Second Sight gets bitten by the GINGER SNAPS TRILOGY (review)

Two sisters learn that "the curse" can be downright mosntrous in the Canadian horror franchise THE GINGER SNAPS TRILOGY.

REVIEW LINK: Second Sight (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE GINGER SNAPS TRILOGY Blu-ray specs:

• DISC ONE: Ginger Snaps: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widecreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film historians Mary Beth McAndrews and Terry Mesnard 
• Audio Commentary by director John Fawcett 
• Audio Commentary by writer Karen Walton 
• "A Blood Red Moon" interview with director John Fawcett 
• "What Are You Wereing?" interview with producer Steve Hoban 
• "The Art of Horror" interview with storyboard artist Vincenzo Natali 
• "Canadian Uncanny: Stacey Abbott on GINGER SNAPS" 
• "GINGER SNAPS: Blood, Teeth and Fur" documentary 
• "Growing Pains: Puberty in Horror Films" Women in Horror panel 
• "The Making of GINGER SNAPS" 
• Cast Auditions and Rehearsals 
• Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by director John Fawcett and writer Karen Walton 
• "Production Design Work" Gallery 
• "Creation of the Beast" 
• Trailers and TV Spots 
• DISC TWO: Ginger Snaps 2 - Unleashed: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widecreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by director Brett Sullivan, executive producers John Fawcett and Noah Segal, and producer Paula Devonshire 
• "Girl, Interrupted" interview with director Brett Sullivan 
• "The Bloody Lunar Cycle" interview with writer Megan Martin 
• "Behind the Scenes" featurettes: 
• "Beast is Built" 
• "Fun on Set" 
• "Locations" 
• "Special Make-Up" 
• "Practical Special Effects" 
• "Stunts" 
• Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by director Brett Sullivan, executive producers John Fawcett and Noah Segal, and producer Paula Devonshire 
• Audition Tapes 
• Storyboards 
• DISC THREE: Ginger Snaps Back - The Beginning: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widecreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by director Grant Harvey, co-writer Steve Massicotte, and editor Ken Filewych 
• "Snap!" interview with director Grant Harvey 
• "Girls on Film" interview with producer Paula Devonshire 
• "Making Of" featurettes: 
• "Wolfboy" 
• "Blood, Guts and Fire" 
• "Production Design" 
• "Fun on Set" 
• "Costume Design" 
• Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by director Grant Harvey, co-writer Steve Massicotte, and editor Ken Filewych 
• Grant Harvey's Video Diaries 
• Comes in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Michael Dunbabin, a 112-page book with new essays by Meredith Borders, Kat Hughes, Mikel J Koven, Dr Rachel Knightley, Jolene Richardson, Zoë Rose Smith and Caelum Vatnsdal, and five collectors' art cards.
  

Film Masters' BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE is under SKI-TROOP ATTACK! (review)

Roger Corman took his shifty dealings to South Dakota for a back-to-back duo shot in the powder of the Black Hills.  In BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE, a gang pull off a bank heist and escape to the wilderness unaware that they have disturbed a web-slinging creature with a thirst for blood.  In SKI-TROOP ATTACK, an American reconnaissance mission tracking the German army through the snow must decide whether to continue their mission or join in the fight at the Front.

REVIEW LINK: Film Masters (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - Beast from Haunted Cave:
• Theatrical Version (65 minutes):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film historians Tom Weaver and Larry Blamire 
• Television Version (72 minutes): 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Theatrical Trailer at 1.33:1 
• 2023 Trailer Re-Cut at 1.85:1 
• Still Gallery
• Disc Two - Ski-Troop Attack:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film historians C. Courtney Joyner and Howard S. Berger 
• "Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story" Part One 
• 2023 Re-Cut Trailer
• Collector's booklet featuring essays by Tom Weaver and C. Courtney Joyner.
  

Cult Epics investigates the MARLEEN GORRIS TRILOGY (review)

Before her Academy Award-winning "epic matriarchal fairy tale" ANTONIA'S LINE, Marleen Gorris explored the dark depths of female exploitation in her first three films.  In A QUESTION OF SILENCE, a female psychiatrist is tasked with determining the mental competence of three women who were strangers to one another until they collectively murdered a male boutique owner without any apparent motivation.  BROKEN MIRRORS explores the day-to-day life of women in a Dutch brothel while a serial killer stalks, abducts, and tortures women throughout the city.  In THE LAST ISLAND, five men and two women are stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash.  When hope for a rescue fades, they ponder whether they are the last people on Earth and who (rather than if) the lone female of child-bearing age should chose one of them to repopulate the planet.

REVIEW LINK: Cult Epics (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

MARLEEN GORRIS TRILOGY Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - A QUESTION OF SILENCE:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen 
• Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film scholar Patrica Pisters 
• 1982 "Cinevisie" television interview with director Marleen Gorris 
• 1983 "Cinevisie" television interview with actress Cox Habbema 
• 1982 Polygoon Journal Newsreel Extract 
• Promotional Gallery 
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Cult Epics Trailers
• Disc Two - BROKEN MIRRORS:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen 
• Dutch DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film scholar Peter Verstraten 
• 1984 interview with U.S. sex worker Margo St. James 
• Promotional Gallery 
• Cult Epics Trailers
• Disc Three - THE LAST ISLAND:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen 
  English DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 Stereo 
  Optional English SDH Subtitles 
  Audio Commentary by film historian Peter Verstraeten 
  Introduction by producer Dick Maas 
  1990 interview with columnist Annemarie Grewel 
  Behind the Scenes 
  Promotional Gallery 
  Dutch Theatrical Trailer 
  Cult Epics Trailers
  

Cult Epics is stranded on THE LAST ISLAND (review)

When a plane crashes on a tropical island, the seven survivors go from hoping for rescue to pondering whether they are the last people on Earth and what to do about it in this feminist take on LORD OF THE FLIES from Marleen Gorris, Academy Award-winning director of ANTONIA'S LINE.

