Greetings Vault Dwellers, and welcome to the final Tuesday of September 2019! This is a HUGE (i.e. EXPENSIVE) week for us collectors, as all of our favorite labels (both foreign and domestic) have pulled no punches in releasing a variety of enticing titles onto physical media! Brace yourselves!
Disney just re-released nearly all of the STAR WARS films to Blu-ray in new "Multi-screen Editions." From EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE to EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI, each film gets new uniform cover art (they all look like they'd match beautifully on a shelf!) and a digital copy. (Oddly enough, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is missing...)
Paramount restored Stephen King's THE STAND TV mini-series for its Blu-ray release, Olive Signature gives an amazing amount of love to Roger Corman's A BUCKET OF BLOOD, Sony gives SKATETOWN USA its Blu-ray debut, and Scream Factory delivers the goods for FEAR NO EVIL, and their Collector's Edition of John Carpenter's VAMPIRES! And if you're looking for something more contemporary to watch I recoomend SHAFT and the CHILD'S PLAY redo! But wait - THERE'S MORE!
And to cap it all off, Severin Films hits us with two stellar releases this week - both of which come in standard and limited editions! First up is KILLER CROCODILE, which gets a new 2K scan and extras PLUS (if you order the Limited Edition) its sequel, KILLER CROCODILE 2! Severin's other big release is THE WAX MASK, which boasts a 4K restoration, numerous extras, and a soundtrack CD (if you get the Limited Edition release)! Yowza! That's just too much awesome in one week!
And believe it or not, there are still even more awesome new titles out on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray this week - to see them all continue scrolling!
NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY
7 Deadly Sins Anna
Child's Play (2019)
DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Season Four
The Field
Killer Crocodile (Standard & Limited Editions - Severin Films)
Shaft (2019)
The Tracker (2018)
The Wax Mask (Standard & Limited Editions - Severin Films)
NEW TO BLU-RAY
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (Indicator - Region Free)
Action Jackson (Warner Archive Collection)
Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue - The Complete Series A Bucket of Blood (Olive Signature)
Bunny Lake is Missing (Indicator - Region Free)
A Centaur's Life: The Complete Series Dragonar Academy: The Complete Series
Fear No Evil (Scream Factory)
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (Indicator - Region Free)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (Special Editon - Arrow Video)
Hellraiser (Special Edition - Arrow Video)
In the Aftermath (Special Edition - Arrow Video)
John Carpenter's Vampires (Collector's Edition - Scream Factory)
Kyo Kara Maoh: The Complete Second Season
The Last Movie (1971 - Remastered - Indicator - Region Free)
Lupin the 3rd: Goemon's Bloodspray
Magical Girl Raising Project: The Complete Series
Major League II
Major League: Back to the Minors
Maleficent (4K UHD)
One Piece: Episode of East Blue
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Multi-Screen Edition)
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (Indicator - Region Free)
Skatetown USA (Sony)
Sleep Hollow (20th Anniversary Edition)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (Multi-Screen Edition)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (Multi-screen Edition)
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (Multi-screen Edition)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Multi-screen Edition)
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (Multi-screen Edition)
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (Multi-screen Edition)
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (Multi-screen Edition)
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (Multi-screen Edition)
Stephen King's The Stand (Restored Collector's Edition)
Torture Garden (Indicator - Region Free)
The Vineyard (Blu-ray/DVD combo - Vinegar Syndrome)
NEW TO DVD
Afro Ninja
American Horror Story: Apocalypse
The Black String
Burn
Clowns of Halloween
Cool as Hell 2 (Unrated)
Daughter of the Wolf
Early Grave
The Filming of Death Metal Zombies
Horror Movie: A Low-Budget Nightmare
Jacob's Ladder (2019)
Legend Has It
Matinee Madness
Reel Terror
Semester's End
Voltron: Defender of the Universe - The Complete Original Series
Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Lion Force
Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Vehicle Force Within the Woods of Undead County
Zombified
MULTI-FILM COLLECTIONS ON BLU-RAY Macabre Visions: The Films of Mario Bava (Arrow UK - Region B) Contains: Black Sunday, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Black Sabbath, Kill Baby... Kill!, Five Dolls for an August Moon, Bay of Blood (aka Twitch of the Death Nerve), Baron Blood, Lisa and the Devil, and Rabid Dogs (aka Kidnapped).
