Arrow Video US - March 2017 Releases Detailed

TAKASHI MIIKE'S DEAD OF ALIVE TRILOGY 

on DVD and Blu-ray (March 14)

HOUSE: TWO STORIES LIMITED EDITION [HOUSE 1 and 2] 

on Blu-ray (March 21)

via MVD Entertainment Group

     
MVD Entertainment Group furthers the distribution of Arrow Video in the US with two amazing releases tailor made for cult and horror fans.

First out is Takashi Miike's classic Dead or Alive Trilogy starring Riki Takeuchi and Show Aikawa as their various characters deal drugs in Tokyo, put their yakuza assassin skills to good use and even meet cyborg soldiers in future Yokohama. Each film deftly shows off Miike at the height of his skills, and weaves a captivating tapestry of crime, action and character study.

Next up is a franchise any horror fan around in the late 80s and early 90s will recognise: House: Two Stories Limited Edition [House 1 & 2] which has a gorgeous 2K restoration of the first two films. With each film telling a different tale, and getting increasingly bonkers as the series goes on, the House films are equal parts funny, scary and entertaining. As much a joy for fans of weird cinema as they are for horror lovers.

Earlier in March, Arrow splits up the Death Walks Twice box set and offers Death Walks On High Heels and Death Walks At Midnight both on DVD and Blu-ray. These two films by Luciano Ercoli are beautifully restored Italian horror classics, with plenty of bonus features.

TAKASHI MIIKE'S DEAD OF ALIVE TRILOGY 

on DVD and Blu-ray (March 14)

Beginning with an explosive, six-minute montage of sex, drugs and violence, and ending with a phallus-headed battle robot taking flight, Takashi Miike's unforgettable Dead or Alive Trilogy features many of the director's most outrageous moments set alongside some of his most dramatically moving scenes. Made between 1999 and 2002, the Dead or Alive films cemented Miike's reputation overseas as one of the most provocative enfants terrible of Japanese cinema, yet also one of its most talented and innovative filmmakers. 

In Dead or Alive, tough gangster Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and his ethnically Chinese gang make a play to take over the drug trade in Tokyo's Shinjuku district by massacring the competition. But he meets his match in detective Jojima (Show Aikawa), who will do everything to stop them. 

Dead or Alive 2: Birds casts Aikawa and Takeuchi together again, but as new characters, a pair of rival yakuza assassins who turn out to be childhood friends; after a botched hit, they flee together to the island where they grew up, and decide to devote their deadly skills to a more humanitarian cause. 

And in Dead or Alive: Final, Takeuchi and Aikawa are catapulted into a future Yokohama ruled by multilingual gangs and cyborg soldiers, where they once again butt heads in the action-packed and cyberpunk-tinged finale to the trilogy. 

Each of them unique in theme and tone, the Dead or Alive films showcase Miike at the peak of his strengths, creating three very distinct movies connected only by their two popular main actors, each film a separate yet superb example of crime drama, character study, and action film making.

Bonus Materials
- High Definition digital transfers of all three films
- Original stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for all three films
- New interview with actor Riki Takeuchi
- New interview with actor Sho Aikawa
- New interview with producer and screenwriter Toshiki Kimura
- New audio commentary for Dead or Alive by Miike biographer Tom Mes
- Archive interviews with cast and crew
- Archive making-of featurettes for DOA2: Birds and DOA: Final
- Original theatrical trailers for all three films
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Orlando Arocena

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger

Label: Arrow Video »
Genre: Action/Adventure
Run Time: 291 mins
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: STEREO
Year of Production: 1999
Director: Takashi Miike
Actors: Riki Takeuchi, Sho Aikawa
Territory: US
Language: Japanese
SRP: $49.95

HOUSE: TWO STORIES LIMITED EDITION [HOUSE 1 and 2]

 on Blu-ray (March 21)

Limited to 5000 units!

Step inside, we've been expecting you! At long-last, Arrow Video is proud to present the first two instalments of hit horror franchise House on Blu-ray for the first time! In the original House, William Katt (Carrie) stars as Roger Cobb, a horror novelist struggling to pen his next bestseller. When he inherits his aunt's creaky old mansion, Roger decides that he's found the ideal place in which to get some writing done. Unfortunately, the house's monstrous supernatural residents have other ideas... 

Meanwhile, House II: The Second Story sees young Jesse (Arye Gross) moving into an old family mansion where his parents were mysteriously murdered years before. Plans for turning the place into a party pad are soon thwarted by the appearance of Jesse's mummified great-great-grandfather, his mystical crystal skull and the zombie cowboy who'll stop at nothing to lay his hands on it! 

From the team that brought you Friday the 13th, House and House II are era-defining horror classics - now newly restored and loaded with brand new extras!

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 2K restorations of House and House II: The Second Story
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- "The House Companion" limited edition 60-page book featuring new writing on the entire - - House franchise by researcher Simon Barber, alongside a wealth of archive material

HOUSE
- Audio commentary with director Steve Miner, producer Sean S. Cunningham, actor William - Katt and screenwriter Ethan Wiley
- Ding Dong, You're Dead! The Making of House - brand new documentary featuring interviews with Steve Miner, Sean S. Cunningham, Ethan Wiley, story creator Fred Dekker, stars William Katt, Kay Lenz, and George Wendt, composer Harry Manfredini, special make-up and creature effects artists Barney Burman, Brian Wade, James Belohovek, Shannon Shea, Kirk Thatcher, and Bill Sturgeon, special paintings artists Richard Hescox and William Stout, and stunt coordinator Kane Hodder
- Stills Gallery
- Theatrical Trailers

HOUSE II: THE SECOND STORY
- Audio commentary with writer-director Ethan Wiley and producer Sean S. Cunningham
- It's Getting Weirder! The Making of House II: The Second Story - Brand new documentary featuring interviews with Ethan Wiley, Sean S. Cunningham, stars Arye Gross, Jonathan Stark, Lar Park Lincoln, and Devin DeVasquez, composer Harry Manfredini, special make-up and creature effects artists Chris Walas, Mike Smithson, visual effects supervisor Hoyt Yeatman, and stunt coordinator Kane Hodder
- Stills Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer

Label: Arrow Video
Run Time: 93 mins
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: STEREO
Year of Production: 1986
Director: Steve Miner, Ethan Wiley
Actors: William Katt, George Wendt, Arye Gross, Jonathan Stark
Territory: US

MUCK (2015)

MUCK (2015) 

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment 

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 98 Minutes

Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1

Video: HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Steve Wolsh
Cast: Kane Hodder, Jaclyn Swedberg, Lauren Francesca, Bryce Draper, Lachlan Buchanan 

A group of five friends emerge from the marshes of Cape Cod of a dark night, bruised and battered, the three women are nearly naked and they have just survived a harrowing night of... no idea, because this is the middle installment of a trilogy of films, of which the prequel and sequel have yet to be made. So we are thrown right into the middle of something and left to figure out just what as the movie trudges along with a steady stream of boobies, choppy editing and old school practical effects. 

The group take refuge is a very nice vacation home on the edge of the swamp, we are unsure what they have been fleeing from but it must not have been that frightening for the first thing they do is start looking for some alcohol to consume while  the trashier of the tree young ladies heads up stairs for a shower cause she just can't wait to whip out those titties.

There are two men in the group, one has had his leg punctured and is immobile, so the more able of them decides to hoof into town to call for help. He arrives at a bar and doesn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to find help, he takes a moment to wash up in the bathroom before buying a young woman a drink and then calling the cops...err nope. Doofus calls his cousin who is at another bar with his best friend and a piece of ass seems to have picked-up. With nothing better to do the three pile into a car and make for the area of West Craven to rescue the group of alarmingly dim-witted twenty-somethings. So many indie horror films have name-dropping homages to horror directors, naming characters and towns after the masters of horror that influences them but dropping West Craven in there might be one of the worst of the bunch, with a character going so far as to say that West Craven use to be an interesting areas but not so much these days, sweet Jesus

Muck has been advertised as a throwback horror film, much like Hatchet (2006) was, with old school practical effects and stunt work, without the use of any digital effects which I applaud. Some of the kills and action are pretty good but the limited story, amateur acting and the gimmickry of it being a middle film far and away overpowers any of the more enjoyable merits of the movie.

