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Zombie Classic ‘Dead Next Door’ Gets 2K Transfer
Tempe Entertainment announces the launch of its Blu-ray label Tempe Digital with the September 26th release of the 1990 landmark independent shocker The Dead Next Door. This 2-Disc Collector’s Edition includes the same Blu-ray from the company’s limited (and now out of print) 3-Disc Ultimate Edition, along with an all-new DVD featuring a collectible slipcover and three new bonus features.
Two and a half decades before “The Walking Dead” made zombies mainstream on cable television, 19-year-old writer/director J.R. Bookwalter (Ozone, Witchouse 2: Blood Coven) embarked on The Dead Next Door, an ambitious horror feature pitting an elite team of Zombie Squad soldiers against hoards of the undead and the secretive religious cult hell-bent on protecting them. The film would ultimately take four years to complete with the help of a now-famous Hollywood director and more than 1,500 Northeast Ohio residents, who portrayed the multitudes of bloodthirsty ghouls.
For this 2-Disc Collector’s Edition release, brand-new 4:3 and 16:9 1080p HD masters have been painstakingly created from a 2K restoration using the original Super-8mm film elements.
Also included is a 5.1 surround mix which restores the voices of the original cast members for the first time ever, vintage and newly-prepared bonus materials, and much more. The DVD includes a 4:3 standard-definition presentation of the restored feature plus a candid audio commentary by the director recorded in 2001, which was previously only available on long out-of-print international releases.
The second disc also features an all-new 2017 interview with actor Scott Spiegel (director of cult favorites Intruder and From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money), as well as a 1999 tour of several locations where the film was shot. Rounding out the Collector’s Edition is a beautiful slipcover featuring newly-commissioned artwork, which will only be available with the first pressing of 1,000 units.
Order: https://mvdshop.com/
“THE DEAD NEXT DOOR” 2-Disc Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray + DVD)
FINAL SPECS
Disc 1 (Blu-ray)
* 2KRestored Feature in 4:3 Original Aspect Ratio (1.33:1, 78 mins.)
* 2K Restored Feature in 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1, 78 mins.)
* DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround Original Cast Mix
* DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround Classic Dubbed Mix
* 2015 Audio Commentary with producers J.R. Bookwalter, Jolie Jackunas and Scott P. Plummer
* “Restoration of the Dead” Featurette (19 mins.)
* Capitol Theatre Screening Q&A (12 mins.)
* The Nightlight Screening Q&A (16 mins.)
* Behind the Scenes Footage (19 mins.)
* Deleted Scenes & Outtakes (7 mins.)
* Storyboard Gallery (27 mins.)
* Around The World Gallery (4 mins.)
* Behind The Scenes Gallery (9 mins.)
* Production Stills Gallery (6 mins.)
* Tempe Digital Trailers: The Dead Next Door (2015 Version), Platoon of the Dead (2009), Poison Sweethearts (2008)
Disc 2 (DVD)
* FIRST TIME ON DVD! Standard-Definition Presentation of 2K Restored Feature in 4:3 Original Aspect Ratio (1.33:1, 78 mins.)
* NEW! 2001 Foreign DVD Audio Commentary with writer/director J.R. Bookwalter and makeup FX artist David Lange
* NEW! Richards Returns: An Interview with Actor Scott Spiegel (5 mins.)
* NEW! Akron Location Tour with James L. Edwards (5 mins.)
* FIRST TIME ON DVD! Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Original Cast Mix
* FIRST TIME ON DVD! 2015 Audio Commentary with producers J.R. Bookwalter, Jolie Jackunas and Scott P. Plummer
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Classic Dubbed Mix
* 2005 Audio Commentary with writer/director J.R. Bookwalter, actor Michael Todd and cinematographer Michael Tolochko, Jr.
* 20 Years in 15 Minutes (16 mins.)
* Video Storyboards (8 mins.)
* Video Pre-Shoots (6 mins.)
* Auditions (14 mins.)
* 2000 Frightvision Reunion (6 mins.)
* Three Miles Out Music Video (3 mins.)
* Tempe Video Trailers: The Dead Next Door, Kingdom of the Vampire (1991), Ozone, The Sandman, Polymorph
Packaging (First 1,000 Units Only)
* Slipcover with Newly-Commissioned 2017 Artwork
* Classic VHS Release Wrap Arts
Home Video
‘Hokum’ Heads Home to Digital Tomorrow Ahead of Physical Media Release in August
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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