By Al B.
DEATH KNOT
Well Go USA Entertainment
Available on Digital, Blu-ray & DVD Now
After the sudden suicide of their estranged mother, two siblings return to their hometown and are immediately confronted by angry villagers. Convinced that the woman was a devotee of a dangerous brand of black magic deemed responsible for a string of mysterious deaths over many years, the locals demand that the siblings leave and allow for the burning of their childhood home in order to rid the town of the curse. While initially skeptical, a string of strange occurrences leads the siblings to believe there may be more truth to the rumors than they ever dreamed possible.
200 METERS
Film Movement
Available on DVD/Digital Now
Mustafa, a Palestinian construction worker, lives in a West Bank home a mere 200 meters away from his wife and children, on the other side of the Israeli border wall. Though eligible for an Israeli ID, Mustafa sacrifices living with his family in resistance to what he believes are unjust laws enforced by the occupying Israeli government, so he instead uses his work permit to visit daily. The arrangement is functional, until one day Mustafa gets a call every parent dreads: his son has been seriously injured and brought to an Israeli hospital. Rushing to cross the border checkpoint, Mustafa is denied on a technicality. Stopping at nothing to reach his child, a 200 meter distance becomes a 200 kilometer odyssey, as the increasingly desperate Mustafa attempts to smuggle himself to the other side of the wall
APOSTLES
Breaking Glass Pictures
Available on DVD & VOD Now
APOSTLES follows a scholar claiming to be an apostle to Socrates and Plato who recruits 12 young men to his secluded manor to pursue an intimate project: the exploration of death. Through philosophical discussions, bondage, sexual activities, and even living sacrifice, everyone involved will face life changing revelations.
THE BALAD OF THE SAS CAFÉ
Cohen Film Collection
Available on DVD/Blu-ray now
Cohen Film Collection presents a new restoration of a Merchant Ivory classic. Oscar winners Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, and Rod Steiger star in this adaptation of the Carson McCullers novella and the Edward Albee play adapted from it. Merchant Ivory veteran Simon Callow’s only turn as a director is a twisted Southern Gothic dark comedy set in a small rural town in the deep South. Redgrave plays Miss Amelia, the eccentric proprietor of the town’s only café and, more importantly to her grip on the townsfolk, the proprietor of a secret moonshine still. Her domineering hold on the town is threatened when two strangers appear with a claim on her past.
POPPY
IndiePix Films
Available on DVD/Digital now
Nineteen year-old Poppy Simpson (Libby Hunsdale) is an irrepressible young woman with Down Syndrome and an assumption she should get to do what everyone else does – have a job, drive a car, get married. Holding her back is Dave (Ari Boyland), her older brother and only family since the death of their parents. Poppy and Dave work together in their inherited car repair business, and it’s clear Poppy has mechanical smarts. But her super-protective brother doesn’t think she’s up to getting her driver’s license or the apprenticeship she was promised by their late father. Quietly rebellious, Poppy secretly begins to teach herself to drive. And it’s not until she teams up with an old school friend who needs his car fixed in time to enter the local burnout competition that her plans progress in this acclaimed feel-good drama from New Zealand which Simon Morris of RNZ (NZ) calls “undeniably upbeat”.
THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING
Lightyear Entertainment
Available on DVD/Blu-ray/Digital February 7
In time to commemorate its landmark 35th anniversary, everyone’s favorite much-encrusted plant man is back in a special edition of THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING featuring a stunning new 4K restoration! The must-see sequel to the original cult classic based on the award-winning DC Comics series has been restored from the original interpositive with Dolby Vision HDR mastering for an optimal viewing experience.
GERRY ANDERSON: A LIFE UNCHARTED
MPI Home Videos
Available on DVD/Digital Now
An emotionally charged and deeply personal documentary about Gerry Anderson. He was the creator of some of the world’s most beloved children’s television series including Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Space: 1999, Terrahawks, and Space Precinct. Gerry Anderson’s successful career spanned 60 years. Released a decade after his death, this documentary draws on exclusive access to over 30 hours of previously unpublished interviews, in order to share the untold stories that defined his life and body of work.
VOODOO MACBETH
Lightyear Entertainment
Available on Blu-ray, VOD & DVD Now
Based on the true story of young Orson Welles – 20 years-old and just starting out – and Broadway star Rose McClendon managing a group of committed artists as they set out to create a landmark event in theater history, VOODOO MACBETH unspools the incredible tale of the Negro Theatre Unit’s revolutionary 1936 production of “Macbeth”.