Melonie Diaz

CHICAGO – As someone who has often gone home with a straight-to-DVD action movie that I hadn’t heard of before entering the video store, I know how easy it is to get drawn into something that looks a little bit left-of-center. “Operation: Endgame” is undeniably unusual but that doesn’t mean it’s any good.

CHICAGO – When did all slasher pics from the early ’80s become “cult classics”? You will find very few people as well-versed in the sub-genre as this writer who will gladly contrast and compare “Friday the 13th” sequels or discuss the merits of “April Fool’s Day,” “Basket Case,” and “My Bloody Valentine.” And yet not every film from the era deserves a cult following merely because it has grisly deaths, some T&A, and a twist ending. For example, take “The Prowler,” now out on Blu-ray from the great Blue Underground.