Image Entertainment rises with the DAY OF THE MUMMY (review)

Danny Glover (LETHAL WEAPON) and William McNamara (COPYCAT) star in this Egyptian adventure.  A billionaire collector hires an unscrupulous archaeologist to join an expedition to find the crypt of a cursed king who was buried with a precious diamond.  The team discover that the diamond's owner has woken up on the wrong side of the bed and is hungry for sacrifices.

REVIEW LINK: Image Entertainment/RLJ Entertainment (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

DAY OF THE MUMMY DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Start-up Trailers 

Image Entertainment bathes in VARSITY BLOOD (review)

The varsity cheerleading squad and football team are in for a bloodbath when they decide to party after the Halloween homecoming game at an abandoned farmhouse when their own mascot starts stalking them with a tomahawk and a bow and arrow.  Could the reason be the accidental death of one of their own the year before?  There are plenty of suspects but even more sexy victims in VARSITY BLOOD.

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

VARSITY BLOOD DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0
• Start-up Trailers 

Image Entertainment and Severin Films present THE THEATRE BIZARRE (review)

Udo Keir introduces six GORE-iffic tales directed by six popular horror director.  In Richard Stanley's MOTHER OF TOADS, an anthropologist and his girlfriend encounter pagan superstition in the Pyrranees.  In Tom Savini's "Wet Dreams" a man's nightmares of jealousy and mutilation might be all too true.  In "Buddy Giovinazzo's I Love You" a paranoid man is pushed to his limits by his unfaithful wife.  Douglas Buck's "The Accident" sees death through the eyes of a child who witnesses a road accident.  In Karim Hussain's "Vision Stains" an author experiences the lives of her victims through the fluid in their eyballs.  Finally, in David Gregory's "Sweets" an ill-matched couple take the "joys of mastication" to gory extremes.

REVIEW LINK: Image Entertainment (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-In)

THE THEATRE BIZARRE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Audio Commentary on all episodes except THE ACCIDENT
• Behind the Scenes
• "Shock 'Til You Drop" Director Interviews
• Theatrical Trailer

Image Entertainment visits THE THEATRE BIZARRE (review)

Udo Keir introduces six GORE-iffic tales directed by six popular horror director.  In Richard Stanley's MOTHER OF TOADS, an anthropologist and his girlfriend encounter pagan superstition in the Pyrranees.  In Tom Savini's "Wet Dreams" a man's nightmares of jealousy and mutilation might be all too true.  In "Buddy Giovinazzo's I Love You" a paranoid man is pushed to his limits by his unfaithful wife.  Douglas Buck's "The Accident" sees death through the eyes of a child who witnesses a road accident.  In Karim Hussain's "Vision Stains" an author experiences the lives of her victims through the fluid in their eyballs.  Finally, in David Gregory's "Sweets" an ill-matched couple take the "joys of mastication" to gory extremes.

REVIEW LINK: Image Entertainment (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE THEATRE BIZARRE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Audio Commentary on all episodes except THE ACCIDENT
• Behind the Scenes
• "Shock 'Til You Drop" Director Interviews
• Theatrical Trailer

BODY PUZZLE DVD comparison (Image/Flamingo/Raro) at DVDBeaver

A classical music-loving psychopath is mutilating citizens in Rome and making off with various body parts and internal organs.  When grisly souvenirs find their way into the home of a recent widow (Joanna Pacula, THE KISS), a detective (Tomas Arana, THE CHURCH) searches for the connection between her dead husband (whose grave has been robbed) and the escalating killings.


DVD COMPARISON LINK: Raro Video/eOne (USA) Region 0 NTSC DVD vs Flamingo Vidoe (IT) Region 0 PAL DVD vs Image Entertainment (USA) Region 0 NTSC (DVDBeaver)


BODY PUZZLE DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio
• Liner Notes Booklet by Chris Alexander

More Raro Video reviews at Update the Tags: Raro Video/eOne.

THE HILLS HAVE EYES on BluRay (review)

Wes Craven's cannibal cult classic THE HILLS HAVE EYES (the original, not the crappy remake) hits Blu-Ray courtesy of Image Entertainment (and their deal with Lakeshore Entertainment) this September 6.  A family traveling through the desert in search of a silver mine becomes stranded and are attacked by a family of cannibals.  Dee Wallace (THE HOWLING), Robert Houston (CHEERLEADERS WILD WEEKEND), Janus Blythe (EATEN ALIVE), and Michael Berryman (CUT AND RUN) - in his iconic role - star.  You'll find a comparison between the new Blu-Ray transfer and the Anchor Bay special edition at the link below.

REVIEW LINK: Image Entertainment (USA) Region A Blu-Ray vs Anchor Bay (USA) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE HILLS HAVE EYES Blu-Ray specs:

• 1080P widescreen 1.85:1 transfer
• English DTS-MA 6.1 audio and LPCM 2.0 original mono audio
• Audio Commentary by director Wes Craven and producer Peter Locke
• "Looking Back at THE HILLS HAVE EYES" documentary with Craven, Locke, actors Dee Wallace, Susan Lanier, Janus Blythe, Michael Berryman, Robert Houston, and cinematographer Eric Saarinen
• The Directors: Wes Craven - hour-long AFI special on Craven's career
• Restoration Demo
• US and German Trailers
• US and UK TV spots
• Alternate Ending
• Wes Craven Bio

RELATED LINK: Update the Tags: Anchor Bay Entertainment

Paul Naschy is THE MAN WITH THE SEVERED HEAD (review)

Paul Naschy plays a gangster who gets a brain transplant from his worst enemy "The Sadist" in Juan Fortuny's THE MAN WITH THE SEVERED HEAD (aka CRIMSON) on DVD October 10th in the UK (although it will also be available as an HMV exclusive on September 12th).  A nutty Eurocine crime thriller featuring Jess Franco regular Olivier Mathot (REVENGE IN THE HOUSE OF USHER) and Spanish horror regulars Sylvia Solar (FURY OF THE WOLFMAN), Victor Israel (HORROR EXPRESS), and Evelyne Scott (DEVIL KISS).  The new UK disc is compared with the old US Image Euroshock disc at the review below:


REVIEW LINK: ArrowDrome (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD vs Image Entertainment (USA) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE MAN WITH THE SEVERED HEAD DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen transfer
• English and French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono tracks
• Optional English Subtitles
• French Theatrical Trailer
• Alternate Erotic Footage
• Featurette on Paul Naschy featuring interviews Tony Timpone, Fred Olen Ray, Michelle Bauer, Brian Yuzna, and Caroline Munro
• Liner Notes Booklet
• Reversible Cover

RELATED LINK: Update the Tags: Arrow Video

Image Entertainment brings HELLRAISER back to Blu-Ray (review)

Ashley Laurence (WARLOCK III) and Andrew Robinson (DIRTY HARRY) star in one of the iconic horror hits of the eighties: Clive Barker's HELLRAISER, out on Blu-Ray through Image Entertainment on September 6.  You can read a review and see image comparisons with Anchor Bay's THX DVD special edition at the review link below:

REVIEW LINK: Image Entertainment (USA) Region A Blu-Ray vs Anchor Bay (USA) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

HELLRAISER Blu-Ray specs:

• 1080P 1.85:1 widescreen transfer
• English DTS Master Audio 5.1 audio
• Theatrical Trailer

RELATED LINK: Update the Tags: Anchor Bay Entertainment