// Category Archive for: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews

Blu-Ray Review: Starry Eyes

By Less Lee Moore

So much of the success of Starry Eyes rests on lead actress Alex Essoe’s able shoulders. She beautifully embodies the role of Sarah, a budding actress who pines for the role that will catapult her into the pantheon of the Old School Hollywood ladies whose photos adorn her bedroom walls. Surrounded by struggling fellow thespians, one of whom (Erin) wants to cut her down at every opportunity, Alex’s insecurity and fragility is palpable and painful to witness. Forced to pay the bills working at a Hooters-type restaurant, she is thrilled when she gets an audition from the esteemed Astraeus Pictures.

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DVD Review: The Witch Who Came From The Sea

By Less Lee Moore

From the lurid Frank Frazetta-style cover art to its evocative title, The Witch Who Came From The Sea seems like it might be a female-fronted version of The Beastmaster. As intriguing as that possibility sounds, the film is something altogether different and much more profound. Directed by Matt Cimber (Butterfly, Hundra) in 1971, The Witch Who Came From The Sea wasn’t released until 1976, and even then, ran afoul of the MPAA for what they considered gratuitous violence, nudity, and rather dark subject matter.

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DVD Review: Wrestling With Satan

By Jeffery X Martin

One of the fascinating things about Christianity is you can do anything and call it a ministry. Hand puppets. Being a clown. Fixing cars. Shaving. Do it in the name of Jesus Christ, and it is a fully sanctioned activity done for the benefit of the Church Universal.

It makes sense, therefore, that there could be a professional wrestling ministry. The documentary Wrestling with Satan spotlights a six-year period in the history of the Christian Wrestling Federation (CWF). Led by the charismatic Rob Vaughn, who performs under the name “Jesus Freak,” the CWF is an actual independent wrestling company. His stable of wrestlers is highly trained and works well in the ring. Wrestling fans will appreciate the fact that the only special feature on the disc is comprised of seven bonus matches.

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Blu-Ray Review: The Guest

By Megashaun

There’s only so much one can say about The Guest without starting to spoil the film’s many finely-crafted layers of plot revelation. But the setup in itself was intriguing enough for me to want to watch it, along with the knowledge that this comes to us from the extremely humorous, twisted, and subversive team of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett who also brought us the excellent You’re Next (review).

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Blu-Ray Review: Union Station

By Brad Henderson

I love all genres but I’m more partial to horror and that’s what I’m better versed in when it comes to film. There are some other genres that I’m quite knowledgeable about but I really lack when it comes to film from the ‘50s and ‘60s. There is just so much out there that it’s a little overwhelming and I don’t know where to start. Luckily, there are companies like Olive Films that are picking the great ones and bringing them to the table, sparking renewed interest in the films, and giving them new fans such as myself.

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DVD Review: The Device

By Brad Henderson

Watching filmmakers and writers grow is a beautiful thing. Through the past couple of years I’ve kept my eye on a few filmmakers like Adam Wingard, Ti West, Adrián Garcia Bogliano, Eric England, and many more. As far as more recent filmmakers, I’ve been following Jeremy Berg and John Portanova. A little while ago I reviewed their directorial feature debut, The Invoking. I was highly impressed with the direction they took with The Invoking and it falls into my category of “story horror” which I’ve described in detail in the past. So when I got word of them doing another horror film, and one involving aliens, I was down.

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Blu-Ray Review: The Damned

By Brad Henderson

Every once in a while I watch a film that I enjoy quite a bit but I wouldn’t consider great or essential to see. I call these films “rainy day” films: when something is just mediocre but you can’t stop thinking or talking about it. The film may not be that great but it’s one that won’t leave you. Films like Red Hill, Home Sweet Home, No One Lives, The Colony, and Citadel are a few that I feel fall into this category. Now, I legitimately like all those films but I know a lot of people consider them “forgettable.” People throw that word around to describe films but I honestly haven’t seen forgettable films nor do I think they exist.

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Blu-Ray Review: Skidoo

By Brad Henderson

Throughout the course of movie history we’ve seen films that should have been good but failed miserably. I’m not talking about films we thought were going to be good and they flopped. I’m talking about the ones where everything was set up with the right actors, script, director, producer, and any other suit in Hollywood. All these elements that can almost guarantee success are in place, but the movie turns out to be a disaster. Last night I watched Skidoo. I went in blind to this film other than knowing it had one hell of a cast and a legendary director. Otto Preminger was the man behind it so I thought this couldn’t go wrong, right?

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DVD Review: Day Of The Mummy

By Brad Henderson

Remember PC games in the ‘90s that were very story based with a ton of cinematics and limited gameplay? For the most part, the cut scenes were actual actors and not animation and they were poorly acted. I was always a big FPS fan and I disliked the type of games that included just a lot of walking around, pushing buttons, and someone who popped up in your HUD and told you what you were doing wrong or right. I’m guessing this is why I disliked Day Of The Mummy.

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Blu-Ray Review: At The Devil’s Door

By Brad Henderson

As a cinephile I’m often asked the question, “what is the scariest film you have ever seen”? I have a list of scary films but not too many actually scare me. I’ve been watching horror films since I was 4, so I’m a little desensitized at this point in my life. I get creeped out of course, but it takes a little bit more for me to look over my shoulder at the end of the film.

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