To make a long story short, in 1971, the notorious New York husband-and-wife team of Michael and Roberta Findlay (responsible for such underground cult items as the Touch of Her Flesh trilogy) made a movie titled The Slaughter in Argentina. It was deemed unreleasable until half a decade later, when some enterprising producer made it […]
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The East
If you’ve seen one, you haven’t seen them all. But you should, and The East — unjustly ignored in theaters earlier this summer amid such competition as Man of Steel, This Is the End and World War Z — is now available on Blu-ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. It’s still one of the 10 […]
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Fright Night 2: New Blood
Charley (the unappealing Will Payne) and his pal Evil Ed (the even more unappealing Chris Waller) take a class trip to Romania, where low budgets for such sequels go far. Says Charley will all the enthusiasm he can muster, “So … Romania, huh?,” and viewers may agree. But then our show’s vampire, college professor Gerri […]
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Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th
You read correctly. Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th runs for a butt-punishing 400 minutes, which signals two things: 1. It’s not required to be consumed in one sitting. 2. It’s not for the casual Friday the 13th fan. Based on Peter Bracke’s 2006 book of the same name — as indispensable as it […]
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Corruption
One of the first I added to my list was 1968’s Corruption, a mad, mod thriller starring Hammer horror icon — and later Star Wars‘ Grand Moff Tarkin — Peter Cushing. As luck would have it, Grindhouse Releasing has made my search nonexistent with a Blu-ray/DVD combo that marks its North American video debut. Another […]
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The Hangover Part III
In response, for this summer’s The Hangover Part III, director Todd Phillips and the gang did something totally different. Complained the multiplex populace, “It’s not enough like the first one!” America, you fickle, fickle bastard. What’s funny about the whole thing is that both sequels are, well, funny. Yet The Hangover Part III just can’t […]
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Room 237
Only the first of these is true. Just don’t tell the unseen interviewees of Room 237, Rodney Ascher’s extraordinary documentary about all the crazy conspiracy theories surrounding Kubrick’s 1980 horror classic, The Shining. You’ve heard about The Shining, right? It’s the film that Kubrick loaded with subliminal messages and made synchronic when simultaneously played forward […]
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The Amityville Horror Trilogy
Based on a supposedly true story, 1979’s The Amityville Horror pits newlyweds George and Kathleen Lutz (James Brolin and Margot Kidder, respectively) against a Long Island lakeside home that’s one mean sonofabitch. No sooner have they moved in with their towheaded tots when strange things start to happen: voices at night, a roomful of flies, […]
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House of Wax
I also recall loving the movie, which continues to this day, especially its famous scene of the paddle ball seemingly bursting through the screen and toward our faces. It’s a superb effect lost on previous home-video releases; absent of another theatrical re-release, Warner Bros.’ new Blu-ray of House of Wax is as close as you’re […]
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Europa Report
Among the six-member crew are a few recognizable faces who nonetheless disappear into their roles, including Elysium villain Sharlto Copley and Dragon Tattoo trilogy star Michael Nyqvist. Unfortunately, as with the case of so many found-footage films, there’s not much of a story here. It’s all build-up to a final image that leaves audiences asking, […]