Each week here at Bloody Disgusting we like to highlight some of the new Blu-ray releases hitting shelves across the world. Please note that this isn’t every release for the week, just a few of the ones that jumped out at us.

Really great week of releases. Waxwork/Waxwork II double feature hits shelves marking the third of the Vestron Video Collector’s Series releases from Lionsgate. If it’s anything like the first two it is sure to be a wonderful release. Some good stuff from Kino Lorber available this week including The Pit which is currently screening in select theaters. The big release for me this week is Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro – Criterion’s Guillermo del Toro triple feature! This is a must for any del Toro fan’s collection!

US Releases

Independence Day: Resurgence (Fox, Region A)

Synopsis:
Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat. But will mankind’s new space defenses be enough?

The Pit (Kino Lorber, Region A)

Synopsis:
A solitary and strange boy wreaks revenge on the people who harasses him when he makes a disturbing discovery in the depth of a forest

Strategic Air Command (Olive Films, Region A)

Synopsis:
Inspired in part by the true story of baseball great Ted Williams, who after serving in World War II was drafted to serve in the Korean War just as his baseball career was taking off. Career and family take a back seat when ‘Dutch’ Holland is drafted again to train pilots in the Air Force’s new B-36 and B-47 bombers.

Waxwork/Waxwork II: Lost in Time (Lionsgate, Region A)

Waxwork
A wax museum owner uses his horror exhibits to unleash evil on the world.

Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro (Criterion Collection, Region A)

Cronos
Jesús Gris is an antique dealer who, with his granddaughter Aurora, discovers a mysterious scarab-like object at the base of an old statue. The statue’s previous owner was a 16th century alchemist who sought eternal life and the object turns out to be the Cronos which grants the user eternal life in exchange for blood.

The Devil’s Backbone
It is 1939, the end of three years of bloody civil war in Spain, and General Franco’s right-wing Nationalists are poised to defeat the left-wing Republican forces. A ten-year-old boy named Carlos, the son of a fallen Republican war hero, is left by his tutor in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. The orphanage is run by a curt but considerate headmistress named Carmen and a kindly Professor Casares, both of whom are sympathetic to the doomed Republican cause. Despite their concern for him, and his gradual triumph over the usual schoolhouse bully, Carlos never feels completely comfortable in his new environment. First of all, there was that initial encounter with the orphanage’s nasty caretaker, Jacinto, who reacts even more violently when anyone is caught looking around a particular storage room the one with the deep well.

Pan’s Labyrinth
Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and before Ofelia can turn back, she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.

Body Snatchers (Warner Archive Collection, Region A)

Synopsis:
A teenage girl and her father discover alien clones are replacing humans on a remote U.S. military base in Alabama.

The Laughing Policeman (Kino Lorber, Region A)

Synopsis:
In San Francisco, one victim in a mass murder is a police detective. His partner and a new partner investigate in the city’s seamy side.

Bates Motel: Season Four (Universal, Region A)

Synopsis:

As Norman continues to spiral out of control, Norma’s desperation to help her son amplifies. Growing increasingly fearful of him, Norma goes to great lengths to find Norman the professional help he needs. This further complicates their once unbreakable trust while Norman struggles to maintain his grip on reality. As Sheriff Romero finds himself drawn back into their lives, he must ask himself just how much further he is willing to go to protect Norma. Watch all 10 spine-chilling episodes back-to-back and uninterrupted in Bates Motel Season Four.

Ghost Rider Collection (Sony, Region A)

Ghost Rider
From Marvel Comics, creators of Spider-Man, Blade and X-Men, comes a new hero… Ghost Rider. Long ago, superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) made a deal with the devil to protect the ones he loved most: his father and his childhood sweetheart, Roxanne (Eva Mendes). Now, the devil has come for his due. By day, Johnny is a die-hard stunt rider… but at night, in the presence of evil, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter of rogue demons. Forced to do the devil’s bidding, Johnny is determined to confront his fate and use his curse and powers to defend the innocent.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Former stuntman and bounty hunter of rogue demons Johnny Blaze has been living in self-imposed exile, believing that his powers are a curse. But when he is approached by a member of a monastic order who is looking for someone to protect a mother and her son, who are being pursued by the devil in the figure of a man named Roarke, the Ghost Rider takes the case.

