Abigail (2024/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)/Blood and Snow (2023/Cleopatra*)/Immaculate (2024/Decal Blu-ray)/Mexico Barbaro II (2017/Unearthed/*both MVD Blu-rays)/Tarot (2024/Sony Blu-ray)

Picture: B+/B/B+/B+/B+ Sound: B+/C/B+/B+/B+ Extras: B+/C/B+/B/C+ Films: B/C/C+/C+/C-

Here are the latest horror releases....

From Universal and Radio Silence, the highly successful production team that crafted the fifth and sixth entries in the Scream franchise and thriller hit Ready or Not, comes the vampire action / thriller Abigail (2024). A film that pits a group of criminals who are hired to hold a little rich girl ransom get a lot more than they signed up for when they realize she is a vicious (and strong) vampire that isn't a little girl at all. Crafting an unforgettable villain in Abigail, the blood sucking mini ballerina is able to throw around grown adults like rag dolls. However, one of the criminals (Dan Stevens) has many secrets and an ulterior motive in taking Abigail down.

The cast includes Alisha Weir (in her breakout role here as Abigail), the extremely talented Melissa Barrera (Scream), rising star Kathryn Newton (Lisa Frankenstein), the late Angus Cloud (Euphoria), Dan Stevens (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Matthew Goode (Watchmen), and Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian). The film is directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin. Honestly, this cast is pretty strong and the chemistry between them all on-screen makes the film a bit more enjoyable than other films of its kind.

Abigail is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossless, English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. Also included is an anamorphically enhanced, standard definition DVD with a 2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital audio mix. No 4K UHD of the film on this it's home video debut, but undoubtedly will come out again down the line. The film is stylistically shot with a killer soundtrack with a notable Danzig tune in one of its main sequences. The standard definition goes without saying that it is a lesser detailed presentation with not as much detail in the sound mix.

Special Features:

Deleted & Extended Scenes

Gag Reel

Blood Bath featurette

Hunters to Hunted featurette

Becoming a Ballerina Vampire featurette

Directing Duo Matt & Tyler featurette

and a Feature Length Audio Commentary with Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett and Editor Michael P. Shawyer.

Abigail is a lot of fun and something different for the vampire genre as of late. The film delivers a witty script, a fun cast, and plenty of eye candy. Recommended!

Inspired more than a little bit by John Carpenter's The Thing, Blood and Snow (2023) centers on two scientists who uncover a meteorite in the Arctic, only for it to possess one of them and brutally murder the other. When the possessed scientist returns to the base, she appears normal at first, but soon proves she is host to a creature that attacks all of the workers inside hoping to spread its disease. The film isn't bad for being on the lower budget spectrum, but borrows a lot of things from other films and the references are easy to spot.

The film stars Anne-Carolyne Binette, Simon Phillips, and Michael Swatton to name a few. The film is directed by Jesse Palangio.

Blood and Snow is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. The audio / video presentation is not bad for HD and is up to standards with nothing too distracting from the image.

Special Features include a Trailer and Image Slideshow.

Blood and Snow isn't bad for a lower budgeted film, but here isn't much here that we haven't seen done better before.

Rising star Sydney Sweeney knocks it out of the park in her best role yet in Immaculate (2024,) an intense demonic thriller from Decal Releasing and Neon (one of this reviewer's favorite new movie studios). The film also stars Simona Tabasco, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, and Alvaro Morte.

Sydney Sweeney stars as Cecilia, a dedicated nun who travels to the Italian convent to say her vows and fully dedicate her life to spirituality. When she gets to the convent, she is met by a beautiful Italian religious scenery, but with an unspeakable darkness just out of sight. As Cecilia speaks her vows and joins the convent, she starts to see a brewing controversy boiling around her. Other nuns start to die and she soon finds out that they have dark plans in store for her, and that she is one of the many who have fallen victim to their trap.

Immaculate is a demonic horror film and part throwback to the Italian horror genre and similar to the The First Omen, which was released in theaters shortly thereafter. Eagle-eyed cult film fanatics will notice some similar locations in this (specifically the catacombs where the climax in shot) were also in the Italian horror classic Burial Ground, which is actually out now on 4K UHD from Severin Films.

