Arrow Video will continue to bring an eclectic range of films to Blu-ray in 2021, with their March releases including a double feature Blu-ray of The Invisible Man Appears / The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly, Patrick Picard's The Bloodhound (a new take on Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher"), and a limited edition steelbook of An American Werewolf in London.
The Invisible Man Appears / The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly Blu-ray: "Finally released outside Japan for the very first time, these unique riffs on H.G. Wells’ classic character (though undoubtedly also indebted to Universal’s iconic film series) are two of the earliest examples of tokusatsu (special effects) cinema from Daiei Studios, later the home of Gamera.
In The Invisible Man Appears, written and directed by Nobuo Adachi in 1949, a scientist successfully creates an invisibility serum, only to be kidnapped by a gang of thugs who wish to use the formula to rob a priceless jewel. In addition to being the earliest surviving Japanese science fiction film ever made, the film’s entertaining special effects were an early credit for the legendary Eiji Tsuburaya, five years before he first brought Godzilla to life.
Eight years later, Mitsuo Murayama’s exciting The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly tells the story of a series of mysterious murders where the only clue is strange buzzing noise at the scene of the crime… could this be linked to secret wartime experiments in shrinking humans to the size of insects? And can a scientist who’s just invented an invisibility ray be the one to stop it?
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
– High Definition (1080p) transfers of both films on one Blu-ray disc
– Original lossless Japanese mono audio on both films
– Optional English subtitles for both films
– Transparent Terrors, a newly filmed interview with critic and genre scholar Kim Newman on the history of the “Invisible Man” in cinema
– Theatrical trailer for The Invisible Man Appears
– Image galleries for both films
– Reversible sleeve featuring new and original artwork by Graham Humphreys"
The Bloodhound Blu-ray: "First-time feature director Patrick Picard brings a fresh take to one of the best-known stories from the master of mystery and the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, in his new slow-burner horror-thriller The Bloodhound, a hauntingly atmospheric tale described by The Hollywood News as “an impressively stylish and intellectual debut”.
Francis (Liam Aiken, A Series of Unfortunate Events), a dispossessed young man, is summoned to the secluded home of his wealthy childhood friend, JP Luret (Joe Adler, The Maze Runner), who is suffering from a mysterious affliction. Upon his arrival, Francis realizes that JP and his ethereal twin sister Vivian (Annalise Basso, Ouija: Origin of Evil) are the sole surviving members of the privileged Luret family, whose legacy has been one of depression and self-destruction, and the only occupants of their family estate. As the old friends attempt to reconnect, a number of inexplicable incidents begin to occur within the house, and Francis finds himself drawn into a world of malaise and despair, where an act of betrayal might provide his only way out…
From Leal Naim and Thomas R. Burke, producers of The Endless and Synchronic, and featuring some remarkable performances from its trio of lead actors, The Bloodhound leads you on a journey exploring themes that are as relevant to today as ever before, such as the yearning for emotional connection, the perils of social isolation and the fragility of mental health.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by director Patrick Picard and editor David Scorca
• Four experimental short films by director Patrick Picard: bad dream, the muffled hammerfall in action, the mosaic code and wiggleworm
• On the Trail of The Bloodhound: Behind the Scenes of a Modern Chiller, exclusive 45-minute making-of featurette
An American Werewolf in London Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook with Slipcase: “One of the greatest directors of the 1980s, John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Trading Places), expertly combines macabre horror with dark humor in the lycanthropic classic, An American Werewolf in London.
American tourists David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. David awakes in a London hospital to find his friend dead and his life in disarray. Retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse (Jenny Agutter, Walkabout) to recuperate, he soon experiences disturbing changes to his mind and body, undergoing a full-moon transformation that will unleash terror on the streets of the capital…
An American Werewolf in London had audiences howling with laughter and recoiling in terror upon its cinema release. Landis’ film has gone on to become one of the most important horror films of its decade, rightly lauded for its masterful set-pieces, uniquely unsettling atmosphere and Rick Baker’s truly ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special makeup effects. Now restored and presented with an abundance of extra features, this big beast of horror can be devoured as never before…
LIMITED EDITION STEELBOOK + RIGID SLIPCASE CONTENTS
• Limited to 500 units
• 2019 restoration from the original camera negative supervised by John Landis
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed 1.0 mono and optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by Beware the Moon filmmaker Paul Davis
• Audio Commentary by actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne
• Mark of The Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf, feature-length documentary by filmmaker Daniel Griffith, featuring interviews with John Landis, David Naughton, Joe Dante and more
• An American Filmmaker in London, an interview with John Landis in which he reflects on British cinema and his time working in Britain
• I Think He’s a Jew: The Werewolf’s Secret, video essay by filmmaker Jon Spira (Elstree 1976) about how Landis’ film explores Jewish identity
• The Werewolf’s Call, Corin Hardy, director of The Nun, chats with writer Simon Ward about their formative experiences with Landis’ film
• Wares of the Wolf, featurette in which SFX artist Dan Martin and Tim Lawes of Prop Store look at some of the original costumes and special effects artefacts from the film
• Beware the Moon, Paul Davis’ acclaimed, feature-length exploration of Landis’ film which boasts extensive cast and crew interviews
• Making An American Werewolf in London, a short archival featurette on the film’s production
• An Interview with John Landis, a lengthy archival interview with the director about the film
• Makeup Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London, the legendary make-up artist discusses his work on the film
• I Walked with a Werewolf, an archival interview with the make-up artist about Universal horror and its legacy of Wolfman films
• Casting of the Hand, archival footage from Rick Baker’s workshop as they cast David Naughton’s hand
• Outtakes
• Storyboards featurette
• Original trailers, teasers and radio spots
• Extensive image gallery featuring over 200 stills, posters and other ephemera
• Limited edition Steelbook and rigid slipcase featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann and Simon Ward”
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Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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