STOCK YOUR VAULT: New Blu-rays & 4K Discs for 12/13/2022!

 

Vault Master's Pick of the Week!

Wow! 2022 is coming to an end rather quickly Vault Dwellers - there's only thirteen days left until Christmas Day! If you're still stuck on what to get that weirdo cinephile in your life, or you're still building your own personal holiday wishlist, then you might just find some great new titles this week on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray!

Severin Films' trio of Bruno Mattei action flicks finally get a wider release - brace yourselves for the insanity of BORN TO FIGHT, COP GAME, and DOUBLE TARGET! Scream Factory debuts standard & limited edition steelbook editions of CARRIE, while their parent company does the same for Laika titles CORALINE and PARANORMAN!

Arrow Video brings the sci-fi downer SILENT RUNNING, which, oddly enough, was one of the biggest inspirations for MST3K!, to 4K disc today while 88 Films gives U.S. collectors POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP (on 4K & Blu) as well as BLOOD AND DIAMONDS! PARAMOUNT's popular new Horror film SMILE arrives in all formats, and Lionsgate drops a 30th anniversary 4K release for HIGHLANDER! (I guess this means 4Ks of the remaining sequels can't be too far behind?)

Synapse Films just released their standard edition Blu of CREATURE FROM BLACK LAKE, and (surprise!) Diabolik DVD has apparently become a distributor and released four new titles today, namely AFTEREFFECTS, HALLUCINATION, MANIAC DRIVER, and NIGHTMARE SYMPHONY! As for my pick of the week, I'm giving it to the new Vestron Video Collector's Series SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT COLLECTION Blu-ray set! This trilogy of direct-to-video sequels features new 2K transfers, new audio commentaries, new cast & crew interviews, & more! It's a definite must-own for Vestron completionists as well as fans of the super bizarre franchise!

As usual there are some titles I didn't mention so keep scrolling to view the full roster of this week's new Blu-rays and 4Ks!

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY NEW RELEASES
Carrie (Collector's Edition 4K UHD - Scream Factory)
Carrie (Limited Edition Steelbook - 4K UHD - Scream Factory)
Coraline (4K UHD - Shout! Factory)
Coraline (Limited Edition Steelbook - 4K UHD - Shout! Factory)
The Highlander (30th Anniversary Edition - 4K UHD - Lionsgate)
Paranorman (4K UHD - Shout! Factory)
Paranorman (Limited Edition Steelbook - 4K UHD - Shout! Factory)
Police Story 3: Supercop (4K UHD - 88 Films)
Silent Running (4K UHD - Arrow Video)
Smile (2022 - 4K UHD - Paramount)


BLU-RAY NEW RELEASES
AfterEffects: Memories of Pittsburgh Filmmaking (DiabolikDVD)
Blood and Diamonds (88 Films)
Born to Fight (Severin Films)
Boxcar Bertha (Sandpiper Pictures)
Cop Game (Severin Films)
Creature from Black Lake (Synapse Films)
Double Target (Severin Films)
The Electric Man (Indie Rights)
Evil: Season 3 (CBS)
Ghostwatch (Collector's Edition - 101 Films)
Gorgeous (88 Films)
Hallucination (DiabolikDVD)
Magnificent Warriors (88 Films)
Maniac Driver (DiabolikDVD)
Nightmare Symphony (DiabolikDVD)
Police Story 3: Supercop (88 Films)
The Roundup (Mediabook - MPI Home Video)
Silent Night, Deadly Night: 3-Film Collection (Vestron Video Collector's Series - Lionsgate)
Smile (2022 - Paramount)
Spider (Sony Picture Classics)

 

You Better Watch Out for Vestron Video Collector's Series' New SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT COLLECTION!

THE REMAINDER OF THE "SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT" FRANCHISE COMES TO BLU-RAY DISC ON DECEMBER 13TH WITH A SURPRISING NUMBER OF BONUS FEATURES!

I absolutely adore the mean-spirited insanity of the original SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, I appreciate the awful (but glorious) cheesiness of PART 2 ("Garbage Day!"), and the 2012 reboot of the original was... okay, but I honestly don't remember much about the rest of the films that make up the series. (Hell, I don't even recall if I've actually seen Parts 3 and 4!) Thankfully on December 13th, I can reacquaint myself with the absolutely insane trio of holiday horror films that involve psychos, witches, and murderous toys! And because this is part of Lionsgate's ongoing Vestron Video Collector's Series line, these movies have truly gotten way more love than they deserve!

