Scream Factory & Other Blu-ray News + Tidbits 11/19/14 - 11/29/14

This last week was Thanksgiving so it is no surprise that there has not been much news from Scream Factory or other companies. However, there has been a couple different news items recently. One title to be released by Scream Factory has had its release date delayed. The special features have been announced for a couple titles to be released next year. Here is all the details on those items and other news:

Monkey Shines: Blu-ray Review

The Film:

Monkey Shines is a very different film from the majority of George A. Romero's work. This is not surprising because it was one of his first studio films after making many movies independently. The differences are the most notable in the production values and overall look of the film. It looks very much like a tradition type of film. The story of the film is a pretty straight forward story. Alan Mann (Jason Beghe) has recently become paralyzed from the neck down from a terrible accident. Shortly after his girlfriend leaves him for the doctor that helped him, his mother hires a mean caregiver, and his close friends don't come around much. He is very down and out until his friend Geoffrey Fisher (John Pankow) gives him a specially trained monkey named Ella to help take care of him. Unbeknownst to Alan the monkey given to him was injected with material that is supposed to enhance the Ella's abilities. Thanks to those enhancement injections and the growing relationship between the two, they begin to have what appears to be a psychic connection. As a result Ella begins to hunt down and kill all of those that Alan feels wronged him and wished were dead.

This is were the film turns into a revenge type film where the monkey goes and kills all the people that Alan has thought about killing, though the film doesn't go to too great of lengths to really show why Alan wants to kill these people so badly. The film also has a pretty distinct Jekyll and Hyde feel to it. When someone upsets Alan he thinks about doing something bad to them. Then at night Ella fulfills those desires of Alan. This is definitely one of the more interesting aspects of the film especially towards the end where Ella begins to think more own her own and tries to keep everyone away from Alan. Alan is aware at this point that he has created a monster that has to be stopped.

Overall the movie is a pretty good horror film with some unnecessary side plots that are either never resolved or just not very good, and a disappointing ending. The ending in the film is not the original ending that they wanted. In the original ending a lot of the side plots are more clearly resolved but the new studio forced ending leaves a lot of those plots out to hang and embraces a pretty unsatisfying ending. Even with some of the lack of clarity in the story of the film, the film is a pretty good horror film that effectively communicates the helplessness of the lead character and slow creation of a monster in Ella. The picture quality on this Blu-ray is pretty good. The transfer has a natural looking layer of grain that is consistent throughout. The colors are good but lack the type of pop that one would expect. No real problems with the transfer that I could see. Overall the picture quality is solid and good just not spectacular.

3.5/5

The Extras:

This release by Scream Factory is pretty loaded for not being branded a Collector's Edition. It contains An Experiment in Fear - The Making of Monkey Shines, another well made making-of documentary from Scream Factory. This features a significant chunk of the main individuals involved in making the films. A lot of interesting information was given here including the problems with the final cut and the difficulties of making a movie with monkeys. The disc also has a new Audio Commentary with Writer/Director George A. Romero that gives even more info in the making of the film and the difficulties Romero had with the studio. Those are the big new extras for this release, though it also comes with deleted scenes, alternate ending, behind the scenes footage, vintage making of and interviews, trailers, and still gallery. Overall a very good selections of extras that provide a lot of interesting insight into the making of the film and the difficulties when releasing it.

4/5

Overall: Recommended

The Dark Half: Blu-ray Review

The Film:

The Dark Half is an intriguing film in that it seems almost like a bunch of different movies or ideas in one movie that do not completely create a cohesive narrative. However, a lot of the different ideas work and work well. The film centers around Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), a writer that writes sophisticated novels and under the name George Stark, best selling sleazy thrillers. An individual approaches Thad claiming to know his secret and threatens blackmail. Thad decides to take the advice of his wife Liz (Amy Madigan) and go public revealing to be the writer of the George Stark novels. They perform a fake burial to signify that George Stark is not more. However, it appears that George Stark will not be going away quite that easy. As bodies begin to pile up it becomes more obvious that a physical manifestation of George Stark is real and is trying to stay alive. The rest of the film deals with the conflict of George trying to take over Thad's life.

It is quite obvious from both the film itself and the special features accompanying the release, that George A. Romero was wanting a very Jekyll and Hyde type of feel to the film. The problems with the execution of this is the ways in which they go about trying to show that Thad and George are different people but also the same person. Was George a physical manifestation or a spiritual one? The film never chooses one or the other, rather they play it like it is both. This make the story a little more confusing and is the reason why this film feels like a few different separate and conflicting ideas in one movie. These conflicting ideas do not take away too much from the film in large part because of the quality acting and well sustained suspense throughout.

Overall the film is solid and is technically very well done minus some questionable effects towards the end of the film. All the actors in the film do really well in their roles and are some of the bigger reason as to why this film is enjoyable. The picture quality on this release is very good. In brightly lit scenes there is a lot of detail and clarity. In the darker scenes the clarity suffers a tiny bit but still has a rather good quality overall. The grain looks very organic throughout and appears to be a little more prominent in the special effects scenes. No real problems overall with the picture quality on this release.

Film: 3/5

The Extras:

This release features a good host of special features highlighted by the making-of documentary. The Sparrows Are Flying Again: The Making of The Dark Half is another well done making-of feature from Scream Factory. As with most of their making-of's, a good amount of important people involved in the film are interviewed. It features some good insights into the film from George A. Romero, Michael Rooker, and many others involved in the film. The length of the making-of feature is around 36 minutes. The other highlight of the special features is the Commentary with George A. Romero that offers even more insight not found in the making-of. The commentary is very informative and fun. The disc also features behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, vintage interview clips, storyboards of the original ending, trailers, and still gallery. Overall a well put together set of extras that are both very informative and fun.

Extras: 3.5/5

Overall: Recommended

Grindhouse Releasing Reveals Full Specs For The Beyond Blu-ray

Today Grindhouse Releasing revealed the full specs for their Blu-ray release of Lucio Fulci's classic The Beyond and it is pretty loaded. The Beyond Blu-ray will be released on 2/10/15 and at this time is available for pre-order exclusively at DiabolikDVD. The release is a 3-disc set that contains two Blu-rays and one CD of the soundtrack housed in glow-in-the-dark artwork.  The jam packed release will contain the following special features:

• Spectacular hi-definition digital transfer of the original uncensored director's cut.
• Breathtaking 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound re-mix by Academy Award winner Paul Ottoman
• Provocative commentary by stars Catriona MacColl and genre superstar David Warbeck
• Optional Italian language soundtrack and original mono mix
• New In-depth interviews with stars Catriona MacColl, Cinzia Monreale and Giovanni De Nava, U.S. production manager Larry Ray, make-up artists Giannetto DeRossi and Maurizio Trani, cinematographer Sergio Salvati, writer Dardano Sacchetti, producer Fabrizio De Angelis, composer Fabio Frizzi, original U.S. distributor Terry Levene, and Antonella Fulci
• Rare archival interviews with director Lucio Fulci and David Warbeck
• Lost German pre-credit sequence in full color
• Linear notes by legendary horror journalist Chas Balun and Euro-horror expert Martin Beine
• Extensive still gallery and theatrical trailers
• Bonus CD - original soundtrack album by Fabio Frizzi newly remastered in stunning 96khz sound from the original studio master tapes
• And other surprises

Scream Factory Announce Extras For Supernova Blu-ray

Today Scream Factory announced the extras for their Blu-ray release of Supernova. It will be released on 1/13/15. The Blu-ray will be featuring the following extras:

• The Making of Supernova featuring New interviews with actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Robert Forster, Producer Daniel Chuba and filmmaker Jack Sholder.

