Blood
Feast
(1963/MVD Visual/Arrow Blu-ray w/DVD)/Buffy
The Vampire Slayer: 25th
Anniversary Edition
(1992/Fox Blu-ray)/Halloween
Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!
(2017/MVD
Visual DVD)/Lilith's
Hell
(2015/Unearthed Films DVD)/Red
Christmas
(2015/Artsploitation Blu-ray + Umbrella Region Free PAL Import
DVD)/Wes Craven's Summer
Of Fear (2013/Music Box
Films Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ & B/B+/B-/B-/B & C+/B- Sound: B+ & B/B+/B-/B-/B &
B-/B Extras: B/C+/B/C+/C+ & B-/B Films: B/B/C+/C+/C/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Red
Christmas
Import DVD version is now only available from our friends at Umbrella
Entertainment in Australia, can only play on Blu-ray and DVD players
that can handle the PAL DVD format and can be ordered from the link
below.
Here's
more Horror action in time for Halloween 2017...
Blood
Feast
Rob
Zombie no doubt got some inspiration from Blood
Feast
(1963), the Herschell Gordon Lewis classic that's sure to make your
stomach turn. It even earned him the title 'The Godfather of Gore'.
Essentially a Jack the Ripper story with brutal violence that's
grounded in realism, this is pretty much essential if you consider
yourself a 'gore-hound'. There's even a great intro from the
Director himself before the film begins!
Blood
Feast
stars William Kerwin, Mal Arnold, and Connie Mason.
When
a clever Egyptian caterer busies himself collecting body parts from
young maidens in order to bring the Goddess Ishtar back to mortal
life. After several brutal murderers and not getting apprehended by
police in the process, the Caterer hypnotizes a woman giving an
engagement party for her daughter. At the party, he sinisterly plans
to perform the ancient rites of summons, using the daughter as his
final sacrifice.
Presented
in 1080p high definition Blu-ray disc with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and the original PCM 2.0 Mono audio track, this is no doubt the
best this film has ever looked on disc. Nicely saturated colors,
vibrant character details, and nothing visibly distracting. The
blood is bright red and the special effects haven't worsened over
time any. There's also a lesser looking standard definition DVD
included with similar, but compressed, specs.
Special
Features...
Scum
of the Earth
- Herschelll Gordon Lewis' 1963 additional feature
Blood
Perspectives - Filmmakers Nicholas McCarthy and Rodney Ascher on
Blood
Feast
Herschell's
History - Archival interview in which director Herschell Gordon Lewis
discusses his entry into the film industry
How
Herschell Found his Niche - A new interview with Lewis discussing his
early work
Archival
interview with Lewis and David F. Friedman
Carving
Magic
- Vintage short film from 1959 featuring Blood Feast Actor Bill
Kerwin
Outtakes
Alternate
"clean" scenes from Scum
of the Earth
Promo
gallery featuring trailers and more
Feature
length commentary featuring Lewis and David F. Friedman moderated by
Mike Grady
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Twins of
Evil
Nothing
great story-wise but in terms of special effects, this is certainly
groundbreaking for the time and classic splatter. Nice job done by
Arrow Films in this restoration!
Buffy
the Vampire Slayer: 25th Anniversary Edition
Before
the hit TV series of the same name, there was the Kristy Swanson-led
Buffy
The Vampire Slayer
(1992), which also features stars Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer,
David Arquette, Paul Reubens and Luke Perry. Though a little dated,
the Fran Rubel Kuzui directed film has a lot of fun moments that take
you back to the 'teen vampire genre' and draws some inspiration from
Lost
Boys,
Fright
Night,
and others. The ''90s Valley Girl' mentality is evident in Buffy and
her friends in opening scenes, much like Clueless.
The practical special effects hold up (even in HD) and this will
hopefully tide over fans (and there are many) that are still waiting
for the complete TV seasons to FINALLY land on Blu-ray after all
these years of waiting.
