For February 19th’s home media releases, one of the biggest reasons for genre fans to get excited is that Bad Robot’s Overlord is finally making its way to various formats, so for those of you who may have missed it in theaters, this week is your chance to right that wrong (this writer loved it!). As far as cult titles go, Scream Factory has resurrected The Return of the Vampire in HD, Severin Films is showing Skinner some much-deserved love, and Arrow Videos has Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Color Me Blood Red on tap.
Universal is re-releasing a ton of titles on Tuesday, including Cry-Baby, Dracula (1979), Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Silent Hill: Revelation,and The Watcher, and Nightmare Vacation is getting a special release this week as well.
Color Me Blood Red (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
URFor the third and final instalment in his infamous 'Blood Trilogy', Color Me Blood Red, splatter movie pioneer Herschell Gordon Lewis turned to the world of fine art for this tortured tale of a troubled artist turned homicidal maniac. Painter Adam Sorge has found himself in a bit of a creative lull. But when his girlfriend accidentally cuts her finger, he realizes what his work has been missing all this time - human blood! With pressure mounting from local gallery owner Farnsworth to deliver his next masterpiece, Adam sets about procuring as much glorious hemoglobin as he can muster - first from himself, and then from anyone unfortunate enough to pass by his sickening studio of slaughter. The final filmic collaboration between H.G. Lewis and producer/master exploiteer David F. Friedman, who collectively delivered the equally demented Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs!, Color Me Blood Red is a crazed creation that truly puts the pain in painting!
Bonus features include: A Hot Night at the Go Go Lounge! 1966 dance short, H.G. Lewis on Jimmy, The Boy Wonder, Weirdsville film scholar Jeffrey Sconce on Something Weird , The Art of Madness a video essay on the recurring motif of mad artists as killers in horror films , Audio commentary on Something Weird with H.G. Lewis and David Friedman, Audio commentary on Color Me Blood Red with H.G. Lewis and David Friedman, Introductions to the films by H.G. Lewis, Bonus Feature! 1967s Something Weird, English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation, Color Me Blood Red Outtakes, Color Me Blood Red Trailer, Something Weird Trailer, Jimmy, The Boy Wonder Trailer, and Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil.
Overlord (Paramount Pictures, 4K Blu/Blu Combo, Blu/DVD Combo & DVD/Digital)
With only hours until D-Day, a team of American paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a mission that’s crucial to the invasion's success. Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to penetrate the walls and take down the tower. But, in a mysterious Nazi lab beneath the church, the outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen. From producer J.J. Abrams, Overlord is a thrilling, pulse-pounding action adventure with a twist.
The Return of the Vampire (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Bela Lugosi rises from the crypt in this blood-curdling horror classic! In 1918, Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi), a 200-year-old Hungarian Vampire, prowls the English countryside, feeding from the jugulars of the villagers. But Tesla’s reign of terror is interrupted when a pair of scientists, Lady Jane (Frieda Inescort) and Sir John Ainsley (Roland Varno), drive a railroad spike through his heart. The "un-dead", Tesla remains safely entombed for two decades until the impact from a stray Nazi bomb accidentally releases him. Along with his werewolf servant Andreas Obry (Matt Willis), the resurrected vampire now plots vengeance on the family that put a halt to his nocturnal feasting.
Special Features:
Skinner (Severin Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
It's been called "sleaze-oozing" (Flick Attack), "gut-churning" (The Bedlam Files) and "incredibly tasteless" (Cult Reviews). It featured the most intensely graphic scenes yet by KNB EFX Group (THE WALKING DEAD). Uncut, it remains perhaps the most disturbing and rarely seen shocker of the '90s.
Ted Raimi (XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS) delivers an unnerving performance as psycho drifter Dennis Skinner who wears flesh-suits he slices from doomed prostitutes, falls for a lonely young housewife (Ricki Lake of HAIRSPRAY fame), and is himself hunted by a horribly scarred survivor (an equally unhinged performance by Traci Lords). Richard Schiff (THE WEST WING) co-stars in this still-potent sickie from veteran television director and one-time Heidi Fleiss boyfriend, Ivan Nagy. Now scanned in 4k from the original camera negative and including the complete hooker-flaying sequence.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
A Touch of Scandal - Interview with Director Ivan Nagy
Under His Skin - Interview with Star Ted Raimi
Bargain Bin VHS For A Buck - Interview with Screenwriter Paul Hart-Wilden
Cutting Skinner - Interview with Editor Jeremy Kasten
Flaying sequence out-takes and extended takes
Trailer
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
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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