DVD and Blu-ray Releases: August 23, 2016
Greetings, fellow horror movie aficionados. While this week is only seeing 12 total releases, there are quite a few solid hitters coming our way.
Our Television section has, in my opinion, our biggest titles of the week. Let’s begin with the sixth season of “The Walking Dead.” It’s dropping on both Blu-ray and DVD and will forever be one of my favorite TV shows ever produced (on a list which also includes “Perfect Strangers” and “Fringe”).
Up next is the absolutely brilliant first season of “Ash vs. Evil Dead.” I was indifferent about this show from the beginning, simply based on how many failed reboots I’d encountered. Then I watched it and was reaffirmed that Bruce Campbell was essentially the Ric Flair of the movie industry. No matter how old he gets, he’s still the man. Woo.
Our last big TV show of the week is the second season of “The Strain” on DVD and Blu-ray. I will admit I kind of fell off on this show after the first season, but the premise is still there and it’s fun to say “vampire tongue” sometimes.
TV shows aside, I’ve included a kid’s movie. Kids vs. Monsters has Malcolm McDowell in it, though. Cut me some slack – I have a 16-month-old at home, so Cannibal Holocaust is still a few years off in our household.
In terms of classics, this is where our major discrepancy lies this week. The Vincent Price Ultimate Collection that’s coming out this week is similar to a Vincent Price collection that came out in 2014. For you Vincent Price fans out there – just be careful you don’t buy a double.
Our other classics this week are coming to us by way of 1932’s Chandu the Magician, The Bloodstained Butterfly representing the 1970s, and Psycho IV, driven from the necessity of awkwardness that the 1990s ushered in.
There’s lots of good stuff this week, folks. As always, pleasant viewing.
MOVIES
The Amityville Terror (2016)
Starring:
Nicole Tompkins, Kaiwi Lyman, Kim Nielsen, Amanda Barton
Synopsis:
The Jacobsen family moves into an aged house in the town of Amityville. Almost immediately they witness strange occurrences and begin seeing terrifying images around the house. The local townspeople also have a secret and soon the Jacobsen’s are battling with an evil spirit in the house and the malicious locals who want them silenced. The curse of Amityville is back.
Purchase:
The Bloodstained Butterfly (1971)
Starring:
Helmut Berger, Giancarlo Sbragia, Evelyn Stewart
Synopsis:
Directed by Duccio Tessari (Death Occurred Last Night, A Pistol for Ringo), The Bloodstained Butterfly melds the lurid giallo traditions popularized by Dario Argento and Mario Bava with courtroom drama, resulting in a film that is as concerned with forensic detail and legal process as it is with grisly murders and audacious set-pieces.
When a young female student is savagely killed in a park during a thunderstorm, the culprit seems obvious: her lover, TV sports personality Alessandro Marchi (Giancarlo Sbragia, Death Rage), seen fleeing the scene of the crime by numerous eyewitnesses. The evidence against him is damning… but is it all too convenient? And when the killer strikes again while Marchi is in custody, it quickly becomes apparent that there s more to the case than meets the eye…
Starring 70s heartthrob Helmut Berger (Dorian Gray, The Godfather: Part III) alongside genre mainstays Evelyn Stewart (The Psychic, The Case of the Scorpion s Tail) and Carole André (Colt 38 Special Squad), and featuring a score by Gianni Ferrio (Death Walks at Midnight), The Bloodstained Butterfly is presented uncut and in a sumptuous new 4K restoration that allows this unique and haunting thriller to shine like never before!
Purchase:
Der Bunker (2016)
Starring:
Pit Bukowski, Daniel Fripan, Oona von Maydell, David Scheller
Synopsis:
With his surrealistic and dark, yet strangely heart-warming approach towards an unusual family s world, Der Bunker s director Nikias Chryssos may well be the nephew of John Waters and the illegitimate son of David Lynch and Luis Buñuel. A student rents a windowless room in a bunker home nestled deep within a forest. Here, instead of finding tranquility for his studies, the young man becomes increasingly involved in the dramas of his landlord s family. They include the stern father, his wife (whose swollen leg almost takes a life of its own) and their precocious 8-year-old son Klaus who, despite being German and “learning-challenged,” is being home groomed to become the President of the United States. Initially friendly and welcoming, the situation becomes increasingly bizarre. A funny, visually arresting and a bit unsettling modern fairy tale.
