This week’s Blu-ray and DVD releases are an eclectic bunch, to say the least. Not only is Steve Miner’s criminally overlooked horror/comedy creature feature Lake Placid swimming its way onto Blu-ray, but Severin Films is also releasing a trio of controversial cult classics- Bloody Moon, The Baby and Bloody Birthday-all in high definition for the first time ever.
The Time Machine is also getting a Blu-ray release this week, along with Gareth Evans’ stunning action masterpiece The Raid 2 and a handful of indie horror films, including the wickedly entertaining horror musical Stage Fright starring Minnie Driver and Meat Loaf. Overall, it’s a good week to be a genre fan with oddball tastes because there’s a whole lot of wonderfully weird stuff arriving this Tuesday.
SPOTLIGHT TITLES:
The Baby (Severin Films, Blu-ray)
An A-list director. A jaw-dropping storyline. And depraved depictions of suburban violence, 70s fashions and sick love. The result remains one of the most disturbing movies in Hollywood history: Anjanette Comer (The Loved One) stars as an idealistic L.A. County social worker who investigates the case of Mrs. Wadsworth (former 50s starlet Ruth Roman of Strangers On A Train fame), her two buxom daughters, and son Baby, a mentally-disabled man who sleeps in a crib, eats in a high-chair, crawls, bawls and wears diapers. But what secrets of unnatural attachment and sexual obsession are all of these women hiding? Marianna Hill (The Godfather Part II) and Michael Pataki (Grave Of The Vampire) co-star in this psychotic stunner from director Ted Post (Magnum Force, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes), restored from the original film negative for the first time ever on Blu-Ray.
Bloody Birthday (Severin Films, Blu-ray)
Get ready for the rarely seen slasher classic from the 80s that may also be the most disturbing killer kids movies in grindhouse history: Three babies are simultaneously born in the same hospital at the peak of a full solar eclipse. Ten years later, these adorable youngsters suddenly begin a kiddie killing spree of stranglings, shootings, stabbings, beatings and beyond. Can the town's grown-ups stop these pint-sized serial killers before their blood-soaked birthday bash? K.C. Martel (E.T., Growing Pains), Joe Penny (Jake And The Fat Man), Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja), screen legends Susan Strasberg and José Ferrer, and MTV vixen Julie Brown whose nude bedroom dance remains a landmark of celebrity skin star in this still-controversial shocker from director Ed Hunt (The Brain, Diary Of A Sinner), featuring an HD transfer from the original vault elements.
Lake Placid (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Bill Pullman (Independence Day, The Grudge), Bridget Fonda (Jackie Brown), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Platt (X-Men: First Class) share an appetite for sheer adventure when a tranquil New England lakefront erupts into an action-packed den of destruction in this monster of a hit!
An investigative team, armed with state-of-the-art equipment, high-powered weaponry and a biting sense of sarcasm, must work together to defeat Black Lake’s most ferocious resident: a 30-foot prehistoric crocodile! Written by David E. Kelley (Ally Mcbeal, Boston Legal), directed by Steve Miner (Halloween H20, Friday The 13th Part 2), and co-starring Betty White as the cantankerous Mrs. Bickerman, this terrifying tale of survival ’combines humor and thrills with remarkable deftness’ (New York Post).
Stage Fright (Magnolia Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
In this genre-bending "Glee"-meets-Rocky Horror musical comedy a starry-eyed teenager (Allie MacDonald) wants to follow in her mother's (Minnie Driver) footsteps and become a Broadway diva; but instead, she's stuck working in the kitchen of her step-father's (Meat Loaf Aday) snobby performing arts camp. Determined to change her destiny, she sneaks in to audition for the summer showcase landing the lead role. However, just as rehearsals begin, blood starts to spill, and Camilla finds herself terrorized by a homicidal masked killer.
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
5-Movie Maneater Collection (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, DVD)
The Backpacker (Anderson Digital, DVD)
Bloody Moon (Severin Films, Blu-ray)
Favor (Kino Lorber, DVD)
Hunting the Legend (Image Entertainment, DVD)
The Raid 2 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
Rigor Mortis (Well Go USA, Blu-ray & DVD)
Runaway Nightmare (Vinegar Syndrome, Blu-ray)
Serial Killer Culture (Alliance, DVD)
The Time Machine (Turner Home Entertainment, Blu-ray)
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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