by Malakie Peters

New Release Tuesday! This week there’s a squad of doomed bad guys, a ton of 80s horror both foreign and domestic, bachelor Bill Murray, Superman, Stephen King, the beach that makes you old, and more!

THE AMAZING MR. X [THE FILM DETECTIVE SPECIAL EDITION] (1948) (DVD)

The Amazing Mr. X stars Turhan Bey as Alexis, a mystery man who claims to communicate with spirits. Appearing on the beach one night, Alexis easily charms a depressed widow and her sister. The sly Alexis makes a living by separating gullible people from their money, but before this tale is over he will learn that the living are far more dangerous than the dead. Thanks to exceptional cinematography by John Alton, director Bernard Vorhaus delivers a film that oozes weird passion and sinister suspense.

BLADES (1989) (BLU-RAY)

An expert tracks a killer lawn mower loose on a golf course before a tournament.

BOARDINGHOUSE (1982) (BLU-RAY)

Jim (director John Wintergate), a psychic gigolo who wears a leopard-print thong, rents a haunted house to ”beautiful women with no ties.” From there, this unworldly slasher transforms into a sleazy, hallucinogenic maelstrom of gore, sex, chainsaws, pie fights, killer refrigerators, jacuzzis, beds that eat people, a new wave band called 33 and 1/3, and a leading lady known only as Kalassu. Boardinghouse is the first shot-on-video horror film to be blown up to 35mm and released theatrically. AGFA + Bleeding Skull! are thrilled to bring the 35mm theatrical cut to home video for the first time in this 2-disc set, which also includes Psycho Killer (a previously unreleased alternate home video cut) and Sally & Jess (the previously unreleased ”family film” from the makers of Boardinghouse).

CASUAL SEX? (1988, Blu-ray)

Melissa and Stacy decide that casual relationships have become too dangerous in the wake of AIDS, so they opt to visit a resort, where each finds a man who piques their interest. For Melissa, it’s Jamie, a spa employee with whom she experiences passion for the first time. Meanwhile, Stacy is drawn to a down-and-out musician. Through it all, Vinny, a single man from New Jersey, is there to offer friendship and consolation.

CHEAT (1931) (BLU-RAY)

Temptation meets its match in The Cheat, a scandalous Pre-Code classic starring Tallulah Bankhead. Elsa Carlyle (Bankhead) is an impulsive and charismatic gambler who has fallen on hard times and owes a large sum of money. A wealthy playboy (Irving Pichel) promises to help her but his price may be more than Elsa is prepared to give. When her devoted husband (Harvey Stephens) takes the fall for her passions, Elsa’s loyalties are put to the test. Created during the most decadent era in motion picture history, this daring story explores a woman whose addictions lead her on a path of danger and discovery.

COPPELIA (2021, Blu-ray / DVD)

When everyone in town falls under the spell of charismatic cosmetic surgeon Doctor Coppelius, feisty Swan must act to save her sweetheart Franz, before his heart is used to spark life into Coppelia – the ‘perfect’ robot-woman the Doctor has created. A modern tale for young and old, told through a unique combination of 2D animation and live action dance.

DEEP RED [LIMITED EDITION] (1975) (4K UHD)

From Dario Argento, maestro of the macabre and the man behind some of the greatest excursions in Italian horror, comes Deep Red – the ultimate giallo movie. One night, musician Marcus Daly (David Hemmings), looking up from the street below, witnesses the brutal axe murder of a woman in her apartment. Racing to the scene, Marcus just manages to miss the perpetrator… or does he? As he takes on the role of amateur sleuth, Marcus finds himself ensnared in a bizarre web of murder and mystery where nothing is what it seems… Aided by a throbbing score from regular Argento collaborators Goblin, Deep Red (aka Profondo Rosso and The Hatchet Murders) is a hallucinatory fever dream of a giallo punctuated by some of the most astonishing set-pieces the sub-genre has to offer.

DEVI (1960) (BLU-RAY) (DVD)

Master filmmaker Satyajit Ray (The Apu Trilogy) explores the conflict between fanaticism and free will in Devi (The Goddess), issuing a subversively modern challenge to religious orthodoxy and patriarchal power structures. In the waning days of mid-nineteenth-century India’s feudal system, after his son (Apur Sansar’s Soumitra Chatterjee) leaves for Kolkata to complete his studies, a wealthy rural landowner (The Music Room’s Chhabi Biswas) is seized by the notion that his beloved daughter-in-law (The Hero’s hauntingly sad-eyed Sharmila Tagore) is the reincarnation of the goddess Kali—a delusion that proves devastating to the young woman and those around her.