The following have been ported over from the prior MGM DVD release:

• Deleted Scenes
• Alternate Ending
• Theatrical Trailer

Supernova is available for pre-order here: Supernova [Blu-ray]  

Scream Factory & Other Blu-ray News + Tidbits 11/12/14 - 11/19/14

Not too much Scream Factory news this week. Unfortunately there will probably not be much news from Scream Factory until they are finally able to announce the titles they had to wait on. The big news was the huge release day Scream Factory had on 11/18. On that day they released three different titles on Blu-ray. On to the rest of the news this week:

Grindhouse Releasing Announces The Beyond on Blu-ray

Today Grindhouse Releasing has announced the released of Lucio Fulci's The Beyond on Blu-ray in a 3-disc set. The picture above is an example of the glow in the dark cover for the release that was put up on their official Facebook page. The set will be released on 2/10/15 and the pre-order should be going up sometime next week. The full details on the 3-disc set have not been revealed by Grindhouse Releasing yet but the should be announced soon.

What do you think of this announcement? Will you be picking up this release?

Criterion Announces the Release of Don't Look Now

Criterion has recently announced their release slate for February 2015. Among those titles announced was Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now. The film stars Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland as a married couple who after a family tragedy travel to Venice, where they begin to experience terrifying and mysterious occurrences. The film will be released on Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD on 2/10/2015. The film will have a new director approved 4K digital restoration and the following special features:

• New conversation between the film's editor, Graeme Clifford, and film writer Bobbie O'Steen
• "Don't Look Now," Looking Back, a short 2002 documentary featuring Roeg, Clifford, and cinematographer Anthony Richmond.
• Death In Venice, a 2006 interview with composer Pino Donaggio
• Something Interesting, a new documentary on the writing and making of the film, featuring interviews with Richmond, actors Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, and co-screenwriter Allan Scott
• Nicolas Roeg: The Enigma of Film, a new documentary on Roeg's style, featuring interviews with filmmakers Danny Boyle and Steven Sodenbergh
• Q&A with Roeg at London's Cine Lumiere from 2003
• Trailer

What do you think of this release? Will you be picking it up?

Mondo Macabro Announces Blu-ray Release of The Fan

Mondo Macabro has announced the Blu-ray release of the Eckhart Schmidt's Der Fan (The Fan). The German thriller will be released in early 2015. The film will feature both original German audio with english subtitles and dubbed English audio. The film will be sporting a new transfer from the original camera negative. As well, the release will have an interview with the director Eckhart Schmidt. Here is a description of the film from the official announcement at Twitchfilm:

"The film, starring Desiree Nosbusch as the titular character, revolves around a teenaged fan of popular musician "R". Simone (Nosbusch) is not just any fan, but a cracked and broken woman who focuses her deranged obsession upon this unknowing target, who inspires a lust for violence that earned the film a rabid cult following."

Mondo Macabro also gave an update on Facebook stating that they hope to make some more title announcements in the not too distant future and that the titles are going to be some unexpected titles.

What do you think of this announcement? Will you be picking up this release?

Scorpion Releasing Announces Spasmo And The Wild Eye Blu-rays

Scorpion Releasing has announced two new titles to be released in conjunction with Rewind Films on Blu-ray in 2015. The first title is Spasmo a 1974 giallo film from director Umberto Lenzi. The title will be released in early 2015 and there are no other details about the release at this time. The second title announced was The Wild Eye, a Mondo-ploitation film from 1967 that has not been screened in the United Stats since its original release. The Blu-ray will be released in 2015 from a recent 2K scan. No other details about this release are available at this time.

Both of these titles have piqued my interest, especially The Wild Eye. I am looking forward to the release of both of these lesser known titles. What do you think about these titles? Will you be picking them up when they are released?

