September 19th looks to be another bountiful day of home entertainment releases, with a little bit of something for everyone coming out this Tuesday. One of the year’s best movies, Wonder Woman, makes its bow on multiple formats, and for those who may have missed the recent theatrical re-release, the 4K version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind arrives on both Ultra HD and standard Blu this week, too.
Ana Lily Amirpour’s The Bad Batch is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday as well, and for you fans who have been going through withdrawals since the series concluded, Bates Motel: Season Five is finally coming home. And if you dig on cult films of all types, then you’ll definitely want to add Innocent Blood, Deadly Dreams, and Sweet Sixteen to your own collections.
Other notable releases for September 19th include Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars, the 4K release of the original Starship Troopers, Ghost House, and the complete series collections for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Bates Motel.
The Bad Batch (Virgil Films & Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
THE BAD BATCH follows Arlen (Suki Waterhouse) after she's left in a Texas wasteland, fenced off from civilization. While trying to navigate the unforgiving landscape, Arlen is captured by a savage band of cannibals led by the mysterious Miami Man (Jason Momoa). With her life on the line, she makes her way to The Dream (Keanu Reeves). As she adjusts to life in 'the bad batch', Arlen discovers that being good or bad mostly depends on who's standing next to you.
Bates Motel: Season Five (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu/Digital HD & DVD)
It's been two years since the death of Norma (Vera Farmiga), and Norman (Freddie Highmore) has descended into full-blow psychosis. To the public, he's a happy and well-adjusted member of the White Pine Bay community, but at home his violent blackouts continue to increase as 'Mother' threatens to take over his mind completely. Incarcerated for a perjury, the vengeful Sheriff Romero hungers for a chance to destroy Norman and avenge the murder of his one true love. Watch the final 10 episodes of the iconic Bates Motel back-to-back and uninterrupted.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 40th Anniversary Edition (Sony Pictures, 4K/Blu/Digital & Blu/Digital)
Richard Dreyfuss stars as cable worker Roy Neary, who along with several other stunned bystanders experience a close encounter of the first kind - witnessing UFOs soaring across the sky. After this life-changing event, the inexplicable vision of a strange, mountain-like formation haunts him. He becomes obsessed with discovering what it represents, much to the dismay of his wife and family. Meanwhile, bizarre occurrences are happening around the world. Government agents have close encounters of the second kind - discovering physical evidence of extraterrestrial visitors in the form of a lost fighter aircraft from World War II and a stranded military ship that disappeared decades earlier only to suddenly reappear in unusual places. Roy continues to chase his vision to a remote area where he and the agents follow the clues that have drawn them to reach a site where they will have a close encounter of the third kind - contact.
Deadly Dreams (Kino Lorber/Code Red, DVD)
From the director of the highly acclaimed Body Chemistry comes a frightening excursion into terror. Alex (Mitchell Anderson; Party of Five) is caught in a web of distrust between his brother (Xander Berkeley; Gattaca), his best friend (Thom Babbes, Naked Under Heaven), and a beautiful stranger (Juliette Cummins; Slumber Party Massacre 2), all while plagued by recurring nightmares of the slaughter of his family by a hunter wearing a fox mask. Now see this terrifying thriller from a brand new HD master.
Special Features:
- Interview with director Kristine Peterson
- Interview with writer Thom Babbes
- Trailers
Innocent Blood (Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray)
This ghoul just wants to have fun! She also wants an occasional bad guy to sink her fangs into – because she never, ever takes Innocent Blood. Anne Parillaud is Marie, a vampire who imperils Pittsburgh when she fails to kill off one of her victims, mob boss Sal Macelli (Robert Loggia). Sal realizes what a lucky stiff he is: a vampire with deadly powers! If Marie and her undercover cop boyfriend (Anthony LaPaglia) can’t stop the mobster’s new “family” of goons, Pittsburgh will be the pits. As in his An American Werewolf in London, director John Landis saw in Michael Wolk’s script many “possibilities to be outrageous” – and transforms them into outrageous screen reality.
Sweet Sixteen (Kino Lorber/Code Red, DVD)
When Melissa Morgan (Aleisa Shirley) , a sexy big-city girl, moves to a small town, she creates quite a stir with her beauty and promiscuous attitude. She s 15 going on 25, and all the boys at her new school are anxious to get to know her. But when the younger brother of a local hell-raiser (Don Stroud, Search and Destroy) is brutally murdered, the town sheriff (Bo Hopkins, White Lightning) must try to solve the killings before the killer strikes again. Along to help him is his Nancy Drew-ish daughter (Dana Kimmell, Friday the 13th 3-D). Jim Sotos (Hot Moves) directed this suspenseful thriller co-starring Susan Strasberg (Scream of Fear) and Patrick Macnee (The Avengers, Transmutations).
Special Features:
- Interview with star Bo Hopkins
- Interview with star Aleisa Shirley
- Original Theatrical Trailer
Wonder Woman (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, 4K Ultra HD/Blu/Digital, 3D Blu/Blu/Digital, Blu/DVD/Digital & DVD/Digital)
Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Epilogue
- Crafting the Wonder
- A Director's Vision: Themyscira: The Hidden Island
- A Director's Vision: Beach Battle
- A Director's Vision: A Photograph Through Time
- A Director's Vision: Diana in the Modern World
- A Director's Vision: Wonder Woman at War
- Warriors of Wonder Woman
- The Trinity
- The Wonder Behind the Camera
- Finding the Wonder Woman Within
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Bates Motel: The Complete Series (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu-ray)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Collection (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, DVD)
Firefly: The Complete Series (20th Century Fox, Blu-ray)
Ghost House (Lionsgate, DVD)
Starship Troopers: 20th Anniversary Edition (Sony Pictures, 4K Ultra HD/Blu/Digital)
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (Sony Pictures, 4K Ultra HD/Blu/Digital, Blu/Digital & DVD)
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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