New dvd formats popping up. Blu-ray. If you're not up-to-date, they're discs meant for high-definition players. This little snippet from good old wikipedia ahould clear it all up.
Blue ray is a general term for a next generation optical disc technology for storing digital information. It is based on the 405nm wavelength "blue ray" laser to provide higher storage density on the disc. This laser allows for greater information density in comparison with other optical technologies such as DVD and CD. Blue ray optics have been adopted into several media formats, primarily intended for the delivery of high-definition video. Currently, there are two major standards competing for exclusive adoption and support within the film, video and technology industries: Blu-ray Disc (Sony, Disney, Apple, and more / Blu-ray Disc Association) HD DVD (Toshiba, Intel, Microsoft, and more / DVD Forum). Several companies intend to support both formats, including: Paramount, Warner Bros, and Hewlett Packard. - Wikipedia
The Hills Have Eyes (Unrated Edition) (2006)
- trailer (quicktime) -
- clips -
- HoH review -
101 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Maxime Giffard, Michael Bailey Smith, Tom Bower
Directed by Alexandre Aja
Video Universe Plot Description: With his 2006 remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 slasher The Hills Have Eyes, French director Alexandre Aja manages to accomplish what many directors fail to do by making his film a definite improvement over the original. With Craven on board as producer, Aja sticks pretty closely to the first film’s script and storyline, but with the help of a larger budget, special effects, better actors, and slick cinematography, creates a much scarier story. While the film’s setting is contemporary, it maintains a 1970s feel in parts, paying tribute to the decade in which the slasher subgenre was born. With an interesting opening-credit sequence consisting of actual nuclear testing footage, we are told that the film’s desert setting was the site of nuclear testing during the 1950s and ‘60s. Warned to vacate, the miners that lived there refused to leave, thus subjecting themselves to high levels of toxic radiation, and breeding mutant babies as a result. It is this generation of now-grown mutants that the poor Carter family has the misfortune to encounter while driving through New Mexico on their way to California. When their vehicle breaks down in the desert, the Carters are too busy bickering with one another to realize they have entered enemy territory. But it doesn’t take long for the demented creatures living in the hills to make their presence known. The gorefest that follows is packed with terribly frightening scenes of the deformed killers delighting in the torment and intended kill of each family member, young mothers, teen girls, and babies included. Much of the film is set in a government-created test city in which deteriorating mannequins take the place of actual humans. Posing lifelessly alongside their mutant neighbors, these waxy figures provide a chilling backdrop for the graphic war between the mutants and their victims.
DVD Special Features include: Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.1 Surround)
Commentary by director/co-screenwriter Alexandre Aja, art director/co-screenwriter Gregory Levasseur and producer Marianne Maddalena
Commentary by producers Wes Craven and Peter Locke
"Surviving the Hills: Making of The Hills Have Eyes" documentary
Production diaries
Music video
Official Site
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Night Watch (2003)
- trailer (quicktime) -
- clips -
- HoH Review -
114 minutes
Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images and language
Starring Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Valeri Zolotukhin
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Video Universe Plot Description: The first part of a trilogy, Night Watch is an old-fashioned good vs. evil parable that relies on some thoroughly modern special effects to ensnare its audience. Set in present-day Moscow, the movie begins with a quick skip back through the centuries to inform us how a delicate truce was struck between the forces of Light and Dark. These forces still exist in Moscow, with both sides keeping a close eye on each other as they attempt to disguise themselves from the earth's mere mortals. Night Watch’s central character is Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky), who is defined as an "Other" by the legions of Light and Dark. Anton and his cohorts live as vampires, and await the arrival of a virgin who will announce the resumption of hostilities between the forces of Light and Dark; as the film progresses, it becomes apparent that an epic battle is just around the corner. One of the biggest films of all time in its native Russia, director Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Watch positions itself somewhere in between The Matrix and Blade in the pantheon of CGI-fueled sci-fi flicks. Although the plot is mind-boggling and occasionally verges on the incomprehensible, Bekmambetov is presumably using this first part of the trilogy to lure viewers into his wild cinematic world. Impressively, Bekmambetov’s film was shot on a tiny budget, but it belies its meager origins. Even the English subtitles are integrated into several scenes, with words zipping across the screen and melting into the action as a heavy-metal soundtrack thumps away. Knowing he is set to film two sequels, Bekmambetov leaves his audience hanging as Night Watch nears its climax, with his second installment (Day Watch) promising further FX-laden feuding, and, in an intriguing twist, an English-language climax to the trilogy with Dusk Watch.
