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2011 begins with a bang – or at least a sulfurous blast of demonic hellfire – thanks to the home video release of THE LAST EXORCISM on DVD, Blu-ray, and Video on Demand. Although the film does not fully deliver on its promise, it is quite effective for most of its length, and those who missed in theatres should takes this opportunity to check it out. For those interested in the behind the scenes details, the discs come with some attractive bonus features.

DVD & BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Actor and Director commentary with Daniel Stamm, Ashley Bell, Patrick Fabian and Louis Herthum
• Audio commentary with Producers Eli Roth, Eric Newman and Tom Bliss
• “The Devil You Know: The Making of The Last Exorcism” featurette
• “Real Stories of Exorcism” featurette
• 2009 Cannes Film Festival teaser trailer

In addition, the Blu-ray offers these features not available on the DVD:

• “Witnesses to an Exorcism: An Audio Commentary with a Haunting Victim, Deliverance Minister and Clinical Psychologist”
• Audition footage
• Theatrical trailer
• BD Touch and Metamenu Remote

That’s about it for new horror, fantasy, and science fiction titles arriving on home video this Tuesday; most of the remaining releases are repackages of previously available titles.

Fans who just can’t get no satisfaction with reruns of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER will be pleased to see the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 8 MOTION COMIC, which continues the adventures of the monster-killing blonde chick, which arrives as a combo pack containing Blu-ray and DVD.

If your taste turns more toward science fiction, you may prefer the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON FOUR Blu-ray disc. There was a previous BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON 4.5 Blu-ray release in 2007. I will leave it to the hardcore fans to determine whether they want to double dip.

Several economy packages hit store shelves. Clive Barker’s BOOK OF BLOOD arrives in a “Horror 2-Pack” DVD with MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN. GRAVES and ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION are joined in a “Double Feature” Blu-ray. Pacific Entertainment offers 25 FRIGHT NIGHT CLASSICS, starring the likes of Boris Karloff, Leslie Neilsen, William Shatner, and Drew Barrymore in titles you’ve never heard of and which the actors would probably prefer it stayed that way.

As if that were not enough for penny-pinching purchasers, there is a series of discs bearing the label “Four Film Collection,” which true to their name offer a quadruple does of terror. Sometimes the combinations  seem apprpriate; at other times, it seems like whatever was contractually available was thrown together. For example, putting LEPRECHAUN 1 through 4 in a package makes sense (or at least as much sense of releasing a LEPRECHAUN movie can), but simultaneous releasing a disc with PUMPKIN HEAD II, LEPRECHAUN, WISHMASTER, and WISHMASTER 2 is a bit of a jumble. Even more discordant is the combination of THE EYE (the American remake of the Chinese original), JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (the Japanese original that was remade with American stars), BUG (the psycho-drama directed by William Friedkin), and ALONE IN THE DARK (an obscure thriller starring Christian Slater as a private investigator who specializes in supernatural phenomena). A bit more comfortable nestled together are BORDERLAND, DARK RIDE, UNEARTHED, and THE GRAVE DANCERS: although not labeled as such, all of these titles have appeared under the After Dark Horrorfest label, which gives weekend-long theatrical exposure to films that otherwise would go straight to video. Of these, THE GRAVE DANCERS is probably the best film ever to screen as part of the horror fest.

These and other titles are available in the Cinefantastique Online Store.

Related posts:

1. Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5 & Complete Series DVD and Blu-ray discs on the way
2. Laserblast: July 27 DVD & Blu-ray Releases
3. The Last Exorcism – New Photos!

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Christmas is coming: time to start shopping for the cinefantastique fan in your life. What sort of horror horror, fantasy, and science fiction titles are available to stuff into stockings with care? Well, December 7’s big home video release is Christopher Nolan’s science fiction blockbuster INCEPTION, which is available to rent or own via Video on Demand and also for purchase as a single-disc DVD or in a 3-disc Blu-ray and DVD combo pack. The film itself is overblown and not nearly as satisfying as Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT, but the visuals are technically impressive, and film fans should be interested in all the behind the scenes featurettes.

