Home Video
Giant Crocs Attack Horror In Your House
After being bumped and beaten to a bloody pulp, Dimension Extreme is finally releasing Greg McLean’s Rogue on DVD this Tuesday as part of this week’s Horror In Your House. ROGUE is one of the best direct-to-video releases this year and I really hope most of you get a chance to check it out. Just be warned, Blockbuster edits down movies for release, you might have to pick this one up at a retailer near you to see it in full.
Horror in Your House
August 5, 2008
By: Tex Massacre
ABE’S TOMB: Burning Moon
Moore’s Lake . . . a small town plagued by feral vampires. It’s only chance for continued existence rests solely upon mere mortals and an all-powerful ghoul that has vowed to seek vengeance upon the town. Under such circumstances, can humanity survive? The Captain of the Moore’s Lake Police Force has to make a choice – die a horrible death now and destroy the vampire threat for good, or die an even worse death after Earth has become a Vampire Nation!
BABY BLUES: Allumination
Inspired by true events, Baby Blues tells the terrifying tale of a young ten-year-old boy, Jimmy, who is forced to protect his siblings from an inescapable and unspeakable evil that threatens them on their once tranquil, secluded family farm.
BELPHÉGOR: PHANTOM OF THE LOUVRE: Lionsgate
A collection of artifacts from an archeological dig in Egypt are brought to the famous Louvre museum in Paris. While experts are using a laser scanning device to determine the age of a sarcophagus, a ghostly spirit escapes and makes its way into the museum’s electrical system. Museum curator Faussier brings in a noted Egyptologist, Glenda, to examine the findings, and she announces that the mummy inside the coffin was actually the evil spirit Belphegor. Meanwhile, local Parisian resident Lisa follows her runaway cat into the museum after closing time and is accidentally given a shock that sends the stray spirit into her body. Soon Lisa, as Belphegor, is making off with the rare Egyptian treasures convinced that they are rightfully hers. When Belphegor proves more than a match for the Louvre’s security forces, a renowned detective is brought out of retirement to find out why the museum’s Egyptian collection has been shrinking.
BLACK RIBBON: Midnight Releasing
Famous writer Kenneth Richardson gets a strange inclination to write his next work on an authentic typewriter. After purchasing the antique writing device, he begins to write feverishly. Little does he know, this typewriter was once owned by Jeffrey Blackwood; a sadist and Satan worshiper who abducted women and brutally tortured them during satanic rituals. With each stroke of the key, the gates of hell open up more and more while Kenneth becomes possessed by the soul of Jeffrey Blackwood. With the aid of a mentally challenged man, the demonic Kenneth Richardson abducts Emily Harrison and tortures her in his basement, preparing for the Black Mass which will bring Satan back into the world of men!
BLOOD AND SEX NIGHTMARE: Bloody Earth Films
Something unholy is stalking the guests of The Pleasure Mountain Adult Retreat. Local legend states that 40 years ago, a serial killer hung himself in these woods. Today, a sex resort sits on the site, and couples eager to sample a swinging lifestyle in rustic surroundings arrive in droves. Everything goes well and business is booming until, one by one, the guests begin to disappear.
BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA’S GUEST: Lionsgate
Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest follows the story of two young lovers, Bram and Elizabeth. The couple is forced by her father, the Admiral Murray, to take time off from their relationship in order to determine whether their love is true. Meanwhile, the Count Dracula is in London searching for a new home and comes across Elizabeth at the train station after she has run away from her father’s overbearing ways. Dracula proceeds to kidnap Elizabeth to settle an ancient dispute with the Admiral. When Bram learns his friend Malcolm was killed by Dracula on his way to inform him of Elizabeth’s kidnapping, he sets out across Europe to rescue his true love.
DEAD FURY: Unearthed
Led by the wisecracking Max, a group of hunters accidentally stumble into the forested realm of a family of demonic freaks. The freaks are hungry to possess anyone who trespasses on their sacred land, so Max and his friends must fend off the evil enemy with whatever weapons they have at hand. Shotguns, pick-axes, knives, rotary saws, weapons of every description are enlisted to dice, slice and sever. “Dead Fury” is a fun-filled world of gut-crunching blood and violence!