Synopses: Prepare for a trilogy of pure terror with this collection of films from the SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT series. In BETTER WATCH OUT!, it's a very bloody Christmas after Ricky Caldwell, the notorious "Killer Santa Claus," awakens from a six-year coma with one thing on his mind: murder. In INITIATION, a reporter's investigation into a mysterious death leads her into the clutches of a cult that's chosen her as its new queen, and THE TOY MAKER stars entertainment legend Mickey Rooney as a toy maker whose creations display some very human – and deadly – tendencies.

DISC ONE:
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 3: BETTER WATCH OUT! (1989)

Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 89 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0


Extras:

• NEW! Audio Commentary with Film Historian Jarret Gahan!
• NEW! Outshine the Brain Cap - An Interview with Actor Bill Moseley!
• NEW! Monte & Me - An Interview with Creative Consultant Steven Gaydos!
• NEW! For a Live Audience: Silent Night, Deadly Night 3 - An Interview with Executive Producer Richard Gladstein!
• Trailer
• Still Gallery

DISC TWO:
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 4: INITIATION (1990)

Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 86 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0

Extras:

• NEW! Audio Commentary with Director Brian Yuzna!
• NEW! Our Man Ricky with Clint Howard!
• NEW! Ritualistic Behavior - An Interview with Screenwriter Woody Keith!
• NEW! Twisted Visions - An Interview with Surrealistic Design & Effects Artist Screaming Mad George!
• NEW! For a Live Audience: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 - An Interview with Executive Producer Richard Gladstein!
• Trailer
• Still Gallery
  
  

DISC THREE:
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 5: THE TOY MAKER (1991)

Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 86 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0


Extras:

• NEW! Audio Commentary with Director-Cowriter Martin Kitrosser!
• NEW! The Best Presents - An Interview with Producer-Cowriter Brian Yuzna!
• NEW! Pino's Truth - An Interview with Actor Brian Bremer!
• NEW! The Most Toys - An Interview with Surrealistic Design & Effects Artist Screaming Mad George!
• NEW! For a Live Audience: Silent Night, Deadly Night 5 - An Interview with Executive Producer Richard Gladstein!
• Trailer
• Still Gallery

Egads! I can't believe they put this much effort into this trio of sequels Vault Dwellers: We get new audio commentaries, new cast & crew interviews, still galleries, trailers, and (according to Blu-ray.com's review) greatly improved picture and audio over the previous DVD release! (Note: To those of you preparing to complain about the aspect ratios, the films were originally shot in fullscreen.) I was already looking forward to slapping another Vestron title in line with the others, but now I'm legitimately excited to get this set in the mail next week!

Speaking of which, the SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT COLLECTION will be available everywhere discs are sold on Tuesday, December 13th (which is turning into an expensive day, no?) and should cost between $17 - $18! If you are a completionist that's been waiting to complete your SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT collection, order a copy of this Blu-ray set now from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DEEP DISCOUNT, or DIABOLIK DVD!

If You've Got a Taste for Terror... Get CARRIE on 4K UHD on December 13th!

SCREAM FACTORY BRINGS BRIAN DE PALMA'S FANTASTIC ADAPTION OF THE STEPHEN KING NOVEL TO 4K, IN BOTH STANDARD AND STEELBOOK EDITIONS!

Though there's been a sequel, a made-for-TV remake, and a big budget Hollywood reboot, the original 1976 CARRIE is still clearly the best version of the Stephen King tale of a tortured teenage girl that unleashes her telekinetic powers upon those that wronged her. And now CARRIE is the latest Scream Factory double-dip, featuring a new 4k transfer, one new audio commentary, a newspaper ad gallery, plus the plethora of extras from the previous Blu-ray release! If you haven't yet added this movie to your collection, now is the time to do it Vault Dwellers! And if you already do have CARRIE, this seems like a worthy upgrade!

Synopsis: Based on the best-selling Stephen King novel, this "absolutely spellbinding horror movie" (Roger Ebert) stars Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie in Oscar-nominated* performances. This ultimate revenge fantasy has become one of the all-time great horror classics!

At the center of the terror is Carrie (Spacek), a high school loner with no confidence, no friends ... and no idea about the extent of her secret powers of telekinesis. But when her psychotic mother and sadistic classmates finally go too far, the once-shy teen becomes an unrestrained, vengeance-seeking powerhouse who, with the help of her "special gift," causes all hell to break loose in a famed cinematic frenzy of blood, fire and brimstone! This classic also stars John Travolta (BLOW OUT), Amy Irving (THE FURY), William Katt (HOUSE), and P.J. Soles (HALLOWEEN).

