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Remember the shelves of your local video store? Of course you do. Announced today, Arrow Video is tapping back into that nostalgic experience with a brand new Blu-ray release.

“Freshly restored for the digital era with a wealth of new and archival extras, these films have never looked better,” Arrow Video teases the set this morning, which is loaded with a collection of retro films from Charles Band’s Empire International Pictures.

Arrow explains, “In 1983, entrepreneurial producer and director Charles Band founded Empire International Pictures, which would go on to make some of the most memorable and beloved genre movies of the 1980s. Empire became a mainstay of video stores across the world with their catchy titles, outlandish art and Band’s wholehearted belief in giving audiences a good time.”

In The Dungeonmaster, computer programmer Paul Bradford is sucked into a fantasy world by Mestema, a demonic sorcerer in search of a worthy opponent.

Although it may be difficult to believe, this year marks the 30th anniversary of Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, and Scream Factory is celebrating with a new Collector's Edition Blu-ray of the beloved horror anthology on August 25th. Ahead of its release, we've been provided with the full list of special features for the new Blu, including a massive making-of documentary:

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – Four ghoulish fables in one modern nightmare. On August 25, 2020, Scream Factory proudly presents the anthology Tales from the Darkside: The Movie. (Collector’s Edition) in its ultimate Blu-ray debut. The horror fan-favorite comes home in a release packed with bonus features, including a new audio commentary with co-producer David R. Kappes and a new six-chapter feature-length documentary featuring a bevy of cast and crew. Fans who order from shoutfactory.com will also receive an exclusive poster, while supplies last.

From the clever and...

April showers bring May flowers unless you are the fine folks over at Shudder, where this month brings four of Stephen King's spooky films! Also: The Ghoulies Companion, the 25th anniversary of Jurassic Park at Universal Studios Hollywood, Steel City Underground Film Festival announced, Sequence Break's premiere, and Gravitas Ventures' acquisition of Broken Star.

Shudder Honors Stephen King: Press Release: (April 30, 2018, New York, NY) – Shudder, the leading premium streaming service for thriller, suspense, and horror, is turning May into Stephen King Month with a selection of the best movies and miniseries from the monarch of horror. These hard-to-find thrillers, including the original It miniseries, Salem’s Lot, Creepshow and Cat’s Eye, will be available exclusively to Shudder members beginning May 1, 2018:

It - It rises from dank, dark places. It preys on children. It knows exactly what scares you and It never goes away. This 1990 TV...

As we inch our way closer to the holiest of months, October, this final Tuesday of September boasts an eclectic array of genre-related home entertainment releases, including several great movies I fell in love with earlier this year: The Devil’s Candy, It Stains the Sands Red, and 47 Meters Down. For you cult cinema fans out there, it’s going to be a busy week for your wallet, as we have an array of horror and sci-fi titles heading home, including the SteelBook edition of Bride of Re-Animator, the director’s cut of Cannibal Ferox, Lucio Fulci’s The Devil’s Honey, as well as Orgy of the Dead and Psychos in Love from Vinegar Syndrome.

Other notable releases for Tuesday, September 26th include After Midnight, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (in 4K), A Quiet Place in the Country, The Stake Land Collection, John Carpenter’s Escape from L.A. on Blu-ray,...

“He’s a wife-beater, Dan! Use the gun!”

The success of Stuart Gordon’s hit horror-comedy Re-Animator meant that a sequel was all but inevitable. The resulting follow-up, Bride of Re-Animator – this time helmed by director Brian Yuzna (Society, Return of the Living Dead III) – would prove that there was a good deal more life (and death) left in the story of Dr Herbert West and his ghoulish exploits. It has been eight months since the bloody massacre at Miskatonic Medical School. Unperturbed by the disastrous outcome of his previous meddling with the dead, Dr West (again played by Jeffrey Combs) continues his research into the phenomenon of re-animation; only this time, he plans to create life – starting with the heart of his young protégé Dan’s dearly deceased, Meg Halsey. Surely nothing could go wrong? With special effects master Screaming Mad George (the man behind the infamous “shunting” sequence...

As the summer continues to roll on, that means we have another great week of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to look forward to. The folks at Scream Factory are keeping themselves plenty busy this Tuesday, as they’re resurrecting both The Lawnmower Man and Island of Terror on Blu-ray, as well as their high-def The Paul Naschy Collection, and Arrow Video has put together an incredible two-disc limited Blu-ray set of Dario Argento’s directorial debut, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, that any fan of the Master of Horror will want to add to their collections. And, if you missed it in theaters, the horror/sci-fi thriller Life will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD formats, too.

