Arrow Video gets SCARED STIFF (review)

A plantation house in the deep south holds a centuries old evil within and a rock star, her son, and her psychiatrist boyfriend are about to unleash it in the eighties horror film SCARED STIFF.  Andrew Stevens and Mary Page Keller star.

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (US) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

SCARED STIFF Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Richard Friedman and producer Dan Bacaner, moderated by film historian Robert Ehlinger
• "Mansion of the Doomed: The Making of Scared Stiff" retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Richard Friedman, Dan Bacaner, Robert Ehlinger, actors Andrew Stevens and Joshua Segal, special effects supervisor Tyler Smith and special effects assistants Jerry Macaluso and Barry Anderson
• Interview with composer Billy Barber
• Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: A fully illustrated collector's booklet with new writing on the film by James Oliver.

Scream Factory rebirths THE MANITOU (review)

Evil does not die... it waits... to be reborn... in the big screen adaptation of the seventies horror paperback classic THE MANITOU.  When a young woman comes to the hospital with a growth on the back of her neck that is moving and growing, the doctors are puzzled but a hack mystic coems to believe that an evil being is using her to reincarnate itself.  Directed by William Girdler and starring Tony Curtis, Michael Ansara, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens, Ann Sothern, and Burgess Meredith.

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

THE MANITOU Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (restored) and 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth
• Interview with producer David Sheldon
• Interview with author Graham Masterton
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Image Gallery
• Reversible Cover

Vinegar Syndrome swelters IN THE COLD OF THE NIGHT (review)

A handsome fashion photographer with a different girl in his bed every night starts having nightmares about brutally murdering a woman he has never seen before.  And then he meets her in the flesh...  Nico Mastorakis' nineties erotic thriller was one of the first films to be awarded an NC-17 rating by the MPAA.  Presented uncut from a 4K restoration.

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

IN THE COLD OF THE NIGHT Blu-ray/DVD Combo Specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Archival Behind the Scenes Featurette
• Archival Image Gallery
• Reversible Cover
• A limited run of 1,500 copies available directly from Vinegar Syndrome comes with a slipcover by Derek Gabryzsak

88 Films gets slimed by SWAMP THING (Review)

Before he hit the big time with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Wes Craven took on DC Comics with a feature film adaptation of SWAMP THING.  Deep in the swamps, Dr. Alec Holland is working on an experiment combining plant and animal DNA.  When supervillain Arcane tries to take the formula, a lab experiment mutates Holland into the vengeful swamp thing.  Ray Wise, Adrienne Barbeau, Louis Jourdan, and David Hess star.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region B Blu-ray/Region 2 PAL DVD (DVD Drive-in)

SWAMP THING Blu-ray/DVD Combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English HoH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Wes Craven and moderated by Sean Clark
• "Swamp Screen: Designing DC's Main Monster" interview with production designer Robb Wilson King
• "From Krug to Comics: How the Mainstream Shaped a Radical Genre Voice" video essay by critic Kim Newman
• Theatrical Trailer
• DVD:
• Feature Film only
• Reversible sleeve
• FIRST PRINT RUN ONLY: 16-page liner notes booklet of photos and lobby cards, fold out poster of the original theatrical art, and slipcase featuring the original theatrical art

88 Films gets nasty with DEVIL HUNTER (Review)

A Hollywood actress is held for ransom on an island where the locals worship a cannibal god who likes female sacrifices in Jess Franco's cannibal classic DEVIL HUNTER.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

THE DEVIL HUNTER Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.66:1 Widescreen
• English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Optional English HoH Subtitles
• "Franco-Philes: Musings on Madrid's B-Movie Maverick" documentary
• Reversible cover
• Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase (first print run only)

88 Films bids CANDYMAN: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH (review)

Clive Barker's urban legend phantom Candyman returns in CANDYMAN: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH to hack and slash his way through the Big Easy in this sequel from GODS AND MONSTERS' Bill Condon.  Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, William O'Leary, Matt Clark, and Veronica Cartwright star.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (UK) Region B Blu-ray (DVD Drive-in)

CANDYMAN: FAREWELL TO THE FLESH Blu-ray specs:

• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo
• Optional English SDH subtitles
• Audio Commentary by director Bill Condon
• "CANDYMAN Tales" interview with star Tony Todd 
• "Down Memory Lane" interview with actress Veronica Cartwright
• Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible Sleave
• FIRST PRINT RUN ONLY: O-Card slipcase and Collectors' Booklet by Film Journalists Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz

Universal Pictures gives Jennifer Lopez a SECOND ACT (review)

Passed over for a manager position after thirteen years with her company because she does not have a college degree, forty-year old Maya gets a chance at the job of her dreams thanks to some hacking by her best friend's genius son who fits her with a new identity perfect for a high-powered job.  Jennifer Lopez, Vanessa Hudgens, Leah Remini, and Milo Ventimiglia star.

REVIEW LINK: Universal Pictures (US) Region A Blu-ray/Region 1 NTSC DVD (DVDCompare)

SECOND ACT Blu-ray/DVD Combo specs:

• Blu-ray:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• DVD:
• 16:9 anamorphic 2.40:1 Widescreen
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English SDH and Spanish Subtitles
• Featurettes:
• “Connecting with Milo Ventimiglia”
• “The Empowering Women of Second Act”
• “Friendship On and Off Screen”
• “Working with the Ones You Love”
• Trailer
• Start-up Trailers