It’s Sharktopus week everyone! Roger Corman’s latest B-horror flick is unleashed in Blu-ray and DVD formats today. And who isn’t excited for that? Well, I am anyway. In other news, not much in the way of “must have films” were released this week. Japan brings us an erotic vampire thriller by the name of Blood and a double feature of Gamera flicks. The one film I do have my eye on is Interplanetary, a wryly comedic alien monster movie that was made for about the price of a couple Beef `N Cheddars from Arby’s. Check out of the rest below.
Horror In Your House
March 15th, 2011

THE ABSENT – Passion River

When twin brothers Oscar and Vincent discover their parents are plotting to kill them for insurance money, they beat them to the punch. Twenty-five years later, adult Oscar (Denny Kirkwood) languishes in prison while his brother (Bryan Kirkwood) lives a quiet life as a science teacher in a small town. Their worlds collide when Oscar is released from prison and strange things start happening to Vincent’s students.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE MASTER OF THE MACABRE – Image Entertainment

This collection features three unedited full-length movies from the Master of the Macabre, including cult favorite Murder!, a superb thriller that shows the deft directorial touch later seen in his most famous films. The set features all the action, heart-pounding suspense and visual artistry that Hitchcock is famous for. These entertaining and intriguing movie classics show the filmmaker creating a style that was to make him a legendary figure in the history of movies. Films: Murder!, Sabotage, and Jamaica Inn.

BLOOD (Blu-ray/DVD) – Well Go USA

Police Detective Hoshino (Kanji Tsuda) investigates the murder of a maid at a mansion belonging to Miyako Rozmberk (Sugimoto), a seductive vampire mistress and cougar all in one. Ukyo Kuronuma (Jun Kaname), an Edo-era swordsman who was turned into a vampire by Miyako is fingered for the crime but before anything can be done about it Hoshino ends up under Miyako s spell as well. This leads Hoshino and Ukyo to battle one another for the privilege of staying with Miyako for eternity.

MICAH SAYS: As of Tuesday morning the Blu-ray is temporarily out of stock on Amazon (DVD has less than 10 copies). Anyway, it’s another martial arts / vampire flick from Japan and the trailer makes it look like an erotic vamp melodrama with trademark Japanese over-the-top violence.

GAMERA VS. ZIGRA / GAMERA: THE SUPER MONSTER (Double Feature) – Shout! Factory

From Shout! Factory come the final two films in the illustrious Gamera franchise: Gamera Vs. Zigra and Gamera: Super Monster! Witness twice the excitement as Gamera takes on the malevolent underwater alien creature Zigra and then revisits each of his deadliest foes one by one while trying to save the world! Both films feature newly remastered transfers in their original Japanese language as well as English dubs!

INTERPLANTERY – Shock-O-Rama Cinema

Nine men and women, employees of Interplanetary Corporation, live and work on Mars. Their days aren’t particularly interesting, much less exciting, until they are assaulted by a murderous band of strangers and a seemingly unstoppable alien creature. Do these attacks have anything to do with the Martian fossil recently uncovered by one of the employees? Will the rapidly increasing body count adversely affect Interplanetary’s stock price? And can anyone survive long enough to fill out the inevitable paperwork?

MICAH SAYS: A no budget alien thriller complete with a monster in a rubber suit and tons of dry humor. If you liked LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA you may want to check this one out. And it gets bonus points for reminding of the Beastie Boys.

SHADOW – MPI Home Video

Director and co-writer Federico Zampaglione’s terrifying film recalls Sam Peckinpah’s ferocious “Straw Dogs” and Tobe Hooper’s horror classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” yet it feels as immediate as today’s headlines. Jake Muxworthy plays a young soldier who embarks on a mountain-biking trip, walks into a cafe and meets the love of his life (Karina Testa). Unfortunately, he also meets a pair of violent hunters who make him their prey after he defends the young woman from their sleazy advances. But what appears at first to be a vicious cat-and-mouse game set in treacherous terrain turns into a full-blown nightmare when these adversaries become the captives of a mountain dweller whose depraved plans for them soon become all too apparent. Both a relentless horror film and a searing account of the brutal after-effects of war, “Shadow” is a scream-inducing descent into an abyss of unspeakable terror.

SHARKTOPUS (Blu-ray/DVD) – Anchor Bay Entertainment

An eight-tentacled nightmare hybrid of shark and octopus, “S-11” was created by genetic scientist Nathan Sands (Roberts) as the U.S. Navy’s next super-weapon. But when its control implants are damaged during a training experiment off the Mexican coast, the beast escapes to Puerto Vallarta to sample the local fare — bikini babes, jet-skiers, and spring-breakers. With the ocean terror now out of control and seemingly invincible, a ragtag group – comprised of a hotshot mercenary, an investigative reporter, and Sand’s biomechanical engineer daughter – have come together to stop the unholy beast from turning a seaside tourist resort into the ultimate human buffet. But it won’t be easy: it possesses problem-solving intelligence, attacks without mercy or warning – it even has the ability to walk on land. Not to mention a decided affinity to snack on bungee jumpers… Kerem Bursin and Sara Malakul Lane co-star, with a hilarious cameo by Corman himself.

MICAH SAYS: For fans of bad movies and SyFy channel lovers. I have a soft spot for horror movies that feature Eric Roberts and Shark monsters that can walk on land and like to eat bungee jumpers. The only bad thing about this movie is that, unlike the PIRANHA remake, all the ladies remain scantily clad here. This is my pick of the week.