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Severin Recreates ‘Terminator 2’ VHS Promo for ‘Shocking Dark’ Blu-ray Release
On May 29th Severin Films will release Shocking Dark on Blu-ray. Released in 1989 and from Italian shlockmeisters Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso, this is a movie that even if you haven’t seen it, it will be very familiar. To clarify, this is a movie that rips of James Cameron’s Aliens and then tosses it The Terminator in the film’s second half. In fact, this movie “borrowed” so much from Cameron’s films that it was actually released in Italy as Terminator 2 — a solid two years before Cameron would make his own follow-up.
For those of you well versed in Italian genre cinema from the 70’s and 80’s this should come as no surprise. Italian filmmakers ripped off American films all the time and while the results would vary from time to time they were largely successful. The ripping off wasn’t strictly limited to the Italians either. Sometimes the Italians would be the victim, as was the case when Ridley Scott and Dan O’Bannon ripped off Mario Bava to create Alien. So when you think about it, an Italian filmmaker ripping off the sequel to Alien to create their own film makes sense. Life is a flat circle or something.
In support of the upcoming Blu-ray release of Shocking Dark, Severin decided to have a little fun. Using an original Terminator 2 home video promo starring Robert Patrick as a reference point, Severin has created a copycat promo starring Shocking Dark actor Geretta Geretta (Demons, Rats: Night of Terror) as her badass onscreen character from the film.
Both promos are below for your viewing pleasure and I must say Severin did a stellar job with this. The most impressive part may be recreating Geretta’s costume from the film. I wonder if she had that laying around somewhere? At any rate, this is an awesome promo and a lot of fun. Here’s to hoping we get more promos like this in the future!
After scaring up a strong theatrical run, Oddity director Damian McCarthy’s Hokum heads home to Digital this week.
Settle in for a spooky supernatural chiller as Hokum arrives on all Digital platforms to rent or own beginning June 2, followed by a Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD Combo and DVD release on August 11, 2026.
Adam Scott (“Severance”) stars in Hokum as reclusive novelist Ohm Bauman. When he retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, the staff’s tales of an ancient witch haunting the honeymoon suite take hold of his mind. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance draw Ohm into a nightmarish confrontation with the darkest corners of his past.
Peter Coonan (“The Alienist: Angel of Darkness”), David Wilmot (“Station Eleven”), Florence Ordesh (“Departure”), Michael Patric (“Frontier”), Will O’Connell (“Game of Thrones”), Brendan Conroy (“Bodkin”), and Austin Amelio (“The Walking Dead”) also star.
Get a peek at the upcoming physical media release below, including a few special features.
Spooky Pictures’ Roy Lee (Weapons) & Steven Schneider (Insidious) produce alongside Image Nation’s Derek Dauchy (Late Night with the Devil), Tailored Film’s Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde, & Mairtín de Barra, and Cweature Features’ Ken Kao & Josh Rosenbaum.
I wrote in my review for Bloody Disgusting, “A quaint Irish hotel with a deeply haunted history awaits an American writer in McCarthy’s third outing, continuing his streak for folkloric tales of supernatural karma and spine-tingling terror with a dark sense of humor.”
What’s next from Damian McCarthy? He’s currently writing a haunted house movie, but recent comments suggest he may be moving into other genres beyond that upcoming project.
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