DR. SHOCK’S GRINDHOUSE OF HORRORS: Midnight Releasing
International horror host Dr. Shock is back with three horrific, blood drenched films. First on the menu is WILBUR S DEAD & BREAKFAST. A pair of twin brothers are making millions selling their beef jerky and automotive parts over the internet. When a gang of rogue bikers stumble across Wilber s Bed & Breakfast, they soon discover the twins bloody secret to success. BLOODSUCKING HILLBILLIES is a story of she-devils, moonshine, weakness and wickedness. A sinful tale that sheds light on the mysterious Furko Family Curse. The third tale, THE BLACK ROSE, follows a reporter for The World Examiner as he struggles to find the perfect cover story. He hires four college students to get pictures of Carl Carlson, an acquitted axe murderer known for his award winning rose bushes. When the kids trespass on Carl s property, all hell breaks loose.
THE HIVE: Genius
The Hive unleashes a mass of flesh-eating army ants 200 million strong is making its way through the jungles of Brazil devouring every living thing in its path. Called in to stave off the attack is Horace Lennart, a scientist from Thorax Industries extermination service in Los Angeles, and his girlfriend, entomologist Claire Dubois. But when they discover the bizarre intention and origins of the crawling creatures, they fear for the future of the planet. When these ants come crawling, classic horror gets a contemporary twist and an unearthly invasion gets the upper hand.
HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS 20th Anniversary Edition: Retromedia/Infinity
Private dick Jack Chandler is a tracking down runaway Samantha when he crosses paths with a sect of Egyptian chainsaw-worshipping prostitutes led by “The Master” When Samantha – drugged by the cult – captures Jack and helps prepare him for ritual sacrifice, can she shake it off the effects in time to save the day?
JOHNNY SUNSHINE: Brain Damage
In the year 2012, three years after the rise of zombies, a seedy underworld of exploitation and violence exists in a maze of alleyways and speakeasies just outside the city walls; where life is cheap and the drugs are cheaper. Surviving to a ripe old age has become an urban myth. At the center of it all is Johnny Sunshine, a porn-snuff star and killer for hire. She stalks the night like a tempest of sex and violence, much to the pleasure and profit of her producer, Max, and his entertainment empire. As the body count rises, Johnny becomes a victim of her own success. A secret plot is hatched to orchestrate her downfall and capture it all on camera to create the greatest snuff film ever made.
MIDNIGHT 2: SEX, DEATH, AND VIDEOTAPE: SRS Cinema
No on will ever be able to forget the unspeakable atrocities committed one dark midnight at the Barnes farmhouse. Now, years later, Abraham, the last surviving member of the crazed family, has taken up residence in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Armed with a video camera and his various implements of death, he stalks the streets of the city to satisfy his bloodlust…searching the psyches of his victims for his perfect mate. Enter Rebecca, a beautiful young bank teller who has unwittingly come under Abraham’s deadly camera lens. With the help of a hard-boiled police detective, she may be able to solve the murder of her best friend…or become the ultimate sacrifice in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
MORELLA’S BLOOD VISION (ZOMBIES, THE BLOOD SEEKERS, BLOODSTALKERS): Retromedia/Infinity
Eat your heart out, Elvira! In Morella’s Blood Vision, join Ghost Hostess with the Mostess Morella, a cheap date who’ll never kick you out of bed for wanting to snuggle up with a cheesy B-movie. Morella unravels three classic horror tales: Zombies, The Blood Seekers and Blood Stalkers. And stick around as she shares new episodes of her show Graveyard Theater.
ROGUE: Dimension Extreme/Genius (TEX’S PICK OF THE WEEK)
From the director of Wolf Creek comes this terrifying look at nature’s perfect killing machine. When a group of tourists stumble into the remote Australian river territory of an enormous crocodile, the deadly creature capsizes their boat – trapping them on a tiny mud island with the tide quickly rising and darkness descending. As the hungry predator closes in for the kill, they must fight for survival against all odds.
SHADOWS LIGHT: Passion River
Unusual killings, a young woman in mortal danger, and a powerful supernatural evil compel a world weary priest to risk everything, including his very soul. Enter a world of Angels, Demons, and Djinn in this compelling supernatural thriller that explores courage, conviction, and the timeless struggle of good and evil.
STARSHIP TROOPERS 3: MARAUDER: Sony Pictures
Johnny Rico is back to lead his team on a secret mission to rescue a small crew of troopers stranded on the remote planet of OM-1. Battling bugs, both new and old, the new “Marauder” advanced weapons technology may be their only hope against a treasonous element operating within the Federation itself. As Captain Lola Beck and the rest of the starship crew fight to survive in the harsh conditions, it begins to dawn on them that something on OM-1 is very, very wrong. This time the bugs have a secret weapon that could destroy humanity.
