Welcome back for Day 11 of Daily Dead’s fourth annual Holiday Gift Guide, readers! Once again, our goal is to help you navigate through the horrors of the 2016 shopping season with our tips on unique gift ideas, and we’ll hopefully help you save a few bucks over the next few weeks, too. For our second-to-last day of this year’s Gift Guide, we’re going to be featuring several great cult films that arrived on Blu-ray in 2016, as well as Star Wars books, a ton of horror-themed enamel pins, the amazing artwork of Hero Complex Gallery, FiverFingerTees, and much more!
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by several amazing companies, including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help get you into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently teamed up with Texas-based artist Dustin Pace of Duddy in Motion to create an awesome Stranger Things print (see below) that all of our giveaway winners will receive in our amazing prize packs that include movies, graphic novels, and much more. One lucky winner will also receive the limited edition box set of The Walking Dead Season 6!
For a chance to win one of our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide prize packs, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with “Holiday Gift Guide” in the subject line, and be sure to include your full name and mailing address as well.
Blu-rays & DVDs:
Burial Ground (Severin Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
For his only foray into the zombie genre, sleaze maestro Andrea Bianchi (MALABIMBA: THE MALICIOUS WHORE) unleashes enough flesh-ripping, gut-chomping and depraved mayhem to set insane new standards in Italian horror: Mariangela Giordano (of SATAN'S BABY DOLL and MALABIMBA fame) stars in the splatter classic about a cursed country estate besieged by houseguests, undead Etruscans and the relationship between a mother (Giordano) and her mega-creepy young son (disturbingly portrayed by diminutive actor Peter Bark). Severin Films is improbably proud to present the definitive version of this gorehound favorite, now packed with all-new Extras and featuring a 2k scan and restoration from an immaculate 35mm print recently discovered beneath the floorboards of a Trastevere church rectory.
Special Features:
Manhattan Baby (Blue Underground, Blu-ray)
A young girl on vacation in Egypt is given a mysterious charm, causing her archeologist father to be struck blind inside an unexplored pyramid tomb. But when the family returns home to Manhattan, a plague of supernatural evil and sudden violence follows. Can this ancient curse be stopped before it is unleashed on the streets of New York City?
Christopher Connelly (1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS), Laura Lenzi (THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULES II), Giovanni Frezza (THE HOUSE BY THE CEMTERY) and Carlo De Mejo (CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) star in Italian shock master Lucio Fulci's bizarre horror thriller, which combines elements of THE EXORCIST, THE AWAKENING, POLTERGEIST, and more. Also known as EYE OF THE EVIL DEAD and POSSESSED, MANHATTAN BABY has been newly transferred and fully restored in 2K from the original uncensored camera negative and comes fully loaded with exclusive new Extras produced for this release!
EXTRAS:
* 'Fulci & I' - Interview with Composer Fabio Frizzi (An Hour-Long Career Overview Of the Soundtrack Collaborations of Fabio Frizzi & Lucio Fulci)
* 'For The Birds' - Interview with Star Cosimo Cinieri
* '25 Years With Fulci' - Interview with Make-Up Effects Artist Maurizio Trani
* 'Beyond The Living Dead' - Interview with Co-Writer Dardano Sacchetti
* 'Stephen Thrower on MANHATTAN BABY' - Interview with the author of 'Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci'
* 'Manhattan Baby Suite' - Live Studio Performance by Fabio Frizzi
* Theatrical Trailer
* Poster & Still Gallery
* BONUS Collectable Booklet featuring new writing by author Troy Howarth
* BONUS CD MANHATTAN BABY Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi
Beware! The Blob (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)
Newly Re-mastered in HD! The Blob returns... more outrageous than ever in this 1972 sequel to the popular sci-fi classic! Plenty of familiar faces, including Robert Walker Jr. (Ensign Pulver), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Sid Haig (Busting), Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough), Godfrey Cambridge (Cotton Comes to Harlem), Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley), Carole Lynley (The Poseidon Adventure), Gerrit Graham (Used Cars) and Shelley Berman (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan) add to the fun. A geologist (Cambridge) unwittingly brings home an unusual frozen piece of debris from the North Pole. But when it accidentally thaws, the hungrier-than-ever Blob comes to life again, consuming nearly everyone in its path and terrorizing the town. No one is safe as it crawls into a bowling alley, oozes its way across an ice rink, becoming grotesquely bloated with the blood of its victims... can this bizarre creature ever be stopped? TV legend Larry Hagman directed this cult classic, the only feature film he ever directed upon its 1980s re-release, the film was tagged "The Film that J.R. Shot!".
Bonus Features include Audio Commentary by Film Historian Richard Harland Smith, Alternate Title Sequence and Trailers.
Pieces (Grindhouse Releasing, Blu-ray/CD Combo)
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO TEXAS FOR A CHAINSAW MASSACRE! Grindhouse Releasing is proud to present the sickest and most violent of all the early '80s slasher movies. A psychopathic killer stalks a Boston campus, brutally slaughtering nubile young college co-eds, collecting body parts from each victim to create the likeness of his mother who he savagely murdered with an axe when he was ten years old! PIECES is a wild, unrated gorefest, with enough splatter and sleaze to shock the most jaded horror fan.