Blue Underground Announces Special Features For Blu-ray Release Of God Told Me To

Blue Underground has announced all of the details regarding their forthcoming release of God Told Me To. The film will be released on Blu-ray and special edition DVD on 2/24/2015. The Larry Cohen written, directed, and produced film will be sporting a brand new 4K High Definition transfer from the original uncensored negative. The release will also feature a bunch of cool special features, most of which are new and made for this release. They are as follows:

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director/Producer Larry Cohen
• "Heaven & Hell On Earth" - Interview with Star Tony Lo Bianco
• "Bloody Good Times" - Interview with Special Effects Artist Steve Neill
• "God Told Me To Bone" - New Beverly Q&A with Larry Cohen
• Lincoln Center Q&A with Larry Cohen
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots
• Poster & Still Gallery

Blu-ray Video Specs: 1080p HD; Widescreen 1.85:1; All Regions

Blu-ray Audio Specs: 7.1 DTS; 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX; DTS-HD Mono 

Optional Subtitles: English SDH, Francais, Espanol

What do you think of this release? Will you be picking it up?

Arrow Video North America Expansion Update #2

Today Arrow Video gave another update on their North American expansion campaign. They have 19 days left in their Indiegogo campaign and have already reached, then exceeded their goal. Their last update on the campaign came three weeks ago where they announced the release of Valerian Borowczyk's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne. For more information on that check here. With their next update today they announced two more titles to be released next year. The two titles are classic yakuza films directed by Yasuharu Hasebe. The First title is Massacre Gun and the second is Retaliation. The two titles will be released with brand new remasters from Nikkatsu Studios and will be sporting new English subtitle translations. Artwork and extras will be announced and detailed at a later date. For now check out the trailers below:





In their update they also stated that they have 1 more very exciting title to announced that will be released between Massacre Gun and Retaliation. To see their full update check here.

What do you think of this announcement? Will you be picking up these titles?

Dolls: Blu-ray Review

The Film:

Dolls is a very interesting film in that it has melded fantasy, horror, and comedy with some success. The film revolves around a little girl named Judy (Carrie Lorraine) who, with her father David (Ian Patrick Williams) and her step mother Rosemary (Carolyn Purdy-Gordon), gets stuck in an old mansion for a night after their car gets stuck in the road during a storm. The old mansion is the home of an elderly couple, Gabriel (Guy Rolfe) and Hilary (Hilary Mason). Gabriel is a toymaker and their house is filled with dolls. Eventually Ralph (Stephen Lee) and hitchhikers Isabel (Bunty Bailey) and Enid (Cassie Stuart) also come to the house seeking refuge. As the night begins and bodies begin to pile up it becomes obvious that the dolls that fill up the house are not ordinary play things. It is up to the duo of Judy and the child at heart Ralph to find out just what is going on in the house.

Dolls is very much a classic fairy tale in that it is a morality story about how people should treat each other and the inherent goodness of children. In the film the evil people who are mean, rude, and take advantage of others are killed. While those that are kind and respectful live and are cherished. Also fitting with the fairy tale style that the film employs is the happy ending for the good people of the story. I find it weird that despite a bunch of people being murdered I leave this film with a happy feeling. Almost like everything worked out like it was supposed to. This is were the melding of fairy tale fantasy, horror, and comedy works so well because the ending seems like a happy ending even though these horrific murders took place.

Overall the film is a fun and interesting blend of fantasy, horror, and comedy. It not an amazing film but it is definitely a good film with filled with a lot of charm. I would say that getting rid of some of the blood and gore in the film would give you a fun and scary film for the whole family. Dolls is a big departure from the type of films that Stuart Gordon was making at the time so if you are expecting a splatter fest akin to Re-Animator you will probably be disappointed. However, Dolls is worth watching and is just a different kind of movie. The picture quality on this release is pretty good. There are no problems like compression artifacts, extreme noise reduction, or digital sharpening. The only minor problem is some wear on the elements of this transfer that appear to be from age. Despite this little bit of wear and tear found on the elements used for this transfer, every thing overall looks very good. The colors look really good, with the reds popping like they should and all colors being very accurate looking. The release also sports a natural looking grain field that is visible. Overall pretty good picture quality with very minor problems stemming from age wear from the elements for the transfer.