 

Collectors realizing that they have to purchase CARRIE again.

Disc Specs:
DISC ONE
Rated R | Color | 98 minutes | Region Free
Video - 2160p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio: 2.0 Mono & 5.1

DISC TWO
Rated R | Color | 98 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English DTS-HD Master Audio: 2.0 Mono & 5.1

 

 

Extras:
DISC ONE

• NEW! 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative!
• In Dolby Vision (HDR 10 Compatible)
• NEW! Audio Commentary With Joe Aisenberg, Author Of Studies In The Horror Film: CARRIE!

DISC TWO

• NEW! 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative!
• NEW! Audio Commentary With Joe Aisenberg, Author Of Studies In The Horror Film: CARRIE!
• NEW! Newspaper Ad Gallery By Drive-In Asylum!
• Theatrical Trailer
• Carrie Franchise Trailer Gallery

DISC THREE

• Writing CARRIE – An Interview With Screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen!
• Shooting CARRIE – An Interview With Director Of Photography Mario Tosi!
• Cutting CARRIE – An Interview With Editor Paul Hirsch!
• Casting CARRIE – An Interview With Casting Director Harriet B. Helberg!
• Acting CARRIE – Interviews With Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, Jack Fisk, William Katt, Piper Laurie, Priscilla Pointer, PJ Soles, and Brian DePalma!
• More Acting CARRIE – Interviews With William Katt, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, Piper Laurie, Edie McClurg, and P.J. Soles!
• Visualizing Carrie – Interviews With Brian De Palma, Jack Fisk, Lawrence D. Cohen, and Paul Hirsch!
• Bucket Of Blood – An Interview With The Maestro Pino Donaggio!
• Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – Revisiting The Film’s Original Locations!
• A Look At Carrie, The Musical!
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots
• Still Galleries – Rare Behind-The-Scenes Photos, Posters, And Lobby Cards!
• Stephen King And The Evolution Of Carrie Text Gallery!

 

While I haven't been a big fan of Scream Factory's somewhat recent decision to focus on re-releasing titles in new 4K editions, I must admit that the fact that they are using the original theatrical artwork, and adding a few additional bonus features, kind of sweetens the pot. The 3-disc standard Collector's Edition 4K UHD of CARRIE arrives on Tuesday, December 13th and should cost between $28 - $36! You can pre-order it now from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DIABOLIK DVD, or directly from SHOUT! FACTORY.

There is also a Limited Edition Steelbook arriving the same day, which will cost somewhere between $30 - $39! That release is also available to order now from AMAZON, DIABOLIK DVD, and SHOUT! FACTORY. (Note: Ordering either the standard or steelbook editions directly from Scream/Shout! will net you a poster!) However, if you're a hardcore CARRIE fan, then you may want to indulge in one of Shout!/Scream Factory's exclusive bundles: 

• Bundle #1 contains the standard 4K release, a poster featuring the original theatrical artwork, and a set of cool enamel pins from Gutter Garbs! ORDER NOW for $99.95!
  
• The second bundle contains the 4K Steelbook, a poster featuring the steelbook's new artwork, and a set of enamel pins! ORDER NOW for $99.99!
  
• The third and final bundle contains everything: You get both the standard and steelbook 4K sets, both posters, and the Gutter Garbs pins! ORDER NOW for $130.98!
  
  

STOCK YOUR VAULT: New Blu-rays & 4K Discs for 12/07/2022!

 

Vault Master's Pick of the Week!

Another week, another slew of awesome Blu-ray and 4K releases! Welcome to the (sometimes) weekly STOCK YOUR VAULT column fellow collectors. This week is absolutely loaded with awesome titles that you'll either want to gift to others, or add to your own Christmas wishlists!

After multiple release date changes, VCI finally dropped their 50th Anniversary 4K (and Blu-ray) of Bob Clark's CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, while Scream Factory gave Bob Clark's other notorious holiday favorite BLACK CHRISTMAS a stellar new 4K UHD release! Paramount re-released the beloved Walter Hill classic THE WARRIORS, this time in a new Blu-ray steelbook, gave PULP FICTION its 4K debut (in standard and steelbook editions), and brought 48 HOURS (and its sequel ANOTHER 48 HOURS) to 4K for the first time! (Get them separately or in a double feature!)

