DVD and Blu-ray Releases: February 23, 2016
Sean Brickley
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Greetings, fiends. We’re back with another week guaranteed to clean out at least a few bank accounts. With 22 total releases dropping, of course there has to be a discrepancy, right? As has happened in the past, one reputable source says that 1974’s The Sinful Dwarf is coming out this week, and another says that it’s coming out next week. I’m just going to list them both weeks so that I come out on top no matter what.
While we’re on the topic of classics, there’s a pretty decent handful coming out this week. Most of them are Blu-rays, like Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, Demonoid, and The Serpent And The Rainbow. If you check out the Collections section, you’ll also find some classic double features coming out like The Curse/Curse II: The Bite and The Embalmer/The Red Headed Corpse.
There are also a lot of newer titles coming out. One that I’ve heard good things about is Upsidedown Cross, so be on the lookout for that as well. Check out the rest of the article for all of the other titles that will be heading to stores this week.
Pleasant viewing!
MOVIES
The Bees (1978)
Starring:
John Saxon, Angel Tompkins, John Carradine
Synopsis:
Evil corporations have smuggled a deadly strain of South American killer bees into the United States and now the entire world may be on the brink of imminent destruction! As cities tumble, body counts rise, and mass hysteria ensues, scientist John Norman (John Saxon) thinks he might have discovered the secret strategy to stop The Bees!
Directed by Alfredo Zacarias (Demonoid) and co-starring Angel Tompkins, John Carradine, and Claudio Brook, The Bees is an epic disaster film and drive-in classic, chock full of outrageous action and jaw-dropping plot twists. Vinegar Syndrome brings The Bees into your living room, newly restored in 2k in its previously unavailable Director’s Cut, and guaranteed to give you stingingly good entertainment.
Purchase:
Bigfoot vs. Zombies (2016)
Starring:
Various
Synopsis:
A scientist creates a toxic cocktail that slowly leaks into the local population, creating flesh-eating zombies – and only one crature of legend can stop the growing hoards of the undead.
Purchase:
Blood & Circumstance (2014)
Starring:
David Aaron Baker, Nathan Keyes, Hayden Oliver
Synopsis:
After a gruesome murder, a psychiatrist is left to determine whether and inmate is fit to stand trial. But the more the doctor interviews his patient the more he questions whether he is guilty which leads to him digging into events that took place 15 years before…
Everything is called into question and the audience is left to piece together what really happened and what really happened between blood and circumstance.
Purchase:
Cassidy Way (2016)
Starring:
Christopher Rich, Stan Shaw, Randy Wayne, Nikki Moore, Michael Nardelli
Synopsis:
Cassidy Way is a gut-wrenching and bloody thriller inspired by true events. When film students Gina, Collin, and Mitch set out to make her thesis documentary film about water contamination caused by a fracking company in Kern County, they decide to trespass at an old fracking site and uncover documents relating to the company, it s dark past and the subsequent cover-up. After narrowly escaping capture by the Saxlow company guards the trio encounters local teen Jamison Connors, who takes them back to his house where they meet his sister, mother, and his father Donald. Donald, a man obsessed, suspects the three of being involved with the fracking company and proceeds to exact his twisted revenge on the students as a way of avenging his youngest son s death which was caused by Saxlow guards a decade prior.
Purchase:
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things (1969)
Starring:
Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches, Jeffrey Gillen, Anya Ormsby, Paul Cronin
Synopsis:
Led by a mean-spirited director, Alan (Alan Ormsby), a theater troupe travels by boat to a small island graveyard for buried criminals. Using a grimoire, Alan begins a séance to raise the dead. The group finds more than they bargained for when the dead return from their graves, forcing the troupe to take refuge in an old abandoned caretaker s house. Can they stay put until daylight against the undead onslaught, or do they flee into the pitch black night? Will anyone survive? ….Muhah hahahh!
Purchase:
Demonoid (1981)
Starring:
Samantha Eggar
Synopsis:
At a dig in rural Mexico, a British industrialist accidentally unleashes an ancient evil: a severed hand, possessed by a vengeful demon, that attacks, kills and takes over the hand and mind of anyone who interferes with its ruthless quest for violence. Determined to stop the bloodshed, the wife of the industrialist (Samantha Eggar) joins forces with a renegade priest (Stuart Whitman), but will they be able to conquer the evil hand before the forces of hell overtake them?
Demonoid is a classic slice of early 80s horror sleaze, full of outrageous and violent deaths, ludicrous plot twists and a pounding musical score.
Purchase:
Dracula Reborn (2016)
Starring:
Tina Balthazar, Yves Carlevaris, Chloe Dumas, Eric Kara, Ashleigh Davidson
Synopsis:
Three news-hungry journalists travel to Transylvania with the intent to uncover the truth about Dracula. They investigate the evil protecting his power by deciphering signs and clues hidden in the area’s monasteries. Their willingness to do anything for a story draws them deeper into mayhem as they slowly disappear, one by one.
Purchase:
The Eve (2016)
Starring:
Al Thompson, Maria Didomenico, Miranda Noelle Wilson, Evan Bass, Rick Estabrook
Synopsis:
The dead of winter; trees are bare, snow is on the ground, and waves pound the shore. A ferry arrives at the isolated island of Martha’s Vineyard just in time for New Year’s Eve. Scott (Al Thompson), Harry (Evan Bass), and Jenn (Maria DiDomenico) are friends from college who have grown apart. Lacey (Miranda Noelle Wilson) is Harry’s new girlfriend, a trophy for him to show off to Scott. They arrive at Scott’s family vacation home thinking they are alone and are spooked when they come upon Joey (Rick Estabrook), the introverted groundskeeper. To be nice, they invite him to join them in their New Year’s Eve celebration the following night. The calm of the island, along with a lot of wine, helps to bring everyone together. Although it isn’t long before old problems creep back in. After a misunderstanding, words between Scott and Harry turn into blows and all four are separated on the island. Hours pass and Harry returns to the house to find Jenn and Lacey waiting. Scott still hasn’t returned; It is not like him. After much pleading, Harry agrees to venture out with Jenn to find him. They find his lifeless body on the beach. Returning to the house, Harry, Jenn, and Lacey are panicked. Harry tries to call for help, but the phones are dead. They rush out to the car, but it is also dead. Jenn notices that someone has removed the car’s main battery fuse. She is the first to realize that Scott was murdered. They head inside and lock the doors. Arming herself, Jenn takes the lead and checks the house room by room, locking the doors and windows as she goes. Harry panics, unsure of what to do and becomes protective of Lacey. Jenn decides that they should shut all the lights off in the house and turn on all of the outside lights. This way they can see anyone who approaches the house. They just have to survive until dawn, and then can find help.
Purchase:
Frankenstein (2015)
Starring:
Xavier Samuel, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tony Todd, Danny Huston
Synopsis:
Set in present day Los Angeles, Frankenstein is told entirely from the perspective of the Monster. After he is artificially created, then left for dead by a husband-and-wife team of eccentric scientists, Adam is confronted with nothing but aggression and violence from the world around him. This perfect creation-turned disfigured monster must come to grips with the horrific nature of humanity.
Purchase:
Grindhouse Horror Show (2016)
Starring:
Various
Synopsis:
Grindhouse lovers will revel in the most insane stories of Death, Booze, Sex, and Ghoulish Grindhouse Murders Galore in this terrifying anthology film collection comprised of Psychotic Demon Possessed Femme Fatales; Serial Killers in Electric Chairs; Demonic Succubi; Rabid Zombies; Gorey Amputations and much more!
Purchase:
House of Afflictions (2016)
Starring:
Michelle Darkin Price, Stefan Boehm, Penelope Butler, Simon Crudgington
Synopsis:
Kate Beckley was once a best-selling crime author, but it’s been years since her last novel following the disappearance of her daughter, Julia. While attempting to write again in a new home, Kate finds herself haunted by strange visions and paranormal occurrences – which become worse each night. Has Julia returned, or is something more sinister preying on this grieving mother.’
Purchase:
Insane (2015)
Starring:
Alex Lucchesi, Roberto D’Antona, Ivan King
Synopsis:
On the run from the Mafia family which he worked for, Frank is hiding in a little village in southern Italy waiting for the next step of Katia. She is the new family inheritor and wants revenge. Therefore she pays Condom, a sadomasochist who doesn’t seem to be a proper killer. Accompanied by his loyal right hand Adam, Condom will start a blood bath.
