Silent Night, Deadly Night (40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition) (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
November 26th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
The 80’s were an influential time for horror films, especially the slasher subgenre. Between 1978’s Halloween through to the 90’s there was an unending slew of films showing doomed teenagers losing their lives over the course of a creepy night. Few were original, but some were truly unique. Does unique mean good you ask? Not typically, but that doesn’t mean those unique slashers don’t have a place in horror fans’ hearts. Silent Night, Deadly Night is a very unique slasher itself. Debuting 40 years ago, the film was once the stuff of controversy based on the marketing of the film. Read on about the film, it’s legacy and this new Collector’s Edition from Shout Studios/Scream Factory!
Time has flown by when you are looking at the 10th Anniversary edition of Interstellar. The ahead-of-its-time Christopher Nolan masterpiece has been on 4K Blu-ray since 2017. Using the same 4K and Blu-ray discs and adding a new piece to the legacy bonus features Blu-ray and giving collectors a beautiful piece of collectible is the name of the game with this release. Read more on the new set and read Brian White’s exceptional legacy review inside!
The Alien franchise has gone through many phases. 1979’s Alien remains the ultimate in sci-fi and horror. 1986’s Aliens epitomizes the mixture of sci-fi and action. 1992’s Alien3 fuses all three genres. There are also inferior sequels, and some prequels that depending on who you talk to are either great or terrible. When Alien: Romulus was announced it was originally slated for a Hulu release. Seeing the potential and the enthusiastic early response, Disney called a great shot, and the film got a theatrical release. The film was a well-received hit, ushering in a melding of old-school Alien fans and newcomers just learning about the previous films. So, where on the Alien-O-Meter does Alien: Romulus sit? Find out more in the review but watch out for flying facehuggers.
Media fandom is something sacred to the people who revel in it. Trekkies, Star Wars Nerds, Twi-hards… There’s something about fandom that has spread much further than the niche conventions that once were. Way back in 1999, Galaxy Quest touched on the idea of fandom with an accurate portrayal that wasn’t all parody. Its genuine representation of media fandom has made the film a bit of a cult hit. It would seem that many Trekkies saw themselves in the early and climactic convention-based scenes. So, after 25 years, how does Galaxy Quest hold up? Find out more while I figure out if there is such a fandom for Galaxy Quest now!
I’ll just admit it here, first sentence – I sort-of despise faith-based movies. I’m not deeply religious, and my love of gospel music is about the extent of my spirituality. Even that’s a slim margin in my opinion. The Kendrick Brothers have cornered the market for these types of films, making modestly budgeted Godly faire with decent box office returns. The Forge, according to the press releases and Blu-ray box art will let you know is the 5th A+ Cinemascore rated film from the brothers. Does that warrant a positive notice from this writer? Find out below and have faith that I do, you could help me with my rating that way!
For lack of a better word, families are a trip. Children feel like their siblings are favored over them. Mothers feel envious of a son’s bonding with their father. Daughters resent mothers for their inherent similarities. Fathers want their sons to follow in their footsteps in exacting ways. A trip, right? In Albert Brooks’ Mother, we use an experiment to find out just how deep those “mommy issues” can get. The Criterion Collection released Mother along with Real Life, and with my own recent pickup of the film, I felt compelled to write about it! Read more below and see if you can relate to Albert Brooks’ John Henderson.
Home invasion/stalker films will always put me on edge. The horror ones, such as Halloween that involve serial killers will always have me shouting at the screen. Thrillers like Panic Room are tense wonderful exercises in testing my blood pressure. I love these types of films. Mike Flanagan’s Hush sits somewhere in between horror and thriller and did nothing to calm my nerves while I watched it. So where does the film sit in my critical view? Find out more about the film and Shout Studios/Scream Factory’s 4-Disc collector’s edition 4K UHD Blu-ray below!
Do you remember the 1992 LA Riots? I know I do. The whole debacle was covered by news outlets much like they did in The Hunger Games, filling homes with the disparate violence and angry response to the unjust not guilty verdict given to the police officers who beat an unarmed Rodney King one awful night. The uprising was monumental and devastating. No doubt a response that law enforcement and racist people wanted the black community to make at the time, we are still haunted by this tragic moment in the 90’s. 1992 is the first film to my knowledge that is based on that fateful April day, even with a dramatized heist thriller embedded in the story, the history remains on the screen. Read more about 1992 and see where the film lies in its historical accuracy.
When I see or hear about action films about assassins, I feel like they’re either going to go the way of the dark such as something like John Wick or we will get a film in the style of the silliest of Guy Ritchie films. A kindred spirit film to Kill Bill perhaps? I like the subgenre, but there’s always that one or the other feeling. The Killer’s Game is the latest assassin action flick to hit cinemas and now, very quickly, 4K UHD Blu-ray. Another of Lionsgate’s not so successful films of 2024, The Killer’s Game came with no fanfare when it was released to theaters barely 2 months ago. Did the film deserve more than it got? Find out below, and don’t forget to watch out for stalking assassins!
Over my 5 years at whysoblu.com, you may have read about my love for legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Vertigo is in my Letterboxd top 4 and has a special place in my heart as one of the first films I ever watched to the point of analyzing it. Among others include the usual suspects for the incredible auteur: Rear Window, The Birds, Notorious, Rebecca, Strangers on a Train and so many others. And then there’s North By Northwest. A genre-hopping masterpiece, the film takes the viewer on an unexpectedly funny adventure that truly has kept people on their toes for 65 years. Celebrating that milestone this year and finally arriving on 4K UHD Blu-ray, read on to find out how the classic film fares on the best physical format!
It’s hard for me to imagine a cinematic world without The Terminator. The iconic cyborg tale turns 40 years old this year, and astonishingly, we are only 5 years away from the 2029 that he travelled from. I also hold The Terminator in high regard that the first film was one of the things that terrified me as a child, but also its incredible sequel, T2, is the first R-rated movie I was allowed to see, at age 5. Read more on the timeless and timely classic below. I’ll also include some related links to the Terminator universe that we’ve shared here over the years!
A lot of people recognize Larry David these days. Back when Curb Your Enthusiasm debuted 25 years ago with a little special, nobody realized that the show would not only last as long as it did, but even outliving 
Veep began as a charming comedy series about the ins and outs of being the Vice President of the US. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer turned out to be a lot more than just a foil for the President and her journey lasted 7 years, and all the way to the best seat in the Oval Office. Now, just in time for an election year, we get Veep: The Complete Series, collected on Blu-ray together for the first time! Read our archival reviews inside and find out my insights as well!
In 1994, The Crow was officially released following the shocking and tragic on-set shooting and death of Brandon Lee. Filming continued with doubles and the film was dedicated to Lee’s memory. The film became an iconic independent film that spawned some direct-to-video sequels and a soundtrack of Industrial Rock that pleased fans of the genre. This reboot of The Crow began its creative stages way back in 2008. I say that because we will revisit that tidbit later in our review. So read on for more about this new telling of The Crow and be on the lookout for more on the film and it’s 1994 counterpart too!
