It’s that time again when everyone makes their best and worst of 2024 lists. And what better way to ring in such a time, than another article discussing some favorites of the prior year? If you read my article from last year, I listed out my personal favorite physical media releases along with three honorable mentions; and this will be the case for this year. Another rule I instituted was that no label appears more than once in my top ten to spread the home video love around, and not just stack the list with releases from Second Sight and Arrow Video. Lastly, physical media is a hobby, and hobbies cost money. As much as I would love to own every disc out there, it is not financially possible. So, there will be other, better releases that I could not afford, which is why these are my personal favorites. Without further adieu, let’s dive into my favorite physical media releases of 2024!
Honorable Mention One: The Blair Witch Project (Second Sight):
It may be lost on younger people the magnitude that The Blair Witch Project had when it debuted in 1999. It wasn’t the simplistic and economical plot and filmmaking, but using the advent of the internet as the major means to push the film into the mainstream. It’s silly now that people would believe three kids heading off into the woods and a film studio releasing their final few days together for commercial entertainment. In 1999, with the internet still fairly new, a few clever marketing ploys, a new(ish) subgenre, “found footage,” and a tight final film crafted a landmark of cinema in 1999. For years, the film has languished with subpar physical media releases, but in stepped Second Sight.
Second Sight is my current favorite physical media label, and this Blu-ray release exemplifies why. Not content with cobbling together talking heads or rereleasing archival material, the folks behind the UK label go a step beyond. For this release, Second Sight worked hand-in-hand with the film’s directors and producers to do a complete restoration of the film’s elements to bring The Blair Witch Project back to cinematic life.
When it comes to the supplemental material, Second Sight, as always, brings their A-game. You get new and archival commentaries, multiple (subpar) alternate endings, unseen footage from the production, and, best of all, a newly created feature-length documentary chronicling the time on set. There’s also a wonderful 184-page hardback book filled with essays, plus a secondary read dubbed, “Heather’s Journal.” Top to bottom, this is a heck of a release.
The Blair Witch Project is the most recent release of any disc on this list, and, why after heaping such praise does it only find its way onto the honorable mentions? Unfortunately, as of this writing, Second Sight identified a disc defect and initiated a disc replacement program. Second Sight always does good work, and owning up and making things right is the proper way to go, but it does knock the release down a peg.
Honorable Mention Two: Bringing Out the Dead (Paramount):
What needs to be said about the works of Martin Scorsese that haven’t already been written? He’s one of the greatest directors of all time, and his filmography is littered with classics such as Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and The Irishman. The man is a legend and has done it all. Yet, when you are as cinematically prolific as Martin Scorsese, there will be great films that inevitably get pushed to the side.
1999’s Bringing Out the Dead features all the hallmarks of a classic Scorsese film: drama, religion, atonement, dark humor, and a sense of setting; it’s all there. Nicolas Cage is a burnt-out paramedic, haunted by his past and, over the course of three nights, finds his life on a collision course with others in the darkest corners of New York City.
For me, I’ve always had issues with Paramount and their physical media game. Going back to the DVD era, their releases always seemed to be light in the bonus material department. While their 4K release of Bringing Out the Dead won’t knock your socks off, there was more effort put in than I was expecting. Having Scorsese, Cage, screenwriter Paul Schrader, and cinematographer Robert Richardson sit down for newly-recorded interviews was fantastic, and one of the best studio releases of 2024.
Honorable Mention Three: Ninja Terminator – Limited Edition (Neon Eagle Video):
I’m a sucker for a good (bad) ninja movie. If it’s a bad ninja movie directed by the legendary Godfrey Ho, I’m all in! There’s something about the silliness of low-budget filmmaking that scratches an itch for me. While there’s another ninja collection farther down the list, I wanted to give Ninja Terminator from Neon Eagle Video and Cauldron Films an honorable mention.
I’m of the opinion that every film should get some type of special edition release regardless of movie quality because they are productions that people put time and money into. Godfrey Ho films, even if they are multiple movies spliced into one another, should not be forgotten, and Neon Eagle Video echoes that sentiment.
Instead of churning out a bargain basement release, they instead packed Ninja Terminator with two audio commentaries, multiple interviews, and for the limited edition, a second disc with a cleaned-up restoration of Ninja Terminator‘s source print film, The Uninvited Guest of the Star Ferry. On top of that, the limited edition comes housed in a sturdy cardboard case which shows the extra mile Neon Eagle went for such an obscure title.
