• THE BURIAL
• Starring:  Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones and Jurnee Smollett
• Directed by:  Maggie Betts
• Rated:  R
• Running time:  2 hrs 6 mins
• Amazon Studios

As funeral home owner Jeremiah (Jerry) O’Keefe (Jones) celebrates his 75^th birthday with friends and family, he reflects on what he has built and the hopes of leaving something for his children.  But, as he soon finds out, some things aren’t as simple as black and white.

Based on real events, “The Burial” tells the familiar story of David vs Goliath combined with corporate greed and corruption, all told with a shade of racial injustice.

When financial matters go from bad to worse in his company, Jerry is approached by Ray Loewen (Bill Camp), a businessman who is slowly gaining a monopoly on funeral homes by buying up many of the mom-and-pop parlors in smaller towns.  Things seem to be on the up and up, but when Jerry doesn’t get paid he is told that, while a deal was in place, no contract was in place.  Jerry realizes that, facing the financial issues he’s dealing with, Loewen can wait him out and then get what he wants for a song.  With the help of his long time attorney (Alan Ruck), Jerry seeks out the help of the flamboyant – and very successful – Willie Gary (Foxx), a personal injury lawyer whose courtroom manner is a little, well, unorthodox.  As the trial proceeds, and the arguments become more personal, we are reminded again that things are never as simple as black and white.

Buoyed by stellar work from Foxx and Jones (both former Oscar winners), the film is full of strong performances.  Ruck, who thirty-seven years ago played Cameron in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” is strong as Jerry’s long time friend and attorney who must put aside his ego as Gary and his team begin to take over the case.  Camp is the perfect villain while Amanda Warren excels as Willie’s loving wife, Gloria,  Also strong is Ms. Smollett, who is the leader of Loewen’s defense team.  She is a no-nonsense attorney who isn’t above bringing racial issues before a small, southern jury.  Questions are asked and answers given, helping fuel each side’s narrative of the case.  Nothing, from the on-going O.J. Simpson trial to family heritage, is off-limits, with both sides feeding on public perception.  I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that it was nearly five years ago that Ms. Smollett’s brother, Jussie, staged an attack on himself, which fueled racial fires for months afterwards. Again, nothing is as simple as black and white.

On a scale of zero to five, I give “The Burial” 4 stars.      

Starring: Timothy Haug, Christie Griffin and Miles Taber
Directed by: Jared Allmond
Rated: NR
Running Time: 87 minutes
Buffalo 8 Productions

Our Score: 1 out of 5 Stars

Albie (Timothy Haug) and Penny (Christie Griffin) are in dire straits. They’re not only unhappy in their marriage, but are seemingly unhappy in most of their life choices, especially Albie who whines constantly about how he has yet to make it big with his script writing. The miserable married duo decides the best thing they can do for themselves is take a night off from adulting and parenting, but car troubles force the couple back home. Upon arrival at their home, they’re greeted by another couple who are complete strangers to Albie and Penny. The couple tells them that this is their home and they need to leave through loving smiles and an oddly upbeat attitude. What happens next is…well…repetitively dull because the movie spins its tires without getting anywhere remotely interesting.

“The Hive” bills itself as a home invasion thriller, even though the smiling strange couple didn’t apparently break-in, nor do the police seem interested in helping when Albie gives them a call. To make matters worse, Albie and Penny go to a nearby relative’s house, in the neighborhood, and the relative seems relatively calm about the entire situation. Nothing about this screams home invasion and by the time Albie and Penny hatch a plan, the movie u-turns into a sci-fi film without any real reason. Like any sci-fi/horror film, the absurdity of the situation is supposed to match a real-world idea or feeling. In “The Hive,” it’s painfully obvious from the first few minutes that the film is about a mid-life crisis and the horrors of realizing you weren’t meant for marriage, family and a white picket fence. Does it do anything unique or interesting with that? No.

Despite taking place in suburbia, the film does nothing with the setting or the idea of misery in the burbs. The injection of sci-fi elements feels like a random idea to make things interesting instead of massaging it cohesively into the film’s narrative. I kept wondering if maybe there would be a grand payoff, but instead the film whimpers to the credits. There’s a lot of things wrong with “The Hive,” but I don’t feel like faulting anyone besides the writer and director because its most egregious issue is attempting to use other genres and clichés simply because it has no original ideas of its own.