Both the DVD and the Blu-ray offer the 148-minute theatrical cut of the film. The single-disc DVD offers a handful of bonus features, under the banner “Extraction Mode,” which focus on such topics as The Inception of Inception, The Japanese Castle: The Dream is Collapsing, Constructing Paradoxical Architecture, and The Freight Train. The Blu-ray disc offers all of these plus: Ambush on the City Streets, The Tilting Bar, The Rotating Corridor, The Mountain Fortress, Simulating Zero-G, Limbo: The Look of Unconstructed Dream Space, The Fortress Explosion, The Music of Dreams, The Dream-Share.

In addition, the 3-disc set contains a second Blu-ray disc, featuring even more bonus material:

• Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious
• Inception: The Cobol Job
• Digital Motion Comic
• 5.1 Inception Soundtrack (39 minutes, 10 tracks)
• Conceptual Art Gallery
• Promotional Art Archive
• Inception Theatrical Trailers And Select Theatrical TV Spots
• Project Somnacin: Confidential Files

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The week’s other major new home video release in the realm of horror, fantasy, and/or science fiction is SHREK FOREVER AFTER, the rather desperate attempt by DreamWorks to squeeze another sequel out of the moribund SHREK franchise. The films is available for purchase (not for rent) via Video on Demand; it is also available as a single-disc DVD and a two-disc Blu-ray and DVD combo. Additionally, the film has been wrapped in a “Holiday Double DVD Pack” with the direct-to-video spin-off, DONKEY’S CHRISTMAS SHREKTACULAR. And of course there is the inevitable box set, available in both DVD and Blu-ray format: SHREK: THE WHOLE STORY gathers together all four SHREK films.

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If the new stuff leaves you feeling unsatisfied, fear not. The Criterion Collection steps into the breach, offering another of their always superior presentations, in this case a director-approved edition of David Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME on Blu-ray. Features include:

• High-definition digital transfer of the unrated version (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack)
• Two audio commentaries: David Cronenberg and director of photography Mark Irwin, and actors James Woods and Deborah Harry
• Camera (2000), a short film starring Videodrome’s Les Carlson, written and directed by Cronenberg
• Forging the New Flesh, a new half-hour documentary featurette by filmmaker Michael Lennick about the creation of Videodrome’s video and prosthetic makeup effects
• Effects Men, a new audio interview with special makeup effects creator Baker and video effects supervisor Lennick
• Bootleg Video: the complete footage of Samurai Dreams and seven minutes of transmissions from “Videodrome,” presented in their original, unedited form with filmmaker commentary
• Fear on Film, a 26-minute roundtable discussion from 1982 between filmmakers Cronenberg, John Carpenter, John Landis, and Mick Garris
• Original theatrical trailers and promotional featurette
• Stills galleries featuring hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes production photos, special effects makeup tests, and publicity photos
• A booklet featuring essays by writers Carrie Rickey, Tim Lucas, and Gary Indiana

As for the rest of the weeks DVD and Blu-ray releases, December 7 offers a special edition DVD of COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE; a new Blu-ray disc of SHORT CIRCUIT 2, the disappointing sequel to SHORT CIRCUIT; re-issues of JOHNNY MNEMONIC and IDLE HANDS on Blu-ray; and a DVDTee package of Roger Corman’s THE WASP WOMAN (you get not only a DVD of the film but also a t-shirt with the outrageous poster art emblazoned on the front, in either larger or extra large).

As always, all of these items are available in the Cinefantastique Online Store. If you want to help keep a Sense of Wonder alive on the internet, please consider making a purchase.

