Blu Tuesday is a weekly column where we review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases, along with a brief rundown of the included bonus material, to determine whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping.
Pick of the Week: “Obsession”
“Obsession” is without a doubt the biggest success story of the year, raking in over $425 million on a reported budget of only $750,000. But while the box office performance is quite an achievement on its own, it’s even more impressive considering it’s the directorial debut of Curry Barker, best known as the co-creator of the sketch comedy channel That’s a Bad Idea. Though the movie’s basic premise doesn’t exactly break new ground, as the wish-gone-wrong story is as old as time, Barker’s film presents a unique twist on the possession genre by exploring themes of entitlement, forced consent and toxic codependency. On the surface, it’s also just a really great horror flick thanks to its moody, unsettling atmosphere and an incredible, go-for-broke turn from newcomer Inde Navarrette that instantly ranks among the best horror performances in recent memory. Granted, it runs a bit long for what it is, but minor flaws aside, “Obsession” is an immensely enjoyable feature debut from Barker that cements him as a talent to watch.
Extras include an audio commentary by writer/director Curry Barker and a making-of featurette. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Also Out This Week:
“Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” — After the failed launch of the Dark Cinematic Universe, Universal pivoted from its original plans to revive the Classic Monsters franchise by partnering with Blumhouse to produce a series of low-budget, character-driven horror films starring its stable of iconic movie monsters. But while 2020’s “The Invisible Man” proved what was possible with the IP, the subsequent films have been nothing but disastrous, from the incredibly dull “Wolf Man” to “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” (supposedly named to avoid confusion with the Brendan Fraser films), which delivers plenty of gore but not much else. In fact, it’s not really a mummy movie at all, but rather a possession film that plays like “The Exorcist” meets “The Evil Dead.” That wouldn’t be so terrible if it were an original film, but by trying to shoehorn in the mummy angle, it loses all credibility. It’s lazy, if nothing else, and proves why tradition is just as important as innovation when dealing with beloved characters such as these. Extras include an audio commentary by Cronin, a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes and some deleted scenes. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.
