Redemption Films explores Jess Franco's OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES (review)

Treasure hunters in search of Nazi gold in an African oasis find terror instead in Jess Franco's OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES.

REVIEW LINK: Redemption Films/Kino Lorber (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 widescreen 1.66:1
• English and French LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Trailer
• Trailers for other Redemption Films releases

More Redemption Films/Kino Lorber reviews at Update the Tags: Redemption Films/Kino Lorber.

Vinegar Syndrome takes in a double bill with SAVAGE WATER + DEATH BY INVITATION (review)

New exploitation label Vinegar Syndrome follow up their THE LOST FILMS OF HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS Blu-ray/DVD combo release with this double bill of rare American regional horror.  In SAVAGE WATER, a dysfunctional group of tourists rafting down the Colorado river float into the path of a killer.  In DEATH BY INVITATION, a young woman whose witch ancestor was executed takes revenge on the modern-day descendents of her killers.  From the producer of CARNIVAL OF BLOOD and CURSE OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SAVAGE WATER + DEATH BY INVITATION DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentaries on both films by podcasters The Hysteria Continues.

Artificial Eye present THE CLAIRE DENIS COLLECTION (review)

Artificial Eye brings together four masterworks of French director Claire Denis starting with her feature debut up to her most recent highly-acclaimed film WHITE MATERIAL.  In CHOCOLAT, France Dalens revisits Cameroon where she lived as a child and recalls (in flashback) the sexual and racial tensions of which she was once oblivious.  Francois Cluzet (TELL NO ONE), Giulia Boschi, and Kenneth Cranham (HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II) star.  In NENETTE ET BONI, pizza cook Boni's life is upset when his long lost sister Nenette shows up on his doorstep seven months pregnant.  Gregoire Colin (A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES) stars.  BEAU TRAVAIL is Denis' French adaptation of Herman Melville's "Billy Budd" set in the Foreign Legion.  Gregoire Colin and Denis Lavant star.  Finally, in Denis' most recent film WHITE MATERIAL, Isabelle Huppert plays a coffee planter who defiantly tries to keep her family plantation afloat amidst the political turmoil of Cameroon.  Christophe Lambert (HIGHLANDER) also stars.

REVIEW LINK: Artificial Eye (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE CLAIRE DENIS COLLECTION DVD specs:

• Disc One "Chocolat" (1988)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Trailer
• Artificial Eye Trailers
• Disc Two "Nenette et Boni" (1996)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.73:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Trailer
• Disc Three "Beau Travail" (1999)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Trailer
• Filmographies
• Disc Four "White Material" (2009)
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• French/Cameroon Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Interviews with Claire Denis and Christophe Lambert
• Trailer

More Artificial Eye reviews at Update the Tags: Artificial Eye.

88 Films and Full Moon plant SEEDPEOPLE (review)

In Full Moon's blatant INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS quickie retread, a geologist visits his one-bridge-only hometown of Comet Valley to look at rocks believed to have come from a metero.  There are strange happenings in the orchards at night and people who go in there come back out different.  Could this be the invasion of the SEEDPEOPLE?  Sam Hennings and Andrea Roth star.  Effects by John Carl Buechler (TROLL).


REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

SEEDPEOPLE DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• VideoZone behind-the-scenes
• Trailer
• Full Moon Trailer Park

More Full Moon and 88 Films reviews at Update the Tags: 88 Films.

Impulse Picture sets a date for SAME TIME EVERY YEAR (review)

Three middle class hubbies head out of town for a weekend "lawyer convention" but their wives know what's really going on... and they don't mind, since they spend their time apart having fun of their own with the help in late director/LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT actor Fred J. Lincoln's SAME TIME EVERY YEAR, a hardcore sexed-up version of Robert Mulligan's 1978 films SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR.  Look for a guest appearance by Ron Jeremy.

REVIEW LINK: Impulse Pictures (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SAME TIME EVERY YEAR DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

More Impulse Pictures reviews at Update the Tags: Synapse Films.

Artificial Eye goes "Le Ronde" with 360 (review)

An ensemble cast including Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz, Ben Foster, and a host of international talent star as characters whose intersecting lives all lead to brushes with fate both passionate and dangerous.  Directed by CITY OF GOD's Fernando Mereilles and written by FROST/NIXON's Peter Morgan.

REVIEW LINK: Artificial Eye (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

360 DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Interview with director
• Cast and Crew Interviews
• Trailer

More Artificial Eye reviews at Update the Tags: Artificial Eye.

Monster Pictures invades THE FALLOW FIELD (review)

MEMENTO meets WOLF CREEK in this neat stab at British horror.  When Matt wakes up in a field with no memory of the past week, he retraces his steps only to stumble upon a remote farm with an unfriendly owner and a terrifying secret lying beneath the soil nearby in THE FALLOW FIELD.


REVIEW LINK: Monster Pictures/Eureka Video (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)


THE FALLOW FIELD DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Audio Commentary by director Leigh Dovey and producer Colin Arnold
• Behind the Scenes
• Trailer
• Slideshow

More Monster Pictures reviews at Update the Tags: Eureka Video.

OUT NEXT TUESDAY: PRISON, THE NEST, TERRORVISION/THE VIDEO DEAD from Scream Factory!

JUST A HUGE REMINDER: Coming next Tuesday, February 19th are three new "Scream Factory" special editions courtesy of Shout! Factory.

