Happy December! Its hard to believe the holiday season is really here, but, with Christmas only a few weeks away now, it seems like time is just ticking away. And if you’re still in need of some gift ideas, thankfully there are a handful of Blu-rays and DVD’s coming out this Tuesday that would make perfect gifts to go under the tree (or tucked in the stockings) this year.

Scream Factory is giving horror fans a double dose of terror this week with their Tales From the Crypt/Vault of Horror Blu-ray and sci-fi fans can finally bring Caesar and all his primate friends home, as 20th Century Fox pulling out all the stops with a stunning collector’s edition of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes too. A few Star Trek: The Next Generation titles are also getting a high-def release on December 2th and we’ve got a few more cult titles, indie horror films, and the first season of The Strain coming our way as well.

SPOTLIGHT TITLES:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Caesar’s Warrior Collection (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Blu-ray)

Get ready for worlds to collide like never before! Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment takes you to the center of the battle between apes and humans with DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES 3D Blu-ray™, Blu-ray™ and DVD on December 2 and on Digital HD™ November 11. The film quickly became the highest grossing film in the franchise, netting nearly $680 million at the box office*, and the most critically acclaimed blockbuster of the summer**.

Gary Oldman, Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke and Keri Russell star in this thrilling next chapter of The Planet of the Apes. It is 2026, and humanity has been pushed to near extinction by a deadly virus. When a group of survivors desperate to find a new source of power travel into the woods near San Francisco, they discover a highly evolved community of intelligent apes led by Caesar (Andy Serkis). The two species form a fragile peace but dissention grows and the groups find themselves hurtling toward all-out war. Fans and critics flocked to the film, with The Hollywood Reporter raving that “In the annals of sequels, Dawn is to Rise of the Planet of the Apes what The Empire Strikes Back was to Star Wars—it’s that much better.“

With approximately two hours of special features, the DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Blu-ray will make a perfect holiday gift for any action film fans. The Blu-ray is jam-packed with behind-the-scenes footage and deleted scenes, including intimate interviews with Andy Serkis on how he masterfully created Caesar and inside looks at the secrets of the relationship between man and apes.

The Strain Season One (20th Century Fox, Blu-ray & DVD)

Experience the first season of TV’s hottest, most blood-curdling sci-fi series – from Executive Producers-Writers Guillermo Del Toro, Carlton Cuse and Chuck Hogan – along with behind-the-scenes special features that explore the story’s journey from bestselling novel to hit show.

When a freak virus kills all but four passengers on an airplane at JFK, Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), head of the Center for Disease Control’s “Canary Team,” is immediately called to the scene. With help from a mysterious Holocaust survivor (David Bradley), “Eph” and his colleague (Mía Maestro) uncover the outbreak’s ties to vampirism. Now, the only way to stop the terrifying disease from wiping out mankind is to face its source – a sinister supernatural creature known as “The Master” – whose evil intent seems more powerful than any other force on Earth!”

Special Features include In the Beginning, A Novel Approach and Setrakian’s Lair.

Tales From the Crypt/ Vault of Horror (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Tales From The Crypt: When five unwary travelers with dark hearts stumble into a series of catacombs, they find themselves in a cavern with no way out. But the horror’s only just begun as a mysterious figure appears to reveal to each person the shocking events that will lead to their well-deserved, untimely (and unavoidable) demise. Starring Joan Collins (Empire Of The Ants), Peter Cushing (Horror Of Dracula), Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange) and Sir Ralph Richardson (Rollerball), and directed by Freddie Francis (The Creeping Flesh), Tales From The Crypt is the original, gets-right-under-your-skin creepfest! 

Vault Of Horror: Available uncut for the first time on home video! Five unsuspecting hotel guests step into an elevator, which leads them into an underground vault. Trapped with no way out, each guest shares a gruesome tale of an encounter with death. But as the stories unfold, the men begin to suspect that their presence in the vault is no coincidence, and that the only way out…is death. Starring Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Denholm Elliott (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), Curt Jurgens (The Mephisto Waltz) and Michael Craig (Mysterious Island), this ferociously entertaining film is a worthy sequel to Tales From The Crypt!

ALSO AVAILABLE:

Antidote (Vertical Entertainment, DVD)

As Above So Below (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu/DVD/Digital HD & DVD)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 3D Blu/Blu/Digital HD & DVD)

The Quatermass Xperiment (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)

Sliders: The Complete Collection (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, DVD)

Speak No Evil (Lionsgate, DVD/Digital HD)

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Seven (Paramount Home Entertainment, Blu-ray)

Star Trek: The Next Generation – All Good Things (Paramount Home Entertainment, Blu-ray)

  • Heather Wixson
    About the Author - Heather Wixson

    Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.