This week, everything old is new again, thanks to the magic of home video - in particular, the Blu-ray format. THE MUMMY and THE MUMMY RETURNS were released in two-disc DVD editions only two weeks ago; now they are back again on Blu-ray disc, along with the spin-off title THE SCORPION KING. Also out on Blu-ray are two flicks that helped define formulaic Hollywood horror in the ’90s: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and URBAN LEGEND. Not on Blu-ray - but still a familiar title revived in a new home video incarnation - is Carl Dryer’s artsy VAMPYR: long considered one of the great achievements in horror cinema, it is now available as a high-class Criterion Collection DVD. There is also a box set compiling Season Two of Showtime’s MASTERS OF HORROR television series. Just about the only new title this week is BRUTAL MASSACRE: A COMEDY, in which David Naughton (AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON) stars as a down-on-his-luck director trying to jump start his career with a new horror film; hilarity, as they say, ensues.

All of these titles and more are available below the fold. Continue Reading »

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This is an oddball week for home video releases: there is not much that qualifies as great, but if your tastes run toward cult entertainment, or if you are willing to check out something  different from the run-of-the-mill Hollywood fare, then the available offerings might interest you. The week’s high-profile horror release is SHUTTER, the American-Japanese remake of the creepy 2004 Thai film. It is no worse than other Asian-inspired remakes have been, and there are a few decent scares, but overall this is a somewhat mechanical affair. The film is available in three forms: an R-rated DVD, an unrated widescreen DVD, and an unrated Blu-ray disc. Since this style of horror relies on suggestion rather than shocks, the unrated version probably has little more to offer, although perhaps the relatively tame sexual content has been enhanced a bit. Continue Reading »

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It’s summer, and that means summer movie blockbusters, and that means old titles arriving on DVD to cash in on the summer movie blockbusters. With THE DARK KNIGHT, THE MUMMY 3, and THE X-FILES looming on the theatrical horizon, we have a flood of related titles arriving on home video. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something new, THE RUINS arrives in three different versions: an unrated Blu-ray disc, an unrated DVD, and a standard DVD. This well received horror film did lackluster business during its brief tour of theatres; perhaps it will find its audience now. In his review for Cinefantastique Online, Lawrence French wrote that the film ” is quite an intelligent re-imaging of an already overworked area, that still manages to deliver some incredibly visceral shocks and tap into some basic primordial fears, which for horror fans, will make it quite a fun movie to watch.” Continue Reading »

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Often I decry the lack of exciting DVD releases on particular weeks, but today represents an all-time low: there is literally nothing worth mentioning. Oh sure, there are a handful of obscure DTV titles, but who cares? There are no high-profile theatrical films, no classics or cult movies. Operating on the feast-or-famine principle, next week will be loaded (THE RUINS, a Blu-ray limited edition release of BATMAN BEGINS, plus several deluxe editions of previously available titles), but until July 8 arrives we must content ourselves with contemplating the impending arrival of DOOMSDAY on DVD and Blu-ray disc, an event scheduled for July 29. The discs will include both the theatrical versions and an unrated director’s cut, plus loads of extras.

Check below the fold for the DOOMSDAY bonus features and a list of next week’s home video releases. Continue Reading »

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Yesterday’s installment of the weekly Laserblast column (courtesy of the redoubtable Peter McGarvey) focused on reviews of three upcoming DVD releases, crowding out mention of this week’s home video happenings. Hence, we offer this follow-up addendum, to give mention to the many titles now available on DVD and/or Blu-ray for your viewing pleasure. Prehistoric adventure 10,000 B.C.arrives in both formats; now you can enjoy the sights, the sounds -if not the smells - of those cave men fending off sabertooth tigers and other ferocious mammals. THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is available in four versions: Full Screeen DVD, Widescreen DVD, Two-Disc, Special Edition DVD, and Blu-ray disc. Continue Reading »

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It’s been a great month for Hammer fans.  Columbia just released the Icons of Adventure box set of four Hammer adventure films – Stranglers of Bombay, Pirates of Blood River, Terror of the Tongs and Devil Ship Pirates.  Despite the terrible cover art, this is an amazing package of never-before-on-DVD films. Now, our friends over at Legend Films are releasing Hammer’s The Man Who Cheat Death in July as an exclusive at Best Buy.  Up to now this is one of the few “golden age” Hammers that has not been available on video. Already working their way through the classic monster canon – Frankenstein, Dracula – the studio embarked on a remake of the ’40s Paramount horror classic The Man on Half Moon Street.  The result is an odd combination of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Jack the Ripper. That said, the film is extremely static, perhaps betraying its origins as a play. Continue Reading »

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There is little in way of excitment regarding this week’s home video releases, which feature only a bare handful of cinefantastique titles: a couple of oldies, some anime, a few DTVs, and two multi-pack sets. Disney presents a 45th Anniversary DVD of their animated film, THE SWORD IN THE STONE (derived from T. H. White’s excellent novel The Once and Future King). MEN IN BLACK arrives on Blu-ray, so that you can buy it again. There is a GUNDAN SEED DESTINY TV Movie 1 DVD and a GUNDAN SEED DESTINY TV Movie Limited Edition DVD. “Undead Horrors” packs together five obscure titles (e.g. ZOMBIE COP). “Tokyo Shock Horror Pack Triple Feature” includes JAPANESE HELL, CURSED, and SAMURAI CHICKS.

