DVD Release List: Pre-Halloween Madness
Johnny Butane
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Even more good stuff is on its way come October 10th, 2006…
Baby Blood (1989)
Directed by Alain Robak
Here’s a good lesson for all you ladies out there; it’s probably not a good idea to settle down for a steady life with the owner of a circus. If you do, you could wind up like the main character in Baby Blood, who is beaten even when she’s pregnant and eventually is possessed by an evil creature that lived in the body of a recently deceased leopard. The creature that has taken over her fetus begins demanding blood, and pretty soon things get very messy. Be sure to check out Creepy’s DVD review of it for more! Buy it here!
Black Dahilia (2005)
Directed by Uli Lommel
Wow, this sure is going to confuse a lot of people who don’t read this site. They’re going to see the DVD in stores and assume it’s the same Black Dahlia that was just released in theaters, but instead of getting a dark tale by Brian DePalma, they’ll be getting a direct-to-DVD title from the maker of Boogeyman. Oddly enough, this is actually the story of a young man who uses the M.O. of the infamous Zodiac Killer to start offing the residents of a nursing home he works in. Buy it here!
Disturbance (2006)
Directed by Nick Vallelonga
Who are the “they” referred to on the cover, you may ask? Well, unless you’re terribly unobservant, you’ll notice that hand holding the gun is not quite human, so it’s safe to say “they” are aliens. And in fact, they are. For reasons that I’m sure make perfect sense in the movie, a serial killer is let loose to try and kill the alien, whose only chance of surviving is to take over human bodies. Not really a bad gig if you can get it; I’m sure many cooling their criminal heels would kill for the chance. Pun intended. Buy it here!
Don’t Answer the Phone (1980)
Directed by Robert Hammer
The Vietnam War screwed up a lot of people, but then there are some who would have likely snapped had they dodged the draft, too. Like Kirk Smith, who blames his time in the East on the reason why he’s running around L.A. strangling girls in their lingerie. All the time he’s doing it, he’s also calling in to a local radio show to taunt young psychiatrist Lindsey Gale, which seriously affects her business. I wasn’t able to find many details about this edition, but apparently it’s uncut, and it’s got a pretty cool cover. Buy it here!
Don’t Go in the Woods Alone! (1981)
Directed by James Bryan
And speaking of cool covers, you gotta love this one. Rather than try to modernize it or make it look any slicker or more polished, Code Red chose to throw this sucker out there with the old-school box art that I remember seeing hundreds of times in the video store when I was a kid. The story is about some backpackers who run afoul of a killer in the mountains of Utah. This 25th Anniversary Edition contains some sexy extras, but I’ll be damned if I can find out what they are. Buy it here!
Eastern Horror Collection
Direced by Various
A new collection of Eastern Horrors, some of which actually sound somewhat familiar to me, but there’s not much I could find out about them all. A Calamity of Snakes is about an apartment complex being built that uncovers a huge nest of snakes, some of which are killed; the ones that aren’t seek revenge. Then there are the films Devil’s Box, Devil Shadow, and Vampire Resurrection, all three of which I could find fuck-all about. So I guess you’re just going to have to scoop one up to see what they’re about, eh? Buy it here!
The Excorcist: The Complete Anthology
Directed by Various
Could this be the be-all end-all collection for fans of the notoriously sketchy series? Who’s to say for sure, but it is a pretty cool collection that even the most picky of fans will admit contains something to interest them. Within are the original Exorcist as well as The Version You’ve Never Seen, Exorcist II: The Heretic, Exorcist III, Exorcist: The Beginning, and Dominion: A Prequel to The Exorcist. I couldn’t find any specs on the release, and I believe they’re all just bare bones, but finally you can get all your devil movies in one easy-to-carry box! Buy it here!
5ive Girls (2006)
Directed by Warren P. Sonoda
Wow, what an annoying title. Do I put it after the “E”s? Or at the beginning since technically it is a number? Which is better for you, the fans? See the kind of things I struggle with for you guys? The story is about a once shut down Catholic School that is re-opened as a mini-jail for bad kids. Five girls (hence the title) are its first occupants and they rebel. Which becomes even easier when they all learn they have supernatural powers, but they also eventually realize that they have to fight evil instead of encouraging it, which as we all know is no fun at all. Buy it here!
Ghost of Mae Nak (2005)
Directed by Mark Duffield
Now here’s a curiosity: a Thai ghost story with Thai actors directed by a Brit. Perhaps that’s why Tartan decided to nab it up for U.S. release? Not too sure, but it definitely has made me more curious to check it out. The story involves a newlywed couple who buy a house in Bangkok that is inhabited by the titular spirit, who they soon find protects them from those who wish to do them harm. As with all things in life, though, such protection comes at a price, and this price is deadly. Buy it here!
Ju-on 2 (2000)
Directed by Takashi Shimizu
Lionsgate jumps on the right bandwagon with this latest release, the first sequel Takashi Shimizu did to his seemingly never-ending series of making the same film over and over again. In it, a pregnant girl believes she has lost her baby after a particularly brutal car accident, but a few days later she feels something moving inside of her. But what is it? No idea, but it sure would’ve been nice if Lionsgate would have put something on this disc instead of just dumping it to capitalize on the impending release of The Grudge 2. See if Kryten agrees with me in his DVD review. Buy it here!
