What's New in Home Video & Pop Culture - October 14th, 2025 - Mission Impossible, Rocky Horror, Eyes Without a Face, Music, & More!

By Mike Spring

on October 14, 2025

What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – October 14th, 2025

While a lot of times October can mean nothing but horror movie releases from the studios, this week delivers a nice mix of titles, with something from multiple genres. We even have some new music releases out this week, too, which are pretty rocking. Read on for the full breakdown!

In This Week’s Column:

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)
Eyes Without a Face (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
Daiei Gothic Vol 2: Japanese Ghost Stories (Blu-ray)
When Fall is Coming (Blu-ray)
Screamityville (Blu-ray)
Public Enemy: Black Sky Over The Projects – Apartment 2025 (CD)
The Rubinoos: Live at Rockpalast 1978 (CD + DVD)

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)

Official Synopsis:

All missions have led to this… Experience the epic, action-packed culmination of the ground-breaking Mission: Impossible franchise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Hailed as “the biggest and wildest Mission yet” (Erik Davis, Fandango) and “an unforgettable, stunning blockbuster” (Jonathan Sim, ComingSoon.net), Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning “goes bigger and harder than ever before” (Jeff Conway, Forbes). “Tom Cruise has outdone himself” (Mark S. Allen, ABC-TV) with “jaw-dropping action sequences” (Kristy Puchko, Mashable) in a “brilliant” (Ross Bonaime, Collider) thrill ride that fully accomplishes its mission.

The Movie:

The Mission: Impossible films have been one of my favorite franchises of the last thirty years. The first three movies are all great individual adventures, then the series hit its peak with parts 4, 5, and 6. The two-part finale (entries 7 and 8, effectively) have gone for bigger and better stunts and adventures, but I don’t know that the story has matched the efforts of the more breathtaking stuff.

With M:I – The Final Reckoning, there’s a lot to like. Not just the action sequences, which are suitably impressive, but also some character moments, such as the return of a forgotten character that turns into one of the highlights of the movie. The problem is that the plots have gotten more and more convoluted, and both The Final Reckoning and Dead Reckoning before it form two halves of a movie that are at times, frankly, a little hard to follow. Like, I get it, they’re after an AI program that has the power to destroy the world as we know it. But the events that get us from point A to point Z are sometimes a little murky.

That said, I know people aren’t necessarily coming to a Mission: Impossible film for a great plot, and some of the stunt work and action scenes are pretty amazing. Tom Cruise hanging onto a biplane for.dear life while fighting a bad guy for an extended period of time is pretty intense, and there’s an underwater sequence that is quite memorable. At the same time, they also feel a bit like the filmmakers just felt like they had to keep topping previous stunts and then shoehorning a plot around those, rather than serving the story first.

Overall, though, it’s a fitting finale for the series and is well worth adding to your collection to complete the set. It’s a fantastic franchise on the whole, even if realistically not all entries can be the best.

The 4K Video/Audio:

Not surprisingly, the 4K Ultra HD transfer of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning looks very impressive. Color saturation is top-notch, while image clarity is razor sharp. The whole image has a sheen to it that gives the film a glossy look, but in a way that reflects the filmmaker’s vision. The Dolby Atmos surround soundtrack has a lot to work with and it makes the most of it, using the surround channels to fill in your living room with gunfights, punches, explosions, car chases, and the like. It’s constantly active, but the dialogue never gets lost in the mix, all while retaining a pounding low-end bass channel. All in all, it’s a terrific A/V presentation of a fun movie.

The Bonus Features:

Taking Flight
To The Depth
To The North
Through the Mine
The Score
Deleted Footage Montage with Optional Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie
Olifants River Canyon with Optional Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie
Biplane Transfer with Optional Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise
Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise Commentary by Director Christopher McQuarrie, Editor Eddie Hamilton, and First Assistant Director Mary Boulding
Commentary by Composers Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey, and Score Producer Cécile Tournesac
Isolated Score Track
Promo Spots
Stills Galleries

Digital Copy Included: Yes

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)

Official Synopsis:

Fasten your garter belt and relive the time-warping, gender-bending cult classic! When a newly engaged couple?s (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) car breaks down on a rainy night, they wind up in the creepy castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry). There, they have an adventure that will thrill you, chill you and fulfill you like never before!

