Squid Ink

Welcome back to the latest episode of Slipped Discs, where I give you a head’s up on what nerdy stuff is available to come home with you, because I still believe in physical media!

Once more, all this information comes from Blu-Ray.com, but they list everything that will be in the stores, whereas I shall provide you with what I feel is the interesting genre fare.

Can you believe that this year is almost half-over now, my Physical Medians? July is almost here, and we should have been in the swing of what was going to be an amazing year of movies. Instead, we get a year that has been the longest decade of my life.

Still, at least we have our new releases to give us some kind of respite from the ongoing dumpster fire that is this year. Though, once again, this is a very thin week. So let’s get right into our filthy business.

The Immortalizer (1989) “A crazed scientist sends out his mutant creations to kidnap young, beautiful men and women to bring back to his lab so he can replace their brains with those of old, wealthy people.” An interesting looking little medical horror flick from the 80s. I wonder how well it handles the class struggle in that premise. Probably not as well as They Live or Get Out, which had the bonus of racial tensions as well.

Force of Nature (2020) “A gang of thieves plan a heist during a hurricane and encounter trouble when a cop tries to force everyone in the building to evacuate.” Not really a genre movie, but that’s an interesting disaster movie premise. And it’s got Mel Gibson, who keeps trying to make a comeback from his questionable life choices. I’ll skip it.

Orca: The Killer Whale (1977) “Neurotic whaler Nolan faces off with an enraged killer whale after he kills the whale’s pregnant mate.” My mom took me to see this in the theater. I was six. Considering that my dad took me to see Jaws in the theater and I enjoyed it, that’s probably why. I remember the walk to the theater, going up to the balcony, and then there are parts of this movie still seared into my brain. Like the killing of the pregnant whale and the baby whale, Bo Derek getting her leg bitten off as she dangles off the balcony, and the ice crushing SPOILER at the end. I haven’t seen it since the 80s, but it’s still vividly right there in my memory. I’m surprised that I love the ocean, and swimming it it, after the one-two punch of Jaws and this flick.

Anyway, this is pretty much the best of all of the Jaws inspired knock offs, as it at least tries to be a serious piece. After it is Piranha, which is more fun, B movie cheese. But that’s a whole other article. This edition is another SCREAM Factory Collector’s Edition release, and my Pick of the Week.

No, they’re still not paying me.

Four Kids and It (2020) “A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.” Did Michael Caine need his house remodeled? This looks terrible, and that Dove Approved logo seals the deal, for me at least. Hard pass.

Wild Palms (1993) “A multi-national corporation attempts to take over America while small pockets of resistance hold out against rampant technology.” Oliver Stone tries to do Twin Peaks, but with weird tech and Jim Belushi. To be fair, I remember looking forward to this, as it was part of a wave of “Weird Shows” that followed David Lynch’s TV experiment. I don’t remember much about it, except being mainly disappointed. It was too normal to keep your interest, but too weird for the average viewer. I might have to revisit it, just to see how it’s aged.

Lection (2019) “Lection is an indie thriller about a local election in a post-apocalyptic society.” So, it’s a documentary? No cast list, no information at all past that brief write-up, so . . . maybe?

Knife of Ice (1972) “As a thirteen year old, Martha Caldwell witnessed the death of her parents in a terrible railway accident. Barely surviving the tragedy herself, Martha was struck dumb due to the shock. Now an adult, the still mute Martha lives with her uncle Ralph in the Spanish countryside. Martha’s cousin Jenny arrives to be with the family but is quickly stabbed to death. It appears that a sex maniac is roaming the countryside; killing pretty young girls. The already traumatized Martha seems likely to be the next victim but the case turns out to be far more complicated than it would first seem.” A Giallo flick that I haven’t seen, this will be either very good, or very bad. But even bad, it should be watchable.

Other titles of note: Ouija Blood Ritual (2020), Hair (1979), 16 Sunrises (2018)

So, not quite as thin as last week, but still pretty threadbare. But that might be a good thing, as the first week of July is looking pretty packed . . .

Until then, my Physical Medians, let me know which of these are a must-buy for you, a pass, or which ones I missed!