3.5/5

The Extras:

The Blu-ray Collector's Edition of Dolls comes with a solid amount of extras. The main extras featured on this release are Toys of Terror: The Making Of Dolls and two audio commentaries. The making of feature is another strong making of from Scream Factory that has some great interviews with most of creative individuals from the film and clocks in at around 38 minutes. The Audio Commentary with Director Stuart Gordon and Writer Ed Maha is probably the better of the two in terms of discussing the actual process of making the film. This is definitely the more informative of the two commentaries with this commentary focusing on the writing and shooting process of the film. The Audio Commentary with Cast Members Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Stephen Lee, Carrie Lorraine, and Ian Patrick Williams is a very casual recording with some interesting tidbits here and there about the actors various experiences making the film. Overall the extras for this release are good and provide an interesting background into the process of making this film.

3.5/5

Overall: Strongly Recommended

Scream Factory News + Tidbits 11/5/14 - 11/12/14

This week Dolls has walked, talked, and killed it's way onto Blu-ray from Scream Factory. As well, Scream Factory has announced the extras for their Blu-ray release of Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. Also, Scream Factory announced the release of the newest film from Takahashi Miike. Overall a pretty good bit go news from Scream Factory this week.

News:

Arriving on Blu-ray this week is the film Dolls. It is available for order here: Dolls (Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

Scream Factory has announced the extras for their Blu-ray release of Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. The full details can be found Here.

Scream Factory announced that they will be releasing Takahashi Miike's latest film Over Your Dead Body. It is set to be released on Blu-ray in 2015. No exact date has been released.

Here is my Blu-ray review of the recently released The Doctor and the Devils from Scream Factory.

Tidbits:

-Combo and DVD releases from Scream Factory will be sporadic because the overwhelming majority of Scream Factory fans buy Blu-rays. 

-Answers to some titles requests by fans:

• Scream Factory will not be releasing Alien Predators at this time.
• Scream Factory cannot get the rights for Dead Alive.
• Despite trying to, Scream Factory cannot get the rights to release The Exorcist III.
• Nothing to report on releasing '10 to Midnight, despite Scream Factory's wish to release it.
• Scream Factory will not be releasing Shock Treatment.

Scream Factory Announces Final Extras For Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh Blu-ray

Today Scream Factory has announced the final extras for their Blu-ray release of Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. While the release does not appear to have a ton of special features, which is to be expected from a non-collector's edition, the extras it does have look quality features. The full list of extras can be found below:

• Audio Commentary With Director Bill Condon
• New "The Candyman Legacy"- An Interview With Actor Tony Todd
• New "Down Memory Lane" - An Interview With Actress Veronica Cartwright
• Original Theatrical Trailer

Canydman: Farewell to the Flesh will be released on 1/6/2015 and is now available for pre-order here: Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh [Blu-ray]  

What do you think of these extras? Will you be getting this release?

The Doctor And The Devils: Review

The Film:

The Doctor and the Devils is a film based on real life grave robbers Burke and Hare. Much like in the real life happenings, the film follows two men as they sell dead bodies to an anatomy academy, where the academy can dissect the body and gain more knowledge about the human body. In the film they change the name of the characters. Instead of Burke and Hare they are now Robert Fallon (Jonathan Pryce) and Timothy Broom (Stephen Rea). Also Dr. Knox is now Dr. Rock (Timothy Dalton). Dr. Rock teaches anatomy at an academy and is discontented with the lack of bodies that he is legally allowed to have for dissection, so he begins to be bodies from whoever can bring him some. He believes that it is hampering progress when he is limited in the amount of bodies he can use, as well as the quality of the bodies not being very good. This is where Fallon and Broom come in. They discover that there is a lot of money to be had with dead bodies. So at first they stumble upon some dead bodies and sell them to Dr. Rock. As they progress in their business their methods begin to progress until they reach the point of murder and at this point Dr. Rock knows this is happening but lets it continue.