The Movie:

It’s the 50th Anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show this year, and in addition to the incredible Mick Rock hardcover behind-the-scenes book that I reviewed a few weeks ago, Sony is also celebrating the anniversary with a new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release that is sure to have fans doing the Time Warp Dance.

Now, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a bona fide cult classic, and fans are extremely protective of those. For me personally, I don’t really love the original film that much; I’ve seen it in a theater with a crowd of people doing the dress-up and sing-along thing, and I think that’s a lot of fun. But on the merits of being its own movie, it’s a bit of a weird little oddity, and it’s never been the kind of thing I’ve felt the need to pop in on a Friday night with the wife and kids.

So obviously I’m not the target audience here, but that doesn’t really matter. Rocky Horror has a legion of fans the world over, and I would be hard pressed to think there are any of them who wouldn’t be excited by this release. First of all, it comes in an absolutely gorgeous Steelbook case, and those have become hugely popular. Second, it comes loaded with bonus features; even though there aren’t any new ones created for this release, it’s still a comprehensive collection of extras. Third, it includes a digital copy, so you can add the movie to your digital library as well. That all adds up to a terrific release.

The 4K Video/Audio:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is obviously 50 years old, but on 4K ultra HD it looks and sounds very good for the most part. The color saturation more vibrant than I’ve seen it before, even if it doesn’t quite reach the level of “popping off the screen.” Image clarity is extremely impressive, however, and there are some really nice fine details that allow you to see everything much clearer than ever before. The surround soundtrack isn’t the most immersive ever, but it does a great job of bringing the music and dialogue into your living room. Obviously, the music drive the proceedings here, and it sounds bright and clear and full as you would want. Meanwhile, the strong bass channel ensure there’s an occasional rumble through your bones. All in all, this is a very impressive A/V presentation for a film of this age.

The Bonus Features:

Rocky-oke: Sing It! (With and Without Vocals)
The Midnight Experience with the 35th Anniversary Shadowcast
Vintage Callback Track (Unrated)
Trivia Track: 50 Years and Still Kicking! (Audio Commentary by Richard O’Brien and Patricia Quinn)
Deleted Song: “Once in A While”
Deleted & Alternate Scenes
Alternate Credit Ending and Misprint Ending
The Search for the 35th Anniversary Shadow Cast
Rocky Horror Double Feature Video Show (1995)
Beacon Theater, New York City (10th Anniversary)
Time Warp Music Video (15th Anniversary VHS Release)
Marketing Materials, Poster Gallery, and Trailers

Digital Copy Included: Yes

Eyes Without a Face (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

At his secluded château in the French countryside, a brilliant, obsessive doctor (Pierre Brasseur) attempts a radical plastic surgery to restore the beauty of his daughter’s disfigured countenance—at a horrifying price. Eyes Without a Face, directed by the supremely talented Georges Franju, is rare in horror cinema for its odd mixture of the ghastly and the lyrical, and it has been a major influence on the genre in the decades since its release. There are images here—of terror, of gore, of inexplicable beauty—that once seen are never forgotten.

The Movie:

The Criterion Collection has been re-releasing some of its most seminal titles on 4K Ultra HD over the last couple of years, and this week they give the upgrade treatment to 1960’s classic French film Eyes Without a Face.

The story of a driven surgeon who’s obsessed with fixing his daughter’s disfigured face — caused by an accident he was responsible for — is a haunting and evocative film. It’s one of those movies that actually benefits from being filmed in black-and-white as it adds to the moodiness. Eyes Without a Face also doesn’t benefit from any big-name actors, but it’s definitily an extremely influential movie. I’m always surprised at how often I hear this movie’s title come up in film opinion conversations or essays, even though I personally had never heard of it before the first Criterion release. Once I saw it (and have now revisited it on 4K) it’s not hard to see how the story, the subject matter, the performances and the cinematography combine to make such a memorable film.