Other notable releases for June 20th include the Hack-o-Lantern limited edition Blu-ray, Patchwork, Under the Dome: The Complete Series, Ten Little Indians,...

Looking for an air-conditioned alternative to mowing your grass this summer? Scream Factory has you covered with their Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of the 1992 Stephen King short story adaptation, The Lawnmower Man, and we've been provided with three copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Collector's Edition Blu-ray copy of The Lawnmower Man.

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Lawnmower Man Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on June 24th. This contest is only...

An adaptation (that took things in a very different direction) of Stephen King's short story of the same name, The Lawnmower Man is coming out on a Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory this June, and the movie's 4K makeover will be accompanied by plenty of special features, including new footage and interviews.

Press Release: A world where the normal course of events could suddenly turn inside out — the imaginary becomes real, and reality is all in your mind. Loyal fans of visionary filmmaker Brett Leonard (Virtuosity, Hideaway) know well the enthralling sci-fi action horror from his 1992 cult classic The Lawnmower Man, starring Jeff Fahey (Machete) and Pierce Brosnan (The Son). Directed by Brett Leonard (Virtuosity, Hideaway), the film also stars Jenny Wright (Near Dark) and Geoffrey Lewis (The Devil’s Rejects). On June 20, 2017, Scream Factory™ Home Entertainment is proud to present The Lawnmower Man Collector’s Edition. Available...

All images in this post are taken from the DVD from this Arrow Video Release.

The Movie

Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator is one of the greatest ‘80s horror movies of all time. No other horror flick up until that point successfully combined gore, horror, and humor quite like that movie did. There were horror movies that were intentionally funny (like Motel Hell for example), but what made Re-Animator special and original is that it took the fear of death and poked fun at it. Blood and guts are now funny thanks to director Stuart Gordon. The idea that something disturbing like a severed limb or a dead body could actually be funny still fascinates me. I have Re-Animator to thank for that.

Bride of Re-Animator has a cult fan base; if it didn’t, Arrow Video would not have wasted their time releasing it on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, the movie isn’t as good as the first. This is typical among most horror sequels. The thing that bugs me the most about Bride is the number of plot holes the filmmakers didn’t even try filling. What the sequel gets right is the gory goods that definitely deliver. What the sequel gets wrong is the story details.

Eight months after the events that took place in the previous movie, Herbert West (played by Jeffrey Combs) and Dan Cain (played by Bruce Abbott who now has a mid-90s Bruce Campbell styled haircut) are now doctors at the Miskatonic University Hospital where they are secretly still doing reanimation experiments. How both men are now employed as doctors at the same hospital in the previous movie makes no sense to me after everything that happened, not to mention Herbert West’s death scene. Both men (especially Herbert) are now more focused on reanimating body parts stolen from the Hospital’s morgue and combining these parts to create living freaks.

Dr. Hill (whose head is clearly seen crushed to the size of a grapefruit in the previous movie) is now back and reanimated to get his revenge on Herbert and Dan while they are in the process of completing a huge experiment. Using the body parts from the morgue and Dan’s dead girlfriend’s heart, Herbert and Dan create a whole living female. Other complications take place that jeopardize the experiment such as a detective who becomes suspicious of the missing body parts and Dan’s 2 love interests.

Not every movie needs a sequel. Re-Animator is perfect the way it is. If you feel you absolutely must see these characters again for one more movie, then here it is. Not everything about the movie is disappointing however. The special make-up effects from Knb Efx Group and Screaming Mad George (just to name a few) make up for the plot holes and are definitely worth checking out. I really feel that Bride of Re-animator is a success as a gory FX freak show, but a failure as a story. Sorry horror fans.

Audio/Video

Arrow Video brings Bride of Re-Animator to Blu-ray for the very first time in America, and the results are satisfying. For this 3 Disc Limited Edition release, both R-rated and Unrated cuts of the film are offered in 1080p with a 1:78:1 Aspect Ratio. The transfers for both cuts look identical except the brief scenes added in the Unrated cut take a bit of a noticeable dip in quality. Added shots in the Unrated cut appear darker than the rest of the movie and show much less detail. The rest of the image however looks great and feels like a lot of time and care went into this restoration. A fine looking image that I feel fans will be pleased with. The Lpcm 2.0 Audio Track offers some real kick, especially during the final showdown. Dialogue is clear and the gooey sound effects are top notch.

