DVD Release: Old is New Again
Johnny Butane
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Your Halloween horror DVD offerings for Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 shall include…
The Abortion (2007)
Directed by Biray Dalkrian
And the prize for most fucked-up way to start off a DVD list goes to … The Abortion! Sorry, it’s just a bit of a strange way to kick things off. The story follows a young woman who decides to have an abortion even though she’s already three months along. Months later she finds herself haunted by the spirit of the unborn child, who will stop and nothing for her motherly affections, to the point that the former mother finally cracks and ends up institutionalized, where the ghost can lay into her even more! Buy it here!
The Amicus Collection
Directed by Various
Dark Sky decided there was no better way to ring in yet another Halloween than with a release of the three badass Amicus movies they have their hands on in a cool box set, with a very creepy Peter Cushing pic on the front. Inside you will find And Now the Screaming Starts (review), The Beast Must Die (review) and Asylum (review), all just as they were the first time they were released. Buy it here!
Angel: The Complete Collection
Directed by Various
Finally, a box set with all five seasons of the great “Buffy” spinoff “Angel” which, if you ask me, sure ended a hell of a lot stronger than the show it was spun off from. I never actually got to see the final few episodes of the fifth season, but from what I heard it was pretty damn amazing. Now I can sit down with the whole show from front to back, and so can you! Just bring the beer. Buy it here!
Basket Case 2
Directed by Frank Henenlotter
Man, who ever thought in their wildest dreams that we’d be seeing a special edition of Basket Case 2, of all movies? Not director Frank Henelotter, I’m sure, but then he’s done so much I doubt very little surprises him. Synapse has compiled a nice, cleaned up version of Henelotter’s follow-up to his cult classic, transferred to high def from a pristine 35mm print of the film. For fans of all things strange and unusual, this is the perfect Halloween offering! Buy it here!
Black Night (2005)
Directed by Oliver Smolders
This bizarre Belgian offering from famed short filmmaker Oliver Smolders is described as more dream than movie. The story loosely follows a man, Oscar, as he tries to come to grips with his past and a possibly dead sister in a land that is in perpetual night, aside from brief 15-second bursts when the world is flooded with sunlight. It sounds very strange and very trippy, so don’t go in expecting a linear narrative from this one, but rather something you’d find at an arthouse late at night. Buy it here!
A Blade in the Dark (1983)
Directed by Lamberto Bava
Man, I do love that cover. A lot. It’s just such a great composition of violence and beauty, so telling of the entire giallo subgenre. Leave it to Blue Underground to get it out there. The story is of a man hired to write the score for a new horror film so he rents an isolated villa to concentrate. Several beautiful young women are killed under his roof, and pretty soon the composer finds himself in a horror movie of his own. Buy it here!
Blood Shed (2007)
Directed by Alan Rowe Kelly
The long-awaited follow-up to Kelly’s debut film, I’ll Bury You Tomorrow, couldn’t be more different in terms of tone and style. While Bury was a dark and thoughtful piece with some moments of comedy, Blood Shed is over the top from the word “go” and never lets up. If that’s what you’re into, get out there and check it out. But be warned; it’s about 180 degrees from subtle. Buy it here!
Captivity (2007)
Directed by Roland Joffe
Now this truly was a nightmare, though not in the cool sense. The film was made a few years back, then After Dark got its hands on it and decided it needed more torture. What doesn’t these days? So they shot a lot of torture stuff to make it seem more “hip”, got in trouble by the MPAA, and still managed to put out a flop. Such is the way it goes, I guess. But it’s got Elisha Cuthbert! Buy it here!
The Church (1989)
Directed by Michele Soavi
Before he went on to set horror fan’s hearts ablaze with Cemetery Man, Michele Soavi cut his teeth working hand-in-hand with Dario Argento and, in the case of The Church, his daughter Asia in one of her first roles. Originally set to be a Demons sequel, Soavi gave it just enough of his own flavor to make this one of the great unsung horror movies of the late 80’s. BU re-releases it to the masses with an all-new transfer! Buy it here!
Dark Shadows: The Beginning Collection 2
Directed by Various
Before the show was about vampires, did anyone really care? No, not really, which is why they eventually made it about vampires. This collection has some ghosts in it of course because it is a Gothic soap opera, and there’s also some stuff about a murder case and such mysteries like that. So yeah, it’s really for hardcore collectors only. Buy it here!
