Suspiria (Synapse) The scariest and loudest horror movie about witchcraft ever made, by Italian maestro of menace Dario Argento (Deep Red). Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American girl, who arrives at a famed Tanz Akademie of dance in Frieberg, Germany only to find it a hotbed of witches ruled over by the famed “Black Queen” Elena Marcus. Filmed in a riot of reds and blues with outrageous Art Deco sets, extreme lighting, and an ear-splitting musical score by the rock band Goblin. Like an expressionistic, nightmare, fairy tale with a wonderful fiery finale. Synapse has taken painstaking care in this exquisite restoration of a 1977 horror masterpiece.
The Psychopath (Kino Lorber) Never released before on VHS or DVD, this 1966 Freddie Francis chiller (with a script by Robert Block) is about a series of murders where dolls looking like the victims are left next to the bodies. (Although I’ll never know how the killer could predict the clothes the targets would be wearing that day to replicate on the dolls). This looks great and has a truly twisted ending.
The Church (Scorpion) Michele Soavi’s (Cemetery Man) gothic shocker about a church built over a burial ground of witches. Tomas Arana plays a librarian who accidentally breaks open the seal protecting the world from an invasion of demons. Asia Argento as a young girl, and there’s a gruesome, wild, ending with people trapped inside the cathedral transforming into demons. This gorgeous restoration is a must-own.
Outer Limits: Season One (Kino Lorber) In 1963 this brilliant sci-fi series debuted with this ominous announcement: “There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust your dial. We are controlling transmission…” Joseph Stefano (who penned the screenplay for Psycho) was producer and visionary who created this hour-long hit series. The stories were packed with monsters and were chock full of existential quandaries. One of the high points was The Zanti Misfits, co-starring Bruce Dern, about a spaceship that lands in the desert with creepy ant-like beings (with old man heads). That was pure nightmare fuel when I saw it as a kid. (See picture above). This pristine-looking box set is stunning.
Harper (Warner Archives) Paul Newman is perfect as the rumpled, sardonic, private detective Lew Harper, hired by a wealthy woman (Lauren Bacall) to find her missing husband. This droll, funny, offbeat 1966 film is directed by Jack Smight, with a script by William Goldman. It’s overflowing with crackpot characters and feels like a hangover from watching too many Humphrey Bogart film noirs. With Shelley Winters as a blowsy ex-movie star, Pamela Tiffin as a sexy temptress, Julie Harris as a drug-addicted chanteuse, and Janet Leigh as Harper’s fed-up ex. I watch this repeatedly just to hear Lauren Bacall say with a sneer: “Puss, puss, puss….”
Liquid Sky (Vinegar Syndrome) This was a midnight movie favorite in the 80s. Russian director Slava Tsukerman set this trippy sci-fi tale in the druggy, fashion, new wave, New York scene. An alien spaceship lands on a roof and feeds off the orgasms of the impaired. Anne Carlisle (who co-wrote the screenplay and plays two roles) stars as a punked-out model with bleached hair and face paint who sleeps with people who are then consumed by the aliens. “I can’t have all these bodies…” she laments. Her roommate is a performance artist and drug dealer (Alice Sweet Alice’s Paula E. Sheppard).
Women In Love (Criterion) Ken Russell’s adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence novel (with a superb screenplay by Larry Kramer) is so smart, so brilliant conceived and acted, and so emotionally charged, it takes your breath away. Set in The Midlands in post First World War England, it’s about the complicated relationship of two best friends (Oliver Reed & Alan Bates) and two women (Glenda Jackson & Jennie Linden) in their life. But it’s way more than that. This Criterion edition is flawless, with a lot of great extras. That naked wrestling scene between the two men still packs a punch.
Basket Case (Arrow) A 4K restoration of Frank Henenlotter’s 1982 cult classic (restored by the Museum Of Modern Art) which has never look (or sounded) better. Jokey, creepy, and wonderful, this demented treat is about a disturbed young man Duane (terrific Kevin Van Hentenryk) and his telepathic mutant twin brother who resides in a wicker basket Duane carries around. They check into to a seedy Times Square hotel to get revenge on the doctors who conspired to separate them. There are so many extras on this gorgeous Arrow disc including an early short film by Henenlotter called Slash Of The Knife (a hilariously warped mock sex-ed film about the horrors of not being circumcised).
