Connect with us

Home Video

DVD Details: ’80s Gore Classics ‘Pieces’ and ‘The Beyond’

Published

on

This Halloween, Grindhouse Releasing and Ryko Filmworks present brand new deluxe edition DVDs of two gory ’80s horror classics: PIECES and THE BEYOND, both arriving at retailers on October 28th. The big news is that PIECES will be hitting select theaters throughout the month of October! All details can be found by reading on.

One of the most violent and outrageous entries in the ’80s slasher craze, “Pieces” tells the story of a chainsaw killer who collects body parts from his victims to create a grisly human jigsaw puzzle. The movie’s graphic gore was so hardcore that it was originally released to theaters without an MPAA rating.

Grindhouse Releasing now presents “Pieces” as it has never been seen before on home video, uncensored and vividly restored in a state-of-the-art, high-definition transfer. Years in the making, the collector’s edition 2-disc set is packed with rare, exclusive bonus material, including new interviews with director Juan Piquer Simon (“Slugs”) and star Paul L. Smith (“Popeye,” “Midnight Express.”)

“Pieces” was produced by exploitation masters Steve Minasian (“Last House on the Left,” “Friday the 13th”) and Dick Randall. The film features a cast of cult favorites including Smith, Christopher George (“City of the Living Dead”), Edmond Purdom (“Don’t Open Til Christmas”), and Lynda Day George (“Day of the Animals”).

“Hostel” director Eli Roth hails “Pieces” as one of his favorite horror films of all time. He’s personally endorsed the disc and screened the movie to an enthusiastic crowd in 2008 at his “Greats of Roth” festival in Los Angeles. The movie has packed houses at midnight shows across the U.S.

To celebrate this landmark DVD release, Grindhouse is bringing “Pieces” back to theaters in October. Catch the movie on the big screen at the following venues:

Oct. 11: Emagine Novi, 44425 W. 12 Mile Road, Novi, MI 48377
Oct. 17 – 18: Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Avenue, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Oct. 25: Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
Oct. 31: Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028

Additional screenings will be announced soon.

Grindhouse is also bringing back “The Beyond,” Italian director Lucio Fulci’s masterwork of supernatural horror, at last available again in the ultimate DVD edition. A cursed hotel devours the bodies and souls of all who enter, as the gates of Hell open to unleash an onslaught of bizarre mayhem: Graphic crucifixions, deadly tarantula attacks, acid baths, eyeball impalements, throat-shredding demon dogs and hordes of flesh-eating zombies are among the film’s many horrors.

For many years, U.S. audiences could not see “The Beyond” in its original uncut form. Grindhouse brought the movie back to life, restoring Fulci’s nightmarish vision of Hell in all its graphic glory. Grindhouse then teamed with Quentin Tarantino’s Rolling Thunder Pictures and Miramax Films to release the film in U.S. theaters, introducing Fulci to a new generation of fans.

The new Grindhouse “Beyond” DVD features a high-definition, widescreen transfer of the unrated director’s cut, with a massive collection of extras including a new 2008 introduction by star Catriona MacColl, added cast and crew interviews and a classic interview with the late maestro Fulci himself.

“Pieces” and “The Beyond” arrive Oct. 28 through Ryko Filmworks.

For more information, visit the official website

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Home Video

Gateway Horror Classic ‘The Gate’ Returns to Life With Blu-ray SteelBook in May

Published

on

One of my personal favorite horror movies of all time, 1987’s gateway horror classic The Gate is opening back up on May 14 with a brand new Blu-ray SteelBook release from Lionsgate!

The new release will feature fresh SteelBook artwork from Vance Kelly, seen below.

Special Features, all of which were previously released, include…

  • Audio Commentaries
    • Director Tibor Takacs, Writer Michael Nankin, and Special Effects Designer & Supervisor Randall William Cook
    • Special Effects Designer & Supervisor Randall William Cook, Special Make-Up Effects Artist Craig Reardon, Special Effects Artist Frank Carere, and Matte Photographer Bill Taylor
  • Isolated Score Selections and Audio Interview
  • Featurettes:
    • The Gate: Unlocked
    • Minion Maker
    • From Hell It Came
    • The Workman Speaks!
    • Made in Canada
    • From Hell: The Creatures & Demons of The Gate
    • The Gatekeepers
    • Vintage Featurette: Making of The Gate
  • Teaser Trailer
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spot
  • Storyboard Gallery
  • Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery

When best friends Glen (Stephen Dorff) and Terry (Louis Tripp) stumble across a mysterious crystalline rock in Glen’s backyard, they quickly dig up the newly sodden lawn searching for more precious stones. Instead, they unearth The Gate — an underground chamber of terrifying demonic evil. The teenagers soon understand what evil they’ve released as they are overcome with an assortment of horrific experiences. With fiendish followers invading suburbia, it’s now up to the kids to discover the secret that can lock The Gate forever . . . if it’s not too late.

If you’ve never seen The Gate, it’s now streaming on Prime Video and Tubi.

Continue Reading