DVD Special Features include: Keep Case
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital Surround - Spanish, French
Additional Release Material:
Disc 1/Side A: NIGHT WATCH - English; Widescreen
Single Side - Dual Layer
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Additional Footage - "Inside Look: THE OMEN"
Alternate Scenes - Extended Ending With Optional Commentary
Featurettes - "Night Watch Trilogy"
Trailers - Bonus Trailers
Disc 1/Side B: NIGHT WATCH - Russian; Widescreen
Single Side - Single Layer
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - Russian
Subtitles - English, Spanish, French - Optional
Audio Commentary -
1. Timur Bekmambetov - Director (With Subtitles)
2. Sergei Lukianenko - Source Writer (With Subtitles)
Official Site
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
The Omen (2-Disc Collector's Edition) (1976)
- trailer (real media) -
- clips -
- HoH review -
266 minutes
Rated R
Starring Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Billie Whitelaw
Directed by Richard Donner
Video Universe Plot Description: American ambassador Robert Thorn and his lovingly dedicated wife are expecting a child. But when the infant is stillborn a mysterious Italian priest convinces the diplomat to clandestinely adopt another of the hospital's newborn children. Thorn takes the priest's advice without telling his wife about their loss. After five short happy years together, things start to go wrong: the family's au pair commits suicide, Father Brennan warns Robert about the child's strange nature, and an archaeologist tries to convince ambassador Thorn that the boy is the anti-Christ incarnate. A staid American ambassador (Peck) and his wife are heartbroken when their child is stillborn, but their heartbreak is only beginning when they adopt an orphan. As the boy grows, disaster surrounds him, beginning with the suicide of his nanny, and as the bodies pile up, his horrified father begins to believe that the boy is evil incarnate and must be destroyed. The unique climax paved the way for two popular sequels, "Damien - Omen II" and "Final Conflict." Filmed mostly in England. Color by DeLuxe. Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best Original Song ("Ave Satani"). Academy Awards: Best Original Score.
DVD Special Features include: 2-Disc Set - Keep Case
Audio:
Stereo - English
Mono - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - French - Optional
Disc 1: THE OMEN - Widescreen Version
Widescreen - 2.35
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary -
1. Richard Donner - Director; Stuart Baird - Editor
2. Richard Donner - Director; Brian Helgeland
Documentary - "Curse or Coincidence"
Interviews - Jerry Goldsmith - Composer
Trailers - Theatrical Trailer
Disc 2: THE OMEN - Supplemental Material
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scene - With Optional Commentary (1)
Documentary - "An Appreciation: Wes Craven on THE OMEN"
Featurettes -
1. "666: THE OMEN Revealed"
2. "The Omen Legacy"
Interviews - David Seltzer - Writer
Introduction - Richard Donner - Director
Text/Photo Galleries:
Stills/Photos
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Bigfoot Terror (2006)
300 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Alan Brock, Rick Montana, Ivan Marx
Directed by Michael Findlay, R.G. Arledge, Harry Winer
Plot Descriptions:
Shriek of the Mutilated (1974): The same team that foisted the sublimely bizarre Invasion of the Blood Farmers upon the world returns with this equally loopy horror outing. Dr. Ernst Prell (Alan Brock) organizes yet another group of anthropology students to search for the legendary Yeti. While most of the students don't believe that such a beast exists, there's no denying the fact that something horrible happened during the last expedition. All of the students were killed by something in the woods, and the only survivor besides Prell has gone mad and is prone to violent, drunken recountings of the incident at parties. They travel on anyway to the remote home of Prell's colleague, Dr. Karl Werner (Tawn Ellis), as he and his mute Indian servant (Morton Jacobs) have recently found evidence that the Yeti is near. Naturally, gruesome events occur as their search becomes fruitful, and various students are dispatched by a terrifying beast with plastic fangs and a shag-carpeting hide. A twist ending involving a gourmet cannibal cult helps explain away the cheap, bogus nature of the monster's costume and the show ends with a silly, grisly punch line. Like the earlier Invasion of the Blood Farmers, Shriek of the Mutilated is populated by strangely affected actors and imbued with a weird, muted color scheme that gives it the feeling of, if not quite a nightmare, then a disturbing dream that can't be entirely shaken off upon awakening. This peculiar tone is more likely due to its limited budget than any conceptual work of director Michael Findlay, who showed more artistic flair in his earlier black-and-white grindhouse films than this genre piece. Still, a healthy sense of black humor and outrageous fake gore make both films masterpieces of psychotronic cinema. - All Movie Guide
Search for the Beast (1997): A courageous college professor takes it upon himself to hunt down a hideous beast who has been abducting young Alabama girls for its own terrifying pleasure. The massacre he and his team embark upon, however, elicits the rage and vengeful impulse of this horrific creature. - Movies.com
