AN ‘ENDLESS’ EXPERIENCE THAT’S WELL WORTH ITS TIME
New on Blu-ray The Endless Well Go USA DVD, $24.98; Blu-ray, $29.98; also available on VOD
In what’s already been a great year for arty horror films, one of the best has been mostly overlooked. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead wrote and directed plus star as brothers who receive a strange message that compels them to return to the apocalyptic cult they escaped from as kids. Initially, they enjoy their trip back so much that they wonder whether they misremembered what happened to them out in the woods when they were younger. Then they start encountering strangers stuck in maddening time-loops and wonder whether they’re caught in a trap. Benson and Moorhead’s confident direction and disturbing imagery transform the allure of nostalgia into a unique kind of monster. Special features: A commentary track, deleted scenes and featurettes
VOD Ideal Home Available Friday
together on a popular cable food show. When Erasmus’ 10-year-old grandson Bill shows up needing a place to stay, the bickering lovers adjust their home and work dynamics, learning to think less about their immediate needs and to consider the bigger picture. “Ideal Home” is slight, without much in the way of plot or surprising revelations. But it’s deeply felt and deftly played by the leads, who — as always — are a pleasure to spend time with.
TV set of the week Black Lightning: The Complete First Season Warner Bros. DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
Who would’ve guessed that one of the best superhero TV shows right now (in an era where’s a lot to choose from) would feature one of DC Comics’ lesser-known characters? Introduced in the late ’70s in a somewhat clumsy attempt at social relevance, the electrified Jefferson “Black Lightning” Pierce is a conscientious high school principal who in his costumed alter-ego adopts a streetwise toughguy persona, giving him more gravitas as he tackles the inner-city gang lords and drug dealers other heroes ignore. The TV show’s head writer-producer, Salim Akil, retains the comics’ basic concept but ages Pierce, making him a controversial retired vigilante with two teenage daughters (also with powers), called back into action when old nemeses return. From its lively R&B soundtrack to its knowing nods to old blaxploitation films, the series feels much fresher than expected. Special features: Deleted scenes and featurettes
From the archives Female Trouble Criterion DVD, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.95
The film was never as infamous as “Pink Flamingos” or as profitable as “Hairspray,” but in the decades since John Waters’ corrosive 1974 social satire played the underground cinema circuit, it’s become increasingly regarded as the purest distillation of the trash auteur’s aesthetic. Divine stars as Dawn Davenport, a Baltimore juvenile delinquent who becomes a pregnant teenage dropout, then a street hustler, then a celebrity criminal. Waters gives the movie the colorful f loridity of a ’50s Hollywood melodrama and the strident directness of a sex-ed film. It’s fast-paced, funny and unapologetically vulgar, with a point to make about how sometimes the most terrible people can be the most entertaining.
Special features: A commentary track, deleted scenes and extensive interviews