Hitting Shelves 8.20

Way too many great new releases today, here are some of the best that I recommend picking up.

From Scream comes their second double feature Blu-ray release (following their excellent Terrorvision/Video Dead set). This set features a couple of rarities lovingly rescued from Slasher obscurity; Boaz Davisdon's X-Ray and David Paulsen's Schizoid. Anyone else reminded of the opening murder scene in The Burning when they see that Schizoid artwork?

X-RAY, aka HOSPITAL MASSACRE (1982)

This movie will scare the life out of you! Susan Jeremy (Barbi Benton, Deathstalker) goes to a local hospital for a “routine examination.” Once inside, she discovers that someone doesn’t want her to check out…unless it’s in a body bag. A psychotic killer keeps her trapped inside the hospital, having fixed her x-rays to make it look like she has a terminal illness. Meanwhile, he brutally murders everyone she comes in contact with!

 SCHIZOID (1980)

In this “lurid shocker” (Leonard Maltin), a newspaper advice columnist (Marianna Hill, Blood Beach) starts receiving threats from a mysterious person. At the same time, the female members of her psychiatrist’s (Klaus Kinski, Crawlspace) therapy group are being murdered one by one…by a maniac wielding a large pair of scissors. Could these incidents be linked? Donna Wilkes (Angel, Jaws 2), Craig Wasson (Body Double), Flo Gerrish (Don’t Answer The Phone) and Christopher Lloyd (Back To The Future) also star.


I just had a chance to check both films out yesterday, so look for a review of that release soon. Fans of odd obscure slashers can grab this one from Shout Factory.

Vinegar Syndrome's long awaited Summer release of Marvin Chomsky's Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff also
hits today. I didn't get a screener copy of this one to, uh, screen, but the reviews have been very positive, and to sweeten the deal the release even features a bonus CD of the film's soundtrack. The bonus soundtrack is always a favorite bonus feature of mine, I wish more soundtracks were included in Blu-ray and DVD releases. Although I'd probably buy way more movies - I just dropped close to $20 on Blood Tracks because the inclusion of a bonus CD was too enticing to pass up. Now if the guy I bought it from would ship the thing...

Kino continues their Franco releases with a trio of titles that consists of 1962's The Awful Dr. Orlof, 1970's awkwardly titled Nightmares Come At Night and 1973's A Virgin Among the Living Dead (one of the 10 films Jess cranked out that year).

Generally considered the first horror film produced in Spain, THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF (L'horrible Docteur Orlof ) launched the career of cult cinema's most colorful figure: Jesus "Jess" Franco. Cloaking the story in the visual style of the British gothic film, Franco injected ORLOF with the kind of morbid eroticism that would quickly become his signature (and is presented here in the uncensored French release version).

Howard Vernon stars as a diabolical surgeon who, with the help of his blind minion Morpho (Ricardo Valle), lures beautiful women into the operating room of his stone castle, so they may provide the raw materials for a series of experimental face grafts for his disfigured daughter.
 

For years considered a lost Franco film (after having played at a single theatre in Belgium), NIGHTMARES COME AT NIGHT (Les cauchemars naissent la nuit) was rediscovered in 2004 and has been recognized as a key film in the evolution of Franco's cinema, which in 1970 was assuming a dreamlike logic, governed more by the director's libido than traditional horror movie structure.

Diana Lorys (The Awful Dr. Orlof ) stars as a sultry dancer who falls under the hypnotic control of the sinister blonde Cynthia (Colette Giacobine) and begins to suffer terrifying hallucinations, from which not even a gifted psychiatrist (Paul Muller) can save her. Meanwhile, a pair of jewel thieves (Soledad Miranda and Jack Taylor) hide out at a nearby house, biding their time until they can confront Cynthia for their share of a recent heist.

Redemption celebrates the life and career of Jess Franco (1930- 2013) with a deluxe edition of his mystifying erotic thriller: A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (Une vierge chez les morts vivant ). Christina von Blanc stars as a woman who journeys to her ancestral home and finds herself surrounded by the restless spirits of her eccentric family, who may or may not be alive.

This disc includes two complete versions of the film: Franco's original cut (CHRISTINA, PRINCESS OF EROTICISM) and the re-release version (A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD), which was expanded to incorporate zombie scenes directed by French horror auteur Jean Rollin (The Living Dead Girl). Also included is the softcore footage shot to create a third version of the film.