Renny Harlin's PRISON (REVIEWED HERE)!
When an abandoned prison is re-opened, something more evil and deadly than a sadistic warden awaits the inmates and the staff as a series of grisly "accidents" begin to befall anyone who tries to escape PRISON.  Lane Smith (NETWORK), Chelsea Field (DUST DEVIL), and Viggo Mortensen (THE REFLECTING SKIN) star (also look for a very special appearance by Kane "Jason Voorhees" Hodder).  From Charles Band's Empire Pictures and Irwin Yablans, the producer of HALLOWEEN... a new place to haunt!

PRISON Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• 1080p24 1.78:1 widescreen (Blu-ray)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen (DVD)
• English DTS-MA 5.1 and 2.0 stereo (Blu-ray)
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo (DVD)
• Audio Commentary by director Renny Harlin
• "Hard Time: The Making of PRISON"
• Poster and Still Gallery
• DVD-ROM: First Draft Screenplay (.pdf)

Roger Corman presents THE NEST (REVIEWED HERE)!
In the tradition of producer Roger Corman's PIRANHA and HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP, a New England island community is invaded by mutant cockroaches in THE NEST.  Robert Lansing, Franc Luz, and Lisa Langlois star.

THE NEST Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• 1080p24 1.78:1 widescreen (Blu-ray)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen (DVD)
• English DTS-MA 2.0 stereo (Blu-ray)
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo (DVD)
• Audio Commentary by Terence H. Winkless

TERRORVISION/THE VIDEO DEAD (REVIEWED HERE)!
Terror comes out of the television, from outer space AND from beyond the grave in Scream Factory/Shout!Factory's Blu-ray/DVD double bill of Empire Pictures' TERRORVISION and the direct-to-video eighties cult hit THE VIDEO DEAD.  In the first film, a ravenous mutant is beamed from its home planet and unfortunately into the satellite of a well-to-do Los Angeles family of swingers, New Age rockers, and survivalists.  Gerit Graham, Mary Woronov, Diane Franklin, Jonathan Gries, and Chad Allen star.  In the second film, an old TV set is the gateway between worlds that unleashes the living dead into a pleasant suburban neighborhood.

TERRORVISION/THE VIDEO DEAD Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• TERRORVISION:
• 1080p24 1.85:1 widescreen (Blu-ray)
• English DTS-MA 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen (DVD) 
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Ted Nicolau and actors Diane Franklin and Jon Gries
• "Monster on Demand" retrospective documentary
• THE VIDEO DEAD:
• 1080p24 1.85:1 widescreen (Blu-ray)
• English DTS-MA 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen (DVD)
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writer/director Robert Scott, editor Bob Sarles, and special make-up effects creator Dale Hall, Jr.
• Audio Commentary by stars Roxanna Augesen and Rocky Duvall, production manager Jacques Thelemaque, and make-up assistant Patrick Denver
• "Pre-RecorDEAD" - interview with make-up effects artist Dale Hall, Jr. and assistant Patrick Denver
• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
• Poster and Still Gallery
• DVD-ROM: Original Screenplay (.pdf)

More Scream Factory reviews at Update the Tags: Scream Factory.

Artificial Eye rides HOLY MOTORS (review)

REVIEW LINK: Artificial Eye (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

HOLY MOTORS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Theatrical Trailer
• Deleted Scenes (7 minutes)
• Conversation with Leos Carax (63 minutes)

More Artificial Eye reviews at Update the Tags: Artificial Eye.

Alternative Cinema presents SUZIE HEARTLESS (review)

Tony Marsiglia, the director of LUST FOR DRACULA and DR. JEKYLL AND MISTERSS HYDE takes a decidedly darker approach to SUZIE HEARTLESS, the story of the tragic last days of a teenage prostitute.  Also included is Marsiglia's ambitious first feature from 1995 (shot on 35mm film no less) PHOENIX: the oddball story of a waitress desperately searching for her missing sister, a prostitute who may have had the misfortune of meeting up with a morgue attendant who can only attain sexual arousal from a carved wooden fetish.

REVIEW LINK: Alternative Cinema (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

SUZIE HEARTLESS DVD specs:

• DISC ONE:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Audio Commentary by director Tony Marsiglia and producer Donna Kane
• Slideshow
• Deleted Scene
• DISC TWO:
• BONUS FILM: "Phoenix"
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Audio Commentary by director Tony Marsiglia
• Slideshow
• Making-of featurette

This release from Alternative Cinema is already discontinued but is still available directly from the filmmaker via eBay HERE (at considerably more reasonable prices than Amazon's Marketplace sellers).

Jezebel Films captures THE SEX THIEF (review)

While the husband's away, a handsome cat burglar is making off with more than the family jewels... and the lonely housewives want him to come back!  David Warbeck (THE BEYOND) is the debonair thief in this kinky British sex comedy from GOLDENEYE director Martin Campbell and writers Michael Armstrong (MARK OF THE DEVIL) and Tudar Gates (THE VAMPIRE LOVERS).

REVIEW LINK: Jezebel Films/Kino Lorber (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE SEX THIEF Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 widescreen
• English DTS Master Audio 1.0 mono

Metrodome Pictures investigates the HOLLOW (review)

What happens when four friends go into the woods with a video camera?  Emma, her fiance Scott, childhood friend Jimmy, and his girlfriend Lynne travel to Suffolk to close up her late grandfather's cottage for sale.  While going through his belongings, they discover records of a number of mysterious suicides related to an ancient hollow tree with an evil secret.

REVIEW LINK: Metrodome Pictures (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE HOLLOW DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo