Arrow Video screens GEORGE A. ROMERO BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAWN (review)

Between the cult classics NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD, George A. Romero directed a trio of low-budget obscurities that are getting the attention they deserve courtesy of Arrow Video.  In THERE'S ALWAYS VANILLA,Vietnam vet/session musician Chris takes to the road and winds up in his hometown where he falls into a whirlwind romance with a television commercial actress.  In SEASON OF THE WITCH, unfulfilled housewife Joan finds an outlet for her frustrations in witchcraft, but has she summoned something else or is it all in her head?  In THE CRAZIES, the military descends on Evans City when a viral outbreak turns the locals into crazed killers, but even those who are unaffected are caught in between soldiers told to treat anyone who resists as the enemy and their own friends and family who cannot control their impulses for violence.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAWN Blu-ray specs:

• There's Always Vanilla (1971):
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film historian Travis Crawford
• "Affair of the Heart: The Making of There's Always Vanilla" documentary featuring interviews with producers John Russo and Russell Streiner, stars Judith Streiner and Richard Ricci, and sound recordist Gary Streiner
• "Digging Up the Dead: The Lost Films of George Romero" archive interview with Romero discussing his early films "There’s Always Vanilla" and "Season of the Witch"
• Image Galleries:
• Filming Locations gallery with audio commentary by Romero Historian Lawrence DeVincentz
• Collectible Scans
• Theatrical Trailer
• Season of the Witch (1972):
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Theatrical Version (90 minutes)
• Blu-ray Exclusive: Extended Version (105 minutes)
• Audio Commentary by critic Travis Crawford on the Theatrical Cut
• "When Romero Met Del Toro" filmmaker Guillermo del Toro in conversation with George Romero
• "The Secret Life of Jack's Wife" archival interview with actress Jan White
• Alternate Opening Titles:
• "Jack's Wife"
• "Hungry Wives"
• "Season of the Witch"
• Image Galleries:
• Filming Locations gallery with audio commentary by Romero Historian Lawrence DeVincentz
• Collectibe Scans
• Trailers:
• "Hungry Wives"
• "Season of the Witch"
• The Crazies (1973):
• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by critic Travis Crawford
• "Romero Was Here: Locating The Crazies" Romero historian Lawrence DeVincentz takes us on a guided tour of Evans City, PA and the locations
• "Crazy for Lynn Lowry" star Lynn Lowry discusses her early career
• Q&A with Lynn Lowry filmed at the 2016 Abertoir Film Festival
• Audio Interview with producer Lee Hessel
• Behind the Scenes footage (with optional commentary by Lawrence DeVincentz)
• Alternate Opening Titles
• Image Galleries:
• Filming Locations
• Collectible Scans
• Trailers & TV Spots:
• Trailer 1
• Trailer 2
• TV Spot 1
• TV Spot 2
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx
• Limited edition 60-page booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger, Kier-La Janisse and Heather Drain.

Blue Underground contracts THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (updated review)

Asia Argento stars in her father Dario Argento's return to the Italian giallo after his Hollywood forays TWO EVIL EYES and TRAUMA.  Anna Manni, an Italian policewoman from Rome travels to Florence on the trail of a serial rapist who has recently started killing.  In the Uffizi Gallery, Anna experiences a fugue state in the presence of the great works of art and loses her memory, making her vulnerable to the killer.

REVIEW LINK: Blue Underground (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and 2.0 Surround, and Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
• DVD:
• 16: 9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian DTS 6.1-ES, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, and Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
• Optional English (for the Italian), English SDH (for the English), French, and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary with author Troy Howarth
• “Three Shades of Asia” interview with star Asia Argento
• “Prisoner of Art” interview with co-writer Franco Ferrini
• “Sharp as a Razor” interview with special makeup artist Franco Casagni
• Theatrical Trailer
• Poster and Still Gallery
• Bonus Disc:
• "Director: Dario Argento" interview
• "Inspiration: Psychological Consultant Graziella Magherini" interview with the author of the book
• "Special Effects: Sergio Stivaletti" interview
• "Assistant Director: Luigi Cozzi" interview
• "Production Designer: Massimo Antonello Geleng" interview
• Liner Notes by Troy Howarth

Kino Lorber stalks NIGHTKILL (review)

Jaclyn Smith stars a woman whose boyfriend has murdered her husband, but things get even more complicated when a police inspector starts snooping around and she cannot be sure if her husband is even dead.  Mike Connors, James Franciscus, Robert Mitchum, Fritz Weaver, and Sybil Danning also star.

REVIEW LINK: Kino Lorber (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

NIGHTKILL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
• Interview with actress Jaclyn Smith
• Teaser Trailer
• Previews

Vestron Video attends SLAUGHTER HIGH (review)

"Marty majored in cutting classmates" at SLAUGHTER HIGH.  When a prank on the dork of Doddsville High goes wrong and he gets a face full of acid, mad Marty invites his classmates back for a ten year reunion and an April Fool's Day they will never forget.

REVIEW LINK: Vestron Video/LionsGate (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

SLAUGHTER HIGH Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by co-writers/co-directors George Dugdale and Peter Litten
• Audio Interview with composer Henry Manfredini featuring isolated music and effects selections
• Interview with co-writer/co-director Mark Ezra
• Interview with actress Caroline Munro
• Photo and Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Radio Spots

Film Movement indulges ALL THE SINS OF SODOM with VIBRATIONS (review)

The second volume of the Joseph W. Sarno Retrospect Series combines two back-to-back productions made in the aftermath of the success of INGA.  In ALL THE SINS OF SODOM, photographer Henning endeavors to photograph the wickedness of women and thinks he has found the perfect model.  Unbeknownst to him, the young waif he has let use his backroom while she gets on her feet is proving behind his back that she is more wicked than anything he has ever conceived of.  In VIBRATIONS, repressed writer Barbara tries to ignore the sex cult that meets in the storeroom beside her apartment until her sister Julie shows up wanting to rekindle their taboo childhood relations and her innate curiosity takes her behind the walls next door.

REVIEW LINK: Film Movement (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

ALL THE SINS OF SODOM/VIBRATIONS Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by Peggy Steffens Sarno on ALL THE SINS OF SODOM
• Audio Commentary by Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas on VIBRATIONS
• Mini-Commentary by Peggy Steffans Sarno on VIBRATIONS
• Joe Sarno Trailers
• Booklet by Tim Lucas

Blue Underground takes THE LIFT (Review)

THE LIFT gives you a good reason to take the stairs when a lightning strike causes a high-tech microchipped elevator system to go crazy and brutally murder passengers.  From the director of AMSTERDAMNED.

REVIEW LINK: Blue Underground (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE LIFT Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo; English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• Dutch Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English subtitles for the Dutch track, English SDH subtitles for the English dub, and Spanish subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writer/director Dick Maas and editor Hans van Dongen
• "Going Up" inteview with actor Huub Stapel
• "Long Distance" 2003 short film by Dick Maas
• Trailers:
• Dutch (3:30)
• American (1:39)
• Poster & Still Gallery 
• Reversible Cover
• Booklet by Fangoria's Chris Alexander

Warner Archive enrolls in NIGHT SCHOOL (review)

The women of Wendell College's night school are literally losing their heads when a headhunter starts whittling down the student body in this eighties studio slasher.  Leonard Mann, Rachel Ward, and Drew Snyder star.

REVIEW LINK: Warner Archive (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

NIGHT SCHOOL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer

Vinegar Syndrome gets PRIME EVIL with LURKERS (review)

Two of Roberta Findlay's eighties softcore horror flicks picked up by Crown International come to Blu-ray.  In PRIME EVIL, a young virgin is set to be offered up as a Winter Solstice sacrifice for a devil-worshiping cult unless a selfless nun renounces her vows and infiltrates the cult.  In LURKERS, cellist Cathy has been troubled by nightmares about her childhood in a brownstone haunted by people who came out of the walls and drove her mother to murder.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

PRIME EVIL/LURKERS Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Roberta Findlay on PRIME EVIL
• Isolated Scores for both films
• Trailer for PRIME EVIL
• Trailer and Teaser for LURKERS
• Reversible Cover

Vinegar Syndrome's BLOOD BEAT (review)

Christmas come early this year with a samurai sword in the oddball French-made, Wisconsin-lensed regional horror flick BLOOD BEAT.  When Ted brings his girlfriend Sarah home to the family farm, she gets weird vibes off of his New Agey mother.  That oddness pales in comparison when a killer dressed as an ancient samurai starts massacring the nearby farm, clearing a bloody path towards the family.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

BLOOD BEAT Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Fabrice Zaphiratos (in French with English subtitles)
• Interview with director Fabrice Zaphiratos
• Interview with cinematographer Vladimir Van Maule
• BLOOD BEAT: Silent Version (28 minutes) with Nervous Curtains and Horror Remix
• Short film by Fabrice Zaphiratos' son William
• Stills Gallery
• Reversible Cover

The first two-thousand copies ordered directly from Vinegar Syndrome include an embossed slipcover by Earl Kessler.

Vinegar Syndrome gets a gust of DEMON WIND (review)

Cory and his friends travel to a remote farmhouse in the countryside and encounter demons and zombies.  It's not THE EVIL DEAD or EVIL DEAD 2, it's the nineties video obscurity DEMON WIND, an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink effort with monsters, latex gore, topless temptresses, and more!

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

DEMON WIND Blu-ray specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Interview with producer Sandy Horowitz
• Interview with actress Sherry Leigh
• Interview with cinematographer Tom Callaway
• Audio Interview with editor Christopher Roth
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible Cover

The first three thousand copies purchased directly from Vinegar Syndrome come with a lenticular slipcase.

Severin Films forecasts THE DEVIL'S RAIN (review)

THE DEVIL'S RAIN bursts the floodgates and hits Blu-ray as William Shatner, Tom Skerritt, Joan Prather, and Ida Lupino battle Ernest Borgnine and his Satanic minions (including John Travolta) in this wet seventies classic.

REVIEW LINK: Severin Films (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE DEVIL'S RAIN Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English, French, and Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Robert Fuest
• Interview with actor Tom Skerritt
• Interview with effects artist Tom Burman
• Interview with script supervisor Ana Maria Quintana
• Archival Interview with William Shatner
• Interview with the High Priest and High Priestess of the Church of Satan
• Interview with Anton LaVey biographer Blanche Barton
• Filmmaker Daniel Roebuck discusses THE DEVIL'S RAIN
• Radio Spots over On-Set Polaroids from script supervisor Ana Maria Quintana
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Poster and Still Gallery
• Reversible Cover

Intervision Picture Corp. ventures BEYOND THE SEVENTH DOOR (review)

When an ex-con convinces his girlfriend to help him rob her boss' castle of a legendary treasure, they find themselves having to solve a series of puzzles to escape from six room rigged with death traps in order to find out what lies beyond the seventh door in this Canadian eighties obscurity.

REVIEW LINK: Intervision Picture Corp./Severin Films (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

BEYOND THE SEVENTH DOOR DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director BD Benedikt and actor Lazar Rockwood moderated by Canuxploitation's Paul Corupe
• Interview with director BD Benedikt, actor Lazar Rockwood, and Paul Corupe
• "The King of Cayenne" tribute to Toronto eccentric Ben Kerr

Vinegar Syndrome takes in AFTERNOON DELIGHTS with a SLAVE OF PLEASURE (review)

In this duo from Shaun Costello, five divorced men share the nastiest secrets of their ex-wives over a poker game in AFTERNOON DELIGHTS while a private investigator looks for a wife abducted white slavers in SLAVE OF PLEASURE.  Jamie Gillis, Eric Edwards, Roger Caine, and C.J. Laing star.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

AFTERNOON DELIGHTS/SLAVE OF PLEASURE DVD specs:

• 2K scans of 35mm archival elements
• Afternoon Delights:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Theatrical Trailer
• Slave of Pleasure:
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Audio Commentaries on both films by director Shaun Costello

Vinegar Syndrome documents INTRUSION (review)

Michael Gaunt made his adult film debut in this intense thriller as an assailant who menaces lonely housewife Kim Pope in INTRUSION.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

INTRUSION DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Interview with actor Michael Dattore
• Theatrical Trailer

Arrow Video investigates THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF A MINOR (review)

When the cops strike out on the death of an unidentified teenager, Paolo Germi takes on his own private investigation and finds a link between underage prostitution and a kidnapping ring in Sergio Martino's giallo/police thriller hybrid.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region A/B Blu-ray/Region 1/2 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF A MINOR Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH and English subtitles for the Italian track
• Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth
• "Violent Milan" interview with director Sergio Martino
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon
• First pressing includes an illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing by Barry Forshaw

Fox Entertainment proclaims THIS IS US: SEASON 1 (Review)

The lives of three people who share the same birthday are inextricably intertwined with one another and their past upbringing as they seek fulfillment in love and work and emotional closure for old wounds in NBC's award-winning family drama.