Little Fauss and Big Halsy (Olive Films, Region A)

Synopsis:
Two motorcycle racers team up – one reckless and dishonest, the other a timid doormat. As they race around the Southwest, loose women, family trouble, and the threat of the draft complicate their already turbulent lives.

What We Become (Scream Factory, Region A)

Synopsis:
A family of four is quarantined in their home as a virulent strand of the flu spreads into town and they are forced to the extreme to escape alive.

The Return of Dracula (Olive Films, Region A)

Synopsis:
Count Dracula kills a passenger on a train in Transylvania and steals his identity. He comes to a small community in California where the Mayberrys are expecting their cousin from Europe. His strange behaviour, sleeping all day and going out at night are surprising to young miss Rachel Mayberry. A policeman from Europe comes to investigate while Rachel’s best friend Jenny dies unexpectedly. And the count plans on giving Rachel the gift of eternal life…

Special Effects (Olive Films, Region A)

Synopsis:
From the mind of Larry Cohen (Phone Booth) springs this “kinky” (Chicago Reader) thriller about voyeurism, filmmaking…and murder. Starring Zoe Tamerlis (Bad Lieutenant) and Eric Bogosian (Wonderland), Special Effects is a searing exploration of human nature’s darkest depths! She was young. She was beautiful. She was primed to be a star. But now she’s dead, and the morally bankrupt director who strangled her is intent on covering up his crime by shrouding its details in the plot of his next movie! By convincing the homicide investigators to “consult” on his film, director Chris Neville (Bogosian) successfully alters the course of the investigation. But when the movie make-believe becomes too hauntingly similar to reality, Neville finds his plot unraveling in the final reel.

Fuzz (Kino Lorber, Region A)

Synopsis:
Detectives Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer, Eileen McHenry, and Bert Kling are part of the 87th Precinct’s team investigating a murder-extortion racket run by a mysterious deaf man. While attempting to investigate and prevent the murders of several high-ranking city officials, they also must keep track of the perpetrators of a string of robberies. Further complicating matters is a rash of arson attacks on homeless men.

Trouble Man (Kino Lorber, Region A)

Synopsis:
It seems that masked men are knocking over the floating crap games of Chalky and Pete. Chalky and Pete hire the cool, loose, elegant Mr. T to fix things. Then, the masked manipulators set up the death of a collector for a rival gang lord. It looks like it’s up to T to keep a gang war from breaking out, keep the police off his back, and earn his fee from Chalky and Pete. Then things get complicated. A pool hall, a boxing gym, women’s well-furnished apartments, and the mean streets of L.A. give T room to sort out what seems from what is.

Cobra the Animation: Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, Region A)

Synopsis:
There may be stronger and more ruthless guns for hire in the universe, but when it comes to sneakiness, nobody out-sneaks the space soldier of fortune known as Cobra. Who else would change his face and wipe his own memories to hide from former adversaries, then replace his arm with the ultimate holdout weapon? Whether he’s running from mechanical pterodactyls or trying to rescue a friend in need, Cobra never forgets the most important thing: scoring with pretty girls. Even though foiling the Pirate Guild, surviving avalanches, swimming with human-head sharks and fighting the crystalline killer Crystal Boy are all likely to take a few years off his life, one can’t argue with the fact that these missions tend to involve damsels in distress in various stages of undress! Get ready to blast off, rip-off, and face-off as the action explodes in COBRA THE ANIMATION!

Villa Rides (Olive Films, Region A)

Synopsis:
Pulled into the Mexican Revolution by his own greed, Texas gunrunner & pilot Lee Arnold joins bandit-turned-patriot Pancho Villa & his band of dedicated men in a march across Mexico battling the Colorados & stealing women’s hearts as they go. But each has a nemesis among his friends: Arnold is tormented by Fierro, Villa’s right-hand-man; and Villa must face possible betrayal by his own president’s naiveté.

Nighthawks (Shout Selects, Region A)

Synopsis:
Deke DaSilva and Matthew Fox are two New York cops who get transferred to an elite anti-terrorism squad. About this same time, an infamous international terrorist shows up in New York looking to cause some chaos. It’s up to DaSilva and Fox to stop him, but will they be in time…?