Well Go USA brought the stellar Korean zombie flick TRAIN TO BUSAN to 4K, Lionsgate released Kevin Smith's CLERKS III to Blu-ray, and Arrow Video dropped THE LEECH and NIGHTMARE AT NOON (formally a Scream Factory title) to Blu-ray disc! Phil Tippett's MAD GOD arrived on Blu-ray this week from Shudder, Mill Creek added yet another Ultraman series to DVD (this time its the animated ULTRAMAN KIDS series), and The Warner Archive Collection debuted the original ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN on Blu-ray disc!

Even though a lot of the titles I just mentioned are absolutely awesome, I made my pick of the week Arrow Video's brand new Limited Edition SHAWSCOPE: VOLUME 2 boxed set! Boasting ten Blu-ray discs in a gorgeous collectible box, this set features hours of bonus features and new HD masters of fourteen Shaw Bros. classics including: 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER, DISCIPLES OF THE 36TH CHAMBER, MAD MONKEY KUNG FU, FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS, INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN, THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS, TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG, MY YOUNG AUNTIE, MERCENARIES FROM HONG KONG, THE BOXER'S OMEN, MARTIAL ARTS OF SHAOLIN, and THE BARE-FOOTED KID!

There are other titles I've failed to mention, so be sure to scroll down to see the full roster of this week's new Blu-ray and 4K discs!

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY NEW RELEASES
48 Hours (4K UHD - Paramount)
48 Hours: 2-Movie Collection (4K UHD - Paramount)
Another 48 Hours (4K UHD - Paramount)
Black Christmas (Collector's Edition - 4K UHD - Scream Factory)
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (4K UHD - 50th Anniversary Edition - VCI)
King Kong (1976 - 4K UHD - Studiocanal)
King Kong (1976 - 4K UHD - Limited Edition Steelbook - Studiocanal)
Pulp Fiction (4K UHD - Paramount)
Pulp Fiction (Limited Edition Steelbook - 4K UHD - Paramount)
R.I.P.D. (4K UHD - Universal)
Top Gun: Maverick 2-Movie Collection (4K UHD - Limited Edition Giftset - Paramount)
Train to Busan (4K UHD - Well Go USA)


BLU-RAY NEW RELEASES
Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (Warner Archive Collection)
Better off Dead (Limited Edition Steelbook - Paramount)
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (50th Anniversary Edition - VCI)
Clerks III (Lionsgate)
Creepshow: Season 3 (Shudder)
Incantation (Gorilla Tree Film Co.)
The Leech (Arrow Video)
Mad God (Shudder)
Nightmare at Noon (Arrow Video)
Sexy Time Four Play (Acid Bath)
Shawscope Volume II (Limited Edition - Arrow Video)
South Park: Post Covid & The Return of Covid (Paramount)
Star Trek: Discovery - Season 4 (CBS/Paramount)
Star Trek: Discovery - Season 4 (Limited Edition Steelbook - CBS/Paramount)
Tommy Boy (Limited Edition Steelbook - Paramount)
Ultraman Kids: The Complete Series (Mill Creek Entertaiment - DVD)
The Warriors (Limited Edition Steelbook - Paramount)

 

WANTED ON BLU-RAY: CAGE (1989)

WANTED ON BLU-RAY:
CAGE (1989)

Rated R | Color | 100 minutes

I first witnessed CAGE nearly a decade ago when my good friend (and Vault-Cast cohost) "Silent" Steve and I were looking for something to watch one night, that we haven't already seen before. Luckily I had brought along my CD wallet filled with VHS rips for this occasion, and after flipping through dozens of pages of DVD-Rs, we settled on CAGE. What followed was an evening of pure entertainment with both of us frequently pointing at the screen and yelling "Hey, it's that guy!"

Synopsis: During the Vietnam War, a soldier named Billy Thomas (Lou Ferrigno) saves his friend Scott Monroe (Reb Brown), but ends up taking a bullet to the skull as their helicopter dusts off from the warzone. The wound amazingly doesn't kill the musclebound GI but instead causes brain damage, thus rendering him a child in a Hulk's body. Shortly after their stint in the military, the two friends open up a bar together only to run afoul of a local gang that runs an illegal underground fighting ring. Eventually, both men are pulled into the dark world of brutal cage matches, leading to a fairly action-packed finale filled with gun fights and fist fights.

