Hello, dear readers! Before those of us in the States get ready to gobble down our Thanksgiving dinners later this week, we have a brand new batch of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to look forward to first. One of this writer’s favorite films of all time, Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) is getting the 4K treatment from Kino Lorber this Tuesday, and Arrow Video is resurrecting both The Snake Girl and the Silver Haired Witch and Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge on Blu-ray as well (this is also very exciting news in my world). Arrow is also re-releasing a handful of other titles—The Cat O’ Nine Tails, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and C.H.U.D.—and the first season of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery is headed to Blu-ray as well.
Other releases for November 23rd include Chupa, Lair, Hall, and The Lockdown Hauntings.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) 4K (Kino Lorber, 4K Ultra HD)
From acclaimed filmmaker Philip Kaufman (The Wanderers) comes this chilling ’70s adaptation of Jack Finney’s classic novel The Body Snatchers. Filmy spores fall from space over San Francisco, and the city blossoms with beautiful new flora. People take the flowers home and, as they sleep, the plants creep over them, devouring their bodies and stealing their identities—their emotions, their uniqueness, their souls. If you notice an eerie change in someone very close to you, chances are you’re next! More than just a highly effective sci-fi thriller, Invasion of the Body Snatchers treats contemporary problems of urban paranoia and loss of individuality with intelligence and sensitivity... and ends with the single most horrifying frame in movies. Featuring a brilliant screenplay by W.D. Richter (Big Trouble in Little China), gritty camerawork by Michael Chapman (Raging Bull) and awe-inspiring special effects, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a pulse-pounding shocker with wonderful performances by Donald Sutherland (The Puppet Masters), Brooke Adams (The Dead Zone), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), Jeff Goldblum (The Fly) and Veronica Cartwright (Alien).
Special Features:
4K UHD DISC 1:
-Newly Restored HDR Dolby Vision Master from a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative – Approved & Color Graded by Director Philip Kaufman
-Audio Commentary by Director Philip Kaufman
-Audio Commentary by Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman
-5.1 Surround & Lossless 2.0 Audio
-Optional English Subtitles
-UHD100 Triple Layer Disc
BLU-RAY DISC 2:
-Newly Restored UHD SDR Master from a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative – Approved & Color Graded by Director Philip Kaufman
-Audio Commentary by Director Philip Kaufman
-Audio Commentary by Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman
-Star-Crossed in the Invasion: Interview with Actress Brooke Adams (9:06)
-Re-Creating the Invasion: Interview with Screenwriter W.D. Richter (15:43)
-Scoring the Invasion: Interview with Composer Denny Zeitlin (15:34)
-Leading the Invasion: Interview with actor Art Hindle (25:04)
-Writing the Pod: Interview with Jack Finney Expert Jack Seabrook (11:14)
-Re-Visitors from Outer Space, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod - Featurette (16:14)
-Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod - Featurette (4:38)
-The Man Behind the Scream: The Sound Effects Pod - Featurette (12:47)
-The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod” featurette (5:24)
-TV Spots
-Radio Spots
-Theatrical Trailer
-Reversible Art
-5.1 Surround & Lossless 2.0 Audio
-Optional English Subtitles
-Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
Night Gallery: Season 1 (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)
Prepare for the chill of a lifetime as the master of suspense, Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone), hosts every spine-tingling episode from the complete first season of Night Gallery. Thrill to stories performed by Hollywood greats including Joan Crawford, Ossie Davis, Larry Hagman, Diane Keaton, Roddy McDowall, Burgess Meredith and Agnes Moorehead, and directed by cinematic masters like Steven Spielberg (Jaws) in this unforgettable series—available for the first time in HD, from 2K scans of the interpositives! Night Gallery: Season 1 also features top-notch direction by acclaimed filmmakers Daryl Duke (The Silent Partner), Boris Sagal (The Omega Man), Barry Shear (Across 110th Street), Jeannot Szwarc (Jaws 2), Don Taylor (The Island of Dr. Moreau) with wonderful performances by John Astin, Diane Baker, Martine Beswick, Tom Bosley, Jack Cassidy, Godfrey Cambridge, Bert Convy, Phyllis Diller, Louis Hayward, George Macready, Raymond Massey, Joanna Pettet, John Randolph, Barry Sullivan, Torin Thatcher, William Windom & many others.
