Olive Films Bringing The Return of Dracula and Special Effects to Blu-ray
John Squires
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Via press release, Olive Films just announced its slate of DVD and Blu-ray discs that are headed our way this coming October, and we wanted to highlight two of those upcoming releases here on Dread today. Both 1958’s The Return of Dracula and 1984’s Special Effects will hit Blu-ray for the very first time on October 18th.
Read on for details!
1958 was the year of the vampire film with The Return of Dracula joining two other theatrical releases – Horror of Dracula and The Vampire’s Coffin (El Ataúd del Vampiro).
For those who like their vampires with that certain European panache, The Return of Dracula is sure to thrill. Francis Lederer (Terror is a Man) stars as the titular Count – this time using the pseudonym Bellac Gordal – as he travels from his Transylvania home to the United States. In the guise of being a distant relative on vacation, The Count takes up residence at the home of the Mayberry family in sunny California.
Quicker than you can say “I like my stake rare,” The Count … er … Gordal is up to his old nocturnal tricks and comes under the scrutiny of young Rachel Mayberry (Norma Eberhardt, Problem Girls) whom Gordal has set his sights on, which may be her undoing.
The Return of Dracula, directed by Paul Landres (The Vampire) from Pat Fiedler’s script, co-stars Ray Stricklyn (The Lost World), Virginia Vincent (The Hills Have Eyes), John Wengraf (The Pride and the Passion), Gage Clarke (The Bad Seed), Jimmy Baird (The Black Orchid) and Greta Granstedt (They Never Come Back).
The multi-talented Eric Bogosian (Pulitzer Prize-nominated author, actor and National Endowment for the Arts recipient) headlines director Larry Cohen’s (It’s Alive) satirical thriller Special Effects.
From the writer & director of It’s Alive, Larry Cohen’s Special Effects casts a satirical eye on Hollywood, viewed through the prism of the horror film genre. When the fresh-faced Oklahoma country boy Keefe (Brad Rijn, Smithereens) comes looking for his wife Mary Jean (Zoe Tamerlis, Ms .45), a wannabe actress, he soon discovers the seamy side of Tinsel Town when Mary Jean is found dead and he’s the prime suspect.
With a few swipes at Hollywood archetypes (Eric Bogosian as Christopher Neville, a once-revered Wunderkind director; Zoe Tamerlis as Mary Jean look-alike, Elaine, a budding actress who isn’t beyond manipulating the situation for her own benefit), Special Effects offers chills, thrills, shrieks, and a few laughs along the way.
Written and directed by Larry Cohen, Special Effects also stars Kevin O’Connor (Let’s Scare Jessica to Death) and Richard Greene (TV’s Mad Men) in supporting roles.
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