Hello, everyone! This week’s Blu-ray and DVD offerings are quite an eclectic bunch, as we have a few recent titles coming out on Tuesday, but we also have a few classic horrors from Mexico finally getting a release, which is pretty darned cool. In terms of the newer horrors, Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece Nightmare Alley is heading home to various formats, and if you missed it when it was airing, now you can finally catch up on the Dexter: New Blood revival this week as well. As mentioned, Indicator is showing some love to two classic horror movies from Mexico—La Llorona and The Phantom of the Monastery—on Blu-ray this week, and Richard Elfman’s Modern Vampires is getting the HD treatment, too.
Other home media titles coming home on March 22nd include 6:45, Blood Claws, Grave of the Living Dead, Bryan Loves You: Collector’s Edition, The Hills Have Eyes: 4K Standard Special Edition, and Cold Light of Day: Standard Special Edition.
6:45 (Well Go USA, Blu-ray & DVD)
A couple embarks on a weekend getaway only to find the island curiously deserted. After stumbling upon the town’s dark secret, they trigger a time loop, forcing them to relive a demented cycle of terror with seemingly no means of escape.
Dexter: New Blood (Paramount Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
Michael C. Hall returns to his Golden Globe-winning role as Dexter Morgan. The world at large believes Dexter Morgan died in a tragic boating accident, and in a way, the world at large isn’t wrong. Far from the life he knew, living under a false name in the small town of Iron Lake, NY, he’s successfully tamped down his Dark Passenger for nearly 10 years. With a normal job and a Chief of Police girlfriend, it seems he’s got life under control – until his son shows up and turns his world upside down. Rattled, Dexter yields to his homicidal urges and soon finds himself on a collision course with a very dangerous local. This 4-Disc set includes every shocking episode, an exclusive 30-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, and more!
La Llorona: U.S. Limited Edition (Indicator, Blu-ray)
An early horror classic drawn from Mexico’s rich tradition of folklore, La Llorona recounts the chilling tale of the ‘wailing woman’ who kills herself and her child before returning to haunt the living.
Expressionistic, lyrical, and atmospheric, Ramón Peón’s film draws on the influence of Universal Pictures’ contemporaneous horror cycle and incorporates elements of period melodrama and romance. This landmark production in the evolution of Mexican cinema has been newly restored from the only surviving film elements, and is presented here with a selection of essential extras.
Modern Vampires (Ronin Flix, Blu-ray)
Los Angeles has a discreet community of tortured, bloodthirsty creatures of the night. But when a mysterious vampire (Natasha Gregson Wagner - Lost Highway) enters the scene, The Count wants this blood-sucking seductress eliminated before her rampage of death exposes the cult. Her only chance at immortality lies in the fangs of Dallas (Casper Van Dien - Starship Troopers). But when a distraught mortal, Dr. Frederick van Helsing (Rod Steiger - The Amityville Horror), seeks revenge on the vampires that damned his son, he vows to kill them all, slowly. Together with a band of vampire hunters, Dr. Van Helsing declared war on the underground church of damnation. Welcome to Transylvania in the Hollywood Hills.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures, 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/Digital, Blu-ray/Digital & DVD/Digital)
From visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes this noir-style psychological thriller starring Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett. When a manipulative carnival man (Cooper) teams with an equally deceptive psychiatrist (Blanchett) to grift the wealthy in 1940s New York society, he learns that his new partner in crime might be his most formidable opponent yet. NIGHTMARE ALLEY is directed by del Toro, who co-wrote the film with Kim Morgan, based on William Lindsay Gresham's novel.
The Phantom of the Monastery: U.S. Limited Edition (Indicator, Blu-ray)
Made in the wake of La Llorona's success and directed with flair by Fernando de Fuentes (regarded as one of the masters of early Mexican cinema), The Phantom of the Monastery (El fantasma del convento) tells the macabre tale of a troupe of hikers who become lost in a forest and take refuge in a haunted monastery. There, they encounter shape-shifting shadows, ominous sealed doorways, and a cellar crowded with coffins…
An expressionistic Gothic triumph that has tragically languished in obscurity outside of Mexico, The Phantom of the Monastery has now been lovingly restored and is presented on Blu-ray at long last in a world debut edition, along with a selection of illuminating extras.
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Blood Claws (Wild Eye Releasing, DVD)
Bryan Loves You: Collector’s Edition (Jal Smithtown LLC, Blu-ray)
Cold Light of Day: Standard Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
Grave of the Living Dead (Wild Eye Releasing, DVD)
The Hills Have Eyes: 4K Standard Special Edition (Arrow Video, 4K Ultra HD)
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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