The Beast Within - arguably the best film ever made in which a mutant cicada-man rapes and impregnates a woman in the woods. The plot outline for this one is admittedly a bit on the daft side, but Director Philippe Mora is able pack the film full of some fantastic frights despite the absurdity of the premise. I didn't receive a screener copy for this one, but judging by the images I've seen in some reviews the transfer on this one looks outstanding, so that coupled with a couple of newly produced commentary tracks make this one well worth picking up.
A teenager is experiencing growing pains of a most shocking kind in this exciting, tense and all-too-real story of a human-into monster transformation.
18-year-old Michael MacCleary – the progeny of an unholy union between his mother and a swamp beast – is on the verge of becoming a man. And as the inherited evil in his blood gnaws at his soul, Michael must return to the swamp to uncover the terrifying identity of his father – before his nasty natural tendencies force him to feed on the locals! Starring Ronny Cox (Robocop), Bibi Besch (Tremors), Paul Clemens (Communion) L.Q. Jones (The Wild Bunch) and R.G. Armstrong (Race With The Devil).
Bonus features:
Amazon
Scream Factory
Landlord Karl Gunther (Klaus Kinski – Nosferatu The Vampyre) seems like a conscientious landlord who looks out for this female tenants. What they don’t know is that he has an elaborate network of crawlspaces that he uses to watch their every move. Can a new prospective renter stop this apartment building’s rapid turnover rate…or will Gunther continue to make a killing?
Also starring Talia Balsam (The Kindred) and Tané (Death Spa), directed by David Schmoeller (Tourist Trap, Catacombs, Puppetmaster) and featuring a haunting score by Pino Donaggio (Dressed To Kill, Blow Out, Piranha), this disturbing and truly creepy film is driven by a compelling performance from Kinski.
Bonus features:
Amazon
Scream Factory
From a guy who wrote an episode of Workaholics comes Ghost Team One!
Official synopsis: Directed by Scott Rutherford (writer on "Workaholics") and Ben Peyser ("Sucks Less with Kevin Smith") and featuring an outstanding ensemble cast of fresh talent including actor and comedian Carlos Santos (host of MTV Tr3s' "Mi TRL"), J.R. Villarreal ("Akeelah and the Bee"), Tony Cavalero ("Son of a Pitch") and Fernanda Romero ("RPM Miami"), Ghost Team One follows two friends who are both trying to impress a girl who believes the spirit of a vengeful madam is haunting their home. They set out to make a documentary about a murder that took place in their house decades ago and, much to their surprise, soon capture some terrifying—and uproarious—supernatural activity that leads them to believe that the ghost is not only real…she's also into them.
Own it.
Special Features:
- Deleted/Extended Scenes
- Chuck's Video Diary
- Bloopers
- Behind-the-Scenes
Kick-Ass was one of my favorites of 2010. I missed this sequel during it's theatrical run, but Kick-Ass 2 looks like they might've gone a bit overboard on the ridiculousness, but hopefully the actual film isn't quite as absurd as the trailers have led me to believe. Get it at Amazon
Synopsis: Self-made superhero Kick-Ass (Taylor-Johnson) and sweet-faced, foul-mouthed assassin, Hit Girl (Moretz) try to return to life as "normal" teenagers, but are soon faced with their deadliest challenge yet. To seek revenge for his father's death, Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse) has re-invented himself as the leader of an evil league of super-villains. To defeat their new nemesis, Kick-Ass and Hit Girl must team up with a new wave of masked crusaders, led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Carrey), in this battle of real-life villains and heroes.
Kiss-Ass 2 is presented in 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround, and includes the following special features:
Blu-ray Exclusive Bonus Content
- An Ass-Kicking Cast: In this featurette, we'll go behind the scenes with returning stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, as well as new cast members Jim Carrey and Olga Kurkulina to talk about the camaraderie during shooting as Jeff Wadlow guided his actors through outrageous action set-pieces.
- Street Rules - Showdown At The Evil Lair: In a scene that took over two grueling weeks to shoot, Kick-Ass, Hit Girl, and their legion of home-grown heroes square off against the Toxic Mega C***s in a no-holds-barred war that is as action-packed as it is hilarious. This featurette will explore the intricate fight choreography required for this searing death match from multiple viewpoints such as storyboards, stunt pre-viz and behind-the-scenes footage.