This
same origin story for Buffy was essentially retold throughout the
first season of the TV series as the screenplay here and was also
written by genre giant Joss Whedon (The
Avengers/Justice
League).
While its hard now to accept any actress other than Sarah Michelle
Gellar as the main character, seeing this cult classic again is a
treat - especially around the Halloween season.
All
that teen cheerleader Buffy (Swanson) wants is a normal life. One
day she discovers that her town is infested with vampires is being
told by a stranger (Sutherland) that it's up to her to defeat them
all - including their mighty leader (Hauer), she feels in over her
head. But, with the help from a mysterious stranger (Sutherland) and
a handsome mechanic (Perry), Buffy transforms from spoiled teen to
Vampire Slayer!
Similar
to a previous release of the film on Blu-ray disc a few years back,
the 25th Anniversary edition is presented in 1080p high definition
with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossless DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 7.1 track (and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix
for lesser systems) the presentation is up to standards on Blu-ray
disc. Nothing glaringly wrong, however based on reviews of the past
release I would say there isn't too much of a difference between
editions.
A
digital HD copy is also included.
Special
Features...
Featurette
Theatrical
Trailer/TV Spots
Halloween
Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!
This
modern low budget exploitation film, Halloween
Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!
(2017), is a mix of Saw,
Russ Meyer films of the Grindhouse period mixed with the traditntal
slasher formula. Full of pretty girls, frontmanrug use, buckets of
blood, and a tone that doesn't take itself too literally, this film
was a pleasant surprise and not what I thought it would be initially.
Halloween
Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!
is directed by Jared Cohn (Little
Dead Riding Hood),
produced by Brian Perera and stars Sara Malakul Lane, Richard Grieco,
Demetrius Stear, Margaret O'Brien & Dave Mustaine (frontman of
Megadeth).
After
getting his face cut off in an Iraq war, a psycho-maniac (wrapped in
bandages) imprisons an all girl rock-n-roll band called 'Kill Pussy
Kill'. Set in his 'Hell House', the band wakes up from being gassed
after a confrontation and find themselves trapped inside an
inescapable room filled with a vicious variety of weapons. The rules
are simple: advance through all three rooms and you are allowed to go
free. The catch is, in order to make it to the next room, someone
must sacrifice themselves. How far will they go to get out alive?
Presented
in standard definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a
lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix, the film looks fine for the format
but nothing particularly spectacular. Compression issues are evident
and some digital effects look better than others.
Special
Features...
Basement
of Blood
Beyond
the Music
Jared
Cohn: Director of Horror and Action
Plot
Description/BTS
Video
Diaries
Slideshow
Jyrki
- Last Halloween Music Video
HPTKK
- Superstar Music Video
Trailer
By
no means groundbreaking, Halloween
Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!
is slightly above average and fun watch.
Lilith's
Hell
The
Italian demonic found footage film, Lilith's
Hell
(2015), finally lands on DVD in the U.S. courtesy of Unearthed Films.
Directed by Vincenzo Petrarolo and presented by Ruggero Deodato
(Cannibal
Holocaust)
the brutal film is well made and fun despite following some of the
traditional tropes that come with the found footage gimmick.
When
a group of rich indie filmmakers try to work with horror master
Ruggero Deodato on a project, the decide to film a horror film based
on realism. When they go to the producer’s family's house for a
weekend retreat, they soon find themselves pit against a demonic
force. The spirit of Lilith, who famously was cursed by God for not
obeying Adam, possesses the crew one by one and all of it caught on
film! If they survive, they could have a marketable film on their
hands... but at what cost?
Presented
in standard definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
an Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo lossy track with English subs,
the film looks and sounds fine for DVD. In fact, it isn't hurt too
much not being on Blu-ray due to the found footage style that it's
going for.
Special
Features...