Special Features Include TWO complete versions of this shocking gore classic:
PIECES (83 minutes) - the original, unrated U.S. theatrical version, presented in English and MIL GRITOS TIENE LA NOCHE (86 minutes) - the original uncensored director's cut, presented in Spanish with original score by Librado Pastor, Spectacular new 4K transfers - scanned from the original camera negative, Brand new audio commentary by star Jack Taylor, Special 5.1 audio option - the Vine Theater Experience!, In-depth interviews with director Juan Piquer Simón and genre superstar Paul L. Smith, 42nd STREET MEMORIES - all-new feature-length documentary containing interviews with Sam Sherman, Bill Lustig, Larry Cohen, Frank Henenlotter, Buddy Giovinazzo, Jeff Lieberman, John Skipp, Lynn Lowry, Terry Levene, and many other exploitation icons, Extensive gallery of stills and poster art, Exhaustive filmographies, Liner notes by legendary horror journalist Chas. Balun and Rick Sullivan, BONUS CD - original soundtrack - newly remastered from the original studio tapes, Beautiful embossed slipcover, AND OTHER SURPRISES!
The Pit (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)
Brand New 2K Restoration! Jamie wouldn’t kill anyone... unless Teddy told him to! Twelve-year-old Jamie (Sammy Snyders, Tom Sawyer of TV s Huckleberry Finn and His Friends) is one creepy kid... he has a perverse obsession with sex, his only friend is an evil teddy bear, and he's the only one who knows about the hole in the forest where he feeds raw meat to a ravenous pack of mutant troglodytes. Jamie will teach everyone a lesson: the kids who teased and bullied him, the mean old lady down the street, even his pretty new babysitter. Soon they - and his entire town - will face the flesh-eating horror of The Pit! The one and only directorial effort by Lew Lehman with a script by documentarian Ian A. Stuart and featuring a wonderful cast that includes Jeannie Elias (Nomads), Sonja Smith (Videodrome) and Richard Alden (The Sadist).
Bonus Features include Interview with Star Sammy Snyders, Interview with Star Jeannie Elias, Interview with Screenwriter Ian A. Stuart, Audio Commentary by Film Historian Jason Pichonsky and Trailer.
Books:
Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph McQuarrie is the most iconic artist in the history of Star Wars. He worked hand-in-hand with George Lucas to help establish the saga’s visual aesthetic, its inimitable look and feel. Beyond designing Darth Vader, C-3PO, and R2-D2, McQuarrie produced hundreds of pieces of Star Wars artwork, including conceptual paintings, costume designs, storyboards, and matte paintings, as well as posters, book covers, and album covers—even Lucasfilm’s annual holiday cards—all rescanned and rephotographed for this book. In Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie, readers will find the most definitive collection of the artist’s Star Wars work ever assembled, including hundreds of never-before-seen illustrations. Rare unpublished interviews, as well as recollections from McQuarrie’s colleagues and friends, complement and contextualize the art. Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie is a comprehensive tribute to cinema’s most beloved and influential concept artist.
Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
Star Wars Propaganda includes fifty dazzling pieces of art representing all seven episodes—including material related to Star Wars: The Force Awakens—specially produced for this companion volume. Each page combines an original image and a short description detailing its "history:" the in-world "artist" who created it (either willingly or through coercion), where in the Star Wars galaxy it appeared, and why that particular location was targeted.
Packaged in a beautifully designed case and written by a franchise expert and insider, Star Wars Propaganda also includes ten removable art prints, and is sure to become a keepsake for every fan and graphic artist as well.
The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
This book is a visual chronicle of the Lucasfilm art department’s creation of new worlds, unforgettable characters, and newly imagined droids, vehicles, and weapons for the first movie in the Star Wars Story series—Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In the same format and style as Abrams’ The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the book gives readers unprecedented access to hundreds of concept paintings, sketches, storyboards, matte paintings, and character, costume, and vehicle designs. The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will stand as the definitive guide to the artwork and imagination behind the newest chapter in the Star Wars franchise and will delight Star Wars fans and cineastes for decades to come.
Directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters), with production design by Doug Chiang and Neil Lamont, Rogue One chronicles the adventures of a Rebel cell tasked with a desperate mission: to steal the plans for the Death Star before it can be used to enforce the Emperor’s rule. The all-star cast includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Jiang Wen, and Donnie Yen.
Artwork:
For today’s artwork choices, we’re going to look at some of the brilliant work currently available for purchase on Hero Complex Gallery’s site, one of the best purveyors of portraits celebrating everything we love about cinema. You could spend about an hour looking through their entire collection, but several prints really stood out to me, including these Ghostbusters and Pan’s Labyrinth posters from Vance Kelly as well as this Dead Alive tribute by Matt Ryan Tobin.
