Eureka Classics hunts down GHOULS GONE WILD (review)

The Hong Kong horror comedies of the late eighties were bonkers veering from non-PC sex comedy to sometimes brutal gore.  In SCARED STIFF, a young man discovers he can enter people's dreams after a car accident.  When his friend is attacked by a killer and left in a coma, he enters his friend's mind and discovers that the killer is closer than expected in this film inspired by DREAMSCAPE and predating THE CELL and INCEPTION.  In HAUNTED COP SHOP, a police station that was once occupied by the Japanese army is brimming with paranormal energy that explodes into vampire violence during the Hungry Ghost Festival.  In MAGIC OF SPELL, a monk wants to become the disciple of magic child Peach Boy who must battle the demons who want to take over the world.

REVIEW LINK: Eureka Video (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

GHOULS GONE WILD Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• Scared Stiff (1987):
• Hong Kong Theatrical (93 minutes) and Extended (98 minutes) Versions 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary on the extended version by film historian Frank Djeng, NY Asian Film Festival
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two:
• Haunted Cop Shop:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by genre cinema expert Arne Venema and filmmaker Domting
• Alternate/Extended Scenes
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer 
• Magic of Spell:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Mandarin, Cantonese, and English LPCM 2.0 Mono Tracks
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by genre cinema expert Arne Venema and filmmaker Domting
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer 
• "Restless Spirits" interview with film writer, curator, and East Asian film expert Fraser Elliott
• Comes with a 2000-copy limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling and a limited edition collector's booklet featuring an essay on the borrowing and remixing of world genre traditions in the three films by Iain Robert Smith, author of "The Hollywood Meme: Transnational Adaptations in World Cinema. 

Arrow Video spooks THE FRIGHTENERS in 4K (review)

Frank Bannister (Michael J. Fox) can not only see ghosts, he uses them to make money as a paranormal investigator but he becomes the prime suspect when a series of mysterious deaths hits his town in this early big budget fantasy film from Peter Jackson.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (U.S./U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD (DVDCompare)

THE FRIGHTENERS 4K UltraHD specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• Director's Cut:
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• English Dolby Atmos
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 DVD Mix
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Peter Jackson 
• Theatrical Cut:
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Theatrical and Home Video Mixes 
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Peter Jackson 10th Anniversary Introduction 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• Director's Cut:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Atmos
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 DVD Mix
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by director Peter Jackson 
• Theatrical Cut:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Theatrical and Home Video Mixes
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo Mix
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Peter Jackson 10th Anniversary Introduction 
• Disc Three:
• "No Way to Make a Living - A Look Back at The Frighteners" 2022 documentary (94 minutes)
• "The Making of The Frighteners" 1998 documentary (272 minutes) 
• "A Conversation with Richard Taylor and Alexandre Poncet"
• Image Gallery 
• First pressing includes a slipcover and a collectors' booklet featuring Peter Jackson's 1998 introduction to the Laserdisc release, original production notes, and two 1996 articles from American Cinematographer. 

Order from AMAZON!

Also available in a Three-Disc Blu-ray Edition! 

Acorn Media investigates THE CHELSEA DETECTIVE: SERIES 4 (review)

Adrian Scarborough is back as THE CHELSEA DETECTIVE investigating murder cases around his stomping grounds with his trust team involving a missing Earl, a body washed up in the harbor, a murdered salon owner who does not seem to exist, and an architect thrown from a balcony during his own reception.

REVIEW LINK: Acorn Media (U.K.) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDCompare)

THE CHELSEA DETECTIVE - SERIES 4 DVD specs:

• Four feature-length cases on two dual-layer DVDs
• 16:9 Anamorphic 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English HoH Subtitles 

Radiance Films explores the PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES in 4K (review)

Before ALIEN, Mario Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES was the original "haunted house in space" as two ships land on a strange planet to answer a distress call only to confront a supernatural entity intent on taking over their bodies one by one.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.S./U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Dolby Vision Widescreen Branched Encodes of the Italian version (89 minutes) and the English version (87 minutes)
• Italian and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track of the Orion Video Version featuring a synthesizer score by Kendall Schmidt
• Optional English Subtitles for the Italian Track and SDH Subtitles for the English Track
• Audio Commentary on the English Version by Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen Branched Encodes of the Italian version (89 minutes) and the English version (87 minutes)
• Italian and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles for the Italian Track and SDH Subtitles for the English Track
• Audio Commentary on the English Version by Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas
• "Transmissions from a Haunted World: Mario Bava and the Space Gothic" documentary
• "Shadow World: Lamberto Bava on Planet of the Vampires"
• Super 8 Version in Italian with English subtitles or in English
• "Trailers from Hell with Joe Dante: Planet of the Vampires"
• "Trailers from Hell with Josh Olson: Planet of the Vampires"
• Theatrical Trailer
• Gallery
• Limited Edition of 3,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, and including a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow, an 80-page book featuring new writing by Kyle Anderson, Martyn Conterio, Barry Forshaw, George Daniel Lea and Jerome Reuter plus archival materials, and a 20-page booklet featuring a new translation of Renato Pestriniero’s original short story,

Order from AMAZON! 

88 Films serves a DEATH WARRANT (review)

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a Canadian cop who goes undercover in a Los Angeles prison to find a killer in DEATH WARRANT.  Robert Guillaume, Cynthia Gibb, Patrick Kilpatrick, and Art LaFleur also star.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

DEATH WARRANT Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film journalists Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz, TheSchlockPit.com
• "A Dedicated Villain" interview with actor Patrick Kilpatrick
• Q and A with actor Patrick Kilpatrick
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery
• Comes with a first pressing slipcover. 

Eureka's Masters of Cinema sets out on EASTERN TRAILS: THE WESTERN AT DEFA (review)

While the westerns of West Germany aped the Hollywood and Italian westerns, East Germany's Indianerfilm cycle made the Native Americans the heroes and the white characters villains or sidekicks and made Yugoslavian stuntman Gojko Mitić a superstar.

REVIEW LINK: Eureka Video (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

EASTERN TRAILS - THE WESTERN AT DEFA Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• Chingachgook, the Great Serpent:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Fatal Error: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles 
• "Old West, New Perspective" video essay by Western scholar Jenny Barrett, author of "Shooting the Civil War"
• Disc Two:
• Apaches:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Michael Brooke 
• Blood Brothers: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• German LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Blood Brothers by Dean Reed" optional introduction/musical performance originally attached to theatrical prints of the film 
• "The Singing Cowboy" interview on Dean Reed and "Blood Brothers" with East German cinema expert Seán Allan, co-editor of "Re-Imagining DEFA" 
• Limited edition of 2,000 copies housed in a hardbound slipcase and interior packaging featuring new artwork by Colin Murdoch with a 60-page collector's book featuring part one of a new extended essay on the history of the DEFA Indianerfilme by Lee Broughton, author of "The Euro-Western". 

88 Films foretells THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES in 4K (review)

Two years after his wife's death from a tumor after a mysterious car accident, a Washington Post reporter winds up in Point Pleasant with no memory of how he got there and becomes entangled with local sightings of a sinister creature whose presence foretells disaster.  Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton, and Alan Bates star.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.40:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington, cinematographer Fred Murphy, composer Andy Milburn, editor Brian Berdan, and production designer Richard Hoover
• Audio Commentary by film critic Kim Newman and filmmaker Sean Hogan
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington
• Theatrical Teaser
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington, cinematographer Fred Murphy, composer Andy Milburn, editor Brian Berdan, and production designer Richard Hoover
• Audio Commentary by film critic Kim Newman and filmmaker Sean Hogan
• Audio Commentary by director Mark Pellington
• "Do Not Be Afraid: Investigating The Mothman Prophecies" documentary featuring director Mark Pellington, actor Will Patton, cinematographer Fred Murphy, production designer Richard Hoover, film editor Brian Berdan, and composers tomandandy (80 minutes)
• "The Bridge - The Making of The Bridge Sequence"
• "Mothman Under the Influence" montage of director Mark Pellington's production archive featuring the music of David Ness 
• "Day by Day - A Director's Journey Part 1: The Road In" 
• "Day by Day - A Director's Journey Part 2: The Road Home" 
• "Search for the Mothman" documentary (43 minutes) 
• "First Look Special" Archive Featurette 
• Archive Interviews with actors Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton, and director Mark Pellington 
• Deleted Scenes 
• "Halflight" music video by Low 
• Theatrical Teaser 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Comes in a rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Devon Whitehead, a 40-page perfect bound book including "Living With Ghosts: Loss and Love in Mark Pellington's The Mothman Prophecies" by Walter Chaw, "You Have Been Here Twice Before, Mark Pellington's The Mothman Prophecies and the Uncanny" by James Rose and rare stills, a double-sided foldout poster, and five collectible postcards.
• Also available in a website-exclusive edition with an O-ring slipcover featuring the original poster art (limited to 1,000 copies).