Interviews
with Cast and Crew
Interview
with Director Ruggero Deodato
Unearthed
Trailer Reel of Current and Upcoming
Red
Christmas
Hollywood
Scream Queen Dee Wallace (E.T.,
The
Howling)
stars in Red
Christmas
(2015) - a holiday home invasion flick directed by Craig Anderson
(The
Tail Job).
The film also stars Sarah Bishop, Geoff Morrell, Janis McGavin,
Deelia Meriel, Bjorn Stewart, David Collins, and Gerard Odwyer.
Despite being shot well, the film isn't really that much fun to watch
and is a little heavy on its anti-abortion message, which grows
tiresome. There's some good gore moments, cheap thrills, and
tasteless humor... all in all nothing you haven't seen before.
Diane
(Wallace) plans a Christmas family reunion at her lavish home that
reunites her dysfunctional grown children. Of course they don't get
a long too well and start up a big argument in the midst of Diane's
well wishes. The doorbell suddenly rings and a cloaked, Deformed
Stranger appears and causes tension amongst the group. Soon the
Stranger returns... bringing terror and hell on earth with him!
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a
clear, lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital track, the presentation of the film on
Blu-ray is pretty satisfying. Character detail is on point and even
dark moments are pretty clear of grain. Artsploitation Films always
does good on their discs and this release is no exception.
Umbrella's import PAL format DVD version is not as clear or sharp,
though the PAL fiormat allows for better color, but not better depth
than a U.S. NTSC DVD, in its anamorphically enhanced version, yet
Video Black is not as good as it could be or as good as the Blu-ray.
It pretty much has the same lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital track too.
Special
Features on both versions include...
Feature-length
commentary with writer-director Craig Anderson
Interviews
with Dee Wallace, Gerald O'Dwyer and Craig Anderson
Bloopers
BUT
the import DVD adds Deleted Scenes, Teaser Trailer, Trailer and clip
Visiting Gerald O'Dwyer
Red
Christmas
isn't the best holiday horror film ever, but at least it's an
original story. The best thing it has going for it is Dee Wallace
giving the performance her all.
Wes
Craven's Summer of Fear
Linda
Blair (The
Exorcist)
stars in this lesser known Wes Craven flick, Summer
of Fear
(1978), that is based on the best-selling young adult novel by Lois
Duncan (I
Know What You Did Last Summer).
While the narrative is a little hokey, the film isn't amongst
Craven's best work but is worth a watch once for the diehard fan. I
hadn't seen this prior to this release but was expecting Linda Blair
to the demonic 'host' as it were but was surprised to find that her
she is just the normal innocent teen.
Aside
from Blair (who isn't much of a leading lady in all honesty), the
film is pretty predictable with a soapy feeling, bad hairstyles, and
a lot of teen angst. If you're hoping for some R-rated Craven
shenanigans, then this isn't necessarily the disc you want to pop in,
especially since this seems to have been a telefilm.
The
film centers around teenager Rachel (Blair) whose picture perfect
life is turned upside down when her cousin Julie (Purcell) moves in
following the death of her parents in a car crash. Julie enchants
everyone in the family and is perfect on the surface. Rachel soon
discovers that Julie has a secret. She's a master in the art of
witchcraft!
The
film has been remastered for high definition and is presented in its
original 1.36:1 full frame aspect ratio and a new English DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 2.0 Mono track. Music Box Films has done a great job
with this remaster from the original film elements with a nicely
saturated transfer. Despite a few close-ups in soft focus, this
Blu-ray disc brings the film to life like no previous release has
before.
Special
Features...
Newly
recorded interview with Linda Blair
Director
audio commentary by the late Wes Craven
Poster
and still gallery
Original
trailer
Since
I'm a big Wes Craven fan, it was nice to mark Summer
of Fear
off the list of films of his that I've seen, but I wouldn't recommend
it to many. Presentation-wise, this disc delivers.
To
order the
Umbrella import DVD, go to this link:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
James Lockhart & Nicholas Sheffo (Red
import)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/