Special Features

Disc 1 (Blu-ray) & Disc 2 (DVD)

Unrated Version of the film.

Director’s Commentary – Director Brian Yuzna discusses getting the cast to come back for the sequel, shooting on a short schedule, the make-up effects, low budget challenges, and comparisons to the first movie. Moderated by David Gregory.

Cast & Crew Commentary – Brian Yuzna, Jeffrey Combs, Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman, Tom Rainone, Mike Deak, Screaming Mad George, & John Buechler all participate in this commentary. An FX heavy commentary with each artist detailing their work on the film during their scenes and the challenges of working under strict time constraints.

Cast Commentary – Actors Jeffrey Combs & Bruce Abbott deliver a funny and amusing commentary here. They spend most of the time making fun of the movie MST3K style. Pretty entertaining stuff.

Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride of Re-animator (10 minutes) – A lot that’s covered here is already covered in Yuzna’s Audio Commentary.

Splatter Masters: The Special Effects Artists of Bride of Re-animator (15 minutes) – FX artists Robert Kurtzman, Screaming Mad George, Tony Doublin, and John Buechler look back on the work they did on Bride. Pretty sweet stuff with some behind-the-scenes home video footage.

Getting Ahead in Horror (24 minutes) – An archive making-of piece composed of behind-the-scenes footage. Here, we get a great look at almost all of the special effects in the movie. My favorite extra on the disc.

Deleted Scenes:

– Meg is Re-animated (8 minutes) – Probably came from the workprint. We also see some behind-the-scenes footage on the making of this scene. Interesting to note that this deleted scene fixes one plot hole.

– Carnival Sequence (2 minutes) – Only shown in still photos with a filmmakers commentary.

Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes)

Disc 3 (Limited Edition Exclusive)

R-rated version of the film.

Behind-the-Scenes Reel (14 ½ minutes) – More home video footage of the special effects scenes and make-up

Other Goodies:

24 Page Booklet – Includes new writing by Michael Blyth and a few color photos.

Re-animator: Dawn of the Re-animator (Limited Edition Exclusive) – Full 1992 comic prequel to the original Re-animator. Booklet is glorious and thick!

See larger image Bride of Re-Animator (Director Approved 3-Disc Limited Edition) [Blu-ray + DVD] New From: $54.99 Usd In Stock

The post Blu-ray Review: Bride Of Re-animator appeared first on Destroy the Brain!.

April 12th is a good day to be a genre fan, as we have several great releases coming our way this Tuesday. Arrow Films has put together the definitive edition of the cult classic Bride of Re-Animator that is filled to the brim with all sorts of awesomeness, and Scream Factory is taking us to the Village of the Damned with their Collector’s Edition Blu-ray as well as a double feature of Destroyer and Edge of Sanity.

If you missed it in theaters, now you can finally catch up with The Forest as it arrives on both formats Tuesday. If you’ve been holding out on adding It Follows to your home entertainment collection, there’s a new steelbook edition coming out this week that looks great and we’re also finally getting Flight 7500 on DVD April 12th.

Other notable releases include Where the Devil Dwells, Medousa, and Schramm.

It doesn't leave stains, it tastes great... and it slithers behind the refrigerator door. Last year, The Stuff celebrated its 30th birthday, and now Arrow Video has announced that Larry Cohen’s beloved cult classic will at long last hit Us shores on Blu-ray, along with The Black Cat and Bride of Re-Animator.

From Arrow Video: "The Stuff (Arrow Video) Blu-ray

Enough Is Never Enough!

North American pre-orders links should be live soon!

Release Date: 19th April

Region: A

Are you eating it ...or is it eating you?

The Stuff is the new dessert taking supermarket shelves by storm. It’s delicious, low in calories and – better still – doesn’t stain the family carpet… What’s not to like?! Well, for a start it has a life of its own, and we’re not talking friendly live bacteria…

Young Jason seems to be the only one who doesn’t...

Stars: Yvonne De Carlo, Debrah Farentino, Brian Robbins, Jeffrey Combs, Pamela Bellwood, Miranda Wilson, Vince Edwards, Floyd Levine, Michael Deak | Written by Don Mancini | Directed by John Carl Buechler

A monster B-movie from the late 80’s that many people won’t have heard of and many other people will have completely forgotten about, Cellar Dweller is one of those unusual little movies that gets buried beneath a stack of similar titles and only really has a chance to be woken up again if a company decides to pick up the rights and release it. 101 Films, here in the UK, did just that, and so 2014 finally saw a DVD release of the film.

