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13 Horror Movies That Need the Scream Factory Treatment!

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If you didn’t snatch up the Deluxe Edition of John Carpenter’s The Thing, which is being released by Shout! Factory subsidiary Scream Factory in September, you really missed out! You can still pre-order the Collector’s Edition though, so never fear! Scream Factory gives loving Blu-Ray released to horror films of all types (both mainstream and cult) and usually loads them with special features. While their cause is a noble one, there are still a bunch of horror films we would love to see get the Scream Factory treatment (including quite a few that haven’t even seen a Blu-Ray release yet). Here are 13 of those films!

Foreign Horror

Martyrs

Pascal Laugier’s controversial film Martyrs hasn’t even seen a Blu-Ray release in America yet. You can buy the Region B/2 Blu-Ray on Amazon, but if you live in North America it won’t play unless you have a Region Free Blu-Ray player. And even then, the special features amount to a making of documentary and interviews with Laugier and the special effects artist. This fantastic film deserves a better Blu-Ray treatment and certainly deserves an American release.

Martyrs Movie Poster

Inside

Arguably the best film to come out of the New French Extremity movement, it’s perplexing that Inside has yet to see a Blu-Ray release in the states yet. Honestly, it would be great to get a box set of all of the films from the movement, but obtaining all of the rights might prove to be a bit of a chore. Still, the lack of a proper Blu-Ray release for the film that is essentially every pregnant woman’s worst nightmare is puzzling. Let’s get it done Scream Factory!

Inside Movie Poster

[REC] Franchise

Let’s just pretend [REC] 4: Apocalypse never happened, alright? I mean, they don’t have to put it in a [REC] box set. Oh fine, they can leave it in. As long as [REC] and [REC] 2 get a release I’ll be happy. They are two of the best found footage films ever created (and definitely two of the best zombie films ever made) and deserve some Blu-Ray love.

REC Movie Poster

80s Horror

Critters

Does anyone else own that DVD with all four Critters films on one disc? It’s awesome, right? Seriously though, why aren’t these films on Blu-Ray yet? Sure, Critters 3 and Critters 4: In Space are subpar sequels, but those first two are on point.

Critters

Hellraiser

Hellraiser had a pretty good release from Anchor Bay in 2009 that is now out of print. The Midnight Madness edition from Image Entertainment, which was released two years later, removed all of the special features. Now is the perfect time for Scream Factory to snatch up the film and give its Blu-Ray release a makeover. It would also be nice if they released a Hellraiser box set similar to the one Anchor Bay and Scream Factory did for the Halloween franchise two years ago, but maybe that’s asking for too much.

Hellraiser Movie Poster

Demons

C’mon! It’s Lamberto Bava, and you’re going to give it a barebones Blu-Ray release (albeit with perfect audio and video transfers)? Demons deserves better than that. Scream Factory, if you released it as a double feature with Demons 2 (and get some new special features for each one) I’ll love you forever.

Demons Movie Poster

90s Horror

Candyman

How has Bernard Rose’s seminal horror film (which I am admittedly not crazy about, but I do see the appeal) not made it to Blu-Ray yet? After Hellraiser, it’s the most famous film adaptation of Clive Barker’s work. Scream Factory already released the sequel, but they haven’t been able to snag the licensing rights for the original yet. It’s such a shame.

Candyman Movie Poster

Dead Alive

Fun fact: the VHS cover for this movie used to scare the crap out of me when I roamed Blockbuster as a kid. Anyway, Peter Jackson’s gory comedy was released on Blu-Ray back in 2011 with so-so video and audio and just a theatrical trailer in the special features. Where is the Peter Jackson commentary? I want an answer! If anyone can make that happen, it’s Scream Factory.

Dead Alive Movie Poster

Event Horizon

Event Horizon already saw a pretty decent Blu-Ray release, but there was apparently a lot of footage left on the cutting room floor with tons of horrifying imagery. Methinks Scream Factory and Paul W.S. Anderson need to meet up and put together a Director’s Cut…

Event Horizon Movie Poster

The Faculty

Honestly, I just want a cast commentary on this. You’ll laugh, but one of my favorite commentaries is the cast commentary of the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie. They’re just so fun to listen to! I feel like the cast of The Faculty would have the same chemistry. Just imagine feeling like you’re sitting in a room with Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Clea DuVall, Jordana Brewster, Usher and Laura Harris. Better yet, have one Student Commentary with those actors and one Faculty Commentary with Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick and Jon Stewart. You can’t tell me that wouldn’t be awesome. The current Blu-Ray release of the film doesn’t have any extras so there’s nowhere to go but up!

The Faculty Movie Poster

Recent Horror

Slither

Why in the Hell is James Gunn’s masterful creature feature Slither not out on Blu-Ray yet (at least, once again, not in America)? You would think that after Gunn’s rise to fame after Guardians of the Galaxy some studio would have rushed to get this Blu-Ray released. Maybe the awful box office numbers are giving them pause. Either way, it deserves to see a proper Blu-Ray release.

Slither Movie Poster

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

One of the most meta horror movies of all time saw a disappointing Blu-Ray release in 2009, when the format was still relatively new. Eight years later and a re-issue seems to be in order, especially considering the fact that there were no extra features included on that release. A sequel to the cult favorite has been talked about for some time. A new Blu-Ray loaded with special features courtesy of Scream Factory could certainly reignite talk of a much-needed sequel.

Behind the Mask Movie Poster

The Poughkeepsie Tapes

For God’s sake will someone release this movie already? If you were able to catch it when it received an extremely brief release on DirecTV in 2014 and felt disappointed, it’s understandable. The film was completed in 2007 (I still remember seeing the posters in the AMC Theaters I was working at at the time) and almost no film will live up to expectations that were in place that long. It’s by no means a terrible film, though. While some of the interview sequences come off as incredibly cheesy, the tapes themselves are terrifying. Could Scream Factory be the one to finally let The Poughkeepsie Tapes see the light of day? I certainly hope so.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes Movie Poster

Many of these films are relatively mainstream, and Scream Factory has an affinity for releasing lesser-known horror films with cult followings as well. Which horror films, mainstream or otherwise, do you want to see get the Scream Factory treatment? Let us know in the comments below!

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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