The Plague Of The Zombies (Blu-ray Review)
Scream Factory is continuing on its promise to dive into the Hammer catalog and release us some swell editions of these classics that seem to be lacking in representation in the US. Last month, they opened up the gates with a release of Dracula: Prince of Darkness that seemed to have a mixed reaction in terms of what version of the film people thought looked “better” but also revealing that some of these probably aren’t in the best condition with their elements. Here in January, The Plague of the Zombies is finally seeing a release here in the United States. This zombie film predates Romero’s genre game-changing Night of the Living Dead and is considered by many to be one of the most essential and seminal films in the Hammer Horror catalog. Boasting a restored audio track, a still gallery and World of Hammer episode, the rest of the release looks to be similar to the previous UK Studio Canal Blu-ray. You can get your hands on this one by pre-ordering a copy, which is being released on January 15th. Continue reading ‘The Plague Of The Zombies (Blu-ray Review)’
Gillian Flynn’s written work came to light and broke out when David Fincher adapted her novel Gone Girl, which opened to major success back in 2014. The Rosamund Pike/Ben Affleck/Carrie Coon thriller was THE adults get a babysitter flavor of the season. Now, HBO has taken another of her works, the novel Sharp Objects, and turned it into a mini-series starring Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson. The series ran to great acclaim back in the summer of 2018. You can bring home Sharp Objects today as the eight-episode limited series is now available for Digital Download, and Blu-ray™ and DVD (It released November 27th of 2018, but we are a bit behind on it). The “haunting and riveting” (The Hollywood Reporter) series is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (HBO’s “Big Little Lies”) and created by Marti Noxon (“Dietland”). The Digital Download, Blu-ray™ and DVD will include an exclusive*, never-before-seen feature showcasing the creation of the fictional town of Wind Gap. 
Back in 1999, I was pretty psyched for 8MM as it was the follow up film from the writer of Seven. Its well known the film Andrew Kevin Walker and David Finher delivered back in 1995 and there weren’t many like it. 8MM promised to deliver some kind of spiritual sequel to it. When it arrived, I found myself pretty satisfied with the film. In fact, the Joel Schumacher film that followed Batman & Robin was one of the first DVDs I ever purchased for my collection. Since, it’s never seen a Blu-ray upgrade. Thirteen long years later, the film is finally arriving, not because Warner Bros finally got there, but thanks to Scream Factory’s interest in putting it out. It carries over the previous bonus material and adds a nice new Joel Schumacher interview to tack on. You’ll be able to watch (If you can) when the film finally hits the shelves of your favorite virtual retailer on January 8th. 
One of the more buzzed about shows in the streaming world for the year of 2018 was the Hulu original program called Castle Rock. This marked a merging of sorts between legendary writer Stephen King and film and television directing and producing savant JJ Abrams. Castle Rock promised to be a sort of singular town all built around things found in the written works of Stephen King. The show has already been renewed for a second season on the streaming giant, but its unknown when that season will have its premiere. The first season had a late July one, so that could still be in the cards for the show’s sophomore season. In the meantime, Warner Bros is releasing the Hulu show onto 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on January 8th. This is a smart move as many King collectors will want to have it in an forma of physical ownership and not a licensing agreement that could change on a whim. 
For the 40th anniversary of his original killing spree on Halloween night in Haddonfield, Illinois in 1978, Michael Myers returned to theaters bigger than ever. Backed by Blumhouse, scored by John Carpenter and starring Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, director David Gordon Green along with Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley once again set forth a new timeline for the longtime slasher series. Everything obviously sold on being the film people wanted to see, as this 2018 Michael Myers/Laurie Strode Halloween story became the biggest Halloween movie ever and one of the highest grossing horror films of a all time. Now, and quickly I must add, Universal is unmasking the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray of the film to start off the new year. You can ensure yourself a copy of The Shape’s latest trail of brutally murdered bodies by pre-ordering from the Amazon link below to have when it releases on January 15th, 2019. It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good copy! 
