DVD / Blu-ray Hit List - June 28, 2011

Welcome back movie fanatics!  The heat has officially been turned up this week as far as DVD and Blu-ray releases go.  The past few weeks have been very modest as far volume goes but the sea is always calm before the storm.  The next few weeks will be offering movie fans a tremendous amount of variety that will hardly be contained.  Can your mind handle the abundance of new releases?  Contain your excitement and hold onto your wallets as we take a look at what's coming to store shelves and online retailers this week:

"Bloody Birthday" - One of my personal favorite creepy kid flicks is being re-released on DVD courtesy of Severin Films.  This 1981 controversial shocker tells the story of three babies that are all born in the same hospital at the peak of a solar eclipse.  Ten years later, these youngsters are grown up and begin a kiddie killing spree on the town.  Can the adults put a stop to these tikes of terror or are they all doomed?  Presented in an all-new HD transfer from the original vault elements this re-release comes accompanied with a slew of special features including an audio commentary with Director Ed Hunt, Don't Eat The Cake! - an interview with Star Lori Lethin and A Brief History of Slasher Films featurette.  This is one killer (literally) horror flick and I'm beyond pleased to see it get a DVD treatment done justice.

"The Baby" - Joining Bloody Birthday, Severin Films unleashes one of the most disturbing films in Hollywood history now fully restored from the original vault elements for the first time ever!  An L.A. County social worker investigates the case of Mrs. Wadsworth, her two daughters and her son named Baby, a mentally-disabled man who sleeps in a crib and lives his life like a baby.  But what secrets of unnatural attachment are these women hiding?  Ted Post (Magnum Force, Beneath the Planet of the Apes) directs.  Special features include audio interviews with Director Ted Post and Star David Mooney as well as a theatrical trailer for the film.  I had never heard of The Baby until Severin Films' press release but you can bet that my curiosity is peaked and I'll be picking this one up for sure.  One can only wonder why this film has been deemed so disturbing over the years but I'm determined to find out.  Exploitation cinema never gets old.

"Nightmares" - Rounding out Severin Films' impressive releases this week, Nightmares is being presented for the first time in America uncut and uncensored!  It's a crime that I only recently discovered this film thanks to the wonderful documentary Not Quite Hollywood which chronicles the history of Australian exploitation films better known as Ozploitation.  Nightmares, also known as Stage Fright, stars Jenny Neumann (Hell Night) as a young theater actress who is traumatized by her mother's death years prior.  When a series of stabbings disrupt her latest production, our leading lady who is prone to hallucinations questions whether she is the killer.  This violent Ozploitation classic has been fully restored from the original Australian vault elements and comes with an audio commentary from Director John Lamond and Not Quite Hollywood Director Mark Hartley, A Brief History of Slasher Films featurette and a John Lamond trailer reel.

"The Nesting" (Blu-ray) -- Blue Underground proudly presents The Nesting, long unavailable on home video, on Blu-ray and DVD!  The film tells the story of a mystery writer escaping to the quiet countryside to break her writer's block.  As those around her begin to die, she uncovers the truth about the Victorian house she has rented.  The house was once an infamous brothel now haunted by the victims of a bloody massacre.  Also known as Massacre Mansion and Phobia, this haunted house flick has been newly transferred in HD from the original camera negative and will come with deleted and extended scenes, trailers, TV spots and a poster & still gallery.

"Reboot" The Definitive Mainframe Edition - Known as the first completely computer-animated TV series, Reboot debuted in the US as part of ABC's Saturday-morning block in 1994.  The show takes place in Mainframe, home to Guardian Bob, who's duty is to defend Mainframe.  Joined by his friends and trusty dog, Frisket, the group battle superviruses Megabyte and Hexadecimal as they try to bring chaos and destruction to Mainframe.  Beloved by fans for years, Shout! Factory proudly presents the complete series on DVD for the first time on 9 DVD's.  Special features include a 20-page booklet, commentary tracks, Fast Forward: The Making of Reboot featurette, A look back with Co-Creator Gavin Blair as well as character models and animatic sequences.  Fans who grew up loving this show in the mid '90s will be overjoyed to add this unique and groundbreaking program to their collections.

"Jumanji" (Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack) - Robin Williams stars in this 1995 special effects family film.  Williams plays Alan, a young boy who gets sucked into a board game known as Jumanji for 26 years until a couple of kids (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) re-open the game and roll the dice.  Special effects wizards work their magic as exotic animals, such as spiders, elephants, rhinos and lions, emerge from the game and cause chaos in the local town.  The only way to put an end to the madness is for one of the players to win the game and yell "Jumanji".  I remember seeing this film theatrically back in 1995 and loving every minute of it.  Many feel the special effects are dated while I insist they still hold up well after 16 years.  Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, this summer's Captain America: The First Avenger) directs this wild family comedy.