Out on DVD: Vampires, devils and film-fest faves

The week's most-hyped DVD would have to be Twilight, but it's not the only release making its way to the New Releases shelf.

Read on for more!

For the teen girl in every gay man, the Twilight DVD release rates as a major event this week. Director Catherine Hardwicke knows her teens (her previous films include Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown and that ultimate unwed-mom saga, The Nativity Story), and she handles Stephenie Meyer's adolescent vampire romance with the utmost seriousness. The result is a movie that will delight purists and bring hearty chuckles to those who find the whole thing kind of ridiculous.

Gay director F.W. Murnau's silent masterpiece Faust gets a lovingly-restored reissue from Kino, bringing this creepy 1929 tale of supernatural horror to vivid life. No one cast long shadows like German Expressionist master Murnau, and Faust ranks next to Nosferatu and Sunrise among his greatest works.

From El Primo (The Cousin) on the FirstOUT International collection
 

Two new DVDs will appeal to fans of gay film festivals — or those who don't live somewhere that allows them to attend one. FirstOUT International compiles some of the most acclaimed short films from around the world that played the fest circuit over the last year, including Outfest winner El Primo (The Cousin).

Another festival hit was the documentary Laughing Matters...Next Gen, part of a series of docs that examines the funniest gay and lesbian comedians on the circuit. This installment follows a group of up-and-comers, including AfterElton.com's own Daniel Leary, Ryan Hill, Amy Tee and Edison Apple.