Legend of Bigfoot (1975): Ivan Marx, animal hunter extraordinaire, has made his living for years by hunting renegade and dangerous animals. Now, he turns his attention to the legendary Bigfoot, providing "actual" footage of the beast. - Movies.com
Capture of Bigfoot (1979): Bigfoot has managed to elude capture for nearly 25 years. One small town has made a cottage industry out of Bigfoot sightings and ancillary merchandising. All this may come to an end very soon, however. A local fat-cat businessman hopes to trap Bigfoot once and for all, so that he can get all the publicity gravy. From the director of The Giant Spider Invasion. - All Movie Guide
DVD Special Features include: Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailer - Shriek of the Mutilated
IMDB Pages: Shriek of the Mutilated/Search for the Beast/Legend of Bigfoot/Capture of Bigfoot
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Equinox (Criterion Collection) (1970)
- trailer (real media) -
82 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner
Directed by Jack Woods
Video Universe Plot Description: A gruesome horror comedy about a cemetery caretaker's battle with zombies who rise from their graves. To destroy them, he must mutilate their heads -- a task easier said than done, especially when the undead fiends start popping up from the ground with increasing frequency. His plight is made considerably more pleasant when he meets and falls in love with a beautiful widow. Unfortunately, she gets attacked by the creatures and transforms into one of them. Will he kill her -- or join her? A gory blend of zombified horror and black comedy, this Italian-produced feature charts the travails of a quiet cemetery groundskeeper whose recent burials just won't stay buried. He and his assistant keep having to round up the vengeful undead and kill them again, which becomes even more difficult when he falls in love with a beautiful victim. Directed by Dario Argento collaborator Michele (The Church) Soavi. Produced in association with Audifilm-Urania Film-K.G. Productions and Bibo Productions. Support for this film was provided by Eurimages Fund of the Council of Europe. Released theatrically in New York City April 26, 1996.
DVD Special Features include: Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
The original, original, never-released The Equinox: Journey into the Supernatural
and the 1970 Jack H. Harris theatrical release, Equinox
Commentary by writer/director Jack Woods and producer Jack H. Harris on Equinox
Commentary by effects photographer/producer/director Dennis Muren, writer/co-director Mark McGee, and matte artist/cel animator and effects technician Jim Danforth on The Equinox: Journey into the Supernatural
Video introduction by Forrest J. Ackerman
Interviews with director Dennis Muren and actors Frank Bonner, Barbara Hewitt and James Duron
Deleted scenes and outtakes from the original 1967 version
Rare animated fairy tale The Magic Treasure by Equinox animator David Allen
David Allen's acclaimed "Kong" commercial for Volkswagen, including test footage
Short film Zorgon: The H-Bomb Beast from Hell (1972) featuring Equinox cast and crew
Extensive gallery featuring rare stills and promotional material
Trailer and radio spots
32-page booklet with tributes from George Lucas and Ray Harryhausen and an essay by Brock DeShane
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Hellinger (1996)
73 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Stephen Steele, Kelly Goldstein, James M. O'Donoghue
Directed by Massimiliano Cerchi
Amazon.com Plot Description: 20 years ago, young Mellisa was found by her neighbors covered in blood. She was still in bed, shivering & mumbling about the evil that killed her dad right in front of her innocent eyes. Now today, the one who lives in the darkness still haunts her, craving for her, teasing her... His name is Hellinger! He was known in life as Father Thomas Donaldson, a once well-respected man of the church until one day, in a time in which he doubted his faith and his life as a man of God, he became obsessed by the desire to see the gates of Heaven with his very own eyes. When he couldn't find the answers in the holy scriptures, he made a pact with the devil. But in his arrogance, he didn't truly contemplate the results of his actions - and the vision blinded him, leaving him mad. And now that Melissa is convinced that Hellinger never really existed at all, a figment of a child's imagination, he is free. Pray for your sins! Pray Hellinger doesn't come for you!
Zoiks! Run Scoob!
DVD Special Features include: Region 0
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Single Sided - Single Layer
Audio: Stereo - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailer
DVD-ROM: Inspired Weblink
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Holy Terror (2001)
52 minutes
Rated R
Starring Beverly Lynne, Charlie David, Nick Armas
Directed by Massimiliano Cerchi
Amazon.com Plot Description: Years ago a Nun died while possessed by a demon. Today, a young couple renting a new house invite some friends for a housewarming party, and thanks to a mysterious ouija board and their evil landlord, they accidentally evocate the spirit of the nun. Now she will show them terror they have never known possible... for she is the Holy Terror!