- Alternate Opening with commentary by writer and director Jeff Wadlow
- Big Daddy Returns: The Unshot Scene with commentary by writer and director Jeff Wadlow
- Hit Girl Attacks: Creating the Van Sequence
Standard Bonus Content
- Going Ballistic - Weapons & Stunts: Discover how the actors and stunt performers crafted the on-screen carnage as Armorer Damian Mitchell showcases the film's vast arsenal of weapons, from firearms to the Colonel's custom-made axe handle and the pink nunchucks wielded by Hit-Girl. Special-effects supervisor Sam Conway explains how the maelstrom of mayhem was created under the watchful eye of director Jeff Wadlow, second unit director Dave Reid and stunt supervisor James O'Donnell.
- Creating a Badass World: Production designer Russell De Rozario, costume designer Sammy Sheldon and hair and makeup designer Fae Hammond collaborated very closely with Jeff Wadlow to creating the heightened reality of Kick-Ass 2. Journey through the jaw-dropping sets created for the Justice Forever Headquarters and the incredibly elaborate man cave known as The Evil Lair. Also learn how the multitude of unique and badass costumes were created and inspired the cast.
- Upping the Game: In this revealing featurette, we will delve into the creative story process leading up to production and discover the origins of this latest incarnation of Kick-Ass.
- Feature Commentary with Taylor-Johnson, Moretz, Mintz-Plasse and Wadlow
- Extended Scenes with commentary by Jeff Wadlow
Kino continues to crank out the Bava with his 1963 film The Whip & The Body (La frusta e il corpo). Grab a copy today.
Steeped in sadomasochism and lushly photographed in the vivid hues for which the director is known, Mario Bava's The Whip and the Body is a Gothic thriller that far surpasses the AIP Edgar Allan Poe films that it was intended to emulate. Christopher Lee (Dracula: Prince of Darkness) stars as Kurt Menliff, the sadistic son of a wealthy Count, who returns to the family castle, much to the dismay of his family, their servants, and the beautiful woman with whom he shares a fondness for the lash (Daliah Lavi). When Kurt is found murdered, it brings no peace to those who had feared him, as his vengeful spirit cannot be contained by the grave, and he returns to torment those unfortunate enough to remain within Menliff Manor.
Special Features:
- Mastered in HD from an original 35mm print
- Italian with optional English subtitles
- English dubbed
- French with optional English subtitles
- Audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark
- Theatrical trailer
- Original trailers of other Bava films
Mischief Night, from Richard Shenckman, one of the writers of John Gulager's surprisingly not terrible SyFy film Zombie Night. Pick up a copy today on Amazon.
Emily Walton, who has suffered from psychosomatic blindness ever
since the car accident that took her mother's life, must summon every
instinct at her disposal to protect herself and her loved ones from a
mysterious intruder the night before Halloween.
From Elijah Wood's SpectreVision comes Toad Road, available on DVD from Artsploitation. Also available VOD style if you prefer. Amazon.
A different kind of American independent horror film, Toad Road from Executive Producer Elijah Wood (star of ''Lord of the Rings'') and his genre-themed production company SpectreVision is a hallucinatory and hypnotic odyssey through mutating realities, drug use, urban legends, and nightmares. Imagine a fusion between the sexually candid naturalism of Larry Clark or Harmony Korine, and the backwoods creep-out of The Blair Witch Project, and you'd be halfway there. Stuck in a dead end town, young James kills time with his druggie friends, engaging in debauched chemical intake to the point of unconsciousness, until he meets Sara, a sweet new arrival to their group. However, Sara wants James to take her further into the world of narcotics experimentation (just as James was contemplating abandoning this lifestyle)...and she also wants him to introduce her to the sinister local legend of Toad Road, a spot deep in the forest that is apparently home to the Seven Gates of Hell. Writer-director Jason Banker's fiction feature debut is an enigmatic and unique fusion of improvisational realism undoubtedly influenced by Banker's work as a documentary filmmaker, and otherworldly, haunting rural terror. Unlike any other film you'll see this year, Toad Road is mesmerizing.
I want to bugger Chloe Grace Moretz.
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