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Horror In Your House: January 10th, 2012
The major studios took the week off, but there are plenty of low-budget direct-to-disc options for those of you jonesin’ for something new, including an interesting looking Battle Royale type film from Tokyo Shock. Outside of that, I don’t see much in the way of recommendations unless you wanna pick up the recent remakes of the Freddy and Jason series on one Blu disc. Have a great week. Horror In Your House
January 10th, 2012
A DARKER REALITY – Phase 4 Films
A group of women wake up in a cold cement basement. Drugged and terrified they find themselves captive to a depraved psychopath whose blood-lust and insanity knows no bounds. Police Detective Balasco and psychiatrist Dr. Metcalfe team up in a desperate attempt to locate the girls and their soon to be murderer a serial killer known as Ghost. But time is running out as Ghost s sick experiments begin to leave the girls tortured beyond recognition. To survive, the girls must band together in a last attempt to save themselves from a fate far worse than death.
DEATH BELL: BLOODY CAMP – Tokyo Shock
Director Yu Seon-Dong presents another Battle Royale-style tale of young students and brutal killing! After the school swim star is found murdered, Cha Se-hui and her elite summer session class find themselves locked in the school with an ultimatum: find the murderer among you, or everyone dies. Their only clue is a message scrawled on the blackboard. “When an innocent mother is killed, what son would not avenge her death?”
MICAH SAYS: PICK OF THE WEEK. If only because this is a weak week in horror combined with the news yesterday that Battle Royale is FINALLY coming to Blu-ray (Region 1) courtesy of Anchor Bay.
FRIDAY THE 13th / NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET / FREDDY VS JASON (Triple-Feature) [Blu-ray] – Warner Home Video
MICAH SAYS:This is a Blu-ray three pack of the newer films from the respective. Came out last week, but I figured some might be interested.
GURAZUKA – Synapse Films
A fun getaway turns into a journey to Hell for some teenage girls visiting an isolated house to rehearse and perform a play for their private movie club. Taking the trip with an adult chaperone, the girls learn a previous club member supposedly went missing in the house, and another insane! Shortly after they arrive, a mysterious videotape is found with footage of a violent killer wearing a Japanese “deigan” mask. Is this footage real or fake? Soon, their food and equipment disappears and one of the girls is haunted by ghostly visions of the masked demon. Someone or something is in the house, and gruesome death awaits those who cannot escape!
KENNEYVILLE – Shriek Show
There’s something seriously wrong in Kenneyville. When a young woman from Toronto goes missing and police mysteriously drop the case earlier than expected, two private detectives are hired to find her. With undercover aliases in hand, they head to the small town of Kenneyville for answers.
PSYCHOTICA – Shriek Show
Caught in the middle of a menacing social experiment, a group of teenage heroin addicts barricades themselves in an abandoned farmhouse in order to kick the habit. But they must also overcome the murderous forces within the house, as well as the threat that is closing in from down the road. With nowhere to run, they must face their greatest fears and fight for their very survival…
SHRIEK OF THE SASQUATCH – Retro Media
Julie (Scarlet Salem, ”Strip Club Slasher”) and Nick (Donny Versiga, ”Sinister”) are on a road trip which derails after they become involved in a series of gruesome murders committed by what seems to be a large ape-like creature. Will either of them survive to learn the secret of the Sasquatch? ”Shriek of the Sasquatch” comes in the tradition of retro hits such as ”Grindhouse” and is packed with drive in-style fun from cult director Steve Sessions.
SUMMER OF MASSACRE (DVD/Blu-ray) – Breaking Glass Pictures, Vicious Circle Films
Director-Writer, Joe Castro (Terror Toons 1&2, The Jackhammer Massacre) introduces another original tale — the first anthology slasher film which presents eight killers in 5 gorefest tales. Featuring Brinke Stevens (Slumber Party Massacre), Nick Principe (Laid to Rest), and Cleve Hall (Nightmare), plus a never before recorded gore epic body count with more than 150 onscreen deaths.
Ungodly brutal beatings turns Chris, a young man, into a fiend that sets off a bloody, like never before seen, rampage. Beauty is truly only skin deep – Watch a young paraplegic, whose body is also wrecked with Spinal Bifida, fight for her life as her older, beautiful sister tries to murder her.
It’s been 36 years since Jesse s loving mother was raped by his biological father. Now, after hiding and running their entire lives in fear of this murderous rapist — He has found them! A group of Christian teenagers are stalked, maimed and burned by a local legend in a haunted forest.
Three legendary serial killers terrorize downtown Los Angeles by murdering countless innocent souls and the killer plan is to go out with a real bang.
There’s nothing like the sweltering heat of summer to set off a massacre. The Summer of Massacre is a 100 mph slasher ride that never slows down and is packed with enough gore and insanity to send you looking for your barf bag.
THE SCORPION KING 3: BATTLE FOR REDEMPTION (DVD / Blu-ray) – Universal Studios
Since his triumphant rise to power in the original blockbuster The Scorpion King, Mathayus’ kingdom has fallen and he’s lost his queen to plague. Now an assassin for hire, he must defend a kingdom from an evil tyrant and his ghost warriors for the chance to regain the power and glory he once knew. Starring Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Billy Zane (Titanic), and featuring 6-time WWE® champion Dave Bautista and UFC® star Kimbo Slice, The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption takes The Mummy phenomenon to an all-new level of epic action and non-stop adventure! Starring: Victor Webster, Bostin Christopher, Temuera Morrison, Krystal Vee, Selina Lo, Kevin ‘Kimbo Slice’ Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Billy Zane, Ron Perlman Directed by: Roel Reine
MICAH SAYS: Poor Billy Zane, dude had so much potential but now shares acting credits with Kimbo Slice. Ouch. Loved him in Demon Knight.
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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