Steppenwolf (2024) 06/03/25

We’re glad we were steered toward this violent 2024 film from Kazakhstan, as it’s not one we would have chosen for ourselves. Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s dystopian bloodbath is a reality check on ‘Mad Max’ glamour: not a post-apocalyptic fantasy, just a reflection of the world beyond our national newsfeed. A traumatized woman wants to retrieve a kidnapped son in the midst of appallingly merciless street fighting; an involuntary police torturer goes freelance to help her. Yerzhanov makes up his own rules in this suspenseful, very stylish tension piece … the killing quotient is so high, it’s a marvel either of survives more than a few minutes. The disc has good extras plus an entire second Adilkhan Yerzhanov feature, Goliath. On Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
06/03/25