Full details on SALT CITY HORROR FEST 2016!

On Saturday, April 16th, 2016, at 11:00 AM, THE SALT CITY HORROR FEST returns to The Palace Theater in Syracuse, NY! Tickets are now available for pre-order HERE for $21.50 each ($3.50 less than what you'd pay at the door!) which guarantees you entry into this awesome show, AND enters you into a raffle for movie posters and other cool prizes!

The venue sells booze (wine & beer!), there will be numerous vendors peddling their wares, and most importantly, there's a pretty solid lineup of 35mm prints being screened as well! Here is the current list of films (and special guests) that are scheduled for this event. Titles, roster, and start times may be subject to change:

MY LITTLE BUBBLES - Local Short (intro by Dir. Michael Pizzano )
THE WARRIORS - with introduction by Cinema Under the Influence
MIDNIGHT - Followed by a Q&A with John Russo & John Amplas.
MARTIN - With introduction by actor John Amplas and Dir. of Photography Michael Gornik.
THE 'BURBS
DINNER BREAK
THE SHINING with intro by local comedian Alex Bidwell.
ROSEMARY'S BABY with intro by Jed Levin and Horror Happens Radio.
EVENT HORIZON
NIGHTBREED with introduction by Cinema Under the Influence.


The full roster of this event's special guests include:
Jed Levin - Son of Ira Levin (Writer of Rosemary's Baby)
John Russo - NOTLD, My Uncle John Is a Zombie, MIDNIGHT and more.
John Amplas - George Romero's MARTIN, DAY OF THE DEAD, and John Russo's MIDNIGHT.
David Harris - Played "Cochise" in THE WARRIORS.
Solon Tsangaras - Actor "My Uncle John Is a Zombie."
Gary Vincent - President of Burning Bulb Publishing and Producer / Actor of "My Uncle John Is a Zombie."

So save the date Horror fans, and buy your tickets! Then prepare for a crazy day of gang violence, Satanic cults, demons, killers, vampires, and monsters! And hopefully I'll see ya there!

Join the Vault-Cast on the SOL for our MST3K episode!

Vault-Cast Roll Call!
"Jo-rdan! Si-lent Steve! Mi-crophooooooooooone!"

The first new Vault-Cast of 2016 (that was intended to be released back in early November 2015) is now online for your listening pleasure! Your hosts Jordan the Vault Master and "Silent" Steve, focus entirely on Mystery Science Theater 3000 in this episode. We share our tales of how we discovered the show, what our favorite episodes are, and ultimately geek-out about what we consider to be one of the greatest (and most important) TV programs of all time!

So take the afternoon off from your temp job, pop some popcorn, and "watch out for snakes" when you listen to our latest Vault-Cast! You can listen by clicking on the YouTube link below, OR you can download this episode from LibSyn or iTunes for absolutely free and take it with you everywhere you go! Thanks for listening - we hope you enjoy!

Scream Factory completes your SPECIES Blu-ray collection this March!

ON MARCH 8TH, MATING SEASON BEGINS WITH SCREAM FACTORY'S BLU-RAY DEBUTS FOR THE "SPECIES" SEQUELS!

SPECIES is a pretty solid sci-fi thriller, and honestly I've failed to see the sequels it generated. But in a few weeks, I can remedy that by picking up these new Scream Factory releases!

Synopsis for SPECIES II: Having just returned from a mission to Mars, Commander Ross (Justin Lazard) isn't exactly himself. He's slowly becoming a terrifying alien entity with a one-track mind – to procreate with human women!

When countless women suffer gruesome deaths after bearing half-alien offspring, scientist Laura Baker and hired assassin Press Lennox (Michael Madsen) use Eve (Natasha Henstridge, SPECIES), a more tempered alien clone, to find Ross and his virulent brood. But they underestimate Eve's maternal drive, and before long she escapes to mate with Ross in order to create a purer and unstoppable race that could spell doom for mankind.

As time is running out, the ultimate battle takes place in a chilling climax that puts Darwin's theory to the ultimate test... only the strongest species will survive.

Disc Specs:
Color | Rated R | 93 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio - N/A (Most likely DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)

Extras:

• NEW From Sil To Eve – an interview with actress Natasha Henstridge 
• NEW Creature Creations - interviews with creature & special make-up effects creator Steve Johnson, supervising cosmetic designer Leonard MacDonald, transformation supervisor Joel Harlow, and chrysalis effects supervisor William Bryan 
• NEW Alien Evolutions – an interview with screenwriter Chris Brancato 
• NEW special effects outtakes & behind-the-scenes footage 
• Audio Commentary with director Peter Medak 
• Scenes from the film featuring uncut footage not shown in theatres 
• Species II: Eve of Destruction featurette 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery – Posters, Lobby cards, behind-the-scenes photos, special effects behind-the-scenes photos and H.R. Giger sketches. 

