Welcome to another horror round-up! This time around we're focusing on Blue Underground's theatrical re-release of Larry Cohen's God Told Me To, a Scream Queens casting update, and Arrow Video's upcoming Blu-ray/DVD releases of Society and Island of Death.
God Told Me To: Press Release - "One of the most disturbing and thought-provoking horror films of our time, GOD TOLD ME TO was written, produced and directed by Larry Cohen (IT’S ALIVE, Q- THE WINGED SERPENT) and stars Tony Lo Bianco (THE FRENCH CONNECTION, THE HONEYMOON KILLERS)
Co-starring Deborah Raffin (DEATH WISH 3), Academy Award® winner Sandy Dennis (WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?), Academy Award® nominee Sylvia Sidney (BEETLEJUICE), Sam Levene (BRUTE FORCE), Robert Drivas (COOL HAND LUKE), Mike Kellin (SLEEPAWAY CAMP), Richard Lynch (BAD DREAMS), and Andy Kaufman (TAXI)
Confirmed theaters and dates, with additional cities coming soon.
Special Q&A’s with Larry Cohen TBA!
Theatrical Re-release Schedule:
2/25: Alamo Drafthouse Vintage Park, Houston, TX
2/25 & 2/27: FilmBar, Phoenix, AZ
2/26: Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers, Yonkers, NY
2/28: Hollywood Theatre, Portland, OR
3/5: Nitehawk Cinema, Brooklyn, NY (Tony Lo Bianco In-Person!)
3/6 & 3/7: Hi Pointe Theatre, St. Louis, MO
3/8: Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, Austin, TX
3/13 & 3/14: Coolidge Corner Theatre, Boston, MA
In addition to its theatrical re-release, God Told Me To is also coming out on Blu-ray and DVD from Blue Underground on February 24th:
Synopsis: "A rooftop sniper guns down 14 pedestrians on the streets of New York City. A mild-mannered dad takes a shotgun and blows away his wife and children. A cop goes on a sudden shooting spree at the St. Patrick's Day Parade. And each of these unlikely killers makes the same dying confession: "God told me to." Now a repressed Catholic NYPD detective (Tony Lo Bianco of THE HONEYMOON KILLERS and THE FRENCH CONNECTION) must uncover a netherworld of deranged faith, alien insemination and his own unholy connection to a homicidal messiah with a perverse plan for the soul of mankind.
Written, produced and directed by Larry Cohen (Q - THE WINGED SERPENT), this critically acclaimed cult classic remains one of the most disturbing and thought-provoking horror films of our time. Deborah Raffin (DEATH WISH 3), Sandy Dennis (WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?), Sylvia Sidney (BEETLEJUICE), Mike Kellin (SLEEPAWAY CAMP), Richard Lynch (BAD DREAMS), and Andy Kaufman (TAXI) co-star in this one-of-a-kind chiller, now featuring a brand-new 4K High Definition transfer from the original uncensored negative along with exclusive new Extras created especially for this release!"
Extras:
Scream Queens: A familiar face from American Horror Story: Freak Show will be popping up in Ryan Murphy's Scream Queens, as Variety reports that Skyler Samuels has been cast as a series regular on the upcoming horror-comedy series on Fox. Samuels played Bonnie Lipton in Freak Show, a young woman who strives to survive in the clutches of Twisty the clown.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts will star in the show, with Lea Michele (Glee), Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Keke Palmer (Akeela and the Bee) co-starring and Nick Jonas and Ariana Grande set for recurring roles.
An anthology series scheduled to premiere its 15-episode season in the fall of 2015, Scream Queens centers on a college campus turned upside down by a string of murders. Murphy revealed that, like American Horror Story, Scream Queens will follow a new storyline with a fresh setting each season. He also mentioned that every season will focus on two female lead roles. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
Society & Island of Death Blu-ray/DVDs: Due out in the US and the UK on May 18th on Blu-ray and DVD from Arrow Video is Society:
Synopsis: "After producing Stuart Gordon’s hit Re-Animator, Brian Yuzna (Bride of Re-Animator, Return of the Living Dead III) turned his hand to directing with 1989’s Society, and gave birth to one of the ickiest, most original body horror shockers of all time.
Teenager Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) has always felt like the odd one out in his wealthy, upper-class Beverly Hills family. For some reason, he just doesn’t seem to fit in. But his sense of alienation takes a sinister turn when he overhears a surreptitious audio recording of his sister’s coming-out party, which seems to implicate his family and others in a bizarre, ritualistic orgy. And then there are the strange things he’s been seeing – glimpses of people with their bodies contorted impossibly out of shape... Is Billy going mad or is there something seriously amiss in his neighbourhood?
Packing stomach-churning grue and thought-provoking social commentary in equal measure, Society is a biting horror satire which culminates in one of the most leftfield, gag-inducing “climaxes” in all of horror history – just don’t eat beforehand!"
Special Features:
Arrow Video will release Island of Death on Blu-ray and DVD in the US and the UK on May 25th:
Synopsis: "Welcome to Mykonos, the holiday destination of choice for sun, sea and slaughter! From cult director Nico Mastorakis, Island of Death is a travelogue of atrocities with scenes so strong that the British Government was once compelled to ban it as a “video nasty”.
Arriving on the idyllic Greek island, Christopher and Celia appear to be every inch the perfect, handsome young couple. Little do the welcoming locals realise that they are in fact a pair of murderous degenerates, determined to spread their own particular brand of perversion across the island. DIY crucifixions, opportunistic bestiality, sexual peeing and murder by all conceivable forms ensue – including death by makeshift blowtorch, samurai sword, dump truck and more!
Shocking, brutal and totally politically incorrect in its outlook, Island of Death is a gruelling cinematic experience devised by director Mastorakis to out-do the excesses of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which he was hugely inspired by. Now fully uncut and newly-restored from the original negative, fans can enjoy Island of Death in all its sleazy, lurid glory."
Special Features:
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.
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