POST-APOCALYPTIC WASTELANDS AND VISITORS FROM HELL AWAIT YOU IN ARROW VIDEO'S TRIO OF NEW BLU-RAY RELEASES!
HELLRAISER and HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II (previously available in Arrow's now out of print SCARLET BOX) are easily two of the greatest Horror films of all time. As the years have gone by, I've gained an even larger appreciation for both films. (The other HELLRAISER sequels? Well.... not so much.) IN THE AFTERMATH is a film I am not familiar with at all: It's apparently a repurposed anime (1985's ANGEL EGG) that was edited together with new live-action footage shot by director Carl Colpaert. The result is a unique, and "hauntingly beautiful" post-apocalyptic tale! All three of these releases are available today - read onward to see if they're worth adding to your growing collections Vault Dwellers!
HELLRAISER (1987 - SPECIAL EDITION)
Synopsis: “Stephen King was once famously quoted as saying, “I have seen the future of horror… his name is Clive Barker.” That future was realized in 1987 with the release of Barker’s directorial debut HELLRAISER.
Based on his own novella The Hellbound Heart, Barker’s HELLRAISER sees Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) move into their new home, unaware that something evil lurks beneath the floorboards of the dilapidated house – something that wants human blood…
Introducing the world to the iconic Pinhead and his sadistic band of Cenobites, HELLRAISER became an instant genre classic upon release and remains one of the most frighteningly original visions in horror.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 93 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English LPCM 2.0 & DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Extras:
NEW! 2K restoration approved by director of photography Robin Vidgeon!
Audio commentary with writer-director Clive Barker!
Audio commentary with Barker and actress Ashley Laurence!
NEW!Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser - Brand new version of the definitive documentary on the making of Hellraiser, featuring interviews with key cast and crew members!
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser - Actor Sean Chapman talks candidly about playing the character of Frank Cotton in Barker s original
Soundtrack Hell: The Story of the Abandoned Coil Score - Ex-Coil member Stephen Thrower on the Hellraiser score that almost wa!
Hellraiser: Resurrection - Vintage featurette including interviews with Barker, actors Doug Bradley and Ashley Laurence, special make-up effects artist Bob Keen, and others!
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser!
Original EPK featuring on-set interviews with cast and crew.
Draft Screenplays [BD-ROM content]
Trailers and TV Spots
Image Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx!
Arrow Video's Special Edition of HELLRAISER is available now wherever Blu-ray discs are sold! This disc should cost you between $24 - $28, and can be obtained from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DIABOLIK DVD, or directly from ARROW VIDEO!
HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II (1988 - SPECIAL EDITION)
Synopsis: Picking up right where HELLRAISER left off, HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II expands upon the terrifying universe created in Clive Barker s original film taking the story into the very depths of Hell itself.
Having escaped the clutches of Pinhead and the demonic Cenobites, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) awakens to finds herself detained at the Channard Institute, a hospital for the mentally ill. But her torments are far from over the chief doctor at the institute is determined to unleash the powers of Hell to achieve his own twisted ends.
HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II is one of the most celebrated horror sequels of all time, offering a vision that is both more gruesome and fantastical than its predecessor. Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 99 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English LPCM 2.0 & DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Extras:
NEW! 2K restoration approved by director of photography Robin Vidgeon!
Audio commentary with director Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins!
Audio commentary with Randel, Atkins, and actress Ashley Laurence!
NEW!Leviathan: The Story of Hellbound: Hellraiser II - Brand new version of the definitive documentary on the making of Hellbound, featuring interviews with key cast and crew members!
Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound - Actor Sean Chapman talks about reprising the role of Frank Cotton in the first Hellraiser sequel!
Surgeon Scene - The legendary excised sequence!
Lost in the Labyrinth - Vintage featurette including interviews with Barker, Randel, Keen, Atkins, and others!
Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellbound: Hellraiser II!
On-set interview with Clive Barker.
On-set interviews with cast and crew.
Behind-the-Scenes Footage.
Rare and unseen storyboards.
