I hope you have your wallets ready, horror fans, because this week’s home media releases are ready to break your bank accounts. There are a lot of cool titles hitting Blu on Tuesday, but without a doubt, Criterion’s new Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films set looks to be the best of the bunch, as it has everything a kaiju fan could want and more. Arrow Video has assembled a comprehensive Special Edition release for An American Werewolf in London, and for those of you who love Chuck Russell’s remake of The Blob, you’ll definitely want to pick up Scream Factory’s new Collector’s Edition Blu.
Two Evil Eyes, the Poe adaptation from George A. Romero and Dario Argento, is getting a Limited Edition Blu this week, and there a ton of cult titles also receiving some well-deserved HD overhauls as well: Paganini Horror, Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory, Nightbeast, Satan’s Slave, Undertaker and Watch Me When I Kill.
Other notable releases for October 29th include The Devil Rides Out, Fangboner, 10/31, Bloody New Year and the 10th anniversary celebration of Plaguers.
An American Werewolf in London: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)
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 Bakers ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special makeup effects. Now restored in 4K, and presented with an abundance of extra features, this big beast of horror can be devoured as never before.
Special Features:
The Blob (1988) (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
The Blob is back in this horrific tale about a vile, malignant life-form that crashes to Earth in a cozy, rural American town called Arborville. Untroubled by conscience or intellect, the Blob does only one thing – and it does it well. It eats anything and everything that moves: men, women, and children. It wants to swallow the entire town of Arborville. The original version of the Blob thrilled and terrified movie audiences back in the 1950s. Now the oozing, gooey killer is back.
Bonus Features:
- NEW audio commentary with director Chuck Russell, special effects artist Tony Gardner and cinematographer Mark Irwin, moderated by filmmaker Joe Lynch
- NEW audio commentary with actress Shawnee Smith
- NEW It Fell From the Sky! – an interview with director Chuck Russell
- NEW We Have Work to Do – an interview with actor Jeffrey DeMunn
- NEW Minding the Dinner – an interview with actress Candy Clark
- NEW They Call Me Mellow Purple – an interview with actor Donovan Leitch Jr.
- NEW Try to Scream! – an interview with actor Bill Moseley
- NEW Shot Him! – an interview with cinematographer Mark Irwin
- NEW The Incredible Melting Man – an interview with special effects artist Tony Gardner
- NEW Monster Math – an interview with special effects supervisor Christopher Gilman
- NEW Haddonfield to Arborville – an interview with production designer Craig Stearns
- NEW The Secret of the Ooze – an interview with mechanical designer Mark Setrakian
- NEW I Want that Organism Alive! – an interview with Blob mechanic Peter Abrahamson
- NEW Gardner’s Grue Crew – behind-the-scenes footage of Tony Gardner and his team
- Audio Commentary with director Chuck Russell, moderated by film producer Ryan Turek
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spot
- Still Gallery
The Devil Rides Out (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
The debonair Duc de Richleau has been entrusted with the care of his deceased friend's son, Simon Aron. The Duc discovers that the young man has been seduced into joining a satanic cult headed by the diabolic Mocata, who is intent on making Simon one of the Devil's disciples. Having rescued Simon from a bloodied ritual, de Richleau is pursued by Mocata, who will stop at nothing to destroy the Duc and his friends, even summoning the Angel of Death itself.
Starring Christopher Lee in one of his personal favorite roles and based on the celebrated novel by Dennis Wheatley, The Devil Rides Out is one of Hammer's most accomplished and thrilling mystery horrors.
Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films (1954-1975) (Criterion, Blu-ray)
IN 1954, AN ENORMOUS BEAST CLAWED ITS WAY OUT OF THE SEA, destroying everything in its path—and changing movies forever. The arresting original Godzilla soon gave rise to an entire monster movie genre (kaiju eiga), but the King of the Monsters continued to reign supreme: in fourteen fiercely entertaining sequels over the next two decades, Godzilla defended its throne against a host of other formidable creatures, transforming from a terrifying symbol of nuclear annihilation into a benevolent (if still belligerent) Earth protector. Collected here for the first time are all fifteen Godzilla films of Japan’s Showa era, in a landmark set showcasing the technical wizardry, fantastical storytelling, and indomitable international appeal that established the most iconic giant monster the cinema has ever seen.
EIGHT-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET FEATURES:
Paganini Horror: Limited Edition (Severin Films, Blu/CD Combo)
From producer Fabrizio De Angelis (ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND, KILLER CROCODILE), writer/director Luigi Cozzi (CONTAMINATION, STARCRASH) and co-writer/star Daria Nicolodi (DEEP RED, TENEBRAE) comes one of the most hard-to-find shockers from Italian Horror's greatest decade.
When an all-girl rock band records an unpublished song by Niccolò Paganini - the 19th century composer said to have sold his soul to the Devil - they will unleash a skintight spandex nightmare of extreme violins, cheesy power ballads, SUSPIRIA-influenced lighting and outlandish Satanic havoc that QuietCool calls "Serious fun… it drips with as much love as it does with blood and gore." Jasmine Maimone (DEMONS), Pascal Perciano (VOICES FROM BEYOND) and the legendary Donald Pleasence co-star in this "Kooky, stylish and definitely recommended flick" (DVDExotica.com), now transferred in 2k from the original negative.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Bonus CD soundtrack. Play It Again Paganini - Interview with Director Luigi Cozzi
- The Devil's Music - Interview with Actor Pietro Genuardi
- Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending
- Trailer
Two Evil Eyes: 3-Disc Limited Edition (Blue Underground, Blu-ray)
The Masters of Modern Horror -George Romero and Dario Argento- bring you an unprecedented pair of shockers inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. In Romero's ''The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar,'' a conniving wife (Adrienne Barbeau of THE FOG) and her lover use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband, only to receive some chilling surprises from beyond the grave. Then in Argento's ''The Black Cat,'' a deranged crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel of FROM DUSK TILL DAWN) is driven to brutal acts of madness and murder by his girlfriend's new pet. But will this cunning feline deliver a final sickening twist of its own?