Synopsis for SPECIES III: In the ongoing fight for supremacy between mankind and human-alien hybrids, a fatal weakness among the hybrids has given humans the advantage… until now. When Sara (Sunny Mabrey), the daughter of Eve (Natasha Henstridge, SPECIES), is born, she develops into the most genetically perfect alien form yet!

Seeking to repopulate Earth with her kind, this dangerously beautiful femme fatale heeds an overwhelming drive to mate... while a crack military team trails her in an attempt to end the war between the two species forever!

Disc Specs:
Unrated | Color | 112 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio - N/A

Extras:

• Audio Commentary by director Brad Turner, writer Ben Ripley and actor Robin Dunne
• Alien Odyssey: Evolution 
• Alien Odyssey: Species DNA- Production Design 
• Alien Odyssey: Alien Technology
• Alien Odyssey: Intelligent Lifeforms – Creature Design 
• Species III: Genesis · Trailer

Synopsis for SPECIES: THE AWAKENING: When brilliant college professor Miranda Hollander (Helena Mattsson, AMERICAN HORROR STORY) suffers a mysterious blackout and awakens amid the bloody aftermath of a mass slaughter, she turns to her uncle for answers. But when he reveals the shocking truth...that she's only half human, a clone from a hybrid of human and alien DNA, they must flee to Mexico to locate the scientist who created her.

Soon they find themselves locked in battle with a horde of rampaging, unstoppable hybrids... and time is running out before Miranda will inevitably surrender to the killer instinct that lurks inside her own body!

Disc Specs:
Unrated | Color | 103 minutes | Region A
Video - 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio - N/A

Extras:

• NEW Alien Awakenings – an interview with director Nick Lyon
• NEW Miranda’s Memories – an interview with actress Helena Mattson 

SPECIES II and the double feature of SPECIES III and SPECIES: THE AWAKENING will be available wherever discs are sold on March 8th! You can order them now from AMAZON.COM (HERE and HERE) or directly from SHOUTFACTORY.COM (HERE and HERE). And, as usual, if you order from Shout!, you will receive your Blu-rays TWO WEEKS EARLY!

I suppose all that's left to do now is order the original SPECIES (HERE), then wait a few weeks to have an epic marathon!

Shout! Factory to enchant U.S. audiences with Christoph Gans' BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!

SHOUT! FACTORY SECURES U.S. DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO CHRISTOPH GANS' HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FANTASY EPIC!

Honestly this isn't really my cup of tea, but news is news right? Plus I really dug Gans' BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, so I'm willing to give this a chance. Here's some info on 2014's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, which was just acquired by Shout! Factory for North American distribution. Theatrical, VOD, DVD, & Blu-ray release dates have yet to be announced.

Film Synopsis: The year is 1810. After the wreck of his ships, a financially-ruined merchant (André Dussollier) exiles himself in the countryside with his six children. Among them is Belle (Léa Seydoux), his youngest daughter, a joyful girl full of grace.

One day, during an arduous journey, the merchant stumbles across the magical domain of the Beast (Vincent Cassel), who sentences him to death for stealing a rose.

Feeling responsible for the terrible fate which has befallen her family, Belle decides to sacrifice herself and take her father’s place. At the Beast’s castle, it is not death that awaits Belle, but a strange life in which fantastical moments mingle with gaiety and melancholy. Every night, at dinner, Belle and the Beast sit down together.

They learn about each other, taming one another like two strangers who are total opposites. When she has to repulse his amorous advances, Belle tries to pierce the mysteries of the Beast and his domain. And when night falls, the Beast’s past is revealed to her bit by bit in her dreams. It is a tragic story, which tells her that this solitary and fearsome being was once a majestic prince.

Armed with her courage, ignoring every danger, and opening her heart, Belle manages to release the Beast from his curse. And in doing so, she discovers true love.

Directed by Christophe Gans (SILENT HILL, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF), this visually opulent major motion picture stars Vincent Cassel (BLACK SWAN, OCEAN'S 13) and Léa Seydoux (SPECTRE, GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL) with André Dussollier (A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, AMELIE).

Produced by Eskwad and Pathé, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE) premiered at Berlin International Film Festival to great audience enthusiasm and is already a box-office success in much of the world. The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory’s founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos; and Muriel Sauzay, EVP of Pathé International.

Shout! Factory has secured all U.S. distribution rights to BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (LA BELLE ET LA BÊTE), including theatrical, video on-demand, digital, broadcast and home entertainment for cross-platform releases. Shout! Factory plans a strategic rollout of this movie in theaters, across all major entertainment platforms and in all packaged media (Blu-ray/DVD).

