For the week of February 10th, your horror and sci-fi home entertainment choices are practically boundless, as we’ve got a bevy of great films being released (something that might be helpful for those of you still in search for a gift for your Valentine). Scream Factory is pulling double-duty with both of their dual Blu-ray releases, Love at First Bite/Once Bitten and Vampire’s Kiss/High Spirits, and the cult classic Nekromantik 2 is getting a high def upgrade as well.
Other notable titles to look forward to this Tuesday include Nightcrawler, Predestination, Fear Clinic, Z Nation: Season One and the Criterion release for the classic thriller Don’t Look Now.
Love at First Bite/Once Bitten (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
LOVE AT FIRST BITE: George Hamilton is possibly the tannest vampire in screen history in 1979’s Love at First Bite. When Count Dracula (Hamilton) is forced out of his castle to make room for an Olympic training facility, he relocates to New York City in search of discos, blood banks, and the fashion model who just might be the girl of his dreams. Will the Count take a bite out of the big apple: or will its mean streets take a bite out of him? Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, Arte Johnson, Dick Shawn and The Jeffersons’ Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford also star in this outrageous romance about a guy who really loves the nightlife.
ONCE BITTEN: Jim Carrey is necking with a vampire in Once Bitten, a 1985 teen comedy also starring Lauren Hutton, Karen Kopins, and Cleavon Little (Blazing Saddles). When a vampire Countess (Hutton) seeks virgin blood, she soon discovers that it’s not as easy to come by as it was in the good old days! When she crosses paths with the still-virginal Mark Kendall (Carrey in one of his earliest screen roles), it’s a race against time to get to him before he gets it on. Once Bitten is a totally 80s teen vampire flick where the bloodsuckers don’t sparkle, but the comedy most certainly does.
Nekromantik 2 (Cult Epics, Blu-ray & DVD)
From director Jorg Buttgereit comes Nekromantik 2, the gore horror sequel to his 1987 classic Nekromantik. Monika (Monika M.) is a beautiful necrophiliac who lives alone in Berlin. By day she works as a nurse. By night she prowls through cemeteries while searching for fresh corpses. When she reads about the suicide of Rob (Nekromantik's Daktari Lorenz) she finds his grave to dig up his body and brings it home. Mark (Mark Reeder) lives across town and makes his living dubbing sex films. After meeting Monika, romance blossoms and they fall in love. But all is not well in Monika's world. Her relationship with Mark begins to falter and she has to make a final choice between loving the living or the dead.
Officially banned in Germany for years upon release, Cult Epics is proud to present Nekromantik 2, Uncut and Uncensored in a new High Definition transfer.
Special Features include New Director's Approved HD transfer (taken from the original 16mm negative), New Introduction by Jorg Buttgereit (2014), Audio Commentary by Jorg Buttgereit, co-author Franz Rodenkirchen, and actors Monika M. and Mark Reeder, The Making of Nekromantik 2, Still Photo Gallery, JB Trailers, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2011) Live, 20th Anniversary Live Concert performed by Monika M. and Friends - Video (2011), A Moment of Silence At the Grave of Ed Gein, Short film by Jorg Buttgereit (2012), Half Girl Lemmy, I'm A Feminist, Music video by Jorg Buttgereit (2014), LIMITED EDITION 5000 (BD) Copies that includes Nekromantik 2 Collectible Artwork by Johnny Ryan & Nekrophilia photo of Monika M.
Nightcrawler (Universal Studios, Blu/DVD/Digital HD w/UltraViolet & DVD/Digital HD w/UltraViolet)
Nightcrawler is a thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling - where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
Special features include Digital Copy of Nightcrawler (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.), Includes UltraViolet (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.), If It Bleeds, It Leads: Making Nightcrawler and Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Dan Gilroy, Producer Tony Gilroy, and Editor John Gilroy.
Vampire’s Kiss/High Spirits (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
VAMPIRE’S KISS: Teetering on the edge of sanity, volatile literary agent Peter Loew (Nicolas Cage) tries to find purpose in his life through a cutthroat work ethic and a hedonistic night life. But when an encounter with a mysterious beauty leaves Loew convinced that he is turning into a vampire, his behavior turns positively outrageous.
HIGH SPIRITS: Daryl Hannah, Peter O’Toole, Steve Guttenberg, Beverly D’Angelo, Jennifer Tilly, Peter Gallagher and Liam Neeson star in this hilariously haunting comedy! When a castle-turned-hotel owned by Peter Plunkett (O’Toole) falls on hard financial times, he comes up with an idea to turn the place into a tourist attraction by billing it as Europe’s most haunted castle. But just when it seems he’ll have to give up the ghost, some real phantoms show up: and they’re none too thrilled about being exploited.
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Arkham Sanitarium (Bayview Entertainment/Widowmaker, DVD)
Dead Walkers: Rise of the Fourth Reich (Bayview Entertainment/Widowmaker, DVD)
Don’t Look Now (Criterion Collection, Blu-ray & DVD)
Fear Clinic (Anchor Bay Entertainment, Blu-ray: Best Buy Exclusive & DVD)
Frankenstein vs. The Mummy (Image Entertainment, DVD)
Hardware: 25th Anniversary Edition (Imports, Blu-ray)
Island of the Living Dead (Intervision Picture Corp., DVD)
The Legend of Black Annie (Maverick Entertainment Group, DVD)
Poker Night (XLRator Media, Blu-ray & DVD)
Predestination (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
Proof of the Devil (Genesis Distribution, DVD)
RPG: Real Playing Game (Arc Entertainment, DVD)
Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part 2 (Severin Films, DVD)
Z Nation: Season One (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, DVD)
Zombies: The Beginning (Intervision Picture Corp., DVD)
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.
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