DVD Review: 247 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT (2011)

247 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT (2011) 

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Region: 1 NTSC

Rating: R

Duration: 88min.
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen (2.40:1)

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles

Cast: SCOUT TAYLOR-COMPTON, CHRISTINA ULLOA, TRAVIS VAN WINKLE, MICHAEL COPON, TYLER MANE
Director: LEVAN BAKHIA, BEQA JGUBURIA

Tagline: Every Degree Counts 

Synopsis: When four friends travel to a lakeside cabin for a carefree weekend, the fun turns into a nightmare when three of them end up locked in a hot sauna. Every minute counts and every degree matters as they fight for their lives in heat that is quickly approaching the deadly limit of 247°F. 

The Film: Three years after Jenna (Scout Taylor Compton, Rob Zombie's Halloween) loses her boyfriend in a fatal car accident she's on her way to a cabin on the edge of a picturesque lake with her friend Renne (Christina Ulle, TV's Charmed), her boyfriend Mike (Michael Copon, Night of the Demons remake) and his friend Ian (Travis Van Winkle, the douche from the Friday the 13th remake). It's a pretty sweet cabin which they acquire from Ian's Uncle Wade (Tyler Mane, Rob Zombie's Halloween films), a hulk of a man who has a stash of paint-peeling moonshine and potent weed, sounds like it's gonna be a fun weekend. 

While there they take advantage of a European-style sauna that's a balmy 184 degrees. Mike and Ian drink heavily while inside, more so Mike than the latter and when Mike gets a bit drunk he turns into quite the asshole which ruffles his girlfriend's feathers and before you know it he storms off. When the group decide to follow after him a short time later they discover that the door is jammed, they are trapped. At first they assume Mike is just upset and playing a very poor joke on them but when he doesn't return anytime soon the trio are left to find a way out or face scalding death as their skin blisters and brains boil. Who's doing this to them, and where did Mike go, and do we even care? 

The acting her is just this side of decent but the script is flaccid stuff, the characters are flat and all pretty douchey While I love to see assholes meet their early demises in slashers and horrors this is neither and the body count is very low. There's little intrigue and the directo(s) are just not able to ratchet up the tension - it's boring. About half way in I was thinking to myself that the second half had better be some fucking brilliant shit, I was right bored and while it does pick-up some speed the final stretch it was too little to late. The main draw here for me was the reunion of Taylor-Compton and Tyler Mane from Rob Zombie's Halloween but that excitement was pretty short lived.

Special Features: 
- Producer and Director Audio Commentary
- Deleted Scenes (4:19) 16x9 

Verdict: A thriller with all the tension and anxiety of a Lifetime Channel production, meaning my wife sorta enjoyed it (not loved it) while I wanted my 88 minutes back to watch something else, there's not a lot here for your average horror-enthusiast to enjoy and you would have to be pretty hard up for thrillers to wanna throw this one on. Not a recommend (1.5 Outta 5) 

Blu-ray Review: THE BARRENS (2012)

THE BARRENS (2012)
Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack 

LABEL: Anchor Bay Entertainment
REGION: A, 1 NTSC 
RATING: R 
DURATION: 97min
VIDEO: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1) 
AUDIO: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
CAST: Stephen Moyer, Mia Kirshner, Allie MacDonald, Erik Knudsen, Shawn Ashmore 
DIRECTOR: Darren Lynn Bousman
TAGLINE:  The terrifying legend of the Jersey Devil is alive

SYNOPSIS: It’s known as the Jersey Devil, the winged beast spawned 400 years ago by Satan himself. Some say this creature still inhabits the dense pine forests of southern New Jersey, where Richard Vineyard (Stephen Moyer, “True Blood”) takes his family for a rustic weekend camping trip. As the Vineyard family ventures further into the woods in search of the perfect campsite, Richard teeters on the edge of sanity. And it seems that the blood-crazed demon called The Jersey Devil may no longer be just a myth. Mia Kirshner (“The Vampire Diaries,” “The L Word”), Erik Knudsen (SAW II, SCREAM 4) and Allie MacDonald (HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET) co-star in this twisted chiller from writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman (SAW II-IV) about a new kind of horror that lives – and kills – in a place called THE BARRENS.
 

THE FILM: This tense chiller begins with an effective pre-credit sequence as a young couple walking in the Pine Barrens at the break of dawn find themselves a bit lost. The wooded area is alive with bird and animal noises echoing through the branches when suddenly it gets eerily quite and an odd shriek is heard. Already a bit spooked they get downright unnerved when they find a pile of animal guts on the forest floor, maggots and buzzing flies are having a feast. Suddenly they are then charged by a creature and they turn to flee in a panic, as you do when something that might want to eat you is in pursuit, and then WHAM! The young woman runs face first into a tree. It turns out not to be a viscous creature after all, but a wounded deer that drops dead, it's been clawed viciously and whatever it is that ripped it open is now upon the hikers....

Sometime later we meet the Vineyard family as they endeavor to the wilds of the Pine Barrens, New Jersey to spread the ashes of a loved one and for a weekend of camping fun, at least that's the plan. We have Richard (Bill Moyer, TRUE BLOOD), wife Cynthia (Mia Kirshner, THE BLACK DAHLIA), adolescent son Danny (Peter DaCunha) and rebellious teen daughter Sadie (Allie MacDonald). You can detect some underlying family issues are at play, they're a dysfunctional bunch but not dramatically so, they seem pretty normal. Danny's sad because the family dog "Oscar" has run-off and Sadie just does not wanna be there, a pretty typical teen.  Dad's a bit tired looking, he's got some stress and is really looking forward to the getaway, to return to the place he enjoyed with his father as a boy. En route they're a bit shaken when a wounded deer leaps in front of the SUV and drops dead, but none more so than Richard who nervously watches the edge of the woods along the road as if something dangerous lays in wait. 

Arriving at the campsite they report the deer to the local ranger and settle in for the weekend. That night they gather around a communal campfire as a young man spins the tale of the local area legend - the Leeds Devil. The tale involves a woman named Mother Leeds who's burdened with twelve children and was said to commune with the Devil, in fact as legend tells it she bore a 13th child by Old Scratch himself and it was a hideous thing with cloven hooves, a horses head, a kangaroo's body and a serpents tail with leathery wings.  The monstrosity is said to stalk the nearby woods and in grand  campfire tradition the tale ends with a classic fright that sets the campers on edge, especially Richard who overreacts like a frightened schoolgirl.

It's right about here that we know for sure that something from Richard's past is stirring within him, something that's unspooling his mind. Through a series of flashbacks we piece together that when he was a child he witnesses something in the woods, something terrible which he believes was the Jersey Devil, and the thought fills him with dread, haunted by nightmares that have him sleepwalking through the forests at night. 

Making matters worse Richard has a festering open wound on his upper arm which pains him, his behavior becomes more erratic and his temper flares. When some of the campers begin to disappear from the site under mysterious circumstances Richard decides to go deeper into the woods away from the others, it seems the deeper they go into the forest the deeper he sinks into madness.
The film benefits from some decent performances, particularly Moyer who keeps his native English accent intact which might surprise those who only know him as the Southern drawled Bill from HBO's TRUE BLOOD. It's his portrayal of a man's descent into madness that anchors the film and keeps you plugged in. 

It's a great looking film shot on 35mm with wonderful cinematography, we get a lot of off-kilter angles giving the film an unease about it. Great saturated colors, the forests scenes look stunning, very well lit and crisp particularly the films final reel when they're drenched in atmospheric fog accentuated by a composer Bobby Johnson's haunting score.  

The film does begin to drag a bit as the family argue about mundane things but the finale ratchets up the intensity and violence as Richard, suffering from dementia, fevered hallucinations and paranoia tries desperately to convince his family that the Jersey Devil exists and is a threat. It's not a perfect film, in fact after the first viewing I thought the ending was sorta a cheat, trying to be all things to everyone but with a repeat watch I was left with the opinion that this is a really decent pulse-pounder with some definite notes of THE SHINING as he loses his shit Jack Torrence style putting his son Danny in danger. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

 - Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Darren Lynn Bousman and Director of Photography Joseph White
- Deleted Scene (3:25) 16:9
- Trailers: Jennifer Lynch's CHAINED (1:35), MOTHER'S DAY (2:15) 
- Standard-definition DVD Version of the film with same special features

VERDICT: Darren Lynn Bousman's THE BARRENS (2012) is a tense, chilling psychological horror, this is a semi-original idea, can't recall too many Jersey Devil films. It's a real shame that this and Bousman's sleazy MOTHER'S DAY (2010) remake didn't get a wide theatrical release, this is fun stuff. If you enjoyed wooded horror, like THE SHRINE, there's a lot to love here, a recommend. 3.5 Outta 5 

DVD Review: SCREAM THEATER VOLUME 8 - RUBY (1977) & KISS OF THE TARANTULA (1975)

SCREAM THEATER VOLUME 8

RUBY (1977) / KISS OF THE TARANTULA (1975)

LABEL: VCI Entertainment
REGION: ALL NTSC
DURATION: 85 Minutes
RATING: R
VIDEO: Letterboxed Widescreen (1.66:1)
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.o
CAST: Piper Laurie, Stuart Whitman, Janit Baldwin, Roger Davis
DIRECTOR: Curtis Harrington

SYNOPSIS: Piper Laurie (the mother in the horror classic CARRIE) plays Ruby, a mother whose mute daughter becomes possessed by the spirit of her murdered father. In one terrifying night of horror, he exacts his revenge on his assassins.

