New Blu-ray review roundup: Mommie Dearest, Death Screams, and Another 48 Hours

With so many great new releases hitting Blu-ray and 4K UHD each week, here are three new catalogue releases to keep an eye on, including an iconic camp classic, a rarely-seen regional slasher, and the sequel to the film that made Eddie Murphy a household name.

Mommie Dearest

“No wire hangers – ever!”

Frank Perry’s iconic 1981 biopic on the tumultuous relationship between Joan Crawford and her daughter Christina makes its way to Blu-ray in this great new special edition package. Featuring a wonderfully over-the-top portrayal of Crawford from Faye Dunaway (who would eventually refuse to speak about the film), Mommie Dearest is an endlessly rewatchable drama about how fame and jealousy can twist and corrode even our closest relationships.

Paramount brings the cult favourite to Blu-ray with a mix of new and vintage extras, including a priceless archival commentary track with John Waters, a new commentary from drag queen Hedda Lettuce, a new featurette on director Frank Perry, and a trio of featurettes from the original DVD release on the life and career of Joan Crawford and the strong connection queer audiences have with this film. With a new 4K remaster and an upgraded DTS HD Master Audio mix, there’s never been a better time to dive into this unhinged camp classic. (Paramount)

Death Screams

Occasionally, the behind-the-scenes machinations of a film are more intriguing than the final product, which is undoubtedly the case with Death Screams. This 1981 regional slasher film has little going for it apart from a few unexpectedly gory scenes in its final moments, but the backstory and how it fits into the rise of underground filmmaking is pretty fascinating. Directed by David Nelson (of Ozzie and Harriet fame!) Death Screams stars Playboy Playmate Susan Kiger in a fairly run-of-the-mill slasher about a small Southern town beset by gruesome murders. Featuring the stilted dialogue that only non-traditional actors can deliver in a regional low-budget film like this, Death Screams nonetheless oozes a certain type of charm.

Arrow Video has rescued Death Screams from the depths of obscurity with this new Blu-ray release. While previous video releases were so murky that they made the film virtually incomprehensible, Arrow has provided the film with a much-needed restoration made from the only existing 35mm copy of the film. The disc comes packed with features including a commentary track with producer Charles Ison and special effects artist Worth Keeter, a track with slasher enthusiasts The Hysteria Continues, the thorough documentary All the Fun of the Scare: The Making of Death Screams, and more.

Exclusive to the limited edition Blu-ray release, the included booklet features the revealing essay Tar Heel Terror: Death Screams and the Rise of the North Carolina Film Industry from Brian Albright. Albright examines how Death Screams led to a boom in regional filmmaking as producers and filmmakers began flocking to North Carolina to take advantage of its scenery and drastically cheaper shooting costs.

While Death Screams is a fairly middling film overall, this strong package from Arrow Video (including an impressive die-cut cover) makes this a worthwhile purchase for slasher completists and anyone looking to dive into the wonderfully weird world of regional horror filmmaking. (Arrow Video)

Another 48 Hours

Nearly a decade after 48 Hours launched Eddie Murphy’s film career and set the template for all buddy-cop action-comedies to follow, director Walter Hill, Murphy, and co-star Nick Nolte teamed up for a highly anticipated sequel, Another 48 hours. Released in 1990, the sequel is a grittier film in all respects. While some of that comedic interplay between officer Jack Cates (Nolte) and the recently paroled Reggie Hammond (Murphy) is carried over from the original, Another 48 Hours is a more traditional action film and lacks some of the magic banter that made the first film so memorable.

In the sequel, Cates is forced to meet up with Hammond to help him track down a drug dealer known as the “Iceman,” who has targeted Hammond as his next victim. Meanwhile, Cates is trying to clear his name from a manslaughter charge (this was the ‘90s when one of a film’s central protagonists could still be a murderous cop).

While the script barely rises above the sort of direct-to-video action flicks that would fill up Blockbuster shelves for the rest of the decade following its release, Murphy is still at the top of his game here, and his amped-up energy still plays incredibly off Nolte’s constantly-aggrieved attitude.

Paramount brings Another 48 Hours to Blu-ray with a new 4K remaster and a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. The only extra is the Filmmaker Focus: Director Walter Hill on Another 48 Hrs featurette, an in-depth conversation with the very open Hill who discusses how Eddie Murphy initiated the project, what made it different from the first film, and much more. Fans of either film in this franchise will learn a great deal from Hill’s piece, it’s just unfortunate that he wasn’t able to provide a full commentary track for the film (although maybe a 14-minute interview encompasses all that we really need to know about Another 48 Hours).

With a welcome new restoration and soundtrack, this disc is an easy recommendation for Murphy fans interested in re-visiting the sequel to the film that made him a household name. (Paramount)