Special Features:
-Brand NEW 2K Master for the 2-Hour Pilot and Six Season 1 Episodes
-NEW Audio Commentary for the PILOT by Screenwriter/Historian Gary Gerani
-NEW Audio Commentary for THE DEAD MAN/THE HOUSEKEEPER by Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
-NEW Audio Commentary for ROOM WITH A VIEW/THE LITTLE BLACK BAG/THE NATURE OF THE ENEMY by Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
-NEW Audio Commentary for THE HOUSE/CERTAIN SHADOWS ON THE WALL by Film Historian Tim Lucas
-NEW Audio Commentary for THE HOUSE/CERTAIN SHADOWS ON THE WALL by Author/Historian Amanda Reyes
-NEW Audio Commentary for MAKE ME LAUGH/CLEAN KILLS AND OTHER TROPHIES by Filmmaker/Historian Constantine Nasr and Night Gallery Book Publisher Taylor L. White
-NEW Audio Commentary for PAMELA'S VOICE/LONE SURVIVOR/THE DOLL by Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Editor Stephen Jones
-NEW Audio Commentary for THEY'RE TEARING DOWN TIM RILEY'S BAR/THE LAST LAUREL by Film Historian Craig Beam
-THE SYNDICATION CONUNDRUM: A Look at the Show's Troubled Second Life in Reruns – A NEW Featurette by Film Historian Craig Beam
-Episode Guide Insert Booklet
-Optional English Subtitles
Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
With numerous interpretations of Gaston Leroux’s classic novel The Phantom of the Opera having been turned out over the years, it was only a matter of time before the slasher genre decided to take a stab at the tale – step forward 1989’s Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge!
High school sweethearts Eric Matthews and Melody Austin are so in love, but their youthful romance is cut tragically short when Eric apparently dies in a fire that engulfs his family home. One year later and Melody is trying to move on with her life, taking up a job at the newly built Midwood Mall along with her friends. But the mall, which stands on the very site of Eric’s former home, has an uninvited guest – a shadowy, scarred figure which haunts its air ducts and subterranean passageways, hellbent on exacting vengeance on the mall’s crooked developers.
Directed by Richard Friedman (Scared Stiff, Doom Asylum), and featuring star turns from Pauly Shore and Morgan Fairchild, Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge swoops onto Blu-ray in an extras-packed edition which proves that Arrow Video’s love for ’80s slasher fare never dies!
The Snake Girl and the Silver Haired Witch: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
What do you get when Noriaki Yuasa, director of Daiei Studios’ much-beloved Gamera series, makes a monochrome film adaptation of the works of horror manga pioneer Kazuo Umezu (The Drifting Classroom)? The answer is 1968’s The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, a fantastically phantasmagorical slice of twisted tokusatsu terror ostensibly made for children that will irreparably traumatize any child that sees it!
A young girl named Sayuri is reunited with her estranged family after years in an orphanage – but trouble lurks within the walls of the large family home. Her mother is an amnesiac after a car accident six months earlier, her sullen sister is confined to the attic and a young housemaid dies inexplicably of a heart attack just before Sayuri arrives… is it all connected to her father’s work studying venomous snakes? And is the fanged, serpentine figure that haunts Sayuri’s dreams the same one spying on her through holes in the wall?
Making its worldwide Blu-ray debut and its home video premiere outside Japan, this rarely-screened, nightmarishly disorienting creepshow not only displays a seldom-seen side of kaiju auteur Yuasa, but it's skillful blending of Umezu’s comics (published in English-language markets as Reptilia) arguably anticipates many of the trends seen in J-horror decades later.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Raffael Coronelli
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 4K: Special Edition (Arrow Video, 4K Ultra HD)
The Cat O’ Nine Tails 4K: Standard Edition (Arrow Video, 4K Ultra HD)
C.H.U.D.: Standard Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
Chupa (Tempe Video, Blu-ray & DVD)
Hall (1091 Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
Lair (1091 Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
The Lockdown Hauntings (GVN Releasing, DVD)
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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