Beach House (2019/RLJ Blu-ray)/Blood Vessel (2019/Umbrella Region Free Import Blu-ray)/Dead Ones (2019/Artsploitation Blu-ray)/Haunt (2019/Ronin Flix Blu-ray)/Lake Michigan Monster (2018/MVD/Arrow Blu-ray)/Other Side Of Madness (1971/Film Detective Blu-ray)/Westworld Season Three: The New World 4K (2020/HBO/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)

4K Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B+/B+/B+/B+/B/B/B Sound: B+ (Madness: B) Extras: D/C+/C/B/B/C/C+ Main Programs: C+/C+/C-/B/C+/C+/B

PLEASE NOTE: The Blood Vessel Import Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment in Australia, can play on all Blu-ray players and can be ordered from the link below.

Here's our latest group of Horror thrillers, some of which offer science fiction and mystery...

The Beach House (2019) starts out as a slow burn horror thriller and ends up being pretty trippy. A Shudder original, the low budget horror film is pretty interesting and well done with some gruesome images of body horror. Directed by Jeff Brown, the film isn't bad if you stick with it until the end, however isn't necessarily a game changer.

The film stars Liana Liberato, Noah Le Gros, Jake Weber, Maryanne Nagel, and Dan Zakarija.

Two twenty somethings (Liberato and Le Gros) go to a beach house near the ocean in hopes of rekindling their romance. However, they soon discover two older friends of the family (Nagel and Weber) that are crashing in the beach house as well. After a seemingly normal night, things start to get trippy as everyone seemingly hallucinates and gets a strange infection that's somehow linked to the environment around them.

The Beach House is presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix. The film is nicely shot for a smaller budgeted film and has a nice sound mix that helps add to the disorientation and strangeness that the characters go through.

No extras.

I would say The Beach House is a distant cousin to The Color Out of Space in that its environment is infected by weirdness. There isn't too much to the story here, but a more surreal approach to disorienting the audience. Worth checking out.

Mixing Nazis with Vampires, Blood Vessel (2019) is an interesting and fun thrill ride for vampire fans.

The film stars Alyssa Sutherland, Nathan Phillips, Robert Taylor, Alex Cooke, and Mark Diaco with direction by Justin Dix.

A group of survivors board a mysterious Nazi boat that appears to them on an island. As they jump on board, they soon realize that they are dealing with ancient evil and are picked off by hungry Nazi vampires one by one.

Blood Vessel is presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio paired with a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix. The film is a bit dark for primarily taking place at night but it comes across fine on disc.

Special Features

Audio Commentaries

Blood Vessel: The Production Diary

On Board Blood Vessel: The Making Of Featurette

Interview with a Vampire

Nazi News reel

VFX Breakdown Panel

Morale-Boosting Animations

Online Promos

and a Trailer

School shootings are a terrible and hideous thing to begin with, but if you want to see them glorified then check out The Dead Ones (2019), an artsy attempt at horror that is a challenge to sit through.

Four high school students are in detention and fight themselves locked indoors and hunted by shooters named the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As the students face these murders, they end up confronting supernatural past trauma in the meantime.

The film stars Clare Kramer, Katie Foster, Muse Watson, and Erik Odom with direction by Jeremy Kasten.

The Dead Ones is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and with lossless, English 5.1 DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) and lossy 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo mixes. I didn't notice any in consistencies or irregularities in the transfer and the film overall is colorful and nicely shot and translates here fine.

There are some special features, but there are pretty short with only 9 minutes of material:

Special Effects Featurette

Set Tour with Production Designer

Two Audio Commentary Tracks with Cast, Director, and Crew

I personally wasn't much a fan of this film, but it may appeal to some. It is certainly horrific and disorienting to watch and touches upon a very controversial subject manner. The main attempt here is shock value and in that sense, it succeeds.

