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Horror In Your House: January 3rd, 2012
Happy New Year! Hope you all successfully navigated your NYE and, most importantly, that none of you now require an interlock device to start your vehicle. This is a light week on the release front, but we do get two high profile flicks from last year. First up is the Guillermo Del Toro produced (semi-directed) remake of the famous ’70s made for TV horror flick, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Also washing up to shore this week is Shark Night 3D. Horror In Your House
January 3rd, 2012
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK (DVD/Blu-ray) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Del Toro and Matthew Robbins penned the adaptation of a 1973 ABC telepic, penned by Nigel McKeand. Directed by Troy Nixey, when a little girl (Bailee Madison) is sent to live with her father (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes) in the old mansion they are renovating, she unwittingly unleashes malevolent creatures bent on destroying all of them.
MICAH SAYS: I noticed this didn’t make anyone’s (besides an honorable mention from Mr. D) in our annual best and worst of lists. Which makes sense, while it has some genuinely creepy moments (not to mention some of the best posters of the year) it falls flat and ends up being average. I’ll still take it over any of the other remakes that were crapped out last year. PICK OF THE WEEK.
SHARK NIGHT 3D (DVD/Blu-ray) – 20th Century Fox
The story revolves around seven male and female college friends who spend a weekend at a lake house in Louisiana’s Gulf area. When their vacation quickly becomes a nightmare of hellish shark attacks, unheard of in freshwater lakes, they soon discover that the sharks are part of a sick, greedy plan on the part of several locals.
MICAH SAYS: The only thing this film did for me was wish for Piranha 3DD. I had high hopes, but capping this movie at PG-13 seemed to be the death blow for this flick. The very things that made Piranha 3D campy fun were sadly absent here. I wanted to like this movie too. I really did.
Editorials
Arrow Video’s ‘Stranger Things: The Complete Series’ is the Ultimate Collector’s Box Set for Fans
Available as of today from Arrow Video is a new box set that might arguably be the definitive way to watch Netflix’s blockbuster series Stranger Things.
At the very least, Stranger Things: The Complete Series puts emphasis on “complete.” That’s evident in its special features alone.
Special and Deluxe editions of Stranger Things: The Complete Series are available for purchase now, featuring an array of exclusive bonus content, including bloopers, interviews with the cast and crew, and behind-the-scenes featurettes, designed for the ultimate Stranger Things experience.
The Deluxe Edition is presented in custom packaging featuring newly-commissioned artwork, alongside a wealth of extra material: a 148-page booklet, exclusive art cards, a Hellfire Club patch, double-sided posters for each season, and much more.
This limited-edition release features all 42 episodes of the show’s five season run on more than 25 discs, all housed in a set featuring gorgeous artwork by Juan Ramos. “We always dreamed that Stranger Things could be owned in its entirety,” said Matt and Ross Duffer, “not just as a collector’s set, but as a way to preserve the show for decades to come.”
Their imprint looms large over the release, including writing in the 148-page book that also includes original design sketches, concept art, and storyboards. All of which would warrant the steep price tag alone for the diehard Stranger Things fan, but Arrow Video upped the ante with collectible surprises as well. Arcade patches, stickers, Hellfire Club dice, and an extremely detailed map of Hawkins, Indiana- double-sided to account for the Upside Down, of course – are among the highlights for this all-ages set.
Adorn your walls with posters representative of your favorite season! That’s also an option with this set’s offerings.
All of which to say that it’s rare for Netflix to make the jump into physical media, and they’ve enlisted Arrow Video to give it the best possible treatment. They certainly brought utmost care and attention to this release. As such, both the standard and deluxe sets come with steep price tags that start at $160 depending on format. While that’s likely a deterrent to the casual viewer, it’s more than worth it for fans.
It may be less convenient than hitting play on Netflix, sure, but there’s a lot to be said about the potential for quality upgrades to your viewing. No spotty internet or compression issues to be found here when it comes to the 4K Ultra HD or Blu-ray discs.
That’s really the biggest takeaway from this release: the untapped potential still of Netflix’s streaming library of originals that are ripe for similar treatment. Series and films that could receive Arrow Video levels of treatment on physical media.
Fans of Stranger Things can venture into the Upside Down one last time this spooky season at Halloween Horror Nights, but there may be no better way to ring in the series’ tenth anniversary than a rewatch with this expansive, well-curated box set.
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