This week’s releases features the long awaited Blu-ray of the original Fright Night, but act fast because only 3,000 copies are available. Of course, that release coincides with the remake featuring Colin Farrell which is also out in various formats. One of my favorite bits of info is that both the original and the remake opened to around 7 million in theaters the first weekend. But in 1985, a movie ticket cost $2.75 and the film opened on 1,500 screens. In 2011, the average ticket was around 10 bucks and the remake opened on 3,000+ screens. Suck (pun intended) on that, remake that no one asked for.

In other news, the one time lost minor cult film, Intruder is finally seeing blu. That’s good news all around, especially for fans of things made by the people responsible for all things Evil Dead. Check out the rest of the releases and have a great week. Horror In Your House
December 13th, 2011

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) (Blu-ray) (Limited to 3,000 copies) – Sony Pictures / Screen Archives

He’s sweet, sexy, and he likes to sleep in late. You might think he’s the perfect neighbor. But before inviting him Jerry in for a nightcap, there’s something you should know. Jerry prefers his drinks warm, red-and straight from the jugular! It’s Fright Night, a horrific howl starring Chris Sarandon as the seductive vampire and William Ragsdale as the frantic teenager struggling to keep Jerry’s deadly fangs out of his neck. Only 17-year-old Charley Brewster (Ragsdale) knows Jerry’s bloodcurdling secret. When Charley can’t get anybody to believe him, he turns to TV horror host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), who used to be the “Great Vampire Killer” of the movies. Can these mortals save Charley and his sweetheart Amy (Amanda Bearse) from the wrathful bloodsucker’s toothy embrace? If you love being scared, Fright Night will give you the nightmare of your life!

MICAH SAYS: I remember very early on thinking, “Hey, at least if the remake sucks we will get a Blu-ray of the original and hopefully an update to the OOP sequel.” Well, it’s here, but only 3,000 copies. Why? I can’t think of a way that this is good business. C’mon! This is pretty much everyone’s (including mine) favorite ’80s vampire movie.

FRIGHT NIGHT (2011) (Blu-ray / DVD / 3D) – Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all going on: he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the most coveted girl in his high school. In fact, he’s so cool he’s even dissing his best friend. But trouble arrives when Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there’s something not quite right—but everyone, including Charlie’s mom (Toni Collette), doesn’t notice. After observing some very strange activity, Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on the neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone, Charlie has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this Craig Gillespie-helmed revamp of the comedy-horror classic.

MICAH SAYS: I watched this along with everyone else in theaters, but I’ve already forgotten most of it. From what I remember David Tenant was good, the CGI was bad and the moral of the story is you should ditch your friends and life for a chance to hook up with a blonde.

INTRUDER Director’s Cut (Blu-ray) – Synapse Films

It’s 10 pm and the employees of Michigan’s Walnut Lake Supermarket are in for a really bad night. The place is shutting its doors for good, and the night crew has a long shift ahead of them… longer than they think! The lovely check-out girl has a deranged ex-boyfriend, the store’s phone lines are cut, and the employees start dying in the most stomach-churning ways imaginable (courtesy of Academy Award®-winning KNB EFX Group). A deranged killer is on the loose in the grocery store! Can anyone stop this murderous intruder? Synapse Films is proud to present Scott Spiegel’s INTRUDER, the “holy grail” of extreme gore cinema, in an all-new 2K high-definition transfer of the original uncut, uncensored version. Sam Raimi (director of THE EVIL DEAD and SPIDER-MAN) and Renée Estevez (TV’s THE WEST WING) star in this cult film classic that critics call “a gorgeous low-budget shocker that has long been one of the best kept secrets of the genre scene” (Alan Simpson, Sex Gore Mutants). Be sure to look for Bruce Campbell (THE EVIL DEAD, TV’s BURN NOTICE) in a cameo role!

