Vinegar Syndrome visits the drive-in for DUNGEON OF HARROW/DEATH BY INVITATION (review)

Vinegar Syndrome gives us another obscure double bill with THE DUNGEON OF HARROW and DEATH BY INVITATION.  In THE DUNGEON OF HARROW, a nobleman is shipwrecked on the island of the Count de Sade who has a spot reserved for him in the dungeon alongside his insane wife!  In DEATH BY INVITATION, a young woman whose ancestor was executed for witchcraft takes revenge on the descendents of the man responsible for her death.  Seventies weirdness in the vein of MARK OF THE WITCH.

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

DUNGEON OF HARROW/DEATH BY INVITATION DVD specs:

• The Dungeon of Harrow (1962)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Death by Invitation (1961)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues

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Retromedia resurrects I, MARQUIS DE SADE (review)

Long lost and only recently discovered from a lone print in Sweden, I, MARQUIS DE SADE tells the story of Donald, a bookish translator who learns that he is dying from cancer and decides to embrace the philosophies of the historical figure whose name was coined for the term sadism.  Setting himself up with a walrus of a sugar mama, Donald pursues a number of beautiful young women for his carnal and possibly murderous delights.  Written and directed by Richard Hilliard (THE LONELY SEX), writer and cinematographer of the Del Tenney productions CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE and HORROR OF PARTY BEACH.

REVIEW LINK: Retromedia/Bayview (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

I, MARQUIS DE SADE DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.66:1 letterbox
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Trailer
• "Hollywood Beauties" nudie short

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Retromedia goes H.P. Lovecraft in THE DARK SLEEP (review)

 DTV old school effects auteur Brett Piper (BACTERIUM) tackles H.P. Lovecraft in THE DARK SLEEP.  Loosely based on "The Dreams of the Witch House", THE DARK SLEEP tells the story of a divorced woman whose new house inspires nightmares about creatures from another dimension.  Is she having a nervous breakdown or is are her dreams allowing the "crawling chaos" to come into this world?

REVIEW LINK: Retromedia/Bayview (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE DARK SLEEP DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
•  Audio Commentary by writer/director Brett Piper, producer Mark Polonia, photographer Anthony Polonia, and actors Steve Diasparra and Ken VanSant
• Making-of
• Outtakes
• CGI or not CGI featurette
• Trailer

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Phase 4 Films makes sure that BAD KIDS GO TO HELL (review)

In this screen adaptation of the popular graphic novel BAD KIDS GO TO HELL, a group of privileged dysfunctional students get to spend a Saturday in detention in Crestview Academy's brand new library.  When they start dropping like flies, the survivors try to escape while trying to figure out if the killer is one of them or really the ghost said to be haunting the land.  Judd Nelson (THE BREAKFAST CLUB) and Ben Browder (FARSCAPE) also star.

REVIEW LINK: Phase 4 Films (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

BAD KIDS GO TO HELL DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• English Closed Captioning
• Audio Commentary by director Matthew Spradlin and producer Barry Wernick
• Galleries:
• Comic Book Art by Anthony Vargas
• Behind the Scenes by Dat Mai
• FX Make-up
• The Making of "Bad Kids Go to Hell":
• Kids Introductions (3:27)
• Craig vs. Ghost (2:17)
• Visual FX Breakdowns by Element X Creative (4:10)
• Trailer (1:35)

Scorpion Releasing stalks THE FANTASIST (review)

Timothy Bottoms (IN THE SHADOW OF KILIMANJARO), Christopher Cazenove (TV's DYNASTY), and Moira Sinise star in WICKER MAN director Robin Hardy's stab at the stalker genre set in modern day Dublin.  Country girl Patricia takes a teaching position in the city and begins to suspect that one of her handful of odd suitors may be the "phone call killer" who romances women over the telephone, gives them increasingly kinky gifts, and then brutally murders them.


REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE FANTASIST DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.72:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional Katarina's Nightmare Theater playback mode
• Trailers

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Scream Factory ventures FROM BEYOND (review)

Scream Factory brings FROM BEYOND, Stuart Gordon's follow-up to RE-ANIMATOR for Charles Band's Empire Pictures, to Blu-ray (and DVD combo) in high definition with even more extras than the out of print and pricey MGM DVD.


REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray/Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

FROM BEYOND Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p 24 fps MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary with director Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, and actress Barbara Crampton, and actor Jeffrey Combs 
• Audio Commentary with screenwriter Dennis Paoli
• "Multiple Dimensions: A Look at the Film's Extensive Make-Up & Creature Effects with Special Effects John Buechler, Anthony Doublin, John Naulin, and Mark Shstrom" featurette
• "Paging Dr. McMichaels" interview with actress Barbara Crampton
• "A Tortured Soul" interview with actor Jeffrey Combs
• "An Empire Productions" interview with executive producer Charles Band
• "The Director's Perspective" featurette
• "The Editing Room Lost an Found" featurette
• Interview with composer Richard Band
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

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ArrowDrome takes in a flick at DEAD END DRIVE-IN (review)

The Star Drive-in lures the young and wild into a deadly trap in STUNT ROCK director Brian Trenchard-Smith's Ozploitation classic DEAD END DRIVE-IN.  When a young couple visit the local drive-in, they become stranded and spend the night only to discover that Australia's post-nuclear government has turned the place into a concentration camp for the country's undesirables.  Theatrically released in the United States by New World Pictures, this eighties cult classic is stuffed with punk rockers, neon lights, and a bangin' rock soundtrack.

REVIEW LINK: ArrowDrome (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

DEAD END DRIVE-IN DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Theatrical Trailer
• Liner Notes Booklet
• Reversible Cover

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George Romero's KNIGHTRIDERS charges onto Arrow Video via Blu-ray/DVD combo (promo video)

You can find review coverage of Arrow Video's Blu-ray/DVD combo of George Romero's KNIGHTRIDERS at DVDBeaver, but check out this new promo from Arrow Video offering a sneak peek at: - An in-depth filmed interview with star Ed Harris. - Filmed interview with “Black Knight” Tom Savini. - Filmed interview with “The Fair Maiden” Patricia Tallman. - Audio commentary with George A. Romero.
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
- Uncompressed original Mono 2.0 PCM audio. - Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary with George Romero, Tom Savini, John Amplas and Christine Romero
- ‘The Genesis of a Legend’ – Star Ed Harris remembers his first leading role
- ‘A Date with Destiny’ – Co-star Tom Savini reflects on the film
- ‘Medieval Maiden’ – Interview with actress Patricia Tallman
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nat Marsh. - Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by author and critic Brad Stevens, an archival interview with Romero, and a new interview with composer Donald Rubinstein, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
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Vinegar Syndrome studies the ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO and THE LONELY SEX (review)

Vinegar Syndrome brings together a double bill of monochrome thrills in ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO and THE LONEY SEX.  In ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO, Chet swears revenge on the people responsible for sending his big brother to the gas chamber.  Ronnie Burns star.  In THE LONELY SEX, the Memorial Park killer is on the prowl and there are plenty of suspects: the loner who lives in the shack, the peeping tom, the kindly doctor.  Directed by Richard Hilliard (THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH).


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


ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO/THE LONELY SEX DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

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Second Run presents POLISH CINEMA CLASSICS VOL. 2 (review)

In Andrzej Wajda's epic THE PROMISED LAND, three ambitious young men plunge into Poland's industrial revolution, ruthlessly outsmarting and double-crossing their rivals; but their own arrogance could be their downfall.  In ILLUMINATION, a physics student's quest for perfect knowledge is sidetracked the murkier aspects of life including love and mysticism.  Finally, in ESCAPE FROM THE 'LIBERTY' CINEMA, the local censor of Lodz is exasperated when the actors in an approved film rebel against the film's mundane plot and

REVIEW LINK: Second Run DVD (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

POLISH CINEMA CLASSICS VOLUME II DVD specs:

• The Promised Land (1974):
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Interview with Andrej Wajda
• Essay Booklet by David Thompson
• Illumination (1973):
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Interview with Krzysztof Zanussi
• Short Film "A Trace"
• Liner Notes Booklet by Michal Oleszczyk
• Escape from the 'Liberty' Cinema (1990)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• Interview with director Wojciech Marczewski
• Liner Notes Booklet by Michael Brooke

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Vinegar Syndrome double bills THE SUCKERS/THE LOVE GARDEN (review)

Vinegar Syndrome continues their Drive-In Collection series with this very explicitly softcore double billing of THE SUCKERS - a sexed-up variation on THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (with emphasis on the sex) - and THE LOVE GARDEN about a love triangle between a writer and a pair of lesbian lovers.  Jason Yukon (THE GODSON), Barbara Mills (FRAULEIN LEATHER), Linda York (CHAIN GANG WOMEN), and Richard Smedley (THE ABDUCTORS) star.

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

THE SUCKERS/THE LOVE GARDEN DVD specs:

• The Suckers (1972)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• The Love Garden (1971)
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

Scream Factory goes sphere-crazy with PHANTASM II (review)

The ball is back in Don Coscarelli's big budget Universal Pictures sequel to his 1979 cult classic.  Grown-up Michael is released from a sanitarium and sets about hunting The Tall Man with his friend Reggie and a girl who also has a psychic connection to the Tall Man.  This bigger sequel has more dwarves, more graves, more gore, and more balls!

REVIEW LINK: Scream Factory/Shout! Factory (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

PHANTASM II Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p 24 fps MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio commentary with director Don Coscarelli, and actors Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister
• "The Ball is Back" documentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Additional Scenes
• Makeup & Effects featurette
• On the Set featurette
• The Gory Days featurette
• Short film from the University of Illinois featuring Angus Scrimm as Abraham Lincoln
• Stills Galleries: 
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots 
• Bonus Trailers for PHANTASM and PHANTASM III

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Vinegar Syndrome solves the MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS (review)

A pair of detectives hunt a maniacal killer of prostitutes through the seedy massage parlors of New York in this long-unseen 1974 Film Ventures International pick-up featuring George Dzundza (BASIC INSTINCT), Chris Jordan (CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE), and Brother Theodore as himself.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Play Original 1974 cut (80 minutes) and re-release cut (73 minutes)
• Outtakes
• Original Trailer
• Re-release Trailer
• Radio Spot

Scorpion Releasing presents THE INCUBUS (review/comparison)

LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE director John Hough mounts this Canadian-produced adaptation of Ray Russell's horror classic about a series of sexual assaults from a supernatural predator in a small American village.  John Cassavetes and John Ireland star.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD vs Elite Entertainment (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE INCUBUS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Trailer
• Optional "Katarina's Nightmare Theater" playback mode
• Scorpion Releasing trailers

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Arrow Video exposes BAISE-MOI uncut (review)

BAISE-MOI, the French cause-celebre of 2000 (based on the 1995 bestselling novel by Virginie Despentes) finally hits DVD in the UK fully uncut in an anamorphic widescreen transfer (the original DVD release was non-anamorphic and cut).  Two marginalized French women snap and go on a killing spree/road trip towards an uncertain destination.  The film was quickly banned in its native France only to be championed by the likes of Catherine Breillat (ANATOMY OF HELL), Claire Denis (TROUBLE EVERY DAY), and Jean-Luc Godard (CONTEMPT).

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

BAISE-MOI DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Optional English Subtitles
• Making-of featurette (English subtitles)
• Q and A with the directors (in English)
• Trailer
• Liner Notes Booklet
• Reversible Sleeve

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Scorpion Releasing presents CELIA: CHILD OF TERROR (review)

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD vs Second Run (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

CELIA: CHILD OF TERROR DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Vintage "Sunday Show" Interview
• Audio Interview with director Ann Turner
• German Trailer
• Scorpion Releasing Trailers

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