Vinyl Pick of the Day:
C.H.U.D.: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Waxwork Records)
Waxwork Records is proud to present C.H.U.D. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Never before released in any format, Waxwork has tracked down the original master tapes with the efforts of C.H.U.D.’s composers Martin Cooper and David Hughes for the definitive C.H.U.D. vinyl release.
Released in 1984, C.H.U.D. has gained a devoted cult following amongst B-Movie Horror fans. The film is widely referenced in pop culture to this day via The Simpsons, Archer and more. C.H.U.D. has also served as a launching pad for numerous actors such as John Goodman (Roseanne, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona), Daniel Stern (Home Alone), and John Heard (Home Alone).
The primitive synth score composed by Martin Cooper and David Hughes captures the seedy, grim landscape that embodied early 1980’s NYC. In collaboration with the composers, Waxwork has effectively re-stored, re-mixed, and mastered the full film score directly from the original master tapes.
Included in the LP package are composer liner notes and an extended interview with C.H.U.D. director, Douglas Cheek courtesy of Rue Morgue Magazine.
Other LP package features include an old-style tip on gatefold jacket featuring artwork by Ghoulish Gary Pullin, a printed inner sleeve, and 180 gram colored vinyl.
Apparel:
Looking for some horror shirts that give everyone’s favorite movies and characters something of a twist? Then check out FiveFingerTees, a site that offers up some really inventive designs including their Scream 4 tribute, the Woodsboro Horror Film Club shirt, this Krueger’s Magic Sleep Elixir shirt or even their Tribute to Clowns T-shirt (which is nearly impossible NOT to read to yourself in Sid Haig’s voice).
Enamel Pins:
For the last two days of the Daily Dead Holiday Gift Guide, we’re going to feature various Etsy sellers in our enamel pins section (beyond our normal Etsy Spotlight), as genre fans can find hundreds of great designs if you dig deep enough (believe me, I did). First on the docket is Millennial Pins, whose Scream pin pack and Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus pin left quite an impression on me.
For those of you looking for some “deep cuts” enamel pins (for those of you whose geekery runs deep), check out the Cannon Films logo pin and Madball pin from Mutant Pins.
And for all of you slasher fans out there, you should definitely take a gander at the Camp Crystal Lake pin and Killer Kouch pin from Milly pins (the latter being one of my favorite designs I’ve seen this year).
Collectibles:
It's the Clue game transported to the world of Star Wars. In this game, it's a period of civil war, and players have managed to sneak onto the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star! Be the first player to find out which planet Darth Vader plans to destroy next, which room the Death Star plans are hidden in, and which vehicle is the correct escape vehicle. The cards revealing the correct planet, room, and vehicle are placed in the mission folder at the beginning of the game -- no one sees what these are until the end. The player who correctly identifies what's in the folder wins! Star Wars products are produced by Hasbro under license from Lucasfilm Ltd. Hasbro Gaming and all related terms are trademarks of Hasbro.
High treachery and betrayal are behind the two mysteries to solve in Game of Thrones Clue. Featuring a double-sided game board, players choose to solve the murder mystery in The Red Keep or in Meereen. WHO was responsible for plotting the murder? WHAT weapon was used and WHERE did the crime take place.
CLUE: The Nightmare Before Christmas Edition
Sandy claws has been kidnapped! Solve the mystery of who kidnapped him, what item was used and where he was hidden in time to save Christmas!
Doctor Who Clue places your favorite characters on a search through the Universe to rescue The Doctor. Playing as his closest friends and allies, players must reveal who amongst them the Dales conditioned and mind-controlled to mislead the Doctor, what powerful weapon was used in the crime, and where The Doctor has been taken in the kidnapping, thereby saving him from the Dales!
One of your favorite Supernatural characters has been possessed & is committing terrible deeds! Now is the time for you to become the hunter and attempt to discover - WHO is possessed WHAT mystical object was used to open the demon portal, and WHERE the portal was opened! Was it Sam with the Revolver in the Rocky Mountains? Or Dean on the West Coast with the Winchester Journal?
Kids' Korner:
A zombie outbreak is no joke— you have to use your braaain!
The dead are walking, and it’s up to you to solve the mystery and stop the zombie epidemic. Follow the clues by reading the graphic novel and examining the squishy zombie model in a race against time and the spreading contagion. Look for bite marks, examine rotting flesh, and probe squishy organs to identify the origins of the zombie’s infection. The graphic novel written by educator David Hunter makes exploring the scientific method and the science behind diseases a lesson in zombie-based fun.
Like all SmartLab toys, the Inhuman Squishy Zombie teaches the science behind the fun. This toy meets the U.S. government’s standards for science at the elementary school level.
Etsy Spotlight:
For those of you who treat your love of horror akin to your own religion, you should definitely check out the Black Flame Candles Etsy store, as they have an entire selection of “prayer” candles that’s pretty awesome. From new icons to Universal Classic Monsters, Black Flame Candles pretty much has a candle to scratch every itch, so be sure to check out their entire selection.
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In case you missed them, check out the other installments of Daily Dead's 2016 Holiday Gift Guide:
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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