REVIEW LINK: Cult Epics (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE LAST ISLAND Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Peter Verstraeten 
• Optional introduction by producer Dick Maas 
• 1990 interview with columnist Annemarie Grewel 
• Behind the Scenes 
• Promotional Gallery 
• Dutch Theatrical Trailer 
• Cult Epics Trailers 
• Reversible Cover
   

Vinegar Syndrome sinks its beak into THE CARDONA COLLECTION VOL. 2 (review)

The second volume of films from one of Mexico's most prolific exploitation filmmakers Rene Cardona Jr. includes a gory take on Hichcock's THE BIRDS, a South American take on James Bond, a hostage thriller with an international cast, and a campy, tragic, erotic thriller.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE CARDONA COLLECTION #2 Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - Beaks - The Movie:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• "On The Run" interview with filmmaker René Cardona III on UNDER SIEGE 
• "We Were Wild" interview with actor Hugo Stiglitz on UNDER SIEGE 
• "Don’t Shoot" interview with actor Orlando Urdaneta on UNDER SIEGE 
• "All in the Family: The Cardona Legacy" interview with Andrea Cardona, granddaughter of René Cardona Jr. 
• "Union City: Behind the Entertainment" interview with production assistant Felipe Marino on THE HOUSE THAT BURNS AT NIGHT 
• "From P.A. to Producer" interview with actress Mineko Mori on THE HOUSE THAT BURNS AT NIGHT 
• Promotional Still Gallery
  
• Disc Two:
• S.O.S. Conspiracion Bikini: 
• 1080p24 AVC MPEG-4 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by film historian Viviana García-Besné 
• Under Siege: 
• 1080p24 AVC MPEG-4 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles
• Disc Three - The House That Burns at Night:
• 1080p24 AVC MPEG-4 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English Subtitles
• Limited edition reversible cover, slipcover, and slipcase packaging (6,000 copies)
• Available directly from Vinegar Syndrome and select indie retailers.
  

Vinegar Syndrome snuggles with RABID GRANNIES (review)

The Remington sisters are celebrating their ninety-second birthdays and have invited all of the family for dinner... that is, except for disinherited Black Mass celebrating Christopher who sends along a gift that transforms the old biddies into flesh-eating demons in this Belgian horror film distributed by Troma.

REVIEW LINK: Vinegar Syndrome (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

RABID GRANNIES Blu-ray specs:

• Longest Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by The Hysteria Continues
• R-Rated Version:
• 480p non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen 
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono 
• Audio Commentary by director Emmanuel Kervyn
• "Shit Happens" interview with producer Johan Vandewoestijne 
• "What Can I Do With This?!" interview with editor Philippe Ravoet 
• "Pretty Violent Stuff" interview with Troma president Lloyd Kaufman 
• "Forgotten Scares: An In-Depth Look at Flemish Horror Cinema" documentary (99 minutes) 
• "Rabid Grannies: The Story Behind the Film" archival making-of documentary 
• Archival interview with producer Johan Vandewoestijne 
• Archival introduction by Troma president Lloyd Kaufman 
• Outtakes 
• U.S. Video Trailer 
• Reversible Cover 
• The first 6,000 copies ordered directly from Vinegar Syndrome (and select indie retailers) include a special limited edition double-sided lenticular slipcover designed by Richard Hilliard.

Radiance Films worships MESSIAH OF EVIL (review)

When the moon turns red and peoples' eyes start to bleed, the Dark Stranger will return to Point Dume and bring about a flesh-eating nightmare in the seventies counter-culture horror classic MESSIAH OF EVIL from the writers of AMERICAN GRAFFITI and the future director of HOWARD THE DUCK!

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (US/UK/Canada) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

MESSIAH OF EVIL Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by critics and horror experts Kim Newman and Stephen Thrower 
• Archival interview with co-writer/director Willard Huyck by Mike White from the Projection Booth Podcast 
• "What the Blood Moon Brings: MESSIAH OF EVIL, A New American Nightmare" documentary exploring the film in the context of American independent cinema of the 70s, as well as examining the film's allegiance to several subgenres of horror 
• Visual essay on the American Gothic by critic Kat Ellinger 
• Collector's OBI strip and booklet
  

Synapse Films gazes into THE BLACK CIRCLE (review)

Two sisters lives are turned upside down when they both use a self-help magnetism therapy record which claims to be able to do away with the negative elements of a subject's personality; however, those negative forces take on a life of their own in this Mexican/Swedish horror film from the director of HERE COMES THE DEVIL and starring THRILLER's Christina Lindberg.

REVIEW LINK: Synapse Films (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

BLACK CIRCLE Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.39:1 Widescreen
• Swedish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Adrián García Bogliano
• "Inside BLACK CIRCLE" making-of
• Interview with director Adrián García Bogliano and actress Christina Lindberg
• "Don’t Open Your Eyes" 2017 short film
• Teaser Trailer
• Still Gallery
• Disc Two (CD):
• Soundtrack by Rickard Gramfors
• 18 tracks