Draft Screenplay [BD-ROM content]
Trailers and TV Spots
Image Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx!
Arrow's Special Edition of HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II is also available everywhere today, and should cost between $24 - $28! Order yourself a copy right this very minute from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DIABOLIK DVD, or directly from ARROW VIDEO!
IN THE AFTERMATH (1988 - SPECIAL EDITION)
Synopsis: Following in the footsteps of Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich, Roger Corman protégé Carl Colpaert (THE CREW) made his directorial debut by combining repurposed excerpts from a foreign film in this case, Mamoru Oshii s (GHOST IN THE SHELL) spellbinding 1985 anime ANGEL'S EGG with new live-action footage shot in America. The result is IN THE AFTERMATH, a haunting post-apocalyptic vision like no other.
In a radiation-soaked wasteland, two surviving soldiers, Frank and Goose, search for essential supplies amid the rubble. After a violent confrontation, Frank is haunted by visions of an angelic young girl holding a giant egg, herself a refugee from another world altogether. Could the egg be the key to saving both their worlds?
A unique mash-up of 1980s B-movie nuclear paranoia and hauntingly lyrical animation, IN THE AFTERMATH is presented in a stunning new restoration that highlights Oshii's visionary genius and Colpaert's low-budget ingenuity.
Disc Specs:
Not Rated | Color | 72 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - English LPCM 2.0
Extras:
NEW! 2K restoration from original film elements!
NEW!The Path To Aftermath - An interview with producer Tom Dugan!
NEW! Apocalypse Then - An interview with star Tony Markes!
NEW! Before The Aftermath: The Influence of Angel's Egg - An appreciation of Mamoru Oshii's original film by anime expert Andrew Osmond (author of Arrow Books' Ghost In The Shell)!
Still and poster gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Corey Brickley!
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Booklet featuring essay on the film by Jon Towlson!
Arrow's Special Edition of IN THE AFTERMATH is now available to purchase, and costs between $24 - $28! If experimental and/or post-apocalyptic films are your jam, then pick up a copy today from AMAZON, BULL MOOSE, DIABOLIK DVD, or ARROW VIDEO!
CENOBITES, HAUNTED HOUSES, AND POST-APOCALYPTIC LANDSCAPES AWAIT YOU IN UMBRELLA'S NEW OCTOBER RELEASES!
Yowza! North American labels have been bombarding us with tons of new titles this month already, and our friends in Australia are upping the ante as well! This month, Umbrella brings the first three HELLRAISER films to Blu-ray (as if you didn't own them in some format already), and gives NEXT OF KIN a deluxe release under their Ozploitation Classics line with a new 4K transfer, and loads of extras!
Umbrella's Beyond Genres label continues to shine with their latest addition of THE QUIET EARTH, which has just received a new HD restoration, and newer genre fare comes to DVD, including OUIJA HOUSE and LOST GULLY ROAD. To find out more about the titles I've just mentioned, and to see the list of Umbrella's other new October titles, continue onward!
* Also due out on November 11th is Umbrella's Ultimate Edition of George A. Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD. Though I already own the Anchor Bay and Scream Factory releases of this title, I have to admit that the Umbrella release is pretty tempting. I'm guessing this release uses the same audio and video from previous Blu-ray releases, and is loaded with special features!
* Umbrella has announced a handful of their December titles, but the one that stands out for me is FROG DREAMING, which has been described as a GOONIES-style children's adventure film, about a pair of kids that go on a journey to seek a legendary aquatic creature.
THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY MCKENZIE (1972)
Synopsis: Reviled by the critics! Adored by fair-dinkum Aussies! In this fan-bloody-tastic classic, Australia's favourite wild colonial boy, Barry McKenzie, journeys to the old country accompanied by his Aunt Edna Everage to take a Captain Cook and further his cultural and intellectual education.
Faster than a rat up a drainpipe, Bazza heads for Earls Court to catch up with a bonzer bunch of ex-pat bastards - and from there rampages through London, cracking tubes, parking the tiger, pointing percy, flashing the nasty, and handing out knuckle-sandwiches to the unsuspecting Poms - who wouldn't even know a tram was up 'em 'till the bell rang!