You know that old saying don’t judge a book by its cover? Well that’s exactly what I did here with 2018’s Kevin Hart comedy Night School. I thought the trailer looked putrid and I honestly wanted nothing to do with ever seeing the film. Evidently the rest of my team shares those sentiments as when I received this title no one was clamoring to do the needful with. Therefore, I thought I was taking one for the team. What shocked me though is what I really found was a good time. The comedy I wanted nothing to do with won me over. Now don’t get ahead of me. It’s not going to win any movie of the year prizes or anything like that. However, unlike the majority of critics out there I found Night School to not only be above average, but one that I’m stoked about adding to my personal home media collection for future viewings of. 
2017 and 2018 have felt like the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format has been embracing and enjoying bringing us the back catalog of one Steven Spielberg. His latest films, The Post and Ready Player One, hitting the format right away of course, but we are getting the classics too, from all eras be it Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Jurassic Park. This year has also given us both films that have landed him his Best Director Academy Award wins. Capping off the year, we are being given the 4K Ultra-HD debut of the multiple Oscar winning (Including Best Picture) masterpiece about the Holocaust, Schindler’s List. The film was made available on the last new release Tuesday, December 18th, of the year and can be ordered by clicking the Amazon link below. 
For 50 years, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey has blown away audiences and inspired some of our biggest and best films and filmmakers. In celebration of this milestone, front by Christopher Nolan, the film was restored and rereleased in IMAX theaters to commemorate the occasion. Its amazing that a film from 1968 was already perfect for the format and could make such an easy transition, but that is the genius and master stroke that is the film that escalated Stanley Kubrick from very good filmmaker to legend overnight. Warner Bros is also not hesitating and bringing it to the best possible home presentation when it released the film on December 18th to the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. Originally slated for October 30th, the released suffered from a couple delays for reasons I’m not sure of, but if something’s going to be great, its always worth the wait (And indeed this one was). Don’t hesitate, order yourself a copy from the Amazon link below. 
Horror is doing what its doing and doing it well from all sorts of angles and subgenres. Be it awards-level prestigious like Hereditary, original blockbusters like A Quiet Place, familiar territory like It or a beloved franchise getting a new entry like Halloween, its covered. One overlooked, but important sublet of the genre is the family or kid horror film. We saw an all-timer in RL Stine’s Goosebumps a few years back (That even having a sequel this year). This year saw The House With A Clock In Its Walls, based on a popular book and directed by one of the modern experts in directing horror, Eli Roth. Keeping familiarity with the kids, Jack Black is here in the film for good measure. Its such that I feel like many people could have been confused and thought this Goosebumps-related. Universal has brought its hit film to the 4K Ultra-HD format (Unlike you, Goosebumps 2!) and you can pick it up at any time, as it was released on the last new release Tuesday of the year, December 18th. 
I’ve been a Jennifer Garner fan ever since her days on television’s ALIAS so many years ago. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I’m here to give her the benefit of the doubt. Peppermint didn’t get much love in its theatrical release from critics or the moviegoing Rotten Tomatoes crowd. However, our own reviewer, Gregg Senko, praised the film as potential Top 10 material. So I have taken it as my duty to either prove the world or Gregg wrong by tackling the Blu-ray review of Peppermint here. If you know me well, then you’ll know the one thing this film has going for it with me is its R-rating. So there’s always a possibility I walk away from this review unscathed and a fan of Peppermint. Stranger things have happened, right? 