As this is a Criterion release, the film has been remastered and restored, and it includes both a 4K disc and a Blu-ray Disc, as well as some great extra features and the usual high-quality Criterion booklet. .

The 4K Video/Audio:

Criterion releases are always given the utmost care in terms of their audiovisual presentation, and Eyes Without a Face is no different. The film looks and sounds the best I’ve ever seen it. Of course, the movie is black and white so you don’t get the extra pop of colors that 4K usually brings. However, the grey tones are more subtle, the blacks are deeper, the shadow delineation is much stronger, and the overall image clarity is sharper than previous home video editions. The soundtrack options are working with limited fidelity due to the age of the film, but I certainly don’t hear anything to complain about. There’s the original monaural soundtrack included, which does a fine job of making sure music and dialogue remain clear and present at all times. As always, a top-notch effort from Criterion.

The Bonus Features:

Blood of the Beasts, Georges Franju’s 1949 documentary about the slaughterhouses of Paris
Archival interviews with Franju on the horror genre, cinema, and the making of Blood of the Beasts
Interview with actor Edith Scob
Excerpts from Les grand-pères du crime, a 1985 documentary about screenwriters Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac
Trailers
Booklet with essays by novelist Patrick McGrath and film historian David Kalat

Digital Copy Included: No

Daiei Gothic Vol 2: Japanese Ghost Stories (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Japan’s classic ghost stories are brought to the screen by masters of the genre, Tokuzo Tanaka (The Snow Woman) and Kimiyoshi Yasuda (Yokai Monsters)

In The Demon of Mount Oe, a group of mighty warriors is sent to eliminate a demon who steals women from the imperial capital of Kyoto. On the way, they face a satanic bull, a giant spider and a diabolical witch, but the closer they come to their goal, the more they realize that the demon they’ve been ordered to kill is far more human than they were led to believe.

In The Haunted Castle, a blind monk is killed in a cowardly manner by a samurai lord. When the monk’s sister is ordered to become the lord’s concubine, she commits suicide and transfers her grudge to their black cat, who assumes the human form of one of the lord’s ladies-in-waiting and begins to wreak havoc around the castle court. The lord’s Machiavellian right-hand man (Rokko Toura, Kuroneko) and a young swordsman (Kojiro Hongo, The Bride from Hades) combine forces to solve the mystery and stop the supernatural menace.

In The Ghost of Kasane Swamp a samurai’s wife tries to repay her husband’s debt with her body but is caught in bed with the money lender and they are both murdered by her husband who dumps their bodies in a nearby swamp. Shingoro and Oshiga, the money lender and samurai’s children, find a curse has been passed to them as they each try to recover the money.

Newly restored in 4K, three more stories from the Daiei studio represent the Japanese ghost film at its most lavish and chilling.

The Movies:

Radiance Films continues to impress with their foreign film releases, bringing us a perfect collection fort the Halloween season. Daiei Gothic Vol 2: Japanese Ghost Stories is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a collection of three Japanese ghost story films from the 1960s. These movies probably aren’t household names outside of Japan, but this themed collection does a great job of presenting each film alongside some new extra features to give you the context and history around act one of them.

1960’s The Demon of Mount Oe might be my favorite of the bunch. Even though it’s 65 years old, it has some really impressive creature special effects and a lot of great fantasy and magic. I found it quite enjoyable. This one is more of a supernatural action thriller than a horror movie or ghost tale, and I liked that about it. The Haunted Castle (1969) is a supernatural revenge tale, and it’s a little more moody and atmospheric. It’s also a touch on the slow side from time to time, but overall it’s a solid film. Finally, The Ghost of Kasane Swamp (1970) is the final movie made by the Daiei Film Studio, but it’s a juicy one. It’s got betrayal, misunderstanding, vengeance, spirits, love, and fear all wrapped up in it, and it’s pretty cool.

