Welcome to another look at highlights arriving on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD. The previous edition was jam-packed with releases, and so this one isn’t quite as busy. Still, there are some interesting efforts and incredible older films receiving high-definition upgrades. So, if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!
BIG NEW RELEASES!
BLEEDING – This independent horror feature is set in a world where vampires exist, but are under the control of humans and are mostly used to produce an illegal narcotic drug. It seems ingesting the blood of the undead gives users a high and is addictive. After his brother passes from an overdose of the substance, a teen decides to reconnect with his cousin. The relative actually turns out to be a dealer whose supply has been stolen. The pair find a vampire whom they decide to use to make more products, leading to further complications. Members of the press who saw the movie rated it well. A small number suggested that while the concept was interesting, the final product was overly melodramatic and uninvolving. Regardless, the majority found the film original, and thought it effectively used its scenarios as clever metaphors for aspects of drug addiction. It stars Jay Dunn, John R. Howley and Jasper Jones.
CHEECH & CHONG’S LAST MOVIE – Legendary comics Cheech & Chong have been entertaining audiences since approximately 1970 with their brand of humor including jokes about free love, cannabis and the counterculture movement. This documentary places the two in a car on a road trip. It follows a discussion between them as they go over their lives and careers. They talk about their fallouts, as well as highlights over the past fifty-plus years. The majority of the critics who saw and reviewed the picture liked it. A minor percentage didn’t like the road trip format, complaining that the two telling their own story didn’t leave much room for an outside perspective on their work. Yet most called the film a winning tribute to the comics delivered in a manner appropriate for the pair, while still offering a few unique stories and insights into their lives. For now, this movie is only available as a “Limited Collector’s Edition” 4K Ultra HD Steelbook (no Blu-ray is included).
CUTTER’S CLUB – This ultra-low budget chiller from writer/producer/director Charles Band (Dollman vs. Demonic Toys, The Gingerdead Man, and the Evil Bong films) was scheduled for release a few weeks back, but was delayed at the last minute and is only arriving on disc now. The story follows two medical students. One possesses natural skills in surgery and wants to develop new, experimental grafting techniques. She and her boyfriend find their way into a secret society of surgery-obsessed fanatics and get in over-their-heads helping create a two-headed monster. This picture debuted earlier in the year online and is now arriving on disc. The big story regarding this film is that it was shot roughly 20 years ago and left unfinished. The negative was thought lost, but was recently discovered. Band filmed a few additional scenes and completed the picture. There have only been a few reviews posted. The consensus is that the film is flawed, but contains an interesting concept, with an impressive performance from a cast member who recently passed away. It features Tony Todd, Melissa Searing and Davee Youngblood.
THE ROYAL CAT – In an ancient Chinese city, a human is assigned to investigate a series of incidents in which humans appear to have been turned into large animals. The transformations involve black magic and include individuals becoming giant crocodiles, serpents and other beasts. Most are threats, until the lead comes into contact with a disparaged warrior who is now a talking, fighting feline. The two team up to fight various foes and discover the who and why behind this villainous plan. This animated family film from China hasn’t been seen by many people outside of its homeland. A few online notices are available. They note that the animation is bright and stylish and the action is well-handled. But they also admitted that the plot seemed overly complicated and didn’t do justice answering a lot of concepts it introduced. An English-language and original Mandarin audio track (with English subtitles) is included on the disc.
SEEDS – A young Mohawk woman decides to make a new start as a social media influencer. She is contacted by a seed company to help promote their product. After agreeing, the lead is asked by her cousin to return home and housesit her parent’s farm. He explains to her that the people who have hired her are enemies of the community. Mysterious figures soon arrive on the property and attempt to steal crops. Tensions escalate and intensify as the protagonist defends the family’s land. This Canadian picture has been described as a comedy/thriller and reviewers in its home country gave it high marks. In fact, it hasn’t received any negative notices. The write-up all suggested that while not every element worked perfectly, the film marked an excellent debut for its star/writer/director, mixing a compelling story with dark humor, while also deftly addressing ecological issues and the impact of sinister corporations. This is a DVD-only title that is being released on Nov 8th. It stars Kaniehtiio Horn, Graham Greene, Dallas Goldtooth, Patrick Garrow and Meegwun Fairbrother.
