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Vintage Horror Gem ‘The Vampire Bat’ Debuts HD Restoration on Special-Edition Blu-ray!
The Film Detective, in conjunction with UCLA Film & Television Archive, are bringing Frank R. Strayer’s horror classic The Vampire Bat to Blu-ray and DVD on April 25th. This new release will be presented in full screen with an aspect ratio of 1:33 and feature Dolby Digital sound. The release was restored from a 355mm composite acetate fine grain master and a 35mm nitrate print and UCLA’s restoration recreates the sensational Gustav Brock color sequence, unacknowledged and unseen since the first run.
Synopsis:
When corpses drained of blood begin surfacing in the small European village of Kleines Schloss, town elders suspect a vampire is on the loose, but policeman Karl Brettschneider (Melvyn Douglas, Ninotchka, Hud) doubts the existence of blood-sucking creatures.Arguing the contrary is mad scientist Dr. Otto von Niemann (Lionel Atwill, Doctor X, Mystery of the Wax Museum), who is caring for the patients—terrifying his lab assistant, Brettschneider’s love interest Ruth Bertin (Fay Wray, King Kong, The Most Dangerous Game).
Amid mass hysteria, fingers point at the village idiot, Herman Gleib (Dwight Frye, Dracula, Frankenstein), who has a creepy affinity for bats. But after local vigilantes eliminate him from the picture, the killings continue … and Brettschneider tries to keep a cool head as he reluctantly starts searching for supernatural answers.
Special Features:
-A Melvyn Douglas featurette with his son, Gregory Hesselberg
-Audio commentary by film historian Sam Sherman.
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.
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