The film has a lot of interesting aspects to it, the divide of rich and poor and the conflict between tradition and progress. The movie shows the conflict between those that fly the banner of progress and those that believe that progress can get in the way of traditions that have served well so far. This conflict is shown by the belief that peoples souls would not go to heaven during the second coming if their bodies are torn apart after death. The side of progress argues that if as doctors they want to improve people's quality of life they must be able to test and study on human bodies so as to learn how to perform helpful actions correctly in the future. One thing that I find very interesting about this is that the use of the bodies for science during this period is probably seen as a good thing by most today rather than something wrong. Particularly because most people recognize that without some incidents like these happening the progress in the medical field would have been a lot slower in advancement and perhaps not have gotten to the point it is at now. Also the film looks at the division between rich and poor were it becomes obvious that the bodies of the poor are easy to buy and hold little value. The movie is definitely not a straight forward horror film, but rather it is a more complex detailing of morals through the various aspects described above.

The video quality found on this release is very good. The film has a kind of brown tinge to it for most of the film and this slightly lessens detail in the picture, particularly in darker scenes. As well, in some of the darker scenes there is a slight crush but nothing too extreme. The grain in the film is very natural looking. Overall the video quality for this Blu-ray is very good. The things discussed are only minor and do not detract from the film very much at all.

3.5/5

The Extras:

This release does not contain too many extras. The extras found on this disc are an Audio Commentary with Steve Haberman. An Interview with Executive Producer Mel Brooks, Producers Jonathan Sanger and Randy Auerbach. The last extra is the theatrical trailer. The audio commentary is an interesting one and varies from the type of commentaries usually found on Scream Factory releases. This commentary is very academic and provides a historical background of the story of the film, different artistic interpretations of the story, and the making of The Doctor and the Devils. It is an interesting commentary that is filled with information but it can be a little boring in that everything said appears to have been read directly off of a written essay. As a result often times what is on screen is not directly discussed. So for some this can be less enjoyable. The interview with the producers also provides a lot of background information on getting the film made, making the film, and releasing in the film. At times it is hard to understand what they are saying because they occasionally talk over each other. Overall the extras are pretty good and filled with a lot of information.

2.5/5

Overall: Recommended

Scream Factory News + Tidbits 10/29/14 - 11/5/14

Not too much news this week from Scream Factory but a few interesting pieces. First off their release of The Doctor and the Devils was released this Tuesday. The bigs news of the week from Scream Factory was the release dates for their titles that will be put out in February 2015. Also they announced a new title to be released in February 2015. So on to the news:

News:

This week Scream Factory released the film The Doctor and the Devils on Blu-ray. It is available for order here: The Doctor And The Devils [Blu-ray]

Scream Factory has announced the release of the newest Chiller TV movie Animal on February 17, 2015. Go Here for more info.

Scream Factory has put out the street dates for their February 2015 Blu-ray releases. They are as follows: Love at First Bit / Once Bitten Double Feature released on 2/10, Vampire's Kiss / High Spirits Double Feature released on 2/10, From a Whisper to a Scream released on 2/1, and New Year's Evil released on 2/24.

Here is my review of Scream Factory's limited edition release of Nightbreed: The Directors Cut.

Here is my review of Scream Factory's release of Squirm.

Tidbits:

-Extras are in the works for Scream Factors release of Scarecrows, which is one half of the double feature with Destroyer.

-Extas are planned for Scream Factory's Blu-ray release of New Year's Evil.

-They are now plans for a Vincent Price Collection Vol. 3. I think that this is probably true at this time but I think there is a good chance they release a vol. 3. The first two were some of their most popular and praised releases.