All three films are a great watch if you’re into Japanese cinema or the B-movie genre of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and the box set as a whole is beautifully packaged and features some nice extras.

The Bonus Features:

Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing by Amber T, Jasper Sharp, and Tom Mes, plus archival writing by Daniel O’Neill and original ghost stories The Goblin of Oeyama and The Vampire Cat

The Demon of Mount Oe –

New interview with period film historian Taichi Kasuga (2025)
Blade of the Demon Slayer: a visual essay by Tom Mes (2025)
Trailer

The Haunted Castle –

New interview with J-horror filmmaker Mari Asato (2025)
A visual essay by ghost story scholar Zack Davisson (2025)
Trailer

The Ghosts of Kasane Swamp –

New interview with J-horror filmmaker Norio Tsuruta (2025)
Select-scene audio commentary by horror film scholar Lindsay Nelson (2025)
Trailer

Digital Copy Included: No

When Fall is Coming (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Loving grandmother Michelle is enjoying a peaceful retirement in Burgundy. When her antagonistic daughter and young grandson come to visit, family ties are tested as Michelle plots a path towards restoring the family life so long denied her. Beneath a deceptively placid surface, master stylist François Ozon cooks up a twisty and destabilizing thriller.

The Movie:

French writer-director Francois Ozon is not someone whose work I’m well acquainted with, but he is quite critically acclaimed and is about as successful as a filmmaker can be in his native country. He definitely has his fans all over the world. The auteur’s latest film, When Fall is Coming, is a bit of a drama and a bit of a thriller, all of which comes with family at the heart of things.

It’s also surprisingly twisty; it’s hard to talk about the events of the film without giving things away. Suffice it to say that what starts out as a seemingly innocent treatise on friendship and familial bonds goes to some unexpected places. I will say, however, that the cast is uniformly terrific. Ludivine Sanier is probably the best known to American audiences thanks to her roles in projects like Lupin and Swimming Pool, but Helene Vincent carries the film as its central character. This isn’t a fast-paced thriller, it’s a bit of a slow burn, but for those times when you want something a bit off the beaten path, When Fall is Coming will fit the bill.

The Bonus Features:

Cast and Director Interviews (François Ozon, Ludivine Sagnier, Helene Vincent and Josiane Bolasko)
Deleted Scenes
Bloopers
Costumes and Lighting Tests
Poster Featurette
Teaser
Theatrical Trailer

Digital Copy Included: No

Screamityville (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Screamityville is an 84 minute tour of some of the creepiest and most creative halloween themed houses. It recreates the experience of driving around on a late October evening in search of your favorite decorated homes in your neighborhood. However, in Screamityville… they could be your favorite, or your worst nightmare. The program is set to a soundtrack of eerie ambiance and spooky sound effects.

The Movie:

While the cover art of Screamityville makes you think it’s just another low-budget horror movie, it’s actually nothing of the sort. This is a pretty cool release that is less of a viewing experience and more of a utility experience. Screamityville is not a narrative film, it’s basically about 90 minutes of filming of Halloween displays in people’s yards and in neighborhoods. You know that house in your neighborhood that always goes way overboard with their Halloween decorations? Well, this is your chance to look at every nook and cranny of that display. We see an overview of each house but then the camera zooms in and gets all of the fun details that you might not catch from farther away,

The houses are widely varied, so you see Halloween lights, elaborate dioramas, pop culture references and licensed properties, and more. There is no narration or interviews or anything like that, it’s just a tour of one house after another, accompanied by spooky music and sound effects. Frankly, it’s the perfect thing too put on in the background at your Halloween party!

The Bonus Features:

There are no bonus features, but I wouldn’t say they’re need, either.

Digital Copy Included: No

Public Enemy: Black Sky Over The Projects – Apartment 2025 (CD)

Official Synopsis:

After a five year hiatus, Chuck D & Flavor Flav return to the scene with a new Public Enemy album, bringing their always insightful commentary over rugged and shapeshifting beats. From the opening diagnosis of “Siick” all the way to the insanity of school shootings during “March Madness”, the red, Black, and green machine is back to clean up the scene.

