Halloween is on the way, so it’s time to roll out Elvira – this time in the Blu-ray “Elvira’s Haunted Hills: Collector’s Edition” (Scream Factory).
The camp classic from the iconic (and voluptuous) horror host includes hilarious one-liners that culls its outrageousness from the classic films of the early 1960s involving Vincent Price, Edgar Allan Poe, and Roger Corman, plus a little bit of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Fearless Vampire Killers” thrown in.
The 2001 film features a brand-new EK scan of the original camera negative. The plot revolves around Elvira ending up at a medieval castle while bearing an uncanny resemblance to the long-dead wife of the castle’s owner, the sinister Lord Vladimere Hellsubus.
A new introduction by Elvira highlights the bonus features, which also includes three featurettes, audio commentary, outtakes, and more.
Other titles
In “The Universality of It All” (Indiepix), it must have been fate. A filmmaker (Andres Bronnimann) becomes friends with a Yemeni refugee living in Vancouver. Years later, he has the idea to use this lens to probe how human migration relates to climate change, globalization, identity politics, wealth gaps, trade wars, and much more. Bronnimann analyzes these examples of migration from historical and economical viewpoints to conclude we are interconnected amid these major events of the 2000s. Through the documentary and the filmmaker audio commentary, Bronnimann opens eyes that global and local issues are interconnected.
“Lourdes” (Icarus Films) is truly a story of hope. Of course, Lourdes, France, is where, in 1858, a 14-year-old peasant girl claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in a remote grotto. Today, the town is second only to Paris in the number of annual visitors (6 million), part venerated shrine, part Disneyland (shops selling bottled holy water and Virgin Mary-related tchotchkes). Vast processions of people seeking a miracle fuel a small army of caregivers who accompany them. These pilgrims are a surprising cross-section of humanity: accident victims, the terminally ill, an overweight and bullied teenager, a contingent of aging Paris prostitutes. The film is an insightful meditation on the human capacity for empathy and hope and the mystery of religious faith. The DVD is in French with English subtitles.
“Aalto” (Film Movement) captures the heart and essence of Scandic modern architect Alvar Aalto and his architect wife, Aino. The Finnish duo knew other modernist artists and designers, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Gropius, and they designed famous buildings across the world, including many buildings in Finland, an art collector’s private house near Pris, an MIT student dormitory, and a library in Russia. The documentary is narrated by architectural experts and features never-seen archival footage, family photos, and diagrams.
“The Stand” (CBS Home Entertainment) contains the new miniseries adaptation for Paramount+ and stars Whoopi Goldberg, Greg Kinnear, and Alexander Skarsgard. The three-disc set contains all the episodes of the dystopian series, based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel. This is far different than the original 1994 miniseries. An “Adapting the Stand” featurette and gag reel highlight the extra features.
With the NBA regular season gearing up, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) comes at a good time, as it stars NBA player LeBron James. The premise is that James and his son are trapped in digital space, and Bugs Bunn and his pals help get them out.
“Twist” (Lionsgate) is a modern-day heist thriller set on the streets of London and is inspired by Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist.” A gifted graffiti artist tries to find his way after the death of his mother, and ends up in a street gang. When an art theft goes wrong, his moral code is tested. The movie stars 88-year-old Michael Caine, Raff Law, and Lena Headey. “The Artful Dodger: Twist’s Underworld” makes for a great bonus feature.
“Blithe Spirit” (Shout! Factory) makes its Blu-ray debut. Starring Dan Stevens and Isla Fisher, as well as Judi Dench and Leslie Mann, the hilarious comedy from 2020 finds a man stuck between two wives and their increasingly over-the-top attempts to outdo each other. A behind-the-scenes featurette highlights the extras.