RUBY (1977) opens with a dreamy, off-kilter sequence featuring a gangster named Nikki (Sal Vecchio) and his pregnant dame Ruby Claire (Piper Laurie, David Lynch's TWIN PEAKS) as they prepare to take a a romantic midnight row on the swamp when Nicky is gunned down in a hail of gunfire by his gangster associates. The scene ends with Ruby on the ground in anguish as her water breaks. Years later Ruby has gone legit and is the proprietor of Ruby's Drive-In movie theater where she oddly employs several of the men responsible for Nicky's death, which puts into question whether she was involved in the crimel. The drive-in is quite a success and is now screening 50's sci-fi feature ATTACK OF THE 50 FT WOMAN (1958) to the delight of the locals. 

Weird shit starts to happen at the drive-in beginning with the apparent suicide of the projectionist Jess (Eddy Donno, INVADERS FROM MARS) who hangs himself with reels of 35mm film stock. Ruby tells her right hand man Vince (Stuart Whitman, from Tobe Hooper's EATEN ALIVE) to dispose of the body and to not report it to the police, she don't want the authorities snooping around her place. Pretty soon it's obvious that something supernatural is happening around the drive-in as one by one the employees start dropping dying in mysterious ways, stalked by an unseen force. One character named Barney is played my none-other than Len Lesser, that's right, "Uncle Leo" from TV's SEINFELD who ends up a corpse inside a soda machine that dispenses his blood into an unsuspecting customer's cup, which she sips before realizing that ain't no Cherry Coke, fun stuff.

It seems that Ruby's mute daughter Leslie (Janit Baldwin, BORN INNOCENT) might be at the center of the bizarre murders, possessed by the spirit of her late father out for revenge against those whom were responsible for his death sixteen years earlier. To assist in the strange matter Vince calls in a paranormal psychologist named Dr. Keller (Roger Davis, TV's DARK SHADOWS) and things just get weirder.

Not a perfect film by any means but what I loved about this movie was the great setting at a drive-in next to a swamp, as if mosquitoes weren't bad enough without setting it right on the swamp! The 1950's nostalgia was in full effect, a great period setting at a location that is all but gone from the modern cinema landscape. Secondly there's some great Southern Gothic atmosphere, particularly the fog saturated swamp scenes at night which are just eerie as shit, it's very well shot. There are some great effects , too, well they're hokey as Hell but great just the same. When it's quite clear that Leslie is possessed we get some fun EXORCIST-esque sequences including a take on the classic spider-walk. Several of the victims are attacked by an unseen force and the sequences were very nicely done, when Vince is running through the drive-in to escape whatever it is that's attacking him we get some speaker-box's attacking him like tentacled creatures and another, fun 70's drive-in fare, it must have been a blast to watch this at the drive-in for sure!

The film gets a bit pacey in places but doesn't drag too much except when we're focused on Ruby who's a wanna-be torch singer cum actress - that stuff just brought the movie to a halt. Piper Laurie plays a great crazy bitch, that's for sure but these scenes were just rote  The ending is a bit wham-bam thank you mam  but it's a decent watch with some great underwater shots, quite an entertaining supernatural thriller with some great Gothic atmosphere and a few nods to Brian De Palm's CARRIE (1977) and THE EXORCIST (1973). 

Why I hate "interlaced" transfers, rampant combing

DVD: VCI presents the film in a non-anamorphic letterboxed presentation (1.66:1). It's an interlaced affair (see the screenshot to the right) but colors are nicely saturated. The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 audio is decent with minimal noise, dialogue and score sound good,  there are no subtitle options. The lone bonus features are trailers for each film. If you already own VCI's 70's DRIVE-IN HORROR DOUBLE FEATURE of the same two films presented here you can set aside your money - it's the exact same set with the same exact same menu as you can see from the screenshot below.

KISS OF THE TARANTULA (1975) 

LABEL: VCI Entertainment 
REGION: ALL NTSC
DURATION: 85 Minutes)
RATING: PG
VIDEO: 16x9 Widescreen (1.851)
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.o
CAST: Eric Mason, Suzanne Ling, Herman Wallner, Patricia Landon, Beverly Eddins, Jay Scott Neal, Rita French
DIRECTOR:Chris Mung

SYNOPSIS: Mommy and Daddy operate and live in a mortuary with their daughter, Susan, who collects tarantula spiders and has always been ostracized by her friends because… well she’s a little bit strange. In true schlocky b-movie horror fashion, this is a real All-American Dysfunctional Family! So when Susan discovers that mommy dearest is plotting to have dear old dad killed… well this puts sweet little Susie over the top and she pulls out all the stops, making good use of her father’s mortuary and her creepy little playmates to exact horrendous revenge! A 70's drive-in classic! 

Susan is a young daughter of a mortician (Eric Mason, GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE) who is right obsessed with eight-legged critters but her bitchy mother just hates the spiders with a passion. One night Susan overhears mommy dearest plotting with her lover (who just happens to be her father's brother) John to kill her husband so Suzanne and her hairy-legged friends do something about, she sneaks into mother's room and drops a tarantula into her sheets. The cold-hearted bitch awakens to the sight of the fuzzy eight-legged crawler and has a fatal heart-attack as Suzanne gleefully watches. 

Now a few years later Suzanne is a teen in high school, a bit awkward and still quite obsessed with tarantulas which might explain what she doesn't really have a lot of friends, the only problem there is she's super-cute - arachnid nut or not this girl would be mobbed by horny coming-of -age teens so right away there goes realism. Left alone for the weekend three teen punks beak into the mortuary and terrorize poor Suzanne killing one of her beloved tarantula and the rest f the film plays outta in proper b-movie fashion with her and her cadre of critters stalking and killing the offenders in a way that's just above and beyond what squashing a spider would seem to entail. 

My favorite scenario played out at the local drive-in with two of the teen offenders on dates with their female companion are crammed into a Volkswagen Bug and while they're busy necking Suzanne saunters up to the compact car and tosses in a handful of tarantulas - which are non-poisonous by the way - into the car and they proceed to crawl over the foursome before they even realize it. Once they finally take notice (10 minutes later) the shit hits the fan and the teens panic like you just wouldn't believe. Sandwiched in between the speaker-box they are unable to simply jump from the car and in the frenzied panic one teens throat is crushed against the steering wheel, another is strangled by the car door and one's throat is slashed on the jagged edge of a broken window leaving the last chic in a fear-induced catatonic state. 

The local authorities are baffled by these "accidents" till Suzanne's uncle John (whom I neglected to mention is a detective) finds a tarantula leg on a victim's body and starts to put prices together. The super-sleazy uncles uses her guilt to try to seduce sexual favors from her, ewww, that's just gross. I love it when he gets what's coming to him in the end, it's a fun twist that I didn't see coming, fun stuff. 

KISS OF THE TARANTULA is a fun 70's drive-in schlocker along the lines of WILLARD (1971) and STANLEY (1972). These killer pet features were pretty common fare on the early 70's drive-in circuit. I really think the film has limited appeal to horror fans but there's some inherent camp cheesiness to the proceedings and if that's your thing there's some fun to be had here, not great nor original but armed with a cheese-tastic electronic score and enough b-movie thrills to make this one worth a drunken midnight viewing. 

DVD: Both films on this double-feature are presented on a single-sided disc. The film is presented in it's original widescreen aspect ratio (1.85:1) that 16x9 enhanced. There's print damage here and there, a few scratches, but colors are decent as are black levels are adequate for a drive-in cheapie that's been used and abused. Audio is on par with the visuals, not great but certainly watchable and we get a trailer for the film, too.

VERDICT: If you love 70's drive-in schlock this is about half a great watch with the EXORCIST/CARRIE mash-up RUBY (1975) with Laurie Piper, a spooky good time. KISS OF THE TARANTULA (1977) falls somewhere below the mark on the whole but has a few creepy moments. So, is it worth a purchase, well that depends on your tolerance for 70's cheese. All eight volumes of VCI's SCREAM THEATER double-feature's arrive on DVD October 19th. 3 Outta 5  

Verdict:

DVD Review: SCREAM THEATER VOL. 7 SWAMP OF THE RAVENS (1974) & ZOMBIE (1964)

SCREAM THEATER VOLUME 7 

SWAMP OF THE RAVENS (1974)
ZOMBIE (1964)  

LABEL VCI Entertainment
REGION: ALL NTSC
DURATION: 83/93 Minutes
RATING: Unrated
VIDEO: 16x9 Widescreen (2.35:1)/(1.85:1)
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital 2.0
CAST: (SWAMP OF THE RAVENS) Ramiro Oliveros, Marcia Bichette, Fernando Sancho, Toni Mas, William Harrison, Cesar Carmichael, Mark Mollin (ZOMBIE) William Joyce, Heather Hewitt, Betty Hyatt Linton, Dan Stapleton, Walter Coy
DIRECTOR: (SWAMP OF THE RAVENS) Michael Dannon/ (ZOMBIE) Del Tenney

Just in time for Halloween VCI Entertainment are releasing an eight volume series of b-movie, horror and schlock double feature discs from the 60's through the 80's. We're getting it from all sides here; zombies, evil doctors, slashers and straight up insanity. So, I closed my eyes and shuffled eight volumes and this is what came up...

THE SWAMP OF THE RAVENS (1974)

SYNOPSIS: Dr. Frosta (Ramiro Oliveros) has been conducting illegal and immoral experiments on the recently deceased in an effort to conquer death and perfect the mental control of his subjects. All that Simone (Marcia Bichette), his estranged girlfriend knows is that the doctor works too hard and doesn't give her enough attention. The police inspector (Fernando Sancho) assigned to the case is getting closer and closer to catching and stopping the doctor. Also, Dr. Frosta has been dumping the dead rejects from his experiments into the swamp. Unfortunately, the dead are now undead, and the swamp water is infested with living corpses bent on a showdown with the mad doctor!

So, I was about two brews into the night when I slapped this one on and while I don't think I was even buzzed at that point that this film kept it's mysteries well guarded, meaning it was semi-incoherent but from what I can recall Dr. Frosta experiments on corpses in an effort to cheat death, shunned by the medical profession he relocates to the swamps of Ecuador where he continues his ghastly experiments on the homeless and the hapless. He's been dumping the bodies in the swamp behind his laboratory and then some weird shit happens, this is definitely a weird-shit-happens' sorta film, too. 


While honestly this damn thing didn't make a whole lot of sense it was littered with creepy images, some great bubbling mist-filled swamps and that particular tinge of bizarre 70's Euro weirdness coursing through it. Ramping up the oddity-quotient we have the dubbed English dialogue that lends the usual scent of unreality, including some odd narration. Also a plus in my book is the 70's score, we get everything from acid-tinged rock to a.m. gold lounge ballads - all of it perfectly kitschy and awesome. 

The story in pretty mind-bending in a what-the-fuck sorta way, by the third beer in I was feeling pretty good and content to just sit back and watch the schlock unfold. A few fun things that stood out for include Dr. Frosta's girlfriend Simone who leaves him for her ex Richard, you see Dick's a lounge singer who croons to a mannequin in her likeness onstage. She dumps the creepy doc by leaving the mannequin with a pre-recorded message on a cassette recorder to break the news to him, fun stuff. Two Ecuadorian detectives are on the case and a particularly entertaining scene has a severed hand being thrown on the dinner table as one of the detective is scarfing down a plate of vittles.

The film definitely has some kind of atmosphere, it's like a nightmare you just can't wake up from or make sense of either - not unlike a Lucio Fulci film - or maybe I am just confusing that damned mysterious fog that comes in from outta nowhere for atmosphere. 

We get a decent amount of gore with severed limbs and rotting corpses floating in the swamp which at one point inexplicably are reanimated. What must be the most disturbing aspect of the film is some corpse molestation as the doc starts making out with the corpse of his beloved Simone and before you know the nasty bastard is balls deep in the cadaver, ewww. OK I take it back, there was one nugget that was a bit more disturbing than even that, what appeared to be the autopsy of what honestly looked to be a real corpse, stomach churning stuff. By the fiery end of the film I was pretty buzzed and feeling alright, but make no mistake this is not a good film but a weird and entertaining drunken feature for sure that has some rewatch value - just not a lot.

ZOMBIE (1964)  AKA I EAT YOUR SKIN 

SYNOPSIS: Best-selling author Tom Harris is working on his next book and schedules a trip to the aptly-named Voodoo Island. Engine problems force their plane to land on the beach where Tom meets a native skinny-dipper and the zombie who is stalking her. The zombies have been created by Dr. Billedeaux with radioactive snake venom but are under the control of a voodoo witch doctor whose plan is to sacrifice the doctor's lovely daughter. Filmed in 1964 as Voodoo Blood Bath this movie went unreleased until 1971 when it was retitled and placed on a double-bill with I Drink Your Blood.

The second part of this double-feature is the mid-60's black and whiteZOMBIE aka I EAT YOUR SKIN. What I noticed first about it was a cool exotic score that fluxes from kitschy jazz to island bongo percussion - it's fun stuff, a groovy score can go a long ways in my book, even if the movie totally sucks I can just stare at the inside of my eyelids and listen to it - which I did a few times during this snoozer.


We start off in Miami with some goofy narration, real pulpy stuff. A best-selling author slash womanizing playboy named Tom Harris is getting grief from his agent for not completing a new book, it's suggested he travel to the exotic Voodoo Island to research - what else? - voodoo! On the island the author encounters bug-eyed zombies in the service of a mad scientist who transforms the natives into mindless drones with a serum derived from irradiated snake venom. The zombies abduct the author's ultra-blond female companion in an attempt to sacrifice the pretty young thing to appease some island curse. 

What we get here is a lot of recycled stock footage, weird voodoo rituals i.e. funky dancing, some goat sacrifice and a bizarre cigar chompin' voodoo priest who reminded me a lot of some 90's Prince video with with a pair of wacky sunglasses festooned in strings of beads. The film is utterly devoid of atmosphere, chills or scares in any way, the zombies make-up effects consist of oatmeal plastered faces and egg-white eyes. It's not hard to i can really see why this sat on a shelf for six years - it felt like it took six years to watch. 

The lead William Joyce is a shirtless Sean Connery knock-off and there's an undeniable 007 influence on the action here which is sorta a fun genre mash-up but for every bit o' fun there's tons schlocky badness like what has to be one of the worst slow-dissolve transformation scenes ever, there can be no doubt this is a low budget cheapie and it's worse offense - there's no skin eating - sure that was a re-titling of the movie but still, that's a damn cheat! There's some fun 1960's sexism and campy macho-man fun here but I'm not really sure this even rises to the level of fun schlocky fun, it's pretty lame.

DVD: VCI have presented both film in 16x9 enhanced widescreen in their original aspect ratios with English language Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. The transfer for ZOMBIE (1964) is fairly clean with a few scratches and staining but for a 48 year-old drive-in reject it's not too shabby at all. Contrast is pretty poor and detail and film grain seem wiped away but I was expecting far worse. The audio is quite boxy with some hiss and buzz throughout, dialogue seemed muffled, too. SWAMP OF THE RAVENS also gets the 16x9 widescreen transfer and is pretty poor with print damage and dirt, flesh-tones looks like everyone in the film is suffering from third degree sunburn, the English dubbed dialogue like the image is below par but adequate and neither film has a subtitle option or any supplemental features. 

VERDICT: A very odd pairing for a double feature, neither will win the hearts of your average horror fan but for the Euro-cult enthusiasts out there I think SWAMP OF THE RAVENS (1971) might have something to offer, it's not much but it might just be enough to tempt a purchase, just be forewarned that there's a lot of camp, kitsch and schlock here but a lot of it just ain't that enjoyable. Over all this is not a recommend for anyone but the most die-hard lovers of bad cinema, but if you count yourself among the unwashed masses of schlock-lovers the SCREAM THEATER series might just be worth a look. 2 Outta 5 

ORIGINAL "HALLOWEEN" BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN

HELL YES! I will definitely be in attendance for a screening of John Carpenter's seminal slasher HALLOWEEN (1978) with my kids in tow - this is awesome!

Jamie Lee Curtis became an overnight movie star with her role in the original 1978 John Carpenter movie HALLOWEEN. Well, that Halloween, yes, the original from 1978, arrives back in movie theaters for an entire week this Halloween season. The studio has even commissioned a brand new movie poster just for this event.

HALLOWEEN (1978) - Nationwide Theatrical Rerelease October 25, 2012
John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece, Halloween, the movie that made Jamie Lee Curtis famous, and forever changed the standard for horror movies in Hollywood, is back in theaters just in time for Halloween 2012.

Check out the brand new movie poster, created exclusively for the 2012 theatrical rerelease, below, and check this page often for updates.

New locations will be added continuously through Sept 28. Click HERE for a list of cities and theatres screening John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN! 

http://www.screenvision.com/cinema-events/halloween/

Above, the brand new poster created exclusively for the 2012 big screen Halloween theatrical rerelease.

Below, the original Halloween movie poster from 1978.

Coming soon from Scorpion Releasing!

Some great stuff on the way from Scorpion Releasing in the coming months! We have Blu-rays of GRIZZLY, DAY OF THE ANIMALS, and the horror anthology THE MONSTER CLUB - very exciting genre titles plus we're getting the Steve Buscemi cult classic ED AND HIS DEAD MOTHER among others. No artwork or release dates yet but stay tunesd...

ALLEY CAT (1984)

After a beautiful young martial arts expert's grandparents are killed by a vicious street gang, she sets out to seek the truth and get revenge.

ANGELS' BRIGADE (1979)
Wearing form-fitting fatigues, seven females join together as highly trained avengers. Their mission: to wipe every drug dealer off the face of the earth. To accomplish this, they drive around in a custom-built van, decked out with the latest in high-tech weaponry. Stars Jack Palance, Peter Lawford, Jim Backus, Neville Brand, Pat Buttram, Alan Hale Jr., and Arthur Godfrey.

CELIA CHILD OF TERROR (1989)
An imaginative and somewhat disturbed young girl fantasizes about evil creatures and other oddities to mask her insecurities while growing up in rural Australia

DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977)
A group of hikers are victims of an ironic twist of fate when wildlife reigns terror over them in this fang-baring suspense film. The hikers have convened in the woods of Northern California for a two-week camping trip. Soon, they are attacked by wild animals that have gone insane due to the depletion of the ozone layer. Now see this cult classic from a brand new HD master in 2.35:1 16x9 widescreen, from the original IP, for the first time in its proper presentation anywhere in the world! This title will be available in both BD and SD.