BLASTS FROM THE PAST!
It’s a good week if you’re looking to catch up on some solid titles from past decades. Arrow Video is releasing a 4K Ultra HD “Limited Edition” of the Sean Connery science fiction/thriller Outland (1981). Truth be told, it’s actually a western that happens to be set on one of Jupiter’s moons. When a new sheriff arrives at a mining outpost, he’s troubled by the high number of suicides. The site manager tells the protagonist to stop investigating, but he does so anyway and discovers that an illicit, amphetamine-like drug is being sold. It makes those who take it work harder, but causes psychotic breaks after being used for several months. Frustrated company bosses eventually send hit men to eliminate the noble sheriff, who has almost no support from those on the base. The movie is an excellent update of High Noon bolstered by an excellent lead performance and great photography.
Now, the film arrives with a 4K restoration taken from the original 35mm camera negative, presented in Dolby Vision. There is an archival audio commentary with director Peter Hyams (Capricorn One, The Star Chamber, Running Scared, Timecop, Sudden Death, The Relic), as well as a new movie historian track. You’ll also get a recently recorded interview with Hymans, as well as the director of photography, and a visual effects artist. Additionally, there is a new appreciation of the title by a film authority, and a visual essay on the picture., as well as a trailer and image gallery. It all comes with a double-sided foldout poster with original and newly commissioned art, and a booklet with essays on the movie. You can read a full review of the release by clicking this link!
88 Films is delivering a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo, as well as a standalone Blu-ray, of the Italian film SS Experiment Love Camp (1976). It’s exactly what it sounds like, an exploitation effort about Nazis conducting experiments on female political prisoners. While it gained notoriety for being banned in countries like the UK, the British Board of Film Classifications later stated that while the film may be offensive to some, “… the content of the film is in fact very mild, and poorly executed.” If that critique makes you want to pick it up, you will receive a 4K picture restoration from the original camera negative in Dolby Vision. The English and Italian versions are included, as well as a movie historian commentary, a discussion with the director, the editor and the cinematographer. There is also a music historian interview, a trailer and alternate opening and closing titles.
Aesop’s Fables: The 1920s Volume 1 (1921 – 1933) is arriving on Blu-ray from ClassicFlix. This is a collection of 20 animated shorts made by Paul Terry (of the original Mighty Mouse cartoons) based on the work of Aesop, including The Ugly Duckling and The Fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper. The shorts come with commentary tracks, a fragment of an unrestored short, a 1916 effort with that unfortunately contains offensive caricatures, a cartoon from Terry that was the first to feature synchronized sound, and more extras.
If you were a teen in the 1980s, one of the biggest titles from that era is The Breakfast Club (1985) from writer/director John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck). Criterion is now presenting a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo of the film. As hoped for, the feature has been given a 4K restoration and is presented in Dolby Vision. It comes with an archival commentary with cast members Anthony Michael Hall and Judd Nelson, as well as retrospective interviews with Molly Ringwald, Alley Sheedy and other cast and crew members. There is a video essay featuring the director’s production notes (read by Nelson), 50 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, promotional and archival discussions, excerpts from a 1985 American Film Institute seminar with Hughes, a radio interview with Hughes, an audio interview with Ringwald on This American Life, and a trailer. Also included is a booklet with essays on the movie.
Film Masters is delivering The Red House (1947) on Blu-ray. This thriller with Edward G. Robinson involves an adopted teenage daughter of an old farmer and his sister. The youngster discovers something sinister going on in a nearby farmhouse. The disc contains a film historian commentary, as well as liner notes.
Full Moon Pictures is putting out a couple of their straight-to-video titles on Blu-ray. The first is the silly erotic thriller Meridian (1990) aka Meridian: Kiss of the Beast, which stars Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks) as a young woman who is romanced by a monster. Transferred in HD from the best available sources, it comes with featurettes from the original video release and remastered trailers for other titles from the studio.
