New Releases for January 14 2025

RAMPO NOIR (2005) (LIMITED EDITION)

Four filmmakers from completely different backgrounds bring their radically personal takes to the stories of Japan's celebrated master of the macabre, Edogawa Rampo (Horrors of Malformed Men, Blind Beast).

In "Mars's Canal", by music video director and visual artist Suguru Takeuchi, a lone man encounters the other side of his psyche beyond the reflective surface of a circular pond set in a desolate landscape. Japanese New Wave auteur and longtime director of the Ultraman series Akio Jissoji (This Transient Life, Mandala) harnesses his distinctive stylistic sheen in his story of a mad mirror maker, "Mirror Hell". "Caterpillar" sees the singular vision of cult director Hisayasu Sato (The Bedroom, Naked Blood) at its most grotesque, in his portrait of a wounded war veteran who returns from the frontline as little more than a bloody torso, helpless to defend himself against the increasingly perverted caprices of an embittered wife. Finally, a famous actor is subjected to the obsessive attentions of her limo driver in "Crawling Bugs", the directorial debut of internationally acclaimed manga artist Atsushi Kaneko (Bambi and Her Pink Gun).

Produced by the same team behind Ichi the Killer and Uzumaki, and with a cast featuring some of Japan's top stars, including Tadanobu Asano (Maboroshi, Silence) and Ryuhei Matsuda (Blue Spring, Gohatto), Rampo Noir is a stylistic tour-de-force that vividly evokes the "erotic grotesque" worlds created by Japan's pioneering proponent of horror and mystery fiction. (BLU-RAY)

KILLING SHERLOCK: LUCY WORSLEY'S HOLMES V. DOYLE (2023)

Historian Lucy Worsley delves into the extraordinary love-hate relationship between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous creation: Sherlock Holmes. In this series, Worsley investigates how Doyle’s early experiences contributed to the invention of Holmes, only for the author to kill off his “monster” six years later. However, the fictional detective’s popularity proved irrepressible, forcing Doyle to resurrect his creation. As Holmes continued to take on a life of his own, the creation begins to influence the creator, leading Doyle to not only solve crimes himself but chase his own strange, supernatural mysteries. Killing Sherlock is a fascinating parallel biography of the author and his fictional character, charting their intersecting stories and how ultimately Doyle was unable to compete with his creation. (DVD-R)

SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING (2023)

Lost on the dreary Oregon coast, Fran finds solace in her cubicle, listening to the constant hum of officemates and occasionally daydreaming to pass the time. She is ghosting through life, unable to pop her bubble of isolation, when a friendly new coworker, Robert, persistently tries to connect with her. Though it goes against every fiber of her being, she may have to give this guy a chance. Director Rachel Lambert and team craft beautiful cinema for this delicately told story of love for the socially awkward and emotionally challenged. The film is made all the more human by its lovely cast, most prominent in the penetrating eyes of lead actress/producer, Daisy Ridley, and the caring smile of lead actor, Dave Merheje. SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING is an unexpected fable on the virtues of living. (DVD)

MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK (2022) 

A century after Alfred Hitchcock’s first film, he remains one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. But how does his vast body of work and legacy hold up in today’s society? Mark Cousins, the award-winning filmmaker behind The Story of Film: An Odyssey, The Eyes of Orson Welles, and The Storms of Jeremy Thomas, tackles this question and looks at the auteur with a new and radical approach: through the use of his own voice. As Hitchcock rewatches his films, we are taken on an odyssey through his vast career - his vivid silent films, the legendary films of the 1950s and 60s and his later works - in playful and revealing ways. (DVD)

INCUBUS (1966) (LIMITED EDITION) 

It is often said that films about the Devil are cursed with bad luck, but Leslie Stevens' Incubus might be the most cursed of them all. By the time it premiered in 1966, two of its stars had tragically taken their own lives; the eccentric director's insistence on filming in the obscure Esperanto language ensured it failed to receive any distribution; and it was nearly lost forever when the original elements were believed lost in a fire. Decades passed until it was finally saved and unveiled to the public in all its unholy glory!

Wounded in battle, soldier Marc (William Shatner, just prior to being cast in Star Trek) ventures to the remote village of Nomen Tuum to find a well where the waters are said to be blessed with healing powers. Little does he suspect that the inhabitants of Nomen Tuum are demonic seductresses who entice interlopers and lead them to damnation, and one such succubus, Kia (Allyson Ames) has her sights on Marc. As an eclipse shrouds the sun and darkness falls over the village, Marc and Kia's relationship becomes more passionate... will his soul survive? (BLU-RAY)