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' horror film Haunt (2019) is a great nail biting horror thriller that's definitely recommendable to slasher fans. The film uses the haunted house formula mixed with the SAW / torture formula well and makes a film that is stylistically shot and holds repeat value. Haunt originally premiered on Shudder and has now found its way onto Blu-ray disc packed with extras.

Haunt stars Katie Stevens, Will Brittain, Lauryn Alisa McClain, and Andrew Lewis Caldwell. The film is from the writers of A Quiet Place and producer Eli Roth. A group of friends decide to take an extreme haunt challenge and it ends up being a literal hell on earth. As they attempt to solve a labyrinth of puzzles, they end up encountering several very creepy masked killers along the way.

Haunt is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen presentation of 2.35:1 and paired with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The film is very nicely photographed and directed surprisingly well.

Special Features include To Escape the Haunt: The Making of HAUNT featurette including interviews with writers/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, actors Katie Stevens, Will Brittain, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, Lauryn Alisa McClain, Schuyler Helford, Justin Marxen, Chaney Morrow, Special Makeup Effects artist Chris Bridges and co-composer Andy Milburn (tomandandy) NEW Audio Commentary with actors Justin Marxen (Clown), Chaney Morrow (Ghost) and Damian Maffei (Devil); Audio Commentary with writers/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Behind the Haunt The Sound of Haunt, Deleted Scenes with an introduction by Scott and Bryan Popcorn Frights Q & A with Scott, Bryan and some of the cast Egyptian Theatre Premiere Q & A with Scott and Bryan, moderated by Eli Roth, Short Film: The Sleepover - Scott and Bryan's first film. Director's Diary and a Theatrical Trailer.

Haunt is more fun than most films in the same vein that I've seen as of late. There's definitely some franchise material here too as there is a lot to do one could do with the world it creates.

This comical and stylized low budget ode to classic monster movies was a winner at several film festivals and available now from Arrow Video. The Lake Michigan Monster (2018) is uniquely made and has to be experienced to be fully understood. The film is in black and white and shot digitally yet edited in such a way that mimics film. The action and dialogue is hammy and aided by quick cuts and the occasional dose of animation. The film attempts to capture the look of old timey film and the silent era as well. While not all of the jokes work, the overall style and tone of the film aids its zany plot and wild characters.

The film stars Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Erick West, Beulah Peters, Daniel Long, Wayne Tews, and Steve Hoelter. The film is also directed by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews.

The Lake Michigan Monster ate a ship captain's father and in turn he hires a group of experts to help him hunt down and kill the monster. When he uses one of them as bait, they end up impregnating the monster. As the crew starts to second guess the Captain, the monster pursues them on the remote island in Michigan where they are stationed at.

The Lake Michigan Monster is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec and a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and paired with original lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and PCM 2.0 stereo soundtracks. The film is quite grainy, which is meant to aide the overall stylized black and white approach, however the grain is a bit thick and definitely distracting on a 4K UHD TV. For a film shot independently though, it definitely looks and sounds great on disc. The use of old music helps back up the plot as well and definitely adds to the effect. You can tell the filmmakers studied old monster films and did their best to mimic that style digitally and efficiently.

Special Features: Two cast and crew audio commentaries featuring writer/director/actor Ryland Tews and actors Daniel Long, Beulah Peters, Erick West and editor Mike Cheslik - one sober, one drunk! Critics' audio commentary with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Emma Westwood, Effects Breakdown comparison of the film's underwater sequence, including storyboards and pre-composited footage, Dear Old Captain Seafield - the Captain Seafield theme song, performed by the Seafield Monster Sextet, Interview in a Cabin - interview with Ryland Tews and Daniel Long at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Interview in a Bar - interviews with the cast and crew at the Beloit International Film Festival Interview by a Fire - interview with Mike Cheslik on Mark Borchardt's Cinema Fireside radio show The first season and pilot episode of L.I.P.S., Ryland Tews and Mike Cheslik's hybrid animation/live action sci-fi comedy web series, Theatrical Trailer Behind the scenes photos, Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork by Jade Watring and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch.