The antagonists in the film seem to be a cult of some sort, bald-headed muscular men covered head to toe is some pasty white tribal paint or mud with scars and some sort of rune being visible, they stalk the kids without any sort of known motive and there might be a creature involved though it s never revealed, surely in the prequel and sequel there will be more revealed. Notably Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) appears as one of the cult members, or creepers as they are referred to in the film. 

Now when I was twelve this would have been a blast, a steady parade of scantily clad cuties showing off their wares for ninety-minutes was about two-thirds of the reason I watched all those '80s horror movies to begin with, and if that's what you are looking for you probably won't be disappointed. The other highly marketed ploy with this film is the casting of Playboy Playmate of the Year 2012 Jaclyn Swedberg, who is certainly attractive and not even the worst actor of the bunch, but that's sort of like choosing which turd in a yard full of dog shit smells the worst. Okay, that's a overly harsh, the acting here is not awful by any means when compared to other indie films and some of the corny lines are delivered with some verve, particularly from the wisecracking Lachlan Buchanan (Pretty Little Liars) as Troit and Puja Mohindra as Chandi who work well against each other. 

The film was shot on the 4K Red Epic camera and it looks quite nice, plenty of nicely lit and detailed cinematography with some interesting framing, didn't care much for the color grading or the crack-addict editing style which was all over the place with way to many slow-motion sequences. It was hard to follow the action with the chopping quick cut editing

While it may be advertised as a throwback of sorts to a bloodier era Muck is far too dependant on filling the screen with nude and nearly nude women which I am sure might sell a few films but won't give this one much of a life. The prequel Muck: Feast of Saint Patrick.(2016) has already been funded through Kickstarter and will also feature Playboy Playmates of the Year 2013, Raquel Pomplun, and 2014, Kennedy Summers. Not sure director Steve Wolsh could do anything to bring me back to the series after this dreadful entry, from the sounds of it it just seems like more of the same with twice the amount of Playboy cuties. At best I would hope for some sort of Lovecraftian creature to emerge but then again, I don't really care at this point. 

PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS (1994)

PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS (1994) 

Label: Scream Factory

Region Code: A

Duration: 88 Minutes

Rating: R

Audio: DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85":1)

Director: Jeff Burr

Cast: Amy Dolenz, Andrew Robinson, Soleil Moon Frye, Hill Harper, J. Trevor Edmond, Linnea Quigley, Kane Hodder

SYNOPSIS 

When five teenagers unwittingly resurrect a demon, nobody is safe from the creature’s bloody rampage. But this monster is different – inside its demonic form dwells the soul of a boy murdered years ago. Can the evil creature be killed without destroying the innocent boy trapped within?

REVIEW:
PUMPKINHEAD II is a direct-to-video sequel of the original which I hold in pretty high regard. The first film created a great myth of a vengeful demonic spirit and had loads of atmosphere and a fun backwoods horror entry. Jeff Burr's sequel is a bit less than that but is not without it's charm as a gory creature feature though minus a lot of the atmosphere of the original. 

Again we have a group of snot-nosed teens running for their lives from Pumpkinhead, though this time the foolish teens have resurrected the demons themselves after murdering a local witch. The creature is not only out for them but also a group of town father's who murdered a young boy forty years earlier. 

The cast is loaded with b-movie faces, we have Andrew Robinson from HELLRAISER as the Sheriff, I consider him the poor man's Terry O'Quinn for some reason. There's also Hill Harper of C.S.I.: NY in an early role and Punky Brewster herself Soleil Moon Frye! A the sheriff's daughter we have the super cute Ami Dolenz from WITCHBOARD 2 and J. Trevor Edmond as her bad boy boyfriend. My favorite cameo is Roger Clinton - none other than former president Bill Clinton's wacky brother - as the guitar-strumming mayor of the podunk town.

