As the month of March continues to roll onwards, that means we have a brand new batch of Blu-rays and DVDs to look forward to this week, including a double dose of classic terrors from Scream Factory: The Witches (1966) and The Deadly Mantis. Arrow Video has put together an extensive Special Edition release for Strip Nude for Your Killer, and the indie horror film The Final Wish, featuring Lin Shaye, arrives on Tuesday as well.
Other March 19th home entertainment releases include Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Russian Bride, The Devil’s Restaurant, Crone Wood, and a Spiders triple feature set.
The Deadly Mantis (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
What’s worse than a horde of locusts? A gigantic man-eating praying mantis, released from a million years of deep, frozen sleep and ready to claw its way to world domination! This menacing insect kills everything in its path while scientists and military men work feverishly to stop it. Craig Stevens (Abbott And Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde) stars as the commander in charge of putting an end to this beastly insect with William Hopper (20 Million Miles To Earth) as the paleontologist and Alix Talton (The Man Who Knew Too Much) as his beautiful assistant, a photojournalist, assigned to help in this epic battle between man and mantis!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- NEW 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements
- NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historians Tom Weaver And David Schecter
- Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Episode “The Deadly Mantis” (02/22/97)
- Theatrical Trailer
- Still Gallery
The Final Wish (NVG, Blu-ray & DVD)
From the creator of the Final Destination franchise comes a new tale of death. Following the passing of his father, Aaron Hammond (MICHAEL WELCH) returns to his hometown to help his devastated mother (LIN SHAYE) and to confront his past demons. Sifting through his father s belongings, Aaron comes upon a mysterious item that is far more than it seems.
Strip Nude for Your Killer: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
As the 1970s wore on, and audiences began to tire of the tried and tested giallo formula popularized by the thrillers of Argento, Fulci and their contemporaries, filmmakers sought to reinvigorate the ailing movement by injecting elements from other genres. Some took inspiration from the then-burgeoning crime thriller movement, with tales of organised crime and corrupt police officials... while others decided to sex things up by crossing serial killer thrills with salacious softcore antics.
A spate of highly sexualized murders is rocking a prestigious Milanese fashion house. Ambitious photographer Magda (Edwige Fenech, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) and her on-off boyfriend, love rat Carlo (Nino Castelnuovo, The English Patient), team up to crack the case. But, with the motorcycle helmet-wearing killer clearing bearing a grudge against the agency s employees, it’s surely only a matter of time before they too end up feeling the force of his wrath...
So roll up for a Euro cult experience like no other, with kitschy fashion shoots, back alley abortions, blow-up sex dolls and some very indelicate humor, as one of the most notoriously sleazy gialli ever produced gets the red carpet treatment from Arrow Video!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
NSFW cover art:
The Witches (1966) (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Haunted by the terrors of her experience with African witch doctors, school teacher Gwen Mayfield (Joan Fontaine, Rebecca) accepts an appointment as headmistress at the Haddaby School run by Alan Bax (Alec McCowen, Frenzy) and his sister Stephanie (Kay Walsh, Stage Fright). Gwen initially revels in the peacefulness she has found in the quiet English countryside but soon begins to sense "undercurrents.", Before long, a local boy falls into a coma and Gwen discovers a voodoo doll impaled by pins. The danger that follows brings her face to face with witchcraft as a series of disasters unfold and lead her to the horrible truth.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NEW Audio Commentary With Filmmaker/Historian Ted Newsom
Hammer Glamour – A Featurette On The Women Of Hammer
U.S. Trailer THE DEVIL’S OWN
Double Feature Trailer PREHISTORIC WOMEN And THE DEVIL’S OWN
Still Gallery
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Crone Wood (Gravitas Ventures, Blu-ray & DVD)
The Devil’s Restaurant (Echo Bridge, DVD)
The Russian Bride (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, DVD)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 4K Blu/Blu Combo, Blu/Digital Combo & DVD/Digital)
Spiders Triple Feature (Echo Bridge, Blu/DVD Combo)
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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