Anchor Bay Fright Pack: Man’s Worst Friends
Steve Barton
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If there is one DVD company out there that we as horror fans can call our own, it’s Anchor Bay Entertainment! So much goodness! So many memories! They’ve taken horror on DVD to so many new levels you really have to wonder, “What the hell will they think of next?”
A few months ago they came out with a new addition to their ever-growing DVD line: The Fright Pack. The coolest thing about this idea besides the bad ass artwork and packaging is the value of it! You get six, that’s right six, feature films, extras and all, for about the price of one loaded special edition DVD.
Let’s take a look at this latest collection of horrific goodness:
This time up they have included a bevy of films that focus on every good thing in a man’s life that can go horribly awry, starting with the ever faithful pooch. Hey, even famous movie monsters need a little companionship. Just look at Paris Hilton and her chihuahua. Or better yet, don’t. Lord knows we’ve seen enough of her. What I’m talking about here is none other than Zoltan: Hound of Dracula! Spend five seconds with this devil dog, and you can plainly see that the Big D ain’t the only one in the family with some bite.
Next up we have another kind of four-legged critter, Bruno Hell of the Living Dead Mattei’s Rats: Night of Terror. Wow, where to begin with this one? It’s absolutely one of the single most unintentionally funny films ever made. If you’re at all familiar with Mattei’s work, then you can imagine what I’m talking about here. The ending of this film alone makes it worth having. I freeze framed it for 45 minutes and cackled like a madman! Bad movie, but good times!
Italian gore maestro Dario Argento’s Cat o’Nine Tails is next up on the menu. If there’s one thing you can always count on in an Argento film, it’s that it is going to look pretty and have some really brutal murders strewn throughout its run-time. Cat o’Nine Tails delivers all of the good looking gory goodies that we expect from the living legend and piles on the suspense in spades.
Then we have an offering from one of my personal favorite directors, Lucio Fulci. In his take on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat, we find all of the ingredients of what you’d expect from a Fulci film perfectly intact — Flagrant gore splashed across the screen with sheer reckless abandon. Lucio, your legacy bleeds on, my friend! God bless ya!
There are plenty of creatures on this planet that serve to make mankind’s stay here a pleasant one. Every animal seems to have a purpose. From bees making honey to cows giving milk. Even the lowly slug has an important role. They … well, they … Aww, who am I kidding? These friggin’ nasty little mucus covered monsters are the grossest thing on the entire planet! They seemingly serve no purpose other than to skeeve anyone within two feet of them out! They do a lot more than that though in the little seen nature-run-amok epic(!) Slugs. In it, the little slimy bastards not only look sickening but now they have teeth, and mankind is on the menu. Without question, Slugs is one of the most disgusting films of its time. Only to be viewed on an empty stomach.
After losing your lunch while watching Slugs, you’re gonna need to stare at a creature a little easier on the eyes. Who better than an 18-year-old Demi Moore making her acting debut in Parasite?!? For those old enough to remember, Parasite was originally released to theatres in 3-D. How I wish this effect could be translated the right way for home viewing. It’d make a helluva DVD extra. Anyway, even all these years later Demi’s still out there fighting parasites. Sadly, the dreaded Kutcher Strain™ seems to have finally gotten her number. Hang in there, Demi. We’re all rootin’ for ya!
So there you have it! Quite the package if I do say so myself. A Fulci and an Argento film in the same collection. Blood and gore to spare. Starlets in peril. An ending so funny it has to be seen to be believed. The only things missing are a a few friends and a pizza. Hold the anchovies though; they look too much like those damned slugs for my liking!
Fright Pack: Man’s Worst Friends
Zoltan: Hound of Dracula (1978)
Rats: Night of Terror (1984)
Cat o’Nine Tails (1971)
The Black Cat (1981)
Slugs (1988)
Parasite (1982)
4 out of 5
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