None of the cast are why you're watching this straight-to-video sequel, you're here for the creature effects and gore, right? Of course, so let me just say on that level the film does not disappoint as we have the venerable KNB FX Group on hand to keep the blood flowing. The Pumpkinhead creature design is very true to the original in design and with a body count of 10 there's no shortage of bloodshed for the gorehounds.  

Things that irked me just a little are a script that needed more polishing, the excessive use of an annoying Pumpkinhead POV and overused strobe light effects - between the two I thought I might have a seizure watching this one. Making up for these shortcoming are some great gore, damn decent creature effects and a brief naked cameo from Linnea Quigley of THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD loving up a hillbilly!

BLU-RAY:
PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory looking quite solid. A fine layer of fine film grain with good color saturation and black levels. The film lacks the style and storytelling of the original but does look damn decent in HD and the DTS-HD MA Stereo audio handles the dialogue, effects and score nicely. 

Extras are few but dense, we have a commentary from director Jeff Burr from the previous DVD plus an hour long video interview with Burr as he discusses his early love of horror and making the film which was a director-for-hire gig with the script already finished and the production underway. It's an interesting listen as he speaks about the issues on set and trying to make a fun monster-on-the-loose romp, he's very candid about it. 

Then onto RE-CREATING THE BEAST – featuring new interviews with special effects artists Greg Nicotero, Gino Crognale and actor Mark McCraken and this is a fun one as they recall trying to stay true to Stan Winston's original design and the tons of fun they had on set making the film. So much fun that they were kicked off set at least once for being a bit too slap-happy. 

Last up we have 17-minutes of behind-the-scene footage of setting up and shooting numerous creature shots with the infamous image of actor Mark McCraken in the Pumpkinhead suit wearing sneakers in a few of the shots. 

SPECIAL FEATURES: 
- Audio Commentary with director Jeff Burr
- RE-CREATING THE BEAST – featuring new interviews with special effects artists Greg Nicotero, Gino Crognale and actor Mark McCraken (33 Minutes)
- MAKING MOVIES – an interview with director Jeff Burr (62 Minutes)
- Behind-the-scenes footage

VERDICT: 
A fun backwoods creature feature  that offers up some trashy b-movie mayhem that passes the time just fine with a few brews and a couple of friends. It pales in comparison to the original but nonetheless proved to be a fun sequel.  

Blu-ray Review: CHILLERAMA (2011)

CHILLERAMA (2011)

LABEL: Image Entertainment
REGION CODE: A
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 120 mins
AUDIO: DTS-HD MA 5.1
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
DIRECTORS: Adam Rifkin, Joe Lynch, Tim Sullivan, Adam Green
CAST: Adam Rifkin, Sarah Mutch, Owen Benjamin, Richard Riehle, Joel David Moore, Ray Wise, Kane Hodder, Eric Roberts, Lin Shaye
TAGLINE: The Ultimate Midnight Movie!

I don't know about you but I just get pleased as punch whenever I hear about a new horror anthology coming down the pipeline. The omnibus fright format has always been a personal favorite of mine but they just don't seem as prevalent today as they were in the 70's and 80's - they've definitely fallen out favor. Perhaps it's just cause I was catching up with some of my favorites like Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH (1963) and one of the many Amicus entries TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) some decades years after their initial release, either way there's not exactly a glut of 'em these days no matter how you slice it up and the format seemed to have peaked in the early 80's with the one-two punch of CREEPSHOW (1982) and TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE (1983). The nineties weren't exactly overflowing with anthologies either with the notable exceptions of FOUR ROOMS (1995) and PULP FICTION (1999) but in recent years there's been a resurgence with the Tarantino/Rodriguez feature GRINDHOUSE, TRICK R TREAT (2007) and effective, low-budget indies like THE DRIVE-IN HORRORSHOW (2009) and III SLICES OF LIFE (2010).

