While Jackie Vernon is remembered by many for his stand-up comedy and for being the voice of Frosty the Snowman, cult horror fans know him as Donald, a frustrated husband who develops a taste for human flesh in 1983's Microwave Massacre. The horror comedy will be released this summer on Blu-ray / DVD in the US and UK by Arrow Video, who will also release 1971's The Bloodstained Butterfly on home media with a new 4K restoration.

While the full release details for the US Blu-ray / DVDs of Microwave Massacre and The Bloodstained Butterfly have yet to be revealed, we do have a look at the lists of special features for the UK editions, which should feature extras similar to what US fans can enjoy.

In the UK, Arrow Video will release Microwave Massacre on Blu-ray / DVD on August 15th, followed by an August 22nd Blu-ray / DVD release of The Bloodstained Butterfly. In addition to the UK release details (via Arrow Video), we also have the official cover art (via Facebook) for each release.

Microwave Massacre (UK Blu-ray / DVD release details): "Microwave Massacre stars legendary stand-up comedian and actor Jackie Vernon as Donald, a disgruntled construction worker whose wife’s predilection for haute cuisine drives him to cannibalism.

Donald unwittingly stumbles upon a solution to his two major problems in his life – his nagging wife and his lack of tasty meals – when, one night, he bludgeons his better half to death with a pepper grinder in a drunken rage. Thinking on his feet, Donald dismembers the body and sets about microwaving the remains, which turn out to be rather delicious. Trouble is, now he’s got a taste for human flesh that needs satisfying…

Eschewing all notions of good taste, Wayne Berwick’s Microwave Massacre is a deliciously depraved exercise in political incorrectness that has gone on to gain a cult following thanks to a characteristically deadpan performance from lead Vernon, who delivers such choice lines as “I’m so hungry I could eat a whore”. Vegetarians need not apply!

Format: Blu-Ray + DVD
Directed by: Wayne Berwick
Starring: Jackie Vernon, Loren Schein, Al Troupe

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

  • Brand new 2K restoration of the original camera negative
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
  • Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Brand new audio commentary with writer-producer Craig Muckler moderated by Mike Tristano
  • Brand new making-of featurette including interviews with Muckler, director Wayne Berwick and actor Loren Schein
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork to be revealed
  • First pressing only: fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower"

The Bloodstained Butterfly (UK Blu-ray / DVD release details): "Directed by Duccio Tessari (Death Occurred Last Night, A Pistol for Ringo), The Bloodstained Butterflymelds the lurid giallo traditions popularised by Dario Argento and Mario Bava with courtroom drama, resulting in a film that is as concerned with forensic detail and legal process as it is with grisly murders and audacious set-pieces.

When a young female student is savagely killed in a park during a thunderstorm, the culprit seems obvious: her lover, TV sports personality Alessandro Marchi (Giancarlo Sbragia, Death Rage), seen fleeing the scene of the crime by numerous eyewitnesses. The evidence against him is damning… but is it all too convenient? And when the killer strikes again while Marchi is in custody, it quickly becomes apparent that there’s more to the case than meets the eye…
Starring 70s heartthrob Helmut Berger (Dorian Gray, The Godfather: Part III) alongside genre mainstays Evelyn Stewart (The Psychic, The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail) and Carole André (Colt 38 Special Squad), and featuring a score by Gianni Ferrio (Death Walks at Midnight), The Bloodstained Butterfly is presented uncut and in a sumptuous new 4K restoration that allows this unique and haunting thriller to shine like never before!

Format: Blu-Ray + DVD
Directed by: Duccio Tessari
Starring: Helmut Berger, Giancarlo Sbragia, Evelyn Stewart

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

  • Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
  • Original Italian and English soundtracks in DTS-HD MA mono 1.0
  • Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
  • New audio commentary with critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
  • Murder in B-Flat Minor, a new visual essay on the film, its cast and crew by author Troy Howarth
  • New career retrospective on director Duccio Tessari
  • Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
  • Gallery of original promotional images
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
  • Limited edition 36-page booklet illustrated by Tonci Zonjic, containing writing by James Blackford, Howard Hughes and Leonard Jacobs"

Source: Facebook
  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.