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: “Interview With the Vampire”
Neil Jordan’s 1994 adaptation of the Anne Rice bestselling novel was pretty successful upon its release, so it’s surprising that the movie never received a proper sequel with the original cast. With that said, the film hasn’t aged particularly well over the past two decades, with many of its flaws made only more evident in that time. The homoerotic subtext among its male vampires never quite works, mainly because Jordan dances around the suggested romance, while the cast of ‘90s heartthrobs are constantly upstaged by a young Kirsten Dunst. The bigger issue, however, is that it’s just plain boring for a vampire flick, as the existential angst and melancholic brooding that drives the story quickly grows tiresome, especially once Tom Cruise’s Lestat exits the narrative. “Interview With the Vampire” isn’t a complete wash, but the source material (and the talent involved) warrants something much better than what we got.
Extras include an audio commentary by Jordan, new featurettes on the film’s cinematography and production design, deleted scenes and more. FINAL VERDICT: RENT
Also Out This Week:
“Evil Dead Burn” — 2023’s “Evil Dead Rise” was a disappointment on a number of levels, so my expectations were set accordingly going into “Evil Dead Burn,” even with a different filmmaker behind the camera. And yet, for as problematic as the last installment was, Sébastien Vanicek’s quasi-sequel is somehow even worse. Much like its predecessor, “Evil Dead Burn” has so little in common with the original trilogy that it feels like an entirely separate horror movie that’s been retrofitted into the franchise. That’s the only excuse for how much it misinterprets the appeal of the Sam Raimi films, as it’s a relentlessly bleak and brutal entry that lacks the whimsy and mischievousness of the earlier installments. There are some solid set pieces scattered throughout, but they never quite feel in the spirit of “Evil Dead,” which makes the whole exercise rather pointless when it could just exist as its own thing instead. Extras include a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
“Scary Movie” — A lot has been made about the Wayans brothers regaining creative control of the “Scary Movie” franchise for the first time since 2001’s “Scary Movie 2,” but it was all for naught, as the latest entry in the horror-comedy series is arguably the worst one to date. It’s just as lazy and uninspired as the previous installments, which only reaffirms how tired the whole spoof movie subgenre has become. Instead of clever parody, “Scary Movie 6” (which is simply titled “Scary Movie,” likely as a nod to the weird naming convention of legacy sequels) is largely comprised of stale references and outdated internet memes that fail to elicit any laughter. Though it’s nice to see the original cast reunited, “Scary Movie” is a firm reminder of why they stopped making these films over a decade ago. Extras include some behind-the-scenes featurettes and an alternate ending. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
“I Love Boosters” — Boots Riley’s debut feature, the 2018 absurdist dark comedy “Sorry to Bother You,” may not have been my cup of tea, but it at least showed some potential. Sadly, the same can’t be said of his sophomore effort, a surrealist, anti-capitalist heist movie that feels like the product of an annoyingly pretentious film student who’s watched a bit too much Terry Gilliam. Though Riley employs a number of fun visual tricks, as well as some vibrant and inventive production and costume design, it’s all surface level. The movie’s social commentary is so heavy-handed and transparent that it’s a wonder why it takes nearly two hours to make its point. Of course, that’s provided you can even understand what’s going on, since Riley blasts an obnoxious score over every scene like you’re in the middle of a night club, drowning out the dialogue in most cases. “I Love Boosters” is not the bold, original filmmaking that it pretends to be — it’s just noisy chaos dressed in a pretty bow. Extras include an audio commentary by Riley, a making-of featurette, interviews with the cast and crew, a blooper reel and more. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP
Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.