The vampire sequel Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm (1998) is also arriving on Blu-ray. It’s also remastered from the best available sources and arrives with featurettes from the original release and trailers for other titles in the series.
A couple of years ago, Paramount Pictures put out a 4K and Blu-ray of this title, and are now rereleasing it. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988) is a hilarious slapstick comedy with Leslie Nielson, George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalban and Priscilla Presley that features an inept cop attempting to stop an assassination attempt against Queen Elizabeth II in Los Angeles. Features on this release should be identical to previous editions.
Shout Factory is making a huge cult item available this week. The film is so noteworthy, in fact, that it has already sold out from many retailers (but if you can’t find any right now, more copies are currently being manufactured). It’s a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray set of the John Woo action classic Hard Boiled (1992) with Tony Leung and Chow Yun-Fat. This is a cop movie that follows two detectives taking down a Triad gang. It is as over-the-top as Hong Kong cinema gets, delivering incredible stunts and gunfights, perhaps most notably during the hospital-set climax, which features gunfire in a maternity wing.
This release contains a new 4K restoration of the movie from the original camera negative presented in Dolby Vision. The subtitles have been updated for this release as well. It comes with a new commentary featuring Woo and a second with a film historian. An archival commentary with Woo and the producer also appears on the Blu-ray disc. Additionally, there are new interviews with Woo, co-star Anthony Wong, the producer, each of the two screenwriters, and the composer. There are also three discussions with film authorities on the movie, deleted and extended scenes, trailers, and an image gallery.
You can also pick up Vampires (1998) aka John Carpenter’s Vampires, in a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray “Collector’s Edition” Steelbook. The contents should be identical to the previous Shout 4K and Blu-ray version of the title, only in new packaging.
And the Best Picture Academy Award-winning film Coda (2021) is being made available courtesy of Universal Studios. You can purchase either a 4K Ultra HD only version or a Blu-ray only. No word on whether or not bonus features will be present on either disc.
Finally, Vinegary Syndrome is releasing a “Standard Edition” Blu-ray of Japanese effort Amiko (2017), about a young girl who becomes obsessed with a schoolmate. In addition to the film, the disc contains a 2018 and a 2025 Q&A with the director, a trailer and a booklet with writing about the movie and stills.
YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!
If you’re looking for kid-friendly titles, the one listed below is your only choice.
The Royal Cat (animated film) (Well Go USA) Blu-ray
ON THE TUBE!
And below is a list of all the week’s TV-related releases. Once again, Hallmark are going all-in with more TV-movie titles.
Chantal: Seasons 1 – 2 (Belgian mystery series) (MHz) DVD
Hallmark Double Feature: Christmas in Conway, Just in Time for Christmas (Hallmark Hall of Fame) DVD
Hallmark 3-Movie Collection: Unlocking Christmas, The Christmas Charade, Operation Nutcracker (Hallmark) DVD
Hallmark Romance Double Feature: Dater’s Handbook, When Sparks Fly (Hallmark) DVD
Happy’s Place: Season 1 (Universal) Blu-ray
Just the Way You Are (Hallmark) DVD
Love in Store (Hallmark) DVD
Love in the Sun (Hallmark) DVD
Love, Take Two (Hallmark) DVD
A Midnight Kiss (Hallmark) DVD
Mix Up in the Mediterranean (Hallmark) DVD
Monk: The Complete Series and Movie (Kino) Blu-ray
A Remarkable Place to Die: Series 1 (Acorn) DVD
Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery (Hallmark) DVD
The Russell Girl (Hallmark Hall of Fame) DVD
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Truth Be Told (Hallmark) DVD
Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery (Hallmark) DVD
A Smile as Big as the Moon (Hallmark Hall of Fame) DVD
South Beach Love (Hallmark) DVD
Timeless Love (Hallmark) DVD
A Valentine’s Match (Hallmark) DVD
Very, Very Valentine (Hallmark) DVD
Wedding Bells (Hallmark) DVD
Winter Castle (Hallmark) DVD