Child’s Play (Scream Factory, Region A)

Synopsis:
Police shoot and kill a convicted strangler after cornering him in a toy store. As the man is dying, he transfers his soul into a doll.

Pan’s Labyrinth (Criterion Collection, Region A)

Synopsis:
Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and before Ofelia can turn back, she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.

The King of Pigs (Olive Films, Region A)

Synopsis:
Jong-suk and Kyung-min meet up to talk about their high school past, it’s been 15 years since they last talked. It brings up all kinds of memories.

The Fake (Olive Films, Region A)

Synopsis:
With their municipality scheduled to be flooded to make way for the construction of a new dam, the devout denizens of a rural village have placed their faith in Choi Gyeong-seok, a church elder who promises to relocate the flock. Choi tells the villagers they will build a church and a new housing development where they will all be able to live together after the town is completely submerged……

Serial Killer 1 (Kino Lorber, Region A)

Synopsis:
An investigation by a young inspector who quickly becomes obsessed with stopping a monster.

UK Releases

Burnt Offerings (Arrow, Region B)

Synopsis:
Haunted house chiller from Dan Curtis has Oliver Reed and Karen Black as summer caretakers moving into a gothic house with their young son.

52 Pick-Up (Arrow, Region B)

Synopsis:
Harry Mitchell, an L.A. manufacturer with a fancy car, a nice house, and a wife running for city council, has his life overturned when three hooded blackmailers appear with a video tape of Harry and his young mistress. He’s been set up, and they want $100,000. To protect his wife’s political ambitions, Harry won’t go to the police; instead, he shines them on and then doesn’t pay. They up their demands, so he goes on the offensive, tracking them down and trying to turn one against the other. Their sociopathic leader, Alan, responds with violence toward the mistress and menace toward Harry’s wife. Will Harry let up and pay off Alan or can he find some other solution?

Cosmos (Arrow, Region B)

Synopsis:
Witold just failed his law-school examinations and Fuchs has just quit his job at a Parisian fashion company. Arriving for a few days away at a so-called family guest-house, they are greeted by a series of unsettling omens: a sparrow hanging in the forest, then a piece of wood in the same condition, and finally signs on the ceiling and in the garden. In this guest-house there is also a baleful mouth, that of the maid, and a perfect mouth, that of the young woman of the house with whom Witold falls madly in love. Unfortunately, she has just married an architect of the most respectable sort. But is the young woman equally respectable? The third hanging, that of the cat, is Witold’s doing. Why did he do it? And above all – will the fourth hanging be that of a human?

Stigmata (Eureka, Region B)

Synopsis:
Father Andrew Kiernan, a researcher of miracles on behalf of the Vatican, must discover the truth behind hairdresser Frankie Paige, who exhibits the Stigmata, the physical wounds Christ received from his crucifixion.

Lurking Fear (88 Films, Region B)

Synopsis:
JOHN MARTENSE (Blake Bailey) has just been released from prison after serving five years for a crime he didn’t commit. John wants to stay as far away from the wrong side of the law as he can … but family ties won’t let him. John gets a message to see SPECS (Vincent Schiavelli), an old friend and undertaker with a taste for larceny. Specs gives John a map of a cemetery where a corpse stuffed with a half a million dollars has been buried. John’s father stole the money with his psychotic partner BENNETT (Jon Finch) but hid the body, leaving it as a family legacy for his son to dig up. John reluctantly takes off for Leffertt’s Corners, a small town with a terrible secret. For years the Corners have been torn apart – the people devoured by a race of cannibalistic genetic freaks living in the tunnels below the cemetery. Thunderstorms bring the creatures out – to feed. John finds the cemetery next to an old church. He barely sets foot in the graveyard when he’s stopped by CATHRYN (Ashley Rae Lauren), a beautiful girl with a .45 automatic in her hand. Cathryn’s laced the cemetery with dynamite and armed herself to destroy the creatures’ nest once and for all…and tonight John’s in the way. Cathryn forces John into the church where DR. HAGGIS (Jeffrey Combs), FATHER POOLE (Paul Mantee) and BETH (Luana Stoica) ready themselves for bloody battle with the monsters. As a storm approaches, and Cathryn is about to blow up the nest, Bennett arrives with his goons to take the group hostage and reclaim the buried money. Can the two groups band together and overcome “The Lurking Fear” … or will they be the next victims?