Related posts:

1. Inception: Cinefantastique Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Podcast 1:23
2. Shrek Forever After & Survival of the Dead: The Cinefantastique Podcast 1:15
3. Shrek Forever After theatrical release

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Tuesday, October 5 is overflowing with horror, fantasy, and science fiction titles of all shapes and sizes arriving on home video in various formats: DVD, Blu-ray, and iTunes downloads. The best of the new releases is SPLICE, which arrives in two versions, DVD and Blu-ray. When it hit theatres earlier this year, Vincenzo Natali’s sci-fi horror opus was a bit misrepresented by its advertising campaign, which suggested a SPECIES-type monster movie. Instead, audiences got a thoughtful science fiction film with an overlay of dark satire.

Also out this week is A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, the unnecessary (and unnecessarily dull) remake of writer-director Wes Craven’s 1984 classic. The new version is slickly made but typically soulless. Somewhat less typically, it is also almost entirely devoid of shocks and suspense. Give this one a pass.

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This is one of those rare weeks when classic titles are overwhelming new releases, thanks to some deluxe editions that surpass and eclipse previous home video versions. Horror fans disappointed by the ELM STREET remake can take solace in Warner Brothers Home Video release a two-disc Blu-ray of THE EXORCIST (1973), which includes the original theatrical cut and the so-called “Extended Director’s Cut,” plus three new documentaries. The film is also being made available for download via iTunes for the first time. The extended cut is just a new name for the 2000 theatrical re-issue of the film, which at the time was dubbed “The Version You ‘ve Never Seen” – a sobriquet that hardly makes sense ten years later. Even if (like me) you have previously purchased both versions of the film on DVD (including the excellent 25th anniversary edition), you will find much worth viewing on this disc, thanks to previously unreleased behind-the-scenes footage that provides an amazing glimpse at the making of this horror classic.

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If your tastes run more toward fairy tale fantasy, you are in luck: Walt Disney Home Video is releasing a 3-disc Diamond Edition of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, their 1991 Oscar-nominated blockbuster, which has been unavailable in any form since 2003. (This combo pack will be followed seven weeks later by a 2-Disc standard definition DVD on November 23.) The 3-disc set includes one DVD and two Blu-rays. The DVD features an all-new digital restoration, three versions of the film, sing-along mode (with subtitles for the lyrics), and an audio commentary. The first Blu-ray disc includes the DVD bonus features and the three versions of the film (in high-def, of course), plus more extras, including previously unseen alternate opening and a deleted scene. The second Blu-ray disc offers the bonus features from the old Platinum Edition DVD, plus some new Blu-ray extras, including “Beyond Beauty – The Untold Stories,” “Enchanted Musical Challenge Game,” and “Bonjour, Who is This” – a game in which you use your phone to receive secret messages and guess players’ identities before they guess yours.

In a move no one could ever have expected, the abysmal TROLL 2 receives a Blu-ray release this week; the format seems altogether too refined by the cheezy little movie, which has gained some cult notoriety this year, thanks to the art house release of BEST WORST MOVIE, the documentary tracing the lives and reunion of some of the TROLL 2 cast members.

MGM Home Video offers the MGM Sci-Fi Movie Collection. Unfortunately, the company’s 1956 classic FORBIDDEN PLANET is nowhere to be seen. Instead, we get one  (WAR GAMES) and a bunch of forgettable duds (SOLAR BABIES, ALIEN FROM L.A. with Kathy Ireland, HACKERS with a  young Angelina Jolie film, SPACE CAMP, and a WAR GAMES sequel).

Apparently, bargain days have arrived this week, with several previous available titles re-released in two-packs: GROUNDHOG DAY and SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER, HANCOCK and GHOST RIDER, THE GRUDGE and SILENT HILL, BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA and WOLF, FANTASTIC FOUR and X-MEN, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and I ROBOT, plus several others.

