On May 12, horror and sci-fi fans have many reasons to be excited as there are a ton of great titles making their way onto Blu-ray and DVD. Anchor Bay is unleashing The Drownsman this week and Scream Factory is releasing Extraterrestrial, the latest from The Vicious Brothers, as well. Kino Lorber also has several fun cult titles getting a high-def overhaul this week, including X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes and The Premature Burial. For all you Troma lovers out there, The Toxic Avenger III is getting repackaged in a fun Blu/DVD combo pack featuring some new content that should thrill all the Toxie fans out there.
The Drownsman (Anchor Bay Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
After almost drowning in a lake accident, Madison (Michelle Mylett, Antisocial) develops hydrophobia: an abnormal fear of water. After shutting the world and her friends out for over a year, her friends attempt an intervention. But, instead of curbing Madison's fear, they unknowingly unleash something far worse: The vision of serial killer turned supernatural psychopath Sebastian Donner known as The Drownsman who begins to stalk the women one by one, dragging them into a lair of submerged torment from which there is no escape.
Extraterrestrial (Scream Factory, Blu-ray & DVD)
From The Vicious Brothers, the creators of Grave Encounters, comes a pulse-pounding encounter of the deadly kind.
Still reeling from her parents’ divorce, April (Brittany Allen, Dead Before Dawn) is dragged by her boyfriend (Freddie Stroma, Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, Pitch Perfect), and a group of his friends back to the cabin where she spent summers as a child. Her trip down memory lane takes a dramatic and terrifying turn when a fireball descends from the sky and explodes in the nearby woods. The group venture out to the crash site and discover the remnants of a ship from another planet, along with footprints that suggest its alien occupants are still alive. They soon find themselves caught in the middle of something bigger and more terrifying than anything they could ever imagine.
Also starring Jesse Moss (Ginger Snaps), Emily Perkins (Ginger Snaps, Juno), Gil Bellows (House at the End of the Street) and Michael Ironside (X-Men: First Class, Terminator Salvation), Extraterrestrial’s mind-blowing premise is delivered with "retro shocks that straddle the worlds of Steven Spielberg and George Romero [and] nods to the conspiracy business of The X-Files", (Empire Magazine)!
The Toxic Avenger Part III (Troma Entertainment, Blu/DVD Combo )
Times are hard for Toxie. What's a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength to do after he's eliminated crime from his hometown? Desperate to raise money for the experimental surgery that could restore his blind fiancée's eyesight, Toxie accepts a lucrative job with the evil multinational conglomerate Apocalypse Inc. Now, Toxie's transforming into an even more monstrous creature: a yuppie. And all of Tromaville is paying the price of Toxie's Faustian bargain. The Toxic Avenger must defeat his own inner demons before taking on the Devil himself in a battle royale, while the fate of Tromaville hangs in the balance.
Blu-ray Special Features include New Introduction By Lloyd Kaufman, TroMoMA: American Cinematheque Honors 40 Years Of Troma, Make Your Own Damn Horror Film! Featuring Kane Hodder And Bill Moseley, Rabid Grannies! The Informercial!, LK 'Pests' Promo Video, Troma YouTube Halloween And Troma Trailers.
DVD Special Features include Audio Commentary By Lloyd Kaufman, Audio Commentary By Actor Joe Flieshaker, .Satanic Memories, Toxic Interviews, Confessions Of A Snake Lady, Toxic Posters Compilation, Lord Fartacus Cult and Troma Trailers.
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)
Dare To Look Into The Eyes Of Madness! Fantastic tale of heart-pounding suspense, this harrowing and terrifying sci-fi shocker will fascinate horror film fans. Starring Ray Milland (The Premature Burial), it charts the startling transformation of a doctor so blinded by ambition that he dares to glimpse eternity! When the brilliant Dr. Xavier (Milland) concocts a serum to improve human sight, he stumbles upon a formula for x-ray vision.
Inspired by its awesome medical potential, but shunned by his short-sighted colleagues, the doctor tests the potion on himself, only to discover that his ability to see through walls, clothing and flesh is slowly eclipsed by and insatiable desire to look still further - even if it means seeing more than any mortal can bear! Featuring wonderful direction by the great Roger Corman (Tales of Terror) and a strong supporting cast that includes Harold J. Stone (The Wrong Man), John Hoyt (Blackboard Jungle) and comedy legend Don Rickles (Run Silent, Run Deep).
Special Features include Terror Vision! Legendary Director Joe Dante on X, Audio Commentary with Roger Corman , Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas, Rare Prologue, Trailers From Hell with Mick Garris, and Original Theatrical Trailer.
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Battlestar Galactica: The Remastered Collection (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
Icetastrophe (Alchemy, DVD)
The Premature Burial (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)
Satan’s Blade: 30th Anniversary Edition (Martini Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)
Science Fiction Theatre: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory, DVD)
Space Raiders (Scorpion Releasing, Blu-ray)
These Final Hours (Well Go USA, Blu-ray & DVD)
Vampyros Lesbos: 2-Disc Collector’s Edition (Severin Films, Blu/DVD Combo & 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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