Home Video
New to Blu – Week of 9/19/2017
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.
Small week of releases but some really good stuff. We’ve got Wonder Woman, a new animated Starship Troopers movie and The Bad Batch. The big one though? John Landis’ Innocent Blood from Warner Archive. That’s a must have for every horror collection and you can snag it just before Halloween!
US Releases
Cartels (Lionsgate, Region A)
Synopsis:
Action legend Steven Seagal headlines this explosive thriller that pits US forces against an Eastern European drug cartel. When crime boss Salazar turns informant, US Marshal Jensen (Luke Goss, Blade II) and his team must guard their luxury-hotel safe-house. But as cartel underboss Sinclair (UFC fighter Georges St. Pierre) and his hit squads descend to murder Salazar, the situation explodes. Enraged, Agent Harrison (Seagal) will stop at nothing to root out the mole that compromised the operation.
Red Line 7000 (Kino Lorber, Region A)
Synopsis:
A glimpse into the lives of three professional car racers as they alternate between competing, their friendships, and time with the women in their lives.
The Bad Batch (Virgil Films & Entertainment, Region A)
Synopsis:
A dystopian love story in a Texas wasteland and set in a community of cannibals.
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (Sony, Region A)
Synopsis:
Federation trooper Johnny Rico is ordered to work with a group of new recruits on a satellite station on Mars, where giant bugs have decided to target their next attack.
Wonder Woman (Warner Bros, Region A)
Synopsis:
The Amazonian Warrior Princess Diana left her lush tropical island to dwell in our urban cityscapes of glass and steel. Tutored in the ways of the Greek warriors, and outfitted with incredible gifts the Goddess bestowed upon her people, she becomes Paradise Island’s emissary to civilization.
The Lost World (Flicker Alley, Region A)
Synopsis:
Young and adventurous reporter Edward Malone is dispatched by his editor at the London Record Journal to cover a lecture by the boisterous Professor Challenger, who is convinced that dinosaurs are still roaming the earth. While the community thinks him a crackpot, he finds a believer in the esteemed hunter/explorer Sir John Roxton, who befriends Malone. Malone is introduced to Paula White, whose father was left behind in the Amazon outback to contend with the mammoth creatures; it’s the father’s diary, featuring sketches of the dinosaurs, that’s proof positive for Challenger of their existence. Soon a rescue mission is under way and Paula, Malone, Challenger and Roxton are awestruck by the presence of brontosaurs, pterodactyls and allosaurs right before their eyes! The turbulent assaults of these prehistoric monsters, unexpected encounters and a frenzied volcano sequence make this a spellbinding cinematic experience that won’t be forgotten…
Bates Motel: Season Five (Universal, Region A)
Synopsis:
“Bates Motel,” inspired by Hitchcock’s genre-defining film, “Psycho,” is a contemporary exploration of the formative years of Norman Bates’ relationship with his mother, Norma, and the world they inhabit. Viewers will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn firsthand how Norma helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.
Bates Motel: The Complete Season (Universal, Region A)
Synopsis:
Norma Bates loves her son, Norman, more than anything in the world. After her husband dies unexpectedly, Norma and teenage Norman find a new home. This new town is a chance for Norman to start over with new friends, without the specter of his dead father haunting his mind. The property is actually a motel and house situated on a busy, main road. Norma sees this opportunity as destiny as she starts a new business. Norman starts at the local school, and the two seem happy about the change. The new town is not all it appears to be, however. Corrupt policemen and drug deals abound, making business difficult for Norma’s new motel. With Norman acting up more than ever, it is up to Norma to keep the peace with her teenage son while cultivating her business.
The Illustrated Man (Warner Archive, Region A)
Synopsis:
A good-natured drifter meets a tattooed man whose “skin illustrations” inspire terrifying visions.
Innocent Blood (Warner Archive, Region A)
Synopsis:
Marie has two appetites, sex and blood. Her career as a vampire is going along fine until two problems come up, she is interrupted while feeding on Sal (the shark) Macelli and she begins to develop a relationship with the policeman who has been trying to put Sal away. Sal wakes up in the morgue very confused and very thirsty. He goes back to his old haunts and begins to create an organized crime family of vampires while Marie and her policeman lover hunt him…
Adventures of Captain Marvel (Kino Lorber, Region A)
Synopsis:
To protect a magic talisman from being used for evil, a boy is given the power to become an adult superhero with a single magic word.
UK Releases
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Eureka, Region B)
Synopsis:
An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer’s trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth’s center.
Visiting Hours (Final Cut Entertainment, Region B)
Synopsis:
A crazed, women-hating killer attacks journalist Deborah Ballin. When he discovers that his attack didn’t kill Deborah, he comes to the hospital to finish what he started.
Home Video
‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]
Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.
Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.
Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.
And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.
While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.
Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.
Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!
Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.
Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.
Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!
More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.
So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.
If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.
Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.
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