New to View: Dec. 16

A fun and witty Vincent Price thriller headlines the short list of new releases to keep you cozy and warm this week. Read all about them in New to View at ReelBob.

The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Dec. 16, unless otherwise noted:
House on Haunted Hill: Limited Edition Archive Collection (Blu-ray)
Details: 1959, Film Masters-Allied Vaughn
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Vincent Price stars in this haunted house thriller about a millionaire who offers $10,000 to five people if they agree to stay overnight in a rented, large, spooky and supposedly haunted house.
William Castle produced and directed this cult favorite with the house itself, the Ennis House in Los Feliz, California, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1924.
Castle, known for his promotional gimmicks, created Emergo in which a pulley system allowed a plastic skeleton to be flown over the movie audience.
The movie in not really a supernatural or ghost story, rather it’s an elaborate mystery in which Price’s Frederick Loren outwits his wife, Annabelle (Carol Ohmart) and her lover, Dr. David Trent (Alan Marshal), who are planning to have him killed by one of the other guests.
The movie is a lot of fun; it’s almost campy with a dry performance by Price.
The Blu-ray can be found at www.moviezyng.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English closed-captioned subtitles.
Don’t miss: Bonus options include a commentary trac by Heath Holland a liner notes by Jason A. Ney.

Dead of Night (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Release date: Dec. 9
Details: 1945, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This British supernatural thriller is superb — understated and disturbing.
The set-up centers on a group of strangers mysteriously gathered at an isolated country estate, where they recount chilling stories of the uncanny and ghostly.
Architect Walter Craig arrives at the estate at the invitation of Elliot Foley, who wants Craig to do some renovations.
Even though Craig has never been to the house, he tells Foley that he has seen him and the other guests in a recurring dream.
This leads the other guests, to test Craig’s foresight, to tell him of strange events they have experienced.
With the exception of one tale about a cheating golfer, the stories are unsettling — as if the movie’s finale.
The cast of the movie, which garnered a 96 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, includes Roland Culver, Mervyn Johns, Sally Ann Howes, Googie Withers, miles Malleson, Basil Radford and Michael Redgrave.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.37:1 full-screen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary track with novelist and critic Tim Lucas on both discs and a 75-minute documentary, “Remembering Dead of Night,” on the Blu-ray disc.

O.C. and Stiggs (Blu-ray)
Details: 1985, Radiance Films
Rated: R, language, thematic elements
The lowdown: Robert Altman — yes, THAT Robert Altman — directed this raunchy teen comedy about two characters who originally appeared in “National Lampoon” magazine.
Oliver Cromwell (O.C.) Oglivie and Mark Stiggs are high school students in Phoenix, Arizona, where they are disgusted with suburban consumerism.
They spend their days slacking off and committing pranks and crimes — most targeting their nemeses, the Schwab family. It’s patriarch, Randall, is a money-hungry regional insurance salesman responsible for the involuntary commitment of O.C.’s grandfather into a group home.
The cast includes Daniel H. Jenkins as O.C., Neill Barry as Stiggs, Paul Dooley as Randall Schwab, Jane Curtin as his wife, Elinor, Jon Cryer as Randall Schwab Jr., Ray Walston as Gramps as well as Melvin Van Peebles, Laura Urstein, Carla Borelli, Dennis Hopper, Martin Mull and Bob Uecker.
The movie’s reviews were mixed, with most of the criticism directed at Altman.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a documentary on the making of the movie, an interview with camera operator Robert Reed Altman, a short 2005 featurette with director Altman and a booklet about the movie and Altman.

Scars of Dracula (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Details: 1970, Kino Lorber Studio Classics
Rated: R, bloody violence
The lowdown: Christopher Lee returns as Dracula in this violent story of the count rising from the grave to wreak havoc and death.
A nearby village suffers the vampire’s wrath even as a young man and his beautiful girlfriend visit his castle. Soon they find themselves trapped and having to deal with bloodthirsty women, religious blasphemy and sadistic torture — all par for the course in the Hammer Dracula series.
Hammer veteran Roy Ward Baker is behind the camera for this bloody foray into horror.
The cast also includes Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Christopher Matthews and Patrick Troughton.
Technical aspects: 4K: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles; Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 1.66:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental options include a commentary track by novelist and critic Tim Lucas and a second by Baker, Lee and Hammer film historian Marcus Hearn on both discs and, on the Blu-ray disc, a “Blood Rites — Inside Scars of Dracula” documentary.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy”: Limited Edition (4K Ultra HD)
Details: 1990-93, Arrow Video
Rated: PG, violence, language
The lowdown: Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, are featured in three early 1990s movies, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1990), “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Secret of the Ooze” (1991) and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” (1993).
Set in New York City, the trio of pictures feature the pizza-loving quartet battling evil-doers in the Big Apple. Fans with childhood memories of these releases will again be able to appreciate the animatronics from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, along with the martial arts action, special effects and street humor.
In the first movie, the foursome set out to rescue Splinter, the rat Ninja Master, who has been kidnapped the evil Shredder.
“Secret of the Ooze” is a look at the turtles’ origins, with mutant foes Tokka and Rahzar also in the mix.|
The third movie sends the Ninja Turtles back to feudal Japan in a time-travel adventure filled with samurai showdowns, ancient legends and, of course, comical chaos.
Technical aspects: 2160p ultra-high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 2.0 LPCM monaural, Dolby Atmos and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (“Secret of the Ooze” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III”); English SDH subtitles and English subtitles (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”).
Don’t miss: A commentary track by “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” director Steve Barron; a second commentary with comic book expert Dave Baxter; new interviews with Barron; actors Robbie Rist, Brian Tochi, Ernie Reyes Jr. and Kevin Scott; Judith Hoag; producer Simon Fields; puppet coordinator and second-unit director Brian Henson and Rob Tygner, puppeteer for Splinter and Leonardo; a featurette on the locations in New York and North Carolina; an alternate United Kingdom version with footage prepared for censorship reasons; alternate ending from the VHS workprint; and alternate Korean footage. “Secret of the Ooze” extras include a commentary with director Michael Pressman, moderated by filmmaker Gillian Wallace Horvat; interviews with trilogy composer John Du Prez, Kenny Wilson, mould shop supervisor at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and film editor Steve Mirkovich; and an archival featurette from 1991. The third movie features a commentary with director Stuart Gillard; interviews with actors Sab Shimono and Vivian Wu; and an alternate United Kingdom opening. Other extras in the set include a collector’s booklet in the style of a Roy’s Pizza menu; foldout posters; eight-character trading cards; a Roy’s Pizza loyalty card; and four character stickers.