WEBS: Image
When a group of electrical workers investigates a bizarre power source in an abandoned Chicago building, they inadvertently discover a deserted laboratory. Inside appears to be a defunct nuclear power core, but its accidental activation suddenly opens a portal to a parallel universe. Suddenly they are trapped in a maddening mirror world where savage, cannibalistic beings with spider appendages stalk and swarm. Desperate and terrified, the dwindling band of survivors must fight back with primitive weapons against the growing storm of spider-people and their monstrous queen
Night School, director Ken Hughes and writer Ruth Avergon‘s tale of a headhunting slasher on the streets of Boston, arrived in the early Golden Age of the slasher film and never quite broke through the endurance test that other films in the subgenre, like Friday the 13th, managed to pass with flying colors. Blame it on a more cerebral tone, a crowded market, whatever you like, but saying it’s a shame that the film didn’t break through doesn’t begin to cover it.
Night School isn’t just an underrated slasher, or an underseen one. For my money, it’s one of the best films the subgenre has ever produced, full stop, and Vinegar Syndrome’s new 4K UHD restoration, arriving just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, is must-have proof. Stacked with special features highlighting the craft of the film and its place in slasher history, and headlined by a gorgeous restoration showcasing the wonderfully textured production, this is Night School as it’s meant to be seen for slasher devotees everywhere.
So, what makes the film so effective? It starts very simply, with the revelation that a killer with a very cool knife and a motorcycle helmet as a mask is murdering young women in Boston, taking off their heads, and dropping those heads in the nearest body of water (no matter how small).
Solving the case falls on Judd Austin (Leonard Mann), a detective with an academic background who traces all of the victims in one way or another back to a local night school. There, suspicion falls on a womanizing professor (Drew Snyder) who sleeps around on his research assistant and romantic partner, Eleanor (Rachel Ward), whose own death could be right around the corner.
I’m doing my best to stay as spoiler-free as possible here, not just because I think plenty of slasher fans still need to see Night School, but because the film is quite determined to be a whodunit in the classic Italian giallo sense. The kills are brutal and elaborate, the killer deliberately covered head-to-toe in leather and a gleaming black helmet, the knife and the headhunting a disturbing signature. Avergon’s script is well-versed in the trappings of exactly this kind of story, complete with red herrings galore. And yet, by the time it’s all wrapping up, there’s also the sense that the answer was right there in front of you the entire time, something the very best films by legends like Mario Bava and Dario Argento could also achieve.
But on to the restoration: Like the best of the gialli, Night School is also a beautifully engineered film full of colors and delicate camera compositions and sound design. The opening kill, which takes place on a playground carousel outside of a daycare, is rich in exactly this kind of thing, from the cityscapes that lead into the scene to the sound of a motorcycle slowly rolling forward, its engine already dead. Cinematographer Mark Irwin, best known for his many collaborations with David Cronenberg, paints the film in rich reds, absinthe greens, and haunting, chilled blue-white light on wet Boston streets, all of which are preserved beautifully by the restoration team at work on this one.
It’s a movie that very deliberately evokes a specific place – the aging streets of Boston in the 1980s, and the halls of relatively low-level academia – and then takes that place into haunted territory, saturating every frame with color and shadow that suggests a killer lurking just out of view.
Night School is not a massively gore-heavy film, but it does deliver the slasher goods with a series of tense, often unpredictable kills and body discoveries that range from the darkly comic to the flat-out jaw-dropping. That’s thanks to the sound design, the score, the editing from Robert Reitano, and more, all of which add to the film’s giallo soul.
In every case, the scene’s geography is outstanding, and it’s easy to see where the simplest possible kill shot might land, but the film never goes for the obvious. Throw in a surprisingly (for 1981, anyway) feminist bent to the storytelling and some very progressive moments for an early slasher film, and this one fits right in with Black Christmas and The Slumber Party Massacre as a film with depth you can just keep unpacking.
That depth, helped along by a load of featurettes and two new commentary tracks featuring members of the crew, is what stands out the most in this new 4K set. Night School may be a niche film recognized mostly by horror addicts and the slasher faithful, but it deserves to be something more, a landmark on the roadmap of slasher cinema history. It’s one of the best in the genre, and this restoration highlights, underlines, and shouts that from the rooftops.
Night School is now available in 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome.
You must be logged in to post a comment.