While I await further details on this film's U.S. release, give the trailer a watch to see what all the hooplah is about.

New DVDs & Blu-rays for 01/19/2016!

Many of you collectors may consider taking a bit of a break this week, because there isn't a lot to get super excited for. Scream Factory has released William Friedkin's THE GUARDIAN to Blu-ray, Vinegar Syndrome dominates with their releases of LUTHER THE GEEK, THE PRETTY PEACHES TRILOGY, and NIGHTMARE WEEKEND, and former bodybuilder and Canadian rock legend Jon Mikl Thor's I AM THOR is now available, courtesy of Dark Sky Films!

Scroll down for the full list of this week's DVD & Blu-ray releases.



NEW TO DVD & BLU-RAY
12 Monkeys: Season 1
The Condemned 2
Continuum: Season 4
I Am Thor
Jem and the Holograms
Marianne


NEW TO BLU-RAY
Assassin's Code
The Guardian
Hana-Dama: The Origin (Blu-ray/DVD combo)
The Ice Pirates
Life Tracker
Luther the Geek (Blu-ray/DVD combo)
Nightmare Weekend (Blu-ray/DVD combo)
The Pretty Peaches Trilogy
Serial
White Creek


NEW TO DVD
Arthur and Merlin
Dead End
Don't Look in the Basement
Driller Killer
The Hitch Hiker
The Mad Monster / The Monster Maker (Double Feature)
The Oatmeal Man
Pagan Holidays
R.E.D.D.
When Black Birds Fly

Trailer Round-Up: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE, BUBBA THE REDNECK WEREWOLF, BUNNI, SERIAL KALLER, and SURVIVAL KNIFE!

Egads! My inbox has been filling up with press releases lately, so in an effort to pare things down, it's time for The News Vault's first Trailer Round-Up of 2016! Most of the trailers you are about to view are for low-budget indie flicks, with one very special exception...

TRAILER #1: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
While everyone's been watching the hell out of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (which is closing in on a whopping two billion dollars worldwide), director JJ Abrams was secretly creating a new film based in his CLOVERFIELD universe. Imagine the shock and awe caused by the teaser which just dropped onto the web yesterday!

The film is a "blood relative" of CLOVERFIELD (whatever that means), and features John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr. Apparently Winstead's character was rescued and brought into a fallout shelter by Goodman, and he won't let her out because of a "chemical attack" that rendered the surface world uninhabitable. Naturally it seems like she wants out, and struggles to escape, only to come to a shocking revelation.

I liked the concept of Abrams' CLOVERFIELD, so I'm kind of stoked for this film, which hits theaters in less than two months on March 11th!




TRAILER #2: BUBBA THE REDNECK WEREWOLF
Based off of a comic book character that was introduced to the masses 20 years ago, BUBBA THE REDNECK WEREWOLF is the tale of a Florida dogcatcher who becomes a lycanthropic hero after catching the "wrong dog." Honestly I don't know a whole heck of a lot about this character, but I am SO on board for this. A cigar chomping, chicken wing devouring, beer guzzling, werewolf that fights evil? AND HE HAS A THEME SONG?! Sign me up! (Currently the release date has yet to be announced, but I'll sure to post an update when I know more!)




TRAILER #3: BUNNI
Coming from Wild Eye Releasing in March, BUNNI is a new slasher flick that has a group of teens venturing into an abandoned factory, only to be viciously assailed by a murderous playboy bunny. Though it was only shot on a budget of about $2,000, it looks competently made, and should be a rather painless way to spend an hour. Give the trailer a look below! (Pre-order HERE.)




TRAILER #4: SERIAL KALLER
This title is coming out on DVD January 26th, courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing. Featuring genre vets Debbie Rochon and Suzi Lorraine, this film focuses on a trio of models trapped within their recording studio by a crazed fan that they insulted live on the air. To survive, they must band together to face their would-be killer, or somehow find a way out. Peep out the trailer below! (Pre-order HERE.)



TRAILER #5: SURVIVAL KNIFE
Due out on January 26th from (you guessed it!) Wild Eye Releasing! In SURVIVAL KNIFE the lone survivor of a serial murderer tries to recover both physically and mentally from her ordeal. However, she begins to fear that the trauma she has suffered has awakened something dark within her. Has the killer returned? Is she suffering from a mental breakdown? Or, has she secretly changed into the very thing she fears most?! Watch SURVIVAL KNIFE to find out! But before that, watch the trailer! (Pre-order HERE.)


That's it for now, but check back soon for more news, trailers, posters, and MORE, right here at The B-Movie News Vault!