So, when word began to spread about this love letter to the schlocky drive-in films of the 60's and 70's from a handful of talented young directors I was pretty psyched and primed for some b-movie omnibus action. Beginning with the directors we have Adam Rifkin whose 70's stoner-comedy DETROIT ROCK CITY (1999) is a perennial favorite of mine, Joe Lynch who won me over with WRONG TURN 2 (2007), Adam Green who most recently nailed it with the winter-bound horror of FROZEN (2010) and lastly we have Tim Sullivan, director of 2001 MANIACS (2005).


The film CHILLERAMA is a series of vignettes that really sets out to celebrate the b-movie schlock cinema of yesteryear beginning with a wrap-a-round story called ZOM-B-MOVIE from director Joe Lynch that right away gets to the gritty with some distasteful necro-felatio which goes horribly awry, I would ask is there anyway necro-felatio could go well, I guess it's all a matter of perspective, right? The amorous grave robber leaves the cemetery injured to say the least with his naughty bits having been shredded by his graveyard girlfriend. Not something I would do myself but this guy actually limps his way back to his night job at the drive-in movie theatre where it's a special night, it's their last hurrah before the drive-in closes it's doors forever. To commemorate this sad occasion the aptly named drive-in proprietor Cecil Kaufman (Richard Riehle, OFFICE SPACE) is sending his beloved cinema out in style with a four film marathon of rare splatterfests projected on the big screen for a jam-packed crowd of gore-hounds and splatter-fiends.

The first feature is WADZILLA written, directed and starring Adam Rifkin (THE DARK BACKWARDS) and it's a truly tasteless send-up of the b-movie creature features of the 50's. Miles Munson (Rifkin) is a man afflicted with a low sperm count and when he seeks medical help for his condition he is prescribed an experimental drug called "spermupermine" by wacky wang-ologost Dr. Weems (Ray Wise, TWIN PEAKS). The testicular steroid has the unfortunate side effect of enlarging Mile's scrawny sperm when he is aroused - which is pretty often, there are babes galore in this film. These growing pains cause Miles great discomfort in the junk and the only way to alleviate the excruciating sensation is to beat-off and release the beast - and what a beast it is. The short is populated by gorgeous busty ladies and awful b-movie effects from none other than The Chiodo Brothers (KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE). There's appearances from Lin Shaye (INSIDIOUS) and Eric Roberts (SHARKTOPUS) as Gen. Bukaki and while Rifkin couldn't act his way outta a wet paper bag I found the flick to be a juvenile, raunchy exercise in trashiness with a sense of humor about it that brought to mind FRANKENHOOKER (1990) and ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES (1978) - fun stuff with a creamy climax that seemed to reference GHOSTBUSTERS (1984).

Up next is director Tim Sullivan's I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR, a weird mash-up of BEACH BLANKET BINGO (1965) and TEEN WOLF (1985) zapped with a walloping dose of homo-eroticism and fun musical numbers. A clean-cut preppie named Ricky (gay porn star Sean Paul Lockhart) finds his life altered when he's bit on the ass during a sexually charged wrestling match with a leather daddy werebear. Not my cup o' tea but still slightly amusing. This is the first film I've seen from Tim Sullivan and while I can't say it did much for me it did have some fun musical numbers, but honestly it was just a bit too goofy and gay for me. I'm also a bit biased as I generally kinda sorta hate musicals, so that didn't help either. Lin Shay also appears in this segment as Nurse Maleva in a fun homage to THE WOLFMAN (1941) while director Tim Sullivan appears as Coach Tuffman. Some fun moments but overall this was the runt of the litter for me.

In Adam Green's demented Nazi-ploitation comedy THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANKENSTEIN actor Joel David Moore (SPIRAL) makes a turn as Adolf Hitler who sets out to create the perfect Jew-killing machine using the secrets of the family of Anne Frankenstein. Unfortunately he assembles his Arian masterpiece with the body parts of Jews and as can be expected his Golem-esque creation rises up against him with bloody results. This segment looks pretty fucking awesome, a spot on period piece shot in black and white, great production value and set design made this the best looking bit o' the bunch. Kane Hodder (FRIDAY THE 13th VII) appears as the creature Meshugannah and he really puts the "Bear Jew" from INGLORIOUS BASTERDS to shame in the Nazi killing department. The actors in the film seem to be speaking German fluently aside from Moore who wings it with some marble-mouthed nonsense. It's pretty funny stuff with Hodder delivering more than a fair share of cock n' balls destruction to some deserving Nazis, giving them a pounding that leaves them screaming "Shalom!". Pretty absurd stuff, it peters out towards the end having overstayed it's welcome just slightly but there's definitely some fun to be had here for sure.  