The Album:

Public Enemy are one of the original rap superstars, gaining notoriety in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s with hits like F*** The Police and Fight the Power. Now, some 35 years after they broke big — and after a five-year break — they’re back with a brand new album with the unwieldy title of Black Sky Over The Projects – Apartment 2025. Available on CD (which I received for review) or vinyl, the album features a dozen new tracks that feature that classic Public Enemy sound.

Chuck D does the heavy lifting with Flavor Flav ably backing him up. The first track, Siick, didn’t do too much for me, but it goes right into Confusion (Here Come the Drums) which is a high-energy banger. Other standout tracks include The Hits Just Keep On Comin (one of my favorite tracks on the album), March Madness, and the humorously titled and very catchy Sexagenarian Vape. Chuck D still knows how to rock a mic, and the production value on the album is tight, with slick beats and samples. I’m a casual Public Enemy fan more than a die-hard aficionado, but I enjoyed this album and I think you will too if you’re a fan.

The Tracklist:

Siick
Confusion (Here Come The Drums)
What Eye Said
C’mon Get Down
Evil Way
Sexegenarian Vape
Messy Hens
Fools Fool Fools
Public Enemy Comin Throoooo
Ageism
…The Hits Just Keep On Comin…
March Madness

The Rubinoos: Live at Rockpalast 1978 (CD + DVD)

Official Synopsis:

Alongside Greg Kihn, the Tyla Gang, Earth Quake, and Jonathan Richman, the Rubinoos were among the musical figureheads of the successful US label Beserkley Records (1973-1986) from Berkeley, California. The label was founded by former A&M Records in-house producer Matthews King Kaufmann “to have fun and produce some great records.” From 1975 onwards, the label’s bands conquered the charts worldwide with their US power pop rock and received plenty of airplay – as did “I Think We’re Alone Now” (1976) by The Rubinoos.

However, the band had already made their debut in 1975 on the album “Beserkley Chartbusters, Volume 1”. The title of this LP was purely a marketing gimmick. It was the first LP on the Beserkley label and consisted of songs that hadn’t even come close to the charts – some were even recorded especially for this LP – and served “only” to make the label known to the media. When The Rubinoos appeared in front of the Rockpalast cameras at the Audimax in Hamburg on February 14, 1978, the four likeable musicians (Jon Rubin, Tommy Dunbar, Royse Ader, and Donn Spindt) were already the darlings of the American rock press.

Forty-seven years later, singer and guitarist Jon Rubin takes stock: “This insight into the band’s beginnings under extreme circumstances captures the spirit and silliness that have defined us from the beginning and continue to define us today.”

The Album:

If I was playing Trivial Pursuit and you asked me what The Rubinoos’ one big hit was, I wouldn’t not have gotten the answer right. At least, that is, before I received a copy of the excellent new CD/DVD combo release The Rubinoos: Live at Rockpalast 1978 from indie label Made in Germany Music. It turns out they recorded the original version of I Think We’re Alone Now, which was a big hit on its own and was then re-popularized by Tiffany in the 1980s.

This live album captures an energetic set by The Rubinoos at the iconic German venue The Rockpalast, and for a recording that’s almost 50 years old, it sounds great. First off, the music is terrific. Of course, they play their hit, but they also deliver on 14 other tracks that are fun, bouncy, and high energy, including a spot-on cover of Please Please Me. That track is a fitting tribute since the venue is in Hamburg, and anyone who knows their Beatles history knows how important Hamburg was to the development of the group. The Rubinoos use a lot of falsettos and upbeat humor to keep their songs light and catchy, while also featuring a heavy 1950s pop, rock, and doo-wop influence. This recording includes all of their stage banter and the crowd cheering, while making sure the music stays front and center at all times.

The included DVD provides a video of the entire concert so you can listen to it or watch it, and that makes this release an amazing value. Definitely check it out!

The Tracklist: