August 14th Blu-ray & DVD Releases Include RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II Collector’s Edition and Steelbooks of LIFEFORCE, ARMY OF DARKNESS, and THE HOWLING

2018/08/14 00:00:32 +00:00 | Heather Wixson

August 14th looks to be a killer day for genre fans looking to add to their home media collections, as there are a bunch of great releases coming our way this week. Scream Factory is putting in some serious overtime this Tuesday, as they have a trio of gorgeous Steelbooks—Army of Darkness, Lifeforce and The Howling—on tap, as well as the Collector’s Edition of Return of the Living Dead Part II and a standard Blu-ray of The Unborn to boot.

Arrow Video has also put together a Special Edition collection for What Have They Done to Your Daughters?, and they are re-releasing both The Gore Gore Girls and The Cat O’ Nine Tails as well. And, as if all that wasn’t enough, Full Moon has put together a nifty Blu set for Laserblast that fans are going to want to pick up.

Other notable titles coming home on August 14th include Avengers: Infinity War, Bad Samaritan, 2 Die For, Savageland, and Alabama Sasquatch.

Army of Darkness Steelbook Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Trapped In Time. Surrounded By Evil. Low On Gas. Bound in human flesh and inked in blood, the ancient "Necronomicon", (the Book of the Dead) unleashes unspeakable evil upon mankind in director Sam Raimi’s (Darkman, Drag Me to Hell) outrageously hilarious third chapter in his Evil Dead Trilogy.

Back to do battle with the hideous "Deadites, ", Bruce Campbell returns to the role of Ash, the handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk from S-Mart’s housewares division. Demonic forces time warp him (and his Oldsmobile) into England’s Dark Ages, where he romances a beauty (Embeth Davidtz, The Amazing Spider-Man) and faces legions of the undead. Can Ash save the living from the evil dead, rescue his girlfriend, and get back to his own time?

The Howling Steelbook Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Severely shaken after a near-fatal encounter with a serial killer, TV newscaster Karen White (Dee Wallace, E.T.) takes some much-needed time off. Hoping to conquer her inner demons, she heads for "the Colony," a secluded retreat where her new neighbors are just a tad too eager to make her feel at home. Also, there seems to be a bizarre link between her would-be attacker and this supposedly safe haven. And when, after nights of being tormented by savage shrieks and unearthly cries, Karen ventures into the forest to find answers, she makes a terrifying discovery. Now she must fight not only for her life...but for her very soul!

Lifeforce Steelbook Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

From the director of Poltergeist and the co-writer of Alien comes a thrilling sci-fi adventure of explosive action and pulse-pounding suspense! With mind-blowing special effects by Academy Award winner John Dykstra (1977 Visual Effects, Star Wars), Lifeforce is a gripping mélange of genres that’s "so bizarre, it’s fascinating", (Leonard Maltin)!

A mission to investigate Halley’s Comet discovers an even stranger phenomenon: an alien spacecraft! Following a deadly confrontation, the aliens arrive on Earth, where their seductive leader begins a terrifying campaign to drain the lifeforce of everyone she encounters. Her victims, in turn, continue the cycle, and soon the entire planet is in mortal danger. And when the mission’s sole survivor (Steve Railsback, The Stunt Man) sets out to destroy her, he comes face to face with the most charming (and horrifying) being he’s ever known. Will he be able to destroy the lovely vampiress...or will he become yet another victim of her fatal charm?

Return of the Living Dead Part II: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

The zombies have returned! The horror begins again as mysterious barrels bounce off an Army transport as it passes through a new housing development and land near an abandoned cemetery. Mischievous neighborhood boys discover the barrels and open them, unaware of the evil contained within. A deadly green vapor escapes and turns the living into flesh-eating zombies and causes the dead to rise from their graves. As these hideous living dead hunt down the fresh human brains they need, man is pitted against man, and the living against the dead. It is a macabre struggle for survival!

What Have They Done to Your Daughters?: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)

In 1972, director Massimo Dallamano (Colt 38 Special Squad, The Night Child) broke new ground in the giallo genre with the harrowing What Have You Done to Solange? Two years later, he followed up with an even darker semi-sequel the chilling What Have They Done to Your Daughters?

A teenage girl is found hanging from the rafters of a privately rented attic, pregnant and violated. Hot-headed Inspector Silvestri (Claudio Cassinelli, The Suspicious Death of a Minor) and rookie Assistant District Attorney Vittoria Stori (Giovanna Ralli, Cold Eyes of Fear) are assigned to the case, the scope of which grows substantially when they discover that the dead girl was part of a ring of underage prostitutes whose abusers occupy the highest echelons of Italian society. Meanwhile, a cleaver-wielding, motorcycle-riding killer roars through the streets of Brescia, determined to ensure that those involved take their secret to the grave.

Also starring Mario Adorf (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and Farley Granger (Strangers on the Train) and featuring an insanely catchy score by Stelvio Cipriani (Death Walks on High Heels), What Have They Done to Your Daughters? is a fast-paced, brutal and unforgettable thriller from a director at the peak of his creative powers.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless Italian and English mono soundtracks
English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
New audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
Masters and Slaves: Power, Corruption & Decadence in the Cinema of Massimo Dallamano, a new video essay by Kat Ellinger, author and editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine
Eternal Melody, an interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani
Dallamano s Touch, an interview with editor Antonio Siciliano
Unused hardcore footage shot for the film by Massimo Dallamano
Italian theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Mackenzie