CAGE is a tonally offbeat film that tries striking a balance between being a post-Vietnam drama about two men struggling to recover after their tour of duty in one of the most controversial military conflicts in American history, and being a proto-LIONHEART action crime-thriller! The end result is a movie that is sometimes cheesy, but highly entertaining! And you absolutely will not believe how many recognizable faces you'll see in CAGE Vault Dwellers! My God, the cast in this movie is crazy! 

Besides Reb Brown (STRIKE COMMANDO, HOWLING II: YOUR SISTER IS A WEREWOLF, SPACE MUTINY) and Lou Ferrigno (the original INCREDIBLE HULK himself), we get Al Leong (the Asian henchmen in every movie), Danny Trejo (in an early uncredited role), James Shigeta (Mr. Takagi in DIE HARD), Branscombe Richmond (Bobby Sixkiller on TV's RENEGADE), and a plethora of other (vaguely) familiar faces that'll have you bringing up the film's IMDB page on your phone over and over again!

After its theatrical premiere in 1989 and VHS release a year later, CAGE passed into absolute obscurity. And as of my writing this post, it has been several decades since this gem has been readily available to the public! Vault Dwellers, I declare that the time has come for CAGE to finally be given the chance to find itself an audience by getting a triumphant Blu-ray debut! The world needs to experience this film dammit!

The utter lack of a CAGE Blu-ray saddens Reb & Lou.

Availability: CAGE (aka THE CAGE, aka CAGE FIGHTER) is completely out of print! You can find used VHS copies all over eBay (hailing from the U.S., U.K., and South Korea) for around $10 each. If you no longer own a VCR, you could instead attempt to get your paws on the long out of print DVD on eBay (which ranges from $40 - $70)! However, your best bet to see this movie is to watch it on YouTube for free! There are several different channels that have uploaded CAGE in its entirety, but I personally think this is the best version available.

Current Rights Holder: CAGE hit theaters in the U.S. on September 1, 1989 and raked in a little over $618,000. (Note: The film also saw theatrical release in South Korea and Portugal over the following two years.) In 1989, Image Organization in the UK released CAGE in a big box VHS, while here in the States, Orion Home Video would bring the film to VHS in 1990 shortly before they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In the same year, CAGE would get another stateside VHS release from the defunct UAV Corporation, and a cool clamshell VHS from Korean company Hanjin Video. After that, the movie dropped off the face of the planet until Trinity Home Entertainment briefly released CAGE to DVD in 2004. That release is now unavailable and being sold for exorbitant prices on eBay.

So who holds the very fate of CAGE in their hands at this point? Well, initially I was leaning towards Orion Pictures (now revived under parent company MGM), until I realized that they only acted as a distributor for the movie. So I deduced (correctly it would turn out) that the film's Producer/Director Lang Elliot (who is currently the President of Sunn Classic Pictures Inc.) still retains the rights to his film, and its sequel! 

I got this straight from the horse's mouth after recently getting in touch with Mr. Elliott, who was kind enough to share some cool background information about his movie, such as the Gracie family's involvement, and CAGE's impact on the mainstream appeal of cage-fighting & mixed martial arts!


Blu-ray Wishlist:

• A new 2K transfer (4K would be asking a bit much, no?) made from the best surviving film elements available in the film's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio!
  
• Dolby Digital 2.0 and/or 5.1 audio mixes!
• CAGE II as a bonus feature film!
• Audio commentary with Director Lang Elliott!
• A making of featurette/documentary featuring interviews with Lang Elliott, Reb Brown, Lou Ferrigno, Al Leong, and other surviving cast & crew!
• Deleted and/or extended scenes (if any exist)!
• Behind-the-scenes footage! 
• Poster and behind-the-scenes stills gallery!
• Original theatrical trailers. 

CAGE has definite cult appeal and I'd hate to see it remain unreleased and unloved, especially in this current era where studios and boutique Blu-ray labels are scouring archives and vaults for titles to release. Hopefully by shining a spotlight on CAGE ever so briefly, I can generate enough interest for someone to dig up a print, get the film properly restored, and share it with the masses! And now that I've done my due diligence, all that I can do is play the waiting game and hope that CAGE's imprisonment in movie limbo ends soon.

UPDATE: In my recent discourse with Lang Elliott, I learned that there are currently several companies seeking to license the film for both Blu-ray and streaming releases, but nothing is set in stone yet. Here's hoping Vinegar Syndrome is one of the contenders - CAGE is definitely in their wheelhouse and they always do a fantastic job on all of their Blu-ray titles! Stay tuned for more updates on this one gang!