REVIEW LINK: Twentieth Century Fox (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

THIS IS US: SEASON ONE DVD specs:

• Eighteen episodes on five dual layer DVDs
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1; Portuguese and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
• Optional English SDH, French, Portuguese, and Spanish subtitles
• "Aftershow" discussion for each episode 

Second Sight tunes into CHANNEL ZERO: SEASON ONE - CANDLE COVE (Review)

Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw star in CHANNEL ZERO: SEASON ONE based on the Creepypasta urban legend of Candle Cove, a children's television show that only airs on dead channels and influences the children of a rural Ohio town to behavior in bizarre and violent manners.  The last time the show aired in 1988, five children were murdered.  It is airing again, and only one man thinks he knows how to stop the murders from happening again.

REVIEW LINK: Second Sight (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

CHANNEL ZERO: SEASON ONE - CANDLE COVE Blu-ray specs:

• Six episodes on two BD-50 Blu-ray discs
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Creator Nick Antosca Interview
• Deleted Scenes

Kino Lorber draws on ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK (review)

Brett Halsey, Charles Southwood, and Marilu Tolo star in Mario Bava's comic western ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK.  The titular pair of brawling buddies vie for the affections of a native girl and for the location of a treasure in gold buried in the desert.

REVIEW LINK: Kino Lorber (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• Italian and partial English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Tim Lucas
• Intermission Cards

Kino Lorber resurrects RAWHEAD REX (review)

A pagan beast rises to feed again in the Irish countryside in RAWHEAD REX, the gory eighties film adaptation of Clive Barker's short story from "The Books of Blood".


REVIEW LINK: Kino Lorber (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

RAWHEAD REX Blu-ray specs:

• 4K restoration of the original camera negative
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director George Pavlou moderated by Stephen Thrower
• Interview with actor Rowan Wilmot
• Interview with actor Heinrich von Bünau
• Interview with effects crew Gerry Johnston, Peter Mackenzie Litten, John Schoonraad, Rosie Blackmore, and cameraman Sean Corcoran
• Interview with Stephen R. Bissette, co-creator of John Constantine, instructor at the Center for Cartoon Studies
• Animated Behind-the-Scenes Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Booklet essay by film historian Kat Ellinger
• Reversible Cover
• Collector's Slipcase

Vinegar Syndrome hires SUNNY for MORE THAN SISTERS (review)

In this double bill from Shaun Costello, Candida Royale is SUNNY, a specialist in sexual espionage hired to reign in the extravagances of a young heir by his incestuous mother.  In MORE THAN SISTERS, a psychiatrist hires a private detective to investigate the mysterious past of a patient who has nightmares of sexual abuse in a mental hospital that may or may not all be in her head.  Jamie Gillis and Eric Edwards also star.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SUNNY/MORE THAN SISTERS DVD specs:

• 2K restorations of 35mm archival elements
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Audio Commentary for MORE THAN SISTERS by director Shaun Costello
• Trailer for SUNNY

Shameless dismembers TORSO (review)

Sergio Martino anticipates the slasher with the giallo TORSO in which the coeds of the University of Perugia's summer art program are terrorized by a ski-masked killer who strangles and mutilates his victims.  Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, Luc Merenda, and John Richardson star.

REVIEW LINK: Shameless Screen Entetainment (UK) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

TORSO Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• English and Italian LPCM 2.0 mono
• Full English subtitles for the Italian track or English subtitles for the Italian-only sequences on the English track
• "Dismembering TORSO" interview director with Sergio Martino
• Reversible Cover

Artsploitation is dreaming of a RED CHRISTMAS (review)

Dee Wallace returns to horror as the American matron of a dysfunctional Australian family whose holiday homestead is crashed by the deformed survivor of an abortion in search of his mother and with a taste for bloody vengeance.

REVIEW LINK: Artsploitation Films (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

RED CHRISTMAS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
•  Audio Commentary by writer/director Craig Anderson and actor Gerard Odwyer
• "Dee Wallace Speaks!"
• Interview with actor Gerald Odwyer
• Blooper Reel
• Deleted Scene
• Craig Anderson Mini-Interview
• Easter Egg

Vega Baby hears the DEVIL'S WHISPER (Review)

Sixteen year old Alex dreams of becoming a priest.  When he is given an old cross belonging to his grandfather, he starts to experience hauntings and begins to believe that a demon wants to possess him and will hurt anyone he looks to for help.

REVIEW LINK: Vega Baby (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

DEVIL'S WHISPER DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Previews

Vega Baby tracks SHORTWAVE (Review)

After their daughter disappears, a young couple retreat to a high-tech house in the middle of the woods to continue experiments in shortwave radio signals.  As they start experiencing hallucinations and violent manifestations, they start to wonder if their work has attracted a malevolent entity into their safe home.

REVIEW LINK: Vega Baby (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

SHORTWAVE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.66:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Previews 

Strand Releasing watches THE ORNITHOLOGIST (review)

A bird watcher becomes lost in a Portuguese forest reserve and his search for civilization becomes a religious pilgrimage in Joao Pedro Rodrigues' erotic allegory on the life of St. Anthony of Padua.

REVIEW LINK: Strand Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE ORNITHOLOGIST DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen
• Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

VCI haunts RUBY (review)

First there was THE EXORCIST, then there was THE OMEN, now there's RUBY.  Piper Laurie stars as a former gangster's moll who runs a bayou drive-in with former gangsters staffing the concessions.  When they start to die one by one, a parapsychologist believes that Ruby's sixteen-year-old mute daughter Leslie has become a vessel for supernatural retribution.

REVIEW LINK: VCI (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

RUBY Blu-ray specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• DVD: 
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Curtis Harrington and actress Piper Laurie
• Audio Commentary by film historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell
• 2001 Video Interview with director Curtis Harrington
• "The Sinister Image" TV show interviews with Curtis Harrington (2 episodes)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Essay by Nathaniel Bell

Breaking Glass Pictures enters THE BASEMENT (review)

A group of college students in Bucharest celebrating graduation have their apartment party broken up and decide to conduct a seance which leads them to the labyrinthine basements beneath the apartment building that stretch out beneath the city where they discover a supernatural killer eager to take them out one by one.

REVIEW LINK: Breaking Glass Pictures (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE BASEMENT DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.40:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English subtitles for foreign languages
• English Closed Captioning for English dialogue
• Behind the Scenes
• Production Diaries
• Trailer
• Previews

Strand Releasing lives LIKE CRAZY (review)

From the director of HUMAN CAPITAL Paolo Virzi, LIKE CRAZY stars Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Micaela Ramazotti as a pair of women in a psychiatric facility in the Italian countryside who take to the road on a madcap journey only to be confronted with the harsh realities of their lives that lead to their breakdowns.

REVIEW LINK: Strand Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

LIKE CRAZY DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• Italian Dolby Digital 5.1
• Optional English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

Arrow Video USA serves up BLOOD FEAST (review)

"Have you ever had an Egyptian feast?"  Herschell Gordon Lewis' landmark gore film BLOOD FEAST is the story of a mad Egyptian caterer who worships a goddess of death and procures victims to recreate an ancient cannibal feast.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video USA (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

BLOOD FEAST Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by director Herschell Gordon Lewis, producer David F. Friedman, and Something Weird Video's Mike Vraney 
• Outtakes
• Radio Spot
• Theatrical Trailer
• Theater Announcement
• Bonus Film SCUM OF THE EARTH (75 minutes)
• Introduction to both films by Herschell Gordon Lewis
• "Scum Clean Scenes" alternate footage for SCUM OF THE EARTH
• Featurettes:
• "Blood Perceptions"
• "Herschell’s History"
• "How Herschell Found His Niche"
• 1987 Interview with Herschell Gordon Lewis and David Friedman
• "Carving Magic" 1959 educational short
• Bonus Trailers