Barry Humphries, Barry Cocker, Spike Milligan and Peter Cook star in this groundbreaking flick that captured Bazza's celebrated yawn in glorious technicolor and put the Oz fillum industry on the map!
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 101 minutes | Region 4
Video - 480p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - Dolby Digital 2.0
Synopsis: Scientist Zac Hobson (a powerhouse performance by Bruno Lawrence of Frontline) awakens to discover that he may be the last man on earth. Homes, highways and entire cities are deserted, every living thing has disappeared. Frustrated and plagued by megalomaniacal visions, Zac stands on a balcony and grandly addresses an 'audience' of cardboard standups (from Queen Elizabeth to Bob Marley), declaring himself "President of this quiet Earth."
But Hobson soon finds he may not be alone.
Receiving huge critical acclaim, and winning of 8 New Zealand Film Awards, this compelling sci-fi thriller has been rightly compared to the Twilight Zone for its chilling portrayal of a barren, post-apocalyptic world from which there is only one means of escape.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 91 minutes | Region B
Video - 1080p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Extras:
AUDIO COMMENTARY WITH WRITER/PRODUCER SAM PILLSBURY.
Synopsis: Prepare to travel beyond dreams and nightmares, into the realm of darkness and the furnaces of Hell as imagined by celebrated maestro of the macabre, Clive Barker. When journeyman Frank (Sean Chapman) purchases a mysterious Chinese puzzle box while visiting an exotic country he returns home to England and unwittingly unlocks a door to hell, dragged into a frightening dimension whose evil inhabitants, known as Cenobites, test his appetite for pleasure and tolerance for pain – literally tearing him apart in the process.
Escaping his sado-masochistic hell, Frank returns to his old household and begins an insidious resurrection that will not only draw the life and soul of everyone around him but open a portal for Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and his infernal Cenobites to wreak bloody havoc on an unsuspecting world. A gothic masterwork, HELLRAISER is the original cult visceral descent into the depths of the darkest mind.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 93 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - 5.1 Dolby True HD
Extras:
Audio Commentary with Clive Barker and Ashley Laurence.
Synopsis: "What is your pleasure, sir?" So echoes the evil enticement of Clive Barker's continuing blood stained pathway through the realm of darkness and into the furnaces of Hell. Following on from the original nightmare, young heroine Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) is institutionalised, battling with the unspeakable horror that destroyed her family. When investigating police uncover a blood soaked mattress, her occult-obsessive psychiatrist Dr Channard (Kenneth Cranham) becomes drawn to the intrigue - raising the ghoulish remains of Kirsty's murderous stepmother, Julia (Clare Higgins) in the process.
"I AM IN HELL. HELP ME!”
Simultaneously lured by shady Uncle Frank (Sean Chapman) and haunted by visions of her mutilated father suffering in hell, Kirsty is persuaded by Dr Channard and puzzle solving mute Tiffany (Imogen Boorman) to venture forth and rescue him from the Cenobites' torturous dimension. Gaining expert access to the portal, together they make the nightmarish journey through the labyrinth of hell. Entranced by the notorious Lament Configuration puzzle box, their death-defying partnership is destined to not only capture the attention of the blood-thirsty Cenobites but release Pinhead's (Doug Bradley) infinite horrors and the ultimate pleasures of Hell.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 99 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - 5.1 Dolby True HD
Extras:
Audio Commentary with Director Tony Randel, Star Ashley Laurence and
Writer Peter Atkins.
Under The Skin - Doug Bradley on Hellraiser II Featurette
Lost in the Labyrinth Featurette
On-set interviews with Clive
Barker, Tony Randel, Claire Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Imogen Boorman and
Kenneth Crantham.
Synopsis: "There is no good. There is no evil. There is only flesh." A nightclubber is dragged into an emergency room, trailing bloody chains hooked through his skin. When his body is torn as if by an invisible hand, a young television reporter, Joey Summerskill (Terry Farrell) witnesses the horrific event. Smart and ambitious, Joey sees this as a breakthrough story and tracks the victim's girlfriend, Terri (Paula Marshall), to a trendy nightclub called The Boiler Room.
