Sunday, December 27, 2020

MCBASTARD'S FAVORITES OF 2020 - NEW RELEASES, REISSUES, AND TV/STREAMING SERIES!


All in all I thought 2020 was a pretty cruddy year what with the death of my father, being let go from my job, and then there's this plague that is still upon us. As I type this up I am awaiting the result from my nose-swab test (fun!) and my wife is  confirmed positive already, so that all blows, but as far as home video releases of genre films it was one of the best in recent memory! We had a ton of great stuff both new and old to choose from from a variety of labels, including stalwarts like Mondo Macabro, Blue Underground, Severin Films, Synapse Films, as well a few handsome debut releases from newcomers Imprint Films and  Cauldron Films. Let me tell you that I have never watched so much TV  like I have in 2020, and a lot of what we got was was top-notch stuff thanks in large part to the various streaming platforms like Hulu, Amazon, Shudder, Netflix and many others, genre storytelling is living large in series for in 2020! 

Keep in mind this list is not a true "best of", that is such a relative term, but this is more accurately a list of what I enjoyed the most this past year. It is also not a complete or comprehensive list my any means, there's were a lot of desirable releases I could not afford - Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection I am looking at you! -  my eyes are much bigger than my wallet, and to be honest my wallet was stretched rather thin after early on the year I had the aforementioned career change that also dropped my pay grade a few notches. Money, however, is not everything, and despite making fewer bucks I am infinitely happier right now with the new job that allows me to have weekends and holidays off, and no more working evenings, all of which allows me to spend a lot more time with my family... in addition to giving me more time to watch movies and TV,  'natch.  

Please do note that these lists are in no particular order, these are just lists of what I loved this year, all of which I recommend whole heartedly. I have always been a bit inconsistent with doing a top ten or top twenty, and 2020 is no different. This year I watched a lot more movies because I was "working" from home for a large part of it, so I went with a top thirty for new movies and home video releases, though I kept my best of TV/streaming down to a lean twenty. 

I hope you all had a great year in 2020 and that it was filled with plenty of movies and TV shows that you loved, but more than that I hope you had a healthy year, that your loved ones are doing well, that you're well situated living situation and are getting by the best you can, and are happy.

MCBASTARD'S FAVORITE NEW FILMS OF 2020

2. THE HUNT
3. V.F.W.
4. FREAKY
5. THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW
6. SHE DIES TOMORROW
7. VAMPIRES VS THE BRONX
8. LOVE AND MONSTERS
9. THE CURSE OF AUDREY EARNSHAW
10. SPONTANEOUS
11. ANYTHING FOR JACKSON
12. HOST 
13. SPUTNIK
14. RELIC
15. HUNTER HUNTER 
16. GRETEL & HANSEL
17. SWALLOW 
18. COLOR OUT OF SPACE 
19. THE DEEPER YOU DIG 
20. THE WRETCHED
21. UNDERWATER
22. AFTER MIDNIGHT
23. BLISS
24. WE SUMMON THE DARKNESS
25. THE INVISIBLE MAN
26. SEA FEVER 
28. GET DUKED! 
27. SHE NEVER DIED 
28. BECOMING
29. HOSTS
30. BLOOD QAUNTUM

MCBASTARD'S FAVORITE RE-RELEASES/REISSUES ON HOME VIDEO OF 2020

1. ZOMBIE (1979) 3-Disc Limited Edition 4K UHD (Blue 
2. I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE (1958) Blu-ray (Imprint Films) 
3. THE BEAST AND THE MAGIC SWORD (1983) Blu-ray (Severin Films) 
4. FRIDAY THE 13TH COLLECTION (Deluxe Edition) (Scream Factory) 
5. HOT DOG... THE MOVIE (1984) Unrated Producer's Cut Blu-ray (Synapse Films) 
6. WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) Blu-ray (Imprint Films) 
7. TEX AVERY SCREWBALL CLASICS VOL. 1  (1943-1951) (Warner Archive) 
8. THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961) Collector's Edition Blu-ray (Scream Factory) 
9. APRIL FOOL'S DAY (1986) Collector's Edition Blu-ray (Scream Factory)  
10. THE NEW KIDS (1985) Blu-ray (101 Films) 
11. MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981) Collector's Edition Blu-ray (Scream Factory) 
12. DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) Limited Edition 4K UHD (Second Sight Films) 
13. DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971) 3-Disc Limited Edition (Blue Underground) 
14. GEMINI (1999) Blu-ray (Mondo Macabro) 
15. THE COMPLETE LENZI/BAKER GIALLO COLLECTION (1969-1972) Blu-ray (Severin Films) 
16. LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (1971) 
Collector's Edition (Scream Factory)  
17. SPLIT SECOND (1992) Blu-ray (MVD Rewind Collection) 
18. THE BLACK CAT (1989) Blu-ray (Severin Films) 
18. FADE TO BLACK (1980) Blu-ray (Vinegar Syndrome) 
20. THE BEASTMASTER (1982) Limited Edition 4K UHD  (Vinegar Syndrome) 
21. SILENT RUNNING (1972) Blu-ray (Arrow Video) 
22. DEATH LAID AN EGG (1968) Special Edition Blu-ray (Cult Epics) 
23. UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION VOL. 6 (1952-1961) (Scream Factory) 
24. HE CAME FROM THE SWAMP: THE WILLIAM GREFE COLLECTION Blu-ray (Arrow Video) 
25. BLOOD & FLESH THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON (2019) Blu-ray (Severin Films) 
26. CRUEL JAWS (1995) Blu-ray (Severin Films) 
27. THE UNTOLD STORY (1993) Blu-ray (Unearthed Films) 
28. AMERICAN RICKSHAW (1989) Blu-ray (Cauldron Films)
29. GHOST STORY - THE COMPLETE SERIES (1972-1973) (Via Vision Entertainment) 
30. TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE (1990) Collector's Edition Blu-ray (Scream Factory) 


FAVORITE TV/STREAMING SERIES OF 2020
1. THE OUTSIDER (HBO)
2. RAISED BY WOLVES (HBOMAX)
3. THE BOYS (Amazon) 
4. TALES  THE LOOP (Amazon)
5. TRUTH SEEKERS  (Amazon)
6. CREEPSHOW (Shudder)
7. THE MANDALORIAN (Disney+)
8. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (FX) 
9. WESTWORLD (HBO)
10. DEVS (FX/Hulu) 
11. FARGO (FX) 
12. STAR TREK: PICARD (CBS All Access) 
13. STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (CBS All Access) 
14. TWILIGHT ZONE (CBS All Access) 
15. HIGH FIDELITY (Hulu) 
16. THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR (Netflix) 
17, STARGIRL  (CW) 
18. LOVECRAFT COUNTRY (HBO)
19. THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY (Netflix) 
20. CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)