10. The Stepfather (Scream Factory):
Scream Factory is a company I’ve had mixed feelings about for the past couple of years. There are plenty of times when they have hit it out of the park; the Halloween and Friday the 13th collections are perfect examples. Other times, releases such as Phantoms and The Faculty leave you wondering, “Is that it?” And then there’s the 4K re-releases which clean up the picture but offer nothing else new worth upgrading. When The Stepfather was announced to be getting a 4K upgrade, I wondered if it would be worth it.
A staple of 1980s thrillers, The Stepfather tells the tale of Jerry Blake, a seemingly normal husband and father with the perfect life. And Jerry will take nothing less. The moment his quaint and idyllic lifestyle is threatened, Jerry does the only sensible thing: murder his family and start over in a new town with a new wife and kids. The Stepfather is by no means a cinematic classic, but for those of us who grew up in the ’80s, and enjoy horror, The Stepfather is like a delicious slice of comfort food.
After the initial announcement, I was overjoyed to see that this 4K upgrade of The Stepfather wouldn’t be another rehash. Along with an archival commentary and a wonderful documentary Scream Factory created for the Blu-ray release, three new commentaries and a new interview with actress Jill Schoelen. If a reissue of a physical media release needs to happen, this is a terrific way to do it!
9. In A Violent Nature (RLJE):
There are not many ways to approach a slasher film with a fresh approach, but 2023’s In A Violent Nature takes a tried-and-true formula and gives it a unique perspective by taking on the point-of-view of the killer as he offs a group of folks in the woods. Depending on your tolerance for the “slow cinema” approach director Chris Nash takes, this will be a love-or-loathe film with very little in between. For me, the twist on the slasher formula works and the disc is even more special.
Anyone who has an inkling of how film production works knows that making a film is extremely challenging. The majesty of RLJE’s Blu-ray release of In A Violent Nature comes within a warts-and-all package of enlightening supplemental material. You not only get two enlightening and honest commentaries with the cast and crew plus fly-on-the-wall footage of the production team premiering the film at Sundance.
Yet, more importantly, you get a video diary of director Chris Nash and his team’s first attempt at making In A Violent Nature. Shot as a video diary, this feature offers raw clips of the trials and tribulations of shooting in the wilderness. The footage showcases the hardships the cast and crew faced, leading to the production reassessing their approach and leading to scrapping most of the first block of shooting. And to add even more to this, RLJE includes scenes from this aborted attempt and offers the rare chance to see what In A Violent Nature might look like in an alternate timeline. This is sneakily one of the finest physical media releases of 2024.
8. Hey, Folks! It’s the Intermission Time Video Party! (AGFA):
2024 was the year that I decided not to renew my subscription with Vinegar Syndrome. While the idea of getting a stack of films of wildly varying quality was exciting, the overall ratio of films that I enjoyed was drastically outweighed by movies I’d never watch again. For the money and what I got in return, it did not make sense to re-up my subscription. Just because I decided to make such a financially sound move does not mean there weren’t orders I placed with Vinegar Syndrome. And Hey, Folks! It’s the Intermission Time Video Party was so good, that it found itself in the number eight position.
Cobbling together hours of theater and drive-in advertisements, Hey, Folks, released by AGFA through Vinegar Syndrome, is a two-disc, 12-hour-plus time machine for us cinephiles. Filled with commercials, jingles, and occasionally recognizable faces, Hey, Folks, hits you with a wave of cinematic nostalgia like freshly-popped popcorn at the multiplex.
7. Bruiser (Indicator):
I’ll be the first to admit that George A. Romero’s 2000 low-budget horror film Bruiser is far from my favorite of the director’s offerings. This is not a mark on the talents of Romero, but more on the film’s lack of budget. Romero films, while popular, have never been financial juggernauts at the box office. Never letting budgets get in the way of his ideas, Romero always gives 110%, even if the financiers don’t always feel the same way.
Bruiser follows Henry, an unhappy man in an unhappy marriage stuck in an unhappy life. One day, he wakes up to find a blank, featureless mask layered over his face. Unable to remove the unwanted facial addition, Henry uses this unidentifiable mask as a way to take revenge on those in his life.