But wait, there’s more! Also on store shelves this week:

• CAPRICA: SEASON 1.0 on DVD
• SGU: STARGATE UNIVERS – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON on DVD and Blu-ray
• THE SECRET OF KELLS on DVD and Blu-ray
• GRINDHOUSE two-disc collector’s edition on Blu-ray
• THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE COLLECTION on DVD
• DOCTOR WHO: DREAMLAND on DVD
• DELGO on DVD and two-disc Blu-ray and DVD combo
• THE EVIL/TWICE DEAD, a two-pack of Roger Corman Cult Classics
• FINGERPRINTS on Blu-ray
• THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS, a deluxe edition
• THE RIG
• SISTERS on Blu-ray (no not the Brian DePalma original but an unnecessary remake)

And the list goes on and on… All are available in the Cinefantastique Online Store. Click the links below to check them out, or go here.

Related posts:

1. Laserblast: Star Trek Season 1 Blu-ray, X-Men, The Uninvited
2. Laserblast, September 7: Supernatural, Smallville, Hatchet
3. Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition Blu-ray: Review

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What’s new in horror, fantasy, and science fiction on home video this week? Well, one of the summer’s blockbuster theatrical hits, IRON MAN 2, arrives in just about every format one could ask for: VOD to rent or own, 2-disc DVD, single-disc Blu-ray, and 3-disc Blu-ray and DVD combo. The movie itself was no match for its predecessor, but it has some entertaining elements; at least it might we worth a rental to check out the bonus features.

Also on the menu this week is a new Blu-ray release of KING KONG (1933). This is being touted as the “Blu-ray Book Edition.” It reprises the bonus features from the old DVD box set (documentaries, test footage, recreation of the lost Spider Pit sequence, and audio commentary by Ray Harryhausen and others, a) and adds a booklet with production photos, notes, and a background of director Merian C. Cooper. This one sounds like a keeper (although the existing DVD is so good that I will probably wait a will to upgrade, hoping for a bargain).

Horror fans can dig deeply into the gory horror presented n the Fangoria FrightFest series of titles, which include HUNGER, ROAD KILL, PIG HUNT, GRIMM LOVE, THE TOMB, DARK HOUSE, TH HAUNTING, and FRAGILE (the last with Calista Flockhart, directed by Jaume Balaguero).

For those who prefer their scares a bit less violent – but still creepy – there is a new DVD release of DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW, an effective telefilm written and directed by Frank De Felitta, about a retarded man unjustly killed by vigilante justice, who may (or may not) have returned from the dead as a scarecrow. Bonus Features include audio commentary from De Felitta and a trailer for the original premiere.

Finally, there is SUCK, a direct-to-video title that sounds like a black comedy – about a failing rock-and-roll band that achieves success after encountering a vampire. Malcolm McDowell is on hand as vampire hunter Eddie Van Helsing (love that name), and shock-rocker Alice Cooper shows up as well.

Related posts:

1. King Kong (1933) – Film & DVD Review
2. King Kong (2005) – Fantasy Film Review
3. Sense of Wonder: King Kong stomps onto Universal Studios

Fans of the giant flying turtle Gamera can celebrate his exploits with two new double-disc DVD releases: GAMERA VS. GUIRON/GAMERA VS. JIGER and GAMERA VS. GYAOS/GAMERA VS VIRAS.

Synergy Entertainment offers another T-shirt & DVD bundle. THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN (starring Lon Chaney) comes with original poster art plastered on a t-shirt, which is available in large and extra-large sizes.

Amazon.com is offering a pair of exclusives offers : multi-title packages of Blu-ray discs, organized according to theme. Amazon’s “The Thrills and Chills Bundle” includes THE CRAZIES, PANDORUM, and THE NEW DAUGHTER. Their “Slasher Horror Bundle” includes RED MIST, HATCHET, BEHIND THE MASK, and JACK BROOKS MONSTER SLAYER.

Finally, ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE UNDEAD makes its bow on VOD and DVD, with a Blu-ray release to follow shortly.

Related posts:

1. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Undead on VOD & DVD
2. Laserblast – May 18: The New Daughter, Outlander, Gamera
3. Laserblast, September 14: Prince of Persia, Fringe, The Twilight Zone