Day Watch (2006)
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Okay, just a word of warning to you; don’t bother trying to watch this if you’ve not seen Night Watch. And don’t see Night Watch unless you watch the one with good subtitles that was released here in the States. Anything other option will just confuse the hell out of you; trust me, I know. This story is about Anton struggling to fight the Darkness while saving his son from their clutches. Buy it here!
Frankenstein (1973)
Directed by Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis made a damn fine life for himself with vampires, werewolves and monsters, making them just right for TV audiences around the country back in the 70’s. Hey, it may not be what some call a dream job, but someone had to do it. This is, of course, a retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic novel of the desires of man gone too far, and what the true meaning of life is. Buy it here!
Hell of the Living Dead (1984)
Directed by Bruno Mattei
Wow, look at that cover. That one really takes me back to being a young horror fan wandering the aisles of my local mom-n-pop video store. Where did all those go, anyway? Sigh. Anyhow, this film is about a chemical leak that turns the residents of an underprivileged village into shambling corpses hungry for flesh. A TV reporter comes across the place and tries to bring it all to an end. Buy it here!
House of the Invisibles (2007)
Directed by Elfa Lee
In a house readying itself for demolition, the last remaining tenants are holding on to their homes as long as they can. One of them, however, breaks on unspoken vow and angers the spirit of a former tenant, now many years dead, so they’re forced to deal with the spirit’s wrath as well as losing their homes. That always sucks. Buy it here!
The Initiation of Sarah (2007)
Directed by Stuart Gillard
Summer Glau needs a better agent. The star of “Firefly” and Serenity is a freakin’ trained ballerina who can kick ass on command; what the hell is she doing in this tripe? And even though it sounds like it should be lesbian porn, the presence of Morgan Fairchild tells me likely it isn’t. And thank God for that. Learn more abut it by reading Foywonder’s Initiation of Sarah review, cause I don’t feel like looking up what it’s actually about. Buy it here!
Insane in the Brain (2007)
Directed by Chad Hendricks
What the hell is this? That’s the first thing I said when I saw the DVD cover for Insane in the Brain. Pimps vs. zombies? Who could possibly lose in a funkilicious battle like that? Perhaps the viewer? The story is about the living dead coming to hunt the brains of the plain old living after some pheromones awaken them from their dirt naps. Buy it here!
Manhattan Baby (1984)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Of all the stuff Blue Underground is re-releasing this week, this is the one I get the least. It’s a very strange entry in the Fulci canon, a story about a young girl bringing back a mysterious charm from Egypt to her home in Manhattan and the plague of supernatural evil that it causes. It’s also one of those movies Fulci fans scratch their heads over, so I’m not sure it deserves yet another release. Ah, well, completists will be happy! Buy it here!
The Psychic (1979)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
You know, when I started out the list this week I thought it was kinda cool that BU was re-releasing so many old Anchor Bay titles to the masses again. Now, though, I feel like fans were kinda cheated out of some good new horror releases so close to Halloween. This, however, is one last good one before Fulci got strange in his later years, though not strange in a good way, and at least it’s the fully uncut European version, presented here for the first time ever! Buy it here!
Rats: Night of Terror (1983)
Directed by Bruno Mattei
All right, this is another one I wonder whether or not really deserves a re-release. Though admittedly I’ve not seen it in ages, I don’t remember anything too good about Rats: Night of Terror other than, well, the fact that it’s about killer rats. Can never have enough of those movies, damnit. And it’s post-apocalyptic, which is always a good thing, especially when it’s from the 80’s! Buy it here!
Stagefright (1989)
Directed by Michele Soavi
Probably the best serial killer dressed as an owl man movie ever made, if you ask me. Another early film from Cemetery Man director Michele Soavi, Blue Underground has got this one back on DVD for fans to see just how the man started out his career and you know what? It’s pretty damned good! Buy it here!
Study Hell (2005)
Directed by Mark McNabb
Of course, if this is the kind of original horror we’re missing out on, I’ll take re-releases any day of the week. I don’t honestly know if this is a bad movie or not, but to judge a book by its cover; it’s just not good. The story is about a teacher who can’t take it anymore and finally cracks, taking out his insane murderous rage on the students he is sworn to educate. Will they be able to stop him before it’s too late? Will you care? Buy it here!
Twin Peaks: The Definitve Gold Box Edition
Directed by Various
David Lynch and Mark Frost’s amazingly short-lives series set in the titular town, which during the first and part of the second season revolved around the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. Unfortunately audiences didn’t stick with the show after they told you, but at least fans finally have the whole story in one box set, finally. And it’s gold! Buy it here!
Discuss this week’s releases in the Dread Central forums!
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