This one sort of crawled under the radar. HEYO.
As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, this hasn’t been a great year for seeing movies in the theater. There are a ton that I just haven’t been able to fit into the schedule.
I was pretty excited about Crawl from the get-go, then when it came out people were actually speaking positively about it, so I got even more excited to see it. Unfortunately, timing didn’t work out and we’ll just have to watch this wacky alligator flick at home. I sure am glad I bought that new projector.
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) – Warner Bros. – Nope. Roman Polanski films go in the garbage pile right beside Bryan Singer and Victor Salva.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018) – Paramount Pictures – I can’t wait to see the extended versions of these episodes, despite my feeling that the season blew the ending.
Check out my thoughts about the show here.
Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee Complete Season Four (1972-1973) – BBC – Once again the BBC are being complete shitheads about numbering seasons.
This set is season ten of Doctor Who – The Three Doctors, Carnival of Monsters, Frontier in Space, Planet of the Daleks, and The Green Death. I cannot stress enough that NOBODY who is spending sixty goshdarn dollars on Doctor Who Blu-rays is referring to this as “season four” of anything.
Putting that aside, these are fantastic stories that are well worth owning and you can’t get them all for a better price than this.
3 from Hell (2019) – Lionsgate Films – This movie delivered in ways that I wanted after seeing The Devil’s Rejects fourteen years ago, but had never expected to see. This is Rob Zombie at his best.
Check out my review here.
Ultraman: The Complete Series (1966-1967) – Mill Creek Entertainment – If you haven’t seen this series about The Science Patrol’s complete inability to deal with the threat of monsters and over-reliance on a man who can turn into a giant robot, you should check it out. It’s ridiculously fun and entertaining and the basis for a whole lot of stuff you’ve see in movies and on TV for the past four decades.
Mill Creek is also releasing a Steelbook edition that doesn’t seem to be exclusive to any single retailer.
Twin Peaks: The Television Collection (1990-2017) – Paramount Pictures – There’s nothing else quite like Twin Peaks, is there?
This set includes all three seasons of the television show and tons of special features.
Ultra Q: The Complete Series (1966) – Mill Creek Entertainment – I won’t pretend to know anything about Ultra Q, but apparently it’s a series somewhat similar to Ultraman (that came out first) created by Eiji Tsyburaya. Tsyburaya was one of the men who created Godzilla, so there you go.
And Soon the Darkness (1970) – Kino Lorber – Terry Nation, creator of the infamous Daleks from Doctor Who, co-wrote this thriller about an English girl who goes missing in the French countryside.
Scary Movie (1991) – AGFA – NO. THIS IS NOT THAT SCARY MOVIE. Ugh.
Granted, I’ve never heard of this one and it could be even worse than the Wayans Brothers’ cinematic abortion. Word of mouth is that this is actually a pretty good slasher that has an 80s feel despite the 90s sticker.
I have to say, I find this cover pretty compelling:
Also, it’s specifically a Halloween movie with a haunt as the setting. I’m gonna have to get on this one.
Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans (2019) – Warner Bros. – The family has been eagerly awaiting this one. We love both iterations of the animated Titans.
The Queen of Spades (1949) – Kino Lorber – I was hoping this might be a documentary about the greatest NXT Women’s Champion of all time, Shayna Baszler, until I saw the date.
Instead, this is a film about a Russian army officer who works his way into the household of a wealthy countess who has allegedly made a deal with the devil to become an expert at a card game. It sounds like a classic “more than they bargained for!” story. I’m not as interested as I would have been in the Baszler pic, but I’m interested.
Stuber (2019) – 20th Century Fox – This is the one with Batista and Kumail Nanjiani, who is not the taxi driver from Deadpool, you racist.
I thought it looked pretty good. Not movie theater good, mind you, but “2 AM on a Saturday and I’m drunk and don’t feel like watching a horror movie” good.
Other Titles Worth Noting
Killer Nun, The Art of Self-Defense, The Mind Benders, Sudden Terror, My Samurai, Night Hunter, The Noonday Witch, Devil’s Revenge, Gebo and the Shadow, The Leg Fighters, The Bloody Brood, The Lingering, Already Gone, Who Killed Cock Robin
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