"Daniel Isn't Real" is probably the film 1991's "Drop Dead Fred" should've been. Instead of offering mind-numbing monkey business with the premise of an imaginary friend returning to the adult life of his inventor, "Daniel Isn't Real" goes pitch-black with the concept, treating the invisible partner as a driving force of encroaching madness. Co-writers Adam Egypt Mortimer (who also directs) and Brian DeLeeuw (adapting his 2009 novel) don't mess around with the story, transforming one young man's fight for sanity into a violent journey that crosses through mental illness, cosmic dangers, and destructive behavior. It's an unhinged endeavor at times, but a fascinating one, bravely avoiding cutesiness to remain in Hell, where Mortimer feels most comfortable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While writer/director Paul Schrader has collected the admiration of cineastes and movie journalists over the years, he's certainly not a consistent filmmaker. While interested in making intelligent pictures about difficult subjects, Schrader doesn't always show a command of storytelling and performance. 1997's "Touch" is a notable example of the helmer's unsteadiness when it comes to selling a tale of challenging tones, with Schrader trying his luck adapting a 1987 Elmore Leonard novel during a time in Hollywood when such a creative undertaking was all the rage ("Get Shorty," "Jackie Brown," "Out of Sight"). "Touch" is tricky, exploring the ways of love, religious zealotry, and exploitation, and Schrader can't manage the juggling act required to keep the feature interesting, fumbling the interests of multiple characters. There are a few provocative elements to the endeavor, but it's mostly clumsy and a bit of a chore to finish, with Schrader often unsure what he wants the effort to be. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

An Italian production, 1960's "The Playgirls and the Vampire" presents itself as a horror movie, but there's a more exploitative edge to the feature as it develops. The production is quite aware it isn't out to make art, more attentive to female characters in eveningwear, often exploring the halls and rooms of a spooky castle. There's a vampiric angle to the endeavor as well, but director Piero Regnoli doesn't pay too close attention to the fright factor of "The Playgirls and the Vampire," keeping up mild sexploitation touches and strange relationships in this passably engaging B-movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1979's "Daisy May" isn't a force of dramatic urgency. Actually, it's barely a movie, with director Fred J. Lincoln and writer Daniel Webster creating only a vaguely defined problem for the main characters to solve. The feature is more of an extended showcase for adult cinema highlights, with the cast put to work in various scenes of seduction, which take up most of the run time. There's something of a tale in the mix, and one about the crazy power of a special juice and its influence over rural characters, but offering a study of beverage authority isn't the goal here. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1978's "A Formal Faucett" is a very odd movie. Director Fred J. Lincoln is out to capture Farrah Fawcett mania with the picture, cooking up his own take on the actress's fame, including her association with the hit show, "Charlie's Angels." And yet, there's really nothing going on in the effort, which initially suggests a broader approach to comedy, only to supply extraordinarily little story, and star Dorothy LeMay doesn't even look like Fawcett. As humor in adult filmmaking goes, "A Formal Faucett" could use a lot more wackiness, with Lincoln lightly pawing the potential of the feature. Lincoln can't even get carnal activity going in a major way, leaving the viewing experience more about watching the production turn to lengthy stretches of padding to fill an already short (67 minutes) endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In one of those weird trends that developed marketplace power during the 1970s and '80s, revenge stories involving sexual assault became a thing for producers looking to make a quick buck by focusing on female suffering. It's an uncomfortable subgenre, with debatable empowerment claims, inspiring more than a few duds, but cash collected by movies such as "I Spit on Your Grave" and "Ms. 45" kept the pictures coming, including 1983's "Deep in the Heart" (a.k.a. "Handgun," which is the title on the Blu-ray presentation). Instead of going ugly with the endeavor, writer/director Tony Garnett approaches the horrors of violence from a different angle, and he's not exclusively interested in tormenting his lead character as she's emotionally and physically destroyed by a cruel male companion. "Deep in the Heart" has an appreciation of pain, but it's also interested in Texas culture as it deals with gun ownership, fragile masculinity, and the mental illness. It's fascinating feature for the most part, with Garnett genuinely doing something different with the material, creating a chilling snapshot of male insecurity and manipulation that remains frighteningly relevant today. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Insane Clown Posse. For outsiders, there are only a few things known about the rap group. They wear clown makeup everywhere they go, there's some type of obsession with a Detroit soda brand Faygo, and they have no idea how magnets work. 2021's "The United States of Insanity" isn't out to provide an extensive understanding of Insane Clown Posse and their inner workings, with directors Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez focusing on their legal entanglements. The documentary follows their fight to pull the fan nickname "Juggalo" off the FBI's list of dangerous gangs, with members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope going apoplectic as they confront a serious challenge to their first amendment rights. "The United States of Insanity" explores the Juggalo way, identifying the very real people hurt by this designation, with many simply out to enjoy the horrorcore hip-hop group and the loyal community that's been created to celebrate all things Insane Clown Posse.