Purchase:
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
Starring:
Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield, Brent Jennings
Synopsis:
Wes Craven (The People Under the Stairs, Shocker) directs this terrifying story of one man’s nightmarish journey into the eerie and deadly world of voodoo. A Harvard anthropologist (Bill Pullman) is sent to Haiti to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring human beings back from the dead. In his quest to find the miracle drug, the cynical scientist enters the rarely seen netherworld of walking zombies, blood rites and ancient curses. Based on the true life experiences of Wade Davis and filmed on location in Haiti, it’s a frightening excursion into black magic and the supernatural.
Purchase:
The Sinful Dwarf (1974)
Starring:
Torben Bille, Anne Sparrow, Tony Eades
Synopsis:
Severin Films is now unconscionably proud to present both versions of The Sinful Dwarf along with all-new Extras, a full-length feature from the film’s infamous Danish producers, and even a nightmare inducing short starring former kiddie-show host and pint-sized Torben Bille himself. Experience the mother of all Dwarfsploitation films (The Daily Grindhouse) like never before, remastered from materials recently recovered! A young bride, left alone with an evil dwarf! Severin Films is officially going to Hell and taking you with them with the first time ever in America Blu-ray release of what may be the wildest film in EuroCult history. The delicious Anne Sparrow in her first and understandably only screen role co-stars.
Purchase:
Sinkhole (2016)
Starring:
Jeremy London, Gina Holden, Brooke MacKenzie
Synopsis:
After a massive sinkhole swallows a nearby town, a school bus filled with students is dropped deep underground. After the crash, the students realize the bus is hanging precariously against the side of the sinkhole, held in place by a broken pipe. Any sudden move could send the bus plummeting into the darkness below. Alone and with all the adults injured, the teens struggle for survival with the story taking on shades of Lord of the Flies. Their only hope is a small-town paramedic, who must overcome a tragic past to rescue the students.
Purchase:
Upsidedown Cross (2016)
Starring:
David Yow, Erin Russ, Tina Krause, Rick Savage
Synopsis:
From controversial filmmaker William Hellfire comes a shocking new film starring David Yow (The Jesus Lizard), Erin Russ (Porkchop), Tina Krause (Bad Biology) and adult film star Rick Savage – Upsidedown Cross. Abandoned, abused by the police and in the throes of withdrawal, Nadine, a drug addicted young prostitute, returns to her childhood home and the mother she ran away from. Nadine’s mother, Delilah; a fanatical Christian who believes demons have possessed her daughter, searches for a cure for Nadine’s erratic behavior. When she finds a rogue preacher willing to exorcise her daughter for a fee, neither realizes they have invited the devil into their home. While her mother turns a blind eye to the bizarre practices unfolding in her own home, Nadine, wracked with mental and physical pain, has no choice but to put up with the preacher’s increasingly violent charade. This collector’s edition of UpsideDown Cross contains a double sided wrap featuring original photography by Jackie Cerniglia, a clear amaray, an illustrated Chick Tract by successful notorious underground comic artist Mike Diana, and image galleries featuring photos and original illustrations inspired by UpsideDown Cross. Print run is limited to 1,000 copies.
Purchase:
Voices from the Grave (2016)
Starring:
Chris Labadie, Michael Hanelin, David Nelson
Synopsis:
This Anthology film deals with deadly spirits, back from the grave with vengeance in mind. Myles Brandt is a horror fan that wanders into a mysterious bookstore in search of something different. He finds a book and in the corner of this bookstore begins to read three tales of supernatural horror. Three tales of terror, including one story adapted from the work of master horror writer Gary Brandner author of The Howling, to make your flesh creep and your heart race!
Purchase:
Whore (2016)
Starring:
Rudy Claes, Kenneth Falkenberg, Cassandra Jacobsen
Synopsis:
Author Ricki visits her family’s secluded cabin to start writing he new novel – but along the way she catches the eye of a group of local criminals, who turn her visit into a living nightmare of violence… and violation. Though left for dead, Ricki’s ultimate revenge has just begun as she hunts, traps and kills each of her captors one by one. In the tradition of the I Spit on Your Grave series.
