March 20th’s horror and sci-fi home media releases are an eclectic bunch, Shout Select’s Collector’s Edition of The ’Burbs and the new Blu-ray of Michele Soavi's The Church leading the pack. Arrow Video has put together a stunning release of Robert Altman’s Images that fans will definitely want to pick up, and for those of you who enjoy the work of Takashi Miike, Well Go USA has put together a remastered edition of Ichi the Killer that you’ll want to nab as well.
Kino Lorber has resurrected Offerings on Blu-ray, and Scream Factory has a pair of cult classics—Rockula and Nightmare at Noon—that are also enjoying a brand new HD overhaul as well. Other notable releases for March 20th include Delirium, Caged, Still/Born and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (which I’d call something of a family fantasy/adventure hybrid, so I thought it was worth mentioning here because it rules).
The ’Burbs: Collector’s Edition (Shout Select, Blu-ray)
Tom Hanks stars in The ’Burbs, a comedy about a suburbanite whose plans for a peaceful vacation at home are disturbed by a creepy new family on the block. Much to the disappointment of his wife (Carrie Fisher), Ray Peterson (Hanks) and his three neighbors set out to investigate the next-door residence after they begin to observe strange happenings. Set in an average neighborhood that is anything but ordinary, The ’Burbs blends slapstick comedy and spine-thrilling mystery and is superbly directed by cult filmmaker Joe Dante (Piranha, Gremlins, Matinee, The Howling).
The Church (Scorpion Releasing, Blu-ray)
In the middle of a modern city, an ancient evil is about to awaken! An elaborate cathedral that was once the site of a medieval massacre by crusading knights becomes a deadly trap for a group of visitors and staff when a sealed crypt is accidentally reopened. The laws of reality soon collapse as a nightmare takes hold and claims the lives of those within one by one, threatening to unleash a supernatural pestilence upon the world! Legendary horror maestro Dario Argento (Suspiria, Opera, Deep Red) presents this stylish shocker from director Michele Soavi (The Sect, Dellamorte Dellamore, Stagefright), featuring an avalanche of nightmarish visual effects and a powerful score by Goblin and Keith Emerson. Don't miss this baroque descent into the occult, starring Tomas Arana (Gladiator, The Bodyguard, The Sect), Barbara Cupisti (Stagefright, New York Ripper), and Asia Argento (xXx, Land of the Dead), now in eye-popping, glorious HD!
Ichi the Killer: Remastered (Well Go USA, Blu-ray)
Takashi Miike’s ICHI THE KILLER has endured as one of the most influential pieces of genre filmmaking of the last two decades, and now it returns in a stunning all-new digitally restored special edition approved by Miike himself. This visceral, bloody, and often hilarious film follows Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano), a notoriously sadistic yakuza enforcer whose search for his boss killer brings him into the orbit of a demented costumed assassin known as Ichi (Nao Ohmori).
Bonus Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Takashi Miike & Manga Artist/Writer Hideo Yamamoto
- Still Gallery
- Trailer
Offerings (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)
John Rudley (G. Michael Smith) is angry. When he was young, the local kids pushed him to the brink. Ten years in a sanitarium is a long time. Now he's free... free to release those savage frustrations... free to avenge himself against those responsible for his injuries... and in case anyone thought her was long gone... he can't wait to have them all wrapped up.
Nightmare at Noon (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
When three tourists stop at a roadside diner in Canyonland, they become the unwitting victims of a lethal scientific experiment. A deranged powerbroker and his high-tech army have sealed off the town and contaminated the water supply with a deadly toxin which turns calm, normal people into raving lunatics. Joining forces with the local sheriff and his daughter, this small band of holdouts wage an explosive life-or-death battle for survival.
Directed by Nico Mastorakis (The Zero Boys), this thriller includes a B-Movie all-star cast featuring Wings Hauser (Vice Squad), Bo Hopkins (Mutant), George Kennedy (Airport), Brion James (Blade Runner) and Kimberly Beck (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter).
Robert Altman’s Images: Special Edition (Arrow Films, Blu-ray)
The early seventies were a period of remarkable activity for Robert Altman, producing masterpiece after masterpiece. At the time he came to make Images, MASH and McCabe & Mrs. Miller were behind him, with The Long Goodbye, California Split and Nashville still to come.
Originally conceived in the mid-sixties, Images concerns a pregnant children’s author (Susannah York, who won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival) whose husband (Rene Auberjonois) may or may not be having an affair. While on vacation in Ireland, her mental state becomes increasingly unstable resulting in paranoia, hallucinations and visions of a doppelgänger.
Scored by an Oscar-nominated John Williams, with sounds by Stomu Yamash'ta (The Man Who Fell to Earth), Images also boasts the remarkable cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind).
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
Rockula (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
He’s a 400-year-old virgin who wants to rock all night! Ralph (Dean Cameron, Summer School) is just your typical, average vampire with love in his heart, music in his veins: and a curse on his head. Every 22 years, poor Ralph is doomed to lose his soulmate, Mona, at the hands of a rhinestone-peg-legged pirate brandishing a large hambone. But this time around, with the help of his newly-formed band Rockula, Ralph is determined to crush the curse once and for all: and show Mona that when you’re a vampire, true love is eternal ... and rock ’n roll never dies.
Directed by Luca Bercovici (Ghoulies) and featuring an eclectic cast of co-stars, including cult favorite Susan Tyrrell (Forbidden Zone) and recording stars Thomas Dolby, Toni Basil, and Bo Diddley, Rockula is an absolutely batty, bloody and bizarre comedy!
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Caged (MTI Home Video, DVD)
Delirium (Gravitas Ventures, Blu-ray & DVD)
H.P. Lovecraft’s Two Left Arms (Bayview Entertainment, DVD)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 4K Ultra HD/Blu/Digital Combo, Blu/Digital Combo & DVD/Digital Combo)
Prom Night Collection (Echo Bridge, DVD)
Still/Born (Lionsgate, 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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