Sadly, the magnet question remains unanswered in the picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1999's "A Man Called Hero" is an adaptation of a comic book series, exploring the dramatic highs and lows of a kindly warrior and his battles with tragedy and magically powered enemies. It's wuxia entertainment from Hong Kong, offering an ambitious mix of martial arts action and soap opera- style dramatic entanglements. The idea here is to excite audiences and also bring them to tears at times with its story of longing and loss, but the execution is a little lethargic from director Andrew Lau, who puts on a big show with the production's epic intent, but can't spark the picture's sensitivities to life in a more meaningful manner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1998's "Lost in Space" is primarily known for two reasons, with the first being its status as a big-budget adaptation of a popular Irwin Allen television show from the 1960s that ran for three seasons, collecting a sizable cult following after its cancelation. The second concerns the incredible run 1997's "Titanic" had at the box office, dominating the top spot for 15 weeks, drowning all the competition. The streak eventually ended, with "Lost in Space" finally dethroning the disaster film, offering ticket-buyers a high-tech sci-fi/fantasy presentation of escapism, and, for one weekend, it was the most popular release in America. It's a good piece of movie trivia, but it's not always the most engaging blockbuster. Director Stephen Hopkins certainly puts in an effort to make the endeavor shiny and splashy, giving it a good gallop at times, even with the defined limits of CGI artistry. It's screenwriter Akiva Goldsman who holds the whole thing back, with the man behind "Batman & Robin" and "A Beautiful Mind" trying to be quippy and mind-bending with the roller coaster ride, which is often bogged down by the weight of a needlessly elaborate story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Dean Martin was the entertainer. The man of the Rat Pack and musical delights maintained a steady acting career throughout the 1960s, often returning to the comfort of western entertainment. The genre provided Martin with a chance to inhabit hard men and sly dogs, with 1968's "5 Card Stud" playing to his strengths as a screen presence, returning the actor to the Old West for another round of intimidation games. Screenwriter Marguerite Roberts adapts a novel by Ray Gaulden, creating a detective story of sorts for director Henry Hathaway, who reunites with Martin after their collaboration on 1965's "The Sons of Katie Elder." "5 Card Stud" is an unusual feature in some ways, with sleuthing and itchy interactions prioritized here. Genre highlights are limited in the endeavor, which is greatly supported by the cast, who try to liven up a somewhat lumbering offering of criminal investigation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Fred Olen Ray (billed here as "Ed Raymond") has over 150 directorial credits during his career, and 2001's "Venomous" is…one of the them. Scripted by Dan Golden and Sean McGinly, the feature endeavors to recreate the experience of watching 1995's "Outbreak" without having to pay for blockbuster production demands, including locations and A-list actors. It's marketed as an animal attack picture, but the material is more about a viral spread, allowing Ray to work with budgetary limitations and keep rattlesnake action to a minimum. "Venomous" is B-movie entertainment, and it finds something interesting to do with initial scenes of spreading illness and community confusion. Unfortunately, the material quickly graduates to absurdity to help fill 97 minutes of screen time, and the wilder the effort becomes the more tedious it grows. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1982's "Roommates" is an oddity in the adult film industry. The feature isn't out to titillate, going a more dramatic route with its study of three women battling all kinds of demons and disappointments in their lives. It's a tale of New York City struggling from director Chuck Vincent and screenwriter Rick Marx, who place their focus on personal problems and horrific situations of survival. It's a bleak movie, going against expectations for X-rated entertainment, and such severity keeps it interesting, even while storytelling turns are a little too rough to ride at times. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In Hollywood history, Saul Bass is a legend. A graphic designer of immense talent, Bass created striking marketing imagery and main title sequences, evolving into a visual consultant, including iconic work on Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." As a feature-length filmmaker, Bass's career only lasted for a short amount of time. 1974's "Phase IV" represents his one and only big screen endeavor, working with screenwriter Mayo Simon on a picture that combines the terror of an animal attack effort with the nebulous sci-fi touches of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." "Phase IV" is a stunning visual experience, filled with all sorts of Bass-isms and intense insect cinematography (by Ken Middleham). As a story filled with dread and mystery, the movie is much less successful, with Bass's slow-burn approach to a rising threat of unknown intent failing to generate much in the way of suspense or even horror. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1978's "Goin' South" represents the last gasp of the 1970s for Jack Nicholson. It was a decade that solidified his reputation as a quality actor and electrifying screen presence, building a resume with achievements such as "The Last Detail," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and "Chinatown." Nicholson was riding high, using his industry reputation to mount another directorial offering, following up his time on 1971's "Drive, He Said." "Goin' South" returns Nicholson to the realm of western entertainment, recently participating in a genre outing in 1976's "The Missouri Breaks." He takes control of the endeavor, working with four screenwriters (including Charles Shyer, who contributed to "Smokey and the Bandit" and would go on to make audience-pleasers with his then-wife, Nancy Meyers) to explore some relationship messiness in the Old West. The feature is often indescribable, supplying such a slack screen energy, it also seems like Nicholson just filmed rehearsals and moved on. Elements of story do occasionally surface, and the cast is strong, with everyone seemingly on their own to generate a little chaos for Nicholson. It's a playtime movie for the professionals, but only offers limited satisfaction for viewers, tasked with making sense of the writing's many moods and short attention span. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

