THE VIOLENT KIND (out this week on DVD and Blu-ray from Image Entertainment) feels vintage. Not in a faux-grindhouse sort of way, and not because of its ’50s/rockabilly aesthetic. THE VIOLENT KIND’s old-school vibe is a direct result of it being batshit in a way today’s genre films rarely are anymore. Which is to say, it’s kind of wonderful.

It didn’t occur to me, when Intervision’s DVD of SLEDGEHAMMER was first announced for release this week, that there was specific timing involved. But while I was watching the disc, it suddenly, er, hit me: It’s coming out to capitalize on the release of another movie in which the lead character wields a mighty hammer!

An erotic fairly tale filled with transgressive sexual imagery that crosses the border into mind-blowing horror territory, Jess Franco’s wonderful LORNA THE EXORCIST was finally unleashed on DVD earlier this year, thanks to the unflinching folks at Mondo Macabro and the tireless efforts of archivist Lucas Balbo to unearth the most complete version ever released by tracking down a number of 35mm film elements.

I’ll admit right off the bat (get it?) that I placed NINJAS VS. VAMPIRES (Vicious Circle/Breaking Glass) into my DVD player with a feeling of dread. I was expecting another ridiculous, “how did this even get funded?” excuse for a movie, one that took itself seriously for no good reason—the bane of every reviewer.

Neither memory nor a handy copy of the old VHS release allow me to compare the original director’s cut of THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, which Synapse Films released today in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, with the version that played theaters (initially as PRANKS) and appeared on tape back in the ’80s. What can be said is that Synapse’s assembling of the behind-the-scenes talent for the supplements has paid greater dividends than their restoration of the movie itself.

An indie horror/comedy playing tonight at the 12th annual Tromadance Film Festival and being self-distributed by its creators, THE TAINT is exactly what happens when smart filmmakers intentionally make a stupid movie. Some microbudget films are too clever by half, and even more are nowhere near as smart as they think they are, but THE TAINT gleefully embraces the freedom to be unmitigated trash.

So far, James Wan & Leigh Whannell’s INSIDIOUS has pulled in close to $27 million domestically, and after the movie’s $13 million opening weekend, it held strong during this past weekend at the box office, earning another $9 million and coming in at number five. That’s already better than Wan & Whannell’s previous collaboration, DEAD SILENCE, a film that suffered from studio interference and a troubled production. While DEAD SILENCE was much maligned during its initial release, the film does have its fans. Here’s Chris Haberman’s review of that 2007 picture.