Holy crap.
DVD Special Features include: Region 0
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Single Side - Single Layer
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - English
Additional Release Material: Behind The Scenes
DVD-ROM: Inspired Weblink
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Insecticidal (2004)
- trailer (windows media) -
85 minutes
Rated R for sexual content, nudity and horror violence
Starring Meghan Heffern, Rhonda Dent, Samantha McLeod
Directed by Jeffery Scott Lando
Video Universe Plot Description: This award-winning B-movie has all the trappings of a genre classic: low-tech special effects, hot women, and giant creatures. When nerdy coed Cami (Meghan Heffern, The Fog) undertakes some radical experiments on insects for her science project, things get a little out of control, with giant bugs running rampant on campus. The lovely young students don't let it get them down, however, waging a battle against the bugs that even leaves time for a little lesbian hot tub action.
DVD Special Features include: Keep Case
Audio: (unspecified) - English
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
La Llorona "The Wailer" (2005)
90 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Nicole Danielle, Hugo Medina, Elton Williams
Directed by Andres Navia
Amazon.com Plot Description: On their way to Mexico, six students are stranded in a small town where years before a tragedy took place. The students find accommodation in a small cabin where unexplainable things begin to happen; a woman’s weeping is heard all around the cabin and their fear of the horror they might find outside keeps them trapped in the cabin. They will soon learn the truth behind the legend of "La Llorona".
DVD Special Features include: Keep Case
Audio: (unspecified) - English
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
The Last House on Hell Street (1971)
75 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Leah Schumacher, Schmack Virgin, Robin Garrels
Directed by Robin Garrels, John Specht
Video Universe Plot Description: When a couple, Kyle and Jessica, venture into the woods, they find a small house containing a malevolent force which promptly takes Kyle over. He then turns on Jessica and takes her into the house for both physical and mental torture. Not a mere slasher film, but an intense work of horror created on an impressively tight budget, Last House on Hell Street is for the horror fan who thinks they've seen it all.
DVD Special Features include: Region 0
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Single Sided - Single Layer
Audio: Stereo - English
Additional Release Material:
Bonus Footage - 2 Bonus Short Films
DVD-ROM: Inspired Weblink
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Minotaur (2004)
- trailer download (quicktime zip) -
91 minutes
Rated R for violence and some nudity
Starring Tom Hardy, Tony Todd, Rutger Hauer
Directed by Jonathan English
Amazon.com Plot Description: Long ago in the Iron Age a shadow loomed over a lonely village. For generations the village youths are stolen from their families and delivered as sacrifice to a mythical beast - the Minotaur, that dwells beneath a great palace. Theo, haunted by the loss of his love in an earlier sacrifice is convinced that the beast isn't real and that his girl still lives as a slave within the palace. His father Cyrnan, the village leader, tries to reason with Theo not to go but Theo is driven by blind rage. He devises a plan and is taken with the other youths who are dragged screaming from their families.
DVD Special Features include: Closed Captioned
Additional Footage
Soundtrack English
English Subtitles
Dir/Cast Commentary
Dolby Digital 5.1
Official Site
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Terror House (1997)
71 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Clyde Burroughs, Bob Dennis, Holly Harrington
Directed by Jon McBride, John Polonia, Mark Polonia
Amazon.com Plot Description: Deep within the shadows it waits, it watches, and it wants! Half human and craving the taste of warm blood! A house with a dark history harbors a family secret that is out of control. Led to the house with a false reward of $25000 dollars, three college students find themselves trapped within its walls with no way to escape. Haunted by the vision of a beautiful woman, the terror leads the trio to the edge of madness as night falls, and one by one they become human prey. Lock your doors... Shut your window... and stay away from the house on Dead End Drive!
DVD Special Features include: Region 0
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Single Sided - Single Layer
Audio: Stereo - English
Additional Release Material: Bloopers
Interviews
DVD-ROM: Inspired Weblink
Official Site
IMDB Page
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
Vampire Wars: Battle for the Universe (2005)
99 minutes
Not Rated
Starring Natassia Malthe, Joe Lando
Directed by Matthew Hastings
Video Universe Plot Description: In this futuristic sci-fi horror film, a group of vampires plots to take over the universe.
DVD Special Features include: Keep Case
Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Dolby Digital DTS Surround - English
Additional Release Material: Featurette - Behind The Scenes Featurette
Trailer
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
ALSO RELEASED THIS WEEK:
Underworld - Evolution (Blu-ray) (2005)
- trailer (quicktime) - Sony Pictures
114 minutes - Directed by Len Wiseman - Starring Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman
CLICK HERE to get it from Amazon.com
