Ooh, it’s a great week for horror fans, as this Tuesday’s Blu-ray and DVD releases are a stellar bunch of films that will make for great additions to your personal collection of movies to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Because it is the holiday season, I’m stoked to see Scream Factory show a little love to Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 with their Collector’s Edition Blu that hits shelves tomorrow, and for those of you who enjoy your horror movies with a side of sleaze, William Lustig’s Maniac has been given the 4K treatment by Blue Underground (and the film has never looked better).
The Mangler is also getting a brand new Blu-ray this week, and Scorpion Releasing is resurrecting Death Ship with their new Special Edition release as well. Vinegar Syndrome is keeping busy with both Ice Cream Man and Beware My Brethren, and we also have a few notable recent indie horror films to look forward to, including Death House, Await Further Instructions, Lizzie, and The Rainbow Experiment.
Other titles coming our way on December 11th include the 4K release of Evil Dead 2, Brutal, Harold’s Going Stiff, and Central Park.
Death Ship: Special Edition (Scorpion Releasing, Blu-ray)
The DEATH SHIP has a life of its own... pray you are never rescued by the DEATH SHIP! Academy Award winner George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Naked Gun and Airport franchises) stars with Richard Crenna (The Evil, Wait Until Dark, First Blood), Nick Mancuso (Nightwing, Rapid Fire, Blame It on the Night) and Saul Rubinek (Unforgiven, Against All Odds, Agency) in this terrifying tale of a possessed ship searching for new victims on the high seas. An ocean liner carrying vacationing passengers collides with a mysterious freighter. The handful of survivors seek refuge aboard the sinister freighter, which turns out to be possessed by the evil forces that once commanded it. Also starring Sally Ann Howe (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and Kate Reid (Shoot, The Andromeda Strain) and directed by Alvin Rakoff (City on Fire, Say Hello to Yesterday) and based on a story by Jack Hill (Coffy, Foxy Brown). Now see this horror classic from a brand new 2K scan of the original longer cut with extensive color correction!
Special Features:
-5.1 Surround and 2.0 Audio
-Reversible Art
-Theatrical Trailer
Ice Cream Man (Vinegar Syndrome, Blu/DVD Combo)
Gregory (Clint Howard), the local ice cream man, just wants people to be nice to him and to sell the neighborhood children his ice cream treats. Unfortunately, the adults disrespect him, and the kids fear him, so, as any recently released mental patient would do, Gregory begins brutally murdering anyone who prevents him from having a happy, happy, happy day...
One of the quintessential cult horror films of the mid 90s, Norman Apstein's ICE CREAM MAN is a gleefully absurd, gory, and hilarious direct to video slasher, punctuated by an off the wall starring performance from the one and only Clint Howard and featuring Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas), David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London), and Jan-Michael Vincent (Airwolf). Vinegar Syndrome proudly presents this madcap gore fest in its Blu-ray debut, fully uncut and newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative!
Bonus Features:
1. Newly scanned and restored in 2k from its 35mm original negative
2. Commentary track with Norman Apstein (director)
3. "Ice Cream Man" Monstervision Summer School Edition with Joe Bob Briggs & Clint Howard
4. Video interview with Clint Howard (actor)
5. Video interview with Norman Apstein
6. Video interview with David Goldstein (producer)
7. Still gallery
8. Reversible cover artwork
9. English SDH subtitles
Maniac: 3-Disc Limited Edition (Blue Underground, Blu-ray)
Frank Zito (a career performance by co-writer/co-executive producer Joe Spinell of ROCKY and THE GODFATHER fame) is a deeply disturbed man, haunted by the traumas of unspeakable childhood abuse. And when these horrific memories begin to scream inside his mind, Frank prowls the seedy streets of New York City to stalk and slaughter innocent young women. Now Frank has begun a relationship with a beautiful photographer (Caroline Munro of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME), yet his vile compulsions remain. These are the atrocities of a human monster. This is the story of a MANIAC.
Directed by William Lustig (MANIAC COP 2, VIGILANTE) and featuring landmark gore effects by Tom Savini (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FRIDAY THE 13th), this relentlessly shocking and disturbing film was originally censored all over the world due to its graphic violence. Now Blue Underground is thrilled to present MANIAC in a brand-new 4K Restoration from its recently discovered 16mm original camera negative, overflowing with hours of new and archival Extras!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Mangler (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Based on King’s short story, this white-knuckle chiller follows a cop (Ted Levine, The Silence Of The Lambs, The Hills Have Eyes) as he investigates a series of grisly accidents … and uncovers a deadly town secret that has been hidden for years – a terrifying entity that threatens to destroy everything in its path. With time running out and a young girl's life in the balance, he races to destroy the beast before it's too late!
Bonus Features:
· NEW 4K of the original camera negative for the uncut version
· NEW Audio Commentary with co-writer Stephen David Brooks
· NEW Hell’s Bells – an interview with actor Robert Englund
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (Scream Factory, Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
It’s Garbage Day! Ricky is being released from a mental hospital. He takes with him the terrifying memory of his brother Billy’s death and the memory of Mother Superior who brought about his brother’s demise. For Ricky, starting a new life means avenging his brother’s death, which sets him on a blind journey of relentless revenge, leading ultimately to Mother Superior. And when he gets to her, not even her faith will be enough to stop Ricky as he follows in the family tradition of Christmas carnage.
Bonus Features:
- NEW 2K Scan of an archival theatrical print
- NEW Audio Commentary with director Lee Harry, actors Eric Freeman and James Newman
- NEW Slay Bells Ring Again: The Story of Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 – featuring interviews with co-writer/director Lee Harry, actors Eric Freeman, James Newman, Elizabeth Kaitan, Darrel Guilbeau, Kenny McCabe and makeup effects artist Christopher Biggs
- NEW Garbage Days Are Here Again – a look at the film’s locations
- NEW Ricky Today – a short film featuring a 2018 interview with Ricky Chapman/Caldwell
- NEW I Don’t Sleep – an extended interview with makeup effects artist Christopher Biggs
- Audio Commentary by co-writer/director Lee Harry, co-writer Joseph H. Earle and actor James Newman
- Theatrical Trailer
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (Scream Factory, Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
When a helpful family invites two lost couples in for a good ol' down-home massacre, the prom night teens find themselves all dressed up ... with no place to escape. Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey star in this hilarious bone-chilling remake of the horror classic.
Bonus Features:
- Two Cuts Of The Film – The Theatrical Cut (87 Minutes - HD) And The Director’s Cut (93 Minutes - HD With Standard Definition Inserts)
- NEW Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Kim Henkel (On Director's Cut)
- NEW The Buzz Is Back – An Interview With Director Of Photography Levie Isaacks
- NEW Marked For Death – An Interview With Actor Tyler Shea Cone
- NEW If Looks Could Kill: The Return Of A "Chainsaw Massacre" – An Interview With Special Makeup Effects Artist J.M. Logan And Production - Designer Deborah Pastor
- Theatrical Trailer
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Await Further Instructions (MPI Home Video, Blu-ray & DVD)
Beware My Brethren (Vinegar Syndrome, Blu/DVD Combo)
Brutal (Unearthed Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
Central Park (Ammo Content, LLC., DVD)
Death House (Cleopatra Entertainment, DVD)
Evil Dead 2: 4K (Lionsgate, 4K Ultra HD/Blu Combo)
Harold’s Going Stiff (Level 33 Entertainment, DVD)
Lizzie (Lionsgate, Blu-ray & DVD)
The Rainbow Experiment (Gravitas Ventures, Blu-ray & 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.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