ED AND HIS DEAD MOTHER (1993)
Though it's been a year since her death, Ed (Steve Buscemi) is still pining over his deceased mother (Miriam Margolyes). Enter a firm called Happy People Ltd, which for a hefty fee will bring Ed's mom back to life. He ponies up the money, and miracle of miracles, mother returns. At first all is bliss. But eventually dead old mom begins acting very strangely. Her habit of eating bugs is only the tip of a bizarre iceberg. Can things get any weirder? The supporting cast includes the likes of Ned Beatty and John Glover.

GRIZZLY (1976)
Giant, killer grizzly terrorizes a state park! This horror classic will be available in both BD and SD.

THE MONSTER CLUB (1981)
Horror anthology loosely based on the works of horror novelist R. Chetwynd-Hayes. A horror author is invited by a suave vampire (Vincent Price) to accompany him to the title establishment, where he observes the secret social customs of various species of monsters -- which apparently include drinking, dancing, and watching undead strippers remove more than just their clothing. He is also made privy to the mating patterns of these creatures, and three bizarre tales are told over the evening. Also starring Donald Pleasence, Richard Johnson, Simon Ward, Britt Ekland, John Carradine, Anthony Steel and Stuart Whitman. This will be vailable both BD and SD.

THE POWER (1984) 

A man comes into possession of an ancient Aztec doll. However, the doll is possessed by an evil spirit, which takes over his body.

TOWER OF EVIL (1972) 
When a nude, crazed woman slaughters a sailor who visits the island. When she is taken back to civilization and an ancient relic is discovered, an expedition is mounted to solve the mystery of the island which leads to a series of psycho-sexual murders. This title will be available both in BD and SD.

ABOUT SCORPION RELEASING: Specializing in some of the most sought-after indie and studio movies out there, Scorpion Releasing will focus on state-of-the art definitive editions of films spanning every genre imaginable. From HBO family classics to award winning foreign films, from arthouse and drive-in escapist fun to the most infamous horror and sci-fi, Scorpion will present each of these eclectic and unique films in a restored and remastered transfer from the original elements, and also incorporate insightful bonus extras as well. Scorpion is here to add a much-needed sting to the DVD industry, and the buzz has only just begun...

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Blu-ray Review: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990)

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990)

- The Limited Edition Series -

Label: Twilight Time DVD
Region Code: ABC
Duration: 88 Minutes
Rating: R
Video: 1080p 16x9 Widescreen(1.85:1)
Audio: Englisg DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Cast: Tony Todd, Bill Moseley, Katie Finneran, Tom Towles, Patricia Tallman

Director: Tom Savini
Synopsis: Night of the Living Dead (1990)—a George Romero-approved remake of his 1968 cult horror classic, directed by makeup wizard Tom Savini—tells once again the chilling tale of seven people holed-up in a farmhouse besieged by armies of the un-dead. As the terrified little group fights for their lives, they begin to find themselves as plagued by the evil lurking within as by the ravening flesh-eaters battering on hastily boarded-up windows and doors. “Splatter King” Savini keeps things moving—and the blood flowing—as the survivors dwindle one by one.

The Film: Much like the original Romero-directed film we open with siblings Johnny (Bill Moseley, The Devil's Rejects) and Barbara (Patricia Tallman, Army of Darkness) visiting their mother's grave at a remote, rural cemetery - it's a picturesque location with rolling hills covered in green grass overlooking a lake. Johhny is an acerbic and witty and takes great pleasure in tormenting his sister about zombie, intoning the iconic line "there coming to get you Barbara". On cue a man stumbles into the scene, you're thinking it's a zombie but we get a fake out as the film deviates from the original. The man is dazed and injured, mumbles a warning and stumbles off, confused. It's now that we've been lulled into a false sense of security that the undead show up and attack, Johnny struggles against the fiend while Barbara screams her head off, he falls onto a gravestone at a weird angle, his neck snaps, it's brutal. The panicked Barbara flees the scene and eventually ends up at a rural farmhouse. It's here that she meets Ben (Tony Todd, Candyman) a man also fleeing the chaos of whatever it is that's happening in the area, it seems people are turning violent and eating people. We the audience of course realize this is the beginning of a zombie outbreak but remember the characters don't really know what the Hell is going on, they're panicked and stricken with fear. The two set about fortifying farmhouse in an effort to prevent the massing zombie hordes from entering the home. They remove doors from entry ways inside the home and barricade the windows, in the process of looking for lumber they discover the house is not as empty as it once appeared, in the basement they find Harry Cooper (Tom Towles, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), his wife Helen (McKee Anderson), their daughter Sarah (Heather Mazur, TV's Pretty Little Liars) , who was bitten by one of the fiends. She's deathly ill but no one realizes just yet how dire the situation really is. Also taking refuge in the basement is a young couple Tom Bitner (William Butler, Ghoulies II) and his girlfriend Judy Rose Larson (Katie Finneran, TV's Wonderfalls).