Martin Balsam (PSYCHO), E.G. Marshall (CREEPSHOW), John Amos (THE BEASTMASTER) and Tom Atkins (NIGHT OF THE CREEPS) co-star in this wild horror hit that also features grisly makeup effects by Tom Savini (MANIAC). In celebration of its 30th Anniversary, Blue Underground is proud to present TWO EVIL EYES in a new 4K restoration from its original camera negative, packed with exclusive new and archival Extras!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- WORLD PREMIERE! New 4K Restoration from the uncensored original camera negative
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) Widescreen 1.85:1 Feature Presentation
- Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD (English); 2.0 DTS-HD (English); 1.0 Dolby Digital (French)
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Troy Howarth, Author of Murder By Design: The Unsane Cinema of Dario Argento
- Theatrical Trailer
- Poster & Still Gallery
- Two Masters' Eyes - Interviews with Directors Dario Argento & George Romero, Special Make-Up Effects Supervisor Tom Savini, Executive Producer Claudio Argento, and Asia Argento
- Savini's EFX - A Behind-the-Scenes look at the film s Special Make-Up Effects
- At Home With Tom Savini - A personal tour of Tom Savini's home
- Adrienne Barbeau on George Romero
- NEW! Before I Wake - Interview with Star Ramy Zada
- NEW! Behind The Wall - Interview with Star Madeleine Potter
- NEW! One Maestro And Two Masters - Interview with Composer Pino Donaggio
- NEW! Rewriting Poe - Interview with Co-Writer Franco Ferrini
- NEW! The Cat Who Wouldn't Die - Interview with Assistant Director Luigi Cozzi
- NEW! Two Evil Brothers Interview with Special Make-Up Assistant Everett Burrell
- NEW! Working With George Interview with Costume Designer Barbara Anderson
- BONUS! TWO EVIL EYES Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Pino Donaggio on CD for the first time ever!
- BONUS! Collectable Booklet with new essay by Michael Gingold
- BONUS! Lenticular 3D Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
Watch Me When I Kill: Special Edition (Synapse Films, Blu/CD Combo)
Antonio Bido (BLOODSTAINED SHADOW) directs this shocking Italian giallo! Mara (Paola Tedesco), a beautiful young nightclub dancer, witnesses a brutal murder and soon finds herself stalked by an animalistic gloved killer! While enlisting the help of her boyfriend Lukas (Corrado Pani) to track down and stop the maniac, the mystery surrounding the killings is slowly uncovered. As more bodies are found and secrets are uncovered, the truth behind the masked slasher is much more horrifying than anyone could imagine! A stylish and well-plotted mystery/thriller, WATCH ME WHEN I KILL (aka Il Gatto Dagli Occhi di Giada) is a graphic and suspenseful Italian giallo reminiscent of both Mario Bava and Dario Argento.
Special Features:
- New 4K transfer of the original negative, with color correction performed by Synapse Films
- DTS-HD MA English and Italian 2.0 Mono Soundtracks
- Isolated Music-Only Track
- Original Theatrical Trailer, T.V. Spot and Radio Spots
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian and Author, Nathaniel Thompson
- UK Interview with Academic Mikel Koven on WATCH ME WHEN I KILL
- Three short films from director Antonio Bido: Danza Macabra, Mendelssohn Im Judischen Museum, Berlin and Marche Funebre D'une Marionette
- English Subtitles (Italian Mono) and English SDH Subtitles (English Mono)
-BONUS CD SOUNDTRACK of the amazing film score by prog-rockers Trans-Europa Express
Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory (Severin Films, Blu-ray)
Twisted Italian horror meets lurid German krimi in the 1961 EuroShocker filled with "Genuinely eerie scenes and rather graphic maulings" (DVD Drive-In), now restored like you've never seen or heard it before.
When an all-girl reform school is rocked by a series of grisly murders, it will unleash a nightmare of sexual corruption and lupine depravity. Carl Schell (THE BLUE MAX), Barbara Lass (aka Roman Polanski's first wife Barbara Kwiatkowska) and Luciano Pigozzi (CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD) star in this infamous Italian/Austrian co-production - originally titled LYCANTHROPUS - directed by Paolo Heusch (THE DAY THE SKY EXPLODED) from a screenplay by giallo maestro Ernesto Gastaldi (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) with a classic score by Armando Trovajoli (STRANGE SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM), newly scanned in 2k from archival elements recently discovered in a Rome lab vault.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Bad Moon Rising - Interview with Screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
- Italian Trailer
- US Trailer
- Alternate Opening
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:
10/31 (Scream Team Releasing, DVD)
Bloody New Year (Vinegar Syndrome, Blu/CD Combo)
Byleth: The Demon of Incest (Severin Films, Blu-ray)
Door in the Woods (Wild Eye Releasing, DVD)
Fangboner (Wild Eye Raw, DVD)
The Human Monster: Collector’s Edition (VCI Video, Blu-ray & DVD)
Nightbeast (Vinegar Syndrome, Blu/CD Combo)
Plaguers: 10th Anniversary Edition (Wild Eye Releasing, Blu-ray)
Satan’s Slave (Vinegar Syndrome, Blu/DVD Combo)
Undertaker (Synapse Films, Blu-ray)
The Witching Season (Scream Team 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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