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.

Welcome to the first week of August releases! We’ve got some good ones. Here in the US we get Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Batman: The Killing Joke to lead this week’s releases. And over in the UK Arrow has released a collection of David Cronenberg’s early works. Not a bad way to start the month!

US Releases

Viral (Starz/Anchor Bay, Region A)

Synopsis:
Following the outbreak of a virus that wipes out the majority of the human population, a young woman documents her family’s new life in quarantine and tries to protect her infected sister.

Saving Mr. Wu (Well Go USA, Region A)

Synopsis:
Mr. Wu is kidnapped in Beijing by Zhang Hua and three accomplices, all disguised as cops and demanding a ransom of 3 million RMB. In the ensuing 20 hours, the Chinese detectives led by Chief Xing quickly form a task force and sweep the city. Time is of the essence though as Mr. Wu is ordered to be killed at 9pm regardless of whether the money is collected or not. The police eventually apprehend Hua alone and a dangerous mental showdown develops between police interrogators and Hua.

Samurai 7: The Complete Series (FUNimation, Region A)

Synopsis:
Samurai 7 is set in a futuristic world that has just seen the end of a massive war, many villages are being terrorized by Nobuseri bandits. The Nobuseri are no normal bandits. They were once men, but during the war they modifed themselves with machines to become living weapons and now apprear as more machine than man. A group of villagers decide to hire samurai to protect their village. These men of valor are as skilled as they are unique.

Lazer Team (Starz/Anchor Bay, Region A)

Synopsis:
After billions of years of thinking we are alone in the universe we decode a message (in the 60s) telling us we are not alone, and that the universe is a dangerous place and that we are going to be attacked. Luckily, the coded message came from a friendly alien race that fathered and protected us over the years. And now they are giving us the tools to fight back (in the form power armor). But the delivery service takes a long time (I’m assuming over 30 mins because they get the suit for free), and during those loooong decades waiting for that cargo ship to arrive with their one power suit, they choose a champion of earth to train to wear the suit and defend the earth! Then the ship finally arrives… Only to get shot down by 4 morons who play with the suit and ultimately get one piece each stuck to them. Now they need to work with the government to train these 4 morons with individual pieces attached to them. Will they save the day or will they stand around contemplating life?

Observance (Artsploitation, Region A)

Synopsis:
In the grip of grief following the death of his young son, his marriage on the rocks and nearing bankruptcy, Parker reluctantly returns to work as a private investigator. Embarking on an unusual assignment to observe a woman from an abandoned apartment, Parker witnesses bizarre happenings surrounding her, unaware that the derelict building that he surveys her from has birthed a dark presence which slowly threatens to consume him.

The Binding (Scream Factory, Region A)

Synopsis:
A young woman’s faith is put to the ultimate test when she is forced to uncover the truth behind her husband’s horrific visions.

High-Rise (Magnet, Region A)

Synopsis:
An ultramodern skyscraper offers its residents everything they might need, becoming a sort of strongly class-conscious society isolated from the outside world. A false utopia that fragments and culminates in an orgy of violence. With this adaptation of High-Rise, J.G. Ballard’s key work, Ben Wheatley directs his most ambitious film to date, backed by a star-studded cast.

Rawhide (Kino Lorber, Region A)

Synopsis:
A stagecoach stop employee and a stranded woman traveler find themselves at the mercy of four desperate outlaws intent on robbing the next day’s gold shipment.

The Mark of Zorro (Kino Lorber, Region A)

Synopsis:
Tyrone Power stars as 19th century nobleman Don Diego de Vega, whose father, the mayor of Los Angeles, is removed from office by the sinister Captain Pasquale (Basil Rathbone), and a new corrupt “alcalde.” By day, the crooked politicians rob the citizenry at every turn, and at night, Don Diego, wearing a mask, defies their laws and avenges the innocents. As he leaves his trademark – the letter “Z” – wherever he goes, he also leaves an impression on the mayor’s niece, (Linda Darnell), who can’t help but love the hero in disguise.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Scream Factory, Region A)

Synopsis:
When filmy sprees fall from space and take root in San Francisco, the city is beautifully transformed by spectacular and exotic flowers. But these lovely extra-terrestrial blossoms have gruesome plans for their Earthly admirers: to slowly clone their bodies- and then dispose of the originals!

Batman: The Killing Joke (Warner Bros, Region A)

Synopsis:
The history of the Clown Prince of Crime, from his humble beginnings as a struggling comedian to his fateful encounter with Batman that changes both of their lives forever. Years later, and now escaped from Arkham Asylum, The Joker devises a plan to prove that one bad day can make anyone as insane as he is.

Red Sonja: Queen of Plagues (Shout Factory, Region A)

Synopsis:
Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, intends to pay back a blood debt owed to the one man who has gained her respect… even if it means leading a doomed army to their certain deaths! Who is Dark Annisia, and how has this fearsome warrior accomplished what neither god nor demon has been able to do – force Sonja to her knees in surrender? An epic tale of blood, lust, and vengeance, Queen of the Plagues takes Red Sonja from the depths of her own grave to the heights of battlefield glory.

The Trust (Lionsgate, Region A)

Synopsis:
Waters and Stone are two nobody police officers working dull administrative jobs and making extra money selling stolen Civil Service Exams to other officers. When Stone hears a story about a heroin dealer quickly beating his extremely high bail, the two friends set into motion a plan to find the origin of such a large amount of cash. Through diligent police work they follow a trail that leads directly to a custom bank-style vault built into the back room freezer of a small grocery store. They put a plan into motion to rob the vault and split whatever they find inside. But by the time they figure out what the vault contains, it’s already too late to turn back.

The Night Visitor (VCI, Region A)

Synopsis:
A man named Salem escapes from an insane asylum where he was confined for an axe-murder. Falsely convicted under a plea of “guilty due to insanity,” he does not plan to let his sister and her husband forget that they were responsible for the murder of a farmhand and for his cruel imprisonment in the asylum.

Bite (Scream Factory, Region A)

Synopsis:
While on her bachelorette party getaway, Casey, the bride to be, gets a seemingly harmless bite from an unknown insect. After returning home with cold feet, Casey tries to call off her wedding but before she’s able to, she starts exhibiting insect traits.

UK Releases

David Cronenberg’s Early Works (Arrow, Region B)

Synopsis:
A collection of David Cronenberg’s early works.

Hardcore Henry (entertainment in Video, Region B)

Synopsis:
Henry, a newly resurrected cyborg who must save his wife/creator Estelle from the clutches of a psychotic tyrant with telekinetic powers, Akan, and his army of mercenaries. Fighting alongside Henry is Jimmy, who is Henry’s only hope to make it through the day. Hardcore takes place over the course of one day, in Moscow, Russia.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Warner Bros, Region B)

Synopsis:
Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.