Immediately Cooper rubs Ben the wrong way - both are strong headed men of action and have differing opinions on the best course of action to follow which leads to a lot of tension, drama and altercations, some with damning consequences. One of the most noticeable departures from the original is the character of Barbara portrayed by Patricia Tallman (Babylon 5) who is quite the opposite of the blonde, meek and nearly catatonic Barbara (Judith O'Dea) in the '68 film here is a red-haired fire-brand, she starts off a bit  on the prissy side but by the film's end is a zombie-killing bad-ass,  it's a great switch-up . Tony Todd very capably fills the shoes of Duane Jones as Ben - this just might be Todd's finest performance. Special mention of Tom Towels (Stuart Gordon's The Pit and the Pendulum) as the abrasive Harry Cooper, a real bastard, super unpleasant and quite intense, there's a nice exchange of words between his character and Ben as they pretty much fight over a TV - great stuff.

The film has atmosphere to spare, the rural farmhouse proves to be an claustrophobic setting as hordes of zombies try to break-in until they eventually fall through the windows like a mass of insects. The sound of incessant hammering  as windows are boarded up and patched throughout the siege is unnerving, the zombies are slow-moving shamblers, it's creepy stuff. 

This was the first of only four features that splatter-master Tom Savini directed and it's far and away his finest moment behind the camera, the most recent being the "Wet Dreams" segment of The Theatre Bizarre, the weakest of that anthologies vignettes. Perhaps what we have something akin to a Spielberg-Hooper situation on Poltergeist (1982) here with Romero-Savini... it's not likely but apparently Savini's directorial debut will remain his most well-regarded effort. 

The films is shot in color but like the black and white original it is propelled by chilling atmosphere and dread, not gore, though there are certainly moments of grue provided by the capable effects team of John Vulich (Re-Animator, The Hidden) and Everett Burell (Dolls, Castle Freak) whom created some great zombie make-ups for the film. 

The film pretty much sticks to the blueprint of the original save for a few twists, one being the wickedly great finale, there's a delicious irony in Ben taking final refuge in the basement after disputing it so vehemently with Cooper, the final twists are fantastic and the final few shots of the film are eerie and chilling

Blu-ray: Twilight Time offer up Tom Savini's chilling remake of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead in a very nice looking MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer in it's original theatrical widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (anamorphic). It's sourced from a very nice print, most likely the same Columbia master used for the DVD, I saw no print damage whatsoever, there's a fine layer of grain and while the 1080p image didn't exactly leap off the screen with fine detail it is absolutely an improvement over the previous Columbia Pictures DVD edition.   

The English language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sounds great with some nice atmospheric touches in the surrounds but the majority of the action is front and center, dialogue is crisp and the score and effects sound great. There is an optional English SDH subtitle option.

Special features are culled from the previously mentioned DVD edition and include a theatrical trailer plus an audio commentary with director Tom Savini, it's a relaxed and scene-specific commentary covering many facets of the film, it's quite an interesting listen as he discusses the numerous splatter scene excised from the film by the MPAA and an alternate death scene for "Helen". Something noticeably missing from the Blu-ray is the "The Dead Walk" (24:52) making-of featurette. Not sure why that was not included but I believe for one reason or another not all bonus materials from Columbia are made available to third-party distributors, it would have been a sweet inclusion but it was not to be, however, we do get Twilight Time's signature isolated score track (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0) featuring the original score by composer Paul McCollough (The Majorettes) which is not found on the DVD. The last item is a 8 page color booklet with color pictures and wonderful writings by  Twilight Time staff-writer Julie Kirgo who always offers interesting insights that put the film in perspective. I must compliment Twilight for the inclusion of a booklet in every release, it's a nice touch and something that's all but disappeared, such a shame. 

Something I never really comment on with releases is the Blu-ray box art and I gotta say that this film has ever really had great artwork associated with it's releases. The Columbia DVD was pretty lame I hate to say it but this Blu-ray is worse, it's just uninspired, worthy maybe of Diary of the Dead maybe but not this. The backside of the booklet features some great original theatrical poster art, that would have been fantastic.

 Special Features:
- Isolated Score Track by Paul McCollough
- Audio Commentary with Filmmaker Tom Savini
- Original theatrical Trailer
- Julie Kirgo liner notes

Verdict: Night of the Living Dead (1990) is a chilling and poignant take on George A. Romero's '68 original, with Romero himself penning the screenplay the film follows the sketch of the iconic black and white chiller with precision with but a few nice surprises. I will offer up that when I take in Romero's trilogy of the Dead I actually throw this on instead of the '68 original - it's that good. As remakes of classic films go this is right up there with The Blob (1988), The Thing (1982) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - definitely one of the better horror entries of the 90's and a high recommend. 4 Outta 5 

NOTE: This release was limited to only 3,000 units and is sold out and fetching upwards of $100 on eBay :( 

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