-Answers to some of the title requests by fans:

• Scream Factory cannot get the rights for The Pit at this time.

All of the Scream Factory information was found on their official Facebook and Twitter pages.

Squirm: Review

The Film:

Squirm is an interesting movie in that the large majority of the film is a campy fun mystery, but at other times it is capable of having genuine moments of horror. The story starts with a horrible storm knocking down some power lines in Fly Greek, Georgia. Those power lines surge large amounts of high voltage electricity into the ground, which in turn causes the worms to come out in a frenzy from underground. Mick (Don Scardino) arrives from New York after the storm to find his girlfriend and local girl Geri (Patricia Pearcy). After this we get introduced to the various people in the town as well as Geri's mother and sister. After all of the characters have been introduced the wormy mystery begins to pick up as skeletons are found by the couple. This leads the couple to want to solve the mystery of these skeletons that appear to be people whom they have recently seen. Eventually all the worming around leads to the discover of killer worms and their attack on the town.

I find that some of the better parts of Squirm were the many instances where the filmmakers were able to play off on the grossness of worms. For example, a worm in someones drink and talking about the worms while showing close-ups of people slurping spaghetti. This film is definitely not serious and going by the commentary by the director it appears that this was the intention of the film. Jeff Lieberman explains that this film was always self aware of what kind of film it was. As well, he explains that both Don Scardino and himself tried to add funny elements to the movie throughout filming. As for the picture quality, the picture quality for this release is quite good. The detail and clarity throughout the film is definitely above average. For a film of this type it looks a lot better than some one is to expect. There are no real problems with the picture quality on this release. Very good picture quality overall.

Overall, Squirm is an enjoyable little movie filled with quite a few cringe worthy moments without being overly disgusting. The film can really only be enjoyed if people understand what they are getting into up front. Squirm is not a straight forward horror film filled with gross out moments. Rather, Squirm is a campy tongue-in-cheek type of film that is aware that the whole plot is rather crazy. Along with the campy moments and plot, there are quite a few successful horror moments, particularly in the house at the end.

3.5/5

The Extras:

The extras on this release are a little sparse when compared to most other Scream Factory Collector's Editions and as a result Squirm is on the lower end of Collector's Editions in terms of extras. This Blu-ray features an Audio Commentary by writer/director Jeff Lieberman. The commentary is a fun listen filled with a lot of interesting facts about the film and the process getting it made. Another good aspect is that while the commentary shares some same information found in some of the other extras, it also has a lot of great information only found in this commentary. Digging In: The Making of Squirm is an interesting 33 minute making-of documentary that features mainly Jeff Lieberman discussing the initial idea for the film, trying to get it made, making it, releasing it, and finally it's secured cult status. The documentary also features Don Scardino discussing all aspects of the film from his perspective. The last little extra feature is called Eureka! With Jeff Lieberman which is a 7 minute video that explains his early inspiration and where it took place, for the idea of Squirm. The disc all has an original theatrical trailer, TV spot, radio spot, and still gallery. Overall the extras on this release are pretty good but with sticking the Collector's Edition label on this release most people would probably expect a few more extras.

3/5

Overall: Recommended

Nightbreed: The Director's Cut Limited Edition: Review

The Film

After a couple of decades and rising fan interest, the Director's Cut of Clive Barker's Nightbreed is finally available for all to see. The original theatrical release of Nightbreed was not Clive Barker's original vision, instead it was a whole different cut of the film from the studio that often went in the opposite direction of his original intention. Now he was able to go back and re-edit the film that he originally wanted. This Blu-ray release by Scream Factory is a dream come true for fans of Clive Barker and Nightbreed. In particular, the limited edition contains everything a fan can want. The 3 Blu-ray disc set includes the original theatrical cut on one disc, the Director's Cut on another disc, and a bonus disc with exclusive to the set special features. Scream Factory also released a non-limited standard release that has just the same Director's Cut disc as the limited set on Blu-ray and DVD.