Purchase:
COLLECTIONS
American Horror Project: Vol. 1
Starring:
Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Janie Carazo, Herve Villechaize, Sharon Farrell
Synopsis:
Everyone knows the classic American horror titles: Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and A Nightmare on Elm Street, to name but a few. But we want to tell you a different story a story of the unsung heroes of American terror… Whether it s a film that has languished in obscurity, or a movie that s at risk of being lost due to lack of source materials, American Horror Project is here to ensure that these unique slices of the American Nightmare are brought back into the public consciousness and preserved for all to enjoy.
Volume I of this series presents three tales of violence and madness from the 1970s. Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood (Christopher Speeth, 1973) sees a family arrive at a creepy, dilapidated fairground in search of their missing daughter, only to find themselves at the mercy of cannibalistic ghouls lurking beneath the park. Meanwhile, The Witch Who Came from the Sea (Matt Cimber, 1976), stars Mollie Perkins (The Diary of Anne Frank) as a young woman whose bizarre and violent fantasies start to bleed into reality literally. Lastly, every parent s worst nightmare comes true in The Premonition (Robert Allen Schnitzer, 1976), a tale of psychic terror in which five-year-old Janie is snatched away by a strange woman claiming to be her long-lost mother.
Newly remastered from the best surviving elements and contextualised with brand new supplementary material, with American Horror Project we can re-evaluate an alternative history of American horror and film heritage.
Purchase:
The Curse / Curse II: The Bite
Starring:
Wil Wheaton, Claude Akins, Jill Schoelen
Movies:
The Curse
Life on the family dairy farm is difficult for young Zach Hayes (Wil Wheaton, Stand by Me): hard work, long hours and the normal family squabbles. But after an ice-blue meteor plunges through the midnight sky and lands on their property, it gets worse. Zach and the local doctor discover that something inside the meteor is infecting every living thing on the farm. Fruits, which look perfect on the outside are teeming with worms… and Zach’s family is beginning to change… hideously! This shocker is directed by actor David Keith (Firestarter, White of the Eye) and co-stars Claude Akins (Tentacles), Malcolm Danare (Christine), Cooper Huckabee (The Funhouse) and John Schneider (“Smallville”).
Curse II: The Bite
Two young lovers, Clark (J. Eddie Peck, “Kyle XY”) and Lisa (Jill Schoelen, The Stepfather), traveling through the desert unwittingly pass through an abandoned nuclear test site which has become a breeding ground for deadly mutant killer snakes. When Clark is bitten, he undergoes a grotesque transformation into a hideous snake monster! This chiller filled with slithering horror also stars Jamie Farr (“M*A*S*H”), Shiri Appleby (“Roswell”) and Bo Svenson (Walking Tall Part II).
Purchase:
The Embalmer / The Red Headed Corpse
Starring:
Erika Blanc
Synopsis:
If you enjoy being scared out of your wits, then prepare yourself for this terrifying double-feature DVD!
You’ll be having nightmares after watching The Embalmer (aka Monster Of Venice, 1966) where a hooded madman kidnaps luscious Italian women and embalms them to preserve their beauty. And when the hood finally comes off and you see the face of this maniac you will leap from your seat in utter fear.
Our second feature is another fright fest, The Red Headed Corpse (1972). You will see a man create a living woman from a mannequin, who then drives him to commit murder! Starring everyone’s favorite red headed sex bomb, Erika Blanc, in and out of her wardrobe.
Both films are presented in 1.66 widescreen, enhanced for 16×9 TV’s. Bonus trailer included.
Purchase:
The Executioner Part 2 / Frozen Scream
Starring:
Aldo Ray, Chris Mitchum, Renee Harmon
Movies:
The Executioner Part 2
Someone is killing off LA’s most vicious criminals and the police are powerless to do anything about it. As the commissioner (Aldo Ray) enlists the help of his top lieutenant, Roger (Chris Mitchum), to solve the case, Roger begins to suspect that the mysterious Executioner might be his old friend from Vietnam.
Frozen Scream
People are being murdered in grisly ways and being implanted with devices that turn them into homicidal zombies. A young woman, who witnessed a killing and now might know too much, is cared for by the strange Doctor Stanhope (Renee Harmon), but the good doctor might be more involved with the bloody goings on that she appears. Frozen Scream is a fever dream of bizarre dubbing, cheap gore effects and hypodermic needles.
Purchase:
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