Check out this week’s DVD and Blu-ray releases below the fold. Continue Reading »

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This week offers a cool collection of cinefantastique for the dedicated collector: a blockbuster hit, an impressive cult film, a neat box set collection, and a clever bunch of double bill DVDs. The high-profile hit is JUMPER, which earned some decent coin despite largely negative reviews when it was released in theatres early this year. The sci-fi action-adventure flick (based on a young adult novel) is available as a Two-Disc Special Edition DVD (which allows you to make a digital copy), a single-disc DVD, and a Blu-ray disc. Both the double-disc DVD and the Blu-ray include audio commentary, deleted scenes, an animated graphic novel, and several featurettes; the Blu-ray disc also presents one of the features (”Jumping Around the World”) with options for Standard or Picture in Picture, Continue Reading »

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After some slow weeks marked by a famine of new home video releases, we now have a veritable feast before us. Not every morsel is a delectable one, but there should be more than enough to keep renters and buyers busy. This week’s 800-tone gorilla is, of course, CLOVERFIELD, the gimmicky film that parlayed a brilliant promotional campaign into a successful theatrical release. By the time the film left theatres, the novelty was already wearing off, but I am sure that won’t stop the fans from buying the at least one of the four discs: a standard DVD, a DVD with a a video diary bonus disc, a Deluxe Edition (which includes an exclusive “Rob’s Goin’ to Japan Party Mix”), and a Blu-ray disc. The latter features several interesting extras, including an audio commentary with director Matt Reeves. Continue Reading »

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As far as cinefantastiquegoes, this week seems to be filled with home video releases of classic and cult titles: there is no new theatrical blockbuster hitting store shelves, but there are lots of familiar titles showing up. Chief among these is Alexander Korda’s classic 1941 film THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, which is commonly regarded as one of the great classics of fantasy cinema. The story follows a prince (John Justin) exiled by an evil wizard (Conrad Veidt, of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI), who joins forces with a thief (Sabu) and eventually uncorks a geni from a bottle (Rex Ingram). The Criterion Collection Double-Disc DVD set features a newly restored digital transfer and numerous bonus features: two audio commentaries (one by Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, one by film historian Bruce Eder); new interviews with special effects experts Ray Harryhausen, Dennis Muren, and Craig Barron, Continue Reading »

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It is one of those weeks: almost everything released for home video - at least when it comes to cinefantastique - is either an old title being repackaged or some obscure direct-to-video property of little interest. Fortunately, there is at least one big, bright shiny piece of news for horror fans: the DVD release of George A. Romero’s DIARY OF THE DEAD, which received a small, platform theatrical release earlier this year. On the “Dimension Extreme” label (which emphasizes visceral horror titles, often direct-to-video), the DVD includes several bonus features: a look behind the scenes; a makeing-of featurette; a visit to the set; plus and audio commentary by Romoero, cinematographer Adam Swica, and editor Michael Doherty. Continue Reading »

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Action-Adventure and Family Fantasy dominate this week’s home video releases, followed by two gruesome horror shows and a couple box box sets filled with cult films and classics. Up first is the inevitable DVD re-release of the Indiana Jones films, which I find truly inspiring. Not the movies, and not the DVDs. No, what I find inspiring is the fact that fans can maintain their warm enthusiasm for the franchise (and their eager anticipation for the upcoming INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS) in spite of their openly acknowledged awareness of the filmmakers’ greed that led to these rather unnecessary new DVD releases. Only a few years ago there was a box set titled “The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection,” which claimed to be the “ultimate anthology.” Obviously, it was not so ultimate after all, since there is now a new one, “Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection.” Continue Reading »

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Not a big week for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror home video releases, but there are a few items that should keep cult fans happy: a low-budget horror film making its first appearance on disc; a Hollywood blockbuster upgraded to Blu-ray format; and the feature-film version of a hip TV show returning to home video after being out of print for years. Find them all in our store. Up first is the DVD debut of TEETH, a low-budget horror satire that earned a good deal of critical praise when it received a limited theatrical release earlier this year. In case you hadn’t heard, it’s about a girl who has teeth…ahem, down there. The film arrives on disc with a handful of bonus features: audio commentary by writer-director Mitchell Lichtenstein; behind-the-scenes featurette; deleted scenes with optional commentary; TV spots and trailers. Continue Reading »

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This week’s home video offerings include a a big-budget disappointment, the further adventures of Japan’s most famous mon-star, the early adventures of a long-running soap opera, and the bloody adventures of a couple of psycho killers. The high-profile release is THE GOLDEN COMPASS, New Line’s failed attempt to create another blockbuster fantasy franchise in the mode of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Defenders tried to blame the underwhelming box office performance on religious controversy, but the film, while not too bad, has more enough flaws to make any other explanation unnecessary: it is a bit bland in its efforts to avoid offending anyone (shying away from the controversy surrounding the books), and screenplay crams in way too many plot elements that do not pay off but simply set up sequels (which now Continue Reading »

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Up to now, Legend films is best known for the excellent colorized versions of Ray Harryhausen’s Columbia films. They have also worked with Harryhausen on colorizing SHE and THINGS TO COME. Recently, they licensed a package of films from Paramount including some horror and fantasy titles that they are bringing to DVD for the first time. Unlike their colorized catalogue, the Paramount releases are bare bones with static menus and no extras apart from theatrical trailers. Their initial Paramount releases include THE SKULL; George Pal’s production of HOUDINI; and THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY.

THE SKULL is an early Amicus effort based on Robert Bloch’s short story “The Skull of the Marquis de Sade”. Amicus always aimed to be another Hammer Studios, but most of their productions come off as pallid imitations. THE SKULL is a prime example. Continue Reading »

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