Terri reveals that the chains emerged from a small puzzle box, which is linked to a mysterious, intricately carved pillar that is the possession of hedonist nightclub owner, J.P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt). Contained within the pillar, Pinhead (Doug Bradley) seeks to free himself from the sculpture and harvest human souls. When J.P. accidentally spills a few drops of blood on the pillar, he releases the imprisoned soul of Pinhead and unleashes hell on earth!
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 89 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080i Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - Dolby Digital 2.0
Extras:
Under the Skin - Doug Bradley on Hellraiser III
Raising Hell on
Earth - Interview with Director Anthony Hickox
Synopsis: LOST GULLY ROAD tells the story of Lucy, a directionless young woman who travels to a secluded cottage in the forest to wait for her sister.
With no television and little communication to the outside world she spends her days alone and drinking to pass the time. That is, until her unexpected host decides to keep her company…
Disc Specs:
Rated M | Color | 80 minutes | Region 4
Video - 480p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - Dolby Digital 2.0
Synopsis: Linda Stevens, 24, has just inherited a big old house. An evil house.
All night she hears a voice that whispers slowly from somewhere deep in the back of her mind. Taps turn themselves on and off. Candles light without a flame being put to them, And just last night she found the corpse of an old man in her bath.
The house is called Montclare and something evil lives there.
For the first time, Umbrella Entertainment presents Tony Williams’ NEXT OF KIN, remastered in 4K from the original 35mm interpositive and with a new 5.1 audio mix of the pulsing synth score by German electronic music pioneer, Klaus Schulze. With superb cinematography by the late Gary Hansen, NEXT OF KIN evokes the style and atmosphere of classic European horror and features a cast of Ozploitation veterans including John Jarratt, Alex Scott and Gerda Nicholson.
Disc Specs:
Rated M | Color | 86 minutes | Region Free
Video - 1080p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - Dolby 5.1 & 2.0
Extras:
Audio commentary with Director Tony Willams and Producer Tim White!
Audio commentary with cast members John Jarratt, Jackie Kerrin, Robert Ratti and Not Quite Hollywood Director, Mark Hartley!
Return to Montclare: Next of Kin Shooting locations revisited!
Extended interviews from Not Quite Hollywood!
Deleted Scenes
Original Theatrical Trailer
VHS Trailer
German Trailer
German Opening Credits
Before the Night is Out - Complete ballroom dancing footage from 1978!
Image Gallery
Tony Williams shorts from 1971: Getting Together + The Day We Landed on the Most Perfect Planet in the Universe!
ORDER NEXT OF KIN FROM UMBRELLA ENTERTAINMENT (DVD OR BLU-RAY) OR AMAZON.COM (DVD OR BLU-RAY)!
OUIJA HOUSE (2018)
Synopsis: Thirty years ago, a young woman (Tara Reid - SHARKNADO, AMERICAN PIE) plays a Ouija board at a mysterious house with friends. She barely escapes with her life. Now, in present-day, Laurie (Carly Schroeder - FIREWALL, MEAN CREEK) is a graduate student researching a project on the paranormal. Her mother (Dee Wallace - E.T., CUJO, THE HOWLING) is losing her house to foreclosure and is worried about Laurie's interest in the occult, knowing that something happened years ago to affect their family.
Trying to help her mother's financial situation with an impending book deal for her research project, Laurie convinces her boyfriend and their friends to go with her to the family's old secluded house, where terrible events once happened. Arriving at the house, they are greeted by Laurie's cousin Samantha (Mischa Barton, The O.C., THE SIXTH SENSE), who gives them the dark history of the house. The group plays with a Ouija board and unwittingly summon the spirit of Roka, an evil warlock who had years ago killed villagers and sacrificed their children. Things take an even more sinister turn when Tina is possessed by Roka and begins revealing the house for what it truly is - a huge puzzle designed to keep Roka's spirit caged. As night falls and true evil is revealed, Laurie and her friends must figure out a way to stop Roka before it's too late.
Disc Specs:
Rated R | Color | 95 minutes | Region 4
Video - 480p Widescreen (16:9)
Audio - Dolby Digital 5.1
As usual, all of the DVDs and mentioned in this post can be ordered directly from UMBRELLA ENTERTAINMENT, and are typically Region Free (unless otherwise noted)!