DEVIL AND THE DEEP (1932) (BLU-RAY)

Cary Grant plays a lieutenant whose commanding officer (Charles Laughton) suspects him of seducing his wife (Tallulah Bankhead) when the real threat is another officer (Gary Cooper). Spotlighting Grant in his first major supporting role for Paramount studios, this sultry Pre-Code melodrama serves up a deadly love triangle with a thrilling climax set aboard a submarine that is trapped at the bottom of the sea.

DEVIL STORY (1985) (BLU-RAY)

A young couple on vacation in the French countryside decide to stay the night at a spooky old castle after their car breaks down. Despite being warned about the local legend of a cursed ship which crashed into the nearby cliffs, the wife ventures out into the wild, only to find herself having to fend off a Nazi uniformed mutant, his mother, a rogue mummy, a horse possessed by the devil, and more!

DINNER AT EIGHT (1933) (BLU-RAY)

Dinner at Eight, a vastly entertaining behind-closed-doors glimpse into the lives of the troubled and troublemaking who’s who of people invited to a posh Manhattan party, is served with ample helpings of humor and melodrama. Buoyed by the success of the studio’s multistarred, multistoried Grand Hotel the year before, producer David O. Selznick aspired to something grander — and found it in this George Cukor-directed adaptation of the George S. Kaufman/Edna Ferber stage hit. Highlights include Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery’s bitter battle of the sexes, hostess Billie Burke’s hissy fit, and Marie Dressler’s grande dame worldliness.

DON’T BREATHE 2 (2021) (BLU-RAY & DVD)

In the thrilling sequel to the breakout hit, Don’t Breathe 2 reprises Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang), who has been hiding out for several years in an isolated cabin. He lives with a young girl and has recreated the family stolen from him by a drunk driver. Their quiet life together is shattered when a group of unseemly criminals kidnap her. Norman is forced to tap into even darker and more creative instincts in an effort to save her.

DUCK! THE CARBINE HIGH MASSACRE (1999) (BLU-RAY)

Before Elephant and We Need to Talk About Kevin…there was Duck! The Carbine High Massacre, the first feature of its kind to satirically chronicle the torment and isolation of two despondent teenagers and the events that led them to open fire on their fellow students and teachers.

FOR LOVE OR MONEY (1993) (BLU-RAY)

A Manhattan hotel concierge woos the mistress of an investor he needs for a big business deal.

FOR MADMEN ONLY (2020) (BLU-RAY)

Comedy guru Del Close, mentor to everyone from Bill Murray to Tina Fey, sets out to write his autobiography for DC Comics.

FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER (1958, DVD)

”Look at her! She lives!” says Dr. Oliver Frank at the sight of his new creation, a hulking beast with the transplanted brain of a beautiful young woman. He has finally carried on the legacy of his late grandfather, the notorious Dr. Frankenstein! The twist here is that this movie takes place in ”modern” Los Angeles, where teenagers are forever in swim gear. Even as news reports warn them about a female monster menacing the neighborhood, nothing stops these kids from partying by the poolside.

FRITZ THE CAT (1972) (BLU-RAY)

Maverick writer/director Ralph Bakshi made his feature-length film debut with this audacious foray into adult animation, creating one of the most successful animated features of its time! Based on a legendary character created by underground comic book artist/writer R. Crumb, Fritz the Cat is a brilliant commentary on ’60s life and a “snarling satire that stubbornly refuses to curl up in anyone’s lap” (Playboy). It’s the age of awakening and Fritz, a one way-cool cat and NYU student, loves to embrace every experimental experience that crosses his path. Embarking on a fantastic journey of self-discovery, he indulges in everything from multiple bedroom follies to a wild joy ride through Harlem. But when Fritz joins a group of radically aggressive hippies, he finds himself holding the dynamite that will detonate the ultimate ’60s statement—one that could cost him his life!

THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR (2020) (DVD)

In the late ’80s, troubled American Dani Clayton accepted the offer of Britisher Henry Wingrave to become an au pair for his orphaned – and odd – nephew and niece at the family manse. The strange phenomena she encounters will impact another generation, as creator/director Mike Flanagan turns to Henry James’ “Turn of the Screw” as a basis for another creepy miniseries.

HOT SATURDAY (1932) (BLU-RAY)

When a wealthy city man, Romer Sheffield (Cary Grant), hosts a party at his summer lake house, a rumor soon starts that Ruth (Nancy Carroll), a lovely small-town girl, spent the night with him. As Ruth seeks someone who will believe her innocence, the scandal rocks her community, forcing the girl to make a desperate decision that will change her life forever.

THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS: THE COMPLETE SERIES (2002) (DVD)

Tune in and take off on adventures with The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius! Visit worlds you never imagined (or perhaps wanted to see) including Sheen’s brain, an asteroid, and the Retroville Museum. Discover scientific uses for everyday items, like the toaster, gum, and your best friends!

KID CANDIDATE (2019) (BLU-RAY)

In a time when young Americans increasingly feel cut off from politics and traditional institutions, Hayden Pedigo, a 24 year-old artist and musician in Amarillo, TX makes an unorthodox run for city council.

KILLER PARTY (1986) (BLU-RAY)

It’s April Fool’s Day and the sisters of Sigma Alpha Pi have found the perfect place to throw a party: the abandoned fraternity house where a guillotined pledge lost his head in a hazing gone slightly awry. But shortly after the revelry begins, the student body count starts to rise as the vengeful pledge returns from the grave and makes it a party to die for.

MARY STEVENS, M.D. (1933) (BLU-RAY)

An unwed doctor goes to Paris to have her colleague’s baby.

NEVER BACK DOWN: NO SURRENDER (2016) (DVD)

Case Walker (Michael Jai White), a former MMA champion, begins to stage a comeback and make another run at the title, pitting his old school skills against fighters from the new breed.

THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT (1974) (BLU-RAY)

Robert Crumb’s comic-book feline experiences flights of fantasy which take him into the past and the future.

NOTHING BUT TROUBLE (1991) (BLU-RAY)

Four trendy New Yorkers face a crazed judge and other horrors in the village of Valkenvania.

OLD (2021, Blu-ray / DVD)

Director M. Night Shyamalan unveils a chilling, mysterious new thriller about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.

THE OLD WAYS (2020) (DVD)

When Cristina Lopez, a Mexican-American reporter, goes to her ancestral homeland of Veracruz for a story on witchcraft and faith healers, it’s not long before she’s kidnapped by locals. They claim that she is possessed by a demon and must exorcise her before they can set her free. As she tries to find a way to escape, she slowly comes to believe that they may be telling the truth. Before long, her fight for survival turns into a fight for her soul.

ON THE ROCKS (2020) (BLU-RAY / DVD)

In this comedy about aging, marriage, and the tenuous bond between parents and grown children, New York author and married mother-of-two Laura has become suspicious that her career-driven husband may be having an affair with a coworker, a speculation encouraged by her caddish, bon vivant father.

PRIMETIME PANIC (1981, 1982, 1983) (BLU-RAY)

The prolific production duo of Leonard Hill and Philip Mandelker produced nearly twenty popular made-for-television films within their three-year partnership. Vinegar Syndrome is proud to present three of their most acclaimed productions: Freedom, Dreams Don’t Die, and Death Ride to Osaka (aka Girls of the White Orchid). Each film has been restored in 4K from its original 35mm camera negative and is presented in both 4:3 and widescreen aspect ratios. In the poignant character-driven drama Freedom, free-spirited teen musician (Mare Winningham) wins emancipation from her mother (Jennifer Warren) and joins up with a traveling carnival. A New York City graffiti writer (Ike Eisenmann) and his girlfriend (Trini Alvarado) struggle to escape their working class world, while being pressured by a drug dealer (Israel Juarbe) and a police officer (Paul Winfield) in the coming-of-age crime drama Dreams Don’t Die. And in Death Ride to Osaka, Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as an aspiring young singer who becomes a prisoner of a Yakuza-controlled prostitution ring in the neon underworld of Tokyo. 

THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER (1981) (BLU-RAY)

An insurance detective hunts the 1971 skyjacker after he bails out with $200,000 in cash.

RENEGADES (1989, Blu-ray)

While no-nonsense Philadelphia cop Buster McHenry is going undercover to investigate a gang headed by the ruthless Marino, he’s forced to take part in a robbery that ends with the theft of a sacred Sioux artifact and the death of several onlookers. After the incident, Hank Storm, whose brother was killed during the robbery, teams up with Buster to recover the artifact and avenge his brother’s death.

RESURRECTION (1999) (BLU-RAY)

On the path of a serial killer that strikes with relentless precision, two detectives must unravel the mystery of the killer’s secrets.

RIDE THE EAGLE (2021) (DVD)

When Leif’s estranged mother dies, she leaves him a “conditional inheritance.” Before he can move into her cabin, he has to complete her elaborate to-do list in this hilarious and heartfelt comedy.