Despite an interesting set-up, “The Hive” does nothing outside of its first 10-15 minutes of exposition. It seems perfectly content with cyclical dull scenes of characters repeating dialogue and information. While “The Hive” may end up as an example of what not to do in scriptwriting and filmmaking, the trailer and poster for this film might end up as an example of false advertising.

Dennis Paoli is the writer of films like Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dagon and Castle Freak – to name a few. He is a long time collaborator with the late Stuart Gordon. He recently teamed up with Joe Lynch (Mayhem, Chillerama) on the new film, Suitable Flesh, starring Heather Graham and Barbara Crampton. Media Mikes had a chance to chat about his career adapting H.P. Lovecraft’s work and his new film Suitable Flesh.

Starring: Camille Rowe and Stasa Stanic
Directed by: Franck Kahlfoun
Rated: NR
Running Time: 95 minutes
Shudder

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

As the credits for “Night of the Hunted” began to roll, I wondered about all my unanswered questions. I had plenty during the 95-minute cat and mouse game. In “Night of the Hunted,” Alice (Camille Rowe) spends a hellacious night over walkie-talkie with a Sniper (Stasa Stanic) at a remote gas station. Is it just bad luck? Is Alice being targeted? Is God punishing her for an unknown crime? Who is the Sniper? There are no answers, but maybe that’s the point.

Before being thrown into the mayhem, we meet Alice, who runs social media for a pharmaceutical giant, in a hotel room that she’s sharing with a male colleague. We wouldn’t think anything of it if she didn’t abruptly stop talking to her husband before her colleague enters the room. Are they lovers? The duo, who appear to have unsettled business, are on their way out of the room after a business convention. The pair stop at a 24-hour gas station for menial supplies and a tank fill-up. A nearby billboard says “GODISNOWHERE,” which feels ominous no matter how you view it, whether it’s “God is now here” or “God is nowhere.” Alice, noticing nothing at first, begins to realize no one is working in the store. As soon as she looks for an employee, she sees blood splattered on the wall behind the cash register, but the realization intertwines with a sniper bullet gashing her arm. Her colleague rushes in, only to be gunned down in front of her.

The back and forth between Alice and her would-be killer fill the rest of the film as passers in the night stop at the gas station to either meet their untimely end or fill their tank before going about their life. You could honestly comment on why certain people were killed and why others weren’t, more than they noticed the carnage or were oblivious to it. I digress though, Alice and the Sniper prod each other, trade insults, and attempt sympathetic comments about their lives. The more we learn about both, the more we wonder whether either is truly telling the truth. Alice has reason to make things up, she’s fighting for her life. The Sniper has reason to make things up, he’s a sociopath. This leads to Alice and the Sniper assuming things about each other, seemingly right, but also seemingly false.

My overarching belief is that “Night of the Hunted” is a commentary on 21st century discourse. We believe things about each other simply because we begin to attach others to different tribes. We pick at each other over perceived stereotypes and use those same beliefs to find reasons to hate. We also look to make the other party feel guilty for their own presumptions as we make our own. The Sniper drives a lot of that narrative, not only because he’s the killer, but because he seems to relay his own philosophy of being anti-vax, anti-government, anti-woke, etc. It’s a bit on the nose, but like I said, we’re never led to believe that either Alice or the Sniper is 100% true. Are they both mischaracterizing each other for their own goals or are they hitting each other like nails on the head?

A lot of people are going to be disappointed by the ending because of the lack of answers. Personally, it feels to match the verbal jarring and bloodletting throughout the film. Regardless of how you feel as the credits arrive, “Night of the Hunted” is a violent, tense, entertaining flick that will twist your stomach up in knots.

Raise those horns up high as Dio – “Dreamers Never Die” delves deep into the legendary singer’s incredible rise from a ’50s crooner to his early rock days in Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW to replacing Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH – before finally cementing his rock star status with his own solo group. Dio “Dreamers Never Die” is jammed pack with archival footage and music from the singers storied career coupled with a slew of brand new interviews from friends, family and former band members

Clocking in at just over 2hrs. the initial film is everything you would expect in your standard “rockumentary”. Tons of rare behind the scenes and live performance footage make up a majority of the film which also features a spattering of newly filmed interviews with people such as Rudy Sarzo, Rob Halford and Dio’s wife Wendy among many others all sharing their own candid stories of the fabled singer. For fans looking for more than just the standard film a Deluxe Edition DVD/Blu-ray Set is available and comes brimming over with everything from 20 minutes of bonus interviews to DIO-branded trading cards, guitar picks, label pin, coasters, tissues and a fold-out poster from the film. The set also includes both DVD and Blu-ray Discs and comes housed in a high quality lift-off box which will look great on display.

We really enjoyed the film and the packing on the Deluxe Edition release was really nice however, I am not sure there is enough included in the set that warrants the $99 price tag. With only 20 minutes of additional footage and two identical copies of the film (1 DVD & 1 Blu-Ray) I felt there was a missed opportunity here to make something really special for the fans by including either a new live compilation DVD or Audio CD as the addition of one or both of those would have given fans wanting more than just the feature film something they would have really enjoyed. Sure you get the above mentioned DIO adorned items but for me these come off as just cheap promo items more than collector level pieces. If you are hardcore Dio Disciple with a few extra bucks to spend then you may want to grab the Deluxe set as the box alone is pretty awesome looking however, if you can do without a few extra minutes of “bonus” interview footage and a couple pieces of tchotchke then go ahead a grab the standard version of the film as even the most casual of Dio fans will want to check this film out.

Dave McRae is a professional voice actor and filmmaker. His voice has been heard in thousands of radio, television, and online commercials, network promos, movie and game trailers, narration and animation across North America and around the world. His latest role is stepping into the shoes of Freddy Krueger in Dylan’s New Nightmare: An Elm Street Fan Film. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Dave about playing the iconic character and also about his Black Christmas fan film “It’s Me, Billy”. Dave also has an incredibly successful YouTube channel, you can check it out here:    / @davemcraeofficial  

Colin Krawchuk is the co-writer and director of The Jester and Michael Sheffield is also co-writer and plays The Jester himself. Some might not know but The Jester character has been around since 2016 on YouTube. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Colin and Michael about the evolution of The Jester from YouTube to feature film and the future of the character.

10/16/2023 – Los Angeles, CA / Brisbane, Australia] 90’s pop icon Vanilla Ice stars as himself alongside Australia’s darling Sophie Monk, who is also playing herself in the upcoming action-comedy, “Zombie Plane”. Radioactive and Entertainment Squad (subsidiary of Studio Dome) revealed this morning in The Hollywood Reporter the cast which includes Chuck Norris, starring as Commander Chuck Norris who mentored and trained Ice to be the deadly secret agent he is today.

In “Zombie Plane,” a secret government agency recruited celebrities to be undercover agents, and together they saved humanity from an imminent zombie attack. The film is littered with celebrity cameos as well as well-known pop music from the 90’s including Vanilla Ice’s own library.

The film was shot earlier this year in Australia with the support of Screen Australia. Directed by Lav Bodnaruk and Michael Mier, of Chop Shop Post, an established post-production and VFX company who’s recent work includes Paramount+ ‘Last King of the Cross’ and Amazon’s ‘Troppo’.

Producer and Radioactive MD Jessica Butland commented: “audiences can expect a wild ride, Vanilla Ice is in his element as secret agent and Chuck Norris having trained him is excellent and it just works”

Executive Producer Shaked Berenson added “Zombie Plane uses comedy, the zombie genre and 90’s nostalgia as a vehicle, to comment on pop-culture as much as it feeds it, creating unforgettable one-liners and situational comedy ‘to the extreme’.

Studio Dome will launch international sales at the upcoming American Film Market in November.

Radioactive is an Australian production and distribution company founded by Jessica Butland (RUBY’S CHOICE, THE RED). Radioactive’s recent releases include UK Sci-fi/Drama AROUND THE SUN, John Soto’s Action/Thriller AVARICE and Lily Taylor & Stefania LaVie Owen starring in multi-award winner PAPER SPIDERS.

Entertainment Squad is the production arm of Studio Dome, founded by veteran producer Shaked Berenson (TURBO KID, TALES OF HALLOWEEN). Recent productions include the Shudder Original SLAXX, and the critically acclaimed horror-comedy SUMMONING SYLVIA.

Starring: Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha and Jeremy Holm
Directed by: Steven Pierce
Rated: NR
Running Time: 97 minutes
Dark Sky Films

Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 Stars

Despite the saturation of the zombie genre over the past few decades, I still have a soft spot for it. Films like “The Sadness” and “Wyrmwood: Apocalypse” show there’s plenty of fun ideas to still explore within the genre. Then other films seem to simply retread tired clichés, like how humans are worse than zombies or how we’ll fight each other before we fight zombies. Unfortunately, despite an interesting beginning, I’d put “Herd” in the latter category.

