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New to Blu – Week of 11/17/2015
Each week here at Bloody Disgusting we like to highlight some of the new Blu-ray releases hitting shelves across the world. Please note that this isn’t every release for the week, just a few of the ones that jumped out at us.
Interesting week of releases. As for what we’ve got here in the US it’s very strong but nothing really worth note from foreign territories. Troll and Troll 2 getting some Scream Factory love is very nice but the most exciting releases of the week for me are the Slasher//Video titles. They’re finally here! If you haven’t seen Killer Workout stop what you’re doing and go out and get this movie!
US Releases
The City of Lost Children (Sony)
Synopsis:
On a futuristic oil rig, a man has aged prematurely because he has lost the ability to dream. To reverse the ageing process he kidnaps children from the local harbor town so that he can steal their dreams.
In Cold Blood (Criterion)
Synopsis:
An account of a real life crime in which an entire family was brutally murdered by wandering gunmen, adapted from Truman Capote’s landmark true-crime novel.
Troll/Troll 2 (Scream Factory)
Synopsis:
A wicked troll king in search of a mystical ring that will return him to his human form invades a San Francisco apartment complex where a powerful witch lives.
A family vacationing in a small town discovers the entire town is inhabited by goblins in disguise as humans, who plan to eat them.
Killer Workout (Slasher//Video)
Synopsis:
Two years ago, a young woman named Valerie was burned after entering a tanning salon. Now, her twin sister, Rhonda runs a local gym where all of a sudden, people are being murdered.
Shock ‘Em Dead (Slasher//Video)
Synopsis:
Martin is a total loser, who nobody cares for. When he fails to get a position as guitar player in Lindsay’s band and loses his job on the way, he makes a deal with a Voodoo priestess. She promises him the fulfillment of all his dreams if he swears obedience to her. He becomes a rock star and has many women – but to stay alive, he has to kill other people.
Deadly Prey (Slasher//Video)
Synopsis:
Colonel Hogan is a ruthless former military officer who trains a large group of former U.S. Servicement as mercenaries by having them hunt down and kill people they abduct off the streets of Los Angeles. Hogan’s greedy financier Michaelson threatens Hogan to speed up the mens training or he will pull the plug on Hogan’s training camp. However, Hogan and his men meet their match when their latest kidnap victim turns out to be a tough gung-ho marine named Mike Danton who despite being unarmed and hunted, he manages to decimate Hogan’s men in detail. Frustrated Hogan, his tough right-hand man Thornton and personal assistant Sybil kidnap Danton’s wife Jaimy to force him in the open, while Jaimy’s retired police detective father tries to track down her and Danton who finds an unlikely ally in the form of a former marine buddy named Cooper who wants to help him take on all of Hogan’s men.
Requiescant (Arrow)
Synopsis:
The son of a Mexican bandit comes upon a village that is under the thumb of a deranged former Confederate officer, who is–among other things–stealing land from the locals with phony land grants.
Faust (Kino Lorber)
Synopsis:
God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.
White of the Eye (Scream Factory)
Synopsis:
A serial killer is on the loose in and around the small community of Globe, Arizona, and housewife Joan White gradually comes to suspect that her opera-loving hi-fi engineer husband Paul might know more than he’s letting on.
Deadliest Prey (Slasher//Video)
Synopsis:
Colonel Hogan is still alive and just getting out of prison on parole, some 28 years later. But he has only one thing in mind and that is revenge on Mike Danton. So once again, Hogan puts together a group of mercenaries, has Danton kidnapped, and the games begin. Only this time Hogan is funded by a huge Internet company in exchange for broadcasting the hunting of Danton over the Internet, worldwide.
Cinco de Mayo (Slasher//Video)
Synopsis:
After being unjustly fired, harassed by his students and labeled a potential menace to society, El Maestro sets out to teach everyone one final lesson.
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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