This Week in Blu-ray / DVD Releases: Krampus, Ride Along 2, Son of Saul

By John Law

April 26th 2016, 10:12am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This Week: A very Krampus Christmas, a second ride with Hart 'n Cube, and the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film.

► A little bit ‘Gremlins,’ a little bit ‘Jeepers Creepers,’ Michael Dougherty’s KRAMPUS aims to be your new go-to horror flick for Christmas. A suburban family gathers for some typically dysfunctional Holidays, and soon find themselves tormented by a demon during a blizzard. It takes Grandma to explain what’s happening – it’s an ancient being that punishes those who are naughty at Christmas. Toni Collette, Adam Scott and David Koechner provide the laughs. Blu-ray has deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and commentary from Dougherty.

► Further proof that Kevin Hart is the world’s biggest movie star right now (sorry, Leo), RIDE ALONG 2 got the same dismal reviews as the 2014 original, and it mattered sweet ‘ef all, racking up $90 million. After graduating police academy, he makes a pitch for detective, which his future brother-in-law Ice Cube scoffs at. They end up together again to follow a lead in Miami, and you can feel those sequel gears chugging along with minimal effort. Hart is all over the blu-ray extras, at least, and he’s still a genuinely funny guy.

► This year’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes’ SON OF SAUL follows a day-and-a-half in the life of a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp stuck with the task of burning dead bodies. As the prisoners plan a rebellion, he discovers the body of a boy he believes to be his son, and seeks a rabbi to offer him a proper burial.

► The early ‘70s creature feature SSSSSSS was a late night favorite in Detroit, and it was always hilarious to hear the announcer say the title: “And now, back to…Sssssss!” Strother Martin plays a reptile scientist determined to turn his new assistant (Dirk Benedict) into a cobra. The way he sees it, mankind will need to become reptilian to survive the impending ecological apocalypse. This one had plenty of influence on Kevin Smith’s ‘Tusk.’ Blu-ray includes an interview with stars Benedict and Heather Menzies.

► The western JANE GOT A GUN finally surfaced in January, a year-and-a-half after its original release date. Natalie Portman is a wife building a new life after surviving the torment of a gang. When her husband returns home injured from the same gang, she turns to her former fiancé (Joel Edgerton) to defend the den. Also stars Noah Emmerich and Ewan McGregor.

► Made right before he did the classic ‘Chinatown,’ Roman Polanski’s WHAT? is the misfit movie of his career. Few have seen it, even fewer understand it. Sydne Rome plays an American who seeks shelter in a Mediterranean villa after she’s nearly assaulted. The place is inhabited with weird priests, pimps, perverts and at least one pianist. Marcello Mastroianni and Hugh Griffith star. Newly restored print was reportedly swiped from producer Carlo Ponti’s wine cellar.

► Documentary THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON follows astronaut Gene Cerna from his Chicago suburb to the surface of the moon in 1972 for what is still the last lunar landing. While on the surface, Cernan wrote the initials of his daughter Tracy on a rock. Blu-ray has extended interviews to go with plenty of archival footage.

► ‘Basket Case’ director Frank Henenlotter salutes the history of silver screen sleaze with the documentary THAT’S SEXPLOITATION! He’s joined by the late Mike Varney, founder of Something Weird Video, and the also deceased B-movie specialist David F. Friedman for a trip through historical stag films, peekaboos and other nudie shorts. Blu-ray includes three-and-a-half hours of rare erotica and commentary from Henenlotter.

Also out this week: