April 13, 2004:

HORROR

Ginger Snaps 2 - Unleashed (2004). "Picks up where its predecessor left its stain," quips the Toronto Star, noting that this sequel to one of GCers' favorites is "more of chase movie than a stalker, but the point is still the same: Persecution always dogs those most prone to stray outside the pack." [Rent]

Nightmares Come at Night (1970). A very rare cocktail of sex and gore from Jess Franco. [Rent]

The Tenement (2003). A variation on the haunted house genre, that is, instead of an inherently evil house, we've got a tenement - which allows four short stories rather than one long one to be told. And they're "good stories with intelligent twists," according to Pulpmovies.com. [Rent]

Alien Factor 2: The Alien Rampage (2001). "Don Dohler's low-budget sci-fi drive-in classic that exercises so much creativity and cool monsters, that the bad acting and silly dialogue make it all the more endearing," writes Brujaria of the 1978 original. It took Dohler a while, but here's your sequel. [Rent]

Curse of the Komodo (2003). Not a classic, that much is assured. Goofy fun? You decide. [Rent]

Scream Queen Hot Tub Party / One Million Heels BC (1991 / 1993). The titles kind of say it all, don't they? [Rent]

ACTION and ADVENTURE

Swordsmen in Double Flag Town (1991). One IMDb user sums it up this way: "This has a similar look and feel as Tsui Hark's Blade, but the story is more similar to a mix of Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Seven Samurai, with a dash of Mel Gibson's Road Warrior to balance the stew... Awesome cinematography." [Rent]

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972). Women in prison, Japanese style. Shunya Ito's cult favorite stars Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood). [Rent]

CULT

Is There Sex After Death? (1970). What's Buck Henry doing in this? Having a lot of fun, evidently. Stringing together sketches spoofing the Sexual Revolution in its immediate wake in the 70s. [Rent]

Bowanga Bowanga / Wild Women Of Wongo / Virgin Sacrifice (1951 / 1957). A savage triple feature from Something Weird. [Rent]

RACY and EROTIC

Fast Lane to Malibu (2000) [Rent] and Fast Lane to Vegas (2000) [Rent]. Soft-core fluff, but going by IMDb user comments, both seem to be good soft-core fluff as far as soft-core fluff goes.

TV

Babylon 5. The Complete Fifth Season (1997). This was it, the final season. Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent], 4 [Rent], 5 [Rent] and 6 [Rent].

Highlander. Season Four (1993). [Rent]

ANIME

The World of Narue. Collection. She's an alien with superpowers in a short skirt. "But the series is far from all funny gags and tantalizing fan service," Destroy All Monsters is quick to point out: "The romantic aspects are tender and sincere. The budding romance between Kazuto and Narue seems based on the refreshing discovery that they each accept the other as they are.... [The series] succeeds because it presents familiar story elements cleverly and affectionately. It combines clever writing, pleasing animation and first-rate voice work in an outstanding representation of its genre." Discs 1 [Rent], 2 [Rent], 3 [Rent] and 4 [Rent].

Lupin the 3rd. Vol. 6: Lupin the Target (2002). IronS calls the series "Silly and slapsticky," which is certainly part of its enduring appeal. [Rent]

Master Keaton. Vol. 6: Fakers & Fiends (2003). "Everyone should give this series a try," says midnightjack. [Rent]

Orphen II: Revenge. Vol. 4: Requiescence Before the Storm. GCers have given this series pretty darn respectable ratings. [Rent]

Final Fantasy Unlimited. Phase 5 (2001). The quest proceeds apace. [Rent]

Brain Powered Collection (1999). So-so reviews, both here at GC and elsewhere. "If you are an Eva or Gundam fan, it may hold some interest for you," notes AviusViator. Volume 1: Discs 1 [Rent] and 2 [Rent]; Volume 2: Discs 1 [Rent] and 2 [Rent]; Volume 3: Discs 1 [Rent] and 2 [Rent].

Super Gals. Vol. 6: A GAL's Heart Never Stops!. "At it's best, this is really funny and an interesting take on imaginary high school life, but at it's worse, it is just a bad influence," says ivygirl2. Hmmm... [Rent]

All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku TV. Vol. 2: Love Attack!. "I love shows with android babes and cat girls," says JLind. [Rent]

Madonna (2001). High school comedy. [Rent]

Beyblade. Vol. 8: Majestic Match (2002). [Rent]

Mouse: Vol. 1 - Stealing Temptation (2004). A brand spanking new series. [Rent]

ANIME RE-ISSUES

Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran. Re-issue: Vol. 1 - A Tale of Two Travelers. "Think of this as Xena Warrior Princess meets Yojimbo, so that instead of Xena and Gabrielle wandering the Greek countryside, it's the masterless woman samurai Tsukikage Ran and the martial artist girl Myao wandering through Edo period Japan," writes hneline1. "This is a parody of the popular jidaigeki TV genre in Japan, which often showcases a lone wandering samurai with his faithful comic sidekick in some variation or other." Adds jross3: "Not liking this show would be utterly inexcusable." [Rent]

The Special Duty Combat Shinesman (1996). Peter Kenzaburo Cahill, writing in EX: "The beauty of tongue-in-cheek anime is that just when you think a genre has gotten as silly as it can get, along comes a parody that shows you precisely how far it can go. This show should appeal to most of us - anyone who's seen any Power Rangers, Kamen (Masked) Rider, or Gatchaman (G-Force) episodes will laugh in much the same way we laugh at pictures of our old hairstyles. (For those of you still in high schoolÑtrust me, you'll laugh later...)..." [Rent]

Melty Lancer. Vol. 1: Alpha [Rent] and Vol. 2: Omega (2002) [Rent]. Says hamano: "Awkwardly named series about 6 special girls who team up under the Galaxy Police to fight invaders. Burn UP meets Bubblgum Crisis?"

Ronin Warriors. OVA Vol. 2: Message (2003). Saving the planet, one volume at a time. [Rent]

Space Travelers (2000). [Rent]

Tenamonya Voyagers (2000). "'Rollicking sci-fi' is a good description of this 4-episode series," says hneline1. "It's too bad that the series is so short." [Rent]

FOR THE KIDS

Paul McCartney - The Music and Animation Collection (2004). Three classic children's tales, animated and set to Sir Paul's music: "Tropical Island Hum," "Tuesday" and "Rupert and the Frog Song," which Sisyphus calls "wonderful for kids and adults alike." [Rent]

Click back to see more titles arriving on April 13: Drama, comedy, foreign flicks and more....

Also:

• Check out the titles arriving on April 20.
• Take a peek at the highlights for April 27 and beyond.

And don't forget to check out the New Releases that're already here.