88 Films, the brilliant UK Blu-ray label that I’ve been having a passionate affair with the last couple of years, have announced their March lineup and boy is it a doozy! The good times get rolling on March 11th with the release of cannibal films from Italy (d’uh!) and Franch (wha-wha-what?!?!). Said films are The Green Inferno: Cannibal Holocaust 2 and Cannibal Terror. While these two cannibal entries were birthed from the same roots, the final results are two entirely different looks at the controversial sub-genre that even the most hardcore horror fans sometimes struggle to stomach.

Then, on March 25th, 88 Films will release three more films starting with Wes Craven’s foray into the world of DC Comics with Swamp Thing. While not as popular as his more straight forward horror fare, Swamp Thing further showcased the range Craven had as a director.

The next two late March releases are a pair of sequels in Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and The Rage: Carrie 2. Both films took on the difficult challenge of following up classics and admirably turned out results that have become fan favorites.

All five titles are currently available for pre-order from 88 Films.

THE GREEN INFERNO: CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST 2 (1988)

For years fans waited for the release of a sequel to Ruggero Deodato’s trendsetting Cannibal Holocaust, yet it would take almost a decade for The Green Inferno, also known as Cannibal Holocaust 2, to arrive… and it wasn’t what followers of the Italian cannibal cycle were expecting.

A group of enterprising adventurers venture into the Amazon jungle in search of a missing professor but soon the youngsters encounter more than they bargained for – European colonialism is exploiting the rainforest and the natives are fighting back! While Deodato’s original critiqued the mondo pseudo-documentary phenomenon, here director Antonio Climati (Mondo Cane, Savage Man, Savage Beast) turns the focus to satirizing the hypocrisy and complexity of Cannibal Holocaust itself. A potent mix of macabre imagery, scenic locations, extreme gore and sly in-jokes, The Green Inferno is the gut-munching sequel you always knew you wanted but were too afraid to ask for!

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Brand new 2K remaster from the original camera negative in 1.66:1 OAR
• Extensive clean-up and colour correction carried out in the UK
• Remastered uncompressed English audio
• Remastered uncompressed Italian audio with newly translated subtitles
• ‘Scenes From Banned Alive: The Rise and Fall of Italian Cannibal Movies’. Ruggero Deodato, Umberto Lenzi and Sergio Martino discuss their notorious cannibal films, including The Man From Deep River, Cannibal Ferox, Cannibal Holocaust and The Mountain of the Cannibal God
• Italian opening and closing credits
• Remastered trailer

CANNIBAL TERROR (1981)

First there was Cannibal Holocaust… Then came Cannibal Ferox … But somewhere in France, someone was already hatching a plot to cash-in on the Italian intestinal classics with Cannibal Terror. With no budget, no professional actors and no flights to Amazonia, Cannibal Terror instead gives us Deodato and Lenzi on a cash-strapped level and the end result is The Room of cannibal movies! Brilliant and blood-soaked late night entertainment, Cannibal Terror was one of the UK’s infamous ‘video nasties’ – showing that our beloved censors have little in the way of a sense of humor! However, this torrid tale of stranded tourists being hunted by hungry natives is a work of demented genius from director Alain Deruelle that words can barely do service to. Prepare to feast your eyes on Cannibal Terror!

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited edition o-card slipcase [first print run only]
• Limited edition collectors’ booklet by Calum Waddell  [first print run only]
• High definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Uncompressed English audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• ‘That’s Not The Amazon! – The Strange Story of the Eurocine Cannibal Film Cycle’
• Deleted scene
• Theatrical trailer

SWAMP THING (1982)

Long before superhero movies were packing out multiplex cinemas, Freddy Krueger creator Wes Craven followed-up the success of Richard Donner’s Superman with this fondly remembered DC adaptation that brings a comic book favorite to life!

Following the success of The Hills Have Eyes, Swamp Thing shows Craven adapting his style from less rough ‘n’ ready thrills and spills – and the result is an adventure thriller featuring a mutant-monster with good intentions, and a supporting cast of fan-favorites including Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Escape from New York), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, RoboCop) and David Hess (The Last House On The Left) in one of his best-remembered villainous turns.

Released in 1982 to an appreciative cult following, Swamp Thing remains one of Craven’s most mesmerizing achievements – with a faithful DC-comic look and action-packed special effects. 88 Films is delighted to present Swamp Thing in a very special edition Blu-ray release that packs a pristine punch and highlights this creature feature classic in all of its bayou-tinged brilliance!

SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and standard definition DVD presentations
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Audio commentary by director Wes Craven, moderated by Sean Clark
• ‘Swamp Screen: Designing DC’s Main Monster’ – an interview with Production designer Robb Wilson King
• ‘From Krug to Comics: How the Mainstream Shaped a Radical Genre Voice’ – interview with critic Kim Newman
• Original theatrical trailer
• Picture booklet

CANDYMAN: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH (1995)

A true horror icon returns in this buzzin’ UK Blu-ray edition of Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. The sequel to Clive Barker’s original 1993 shocker, this 1995 follow-up brings legendary hook-handed bogeyman Tony Todd back once again to spill the blood of anyone who dares speak his name. A mix of nightmarish skin-slicer and seductive-voiced stalker, our villainous antagonist this time is summoned to the carnival that is New Orleans, where clues to his past are set to be unearthed…

Also starring Kelly Rowan (Assassins), Bill Nunn (Spider-man) and Veronica Cartwright (Alien) and directed by the Oscar winning Bill Condon (Chicago), Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh is one of the highest achievements in nineties horror sequel-dom! Say it with us now, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman…

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited edition o-card slipcase [first print run only]
• Limited edition collectors’ booklet by film journalists Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz [first print run only]
• High definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Uncompressed LPCM stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles
• ‘The Candyman Legacy’ – interview with actor Tony Todd
• ‘Down Memory Lane’ – interview with actress Veronica Cartwright
• Original Theatrical Trailer

THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 (1999)

Brian DePalma’s Carrie (1976) set a new standard for the horror genre, and twenty- two years later The Rage: Carrie 2 proved to be a remarkably riotous and highly-rated follow-up to the classic original. Directed by an old horror-hand in Katt Shea (Poison Ivy), and starring Emily Bergl (television’s Southland) as a bullied schoolgirl who possesses an unexplored link to the telekinetic terror of Carrie White – the thrills come thick and fast in this fan-favorite follow-up.

Paying respectful homage to the abjection and atmospherics of its ground-breaking femme-on-fire predecessor, The Rage: Carrie 2 arrived to remind a whole new generation that it’s best not to bully the school outcast – you never know the terrifying power she might possess. Presented here in stunning HD, this sequel offers the very best in 90s Hollywood horror.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited edition o-card slipcase [first print run only]
• Limited edition collectors’ booklet by film journalists Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz [first print run only]
• High definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Uncompressed LPCM stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio commentary with director Kat Shea
• Alternate ending
• Deleted scenes
• Original theatrical trailer