You can pick up all three Francos on Blu-ray and DVD directly from Kino.

The Unseen - From Scorpion Releasing. The 2008 Code Red DVD release went out of print and quickly rose to pretty absurd prices on eBay. Scorpion has managed to get ahold of the title and they're presenting it on Blu-ray for the first time. If you haven't seen it, it's a pretty slow film, but it's better than its reputation would lead one to believe. Good atmosphere, weird monster, Barbara Bach, it's not bad. Anyone interested in picking this one up, Diabolik has the current lowest price I've seen.

A TV reporter (Barbara Bach) and two friends head to Solvang, California, to cover a Danish festival. When a mix-up at the hotel leaves them stranded without hotel rooms, the girls accept the invitation of a friendly museum owner to board at his farmhouse.But what the women don't know is that something is living in the basement of that farmhouse. Something unspeakable. And their stay soon becomes a horrific nightmare when they encounter the "unseen". From an original story by make up legends Stan Winston (PUMPKINHEAD) & Tom Burman, written by Kim Henkel of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE fame. - See more at: http://www.diabolikdvd.com/category/Horror-%5Bsl%5D-Thriller/Unseen-(Scorpion-Releasing)-(Blu~Ray).html#sthash.Io6Vpz5k.dpuf

A TV reporter (Barbara Bach) and two friends head to Solvang, California, to cover a Danish festival. When a mix-up at the hotel leaves them stranded without hotel rooms, the girls accept the invitation of a friendly museum owner to board at his farmhouse.But what the women don't know is that something is living in the basement of that farmhouse. Something unspeakable. And their stay soon becomes a horrific nightmare when they encounter the "unseen". From an original story by make up legends Stan Winston (PUMPKINHEAD) & Tom Burman, written by Kim Henkel of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE fame. - See more at: http://www.diabolikdvd.com/category/Horror-%5Bsl%5D-Thriller/Unseen-(Scorpion-Releasing)-(Blu~Ray).html#sthash.Io6Vpz5k.dpuf

A TV reporter (Barbara Bach) and two friends head to Solvang, California, to cover a Danish festival. When a mix-up at the hotel leaves them stranded without hotel rooms, the girls accept the invitation of a friendly museum owner to board at his farmhouse.But what the women don't know is that something is living in the basement of that farmhouse. Something unspeakable. And their stay soon becomes a horrific nightmare when they encounter the "unseen". From an original story by make up legends Stan Winston (PUMPKINHEAD) & Tom Burman, written by Kim Henkel of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE fame. - See more at: http://www.diabolikdvd.com/category/Horror-%5Bsl%5D-Thriller/Unseen-(Scorpion-Releasing)-(Blu~Ray).html#sthash.Io6Vpz5k.dpuf

And finally, for those of you with Region Free capabilities (or who live somewhere where Region B is the actual region your Blu-ray player plays) is one of my most anticipated Arrow Video releases of the year, the Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack of Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile. The film was directed by Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things stars Alan Ormsby and Jeff Gillen (who played Santa in A Christmas Story). It's a great mix of pitch black humor and gritty unsettling horror with a tremendous lead performance from Roberts Blossom (who you might also remember as the "evil" old man who saves Kevin's ass in Home Alone).

I haven't checked this Arrow release out yet, but holy hell is this thing packed with features:
Special Features:
-High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the unrated version, featuring the infamous ‘brain-scooping scene’, available uncut in the UK for the first time!
-Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
-Audio commentary with special effects artist Tom Savini
-Introduction to the film by Savini
-A Blossoming Brilliance: Scott Spiegel (Intruder, Evil Dead II) speaks about Deranged star Roberts Blossom and the lasting legacy of this gore-soaked gem
-Ed Gein: From Murder to Movies - Laurence R. Harvey (The Human Centipide II) discusses the lurid legacy of the Wisconsin serial killer and the secrets of portraying a cinematic psychopath
-The Wages of Sin – Making of featurette comprising newly transferred 16mm production footage plus an archive interview with director Jeff Gillen
-Original Trailer
-Stills gallery
-Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nat Marsh
-Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA, and an archive interview with producer Bob Clark by Calum Waddell, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
Region B/2

Do yourselves a favor and pick this one up from Arrow, it kinda rules.