MPD: The Complete Miniseries
Directed by Takashi Miike
The acclaimed TV series from the sick mind of Takashi Miike finally gets a full release, rather than individually like we had before, complete with all sorts of cool bonuses to boot. The story is about a detective suffering from split personality disorder who is after a bizarre serial killer who cuts off the tops of the heads of his female victims and plants flowers in their brains. Sounds like the kind of unexpected weirdness you’d expect from Miike. A bonus disc contains cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes featurettes, promos, and more. Buy it here!
The Munsters: America’s First Family of Fright
Directed by Various
So you think you’re a fan of “The Munsters”? Think you know all there is to know about the series? Well try this brand new two-disc set from Image on for size, which contains not one, not two, but four feature-length documentaries about the show (the title doc, Fred Gwynne: More Than a Monster, Yvonne DeCarlo: Gilded Lady, and Al Lewis: Forever Grandpa) as well as a ton of extra cool bonus featurettes, promo spots, and interviews with the stars. For the absolute must-have Munsters completists! Buy it here!
Night of Terror (2006)
Directed by William Tannen
See, this is what happens when you try and put a family back together by utilizing nature and vacations and stuff; killers track you down and want to make your family their own every time. Or such is the case with the Dunne family, who are being stalked by a madman miles down a lonely river, a man who only wants to murder Mr. Dunne and take over as head of the household. That’s not a good way to get started, really. I find dinner and a movie work better, but to each their own. Buy it here!
San Franpsycho (2006)
Directed by Ed & Jose Quiroz
I don’t know about you guys, but I still can’t get over the fact that someone actually named their movie San Franpsycho. It’s just ridiculous, don’t you think? Well, the story is apparently not that much better; a serial killer is stalking the streets of San Francisco, sending cryptic letters to the police after each new killing. Two detectives have to track him down before it’s too late, but will anyone actually care? Check out The Foywonder’s review of San Franpsycho (I still can’t get over that title…) to find out a possible answer to that question. Buy it here!
Santa Claws (1996)
Directed by John A. Russo
Because they know you really can’t own enough copies of this movie with increasingly bad cover art (all right, this is only the second edition, but that art is horrible), EI has put together a brand-new version of this unheralded holiday classic for you. The story is about a man walking in on his mom having sex with a man in a Santa suit, both of whom he shoots dead. Years later, believing he is Santa Claus, he begins stalking a porn star and doing generally nasty and unpleasant things. I’m not sure what’s featured on this new edition, but I bet it’s packed! Buy it here!
Skeeter (1994)
Directed by Clark Brandon
Man, you really have to love that freakin’ cover, eh? It just screams cheesy B-movie, don’t ya think? The film tells of a toxic waste spill in a stagnant pool of water that turns the local mosquito population into bloodthirsty monstrosities, ready to kill off the entire human race. Of course, a small town in the American South is where it all begins, and you know it’s where it’ll end as well. Now, whether the final result is as good as the box art makes you hope it will be is up for debate, so snap it up to make sure you know once and for all! Buy it here!
Superstition (1984)
Directed by James w. Roberson
Put to death in 1692 for the horrible things she did in the name of naughtiness, a witch vows to return someday for her revenge. Three hundred years later she does just that, terrorizing a family who have moved into a new home that is near the pond the witch was drowned in. I can’t help but wonder why it always takes so long for these revenge vows to come to fruition. Wouldn’t it make more sense to get revenge on those who were responsible for your death rather than people three hundred years later who have to do some research just to find out who you are? Something to consider when you decide to enact revenge from beyond the grave. Check out Kryten’s DVD review for more! Buy it here!
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2: Gruesome Edition (1986)
Directed by Tobe Hooper
Taking a cue from Lionsgate with its release of Ju-On 2 (or maybe it’s the other way around), MGM has finally put together a decent version of Tobe Hooper’s often bizarre and over-the-top sequel to his seminal classic, just in time for the new TCM prequel to hit theaters, too. The disc contains commentary by Hooper and Shocking Truth doc maker David Gregory as well as another track with the talent, deleted scenes, and a new six-part featurette about the history of the sequel. Buy it here!
Tiki (2006)
Directed by Ron Ford
A girl has to move from her beloved home of Hawaii to study on the mainland, and the trip is made even more unenjoyable when a group of girls target her as the victim of a vicious prank, which causes a brain seizure from which she may never recover. Her aunt, seeking answers and revenge, finds an ancient Tiki idol that will kill through magic and gets her niece’s spirit to inhabit it for the kind of killing I’m sure Charles Band would approve of. Buy it here!
Witchery (1988)
Directed by Fabrizio Laurenti
Before he would don the red shorts and perfect hair that further cemented David Hasselhoff as a star, he stared in this bizarre cult film alongside Linda Blair that has been rolling in obscurity hell for years now. Thanks to the fine folks at Media Blasters, we finally get to see just what the fuss is all about, though I doubt it’s much. The story is about a pregnant girl who is brought to her mother-in-law’s and begins have strange dreams about her new step-family. Come to find out the husband and mother are reincarnated lovers who were burned at the stake, and all sorts of nastiness comes as a result of it. Buy it here!
Please note: Because I will be out of the country all next week and most of our crew will be heading out to Rock and Shock for the weekend, there will not be a DVD list for the week of October 17th! It will return the following week bigger and better than ever!
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