SAY AMEN, SOMEBODY (1982) (BLU-RAY) (DVD)

Filmmaker George T. Nierenberg surveys gospel music, featuring “Mother” Willie Mae Ford Smith and “Professor” Thomas A. Dorsey.

SHALLOW GRAVE (1987) (BLU-RAY)

Four coeds have a flat tire in Georgia, where two of them are jailed by a sheriff with something to hide.

SIX-STRING SAMURAI (1998) (4K UHD + BLU-RAY)

In a post-apocalyptic world, a boy and a warrior encounter cannibals, cavemen, Death, and other formidable foes.

SKULL: THE MASK (2020) (DVD)

A mask possesses and forces those who wear it to carry out visceral sacrifices in this splatter-filled supernatural slasher.

SOPHIE JONES (2021) (DVD)

Inspired by true experiences of grief, girlhood, and growing up, Jessie Barr’s Sophie Jones provides a stirring portrait of a sixteen year old. Stunned by the untimely death of her mother and struggling with the myriad challenges of teendom, Sophie (played with striking immediacy by the director’s cousin Jessica Barr) tries everything she can to feel something again while holding herself together in this sensitive, acutely realized, and utterly relatable coming-of-age story.

THE STAND (2020) (BLU-RAY) (DVD)

The Stand is author Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors including Stu Redman, an ordinary working-class factory man, Nadine Cross, a deeply conflicted woman, Frannie Goldsmith, a pregnant young woman, and Nick Andros, a young deaf and mute man. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.

STEEL DAWN (1987) (BLU-RAY)
A post-World War III swordsman defends a desert widow and her water-treatment farm.

STILLWATER (2021) (BD/DVD)

Stillwater follows an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma who travels to Marseilles to visit his estranged daughter, imprisoned for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill Baker builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.

THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021) (4K UHD / BLU-RAY / DVD)

The government sends the most dangerous supervillains in the world – Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Harley Quinn, and others – to the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Armed with high-tech weapons, they trek through the dangerous jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Col. Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave.

SUPERMAN: THE COMPLETE ANIMATED SERIES (1996-2000) (BLU-RAY)

The creative team behind the Emmy Award-winning Batman: The Animated Series chronicles the adventures of Superman. As the planet Krypton is destroyed, its leader, Jor-El, secures his infant son, Kal-El, in a rocket that will transport him to Earth. There, a young Clark Kent discovers the truth about his interplanetary heritage. Upon reaching adulthood, he assumes the identity of Superman, the Man of Steel, in the city of Metropolis, battling the forces of villainy and continuing his quest for “Truth, Justice and the American Way.” Fly with Superman in this complete collection of adventures.

SUPERMAN & LOIS – THE COMPLETE 1ST SEASON (2021, DVD)

After years of facing supervillains, monsters and alien invaders, the world’s most famous superhero, The Man of Steel aka Clark Kent and comic books’ famed journalist Lois Lane come face to face with one of their greatest challenges ever — dealing with being working parents in today’s society. Complicating the already daunting job of raising two boys, Clark and Lois worry about whether their sons, Jonathan and Jordan, could inherit their father’s Kryptonian superpowers as they grow older. Returning to Smallville to handle some Kent family business, Clark and Lois are reacquainted with Lana Lang and her Fire Chief husband, Kyle Cushing. The adults aren’t the only ones rediscovering old friendships in Smallville as the Kent sons are reacquainted with Lana and Kyle’s rebellious daughter, Sarah. Of course, there’s never a dull moment in the life of a superhero, especially with Lois’ father, Gen. Samuel Lane looking for Superman to vanquish a villain or save the day at a moment’s notice.

TORCH SINGER (1933) (BLU-RAY)

When Sally Trent (Claudette Colbert) can no longer support her illegitimate child, she puts her daughter up for adoption and pursues a career as a torch singer. Under the name Mimi Benton, she soon climbs to fame as a sexy nightclub singer and attempts to find her daughter through a children’s radio show. 

WARNING (2021) (DVD)

The meaning of life explored through multiple interconnected lives set in the near future.

WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN (2006) (BLU-RAY)

Logan (Malcolm Stumpf), a 13-year-old outcast, becomes obsessed with Rodeo (Patrick White), an older classmate who lets him tag along on walks through the woods. As his obsession grows, he invents a female persona and makes sexy calls to Rodeo at night, and also raids his mother’s closet for wigs and clothing.

WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: THE INFAMOUS BROADCAST (2013) (BLU-RAY)

A local TV personality leads a team of supernatural investigators, including an exorcist, into the darkest corners of a supposedly haunted house.