Jamie (Ellen Adaiar) and Alex (Mitzi Akaha) are going on a canoe camping trip to repair their breaking relationship. Things get tense during the trip and Alex injures her leg, trapping the duo near Jamie’s hometown, filled with bad memories, two warring factions, and a potentially abusive parent. On top of that, the zombie apocalypse has apparently broken out. While the calamity could provide some fresh meat to the genre, “Herd” goes a lot of predictable routes before it’s finale.

The obvious social commentary in “Herd” is ones we’ve seen before like the breakdown of civilization through overt classism and distrust of one another. “Herd” tries to bring a bit more to the table by offering up the LGBTQ+ relationship of Jamie and Alex. The duo worries about whether or not they’ll be accepted by what few people are left, or as the film title explicitly implies, the herd. It doesn’t necessarily work since the armed men running the show seem more afraid of every cough and sniffle they hear, but it’s clearly a commentary on how small-town acceptance only extends to straight white people.

Other than the commentary, the middle of the film tries to be a character study, focusing on the characters fears and concerns. It would have worked better if the humans and zombies were menacing. Like I said, the men with guns seem more concerned about the other men with guns and every time they hear someone clear their throat. The zombies are slow moving and are covered in boils, yet sometimes seem unconcerned with actually chomping into someone’s flesh. Instead they growl, claw and make gurgling scream sounds.

I’m willing to forgive bad zombie films as long as I’m entertained, but nothing about the “Herd” kept me engaged. The only thing that kept me going was the hope that the ending would somehow pull the rug out from under me or tie everything together in a way that would make my jaw drop. It didn’t, but I’ll give credit for the unpredictable nature of it. There’s a lot of skill, craft and effort in “Herd,” but all of that was bogged down by an uninspired script that made the 97-minute runtime feel like a zombie crawl.

Starring: Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón and Silvina Sabater
Directed by: Demián Rugna
Rated: NR
Running Time: 99 Minutes
IFC Films

Our Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

On the same weekend that “When Evil Lurks” hits theaters, audiences will also be treated to “The Exorcist: Believer,” which is kind of ironic. That’s because 1973’s “The Exorcist” created the book on demon possession tropes. While I’m sure “Believer” has the book in hand throughout most of its film, “When Evil Lurks” clearly skimmed through and decided to make its own unflinching and unforgiving rules.

The Argentinian film opens on two brothers in a rural village hearing gunshots in the night. They speculate what it is, but decide to investigate in the morning. Their investigation leads them to half a corpse and then to a house where they find a putrid, bloated, rotting, but still alive human referred to as “the rotten.” The woman of the household urges them to leave it alone even though the obese creature is on the verge of birthing evil itself. The brothers also suspect the evil inside is the reason their rural village has been befallen by death, bad luck, bitter dirt, wilted crops and starving livestock. We eventually learn that a demon inhabits the rotten and simply killing the rotten unleashes the demon to go after other prey.

While the demon possession rules are a bit confusing, we’re told throughout that there are seven rules when encountering evil. Seven is a big number in Christianity, whether it’s how it took God seven days to create the Earth or the Book of Revelation in which there are seven seals. The film is rich in Christian theology, but a lot of times the rotten seem like more than just demons from Hell. There are several contagion themes, including the obvious idea that you truly never know who has been possessed until it’s too late. I also found it interesting that the gut reaction of every man in the film was to immediately shoot and kill the rotten (a big no-no in the seven rules). Meanwhile, the women know of the seven rules, know what to do and ultimately hold the potential key to ending the reign of terror. Themes aside, the movie is absolutely brutal.

From the corpse that you can smell from the screen at the beginning to the visually gruesome deaths of several characters throughout the film, “When Evil Lurks” could care less about your sense and sensibilities, much less your morals. Once we understand that evil will kill and cannibalize any human it comes across, every scene has a palpable tension, especially since animals, children and women seem to be the favorite target of the rotten. Adding to the shocking effect is practical effects that add to the general unease sprinkled throughout the film.

“When Evil Lurks” is an unholy assault on your senses with sudden nihilistic violence and an overall feeling of hopelessness. There is no silver lining or light at the end of the tunnel for our characters. Early on we understand that nothing good will happen and that no one will be saved. In a lot of ways that’s what makes “When Evil Lurks” a massive surprise. Even when it reveals its bleak cards, we want to see how it uses them.