MICAH SAYS: I’m gonna make this my PICK OF THE WEEK because the whole 3,000 Fright Night copies thing irks me. This is fantastic and underrated little gem and will make an excellent addition to your library.

JESSIKA RABID – Troma Entertainment

A dysfunctional family, the Hoffmans, have been living their lives in a veil of secrecy. Incest, rape are a part of their everyday lives. A product of which, is Jessicka (Elske). After years of nameless abuse of her family and neighbors, Jessicka has been reduced to something less than human. She’s more of a family pet than she is a true member of the family. Jessicka is the tragic character brought up from her surroundings, and suddenly finds her opportunity for revenge.

KATIE MALONE (DVD/Blu-ray) – Phase 4 Films

College students and best friends Ginger Matheson, Jim Duncan, and Kyle “Dixie” Canning, pool their cash to buy a “ghost” in an online auction. The three think it’s all a prank, but once they open up the antique box to examine their “treasure,” they unleash the vengeful spirit of a servant girl who has been wreaking havoc on her owners throughout the generations.

KLOWN KAMP MASSACRE – Troma Entertainment

Fifteen years ago, Edwin went to clown camp to fulfill his lifelong dream of bringing laughter to the world… but nobody laughed. Humiliated on graduation night, Edwin viciously murdered the entire camp before vanishing into legend. Now, despite the warnings of the town drunk, old man Bonzo has reopened the ranch and a new class of clowns have unwittingly signed up. When their die-hard instructor Sgt. Funnybone (Miguel Martinez, The Donor Conspiracy) is found dead in a puddle of cream pie and blood, the curriculum changes from comedy to survival! Edwin slashes, stabs, strangles, and disembowels the clowns while laughing insanely at his own bad jokes.

LITTLE DEATHS – Image Entertainment

Well-to-do home owners Richard and Victoria pose as religious do-gooders and lure homeless girls to their luxurious home. Apartment dwellers Claire and Pete invigorate their love life with a role-playing game with increasingly hazy boundaries. Jen and Frank, once prostitute and pimp, are now trying to make a go of things as an exclusive couple. Jen’s even in therapy with a psychiatrist, who is secretly working with her husband Frank. Each couple is in for a surprise. Richard and Victoria will have the tables turned on them by one of their lady victims; Claire will finally push Pete too far in their sexual game; and Jen and Frank can’t begin to imagine what their conspiring psychiatrist is up to. Little Deaths are little games that sometimes lead to the big one.

PSYCHO SLEEPOVER – Troma Entertainment

“Psycho Sleepover” is a horror/comedy feature film directed by Adam Deyoe and Eric Gosselin. After accidentally murdering her boyfriend, Debbie Dicky, moves to a new town and meets three girls who invite her to a sleepover. The very same night there is a breakout at the local insane asylum where forty serial killers escape and head over to crash the party. However, the girls at the slumber party might not be as helpless as the killers think.

REFLECTING SKIN – Echo Bridge Home Entertainment

Seth is a mischievous eight-year-old growing up in the harsh realities of 1950’s rural Idaho. He lives at home with his strict mother and guilt-ridden father, helping at the family gas station and waiting for his brother, Cameron (Viggo Mortensen, The Road), to return from the Pacific. But his whole world changes the day he decides the widowed neighbor woman, Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan, TV’s Rome), is a vampire. Inspired by his father’s stories, Seth begins to believe that she is responsible for the terrible events happening around him. His obsession continues to grow when Cameron comes home…and falls head over heels for his worst enemy.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (Blu-ray / DVD) – 20th Century Fox

Described as an origin story, “Apes” is set in present day San Francisco and deals with the aftermath of man’s experiments with genetic engineering that lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. Franco will play a driven scientist who becomes a crucial figure in the war between humans and apes.

MICAH SAYS: I’m mostly including this because if you somehow missed it in theaters you should definitely buy/Redbox/Netflix this flick…NOW. Simply put, Rise of the Apes is a damned dirty good ape movie.