Eureka Classics shudders from THE SCREAMING SKULL (review)

A mentally-fragile young bride is haunted by the memory of her husband's first wife which takes the form of a malevolent ghost.. or does it in THE SCREAMING SKULL, an AIP B-movie that anticipates the Roger Corman Poe Gothics to come.

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

THE SCREAMING SKULL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Optional introduction by film historian Stephen Laws
• "Shrouded in Mystery" video essay by film and literature scholar Mary Going
• Theatrical Trailers
• The first 2,000 copies come with a limited edition O-card slipcase and interior packaging featuring new artwork by John Dunn and a collector’s booklet featuring "It May Kill You! Promotional Gimmickry and The Screaming Skull" by film historian Jon Towlson, author of "Subversive Horror Cinema" and "The Screaming Skull Conquers America: An Account of the Film's US Release History" by Christopher Stewardson. 

Cult Films celebrates at SALON KITTY (review)

THE DAMNED's Helmut Berger and Ingrid Thulin star with CALIGULA's Teresa Ann Savoy in this big-budget piece of Nazisploitation about the use of the brothel SALON KITTY by the Nazis to spy on their own soldiers with a team of twenty women trained in prostitution and espionage.  From director Tinto Brass.

REVIEW LINK: Cult Films (U.S.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SALON KITTY Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles (for English) and English (for Italian)
• Interview with director Tinto Brass
• U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• International Trailer
• Foldout Poster
• Reversible Cover
• Postcard
• First Pressing Slipcover

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Unearthed Films summons up BAKEMONO (review)

A dank, dark Airbnb hosts various Tokyo visitors and a flesh-eating demon in this practical effects-loaded indie gore flick.

REVIEW LINK: Unearthed Films (U.S.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

BAKEMONO Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.90:1 Widescreen
• English/Japanese LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English Subtitles (foreign dialogue only) or full English SDH subtitles
• "Making the Practical FX: Bringing a Gruesome Monster to Life"
• "The Dark Side of Tokyo: The Meaning Behind the Film"
• "Principal Photography"
• "Bakemono Unleashed: Reactions and Surprises"
• German festival Q and A with director Doug Roos
• Photo Gallery
• Teaser #1
• Teaser #2
• Trailer for THE SKY HAS FALLEN
• First Pressing Slipcover

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Second Run pulls the strings for JIRI TRNKA: PUPPET MASTER (review)

Dubbed the "father of Czech animation" Jiří Trnka created imaginative and sophisticated works of animation that challenged the talents of Disney and influenced other Czech artists including Karel Zeman and Jan Svankmajer (along with the British Brothers Quay).

REVIEW LINK: Second Run (U.K.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

JIRI TRNKA: PUPPET MASTER Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - Old Czech Legends:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Czech LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "A Beginner’s Guide to Jiří Trnka" video essay by film historian Evan Chester
• "Badly Painted Hen [Špatně namalovaná slepice]" 1963 animated short by Trnka collaborator Jiří Brdečka 
• Disc Two - The Czech Year:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Czech LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• "Loutky Jiřího Trnky [The Puppets of Jiří Trnka]" 1955 documentary by Bruno Šefranka
• "A Beginner’s Guide to Czechoslovak Animation" video essay by film historian Evan Chester (27:58) 
• "The Hand [Ruka]" 1965 short by Jiří Trnka
• Restoration Theatrical Trailer 
• Come with a 32-page booklet with writing by experts on Czechoslovak cinema Peter Hames and Jonathan Owen. 
• Limited edition of 2,000 copies comes with a limited edition slipcase. 

Radiance Films schemes with TEN WOMEN IN BLACK (review)

A handsome television producer gets paranoid when he discovers that ten women in his life want him dead, and one of them is his wife in this bitter comedy drama from Kon Ichikawa.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.S./U.K.) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

TEN WOMEN IN BLACK Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• Japanese LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Appreciation by musician Yasuharu Konishi (Pizzicato Five)
• "The Kon Ichikawa Story" 2006 documentary directed by Shunji Iwai
• Theatrical Trailer
• 1997 Re-Release Trailer
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, with a reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters and a booklet featuring new writing by Yuka Kimbara, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings.

Available from AMAZON! 

Cult Epics unmasks KRIMINAL in 4K! (review)

After stealing the Crown Jewels, master thief Kriminal evades the gallows and takes off for Istanbul on the trail of a cache of diamonds exchanging hands through various double crosses in this comic strip adaptation from Umberto Lenzi.

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

KRIMINAL 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.39:1 Widescreen (HDR10)
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
• Italian Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
• "Armed to the Teeth: The Cinema of Umberto Lenzi" feature-length documentary by Eugenio Ercolani and Andrea Moroni
• "Camera Nostalgia" interview with actor Glenn Saxson
• "The Sound of Krime" interview with film music historian Pierpaolo De Sanctis 
• Isolated Score (28 tracks)
• Italian Credits
• Promotional Gallery 
• Italian Theatrical Trailer
• Cult Epics Trailers 
• Comes with a reversible cover and slipcover.

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Also available as a Blu-ray single-disc edition. 

Also available as a five-hundred copy limited edition with exclusive slipcover direct from CULT EPICS! 

88 Films takes a bite out of AMAZONIA: THE CATHERINE MILES STORY in 4K (review)

English schoolgirl Catherine Miles travels down to the Amazon to spend the holidays on her parents' rubber plant.  On a birthday trip up the Amazon river, their boat is ambushed and her parents are killed.  Abducted by a headhunting tribe, Catherine plots her escape even as she is ritually initiated into the tribe and develops a murderous hunger for revenge against her parents murderers.  Released by Charles Band's Empire Pictures in the United States as WHITE SLAVE.

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

AMAZONIA: THE CATHERINE MILES STORY 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film critics Eugenio Ercolani and Nanni Cobretti
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film critics Eugenio Ercolani and Nanni Cobretti
• "Nothing to be Ashamed Of" interview with composer Franco Campanino 
• "The Man from the High Crane" interview with camera operator Federico del Zoppo
• "Capitalizing on Cannibals" interview with expert Eugenio Ercolani 
• "Body Trade in Amazonia" visual essay by film historian Rachael Nisbet 
• "No Meat on These Bones" visual essay by film historian Mike Foster 
• "Ecological with the Truth" visual essay by The Nasty Pasty
• Theatrical Trailer
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring new art by Chris Barnes and alternate original artwork. 
• The limited edition also includes a slipcover with artwork by Chris Barnes, a U-card leaving the slipcover free of certificates and markings, and booklet notes by Francesco Massaccesi.