The not quite final segment is DEATHICATION, a short interlude of people shitting themselves to death, it's mighty pointless but quickly passes on into the true final vignette, the continuation of the wrap-a-round film ZOM-B-MOVIE. You may recall that the drive-in projectionist lost his junk following an unfortunate graveyard fellatio incident and returned to the drive-in at the start of the film but his blue neon infected wound has leaked the worst kind of cross-contamination possible into the concession stands popcorn unleashing a zombie horde upon the cinema. Luckily, the cinema's suicidal owner/horror host Cecil Kaufman, the awesome Richard Riehle, not only has great taste in bad cinema but a gigantic stash o' guns and an endless array of famous one-liners with which to combat the undead throngs.

So, does this trashy collection of bad b-movies work? Yes and no, these are bad films made to be seen as such, trashy love letters to an era of awfulness awesomeness and to that end I would say it's successful. Whether you enjoy it or not really depends on your stomach for schlock shittiness, for me it mostly hit all the wrong notes just the right way.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Directors' Video Commentary
- Wadzilla Deleted Scenes and Trailer (6:04)
- The Making of The Diary of Anne Frankenstein
- I Was A Teenage Werebear Behind the Scenes (21:59), Deleted Scenes (14:27), and Trailer
- Zom-B-Movie Deleted Scenes (4:02)
- Famous Monsters Directors' Interviews (5:41)
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Trailers: CHILLERAMA (2:13), WADZILLA (2:39), I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR (2:01)

VERDICT: I found it hard not to appreciate the zest with which these young directors tore into making such schlocky, awful films and in the end it really won me over despite some dud humor and flat gags throughout that are part and parcel of the films it's pays tribute to. Make no mistake, they're undoubtedly quite terrible films one and all, trashy, raunchy and distasteful on almost every level and I guess that's what I love about 'em - there's something so cool about a bad film. Now I know there's gonna be some haters who just can't stomach the schlock but count me in, it's bone-headed, offensive, dumb and pretty stupid entertainment. 3.5 outta 5  

FRIDAY THE 13th - The Ultimate Collection Details

Paramount Home Entertainment have announced the October 4th 2011 release of  FRIDAY THE 13TH - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION 8-Disc DVD Set. The set collects all eight of the Deluxe Editions of FRIDAY THE 13th thru FRIDAY THE 13th PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD. Very excited for this one as Friday the 13th is my favorite slasher film franchises of all time, more so than HALLOWEEN or NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET Jason Voorhees continued to entertain through the years with one bloody kill after the other. While a few of the sequels are imbued with some unintentional cheese I find myself revisiting the films annually without fail.

Through the years I've purchased each edition of the films, including the FRIDAY THE 13th - FROM CRYSTAL LAKE TO MANHATTAN boxset and I own about half of the deluxe edition collected here but for $40 it's cheaper to buy this set, an easy buy for me. No word if a Blu-ray set will follow, you may recall that the first three films did get 1080p deluxe editions, it would be great to see the entire series get the HD upgrade, too.