Having never seen Nightbreed in any of it's various cuts, I did not have any specific expectations going in. After now viewing both the theatrical cut and the new Director's Cut I can say that Nightbreed is a good monster movie with a whole lot of different monsters and the classic role reversal of monsters as the good people and humans as the bad people. The film focuses on the character of Boone (Craig Sheffer) who becomes determined to find the place of Midian, where the monsters reside, that has been haunting his dreams. Thinking that this was the place he belonged he quickly learned that it was not a place for him, at least not until unfortunate circumstances result in him changing into a monster himself. Those unfortunate circumstances were the direct result of his psychiatrist, Dr. Decker (David Cronenberg) who uses Boone as his fall guy for a bunch of serial killings that Decker committed.

The description above pretty much sums up the theatrical cut of the film. While there are quite a few other little side plots, the theatrical cut never really expands or finishes them. So the theatrical cut is an entertaining monsters/serial killer mash up but because of the way the film was cut compared to how it was meant to be, a lot of stuff doesn't really have much going for it, or any clarity for that matter. In the theatrical cut the monsters look cool and seem interesting but not a whole lot of information is given about them. The romantic plot between Boone and Lori (Anne Bobby) doesn't really have much going for it. There are a few other things that were not properly fleshed out in the theatrical cut that resulted in a skeleton version of Clive Barker's film instead of a fully fleshed film.

The theatrical cut of Nightbreed is pretty good for what it is, a slasher movie with some monsters in it. The Director's Cut of Nightbreed is really good as the original intention of the film. The focus of the film shifts from Boone and Decker in the theatrical cut to Boone and the monsters in the Director's Cut. Also the film was supposed to show the monsters as good and the humans as bad. This idea is more obvious and coherent in the Director's Cut than in the theatrical cut. The Director's Cut is definitely a fuller experience that better explains all the characters and their motivations in the story, as well as giving a clearer plot.

The restoration of the film is very well done and way beyond what anyone could have dreamed of. Especially considering the quality found in the Cabal Cut that has been around for a few years. Fortunately Scream Factory found the original elements, so The Director's Cut was sourced from the original camera negative. The theatrical cut of the film was sourced from an interpositive and as a result the Director's Cut has a slightly better quality. However both look really good. There really isn't any problems at all with this release. There is great detail throughout the film. The grain in the film might be seen as being on more of the heavy side by some but there is no problem with clarity in the picture and the grain is very even throughout.

4/5

The Extras

The amount of bonus features put on this release are extraordinary. In terms of extras this is how you put out a significant movie in a special edition package. On the Director's Cut disc you get the making of documentary called, Tribes of the Moon: The Making of Nightbreed. This is a very well done 72 minute documentary that talks about the history of the film and the shooting of the film. The next meaty extra is Making Monsters: Interviews with Makeup Effects Artists. Another nice little bonus feature is Fire! Fights! Stunts!: 2nd Unit Shooting, which is a nice offering about the less talked about 2nd unit shooting effort. The last special feature on the first disc  is an audio commentary featuring Writer/Director Clive Barker and Restoration Producer Mark Allan Miller. The commentary is a rather enjoyable commentary featuring to obviously excited participants. It is filled with tons of great info.

The bonus disc that is only found in the limited edition set features a whole bunch of great behind the scenes extras. Those extras include deleted scenes, extended torture scene, stop motion lost footage, rehearsal test, makeup tests, matte painting tests, a profile on concept artist Ralph McQuarrie, a look at the editing process, and a closer look at the monster prosthetics. 

The disc with the theatrical cut only features the theatrical trailer

5/5

Overall: Highly Recommended



The limited set is available for order here: Nightbreed: The Director's Cut (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray]

The standard edition is available for order here: Nightbreed: The Director's Cut (Bluray / DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

Also check out This photo gallery to get an in depth look at the limited edition release.