Starring: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt and Charlie Gillespie
Directed By: Nahnatchka Khan
Rated: R
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Amazon Prime Video

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Some of the hardest genres to write are comedy and horror. So, even if a comedy-horror ultimately comes off as generic, but still manages to tickle the funny bone while splattering the screen with blood and gore, that’s a good time in my book. While not a sharp generational criticism like 2022’s “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies,” or an entertaining mockery of horror tropes like “Scare Package,” “Totally Thriller” earns points for tackling one of the toughest genres with enough scattered jokes, gruesome kills and a dash of “who cares, just enjoy it” attitude to become an enjoyable slice of comedy-horror. Emphasis on the comedy.

“Totally Killer” opens on Halloween 2023 in the small town of Vernon which still can’t escape October 1987, when a masked killer, referred to as the Sweet 16 Killer, murdered three 16-year-old high-school girls by stabbing them 16 times. I’m not sure why he didn’t kill 16, but I digress. Pam Hughes (Julie Bowen) lives in fear that the killer will return, especially since she was friends with all three victims. Her daughter Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) is all like, “Whatever mom, get over it. Leave me the hell alone.” Then her mom is murdered by the Sweet 16 Killer. Distraught, Jamie meets up with her friend who is building a time machine (this is the first of many instances where the movie gets intentionally silly and once again shrugs its shoulders). Later on, Jamie is attacked by the Sweet 16 Killer only to be transported back in time to October 1987 through a bizarre knife to the time machine interface mishap.

“Totally Killer” works because it seems like as the film progresses, Jamie is slowly realizing she’s in a bad slasher film. Jamie name drops horror and time travel films, including “Back to the Future” which “Totally Killer” steals heavily from, comments on the out-of-date circumstances throughout the 80s and seemingly doesn’t mind screwing up the space time continuum by changing history. The film also gives away its future plot points through its movie name drops as if to say originality dies in this film with the teens. Even the killer’s mask, one we’ve never seen before, looks like Max Headroom doing Jim Carrey’s patented eyebrow raise. I’m not sure if anything in this movie isn’t a reference, wink or nod to something else. Like I said, this movie just kind of shrugs and goes, “Here’s a joke and knife to the guts.”

While this could normally ruin a film, “Totally Killer” just relishes in its own ridiculousness and it’s helped by Shipka’s performance which matches every scene perfectly. When she needs to point out the absurdity of a plot point, she does. When she needs to be the parent in charge of a bunch of horny drug fueled teens to make sure they don’t die, she does. When she needs to deliver exposition without questioning the absolute stupidity of what’s happening, she does. Even in the final act, when she has to be the movie’s badass, she does. If Shipka wasn’t with us on this crazy time traveling journey, “Totally Killer” would totally suck.

“Totally Killer” is totally unoriginal, but still totally fun. It’s a film that utilizes every slasher cliché while ridiculing the 80s decade it pulled those same clichés from. Sure, some of the jokes are predictable and the parody isn’t witty like “Airplane,” but “Totally Killer” is so comfortable with what it’s doing that you ultimately relax and wait for the next unpredictable joke or slasher moment. The whole intent of the film is to entertain, no matter how cheesy, lazy and predictable it sometimes is. There’s something admirable if not ultimately meta about that. Maybe “Totally Killer” will ultimately be forgotten and I’ll never watch it again, but if its entire intent was to make me chuckle and make me forget about the cruel world around me for 103 minutes, mission accomplished. 

The newly released, Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon, which is an 80’s genre mash-up favorite of mine. I can’t tell you how many times I watched Michael Schultz’ Motown flavored martial arts movie growing up. However, I will tell you that very few films from that time period stuck with me like this one. Was it the action? The music? The awesome over-the-top villain Sho’nuff portrayed by Julius Carry? The sweet scenes between Taimak and Vanity?  I would say it was all-of-the above. The Last Dragon had everything I wanted in a movie and nearly four decades later, it still rocks.

Leroy Green (Taimak) dreams of becoming a great martial artist. He has almost reached the final level of his training. However, Leroy’s master explains to him that the final level, knows as “The Last Dragon” must be found on his own. If Leroy can complete the final level, he will be able to harness the mystical energy that would allow him to physically glow. His master sends Leroy on a spiritual journey through the streets of New York to locate Master Sum Dum Goy, who might be able to teach him how to unlock the great power of “The Glow’.