Saga of the Phoenix (Blu-ray)
Details: 1989, 88 Films
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A mystical Chinese feature in which monks Peacock (Yuen Biao) and Lucky Fruit (Abe Hiroshi) travel to Hong Kong to confront a new supernatural threat.
In Hong Kong, they must protect the innocent and face an array of demons and dark sorcery. Alongside them is Ashura (Gloria Yip), who is still torn between her human heart and her link to the underworld. Her powers, though, become the key to either salvation or destruction.
The movie blends martial arts, strange creatures, surreal comedy and wild practical effects and grand spectacle. The movie, a sequel to “The Phoenix King,” was directed by Lam Nai-Choi.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; 2.0 Cantonese monaural; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include a commentary with Hong Kong cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto, alternate Japanese footage, a featurette on the overseas distribution strategy of Golden Harvest studio and a 40-page book with essays and Japanese cover art.

Delinquent Schoolgirls: The Psychotronica Collection #1 (Blu-ray)
Details: 1975, VCI Entertainment-MVD Visual Entertainment
Rated: R, violence, sexual situations, nudity
The lowdown: A sleazy exploitation film about three escapees from an insane asylum who happen upon an all-girls private school.
At least two of the escapees are horny from being locked up — the third, played by Stephen Stucker of “Airplane!” fame — is a gay fashion designer.
What the men don’t count on is the young women knowing wrestling and karate.
The plot doesn’t really matter as the movie is simply an excuse to show the women in various forms of undress while they exercise, smoke dope and indulge in some lesbian petting.
This is VCI’s initial foray into its “Psychotronica Collection,” and it will be interesting to see what titles are released in its follow-up.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English Dolby digital; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a commentary by actor Bob Minor, who played one of the escapees, with Elijah Drenner; and a featurette on the Psychotronica cult cinema.

Other titles being released during the upcoming week include:
Kill the Jockey (DVD) (Music Box Films)

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, STREAMING or VOD
All’s Fair: Episode 9 (Hulu)
Boogie Nights (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (Apple TV+-Prime Video-Kino Lorber)
The Lavender Hill Mob (Apple TV+-Prime Video-Kino Lorber)
The Man in the White Suit (Apple TV+-Prime Video-Kino Lorber)
The Milky Way (Greenwich Entertainment)
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (Apple TV+-Prime Video-Kino Lorber)
Serious People (Tribeca Films)
Sisu: Road to Revenge (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Thieves Highway (308 Entertainment)

DEC. 17
Palm Royale: Season 2, Episode 6 (Apple TV+)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Episode 3 (Disney+)

DEC. 18
The Adventures of Arsène Lupin (Kino Film Collection)
Arsène Lupine vs. Arsène Lupin (Kino Film Collection)
The Beach Hotel: Season 4, Episodes 5-8 (Viaplay)
Grapefruit (Persimmon)
Signed, Arsène Lupin (Kino Film Collection)
The Wolf War (Viaplay)

DEC. 19
Born to Be Wild (Apple TV+)
Flathead (IndiePix Unlimited)
Kumail Nanjiana: Night Thoughts (Hulu)
The Nipple Talk: Episode 7 (Film Movement+)
Paris Prestige (Film Movement+)
Pluribus: Episode 8 (Apple TV+)
Queens of the Dead (Shudder)

DEC. 22
I Am Cuba (Kino Film Collection)
Moment of Contact: New Revelations of Alien Encounters (Falcon Scout Media)
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball: Season 2 (Hulu)

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on X @ReelBobBloom, on Facebook at ReelBob and on Bluesky at @bobbloom1948@bsky.social or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.