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Horror In Your House: March 20th, 2012
Battle Royale on Blu-ray is finally here thanks to Anchor Bay. And it’s just in time for you to watch again before the PG-13 version Hunger Games hits theaters. In other news, the most despised horror flick of 2011 is available for purchase. That film is none other than Creature. There’s also some rumors out there (and a few confirmed cases) that C.H.U.D. 2 and Ghoulies 3 have been dumped on DVD for the first time (North America) in a 8-pack combo available at select Walmarts. Fans of those flicks might want to do some digging thru the bargain bins.
BATTLE ROYALE (DVD / Blu-ray) (Complete Edition and Regular) – Anchor Bay
42 high school students are forced to kill each other on an uninhabited island.
MICAH SAYS: Most obvious PICK OF THE WEEK in some time. I had the chance to watch and review the Blu-ray. Some notes: The quality ranges from stunning to atrocious, with the artifacting being very noticeable and distracting in places (I watched the Director’s Cut). The audio, on the other hand, is great throughout. Even with a few small nitpicks, it’s still the biggest must buy of the year so far. The Complete Edition contains the sequel and a considerable amount of special features.
CREATURE – Arc Entertainment
Revolves around a group of family and friends who, en route to New Orleans, are sidetracked in the Louisiana bayou and encounter a monster named Lockjaw who is revered by the locals as a god.
MICAH SAYS: The people responsible for this crap love to defend it. Creature is undeniably garbage. The most recent “in defense” was written by one of the actors and he basically said viewers approached this film wrong with too critical of a lens. Well, here’s what I expected: An old school monster movie with genre favorite Sid Haig. Here’s what I got: A piece of nonsensical sh*t featuring Sid Haig. And I didn’t’ see this in an empty theater, I saw it how the filmmakers intended, at a packed theater (only full because it was free/radio promo thing). Almost everyone there left howling at the awfulness (if they didn’t dart out early). This was before all the negative hype started appearing on the web. Bottom line: Creature is a sh*tty movie and rightfully earned every one of it’s “Worst of the Year” awards. Move on, get tougher skin and make a better movie next time. Horror fans are a forgiving bunch.
DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL – Pumpkin Patch Pictures
A couple leave everything behind moving to San Francisco with their son. When they lose him in a tragic accident, they realize there’s an evil presence that doesn’t want them there. Forced to come to grips with the supernatural reality haunting them, they seek the help of a psychic to get rid of the evil spirit.
FUNERAL HOME (1981) – CFS Releasing
The 1980s retro horror classic! Young and easily frightened 16-year old Heather is called to stay with her grandmother in the hopes of helping her turn an old funeral home into a bed-and-breakfast. But strange happenings and unexplained murders around the home quickly make this vacation spot a “dead-and-breakfast” – with no answers as to who or what is causing all the death. Well-executed gloomy thriller in the Hitchcock vein. 
Editorials
Arrow Video’s ‘Stranger Things: The Complete Series’ is the Ultimate Collector’s Box Set for Fans
Available as of today from Arrow Video is a new box set that might arguably be the definitive way to watch Netflix’s blockbuster series Stranger Things.
At the very least, Stranger Things: The Complete Series puts emphasis on “complete.” That’s evident in its special features alone.
Special and Deluxe editions of Stranger Things: The Complete Series are available for purchase now, featuring an array of exclusive bonus content, including bloopers, interviews with the cast and crew, and behind-the-scenes featurettes, designed for the ultimate Stranger Things experience.
The Deluxe Edition is presented in custom packaging featuring newly-commissioned artwork, alongside a wealth of extra material: a 148-page booklet, exclusive art cards, a Hellfire Club patch, double-sided posters for each season, and much more.
This limited-edition release features all 42 episodes of the show’s five season run on more than 25 discs, all housed in a set featuring gorgeous artwork by Juan Ramos. “We always dreamed that Stranger Things could be owned in its entirety,” said Matt and Ross Duffer, “not just as a collector’s set, but as a way to preserve the show for decades to come.”
Their imprint looms large over the release, including writing in the 148-page book that also includes original design sketches, concept art, and storyboards. All of which would warrant the steep price tag alone for the diehard Stranger Things fan, but Arrow Video upped the ante with collectible surprises as well. Arcade patches, stickers, Hellfire Club dice, and an extremely detailed map of Hawkins, Indiana- double-sided to account for the Upside Down, of course – are among the highlights for this all-ages set.
Adorn your walls with posters representative of your favorite season! That’s also an option with this set’s offerings.
All of which to say that it’s rare for Netflix to make the jump into physical media, and they’ve enlisted Arrow Video to give it the best possible treatment. They certainly brought utmost care and attention to this release. As such, both the standard and deluxe sets come with steep price tags that start at $160 depending on format. While that’s likely a deterrent to the casual viewer, it’s more than worth it for fans.
It may be less convenient than hitting play on Netflix, sure, but there’s a lot to be said about the potential for quality upgrades to your viewing. No spotty internet or compression issues to be found here when it comes to the 4K Ultra HD or Blu-ray discs.
That’s really the biggest takeaway from this release: the untapped potential still of Netflix’s streaming library of originals that are ripe for similar treatment. Series and films that could receive Arrow Video levels of treatment on physical media.
Fans of Stranger Things can venture into the Upside Down one last time this spooky season at Halloween Horror Nights, but there may be no better way to ring in the series’ tenth anniversary than a rewatch with this expansive, well-curated box set.
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