Toad Road
DVD | Amazon Instant
Directed by Jason Banker
Written by Jason Banker
Starring James Davidson, Sara Anne Jones, Whitleigh Higuera, Jamie Siebold, Scott Rader
Artsploitation Films
Release Date: December 17, 2013

Urban legend has it that on a long winding trail in the woods outside York, PA there are seven gates that will lead you to the doorway to Hell. As you pass through each gate, you hallucinate more and more, and time and reality supposedly become meaningless. The only problem is that no one has ever made it past the fifth gate.

For new-to-town Sara, who has fallen in with a rambunctious and directionless band of twenty-somethings focused only on the next drug high, this legend becomes all-consuming. Though her boyfriend James tries to get her mind off it, Sara becomes singularly focused on discovered just what happens on Toad Road. And with a dropper of acid at the ready, Sara begins her fateful trip down the road.

Meeting somewhere between a pseudo-documentary due to how the film is shot and student art film that desperately wants to look between-the-lines of reality and fantasy, Toad Road is a meandering journey through a group of kids’ lives as they try to have a good time and enjoy each others’ company as they bake their brain.

Batman, the seminal 1966 – 1968 series which originally ran on ABC-TV and became a zeitgeist sensation with its camp and tongue in cheek humor, while still based on Bob Kane’s comic book, is finally getting the nod on DVD.

As Tweeted by talk show loon Conan O’Brien and later confirmed by WB, the series, which had been plagued for years with likeness rights and a sundry amount of other business related issues which held up a firm and proper release, will be released via Warner Brothers Home Entertainment later this year as a complete box set. Details to follow, but this is cause célèbre for legions and generations of fans who have waited in earnest and with extreme patience for this series to finally come to home market fruition.

Wolverine vs. Sabretooth
DVD
Based on the comic written by Jeph Loeb
Screenplay adapted by Jeph Loeb
Illustrated by Simone Bianchi
Directed by Carl Upsdell
Shout! Factory
Not Rated | 66 Minutes
Release Date: January 14, 2014
Cover Price: $14.97

Welcome, one and all, to the world of Marvel Knights and the animated features available therein. This week I am pleased to bring you the motion comic Marvel Knights: Wolverine Versus Sabretooth. I will admit that I’m still on the fence as to whether I like this medium or not. I do appreciate that it’s one more way to grab the attention of folks who might otherwise not pick up a comic, but I wonder sometimes if this format will stand the test of time.

If you are unaware of how this all works then allow me to enlighten you. Taking the original comic, frame by frame, parts are dissected and given life by allowing for some basic movement on screen. By stringing together the panels, we are given some fairly clean motion that preserves the integrity of the source material…mostly. Sometimes, as with all adaptations, parts of the original must be sacrificed for the sake of fluidity and continuity. This particular motion comic seemed to be more or less intact, though it might still confuse the newbies.

In The Flesh
DVD | Instant
Directed by Jonny Campbell
Created and written by Dominic Mitchell
Starring Luke Newberry, David Walmsley, Harriet Cains, Emily Bevan, Ricky Tomlinson, Steve Evets
BBC Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 8, 2013

In a sleepy north England village, without warning or explanation, thousands of dead people reanimate into zombie form and begin terrorizing the area, as zombies tend to do. In keeping with the traditionalist approach to the impending apocalypse, the government, as well as non-government sanctioned circles strike back. Zombies are hunted and killed by militants. The Pale Wars, as it came to be known, rage on for a few years until it is discovered that the zombies can actually be treated. Medicated and rehabilitated, these “patients” suffering from PDS (Partially Deceased Syndrome) are now ready to be released back into their lives provided they simply adhere to a routine of medication. Thankfully, all of this is told through a series of flashbacks so as not to bore everyone with the familiar zombie origin story. At the end of the day, In The Flesh is about as much about zombies as Halloween is about pumpkins.

To get right down to it, I am tired of zombies. That is not a contrarian statement; I am just bored with them. I gave up The Walking Dead after the first season and can barely handle the barrage of movies and other knock-offs. The character of the zombie itself is pretty pointless, actually. With little more purpose than either “Look out, there’s a zombie. Run!” or “Look out, there’s a zombie. Shoot!” By adding a layer of interest that can only be achieved by bringing back the dead, you have my attention. At the very least it’s something different. For the most part.

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon today is Dexter: The Complete Series Collection – Blu-ray Edition for only $179.49 (that’s 61% off the list price of $459.99); the DVD is also discounted right now to $149.99 (that’s 58% off the list price of $359.99). There’s also a Dexter: The Complete Series Collection Exclusive Gift Set Blu-ray Edition $249.99 (that’s 54% off the list price of $544.99).

The Dexter: The Complete Series Collection DVD and Blu-ray box sets contain all eight seasons of the hit ShowTime series Dexter, starring Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, and James Remar, along with bonus features in collectible packaging.