Paramount Home Entertainment Press Release:

31 YEARS OF THE 13TH IN ONE KILLER BOX SET

THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION

Eight Feature Films Plus Hours of Special Features Debut in Limited Edition DVD Set October 4, 2011 with Collectible Hockey Mask

Take a ride down memory lane with everyone’s favorite psychotic killer Jason Voorhees in the to-die-for DVD set FRIDAY THE 13TH THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION arriving just in time for Halloween on October 4, 2011 from Paramount Home Entertainment. When the original Friday The 13th debuted in 1980, it captured audiences’ imaginations and permeated our collective psyche. 31 years later, the iconic machete-wielding killer continues to haunt, fascinate and terrify a new generation. This comprehensive set includes every murderous moment from Friday The 13th - Uncut Deluxe Edition, Friday The 13th Part 2 Deluxe Edition, Friday The 13th Part 3-3D Deluxe Edition (with two pairs of 3D glasses), Friday The 13th - The Final Chapter Deluxe Edition, Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning Deluxe Edition, Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Deluxe Edition, Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood Deluxe Edition and Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan Deluxe Edition.

This extraordinary collection, which will be released in a Limited Edition of only 50,000 numbered units worldwide, includes a replica of Jason’s hockey mask, an 8-page Collector’s Booklet and hours of special features including slashed scenes, making of featurettes, killer commentaries and much, much more.

FRIDAY THE 13TH -  THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION will be available for the suggested retail price of just $39.99 U.S./$42.00 Canada.

The FRIDAY THE 13th - Uncut Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish Mono along with English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Bonus material includes:
• Commentary by director Sean S. Cunningham with cast and crew
• Fresh Cuts: New Tales from Friday the 13th
• The Man Behind the Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham
• Friday the 13th Reunion
• Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 1
• Theatrical Trailer

The FRIDAY THE 13th Part 2 Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish Mono along with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Bonus material includes:
• Inside “Crystal Lake Memories”
• Friday’s Legacy: Horror Conventions
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part 2
• Jason Forever
• Theatrical Trailer

The FRIDAY THE 13th Part 3 - 3D Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish Mono along with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Bonus materials includes:
• 3D Version of the film (includes 3D glasses)
• Theatrical Trailer

The FRIDAY THE 13th THE FINAL CHAPTER Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish Mono along with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Bonus material includes:
• Commentary by director Joe Zito, screenwriter Barney Cohen and editor Joel Goodman
• Fan commentary by Adam Green and Joe Lynch
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part 4
• Slashed Scenes
• Jason’s Unlucky Day: 25 Years After Friday the 13th The Final Chapter
• The Lost Ending
• The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part I
• Jimmy’s Dead Dance Moves
• Theatrical Trailer

The FRIDAY THE 13th PART V: A NEW BEGINNING Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish Mono along with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Bonus material includes:
• Commentary by director/co-screenwriter Danny Steinmann with cast and crew
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part 5
• The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part II
• New Beginnings: The Making of Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
• Theatrical Trailer

The FRIDAY THE 13th PART VI: JASON LIVES Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Surround and French and Spanish Mono along with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Bonus material includes:
• Commentary by director Tom McLoughlin with cast and crew
• Lost Tales from Camp Blood – Part 6
• The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part III
• Jason Lives: The Making of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
• Meeting Mr. Voorhees
• Slashed Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer

The FRIDAY THE 13th PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Surround, French Mono and Spanish Mono along with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Bonus material includes:
• Killer Commentary by director John Carl Buechler and actors Lar Park Lincoln and Kane Hodder
• Jason’s Destroyer: The Making of Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
• Mind Over Matter: The Truth About Telekinesis
• Makeover by Maddy: Need a Little Touch-Up Work, My Ass
• Slashed Scenes Intro
• Slashed Scenes

The FRIDAY THE 13th PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN Deluxe Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Surround, French 2.0 Surround and Spanish 2.0 Surround along with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Bonus material includes:
• Killer Commentary by actors Scott Reeves, Jensen Daggett and Kane Hodder
• New York Has a New Problem: The Making of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
• Gag Reel
• Slashed Scenes

Film Review: Hatchet II (2010)

HATCHET II (2010)
"Victor Crowley Lives Again"
Dark Sky Films

RATED: Uncut & Unrated
RUNNING TIME: 89 Min.
DIRECTOR: Adam Green
CAST: Dabielle Harris (Marybeth), Tony Todd (rev. Zombie), Kane Hodder (Victor Crowley/Thomas Crowley), Perry Shen (Justin), R.A. Mihailoff (Trent), Alexis Peters (Avery), Ed Aclerman (Cleatust)

