March’s genre-related home entertainment releases just keep getting better with each passing week, as we have more than 20 different Blu-ray and DVD offerings coming our way this Tuesday. Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-nominated masterpiece The Shape of Water arrives on various formats, and for those who didn’t get a chance to nab the Steelbook Edition, Synapse is putting out a standard Blu-ray release of Dario Argento’s Suspiria that is absolutely worth every single penny.
As far as other more recent titles, look for Are We Not Cats, Justice League, Children of the Corn: Runaway and Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies this week, and all you cult film fans out there should be sure to check out Scream Factory’s new Blu for The Ambulance, The Church from Scorpion Releasing, as well as a trio of under-appreciated gems from George A. Romero—There’s Always Vanilla, The Crazies, and Season of the Witch—that were previously available as a box set from Arrow, but are now getting their own standalone releases. And, for those of you who enjoy some genre-related TV awesomeness, both Channel Zero: No-End House – Season Two and Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season arrive this week, too.
Other notable movies coming home on March 13th include Soultanger, Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, The Hand That Feeds The Dead, Twilight People, Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary, and Twisted Minds.
The Ambulance (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Pray It Doesn't Come For You!
One minute Josh Baker (Eric Roberts, The Human Centipede III: Final Sequence, The Dark Knight) is meeting the woman of his dreams. The next, he’s watching her whisked away by a mysterious ambulance that never arrives at the local hospital. Doubted by the police, Josh is forced to carry on a one-man crusade that leads to a discovery more frightening than his worst fears. This non-stop ride filled with action, suspense and heart-stopping thrills comes from cult filmmaker Larry Cohen (The Stuff, It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent) and features an all-star cast including James Earl Jones (the Star Wars films), Red Buttons (The Poseidon Adventure) and Stan Lee!
Channel Zero: No-End House – Season Two (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, DVD)
Channel Zero: No-End House follows Brian Russell's story of Margo (Amy Forsyth, The Path), a young woman who, along with her friends, visits the No-End House a bizarre house – of horrors consisting of a series of increasingly disturbing rooms.
The Church (Scorpion Releasing, Blu-ray)
In the middle of a modern city, an ancient evil is about to awaken! An elaborate cathedral that was once the site of a medieval massacre by crusading knights becomes a deadly trap for a group of visitors and staff when a sealed crypt is accidentally reopened. The laws of reality soon collapse as a nightmare takes hold and claims the lives of those within one by one, threatening to unleash a supernatural pestilence upon the world! Legendary horror maestro Dario Argento (Suspiria, Opera, Deep Red) presents this stylish shocker from director Michele Soavi (The Sect, Dellamorte Dellamore, Stagefright), featuring an avalanche of nightmarish visual effects and a powerful score by Goblin and Keith Emerson. Don't miss this baroque descent into the occult starring Tomas Arana (Gladiator, The Bodyguard, The Sect), Barbara Cupisti (Stagefright, New York Ripper), and Asia Argento (xXx, Land of the Dead), now in eye-popping, glorious HD!
The Crazies: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
After the experimental outings of There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero returned to rather more distinct horror territory with his 1973 infection opus The Crazies.
When a plane carrying a secret biological weapon crash-lands in the vicinity of a small, rural town, the area descends into chaos. Infected with a virus that sends them into a homicidal frenzy, the locals turn on each other in an orgy of bloody violence. As the army cordons off the town and government agents clash with scientists over the appropriate course of action, a small band of survivors attempt to make their way to safety.
Starring cult icon Lynn Lowry (Shivers, I Drink Your Blood), the influence of Romero’s The Crazies can be felt in everything from the director’s own subsequent work many commentators have noted the stylistic and thematic similarities to his zombie classic Dawn of the Dead right up to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later and beyond.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
Season of the Witch: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
Perhaps the most unclassifiable of filmmaker George A. Romero’s works, 1972’s Season of the Witch sees the Night of the Living Dead filmmaker returning to the realm of the supernatural for this bewitching tale of a housewife driven to an interest in the dark arts.
On the surface, Joan Mitchell has it all family, friends, and a beautiful home equipped with all the latest appliances. But when a neighbour educates her on the practice of witchcraft, Joan believes she’s discovered the perfect antidote to her monotonous suburban existence, and embarks upon a dark path that will lead to a shocking conclusion.
Filmed as Jack’s Wife, and subsequently cut down and retitled Hungry Wives for its theatrical release in an attempt to market it as a sexploitation film, Season of the Witch is arguably one of Romero’s most overlooked films – an intimate and thought-provoking character study that serves as the perfect companion piece to his later Martin.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
The Shape of Water (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 4K Ultra HD/Blu/Digital, Blu/DVD/Digital & DVD/Digital)
From master storyteller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER, an otherworldly fairy tale set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1962. In the hidden, high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones.
SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:
- A Fairy Tale for Troubled Times
- Anatomy of a Scene: Prologue
- Anatomy of a Scene: The Dance
- Shaping the Waves: A Conversation with James Jean
- Guillermo del Toro’s Master Class
- Theatrical Trailers
The Soultanger: Special Edition (AGFA, DVD)
If RE-ANIMATOR was shot on Long Island for the price of a used car, THE SOULTANGLER would be the result. Insane genius Dr. Anton Lupesky has developed a drug that allows users to inhabit corpses and transform into rabid maniacs! Can reporter Kim Castle stop the carnage and save our species from annihilation?! This epic of outsider filmmaking is a dream-like wasteland that's punctuated with severed heads, evil beasties, and hooded slashers. Filmed in basements and garages, director Pat Bishow's earnest devotion to storytelling in the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft elevates THE SOULTANGLER beyond kitsch and into heavenly territory.
NOTICE: THE SOULTANGLER was shot on 16mm film, but edited on video. This transfer is taken from the original 1'' master video tapes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Suspiria: Two-Disc Blu-ray Edition (Synapse Films, Blu-ray)
Jessica Harper (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, PENNIES FROM HEAVEN) stars in this horrific tale of a young student who uncovers dark and horrific secrets within the walls of a famous German dance academy.
Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA comes to home video from Synapse Films in an exclusive new 4K restoration from the original uncut, uncensored 35mm Italian camera negative with the original 4.0 English surround sound mix, for the first time EVER! Painstakingly restored over the past three years, Synapse Films has created the ultimate special edition of this horror classic with the supervision and approval of the film’s Director of Photography, Luciano Tovoli.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- A new 4K restoration of the original uncut, uncensored Italian 35mm camera negative exclusively done by Synapse Films, with color correction supervised and approved by SUSPIRIA Director of Photography, Luciano Tovoli.
- Original 4.0 1977 English language LCRS sound mix not heard since the theatrical release in 1977, presented in high-resolution DTS-HD MA 96kHz/24-bit audio, with newly-translated removable English SDH subtitles.
- Italian 5.1 surround mix, with removable English subtitle translation.
- Two audio commentaries by authors and Argento scholars, Derek Botelho, David Del Valle and Troy Howarth.
-Do You Know Anything About Witches? - 30 minute SUSPIRIA visual essay written, edited and narrated by Michael Mackenzie.
- Suzy in Nazi Germany - Featurette on the German locations from SUSPIRIA.
- A Sigh from the Depths: 40 Years of SUSPIRIA - All-new anniversary retrospective on the making of the film and its influence on cinema.
- Olga’s Story - Interview with star Barbara Magnolfi.
- Original theatrical trailers, TV spots and radio spots.
- "International Classics" English "Breathing Letters" opening credit sequence from U.S. release.
- Alternate All-English opening and closing credits sequences, playable via seamless branching.
- Reversible Cover Art created by Joel Robinson.
There’s Always Vanilla: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
Available for the first time on Blu-ray, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero’s second feature film, There’s Always Vanilla a biting satire of early 70s American society and an unjustly overlooked entry in the late director’s filmography.
When young drifter Chris meets beautiful model Lynn by a chance occurrence, the pair hit it off and a romantic relationship ensues. But with their wildly contrasting outlooks on life, it soon becomes clear that the coupling is doomed from the outset.
Starring Judith Streiner (born Judith Ridley) from Night of the Living Dead and Ray Laine, who would go on to appear in Romero’s next film, Season of the Witch, There’s Always Vanilla is a unique entry in the director s canon and one that’s ripe for reappraisal.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
Alien Swamp Beast (Worldwide MultiMedia, DVD)
Are We Not Cats (Cleopatra Entertainment, DVD)
Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies (Gravitas Ventures, Blu-ray & DVD)
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Shout! Factory, Blu-ray & DVD)
Children of the Corn: Runaway (Lionsgate, Blu-ray & DVD)
The City of the Dead: Limited Edition (VCI Entertainment, Blu-ray)
Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season (Lionsgate, Blu/Digital & DVD)
The Hand That Feeds The Dead (Cheezy Flicks, DVD)
Justice League (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, 4K Ultra HD/Blu/Digital, 3D Blu/Blu/Digital, Blu/DVD/Digital & DVD)
Penny Pinchers: The Kings of No-Budget Horror (SRS Cinema, DVD)
Twilight People (VCI Entertainment, Blu/DVD Combo)
Twisted Minds (Shami Media Group, DVD)
Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary (Synapse Films, Blu-ray)
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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