The Lake Michigan Monster is worth a watch and commendable for its attempt at honoring the monster movies of yesteryear. Some of the jokes are a bit too silly for their own good and don't really work, but the movie is enjoyable and not meant to be taken too seriously to begin with.

The Other Side Of Madness (1971) is available on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Detective and tells the full story of the Charlie Manson murders. Directed by Frank Howard and produced by Wade Williams, the film was shot in Kansas City with a cast of unknowns at the time. It even notably shot some sequences at the famed Spahn Ranch (where some of the events actually took place) before the compound was destroyed by fire in the '70s, and was the first film on the subject matter made before the real trials were even finished. Banned in Los Angeles at the time of its original release, this controversial film is available now in this anniversary release.

The film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-2 codec and a full frame aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and a lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 mix. The film is in black and white with some color segments and a clear image in this new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative preserved and restored in collaboration with The Wade Williams Collection.

Special Features:

Original documentary - The Other Side of Manson: An Interview With Producer Wade Williams from Daniel Griffith at Ballyhoo Motion Pictures

Bonus featurette - Mechanical Man: Wade Williams Meets Manson from Daniel Griffith at Ballyhoo Motion Pictures

Bonus CD with selections from the original, seven-inch, vinyl soundtrack, including "Mechanical Man" and "Garbage Dump," performed by Charles Manson

12-page, Blu-ray exclusive collector's booklet with commentary from film director Alexander Tuschinski

Original theatrical trailers from both releases The Other Side of Madness (1971) and The Helter Skelter Murders (1976).

If you're a fan of this film then this is an edition that you don't want to miss!

Last but not least is Westworld Season Three: The New World 4K (2020) picking up where the bold final scene of Season Two left off. Without spoilers, the continuation of the classic 1973 hit film and its 1976 sequel, about an amusement park for adults with robots gone awry has far exceeded the confines of that (pre-COVID) vacation spot for the rich and lucky. Breaking ground and trying out new ideas as creator Michael Crichton did in his original film, HBO has gone all out to leave nothing unturned to take the storylines to new heights and remain smart and clever for the most part.

As a plus, the very capable Aaron Paul has joined the remarkable cast of what is as well a cast TV show as any in production now, fitting perfectly in a cast so remarkable, it is going to be one of the all-time great assemblies and they just get better and better (including Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris and Tessa Thompson for starters) that is among the best work for all behind and in front of the camera. It is the kind of show that makes HBO so great.

I cannot say much more except for a few small down points, the eight episodes here are some of the best action science fiction, horror, drama and even political television today and cheers to Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy (who apparently has a feature film debut ahead) and J.J. Abrams for a show that I expect will be recognized as some kind of classic in due time. In 4K, it is especially spectacular.

The 2160p HEVC/H.265, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image is usually 1.78 X 1, but also has some 2.2 X 1 and 2.35 X 1 framings at times, so you could say this has multiple aspect ratios. The best-looking release on this list, it has demo moments the other releases could not touch, though the makers have apparently tried out some HD cameras for some night shots, though they are not used in the usual way.

The 1080p digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray is not bad for the format, but lacks the Video Black range, color range, detail and warmth of the 4K version.

As for sound, both versions offer lossless Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 for older systems) sound mixes on all their episodes which also have some great moments that rate above my rating, but some audio is simpler, though most music is good and sound effects top notch.

Extras include Digital Code to watch the shows anywhere, while the discs add 6 featurettes (3 of which are only on this set) as well as 4 Welcome To Westworld featurettes and 7 Creating Westworld's Reality featurettes on the episodes.

To order the Blood Vessel Umbrella import Blu-ray, go to this link for it and other hard to find releases at:

http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/

- Nicholas Sheffo (Westworld 4K) and James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/