Yours truly originally covered the first season of Westworld, also known as The Maze, on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray over 
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a film franchise that is notoriously legendary in its first two entries for entirely different reasons. As has been noted, the first film was one of the most controversial and protested films of the 1980s. Part 2 didn’t catch its legacy until 2006 when it became and internet meme for one of its most outrageous moments and line readings. Its not the holidays around my house if “Garbage Day” isn’t referenced 10,000 or more times. The film’s star had dropped off the map, leaving Hollywood in 1992. Like Mark Patton before him, Eric Freeman finally resurfaced a couple years ago, and we can now finally get his story about working on the film he’s most known for. And you’ll be able to see that on the Scream Factory Collector’s Edition of Silent, Night Deadly Night Part 2. They’ve loaded this one up with interviews and a short film follow up on the character made for this Blu-ray. It’ll sit nicely next to the first one in your collection, so pre-order your copy from the Amazon link below today! 
Way back when, which “when” is October the ninth of 2018, Scream Factory unleashed the 1999 remake of William Castle’s House On Haunted Hill. The original was a Vincent Price classic, and in a time when remakes weren’t really a thing yet, this got a 1990s Scream-era makeover. And oddly, its been one of them that’s been absent from the Blu-ray library this whole time. There has been a German release from 2010 and a Spanish region one from 2014. For those who can’t import or go region free, it does them no good. But when someone like Scream Factory gets the helm, it makes it somewhat worth the wait. The straight to video sequel of all things, has been available this whole time though. Heck, that came out during one the inaugural years of the format, even! This Collector’s Edition ports over all the bonus materials on the previous release as well as a couple of new interviews. None of the cast came back though, sorry. Order yourself a copy of this classic now by clicking the Amazon link following the review. 
Not surprisingly, the last film of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre brand to release onto Blu-ray is the rightfully maligned Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. I’ve long wanted this film to land on Blu-ray, not because its deserving or I secretly like it, but because I felt with the right distributor, maybe we could get an entertaining story through retrospective interviews about this utter mess. Unfortunately, we are likely to never get the thoughts of the two people we want to hear from most (Who apparently took immediate issue with likeness being shown on the original cover art for this film). Scream Factory is an ideal home and they have brought it with two cuts of the film and some interviews which seems way more than we could have expected from the film. As bad as this movie is, its a pretty attractive title as its Leatherface, people want a complete collection and its a cinematic oddity/dumpster fire that despite its failings is still appealing. You’ll be able to scratch that weird itch on December 11th. 
Just two years ago, Shout! Factory made a splash when they announced Bill and Ted’s Most Excellent Collection on Blu-ray. Not only were they releasing a super duper version of the original movie, but they debuted its sequel, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey onto Blu-ray with equal love and care. The only way to own Bogus Journey was to own the collection…until now. Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey will be available stand alone in this terrific new limited edition steelbook. Unlike the disc in the set, it won’t just carry commentaries, the retrospective documentary “Bill and Ted Go To Hell” has been added to it, making for a nice definitive release for the movie as Shout! Factory often tends to do. You can pick up this release now, as they brought it out back on November 20th. I’m not sure how limited this release is (Or the Streets of Fire one I just reviewed, for that matter), but the steelbook for the first film is still readily available ($14.99 at Best Buy currently). However, Bogus Journey has never been available by itself and seems to be a rarer item in the world of Blu-ray. 
Next to the Marvel Universe, the most successful current ongoing cinematic shared universe is the horror genre’s The Conjuring. It used to be a little secret, but now everyone is pretty aware of what they once quietly built off of James Wan’s original film based around Ed and Lorraine Warren. Making her big impression and debut in the sequel to The Conjuring, it is now the character of The Nun’s time to take lead in a film. Opening to huge box office and poor reviews, the film is now launching onto Blu-ray to slide up next to your Annabelle’s and your Warrens movies. Warner Brothers will be releasing it on standard Blu-ray on December 4th. It comes with some featurettes and a digital version of the film. There looks to also be a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release of the film, but that was not sent over for this review. The Conjuring 2 had a planned 4K Ultra-HD release around the time it hit home video, but you’ll remember was pulled. If you’re keeping stock on this universe in your collection, please use the Amazon link to pre-order yourself a copy today! 
Having revisited the Mission: Impossible franchise this summer on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format (our reviews 
