VCI Video exposes "The Witchmaker" as THE NAKED WITCH (review)

Six women have turned up bloodless deep in the bayou prompting rumors of a witch.  When a team of psychic researchers isolate themselves in a remote cabin to investigate the phenomena, their psychic sensitive becomes the target of Luther the Berserk, aka "The Witchmaker" in this 1960s horror gem featuring GREEN ACRES' Alvy Moore and DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN's Anthony Eisley.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

THE NAKED WITCH Blu-ray/DVD Combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
  
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
  
• Audio Commentary by film historian Robert Kelly
• "1960s Horror: A Decade of Innovation and Fear"
• THE WITCHMAKER Theatrical Trailer, TV Spot, and Radio Spot
  

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VCI listens when THE BAT WHISPERS (review)

Before Batman, The Bat was a murderous master criminal stalking an isolated mansion with murder on his mind in the play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood adapted by Roland West during the silent era and then again in 1930 as the talkie THE BAT WHISPERS shot three times for separate US and UK negatives and in 65mm Magnifilm widescreen.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE BAT WHISPERS Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One:
• U.S. Version: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.32:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• U.K. 35mm Version: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.32:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Still Gallery 
• U.S. vs U.K. Version Comparison
• Disc Two:
• 65mm Magnifilm Version: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.00:1 Widescreen 
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono 
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by author and film critic Mick LaSalle 
• U.S. 35mm vs 65mm Version Comparison "The Bat" (1926) vs "The Bat Whispers" (1930) Scene Comparisons 
• "The Bat" (1926) Before and After Restoration Demo 
• Bonus film THE BAT (1959) with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead: 
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• English LPCM 2.0 Moon 
• Optional English SDH Subtltes
• Comes with a booklet on the restoration.
  

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VCI scares up HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE (review)

On the way to Nashville, country singers Woody and Boots along with their manager Jeepers spend the night in an old house haunted by a killer gorilla and international spies.  Basil Rathbone and Lon Chaney Jr. co-star.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Entertainment (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE Blu-ray/DVD Combo specs:

• Disc One (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Disc Two (DVD):
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Robert Kelly
• Still Gallery 
• Trailer for LAS VEGAS HILLBILLYS

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VCI learns that CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (Review)

A low-rent troupe of Florida actors sneak onto an island graveyard in order to dig up a corpse and resurrect him for kicks.  Only too late do they learn that CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS.  From the director of BLACK CHRISTMAS, PORKY'S, and A CHRISTMAS STORY.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region ALL UHD/Blu-ray Combo (DVDCompare)

CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS UHD/Blu-ray Combo:

• Disc One (UHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (SDR)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actor/co-director Alan Ormsby and actresses Anya Cronin and Jane Daly, moderated by David Gregory
• "Dreaming of Death: Bob Clark's Horror Films" documentary (72 mins)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actor/co-director Alan Ormsby and actresses Anya Cronin and Jane Daly, moderated by David Gregory
• "Dreaming of Death: Bob Clark's Horror Films" documentary (72 mins)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Three (Bonus Blu-ray):
• 2022 Alan Ormsby Interview
• "Memories of Bob Clark"
• 2007 Grindhouse Q and A
• "Confessions of a Grave Digger" interview with construction chief Ken Goch
• "Dead Girls Don’t Say No" and "Cemetery Mary" music videos by The Deadthings
• Tribute Video
• Photo Gallery
• Radio Spots
• Reversible Cover
• Liner Notes Booklet
• Slipcover
  

VCI models BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (review)

"A fashion house of glamorous models becomes a terror house of blood" in Mario Bava's giallo BLOOD AND BLACK LACE.  Cameron Mitchell and Eva Bartok star.

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

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger
• Audio Commentary by film historian David Del Valle and filmmaker David De Coteau
• European versus American Cut Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Photo Gallery
• Soundtrack Single Cues
• Interview with actor Cameron Mitchell (DVD only)
• Interview with actress Mary Dawne Arden (DVD only)

VCI dusts off the BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION (review)

The last four films Boris Karloff starred in were Mexican/American co-productions with Karloff's scenes shot in Los Angeles by Jack Hill and scenes with other actors shot in Mexico.  In DANCE OF DEATH (aka HOUSE OF EVIL), heirs to a fortune are invited to an old man's mansion, but what he really wants to do is root out an evil family curse with the help of toys that kill.  In TORTURE ZONE (aka THE FEAR CHAMBER), a scientist and his team discover a living rock in the bowels of the Earth that must feed on the blood of young women driven to the brink of fear.  In CULT OF THE DEAD (aka SNAKE PEOPLE), a French policeman travels to a West Indies island to reestablish law and order only to upset the local native traditions and incur a voodoo curse.  In ALIEN TERROR (aka THE SINISTER INVASION), a nineteenth century scientist's experiment with laser rays comes to the attention of aliens who possess the living in order to destroy the laser.


REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION DVD specs:

• Disc One:
• Dance of Death (1968):
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Torture Zone (1968): 
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Disc Two: 
• Cult of the Dead (1968):
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Alien Terror (1969):
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

VCI warns DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT and DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! (review)

In this grindhouse double feature from S.F. Brownrigg, a nurse is terrorized by the inmates of a private asylum in DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT while an heiress is harassed by obscene phone calls and the memory of her mother's brutal murder in DON'T OPEN THE DOOR.


REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

GRINDHOUSE DOUBLE FEATURE Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• "Don't Look in the Basement"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian David Del Valle and filmmaker David Decoteau
• Theatrical Trailer
• "Don't Open the Door"
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Deleted Scenes
• Production Notes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Grindhouse Trailer Reel
• DVD Copy
• Reversible Cover

VCI spotlights THE TWILIGHT PEOPLE (review)

A soldier of fortune is abducted by a mad doctor experimenting with human mutations in this Filipino twist on "The Island of Dr. Moreau" with John Ashely, Pat Woodell, and Pam Grier.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

TWILIGHT PEOPLE Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians David Del Valle and David DeCoteau
• Interview with director Eddie Romero
• Theatrical Trailer
• Radio Spots
• Reversible Cover

VCI vists the CITY OF THE DEAD (review)

Christopher Lee stars in the first Amicus horror film, an atmosphere-drenched tale of the supernatural that shares ideas and visuals with the simultaneously-released PSYCHO and BLACK SUNDAY.  A college student travels to a New England village to write a paper on witchcraft.  When she does not return, her brother, boyfriend, and a concerned local investigate and find themselves in the clutches of a bloodthirsty coven.

REVIEW LINK: VCI (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

CITY OF THE DEAD Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by actor Christopher Lee, moderated by Jay Slater
• Interview with Christopher Lee conducted by Brad Stevens
• Theatrical Trailer

VCI visits ONE MILLION B.C. (review)

Before Raquel Welch donned the leopard skin bikini for the stone age, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, and Lon Chaney Jr. battled oversized lizards in ONE MILLION B.C. from father-son producing/directing team Hal Roach and Hal Roach Jr.

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

ONE MILLION B.C. Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 pillarboxed fullscreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commenary by film historian Toby Roan
• Still Gallery

VCI roots for SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS (review)

Sick of being taunted and teased by the cheerleaders of Benedict High, Satan-worshipping janitor Billy takes them and their coach on a detour to meet a Satanic cult looking for nubile flesh and blood sacrifices.  John Ireland, Yvonne de Carlo, and John Carradine star.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region ALL Blu-ray/Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS Blu-ray/DVD combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Greydon Clark
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker David DeCoteau and film historian David Del Valle
• Still Gallery

VCI haunts RUBY (review)

First there was THE EXORCIST, then there was THE OMEN, now there's RUBY.  Piper Laurie stars as a former gangster's moll who runs a bayou drive-in with former gangsters staffing the concessions.  When they start to die one by one, a parapsychologist believes that Ruby's sixteen-year-old mute daughter Leslie has become a vessel for supernatural retribution.

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

RUBY Blu-ray specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 mono
• DVD: 
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Curtis Harrington and actress Piper Laurie
• Audio Commentary by film historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell
• 2001 Video Interview with director Curtis Harrington
• "The Sinister Image" TV show interviews with Curtis Harrington (2 episodes)
• Theatrical Trailer
• Essay by Nathaniel Bell

VCI welcomes THE NIGHT VISITOR (review)

Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullmann star in this chilly American/British/Swedish co-production about a man set up for murder and institutionalized who escapes to seek revenge on the family's remote snowbound farm with an axe.  Produced by actor Mel Ferrer.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Entertainment (US) Region A Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE NIGHT VISITOR Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 stereo
• Audio Commentary by film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck
• Theatrical Trailer

VCI Home Video takes a ROCKIN' ROAD TRIP (review)

Boston artist Martin hits the road with sexy Samantha and her sister Nicole's band Cherry Suicide when they go on the run from a trio of jewel thieves and Nicole's psychotic punk ex-boyfriend Ivan in ROCKIN' ROAD TRIP.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

ROCKIN' ROAD TRIP DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Photo Gallery with commentary by director William Olsen
• Interview with director William Olsen
• Director Biography
• Trailers

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VCI Home Video and Joan Collins help you with HOMEWORK (review)

"Every young man needs a teacher" and who better than desperate housewife Joan Collins in the eighties sex comedy HOMEWORK.  Seventeen-year-old Tommy's grades are slipping and he's seeing a shrink because he believes he's the only virgin left in school.  His girlfriend is so obsessed with making the swim team that Tommy often ends up spending more time with her mother (Collins); which doesn't seem to be out of the norm since pal Ralphie and exchange student Gilles both have their eyes on flighty new French teacher Ms. Jackson.  When Tommy and his friends hit upon the idea to form a rock band, they find their big chance at frame threatened by the consequences of their own sexual urges.  Carrie Snodgrass (THE FURY), Lee Purcell (NECROMANCY), and Wings Hauser (THE WIND) also star.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

HOMEWORK DVD specs:

• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.70:1 letterbox
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Interview with producer Max Rosenberg
• Trailer
• Joan Collins Bio

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VCI Home Video is GETTING IT ON! (review)

Peeking in windows through binoculars just isn't doing it anymore for high school student/tech wiz Alex (particularly since hot Sally has just moved in next door) so he hits up his yuppie parents for a major investment in new video technology for neighborhood "surveillance".


REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)


GETTING IT ON! DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director William Olsen
• Photo Gallery with director commentary
• New York Auditions
• Trailer
• Director Bio

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VCI goes to SUMMER SCHOOL on mag wheels (review)

VCI goes to SUMMER SCHOOL on mag wheels in this late seventies R-rated exploitation pic.  New girl Anita hooks up with studly Steve and incurs the wrath of his "piece of work" girlfriend Donna.  Donna's manipulations lead to a potentially deadly battle of the sexes between Steve's group of van-driving  make-out kings and Anita's friend Jill's gang of truck-driving tough gals.  John Laughlin (CRIMES OF PASSION) stars.

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SUMMER SCHOOL DVD specs:

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

More VCI Home Video reviews at Update the Tags: VCI Home Video.

For VCI: THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL! (review)

A pre-HAWAII FIVE-O Jack Lord falls into a female trap in the rediscovered THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL!  A Hungarian refugee hitchhiking in the Arizona desert gets picked up by pretty Mickey (Susan Strasberg, SCREAM OF FEAR) and taken back to the filling station run by her unstable family including a man-hating older sister (Collin Wilcox, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) and a cat-killing younger one (Trisha Sterling, VILLAGE OF THE GIANT)... and then there's mother...  From the distributor that gave you WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS, HELLS ANGELS ON WHEELS, SIMON: KING OF THE WITCHES, and TOWER OF EVIL comes THE NAME OF THE GAME I

REVIEW LINK: VCI Home Video (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-in)

THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL! DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.71:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by screenwriter Gary Crutcher, moderated by Daniel Griffith
• Introduction by documentary filmmaker Daniel Griffith
• Promotional Gallery
• TV spot
• Psycho's Sister: Making "The Name of the Game is Kill"
• Schlockmeister: Joe Solomon on Reels - trailer reel for distributor Joe Solomon
• with optional commentary by Temple of Schlock's Chris Poggiali
• Good News in Jerome - text essay on the recovery of "The Name of the Game is Kill" by Chris Poggiali
• Memo from the Flophouse: a personal message from screenwriter Gary Crutcher (text)
• Out from the Shadows: The Electric Prunes - featurette on the band heard in the film

More VCI Home Video reviews at Update the Tags: VCI Home Video.

VCI gets lost IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN (review)

Schoolgirls disappear down into Devil's Wood in a small English village and a murderous rapist is at large in Sidney Hayer's IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN (aka ASSAULT aka THE CREEPERS) starring Suzy Kendall (BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and TORSO), James Laurenson (THE MONSTER CLUB), Frank Finlay (TWISTED NERVE), Tony Beckley (WHEN A STRANGER CALLS), Anthony Ainley (BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW), and introducing Lesley-Anne Down (COUNTESS DRACULA).  An atmospheric British giallo from the director, producer, and writer of REVENGE (INN OF THE FRIGHTENED PEOPLE).

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

IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN DVD specs:

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

More VCI Home Video reviews at Update the Tags: VCI Home Video.