Archive for the '88 Films' Category
April 8th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
This is one of the strangest entries in Jackie Chan’s career, and that’s exactly why it’s worth another look. In The Protector, Chan plays Billy Wong, a New York cop who, alongside Danny Garoni (Danny Aiello), heads to Hong Kong after a wealthy businessman’s daughter is kidnapped by drug lord Mr. Ko. What starts as a standard cop thriller quickly shifts into something more unusual: a gritty East-meets-West hybrid that trades Chan’s usual charm for a harder, more aggressive edge. This Protector 4K UHD release finally gives the film a proper revisit. Continue reading ‘The Protector (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
March 9th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
Some horror films scare you. Others make you laugh. The Fade to Black 4K UHD release from 88 Films shines a spotlight on a cult oddity that does something stranger. It takes the love of movies and twists it into something dark, obsessive, and a little uncomfortable. Directed by Vernon Zimmerman, this cult favorite follows Eric Binford, a lonely film fanatic whose devotion to classic cinema slowly spills over into real life with deadly consequences. Packed with film references, eerie humor, and an early appearance from Mickey Rourke, Fade to Black plays like a warped love letter to movie history. It is part slasher, part satire, and part psychological portrait of what happens when fandom loses its grip on reality. He’s coming to get you…
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February 5th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
This On the Run (1988) Blu-ray review looks at a Hong Kong crime thriller that still hits with grit and mood decades later. Directed by Alfred Cheung and led by the always-electric Yuen Biao, the film drops us into a rain-soaked world of dirty cops, bad choices, and nowhere to hide. After his wife is murdered, cop Heung Ming uncovers corruption inside the force and is pushed into hiding, hunted from all sides. His only lifeline is Chui, a cold-blooded assassin played by Pat Ha, forming an uneasy alliance built on survival more than trust. It’s bleak, tense, and rooted firmly in that late-’80s Hong Kong noir groove. Continue reading ‘On the Run (Blu-ray Review)’
February 5th, 2026 by Gerard Iribe
After breaking out with Bloodsport in 1988 and quickly following it up with crowd-pleasers like Cyborg and Kickboxer, Jean-Claude Van Damme returned in 1991 with Double Impact. a film that gets a fresh look in this Double Impact 4K UHD Blu-ray review. This Double Impact 4K UHD Blu-ray review looks at the martial arts star pulling double duty as Chad and Alex, long-lost twin brothers forced to team up against the Hong Kong underworld. It’s loud, fast, and unapologetically muscular, delivering wall-to-wall fights, outrageous style, and pure early-’90s action fun that still knows how to entertain.
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September 2nd, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
An amnesiac gunfighter rides into a world of danger and deceit in The Man Called Noon. This The Man Called Noon Blu-ray review looks at the 88 Films release, which gives fans the chance to revisit the spaghetti western oddity in HD. With no memory of who he is, and only a sympathetic outlaw by his side, Noon is forced to piece together a violent past while navigating shifting allegiances.
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August 31st, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Science fiction horror collectors have a new reason to celebrate with this Shadowzone Blu-ray review. Releasing in the UK by 88 Films, the disc brings the 1990 cult film back to life in high definition. The story follows a team of scientists experimenting with Extreme Dream Sleep, only to discover that their doorway into a parallel dimension doesn’t just open one way, something has crossed over. It’s part creature feature, part sci-fi thriller, and all cult appeal.
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August 29th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
In the mid-’90s, when the internet still felt like uncharted territory, Hackers (1995) tapped into the neon-lit dreams and anxieties of a generation just discovering life online. This Hackers 4K UHD Blu-ray review takes a fresh look at the cult favorite, a film that blurred the line between teenage rebellion and cyberspace fantasy. Nearly three decades later, its mix of style, energy, and nostalgia still sparks curiosity, making this new edition a chance to revisit the digital daydream that defined an era of dial-up imagination.
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June 24th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
They’re back — and this time, they’re adults (sort of). The American Reunion Blu-ray from 88 Films brings the original American Pie crew together again for one more chaotic weekend of nostalgia, regrets, and just enough heart to keep things from getting sticky. It’s been over a decade since the East Great Falls gang graduated, and this belated sequel aims to close the loop with a send-off that’s louder, raunchier, and – surprisingly — more grounded than expected. Fans can now own both the theatrical and unrated cuts in this Deluxe Collector’s Edition, which includes a 40-page photo book, a rigid slipcase, an O-ring slipcover with newly commissioned artwork, and a strong 1080p HD transfer backed by DTS-HD audio. Whether you grew up with this crew or are meeting them for the first time, this set goes big on presentation — and thankfully, it delivers.
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June 24th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
There was a time when American Pie 2 felt like the gold standard for early-2000s summer sequels: more raunch, more chaos, and more Stifler. Revisiting it now, the laughs don’t quite hit like they used to — but nostalgia has its own flavor, and this deluxe 4K UHD Blu-ray from 88 Films serves it up with whipped cream on top. While the film itself may land closer to “fond smirk” than full-blown hysterics, the presentation is anything but half-baked. This is a surprisingly sharp and generously loaded release that gives the gang’s second outing a glow-up worthy of the party house it wrecks. This American Pie 2 4K UHD Blu-ray from 88 Films is a throwback with a fresh coat of gloss. Continue reading ‘American Pie 2 (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 21st, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The Black Torment Blu-ray from 88 Films revives a moody slice of British gothic mystery that plays its shadowy cards like a proper whodunnit. Released in 1964 and long overshadowed by Hammer’s louder horrors, this low-key thriller builds tension with creaky staircases, hushed servants, and one very dead former wife. Is it a ghost story? A setup? Or just a nobleman slowly losing his grip? The final reveal lands somewhere between classic drawing-room suspense and a twist worthy of The Prestige — which makes it all the more fun to rewatch. Continue reading ‘The Black Torment (Blu-ray Review)’
June 20th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The Witch from Nepal Blu-ray from 88 Films brings one of Hong Kong cinema’s strangest supernatural curios back into the spotlight. Part romance, part mystical fever dream, part action-fantasy, this 1986 oddity stars Chow Yun-fat in a role that swerves from spiritual awakening to bare-chested brawling. Shot partially on location in Nepal, it’s a visually interesting but narratively chaotic ride. Now cleaned up in HD and dressed in slick collector packaging, this release might catch the eye of genre collectors. But not every oddity is a hidden gem.
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June 20th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
There’s no mistaking it — Gate of Flesh Blu-ray is one of the grimiest, gutsiest cult releases 88 Films has ever put out. Originally released in Japan as Carmen 1945, this 1988 reimagining of postwar Tokyo dives deep into the neon-lit back alleys of desperation, sex work, and survival. Set in the ashes of defeat, where the only currency is flesh and power shifts with every glance, Gate of Flesh blends exploitation and melodrama with razor-sharp social critique. Now available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, this Blu-ray disc packs serious punch for collectors of transgressive cinema and fans of bold Japanese filmmaking. Continue reading ‘Gate of Flesh (Blu-ray Review)’
April 30th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Show Aikawa is back as the superhero like no other in maverick director Takashi Miike (Audition, One Missed Call) and screenwriter Kankuro Kudo’s (Go, Ping Pong) subversive and darkly satirical sequel to their 2004 homage to the golden era of Japan’s tokusatsu TV shows. It’s 2025, and our hero Shinichi finds himself waking up minus memory, zebra stripes and zebra powers in an authoritarian dystopian future. Tokyo has been taken over by a sinister ultra right-wing governor named Kozo, who has reconstructed and rechristened the capital as Zebra City and mandated a twice-daily five-minute purge called Zebra Time in which all crime is legal and his Zebra Police readily pitch themselves into the resulting free-for-all. It’s a society dominated by screens, and the screens dominated by a sultry pop diva named Zebra Queen, who just happens to be Kozo’s daughter. Can Shinichi regain his Zebraman powers to thwart the Kozo and the Zebra Queen’s plans to export their dark vision across the world? Zebraman 2 is released on Blu-ray in the UK May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (Blu-ray Review)’
April 23rd, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
An affectionate homage to the heyday of Japan’s tokusatsu superhero TV shows, directed by Takashi Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins) and written by Kankuro Kudo (Go, Ping Pong), Zebraman stars the legendary Show Aikawa as Shinichi, a teacher facing a midlife crisis, as his family collapses around him. To escape from the bitter reality of his daily he existence, Shinichi takes to secretly dressing up as Zebraman, the eponymous hero of an obscure 1970s TV series from when he was a kid that was cancelled after just seven episodes. Meanwhile, as his life collapses around him, aliens are at large and readying themselves to take over planet Earth. Can Shinichi overcome his lack of confidence to channel his childhood fantasies into saving the world? Zebraman is released in the UK on Blu-ray May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Zebraman (Blu-ray Review)’
April 19th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
A dangerous criminal escapes captivity – but luckily crime-busting super-swordswoman Leng Rushuang (Shih Szu, Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires) is on his trail. However, she has doubts about his guilt, and she’s not going to stop fighting until she’s sure the right man is being punished. Co-starring Lo Lieh (Dragons Forever) and the unmistakable Dean Shek (Drunken Master), Lady of the Law is a choice cut from the golden age of Hong Kong swordplay. 88 Films are proud to present this slice-and-dice classic on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Lady of the Law (Blu-ray Review)’
April 17th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
WHAT’S GOING ON IN COMET VALLEY? Something’s brewing in this quiet rural community: things are falling from the skies, people are acting strangely and there’s something very nasty waiting in the orchard… It’s up to visiting geologist Tom Baines (Sam Hennings – Drop Zone) to figure out the mystery: if he can’t, then the whole world is in trouble. From executive producer Charles Band (Trancers), Seedpeople is a smart update on Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and other old-skool sci-fi movies), complete with fearsome aliens and rubbery special effects. 88 Films are proud to present this enthralling extraterrestrial extravaganza on Blu-ray in the UK for the very first time!
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