Helmed by the director behind other corny cult films such as Troll and Friday the 13th Part VII, John Carl Buechler, Cellar Dweller manages to grab attention with two members of its otherwise unfamiliar cast. Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) and Lily Munster herself,...

Reviewed by Chris Wright, MoreHorror.com

Directed By: John Carl Buechler

Written By: Don Mancini

Starring: Yvonne De Carlo (Mrs. Briggs), Debrah Farentino (Whitney), Brian Robbins (Phillip), Pamela Bellwood (Amanda), Miranda Wilson (Lisa), Jeffrey Combs (Colin), Floyd Levine (Taxi Driver), Michael Deak (The Creature)

“Cellar Dweller” is a fun 80s horror movie. It should not be taken seriously and it can be thoroughly enjoyed. Penned by Don Mancini (Child’s Play) and directed by John Carl Buechler (Friday the 13th Part VII) they put together a satisfying treat for horror fans. This movie appears to be fairly forgotten but it deserves a look from horror fans today. To this day, the movie has never been released on DVD.

The plot begins when the original writer of the “Cellar Dweller” comics mysteriously dies and thirty years later, Whitney Taylor decides to use her artistic abilities to continue making the comic strip.

Filed under: Trailers and Clips, Movie News, The Twilight Saga, Horror, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

Faux movie trailers are nothing new, but when a series comes along that is well-crafted, amusing and made by a special effects makeup artist with over 50 titles to his credit ... well, you can't help but stand up and take notice. FX veteran Michael Deak -- who has done a bit of acting too -- has worked on recent films like 'Tron: Legacy' and 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,' but he's also made his mark on some 80's goodies like the VHS B-horror favorite 'TerrorVision' and the beasties bonanza, 'Ghoulies II.' Horror fans will have also seen his work on the Showtime 'Masters of Horror' series. In other words, this guy knows his stuff.

Deak can't seem to stay away from creature features in his off time. His pet project is the creation of these awesome,...

Filed under: Trailers and Clips, Movie News, The Twilight Saga, Horror, Sci-Fi, Cinematical

Faux movie trailers are nothing new, but when a series comes along that is well-crafted, amusing and made by a special effects makeup artist with over 50 titles to his credit ... well, you can't help but stand up and take notice. FX veteran Michael Deak -- who has done a bit of acting too -- has worked on recent films like 'Tron: Legacy' and 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,' but he's also made his mark on some 80's goodies like the VHS B-horror favorite 'TerrorVision' and the beasties bonanza, 'Ghoulies II.' Horror fans will have also seen his work on the Showtime 'Masters of Horror' series. In other words, this guy knows his stuff.

Deak can't seem to stay away from creature features in his off time. His pet project is the creation of these awesome,...

Next Monday, 5th April, sees the UK release of Arrow Video’s amazing high-def reissue of George Romero’s classic Day of the Dead - and we’ve got three copies to give away to lucky readers!

This is one extras-packed set that every zombie fan should be rushing to add to their collection. Need convincing? Check out our review here and the image and special features listing below:

Full specs:

- Four sleeve art options

- Double-sided fold-out poster

- "For Every Dawn There Is A Day" collector’s booklet

- "Day Of The Dead: Desertion" – an all new exclusive 24-page comic

- 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and 1.0 Mono audio options

Disc One:

- Theatrical feature

- Audio commentary with Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger, Everett Burrell, and Mike Deak

- Joe of the Dead – Acting in a Romero Classic; Travelogue of the Dead

Disc Two:

- The Many Days...

One thing I hate about Blu-ray is the damn region locking that plagued DVD. Before importing a disc, I've got to do plenty of research to ensure it'll work in my player, which sometimes leads to depressing news. While we have a pretty sweet version of Day of the Dead in high definition already thanks to Anchor Bay, today's announcement of a UK edition sounds even sweeter!

Frankly, this announcement is so cool that I'm listing every word here:

Specially commissioned for this 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release of Day Of The Dead, the world exclusive 24-page comic ‘Day Of The Dead: Desertion’ is written by ‘Hack/Slash Meets Re-Animator’ co-writer, Barry Keating, and ‘Halloween: Nightdance’ creator, Stefan Hutchinson, with artwork by ‘Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode’ illustrator Jeff Zornow. The storyline recounts the dark and disturbing origins of Day Of The Dead’s iconic zombie,...