FILM: Thank you to AMC Theatres for supporting unrated horror. From what I can tell this is the 1st unrated horror film to play in a major theatre chain since DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978). After the MPAA deemed the film NC17 Green and Dark Skiy Films stuck to their guns and went the unrated route. AMC Theatres after having seen the film offered a limited run. I hear that the Canadian AMC theatres had quite a time of it and had to pull the film from their theatres under threat of fines. I would also like to thank the awesome Dread Central from whom I won free tickets to the screening stemming from a Twitter contest. Upon arriving at the theatre there was an awesome lobby poster for the film but it was not listed on the theatre marquee, so how would anyone know that the film was playing let alone at what time? That was disappointing. Aside from my son and I there were only two other patrons in the theatre which could be attributed to the 5:45PM screening, I only hope the two later screening brought in more splatter fans.

UPDATE: Tuesday Otober 4th, 2010 - As of yesterday AMC announced they would be pulling the film from all AMC Theatre locations due to poor tcket sales. His statement to Entertainment Weekly about the decision can be foun here.

We return to the bloody bayou in HATCHET 2 mere seconds following the events of Hatchet as we find MaryBeth who this time around is portrayed by scream queen Danielle Harris of HALLOWEEN 4 (1988), HALLOWEEN (2007) fame barely escaping the clutches of Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). She is assisted by grizzled local fisherman Jack Cracker who takes her to the relative safety of his cabin. Once there he realizes who she is and unceremoniously forces her at gunpoint to leave. Not willing to explain himself he tells her to speak with Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd) but she needs to get the Hell out now. Fearing that his involvement with her might bring the wrath of Crowley ...and he's right. Not minutes after she leaves Cracker is strangled and decapitated by his own bloody intestines, as his corpse spews blood against the wall opening credits roll to the sound of Ministry's "Just One Fix".
Marybeth makes her way back to Reverend Zombies voodoo shop and the Rev lays a slightly altered Victor Crowley origin story on us that implicates her family in the death of Crowley all those years ago. It's an interesting spin on the story and it's told in a flashback featuring Kane Hodder once again as Thomas Crowley. Hodder is called upon to act much more dramatically that we've seen him before, and he pulls it off relatively well. Reverend Zombie reluctantly agrees to return to the cursed swamp to recover the bodies of MaryBeth's father and brother as well as his lost tour boat. A hunting party of mercenary gator hunters is amassed and the motley crew head back into the swamp, however, Reverend Zombie has ulterior motives for helping MaryBeth which play out as the band of armed men enter Honey Island Swamp.

Short story shorter, this film freaking rocks! Hatchet 2 is a satisfying, self-indulgent, splatter-romp that pulls no punches. The kills are bloodier, the laughs are louder, the screams are longer and the cliches are full-on. You get power sanders to the skull, chainsaws to the balls, and one of the funniest decapitation during sex scenes you'll likely ever see. Green is a director capable of much more nuanced, tense, and well paced cinema as evidenced by the psycho-thriller SPIRAL (2007) and the newly released FROZEN (2010) but with Hatchet 2 he's having a blast and just rips into it giving tribute to the slasher films of the 80's with the glee and abandon of a horror-geek on steroids.

VERDICT: Hatchet 2 is the antidote to the unfulfilling PG13 films and remakes that shy away from blood and gore. If you've come for the splatter there's nothing a matter here folks, this one is thigh deep in entrails and viscera, you won't be disappointed. The story is overly simple  but no one is coming to HATCHET II expecting anything more or less. I hold Green up there with Ti West (HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, CABIN FEVER 2) and Lucky McKee (RED, MAY, THE WOODS) as up and coming horror directors to watch, these guys are gonna be around for a while. Green is a true fan of the slasher genre and this sequel ramps up the blood & guts to the nth degree. How can you not love a film that begins with Ministry's "Just One Fix" and ends with Overkills "Old School", you cannot
 ***1/2 (3.5 Out of Five Stars)

- McBASTARD