My first exposure to 1988's "The Last Slumber Party" was ten years ago, when the team at Rifftrax added the feature to their catalog of comedy. The movie was a perfect fit for mockery, finding director Stephen Tyler's general inability to assemble a film inspiring perhaps one of the most consistently hilarious offerings in the company's history. And now, in 2024, a rewatch "The Last Slumber Party" has to happen, only this time without jesting, facing the goofiness and technical limitations of the endeavor sans help from trained riff professionals. With this picture, all the extra goofing around helps, as Tyler looks to add to the tradition of slasher cinema, only he can't master any of the technical challenges facing him. It's a long 72 minutes with unlikable characters and production blunders, while suspense is not present in this amateurish genre exercise. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

We don't get many stone age stories on screen these days, giving "Out of Darkness" a bit of distinction as the production examines struggles from long ago, back when the Earth carried tremendous mystery and its inhabitants were fighting to understand their place in the world order. Though listed as a horror film, the endeavor isn't really built to generate scares. Director Andrew Cumming goes intensely atmospheric instead, attempting to put the audience in the middle of a tribal fight for survival, where the characters are surrounded by pure darkness and unknown predators. "Out of Darkness" isn't a thrilling sit, as Cumming takes his time with the effort, occasionally getting lost in his own moviemaking vision. But there are layers of storytelling in Ruth Greenberg's screenplay that hold attention, creating a suspenseful study of feral behavior and survival. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Who knows what would've happened to 1994's "The Crow" if there wasn't controversy and tragedy attached to it. The feature was a success, largely driven by ticket-buyers curious to see Brandon Lee in his final film role and how the production was going to deal with such a loss, especially when the material remains inherently violent and grim. "The Crow" worked as a stylish offering of doom and revenge, and Lee was incredible in it, but instead of walking away from a horrible situation, producers made the decision to keep going, with plenty of money still to be collected from the brand name. 2000's "The Crow: Salvation" is the third installment of the series, coming after 1996's "The Crow: City of Angels" (a sequel that has its fans, but I'm not one of them) and "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven," a television series that elected to develop the events of the 1994 offering. At this point, there was little left to say when it comes to all things "Crow," but try telling that to the moneymen, who attempt to sustain the "love is forever" theme for a picture that has no energy and personality, merely existing to keep an I.P. alive with a thoroughly uninspired endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1991's "Black Cat" was a Hong Kong production looking to replicate the plot and action intensity of Luc Besson's "La Femme Nikita." 1992's "Black Cat 2" gives up on that plan, instead aiming to be more of a "Terminator" riff as the eponymous character returns to duty, this time implanted with a different chip offering upgraded technology. Director Stephen Shin also comes back to helm the feature, once again more consumed with cooking up wild stunt sequences than dealing with the basics in storytelling. "Black Cat 2" is a step down in quality for the series, but it's not without some charms, including a little enjoyable brutality found during the run time, and the final minutes of the picture are positively bonkers. It's not always a complete endeavor, but it still packs a punch for what appears to be a quickie production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1990, Luc Besson's "La Femme Nikita" managed to bewitch an international audience with its outstanding mix of deep feelings and furious action. The movie successfully refreshed the ways of assassin cinema, resulting in Besson's finest picture, which launched many copycats and a few remakes (including 1993's "Point of No Return" with Bridget Fonda). "Black Cat" is an unofficial do-over, with the Hong Kong production helping itself to the basics of Besson's endeavor, focusing on stunt activity as star Jade Leung delivers a monumentally physical performance. Director Stephen Shin attempts emotionality, but that's not the ultimate point of "Black Cat," which often resembles a theme park stunt show, with the production making sure the feature is on the move for most of its run time, inflicting all kinds of damage on the lead character as she develops into a highly trained killer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A directing duo, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were once Belgium-born filmmakers making small movies for local audiences. They were eventually brought to Hollywood, tasked to do something with "Bad Boys for Life" after the troubled production had difficulty getting off the ground. The pair created a hit, and the industry asked for more, with El Arbi and Fallah soon put in charge of the superhero picture, "Batgirl," which was eventually shelved due to reasons that will probably never be crystal clear. The helmers are back in business with another "Bad Boys" sequel for this summer, but before they return to big-budget extravaganzas, they revive their indie spirit with "Rebel." Taking on the psychological and physical destruction of Syrian warfare, El Arbi and Fallah (who also co-script with Kevin Meul and Jan van Dyck) make a deeply personal feature that explores the horrors of Islamic State and the influence of radicalization in Europe, mixing raw emotions with unexpected blasts of artful expression that keeps viewers invested in material that would otherwise be extraordinarily difficult to watch. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com