Of course, Leroy’s journey is not an easy one. Sho’nuff (The Shogun of Harlem) sees Leroy as the only person standing in his way of being the true master. Each time Sho’nuff and his gang challenges Leroy, he refuses to fight. Leroy’s family even pays the price when Sho’nuff demolishes his parent’s pizza shop. Leroy’s journey becomes even more complicated when he rescues music video show host Laura Charles (Vanity), who is being abducted by goons hired by the sleezy video-arcade mogul Eddie Arkadian (Christopher Murney). He wants Laura to play his girlfriend’s music video on her show and he won’t take no for an answer. Aside from searching for Master Sum Dum Goy, Leroy must protect Laura from Arkadian, find a way to deal with Sho’nuff and reach the final level of his training. Leroy also didn’t expect to start falling in love either.

The Last Dragon is silly and there is no denying it, but it’s also so much fun with a great soundtrack. I mean, MOTOWN founder Berry Gordy produced it, so you know the music is gonna be great. The chemistry between Taimak and Vanity really works well here. This is definitely a love-letter to classic martial arts films and even though it is also a comedy, it truly respects the art form and films that inspired it.

The new 4K transfer does not disappoint. It was scanned from the original camera negative and presented with Dolby Vision. The streets of Harlem look incredibly detailed, especially during the daytime shots. Eddie’s office is filled with neon colors that absolutely pop, as-well-as the set of Laura’s video show. Don’t even get me started on how awesome the red and yellow glows look during Leroy’s final fight with Sho’nuff. As for the audio, we get an all-new Dolby Atmos track which is taken full advantage of, especially during the numerous fight sequences. As mentioned before, The Last Dragon has a stellar 80’s soundtrack and the new audio track puts a shine on that.  If you are a fan, I highly recommend picking up this release, which also comes packed in a great looking steelbook. Three out of five stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

“The Blackening” was one of 2023’s best horror surprises. The Juneteenth slasher movie is a celebration of Black comedy, as it takes horror tropes and spins them on their head. While the Tim Story directed movie definitely delivers more laughs than scares, it’s worth revisiting — especially with the great collection of bonus features. 

The setup is one that’ll be familiar to fans — a group of friends rent out a cabin for a reunion, then get stalked by a serial killer. What makes “The Blackening” so fun is that it uses these familiar trappings to its advantage. Featuring an all-Black main cast highlighted by Grace Byers and Jermaine Fowler, the characters take the situation seriously, but they’re very self-aware of the situation and reference horror films. Think “Scream” rather than “Scary Movie.” The script is sharp, but what really makes the jokes land are the great deliveries, as the characters truly acts like a group of friends.

Every member of “The Blackening”’s cast is given a chance to shine throughout the film (especially Diedrich Bader in a great supporting role) and no subject matter is off limits. Everything from Donald Trump to “Friends” and O’Reilly Auto Parts are mentioned in hilarious one-offs. Things never get too tense despite the subject matter, and jokes are rapid-fire. You’ll never get too much of a reprieve from laughing. 

What really makes “The Blackening” 4K and Blu-ray special is the wide array of special features that are just as funny as the feature film. The meatiest segment is “Do the Write Thing,” a 13-minute featurette focused on the writing process and how the film came together. A fun Q&A segment and a hilarious game show are also highlights, while a deleted scene and a reel of outtakes are also fun to watch. Overall, there are over 40 minutes of special features here and I enjoyed them all. The commentary track is well worth checking out, too. It features Story and writers Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins, who stars in “The Blackening” and wrote the original short that inspired the film. This was Perkins’ first time writing a movie, so it’s interesting to hear how Oliver helped the talented comedian find his voice for the script. The stories of filming are a blast, and it’s an easy listen. As a film, “The Blackening” is a reminder of the sharp comedies that used to be a regular presence in movie theaters.

As a home video release, the 4K and Blu-ray release is a throwback to when home releases were filled with bonus content rather than the streamlined affair most are now. From the hilarious commentary track that delivers plenty of laughs and insight to the well-edited featurettes, this is a home release worth supporting if you dig horror comedies. It’s an inherently rewatchable comedy that offers some great laughs and a fun twist on the horror genre. Three out of five stars. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Steven LaMorte is the man behind the new parody horror film The Mean One starring David Howard Thornton aka Art the Clown from the Terrifier series. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Steve about the film and what it took to get it made and also what’s to come in the future.

Eduardo Sanchez is known best for his work directing “The Blair Witch Project”, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary next year. Eduardo recently directed a new segment “The Vampire” from the new anthology film “Satanic Hispanics”. Besides horror, Eduardo has been directing tons of new TV shows including Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Media Mikes had a chance to chat about his new film “Satanic Hispanics”, his TV work and the upcoming 25th anniversary plans for “The Blair Witch Project”.