Purchase:
Chandu the Magician (1932)
Starring:
Bela Lugosi, Edmund Lowe, Irene Ware
Synopsis:
Magic, mirth and mystery highlight this tale starring horror legend Bela Lugosi (Dracula, White Zombie) as an evil lunatic set on destroying mankind with a gigantic death-dealing device. Mankind’s only hope is Frank Chandler, a.k.a. Chandu The Magician (Edmund Lowe, Dinner at Eight), who calls upon mystical abilities to fight the megalomaniacal fiend. Adapted from the popular broadcast serial, this creepy classic conjures action and excitement at every turn. Co-starring Irene Ware (The Raven) – Directed by William Cameron Menzies (The Maze, Thing to Come) and Marcel Varnel (Convict 99).
Purchase:
Clown (2016)
Starring:
Andy Powers, Peter Stormare, Laura Allen, Elizabeth Witmere
Synopsis:
The story of a loving father who dons a clown outfit and makeup to perform at his son’s sixth birthday, only to later discover that the costume – red nose and wig included– will not come off and his own personality changing in a horrific fashion. To break the curse of the evil outfit, the father must make grim choices with his own family facing danger.
Purchase:
Kids vs. Monsters (2016)
Starring:
Malcolm McDowell, Lance Henriksen, Keith David, Elaine Hendrix, Richard Moll
Synopsis:
Sent to a spooky mansion by their wicked parents, six of the world’s richest kids must compete in an epic battle of kids versus monsters.
Purchase:
Lake Eerie (2014)
Starring:
Lance Henriksen, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Betsy Baker, Meredith Majors, Ben Furney
Synopsis:
A young widow moves into an old house on Lake Erie to recover from the sudden loss of her husband. However, she soon discovers a dark secret — and that she is not alone.
Purchase:
Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
Starring:
Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas
Synopsis:
Norman Bates phones a talk show and recalls his life as a 1940s teen-ager warped by his mother.
Purchase:
TELEVISION
“Ash vs. Evil Dead” Season 1
Starring:
Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless, Jill Marie Jones, Ray Santiago
Synopsis:
“Ash vs Evil Dead,” a 10-episode, half-hour series, is the long-awaited follow-up to the classic horror film franchise The Evil Dead. The series follows Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its “Evil” grip. The cast is led by Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, Lucy Lawless as Ruby a mysterious figure who believes Ash is the cause of the Evil outbreaks, Ray Santiago as Pablo Simon Bolivar, an idealistic immigrant who becomes Ash’s loyal sidekick, Dana DeLorenzo as Kelly Maxwell, a moody wild child trying to outrun her past and Jill Marie Jones as Amanda Fisher, a disgraced Michigan State Trooper set to find our anti-hero Ash and prove his responsibility in the grisly murder of her partner. The series is executive produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, the original filmmakers of the franchise, and Craig DiGregorio (“Chuck”), who serves as executive producer and showrunner.
Purchase:
“The Strain” Season 2
Starring:
Corey Stoll, Mia Maestro, Kevin Durand, David Bradley, Jonathan Hyde
Synopsis:
Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather, the gifted head of the Center for Disease Control’s canary team in New York City, and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious, rapidly-spreading virus reminiscent of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, an enigmatic Holocaust survivor, and an assembly of regular people wage a desperate war for the fate of humanity itself.
Purchase:
“The Walking Dead” Season 6
Starring:
Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Melissa McBride
Synopsis:
Season Six starts with Alexandria s safety shattered by multiple threats. To make it, the people of Alexandria will need to catch up with our survivors hardness while many of Rick’s people will need to take a step back from the violence and pragmatism they’ve needed to embrace. These reversals won t happen easily, or without conflict. But now Rick’s group is fighting for something more than survival…They’re fighting for their home, and they will defend that at any cost, against any threat, even if that threat comes from within.
Purchase:
COLLECTIONS
Vincent Price: The Ultimate Collection
Starring:
Vincent Price
Synopsis:
A collection of Vincent Price movies that will have you on the edge of your seat. Vincent Price transcended his film roles with great intelligence, sensitivity, and charm and at the same time could project the foulest of villains with merely a raised eyebrow. Explore the MASTER OF MENACE, Vincent Price in 15 of his best films.
Movies:
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machines
Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs
Tales of Terror
Pit and the Pendulum
The Masque of the Red Death
Madhouse
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Scream and Scream Again
From a Whisper to a Scream
Theatre of Blood
House on Haunted Hill
The Last Man on Earth
Shock!
The Bat
Mooch Goes to Hollywood
Purchase:
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