Even though Christmas is technically over, that doesn’t mean there still aren’t a few gifts for genre fans this week in the form of some killer Blu-ray and DVD releases. It’s a relatively quiet day for home entertainment debuts, but the films coming home on December 26th make up an entertaining assortment of viewing experiences to get you through this final week of 2017.
RLJ Entertainment is keeping busy on Tuesday with a pair of brutally awesome movies—Joe Lynch’s Mayhem and S. Craig Zahler’s Brawl in Cell Block 99—and for those of you who may have missed it in theaters, the Flatliners remake comes home to both formats as well. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is coming to 4K this week, too, and you can see Wesley Snipes take on aliens in The Recall, to boot.
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (RLJ Entertainment, 4K Ultra HD/Blu, Blu-ray & DVD)
A former boxer named Bradley loses his job as an auto mechanic, and his troubled marriage is about to expire. At this crossroads in his life, he feels that he has no better option than to work for an old buddy as a drug courier. This improves his situation until the terrible day that he finds himself in a gunfight between a group of police officers and his own ruthless allies. When the smoke clears, Bradley is badly hurt and thrown in prison, where his enemies force him to commit acts of violence that turn the place into a savage battleground. From the director of Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99 stars Vince Vaughn (Hacksaw Ridge), Jennifer Carpenter (“Dexter”), Udo Kier (Blade) and Don Johnson (“Miami Vice”).
Flatliners (2017) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
Five medical students, obsessed by the mystery of what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring and dangerous experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods of time, each triggers a near-death experience, giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife. But as their experiments become increasingly dangerous, they are each haunted by the sins of their pasts, brought on by the supernatural consequences of trespassing to the other side.
Mayhem (RLJ Entertainment, 4K Ultra HD/Blu, Blu-ray & DVD)
Derek Cho (Steven Yeun, “The Walking Dead”) is having a really bad day. After being unjustly fired from his job, he discovers that the law firm’s building is under quarantine for a mysterious and dangerous virus. Chaos erupts throughout the office as the victims of the disease begin acting out their wildest impulses. Joining forces with a former client (Samara Weaving, “Ash vs Evil Dead”) who has a grudge of her own, Derek savagely fights tooth and nail to get to the executives on the top floor and settle the score once and for all.
The Recall (Echo Bridge, Blu-ray & DVD)
Five young friends plan a weekend escape, but their fun is interrupted when unnatural clouds cover the sky. A crazed man who calls himself The Hunter (Wesley Snipes) warns them to leave. When an alien spaceship arrives, they team up with The Hunter, a skilled survivalist, who reveals what the aliens have planned.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Lionsgate, 4K Ultra HD/Blu Combo)
The action epic that revolutionized filmmaking forever comes out on amazing 4K Ultra HD for the first time!
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the Terminator in this explosive action-adventure spectacle. Now he's one of the good guys, sent back in time to protect John Connor, the boy destined to lead the freedom fighters of the future. Linda Hamilton reprises her role as Sarah Connor, John's mother, a quintessential survivor who has been institutionalized for her warning of the nuclear holocaust she knows is inevitable. Together, the threesome must find a way to stop the ultimate enemy: the T-1000, the most lethal Terminator ever created. Co-written, produced, and directed by James Cameron (THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, TITANIC), this visual tour de force is also a touching human story of survival.
Special Features:
- Deleted scenes with audio commentary
- 3 versions of the film
- 2 commentaries and more
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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