New to View: Jan. 15
By Bob Bloom
The following titles are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, Jan. 15, unless otherwise noted:
Halloween (Blu-ray + DVD + digital)
Details: 2018, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, horror violence, bloody images, language, drug use, nudity
The lowdown: “Halloween” works hard at trying to please old and new fans of the series, which creates a schism in which the movie fails to completely please anyone.
The latest film in this franchise returns to the 1978 original for its source — ignoring all the sequels and remakes that came in between.
“Halloween,” directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, wants to have it both ways. It seeks to be not only a sequel but a homage to the original.
And this divided focus works against the movie.
Green and the writers expend a lot of energy reminding us of moments from the original, while also struggling to give the movie momentum.
Sometimes it works — such as a Halloween-night sequence in which the movie tracks the silent killer, Michael Myers, walking along the street among unaware trick-or-treating youngsters.
Also helping is the John Carpenter score from the original mixed with a new and more ominous track by Daniel A. Davies and Carpenter’s son, Cody.
Michael Simmonds’ cinematography also is an asset as he keeps his camera on the move, tracking through the town of Haddonfield, IL, always skulking around corners like a hunter stalking its prey.
The foundation on which “Halloween” rests is the savage performance of Jamie Lee Curtis, returning as Laurie Strode.
“Halloween” stubs its toe several times before a violent but unsatisfactory finale, which is designed to continue the series.
But for all its missteps, “Halloween” is low-rent scary. True, it fails to wholly capture what made Carpenter’s 1978 version so special and groundbreaking, but it does help cleanse your palate of the mostly inferior sequels that followed.
A majority of critics believed so as well, giving the film a 79 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. The set’s picture and sound quality, especially on the Blu-ray disc, is superb.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 widescreen picture; English DTX-X immersive Video, English 2.0 DVS and Spanish and French 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 DVS; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
Don’t miss: Bonus offerings include a making of featurette’ a profile of Curtis’ character and comparisons of her performance in the original and in this movie; deleted and extended scenes, a featurette on the use of music, especially Carpenter’s original score, in the movie; a featurette on Michael Myers iconic mask; and a discussion about the legacy of the “Halloween” franchise.
Crimson Peak: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 2015, Arrow Video
Rated: R, graphic and bloody violence, sexual content, frightening images, language
The lowdown: If Charlotte Bronte and Daphne du Maurier had been collaborating screenwriters at Universal Pictures in the 1930s, the result might have been “Crimson Peak.”
This chilling feature co-written by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins, and directed by del Toro, has the feel of one of Bronte’s Gothic romances, such as “Jane Eyre,” blended with the psychological thriller vibe of du Maurier’s “Rebecca.”
Despite its color palate, the film’s cinematography by Dan Laustsen, production design by Thomas E. Sanders and musical score by Fernando Velazquez create a nostalgic aura that recalls the black-and-white features released by Universal or 20th Century Fox in the late 1930s and early to mid-1940s.
The movie stars Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain.
This is a dark, Gothic romance that holds your attention and keeps you in suspense.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 DTS X headphone audio and English DVS; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with del Toro, a behind-the-scenes, feature-length documentary about the movie, four featurettes about the film and a Spanish-language interview with del Toro.
Obsession: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1976, Scream Factory
Rated: PG
The lowdown: Director Brian De Palma again tackles an Alfred Hitchcock-related theme — this time from “Vertigo” — with his story, cowritten with Paul Schrader, about a man whose wife and 9-year-old daughter have been kidnapped during a 10th wedding anniversary celebration.
Michael Courtland (Academy Award-winner Cliff Robertson) never recovers his wife and daughter when an attempt to thwart the kidnappers is bungled.
About 15 years later, while vacationing in Florence, Italy, Courtland falls in love with a young woman is who is an exact double of his wife. On the eve of their wedding, the woman disappears.
Courtland finds a duplicate of the ransom note left for him years earlier.
The movie costars Genevieve Bujold as Courtland’s wife and his new love.
The movie’s big reveal is rather simple to discern, but it still does not diminish your involvement in the story.
Photography by Vilmos Zsigmond and a musical score by the great Bernard Herrmann help create the pseudo-Hitchcock atmosphere that De Palma is trying to create.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include an interview with producer George Litto and editor Paul Hirsh, an “Obsession Revisited” featurette that includes interviews with De Palma, Robertson and Bujold and a commentary track.
Jonathan (Blu-ray)
Details: 2018, Well Go USA Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: “Baby Driver’s” Ansel Elgort stars in this science fiction-tinged drama about two brothers who live separate lives, but inside the same body.
They have been content to live their lives in shifts, communicating via daily video sessions, until both Jonathan and John become emotionally involved with the same woman.
The movie seems to shift between a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde vibe and romantic drama.
Holding it together, though, is Elgort’s performance, in which he forms a delineation between his two personalities.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.39:1 (16×9 enhanced) widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Plague of the Zombies (Blu-ray)
Details: 1966, Scream Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This Hammer Films release is a bit closer to Bela Lugosi’s 1932 “White Zombie” than the usual reimagining of the classic Universal horror classics that Hammer was known for during this era.
The movie is set in a remote 19th-century Cornish village in which a local squire, needing workers for his tin mine, turns local residents into voodoo-controlled zombies.
A local doctor convinces his mentor to help him unravel the village’s mystery. At first, they believe villagers are dying from a strange malady, but, later, discover empty coffins.
Clues lead them to the supposed deserted mine, where they uncover the truth.
This is one of Hammer’s lesser-known releases, as it is usually eclipsed by the studio’s plethora of Dracula and Frankenstein features.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English DTS-HD Master Audio monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a restoration comparison, two commentary tracks, a “World of Hammer” episode: “Mummies, Werewolves & The Living Dead” and a making of featurette.
Tea with the Dames
Details: 2018, IFC Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This fun documentary brings together four icons of British stage and screen, who also happen to be longtime friends.
Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Eileen Atkins and Dame Joan Plowright get together for a weekend of chatting, reminiscing, sipping tea and candidly discussing their lives, loves, careers, aging and living for decades in the spotlight.
This delightful movie is filled with sharp wit and insights. You need not be a fan of British performers to appreciate the up close and personal exchanges shared by these great performers.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English subtitles.
The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (Blu-ray)
Details: 1970, Arrow Video
Rated: Not rated, sexual situations, disturbing images, violence
The lowdown: This Italian giallo feature is more of a psychological thriller than horror outing.
A young wife, whose husband is frequently absent, is walking on the beach when she is assaulted by a stranger, who informs her that her husband is a murderer.
The wife, loyal to her husband, submits to the stranger’s blackmail, which includes some perverse sexual acts. When she finally balks, the blackmailer produces photographs, which force her to participate in even more depravity.
The movie features a score by Ennio Morricone and an English-language track.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; Italian and English LPCM; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus materials include a commentary track, a featurette with filmmaker and cast interviews, a look at the movie’s score and a 2016 Festival of Fantastic films question-and-answer session with the film’s star, Dagmar Lassander.
The Dark
Details: 2018, Dark Sky Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A horror feature about an area called the Devil’s Den that lies outside a small town.
The Devil’s Den is a small tract of woods where many have entered, but none has returned.
A local rumor has it that the spirit of a young girl who was brutally murdered haunts and hunts in the area, killing anyone who trespasses in her domain.
When a man with a dark past crosses her path, it sets in motion a series of events that could lead to redemption for a pair of tortured souls.
The movie is part gothic fairy tale and horror feature that is brutal and bloody.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH subtitles.
Other titles being released on Tuesday, unless otherwise indicated:
After Darkness (DVD & digital download & VOD) (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Oddsockeaters (Omnibus Entertainment)
Speed Kills (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon (DVD & digital download & VOD) (Random Media)
The Revelation of Lee Scratch Perry (State of Emergency-MVD Visual Entertainment, Jan. 18)
FOR KIDS
Paw Patrol: Pups Save Puplantis (Nickelodeon-Paramount Home Entertainment)
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
A Star Is Born (Warner Home Video)
Blood Bound (Film Mode Entertainment)
Boy Erased (Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
Doom Room (Wild Eye Releasing)
Hunter Killer (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
Reign of the Supermen (Warner Home Video)
The Sisters Brothers (Fox Home Entertainment)
Suspiria (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
The Last Man (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Jan. 18)
Trigger Morning with Killer Mike (Netflix, Jan. 18)
The Hour: Series 1 & 2 (Acorn TV, Jan. 21)
Murdoch Mysteries: Series 12, Episode 6 (Acorn TV, Jan. 21)
The Rebel, Series 1 (Acorn TV, Jan. 21)
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (HBO Home Entertainment, Jan. 21)
Coming next week: First Man
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook. My movie reviews also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.