With March in full swing, we have another big batch of horror headed home this week that genre fans should keep an eye out for, including one of my most anticipated releases of the month: Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition of The Craft (so excited to call the corners with this new Blu-ray!). Beyond that, we have even more great titles to get excited about, including the criminally underseen Kolobos from Arrow Video, Man’s Best Friend, featuring one of my favorites—Ally Sheedy—and Nicolas Pesce’s Piercing, which features some brilliant performances from the likes of Mia Wasikowska and Christopher Abbott.

Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for March 12th include Garden Party Massacre, She Wolf, The Greasy Strangler: Special Director’s Edition, Lifechanger, Silk Scream, and The Wild Pussycat.

The Craft: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Sarah has always been different. So as the newcomer at St. Benedict’s Academy, she immediately falls in with high school outsiders. But there’s something different about her new friends, and it’s not just that they won’t settle for being a group of powerless misfits. They have discovered The Craft ... and they are going to use it. This spectacular horror thriller has an all-star cast including Neve Campbell (the Scream franchise, Wild Things), Robin Tunney (Supernova, The Zodiac), Fairuza Balk (The Island Of Dr. Moreau, American History X), Rachel True (Half Baked, Embrace Of The Vampire) and Skeet Ulrich (Scream, Riverdale). 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

  • NEW Directing The Craft – an interview with co-writer and director Andrew Fleming
  • NEW Producing The Craft – an interview with producer Douglas Wick
  • NEW Writing The Craft – an interview with co-writer Peter Filardi
  • NEW Effecting The Craft – an interview with makeup effects supervisor
  • Audio Commentary with director Andrew Fleming
  • Vintage Featurette – Conjuring THE CRAFT
  • Vintage Featurette – The Making of THE CRAFT
  • Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary
  • Theatrical Trailer

Kolobos: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)

The Real World meets Saw by way of Suspiria in this super-smart, super-gory - and, sadly, super-overlooked - late 90s slasher effort from filmmakers Daniel Liatowitsch and David Todd Ocvirk, released in the midst of the post-Scream slice-and-dice revival. 

A group of youngsters arrive at a snow-covered house under the guise of participating in a ground-breaking new experimental film. With the entire property fitted out with cameras, their every move will be recorded. But when the house locks down, trapping the youngsters within, it soon becomes clear that something sinister is afoot. Scream - you re on camera...

Marketed as little more than a generic horror flick at the time of its release, Kolobos, far from being a run-of-the-mill slasher clone, has much more in common with the booby-trap stylings of Cube (1997) and the reality TV theme of My Little Eye (2002), which it preempted by some three years.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

  • Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
  • Original Stereo and 5.1 audio options
  • Audio commentary with co-writers and co-directors Daniel Liatowitsch and David Todd Ocvirk
  • Real World Massacre: The Making ofKolobos - brand new featurette on the making-of Kolobosincluding interviews with Daniel Liatowitsch, David Todd Ocvirk and co-writer/producer Nne Ebong
  • Face to Faceless- a brand new Interview with Faceless actor Ilia Volok
  • Slice & Dice: The Music ofKolobos - a brand new interview with composer William Kidd
  • Behind-the-Scenes Image Gallery
  • Super 8 short film by Daniel Liatowitsch with commentary
  • Original Trailer
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by Phillip Escott

Man’s Best Friend (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Pulse-pounding action and spine-chilling thrills put the bite into this sci-fi shocker starring Ally Sheedy (X-Men: Apocalypse, The Breakfast Club) and Lance Henriksen (Pumpkinhead, Aliens). When an ambitious news journalist (Sheedy) breaks into a genetic research facility, she uncovers the biggest story of her career and unleashes the lab’s most dangerous experiment: Max a genetically enhanced guard dog with a vicious killer instinct. Superior sight, hearing, strength, and intelligence make him faster, stronger, and smarter than almost any other animal alive and deadlier. Without the neuropathic drugs needed to curb his aggressive nature, his predatory urge runs out of control ... and once he tastes blood, nothing can stop him.

Special Features:

- NEW 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements
- NEW Audio Commentary With Writer/Director John Lafia
- Theatrical Trailer
- Teaser Trailer
- TV Spots

Piercing (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu/Digital Combo)

Reed (Christopher Abbott) sets off on a business trip and kisses his wife and baby goodbye. But in lieu of a suitcase filled with clothes, he's packed a toothbrush and a murder kit. He meticulously plans everything out. He checks into a hotel and plans to kill an unsuspecting victim in order to quench his devious impulses. Reed gets more than he bargained for with Jackie (Mia Wasikowska), an alluring call girl who arrives at his room. First, they relax and get in the mood, but when there's an unexpected disruption, the balance of control changes between the two and a feverish nightmare unfolds. 

ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:

Beyond Atlantis (VCI Entertainment, Blu-ray)

Frazier Park Recut (Tomcat Releasing, DVD) 

Garden Party Massacre (SGL Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)

The Greasy Strangler: Special Director’s Edition (Filmrise, Blu-ray)

Lifechanger (Uncork’d Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)

She Wolf (Omnibus Entertainment, DVD)

Silk Scream (Wild Eye Releasing, DVD)

Spunk’s Not Dead (Ammo Content LLC., DVD)

Strange Events 2 (WowNow, DVD) 

Vampz (WowNow, DVD) 

The Wild Pussycat (Mondo Macabro, Blu-ray)

  • Heather Wixson
    About the Author - Heather Wixson

    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.