The film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.00:1 and a lossless, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. To say this film is well shot is an understatement as just about every frame in the piece is gorgeous to behold. The soundtrack is equally as effective, crafting tension when needed and a '70s era flare that calls back to Italian cinema of the past.

Special Features: Audio commentary by Michael Mohan.

Immaculate is an interesting piece of filmmaking with a great performance by Sydney Sweeney and a truly memorable ending. The film does a great job of nodding to cult films of the past while creating a tension-filled piece that's highly effective. Recommended.

In the award winning horror anthology film, Mexico Barbaro II (2017), nine Mexican directors come together to bring some unique traditions and folklore from their culture to life. A follow-up to the 2014 anthology of the same name, the films are pretty fun and interesting to watch and packed with cool special effects and gore that horror genre fans will love. The film stars starring Florencia Rios, Humberto Busto, and Fermin Martinez to name a few.

Directors include Diego Cohen, Christian Cueva, Ricardo Farias, Michelle Garza Cervera, Carlos Melendez, Lex Ortega, Abraham Sanchez, Sergio Tello, and Fernando Urdapilleta.

Mexico Barbaro II is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and an lossless, Spanish DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) with English subtitles. The presentation on disc is top notch for 1080p and there are no glaring issues evident. All of the productions look and sound professional despite being on a lower budget spectrum.

Special Features:

Bolas de Fuego featurette

Exodoncia featurette

Juan Soldado featurette

No Te Duermas featurette

Vitriol Featurette

and a Stills Gallery.

While some of the shorts are better than others, Mexico Barbaro II is a fun watch and provides a unique perspective on Mexican culture and folklore that translate well to horror.

Tarot (20024) is a PG-13 rated horror film that's a cross between the Final Destination series, A Nightmare On Elm Street, and Insidious. It also resembles other teen jump scare flicks like this year's Night Swim or the Ouija franchise. Seeing that two directors were at the helm isn't too surprising as the film seems to be torn in two directions - one being an interestingly shot horror film and the other a Z-grade Netflix style teen thriller with terrible dialogue and weak attempts at character development. You can see potential buried within it and with some re-editing I do feel that the narrative could have been stronger. In short, the film probably works for teens or anyone who is easily frightened by horror movies. However, Tarot doesn't operate thrills much higher than an episode of the '90s era TV Goosebumps series.

In Tarot, a group of young adults rent a (ungodly expensive looking) mansion to party in (of course bringing their land rovers and no mention of how these kids are all filthy rich is glazed over) and find a possessed deck of Tarot cards with a demonic entity attached to them. As they get picked off one by one, they must figure out how to stop it. Of course we will learn all we need to know about the entity through a series of flashbacks which will be delivered to us right at the end of the second act.

The film stars Avantika, Jacob Batalon, Olwen Fouere, Harriet Slater, and Humberly Gonzalez.

If you look past the silly casting (one young person from each demographic seems a bit of a stretch), the creature creations and special effects aren't totally bad, with each one resembling an image on the Tarot cards they are spiritually reawakened from. The film clearly doesn't take much risks and tries to rush the audience through with one familiar trope after another to a truly inspired ending that is laughably bad.

The kills are highly censored and watered down with hardly any blood at all with the exception of a splash of two just offscreen. As mentioned above, having two directors on such a simple horror film was definitely a bad idea as the film is too flashy and cut almost like a music video resulting in any sense of fright quickly drained out of it. The filmmakers should look at films from Neon and A24 to show how to effectively pull off crafting effective horror and moments of tension, simply by using long takes and seeing more acting in the frame than a cut every few seconds and sped up monsters coming like some desperate attempt at being James Wan.

Tarot is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and an English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) lossless mix. There is a predominantly green color palette that definitely takes charge in virtually every scene of the film and isn't really motivated. Parts of the film are shot better than others and the choice of music in most scenes feels random and unmotivated. Presentation-wise, the film looks fine on Blu-ray in 1080p.

Special Features:

A Twist of Fate: Making the Film featurette

Circle of Friends featurette

and Killer Outtakes

Time will tell if another entry in the Tarot franchise will unfold, but for now we are left with a mediocre teen horror movie in which all the good parts were spoiled in the trailers and marketing. I feel like this film is going to be lost in the shuffle on many streaming services in just a few years and eventually disappear just like the Tarot cards in which the film is based.

- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/