The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (Criterion) There are few movie faces so burned into memory after seeing them on the screen than Maria Falconetti as Joan Of Arc, the woman on trial for heresy in 1431. Director Carl Theodor Dryer zeroes in on that expressive face in close up and never lets up. Dreyer’s extreme framing of priests and officials and the stark set design all help create a film of haunting power. This 1928 silent film had been thought to have been lost for years after its negative was burned in a fire. The only viewable print was culled from outtakes. But the original, uncut, reels of film showed up at a mental health hospital in Norway. To see this preserved, restored, edition is a revelation. One of the true masterworks of cinema.
The Maze 3D (Kino Lorber) This bizarre 1953 rarity is set in an eerie Scottish castle where a nobleman Gerald (Richard Carlson) has to oversee and protect a diabolical family secret. His fiancé (Veronica Hurst), undaunted by Gerald’s repeated warnings not to come to the castle, shows up and unravels the mystery. Directed by William Cameron Menzies, who goes nuts with oddball framing. A woman’s head often at the bottom of the picture and all this space and ceiling taking up most of the frame. But in 3D- this looks incredible. Especially the weird maze outside where a strange nightly ritual happens. With one of the goofiest surprise endings in history. It is glorious to finally own this in 3D!
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (Warner Archive) The last film director Fritz Lang (M, The Big Heat) made in America. Dana Andrews plays Tom Garrett, an author who is talked into a scheme by a newspaper owner (Sidney Blackmer) to set himself up as murder suspect. They are trying to prove how easy it is to railroad and convict an innocent man. But things go very, very, wrong. Joan Fontaine plays the loyal fiancé of Garrett in this preposterous, enjoyable, thriller.
While The City Sleeps (Warner Archive) Fritz Lang directed this gritty expose of the newspaper business. When the revered head of the newspaper dies, his playboy, unqualified, son (Vincent Price) is put in charge. The new heir decides to fiendishly play the reporters against each other (for a coveted job at the paper) by seeing who can be the first to uncover the identity of the “Lipstick Killer”. A series of brutal murders of women have rocked the city. Dana Andrews plays a reporter who won’t play the game, and John Drew Barrymore plays the deranged, mama’s boy, murderer.
Images (Arrow) A fascinating experiment in the horror genre by Robert Altman (Nashville) with a stunning performance by Susannah York as an author of children’s books who starts receiving a series of mysterious, disturbing, phone calls. She escapes to her remote country cottage in Ireland and her delusions and hallucinations multiply. Vilmos Zsigmond’s gorgeous cinematography and Altman’s collaborative effort with the cast make this a cut above a Repulsion knock-off. The children’s book in the movie “In Search Of Unicorns” was actually written by York. Arrow’s beautiful restored print will hopefully improve this haunting 1972 film’s reputation.
Sweet Virginia (Shout Factory) A moody 2017 neo-noir directed by Jamie M. Dagg about an ex-rodeo champ (excellent Jon Bernthal) who now runs a run-down motel. He befriends one of the new guests (Christopher Abbott), who is actually a ruthless hit man who is waiting around to get paid for his last assignment. Christopher Abbott is truly one the most talented young actors around. If you ever saw him in the devastating film James White you know what I mean. Here he is mesmerizing and completely chilling.
Ruby Gentry (Kino Lorber) Another howler from King Vidor (The Fountainhead) starring Jennifer Jones as Ruby, the girl from the wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina, who decides to marry a rich man (Karl Malden) she doesn’t love to get revenge on the man she does (Charlton Heston). With that gorgeous theme song by Ray Charles, this 1952 melodrama is so high-pitched and over-the-top it’s the kind of camp classic we all need in our lives.
The Black Scorpion (Warner Archive) Above average giant bug movie starring Richard Denning, who plays a geologist investigating a volcanic eruption in Mexico. He finds love with a beautiful ranch owner (Mara Corday- who faced a giant spider in Tarantula). He also discovers the earthquake unleashed prehistoric giant scorpions which wreak havoc on the neighboring towns. The incredible special effects were by Willis O’Brien (King Kong) and there is an unforgettable sequence in an underground cavern with giant worms and a massive trapdoor spider chasing an irritating little boy named Juanito.
Phantom Thread (Universal Pictures). Paul Thomas Anderson’s exquisitely perverse love story stars the brilliant Daniel Day Lewis as a famous dress designer- Reyonlds Woodcock. He falls for a waitress named Alma (Vicky Krieps) and considers his muse. Then he marries her only to be incredibly irritated by practically every mundane thing she does. Like making too much noise at breakfast. That scene alone is a master class of acting for both leads and Lesley Manville who plays Reynolds’ stoic sister. So, the wife devises a rather bizarre plan on how to win his love back. This is one of those films you either get or you don’t. Quite frankly, I don’t want to know you if you don’t. The extras include camera tests, a collection of deleted scenes, and other goodies.