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

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Synapse Films opens up BASKET CASE 3 (review)

Belial is out of the basket again when greedy deputies seeking a reward steal his twelve offspring to lure him out of hiding in Frank Henenlotter's BASKET CASE 3.  Starring Annie Ross (STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING) with effects by Gabe Bartalos (SPOOKIES) and David Kindlon (LEPRECHAUN).

REVIEW LINK: Synapse Films (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD (DVD Drive-In)

BASKET CASE 3 DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
• Theatrical Trailer

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Synapse Films visits the HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR (review)

Hammer's last golden age theatrical feature was 1976's TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, but they lived on in TV-land with the 1980 thirteen-episode anthology HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR.  In episodes directed by Hammer vets Peter Sasdy (COUNTESS DRACULA), Alan Gibson (DRACULA A.D. 1972), Robert Young (VAMPIRE CIRCUS), and Don Sharp (RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK) among others, we encounter evil kids, werewolves, devil worshippers, witches, haunted houses, crazed killers, and more.  Hammer vets like Peter Cushing (HORROR OF DRACULA), Robert Urquhart (CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN), and John Carson (PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES) along with Leigh Lawson (TESS), Pierce Brosnan (DIE ANOTHER DAY), Diana Dors (NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT), Kathryn Leigh Scot (DARK SHADOWS), Anthony Valentine (PERFORMANCE), Christopher Cazenove (DYNASTY), Brian Cox (MANHUNTER) and Sian Phillips (DUNE) are among the recognizable faces on Hammer's small-screen venture.

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

HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR DVD specs:

• Five-disc set
• 13 episodes in original broadcast order
• 4:3 non-anamorphic 1.33:1 fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Grave Recollections: A Visit with Kathryn Leigh Scott
• Hammer Housekeeping: A Visit with Mia Nadasi
• Animated Still Gallery

Momentum Pictures investigates APARTMENT 143 (review)

When paranormal activity follows widower Alan White and his kids from their old home to a decrepit Los Angeles apartment building, he calls in parapsychologist Dr. Helzer and his team to investigate the increasingly violent hauntings.  The team does not have to wait long for proof of the paranormal, and soon no one may get out of APARTMENT 143 alive.  Produced by Rodrigo Cortes (BURIED) and directed by Carles Torrens.

REVIEW LINK: Momentum Pictures (UK) Region 2 PAL DVD vs Magnolia Entertainment (USA) Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDBeaver)

APARTMENT 143 DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English subtitles
• Making-of Featurette
• Trailer

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Also available in the US:
 

Nucleus Films releases NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES (review)

When Dr. Krallman learns that his son Julio's leukemia is incurable, he decides that a gorilla heart transplant will be potent enough to fight the cancerous cells.  It proves too potent, and Julio turns into an ape man from the neck up and a fumbling sex maniac from the waist down and menaces the town.  Mexican exploitation vet Rene Cardona (SURVIVE) goosed up his original film for an adult variant titled HORROR Y SEXO, and US exploitation purveyor Jerald Intrater then added graphically gory eye-gouging, scalp-ripping inserts for what became NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES (banned in the UK during the Video Nasties craze and presented here uncut from Nucleus Films).

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

NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.63:1 widescreen
• English and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Optional English subtitles
• Video Nasties Intro by Dr. Patricia MacCormack
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Still Gallery
• Nucleus Films Trailers

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Will Scorpion Releasing survive THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN (review)

Angela, a nineteen-year-old hairdresser gets the opportunity of a lifetime when model Madeleine gets her a modeling job.  Popping her top before the camera opens up a whole new exciting world for Angela, but someone is stalking and terrorizing her.  Is it her creepy boyfriend who drives a Mr. Whippy van, or is it any number of shady characters in the world of fashion and film that are eager to take advantage of her naivete and desperation?  Sigrid Thornton (THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER) and Chantal Contouri (THIRST) star in this thriller from producer Anthony Ginnane (THE SURVIVOR) and director Simon Wincer (QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER).

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region 0 NTSC DVD vs Magna Pacific (AUS) Region 4 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen transfer of the US Version (92 minutes)
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen transfer of the International Version (100 minutes)
• Audio Commentary by producer Anthony Ginnane on the International Version
• Alternate Title Card
• Playable with optional KATARINA'S NIGHTMARE THEATER hostess segments

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Scorpion Releasing and Linda Blair visit the SAVAGE STREETS (review)

High school girl gang leader Brenda (Linda Blair, HELL NIGHT) hits the SAVAGE STREETS after The Scars (Robert Dryer, Sal Landi, Scott Mayer, and Johnny Venocur) brutally rape her deaf-mute sister (Linnea Quigley, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS) and murder her best friend.  Armed with a crossbow and a supply of bear traps, Brenda wreaks a night of vengeance on her enemies.  John Vernon (CHAINED HEAT) also stars.  Directed by Danny Steinmann (FRIDAY THE 13TH V: A NEW BEGINNING).  Quintessential R-rated eighties exploitation from Motion Picture Marketing in a new HD-mastered transfer with brand new extras courtesy of Scorpion Releasing.

REVIEW LINK: Scorpion Releasing (US) Region 1 NTSC DVD vs Arrow Video (UK) Region 0 PAL DVD (DVDBeaver)

SAVAGE STREETS DVD specs:

• 16:9 anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
• Audio Commentary by director Danny Steinmann
• Audio Commentary by producer John Strong and actors Robert Dryer and Johnny Venocur
• Audio Commentary by cinematographer Stephen Posey and actors Robert Dryer and Sal Landi
• Vintage Interviews with Linda Blair, John Strong, Robert Dryer, Johnny Venocur, Sal Landi, and Linnea Quigley
• Brand New Interviews with Robert Dryer, Johnny Venocur, John Strong, and Scott Mayer
• Theatrical Trailer
• Feature Optionally Playable in KAT SCRATCH CINEMA mode with Katarina Leigh Waters
• Scorpion Releasing Trailers

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