In the physical media realm, Indicator has never made it to the forefront of boutique labels like Arrow Video and Scream Factory have, and it’s a shame. With Bruiser, Indicator ports over the past archival commentary with George A. Romero, plus adds a plethora of new, or new on disc, supplemental materials. There’s a 44-minute, previously-unheard interview with the director and interviews with the cast and production; including a conversation with Dr. Chud from the band Misfits. You also get additional interviews, demo recordings, and an 80-page book to cap things off. Like Indicator itself, the 4K UHD release of Bruiser seemed to fly under the radar while simultaneously giving us one of 2024’s most surprising releases.
6. After Dark: Neo-Noir Cinema Collection Three (Imprint):
I’ve reviewed many releases from Imprint Films, and they are one of my favorite physical media boutique labels. A couple of years ago, they launched a box set of neo-noir movies from the 1990s. A collection like this spoke to my cinematic sensibilities, and I couldn’t pre-order it fast enough. I dove into each film within the boxset and, while the movies varied in quality, the collection as a whole was a contender for release of the year. And with the identifier “Collection One,” I couldn’t wait for the second release. The following year, Collection Two hit the market and it was another terrific gathering of films.
New year, new release. 2024 brought us After Dark Collection Three and, as with the previous entries, the films varied in quality. While Collection One and Two had more peaks and valleys, Collection Three, for better or worse, had fewer misses but also didn’t soar as high as other films in the prior sets. While Collection Three finds itself at number six, it’s not a mark on Imprint, as they did a terrific job as always with compiling archival supplemental materials and offering up brand-new features. The movies themselves were a bit more ho-hum than years past, but that’s the beauty of a collection such as this; giving us a wide variety of cinematic choices, and doesn’t make me any less anxious for what the future may hold in store for the After Dark series.
5. The Game of Clones (Severin):
Earlier when discussing Ninja Terminator, I discussed my fondness for a good (bad) ninja movie. And while that release from Neon Eagle gave us one slice of chop-socky, Severin Films said, “Hold my nunchucks,” as they graced the physical media landscape with the first volume diving into the martial arts insanity that is “Bruceploitation.” Whereas Arrow Video took the physical media cake last year with Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest, Severin Films’ retort is almost as impressive.
Cobbling together some of the most well-known Bruce Lee ripoffs, Severin Films gives each film a loving and, if I’m being honest, more care than the filmmakers gave to their own movies. Featuring solid restorations, a bounty of supplemental materials, a 100-page-plus book, and one hell of a feature-length documentary, Severin Films went above and beyond for a subgenre that some might find distasteful. Chock full of marital arts craziness with a dash of poor taste, The Game of Clones, if you’re into “Bruceploitation,” which I am, is one of the best box sets of 2024.
4. Trick or Treat (Red Shirt Pictures):
When Trick or Treat was announced as getting a lavish special edition from Red Shirt Films, I initially wasn’t going to purchase it. I had never seen the film, and the price point was a bit rich for my taste. After the announcement, the idea of the film stuck in my mind, and I decided to do a bit of research into the movie to see if it was something worth taking a gamble on. And I’m happy to report, this was one of 2024’s biggest physical media surprises.
Getting into the nonsensical plot would be a waste of time and words, but, in a nutshell, after an ’80s rock musician dies, his biggest fan helps resurrect his spirit and ’80s horror hijinks ensue. Where the plot falters, the nostalgic ’80s charm won me over. Trick or Treat is cut from a different cloth that, unfortunately, no longer exists. It’s fun and energetic; no self-referential humor or a nihilistic viewpoint to be found, just pure ’80s entertainment.
And for such an underseen film, Red Shirt Pictures went all out with their 4K UHD release. Featuring an audio commentary, multiple interviews and retrospective pieces, posters, collectible cards, and a book filled with essays, the release is jam-packed. Not content with your typical bonus features, Red Shirt Pictures also threw in the film’s rockin’ soundtrack into a hard case with one of three different designs. In terms of film popularity measured against the quality of the release, Trick or Treat is the most pleasant surprise of 2024.
3. The Hitcher (Second Sight):
I’ve talked about how Second Sight is my current favorite boutique label. From this year’s Blair Witch Project to last year’s It Follows, and their previous releases of Dawn of the Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Drive, they have raised the physical media bar to astronomical heights. And when it was announced that The Hitcher would be getting the same type of limited edition release, I, like many others, couldn’t wait to get it in hand.
I’m sure you know the story of The Hitcher; a man picks up a hitchhiker who proceeds to make the man’s life a living hell. It’s a movie I’ve always wanted to love, and while I like it, I’ve never enjoyed it as much as I wanted to. The leaps in logic and sometimes questionable acting by C. Thomas Howell as the protagonist just keep me out of the range of loving The Hitcher. Balancing things out is the stellar performance of Rutger Hauer as the titular villain, lush cinematography by John Seale, and one of my favorite film scores courtesy of Mark Isham.
As expected, the 4K limited edition release from Second Sight is top-notch. You get new and archival commentaries and interviews with the cast and crew, a 200-page hardback book with essays, analysis, and production details, along with art cards and a softback book featuring the film’s original screenplay by writer Eric Red. All of this comes housed in a rigid slipcase with wonderful artwork designed by Adam Stothard. What a fantastic release!
2. The Conan Chronicles (Arrow Video):
There is nothing like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. 1982’s Conan the Barbarian is the film that put the Austrian Oak on the path to superstardom and, while not as beloved, 1984’s Conan the Destroyer allowed Schwarzenegger to lean into his more comedic side, while still flexing his enormous muscles. Both films speak to me as I watched them at a younger-than-I-should-have-been age. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an idol of mine and it’s a joy seeing the muscle-bound icon step forward into stardom with his first major film successes.
What would a best-of physical media article be without an entry from Arrow Video? While Second Sight takes the gold for me, Arrow Video does everything in their power to offer releases that rival any disc, or discs, in the boutique label market. And they kicked off 2024 in style with their release of The Conan Chronicles from last January.
Dropped with a variety of options: 4K or Blu-ray, individual films, or the movies in one box set; if you are a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan films, Arrow Films has a release that fits your preference. Both Barbarian and Destroyer got individual releases in limited edition boxes with books while The Conan Chronicles lumps both films and books into one larger package. When measuring the two individual boxes of the Conan films with The Conan Chronicles, you save a bit of space and a few dollars when purchasing the two-film collection versus each film individually. As someone with more discs than space, The Conan Chronicles was the edition that spoke to me.
And no matter which version(s) you go with, the Arrow Video Conan releases are the definitive home video editions. Both films each feature 60-page booklets of essays and film discussions while the on-disc supplemental material is too numerous to list. Arrow Video ports over most, if not all archival material, along with newly-recorded audio commentaries, interviews, featurettes, and three slightly different versions of Conan the Barbarian available via seamless branching. Arrow Video again shows why they are a force to be reckoned with in the physical media market.
1. Super Mario Bros. (Umbrella Entertainment):
It would figure that a critically derided film such as Super Mario Bros. gets the best physical media release of the year. This is not to say that Super Mario Bros. doesn’t deserve such a lavish release, but why can’t releases from mainstream companies provide the same love and care? That’s a discussion for another day. What should be discussed today is the mammoth release Umbrella Entertainment graced upon 1993’s Super Mario Bros.
Initially released in a limited, numbered edition, known as “Trust the Fungus,” featuring stickers and a film cell that sold extremely rapidly, the edition I’ll be discussing is the second limited version, dubbed: “1UP.”
When Umbrella first announced the “Trust the Fungus” edition, I was on the fence about purchasing it. Not only was the price a bit high for my wallet, and I’m not the biggest fan of Super Mario Bros. I’ve warmed up to it over the years, but the Blu-ray edition from Umbrella, which I previously-reviewed, and have in my collection was adequate. Once the “Trust the Fungus” edition sold out, I was content with not making the purchase, but at the same time, it was a sweet-looking set. Buyer’s remorse set in. Not FOMO, thankfully, but I wanted that set on my shelf. Before I even had a chance to consider eBay scalper prices, Umbrella swooped in with the “1UP” release.
Outside of being a numbered set with the film cell, and sticker set omitted, the “1UP” is identical in features to “Trust the Fungus.” Most of what was on the Blu-ray gets ported over, but you get four, yes, four, newly-recorded audio commentaries and a handful of new features. But what makes this set so special is the inclusion of not only a book featuring two different versions of the script, but an almost 500-page book that features interviews, pictures, art designs, and tons of production details. “1UP” is a treasure trove for, not only admirers of 1993’s Super Mario Bros., but those who appreciate film and the importance of physical media.
And those are my favorite physical media releases of 2024. Even as physical media continues turning into more of a niche hobby each year, 2024 proved that there’s still plenty for us cinephiles to be excited about for 2025!